I love getting stuff in the mail!

So technology keeps advancing – email, facebook, myspace, texting, web interfaces, you tube… and that’s just my iphone (you still haven’t gotten one?) But good old snail mail still delivers that feeling of “I wonder what’s inside the envelope or package?” So imagine my excitement when I received a big brown envelope and inside was this brightly colored “ikea” hat. A collectors item from their Grand Opening in Portland last July… I’m sure you’ve been looking for your own piece of history on Ebay… guess what I’ve gotten mine thanks to some good friends in Portland (thanks Barry & Patty).

Great Quotes from Great Leaders

“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.” George Washington

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” Mather Luther King jr

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” Abraham Lincoln

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi

“A people that values privileges over its principles soon loses both.” Dwight Eisenhower

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” Albert Einstein

“We must become the change we want to see in the world” Mahatma Gandhi

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Henry Ford

“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength, one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” Booker T. Washington

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who get the credit.” Harry S. Truman

Challenging quote as you build…

“Avoid compromise. In a world of choice, no one picks something that is good enough. In a world of networks, few pick the isolated. In a transparent world, people avoid the deceitful.” Seth Godin

Pictures from the old sod…

Back in the saddle again…

Got back last night at 7pm, kids went straight to bed and were up at 5am ready to go to school. I’m expecting them to crash around 2pm this afternoon – which ought to be exciting for Aidan seeing as he’s still in class. Spent some time in prayer this morning, then logged in – the quote that appeared on my google home page taunted me:

“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” Elbert Hubbard.

I was doing okay until I read that quote. Frankly, going on vacation was great. We had a great time, I got to hang out with my wife & kids, spend time with family, eat a ridiculous amount of food, there was no agenda, nowhere I had to be and I got some killer new jackets. I appreciate times like this. Vacations just seem to recalibrate your soul. As I spent time in prayer this morning I realized that even though I hadn’t done anything terribly spiritual over the past week (though some people do consider shopping a spiritual pursuit) my spiritual man was more in tune. I have a propensity to work hard and not necessarily trust as hard as I should… There’s nothing wrong with hard work, the Bible has a lot to say about laziness and hard work, but when it draws you away from the Source that’s a problem. My big take away from my vacation and there were many, but the greatest was my soul having time to rest and reconnect with really what’s most important. God is the source of all that sustains us, sometimes the busyness of life clouds our perspective on what truly important… He is the Vine and we are the branches.

Unwinding in Ireland

Taking a break from the blogosphere this week. We’ll be back next week.

Start ‘em early!

This is how we roll in Ireland… start the kids on Starbucks early.