Archive for the ‘ Engaging ’ Category

My First Caricature Drawing

My wife and I recently attended the High School Banquet for Liberty Christian School in Sanford, FL. At the event, two caricature artists from Digital Caricatures Live were there. Digital drawing is a new innovation in the caricature industry, and there are only about 10 artists in the country doing this. So, having them at the banquet was a real treat. The drawings are top quality, plus they’re digital so several copies can easily be printed. Gone are the days when only one of the people picture (usually the girl) get to take the drawing home. Now, multiple people can receive the drawings, and they can also be posted easily online.  Pretty cool, right?

To see the other drawings from the banquet click here.

So, here it is. Our first caricature drawing.  Fun stuff!

2012 Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 5

On April 20 & 21, 2012, the men from my church attended the 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference featured powerful and insightful messages from Jerry Thorpe & Jim Groves. This is the fifth & final post in the series.

The notes may be hard to follow, but feel free to browse them for insights. Especially, check out the “Notes & Quotes” section at the bottom.

More valuable insights about manhood can be found in the writings of Robert Lewis. Check out his books: Raising Modern-Day Knights, Real Family Values, and Rocking the Roles. You’ll be glad you did.

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Man Up Men’s Conference

Orlando, FL

Speaker: Jerry Thorpe
Topic: Wandering
Text: The Wilderness Wandering of Numbers 13-ff, Psalm 90:12, Joshua 1:1-9
Date: April 21, 2012

1. You must have courage (Joshua 1:1-2, 6-7, 9)

2. You must major on God’s Word (Joshua 1:8)

3. You must trust in the presence of God (Joshua 1:5, 9)

Notes & Quotes

 

  • “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
  • If we’re not careful in our marriages, things will just become routine. You’ll get into a rut.
  • It’s easy to get distracted watching ESPN or enjoying your hobby, giving your kids the crumbs of your life.
  • “Once we take the wrong road, we cannot get on the right road until we go back to the place where we made the wrong turn.” – Jim Bakker
  • On friendships: friends should make you live better morally, and friends should stimulate your thinking.
  • On health: “Nothing tastes as good as slim feels.”
  • On life & success: I was climbing the ladder of success, but when I got to the top, I realized the ladder was leaning against the wrong building.
  • On marriage: Communication is the first thing that breaks down.
  • On relationship with God: Communication is the first thing that breaks down.

 

2012 Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 4

On April 20 & 21, 2012, the men from my church attended the 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference featured powerful and insightful messages from Jerry Thorpe & Jim Groves. This is the fourth post in the series.

The notes may be hard to follow, but feel free to browse them for insights. Especially, check out the “Notes & Quotes” section at the bottom.

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Man Up Men’s Conference

Orlando, FL

Speaker: Jim Groves
Topic: Trusting God
Text: Genesis 3:10, 2 Corinthians 5:21
Date: April 21, 2012

Story: The Fork in the Road (Trusting God vs Pleasing God)

  • Trusting God seems nebulous.
  • Pleasing God seems more manageable and concrete.
  • We take that path. Then, we come to a building. On the building is a door.
  • On the door, there is a sign that reads, “Striving to please God.”
  • On the door, there is a door knob that read, “Effort.”
  • Behind the door, is the “Room of Good Intentions.”
  • In the room, everyone wears a mask, pretending everything is great.
  • In the room, a banner reads, “Working on my sin to achieve an intimate relationship with God.”
  • It seems to hard. Eventually, I can hear that behind the masks, no one is fine.
  • So, I leave the room.
  • I go back down the path and come to the fork in the road.
  • I choose “Trusting God.”
  • And, I come to another door with a sign that reads, “Living out of who God says I am.”
  • The door knob here reads, “Humility.”
  • I enter in, and it’s “The Room of Grace.”
  • I think I’m back where I already was.
  • They ask how I am, and I shout out, “I’m not fine! I’m a sinner. Things are bad!”
  • From the back of the room, I man shouts back, “Is that all you got?”
  • Suddenly, I realize no one in this room is wearing a mask.
  • Then, I see the banner in the room, which reads, “Standing with God with me sin in front of me, working on it together.”
  • Reflections

  • It is impossible is actually please God.
  • We must trust God.
  • Application

  • Some of you give your wife only one path: “pleasing my husband,” which means she must enter “the door of striving to be all you want her to be.” So, she must turn the door knob of “effort.” She’ll have to work really hard to be what you want. Entering the room of “good intentions,” she’ll have to “work on her challenges to achieve an intimate relationship with you.” And then, there’s the mask of “everything’s fine.”
  • You wouldn’t want this in your relationship with God. So, why would she want it.
  • Instead, let her choose “trusting my husband,” which leads to the door of “living out of who my husband says that I am.” She’ll turn the door knob of “Love” and enter the “room of grace.” here she will “stand with you, with your challenges in front of you, working on them together.”
  • Notes & Quotes

  • Your marriage reveals your relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • Single guys, get your act together before you mess up some girls life by marrying her.
  • Guys hide behind things that make them feel better: bigger tv, bigger house, bigger paycheck, bigger car, bigger, bigger, bigger.
  • We have wrongly believed that performance is the key to acceptable.
  • Be careful of Santa Claus Theology: “You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town. He’s making a list and checking it twice. He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town.”
  • “God isn’t interested in changing you because He already has.”
  • 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 3

    On April 20 & 21, 2012, the men from my church attended the 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference featured powerful and insightful messages from Jerry Thorpe & Jim Groves. This is the third post in the series.

    The notes may be hard to follow, but feel free to browse them for insights. Especially, check out the “Notes & Quotes” section at the bottom.

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    Man Up Men’s Conference

    Orlando, FL

    Speaker: Jerry Thorpe
    Topic: Successful Living
    Text: Philippians 3:13-14
    Date: April 21, 2012

    Synopsis: “This one thing I do, forgetting the things behind, I press on to the finish line.”

    Outline:

    1. This One Thing I Do (Goal or Mission for Life)

    Characteristics of True Goals:

  • A true goal should be identifiable.
  • A true goal should be measurable.
  • A true goal should be challenging.
  • A true goal should be public.
  • Reflection & Questions to Ask Yourself:

  • What are your spiritual goals?
  • What are your health goals?
  • What are your marriage goals?
  • What are your family goals?
  • What are your financial goals?
  • What are your work goals?
  • What are your ministry goals?
  • 2. Forgetting Those Things Which Are Behind

    Two Things You Have to Forget:

  • Forget your inadequacies.
  • Forget your skeptics.
  • Three Tings You Have to do to Walk on Water:

  • Get out of the boat.
  • Forget the storm.
  • Ignore the boat people.
  • 3. I Press On (Don’t Quit)

    Notes & Quotes

  • Successful living begins with a salvation experience. Otherwise, all your success doesn’t matter.
  • If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
  • What would you do if you knew you could not fail.
  • 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 2

    On April 20 & 21, 2012, the men from my church attended the 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference featured powerful and insightful messages from Jerry Thorpe & Jim Groves. This is the second post in the series.

    The notes may be hard to follow, but feel free to browse them for insights. Especially, check out the “Notes & Quotes” section at the bottom.

    If you’re interested in more resources regarding biblical manhood, check out the writings of Robert Lewis. His books Raising Modern-Day Knights, Real Family Values, and Rocking the Roles are especially helpful. Look them up!

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    Man Up Men’s Conference

    Orlando, FL

    Speaker: Jim Groves
    Topic: Identity
    Text: Romans 6:1-10
    Date: April 20, 2012

    Outline:

    Word Picture: Man-Eating Grizzly Bear

    Imagine you’re being chased by a man-eating grizzly bear. As you run away, you come upon a log cabin, and dart inside, locking the door behind you. Now, you’re safe, but you don’t necessarily feel that way.

     

    • Step 1: Truth – You are safe
    • Step 2: Faith – I believe I am safe.
    • Step 3: Works – Live like a safe man. Act like a safe man.
    • Step 4: Feelings – I finally begin to feel safe…sort of.

     

    * Replace “safe” with any other truth from the Bible: forgiven, accepted, a saint, Christ’s friend, and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

     

    • Step 1: Truth – You are accepted
    • Step 2: Faith – I believe I am accepted.
    • Step 3: Works – Live like a safe man. Act like a accepted man.
    • Step 4: Feelings – I finally begin to feel accepted…sort of.

     

    * Work through this pattern.

    * Focus on the right things you are supposed to do, and you will stop doing the wrong things.

    * Focus on your true identity and act that way. Your feelings will catch up.

    Notes & Quotes:

     

    • You will live out what you really believe to be your true identity. Not what you say is your true identity.
    • Emotions get in the way of our obedience.
    • Most adultery starts with this feeling: I feel unloved.
    • Hypocrisy is acting differently than you are, not acting differently than you feel. Only Satan defines it as acting differently than you feel. Jesus defines it as the former.

     

    2012 Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 1

    On April 20 & 21, 2012, the men from my church attended the 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference featured powerful and insightful messages from Jerry Thorpe & Jim Groves. This is the first post in the series.

    The notes may be hard to follow, but feel free to browse them for insights. Especially, check out the “Notes & Quotes” section at the bottom.

    Do you want to read more about manning up? Check out Robert Lewis’s books Raising Modern-Day Knights, Real Family Values, and Rocking the Roles. You’ll be better for it.

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    Man Up Men’s Conference

    Orlando, Florida

    Speaker: Jerry Thorpe
    Topic: The Challenges of Life
    Text: 2 Timothy 2:15
    Date: April 20, 2012

    Outline:

    1. Is the Lord Well-Pleased? (2 Timothy 2:15a)

    You must have a passion for pleasing God.

    2. Is Your Work Well-Done? (2 Timothy 2:15b)

    You must have a passion for excellence.

    Three areas that need a commitment to excellence:

     

    • You must be excellent in your marriage.
    • You must be excellent in your relationship with your children.
    • You must be excellent in your service to God.

     

    3. Is the Word of God Well-Used in Your Life? (2 Timothy 2:15c)

    You must have a passion for the Word of God.

     

    • If you make the Bible part of your life, it will change your life.

     

    Notes & Quotes:

     

    • God is more concerned with what you are than what you look like.
    • “Being obsessed about what other people think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me.” – Craig Groeschel
    • “The three greatest days in a person’s life are the day they were born, the day they were born again, and the day they come to grips with why they were born and why they were born again.” – Howard Hendricks
    • For your kids, love is spelled TIME.

     

    To all of my students (especially the ones who are in high school):

    Please do not water down the English language by cheapening our words of value. Don’t make “love” the equivalent of “like.” it cheapens the real deal.

    Take a look at this cute, thought-provoking video about this idea…
    (And by the way, these guys have a lot of good videos. Check them out!)

    Book Review: Mavericks At Work

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been listening to a leadership book recommended to me called Mavericks At Work by William C. Taylor and Polly Labarre. Listening to this book in the car while i’m driving really maximizes what would otherwise be dead-time for me. Audio books aren’t for everyone, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to college students who need to be able to highlight passages and offer quotes word-for-word, but for me, this works. I just have to keep a notepad handy for thoughts and quotes that I’d like to remember.

    With that in mind, I’d like to offer you my take-aways from Mavericks At Work

    • If you want innovation, hire outside your industry.
    • When you have distinct values, you more easily reject the status quo.
    • When you agitate people and they complain about you, it can actually be a good thing because it creates discussions about you.
    • Never focus on the “competition.” Instead, refocus on the customer.
    • What you think affects how you talk (Use Strategic Vocabulary).
    • if your business went out of business, who would really miss you and why?
    • None of us is as smart as all of us.
    • The smartest guy is not in the room.
    • The best ideas come from the most people.
    • To maximize your effectiveness, promote an atmosphere of participation and collaboration, especially from outside your organization.
    • The open source movement proves that the more smart people you can persuade to work on a problem the more likely it is to be solved.
    • You cannot motivate the best people with money. The best people are motivated by passion.
    • innovation is all about networking.
    • There is always demand for something distinctive.
    • You must be willing to ignore (even offend) those who aren’t integral to your mission.
    • Brand is culture. Culture is brand.
    • Great people want to be surrounded by and challenged by other great people.
    • Great people want to be part of something greater than themselves.
    • Culture is about head, heart, and guts. Head – You have to think it. Heart – You have to believe it. Guts – You have to act it… 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

     

    The book is filled with compelling case studies and sound research. This makes it a little more dry than the leadership book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, the parable entitled Who Moved My Cheese?, but it still has stories and glimpses of interactions between the researchers and business leaders. It is a book in the style of Jim Collins, author of Good To Great. Mavericks At Work is definitely worth the read…or in my case, it’s worth a listen. Check it out for yourself.

    Buy Mavericks At Work Now

    Click the link above to get the book right now through Amazon

    Courageous, The Movie

    A new movie is coming to theaters this weekend from the producers of Facing the Giants & Fireprood.

    It’s called Courageous.

    And, it focuses on a series of events in the lives of four law enforcement officers. These four men face incredible challenges that force them to evaluate their lives and to make decisions about what’s really important.

    Here’s the trailer for the film.

    We showed it on Sunday at my church. Yep, we pitched a movie in church. Pretty cool, huh? And, we even gave away free tickets. You see, we really believe that if we support films like this then more will be made. If we fail to support the few faith-based films that are made, then less will be made. Plus, we actually believe that a film like this can change lives. So, we’re encouraging our whole church to go together on Sunday night (opening weekend). We’re even making the movie event replace our evening service. Great idea, huh!

    For more info on the movie, visit http://courageousthemovie.com.

    Managers & Makers

    In this world, some of us are managers and some of us are makers (I’ll explain this in a minute). And because of this, there is tension when our worlds collide, or more specifically when our schedules collide. We work for the same company, and we share the same office building, but our schedules are different. What it takes to get things done looks different if you are someone who manages or someone who makes. Let me unpack this a bit because chances are you’ve experienced this tension.

    The Manager

    The manager’s typical day looks like a series of one-hour segments (half-hour segments if you’re super-organized). It might look something like this: an hour in the morning tending to emails, the next hour dedicated to preparing for the 11:00am meeting, the next hour actually having the meeting, an hour for a business lunch, an hour on the phone, an hour hearing from your direct reports, and so on. Before you know it, the day is done, and you go home…for another series of one-hour events: dinner with the family, putting the kids to bed, an hour watching or two watching TV. Then, you go to bed because you’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow. If ever an unplanned interruption happens upon his day or if there’s an impromptu meeting that’s called, he loses an hour, but then jumps right back on schedule with no problems. The hour-managed day is how he gets stuff done.

    The Maker

    The maker’s schedule is much harder to describe. It does break down into nice one-hour segments. Instead, the maker works with chunks of time. In the office, he might think, “I’ve got the morning, and I’ve got the afternoon.” Throw a meeting or unplanned interruption in the mix, and he loses the entire chunk of time. That’s because the work that he does requires hours of focused time to complete. He’s a maker: an author, a creator of art, a web designer, a computer programmer, a speech writer, an architect, and so on. You get the idea. And by the way, these guys are also prone to do some pretty crazy things work-wise. They wake up in the middle of the night and write a hundred pages for an upcoming book. They stay up late into the night (or early morning, depending on how you look at it), and write a couple hundred lines of code. They can’t stop when something good is happening. This is how they make stuff.

    The Tension

    The tension should be quite obvious. The managers and the makers have to interact. There are meetings, phone calls, impromptu conversations about necessary project changes. Life happens, and the worlds collide.

    The Conclusion

    The tension will always be there. It just has to be managed (Andy Stanley talks about managing tension). You have to know that it’s there and act accordingly. Be respectful and considerate of the managers and the makers in your life. If your a manager, plan as many of the interactions as you can with the makers in one block of time, freeing up their alternate block of the day, and try not to interrupt them unnecessarily. If your a maker, understand that meetings have to take place, and let everyone know when you “available” time slots are, politely asking people not to disturb the creative process.

    So, what do you think? Have you experienced this tension? I have. And in case you were wondering, I’m a hybrid of both. I live in a managers environment with responsibilities in that area, but I also make a lot of things because of my role at my church. I guess, I have it even worse because I have an inward tension :). But, that’s life, and I enjoy making and managing.

    (I started thinking about this concept two years ago, when I read this article by Paul Graham)