The Last Lecture

Just heard that Randy Pausch passed away. I was only faintly aware of his "The Last Lecture" stuff (I've seen clips on youtube but haven't read the book) but the idea of presenting the lessons you've learned in your life to your kids in that format definitely appealed to me...

A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

Here's more info:

The Last Lecture | Randy Pausch

Colonial Team in Scotland

My wife and oldest son are on a missions trip to Scotland providing a VBS based "kids club" and teaching American football among other activities.

The rest of us miss them tremendously, but we know they are serving the Lord and that makes it bearable.

Colonial Team in Scotland

Sportsmens Devotional

If you're like me the last thing you need is a daily email in your inbox...however if you are currently not part of a regular devotional email loop and you consider yourself a "sportsman", this might be worth checking out:

The Sportsman's Devotional comes to your e-mail each day as soon as you sign up. It is a completely free service and we have no hidden agendas except sharing our hearts and outdoor thoughts with you. They are written by Sportsmen for Sportsman. Our staff pastors carefully scrutinize each devotional after it is submitted by our team for biblical accuracy.

Our ministry is world wide. We have subscribers in every state as well as many countries around the world. Soldiers serving us around the world read our devotionals each day.

We are a group of Sportsman who write the Sportsman’s Devotional each day as a regular part of our personal bible study. Our team is made up of regular guys from various professions ranging from a commercial airline pilot, a warehouse manager, hunting-fishing guides, ministers, to game wardens. We have one thing in common: we love the Lord, His awesome creation and the sporting lifestyle. Each of our team members has outdoors expertise in various fields.

Sportsmens Devotional

He put it into your heart first

Do you think you love your children better than He who made them? Is not your love what it is because He put it into your heart first? Have you not often been cross with them? Sometimes unjust to them? Whence came the returning love that rose from unknown depths in your being, and swept away the anger and the injustice? You did not create that love. Probably you were not good enough to send for it by prayer. But it came. God sent it. He makes you love your children.

-George MacDonald

Things happen when you say No

Good post over on Lifehacker about priorities, etc. This excerpt stood out to me, especially considering the crazy pace of our summer...

One effect of having priorities is how often you have to say no. It's one of the smallest words in the English language, yet many people have trouble saying it. The problem is that if you can't say no, you can't have priorities. The universe is a large place, but your "priority one" list should be very small. That small list means there are thousands of good ideas that must be denied to focus your energy on the ones you've chosen to pursue. If you continually say yes to ideas that do not match your priorities, you are saying yes to failure. If you want to change your priorities, that's one thing, but if you are constantly changing them then they were never priorities at all. You did not think deeply enough about them if, emotionally, they are easy to change every few hours. So a fundamental law is this: if you can't say no, if you can't protect your priorities, you can't make things happen.

For parents the ability to say no is essential to avoid the family becoming over-extended. Likewise, it is an enormous gift to give your children the ability to say no to themselves and others.

Try this. At the next family dinner tell the kids you want them to "tell yourself no at least one time tomorrow" and report back on how it went at the next dinner...you'll be amazed at what they come up with!

Comprehend the Magnitude

I can't remember where I found this article, but I clipped it and keep it around as a reminder of how easy it is to slip into a "treading water" mind set. I do not want to be this man!

I think I've been coming dangerously close to this description in too many areas of my life lately. Here's hoping a little jab will get me out of my rut...and remind me that my "mitigation plan" is to seize the fact that my eternity is as a joint-heir with Christ, and that in the meantime I have His work to do by His Grace for His glory.

Area Man's Life Slipping Away Even As He Reads This

June 23, 1999

GLENDALE, CA—The life of Greg Chelecki continues to slip away from him even as he reads this article, sources close to the 47-year-old insurance claims adjuster confirmed Monday.

Though the range of opportunities available to Chelecki is constantly dwindling, there is reportedly nothing he can do to prevent his existence from slowly marching toward its inevitable conclusion.

"I just thought I'd sit down a couple minutes and see what's in the paper," Chelecki said. "Might as well."

Chelecki's life, which he describes as "okay," is that of an average U.S. suburbanite, populated by a typical assortment of friends and loved ones. Like those of many men his age, the life has featured a few small triumphs, several notable tragedies, a 14-year stretch in a mid-level management position, home ownership, and a sturdy but unspectacular marriage.

Despite its uninspired nature, the life is the only one Chelecki possesses. It is unknown as of press time whether this makes his situation any more or less poignant.

"Greg's life is pretty much the same as that of a lot of guys I know," said Chelecki's neighbor, Howard Lehmann. "He just keeps on keeping on, know what I mean? At least he's enjoying reading that newspaper right now instead of slogging through that big pile of paperwork he's got to get through by the end of the week."

This morning, Chelecki's life continued to pass him by as he showered, ate rye toast, commuted to work in his leased Saturn coupe, and maintained an acceptable level of forced politeness while interacting with his supervisor. The passage of his life did not stop, or even slow, during any of these events.

"I like relaxing after work with the paper. It calms me down a bit. You have to take time for yourself every now and then," said Chelecki, whose remarks brought himself six seconds closer to the end of his existence.

Experts say Chelecki, while aware of the inexorable passage of time, does not comprehend the magnitude of what is happening to him.

"Many people don't truly allow themselves to consider the finite nature of their lives until the end is right in front of them," said Brown University sociologist Geoffrey Gausmann. "Only by distracting themselves with such things as Whopper sandwiches, dirty jokes at the office water cooler, The Drew Carey Show, and newspapers such as the one Chelecki is currently reading can they bear the subconscious knowledge that time is always running out."

Observers say the meaninglessness of Chelecki's life could be somewhat mitigated if he were to engage in more worthwhile pursuits, such as playing tennis, taking a gourmet-cooking class with his wife, or having children. However, analysis of the estimated 430 rich, full lives known to recorded history indicates that even such positive, proactive steps as these would fail to cease, or even slow, Chelecki's second-to-second erosion.

Projections indicate that the steady ebbing of Chelecki's life will most likely end sometime in 2028, when it will finally be halted by his death, a condition which will, in turn, endure until the end of time itself.

Backyard Ballistics

As an alternative to fireworks for The Fourth of July this year, we will be launching our newly constructed combustion potato-cannon (aka Spud Gun).

With the help of our friend Chris, we built it using $40 worth of stuff you can pick up at your local Lowe's hardware. It was quite easy to build, is relatively safe (you are dealing with a controlled explosion here...so safety procedures need to be followed!) , and provides an awesome father/son bonding experience.

If you want to learn more, there is a ton of stuff on the web from people who take it very seriously:

The Spudgun Technology Center

http://dangerouslyfun.com/spud-gun

http://backyard-ballistics.com/