My Annual New Year’s Resolution
Every Christmas break I set goals for myself for the upcoming year. Sometimes they are lofty goals, but most often they are basic goals such as losing some weight, reading a particular book or staying in better contact with friends. I have to admit I don’t always achieve all my goals. Some years have been better than others.
But there is one annual goal that I have set for myself over the past 25 years. It’s also the one goal that I have nearly achieved every year. It’s simply to read the entire Bible through from the beginning to the end. I’ve committed to this goal every year because every time I’ve read through it I’ve been transformed by it. There is no other personal commitment I’ve ever made that has so impacted every facet of my life then this one simple practice – reading the entire Scripture through from front to back.
Now before you’re tempted to congratulate me or think me a super spiritual person please know this – it is an achievable goal for anyone and everyone. I’m not a Bible scholar or a monk, I’m a regular person who has, through the grace of God, been able to make this commitment stick and have benefited from the incredible difference it makes. It requires no more than 15 to 20 minutes a day to achieve. What other daily 20 minute routine (other than some infomercial fitness equipment) can make such a difference in one’s life? So I’m without excuse, I need to do it again in 2011.
Over my next couple of posts I will outline different ways I’ve read the Scriptures through, things I’ve learned and resources I’ve used to help me make this commitment a reality. I’ll also share an additional element I’m adding to my 2011 resolution. My hope and prayer is that these posts will help you with a similar commitment for 2011.
By the way, Merry Christmas!
Coaching in the Big Time
Time out during our last game. “A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” Ara Parasheghian
I’ve just finished my 5th season of helping coach basketball at Northern Michigan Christian School (I also have 1 season of coaching varsity baseball under my belt).This season I was the assistant middle school coach (7th and 8th graders) where my son Jonathan played on the 8th grade team. Let’s just say we all had a “growing season” together meaning that our record doesn’t tell the whole story about all the things we learned. Not only did we learn a lot about basketball but more importantly a lot about life. Some of these lessons weren’t the easiest to learn. But they’re easier learned in middle school basketball than later in life when the stakes are higher.And it’s these life lessons that have driven me to spend so much time in the gym, on the bench and in the locker room working with young men, especially my own sons, and using the great teachable moments that sports provide to help them move from being boys to becoming Christian men.
Jonathan #12 running the offense. Chasing After My Wife on a Snowy Morning!
Numbers can say many things about people. Their age, net worth, zip code and the number of Facebook friends all provide a glimpse into who a person is and what they are all about. Here are a few numbers that tell you a bit about the woman I’m privileged to be married to.
26 years of incredible marriage we have had together.
4 great kids whom she has nurtured so well as a mom.
6 years of being cancer free.
And most importantly on a recent morning –
-6° F, and a
2 mile run she shamed me into taking with her on this same morning.
Not only did she drag me out but she set the pace and had me chasing her for the entire 2 miles. You have to love and admire a woman who will not only challenge that kind of weather but looks great in doing it.
She has heart, she has determination and she has resilience – all of which her numbers reflect and among the many reasons I love her so much.
“It’s Not a Camp it’s a Life Changing Experience”
Indiana TSTer’s welcoming campers to SpringHill
“It’s not camp it’s a life changing experience.”
These are the words of Tori Nishida, mother of Joel, one of our TST campers this past summer. Bill Dinsmore (our VP and Director of our Indiana overnight camp), his wife Jo Ann, Hank and Tori Nishida and I had dinner together this week in Indianapolis. It was encouraging to hear Hank and Tori tell us about Joel Nishida’s SpringHill experience.Here are some of the other comments the Nishida’s shared with us about the impact Christ made on Joel’s life while at SpringHill:
“He came back and realized it’s not about him but about others.’
“He loves contact sports like Lacrosse yet this experience tenderized his heart”
“Built real community where the kids he served with are still staying in touch and encouraging each other.”
“He received a Styrofoam cup as part of his character award – the ‘Peter Award’ for being rock solid. He still has it displayed in his room. The words his counselor said about and to him were so affirming and impactful. It’s a reminder of how powerful words are.”
I love hearing summer camp stories especially when it’s winter outside and summer camp seems far off. It reminds me of how impactful an encounter with Jesus Christ is for a young person and how blessed we are at SpringHill to be a part of such encounters.
By the way, the first quote, it pretty much sums up the SpringHill mission and Tori could articulate it, not because she memorized it, but because she has seen the reality of it in her son’s life.
Photos of SpringHill after the Blizzard
I walked to my office today, as I do whenever I can, and was able to see the chilling beauty of our Michigan camp property after a winter storm. For those of you who normally experience SpringHill in the summer here are some photos of what camp looks like in the winter.
New Frontier’s ropes course in -10° F wind chill
New Frontier’s amphitheater in hibernation.
Founder’s House – a cozy place for a cold winter day.
SpringHill Barn and Site area.
Copper Country Entrance
Copper Country craft house closed for the season.
Little different from Summer Camp Opening Days
Our Site staff had camp up with power when our office staff arrived today.
Olson Auditorium just a few weeks away from 1000’s of campers attending Winter Retreats
The New Frontier’s climbing wall, it isn’t
Mount Everest but it would still be a cold climb.
Surprised by the Dawn
This morning, along with most people in Michigan, I awoke to a winter wonderland. Many inches of heavy snow had fallen through the night and now covered the world. The beauty was spectacular. But for those of us who were up before the dawn we were able to see this incredible scene slowly unfold before our eyes.
Every morning that I experience an incredible sunrise or the surprise of new fallen snow I’m reminded of the faithfulness of Christ. Night always turns to dawn and with dawn comes the hope and anticipation of all that a new day brings. It seems that any good idea or moment of inspiration I’ve ever had has occurred during these moments as the dawn has appeared.
So for me, to see the day arrive as I pray and read the Scriptures, is a deep spiritual, life renewing experience. As much as I appreciate a romantic sun set, it’s the dawn that stirs my soul and sets the course for the day before me.
Sounds of the Season
Summer time brings the sounds of SpringHill Camps to the porch of our home where I can sit and listen to camp fire songs, kids racing down the zipline and the weekly crud war.
Winter brings a whole new set of SpringHill sounds to our home. Though I don’t sit on the deck during these winter months I do love to be outside taking a walk, going for a run or just standing for a few minutes in the evening looking at the stars.
During these winter moments I hear the SpringHill sound of the season – the hum of snow making equipment covering the tubing/snowboarding hill with snow. This happens nearly 24/7 until our hill has the right base.
Then in January the humming sound’s replaced with the laughter and screams of kids racing down the hill. We expect at least 10,000 people will tube or snow board on the SpringHIll snow hill this winter including most of the over 9000 campers and their leaders attending one of our 12 Winter Retreats.
As I listened to those snow makers on my early morning run today I began to think of the snow maker hum as the prelude to an even greater sound – 1000’s of kids experiencing SpringHill this winter and more importantly experiencing Jesus Christ in a life changing way.
Vulnerability and Transparency
Vulnerability and transparency are both valued but different qualities
Vulnerability means to open oneself up to potential harm. So I recommend a trusting relationship as the best place for vulnerability. When vulnerability is part of a trusting relationship it will build more trust. This is why vulnerability is essential in interpersonal relationships.
It’s also why we should not display vulnerability outside of a trusting relationship – consider what the University of Michigan head football coach, Rich Rodriguez, has endured over the past two weeks when he was vulnerable in the presence of the media he obviously does not have a trusting relationship with.
For all of vulnerability’s excellent attributes it doesn’t serve organizations nearly as well because, by their nature, organizations are public. Since it’s impossible to have a trusting relationship with all of the public displaying public vulnerability puts an organization at a high degree risk.
So being vulnerable, no matter how good it is for individuals in trusting relationships, it’s not good for organizations or public figures because you cannot have a trusting relationship with everyone.
Transparency on the other hand is the better road taken by both public individuals and organizations. Transparency is different in that it doesn’t require lowering the defenses as vulnerability does. Yet transparency lets “the light in” so others can see what’s really there. It’s being honest and forthright without being vulnerable and thus open to harm.
As a leader I believe strongly that for public people and organizations, such as SpringHill, transparency is a mandate. Transparency builds trust with the public without putting the organization at high risk of harm.
My Favorite Nutcracker Dancer
Watching my daughter Christina dance is one of the great experiences I have as a dad. She is a ballerina who loves to perform and it’s obvious when you see her on stage.
This weekend her dance company performed the classic Christmas ballet the Nutcracker. She and all the other dancers were great. It was truly an incredible show especially in light of the fact that all but a few of the dancers are students still learning their art. The staff at Dance Arts Academy manages the show with a high level of professionalism giving these young dancers a taste of what it’s like to be a part of a professional ballet.
And of course, as beautiful as all the dancers were, I have to admit when Christina was on the stage dancing I really didn’t notice them. My eyes became glued to Christina. She is just beautiful and can dance and spin and fill the stage in a way that makes her dad proud.
Christina as the “lead Spanish” (photo by Betsy Carr)
Changing the World – A Perspective
As I’m reading Andy Crouch’s “Culture Making – Recovering Our Creative Calling” I came across a quote that is instructive about won’t lead to long-term positive change in our culture.
Crouch says “So hope in a future revolution, or revival, to solve the problems of our contemporary culture is usually misplaced. And such a hope makes us especially vulnerable to fashion, mistaking shifts in the wind for changes in the climate. Fads sweep across the cultural landscape and believers invest outsized portions of energy and commitment in furthering the fad, mistaking it for real change. The mass media, which are largely driven by fashion, can amplify the effect of a fad – for weeks, everyone is humming the number one song, the band is on Saturday Night Live and talking with Leno, the video is in heavy rotation. If the song or the band has Christian affinities, websites will spring up overnight celebrating a new victory for the gospel in the culture. The short – term effects may be startling. But the long – term effects are negligible” p. 59
As I read and re – read these words I once again committed myself not to fashion but to doing the long and hard work, on behalf of Christ and by His grace, that it will take to make deep and lasting impact both on the lives of individual people and our culture in general.
