Year: 2009

Categories
What's up

Seven Questions about the last year

On December 29th, 2009 Michael Hyatt posted a very thought provoking article on processing what the last year has contained.  You can read it here.  The gist is that there are 7 questions you should

ask yourself about the last year.  This post is my attempt to process these questions for myself personally.  I will also be blogging about this from a business perspective as well, head on over to the TwoMilesSolutions.com blog to check it out.  I will be doing resolution/goal setting posts next week, but here is a look back.

  1. If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
    I would have to say adventure.  My second child was born this year and it was a year of learning a lot of different lessons.  We never knew what was around the corner, but God always came through.
  2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
    – Gaining a deeper understanding…this was a year of understanding myself, my wife, my son, and my business better.
    –  Survival of the Fittest…as most of you know this was a tough year economically for a lot of people because of the recession, but we made it through, sometimes just by the grace of God, but He always provided.
  3. What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
    Along with raising a great boy, having a great marriage to a wonderful woman, and the birth of my second child, I also became the Director of SERVOLUTION (coordinate service ministries for the church) at Metro Believers Church.   This was a huge thing for me as I love to serve and now we are able to put a focused effort on service in our church.
  4. What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
    This one is a personal question that I don’t feel I should post for the world to see.
  5. What disappointments or regrets did you experience this last year?
    From a personal perspective (see my business blog for my business answer), I am mostly disappointed in myself for the amount of time I didn’t spend with my family and focusing on my weight loss goals that I have set for the past few years.  This is mainly due to the work schedule that I keep (it is a regular occurrence for me to work until 2 am.)  I make it a point to always have dinner with my family     and spend time after dinner with them, but I want to work towards more time with them and there are things in the works that will help get me to that point.
  6. What was missing from last year as you look back?
    This could probably go in the disappointments question as well, but I missed a lot of good quality quiet time with the Word this last year.  Along with time missed with my family, I should have spent more time in the Word.
  7. What were major life-lessons you learned this past year?
    – When with your family, you need to disconnect from the office.  This is a huge thing for me given that I work from home.  What this means for me is that sometimes I leave my cell phone in my office so that I am not checking my email at the dinner table.
    – Sometimes you just need a break.  As much as I would like to think that I am superman, I am not, sometimes I just need to stop and relax.

Hopefully, you found this post insightful, I would recommend doing the same as you get ready to start the new year and set goals for the upcoming year.  You can’t figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.

Categories
Random Thoughts

Seven Questions about the last year

On December 29th, 2009 Michael Hyatt posted a very thought provoking article on processing what the last year has contained.  You can read it here.  The gist is that there are 7 questions you should ask yourself about the last year.  This post is my attempt to process these questions for myself from a business perspective.   I will be doing resolution/goal setting posts next week, but here is a look back.

  1. If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
    I would have to say suspense.  Two Miles Solutions, LLC will be celebrating its 3rd birthday in March of 2010 so we are still on that upward curve where you don’t know sometimes where that next paycheck is coming from.  This is especially true given what the economic climate in our country was this year.  All that being said, Two Miles Solutions, LLC is ending the year on a great foot and things look very good for 2010.
  2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
    – Gaining a deeper understanding…this was a year where I grew a lot as an individual, from a business owner perspective, I have learned quite a lot about the politics that you have to play as a business owner sometimes and as much as you try and stay out of the BS, it finds you.  I have learned how to use a lot of cool tools this year and have developed quite the toolbox for myself to help other customers.
    –  Survival of the Fittest…as most of you know this was a tough year economically for a lot of people because of the recession, many businesses shut down, but Two Miles Solutions, LLC is still alive and kicking and looking forward to what 2010 will contain.
  3. What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
    I think the first thing I have to say is that I survived.  A lot of business owners I know had to close shop this year.  I am proud to say that Two Miles Solutions, LLC is right on the verge of some really cool things that look to be shaping up for the 2010 calendar year.
  4. What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
    This one is a personal question that I don’t feel I should post for the world to see.
  5. What disappointments or regrets did you experience this last year?
    There are a few projects that I worked on this year that should have gained traction but for one reason or another didn’t.  All four projects hold the promise of residual income that will allow me to spend less time working and more time with my family, but for reasons I can’t elaborate to the entire world (most if not all of them completely out of my control) none of them turned out the way we expected.  Things are looking better for 2010 on all four projects, but we will see.
  6. What was missing from last year as you look back?
    Sleep.  Most people who know me know that I don’t get a whole lot of sleep.  I hope to change this in 2010 and going forward.
  7. What were major life-lessons you learned this past year?
    –     When with your family, you need to disconnect from the office.  This is a huge thing for me given that I work from home.  What this means for me is that sometimes I leave my cell phone in my office so that I am not checking my email at the dinner table.
    – Sometimes you just need a break.  As much as I would like to think that I am superman, I am not, sometimes I just need to stop and relax.

Hopefully, you found this post insightful, I would recommend doing the same as you get ready to start the new year and set goals for the upcoming year.  You can’t figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.

Categories
Non-Fiction

Book Review: 5 Cities that Ruled the World – How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, & New York Shaped Global History – Douglas Wilson

5 Cities that Ruled the World“Jerusalem represents the soul set free.  Athens established the ideal of free inquiry.  Rome passed on to us liberty of movement, liberty under law.  London was the place where literary imagination was set free.  And New York, with its commercial success, has shown us freedom to trade, and the subsequent freedom from want.” p. 189.

This book is not my normal cup of tea.  Typically, I tend towards fiction or non-fiction that addresses Christian living, but when I read the synopsis for 5 Cities I was intrigued.  The quote by George Santayana “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” ran through my mind so I signed up to receive it.  I am extremely glad that I did.  Not only was 5 Cities an engaging read but I found myself educated in ways that I did not expect.  I appreciated the author’s in depth analysis of how each of these cities helped shape the world we live in today.  I also appreciated how as opposed to many history books that I have read (mostly from my school days) the author was not afraid to bring the Biblical narrative into the discussion and relate how these cities were affected by people of faith as well as how these cities affected people of faith.  One of the most stunning discoveries for me in this book was the fact that within a few paragraphs the author brought into focus a part of the Old Testament that has been blurry for me for years.  I can’t in good conscience tell you what that revelation was as it would rob you of the opportunity to glean a lot of great information from reading 5 Cities yourself.

Overall I give this book a 4 out of 5, happy reading.

Please feel free to comment or share your thoughts below.

Categories
Family

8 Mandates of a Father – Growing Kids God’s Way

A friend of mine posted this on his facebook account tonight and it reminded me of the great teaching we got as a part of the Growing Kids God’s Way small group Mandy and I were in. I thought I would repost it here for all the other fathers out there who could use a little encouragement.

(A mandate is something non-negotiable)

(Wives: please encourage and support your husband in this! Are you supporting these mandates? Helping, honoring, respecting him?)

It’s not the time I spend, it’s the quality of my RELATIONSHIP with my children. Their TRUST in me.

1. Cultivate a sense of family identity. A) verbally encourage my children. When I’m excited about the family, the children are excited. “This is a great family!” B) Know where I’m going with my family identity. Beautiful. Tight.

2. Provide an ongoing demonstration of love for my wife. If I really love my children, I will give them the gift of confidence and security in their parents’ relationship. Give my wife so much love it embarrasses the children!

3. I need to understand and respect my child’s private world. Stop what you’re doing. Listen. Be there. Give them the confidence that they can share their treasures with you. You never know when you’ll be invited in. Three worlds: A) Public. B) Personal. C) Private.

4. Give my children the freedom to fail. Failure is the first step to success; it builds wisdom. Children WILL fail; how will you respond? Children don’t fear failing; they fear failing dad.

5. I need to be the encourager of my family. Write little love notes to my children (lunchbox; backpack). My presence. My smile. Children need to know they have MY trust; give them opportunities to earn it. Create in them an HONEST trust in your leadership.

6. As a father, I must guard my tongue and my tone and learn to measure my response against the excitement on their faces. The more excited THEY are; the more excited I am!

7. I need to touch my children. Hold. Hug. Mom’s arms are comforting; dad’s arms are SECURITY. If you don’t touch your children, someone else will. Always hold them; always.

8. If I am going to build a trusting relationship with my children, it must be built on God’s Truth and not on man’s wisdom. Bible. My children see God through ME. My children will trust GOD based on how they trust me.

Prov 23:15 “Son, give me your heart”

Prov 23:26 “(child) if YOUR heart is wise; MY heart will rejoice”

You’re going to fail them sometimes. Remember to ask their forgiveness.

My relationship with my child is the precedent for their relationship with God. How am I doing with that?

Fathers and Mothers: am I doing it this way because that’s how my parents taught me, or because that’s God wants me to do it.

My prayer is that all of us fathers would take these points to heart.  Thanks for posting this Alex.

Categories
Movies

Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Reynolds

X-Men Origins: WolverineAs most of the people who know me are aware, I love comic book movies.  I was never really collected comics as a kid, my brother did, but I loved watching the cartoons and always loved the super hero stories.  I remember the day when I went to see the original X-Men in Des Moines with my dad and brother and how stoked I was to see the movie.  I have faithfully watched all three of the previous X-Men movies as well as just about every other comic book movie that has come out.  The fact that Marvel Studios was created is just icing on the cake.  The movies they have put out so far have been great.  Add to that the fact that Disney bought Marvel Studios and now you have the mouse funding great movies.

Anyway, off my soap box.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine begins with a young boy learning he has bone like claws that come out of his hands which he uses to kill the man he learns is his father.  At this point his brother Victor (Liev Schreiber) and he take of running and they don’t stop until William Stryker (Danny Huston) finds them after they were supposed to have been killed by firing squad.  They join an elite unit that also includes Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, here he is again) and other mutants.  I won’t give too much away, but the movie follows the story that eventually leads to Logan (Hugh Jackman) becoming the metal boned mutant that we know and love.  Including his memory loss.

One thing to note, if you saw it in the theater you may need to see it again, or at least the scene after the credits.  According to Unrealitymag.com there were multiple alternate scenes after the credits.  I’ve seen 2 different endings, one in the theater and one on DVD.

To break it down simply, I loved the movie.  I know I can be biased when it comes to comic book movies, but I thought this movie was really well done.  It is at least worth a rental if not a buy.  I’m planning on buying it this weekend.  I thought the special effects were tastefully done and there was actually a story line.  They even paid attention to the small details, like how much Logan would weigh after having his skeleton coated with adamantium (something before the movie I hadn’t even considered).  I thought how he lost his memory was a little shady, but it wasn’t too bad so I’ll let it pass.

Rating: 5 out of 5

If you want to buy it, head on over to Amazon.com.

Categories
Fiction

Book Review: Green – Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker - GreenTed Dekker both starts and finishes what he set into motion with Black. In a world where the spiritual is physical Thomas Hunter must keep the Circle from breaking apart as the world careens towards the final showdown between good and evil, between Elyon and Teelah.

I was extremely excited to begin reading Green because I loved Black, Red, & White. I don’t know if it was because I held unrealistic expectations or if the book wasn’t as good as the previous books but I was disappointed when I finished Green. My disappointment was mainly due to the way Dekker closed the loop, I felt he could have done it in

a way that was more satisfying. I will say that Dekker’s grasp of the Biblical narrative is amazing, what really threw me though was his shifting back and forth between Biblical allegory and more direct Biblical example. Throughout the series he has had definite Biblical allegory, but in Green he throws in some scenes where they really aren’t allegory, I basically knew how the scene was going to end even as it started. He even names one character Ba’al which immediately paints the character in a certain light for most readers. It was also disappointing that with the current vampire infatuation in our culture that Dekker decided to go there.

Note: In the material that I have read for Green the book is grouped with Black, Red, & White and left at that. There are parts in Green that refer to the Lost Books Series (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, & Elyon) as well as the Paradise Novels (Saint, Sinner, & Showdown). As I was reading Green, I wished that I hadn’t stopped reading the Lost Books at Chaos because there is are parts within Green that I am assuming a reader who has read the Lost Books and Paradise novels would understand the backstory a little better.

I’m willing to give Dekker the benefit of the doubt though and give Green a 3 out of 5 rating.

Related Reading:

  • Black, Red, & White
  • Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, & Elyon
  • Saint, Sinner, & Showdown

Note: due to a quirk in WordPress I am unable to hyperlink all of the books referenced in this post…I sincerely apologize.

Categories
Pictures

Carrie Anne & Company Photo Blitz

I am not a man of many words, plus pictures are worth 1,000, so here you go…remember the images are full size when you click on them so you may have to scroll to the bottom right to see the close button.

Baby GiftsBro, gift, & sisbig brothersis, bro, & mommyin Carrie's roomgood big broon the way outtakin care of sisin her new bed

Categories
What's up

Caleb & Carrie

I am too tired to post more pics (I’ve fallen asleep with her in my arms twice today), they will come tomorrow, but for now, check out big brother Caleb and his new little sister.

I’m posting from my phone so please forgive any typos and the short post.

Categories
What's up

Carrie Anne Miles is here!

Carrie Anne Miles was born at 12:10 am on 10/2/2009.  She weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 inches long.  Mommy and baby are doing great!

Be warned, the pictures are full size once you click on them so you will have to scroll around to find the close button in the bottom right corner of the popup.

Carrie Anne MilesCarrie Anne MilesCarrie Anne Miles FootprintDSC01153Carrie Anne MilesMommy & Baby

Categories
Movies

Movie Review: Love Happens – Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Judy Greer & Dan Fogler

love-happens_poster-337x500In Love Happens Burke (Aaron Eckhart) has made lemonade out of lemons by writing a book about how to cope with losing a loved one after his wife dies in a car accident.  The movie picks up roughly 3 years after the loss of his wife.  He is on a seminar tour that brings him back to his old home town of Seattle, Washington (a place where he does not want to be I might add) where he meets Eloise (Jennifer Aniston) a flower shop owner who leaves random large words behind the hotel art that brushes him off by pretending to be deaf.  Throughout the course of the movie Eloise forces Burke to come to grips with his lemons and a romance blooms.

I really liked this movie.  Aaron Eckhart & Jennifer Aniston had really good on screen chemistry and the storyline was put together very well.  There were points in the movie that I thought conversation would have gone quite different in real life, but the raw emotion displayed by Eckhart is refreshingly good.  I was also pleasantly surprised that for a romance there was no skin shown.  Dan Fogler provides a great supporting role as Burke’s agent (Lane) and makes things light when necessary but you can tell from the way Burke and Lane interact that they have a lot of history and Lane really is looking out for Burke and wants the best for him as evidenced by a last minute meeting before the executive meeting that he has been trying to setup for Burke.  Judy Greer brings a solid performance in her usual role as second chair.  In Love Happens I would like to see Judy Greer in a leading role, she is funny enough and a solid enough actress that I think she would be able to pull off a leading role.  Time will tell though, if she does though, you heard it here first.  Finally, Martin Sheen plays the ex-Marine father of Burke’s deceased wife and he knocks it out of the park.  I don’t want to give too much story away otherwise I would tell you how, I can say that there is a reason he has been in the business as long as he has.

Grade: B+

Notable Movies for each actor/actress: (I’m going to try listing movies I think are worth seeing, please let me know if you find it useful)

Aaron Eckhart:

Jennifer Aniston:

Dan Fogler:

Judy Greer:

Martin Sheen (as of this writing he has 218 movies and tv appearances on imdb.com but I haven’t seen a lot of the movies, I have mostly seen him on TV):

  • The American President
  • Spawn – kind of a dark movie, but a comic book movie nonetheless, not sure I should recommend it because they only list the unrated director’s cut which I can only imagine is very dark.

Please let me know by adding a comment if you found this review helpful or if you would like me to change the way I do reviews.  Also, if you did like the review, please use the share links below to share this blog entry on Facebook, Twitter, etc…