I am really excited about reading this book

I am really excited about reading this book
One of my current projects is to write the "forward" for Al Larson's next book in the Dangerous Man Series. It is titled "The One Thing" and I am excited about it and the potential impact for men.


Yesterday I read Mark Batterson's blog and although I do not know Mark personally, I really resonate with his writings.


He gave us a glimpse of his new book, Wild Goose Chase to be released Aug 19th. I did a cut and paste below for those who do not read the Batterson Blog.

The Batterson Blog - Thoughts on Life and Leadership

Book Byte by Mark Batterson

Thought I'd share some book bytes from Wild Goose Chase before it releases on August 19. Think of it as a daily dose of Wild Goose. I wonder if churches do to people what zoos do the animals. We try to tame them in the name of Christ. We remove the risk. We remove the danger. We remove the struggle. And what we end up with is a caged Christian.Jesus didn't die on the cross to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. I would like to think that when I pronounce the benediction at th end of our church services, I am sending dangerous people back into their natural habitat to wreak havoc on the Enemy.

excerpt from Wild Goose Chase

I am really finding myself in love with this idea of being dangerous but for the right reasons. Mark's comment at the end of his blog about people being sent out of the church "to their natural habitat to wreak havoc on the enemy" is remarkable statement.


Frankly, I am hearing from more guys and leaders about this concept of guys getting dangerous for the Lord.


I believe that one of the greatest ways we can be dangerous is to live a life that tells our family that they are safe because we are dangerous.


I think that somewhere back in the recesses of my mind I remember a Mel Gibson movie where the bad guy says to Gibson......"you are dangerous" and Gibson smiles and replies.... "Yes, I am."

There are several scenes in Top Gun about being dangerous but the best one is at the end when Val Kilmer yells to Tom Cruise, "You're still dangerous but you can be my wingman anytime."

My closing thought (for now) on this issue of being dangerous comes from a song by Steve Camp. the song is titled Living Dangerously In The Hands Of God. the lines from the song that jump out at me are: "There's safety in complacency, but God is calling us out of our comfort zone into a life of complete surrender to the cross. To live dangerously as not to live recklessly but righteously."

So Here's to living Dangerously in the Hands of God

Sgt Stecker is heading home (well sort of)

Well, Sgt Stecker is on his way home sort of. We know that he was in a remote location and is now back at a main camp with the rest of the unit he was deployed with as an augmentee.

He is still several weeks away from the good ol'US of A and some of mom's home cooking but the journey has begun.

We spoke with him yesterday and he sounded really tired. He had been up the better part of the last 24-30 hours and was wrapping up some things to be able to get some rest.

Like so many of the soldiers we hear from in Iraq, Court says that the press is reporting what they want Americans to hear based on their political bias. He has repeatedly told us that the US is making a difference that will be felt for years to come.

I know that this is redundant for many but let's keep praying for our incredible men and women serving our nation around the world and at home. They are some pretty amazing people. As a nation should be so very proud of all of them.

For many who are unsure just how to pray for our soldiers, I want to suggest that you look at Psalm 91. It is called the Soldiers' Psalm. It has been reported through the years that the soldiers of the 91st Brigade recited this Psalm each day in WWI. The brigade was involved in three of the bloodiest battles of the war and while other units suffered up to 90% casualties, the 91st did not have a single combat related death. I am thinking that prayer still works.

An Evening Out with My Prom Queen

Last Night Billie and I had the blessing of being invited to Music in Moonlight at the Navigator's Conference Center at Glen Eyrie for a wonderful evening of dinner followed by a concert presented by the Colorado Springs Chamber Orchestra. We dressed up and it was really good for us.

Let me first get this out. If you have never been to the "Glen" you are missing a wonderful treat. Check it out at http://www.navigators.org/us/ministries/gleneyrie/

The Glen is a conference center extraordinaire. They regularly have conferences for many different types of audiences.

This is a good site to look at as well because we/ACG is presenting a conference there October 10-12, 2008. They have asked us to present a conference on "The Power of Rites of Passage." You will be hearing more about this from ACG and from Glen Eyrie.

OK back to the reason for this note. I spend a good part of my life in casual or even more relaxed attire. Read into that anything you want. On this night we were dressed up and our attitude towards the evening and each other was different. This was a real "date." Not my normal quick dinner and stop at a bookstore or on some really exciting nights we hit Office Max/ Office Depot or Staples. Pretty wild for sure.

Too many of our dates are associated with a Ministry Trip although with some intentionality I am getting better. So far this year I have taken her to Niagara Falls and we saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway...too cool.

So the plan is simply more consistency and more dress up dates. We act different towards each other when we dress up and put a little effort into the date.

Why would I do such silly things???? I love her and she is worth it.

So I am now planning our next dress up date. Don't worry she will still see her share of bookstores and office supply stores. Can't give up all the fun things

Learning by the day and from others

Well the bike riding is getting better and better. Last night Billie and I had our first real ride together. We went up through a valley road that gave us the opportunity to lean together in the turns and get used to riding together on something other than a straightaway. She did great and I am doing better.

After we finished our ride she encouraged me to take off on my own for a while and I did. Only to go a few blocks and have the bike quit running. i quickly restarted and went a ways farther to have the same thing happen on the on ramp of the highway. now it would not restart.

I tried everything that I knew in my limited experience then I called Dan. Dan owned and rode this bike since 1997 and to say that he knew everything about the bike would be an understatement. Instead of Dan trying to "coach" me over the phone, he said, "I will be right there." I could have told him to just try and tell me what to do. But I will be honest, I felt great to hear him say that he was on the way.

When Dan arrived it took him all of about 10 minutes to pull a spark plug and spray it with starter fluid and have me up and running. It was so simple. The bike had a "vapor lock" and just needed a boost to get past it. He said that it had happened to him twice in the last 10 years.

What did I learn. So many things and many relearned or reinforced.

It is great to have friends.

Too often I have been embarrassed or bull-headed to ask for help.

Friends want to help because they are friends.

It is not an age thing. Dan is much younger than I am and there are things I
have experience with that I hope I could help him with if needed. In this case
he knew exactly what to do.

After Dan got me back up and running he followed me for a while and then I took off for the ride I intended.

On the ride I began thinking of Harvey McKay's book Dig Your Well Before You Are Thirsty. In his opening chapter he tells a great story of a man who called him in the wee hours asking for help. When Harvey asked him why he had called him since they had not spoken in years, the man said he did not have anyone else to call.

Dan and I became friends long before he sold me his bike. Actually I bought the bike in large part because we were friends. I did not just call Dan because he knew the bike.....I called him because he was first my friend and secondly because he knew the bike.

It is great to have friends to call when you need help and even better to actually call them when you need help because they are your friend.

No it is Not a Mid-life Crisis

No it is not a mid-life crisis as many would think. I am 60 and had that 25 to 30 years ago. Actually the driving force has been my wife. For the last 18 months she has been saying that we need a bike. Then in the last 4 months she has really taken it up a notch. Hardly a day would go by without her saying something about getting a bike. She said the idea of her and I just getting away on the afternoon or weekend without cell phones, radios or whatever was pretty apealling to her. Well it happened. Last week she and I went to my Admin's house to pick up a refridgerator and in the garage was her husband, Dan's "extra" bike. It took me a few minutes and a quick ride to get excited. All during this time and the next day all Billie would say is you need to get that bike. So now we own a motorcycle and it is amazing.

Yes I wear a helmet.

No I am not worried about growing old.

Yes I have life insurance and insurance on the bike.

No many people do not understand ( or maybe even want to understand)

Yes I have had other bikes (even though the last one was about 26 years ago.)

No I am not growing my hair for a ponytail or getting a tattoo.

Yes it is therapy for me.