foolishnotions.net

hey look! all the stuff that was on the bottom two weeks ago is now on the top… including my calendar. quite a talent don’t you think?

posted from iPhoneSlide.com

this is matt (a.k.a. smatty or hazmat). he is our resident bass player at the rock and star of flipside’s kick me short feature films. he gets the prize for the best lunch room story of the day.

matt: “the other night i put a dollar in my pocket and went home. i took my pants off and set them to the side. and when i got up in the morning, i put those same pants on again, and i looked in the pocket and there was a dollar bill in there.”

(longer than short silent pause)

me: “is that it?”

matt: “yeah, that’s it.”

the best part… he was sincerely sharing an experience that had made his day. we laughed until we cried at lunch today. i love lunch. i love these people.

set them up for success.

this concept has been stuck in my head for weeks. i am a volleyball player, a setter (obviously), albeit on a long sabatical. i really need to fix that this summer. anyway, if a volleyball team doesn’t have a good passer and setter it makes no difference whatsoever how hard your big man can hit. he’ll never have the chance.tonight i skipped to the end of this book i’m reading (i know, i can’t help it - it’s completely involuntary). this is what I found…

“a call for change without clearly defined core beliefs and behaviors is like conducting a job performance evaluation on an employee who has never received a job description. the employee walks away with a semiclear understanding at what failing at his or her job looks like. but no real understanding of what it means to succeed.

it is not enough to communicate, ‘things need to change around here.’ that’s akin to kicking over an ant bed. to get things back on course things must be exceedingly clear.” ::andy stanley, visioneering::

this is good information to have under your belt BEFORE things get off course, don’t you think? this is why I read and this is why I pray. so I don’t unwittingly go around kicking ant hills.

set them up for success.

so this is what has me up tonight. what is keeping you up till the wee hours?

i have been over my blog layout for a while now. but i’ve convinced myself not to touch it until i finish the design for the new rock web site. web design, though on my proverbial plate at the rock, is usually last morsel to be consumed on my priority list.

so, at the very least i have to keep foolishnotions up to date…. right? i updated to the latest version of wordpress. now everything is screwed up. i have funky characters everywhere. anywhere i have posted a video has become a disaster area with posts and videos scattered about the page.

so, if you dig deep enough into my site you will discover the ugly truth of this. but, i’m not touching it. so, in case you are wondering if i have fallen from geekdom…. i have to allow myself not to care. cause i really have to do this other thing.

so, ya’ll just read between the lines for a while…. k? thanks.

so, i go to pb&j’s house tonight to pick up their car which they are so kind to let us borrow for the next couple of days. jen is upstairs in bed because her “orange” is giving her grief. bryan says, “she’s awake, go up and say hi”. i climb the stairs and turn the corner to behold jen, tucked tightly in her fluffy bed with the biggest, most gynormous hair curlers i have ever seen in my life stacked like a crown of hoola hoops atop her head! unfortunately, she knows me reeeaaaally well and upon seeing the familiar glimmer of mischief in my eye as i flinched for my iPhone she whipped a pillow out to block my shot and would not put it down until i handed the instrument of her certain humiliation over.

i will forever treasure this mental picture. and now you can too. didn’t even use a mouse. i think i have found my inspiration. what do you think?

i love you soooooo much, jen!!!!

according to fox news…

Researchers Develop Bionic Contact Lens

If you’ve ever wanted to be the Bionic Woman or a Terminator, new research may at least let you see with their eyes.

Scientists have taken the first step toward creating digital contact lenses that can zoom in on distant objects and display useful facts.

For the first time, engineers have installed an electronic circuit and lights on a regular contact lens.

The prototype they created does not actually light up or display information. But it proves that it is possible to build an electronic lens that is safe to wear and doesn’t obstruct vision….

read the whole thing.

i can’t wait to have a pair of these!!! they should be within my reach by the time i’m 90. maybe, by then, they’ll be able to rebuild me all the way.

1. i have, for quite some time now, had a great desire to teach. i am not, as of yet, a good teacher.
2. a very great dream of mine is to be a tool to equip the average individual with enough practical technological & creative information to empower them and expedite the dreams god has put in their hearts. i want to set people up to succeed. i want to inspire people who thought they couldn’t lead - to lead.
3. in order to teach effectively i have to slow down. in order to slow down i have to manage, somehow, to teach.
4. for me the hardest part of leadership is communicating. i will procrastinate a phone call or email until the last possible second. i feel this is my greatest leadership weakness. (and, yes, I am aware - this is a HUGE weakness)
5. leading and teaching are two completely, totally different things. i believe that to be successful in either i’m going to have to be pretty well versed in both.
6. i am rapidly approaching a point where i can not possibly absorb enough vital current information about all the things my hands touch and do them as well… much less teach them. this makes teaching all the more imperative (truthfully, i’ve most likely been there for a while. i’m just not too fond of being told i can’t do something - so i guess that puts me in denial.)
7. i need to expand my field of life experiences… I need to take some greater risks.
8. sometimes I don’t feel old enough to be 37.
9. did i mention, i procrastinate communication and i’m not a good teacher…. yet? will someone please tell me i can’t do this so i can get on with it?

little known fact about me: i look forward to reading the comments that grace my akismet spam folder.  wow, that sounds really needy when i just put it out there like that.

little known fact about you: it’s probably bothering you, at least just a little, that there is no #10.

me: wow, your hair smells terrific

cam: i used your shampoo because mine is all gone.

me: which one?

cam: to be honest with you, i used… (motions for me to come close and whispers in my ear) healthy SEX-y hair.

(te, he, he - giggle, snort, giggle)

posted from iPhoneSlide.com

lindsey showed this to me a few weeks ago and we laughed and laughed. i have secretly watched it again more times than i care to admit. stick with it all the way. enjoy…

i’ve been rummaging through my files, trying to do a little tidying up. i’m finding so many things that i had forgotten about. this is the narration i wrote for our christmas production in 2006. i know, christmas is over. but, if i waited till next christmas i would forget it forever. and, i like this. there, i said it. yes, it is ok to like the things god produces through us. i’m not being prideful - i’m thankful and very humbled. i love what it do… and i love that he fills me full of it. (and, i’ve been told i’m definitely full of it.)

(part 3 is my favorite… so if you are an impatient blog reader, please skip down to the last part.) 

1 —
O come, o come Emmanuel. The cry of God’s people for the promised Redeemer so long ago still resounds out of the deepest part of humanity. God be with us, draw near to us, dwell among us. It’s a yearning which leads us on a life long journey; the destination… meaning - - purpose. Throughout history mankind has navigated the endless explanations for our existence in search of the author of the universe and keeper of our soul. Heaven looks on with edge of their seat anticipation as the story of creation unfolds like a rare flower awakening to dawn’s light. Angels stand in utter amazement when man, without the benefit of ever seeing God’s face, manages to sift through the vast labyrinth of religion, science and social politics to find the truth of his creator. All heaven rejoices together with creation, and the redeemed can hardly contain it. The angels stand in awe at the passionate expression that is produced when a man worships God out of a heart once lost, without hope and pointless - now redeemed, given purpose and a future. It’s the story of hope. It’s the story of triumph. It’s the story of Christmas…

2 —
Such an unimaginable gift…the long awaited King of Kings, the Savior of the world, the very presence of God Himself sent to earth to dwell among us! We must have something to offer Him, but what? What can we possibly have to offer the Creator of the Universe? What could we give that could possibly compare to what He has given us? “Lord, in humble adoration, we offer up a sacrifice of praise before You today. May it be a pleasing fragrance to you. This is a costly gift….our most generous offering. With absolute abandon now, we pour out this priceless vile of worship over You.”

3 —
It has been said that God gave the greatest gift of all – His Son Jesus. But perhaps there is a gift just as precious, a gift of such exceeding value that it would cause God Himself to hope.

Each of us carries within us a gift suitable for the King of Kings. It’s worth is indiscernible by it’s appearance, where it comes from or what it feels like. It is our heart , our passion… that rhythmic force within us that pulses, “live for this… LIVE for THIS!” Our hearts contain the very dream of God exactly the way He wanted it. He dreamt it, created it, purchased it and then relinquished it into our care the moment we drew first breath.

And so we all posses this…a gift of incomparable treasure, yet not for us. It needs to be given away. For, a gift that has been purchased and not given loses value and lacks purpose. It will sit unused and no one will ever know what was truly inside.

God yearns for the day when the value of our gifts are realized – the day they are given back to Him; The moment we proclaim to Him, “Lord, this is Our Everything, Our Fragrant Offering. Our passion, our desire, all the contents of our heart we freely choose to return to You! We choose to give You liberty to express Yourself through us! We choose to give You glory not take it for ourselves. Just be near to us, God. Dwell here, Emmanuel.” I can just picture Him embracing his long awaited gift, tearing away the outer layers exposing His dream.

Maybe, like the Little Drummer Boy, we can make God smile… Perhaps this is the greatest gift…