Boating

Picture from this weekend on the Cedar River. The girls like boating, waving at the boys on jet skis, and eating sandwiches.

Insight in Italy

I was in Italy visiting a friend where we stopped to throw (skip) rocks on the river. I ended up walking down a little by myself when I saw a clump of debris (sticks) stuck on the rocks from what seemed to be from receeded water from a previous down pour. Like a boy I wanted to set the sticks free to flow with the river and most of them did just that.

With the exception of a big stick about an inch in diameter and 3-4 feet in length that got stuck between the rocks and now fast moving water. As I watched the stick get mauled between the rock and the fast moving water I had an insight. The sticks resistance change to go where the powerful flow wanted it to go was causing it to take on some serious pain and abuse. If left alone the stick would eventually be broken in half. Attributing that to my life I thought of myself and my God given purpose. For the past ~15 years I have resisted God, His callings, and the changes needed in my life. At that moment I realized that I was no different than the stick....stuck, tired, drowning, alone, and not at peace.

I am no where close to the person that I need to become, but I have learned this summer that who I used to be was unacceptable and therefore I am commited to doing whatever it takes to become the best dad, spouse, leader, and servant of God that I can be.

An Inspiration

When one thinks about being inspired one typically think of adults, but yesterday I was inspired by Vivi. For the past 2 weeks Vivi has been going to swimming lessons and has really been excelling. It is easy to see that swimming is her first passion in life.

I took Vivi to the high school pool last night to practice swimming where the pool is just deep enough that she cannot touch the bottom. That would be enough to keep most kids from jumping in, but not Vivi she just jumps in as far as she can get into the pool. And she will intentionally move 5-8 ft from me so she can do a nice belly flop and swim back to the ledge by herself. And when she is struggling and I am about to help she will shout "dad don't touch me" as her mouth is the only thing above water.

Just imagine what faith and courage it must require to jump into something that you know is literally over your head and that you can't do. That you will literally sink or swim. Imagine being exhausted after jumping in the pool, swimming inefficiently, and climbing out for 1 hour at 100% effort without quitting or wanting to take breaks. Wow! My daughter is a reminder to me what is possible with faith, courage, heart, and persistance. Vivi's gifts to this world are now coming out and I am excited to see her use them to impact others. My challenge is to help Vivi realize her gifts and expand on them.

Attitudes

Jen and I served the church this weekend by helping with some kids games. We probably had 150 kids total. The kids were from K-5th grade and the game was a bean bag toss with 4 targets and about 4-6 different flavors of bean bag sizes and colors. I learned how early our kids can get poor attitudes and bad beliefs. Here were 2 of the most common comments that I heard from our next generation of leaders.

• I can't hit the target with the bean bag.
• I did not get the color bean bag that I wanted.

I responded in the following ways:

• Don't play a victim when you do not like the gifts that God has given you and you prefer the gifts bestowed upon others. Don't envy what your teammate has. Be thankful for your gifts and use them to the best of your abilities.
• You can do anything that you choose to do. The only person that can hold you back is yourself. If you say you cannot do it...you are right...you can't.

Becoming a man

It is strange how time changes and evolves a person. Growing up reading was my (Josh) weakest subject and therefore I did not read (I can go into more about how this paradigm held me back another day). I distinctly remembering after graduating from Iowa State having an attitude that I was done learning (at least from books). What a poor attitude I have at such a young age (2002-2007), but thanks to God for attitudes and people do change with time and I now read almost daily. I am not the same person I was 1 year ago. What is great about this is that Jen reads the same books so we grow and evolve together, and as a result our relationship is getting better every day.

My goal for 2010 was to read 12 books and I have already reached my goal in August. I attibute hunger and passion for learning to the transformations I am making, clarity I now have, and being able to help others. For those that want to change their lives here are some books that I had read in the last year and all have impacted me in a positive way:

• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiosaki
• Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
• Secrets of a Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker
• Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
• As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
• You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
• The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley
• The Contrarians Guide to Leadership by Steven Sample
• The Bible (random books)
• The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
• How We Lead Matters by Marylon Carlson Nelson
• The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles
• Magnificant Obsession by Llyod Douglas
• Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
• Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale
• Tony Robbins PowerTalk! series audiobooks
• Bob Proctor's Six Minutes to Success daily videos

Improving my faith in God, becoming a better spouse, becoming a more loving and present dad, and becoming the best I can has become my obsession in 2010. If you have books that have impacted you in a way that helped you to become a better person please give me your recommendations and how it changed you.

What I have learned from all of this is that you are either getting better or you are getting worse (dying). Which way are you moving?

Feed'n the fish

We went to Manchester last weekend to the feed the trout at the fish hatchery and have a snack. The girls (and daddy) really like feeding the trout in Spearfish, SD. Here are some pictures.

Glider flight

Last weekend Josh, Vivi, and Robin few in gliders.