Christmas Music -- Thursday, December 8, 2011

Oh my word!  Sometimes projects get out of hand, especially around the holidays.  You can get an idea, a vision, or a desire of something you want to do or get or give or create for the holidays, but it just gets out of hand!  Well, maybe some of you are more wise, strategic, or restrained - but for me; it happens. 

Sometimes things get out of hand.

There are some Christmas season traditions and rituals that are yearly on our calendar.  But each year there is something different, unique, and splendid that makes its way into our routine.

There was the year of crocheting afghans.  I am not sure, but I must have created at least a dozen.  Oh my word, that was a lot of yarn and time and tired fingers!  But once started, I had to finish.

Then there was the year of the 130 handmade Christmas cards.

And many of you might remember 21 years ago my excessive use of hairspray which resulted in a Cass’ hair catching on fire Christmas Eve.

And yes, I confess there are more than 400 ornaments on my Christmas tree.  Some of you might think 2400 lights on the tree is a bit out of hand.  But, graciously Tim participates!

Well, this year - its Christmas music.  I love Christmas music and love listening to it the month of December.  But I confess, the repetition in the play lists of most radio stations leaves me a bit bored by the tenth of the month.  For years, we have played cds on shuffle while at work.  But the accumulation of sawdust in that environment  has really messed with the cd carousel’s ability to recognize, read and play.  Therefore, I am stuck with the radio.

No,  I am not! 

Oh my word - I have a computer, I have iTunes, I have 30 years of accumulated Christmas music, I have a drawer full of cds.  If I import, create a playlist, and connect my computer to the speakers..... we can have our own splendid Christmas music playlist with fewer repetitions than we endure with radio listening.

And so it began with a concept; wrapped in simplicity, with a finite plan.

Do you know how many hours it takes to import a drawer full of cds into iTunes?

Oh my word, I have been at this ALL WEEK!  Ane while waiting for importing, I ponder “What other songs might we enjoy?”  Then I grab another cd....

The playlist is currently  1248 songs, 5.1 gigs, and will play for 72 hours and 3 minutes!

Yes, things can get out of hand!

But, I may finish this project on Tuesday.  Cindy will bring her favorite cds to work (that might not already be in this collection) and I will import them to add to our collection.  And then one last time I will ask myself “what else should I include?”

Please let me know if you have any suggestions to be incuded in my playlist.  I don’t want to forget something.  Yes, I already have imported the Messiah, the Nutcracker, Fred Waring’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, Mannheim Steamroller, TransSiberian Orchestra, Gene Autry,  Elvis,  Il Divo,  Mark Lowry, Carly Simon,  Harry Connick and his dad Ray Conniff,  Etta James,  Nora Jones,  Lori Line.....  the list is obviously long.   Yes, even Sheryl Crow.  Yet, there will be no better time to add one more song than on TUESDAY!

Just A Drop in the Bucket -- Monday, December 5, 2011

A phrase that I imagine most of us have heard and maybe even used a few times......  Just a drop in the bucket.   Sometimes it is used to voice a  comparison that may be reflecting  a tiny bit when held in light beside another.

Walking through the snow, cold wind, and on ice from my car into the grocery store is a drop in the bucket when I think of Jen walking distances in the Macedonian winter for her  groceries and water

The first taste of winter and its snow  here on the plains may well be a drop in the bucket as we move through the winter season making our way to spring.and other we have heard

Sometimes, we can even feel like we are a drop in the bucket....  as one little drop.....  how do I make a difference in this world?  Am I just a drop in the bucket?

Here’s the reality of some drops in the bucket.

Have you hear about the Secret Santa who was in the Philadephia area this past week?  Oh my word!

There is a man... one man.... to some he may seem like a drop in the bucket...  who each year listens to the news and watches the statisitics and chooses an area where he feels the people are living in economic struggles, depression, and a sense of down turn.  Then dressed as Santa Claus and armed with $100 bills he sneaks into the area.  He walks among the people.  He listens in the coffee shops.  He finds those he wants to share with and hands out $100 bills.  After investing up to $20,000 in a neighborhood, he quietly fades away back into his normal  daily life, in his home community.

This man has been living the Christmas season with this same ritual (just in different cities and neighborhoods)  for many years.  He sneaks in, sneaks out....  leaving behind encouragement, hope, and in some cases the money needed to retain utilities, buy groceries, pay rent.

A drop in the bucket who lifts burdens, lighten loads, eases struggles.

Then, there are the drops in the Salvation Army bell ringers’ buckets.  Every coin matters.  Every donation adds to the whole and serves great need.  But there are a few drops in the bucket that make the counters pause and take a deep breath.   Recent reports share that someone has dropped a solid gold coin, its worth in excess of $5000.  One drop in the bucket was a note saying that “others are in greater need than I” wrapped around a piece of jewelry.  Throughout this Christmas season,  the stories of the drops in the bucket will continue to make their way to our awareness.

Yes, we all can take part in being drops in the bucket...  we affect what fills the bucket.

In our neighborhoods, communities, states, nation and to the world, every little step,touch, effort, investment in others makes an impact.

It matters.  Every drop in the bucket matters.

How can we be drops in the bucket?

Where You Stand - Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Where you stand determines a lot about where you go.

Oh my word, that sounds rather direct and easy.   Almost so trite that it deserves a sarcastic response, maybe even a “DUH”!

Yes, the reality is that Jen can go to Skopke,  Macedonia fairly easily and regularly because she currently is standing in Tetovo, Macedonia.  For those of us on the east side of the great pond,  we are most likely not going to be able to go to Skopke this week.  Although, I confess I am very anxious for the week when I can go to Skopke!

And, I can easily head to Omaha, Kansas City, Kearney, and Weeping Water whenever I feel the need because of where I stand.   For Jen, it would take a 25 hour flight to be able to then drive easily to these locations.

Where you stand determines a lot about where you go.

Think about the more abstract application of this truth regarding how we live.

If you want to be successful, happy, healthy, maybe even a bit wealthy - you can not get there if you are standing in negativity, bitterness, self pity, or laziness.  Where you stand determines a lot about where you can go.  You know where laziness will get you - NO WHERE!  You know where negativity will get you -- lower than no where.

So take a deep, cleansing breath and look into the mirror.

Where do you want to go?

Where are you standing?

Does your location or your frame of mind need to be changed if you are going to be able to go where you want to go?

Do your patterns of behavior or choices need to be changed if you are going to be able to go where you want to go?

If you want to be in better shape - get off the couch.  If you want to lose weight - step out of the bakery.  If you want a healthier planet - get out of your car and walk.  If you want peace on earth - get out of self centered decision making.

After your time looking into the mirror, if you feel a need to change your course or location to be able to change your destination -  then......

Just like the man at Walmart demonstrated,  if you want something to be different - do something different! 

Here we are at the end of another month, and too soon at the end of another year.....
 make ready to go where you want to go, even if it requires changing where you are standing.

Different - Monday, November 28, 2011

If you want something different, you have to do something different.

If you want something to be different, you have to do something different.

Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but sometimes we need a reminder.  Sometimes we need a shake up.  Sometimes we need to look into the mirror.

Oh my word, I could write about Black Friday shopping - now there’s something different!  I could write about line cutters, elbow throwers, fighters, self seekers, and manipulators - all of which I experienced in my first Black Friday shopping experience of Thanksgiving night.  I could tell you I am not sure I will shop Black Friday again, especially at Walmart and especially for 600 thread count sheets.  But instead I want to talk to you about a quiet, faithful diligent man and his wife and their impact on the Black Friday culture.

If attendance had been taken in Walmart on Thursday evening, it could have rivaled that of Memorial Stadium.  The store was packed.  Moving through the aisles was not possible.  It was a bottle neck in every direction. Patience was needed for waiting your turn to move a head 6 inches to a foot at a time.  Patience and dignity was needed to maintain sanity.  While many were pushing, shoving, and demanding for themselves, there was one man acting as a calming force in the fervor. 

 From the end of their cart, he steered his wife and their load; he watched the crowd and gently moved forward.  Hundreds of shoppers were trying to form one line for one cashier and check out.  Pushing was only surpassed by the length of time between moves.  As the hour passed and we were not to the register yet, he built a shield to allow those of us (about 4 customers) who had been shoved aside and cut off.  He stood firmly yet gently against the shoving and aggressiveness.  He gestured to us to be next at the cashier and then the next few customers around us as well, watching out not for himself but for the fairness of others.

He was a difference maker in contrast to the selfish nature of the crowd!  What an impact!  What an impression he made.  He wanted the crowd mentality to be changed to civility.  He made the change.

If you want the world to be different,  you have to be the change.

I don’t know this man’s name, his career, his address....  but I know his legacy!  He is the change the world needs for the return to dignity, propriety and nobility.

Grocery Carts -- Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Do you ever look at what is in the grocery cart next to you in line at the check out?

Well, I do.

In fact today, one of the craziest days of the year in supermarkets, I had plenty of time to check out other carts’ contents even before getting to the check out lane.  I chose to go to Super Saver because they had some specials I was wanting for specific recipes to be enjoyed over the holiday weekend.  Super Saver is a large store and its aisles are wider than many stores which should have made for a smoother experience on this huge grocery shopping day.  But even so, the store was packed with shoppers.  The aisles were jammed with carts.  It resembled a holding pattern over a busy airport.  At the end of each aisle you had to wait in line to make a turn.  I spent more time standing still in the aisles than I did searching for what I had on my list.  I am not as familiar with where things are at Super Saver as I am in my regular grocery, so I spent time searching, overlooking, and then returning to several aisles for second, third and fourth time searches.

So, as you can see I had plenty of time to check out the other carts and what they had on their lists to buy for their holiday.  I saw the usual turkey, stuffing mixes, canned vegetables, potatoes,  sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pie fixins.  But I also saw a couple of things that really made me smile and wonder what the holiday plans and meals were going to be for these particular shoppers.

One cart had only three items in it.   That alone is a bit unique, but the three items were the same ingredient.  A one ingredient meal....  or did someone have to make a return trip to the grocery for a forgotten item ....  I think neither is the case, and I admit - this would not be the meal of my choosing.  All the young man had in his cart were chitlings.  Three very large bags of frozen chitlings!  They are not my favorite....  I had to grit my teeth at the thought of that meal.

Cart Two:  Again, I just have to chuckle at the thought of what would be made from its contents.  This woman had four cases (that’s 48 jars) of marshmallow creme filling her cart!  A massive salad?  An enormous dessert?  300 banana splits?  What on earth would anyone do with that much marshmallow creme?

Seeing such unique cart loads did make my time more entertaining as I searched for bacon (real bacon) bits and then had to make my way all the way back through the crowded store for the forgotten bag of potato chips.  Green bean casserole (Cheans as it is named in our family) would not be the same without that crunchy topping!

All in all, it was a great experience.  After all, who could ask for anything more than can be found in so many grocery stores here in Lincoln, across the state, and throughout our nation.  We are about to celebrate gratitude and we truly have a lot to put on our blessings' lists!

We live with the freedom to choose what goes into our cart....  from chitlings to marshmallow creme!  We live with the economy, that while it is slow, allows us to have all these choices right at hand!  We live with safety and freedom that allows my greatest shopping frustration to be looking for a parking place and forgetting potato chips!

Truly blessed.

May tomorrow’s holiday give you an opportunity to look around and recognize how and where your cup over flows.

In my prayers of gratitude I will also name Jen as she gathers with and shares with fellow Fulbrighters in the great nation of Macedonia.  Surrounded by ancient history and gracious people, they will be given the opportunity to celebrate a very American holiday!  Yes, the holiday is American but the gratitude in the heart is international.

May blessings flow for each of you tomorrow!

Mystery Solved - Sunday, November 20, 2011

Oh my word, happy day!  Mystery solved.  

Well no, the mystery solved is not any of the great mysteries of the universe.  Well no, the mystery solved is not the key to world peace.  Well no, the mystery solved is not even the key to curing world hunger.  A bit of peace will come for me and I am not going to be hungry, and I am delighted I have once again proven I am never too old to learn!

More than five years ago, I discovered this wonderful frozen biscuit - Grands (made by Pillsbury) Southern Style Biscuit.  In the frozen foods of the grocery!  YEAH! How convenient!  From freezer to oven to table and delicious!  These biscuits were very delicious and light and amazingly great.  I do enjoy biscuits and having southern blood in my veins, I am kind of picky about my biscuits.  In fact, I am so picky about my biscuits I don’t even try to make them from scratch, because they never measure up.  If I am going to eat the calories, carbs, and white flour - the biscuit must be great!

These frozen Grands were so great I even took them to my mom!  How convenient for them as well.  Even the snow and ice and bitter winter wind chills could not stand in the way of there being hot, fresh, delicious biscuits on their table.  She could even just take two out of the package and bake them fresh for a meal!  What a treat!  What a delight!

These biscuits are not always in stock in our grocery.  This may sound really petty, even compared to my thrill over a great biscuit, but one of my great shopping frustrations is not being able to find the same product, in the same store, more than once or twice.  Where did Starfruit Citrus Vitamin water go?  Where did the great pickled garlic go?  Not to mention, where are the biscuits?

Eventually I did find the biscuits back in the grocery frozen foods.   Bought them.  Baked them.  Yuck, they were not the same!  Sorry Grands, but they were heavy, tough, and not nearly as flavorful!  Second shopping frustration, products with the same name and packaging don’t stay the same!  Why can’t well enough just be left well enough!  Some changes are not for the better.

Since so much time had passed between the experiences of finding great biscuits and then finding the Grands again, I wasn’t even sure I had remembered the right style of biscuits.  There are several to choose from, so one by one I tried them all.  Yuck!  My disappointment mounted.  In fact, it became a search - a mission - to figure out the biscuits.  What kind were they?  Was I imagining things?  Were the delicious wonderful convenient Pillsbury biscuits just a mirage?

Years passed without solving this mystery.

Two years ago, Cass and Bo were visiting Bo’s family in Georgia and while there Cass got to eat wonderful biscuits!  She asked Bo’s mom about them.  Had she made hem from scratch?  NO!  They were from the grocery, frozen and just baked at home.  They were Grands Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits!  WOW!  Hope renewed.  Maybe Pillsbury had chosen to change their recipe back to the one of years gone by!  So, back out on the frozen food trail I went, searching for the better biscuits.

Disappointment.  I found them, bought them, baked them, but they were no better than the ones of the previous few years.  Definitely not the great ones I remembered!  Was Georgia getting better frozen biscuits than Nebraska?  Were we going to need to have them shipped?

This past week, I had a hankering for some comfort food.  I decided to make creamed turkey and decided to try to choose the best possible biscuit choice to serve as the base.  Thought about just going to McDonalds and buying a couple of their sausage biscuits and taking out the sausage; because McDonald’s biscuits are really, really good.  But, there in the frozen foods of the grocery store were Grands Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits and on sale!  I decided the discounted price was an omen!  I bought them to try one more time!

Success!  Yummy!  These Grands were the same delicious biscuits of five years ago!  WOW!  Hallelujah!  The creamed turkey had a fitting companion!

I was so excited about the biscuit find, I decided to make biscuits and gravy (along with the Bacon Explosion - tha's a story for another day!) for Saturday morning brunch for the Nebraska -  Michigan game (that’s a story we will just avoid).  Kopetkas and Cass and Bo were coming and I would unveil the return of biscuit greatness!  Great biscuit joy!

Well, the gravy was good and the bacon amazing but the biscuits were bad!  What on earth was the deal?  Same brand and style of biscuits purchased from the same grocery store in the same week....  but unrecognizable! They were polar opposites from the ones I baked earlier in the week!  How disappointing!   What went wrong - not just with the Huskers but with my biscuits?

Good biscuit on the right......  bad biscuit on the left!

With leftover gravy, I decided to bake a couple of biscuits this morning before Tim headed out to Ravenna.

Sunday morning and an epiphany!  Mystery solved!

For more than five years I have been baking them INCORRECTLY!   How I ever got them right is amazing.  How I figured out the link between repeated greatness is amazing.  That I baked them correctly earlier in the week is astounding.  That I was able to figure it out this morning is a delight!

The manufacturer’s baking instructions clearly define how to properly bake the biscuits but somehow I had omitted one KEY point.  The biscuits need to touch when baking!  I repeat, the biscuits need to touch when baking. 

Somehow, I was thinking I needed to bake my biscuits like cookies - leaving room all around each biscuit!  And that is the only difference between these two extremes of biscuits!  Let your biscuits touch and they will be amazingly wonderful!  Mystery solved - Grands (made by Pillsbury) Southern Style Biscuits from the frozen food aisle - let your biscuits touch when baking!

How often is it in life that such simple little differences make the huge difference in outcome?

Lesson learned.  Point taken.  Read the instructions.  Check your methods.  Check for the details, twice if necessary.  It all matters.

Hope you enjoy some great biscuits today....  and that you can solve a mystery!  They are just biscuits, but their lesson is powerful.    Hope you never spend five years fumbling around in the darkness....  when the answer is so near by!   Do I feel a bit inept?  Yes, of course!  But I remind myself - learning is a blessing.  Patience is a virtue.  Perseverance is key.  You can move forward even when you feel like you are just hitting your head against the wall.  Stick with it.....  great biscuits can be ours!

Time's Fleeting Pace - Thursday, November 17, 2011

 “Please say a prayer for all those you love and who love you back.

Time is fleeting and they must know how much you care before our time on this earth is gone.

Do the things in life you have always wanted to do.....
don't look back and regret the things you never did.....
be happy.

Our time here is limited.......never be afraid to give a hug or say "I love you".......

It means more than you can ever know to say those words and know they were heard
and that love was returned.

To my family and dear friends.......thank you for everything. I love you. Janet”

These words are shared from guest blogger Janet Grabenstein.

Janet is living a journey of love, care, and caregiving.  Her husband Chris has been battling cancer and passed into eternity on Wednesday, November 16.

May Janet’s beautiful words from the heart encourage each of us to reach out in love, live our dreams, and find within each circumstance the ability to smile and be happy.  As Thanksgiving draws nearer, take a moment and add to your prayers an extra dose of praying for those you love and who love you back!

It All Matters - Tuesday, November 15, 2011

One breath at a time....  one moment at a time....  one day at a time....  one year at a time....  and you wake up and find you are 96 years old!  WOW!  Well, not everyone wakes up to find they are 96, but that’s what the morning brings for my dad today.  He woke up to find out what it feels like to be 96!  Oh my word,  amazing....  I can only imagine.

But it brings up this thought for me....

So many moments of living...  so many opportunities.....  so many decisions....

How do you know which ones mean the most?
How do we know which ones matter the most?
What really matters?

Probably we can all agree that time flies and days become years.
Probably we can all agree that each day is important and a gift.
Probably we can all agree that the little things matter.

But still,  do you ever stop and wonder....  does it really matter?

Borrowing from a great writer, musician, and man....  Steven Curtis Chapman, I share these words:

“Little stuff, big stuff,  in-between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you
I bet I know you wonder sometimes does it matter at all
Well, let me remind you it all matters ........... ”

Yes, it all matters.  Even the tiny details that seem so repetitious matter.  Even the moments that seem so mundane matter.  Even the efforts that seem so unproductive matter. It all matters.  Wherever you are.... whatever you are doing..... it all matters.

Sometimes, we get caught in doubt or frustration....  and wonder if what we do really matters.  We may feel small.  We may feel insignificant.  We may feel trite.  Maybe it is just the big successes like a cure for polio, maybe it is just the big decisions like whether or not to drop the bomb, maybe it is just the historic accomplishments like serving as President that really matter.  Maybe it is only the song sung on an arena stage that matters.  Maybe it is only the words written in a best seller that matter.

Don’t be fooled.  Don’t be caught up in that foolishness..... because:

It all matters!

One word....
One breath....
One moment....
One action.....

Can change the course of your life, our lives and the world!

One word....
One breath....
One moment....
One action.....

Is the reality of your life!

Have faith.  Be sure and pay attention because it all matters.

Think for a moment how different our world would be if.....

Our minds don’t have to travel through very many of the current news items, world situations, or scandals to know for sure...  every moment, every choice....  IT ALL MATTERS!

There is only one of you.  There is only one of today.  It all matters!

So I close with some more words from Chapman (and if you want to hear them all....  they are from the song “Do Everything”  from the album “Do Everything” released August 2011....  and the video can be viewed from youtube as well).

With every move you make and every little thing you do.... 
tell the story of grace with every move you make!

It is every little thing that you do!

Black and White - Sunday, November 13, 2011

Yesterday the Big Red and the Lion Blue met in the center of the field.  Rivalry and competition set aside, they paused in respect for each other and to pray.   Black and white, it was the right thing to do.

 

For more than 10 minutes - the stadium and its 107,000 attendees, all of the college football community, millions watching and listening via tv, radio or internet, and the conflicts and confusions of the scandal were cast in a clarifying light...   black and white, this was the right thing to do. 

These young men and their coaches, teachers, mentors, and football family were casting for the rest of us in black and white a defining message.  Oh my word, through all  the grayness of the past week’s revelations came a clear assurance and perspective....  black and white, it was the right thing to do. 

In Bo Pelini’s post game press conference he spoke as I have never heard him before.  Often I hear a  Bo Pelini that is so uncomfortable in his media role.  He can sound unsure, distracted, and ineffective in his communicating of what he really has on his mind.  But not so yesterday.  Bo Pelini spoke with great clarity... black and white.  He nailed the essence of college football and life’s greater values.

Bo spoke eloquently about right and wrong, society’s obligations, and his personal focus on our youth and children.  He addressed that together we need to commit to making sure the Penn State scandal’s nature of crimes and the pain and suffering inflicted upon youth are not allowed ever again to happen or to be deemed acceptable on any level.....  black and white.

Many times in life, we don’t get to operate with the clarity of black and white.

Many situations are dulled, confused, mired.  We find ourselves living in hazy shades of gray.

And so it has been in the Penn State scandal - all week - as detail by detail and step by step the news has been revealed.  The Penn State Board of Trustees, Pennsylvania’s Governor, Penn State staff and student body have been wrapped in the grayness of confusion, shock, and emotions.  As a nation we have been left listening and watching with our mouths hanging wide open in shock, disgust, and dismay.

Thank you Big Red and Lion Blue for parting the fog and delivering in black and white a reminder that together we can go forward to work with diligence for a better world, a world where we do not allow actions or intentions that diminish the coming generations.  We cannot eradicate all the wrongs in our society in one 10 minute prayer; but we can pledge to stand together and speak clearly and with conviction....  right is right and wrong is wrong.  Some things are as simple as black and white.

Because of You - 11/11/11

In the sky over Lincoln today there was an amazing sight!  I have never seen such a magnificent display!

Oh my word, there were literally dozens of jet trails, crisscrossing the sky and layering one on top of the other!  It was absolutely beautiful and on this Veterans’ Day they served as a visual reminder to me of what we have to savor today because of the Veterans who have served throughout our American history.

Veterans, because of you we live with freedom that allows us to travel by the hundreds of thousands each day across the safe and secure skies of America.  We can travel for business.  We can travel to see family and friends.  We can travel for simple pleasure.  We are free to choose where and when we travel because of you!

Thank you.

I don’t pretend to fathom your individual sacrifices, I merely get to live beneath this beautiful sky and delight in knowing how safe each of those travelers is.....  because of you.

So, once again I say “thank you”.  And I pause for a moment in your honor, humbled by your great dedication to each of us,  and each American generation.  I am speechless that you each have so selflessly given to those of us you may never even know.

Thank you.

And, I can share these photos and my perspective - because of you.

Baby Steps, When You Want Leaps and Bounds - November 9, 2011

Oh my word, how frustrating it can be when you have a need, an immediate need and want immediate results but have to wait.  Kind of like experiencing baby steps when you are hoping for leaps and bounds!

Patience is a virtue; but often times baby steps just don’t seem good enough, productive enough, or acceptable enough to deserve our patience.  But, then I remember how profound and amazing a baby’s first steps truly are!  As a parent you wait, watch, coach and encourage.  You patiently wait to celebrate those first steps.  Baby steps are not to be taken lightly. 

Watching Jen adapt to her Macedonian opportunity and surroundings reminds be again how powerful and monumental baby steps truly are, even in the adult world.  One step at a time, one piece at a time, one relationship at a time builds our reality.  Jen spent the past week in Croatia, and when she arrived back in Tetovo she used the phrase  “I am back home”.   Adapting one step at a time she has built her nest across the pond. YEAH! 

Too often I find myself discouraged when I look around at things I want to be better or different and I feel like I am standing still, moving at a snail’s pace, or simply taking baby steps!

While I am living in this finite period of time associated with Jen’s stay in Macedonia; I have thought about this as a “time capsule opportunity”, make a measurement or evaluation at the beginning of this finite time period and then measuring or evaluating again at the end of the time period and then comparing the two. Hopefully seeing a contrast, an improvement, something better!  Sometimes, improvement or change can be hard to measure when you look at the same situation day after day; a fresh measurement compared to a measurement made a while ago can help you see the progress.  I have earnestly pinpointed a few “know betters” that I want to address and show improvement on as I travel through this time capsule period.  I already know how to be better;  but I want to attack some of those issues.  Then when June arrives, I can look back and measure my improvements.  And maybe this period of comparison will help stop the baby steps evaluation as a negative.  Maybe the baby steps will feel like momentum in the right direction.

I have a couple of goals, dreams, and  hopes that I am tackling, starting to move forward with and I am not going to give into the frustration of not seeing fast progress.  I am not going to allow that frustration to deter me or cause me to be tempted to quit.  I will dig in and persevere through Jen’s Macedonian time.  She is using her time, talents, and experiences to intentionally grow in her self and in the world.  How am I using my time?

How can I set up to become more efficient and organized?  How can I make a 30 minute workout an easier daily accomplishment?  What can I through away at home?  What can I through away at work?   Am I ready to publish a book?  What about that new product development?

So, I  am also going to issue you this challenge: I challenge you to take a step forward with something you already know, something you may know better than reflected in your behaviors, and stick to it through out this time capsule period.  I challenge you to weather the baby steps, find their greatness, and then keep moving forward.

Already Know - Tuesday, November 2011

There are some things in life we already know, maybe even know a lot about, and yet at times we live in contradiction to our knowledge and experience.  Sometimes our choices may even be a bit reckless or careless, when compared to what we know to be true.

Pulling into my parking place at work this morning, I observed a woman taking a healthy brisk walk.  There she was getting her regular exercise, and I admit I felt a bit guilty as I watched her commitment to the brisk walking workout and wishing I was more faithful about 45 minutes of exercise 5 days a week!  I already know that I would be healthier and happier and more effective if I could make that routine stick!  I already know how to live better than I do!

But, then comes the “oh my word”!  There she was walking up a storm, pumping her left arm with vigor, and up comes her right hand and in it a lighted cigarette.  Then to her mouth goes the cigarette!  Oh my word, what an irony!  She was out for a  healthy workout while smoking a cigarette?  I know I already know how to live better than I do, but what is that?  Working out while smoking?
                                                 
My dad has a great joke he tells about the farmer who answers the door to an encyclopedia salesman.  The farmer declines the purchase of encyclopedias that includes a great collection of books about how to be the world’s best farmer.  When the salesman assures the farmer that he can be the world’s best farmer with the knowledge that comes in these books, the farmer again declines the books and shares: “I don’t need them; I already know how to be a better farmer than I am!”

I think that is true for many of us; we already know how to be better than we are.

So, today I am going to look and watch and attack something - something I already know and know how to be better at than I am currently am!   Because, don’t we already know how to be better than we are?

What's It All About? - Sunday, November 6, 2011

Wow!  Husker Football can leave you shaking your head!  I know, the players are 18-20 year old young men out playing a game and you just never know what you are gonna get!   How true!  Oh my word, yesterday’s team and their play on the field didn’t even resemble the strength, determination, effectiveness, and preparedness of last week’s Huskers.  Oh well, even in the heart of the funk and depressions of Huskerland, we know that the sun came up this morning!

In our part of the world, Husker football is a great unifier.  On game day, the stadium becomes the third largest city in Nebraska, and for the most part we are all there with the same purpose, drawn together by this phenomena known as Division 1 College Football.  People gather from all over the city, county, state, region and nation to become unified as fans.  Lots of red clothing, lots of red balloons, lots of red tradition, lots of beef and corn foods, and sharing the same desire (and expectation) that their football team will show above average talent, skill, determination and strength!  The Huskers are expected to conquer all!  The stadium and surrounding parking lots, parking garages, otherwise usually empty lots, and restaurants are filled with fans who share this tradition and expectation.  For more than four decades, on every home game Saturday,  the stadium has been a sell out!  This is the only  NCAA record the Huskers currently hold, and oh my word we are clinging to it like grim death!

Let’s look at the bigger picture and talk about what it is really all about... 

Well, we gather together for a ritual, a ceremony, a tradition, an experience..... football is just the name sake of all that goes into this great sharing of time, space, activity, and history.  Never is a game just about that day, or that game, or even this season (thank God, or we would be really depressed today).  It is all about family, friends, decades, memories, new memories, traditions, community, and just plain fun and fellowship!  The number of games I have been in the parking lot and stadium is much smaller than the number of games I have been elsewhere, but Husker joy is also my joy. 

I remember in 1975 my first time in Memorial Stadium for game day.  I remember as a student from 1975-1979 getting to have a student ticket to each game!  I remember the 200th sell out and procuring tickets for the Federal Duck Stamp Artists who came to Lincoln to enrich a fundraiser for Morrill Hall.  It was a glorious vistory over Colorado!  I remember being in the stadium for the 300th sell out.  I will always remember the greatest come back in Husker history - Ohio State’s 2011 welcome to Memorial Stadium just last month.  Each time we are there it is a joy, one I will always treasure and I will look forward to the next time.

Hundreds of thousands of Husker faithful probably share many of these same memories,  have their own,  and look forward as I do.  But still what’s it really all about?

Yesterday the festivities of Memorial Stadium and Huskerland included the yearly special tribute to our service men and women as we prepare to observe Veteran’s Day.  Eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together to applaud the Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.  Eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together  to observe the names of those Nebraskans who have given their lives in military service in 2001.   Eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together  and welcomed and thanked service men and women from all branches of service.   Eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together to honor a selected military family and hear a message from their loved one serving in Afghanistan.  Eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together and thanked a Nebraskan serving as a Navy Rear Admiral commanding in Africa and his troops dressed in Husker jerseys direct from Djibouti on the horn of Africa.   

Eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together  and sang the National Anthem as overhead flew a reminder of a greater truth....  the C134 stationed just a few miles north of the Stadium.  And in the 3rd quarter of the game,  eighty-five thousand two hundred people stood together and thanked the pilot and ground crew of that great aircraft.  The thanks and respect sent their way was for far more than the fly over....  it was for all they do for each of us in the protection of our nation and our safety while living a free life.

It may just be college football, but from my perspective as monumental as college football has become; it is even far more than that.  In that stadium, together we were reminded and given the opportunity to pay respect to the greater truths.  As a nation we share a rich history of great commitment and sacrifice for our freedoms and opportunities.  Where else could you convene with eighty-five thousand two hundred other individuals and be a part of acknowledging our rich history and truths of sacrifice for our lives as we know them to be?  Nebraska Athletics as directed by Tom Osborne, orchestrates not only the sporting event but as I evaluate they also orchestrate the greater reminders and opportunities.  A great deal of care is given to accepting the greater responsibilities of serving as stewards over the time and investment of attention made by the  eighty-five thousand two hundred people who have gathered together. 

Yes, November 5, 2011 in Memorial Stadium was more than just a football game.  It included a ceremony, tribute and observance of our Veterans and their gifts to us of freedom and American living.  Each home game gives the eighty-five thousand two hundred people more than just fun, food, football and sporting traditions (not that I diminish the value of any of those); Memorial Stadium and Nebraska Athletics give us a greater opportunity and reminder of who we are and what is important in the bigger picture. 

Last week, Red Cross volunteers were on hand to take up the “offering” and gather funds to benefit their volunteering and serving around our nation.  Passing the hat in Memorial Stadium historically raises more than $85,000.  Nebraska Athletics provides this opportunity.

We do gather for more than just a game.  And we do recognize it as a solemn opportunity and responsibility beyond just the game of college football. 

Probably that truth of the gathering and its magnitude is what prompted Husker fans to stand in objection to the commercials aired on the Memorial Stadium big screens during the first two games of this 2011 season.  There is a controversy in Nebraska these days - the Trans Canada Keystone Pipeline.  This and  issue has experts from each side declaring the truths as they know them to be and Nebraskans are left trying to weigh each sides honesty and accuracy as they try to decide individually for temselves what is best for our state and our future.  Commercials were aired in Memorial Stadium linking this physical pipeline and its greatness to Husker football greatness and tradition.   The production of the commercial spots came across to viewers with an air of Nebraska Athletic’s endorsement of the pipeline.  OUCH!  NO-NO!

The commercials were ended and Nebraska Athletic director Tom Osborne appologized for the over sight and reminded the faithful that all political positions and controversies were not be be made a part of the Husker football experience.  "We have certain principles regarding advertising in the stadium such as no alcohol, tobacco or gambling advertisements. We also avoid ads of a political nature," he said. "Over the last two or three months, the pipeline issue has been increasingly politicized. Our athletic events are intended to entertain and unify our fan base by providing an experience that is not divisive."

The sanctity of Memorial Stadium is in good hands with Coach Osborne, Congressman Osborne and Athletic Director Osborne.  And maybe there in lies the answer to the questions of what it is all about.  It is not just football, it is not just the University of Nebraska, it is the bigger picture.  Just as Dr. Osborne has revealed in his own life’s pattern.   It is an opportunity to be bigger, better, more and timeless.  It is about our very core and values.  It is to be revered and protected; it is to be savored and documented.  It is for today and tomorrow; remembering the yesterdays.  It is the bigger picture within each of our hearts and minds.

To our veterans and current service men and women - thank you.

To the volunteers that respond to tragedy, need and suffering - thank you.

And to the protection of our bigger opportunities, responsibilities and greatness - thank you!

So, on each and every Husker game day and for each of us whether we are in Memorial Stadium, at home on our couches, in the corn field harvesting, abroad teaching in Macedonia, or abroad serving in Djibouti on the horn of Africa - together we are given the opportunity to pause together; united in purpose, and be a part of our history.  We are given the opportunity to say thank you to those heroes and servants around us.  We are given the moment to check our  own personal barometers and commit to be bigger, better, timeless and stronger as individuals.  And we will always move together through the ups and downs of our football team while tied to our greater truths!

Go Big Red!  Thanks Dr. Tom.

P.S.  The young men of Nebraska Wesleyan University’s Zeta Psi Fraternity are committed to “No Shave November”, as evidenced by Cooper’s whiskers here in this photo.  They are raising awareness and funds for cancer research.  I challenge you to support them or emulate them.  No, not to avoid shaving, but to take November’s opportunity of time and find a way to contribute to or support a great need and cause!

Traffic Routines, Especially on Fridays - Friday, November 4, 2011

Usually four days a week I take the same routine driving path through town.  I start out on 84th street, north of “O” street and head south about 5 miles, then I head west for a couple more miles and arrive at work.  So, with the familiarity of the scenery,  my attentive observations are focused on traffic.  You can see all sorts of things in traffic, even in conservative Lincoln, Nebraska.

Friday traffic has its own personality and that is poignantly true especially on Friday mornings.  Friday traffic is predictably filled with some of the same sorts of travelers.   On Friday mornings there are lots of senior citizens out on the road, I assume headed to get their weekend groceries and attend doctor’s appointments.  Not all of them drive 25 miles an hour below the speed limit or without turn signals; but enough do to cause others in traffic to need to exercise greater than normal caution.  So, on Friday mornings I drive with what I think of as “Friday Awareness”,  watching for but not being surprised by some of the maneuvers I see in traffic.   And yet, even with my heightened Friday awareness, I got a shock in traffic this morning.

Stopped at the intersection of 84th and “O” streets (which for those of you that are not familiar with Lincoln is a major  intersection supporting a total of 20 lanes of traffic) -  there beside me on my left in the southbound left turn lane was a Seward Motor Freight Company Semi-truck.   Now, I did make an assumption since he was in the left turn lane, that being in the left turn lane this semi would turn left when the turn signal turned green.  Wrong.  Oh my word, the semi pulled forward but did not turn left.  Instead, he veered right and went through the red light heading straight south through the intersection.  No one got hurt.  No one got hit.  But I did shake my head in amazement, even for a Friday morning that was a bit extreme.  I pinched myself to make sure I was not dreaming!

When I had the green light, I headed south, too.  The truck driver was driving significantly below the speed limit so within a couple of miles I found myself beside him at a red light.   Unfortunately, the height of his truck and the angle of our windows did not allow me to see the driver’s gender or age; so I can’t set the record straight or correct any stereotypes;  therefore,  I am without evidence when calling the driver “him”.   We shared this intersection without incident!  Wheww!


I do enjoy watching and observing traffic; I guess I have a busy brain (my daughters graciously comment on my active awareness and tell me I am really observant but that is probably just their nice way of saying I have a busy brain).  Sometimes at red lights I ponder  where people are going, where they have been, what their life stories might be.  Sometimes I see expressions of anxiety, exhaustion, or frustration.  Sometimes I see expressions of great joy, energy, and other times faces are simply covered with boredom.  Everyone is on their own journey,  everyone has their own story.  All of us moving individually, yet together in life’s symphony.  At that given moment we are in the same place; but our lives may not bear much other similarity.

With Jen being across the great pond and not driving; my mind also wanders to paying even greater attention to the walkers; of which there are very few in our suburb.  How they are dressed usually tells me a lot about their story, their journey and the nature of their destination.  Most of them are walking dogs or walking for exercise.  I rarely, if ever, have seen someone I think is walking with the same purpose as Jen is in Tetovo.  I have not seen a young woman walking and carrying bags of yarn.  I have not seen a young woman walking and carrying bags of groceries.  I have not seem a young woman walking and carrying water bottles.  Our lifestyles are different right now, my groceries are behind me in the van! 

As I continued my drive to work this morning, within just a few blocks my Friday morning traffic became more predictable.  Yes, there was a senior citizen driving about 25 in a 45 zone, he changed lanes to the right lane without looking or signaling, and he turned to the right on to Nebraska Highway 2 without stopping or signaling.  Yes, I was able to verify his gender and yes,  I was indeed back to experiencing my typical Friday morning traffic pattern.

Ahh, all is well; it is just another beautiful fall Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska.   Some things are predictable.  There is a definite routine to Friday morning driving and it reminds me of the security and stability in my life’s experiences.

Change is inevitable; growth is optional; and yet, some things are predictable.  You can bet on it!