The New Project: 1 Lesson Each Day

August 15^th, 2011

Today is the first day that I run with a new idea: I plan to write daily about something I have learned that day. It may just be a quick note, but it may be far more.
My purpose is to catalog my thoughts for review and progress. I should file away the things I learn and return to them as frequently as possible.  It is my hope that I will be able to look back and view my progress or, at least, remind myself of lessons I have learned.

Today I learned that a leader must always be teachable.

“Your growth determines who you are.
Who you are determines who you attract.
Who you attract determines the success of your organization.”
- The book: 20 Qualities.

1. Cure your Destination Disease
2. Overcome your Success (Success hinders teachability).
3. Swear off shortcuts (Nancy Dornan: “The longest distance between two points is a shortcut”)
4. Trade in your Pride
5. Never Pay Twice for the Same Mistake (Learn from your mistakes)
 The author also notes that you should read 6 to 12 books a year in your field of specialization OR on leadership.

Today I also learned The Law of the Lid.

The higher the individual’s ability to lead, the higher the lid on his potential.
That is, if you lead at a level 8, your effectiveness is no higher than a level 7.

Notes on this:
-A manager is different than a leader.
-Personal success without leadership ability brings only limited effectiveness (success is not leadership)

Finally, today I learned The Law of Process.

Leadership develops daily, not in a day.

-Invest long term
-The ability to lead is a collection of skills, to be learned and improved
-Improving is a process and not a single event (events inspire, processes improve).
-Leadership is influence.
-Have a plan: have daily preparation. Be intentional  about your process towards improvement. 

Abortion* come down to one fundamental question:

Is the fetus a person?

If a child comes up behind you and asks "Can I kill this?", your immediate response is likely going to be: "Kill what!?"

A flower? Yes, go ahead. A bug? No issue there. Your brother? Um...no.

Abortion kills something.

The question at hand, which will make it either morally right or morally wrong, is what does abortion kill?

The obvious is that abortion kills a human being. From conception, it is a human that is concieved. So the question goes one step further to...when is the fetus considered a person? When does the single cell conceived inherit the right to life?

If you do not conclude that personhood (and further, the right to life) begins at conception, then there is no other point in which to firmly pinpoint when personhood beginning.

Every subtopic of abortion comes back to this fundamental question. 

The woman has a CHOICE, it's her body: I am all for a womans choice! In fact, I would argue that I am very pro-choice! I believe a woman should have a choice when choosing her healthcare provider, her husband, and her career. But when a woman wants to choose to take the life of another, especially as a matter of convinience (which accounts for 97% of abortions today) I do not believe that a woman has that choice. Convinience does not justify homocide. This brings us back to the question of: When do we consider the fetus a person?

Rape:  Giving birth to the baby will be painful and wil lcause the woman to think of the rapist everytime she looks at her daughter. She should not have to carry that baby as it will cause extreme pain. Hardship doesn't jusify homicide.
Imagine a woman having a child out of rape and the child is 3 years old. The woman points to the child and says "I think of my rape every day. Every time I see her I think of him. She is a constant reminder". We would obviously not allow the woman to kill her 3 yr old daughter because of this pain. The 3 year old is a person! She has a right to life that we can not take away! We are brought back to the fundamental question: When do we consider the fetus a person?

Prevension of illegal abortions: 
No one you ask is going to tell you that they want women to be forced into back allies for abortions because they are illegal. No one wants women dying from abortions. However, you can not make this argument.

By making abortion illegal, the number of women's deaths due to illegal abortions will be extremely low. We may loose 100 women to this sad situation if abortion is illegal. However, by keeping abortion illegal, we are losing 1.37 million lives each year. We can not justify the death of 1.37 million lives a year to prevent a dozen deaths a year. 

*I refuse to call abortion an "issue" here because that is not what it is. I refuse to compartmentalize the taking of millions of lives and label it an "issue". 

Sunday afternoon is interwoven bodies and classical music

Everything look perfect from far away,
but "Come down, now", they'll say.

If I bent like you said was best
Would that change a thing?
If I spent myself what’s left
Would you still leave me here?

You're so sorry about it all
Now that it's over
Should i thank you for that dear?
You're so sorry about it all
And I hope you'll always be

Cause I remember you best
Hating all the boys who got to you
And all the things they took
That you'd kept for yourself
Every car crash, every misstep, every word

You're so sorry about it all
Now that it's over
Should I thank you for that dear?
You're so sorry about it all
And I hope you'll always be
Always be

La la la....

Cause I remember you best
Hating all the boys who got to you
And all the things they took from you again
It's all wrong, it's all wrong, it’s all wrong

La la la..

You're so sorry about it all
Now that it's over
Should I thank you for that dear?
You're so sorry about it all
And I hope you'll always be
Always be

Good night, farewell
Is this everything you wanted?
Is this everything you wanted?

Good night, farewell
Is this everything you wanted?
Is this everything you wanted now?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Letting people in is asking for heart ache.

Not being able to change the past is not a comfort.

And, sometimes, its just best to be left alone.

The Luckiest

You have stolen my heart
You have stolen my heart
And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration
You are the best one of the best ones
We all look like we feel
You have stolen my,
You have stolen my,
You have stolen my heart

It is beyond me how I deserve to have my God put so many wonderful people in my life.
People who make me increasingly thankful, each and every day.
Even though Ben would call me "the luckiest"... I know that luck has nothing to do with where I am.
I am blessed beyond imagination.

And I am brought to tears over it.

If I could open my mouth...

"I wish we could open our eyes

To see in all directions at the same time

Oh, what a beautiful view

If you were never aware of what is around you"

I remember October 2011 like it was forever ago. I struggled with feeling as if I would never find a suitable man. Sick of being used, abused, unappreciated, and unloved...I gave up. I opted to look away from boys and pursue my single life. I felt as if my list of "must haves" were impossible: that I would never find anyone who met each of my desirable traits. I had surely never met anyone who even came close. Dealing with that and the break away from a drawn-out broken relationship, I decided that I would close my eyes to any options and focus on school and work.

And then out of no where, as if to push back on my new determination, there was you. 

Determined to prove my independence, I wouldn't give you the time of day. I have no idea what kept you coming back, what made you want to continue pursuing me. But I am so grateful for whatever it was. Your timing could not have been worse but at the same time it was perfect. I was so strong willed. But you would reach out to me on days when I felt so alone and was hurting deeply. I was so determined to do things on my own. But you persistently attempted to convince me that it wasn't in my best interest. I don't know what kept your interest during my countless rejections. But I am so grateful. I can only believe that God placed a desire in you to know me and that it somehow kept you coming back.

The BBC Bucket List

Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. 
--John Lennon


My Bucket List:
(as of: January 1st, 2011)

-Go skydiving
-Buy a motorcycle
-Write a fictional book
-Jog down the National Mall
-Participate in a missions trip
-Go rock climbing
-Witness a tornado
-Be hypnotized
-Swim with dolphins
-Kiss a stranger
-Learn to fly a plane
-Punch someone in the face
-Write a secret love letter
-Visit another continent
-Have a beautiful garden
- Swim naked in the ocean
-Go scuba diving
-Be kissed at the top of a ferris wheel
-Bungy jump
-Learn to sing
-Go streaking
-Ride in a hot-air balloon
-Run a half-marathon
-Passionately kiss in the rain
-Shower in a waterfall
-Have sex somewhere crazy
-Learn to swing dance
-Learn to pole dance
-Help an older person in need (something big)
-Help a child in need (something big)
-Own a husky
-Learn a language
-Stay in a 5-star hotel
-Own a gun
-Get a concealed weapon permit
-Have a beach bon fire
-Get a tattoo
-Carve my initials into a tree

I wish the world was flat like the old days...

New Year's Resolutions:

-Spend time in the Word every day
-Stop swearing
-Stop drinking all soda pop
-Stop eating all fast food


A new year hasn't ever turned out to be anything more than a new day. But maybe this year.