Peeing on the Continental Divide

Last weekend I went skiing at Monarch Mountain with some family and friends, including two of my nephews. One of the lifts we rode took us to the very top of the mountain range. We stood there looking at the trail-map, and someone came up to us and gave us some recommendations on the slopes to take. He then asked the boys, "Do you know what you're standing on? It's the Continental Divide. If you were to pee over here, it would end up in the Atlantic Ocean. But if you were to pee over there, it would end up in the Pacific Ocean. And if you were to pee right here, well, some of it might end up in the Atlantic and some might end up in the Pacific!" He then waved goodbye and was on his way.

Unless you drank A LOT of water that morning, I highly doubt that any amount of pee would be recognizable as such by the time it reached one of the oceans. But the guy was 100% correct. Any water landing on the East side of the Continental Divide ends up in the Atlantic, while any water on the West side ends up in the Pacific....and if you were standing there with a full bladder, you could decide where it was going to go. As the crow flies, it's about 1000 miles to the Pacific Ocean, and about 1700 miles to the Atlantic. Standing on top of the Continental Divide, you can't see either ocean, but that's the final destination nonetheless.

We make decisions like that every day. We can't actually see where that decision will end up, but it will end up there regardless. Sometimes it takes someone else (even a total stranger) to stop by and tell us where a decision might lead. But if that happens, will we listen? Will we make an adjustment? Or will we continue making the choices we want to despite knowing the outcome?

If you were to pick up a cigarette and someone tell you that smoking leads to cancer, would you still smoke? If you were to pick up a can of soda and someone tell you that drinking soda leads to obesity, would you still drink it? If you were about to throw some plastic away and someone tell you that it damages the earth's ecosystem, would you still throw it away?

I understand that you have to trust that the person is telling you the truth, but if you know the information is accurate and the person is trustworthy, why would you ignore it?

What's a 'person'

Last night we watched "Robot and Frank," which I think is a pretty good movie. Rachel thought it was very sad, but we did find ourselves laughing at several parts and had a good discussion afterward.

The basic premise is that an older man (who is fighting dementia) is given a robot to assist him around the house and help improve his health and overall well-being. Frank initially rejects this idea but grows to appreciate the Robot. Early on in their 'relationship,' the Robot tells Frank that it is not a person, it is just hardware and software designed for a specific purpose. But when Frank's kids later refer to the robot as being nothing more than a mechanical slave, Frank responds with, "I need him. He's my friend." At the end of the movie, Frank has to do a factory-reset on the Robot, thereby erasing its memory. The Robot again assures Frank that there is no problem doing so since it is not a person.

But the Robot is a person in Frank's mind! Frank would not have attached himself in the ways he did to the Robot if he really believed it was just hardware and software. And it took the Robot repeatedly assuring and almost even begging Frank to wipe it before Frank finally was willing to do so.

The movie got me wondering 'What makes an entity a person?" I've come to the conclusion that whatever it is, it has to come from either within the entity or be projected onto it from someone else.

"I think therefore I am!" is a philosophical argument that 'personhood' comes from within.

Pro-abortionists believe that fetuses are not people and use arguments that 'personhood' is projected onto them at birth (or at whatever week gestation the particular pro-abortionist draws the line).

Frank obviously projected 'personhood' onto the Robot, but the Robot was the first to admit that it was not a person.

So what is it? Help me out here!

A Valentine's Day Date

Seven years ago today, Rachel and I went on a Valentine's Day date.

I know what you must be thinking, "Valentine's Day was yesterday!" That's very true. And you might be interested to know that we would have gone out that night instead, but I had a college class I needed to attend. To make up for my one-day delay, I dropped off a bunch of roses and chocolates and a nice card at her house before heading to class.

The next night, we went to dinner. We reminisced about all the time we'd spent together over the past several years....some of those officially 'dating' and others being 'just friends.' After dinner was over, we went for a stroll along the river, meandering through town. We found ourselves crossing a bridge onto an island in the river where a park was. We had a lot of memories there. It was where we went for our first date. It was where we first held each other's hands. It was where I first told her "I love you." I had even carved our initials into a fallen log, and we made our way over to it to see if we could find them.

We sat on the log for a while just talking, then I told Rachel I had a song I wanted her to listen to. I told her to just close her eyes and focus on the words.



While she did that, I knelt in the snow and laid out some tea candles, and attempted to light them in the falling rain. She quietly said that the song was over, and I told her to turn around and open her eyes. She did so, and saw me on a knee next to a partially lit message, "I ❤ U ∞" and holding a ring up to her.

I asked her, "Rachel, will you marry me?" In shock, she responded, "WHAT?" so I repeated the question, this time with a grin. I waited in anticipation, my heart beating like crazy.

Then I heard the best thing ever.....she said Yes!

And after almost seven years of marriage, I am still so very glad she said yes.

Being the Encourager

If you read my Facebook posts recently, you know that last night Rachel and I went to the gym, where she kept up with me and ran 3 miles, did over 100 pushups and over 200 crunches. I can't begin to describe how proud I am of her, and as I was thinking over that hour or so, this thought kept surfacing, "Neither she nor I would have done all that had it not been for me encouraging her."

For her, she needed to hear the encouragement to keep on going. I kept telling her that she was doing awesome, that it was only a little bit further, that she could do it. I banged the floor and demanded another pushup. As I ran beside her, I whispered to her that I was proud of her. For over an hour I kept the tempo of encouragement up and she did it all: 3.1 miles, 110 pushups, 220 crunches.

For me, I needed to keep on going in order to be able to encourage her. I wanted her to do it all, and I knew she wanted to do it all. I also knew that I had to lead by example and if I quit she wasn't going to push me on. There was one point where she was out of breath and wanted so badly to stop running. I was in exactly the same boat - I could hardly talk I was so out of breath, but I had to keep going so I could encourage her to keep going. Instead of doing our reps of pushups at the same time, I had to race through mine so I could kneel next to her and talk her through her reps.

What I realized is that if you want to be an 'encourager,' you will have to demand more out of yourself. My words would have had little power if I was sitting beside the track drinking lemonade and telling Rachel to keep on running. I had to push myself harder than I was pushing Rachel so that I would be able to push Rachel. And at the end of the day, we both crossed that finish line!

A Better Place

On my way into work this morning, I was listening to the DJs on the radio station talk about a recent article published talking about how employees of certain vocations thought they were making the world a worse place because of their jobs. A couple of examples are Fast Food workers, Telemarketers, and Dealers at casinos. Bear in mind that it was the employees themselves that were making the claim. Anyway, the DJs were asking the audience how their job was making the world a better place.

So here's how what I do is making the world a better place:

1) I am directly helping the people I work with by keeping their computers running. Since they're not as frustrated with their computers, they're able to focus on their tasks with better clarity. This allows them to do better at their job, aiding their happiness and lowering their stress levels.

2) I am indirectly helping other co-workers around the world by playing a part in keeping our entire infrastructure functional. This allows the ongoing work of HCJB Global to progress.

3) I am indirectly helping people I don't know around the world through the ongoing work of HCJB Global. HCJB Global is improving lives in countries all over by meeting physical needs through hospitals, clinics, clean water, and other community development projects.

4) I am helping to spread the good news about Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only one with the power to truly transform lives for the better. Humanity, left by itself, will deteriorate and degrade....call it the Law of Human Entropy. But Jesus can turn that around. Humanity with Jesus will continually improve, and that is why I'm trying to spread the news about him.

Those are the four reasons that quickly came to mind on how my job is making the world a better place. Is your job improving the world, making it worse, or isn't doing anything at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

The River (book review)

The River, by Michael Neale, is not only the story of a young man dealing with the ghosts of his past, it's also a story about him finding his life's calling and embracing his destiny.

As a boy living in the mountains of Colorado, Gabriel Clarke watched his father sacrifice himself to The River to save another man's life. Heroic though the action may have been, from his 5-year-old perspective, Gabriel's father abandoned him. After that, Gabriel moved to Kansas to live with his mother.

The following years spent on the farm were simple and horrible. Gabriel, not able to escape the pain and the loss, struggled to make it through each day. By the time he turned twelve, he still had an incredible fear of water, and it was only through the gift of a fishing rod that he was able to re-encounter The River in a healing way.

As a young adult, he gets pulled away from Kansas by some friends to go camping in Colorado. There he has a supernatural experience with The River which replaces much of his fear with awe. He goes white-water rafting and feels himself come alive. That camping trip was too short so he later returns to Colorado to spend the summer working at the white-water rafting camp. There he learns much about his past and has an encounter that, depending on how he handles it, will change the course of his life forever.

While I found this book to be entertaining, there were many instances which pointed to the author's inexperience as a writer. For instance, the story is told to us by someone who meets Gabriel Clarke in an airport. Gabriel tells the narrator his story, who then shares Gabriel's story to us "as he told it to me." I would expect it to then be written from Gabriel's perspective (as it would have been originally told to the narrator). Instead, it was written in third person narration. Either Gabriel is one strange duck who narrates his own life, or the author made a big oopsie.

In addition, the dialogue and story line were very simply written and stated many of the characteristics of the various characters instead of showing them. For instance, we are told that Gabriel has 'hard days' and 'easy days' as a child, but we never really know what that means. We are told that on a 'hard day' he retreats to a secret place in his mind, but we are never allowed to join him there. (Another indicator that the story is not really being told "as he told it to me")

All in all, I'd give the book 3/5 stars, which reflects more of my appreciation of the way Colorado, mountains, and rivers are portrayed than it does for the story itself. I will say this though - I was on the brink of tears the last couple chapters of the book. It's an emotional tale that I did connect to...especially toward the end.

I received a copy of this book from the publishing company and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

If We Survive (Book Review)

I read Andrew Klavan's Crazy Dangerous a while back, so I came into If We Survive with some expectations regarding pace, prose, etc. I was not disappointed. This was a very fun, very fast read, which follows a group of kids through the jungles of Costa Verdes, dodging bullets, poisonous snakes, and raging rapids in an attempt to escape with their very lives. 

The main character is Will Peterson, a 'normal' 16-year-old who wants to be a hero. He went on a missions-trip/school project to Costa Verdes to help rebuild a school, and minutes before they leave the country, a revolution breaks out. Because of their being Americans, and because they tick one of the leaders off, they are set to be executed. They narrowly escape, and it's a run for their lives for the border.

In the midst of a gripping tale, Andrew Klavan manages to weave in some complex ideas.....ideas like how to cope with killing someone in battle, the discrepancy between what we read and what really is happening in other parts of the world, and questions like "am I so very different from murderous revolutionaries?" or "what does it mean to be a hero?"

Needless to say, I would highly recommend this book. 

I received a copy of this book from the publishing company and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Me? a Leader?

Sometimes you hear something a number of times, but it's not until it's said a certain way that everything all of a sudden becomes clear. The connection between me and being a 'leader' finally clicked for me.

I was sharing with a friend how I often feel pressure to step up and be a 'leader.' People have frequently told me I'm a natural leader, but I've never understood that. I don't have the type of personality or drive to be a leader, and while I understand that anyone who has influence in the life of another is a leader, it just never seemed to hit home with me. But in one moment, my friend made everything seem clear. He said, "There's a difference between a business leader and a people leader. You are a people leader."

Upon reflection, I can see that I have been told that a number of times in a number of different ways, but it wasn't until that moment that I suddenly felt a freedom to embrace my leadership qualities and responsibilities. I can lead people....I can't lead a business.

I think there has been an underlying fear that if I became a 'leader,' I'd have to figure out how to run a department, business, or organization. I don't want to do that. I have no desire to rise in the ranks. I have no dreams of being the head honcho. I am perfectly happy in my placement on the org chart. So when I received pressure to become a 'leader,' I understood it to mean that I needed to change what makes me who I am.

But now that the lightbulb has turned on, I understand that I don't need to change who I am to be a leader. But I do need to maintain a greater awareness of how and where I am leading people. For instance, I have the ability to either incite mutiny or foster teamwork in my workplace. While this is definitely a heavy responsibility, it's really just paying closer attention to something I do naturally anyway.

Here's to friends who turn the lightbulbs on for us! :D

The LORD Provides

Earlier this week I was pondering the story of Abraham almost killing his son, Isaac. God told Abraham to do it and waited to the last minute to stop him from following through with it in order to test him. One thing that stood out to me was that after all was said and done, Abraham named that location 'The LORD Provides." It struck me that he didn't name it "The LORD Tests." I think it's safe to say Abraham was an optimist. :D

This evening I had my own "The LORD Provides" moment: I was leaving work, and just as I was getting ready to turn onto the street, I saw some sort of case lying in the gutter. I got out, picked it up, climbed back in my car, opened it, and saw that it was a practically-complete socket/wrench set! 

The socket set I have is old and cheap, so I have been wanting a new socket set for a long time. But I never seemed to have the funds to buy it. Tonight, the Lord dropped it in my lap - and not only a socket set, but the exact one I've been eyeing at Walmart! 

I examined it closely to see if there were any identifying marks on it, and even looked in the local Craigslist Lost&Found, but I don't have a clue who it might have belonged to, or how it ended up in the gutter.

I don't think it's a coincidence that on Monday I was exploring the concept of God's provision, and on Friday I had a first-hand experience with it. As Rachel and I work through supporters dropping off and our support needs increasing, this is a timely reminder that God is our Provider.

Recent Trip to Spain

I recently got back from a nine-day trip to Spain for work, and toward the end of the trip, I was asked if I had experienced any major surprises on the trip. I responded that there were a lot of little paradigm shifts, but nothing major. Upon further consideration, I realize that all of the little things really do add up. I won't take the time to go into everything, but these are a couple of the 'bigger' things:

To begin with, I was quite humbled by my interaction with the people there. The only other times I have traveled overseas, it was to a second or third-world country where I and what I brought were obviously very needed. On those trips, I was, in a sense, enlightening the people with whom I interacted. On this recent trip to Spain, which is a first-world country, I quickly understood that those I was interacting with were very much peers, and I had as much to learn from them as they might learn from me. I really didn't realize the pride I had in my knowledge until I found myself asking them for advice and recognizing the wisdom in what they were sharing.

I also found confirmation that I am an introvert. I love being around other people, interacting with them, going to parties, etc, and as a result, I often wonder if I'm more of an extrovert than an introvert. But being forced into an environment where I wasn't comfortable, I felt myself fighting a tendency to withdraw. I spent time there in self-evaluation, and that tendency, along with a few other things, led me to the conclusion that I, at my core, am an introvert. This realization didn't necessarily surprise me, but I am still figuring out the ramifications of it.

There are other mental-shifts that happened while I was there, but these are the two which most readily came to mind. As everything continues to sink in, I'm sure other things will surface, but for now, these have risen to the top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After reading back through this, I see that I haven't written this very eloquently, and it may be hard to follow, but I've found that it's very hard for me to verbalize my emotions and describe the way I view the world. If you would like me to elaborate or explain further anything I've written, let me know. Thanks!