 Yes, I'm proud of my daughter I was stopped by an Elder at church this morning who asked how Christmas was for my family and I this year. Quickly I formulated what had been running around in my head. The best part of Christmas this year was a blog post by Abby. We read the first couple of chapters of Luke on Christmas morning before heading down to the presents. We also had heard a message by Blake at our Christmas Eve service that simplified the message of Christmas to “I love you.” It is so very rewarding to have your children blossom into a faith of their own. I love reading the words just as they are. She is coming into her own and I pray that God gives me the wisdom and strength to shepherd her properly. You can read it here: According to Abby I had a conversation with my oldest daughter Abby the other night. She asked me if I ever would forget my blessing. I told her that was impossible. About 4 years ago I encountered an idea (not a new one) of blessing your children. The idea is repetitive Godly affirmation of your children. Speaking words of encouragement, love, and requests to God for blessings in their lives. Julie and I spent some time crafting our particular blessing for our children. I’ve said it to each of our children almost every single night since then. This included some of Emmy’s time in Julie’s womb. The reason that I won’t forget the blessing is the sheer number of times that I’ve repeated it. By my quick calculation, it has been about 4380 times. That’s a lot. I wanted to share it with you and hope that it brings some encouragement. It has been wonderful to share with my kids. The Lord bless you and keep you May God bless you richly today. Don’t you love to hear the word? ‘Yes’ Mom, can I have a… ‘Yes’ Do you agree? ‘Yes’ Can I have a raise? ‘Yes’ Am I doing a good job? ‘Yes’ Could you please help me? ‘Yes’ I’ve spent the last year and a half using a strategy for software development called Agile. It has a focus on priority rather than agendas. The idea is to keep technology accomplishing business value. This puts business people in the driver’s seat. This is not a position they are accustomed to – given that technology usually takes a combative stance and says: ‘No.’ No, we have too many things to do. No, we have to do an infrastructure project first. No, we don’t have enough resources. No, you can’t change that now, we’ve already started. The power of ‘Yes’ extends into this arena as well. I can almost always say ‘Yes!’ The caveat is that the requisite follow-up question is: ‘How important is this relative to the other things you’ve asked us to do?’ I interacted with one business executive with a Northeastern bank that said, “You don’t know how wonderful it is to hear you say ‘Yes.’ I’ll never get tired of it. We’re just not used to hearing that.” After the initial transfer of power and decision-making, the business person is then responsible for making a logical, fact-based decision. After priorities have been set according to business value, then it is a simple math equation: Effort required to complete/Available developers = project completion time. The battles are not necessary. Say ‘Yes.’ There are moments when you are able to catch a glimpse of what people really think of you. I covet those moments… probably because I care so much what other’s perceptions are. Crisis and competition have a way of removing the masks that are so often worn. The moments can come at a vulnerable point in time, in a moment of complete exasperation, or hidden in humor. Another window is a gift. My brother-in-law (Adam) and new sister-in-law (Jenny) were married this past Saturday in a wonderful wedding. 5 out of the 6 members (all of those walking and talking) of my family were privileged participants in the ceremony itself. As a gift to the male participants, Jenny and Adam searched for unique cufflinks for each person. Jenny’s dad received working levels, a groomsman wore working compasses, Adam’s brother Andrew proudly wore onyx crosses, and Jack (Adam’s dad) had sleek corvettes. Mustangs, guitars, Millenium Falcons, and ducks with spent cartridges were all special and cherished. Each set of cufflinks were a treasure to the intended. Mine were pictures of my children. Have you ever wondered if someone truly sees you? If you’ve experienced the sensation, then you may feel as I do. I’m honored. I have had the privilege of teaching Abby and CJ science twice now. They have an insatiable appetite for asking questions and learning. It reminds me of when I took Biology in High School. Our patient prof would go down rabbit trail after rabbit trail in order to follow the interest and knowledge quest of his students. I enjoyed that class more than any other before or since. We are studying astronomy. We’ll be doing this all year. With an educational system that stresses superficial understanding of many things, I am thrilled to dive deep with my 2 school-aged. Actually Emmy (the 3 year-old) was pinned to my left elbow taking “notes” as well. I have high hopes for this year. For the kids… as well as for me. Just a few days until I leave it all on the course. I started out training for this event with the mindset of endurance. I wanted to prove that I could make it. I had allowed physical fitness to get away, and as I get a little older, I felt that I had something to prove. After a couple months of training, the fitness came back and the running became much easier… even enjoyable. I swam, but didn’t feel very successful as I labored to get enough oxygen into my lungs. Recently I was able to swim on 2 occaisions with an accomplished triathlete. He gave me some pointers that should really help. The biking was interesting as well. I purchased the green phantom and went out on my first ride. It was out in the country – with no leash laws. I outpaced 4 packs of dogs in my bid to ride an out and back course. I almost had to negotiate a 5th pack of dogs… that were waiting for me in the middle of the road. Thank God for cell phones as I was able to call my father-in-law for a Google map reroute back to my starting point. Needless to say, the bike has not been the easiest to learn. It has, however, gotten a whole lot better. My seat… has not. The endurance part of the race comes in seeing how long I can stay sitting. It’s a good thing I already have 4 children, this bike may prohibit any further. So, I find myself in the last week. I’m trying to stay loose and fully recuperate from all the punishment of the last few months. Surprisingly, for something I started as an endurance contest, I’m really looking forward to competing!! In continuing my triathlon training, I needed to purchase a bike. I’ve ridden bikes most of my life, but never a road bike. To do the triathlon properly, a good bike is sorely needed. On my own I am lost when it comes to this area. I have a friend at work who has educated me about the intricacies of road bikes and road racing. With his guidance, I came upon this bike on Craigslist. It is a late-eighties Bianchi. It is fast. It is a classic. It is strong. It is GREEN! I would call it sea-foam green. Apparently the name of the color is Celeste (che-lest). I really had to get beyond the color to be able to appreciate the bike for what it is. Julie said that she wished that she had known the color my bike would be – that she would have gotten shorts for me to match… No, really she’s quite supportive… I have been training on it a few times now. I still have to get used to having my feet strapped in. It’s kinda like being strapped to a rocket. A sea-foam green rocket. Google Watch – - Google to Dis Microsoft at a University Near You I’ve been using the full suite of Google Apps now for about 6 months at work. It has provided a great platform for sharing information across my team. There are some glitches, but the freedom to access and share information is unparalleled. |
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