I don't wanna be a ref

Went and watched Kate and her football club pull off a W.

Women's football is slightly different here in Scotland. I don't know how the ref's can handle it, there is so much screaming and cussing at them. But, he tolerated it.

They're a ruff and roundy bunch. I learned a new meaning to the word "cat fight".

Good Lord.

Kate did great though, got a sweet assist.

limited understanding

Read a great parable that speaks of our limited understanding of the nature of the gifts the universe holds in store for us:

"Four young men sit by the beside of their dying father. The old man, with his last breath, tells them there is a huge treasure burried in the family fields. The sons crowd around him crying, "Where, where?" but it is too late. The day after the funeral and for many days to come, the young men go out with their picks and shovels and turn the soil, digging deeply into the ground from one end of each field to the other. They find nothing and, bitterly disappointed, abandon the search.

The next season the farm has its best harvest ever."

that's my family heirloom!

Funny moment.....

At our last event, Kate and I brought this great antique jar for collecting money to go towards the night. As Darren got up and announced we'd be passing the jar to collect some cash, Maxwell, my land owner was there and exclaimed "That's my family heirloom!"

Kate had found the jar in our flat and thought it looked sweet, but a closer look did in fact show that it was presented to his family in December, 1864!

Whoops.

glutton for punishment

I've adopted a new nickname over here and it's so endearing for me: "Wrigley"

It's that time again and guess what, the Cubs are in first place!

Some may choose to be sleeping at 2 am on a weekday. Me? Like an obsessed cubs fan that I am will be cuddling up to my laptop watching live via webcast.

Go Cubbies!

Coaching & Zambia

For the past year and a half, I have coached the University of Edinburgh Women's Football Club. When I was a student at Uni of Edi, I played with the team...then began coaching in January of last year...so it's been almost two years now that I've been a part of EUWFC.

It's a fantastic squad--quality players, quality people...mostly undergraduate students, ages 18-22. This past season we won the league by a goal differential of 66!

Anyway, many of the girls are very talented and I have really wanted to challenge and encourage them to use their gifts and talents for the benefit of others, emphasizing service projects as being great for team-building, character development, and establishing the club within the community (global or local).

...and what better way to launch this type of expanded vision of 'team' and 'club' than with a pivotal international service trip to Zambia?!

When I shared this idea at the last committee meeting, the squad responded enthusiastically. I pitched to them the opportunity to travel to Zambia to work alongside two non-profit organizations: Soccer Without Borders and Beyond Sport, Inc. Seven players have stepped up and have committed to go!

We are now urgently trying to raise funds and have applied for a small project grant from the University. To read more about the trip, the organizations involved, or to help sponsor our trip, visit our work-in-progress website: womensfootball.eusu.ed.ac.uk/

To raise funds, we'll be putting on a 7-a-side football tournament, bagging groceries for tips, and putting on a pub quiz (or two), writing to small businesses requesting sponsorships and asking friends and family for their support as well.

It will be a busy month, as we're hoping to go at the end of May...!! I am confident, however, that we will pull it together...this trip has been on my heart for several months now, and I am believing and praying that this would be a life changing experience for us all.

It's all invented

Here's some food for thought:

The famous 9 dot puzzle. Try to connect all 9 dots with 4 straight lines without taking pen from paper.

It's gives a hint: Feel free to use the whole paper.

In "The Art of Possibility"......"every problem, every dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data and problems vanish, while new opportunities appear."


We continue to learn lessons in this practice, particularly in a "start-up" environment where a problem is around every corner, because our narrow points of view are very limited.

"If you learn to notice and distinguish these stories, you will be able to break through the barriers of any "box" that contains unwanted conditions and create other conditions or narrative that support the life you envision for yourself and those around you."

Here's the answer:

Eikon Lab

Had a great meet with the creative team last night. We hashed out some solid ideas for the future.

We're focusing on (1) ways of engaging the local community; (2) enhancing our gatherings (we want to be orthodox in belief, unorthodox in practice); (3) promoting Eikon.

I just put together a new web interface called our "lab" for our team and anyone else who cares to contribute to interact and open source ideas.

Finished it just a moment ago:

CLICK HERE

memory and prayer wall

I love turning around from my desk and reflecting on all the pictures. So many things to laugh about the last few years, so many people we love, experiences we've had, and people I can stop to think about and pray for.

ethical advocates/waste innovators

Through a friend of a friend, we've connected with the owner of a brand new Christian organization being launched in the city centre of Edinburgh. It's called "waste innovations" and focuses it's efforts on providing a range of eco-friendly and sustainable products. They have a coffee house and art gallery that will sell prints from various artists. I'll have some prints up for sale there for the next 2 months. Pretty stoked!

This type of organization speaks to next generation of future CEO's and leaders.

Tim Sanders (Likeability Factor) says that for future leaders, for profit as a model for organizations is going to die. Young people do not believe money trickles down anymore. The new model will be for benefit. A company has to be worthy. He thinks there is going to be a radical change called "ethical advocates", which currently represents 1 in 4 college students.
The paradigm will be doing good for the benefit of someone else. There is going to be a rovolution in business called the 'social value revolution.'

Statistically, the ethical advocates currently make up about a quarter of college students, 10% of the population, and that will double every 5 years. These ethical advocates will scrutinize every product they buy, every stock they purchase to see if the company takes out social value. If they are not green, the company may eventually fold.

In Oregon, for example, they are looking at legislating a "sin tax" against paper. 120% mark-up! Think about a phone company. This is popping up all over.

That is where innovation is going to go, and leadership is being redefined by who is leading who to do good.

Waste Innovations is seriously creative and on the bleeding edge of the mainstream and a changing society. This is where we need people of faith to be.

unisexy toilets

The toilets at The Forest (our church gathering) are pretty comical. We're doing a "getting to know eikon" series and highlighting some of the aesthetic beauty of the building. I love it.

barriers

I continue to be in reflective mode over the last 1.5 years of being in Edinburgh, embarking on a church-planting mission in a very secular, unchurched society.

I went back and read a book that has been very inspiring to myself and Tony, John Burkes "No Perfect People Allowed". Here are a couple thoughts on creating culture:

"Creating culture is the most important thing that a leader can pay attention to, and yet it’s the most difficult thing to see accurately."

Think about Acts 15. The early church was wrestling with the idea of how do we bring the message of the gospel to this gentile culture.

After much debate, James says, here is one thing, we need to not put barriers in the way of these gentiles who are trying to turn to God.

That’s what we have been trying to do and continue to ask ourselves.

What are the barriers in the context and culture of this post-christian world?

What are the barriers that are standing in the way?

How can we not re-enforce those barriers, how can we help create a culture that allows them to get over those barriers, so those that are wanting to find God can?

the search

My Uncle was a master communicator. I remember growing up and LOVING his stories and a way he tugged at your heart strings. So many memories of my Uncle growing up.

My brother came across this and put it up online. It was like a therapy session for me, I loved every minute of it.

It's worth a listen to:

DOWNLOAD HERE