Summer is just about history.  Labor Day — the traditional start of Autumn — is less than a week away, and I just got the jet ski registered and ready to put in the water! Good thing I have a wet suit!

We did have a great vacation. Early on we looked at the calendar and found only two weeks in the entire Summer that all four of us could be free to be together.  It was tightly sandwiched between Alex’s return from her language study exchange program in Germany and Tori’s month-long externship at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) in Sanabel Island.

So did a huge road trip from Michigan to Florida, fitting in a beach vacation on the water in New Smyrna Beach (where the girls learned to surf), a college visit at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, then a few days of diving with our friends at Abyss Dive Center on Marathon Key, a few days of zipping around on scooters in Key West, and finally hanging out on the beach at Sanabel Island before we delivered Tori to start work at CROW.

It was a great vacation. Why was it so good? Here are my new rules for vacations: [Read more →]

I’m spending a lot of time right now in Central Ohio, helping a huge television ministry as executive producer. It’s demanding, hard and rewarding but tonight it ramped up to a whole new level.

After dinner with my buddy and Avid editor extrodinaire Mark, I went back to the office to finish writing a script. Finally I pushed send in Outlook and drove through a nasty thunderstorm to the hotel where I am on a first name basis with all of the registration desk people.

Got ready for bed, don’t worry — no details — and the phone rings. Not my cell, the room phone. I knew it wasn’t 7am yet. There was a stinkin’ tornado sighted. (guess that weird horn noise wasn’t someone’s car alarm)

So, here I am, forcibly evacuated from my rented bed, sitting in a first-floor hallway with my pillow (how is that supposed to protect me?) and blogging.  The family across from me is really worried. A bunch of contractors are ticked because they have an early call. A really young couple is passing through on their honeymoon and think this is a cruel joke. They all mention I should be doing almost anything besides this.

And they’re right… I’ll be right back. [Read more →]

Two lessons today…

First: when you are on top of the world, everything seems to be going right, and as the church says, you’re blessed — don’t let up.  The situation can change quickly, crap can come out of nowhere, and next thing you know, you’re fighting, struggling, desperate to get back to where you were.  So, when things are great, keep working on it, make it greater.

Second: when you’re at the bottom of the pit, everything seems to be going wrong, and as the church says, you need a miracle — don’t give up. The situation can change quickly, a lucky break can come out of nowhere, and next thing you know, you’re fighting, rolling, confident that you are where you want to be. So, when things really suck, keep working on it, you can be great.

Background:  I grew up in New England and Larry Bird was my first sports hero. Kat and I lived in LA when the Lakers were on their roll of championships, she loved showtime basketball. We lived in Chicago when the Bulls were unstoppable and Phil Jackson was their coach and I did lots of work with ESPN and witnessed many of Michael’s magic moments. So our house is not united on basketball. That being said, LA fans, don’t hate me.

Tonight the Lakers were leading the Celtics by the largest margin in NBA history at the end of the first quarter. The Celtics were still down by almost 20 points at halftime.  The expert commentators had already given the game to the Lakers who had not lost a game at home in the entire postseason. The Celtics had the largest comeback from a halftime deficit in NBA history and beat the Lakers by six points.  One more game and they are the world champions.

When you’re ahead, don’t let up.  When you’re behind, don’t give up.

Somebody done somebody wrong… again.

Scott McClellan was one of President George W. Bush’s posse that moved with him from Austin to the West Wing. He was a trusted insider but left the White House in 2006 after serving as press secretary to the President. His kiss-and-tell book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, gives a scathing, one-sided glimpse into the Oval Office.  One writer on the Houston Chronicle Commons site called it Scott McClellan And His Thirty Pieces Of Silver.

Meanwhile in the church…

Ed Young, Jr.’s pathetic rant against Church Pirates in a staff meeting ended up on the Monday Morning Insight blog (a great resource for those among us who kinda get off on trying to make the church better). Obviously somebody left Ed’s staff and started a new church (what was that ungrateful, insubordinate Judas thinking?) or it may have happened recently to a pastor friend.  This was not Ed’s finest moment, but it made clear the passions that are ignited by betrayal.

Some churches try to insulate themselves by enveloping their operations in a legal cloak of documents. I was on the staff of a very large church that required me to sign a non-compete agreement (if I left for any reason I couldn’t work for any Christian ministry within 50 miles) and a non-disclosure agreement (I couldn’t talk about the church or its leadership for five years after leaving).  Feel the love. Obviously they had some betrayal in their past.

Here are some lessons you can use today… [Read more →]

One month ago, April 20, 2008, singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman was inducted into the Music City Walk Of Fame in Nashville, TN. Today, one month later, May 21, 2008 tragedy hits the Chapman family.

The Nashville Tennessean reported:

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.”

Many years ago I was in the Chapman home, producing a story for “The 700 Club”. Having been in the presence of many entertainers and stars, I was immediately amazed at the humility and warmth of Steven and Mary Beth. Their love for each other and for their family led to their adoption of three children from China. Maria was the youngest.

[Read more →]

I have flown a lot (working in more than 65 nations will do that for you) however, I haven’t flown much in the past two years. Now, the airport lounge is starting to be my office again, and I’m starting to recognize flight attendants. But I’m a travel snob. I’ve been accustomed for years to automatically being upgraded, and given admittance to the private airline lounges.

In the past two years I’ve dropped off the radar. I’m not a premiere executive or platinum flyer… I’m the run of the mill traveler. It’s like being told to sit at the kids table at Thanksgiving.

Today I’m flying and writing this from the nice exclusive lounge of Northwest Airlines. And no, I did not pay for it. I’m sitting in first class on my two flights, and I didn’t pay for that. I checked two bags and did not get hit with the stupid $25 fee for a second bag (when did that lunacy begin?). How did I do it? [Read more →]

This week I have been back in my old office, working with the same people as before, and although it felt weird every now and then, it proved to me the importance of leaving a place well.

When it’s time for you to transition out of a relationship (job, church, friend, city…) leave well.  Clean up behind yourself. Make things great for whoever comes in after you.  Do things so well that the people who see you know you have integrity.

Then you’ll be invited back. A former employer may have a gig for you, old neighbors will welcome you back to their homes, and most importantly you will be spoken well of.

Finish well. Leave well. Don’t burn bridges.