Le Tour De France!

Lance Armstrong does it again! With his sixth winning race Lance is the undisputed champion of cycling! Yet another yellow jersey and amazingly one of my favorite female musicians Sheryl Crow is his girlfriend. Admittedly - I am a mtn biker and not a roadie but I was impressed by the sport once again this year.

Road cycling in many ways is more dangerous than the so-called extreme sport mountain biking. The speeds these guys hit is outrageous and the climbs simply insane! Their average climb speed is faster than the average speed of a cross country mtn bike race. The race itself is complex with all sorts of different competitions happening within the actual 3,395km 20 Stage race including king of the mountain and a points winner established by who crosses first over certain checkpoints during a stage. The history of the race is also fascinating!

Here's a quote from Lance - “I believe that the man who works the hardest is the man who deserves to win.” Very true and it is well known that Lance prepares for his races harder than anyone else. I'm hoping to pick up one the biographies on him sometime. Hopefully he inspires Sheryl Crow to keep making amazing cds too!

Well Lance brought some excitement to our house this Sunday, as it will be a while till my Packers take up my Sunday Football afternoons!

G

Life of David

I'm in the midst of researching for a new course I'll be teaching this fall focused on the Psalms. Obviously one of the keys to unlocking the poetry of the psalms is to get to know the poet. The life of David is one of contrast between human lows and spiritual highs.

What I love about David is that he is real - he is human. David sins but finds redemption. David struggles but finds peace in the wilderness - God's creation. He wrestles with God, questioning the suffering of the world, the loss of friends to war & murder... He demands justice in a world where the scales seemed to have tipped in the favor of all who rise against him. Yet David is a man of God.

David is human like you and I. Yet He rises from his simple skin, his human condition into someone worthy of the love of God. Despite being a murderer, an adulterer, a sinner - David the man finds grace & forgiveness! He recognizes that we do not control our world - only God does.

Through praise, through lament - David discovers that God is always there. No matter how great the mountain, how deep the valley, the peace that passes all understanding can be found in the amazing love, the amazing grace of God Almighty!

Selah!

Shiny Happy Teeth...

I don't think I rant often but here's one for ya!

You know the whole dental profession is an odd one...what is it that attracts people to become dental hygenists or dentists? Are they people who just have a thing for teeth? Are they obsessive about cleaning their own teeth? You ask - why my comments on dentistry...well I went for my annual check-up & cleaning.

Admittedly - its been a few too many years since my last visit. And yes - I don't floss enough. I have no valid excuses for not going sooner other than not having a dental plan for awhile and I couldn't make an appointment that fit my schedule... But hey - i finally got an appointment and went back to the chair of torture with a positive attitude and ready for plaque removal!

Maybe I dislike dentistry because I hate the lecture on flossing or the nagging "you need to come in more regularly!" Here's the best one - have you considered pulling out your wisdom teeth? It would make it easier for you to clean your back teeth! I'm not sure why I would get teeth pulled for no other reason than being able to clean my next set of molars better?! Umm - maybe so the dentist can take out his wife for a fancy steak supper!

Well despite the lectures my teeth do feel clean and I am sure glad to not have any teeth pulled or filled or drilled! And I survived my tooth examination without revealing any cavities!

Later,

G

BTW - I have again updated my homepage with new pics! And despite my rant I am enjoying my shiny happy teeth! My apologies to any dental hygenists I may have offended - dentists make enough money that I need to make no apologies to them!

Holidaze!

Wow - it's great to finally unwind and not worry about work. Okay, I admit it - I'm still reading & prepping for my courses but I'm not at the office. I actually am in the process of reading Leonard Sweet's latest take on leadership (from a postmodern perspective) called Summoned To Lead. His take on leadership is that we are neither born or made leaders - we are called by situations?God? into a leadership opportunity.

In other words when it is how we respond when put into situation that demands leadership that determines whether or not we are leaders. He gives the example of Shackleton the famous Antarctic explorer who was in a number of difficult leadership situations - one of them being stranded for 2 years off the coast of Antarctica with his crew. He never lost a person under his command despite numerous perils.

I have always felt that everyone has the capability of being a leader - it is just a matter of taking a step of faith and doing something with the gifts & abilities God has given us. Sweet also says that a vision is something that we listen for and not necessarily see. I likewise has felt that both your mission & vision is not something that you create. It is given to you by God.

Happy Canada Day!

Well the fireworks are done and now I'm back at my desk planning some teambuilding sessions for Red Rock Bible Camp's staff training tomorrow & Saturday. I really enjoy taking people through initiatives that make them think about their role, their leadership skills, their communication skills, etc. I keep learning better ways of debriefing and running the simulations I put them through. I'm trying some new ones again this year - in part, so returning staff have something different and because I simply like trying new ones.

G

BTW - Chelsea really enjoyed the k'bangs, k'pows, & k'pops of the fireworks. Although she preferred being in my arms under a blanket - just seemed to make her a little more secure & warm!