Archive for November, 2005

Have you ever met someone who is always cheery, never complains, and always has something positive to say? My dad has always been that person. His contagious sense of humor always lifts the occasion. I owe a lot to my dad. His positive attitude has lifted me out of tough situations numerous times. He has always been there for me.

My dad has always enjoyed success in life. He never had much monetarily and he had a normal job as an artist and photographer. He amazed everyone by working until he was 75 and retiring then only because of a company policy. My dad has spent his later years busier than ever. Leaving smiles wherever he goes.

His true success in life is people. He understood the joy in lifting other people up, making them smile, and leaving them changed in a positive way.

Yesterday my dad was lifted up.

God reached down from heaven and took him home at age 94.

I miss my dad more than any words can express.

I lost my best friend.

This weekend I’m in a humorous speech contest at the District 12 Convention for Toastmasters. I wanted to bring my dad so he could see me compete and to make other people laugh.

I’ll be in that contest, sharing the greatest gift my dad ever gave me. His wonderful sense of humor.

And I’m sure my dad will be watching from Heaven.

Dad… this speech is for you!

When I think of the title of “Giver” I think immediately of Mother Teresa or other helpful person. Someone who has given up the comforts of a normal life to help others. There are many “Givers” in our society, many whom you would never know. The person working behind the counter in a soup kitchen, the volunteer for the Salvation Army, or even the Sunday School teacher taking care of your children. People giving of their time and resources to help others have a better life.

A career of a giver is one of sacrifice. The jobs are usually low paying and may require the person to raise their own support. The hours are long and may be in a tough location. The giver may have to put themselves in harms way working in war torn areas or gang infested neighborhoods.

Why would anyone want to do this?

Why would someone sacrifice a great career to work in these conditions?

The answer is simple: The rewards are great!

To see the eyes of a child open as they learn to read. The wonder of seeing a homeless person transformed into a working member of society. To give a hot meal to a needy family on a cold morning. These are the benefits of being a giver.

The rewards that a paycheck could never bring.

To bring about change instead of sitting mindlessly in a cubicle watching the time tick away.

To become a giver you just need to give a couple of things…

A little bit of your time and a few dollars.

Let me tell you an experience of mine…

There he was standing at the gate. He didn’t want to come in. He was too bad. Too dirty and filthy from months on the street. He just wanted something to eat. He felt ashamed to come through the gate. We found out that his name was Hal. He was wearing a filty old pinstripe suite covered with the grime from sleeping on the street night after night. You could smell him 20 feet away.

He just wanted something to eat… and then be on his way.

Tom insisted that he come in. “You gotta come in if you want to eat,” Tom said in a rather stern voice. Hal looked at him and started to turn away. Tom put a hand on his shoulder and just said, “Come on in” and opened the gate.

Tom led him in and motioned for him to sit in the barber’s chair. “Let’s get you cleaned up for dinner,” he said as he put a barber’s apron around his neck. It wasn’t long before Hal’s hair was washed and cut and the old scraggly grey beard was shaved into oblivion.

Suddenly there was a real person behind all the hair. Once Tom was done he led Hal over to the shower room where he was able to wash away years of neglect with some hot soap and water. His nails were cut and he was given a whole new wardrobe of clothes. When Hal came out of that room and sat down for dinner he was a new creation.

I didn’t recognize him. He looked like a business man. He looked like he ran the place. I’ve never seen such a big smile as the one on Hal’s face that day. Hal enjoyed a wonderful meal of turkey, dressing and all the fixings.

He was changed on the outside… now the hard part would begin.

The change on the inside would take much longer. But Tom was a giver and he wasn’t giving up easy on Hal.

Tom worked with the homeless everyday at the shelter. My wife and I were just there on Thanksgiving to lend a hand. We had the privilege of sitting at dinner with many of the homeless on that sunny Thanksgiving and hear their stories. Stories of walk-abouts, lost jobs and sickness. But that day they all had hope. They weren’t hungry anymore. They were given new clothes and a new chance.

Some would go back to the streets. Some would go back to old trailers or substandard housing. But Hal made a decision that day. He wanted more than a meal. He wanted a change.

And Tom helped him step by step to regain his dignity. He helped Hal get some training, a place to stay and after a few weeks a real job.

It was a tough road for Hal, especially when Tom would knock on his apartment door every morning at 6:30 am. But the hours and compassion paid off. Hal now works for the same shelter that changed his life. Giving faith, hope and love to others standing at that same gate.

When people knock, Hal is there to answer…

Years of education, teaching and tenure. This is the life of an academic. Academia has an extensive advantage over professional practice: it grants one time to think and to write. Many students may be aware of only the instruction and assessment role of an academic. A second aspect of the occupation is research and scholarship. There is an old slogan “publish or perish” which to a large extent still holds true in this day and age.

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A third part of the appointment is administration. Every institution and faculty in a university has a large administration working behind the scenes which may require time and participation. The fourth element of the job is community service. This is a wide spectrum of activities which encompasses paid consultancies, speaking at conferences, and participating in continuing learning activities for adherents of the profession.

A significant disadvantage is that the salary of an academic may in some cases be substantially lower than what may be attainable in private practice.

A profession as an academic, like any occupation, has its particular stresses and problems. Today it is not the modest option that some in the past may have regarded it to be. But it is also a job of excellent opportunity, if you are of an attitude to treat it as such.

Tomorrow… The Giver

I read with some interest Steve Pavlina’s article the other day entitled the “Million Dollar Experiment.” In the article Steve talks about putting an intention out to the universe and have it radiate back to bring a million dollars into his life. He explains…

I’ve decided to try a new experiment to see if I can attract a large sum of money into my life. I arbitrarily opted for $1 million, since that’s a significant enough sum that I’ll definitely notice it. So basically I’m going to attempt to become a millionaire. And most of all, I’m going to attempt it by using the intention-manifestation model to make it more fun and challenging.

This experiment uses one simple statement that is stated to the universe as a whole. He asks the question…

Is it possible to make $1 million using the intention-manifestation model, simply by willing it to occur and then letting the universe handle the details and being guided by intuition and synchronicity? I’m very curious to find out.

And here is his statement to the universe.

So here’s my intention: In an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy and positive way, in its own perfect time, for the highest good of all, I intend $1 million to come into my life.

As well meaning as Steve is I would have to say in my opinion that intention alone is not enough. I have intended for many things to happen in my life. I have intended to win the lottery. I have intended for my football team to win. I have intended to travel around the world.

These are all great intentions, but none of them has come true. Maybe I haven’t expressed my intention loud enough to the universe? Maybe I need to shout them louder. I definitely have shouted at the TV screen as the Lotto numbers are called.

Good intentions…

I do have an alternative theory though. I have found that people who have a passionate purpose in their lives have done amazing things. People that see a need and go after it. People who run a race with a destination in mind. People who can see the finish line a long ways off, and through pain and sweat determine that they will finish. People who ask God for help through intense prayer. These people have often found success and many times in ways they never could have imagined.

I asked myself… “What am I passionate about?”

I spent a long time thinking and praying about this question the other day. I asked God what was really important. This last Sunday he revealed something to me. He brought it to me in the form of a song at the end of Church. The words are from a band called Switchfoot..

yesterday is a wrinkle in your forehead,
yesterday is a promise that you’ve broken,
don’t close your eyes, don’t close your eyes.

this is your life and today is all you’ve got
yeah, and today is all you’ll ever have,
don’t close your eyes, don’t close your eyes

this is your life, are you who you want to be?
this is your life, are you who you want to be?

this is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be,
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose,

yesterday is a kid in the corner
yesterday is dead and over

this is your life, are you who you want to be?

Am I who I want to be? I asked the question after church. And Les Fountain, a 6 year old little boy answered the question for me. You see Les is a Cancer survivor. He was diagnosed in April, two years ago. I happened to be in a Subway restaurant when his parents walked in with him on their way to Children’s Hospital in San Diego on that fateful day in 2003.

They didn’t know what was wrong, but Les was favoring one arm. We heard the next day that he was diagnosed with high risk medulloblastoma, a cancer in his brain and spinal cord. He had a tumor removed from his brain in late April 2003 and there were tumors in his spine that were inoperable. In May 2003, he began radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The radiation treatments concluded on July 11, 2003. The chemotherapy treatments ended June 9, 2004.

Les is a Trooper!

Through all of the painful treatments this little boy always had a smile. He was always kind and he always brought cheer to anyone he came in contact with. His parents are troopers too. They fought the battle day and night, never complaining. Through tears and heartbreak they made it through day after day. Les is on the road to recovery.

Les came up and shook my hand on Sunday. I knew it was time to give him something back.

The Fountains are long time members of our church, Lambs Fellowship. Les and our Church have something in common, they both almost died two years ago.

Lamb’s Fellowship had lost it’s pastor and attendance had dropped from hundreds to a little over 50. I remember some of those dark days in 2003. Asking questions…

Why God?

Why was this happening?

Les always had a smile even when it hurt real bad.

One morning after lots of prayer we had an interesting guest at Church. It was a fellow named John Hansen and he was going to be our new pastor. He brought his wife and young son and made a home in Murrieta where he bacame our new leader.

John Hansen has a Passionate Purpose.

Through passion and vision and lots of prayer, John has lead us back from the edge of death to a vibrant and growing church. This April we started a building program with the help of John Maxwell’s organization Injoy. The congregation raised over a million dollars to build a new facility. Everything was on track until a few weeks ago.

Prices of building materials had gone up since April… all of a sudden we were $600,000 dollars short. The congregation made up most of the difference, but now we face a difference of $85,000 dollars.

What am I passionate about?

Seeing that Les has a new Sunday School room. That he has a church to grow up in and take on the world. That as he grows up he can reach out to the kids across the street at the High School and invite them to play basketball and have a positive place to spend the afternoons after school.

I’m also passionate about prayer.

Would you pray for Les and our Church Building program?

I’ve also told our Pastor that any revenues that come from ads or donations on this site for the next two years will go towards a Sunday School room for Les and the rest of our Youth.

This one’s for Les!

The turn of a wrench, the testing of a circuit, the flushing of a toilet, that is the hands on life of a technician. Whether it is a plumber, auto technician, or a computer repairman the one thing they all have in common is a job working with their hands. The satisfaction of hands on work and the out of the office working environment are two of the big perks of this kind of job.

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Many people find themselves in this type of career. While most will never get rich, many make a resonable living. The perils of this type of job include working on commission, heavy manual labor, and the possibility of working without benefits. Being part of a trade group or union can provide substantial benefits. Many of these careers are highly sought after and may provide lifetime employment.

The workers that seem to move to the top are the best trained so trade schools can play an important part in the early years of ones career. If you like working with your hands and hate working in an office this may be the career for you..

Tomorrow… The Academic

The flash of cameras, their names in lights, the chase of the paparazzi, this is the lure of the Hollywood star. The attraction of this Southern California town is amazing. The career of the Hollywood Star has long hours and lots of Travel. The long days can be grueling.

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Many people lust after a Hollywood Career. They come to Southern California to find a tarnished tinsle town that has lost it’s sparkle. Instead of fame and glory they find careers washing dishes, acting in B movie shorts, and other dead end jobs. It is the lure of “being discovered” that keeps them going.

The people that make it in this town have persistence, luck, more persistence, and more luck. For the few that make it, life can be glamorous. For the rest it’s all about being discovered… someday.

Tomorrow… The Technician