Yesterday was the release of the brand new iPhone.  With 600,000 pre-orders in one day and the expectation to sell over 1 million in the first day, June 24th had all the makings of complete disaster…much like the pre-order day turned out to be for many.

Then with stories of people lined up for blocks outside Apple Stores all over the world we didn’t know what to expect.  We decided we would just make a fun evening out of it and off to the Apple Store we went.  After about 6 hours we left with a new phone for my wife!

As we stood in line, I noticed a few things that Apple did very well that we can all learn from.

• Learn From Mistakes – After falling flat on their faces along with AT&T, Apple had a lot of ground to make up to repair the damage that the pre-ordering debacle caused.  I’m not gonna lie.  Because of the madness and all the stories that we heard, I definitely lowered my expectations.  I had even considered just letting the reserved iPhone 4 go and just wait until the storm had blown over.  But the wife wanted it for her birthday so we went anyway.  Despite the very long lines, Apple did a very good job of making up for the madness.  The stores had plenty of iPhones but so many people wanted them they had to be prepared to handle it.  Instead of being absolutely overrun like with the pre-orders or like Wal-Mart on Black Friday, they had a plan.  They made an effort to reward those who were able to pre-order but still not forget those that couldn’t.
• Customer Care – With such a massive demand for their new products, Apple could have easily just let their customers suffer just because they could.  Whether Apple really took care of their customers or not, the people still would line up around the block for the newest amazing gadget.  But, Apple took care of the people.  They knew what the weather would be.  They knew people would be standing in line for hours on end.  They knew and they acted.  Apple employees walked the line all day long giving away water, popsicles, Rice Krispies Treats, granola bars and even umbrellas!  They even chose healthy treats!  Other specialty food stores saw this as an opportunity to try to make money, but Apple instead of selling the treats like they could have, just gave them away.

I’m sure there are plenty of times that an Apple employee hasn’t be the poster child for customer service.  We all have our bad days.  But the way they handled yesterday is a great example for us all to learn from.  Apply it to your work.  Apply it to your church.  Apply it to your relationships.  Good job, Apple.

So I’m driving down the 133 the other day.  If you have driven through Orange County you know there isn’t much room for anything new.  There aren’t vast fields or (as the Dixie Chicks would say) wide open spaces.  But on the 133 between the 405 and Laguna Beach there are hills and wilderness and fields.  There are trails and boulders.  Most of the rest of Orange County is covered with roads, people, buildings, houses, condos, malls, etc.

But in this one area there is a sign up on the hill.  I drive this way nearly every day but I have never seen it before.  It says Open Space Reserve.  In Orange County the money is location location location.  There is so much money to be made in land.  But in this place, in this wilderness, in this openness, there is nothing.  It is preserved to keep it that way.  I love this!  I love that no matter what they could make from this land, it is protected!

In our world of go go go, too often we don’t have our own Open Space Reserve.  We pack our schedules so full of anything and everything.  Many times when we feel the need to fill in every waking minute with something.  But this isn’t healthy!  There has to be a break.  We need our open space for thoughts, for rest, for peace, for reenergizing.  We need our open space for our spouses, for our children, for our families.  We need our open space to hear, to learn, to grow.  We need our open space for God.

Do you have an Open Space Reserve in your life?  Do you need to create one?

As a Jeep family there are certain things that we understand that non-Jeep people don’t.  I can imagine that there are a few other types of vehicles that this happens with as well, but one of the coolest things about owning a Jeep is being a part of the Jeep family.  When I am driving down the road and pass another Jeep there is a mutual acknowledgement or wave or nod.  It happens all the time.  It’s really cool.

If you have ever broken down on the side of the road (and don’t live in Oklahoma where everyone is nice) you know that you can stand there and watch car after car after car go by before anyone stops to help…if anyone does at all!  But this isn’t the case when you drive a Jeep.  The normal cars keep on going, but Jeeps stop to help.  It’s great.  They stop even if they don’t know how to fix it.  Just to check on you!

Many Christ followers already live like this, but what if we all did?  What if we took care of those that needed it instead of hoping that someone else better fitted for the job comes alone?  We are called to love our neighbor as we do ourselves (and I’m pretty sure we would all stop to help ourselves broken down on the side of the road) and not just hope that someone else will.  It’s not just the job of the church or the pastor or the crazy old greeter, but each and everyone of us.

Let’s follow Christ’s lead and take care of those around us in need even when we don’t want to.  After all, I bet He would drive a Jeep!

I had something else planned to post today, but I had this dream again and so I changed my mind.  I don’t know if this happens to you, but when I remember my dreams, which isn’t very often, I have a few reoccurring ones.  When I was little, I used to have the same dream every time I would get sick.  Everything in my dream world moved much slower than me and it was all controlled by a big machine that looked like a large propane tank.  Crazy.  I have had a few more over the years but I never really found a connection to when I had them like the sickness when I was younger.

But this most recent one was really weird to me.  Each time I have the dream the storyline is the same but the details and situations change.  I am trying to adopt Jessi (my real life daughter) from this lady.  The lady has some schizophrenic issues.  One minute she is a sane coherent woman and the next she is more or less demon possessed.  She is married to someone I seem to think is the devil.

Now before I move on, I just want to clarify, the crazy demon lady is NOT Kara-Kae (my amazing wife).  Kara-Kae doesn’t appear in the dream.

Through the process of adopting Jessi, she is already staying at my rather large house with a pool and actually sleeping peacefully and restfully in my bed, which she doesn’t do at the crazy lady’s house.  The situation of this dream is during one of those nights.  The crazy lady shows up in the middle of the night and we are arguing about Jessi.  While she is sane she is supportive of the adoption, but when she switches she is violently opposed.  Her devil husband is against it as well.

That’s it.  Then I wake up all battle ready.  I know my daughter is not the spawn of the devil.  She is an amazing little gift from God that gets prayed over every night (crazy dream or not).  I know my wife is not a crazy person, too, so don’t try to put words in my mouth and get me in trouble!  Maybe it’s just a weird dream that I have.  At least I’m always fighting to save my daughter!

So, you go.  You got an interpretation?

Wow.  I sound like the crazy person.

Every parent says it.  You hear it all your life growing up.  We have all heard it.  You always think you understand it.  But the truth is, they are right and you are wrong.

Someday, when you have kids of your own you’ll understand.

I can’t thank my dad enough.  I can’t appreciate him as much as he deserves.  Yeah I call him and Skype with him.  I show off my daughter to him.  I ask his advice.  I try to love my wife like he lived it out my whole life.  But still.  He deserves so much more for everything.  For 30 years (nearly) he has showed me how to be a good dad.  If I succeed (apart from the leading and grace of God) at being a good husband and dad, it is because of him.

Today is a day of the year that we kinda celebrate.  It’s not a big of a day as others, but let’s be honest.  Dads wouldn’t want it any other way.  Dads would rather celebrate their kids, their wives, their grandkids than make a big deal out of themselves.  Of course it’s always nice to have a day for some BBQ and other manly things, but what we really want for Father’s Day is not a tie.  It’s not a Dremel (although every man NEEDS one).  What we really want is to love on our family…and maybe take a nap.  We lived our lives for us for 20-some-odd years, but now it is for them.  It is for our wives.  It is for our sons and daughters.  It is for our kids kids.

To my fellow new fathers, happy first Father’s Day!  To all the other dads, happy Father’s Day!

To my dad, thank you.  I love you.  (Aren’t you glad I didn’t buy you another stupid tie?!)

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.  We like to live our lives by this verse.  Philippians 4:13.  We face hard times and say this verse.  We have a difficult obstacle in front of us and we quote this verse.  Any time life throws something at us that seems insurmountable we like to lean on the this one.  But it is too easy to take this one out of context and just use it however we want to apply it.

If you read from verse 11 on down through 13, Paul talks about being content in any and all circumstances.  When he is rich and when he is poor.  When he is sick and when he is healthy.  All because no matter the situation, he knows that through Christ he will always make it through.  That doesn’t mean that when he is trying to get a job and a huge company, Christ will get him the job.  He isn’t going to become a professional golfer just because Jesus is on his side.  He has learned that even when the world sucks and everything is crashing down around him, his God will sustain him.  Doesn’t mean he will win the lottery, but that he will be taken care of.

Last night at a church event the speaker taught from Daniel 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and what these guys believed and stood up for goes right along with contentment in every circumstance God brings along.  With the threat of being thrown into a massive fire and burned to death these three boys stood up to the king and told him that their God is able to keep them save and rescue them.  BUT then it doesn’t stop there.  They continue on to say that while their God is able, even if He doesn’t rescue them, they would still only worship Him.

Don’t miss the depth of that because of the desensitized and commonality of Philippians 4:13.  God is completely capable to do _______ (fill in the blank), but it doesn’t mean that He will.  The rock and hard place that you are in between right now may be exactly where God wants you to teach you something.  He could pull you out and put you in a place of comfort, but He has you there for a reason.  He is a God full of plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11)!

Even if He is proving that “He might not” doesn’t mean He is any less worthy of our praise.  Thank Him for the season you are in (good or bad).  We can be content and make it through anything through Christ who gives us strength.  In the event of something bad happening, learn to be content through Christ.

We all have to go through the valleys.  Most of the time we don’t like it.  Sometimes we learn to appreciate how we are growing and hopefully we can look back and (whether we liked it or not) appreciate what wehave been through.  It’s part of what makes us who we are!  Around here mommy makes Jessi do “tummy time” everyday.

She doesn’t like being on her belly.  She does great holding her head up and but of learning process she is not a fan.  She doesn’t know it right now, but this is a major step in her life.  As much as it sucks, there is so much that she needs to learn through this frustrating time.

Our lives are like that.  God puts us in situations and seasons for us to learn.  Many times we don’t like the place He has put us in and we cry, whine and fight it.  But what we don’t realize or think about all the time is that He knows what we need to learn.  He knows the steps that we need to take to get to where we need to go.  He wants us to grow and mature and many times in order to do that we have to go through the rough spots when our neck muscles are getting tired, we are crying and all we want is for Him to pick us up and put us where we want to be.  But He knows we need to learn to crawl before we can run.

Don’t blow off the season you are in just because it is hard/painful/frustrating.  Remember the things that you have been through already that you have learned from and helped shape the person that you are now.  We have to learn from those times when we are too weak to hold our head up anymore.  Thank God for those times and learn what He is showing you!

The NCAA conference that I have known, loved and backed for the last 14 years and several more prior to that as the Big 8 is now on the verge of disappearance. I am pretty confident that we will know this up coming week that it will no longer be. In the last couple days Colorado and Nebraska have announced that they are leaving with the word being passed around that Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M will be splitting as well. That leaves only a few left and fending for themselves (good luck).

If money is the issue, they are making good decisions (at least for the immediate future). There was potential for the Big 12 to make more in the future, but as the last few days have proved, the immediate money is more powerful than many other things. Nebraska is going to the Big 10 where they will probably make twice as much through the conference’s TV network. Colorado is moving to the PAC-10 where they (at the moment) stand a relatively decent chance of being in competition for winning the middle of the road spot in the standings (of course this all changes if OU, OSU, UT and TAMU all join too), as well as more money.

Ok. I guess I understand. Honestly I don’t have that much of a problem with it. Bigger conferences mean bigger TV networks and that means more televised games. That I can get behind. But what I can’t get behind is Nebraska’s blame game. Yesterday in a press conference announcing their petition and acceptance into the Big 10, Nebraska’s leadership stated that they needed to take this opportunity while it was available because the other schools in the Big 12 were about to leave. Nebraska would be left out in the cold and wanting if they didn’t act now. It’s the other schools’ faults that the Big 12 is falling apart.

Well…not so much Nebraska. You were one of the first teams talking about leaving. You and Missouri have been flirting with the Big 10 for quite a while. As a matter of fact, the other Big 12 schools specifically gave you and Mizzou a deadline to state your allegiance to the Big 12. Did you do that? Ummm…no. You didn’t. And when you didn’t other schools knew that the writing was on the wall and just acted before you as if you had to scoot your way to the press conference with walkers with tennis balls on the bottom. Now with the NON-action that you took, the other schools are being smart. Actually the other schools you are trying to blame have made multiple public statements saying that they want to keep the Big 12 together. Haven’t seen that tweet from @OsborneHusker.

So, Nebraska, stop trying to blame Texas or Missouri or Colorado. Let’s be honest here. If Nebraska stayed and Missouri and Colorado left what would happen? The Big 12 becomes the second Big 10 and happen to become stronger. Oops. I said it. Yes, the New Big 10 could have lost 2 teams and been stronger for it. Might as well through a few more in there as well! We could go back to being the Big 8 and been the best conference in the NCAA. But, no, it’s definitely Missouri and Colorado’s fault.

Good try.

Throughout our lives we go through times that are painful, times that are difficult.  Some get so bad they make us want to throw in the towel and give up.  We deal with deaths of loved ones, destroyed marriages, financial problems, lost jobs, hurt, etc.  Sometimes we like to think that because we are Christians our lives shouldn’t be hard.  We shouldn’t be going through the tough times.  But nothing could be farther from the truth!

All throughout the Bible there are people who were very acquainted with having their world’s rocked.  Job, David, Paul, Peter, and on.  God didn’t spare the leaders from the Bible from hurt and pain, yet we live our lives not expecting anything to ever happen.  They will come.  Times will be rough.  You will have hurt.  But there is good news.  They aren’t there just to torture us!  We go through those times to to learn, be taught, be drawn to God.  We have hope in Him because He knows what He is doing!  David and Job are very vocal about their hope.  When the world seemed like it was about to end for them, they had hope in God.  The hope helps sustain us.

Without hope the world is a pretty dark and depressing place.  When the hard times strike, hope in God.  It may be painful right now, but He knows what He is doing.  He has a plan.  He does so that we can have a future and hope!  He’s not just up their flipping a coin and waiting for you to screw up.  He loves you!

When the hurt seems more than you can bear, He is there for you.  When you get to the point that you don’t think you can go on, hope in Him.  When the world around you, family, friends, leaders fail you, be filled with hope in God!

Set this hope in me, Set this hope in me

That I may be pure and holy
That I may be like You only
That I may be completely free

Though You slay me I will hope
Hope inspires my endurance
Your hope is my anchor
God of hope fill me

- Charlie Hall – God Of Hope

Everything you do is motivated by something.  You set a goal for yourself, whether big or small, and then go for it.  Motivation is what drives us to get There.  But just because you are motivated to do something doesn’t mean you have the right motivation.  The right motivations push us harder toward our goals.  The wrong motivations just prove to be weak and many times we give up on the goal.

No matter what the goal is, you must examine your motivation for reaching it.  Lose weight. Break/make a habit. Write a blog. Learn to surf. All these choices are motivated by something.

• Will more successful weight loss come because the magazines you see in line at the checkout counter say you should or because you want to stay healthy and keep your body in shape?
• Will you be more likely to stop looking at other women because you don’t wanna get caught and sleep on the couch or because you love your girl and want to respect, honor and build her up?

If we are being honest, we would always choose the second motivation to answer the question.  But just because we know that doesn’t mean we always choose that.  You want to be an actor because they make lots of money, not because you love acting.  I buy things because I want people to see me with them, not because I need them.  You write books because everyone else in your profession is a published author, not because you love to write and have something to say.

But the same is true for relationships with Christ. I’m gonna read the whole Bible this year.  Why?  Is it because true Christians have read the whole thing all the way through or is it because I want to know more about Christ and can’t bear to leave anything out?  You are gonna have a “quiet time” with God first thing every morning.  Are you trying to improve your Christian status in your church group or get to know Him better?

Knowing the true motivation behind our decisions and goals is a must.  If the motivation is weak, our effort will be, too.  Examine your motivations.

Are you aiming for your goals because that’s what you are supposed to do or because reaching your goal is something you can’t miss out on?