Validation

Sometimes we forget the importance of just making someone smile. I love this short film.

why I love the David Crowder*Band...

This video is awesome. It cracks me up. Especially the end where Dave imitates this kid. Enjoy! And oh yes.. twitter will kill you.

Onwards

For some reason I love this movie. It's a great "Never Give Up" message portrayed in a real creative way...

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

Everyone... meet Mogli...

It's time for you to meet Mogli, the kitten we found in the parking lot at work who has turned into our loveable cat who can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Enjoy....

                             

We've stumbeld upon a new hobby...

My awesome wife, Courtney, and I have decided to get back in shape. Well... actually... I've just finally decided to join her in getting in shape. She's always running and working out. I hate running. Really, really hate it. But we can find happy mediums like tennis! So as of yesterday we started this new hobby and had a great time. We went to the gym and had an awesome work out, then we grabbed our new rackets and headed for the courts. As you can tell from the picture... it got serious. Watch out Andy Roddick... I'm coming for you.

Thoughts?

Just finished this book last night. Has anyone else read it? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I really enjoyed learning from this book. The concepts were very practical and I believe they would be very beneficial for a company if they were to implement them. However there are a few things that I did not agree with. I do not think that the author is a believer so there were a few points, that I didn't hold too tight. For instance The Window and the Mirror Concept: great concept. It's when you as the leader look out the window and give credit elsewhere when things are good, but you look in the mirror when there are bumps in the road. One of the "out the window" things he credited success to was luck. I just don't believe in luck. Now, granted, that is probably because I do believe in a sovereign God who holds every circumstance in the palm of his hand. Therefore there is no room for luck. But still, it is interesting to me how smart people can attribute success to luck. Things don't just happen. You gotta do something! The other thing I disagreed with was the fact that they did not want to use the label servant leader when describing their "Level 5" leaders. They said, "it makes them sound weak or meek...they [level 5 leaders] would do almost anything to make the company great." I used to play basketball in college. My freshman year, we were blessed to play for (and win, thank you) our division's national championship. Maybe I'll show you my ring sometime. haha! Anyway, I will never forget the gym we played in. A nice gym, stadium style seats, great locker rooms. The team who called this gym home was known to be pretty cocky, dirty, nasty. They had a phrase written in huge letters in their gym for all too see, "Win. At Any Cost." Yikes. How far would they go? Cheat? Pay off refs? Illegal recruitment? Where's the line when you "win at any cost"? Back to the book - this phrase - "would do almost anything..." kind of rings the same for me. There have to be boundaries. "Servant leadership" (to me) is the exact opposite of "weak or meek" I would say that the best  form of leadership is servant leadership. We have the best example of that in our Savior. Now granted the author of this book and his team of researchers may not know my Savior. I have to keep this in mind. 

What do you think? Just food for thought.

The Power of Salvation

I came across this story this morning on the radio. It's about a girl named Ashley and her salvation experience. She wrote a letter to Louie Giglio (who started the Passion conferences) telling him about her conversion and thanking him. Then one day, some time later, Louie got a letter from Ashley's mom. 

Isaiah 55:9 - "As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Ashley's letter to Louie...

Hi, I feel kinda weird writing this email. And i doubt if it ever gets to Mr Louie Giglio. I am a Senior at The University of Florida. I got a new roommate this semester and she is a Christian and I have never really been into the whole Christian thing because every pastor or speaker that I have ever listened to didn’t speak in a language I could understand. I have believed in God and Jesus, but never really understood it because the preachers at the church that I have always been forced to go to every Sunday of my life. They speak all high and mighty and I never really felt connected, and I felt like God was only for the perfect people.

Well my roommate went to this Passion Conference over winter break. And she came back and moved into my apt and she was real and genuine about all her Christian stuff, like I have never seen before in a person. She said that God changed her at this conference, so i was like what are you talking about. And she told me. She told me about how God was cool, and how God really wanted a deeper relationship with her, and she wanted to really love God the way he loved her, so of course I was like well huh? She then said you need to listen to Louie talk about God, so I asked who Louie was, and she put on the Indescribable talk, and then we watched the Passport talk. And in the Passport talk you said that Christians do not have to just hope for the best at the end, that they do not have to do enough good stuff. You explained how to get to heaven in a simple way, in a way that I have never heard before. I actually got it, I got it that it is not about being so good, cause I am not a good person. I have screwed up a lot. But then you said grace, and talked about how is was different than other religions. Because God is a loving and a kind God who wants to forgive me. My roommate then explained that he wants to forgive me.

Now for one of the reasons I am thanking you. One, I am now a Christian. And two, my roommate said that she had never really cared about telling others about how much God loved her before she went to this conference. So though I am not sure who will ever read this. Please tell Louie thanks from me, for talking about Christ in a way that a college kid can understand. I know that Jesus has changed my life and as I get ready to graduate college in May, I am gonna be a different person. I am sorry this is kinda rambling but I just had to tell you that I now know about the Grace of God, and I have life for the first time in my 22 years

Ashley

Louie Giglio is quoted, "I will never forget the day her message came. And I’m not going to forget last Friday. Waking early for the last day of Thirsty, I happened to see this on my Blackberry and opened it."

Ashley's mom's letter to Louie...

Dear Mr. Giglio,

It is with a heavy heart that I send you this email. My daughter is Ashley, she wrote you an email that went on your blog and podcast Well, today May 3rd at 4pm we buried Ashley. She was killed in a car accident late on Sunday night. She lost control of her car and hit a light pole. She was the only car involved and had serious internal bleeding. She died in the arms of my husband at the hospital from unstoppable internal bleeding. But I have hope of seeing my daughter again. I have this hope because after years of praying for her, and watching her live a lifestyle in college that is known as the typical college experience. The last semester of her college career I saw a woman, not a college girl that I have never been more proud to call my daughter. I can point the thanks to you and Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Matt Redman, and everyone else involved in your Passion Conferences. Ashley fell in love with our Savior over the last 5 months of her life. She was so excited about graduation this week and moving to California to work her first real job. She had a life ahead of her. I miss my beautiful princess more than anything in this world. But I just felt like you should know that she listened to as many of your talks as she could get her hands on and read your book I am not but I know I am and she was so excited about God and her new found faith. Words alone can not thank you enough. I may never meet you here on earth, but I know that someday I will be able to meet you and give you a hug in heaven, but only after Ash does. Thank you so much for praying for my girl, and your support of her as she was starting her new life. Also thanks for being a man of God who has a passion, and love for college students.Your vision to share the gospel and getting college students to do the same made all the difference at a funeral today. Instead of being sad and scared for her. We were able to sing praise and worship songs today. Though there will be tears and I am so very heartbroken and crying as I type this, it is only because I will not hold her for so many years. And I will miss her for the rest of my life. I know I have said thank you a lot in this email, but because of you and Christa (Ashley’s roommate) and people at the Bible Study that she was going to she was happier than I have seen her in a very long time. In the email she originally sent you, it said she had life for the first time in her 22 years, and please know she meant every word of that. She lived the last few months serving and loving and learning more about Christ. She will now spend eternity in heaven with Him so one more time thanks. I know this was long and I debated for the last 4 days as to whether or not to write you. I know you are a very busy man, but I also figured you would want to know.

Ashley’s Mom

The Power of Salvation.