MERRY CHRISTMAS

I had a friend ask me the other day who has two young daughters, what Christmas is like when the girls get older. I told him it is still pretty much the same minus all the little pieces to the toys and doll clothes!!!

I love Christmas, but my wife and daughters love it even more!! Not because of the gifts, but because of the huge vault of valued memories they carry. I do as well; they just get so excited about it all!!!!! OK, so do I!

We wish you a very wonderful and blessed Christmas!!!

Makes You Stop And Calibrate

This whole Lakewood Police deal has really made me stop and consider how blessed we are to have police men and women who really have a tough job. I know of two men in our church who are helping to fill the gap at Lakewood PD. These guys are from different PD's in the area.

A huge thank you to Brian and Greg and to all of the other officers assisting Lakewood. And a huge thank you to all police personnel for their daily service to our communities!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I was able to share a short Thanksgiving talk in our city-wide Thanksgiving service last night.
Here's the salient points. The not so salient other stuff consisted of a really corny Tday poem (people laughed) and a few ramblings and bramblings.

We took our thoughts from Colossians 2:6-7 and focused on the last few words of verse 7.

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (The Message)

LIVING IN THANKSGIVING


1. Thankfulness is necessary to overcome disappointment in your life.


2. Thankfulness is essential to overcoming resentment in your life.


Somebody said: “Thankfulness produces more positive emotional energy than any other attitude in life.”

3. Thankfulness brings contentment into your life.

Thankfulness will never replace your disappointments and losses in life, but it will heal your spirit.

The Big Hunt

I should have done this awhile back, but failed to do so! Now I am taking care of business!

My Father and two of my Brothers went on an elk hunting trip to Colorado earlier this month. We had a ball.

Cabin at 9500'. Lots of snow. God rally got busy with the scenery in that part of the world. Tons of fun!

God was totally benevolent and let me snag one! Here's some pics!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Chrsitmas is almost here!

I can't believe how fast time flies. When you are young, you never think of getting old. Time moves on at a brisk clip and before you know it there is more of life in the rear view mirror than in front of you!

Two options: we can stare in the rear view mirror, or we can cast or vision straight ahead and be excited and motivated by what lies ahead.

There are a number of movies out right now that deal with the end of things; 2012, Collapse, The Road. Time is moving us down the timeline, duh! How we deal with the added pressures of our cities, country, and world, need not be filled with gloom and doom and steady gazes in the rear view mirror.

Rather, fix your eyes on today and be a pusher of Hope. Spread it liberally. Pass it out freely. Don't hold back! Let 'er rip!!! People need Hope. God has more than we could ever contain and He's passing it out for free! You should check Him out!

MTC!
Mark

Websites...

Just checked out a couple of sites and I had to wonder....."what lies beneath!"

Ever get the vibe after surfing somewhere that the website actually is a phony front for the bizarre reality of what is actually happening?

I better check ours!!!!!

NEVER SAY NEVER

It had not happened since 1977. Not in 32 years had their been such a lopsided statistic. But there it was!

Regardless of the situation and how bleak it might look, never say never. Don't quit. Don't give in! Dig deep and go straight ahead. Find the will to win!

Last night, the Indianapolis Colts only had the football for just over 14 minutes for an entire game! Statistically they were getting killed.

They dug deep. Peyton Manning willed his teamates to victory. Some people just refuse to accept the notion that odds and statistics are to be accepted as reality. The true champions are those that look at them and brush them off and shoot right past them!

That's what the Colts did last night.

WHAT A GREAT WIN YESTERDAY!

The Washington Huskies pulled off a HUGE 'W' yesterday and I found this picture.

Hilarious!!

WHAT TO DO WITH IT?

The mighty men of Troy roll into Husky Stadium this Saturday!

I remember when the Huskies were the King of the Pac! Now, the gold and deep red rule the roost!!

So what do you do when you face such an opposing foe? What do you do when on paper you are outmanned, your previous record stinks, and you just don't have the personal pedigrees of the 'other guys'? What do you do when you feel the first tweaky twinge of fear?

Fear is a knee buckler. Fear is a perspective grabber. Fear takes your breath away, immobilizes you, makes your mind numb and your brain freeze!

Fear robs you of your joy, rips off your dignity, squanders your opportunity and just plain makes you a loser.

What to do with it?

Look at it squarely. Don't negotiate with it. Move past it. And don't recall it.

Don't let the fear of the past or fear of the future cause you to miss your opportunity TODAY!

Just like the Huskies are not fearing USC, you had better not let your fear of what you are facing rip you off from the moment that is your's for the taking!

HUSKIES, SEAHAWKS, ICHIRO...

What a great weekend!

The Huskies finally get a 'W'!

The Seahawks rumble, bumble, fumble, stumble, mumble, and humble the St. Looie Rams!

Iciro get's his 200th hit in a single season.....again!!!! I think he's up to nine times in his career.

Sunday service was awesome and exciting!!

We all want to pile up some wins in our lives. The Huskies were 0-12 last year; the Hawks were 2-and whatever; Ichiro did his usual hitting but the team stunk!

Individual wins are great, but the team win is so much more enjoyable. Why? It is the culmination of many individuals working hard while encouraging each other to rise their best level. Besides, celebrating the a bunch of people is more fun than just celebrating by yourself!

The key to successive wins is successive and tireless effort. Training. Attention to detail. Focusing upon preparing the mind and heart to put in the work. Sustained endurance. And so much more.

Here's the great clincher: those teams and those individuals that define greatness/success are those who have a short memory after a loss.

It All Looked So Promising At The Start...

There we were at the start of the race. Full of hope and dreams of victory! We were confident
in our team. Confident in our individual abilities. Confident in our game plan: crush the opposition!!!

Then someone hollered GO!

We were a solid one step out of first place at the turn and suddenly it all went south.

We made the turn and inexplicably our hopes went from fame fortune and riches, to horror, agony, and disbelief. Our strap of cloth that tied our dreams and legs together broke in one single stride and there we were disqualified from the race!

The sad part of this story is that even with four legs untethered, we still ended up in last place!!!!

The moral of the story: none!!! We wanted to win!!!!!

IT'S ON!!!

I really look forward to this time of year. It's not that could care less about all the other times of the year, but I just really love now!

Do you have certain times of the year that you like a tad bit more than others?

For me I love that it's football season. The Seahawks play tonight! Oregon and Boise St. are going to mix it up on the blue turf! Tahoma High School has their first game this Friday night (and my awesome daughter will be in the front row of the cheer squad!). The other huge one for me is that the hunting season gets going during this time of year.

Just as the earth has it's seasons, we have our seasons. I am working more diligently at 'soaking up the seasons of life.' Drinking them in. Enjoying them. Less frenetic and more observatory. Because when IT'S ON, I fully understand that like any other season, it will end. So I'm just wanting to drink it all to the full while IT'S ON!!!!

ONEAONE

When Shelby was a toddler, we had a game we called 'higher like a flyer'. I would lay on my back and bounce her up and down in the air with her lying on my legs. She would laugh and giggle and when I would get tired and stop, she would scream 'One a one! One a one!!'



Each September our kids get to go back to school...one a one! They get to do it again...one a one!



I can't believe my baby is a Senior this year. Makes me wish just a bit that the 'one a one' days were still here!

Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!

A funny thing happened to me today!

We don't have A/C in our house and the A/C in my car is busted. I really haven't been anywhere like the mall or a movie since this really warm weather has hit. The school we
have our Sunday services in is just old enough to not have A/C either.

After my run this morning I popped into the Post Office. As I opened the door and stepped in I was greeted by a friendly blast of icy cold air!! I laughed out loud!!!

Oh, that's right! I almost forgot how good A/C feels!!!!

I'm not complaining about the heat at all! I love it!!

This AWESOME SUMMER WEATHER is making me think I really like A/C!

Stingy or Generous

I was struck today with the thought of how, during the course of any day, we can either be a generous person or a stingy person.

This does not always deal with money. Could be time, abilities, attitude, care, etc.

I believe that it all starts with a person's heart. If they are stingy at their core, they will be stingy with everything.

If they are generous at their core, they will be as generous as they can be.

What do you think?

MAKE TODAY COUNT!

Mark

SMARTS

I get a 'question of the day' from THE COLLEG BOARD...an SAT help for students and parents of students gettin gready to graduate from high school and enter the wide world of college.

Just let me say this, based upon the questions I receive each day and my inability to even understand the math question, my chances of passing the SAT are slimmer than a Kryspy Creme donut surviving a two hour weight watchers seminar!

Being smart doesn't make you smart.

Think about the people in your life that you once thought were 'too bright', but years later, you look back and see the resume of their life and you notice, what they lacked in book knowledge they made up for in smarts!

WHAT A GIFT!

Ever think about the weather as a gift? I am!

No air conditioning in the house, 90 degrees...I'm lovin' it!!

MTC

Mark

KUDOS ALL AROUND

Ever wonder where customer service went? Whatever happened to the concept that the consumer is King? Nordstrom has had it right for years. I just found another one!

I talked with Dick who is the supervisor of a great department in a state run agency today. I thanked him for his excellent people and their thoroughness, patience, and kindness. The agency is in another state than the one I live in. As I talked with him, he informed me that from
his 30 years of working in sales, he has applied the same principles and expectations to his staff
at this state agency. He is very clear with his people, he explained, "If you can't meet these expectations in dealing with our customers, then you won't work here."

It's no wonder other states have inquired of him 'how he does it'. Treating people as you would like to be treated never gets old.

Great job Dick and a huge thank you to all of your team!

MAKE TODAY COUNT!

Mark

Professor Garbage A. Disposal

Are you an inquisitive person? Do you like learning new things?

For an example: some people think they can't fix something because they are afraid they will make the problem worse. Others dive in, figure it out, and learn from the experience and have that much more confidence for the next situation.

My garbage disposal taught me some things the other evening.

It became plugged/clogged/wouldn't drain. It ran fine, but the water would not drain and the combination of broccoli stems, cabbage, and some other vegetable ends (don't have a clue what they were...my wife said they are healthy!), made a real seal inside the disposal and it would not drain!

I tried digging the stuff out. I tried the little miniature plunger. Nothing worked.

Over my dead carcass was I going to pay somebody to unplug my disposal.

After only a few minutes and a real mess in the bucket, the problem was solved.

I'm just glad my wife wasn't home. I don't think she would have let me take stuff apart like I did.

I learned from the professor that night that:
1. Garbage disposals look mean, but they really aren't that bad.
2. I now understand fully why they put plastic piping in certain places in the house.
3. Don't ever quit my day job!

MTC!
Mark

SHINE UP YOUR VISION

Over time, things that once excited you can become dull....if you don't take the time to put the shine back into them.

Have you ever received any awards or trophies? For the first week or month you look at them often and keep them clear of dust.

As time goes by, they become less significant and maybe even a nuisance.

Vision should never be like that.

Even when you get discouraged and feel like you will never see vision realized, take it off the shelf, polish and shine it up, put it into a prominent place where you can see it often, and keep moving towards it!

Don't treat your vision like your old awards, shine it up!!!! Make it sparkle. Clean it up and make it something that people notice!

Make Today Count!
Mark

DAVE RAMSEY'S TOWN HALL FOR HOPE

Next Thursday, April 23 @ 7pm, we will be broadcasting Dave Ramsey's Town Hall For Hope. It is a nationwide live webcast....well, live for Eastcoasters and kinda, sorta live for us Leftcoasters.

Maple Valley Presbyterian has graciously offered all of us to come to their place! Their seating is ample, but come early and get a good seat.

Hope you can make the Hope webcast!!

MTC!
Mark

Great Event

The Town Hall For Hope Live Webcast with Dave Ramsey is going to be a great event.

We've had a huge response from our community and so we have moved it from the school to the Presbyterian church for greater seating capacity. The local pastors have jumped on board and it is really awesome to have a group of guys who love God and are into Kingdom building things and not worried about who gets the credit except for God.

If you are not attending, go to www.townhallforhope.com and sign up today!!

We've added the live broadcast at 5pm to accomodate the crowd. The taped broadcast will be aired at 7pm.

Make Today Count!

Mark

Necessary Maintenance

We might even call it preventative maintenance, but I needed to do some necessary maintenance to my lawn as I had neglected it somewhat last spring.

So, yesterday six of us neighbors rented a lawn aerator.

One of my neighbors' little 5 year old daughter said about the machine, "That is a better lawn moler than my daddy has. But why does it make poop on the grass?" What a riot!!!!!

As I'm fighting this aerator over my front and back lawn areas I was thinking about the necessary maintenance that is required in life. We need to see a dentist once in a while, the doctor, take certain medications, get some exercise, etc.

What about the necessary maintenance in your family? Hanging out together, talking with each other, communicating how we really love and appreciate each other, and expressing verbally how wonderfully talented and funny and gifted they are.

What about the necessary maintenance in you own spiritual life? Daily spiritual disciplines like prayer and reading the Bible, taking care of your connection with God, working on loving others like Jesus said we should.

We spend quite a bit of time, effort, energy, money, and provide necessary maintenance on our yards. We should apply the same to our families, ourselves and our relationship with God.

Just random thoughts walking behind an aerator!

Make Today Count!
Mark

LOVER OR HATER?

I was talking with a buddy of mine in our old neighborhood in Cali today. Granted, it
was of the texting variety, but none the less (am I supposed to put hyphens in them thar werds???) it was a good chat. He accused me of hating.

Just because I was totally bummed that he was doing 74 degrees and I was doing 37 and snow, doesn't mean that I'm a hater!!!! He was just giving me a bad time.

Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you ever been doing the right things only to be called out because someone who wasn't even around said that you weren't?

Times like that make it hard to love.

You get the looks. You get the emails. You get the texts. Hang in there. Be a lover! Don't be a hater!

MTC!
Mark

IT MUST BE SUNDAY BECAUSE...

IT SNOWED AGAIN!!!!!!!

PERCEPTION VS REALITY

My friend sent me this yesterday. It really cracked me up!

'What I perceive my brain to be.....'

'What my brain really is!'

MAKE TODAY COUNT!!!

Mark

ALL THE LITTLE THINGS

You've heard people say about someone else: "He/she does all the little things really well."

I truly believe that life is comprised of little things and not just one or two big events.

More often than not, people focus on the one big deal, the one big break, the one big experience.

Persisting in and doing well with all the little things in life, will lead to a great big wonderful life over time!

Keep doing the little things well in your world....today!

Mark

GLOBAL WARMING?

Ummmm........

BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER

I don't know if you are following the World Baseball Classic or not, but a very interesting storyline caught my attention.

Have you ever been in a situation where on the surface, people would say that you couldn't do this or that? Maybe they thought you were too small, not talented enough, didn't have enough experience?

It's like David vs Goliath; USA Olympic Men's Hockey beating Russian for the gold medal, Nate Robinson dunking over Dwight Howard or the Netherlands beating and ousting the Dominican Republic from the World Baseball Classic.

A group of nobodies handles one the best in the world. Go figure.

As the old saying goes, "It's not the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog." And oh, yeah, it doesn't hurt to believe that you can do that which everyone else says you can't!

Go for it!!

MAKE TODAY COUNT!

Mark

IT'S GORGEOUS, BUT....

What a spectacular day! It all started last night!

Now, that sounds absurd!!!

But it did!

We were coming home from K's bball game and as we drove up our hill, the moon was coming over the mountains. It was HUGEMONGOUS!!!! I mean it was massive.

The news even covered it and because of the clear and cold weather, the moon stood out extra special!

As beautiful as that was and as gorgeous today is, I was reminded of my human nature that is never satisfied! I was griping to myself how cold it was!!

Never enough. Never satisfied. Never content. The bible talks about how to get it and it's not in the form of a stimulus plan either!

What a great day and I'm not cold anymore!!

MAKE TODAY COUNT!

Mark

STICKING TOGETHER

I was talking with a neighbor who lives down the street from me. I was asking him how his job was going and he was asking how the people in the church were doing. He then asked if I knew of any of our neighbors who might be affected by the current economic situation. He then made this comment: 'We just gotta stick together!'

Profound.

Refreshing.

How true.

Sticking together will get you and me through. Sticking together provides so many wonderful qualities and they vary based upon the situation.

One of the largest pieces to this idea of sticking together is SELFLESSNESS. A bit tough to learn as an American. Looking out for other's needs. Making sure the parts of the whole are taken care of. It is a deeper more insightful existence.

Let's stick together! We can make a difference in each other's lives!!

MAKE TODAY COUNT!

Mark

F/X

Have you checked out some of the headlines from around the world lately? I was looking at some of them today and I wondered what effects they had on people.

Do people get freaked out by the enormous amount of turmoil globally?
Do people feel insulated here in America and feel that the issues in the Middle East, Russia, Iran are 'a world away'?
Could people really care less about it all?

Just curious.

WHOA!

Just talked on the phone yesterday to a former boss of mine. Great man. Great guy.
Great pastor. He had a pacemaker put in.

What is crazy is that Rick has always been healthy and a great athlete and in shape! He's even run a few marathons. So a pacemaker would be the last thing I would come up with as far as a health related issue.

His heart rate would go from 40 to 200 and he would pass out. Thankfully, he will be fine and continue on with a very successful and full life.

Makes me appreciate my health!!

MAKE TODAY COUNT!
Mark

TAKEN FOR GRANTED

Have you thought about your left knee lately?

Has it been good to you?

Does it cause you pain?

Do you like it better or worse than your right knee?

Do you even have any knees?

My dad just had his left knee replaced last week. The progress he is making is fantastic!

As I was visiting him in the hospital a few days after surgery I realized how often I take my good health for granted. I'm trying not to do that this week. I am very grateful for the good health that I have.

Be nice to your knees and the rest of your body! Stay in good health!!!

Make Today Count!
Mark

gimmeeabreak

I saw two plays of the SuperBowl yesterday. My team did not win!!

Boohoo!!!

Now, what I did hear today on the radio was that people were a bit irrated at some of the calls the Steelers received/didn't get....depending on your view of the World Champs!

I didn't see any of them so I can't comment on the actual calls/non-calls, but this I can tell you: it doesn't matter whether you are a Seahawk fan or a Cardinal fan, when you lose and place the majority of the blame on the refs....gimmmeeeeeabreak!!!!!!

I'm not a Steeler fan and it was a total drag when the Hawks lost three years ago, but all the same, you can't gripe about the calls. Winners find ways to win.

Be a winner not a whiner!!! Nuffsaid.

(I'm talkin' to myself on this one!)

SUPREMELY AWESOME!

Last Sunday we dedicated six people who stepped up to the plate and said "I'm gonna follow Christ and live my life as He wants me to."

Supremely awesome!

THE BIG THREE

I was on the phone the other day with a good friend of mine. He's lived a very interesting
life and still does. The man he is today is so incredibly different than who he used to be.
Pretty much a 180 on a dead end 360!

He told me had been mulling over just three words lately: OBEDIENCE. FAITHFULNESS. PERSISTENCE.

At one time in his life, he would have scoffed at those thoughts outside of the 'family' business he was in.

Now, it is what keeps him on a course that is connected with God.

I've been contemplating how good my OFP FACTOR is lately. How's your's?

Do what's right. Stay committed to the right things. Never give up.

MAKE TODAY COUNT!
Mark

New Friends

I've made some new friends this past week. Sounds like I'm in pre-school!!!

Friends are critical to our existence. Friends make life much more enjoyable and interesting.

I thank God for my new friends! Andy, Erick, Tom, Dave, Charles, Guy, Steve.

Thanks for being a part of my life!

WOULD YOU RATHER?

Have....

Snow and cold or not so cold and rain?

35 College football Bowl Games or 32 College Football Teams in a Playoff?

Have the Sonics in Seattle and only winning 19 games or In OKC and winning 50 games? (not gonna happen!!!)

Would you rather have a house or a home?

Would you rather have money or love?

Would you rather acceptance and appreciation or power?

Would you rather have coffee or tea? ( I can't believe that is even a question!!!!)