Celebrating Labor Day in January

Not that this will ever benefit me in life, but, when possible, I like to rock me some knee pads.

This Season Matters

“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.” - Dr. Seuss

Originally posted at LightQuestMedia.com/blog

 

Now You See It

Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear. Criss Angel levitated at will. And Penn ran an 18-wheeler over Teller without giving the little guy a single scar.
Their breathtaking talent is part fanciful, part unnerving. The “ah” leaves us gasping for an explanation. Why? Because we know an explanation exists. The greatest magicians of all time, the ones who can shock us even when we expect to be shocked, all have a card up their sleeve. Or a bird. Or a scarf.
It isn’t magic. It’s an illusion. David Copperfield didn’t remove the 225-ton Statue of Liberty. He hid it behind drapes while, simultaneously, moving his audience on a slow-rotating platform to change their view. Criss Angel freed a leg from an angle the audience couldn’t see in order to lift himself, seemingly, into the air. And that 18-wheeler? It was real. It was also counter-balanced with weights on the opposite side so Teller could lie under the wheels without the weight.
They are tricks. They are not magic.

 

Now You Don’t 

We learn Santa doesn’t exist about the same time a front tooth or two does its own disappearing act. That’s often the first moment our belief in the unexplainable begins fizzling out until it goes completely flat. If Santa isn’t real, if something that glorious doesn’t exist, maybe nothing fantastical exists at all.
Magic disappears like a palmed coin. The next time someone asks us to believe – in anything – we pause. And that pause is the beginning of a lifelong suspicion.
Once we reach our fully-grown selves, we’ve dismissed all fables, all fairy tales, and even many dreams. Life is life, we conclude. It has hard edges and dark days. It’s not a flight through fantasy land with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. It’s a war with both feet on the ground. And we’re tasked with making the best of it.

 

Presto Chango 

That’s all true. Mostly. Life does have hard edges and dark days, heavy burdens and weighty decisions. We trudge. We stumble. We fall, too, and nothing but determination will get us back up again.
And there’s nothing magical about life. It’s just an illusion. It begins. It goes. It ends. We travel from birth to the grave knowing what you see is what you get.
Except for that pesky, magical story about God coming to Earth.

 

What Matters

The holiday season often means stress, crowds, too many social events, or too few, too much to buy, or not enough money for anything, disappointments and expectations, and time with family, which can be good, bad or a mixture of both. It can be a time when the curtain is drawn back and it’s just a little man with an amplifier and a smoke machine back there.
So why is the season important? Why bother celebrating at all? Shauna Niequist in Bittersweet said it best:

“This season matters. Christmas is a time when God’s presence is more palpable than any other time of year. It’s also a time when what we’ve lost is more present to us, when the pain or the loneliness or the fear are more present than any other time. It’s a glorious, beautiful time and also one in which the smallest kindnesses can transform us. It’s worth more than pushing and rushing and perfecting your decorations or your homemade cookies.”

It’s time, even in the small moments, to once again believe in magic. It’s a time when we seek out the positive stories among the tragedies, when we long to once more dream our dreams, when our childhood memories are strongest and we, one more time, remember what it felt like to be convinced of the immortal among us.
It’s fanciful. It’s fantastical. It’s the Word come to Earth in the flesh, and that was only the beginning of the ‘ah’ that followed Him.
Because of Jesus, Christmas means there are possibilities in the impossible and hope instead of hopelessness. He is why we can dream and wish and wait expectantly to be shocked, with no trickery or illusion attached. His story has no trap doors, no sleight of hand. He’s real. He’s stunning. If He wants to shock a studio audience, He doesn’t need a rotating platform.
Merry Christmas. May the season enchant you with mystery, and romance you with adventure.

Dear God, thank you for all the hard times.

Originally posted at LightQuestMedia.com/blog

William Bradford had a job no one would want.  It paid little, as in nothing, and required much. The work environment was hazardous.  The people disorganized.  The supplies low.  Overtime came with the position but perks did not.

Who was William Bradford?  He was a pilgrim.  When you think of Thanksgiving, the buckled shoes, the big hat, you’re thinking specifically about William Bradford.  He cut the turkey, so to speak.
But a meal is not his story.

White or dark meat

 

Bradford led a life of danger, sacrifice, and experiment.  His journey hard.  His life a story not for the faint of heart but strong in spirit.  And it’s never been more relevant than at this very moment in your life.
Here’s why.
On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail with Bradford on board.  And that’s where our story begins, too.  It was the beginning of a great experiment.  There were 102 souls on board, 40 of which were Pilgrims, led by Bradford, fleeing for a place to worship God without threat of imprisonment or death.
They were seeking freedom.  What they found was a wilderness.

Turkey with all the trimmings

 

Only half of the Pilgrims survived the first winter.  Bradford’s wife not among them.  They not only had to stay alive, they had to create a new civilization.  The elements weren’t in their favor.
The famous Thanksgiving meal did eventually happen.  And there may have even been a turkey. Probably fish.  Historians say no pie, since they didn’t have butter or an oven.  But pumpkin probably made a showing, the guts of it hallowed out and filled again with milk, honey and spices before roasting the gourdes to make custard.
It was a meal of thanks to God.  A meal of bounty shared with their new neighbors.  And it was a moment to reflect on the work God had done so far and all the work left to do.

Pass the Potatoes

Celebrating Thanksgiving is a tradition for most.  We know the story of the pilgrims and the Indians, the meal and a prayer.  We nod at the idea of two cultures eating harmoniously.  Then we turn on the football game or take a nap.
The most shocking aspect of the historic meal, however, isn’t the meal.  It isn’t even the English pilgrims and native Indians sitting down to feast.  Maybe the most shocking part of the whole story is the fact anyone gave thanks at all.  Anyone, including, or even especially, William Bradford.

An Extra Side of Gravy

 

Bradford had never had an easy life.  As a young child, he was orphaned.  His developmental years were spent being tossed from relative to relative.  Before he was old enough to vote, at least in this country, he was exiled from his own country.
In the Netherlands, he barely survived as a textile worker.  Even there, Separatists weren’t free from harassment, many of them attacked with rocks and their tracts destroyed.  By 30, he would be on a boat with his wife, forced to leave his four-year-old son behind, and set sail in hopes of living free to worship God.  His wife wouldn’t survive the year.  He would barely survive himself.
Yet, on that historic Thanksgiving day, Bradford would sit with his community and give a heartfelt thanks to God for all He had done.  He would thank God for his blessings.  Let’s repeat that: He would thank God.

Who Wants Pie?

 

Bradford is described by some historians as having incredible stamina and vision.  He was versatile, detail driven, and gifted in managing people.  These are the personality traits credited for the Mayflower Compact.  For helping him shift the failing collectivist form of governance into the free market commerce system.  For leading to the successful colony and the Great Puritan Migration.  For serving him well as he served the colony for 36 years as governor.
He wasn’t born with these attributes.  He developed them.
Most likely, his constantly shifting childhood taught him how to adapt to unstable environments.  Maybe always being the outsider in the house honed his people skills.  Being alone so early in life may have been what drew him so fervently to a more relational, more intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ.  And maybe all his struggles, all that he had survived already, taught him that the hard times are the necessary part of the journey.
They teach what is unknown.  They burn away what is idle.  They sharpen the soft spots.  They make us capable of sailing across the ocean, if that’s what life requires, to populate a nation not yet formed.
Struggles give us tools.  And then they give us the skills, the perseverance, and the wisdom to use those tools.
So this Thanksgiving, as you give thanks for all the visible blessings in your life, consider saying thanks for the more hidden treasures – the ones that only look like struggles.

November 4: Live blogging...sort of

Election night is why I started drinking. Since I have no wine in the house, I'm just guzzling water straight from the hose.

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McConnell takes Kentucky. Maybe Grimes will tell us who she voted for now.

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Cotton takes Arkansas from the Democrats. But he's an Iraq War Veteran. Never bet against a veteran. They've got skills.

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Brown falling to Shaheen in New Hampshire. I'm sure she's a lovely person, even if she did coordinate with the IRS to target Conservative groups, like the memo released yesterday shows. Still, lovely I'm sure. If you can get past that whole nasty, illegal stuff.

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Republicans pick up three! Bwahahahahaha

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And then there were four. Colorado Senate goes red. I guess pot really is good for you.

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The fifth goes in Montana. We need six for the win, people. SIX.

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And the Senate goes red. Six have been taken, ladies and gentlemen.

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Joni takes her sassy haircut and her skills in pig castration (you read that right) to Iowa. Perdue takes Georgia. Walker stays in Wisconsin. Roberts remains in Kansas. And Florida rejected Repubican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat Crist for Scott. Republicans didn't just win the Senate, they possessed it. Now, I'm exhausted. And my neighbors would probably appreciate it if I tuned out the returns and stopped my shouting so they could get some rest. Thanks for tuning in to my unprompted, not requested, political live blogging.    

Mork from Ork and the Terrific, Hilarious, All Good, Very Funny Life

 

Originally posted at LightQuestMedia.com/blog

 

Robin Williams said something funny once.  Who knows who heard it, but it must have been a zinger.  It compelled him to try for a laugh again, and once the first domino fell we’ve been laughing ever since.

He had a knack about him to exhaust even the listener.  How could he think that fast?  Talk that fast?  And exactly how many voices were in his head, anyway?  Because they could all come out in one smooth, mildly coherent monologue.
He was genius in motion.  He flung words like wet noodles against the wall and every one of them stuck.  He left too soon, but, in comparison, his talent lasted so very long.
Robin Williams gave us the dance of our lives before the music stopped.

“Oh Captain, my Captain.  Who knows where that comes from?  Anybody?  Not a clue?  It’s from a poem by Walt Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln.  Now in this class you can either call me Mr. Keating, or if you’re slightly more daring, O Captain my Captain.” – John Keating, Dead Poets Society

Oh Captain

 

Of all the quirky, off-kilter, zany yet relatable lines Robin Williams spoke, one quote had more weight.  In fact, it sunk to the sandy ocean floor.  And there it sits.
Robin (his relationship with his audience was too personal to call him “Williams”) saw things few do.  And, during an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2006, he gave us a momentary glimpse inside the mind that baffled us.
It came after a two-year relapse into alcoholism following 20 years of sobriety.  It came two months after rehab, where he had admitted himself.  It came days before “Man of the Year” premiered and, once again, audiences would flock to the unexpected dialogue of a man who couldn’t be held down by a mere script.
It came after Sawyer asked if the last two years brought him sadness.
“Yeah, there’s a sadness…and then there’s also hope. In sadness, it’s almost like…you wish they hadn’t happened, but they did.  And the purpose is to make you different. It’s what they call a Buddhist gift.  I would call it the ultimate Christian gift. It’s that idea of, you’re back and you realize that the thing that matters are others – way beyond yourself.  Self goes away.  Ego, bye-bye.  You realize there are a lot of amazing people out there to be grateful for.  And a loving God.  And…other than that, good luck.  That’s what life is about.”
Link to Robin Williams Interview on GMA

“My first day as a woman and I’m getting hot flashes.” – Mrs. Doubtfire

Knock, Knock

 

Everyone loves the sound of laughter.  But maybe Robin didn’t hear it like we do.  Maybe he heard something different.  Maybe when he delivered a line so crisp it could be snapped in half and loudly crunched, he heard a sound with a more angelic quality.  Maybe, for him, all laughter was infused with a tinkle of glass and the gurgle of water.  Maybe it boomed like thunder or rushed like wind.  Maybe flutes and violins played in the background and, because he was Robin Williams, there was a tuba thrown in there, too.  Maybe as much as laughter can lift our spirits, for Robin it lifted his feet off the ground.
He was so entranced with laughter he dedicated his life to it.  He brought it to hospitals and sick beds, to soldiers far from home and the homeless far from everything.  He would take his talent to the darkest places in life and then open it up like a box of sunlight.
Everywhere Robin went, he went for the laugh.  And the laugh came running to meet him.  This was his gift.  It was how he gave to others.  That is where the quote and the life collided.

“We’ll try to be more quiet.  We’ll only play ‘spin the sock’, we’ll replace our stereo needle with a Q-tip, and we’ll all play charades wearing gloves.” – Mork

Come In Orson

 

There’s a lot we don’t know about Robin.  We do not know the struggle happening inside his mind or the pain of his battle.  He kept that to himself.
But we know he got one very important thing right: He knew life was about giving all of himself, even as quirky as he was, to serve others in only the way he could.  That, and a loving God, was life.  He knew it.  And now we do, too.
Thanks Robin for all your glory and humanity, your mistakes and stumbles, your humility and noise, and that one time when life was just too heavy that you made us laugh in spite of ourselves.
Until next month, nanu-nanu.

“You treat a disease, you win, you lose.  You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.” – Hunter Patch Adams

You Win Some, You Lose Some First

 

Originally posted at LightQuestMedia.com/blog

 

Bob Newhart lost the first time in 1962.  Carl Reiner won the Emmy that year for his work on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”  And the Emmy moved on.

It moved on during the entire six seasons of the “Bob Newhart Show.”  It paid attention in 1985, 1986, and 1987, but he still lost.  In 2004, he lost again.  Once more in 2007.
When it came to the Emmy, Bob Newhart knew how to lose.  And that’s what he did for 51 years. Until last year when he won.
When asked backstage how he had never received an Emmy, Newhart said, “The best answer to that really is whenever I was nominated, there were better people in the category than me.  That’s the truth.  The best person wins.  That’s the way it is.”
In Hollywood, maybe.  In life, not so much.  If you’re having trouble winning, it may not be because you’re not the best person.  It may be because losing is your destiny.

Putting up a fight

 

Jacob wrestled with God until daybreak.  He wouldn’t stop.  He wouldn’t relent.  He wouldn’t let go. He also wouldn’t win.
As the sun crested the horizon, the angel of God ended the battle.  With a simple touch, Jacob’s hip dislocated and remained so for the rest of his life.  Jacob was destined to lose.  And no matter how hard he fought (and fight he must), he was never going to win.

How’s the hip? A little achy? 

 

Culturally, losing is associated with lack of focus.  Or skill.  A refusal to actively pursue a goal.  Or laziness.  Losers see themselves as losers, winners see themselves as winners.  Isn’t that how it goes?
Winners are the exact opposite of losers.  They visualize winning.  And set goals.  They try harder than everyone else and never, never, never quit.
But here’s the question no one wants to talk about: What if you give your dream everything you’ve got and you still fail?  What then?

Losing is for winners

 

Jacob didn’t want to lose.  But he did.  Initially.  Yet somehow he still ended up with a fortune, a forgiving brother, and a name permanently associated with God.  He would father a nation and, eventually, be the bloodline for the savior of the world.
That Jacob.  The loser.  The guy with a limp.
But for Jacob to fulfill his destiny, he first had to lose.  It was imperative.  There were lessons in the loss that he couldn’t do without.  He wouldn’t lean on God without a loss.  He wouldn’t trust God to protect him unless he couldn’t physically fight for himself.  He wouldn’t understand humility without first understanding pain.
Jacob would be a winner.  But only after losing.

Learn your lesson

 

We’re not hardwired to enjoy losing.  We yearn for the win.  We dream of it.  Even when we don’t deserve it, we want grace over fairness.  Losing, however, may be necessary for the big win.  Here’s why:

1.  Me, meet self.
You never know yourself quite like you’ll know yourself when you lose.  When the win doesn’t come, you suddenly see faults and weaknesses that were invisible before. Now that you see them, you can correct them.  And, when you do, you just helped you be better.

  2.  Perseverance counts for more than you think.
In the KJV, it’s called “patience.”  In NLT, it’s “endurance.”  In NIV, it’s “perseverance.”  James 1:4 tells us to let patience/endurance/perseverance finish what it started.  When we do, we’ll be “perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

3.  Sweeten the pot.
When you lose, the wins are that much sweeter.  Newhart stopped submitting himself for an Emmy to “spare myself the agony of defeat.”  When he finally won at the age of 84, the entire room stood to its feet.  That win was far bigger and greater than any that could have come sooner.

4.  Losing is work.
Jacob would not let go of the angel until he finally…lost.   But in doing so, he  prevailed.  Perhaps it was Jacob who first said, “Winning isn’t everything?”

Chipotle Marketing: A lesson in increasing Qdoba sales

Marketing isn't rocket science, but it does require some thought and basic rules, such as:


1. Know your audience.
In this takeout bag, one of many to highlight quotes as part of their new campaign, Chipotle told their paying customers they should hope for the day when they no longer pay Chipotle.

2. Never devalue your product.
Money is how we value our products and services. Until we start using Gummy Bears, we're stuck with money. By saying you want your product to be free, you are telling everyone you don't value your product and neither should they.

3. Support your mission.
If you're in the mood to publicly espouse personal philosophies, write a manifesto. Your products should promote your mission. For Chipotle, that's selling food. Don't talk about how much you hate working to provide that product or service, i.e. food. At least not on your takeout bags.

4. Live in the real world.
Chipotle wants Communism. That's their prerogative. But, until they decide to close up shop in a democratic republic, money is required for their company to exist.

5. Focus on your purpose.
In this quote, Chipotle has not only forgotten their own purpose, they want everyone else to live without one, too.


And here's my last point, but this is exclusively for Chipotle:
6. Get a better marketing person. I'm available, but I'm very, very expensive.