Leadership

i read something in my texas society of architects annual report about leadership that i found interesting. this was from the forward by the tsa president, and he quoted a san antonio pastor as saying that leadership "equals influence" and the pastor followed that proposition by stating that a good working definition of leadership is "disturbing people. but at a rate they can absorb it."

i found the part saying that it equals influence pretty much right on. that really seemed like a no-brainer to me. but the idea that it is about disturbing people made me smile. i had never thought of it in that way...but perhaps it was right on as well. if you're not pressing people to do something better; regardless of what field it may be in; then what (or who) are you really leading?

who are you disturbing? who's disturbing you?

Participant or Observer?

below are some random, jumbled thoughts flying around in my allergy infested, politically incorrect, case of the monday’s head. thoughts that have been stumbling through my mind for a while…some for a couple days, some for a couple years. not sure what it all means, but i felt like they should be written down…if nothing else, at least they’re out of my head. these are questions i find myself pondering occasionally (but not nearly often enough).

: how many times have you felt led to do something…only to think; “i know, i know, i know” over and over again?

: is your life bearing fruit?

: how many times do you make excuses as to why you don’t do something? that you keep telling yourself, “once this is fixed, then…” do you ever think that you’ll never really be ready, that you’ll keep finding something to use as an excuse, so perhaps it’s time to stop making excuses and just do it?

: are you a participant, or are you simply an observer?

: what is your holy discontent and what are you going to do about it?

: "all our good deed are but filthy rags.” why do i do the things i do…for my glory, or for His?

Entitlement

i had a great talk with my grandfather yesterday. he sat down next to me and began to reminisce. he started talking about what life was like back when he was growing up. how during the depression, very few people had a job…how he would be sent by his mother to buy a pound of ground beef and a loaf of bread for $0.20. how he and his brothers only had 1 pair of good shoes, so they’d have to go to church at different times, so they could all wear the shoes. how people would sleep on their porches during the summer, because there was no air conditioning and the heat inside the house was commonly too unbearable.

then, he began to discuss how life was during world war II. how you couldn’t buy butter anymore. how gas was rationed and you had to have stamps in order to even purchase it. when your stamps ran out, so did your gas. tires were nearly impossible to come by also. if you got a flat, that was it…there was no store around the corner where you could purchase another one.

that got me to thinking…how would we deal with that today? what would the crime and suicide rates look like if suddenly we were thrown back to those harder times? how would we deal? would we?

why do we have this sense now in our culture that we are entitled to certain things? that we no longer have to ‘suffer’ for anything…that they should just be a given. a new computer, a car on our 16th birthday, unlimited text messaging…

how will this look in the future? what will we have ‘suffered’ for that future generations feel are just owed to them? life before internet, playing outside, cars with manual door locks and windows…

what will you tell your grandchildren someday?

Path, Robert Frost, Proverbs

i have a thought or two on the idea of path, robert frost and "the road not taken", our journey and Proverbs. this is from my weekly post on phlebotomic. click here to read my thoughts and let me know yours.

Sex, Lies and Photoshop

curious? want to read more? then click here.

the man who put this post together is really, really intelligent and i hear all the ladies saying that he is quite attractive. i even overheard a young boy tell his father that he wanted to grow up to be just like this guy...i would love to meet him one day, just so i could shake his hand and tell the everyone i know about that moment...

sorry about that, too much coffee and taco grease this morning. enjoy the post and happy friday!

Beauty: One Step Closer

the following is from my post on phlebotomic


beauty is a feeling, an emotion
when all is as it seems, as it should be
when competing forces are at peace
when breaths are caught, when shoulders are relaxed

beauty is a tingling sensation, the goose bumps
a moment to be captured, stored in your memory
a thought not soon to be forgotten
an image of heart, a counterpart of love

beauty is all around, constantly overlooked
it lives on city highways, it’s found in suburban shopping malls
it’s one step closer to reality
what we all possess, what keeps us going

Facebook Is Brain Porn

did the title grab your attention? have an idea where this one is going?now, while i didn't actually write the following blog, i must say i agree with much of what the writer (roy bragg, san antonio express news) has to say. i myself have been on a facebook semi-hiatus for the past week and a half (i've signed on to facebook only a couple times, and only long enough to check inbox messages and ministry updates from certain individuals), and i have to admit, i haven't missed the constant parousing of friends status updates one bit. my facebook craving was getting to the point of full-fledged addiction...i was craving the facebook brain porn. and as i wrote recently, those expectations were going greatly unmet.

anyway, click here to see the blog written by roy bragg, and feel free to let me know your thoughts.