Cooley Lake

This morning me and some guys from church went hiking at Cooley Lake, Missouri. Ryan works for the state conservation department so gave some good insight on tree names and ecology.

Quote of the Day

"When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully, upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us." -Alexander Graham Bell

The Fred Factor

The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn

In The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn describes a postal carrier whose name is Fred. When Sanborn moved to the Denver area and purchased a home, his mail man took the time to introduce himself, welcome Mark to the neighborhood, and get to know a bit about him. Because of Sanborn's extensive travel schedule, he was out of town a fair amount. Fred said he'd be sure to hold mail if it would begin overflowing the mailbox so that it wasn't apparent to potential thieves that he wasn't home. Once when Sanborn got back from a trip, he found his welcome mat not in its customary spot in front of the door but over to the side of the porch covering a package along with a note from Fred. Fred placed it there to help conceal it from the public eye to provide further security to the home. In addition to this, Fred always took an interest in what was going on with Sanborn's life as well as many other customers along the route. He embodied what Sanborn described as an exceptional postal carrier.

Fred took what was a seemingly routine and potentially monotonous job and took great care to provide outstanding service to his "customers" who came to consider him more of a friend than a post man. He had no great resources at his disposal other than pieces of mail and the relationship he formed with the people on his route. Fred became an outstanding representative for the US postal service.

Sanborn goes on to describe other examples of "Freds" that he's encountered and their approach to customer service. You have probably encountered Freds in your life as well. I can think of several flight attendants in traveling who provided this type of excellent flight experience whether through a cheerful disposition, the inclusion of humor in the generic flight instructions, or going out of their way to make sure you were completely comfortable.

Another book which describes this concept with different terminology is Lunchmeat and Life Lessons by Mary Lucas. She terms this the "comeback sauce." In other words, when working with customers, give them that extra touch that keeps them coming back due to the exceptional service they receive.

While I think Sanborn's encouragement for people to go above and beyond in their career is good, it is not natural for people to do this out of their own nature. Many people are selfish and yes some may go out of their way to help others and provide a lending hand but by and large many are primarily interested in looking out for number 1. I think when coupled with faith in Christ, there is a deeper rooted motivation and desire to do things like this. If left to our own devices, though, this may be done on a more limited basis.

It would have been nice if we could have followed Fred throughout the book in each of the principles explained. We first saw Fred at the beginning and then Fred the actual man was not really in the picture until the last chapter.

Both the Fred Factor and the comeback sauce principle are excellent to keep in mind when working with clients. Thinking of ways to provide added value to clients will keep them coming back again and again.

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The Red Letters

There is love in the red letters
There is truth in the red letters
There is hope for the hopeless
Peace and forgiveness
There is life in the red letters
In the red letters

I really like the DC Talk song "Red Letters." (You can hear a bit in the player on the right) A few weeks back I spent some time reading exclusively the red letters from the Bible. For clarification's sake, many copies of the Bible display all passages where Jesus is speaking in red letters. It can make the flow slightly less smooth but is very neat to get in the mentality of the words of Christ.

One passage that I like comes from John 15:4-11 NASB "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

When we abide in Christ by reading and memorizing His words, it helps us to begin thinking more like Him and ultimately living a joy filled life. There is all kinds of good stuff in the red letters. Spend some time there next time you're in the Word.

SWAT Team

If you ever decide to go postal and go up against the SWAT team, don't. You will lose.

Tuesday night, I got to play cops and robbers with the Kansas City SWAT team. They do training exercises and I got to participate by role playing the bad guy. I got a pistol with simulation bullets that had paint in them rather than lead. (this helps in maintaining the general health of the participants) The SWAT team had varying weapons including pistols and assault rifles, along with a defensive shield. We were all wearing bullet proof vests along with helmets to further assist in protective gear.

The scenario simulated was that someone had gone on a rampage and was holed up and negotiations had been unsuccessful. I hid in an apartment on a floor of an abandoned apartment complex. The SWAT team then cleared the adjacent apartment to simulate what they would do in a real scenario to prevent errant bullets from striking innocent people.

They then entered the one I was in and cleared the first part of the apartment before finding me. I was hidden in a closet and we had a verbal altercation but I ended up giving up that time. The 2nd scenario, I hid in a different apartment and was behind a kitchen counter. When they found me and said show me your hands, I did but came up firing with the SIM gun. They proceeded to pepper me with rounds of their own. My gun ended up jamming and I resorted to wrestling/grappling with them. Of course 6 well trained SWAT officers put me down in short order.

We then role played a couple hostage scenarios where I held one of them and used him as a body shield. I didn't think there would be any way they could hit just me and not the hostage but they popped me a couple times on the side of the head.

The whole adrenaline, accelerated heart rate, antsiness of waiting for them to find you, and tense muscles gave a good perspective on how a real scenario might go down. It was very cool all around. They are very good at what they do.

Photo by Granada America

When March Went Mad

When March Went Mad by Seth Davis

Seth Davis has written an in depth account of the breakout 1979 NCAA championship basketball game centered around the 2 superstars: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The book follows the very different but parallel stories of Bird and Johnson throughout their childhood into high school their high profile recruitment, college careers, the climactic championship game, and then a small portion of their NBA careers.

Johnson was the gregarious extrovert, Bird the quiet and at times reclusive introvert but both were outstanding on the basketball court. Johnson grew up in Lansing, Michigan the same city as Michigan State while bird grew up in French Lick, Indiana. Bird's sometimes rough around the edges persona resulted in the moniker "The Hick From French Lick." Johnson earned his nick name "Magic" from a newspaper reporter during high school.

While Michigan State was a relatively major basketball program, Indiana State, where Bird played, did not compete with the same caliber programs and was comparatively little known as a basketball power. Each of these athletes led their teams to success throughout their college sports careers. Academically, Bird actually completed his degree in education prior to going to the NBA while Johnson left school after his sophomore season to join the pros.

The book is not limited to Bird and Johnson but also delves into the players' college coaches Jud Heathcoate for Johnson and Bob King then Bill Hodges for Bird. Discussion of the coaches' styles is explored with Heathcoate being extremely intense and at times inflammatory and Hodges with a focused but quieter and at times shy style.

Interestingly, Bird was recruited by Bobby Knight at Indiana University first but after enrolling there became overwhelmed by the college atmosphere and dropped out before eventually enrolling in Indiana State.

Prior to reading the book, I did not realize that Johnson played point guard during college. He is 6 foot 8 so was a very tall point guard.

There is also discussion in the book of how NBC helped promote and make the NCAA tournament a big time sporting event. Prior to that time, there was some interest in collegiate basketball but nothing on the scale of what it is today. ESPN was just an idea at that point and broke into its infancy the following year. CBS was also a player that Davis discussed in the television market.

Davis, performed a great deal of research and interviews in writing the book and the resulting detail is excellent. It is both a biographical account of the 2 main characters as well as the season leading up to the landmark game and the supporting cast of coaches, teammates, and media. The thesis is how this championship game helped launch college basketball into the big time and though more time could be devoted to this discussion Davis is convincing in presenting it, at a minimum, as a component in the resulting success and popularity of the sport.

If you found this review helpful please let Amazon know at this link.

Speechless

Speechless by Steven Curtis Chapman and Scotty Smith

I really enjoyed Speechless.In this book, Steven Curtis Chapman and his pastor Scotty Smith walk us through the disruptive grace of God. Each chapter starts with the lyrics to one of Chapman's songs which helps to set the tone for the discussion. Chapman and Smith then delve into how God has moved in their personal lives and take us through their personal stories. This also provides more background as to where the songs came from and why they were written. Being a long time fan of Chapman's music, I was interested to learn more about his journey from childhood, to budding musician, to well known Christian artist.

Many times people in the ministry feel they must put on an act and their happy smiley face as if all is well with the world. Ministers have many of the same hurts and hangups as the average person. Both Chapman and Smith are honest about the need to let down the hair and be real at times. God worked in their lives to take them in different directions than they may have imagined. By disrupting their pre-conceived lives, God poured His grace into them and allowed them to experience Him in deeper and more meaningful ways.

I read the book a chapter at a time rather than going straight through it. While the book is not so deep that multiple chapters at a time are too difficult to take in, I felt that reading it over a period of time allowed more of the message to sink in. This book is an excellent encouragement to anyone in being real with God, especially anyone in the ministry.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know here.

Cayman Islands

Last week, I went to the Cayman Islands for both work and play. While there I ran or walked on the beach at least once every day. The hotel was right next to 7 Mile Beach which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in the world. I had hoped to go to Stingray City to swim with stingrays but they did not go out on a trip due to weather that day.

Instead, I got to swim with some dophins which was a very cool experience. One of them pulled me while I held on to her dorsal fins then also pushed me from behind while I held on to a kick board. They are very powerful and I would estimate we went around 15 mph through the water.

I also went to a turtle farm where they raise turtles both for food as well as to release back into the wild. Since the 1980s they said they had released around 31,000 turtles into the wild. They also had some Riddley Kemp turtles which are one of the most endangered types in the world. When you pick the sea turtles up, they flap around trying to get away but if you rub under their neck they calm down. They had turtles all the way from about 5 months old to around 15 years old in tanks varying by age.

Also at the turtle farm, there was another section which had a tropical bird aviary as well as some iguanas both on display and roaming the park. They had a blue iguana which is indigenous to the island and is also endangered.

A unique spot I visited is called Hell. It is a limestone formation out in a field with scant vegetation, thus the name. They have a gift shop there and a guy running around in a devil costume saying "welcome to Hell." It's pretty funny. Interestingly, the Cayman Islands has a great deal of Christian influence and there was a church right down the street from it. I was reminded of the great C.T. Studd quote. "Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell." See below for a great juxtaposition picture of this.

The Cayman Islands are a British Territory but they govern themselves so I got a new passport stamp. They use their own currency which is tied to the US Dollar and equates to 1.25 US dollars per Caymanian dollar. There are actually more companies based in the Cayman Islands than there are residents with around 48,000 residents to 55,000 companies. This is based on the favorable tax treatment since they do not have any income tax. The main way that the government makes money is through tourism and fees charged for a company to set up business there. Each day there were tons of tourists who would come to shore from the cruise ships.

Being a British Territory, they also drive on the left side of the road so that was a bit of an adjustment for me. After about a day, I mostly had the hang of it. However, when I got back to my car at the airport, I had to mentally switch gears to reorient myself to the right side of the road.

If you got outside George Town, the main shopping district, the island has more of a small town feel to it. Going here during hurricane season is not recommended due to the Cayman Islands having more hurricane strikes than anywhere else in the world.

When it's not hurricane season, the weather is great. When I left Kansas City it was 24 degrees and upon arrival in the Caymans it was around 80 so that was a welcome change.


7 Mile Beach




Sunset

Table at restaurant where we ate right at the water's edge. Very nice restaurant

Iguana

Swimming with a dolphin

I decided not to swim with this fella

Blue igauna

Parrot



Iguana

Kemp Riddley turtle one of the most endangered in the world

Caiman (similar to an alligator but smaller)


Holding a baby sea turtle


Chickens, they roam the island and show up in random places

Waves that were crashing against the rocks






Palm tree

Hell, Grand Cayman Island



This seems like the perfect quote for this picture. "Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell." -- C.T. Studd

More chickens/rooster

100 Pushups and 200 Crunches

I found these 2 sites that provide a plan which will enable you to do 100 pushups consecutively and 200 crunches(situps). The plan runs for 6 weeks so I've decided to try it out. We here at The Wisdom of Dre try to maintain fairly good conditioning as it is but believe in goal setting as an effective way to stay motivated.

At the beginning of the program, you're supposed to perform a fitness test to bench mark where you are at. I did this in the afternoon after having lifted weights in the morning but my starting point is Pushups: 40, Crunches: 90. As a point of clarification, situps can strain the back and neck so crunches are the recommended abdominal exercise.

If you would also be interested in embarking on this journey with us, we'd welcome fellow travelers along the path to muscular definition.



HundredPushups.com


200 Situps.com

Royals Fan Fest

On Saturday, I took some pictures for the Star at the Kansas City Royals Fan Fest. There were probably a few thousand people over the course of the weekend. They had skills test like batting cages, pitching speed, pop fly drills, and base running. They also had a hall of fame section which had the World Series trophy as well as some other memorabilia. Both current and former players were there signing autographs. Another highlight was player interviews conducted by fans.

Coco Crisp
David DeJesus
Catching free memorabilia thrown from the stage
World Series trophy
Playing Simon Says
John Buck
Pitching Speed test
Batting practice

For more pictures please see this Community Faces link.

Generous Living

Generous Living by Ron Blue

In Generous Living, Ron Blue gives great Biblically based fundamentals on managing your money and resources. The overarching theme is being generous with your resources, which includes more than just your material finances. This could also incorporate talents and abilities as well as time. By gaining the perspective that everything is God's and we are His stewards of our possessions we bring into better focus how we manage it and the importance of seeking His counsel when making decisions.

This also helps to change the "me/mine" mentality and loosen one’s grasp rather than holding on greedily to the assets under management. When we realize that God can easily give or take away and that we are simply His managers, we no longer worry about holding tightly to "our stuff." This perspective makes it much easier to lend someone your car or volunteer your time or even give your money. Since God is the ultimate CEO calling the shots, if He sees fit to use "our" money, time, or resources, we should give with a glad and willing heart.

In addition to providing insight into maintaining a generous mindset, Mr. Blue also provides excellent practical advice on topics such as defining financial and giving goals and working towards them, creating a budget, strategic giving (meaning research organizations and individuals you give to and expect accountability to their stated mission and how they use the resources rather than giving blindly), estate planning and how to transfer wealth, whether large or small, to heirs and charitable organizations.

While the book was written 11+ years ago and some of the commentary could benefit from updating based on world and market events that have occurred since that time, it contains timeless principles which will apply long into the future.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link.

C-O-O-O-L-L-L-D-D-D-D

I've decided there are varying types of cold in Kansas City. Cool, Chilly, Cold, Frosty Cold, Snowy Cold, Icey Cold, Hurry-and-warm-up-car-it's-freezing-Cold, Bitterly Cold, and WOW-I've-got-icicles-in-my-beard-after-walking-42-seconds-to-the-car-Cold. There is something that seems very un-"cool" about this. And yes that is a - sign in front of the 4.

Noise Canceling Headphones Rock! Quietly Of Course

For Christmas, I received Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones and have been pleased with them thus far. In the time that I've had them, I've tried them out at work, on a plane, as a passenger in the car, and at home. The noise canceling functionality works fairly well. By noise canceling, this does not imply that all outside noise will be blocked out but rather that ambient noise like a heating/cooling system, refrigerator, airplane engine, road noise, noisy neighbors, and co-workers background conversations will be substantially reduced. You can still hear if someone speaks to you but wouldn't really want to conduct a conversation with them on.

Turning on the noise canceling functionality makes a huge difference when listening to music. It gives you the feel that you're actually in the recording studio with the musicians. Be careful to turn the volume down on your computer/stereo/mp3 player prior to turning on the noise canceling capabilities. With my old headphones (non-noise canceling) I normally listened to music on my computer at a Windows volume setting around 18 to 20. With the noise canceling turned on, I set the volume to 3 to 5 with the same perceived volume.

The sound quality of the headphones is also quiet good and you feel as though you're hearing exactly what the sound engineer and music producer intended. I was surprised at how some songs came into better "focus" when using these headphones. With the noise canceling turned on, it helps the little things come through much more clearly and you'll hear things you didn't know were present before. Using these headphones is much like going to the optometrist for an adjustment to your glasses/contacts. Once you have the new prescription, things seem clearer, sharper, and in focus.

When using the headphones over a long period of time, I did notice that my ears got a bit warm but not to the point of being overly uncomfortable. Exercising with these probably will not occur based on not wanting to bathe them in sweat. I'm also not certain how well they would remain stationary when moving around during a workout.

If you're looking for a top quality set of headphones with noise canceling capabilities and are willing to pay a decent amount of money but not excessive, these headphones are a good option.

If this review was helpful, feel free to let Amazon know at this link.

Don't Laugh It's Paid For

A few months ago, I saw a car in the parking lot with this very humorous bumper sticker. It's a great reminder that you're value as a person is not wrapped up in a car in addition to being just plain smart financially. It reminds me of the intro to Dave Ramsey's radio show. "...where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice."

Oh, That I Might Live

This post comes courtesy of my friend Ben McBee. It offers some great insight into the effects of sin.

Oh, That I Might Live

That deadening quality of sin gets you every time. Every time numbing the soul just a little further until you’re left with the gaping wound of stoicism. Only, you have no idea. People see the hole and warn, “You should do something about that!” To no avail, it seems as though vision has gone with feeling.

Til one day.

One brief moment…

You look onto your body in some flash of clarity and see that you’re hurt, badly. You don’t remember it being this bad. Just a paper cut of sorts… now what has it become? You wonder how you ever functioned with such a debilitating injury. Why have you not done something about it?

So. In this brief moment, this clarity, there is a choice to be made. As you look upon yourself you have to decide what you will do about this damaging problem. Before you snap back to the comatose state – what will you do? Address it or push it aside - one or the other must be done.

If addressed, if taken care of, a wound can heal. Yes, there will be scars. Yes, it will hurt. It can be a long process and you may even have to remove whole limbs. Is it worth it?

Maybe not?

Leave it alone. Avoid the pain, pretend it’s not really there. The wound remains infected. Infection spreads throughout the body, damaging everything in its path. A once small wound will now be the death of you.

And death, it would seem, can have some very lasting effects.

Vision for 2009

I really like the chorus to the Hillsong United song "Came To My Rescue."

"In my life be lifted high
In our world be lifted high
In our love be lifted high"

During 2009 I want God to be lifted high in my life. In whatever I do, I want to lift Him higher and give Him more glory.

I also want to be intentional in the way I spend my time. Time can have a tendency to slip away and by being intentional in how I choose to spend it, I feel like I'll be more effective whether that be in work, play, faith, or other areas.