Catching up a bit

Has it really been over a month since I've been here? Yep, seems that way. It's been busy, frantic and an exercise in balancing family, ministry and self. Family has been the main focus for the last, well, 2 months now. Regan will be 2 months old on this Wednesday. She has just started smiling in the last few days. She's like Caleb in the sense that when she smiles her whole face lights up.

So. Getting back to normal. I'm going to be more consistent with this from now on. I'ts important for me to have the chance to write and reflect on what is happening, not only in my life but also in ministry.

The saddest day

The saddest day of your life is not when you sell out. The saddest day of your life is when you sell out and there isn't anyone who wants to buy.
Norman Spinrad

Reflecting on family

Tis weekend we finally bought a stroller for Regan. It's the Mercedes of strollers. Got everything on it that you might want in a stroller. Satellite Radio...you name it.

This afternoon, I took Regan for her first long walk in the stroller and it gave me a chance to reflect on that last 3 weeks. Has it really been only 3 weeks since Regan showed up in our lives? Seems a lot longer. OUr family is now complete. Wife, husband and 2 kids, a boy and a girl.

God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family. Regan and Caleb are wonderful beyond belief. In my dreams, I could not have asked for 2 better kids. Especially Caleb, being almost 4 years old. I love playing with him, chaisng him and playing 'monster', playing sports outside and then watching 'Firefighters', (to those of you born in the 60's, it was also know as 'Emergency!'

Christa is just as fabulous. She takes such great care of the kids that I never have to worry about where the diapers are, if the clothes or pajamas are clean for the kids. Truly great blessings from God.

Perfect description of cooking

Have I mentioned that I'm sort of an amteur chef?

Alex Kapranos, who is the lead singer of the band 'Franz Ferdinand' used to be a prepr cook at a restaurant in Glasgow. When asked about cooking now as a rock star, he said, "When I cook now, it's in that laid-back self-indulgent way that is so therapeutic when you want to clear your head of obnoxious thoughts and savor life instead."

Uh-oh

As I begin to dig deeper into "First Things First', I'm seeing myself more and more as an addict of what is urgent rather than what is important. It's either the clock or the compass and I think that I'm more transfixed by the clock than I am by the compass.

It's an urgency addiction. Well, I'm not over the top on it, but I do tend to have this mindset about doing what is urgent rather than what is important. Covey says, "Daily planning and 'to do' lists essentially keep us focused on prioritizing and doing the urgent. And the more urgency we have in our lives, the less importance we have."

I've got something that is important to do on my list for this week, but it is not 'urgent', therefore I have let it slide for a couple of weeks. Other things have seemed more important at the time.

This is just the beginning of a process for me which will be a great help to me not only in my personal life and job at the bnak, but even more so in ministry.

What I want to try to do next week is the split my 'to do' list into 2 parts; the urgent and the important. Right now I don't have a grid for splitting them up, but I want to try it and see what happens.

First Things First

I've begun reading Stephen Covey's "First Things First", a book which is pretty much summed up by its title. How do we put those things that are and should be most important at the forefront of our lives?

I'm only a few pages into it, but I'm already asking questions about the way I organize my time, or my 'to do' list every week. Normally I make my weeklong 'to do' list on Saturdays and it carries me through 7 days. I usually have 35 or so things on it, ranging from sweeing the house to setting up small group meetings. But on my list currently, all things are given equal weight. They are not prioritized according to importance-they are just all the 'things' I need to do.

I do believe that in the coming weeks there will be a refinement in how I do this list. I don't know what that refinement will look like, but I'm sure it's coming. Stay tuned.

Thinking about summer

It's only the middle of February, but I already find myself thinking about this summer and where we might go in the Sierras for vacation. No big trips this year due to the presence of littlre Regan Grace. But I'm thinkin in July or so that we'd make a trip to Sorensens for a few days and then wander over to Yosemite for a few days. Bear River resort off of Hwy 88 is also a possibility as is Bishop Creek Ranch, which is a bit farther away, but it looks like a pretty incredible place near South Lake off of Hwy 395