Why Feb 1st is when you should make your New Year's resolutions

Many people fall into either one of three categories when it comes to New Year's resolutions. 

There are those who year after year enthusiastically commit to various audacious goals only to experience failure a few months in. The meant well, but it just didn't come together. "Well, if the Cubs can try again next year so can I" is the annual attitude.

There are also those refuse to set resolutions. "No one ever sticks with those. Who wants to feel like a failure?"

And then, similar to the existence of Big Foot, there supposedly is a group of people out there who indeed do keep resolutions. I always wondered if such people were successful because they set goals like, "I'm going to make sure to breath every day this year." But if the resolutions are actually more challenging then this, then I need to meet the Sasquatch so I can ask him what the secret to success is.

To set goals is a good and necessary endeavor, a discipline of the successful and prudent. I'd like to offer the suggestion that maybe the reason some fail at keeping resolutions is tied to when they are made: New Year's Eve. 

Like a firework from the air

No chance on starting the year off on a restful note, I had to fly out of town for work this afternoon. Two and half hours later, while on the landing approach coming into Houston I happened to look out my window to see a single firework being shot off. 

It was a professional job, clearly not something bought at a roadside shop. Then again, I am in Texas right now so it's not to say that some cowboy out there didn't have a pro size rocket to blast off. The explosion was blue with a yellow middle. At ground level I'm sure it looked like a huge burst, but from my perspective's altitude it looked like a soap bubble rising above still water in a bathtub. It hung there for just a second and then...pop.

This brought a smile because I've always wondered what fireworks would look like from the air. Of course I kept my eye on the area where it said hello, but no other came. It was there for just a moment and then...pop.

And in the quiet, while still waiting for another, the thought came to me, "That's how this next year will be."

Here just for a moment and then...pop.
 

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16

Why 9/12 is as important as 9/11

Yesterday was a post about 9/11. 

But today is September 12th. 

Everyone goes back to the grind, back to the busyness and hectic pace. There will possibly be a few mentions of 9/11 throughout the day:

"Did you see any of the memorials on TV?"

"Did your church do anything special?"

 

Conversation will be sincere, but probably brief. But it's 9/12. We've moved on. 

My bittersweet birthday present

September 4th is my birthday (mark that on your calendar for next year). 

September 4th this year was also Baylee's first day of Kindergarten. A day I was incredibly excited about and not looking forward to. She's done half day preschool a couple days a week before so school isn't anything new to us. But full day is different. Kindergarten is different.

It's one of those landmark days where you look in two different directions. The look ahead is excitement about the little woman she is growing into but also melancholy because the days of her always being around are gone. Eyes back are joyful because of the special times we've experienced but also slightly saddening in knowing at times as a parent I could have done better.

But between the two looks is September 4th. Today I laugh and I cry while looking back at pictures from the last few years. Today I hug her tight and kiss her cheek repeatedly. Today I tell myself to be constructively critical but not to beat myself up. Today I say to her what I've said at various times before: "Do your best. Be a leader and a helper. Have tons of fun. Daddy loves you so much."

Just can you slow down a little bit on this growing up stuff? A little bit? 

Did you fall for yesterday's Back to the Future scam?

Oh Back To The Future.

You are up there with Ferris, the Breakfast Club and Ghostbusters as movies that inspired my generation's mindset (probably explains a lot about my weirdness). You also inspired us to skateboard more than Tony Hawk ever could and to play guitar before we ever heard of Guitar Hero. And though hardly any of us had ever seen or heard of a DeLorean before you (just admit it), nothing can take your place in our minds when that word is by chance uttered.

So yesterday was a big day.

It started slow but then grew like wildfire on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Yesterday was the day that Doc set the time machine to in Back to the Future II:

Obviously anyone who grew up with these movies would get instantly excited and then share the big news. I did. It was like an instant reaction: BOOM! RETWEET! RESHARE! REPIN!

Thing is...it was a scam.

One year of school down: Hot! Hot! Hot!

Last weekend was Baylee's last day of preschool, complete with end of the school year music program. Baylee's class did "Hot, Hot, Hot"

 

   

Two really funny parts of the video:

• Around the 00:44 if you listen close you can hear Jaxon yell for Baylee from the audience =)
• Just after 02:02 some serious booty shaking takes place

One year of school done. 

We found out on Tuesday that she is accepted to be a student at the Walt Disney Magnet school. Incredibly grateful. Grateful but now we're just one blink away before she'll be heading to college.  

Ugh.

If it didn't...

If it didn't take hard work it wouldn't be worth building

If it didn't stretch you it would be a complete waste of energy

If it didn't make you feel like giving up at times it wouldn't be worth persevering for

If it didn't feel difficult it wouldn't be worth it

 

Ignore easy.

Keep going.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Today would have been Theodor Seuss Geisel's 108th birthday. I was thinking earlier today that I have never heard anyone say that they dislike his work. Sure it might have happened, it isn't like I have a photographic memory. But I really don't think I've ever heard someone say that. Have you? Seriously - who would? (Don't tell me - I honestly don't want to hear about it. The world can't have gotten that bad)

When I was younger Green Eggs & Ham and Horton Hears a Who were my top favorites. My fourth grade class did Horton as a play and I was one of the vultures who carried Horton away. Skimming his work on Amazon's page for the good Dr, titles I had forgotten are coming back to me like my grandma had just read them to me yesterday: In a People House, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You? When I was a little older and in school I remember being fascinated learning that Yertle the Turtle was about Hitler. And I remember reading and rereading and rereading and rereading Oh, the Places You'll Go.

There was a day when it snowed REALLY hard.

We haven't gotten a lot of snow in Chicago this winter. Really barely any. But that wasn't the case in February of 2011. Last year we had one of the worst snow storms ever. Last year was when Snowmaggedon hit!

It was a year ago February the snow storm of the century headed toward Chicago. Now in saying that, this century is only 12 years old. Regardless, the winters over the last 12 years have for the most part been pretty lame. But what we saw crawling across the weather radars toward us last year did indeed look like a huge blue monster. The way that people talked about getting extra water, extra food, fuel for generators, blankets and the such, it was like they were getting ready for Y2K all over again.

The hour came. The monster crawled across Chicago. It was indeed the storm of this young century.

Snowmageddon. 

Would it even be worth it if you could go back and change the past?

This past weekend I finished reading Stephen King's newest novel, 11/22/63. From his website, this is the book's premise:

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed forever.

If you had the chance to change the course of history, would you? Would the consequences be worth it?

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

Explore the Possibilities...

Stephen King is an amazing story teller. Though I've enjoyed all of his last few novels this is by far one of his best ever. It has a great pace that demands you don't put it down. As the description explains, the theme throughout is dealing with the past. Not just JFK's assassination, but the moment a little girl becomes paralyzed, the moment a boy's family is shattered, the moment a relationship is changed forever. This great book got me thinking.

White Ribbon Day: Remembering 9/11 [VIDEO]

The day after the attacks, my friend Dave Trout came to me with 8-10 hours of 9/11 news footage recorded on one VHS and an idea for a video. The plan was to create for church a montage video, set to the song, White Ribbon Day. After two all nighters, about two hours before services started, the memorial video was finished. 

Here it is:

Week in review #10

It's hard to believe that summer is over, but I am indeed one who prefers the weather of fall. Such is life, and we keep rolling on... 

Where were you the morning of 9/11?

It was a Tuesday. But you probably already knew that.

That morning I had breakfast with Dane Mentzer, a friend who at the time was a student in my youth group. We ate at the McDonalds on LeGrange Ave in Frankfort, right across from Lincoln Way East. Once done eating, we continued our conversation in the car while I took him across the street to the school's front door. After he got out, I headed back across the street to hit Starbucks before going to my office. 

Since Dane and I were talking, I hadn't turned on the radio yet. But once alone, I tuned to Eric & Kathy on 101.9. They weren't their normal joking selves and it was obvious something had happened. 

"Again, for those just tuning in, we've had reports that there was a terrorist attack in New York just moments ago." 

Important life lesson from a Halo 4 developer

You don't have to be a video game fan to appreciate this. No...seriously.

Halo is one of the biggest video game series in history. Master Chief, the main character, is up there with Mario, Pac Man, Solid Snake, and Zelda. Halo 4, the newest chapter in the saga is currently in development and is for sure a highly anticipated title. 

I read this morning that Ryan Payton, one of the creative directors for Halo 4, is stepping down from his position. This is obviously a big blow for the game's development. It also begs the question as to why he's doing it.

The whole article about his decision can be read HERE, but this is the part that really struck me:

Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by?

An incredibly busy city:

The capacity is of people with places to be. 

Jobs. Classes. Projects.

Meetings. Appointments. Tasks.

Daily, hundreds will drive down this street, LaSalle Blvd:

12 Years of God's Grace

12 years ago today my life changed. 

Standing upon a little hill on the Myer's castle grounds, I remember Jeannette walking into view with her dad. My jaw dropped. The family and friends present ceased to be. In that moment the realization was overwhelming: this beautiful woman walking toward me was going to be my wife. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with my friend.

What I didn't know in that moment was everything over the last 12 years that she would be in the midst of everything we would walk through:

Week in Review #4

This week...

• ... can for the most part be described with the words travel & unpack, though in an unrelated manner. The first half of the week I was in Baltimore for a conference. The rest of the week was spent unpacking the condo. Unpacking doesn't take as long as packing, but it can still be exhausting. 
• Yet another trip to IKEA - this one being returned from with a larger haul. Such is moving I guess.
• Lion was released by Apple. Got things installed Thursday, but haven't really been able to play around with anything of sort yet.  Launchpad is pretty cool, but Mission Control I need to get acquainted with.  If you are an Apple person, this is the best collection of stuff I found on getting things set up in Lion: OS X Lion How-to's and Tips Roundup: Everything in One Place. Highly recommend checking it out!
• If you do any type of graphic design, this is an amazing app: FontBook
• Another great Michael Hyatt article: 5 Reasons Why You Need to be Better at Saying "No"
• I was sitting at a table in a pretty quiet room looking at blogs and such earlier in the week. When I saw this Google+ joke I erupted in laughter and the entire room turned to look at me. It was worth it.
• Very pumped about the Hunger Games movie coming out next year, and the online movie poster only adds to the anticipation.
• Blog posts from earlier in the week:
• Maybe you're the one who needed to read this
• My 2yr old and G.K. Chesterton
• And the Pic of the week: Baylee & Jaxon showing off Baylee's new bed:

-- Blink -- "Holy cow! Where did it go?"

When I first looked at my phone early this morning I did a double take. March 1st!?!?!

Where the heck did January & February go?!?!