Are you looking for one question that will keep you on the path to continuous growth? While there are many questions you may choose to ask yourself, I've found one question that is helpful no matter what you do for a living ... or what relationship you are trying to improve. Ready? Here it is ... "How can I get better at what I do?" When we have a mindset of continual growth -- as opposed to a self-imposed belief that we cannot improve -- we will look for opportunities to improve in every situation we encounter, in every relationship we have. But the key is to be always on the lookout for ways to improve. What you may find is that getting better is incremental rather than monumental. But I'll write more on that later.
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People who have comeback capabilities are the ones who face their failures, learn from their mistakes, and begin moving forward. You see this in sports. No quarterback wins every game. Every quarterback misses a read and throws an interception -- and sometimes it may cost them the game. But the next week will find the good quarterbacks watching film, making notes, and rehearsing how they would do it differently when they face the same situation again. The same is true in healthy marriages (except there may not be as much film to watch). Having a healthy marriage doesn't mean the husband will never say anything stupid; sorry ladies, but it doesn't even reduce the odds. But in a good marriage both partners face up to their mistakes and move on. Winston Churchill once said, "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." To turn…
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In 1981, Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley had open-heart surgery. Here’s what one of his pitchers, Steve McCatty, said about it: "When Charlie Finley had his heart operation it took eight hours. Seven just to find his heart." How hard is it for folks to find your heart? More importantly, how hard is it for God to find your heart?
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My first experience with what would become the Internet was in the early 1990's. My first ISP (Internet service provider) was Net something -- I can't actually remember. I used FIDO net to communicate with other users and didn't have a "graphical" web experience until signing up with AOL in 1992 or 1993. My first modem was a 2400 baud and I can remember the excitement I felt each time I upgraded to "faster" speeds (4800, 9600, 15400!). So, it is with great interest and nostalgia that I pass along this article: "The 10 Founding Fathers of the Internet." The truly geeky and nerdy among us may recognize 7 or 8 of the 10; if you recognize all 10, you're the winner!
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During our July 4th weekend services, we gave the audience the ability to text their vote regarding song selection (our band had learned three special songs and were ready to play whichever one won). Each service had a different winner. We also used a fun pre-service poll to greet people as they arrived. We asked them to vote for their answer to this question: Which would you rather have? George Washington's hair Abraham Lincoln's beard Martin Van Buren's sideburns It was a simple and fun way to engage the crowd, especially the kids. The technology behind text voting is simple and pretty straightforward. Our IT guy created an iPhone app to toggle between the questions on the fly. The results also updated on the big screens immediately. For those who are wondering: More people preferred Martin Van Buren's sideburns over George's hair and Abe's beard.
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