QUESTION OF THE DAY #6: What does it take to make teamwork work?

Gossip, blame, jealousy, and pettiness are all the enemies of teamwork.  For teamwork to work there must be a clearly established goal.  There must be communication and many other interpersonal skills.  There must be a high level of dedication.  However, the basic, unavoidable truth is that for teamwork to work, you need other people!   Therefore it's a very good idea to respect and value others.  Well, that's an understatement, I know. 

I recently was privileged to watch my son play a football game.  It reminded me of my own high school gym teacher showing us a film about football that talked about execution.  This means doing what you have to do.   When you do your job, you've simply done your job, and you can take satisfaction in that.  However, in the end it really is all about the team!   Win or lose, you can't do it all on your own.

One great thing about teammates is that they watch out for each other.  There is a special bond that comes from working together. This bond is there because teams are so important.  Without teams, we would only be isolated individuals, and could never accomplish alone what we can do together.

In Luke 17, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith.  Jesus answers and says.  "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Jesus was speaking to them as a team!  "You," in the original language of the New Testament, is plural!  You can only believe for yourself, but faith also puts us in a powerful position of teamwork.  Together, we can move the trees and even mountains of this life!

QUESTION OF THE DAY #5: What is something that really needs to be invented?

My wife swears she first came up for the idea of battery powered lights that you stick on the wall.  What are those called now, anyway?   I think that it would be awesome to have toothpaste that doesn't leave a mark on your clothes if it decides to drip off your toothbrush.

I enjoy experimenting with making my own pedals for electric guitar, switching out electrical component after component until I get the sound I want.  I guess that counts as inventing!  Certainly we need inventions that can help provide renewable energy and improve the way food is grown and distributed.  We need medical advances that truly help people, too.

Yet even the most ingenious invention is just that, an invention, switching things around, using something that's already there to make something else.  Now think for a moment about the word, creation.   Creation is making something out of nothing!  I have so many questions about how God created the universe.  This is beyond the realm of the whole creation versus evolution debate.  This is beyond "intelligent design."  No one truly can comprehend how all the star stuff, as Carl Sagan called it, got to be there in the first place.  People can guess.  People can come up with theories, but we weren't there.  We couldn't observe.  We couldn't take scientific measurements.

It is humbling, and yet exhilarating to marvel at God's creation. Near the end of the book of Job, this is what God says, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"  In other words, there are unspeakable mysteries that surround the creation of the universe that are only hinted at, even in the Bible!

One amazing mystery is that we have been given the responsibility to care for this creation, to use it for good purposes, even to invent things, tapping into the wonders that God has built into creation!  So, what would you like to invent?  What creative idea has God put into your heart?  Go ahead.  Dream!

QUESTION OF THE DAY #4: What is a healthy, effective way of dealing with stress?

Ever feel stress creeping up on you?  Of course you have! Stress is part of life. We are put in pressure situations. Some of these situations we have a little control over, but some we don't have any control over whatsoever.  Hence, stress.  It's like having to fight an enemy but not even knowing who the enemy is, or where, or how to do it, so our body, in a way, fights itself. And, yes, there is often collateral damage.  We take it out on the people closest to us.  That's how I think of stress.

Jesus had stress.  Imagine it.  He healed a man with an unclean spirit and was instantly popular. (Read Mark 1:23-35.) Everyone wanted to be healed, or knew someone who wanted to be healed.  There wasn't enough time in the day to heal them all.  There wasn't enough time in His life, and He cared for them all. He healed Simon Peter's mother. Then, they really started bringing people to be healed.  The whole city was at their door.  It doesn't even say when He got to bed.  He got up, very early in the morning, we know, however, and He went to a "desolate place." He needed time to be alone, but He wasn't alone.  He was talking to His heavenly Father.

We need to pray, too, and we also need time to block out the world when it's at our doorstep, too, and time for rest.  For me I enjoy playing guitar, and can relax and focus.  Or when I go running, I listen to nothing but the sound of my feet.  Or when I'm in the forest, I get lost in nature, even if I know right where I am.  These are my ways of dealing with stress.  

We all have our own ways of doing that, and we can learn new ways throughout life, which is a good thing.  Biking, breathing deeply, walking, gardening, what are your ways?

QUESTION OF THE DAY #3:What is your favorite exercise?

There are so many exercises, and where do you start?  Walking and bicycling are among some of the very best around!   You just can't do them all, though.  I'm retiring from hockey to take up weightlifting with my son, who  is a freshman in high school and playing football!  In fact, I'd get way less exercise if it weren't for him!  It is certainly time well spent, exercise or not.  I used to lift weights in college, and I did it for a bit about a half dozen years ago.  It sure feels good to be doing it again!

Of course, there is more than just physical exercise.  Playing chess, reading, puzzles, and even writing blogs are all good exercises for the brain!  We need that kind of exercise, too!

Did you know that God is our Trainer?  It's true.  Each challenge in this life that we face is a way to be strengthened. Paul put it this way: "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:3-6)

Now spiritual exercise isn't always about suffering, to be sure, but isn't it good to know that even when we do, it can be used by God to build us up?

So what is your favorite exercise?  Running?  Kayaking?  Something else? As you talk through these questions of the day with  your loved ones, it is my hope that your relationships with your loved ones are built up too!

QUESTION OF THE DAY #2: What was your favorite toy?

Lego's, hot wheels, jacks, dolls, bicycles, teddy bears, all of these are great candidates for favorite toys. My favorite toy as a kid was the "green machine." It had four wheels and pedals and was green! It was like a kid-powered go cart! It was great. We used to "whip out" at the end of the driveway and head to various parts of the neighborhood for our adventures. This was back in the day when kids could just go out and play! It seems to me somehow things have changed.

It's good to be an adult, now, but there is something important about being a kid. It is a time to learn and grow and have those adventures. It is a time of imagination. Ever wonder why Jesus tells us to have a childlike faith? Our growing and learning never stop, and our imagination is sparked to live as disciples of Jesus. More importantly even than that, we are called upon to place our trust completely in Jesus, and not in ourselves. This doesn't mean a life of passivity and resignation, however. It does mean that each day an awesome adventure waiting to unfold in the freedom that comes through Christ's love!

So, what was your favorite toy? Be sure and leave a comment and share your thoughts all about these daily questions. I look forward to hearing from you soon and to writing my next blog tomorrow!

QUESTION OF THE DAY #1: What do you see when you look up at the stars at night?

Some people are scientific about it. They ask, is there life out there? What IS out there? What are the stars made of, and how did they get there? Maybe they even think about the vast distances involved and the time it took for light to reach the earth. 

Some people are romantic about it. They think about loved ones, family and friends, living or deceased. Some people even make a wish when they look up at the stars. For me, it's usually some profound thought that catches me by surprise. Also, I always wonder if those far away are looking up at the same stars that very moment, too.

Thousands of years ago, David looked up at the stars and wondered about God and about people--about how the two can possibly relate to each other. He said a prayer recorded in Psalm 8:3-5, "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor."

In the English Standard Version of the Bible, this has the heading "Divine Majesty and Human Dignity." I like that! The stars remind us that God is simply awesome in power and might, but that is not all! God also made the stars for us and calls us to be caretakers of His creation. There is dignity in each person because God put it there. In fact, this verse is also a powerful reminder that Jesus also became human to restore us to the way God first created us! Maybe I don't look up at the stars and think about this nearly enough, but the next time they're out, you know I will.

You are invited back each day for a new question of the day!

Polar Plunge 2011

Why do I jump into icy water in Wisconsin, in February, when the temperature is in single digits? People have called me crazy, but I love doing it. This is my fourth year doing the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics, Wisconsin. Let me tell you.

My son, who I love very much, and am so proud of has been diagnosed as autistic. What does that mean? It means that he is different and unique, just as everyone is. Only Andrew sees the world differently than most people. He interacts differently than most people. Autism is a spectrum disease, and just to say someone has autism really doesn't describe that person. No two autistic people are exactly alike. Andrew is very good looking. He is sweet. He has a sense of humor. He can name every town and village in Wisconsin, and he can tell you how to get there and how long it will take. He loves looking at maps. He loves going on the computer. He loves cars. Once I thought he would never be able to speak, verbally. But he's quite good at it. He has excellent math skills, and is a good reader. But it's hard for him to carry on a conversation. He gets stuck on certain phrases sometimes, some sounds really bother him, and he has mannerisms that most people would recognize as typical of people with autism. There are very many things he just can't do, and might not ever do, but he is an amazing person, and can do so many things, too. I would not trade him in for another. Not in a million years, not ever. Suffice it to say that people with cognitive disabilities are near and dear to my heart. Special Olympics is something just for people like Andrew, and that is why I support it.

One Thursday, as I was giving the message, I discussed polar plunges. Shaking hands afterward, someone challenged me to actually go ahead and do it. I have never regretted it, and this year was my fourth year. I drove there in snow. I looked at the temperature. Eight degrees Fahrenheit! But I have ways of preparing. Cold showers for a week! Exercise. I make sure that I wear basketball shorts and a tank top for the plunge. As lightly as I can dress. Good shoes are a must... but no socks. Plenty of towels for after, and dry clothes.

The plunge itself is awesome. It happens very quickly. Normally I am chicken to even wade into a cool swimming pool, but it doesn't bother me for some reason to do the plunge. Going into the water is a rush of adrenaline. It is a bit disorienting, especially when I do my belly flop... that has now become my standard way of going about it. I force myself to stay in the water for an extra second or two, just to get the full effect, and then I head to the trailer... and go to work on getting as dry as I can and putting on some carefully chosen warm clothes.

For the rest of the day I bundle up as much as possible, I look forward to the next year, and I am filled with warm memories of this plunge and plunges past. This year I was able to raise $905 dollars that with the help of very many wonderful people, all of it going for Special Olympics. This has truly been a great day for me.

You can see my Polar Plunge web site on my previous blog, with a picture of last year's belly flop!