Musings at Altitude

We woke up to this today:

Psalms 65:9-13

You care for the land and water it;

   you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

   to provide the people with grain,

   for so you have ordained it.

You drench its furrows

   and level its ridges;

You soften it with showers

   and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty,

   and your carts overflow with abundance.

The meadows are covered with flocks

   and the valleys are mantled with grain;

   they shout for joy and sing.

What a magnificent creation God has provided for us!

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As our family was watching the Lakers vs Nuggets basketball game last night, my 15 year old saw the Nuggets logo at center court and asked, “What is that supposed to be?”  The logo is a mountain with two pickaxe’s crossed underneath.

I quickly responded, “Those are mining tools…NUGGETS?”

She popped back, “When I think of NUGGETS, I think of chicken nuggets.”

We’ve lost an entire generation now!

But it gets worse.

Just a few minutes later, my wife and I were talking about one of my dumbest moments in our married life when I brought home a two seater sports car (I had made a deposit) with her 6 months pregnant.  She quickly said, “Take it back”, and in one of the smarter things I’ve done in my life, I obeyed.

My 15 year old listened to this, thought about what she would have said, and then jumped into the conversation, “I would have said, “no you di’int” and then smack!”

That got a chuckle from us all. 

But the more I think about it, the more she may be telling the truth.

That’s the scarey thing.

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The world seems to be spinning faster now, with more challenges, more burdens, more travels, more things to ponder, more relationships to work on, and more prayers to be raised.  Even worse, the challenges seem tougher today.  The burdens seem heavier.  The things to ponder seem so much more intense now.  And then on top of that come challenges in relationships and pain in the lives of those I know and love.

So today, I did what I always do when I have so many things to ponder, so many burdens to bear, and so many challenges to sort through:

I opened the window in my office, lit the candle, turned on my iPod and shuffled through my favorite Christian songs as I felt the gentle breeze, appreciated the sunshine, and listened for all the sounds coming from God’s wonderful creation and the words coming from those songs.

As I listened to the music, I was reminded by Casting Crowns that, “Lord I lift my friend to you; I’ve done all that I know to do; I lift my friend to you”.  By Amy Grant, I was reminded that, “All I ever have to be [Lord] is what you made me.”  And then Natalie Grant reminded me, “this is what it is to be loved and to know that the promise was, when everything fell, we’d be held.” 

And the songs just kept coming.  Jaci Velasquez told me, “so I’m gonna lay it down, I’m gonna learn to trust you now; what else can I do, everything I am depends on you.”  Ray Boltz told me, “but in every situation God gave blessed consolation that my trials come to only make me strong.”  He went on to sing, “I thank God for the mountains, I thank him for the valleys, I thank him for the storms he brought me through; for if I never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that God could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.”  And then Jaci Velasquez sang, “I get on my knees, there I am before the love that changes me; see, I don’t know how, but there’s power when I’m on my knees.”

And more reminders came.  Nichole Nordeman sang, “the way it always was is no longer good enough, you make me want to be brave.”  Casting Crowns sang, “Lord I feel you in this place and I know you’re by my side, loving me even on these nights when I’m caught in the middle.”  And then Matt Redman sang, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship and it’s all about you, it’s all about you Jesus.”  And he finished, “I’m sorry Lord for the thing I made it when it’s all about you.”

Yesterday I called my Dad, and he told me about two sermons he’d been listening to about worry.  And he reminded me that real faith defeats worry.

That seems to be the message in most if not all of these songs as well.  Real faith defeats worry.

Such a simple message.

And then Avalon sang, “for as long as I shall live, I will testify to love; I’ll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough; with every breath I take, I will give thanks to God above; for as long as I shall live, I will testify to love.”

Now I’m smiling!

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There’s so much going on right now, and I haven’t had the time to write nearly as much as I want to.  Equally as important, the topics I want to write about require some deeper thought than my already-tapped-out-brain can accomodate.  But when I do get those rare few minutes to sit down and pontificate, nothing pops into the mind that gives me any excitement. 

So today I took a high risk path and asked Denise to give me a word…any word…and I’d write something about it.  She said, “What?”  And thus the subject of today’s blog.

You might immediately jump to the conclusion that she didn’t hear me when I asked the question, but I’m certain she did.  You might also be wondering if she definitely heard me but wondered why in the world I’d be asking her for a word to use as a topic, but I’m certain that’s not the case either.  We’ve been married for over 26 years years now, and “what?” very descriptively defines our relationship and our communications with each other today.

But why “what?”?

I smiled when she said it because it certainly represents the second most important word in our relationship.  I’m jumping to the conclusion that “love” takes the top spot (at least I’m hoping so) and is used as much if not more than “what?”.  But after love and “what?”, nothing comes close to being used as much or meaning anything more.

But once again, why “what?”?

I must admit, I talk very softly at times requiring Denise to ask “what?” when she can’t hear me.  I also must admit that I talk while walking and I’ll keep talking while I’m walking away from Denise (so she can’t hear me) causing her to ask “what?” in order to figure out what I was saying.  And finally, I admit that I’ll ask questions and make statements that seem to make sense only to me, causing her to pop back at me with “what?” in frustrated disbelief (if she responds to the questions at all).

So there you have it…why “what?” is such an ever present part of our relationship.  It’s a one word response to just about everything I may do, say, or ask.

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I landed in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday evening and we entered the heart of an incredible storm.  As we descended, it looked like this:

And for the next hour and a half, we drove through the monsoon toward the beach, going 60 mph for short spurts and driving perilously fast at 30 mph when the rain was pelting us beyond belief.

Coincidentally (or maybe not), several friends called me shortly thereafter to share their burdens of incredible trauma and turmoil at work.  They too were being pelted by driving rain creating tremendous peril in their lives, and like us as we were driving, they were looking for the shelter and sanctuary beyond the storms they were facing.

As I got in the car today amidst slow moving traffic and even more rain, I couldn’t help but think of the similarity between that storm in Orlando and the storms that my friends were facing at work.  As I bumbled along the highway at no more than 25 mph, I reached over and switched from radio to CD, and without even thinking, I went to CD 1 and track 2, and sure enough, Praise You in the Storm came on.  I smiled as I listened to the words that have brought me so much comfort since I first heard this song, and I thought of all those friends who are struggling so mightily at work right now and wondered if they too found smiles in comfort in songs like this one:

And every tear I’ve cried

You hold in your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise you in this storm.

For all my friends who shared with me their struggles and concerns, please listen to this song and find that very same comfort and those very same smiles that I find when I close my eyes and prayerfully reflect on its words.  In the midst of the storms that we encounter in our day to day lives, there is peace that comes from knowing that we are not alone in our struggle and that we have a friend in the great comforter and our creator.

Thanks for sharing.  More importantly, thanks for listening!

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I just got home from a 3-day, 3-site swing to visit our team members serving our federal customers across the country.  Once again I stand in awe of those who serve and those who serve those who serve.  It’s humbling while exciting to see the things that we do that save lives and impact lives in ways that are so special.

I only have a few minutes this morning, so I wanted to quickly post some random things:

(1) My 15 year old starts finals today; she has two of her least liked subjects today – civics and math; her civics teacher put out what they’d need to get on the final to improve their current letter grade; she’ll need a 100% on her civics final to get to an “A”; NO PRESSURE THERE!

(2) It was raining when we landed in Orlando on Wednesday evening and then raining when we landed back here in Colorado yesterday; both places were in desperate need of rain and both got quite a deluge at times; of course, a deluge in Orlando is like a monsoon or hurricane; a deluge in Colorado is like a 10 minute shower

(3) As we were sitting in the Orlando Red Carpet Club, a gentleman walked up and introduced himself, recognizing our company shirts and identifying that he was a partner with out company on work up in Washington DC; it brings smiles when folks see and know your company name, even more so, when we’re still a relatively small company making that name and establishing that strong reputation that everyone wants

(4) I have new candles burning in my home office today, setting the mood for an awesome Friday; one of my lofty goals has always been to make every interaction on any given day something meaningful to those I interact with and to me personally; through Bible reading, a time of prayer, a time of reflection, a time of introspection, and a time of thinking forward to the day ahead, my heart is made right first, and then my intentions are brought to the forefront second; I have found over the years that when I don’t take this time to get my heart right, the day becomes a nightmare with anxiety and distress; I’m no rocket scientist, but there sure seems to be a direct tie between getting the heart right and being ready to appropriately enjoy the day

As I now think forward to this day ahead, I’m ready to be home; I’m ready to be back in the office; I’m ready to focus on making every single interaction something meaningful.

And I’m thankful again for this time to get my heart right before I charge in to another day of great adventures.

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I was talking on the phone to my Dad today, and we compared notes on the amazing things that have unexpectedly happened in the last few weeks.  Things that we thought would be caught up in bureaucracy instead moved smoothly through the approval processes.  Things that we thought would cost frustratingly high amounts ended up costing much less.  And problems that we thought would be painful to resolve ended up being fairly easy to fix.

As we talked, I smiled, and I mentioned to my Dad that God has been faithful to him throughout all the happenings of these last few weeks, and that “He who began a good work in you would be faithful to complete it.”  That quote comes out of the first chapter of Philippians, and Steve Green turned it into a beautiful song – click here.

Later this evening, a very good friend called and left me a voice mail.  He said he felt compelled to call me and let me know he was praying for me.  He reminded me that “He who began a good work in you would be faithful to complete it.” 

Could this be coincidence?  While I was in Kentucky talking to my Dad in Mississippi, I mentioned that we should not be surprised when God is faithful to complete the work He started.  Just three hours later, my good friend in Tennessee leaves me a voice mail while I’m now in Atlanta to remind me that I shouldn’t be surprised when He who began a good work in me would be faithful to complete it. 

Different conversations.  Different worries.  Different times.  Different geographies.  Same message.  “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”

I don’t believe in coincidence.  I do believe though that “He who” will most certainly be faithful!

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My now 15 year old daughter is deep into studies for her finals, and one area she is focused intently on right now is cell structure.  I smile as she asks me questions…I don’t remember any of it…in fact, I’m not sure I ever even learned what she is learning today!  Here’s a picture of the cell structure out of her lesson material:

As I look at the names of the components of a cell, I’m smiling because I know what a nucleus is…at least I know something!  But I don’t ever remember hearing the names “organelles” or “cytoplasm”.  If I did, it’s buried deep in the vast chasms of my brain!

But I can’t help but think of a business organization as a living organism, very similar to this cell.  Every organization has these same primary components of life -a nucleus, a cell membrane, a cytoplasm and various organelles.  The nucleus is the orchestrating center of the organization, providing the vision and commonality of purpose that defines the unit itself.  The cell membrane is the outer walls of organizational structure, holding the team together and defining the shape and maintaining the contents of the organization.  The cytoplasm is the culture, that unheard (and sometimes unseen) lifeblood of an organization that defines the behaviors and beliefs of the organization.  And the organelles are the individuals within the organization that have specific roles and specific functions that provide and sustain life for all those that are contained within the cell membrane.

When all of these work in perfect harmony with each other, the organization – like a cell – grows and replicates and becomes the foundational components of an active and thriving ecosystem of business.  But that doesn’t happen very often.  In fact, business success is a rarity, and business failure is far too often the reality.

But when things do click, it’s wonderful to watch.  The organization thrives; replication happens; organizations join together to create an even stronger and more vibrant structure; and smiles abound as the primary purpose for the organization returns dramatic results to those who wait anxiously to see how successful any organization can be.

It’s amazing to watch.  It’s even more amazing to be part of it.

I prefer the latter!

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As I often do in the morning, I walked into my office and lit two big candles that I have on my credenza.  It creates the mood I want in the morning with the flickering light and the wonderful smells.  Since today is Saturday, I let them burn just a little bit longer than usual, and when I got back with my second cup of coffee, I found this:

My three week old candle had a blowout…and not just a little blowout…this was a major blow out:

It obviously got very hot and very thin at that one spot, and the hot candle wax started flowing…all over the credenza.  Fortunately, we had a glass top on the table, so the wood was saved, but I’m sad to say that the candle didn’t make it.

I can’t help but think how this is an analogy for what happens to us many times as well.  We’re just like that candle in a sense.  Various things light the emotions within us, and as we burn, sometimes the flame gets very hot on one side or the other, and eventually we burn through and the lava like emotions spew from us no different than the hot wax flowed out of that candle.  As our emotions flow, the heat continues, burning things they touch and sometimes igniting even more fires, both expected and unexpected.  At times, folks are fortunate enough to have their emotions hit protective shields that cool them off or deflect them.  At other times, the burn tears people apart, ruins relationships and impacts folks for a lifetime.

Fortunately, this kind of blowout is rare for most candles and most people.  Instead, when our wicks are lit, it’s a controlled burn with no risk of eruption:

I’ve begun to recognize when the burn within me is getting out of control, but I’m not necessarily good yet at blowing out the fire before it breaks through the side and releases the hot emotions.  Maybe one day I’ll truly understand and learn from Proverbs 29:11 – “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”

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Sometimes you just gotta smile when you’re traveling.  Today, I had to get from Austin to New Orleans, and here’s how the time went:

— Arrive at the airport at 4:15 for a 6:38 flight

— Board the plane at 6:15

— Depart at 6:45

— Fly from Austin to Houston – 45 minute flight

— Arrive in Houston at 7:30

— Board the flight to New Orleans at 9:10

— Depart Houston at 9:45

— Arrive in New Orleans at 10:30

So, my simple minded math tells me it took 375 minutes to do 90 minutes worth of flying.

Good grief.

To top it off, on both flights, the cabin crew had just enough time to rush through the drink carts and then pick up the empties before the planes began their descent.  On the first flight, I didn’t even bother getting out the iPod…just didn’t have time.  On the second flight, I got out the iPod and watched the very end of two movies before they told me to turn it off for landing.

Typically, 37,000 feet is where I do my best thinking.  But after today, I need to modify that.  From now on it’s, “37,000 feet is where I do my best thinking if we’re at 37,000 feet for longer than 10 minutes”. 

These 45 minute flights don’t do anything for me!

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