After the Wal-Mart run and drop off for our first evacuee family (mentioned earlier), we went home and felt a little better that we had done something tangible to help those in need. So . . . why did I still feel restless? Why did I still feel like I couldn't mark that task completed?
In the meantime during that first week and a half, our Pastor and others in our church were coordinating with other local congregations and charities. Together they found many, many evacuees in our area that needed help. Working together across theological and denominational lines, they formed a very organized and effective consortium. Some churches stepped up and donated warehouse space to store food in one location and furniture and house wares in another location. Some churches short on funds and physical buildings offered their manpower to staff these facilities by sorting and distributing the goods. Some churches that were blessed financially started buying what was needed. Some churches blessed with the skills started working on resource lists, basic intake forms, counseling centers, job training and staffing locations, and on and on. Some churches like ours also offered to be a "host church" to take a group or several groups of evacuees under our wing long-term and partner with them through this ordeal.
When my wife and I heard about this long-term "host church" type of arrangement, we began to pray about how we should be involved. We learned that our church had agreed to "host" a group of evacuees and they were looking for families or Bible study classes to sign up to work with individual families of evacuees. My Pastor called and asked what role we might play in this relief effort. Our family discussed what a commitment like that would take and how it would affect our lives and busy fall schedule. We had a little baby, a 4 year old, and a 1st grader. We had no idea what "long-term" meant or exactly what would be required of us and no one could answer those questions. We called some friends of ours who also felt like the responsibility of hosting a whole family of evacuees by themselves would be a little overwhelming. So, both of our families agreed to share the responsibility of helping one single family of evacuees. It felt good to e-mail our Pastor and let him know that we were stepping up to the challenge and were willing to help by being personally involved in a long-term commitment with an evacuee family.
After a few days, we learned that one group of evacuees that our church had accepted responsibility for was a large group currently staying in a hotel. Someone working with them had found an apartment complex that was willing to allow them to move in on a temporary basis and sign short-term leases.
Throughout this time period, it seemed like we received many calls and e-mails from people asking about what to do and where to take items that they had gathered. My wife is a natural at this sort of thing and when we didn't know an answer to a question, she would find out and pass the word along. Not knowing what our evacuee family would really need, we decided to go ahead and start gathering things and working our contacts of friends and associates. Pretty soon, I couldn't park my car in the garage anymore it was piled full of stuff!
Finally, we got a call that we could take the items that we had gathered to a central spot for the evacuees that we would end up hosting as a church. We were told that the apartment complex had offered some storage space on their property even though the evacuees had not signed their contracts yet. At the complex, we mostly just organized our items in the storage area. There were lots of people from our church bringing lots of different items including food, water, bedding, pillows, blankets, towels, you name it and we had it. Just as it happened over the last several days, for some reason people asked my wife and I a few questions and we helped direct traffic a little.
Talking with some of the church staff that were there at the apartment complex, I learned that our church had actually agreed to "host" about 3-4 different groups of evacuees and others in the church had already started meeting the needs of some of the other groups. However, this group of evacuees was perhaps the largest group and the closest group in proximity to the church. Our Pastor said that he had been able to recruit one point person or one family to coordinate the other groups but had been unable to find anyone to coordinate this group who would soon move into the apartment complex. He asked me if our family would be willing to coordinate. Thinking back to the discussions that my wife and I had in trying to decide what we were able to realistically do AND knowing that the results of those discussions ended in us deciding to share the responsibility of hosting one evacuee family, I told my Pastor that "Oh no, we just can't coordinate all this besides we don't know how to do that. But, we are willing to host one family."
As my wife and I drove home from the apartment complex, I just felt strange. Restless. Anxious. Unfinished. I started thinking about the past few days. I was reminded of a time the day before when my wife had made a good decision about a donated item. I thought about a question that I had answered from another church member that seemed like the right thing to do and it had worked out well. I prayed right then and asked God why I felt restless and to show me what to do. I told my wife how I was feeling and she said that she felt the same way. We ended up deciding that like it or not, whether it's convenient or not, regardless of if we have the time or not, we already were taking leadership in a sense. We already were in this thing over our heads.
When we got home, I looked up my Pastor's cell phone number and called him to tell him that we would coordinate the group of evacuees moving into the apartment complex. So, that's the story of how one little family who started off sharing the responsibility of caring for one evacuee family ended up helping to coordinate an effort for around 36 apartments holding over 75 people hosted by over 25 families and Bible study groups in our church.
I talked with one of my dear evacuee friends tonight just to check in and see how she was doing since today is the official anniversary. Ms. D was very emotional today. She has been volunteering her time at a local charity and giving back to the community. She mentioned to me that when she started volunteering she didn't know what she was supposed to do. I counseled her on something that I had heard several times -- God doesn't care as much about our ABILITY as He cares about our AVAILABILITY. I was able to share that with Ms. D with conviction since my family lived that out. We had no idea what we were getting into and no idea how to do the job we had just volunteered for. However, we were obedient to His call and made ourselves available. It wasn't easy, but He was faithful to provide "all that we can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).
Next Katrina post . . . to Apartments
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Katrina - Slow Response and Leadership
We spent a good amount of time watching TV and checking out what was going on in both New Orleans and Mississippi (don't forget that it wasn't just New Orleans affected by this storm). Like everyone else, we were shocked by the slow response from those organizing the relief. Looking back I have not devoted much time to studying the research, analysis, and news reporting (those 3 are not always the same thing by the way) to have developed an educated opinion as to who was at fault for what. Because of that, I do not have a strong opinion positively or negatively toward any of the main characters (President Bush, FEMA's Michael Brown, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Governor Blanco, etc.). What I do have an opinion about is what I believe is to blame for the slow response in general -- weak leadership!
Personally, I do not believe that President Bush is specifically to blame and I do not believe that he is racist or that he did anything intentionally wrong. He may not have asked the right questions or pushed the right buttons to keep wheels moving however. In some information that I have seen, it seems like Michael Brown was sitting back waiting for something to happen rather than being proactive. We were also amazed at the inefficiency with which FEMA operated even months after the event.
Being administratively minded, I tend to place more blame on the local leaders. It's easy to say "get help down there" or "bring buses to evacuate." But it's another thing to know specifically what kind of help, where should they go, how should they get there, where are we evacuating people, where are the people who have already been evacuated that need help, etc. New Orleans is below sea level for goodness sakes, what is their disaster plan for a flood! Of course, the plan may not be on the same scale as reality but it's a starting point. I have a negative overall impression of New Orleans Mayor Nagin. I don't want to leave out mentioning that the leadership of Lt. General Honore seemed to be outstanding.
I am frustrated also by the lack of leadership in the non-profit sector. I have a very favorable impression of:
* the local churches, synagogues, and charities;
* the Southern Baptist, Catholic, and Methodist response teams;
* and the Salvation Army.
Surprising to me, the organization who was not impressive was the Red Cross! They were sitting on millions (perhaps billions) of dollars, resources, and volunteers and in my opinion they were unresponsive, unorganized, and squandered their resources. That is not to say that they didn't do anything right. We were just continually frustrated to hear what they were doing or not doing. Even on our grassroots level, we knew several things were a waste of time and money and not meeting the real needs of any of the people that we had daily contact with. We had donated to them during the tsunami in Indonesia but I don't think that I'll be giving them any more of our money after seeing them in action (more like inaction) during this crisis.
Next Katrina post . . . Our Response
Personally, I do not believe that President Bush is specifically to blame and I do not believe that he is racist or that he did anything intentionally wrong. He may not have asked the right questions or pushed the right buttons to keep wheels moving however. In some information that I have seen, it seems like Michael Brown was sitting back waiting for something to happen rather than being proactive. We were also amazed at the inefficiency with which FEMA operated even months after the event.
Being administratively minded, I tend to place more blame on the local leaders. It's easy to say "get help down there" or "bring buses to evacuate." But it's another thing to know specifically what kind of help, where should they go, how should they get there, where are we evacuating people, where are the people who have already been evacuated that need help, etc. New Orleans is below sea level for goodness sakes, what is their disaster plan for a flood! Of course, the plan may not be on the same scale as reality but it's a starting point. I have a negative overall impression of New Orleans Mayor Nagin. I don't want to leave out mentioning that the leadership of Lt. General Honore seemed to be outstanding.
I am frustrated also by the lack of leadership in the non-profit sector. I have a very favorable impression of:
* the local churches, synagogues, and charities;
* the Southern Baptist, Catholic, and Methodist response teams;
* and the Salvation Army.
Surprising to me, the organization who was not impressive was the Red Cross! They were sitting on millions (perhaps billions) of dollars, resources, and volunteers and in my opinion they were unresponsive, unorganized, and squandered their resources. That is not to say that they didn't do anything right. We were just continually frustrated to hear what they were doing or not doing. Even on our grassroots level, we knew several things were a waste of time and money and not meeting the real needs of any of the people that we had daily contact with. We had donated to them during the tsunami in Indonesia but I don't think that I'll be giving them any more of our money after seeing them in action (more like inaction) during this crisis.
Next Katrina post . . . Our Response
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Katrina Anniversary
Coming up soon is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I intend to use this forum to document some of my thoughts and experiences from the past year relating to Hurricane Katrina.
In the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, the Lord consistently asked His people to remember their experiences by setting up memorials. One example is when Joshua and the people crossed the Jordan River. God told the people to pick up 12 stones (one for each tribe) from the river bed and set them up on the other side to remember how the Lord stopped the flow of the river so that they could cross on dry land. We have a nice box in our home that we call the "Joshua Box" where we write down the ways that the Lord has directed our family so that we will not forget His faithfulness. I would like to take the next week or so to make this a virtual Joshua Box as a testament to His faithfulness to His people.
Since the DFW Metroplex is far inland, typically the main thing that crosses our minds when we hear "hurricane" is that maybe we'll get some rain and we hope it doesn't do too much damage on the coast. Before Katrina's landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, we were much more aware due to the intensity of the storm and the possibility of having a few people in our area running from the storm. In the aftermath of the storm, however, my family was just like everyone else, riveted to our TV watching in horror how people were flooded out, stranded, in need of rescue, and then in need of the basics to survive.
The first few days, my thoughts were all external -- I hope someone can get those buses to the Superdome, what a tough job for the National Guard and Coast Guard, is the state of Louisiana able to get enough food and water for all of those stranded folks? Toward the end of that first week, we heard of evacuees in our area and my thoughts became internal -- what can I do to help, what food and water can we get to those folks, what other things do they need that we can get?
We sent some of our offering money to national relief that first week, but Sunday, September 4th was our first face-to-face interaction with evacuees. A resourceful church member had started calling hotels and motels in our area looking to see if anyone needed anything. She found some families in a motel and made contact with them. They didn't get out with much and our friend made a list of their needs. After e-mails, phone calls, and announcements in church that morning, they had their list completed in one day. When we went to drop off our donations after a Wal-Mart run, I looked into their eyes, talked with them, and played with their kids. That's when my thoughts became personal. What if this was me and my family? Where would we go and what would we do? How would I feel if I was unable to provide for my family and we had just lost every material possession that we owned?
We had no idea exactly what was in store for us, but my wife and I started talking and praying about what we should do and how we should respond. Little did we know that one year later our lives would be richly blessed by new experiences, new frustrations, new skills, new foods, new perspectives, and most importantly by new friends.
Next Katrina post . . .
In the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, the Lord consistently asked His people to remember their experiences by setting up memorials. One example is when Joshua and the people crossed the Jordan River. God told the people to pick up 12 stones (one for each tribe) from the river bed and set them up on the other side to remember how the Lord stopped the flow of the river so that they could cross on dry land. We have a nice box in our home that we call the "Joshua Box" where we write down the ways that the Lord has directed our family so that we will not forget His faithfulness. I would like to take the next week or so to make this a virtual Joshua Box as a testament to His faithfulness to His people.
Since the DFW Metroplex is far inland, typically the main thing that crosses our minds when we hear "hurricane" is that maybe we'll get some rain and we hope it doesn't do too much damage on the coast. Before Katrina's landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, we were much more aware due to the intensity of the storm and the possibility of having a few people in our area running from the storm. In the aftermath of the storm, however, my family was just like everyone else, riveted to our TV watching in horror how people were flooded out, stranded, in need of rescue, and then in need of the basics to survive.
The first few days, my thoughts were all external -- I hope someone can get those buses to the Superdome, what a tough job for the National Guard and Coast Guard, is the state of Louisiana able to get enough food and water for all of those stranded folks? Toward the end of that first week, we heard of evacuees in our area and my thoughts became internal -- what can I do to help, what food and water can we get to those folks, what other things do they need that we can get?
We sent some of our offering money to national relief that first week, but Sunday, September 4th was our first face-to-face interaction with evacuees. A resourceful church member had started calling hotels and motels in our area looking to see if anyone needed anything. She found some families in a motel and made contact with them. They didn't get out with much and our friend made a list of their needs. After e-mails, phone calls, and announcements in church that morning, they had their list completed in one day. When we went to drop off our donations after a Wal-Mart run, I looked into their eyes, talked with them, and played with their kids. That's when my thoughts became personal. What if this was me and my family? Where would we go and what would we do? How would I feel if I was unable to provide for my family and we had just lost every material possession that we owned?
We had no idea exactly what was in store for us, but my wife and I started talking and praying about what we should do and how we should respond. Little did we know that one year later our lives would be richly blessed by new experiences, new frustrations, new skills, new foods, new perspectives, and most importantly by new friends.
Next Katrina post . . .
A vending machine for electronics?
In a recent article from USA Today, they reported that Sony is implementing vending machines for electronics in venues such as airports first as a trial, then potentially in grocery stores, malls, and hotels. The article mentions that credit and debit cards will be used to purchase items such as headphones, digital cameras, batteries, MP3 players, and memory sticks.
There is nothing on Sony's Web site about this but I can't help but question their strategy for this distribution method and wonder about their research to back this idea. It seems to me that a vending method of distribution is effective for commodity products where you know what you'll be getting. Certainly some consumer electronics have reached that point including some of the items mentioned in the article (headphones, batteries, and memory sticks).
Many other consumer electronics though such as digital cameras, MP3 players, and video cameras, etc. rely heavily on the user experience. My sense is that most people won't pay much for a product like this that they can't hold, simulate it's use, or get some measure of its quality. Sony may think that it's brand speaks for itself or their research may indicate that people will pay for it as long as it's convenient and from a respected brand. This certainly is an interesting concept.
There is nothing on Sony's Web site about this but I can't help but question their strategy for this distribution method and wonder about their research to back this idea. It seems to me that a vending method of distribution is effective for commodity products where you know what you'll be getting. Certainly some consumer electronics have reached that point including some of the items mentioned in the article (headphones, batteries, and memory sticks).
Many other consumer electronics though such as digital cameras, MP3 players, and video cameras, etc. rely heavily on the user experience. My sense is that most people won't pay much for a product like this that they can't hold, simulate it's use, or get some measure of its quality. Sony may think that it's brand speaks for itself or their research may indicate that people will pay for it as long as it's convenient and from a respected brand. This certainly is an interesting concept.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Orange belt in Tae Kwon Do
Well, we did it! Collin and I passed our orange belt test today with Mamaw, Papa (my dad), Heather, Caris, and friends Jake and Suzanne in attendance. What a workout!
They started us on the Chon-Ji form (kata in other martial arts) which took the longest for us to perfect for this test so that was perfect. Then, we did all of the punches, kicks, and combinations. We broke up with partners next and demonstrated self-defense and one-step sparring. One-steps are a basic set of four movements to defend against an attacker (one block with follow-up counters). It's like a mini-form, not really fighting.
Before putting all of our pads on and really sparring (touch fighting), we did board breaks which is the most fun part but mentally challenging. We don't ever practice it except for the tests, but it's really fun because you have no idea if you can really do it! I was so proud of Collin! For our last test, the Gold belt, we only were "required" (really only required for age 13 and above) to break one board with your hand. Last time, the board really intimidated Collin and he kept stopping his hand at the board instead of going through it for the break. For our Orange belt, we were "required" to break two boards -- one with our hand and one with our feet. Our favorite instructor, Mr. Garner, worked with Collin very well and told him exactly what to do. Collin broke both boards and was walking on air! It was so fun to share that with our family and friends who were there. Collin broke his boards with a hammer fist (think of using your fist like a hammer) and an axe kick (coming down on the board with your heel). I broke my boards with a knife hand (think karate chop) and a side kick (using the outside edge of your foot toward your heel).
Sparring is Collin's favorite part, it's so fun to see this sweet, gentle boy really going at it! It was a lot of fun, but exhausting! Thankfully, we went out for a great lunch afterwards to celebrate. It was a great lesson to both of us in hard-work paying off and the rewards of self-discipline, practice, focus, and giving our best effort.
They started us on the Chon-Ji form (kata in other martial arts) which took the longest for us to perfect for this test so that was perfect. Then, we did all of the punches, kicks, and combinations. We broke up with partners next and demonstrated self-defense and one-step sparring. One-steps are a basic set of four movements to defend against an attacker (one block with follow-up counters). It's like a mini-form, not really fighting.
Before putting all of our pads on and really sparring (touch fighting), we did board breaks which is the most fun part but mentally challenging. We don't ever practice it except for the tests, but it's really fun because you have no idea if you can really do it! I was so proud of Collin! For our last test, the Gold belt, we only were "required" (really only required for age 13 and above) to break one board with your hand. Last time, the board really intimidated Collin and he kept stopping his hand at the board instead of going through it for the break. For our Orange belt, we were "required" to break two boards -- one with our hand and one with our feet. Our favorite instructor, Mr. Garner, worked with Collin very well and told him exactly what to do. Collin broke both boards and was walking on air! It was so fun to share that with our family and friends who were there. Collin broke his boards with a hammer fist (think of using your fist like a hammer) and an axe kick (coming down on the board with your heel). I broke my boards with a knife hand (think karate chop) and a side kick (using the outside edge of your foot toward your heel).
Sparring is Collin's favorite part, it's so fun to see this sweet, gentle boy really going at it! It was a lot of fun, but exhausting! Thankfully, we went out for a great lunch afterwards to celebrate. It was a great lesson to both of us in hard-work paying off and the rewards of self-discipline, practice, focus, and giving our best effort.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Tae Kwon Do update
Collin and I are working toward our orange belt in Tae Kwon Do on August 26th. I was a little worried about our progress until our workout on Saturday when lots of things really came together for us and now we have all week to practice.
The order of the belts is White (beginner), Gold, then Orange. In order to get a new belt, we must demonstrate all of the requirements for an instructor individually and then pass a formal belt test. The requirements are various punches, kicks, self-defense, forms (or katas, simulated fights), and in our class scripture memorization. The belt test itself consists of the demonstration of all of the requirements in front of multiple instructors who evaluate your mastery of the skills. Also, you must spar (or fight) with an instructor using the skills that you have learned.
I have been fascinated with martial arts since reading comic books as a kid. Other than just thinking it's cool, now I can see its value in life especially taking it with Collin. Martial arts develops self-discipline, respect, fosters hard work, and exercise. This is evident in the primary Tenets of Tae Kwon Do (easier to remember using the acronym CHIPSI): Courtesy, Humility, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, and an Indomitable Spirit.
The order of the belts is White (beginner), Gold, then Orange. In order to get a new belt, we must demonstrate all of the requirements for an instructor individually and then pass a formal belt test. The requirements are various punches, kicks, self-defense, forms (or katas, simulated fights), and in our class scripture memorization. The belt test itself consists of the demonstration of all of the requirements in front of multiple instructors who evaluate your mastery of the skills. Also, you must spar (or fight) with an instructor using the skills that you have learned.
I have been fascinated with martial arts since reading comic books as a kid. Other than just thinking it's cool, now I can see its value in life especially taking it with Collin. Martial arts develops self-discipline, respect, fosters hard work, and exercise. This is evident in the primary Tenets of Tae Kwon Do (easier to remember using the acronym CHIPSI): Courtesy, Humility, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, and an Indomitable Spirit.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Day of Firsts
I always take the day off of work for the first day of school and this year was not only fun but full of firsts:
1. Cooper's first day of kindergarten. He did great! He has Ms. Bradley this year and sits at a round table with four other children. We could tell that he was nervous going in and sitting down, but he settled in nicely and started coloring and sorting his crayons and markers. He is an expressive little boy and that's his best way of coping. We checked him again after we dropped Collin off (see #2) and he was doing great. At the end of the day, he really had fun in school and was off to a great start. Of course, the trip to Chuck E Cheese after his 11:30 dismissal from school was a big celebration and a great way to cap it all off.
2. Collin's first day of the 2nd grade. Collin is so laid back and easy going and school is now the norm so he did great. We are really excited about his teacher, Mr. Johnson. We have heard that he is a wonderful man of God and an excellent teacher. He does seem to focus on positive reinforcement and we really think that Collin will thrive under his teaching style. Collin is sitting by his best friend Bryce so that may or may not last but they were both pumped.
3. Caris' first tea party with just Dad. With the boys in school, I decided to spend some time one-on-one with my girl. She wanted to have a tea party with her new set that she got for her birthday (she just turned 2). This may have been my first tea party ever, definitely the only one I remember. She did a great job of setting the table, pouring, stirring, and serving. I had to help her realize that the sugar and cream containers weren't just big tea cups. She enjoyed it so much that we decided to make some real tea for her to try so we whipped some up with the real dishes.
4. Chris' first time for Chuck E Cheese and Burger Box on the same day. Collin got out of school at 3:00 and he wanted only Dad to pick him up. The first day of school we always do something special and he wanted our ole standby of Burger Box. After pizza at Chuck E Cheese, all I had was a chocolate shake. Burger Box is like Whataburger but better! They have Blue Bell ice cream and they make awesome shakes. I was so full, I don't think I had much dinner.
1. Cooper's first day of kindergarten. He did great! He has Ms. Bradley this year and sits at a round table with four other children. We could tell that he was nervous going in and sitting down, but he settled in nicely and started coloring and sorting his crayons and markers. He is an expressive little boy and that's his best way of coping. We checked him again after we dropped Collin off (see #2) and he was doing great. At the end of the day, he really had fun in school and was off to a great start. Of course, the trip to Chuck E Cheese after his 11:30 dismissal from school was a big celebration and a great way to cap it all off.
2. Collin's first day of the 2nd grade. Collin is so laid back and easy going and school is now the norm so he did great. We are really excited about his teacher, Mr. Johnson. We have heard that he is a wonderful man of God and an excellent teacher. He does seem to focus on positive reinforcement and we really think that Collin will thrive under his teaching style. Collin is sitting by his best friend Bryce so that may or may not last but they were both pumped.
3. Caris' first tea party with just Dad. With the boys in school, I decided to spend some time one-on-one with my girl. She wanted to have a tea party with her new set that she got for her birthday (she just turned 2). This may have been my first tea party ever, definitely the only one I remember. She did a great job of setting the table, pouring, stirring, and serving. I had to help her realize that the sugar and cream containers weren't just big tea cups. She enjoyed it so much that we decided to make some real tea for her to try so we whipped some up with the real dishes.
4. Chris' first time for Chuck E Cheese and Burger Box on the same day. Collin got out of school at 3:00 and he wanted only Dad to pick him up. The first day of school we always do something special and he wanted our ole standby of Burger Box. After pizza at Chuck E Cheese, all I had was a chocolate shake. Burger Box is like Whataburger but better! They have Blue Bell ice cream and they make awesome shakes. I was so full, I don't think I had much dinner.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Personal Finance
I realized that I spend a lot of time blogging about our family but not much on my other interests. One thing that I really love is personal finance. I like to read Kiplinger's magazine and the Motley Fool on the Web.
I saw a great article from the Motley Fool on emergency planning. Rather than just sticking with the standard rules of thumb for emergency cash like 3-6 months living expenses, this was a very thought provoking article. I will definitely use these concepts when evaluating our emergency cash situation once we get our debt paid off (except for our mortgage).
Speaking of debt, that leads me to let you know about the system that we have adopted -- Dave Ramsey's plan (with a few tweaks). I think that Dave has a great system that is founded on truth and quality concepts. His basic steps are:
1. Get a $1,000 emergency fund.
2. Pay off debt (except for the mortgage) using a debt snowball. Once you pay the smallest one off, take that same payment amount and use it against the next one.
3. Go back and fully fund the emergency.
4. Retirement savings.
5. College savings (for the kids).
6. Payoff the house.
7. Invest and give.
Do 1, 2, and 3 one at a time. Do 4, 5, and 6 at the same time. Then hit #7. Obviously, the devils in the details but I can't give away all of his information.
I saw a great article from the Motley Fool on emergency planning. Rather than just sticking with the standard rules of thumb for emergency cash like 3-6 months living expenses, this was a very thought provoking article. I will definitely use these concepts when evaluating our emergency cash situation once we get our debt paid off (except for our mortgage).
Speaking of debt, that leads me to let you know about the system that we have adopted -- Dave Ramsey's plan (with a few tweaks). I think that Dave has a great system that is founded on truth and quality concepts. His basic steps are:
1. Get a $1,000 emergency fund.
2. Pay off debt (except for the mortgage) using a debt snowball. Once you pay the smallest one off, take that same payment amount and use it against the next one.
3. Go back and fully fund the emergency.
4. Retirement savings.
5. College savings (for the kids).
6. Payoff the house.
7. Invest and give.
Do 1, 2, and 3 one at a time. Do 4, 5, and 6 at the same time. Then hit #7. Obviously, the devils in the details but I can't give away all of his information.
Leadership in Ministry
One very interesting newsletter that I receive on a periodic basis is The Pastor's Coach from Injoy (John Maxwell's organization) written by Dan Reiland. The latest editions offered some very good insight into assessing leadership specifically from a ministry perspective. There are two editions of the newsletter that address this topic so here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Church goals
This is very interesting reading on the goals that we set as a church and how we evaluate our progress and success. It is from the Leadership Journal blog of Christianity Today which I try to follow regularly (but not always often).
The 3 Bs -- bodies, bucks, and bricks -- have always been questionable as to whether they are really a quality measurement of a church's success. Thank you to Jim Collins for encouraging us to look beyond our standard measuring sticks and be creative and innovative in how we judge success.
The best things in life are worth working for. This blog post doesn't give you all of the answers but encourages you to think outside the box and develop answers that are specific to your church body. In my opinion, that's the way it should be. In church life, we often try to pull best practices off of the shelf of business experience and try to force them to work in our churches. At times, this results in using a big hammer to make a square peg fit into a round hole and what we are left with is splinters! It's not fast and easy to take the time to think through our church strategy, goals, reason for existence, key competencies, etc. but we are called to excellence and excellence is not always easy.
The 3 Bs -- bodies, bucks, and bricks -- have always been questionable as to whether they are really a quality measurement of a church's success. Thank you to Jim Collins for encouraging us to look beyond our standard measuring sticks and be creative and innovative in how we judge success.
The best things in life are worth working for. This blog post doesn't give you all of the answers but encourages you to think outside the box and develop answers that are specific to your church body. In my opinion, that's the way it should be. In church life, we often try to pull best practices off of the shelf of business experience and try to force them to work in our churches. At times, this results in using a big hammer to make a square peg fit into a round hole and what we are left with is splinters! It's not fast and easy to take the time to think through our church strategy, goals, reason for existence, key competencies, etc. but we are called to excellence and excellence is not always easy.
The Killer App not so killer anymore
E-mail still has the most usage of any activity utilizing the Internet (according to Pew Internet & American Life Project). E-mail was regarded as the "killer app" of it's time but I think that is changing. Instant Messaging (or IM) is gaining ground quickly and I believe that it will cause us to reconsider how we use e-mail in the future and change our primary methods of communication.
I started using IM with my brother-in-law in Arkansas a few years ago but really started using it at work last year. We contracted with a consulting firm in New York and I wanted to watch our long-distance budget dollars. I found out that they used IM frequently so we determined to use it instead of phone calls when appropriate. It saved our company hundreds of dollars. One concern that I had was the documentation that e-mail provides, but historical logs still allow for documentation using IM. Here are some benefits for IM:
* saved budget dollars (see above)
* easy conversation -- quick, to the point, much more interactive that e-mail
* know immediately if someone is online or away from their desk, very productive
* keep in contact -- it doesn't take any time to send or receive an IM, so it's easy to check in throughout the day without wasting time
* portable accounts -- doesn't matter if your ISP or e-mail address changes
I use IM at work within our organization quite a bit. I work with a lot of people who are on different floors of our building and IM is very productive to ask a quick question, get a status update on a project, etc.
One great thing about it is that IM is free! The main companies that provide IM are AOL (AOL Instant Messenger or AIM), ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, and IRC. I use a tool called Trillian that can connect to any of these main IM companies' platforms. Some of my friends and coworkers prefer AIM and some MSN but with Trillian, I can connect to them all through one interface.
I started using IM with my brother-in-law in Arkansas a few years ago but really started using it at work last year. We contracted with a consulting firm in New York and I wanted to watch our long-distance budget dollars. I found out that they used IM frequently so we determined to use it instead of phone calls when appropriate. It saved our company hundreds of dollars. One concern that I had was the documentation that e-mail provides, but historical logs still allow for documentation using IM. Here are some benefits for IM:
* saved budget dollars (see above)
* easy conversation -- quick, to the point, much more interactive that e-mail
* know immediately if someone is online or away from their desk, very productive
* keep in contact -- it doesn't take any time to send or receive an IM, so it's easy to check in throughout the day without wasting time
* portable accounts -- doesn't matter if your ISP or e-mail address changes
I use IM at work within our organization quite a bit. I work with a lot of people who are on different floors of our building and IM is very productive to ask a quick question, get a status update on a project, etc.
One great thing about it is that IM is free! The main companies that provide IM are AOL (AOL Instant Messenger or AIM), ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, and IRC. I use a tool called Trillian that can connect to any of these main IM companies' platforms. Some of my friends and coworkers prefer AIM and some MSN but with Trillian, I can connect to them all through one interface.
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