When was the last time you played at work? Ponder this.
"By the time we enter the workplace, we have effectively relegated play to weekends and vacations. Worse still, competition and deadlines further stifle our ability to exercise many of the productive instincts that play stimulates, such as creativity and imagination. How sad that as adults we push play to the margins of our lives, forgetting that play is not frivolous at all, but highly productive."
In Kevin Carroll's new book, The Red Rubber Ball at Work, he takes his penchant for play as a catalyst into the workplace. The five chapters in this compact, playful book are on Innovation, Results, Teamwork, Leadership and Curiosity. Far from being a how to book, Kevin engages us with real-life examples of those who have taken the lessons learned from childhood play and translated them into workplace success. From authors and engineers to actors and surgeons, he encourages us to continue to play at work in order to increase our creativity and productivity.
One of my favorite features of the book is the end of each chapter. The chapters finish with sections called Look, Read and Do. Look has various websites to check out for further ideas or inspiration. Read lists additional books that may be helpful on the topic of the chapter. Do is about taking action and doing something with the information you have gathered.
I would highly recommend The Red Rubber Ball at Work for everyone. If you are a playful, creative person, you will love it. If you are a serious, no-nonsense person, you need it.
Peace.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Grateful
I'm grateful...
...for Rachel, Brady, Kendall and Declan. What would my life be without them?
...for parents who have prepared the path in more ways than they could know.
..for sisters who have become some of my greatest friends over the years.
...for friends. You know who you are.
...for health, a job, the good fortune to have been born in this country.
This could be a very long post, but it won't be. What it all comes down to is a thankfulness to God. Without Him, I have nothing in my life. It is through His grace in Christ that I do anything.
Peace.
...for Rachel, Brady, Kendall and Declan. What would my life be without them?
...for parents who have prepared the path in more ways than they could know.
..for sisters who have become some of my greatest friends over the years.
...for friends. You know who you are.
...for health, a job, the good fortune to have been born in this country.
This could be a very long post, but it won't be. What it all comes down to is a thankfulness to God. Without Him, I have nothing in my life. It is through His grace in Christ that I do anything.
Peace.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Moments
Life is made up of moments. How many of those moments can you clearly recall? I had a moment this weekend. When I tell you what it was, you may not think it was much of a thing to even register in one's mind. Stay with me.
My daughter, Kendall, age seven, was in a local production of "The Nutcracker" ballet. She was a polichinelle, which I think is some kind of a clown. (Actually, I think the term is "buffoon" but I can't write that about my princess!) Out of a nearly two hour performance, she is on stage for a total of about two minutes so I got a little added culture while waiting for her to appear. Anyway, she came out, did her thing and was exiting stage right. That's when she saw Rachel and me. We were in the third row and our eyes definitely met. Her stage smile got a little bigger and a little more real. After the show, she said "I saw you when I was walking off". I said "I thought you did". There was a connection that goes beyond words. It cannot be explained. It was a moment.
I recognize it makes me sound like I am prone to maudlin sentimentality, which I may be, but I think we miss too many small moments in our rush to get to the next big thing. We gloss over seemingly insignificant times because they don't affect the course of our life. I know that my moment with Kendall will not make me or break me, but if I can learn to see those moments and really be there, the moments will add up over time. Over time the moments become a life.
Do you look for the moments in your life? They may not be what you think.
Peace.
My daughter, Kendall, age seven, was in a local production of "The Nutcracker" ballet. She was a polichinelle, which I think is some kind of a clown. (Actually, I think the term is "buffoon" but I can't write that about my princess!) Out of a nearly two hour performance, she is on stage for a total of about two minutes so I got a little added culture while waiting for her to appear. Anyway, she came out, did her thing and was exiting stage right. That's when she saw Rachel and me. We were in the third row and our eyes definitely met. Her stage smile got a little bigger and a little more real. After the show, she said "I saw you when I was walking off". I said "I thought you did". There was a connection that goes beyond words. It cannot be explained. It was a moment.
I recognize it makes me sound like I am prone to maudlin sentimentality, which I may be, but I think we miss too many small moments in our rush to get to the next big thing. We gloss over seemingly insignificant times because they don't affect the course of our life. I know that my moment with Kendall will not make me or break me, but if I can learn to see those moments and really be there, the moments will add up over time. Over time the moments become a life.
Do you look for the moments in your life? They may not be what you think.
Peace.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Focus
How is this space going to best be used? That is the question that, at the moment, is worth about sixty-four cents. Is it going to be an outlet for writing? Maybe it will be a place for venting emotions? I know, it should be a place for friends everywhere to keep up with my life. It should be serious. It should be funny. Everything done here should have a point. Right? Um...sure.
I recognize that it should be narrowed down to something more focused than its current state. Right now, it reflects a little of how my brain is these days. I have so much pinging around inside my cranial cavity that some days it is all I can do to keep all of those super-bounce balls under wraps. Here is what I will attempt to do with all of that activity.
The title of this blog is "in over my head". I came up with that in a moment of clarity and I am going to stick with it. In so many ways, I am in over my head. I am way out of my depth in planting a church. My job has put me in a place where I am stretched every day. I am a husband and a father, need I say more?
Having said that, I am going to focus on three areas while I try to keep my head above water. The bulk of the posts will have to do with family, dreams and inspiration and our church plant. You may read some posts and wonder how a post may fit into one of those categories but let me say, I can be very creative when I need to be. I am not going to limit myself to only those three but the majority of posts will fall there.
Happy reading.
Peace.
I recognize that it should be narrowed down to something more focused than its current state. Right now, it reflects a little of how my brain is these days. I have so much pinging around inside my cranial cavity that some days it is all I can do to keep all of those super-bounce balls under wraps. Here is what I will attempt to do with all of that activity.
The title of this blog is "in over my head". I came up with that in a moment of clarity and I am going to stick with it. In so many ways, I am in over my head. I am way out of my depth in planting a church. My job has put me in a place where I am stretched every day. I am a husband and a father, need I say more?
Having said that, I am going to focus on three areas while I try to keep my head above water. The bulk of the posts will have to do with family, dreams and inspiration and our church plant. You may read some posts and wonder how a post may fit into one of those categories but let me say, I can be very creative when I need to be. I am not going to limit myself to only those three but the majority of posts will fall there.
Happy reading.
Peace.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Short post
Made a few changes to the look of the blog. Let me know what you think. Also added a few links of blogs that I follow. Check them out.
I am in the middle of a book called "The Red Rubber Ball at Work" by Kevin Carroll. I'll post a review soon.
Life is good. Kendall makes her debut in "The Nutcracker" ballet tomorrow. She is going to be brilliant. I can't wait to see her.
Peace.
I am in the middle of a book called "The Red Rubber Ball at Work" by Kevin Carroll. I'll post a review soon.
Life is good. Kendall makes her debut in "The Nutcracker" ballet tomorrow. She is going to be brilliant. I can't wait to see her.
Peace.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Church
Just a quick update on church.
We are now officially Wilmington Community Church. We got our articles of incorporation late last week. We have opened a checking account under the church name and we are working on at least a web presence if not a full scale web site. We have 11 adults coming regularly when we gather on Sunday nights. Not much, but more than what we have had.
It has been an incredible journey even to get to this point. To think that five years ago a seed of a thought was planted to start a church in a mid-size town on the coast of North Carolina is amazing. Here we are, not done yet by any stretch, witnessing the faithfulness of God and believing that He will finish what He started.
Peace.
We are now officially Wilmington Community Church. We got our articles of incorporation late last week. We have opened a checking account under the church name and we are working on at least a web presence if not a full scale web site. We have 11 adults coming regularly when we gather on Sunday nights. Not much, but more than what we have had.
It has been an incredible journey even to get to this point. To think that five years ago a seed of a thought was planted to start a church in a mid-size town on the coast of North Carolina is amazing. Here we are, not done yet by any stretch, witnessing the faithfulness of God and believing that He will finish what He started.
Peace.
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