From the Inside Out

The pictures are pouring in now!  I’ve uploaded more photos into my gallery (courtesy of Mark Henry).  The new pics include cast shots and tech week rehearsals.  Check ‘em out.

As we bask in the glow of Pirates, we embark on the next journey this week.  Brainstorming with the writers for SNL begins on Thursday.  Wish us luck!

There are some days that stand out from the others, and today was one of those. I am incredibly proud to be part of the great group of believers at Abundant Life Church. Not only was the worship service this morning outstanding, but it was followed by a “fantabulous” night of fellowship at The Main Event in Plano.

As I walked into the building this evening, I felt at home immediately. This is my family, an incredible group of people that I am blessed to have in my life. Each person is uniquely different, yet we all share the same faith, the same love for God and the same love for each other. Are we all perfect? No, but therein lies the beauty of it. We love each other in spite of our differences — and sometimes because of them.

I had a blast tonight — talking with friends, sharing hopes and fears, laughing, playing laser tag and my favorite…extremely loud cheering! After the stress of the last few weeks (both at work and with PoP), it was nice to let go and enjoy myself without having to worry about a list of “todos” waiting for me at home.

Thanks ALC! You guys are amazing. I love each and every one of you.

Our Italian Greyhounds don’t take to the water naturally. Sure, if you throw them into it, their instincts will take over. They will swim, but they don’t like it.  It’s almost impossible to get them to jump in voluntarily, yet today we tried.

The dogs like to stand on the tanning platform in our pool. It only has a few inches of water so they don’t mind it.  For them, it’s like wading in the creek.  They refuse to leave this platform, though, no matter how much they would like to join us in the pool. 

Gary and I were playing in the middle of the pool today, and Joss wanted to join us. We tried to coax him to step off the platform and swim to us. He wanted it so badly, but he was frightened to take the first step. He would stretch one paw into the deep water, and then pull it back. We could have pushed him a bit to get him started, but it was important for him to take that first step. He needs to know that he can do it on his own. Of course, we would never let anything bad happen to him. The problem is he didn’t know that.

As we stood watching him decide whether to take the leap of faith, I was struck with a thought. Is this how we are with God sometimes?

He stands a few steps in front of us with outstretched arms. He wants us to trust Him, yet we are afraid. We don’t always realize that He’s in control. If we start to sink, He’ll catch us.  There’s no need to be afraid. He’s just waiting for us to take that first step, the leap of faith.  He’ll take care of the rest.

After a week in San Jose, I’m happy to report that I’m back in Dallas again.  Tonight we went to Studio Movie Grill to celebrate my return home.  We caught the 7:40 showing of Wanted.  It’s not a movie for everyone.  I call it a combo between the TV show, Chuck, and The Matrix.  I think it’s more appealing to men than women, but with that said, I did enjoy it.  The action was good (violent, but good), the plot was unique, and the main characters were well developed.  I’m not necessarily a fan of Angelina Jolie, but she does tend to play strong female roles, and I like that about her.  This movie is no exception.  Plus, as Gary points out, “She even bleeds cool.”  If you enjoyed The Matrix, you will probably like this movie too.

Now for something completely different.  If you are a fan of Pirates of Patmos, check out the new pictures from Saturday’s show.  Thanks Derrick!

Today was a good reminder of why I don’t like public school systems.  Don’t get me wrong.  I know it’s a necessary evil, and I’m a huge proponent of formal education.  The problem is that classroom-based education forces everyone to move along at the pace of the dumbest person in the class.  Then there’s the flip side.  Classes can easily be hijacked by self-proclaimed experts who think everyone in the class wants to benefit from their expertise.  It drives me crazy when they won’t shut up and let the instructor move forward.

I guess that’s why I prefer self-paced education above classroom education.  I mentally check out when the pace is too slow and when I feel like I’m learning nothing.  It’s painstaking.  Self-paced education enables you to move quickly – unhindered, uninterrupted. 

Luckily, my company has a wide variety of training options that are self-paced (VoDs, AoDs, eLearning, IPTV, podcasts, etc).  Certain topics, however, are taught by classroom instructors (primarily management, employee development and leadership courses).  And that’s where I found myself this week.  To be eligible for a special leadership program my executive management team wants me to attend, I had to take a couple of prerequisite courses.  Most of the time, I enjoy these courses, but this week was rough.  It was a brutal reminder of how annoying the education system can be at times.  I’m so glad I’m done with that mess (my sympathies go out to the high school and college students still in the midst). 

At times, I toy with the idea of going back and getting my MBA, but after today, I have no desire to put myself back into “the system.”  Maybe one day they’ll have a self-paced TelePresence way to get your MBA.  Now that would be cool.