KEEP IT REAL!

I have an awesome friend in Sacramento. He was always telling me to keep it real. Not that I was prone to doing anything else, but he was talking about doing church.

He was and is right.

It's not that church is not all about keeping it real, but just like anything else, if you lose touch with the culture you live in each day, living up to the title of this blog becomes really tough.

Just because something is available to us doesn't mean we have to do it. Many things are illegal, injurious, and just plain stupid. You don't have to dress like Will Ferrell in his new flick to be hip! In fact, please stay away from the tight bball shorts and too tight for sanity jersey!!!! Likewise you don't have to get lit each weekend to fit in nor do you have to sleep around to feel loved and accepted.

Similarly with the church, it doesn't have to be a place that is heavy handed while talking about love and mercy. Nor does it need to be sissified to the point where biblical truth is muddied and confusing. Keeping it real is dealing with the reality of our days and the turmoil of our times in such a way that brings purpose and meaning into everybody's life.

So, if you are out of date and out of touch, get with the program!! And if you wearing yourself out tyring to be 'all that', well, remember, everybody can tell if you're the real deal or not.

Just keep it real!

MTC!
Mark

WAY 2 FAST

Indulge me for a moment.

For those that have kids still at home, how are you doing with the whole deal of your kids growing up way too fast. Not in the sense of street smart, but just getting older way too fast. I don't know about you, but I really don't like it!

It's not about getting older personally, but rather, I have so loved every stage of their lives, that the thought of them one day being out from my care and everyday involvment, really can bug me sometimes. For example...

Tonight I was playing catch with my second daughter. We were throwing the softball around and a couple came walking by. We said 'Hello' and the wife said, 'I remember when he (referring to her husband) coached our kids' teams.' Yikes!!!!

I know, the next stage of their lives I will totally groove on, but the point I'm trying to make is that our kids grow up so fast and then they will be gone.

So here is the million dollar ?: are we as parents, spending time making memories or will we have too much time when they are gone, wishing we had some to remember?

This much I do know and I've told my daughters: "You will never get rid of me! I will drive your husband nuts!! I will fill your children with sugar and hype them up to high heaven and then your mom and me will go home. But we will be back for breakfast!!!"

Yeah right!

MTC!
Mark

THATCH ON!

I thatched my lawn. By hand. Yes with a hand powered, non-motorized thatch rake. It was good for me. It was good for the lawn.

Here's what blew me away: I pulled out a ridiculous amount of dead grass! The lawn isn't even a year old!!!

As I was raking, I couldn't help but think about my life and trying to identify areas of 'thatch' in my own person.

Interestingly enough, all that remained after the thatching process was the living part of the lawn and this: the soil ready to receive the nutrients it needs from fertilizer and an open path for new growth to spring up.

Life is the same way. Death leads to life. We cut back to promote new growth. Necessary steps are taken to insure that proper growth happens.

I hazard a guess that if each one of us took the time to thatch our own life, we would be amazed at how much non-living stuff we were able to clear out.

MTC! (maketodaycount)
Mark

MISUNDERSTOOD

How do you handle that? You know, when someone misunderstands you. Whenever you place yourself into new situations which involve people, you run the risk, yes risk of being misunderstood.

When you are misunderstood, do you take offense? Do you use it as an opportunity for reflection and if needed, adjustment?

Certainly we do not change who or what we are just because someone or some group might misunderstand who we are or what our motives might be.

Generally, when we are misunderstood, it is good practice for us to stop a moment and do some evaluation.
1. Evaluate what we are doing.
2. Evaluate how we are doing it.
3. Evaluate what are motives are.
4. Evaluate the misunderstandor(s).
5. Evaluate the surroundings.

I'm a highly emotional individual. I can't help that. God wired me that way. I can either be the life of the party, or if I'm not, those that know me, wonder why I'm not 'amped' up. There are times for emotion and then there are times that it is inappropriate. However, knowing who you are and how God made you and wired you helps make certain that you don't misunderstand yourself.

That is key.

Like weeds in the flower bed or lawn, being misunderstood will always be a part of life. Don't get defensive and aloof, just realize that you are different and unique and there is only one of you! Make personal growth your aim and not staying the same.

It's ok to be misunderstood, however it is not ok to be misguided.

Understand who you are and how God hard-wired your personality. Be true to yourself. Be true to God. Modify when necessary and magnify when needed.

MTC!
Mark

LUNAR

Did you see the lunar eclipse the other night? It really was pretty amazing. As I was looking at it through my binoculars, the thought hit me: I can actually see it because the sky is clear! How often is the sky clear in February in Seattle????? Actually this week has been a gorgeous week!
My youngest has been down in Cali and it has been raining. We've had nothing but sunshine. Go figure.

Here is another thing: back to the moon idea, have you ever considered how all these planets and our solar system work? How they, for however long.....million or billions of years, hovered as they are, never crashing into each other? How the earth is titled just so on it's axis so as to not get burned to oblivion by the sun? BTW, talking to my neighbor the other day and he said their global shipping company reported that in their attempts to deliver product to the different locations on the polar ice caps that the ice caps are back to where they were 10 years ago....global warming..??

Seeing the eclipse the other night and thinking about how 'all of nature works' drove me to the thought once again of how amazing God, the creator of it all, really is. He really did give us some pretty amazing digs to enjoy during our time here on terra ferma. I also hear that there is another place that He has made that is past the stars, that is really outasight! I really hope to see you there!

MTC!
Mark

GOOD TMES

What are the things that stand out in your mind, the really good things from when you were a kid, that you look back with fondness and say, "I remember when....."

Last night was one of those nights as my oldest daughter and me, hooked up with my Dad and one of my brothers and his two kids and went to the Huskies bball game. I remember the first game in Hec Ed that my dad took me to. That was WAY before the re-do! The days before Detlef and Welp. Marv jawin' at the refs. Good times!!!!

As I sat there taking it in, Dad goin' for it on the bag of kettle corn (after a fine dinner at Dick's!), not much has changed in, well, many decades. Some superficial things get a face-lift like Hec Ed, but being with Dad at a Husky game and now being with my daughter and beside her were her two cousins and uncle....pretty good stuff. Even with the Pac-10 officials giving us an uphill battle the mighty W rolled to a win. It was a grand time!!!!

I know for me, I will always remember last night's game. Not for the basketball, but for the joy of being with family and knowing that I was having a great time talking about the past and looking to the future with my daughter, just like my Dad did with me over 30 years ago.

During a time-out, late in a very tight game, Dad leans over towards me and with has hand buried in the bag of kettle corn and his mouth working on the last handfull, he hollers: "You gotta love this!!!"

He wasn't talking about the kettle corn or the game.

Good times!

MTC!
Mark

Beau and Bowls

We have a golden retriever named Beau. We bought Beau when he was six weeks old. What a great little puppy. He has grown up and is the nicest dog you can imagine. Funny. Happy. Pouty. Hates getting a bath. Basic dog type stuff.

However......

Beau has issues.

One of them is that he is deathly afraid of his stainless steel water and food bowls.

Won't use them since the move from Cali to WA. Issues.

He is so afraid of the water dish that he won't even use it anymore. Get's a drink from the plastic three foot wide play pool in the back yard!! Eats his food on the ground.

Beau is afraid of the most basic things known to a dog: his food and water bowls!!!

Now, before we get too hard on the dog, let's consider ourselves.....what are we afraid of, what have we stopped using or doing that won't hurt us, but we just plain shy away from them?

Making conversation? Meeting new friends? Going to church? Helping at school? Coaching little kids in rec sports? Getting to know our neighbors? Smiling? Listening?

Just like Beau, he thinks the bowls are not cool, so he prefers to have to wait before he can get a drink outside even though he is thirsty right now. We sometimes miss out on the good that is right in front of us. We shouldn't be afraid of the basic things in life.

Hey, I gotta go let the dog out!!!

MTC! (maketodaycount!)
Mark

THE PRICE TAG

What have you purchased lately that you looked at the price tag and thought, "I don't know, I really don't think I should buy this. It costs too much." Hey, knock it off!!!! I'm not talkin' about getting a tank of gas again!

This whole 'price tag' thing has been rumbling in my head since last evening.

I watched a National Geographic program last night that reconstructed 9/11. It was very stirring.

They interviewed heroes from that day that I had never heard their stories. Recounted the timeline in detail. They had footage and pictures I had not seen ever before. They had audio transcripts from the FAA and other governmental agencies including the FBI that shed light on the turmoil of that day.

At the end of the program, a senior FBI official made a chilling statement: "Sorry to say, but I'm afraid America will need another 9/11 before it understands the reality of terrorist agendas."

BLEW ME AWAY!

It's one thing to casually read that statement. It is indeed another to see the man and hear him say it after watching the horrors of the day recounted in the program.

PRICE TAG.

Cost.

Commitment to succeed.

Everything you have.

All you got.

For another generation.

These comments have nothing to do with the war, but rather what are you and I committed to seeing happen in our lives and our families and others. Do we have what it takes to pay the price for seeing a different day for our kids, our spouse, our neighbors?

Two men stood out in that well documented program last night. Both men were in the Pentagon. Both military officers. Both ushered out of the building after the plane hit. But as they stood safely on the grass watching the building burn, they both could not help themselves, and they rushed in. They saved a number of more lives, pulling them free from debris and getting them outside. As they were ready to rush in again, the firemen would not allow them to re-enter. They were discussing the option of bull rushing the firemen and bowling them over to get back into the building when the outer wall collapsed. The one officer, a hero, said, "I know for a fact, that if we had gone back in that building, we would have died."

Not once did the two men inquire as to what the pirce tag was to rescue people from a burning building. They just did it.

Maybe the best thing to do sometimes is not calculate the cost before we act, but rather calculate what the cost would have been if we didn't do anything.

MTC!
Mark

COMEBACK KID

I read today about Bret Boone, the former Seattle M's second baseman, who is attempting a comeback at age 37.

When I first read it, my initial response was, "Dude! The twenty-somethings are going to run circles around you!"

Then I thought about it. That's always a good approach!

Why not?! Why not try a comeback if he wants to! Maybe he's got one year or two left in the tank. Spot a starter and give him a break. The guy won four gold gloves, so he would certainly be able to show the youngsters a thing or two. The guy could swing the bat! Why not!!!!!

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the whole idea. If he gets back up the the bigs, fine. But the cooler thought is hangin' with the minors and showing them what it takes to make it to the bigs and have a huge career.

Do you have a comeback in you? Do you have some gas left in the tank? Maybe somebody needs a somebody to show them what it takes; how it's done; what 'all that' looks like.

Go for it!! Make a comeback!

MTC!
Mark

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

We hear about it all the time when we go to invest in the stock market. We hear or read about it in the news. We watch close friends and associates do it. We even watch it in our kids.



Risk.



Everybody takes risks.



But at what point, is risk actually risk?



Where is the line that seperates doing something that appears to be risky, but actually doesn't cost you a thing, but might cost the organization quite a bit?



Is it risky to you or is it only risky to a group?



They say there is safety in numbers...but is there risk that is equal to all when something daring is attempted by that group?



Where do you draw the line that dilineates between risk and 'calculated attempt'?



What would you do if....


You had the answer to a complex set of issues, but were not guranteed that you would be listened to? Would you open your mouth?



You had the money to help meet a huge need, and knew that you may never make it up, would you give it?



You posessed the ability as a person, to step up and step into a situation that could help a large group of people, and you would never receive anything for it, would you?



You had the answer to a major issue that messed with our world and you knew that if you presented it, others would take the credit and push you aside, would you offer it?

What would you do?

Risk....

Risk moves people from living normal lives, into living exciting lives.
Risk takes people to places they never thought they could go.
Risk reveals abilities and resources never imagined within the human heart.







MTC!

Mark

RANDOM REFLECTIONS FROM THE PAST 72 HOURS

1. Meeting new people and getting to know them is fantastic!

2. There are quite a few people around us that are very receptive and open to God.

3. There are tons of people very close to us with amazing hurts and hardships.

4. There are many people very near us who are willing to dive in and make a difference and become a hero!

5. Life is better when we link arms to make a difference for others.

6. Living for ourselves gets old. Living to help others never gets old.

MTC!
Mark

HEREZAQWIZ4U

What's your favorite color?

What's your favorite food?

Fav movie?

Fav sport?

Fav animal?

Fav thing to do when you have some spare time?

If you could become one thing, what would that thing be based upon your likes and dislikes?

Are you a happy and up person?

Are you a quiet and introspective person?

Isn't it amazing how each one of us in this race called human, is wired differently and each one of us are totally unique, one of a kind, an authentic creation.

Live life today with a ton of enthusiasm because there is only one of you and the world needs to see YOU and be influenced for the good by YOU and people need to realize what a great person YOU are!!!!

There's only one of YOU, so go for it!!!

MTC!
Mark

BARRICUDAS

What a blast!!

I have the awesome privilege of coaching the world's coolest basketball team.....the BARRICUDAS! Our team consists of 10 girls. We have four sixth graders and six fifth graders (say that 10 times in a row as fast as you can!!!!) The really fun part is that the majority of the girls have never really played any organized basketball before! That is where the 'blast' part comes in! What a trip!!

These girls are so nice and so sweet and they work so hard! I'm totally proud of them! They give it their best effort every time we play. They are getting better each game and their confidence is growing.

Can you remember when you were a kid an you learned a new sport for the very first time? Remember how bizarre it was to try to understand what the coach was talking about and then you had to try to do it? Learning something new is never all that easy.

I'm learning from my team.

I'm learning that these girls are totally precious. They are filled with amazing potential for success. They are filled with optimism for life. They have the ability to love and to accept love. They really do cheer for each other and mean it! They have the most wonderful smiles. I'm learning that making them laugh is far better than ever winning any game. I'm learning that if they can have fun and make new friends, then we will have had a perfect season!

I grew up and still do, love to fish. I just never knew that I would have such a fun time with 10 Barricudas!

MTC!
Mark

Climbing The Mountain

When you climb Everest, you don't do it alone. You climb it with a team. Without a team, it would be impossible to make the ascent happen. You need the Sherpas, the support people, the base team. It takes alot of people with the same focus and desire and commitment.

Ask the NY football Giants.

Talk about a great team effort! That was a superb game; a total team effort. It was thrilling to watch. They knew the mountain they had to climb and determined to make it happen...as a team.

Who's on your team? Do you have the right people in the right spots? Are you consistently working the team to achieve maximum draw from each person's abilities, training, experiences, and strengths?

Your team might consist of 0nly your family; that's totally cool. Grow a great team. Pour into them. Build them. Nurture them. Sustain them. Push them.

Life is a wee bit longer in length than the time spent climbing Everest or getting to the SuperBowl, however, the element of growing a great team should be a life-long pursuit!

Grab the gear....let's go climbin'!

MTC!
Mark

LESSONS FROM A TIGER

Did you see the report this morning? Tiger wins again! Going into today's final round, Tiger Woods was four shots off the lead. He won. Here's the deal: Tiger could play better golf at age 3, than I ever will be able to! However, I'd love to get Tiger on the pearly 88's and see what he could do!

Everybody loves a winner and everybody likes to connect and live vicariously through them. But what get's them to that level? What sustains them and keeps them at the top?

Today the Patriots go for perfection. They are a proven winner. Tiger. Jordan. Gretzky. McEnroe. Ryan. All proven winners.

Sure they have ability and natural talent that supercededs most humans, however, it's what they did with it and how they kept getting better that are the lessons for us to mimick.

I'm sure to a person, they signed up for these areas:
1. Reach your potential through discipline and hard work.
2. Never quit.
3. Mistakes don't break you if you learn from them.
4. Be passionate about what you are doing.

You and I may never become famous or noted for our amazing athletic ability, however, we can become a hero to those closest to us by living by those four principles. Set some goals in your life to be the best mom or dad or brother or sister or boss or employee or pastor or businessman or musician or athlete you can be. Work hard. Don't quit. Learn from your mistakes and get fired up about life and today!

Go for it!

MTC!
Mark