To continue the journey described in my latest book License to Dream, my co-authors and I have created a blog where we will each share some of our stories, experiences, and advice once a week. Mondays are my post day, so here is my post for this week:
http://license2dream.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/scheduling/
I hope you enjoy this little peek into my daily schedule. :-)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
The Narnia Code
As a little girl, I loved the Narnia books. I read them all, several times. The wonderful adventures of Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund, and later Eustice and Jill, carried me away (ok, they still do!). And I always felt that, while the spiritual messages within the books and the connections with each other weren't always clear to me, that there was a plan in the books. In Narnia Code, Michael Ward, who has spent his academic career studying CS Lewis, solves the mystery. Using his knowledge of CS Lewis--what he loved to study, his views on literature and storytelling, and his other writings--Ward gives the readers a compelling, exciting, and altogether unexpected key to all seven of the Narnia books. Using Lewis' poem, "The Planets," Ward illustrates how Lewis deliberately hid the key to the spiritual meaning of each book in symbolism of the seven "planets" of medieval times (sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). Ward's excitement about having unlocked this secret code is evident in his writing style, and it's contagious! I found the book to be insightful and fascinating. I loved learning about the keys to each book, as well as learning more about CS Lewis himself. I could not put this book down. If you love the Narnia series, if your kids love Narnia--you have to buy this book!
Monday, November 22, 2010
License to Dream
Three years ago, I never would have imagined where I am today--I could not have foreseen the tragedies, but I also would not have believed that the triumphs were possible. What's really cool is that I am more excited for the triumphs of people I had NEVER MET three years ago than I am for my own! It was amazing to see some of my team members earn a promotion with lightning speed and walk across the stage at the TER seminar. I love to see my team members bringing their own teams to events--seeing their excitement as they share their dreams with me. Whatever you dream...it IS possible!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Something to think about...
I heard a long time ago that people in the US are the most generous when it comes to charitable giving. So I thought I'd do a little bit of research today.
Did you know that as a whole, the US gave $303.75 BILLION to charity in 2009? Over $200 billion of that giving was by individuals. Most of the money given charitably goes directly to the people it is meant to help, as most charitable organizations are very careful with how they spend the money entrusted to them. (Charitable giving #s: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/news/2010/06/pr-GUSA2010.aspx)
Did you know that the government takes in $2,650 BILLION in income taxes each year? In 2008, the government spent $25,000 per household. And yet, where has that money gone? According to the budget, only $789 billion is allocated to health and human services, including medicaid, social security, feeding the hungry, etc. And yet, when you look at the actual budgets, only about $25 billion is actually going to health centers and feeding children--the rest is spent on research and instituting programs. (The president's budget: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget_fy2009_default)
After all, we do have a government that doesn't mind wasting $100 Million a year on unused plane tickets. A government that will pay $1/2 million to ship two 15 cent washers to another state. The vast majority of our tax dollars are NOT being used to feed the hungry or help the poor. They are being wasted. (Government fraud #s: http://hoguenews.com/?p=4834)
And I find it interesting that the income reports submitted by presidential candidates shows that the ones who are most for government programs actually give the least, while those who are for cutting government back spend the most. (Compare Obama's 5% with George W. Bush' 10+%--yes, I think Bush is a tither!). The big takeaway here is that we know a tree by its fruit. The people who really care about helping people are helping people with their own dollars--ie Bush. The people who are just giving the idea lip service are depending on the rest of us to do the giving. (Income vs giving reports: www.2timothy42.org/Blog/Media/Presidential-Giving.pdf)
Think about this...how much more would you give if you had more of your paycheck? What if you were given a dollar for dollar tax credit for charitable contributions? It seems that if we REALLY want to help people, we'll advocate for decreased government involvement and make sure that our dollars go where they will do the most good.
Did you know that as a whole, the US gave $303.75 BILLION to charity in 2009? Over $200 billion of that giving was by individuals. Most of the money given charitably goes directly to the people it is meant to help, as most charitable organizations are very careful with how they spend the money entrusted to them. (Charitable giving #s: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/news/2010/06/pr-GUSA2010.aspx)
Did you know that the government takes in $2,650 BILLION in income taxes each year? In 2008, the government spent $25,000 per household. And yet, where has that money gone? According to the budget, only $789 billion is allocated to health and human services, including medicaid, social security, feeding the hungry, etc. And yet, when you look at the actual budgets, only about $25 billion is actually going to health centers and feeding children--the rest is spent on research and instituting programs. (The president's budget: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget_fy2009_default)
After all, we do have a government that doesn't mind wasting $100 Million a year on unused plane tickets. A government that will pay $1/2 million to ship two 15 cent washers to another state. The vast majority of our tax dollars are NOT being used to feed the hungry or help the poor. They are being wasted. (Government fraud #s: http://hoguenews.com/?p=4834)
And I find it interesting that the income reports submitted by presidential candidates shows that the ones who are most for government programs actually give the least, while those who are for cutting government back spend the most. (Compare Obama's 5% with George W. Bush' 10+%--yes, I think Bush is a tither!). The big takeaway here is that we know a tree by its fruit. The people who really care about helping people are helping people with their own dollars--ie Bush. The people who are just giving the idea lip service are depending on the rest of us to do the giving. (Income vs giving reports: www.2timothy42.org/Blog/Media/Presidential-Giving.pdf)
Think about this...how much more would you give if you had more of your paycheck? What if you were given a dollar for dollar tax credit for charitable contributions? It seems that if we REALLY want to help people, we'll advocate for decreased government involvement and make sure that our dollars go where they will do the most good.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wurstfest!!!
Every year for two weeks, New Braunfels celebrates the Wurst--bratwurst! :-) This is one of the events Ryan has been looking forward to since last spring when we first investigated New Braunfels. So, the other night, we walked down to the celebration. We walked into Wurstfest to the sound of German polka music and "hey, hey, hey!" from the crowd, past men, women, and children dressed in traditional German costume, toward the wonderful smells of German food.
While the lights from the fair rides called to the kids, we headed to the Kinderhall to see what Dinosaur George was all about. Sitting on the floor, we learned all about dinosaurs, as the kids got to answer questions and touch dinosaur teeth, horns, feet, and claws. My favorite part? At the end, George reminded the kids that, even if something is published in a book, it's still just a guess.
After learning about dinosaurs, we headed over to find some dinner! Every vendor it seemed had sausage (and lots of other things) on a stick. With bottles of water and our food on a stick in hand, we headed down to the pavilion to eat and listen to the live music. (Ryan has better pictures...I'll try to get them on later. )
And, yes, we did let the kids choose one ride. The boys chose to go through the fun house, which the operator let them do twice. And Megan went on a scary spinning top ride, where she leaned against the wall and whirled until she was lifted up and very dizzy. But she loved it!
On the way out, we stopped to grab a funnel cake, which none of us had ever tried. With the exception of the melted plate we thought was powdered sugar, it was very yummy! :-)
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| Megan Being Eaten by a Saber Toothed Tiger |
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| A Raptor Foot! |
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| A Baby T-Rex |
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| After eating about 1/2, Tristan had had enough! |
On the way out, we stopped to grab a funnel cake, which none of us had ever tried. With the exception of the melted plate we thought was powdered sugar, it was very yummy! :-)
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