This week has been an eventful one at work and the end of our cold weather season is in sight. We sold a ton of coats last weekend and when I came into work on Tuesday, I found bike racks set and ready for me to fill for our mountain bike shop. We immediately started seeing more activity in bikes and look forward to even more as the coats go away and the bikes come out of hibernation. We've only got two more weekends of coats and then we'll be able to finish the full set up of the bike shop.
I had a good month of sales and finished well above my month's goal and chipped away at my trip goal as well. Some of my co-workers are on their trip to Cancun that they earned by selling enough to meet their trip goal last year. I started in sales too late to qualify last year, but estimated that I needed to sell $6500/month over my monthly goal (which varies from month to month) in order to win a trip next year. I pulled that off for January and am roughly $12,000 above my month goal this month which means that I should now have to sell at a pace of about $5900/month over my month goal. Hopefully next year at this time Amy and I will be somewhere sunny.
I've also had more opportunity to get out and ride lately. All on the single-speed, all on the bike path, but any miles not done on my trainer in front of my TV are welcome miles at this time of year. It's in the low 30's today, so I'm going to ride to work and it may be even warmer tomorrow, so I should get to do it again then. With any luck, I'll finish March with at least 150 actual miles more than I did last year which is a great way to start my season. I started last year with a good old-fashioned butt kicking on a group ride but I didn't even have 100 miles in my legs. I may forgo the group ride until May this year anyway because I don't pretend to be in the same early season form as some of my fitness freak cohorts.
There's definitely two types of riders: those who ride for performance and those who ride for pleasure. Granted, there's some middle ground, but the primary motivation is usually out of those two camps. I am very much a pleasure rider. I love the bike. I love being able to just get out, clear my head and feel better physically. I always hope that I'll perform well, but that is never the first thing on my mind when I hop on the bike. Besides, I know I'll be able to hang by the time the Tour de Kota rolls around in June like I did last year.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Addition by subtraction (and subtraction by subtraction)
Life in a church body is rarely boring and that has been doubly so since Amy and I started on staff at Mercy Church. Since we started we officially moved from church plant to official church status, merged with Good Shepherd Community Church and have had any number of challenges in trying to craft an identity as a third-way evangelical, emerging church in a community where the church is very entrenched in subcultural trappings.
The last few weeks have been interesting as we have started trying to sort out what name this newly merged entity should go by. I would say the majority of people would just as soon stick with the name "Mercy Church" and move forward. Of the merged churches, Mercy was the one that brought health, momentum, growth, vision and numbers to the equation. Good Shepherd brought a building and an older demographic rich in life experience and wisdom.
In the naming discussion there have been a few that have been absolutely opposed to the name "Mercy Church" (as well as being opposed to the merger and just about anything else that has happened in the last few years). Two of the most vocally opposed people left the church this week and we are all kind of wondering what new dynamic that will bring as we seek to move forward.
This, to me, is a perfect example of addition by subtraction as the divisive, combative spirit they brought to any discussion served no purpose for a church that is very much about breaking down walls and fostering unity and community within the body and the church universal. Our hope is that they can find a church that is more in line with their vision and values, but where they will not only engage but will grow to fully functioning uniters in the body of Christ.
Obviously, there are moments when you see someone leave and think, "It's probably for the best." But in the life of the church you also see people leave who you love, who you've ministered with and who you hate to see go. Our friends Aaron and Dana are going back to the church they attended before Mercy and this is definitely an example of subtraction simply being subtraction. There isn't any animosity or hostility or anything of that nature, there are just more relationships at their last church and they need to be somewhere that they can both connect. I'll miss Aaron as part of the worship team, but know that we'll still get together for coffee and conversation. Our hope is that they are able to reconnect in a way that brings them health and life and that Aaron's absence on our team will simply be an opportunity for somebody else to engage in ministry that wouldn't have otherwise.
The last few weeks have been interesting as we have started trying to sort out what name this newly merged entity should go by. I would say the majority of people would just as soon stick with the name "Mercy Church" and move forward. Of the merged churches, Mercy was the one that brought health, momentum, growth, vision and numbers to the equation. Good Shepherd brought a building and an older demographic rich in life experience and wisdom.
In the naming discussion there have been a few that have been absolutely opposed to the name "Mercy Church" (as well as being opposed to the merger and just about anything else that has happened in the last few years). Two of the most vocally opposed people left the church this week and we are all kind of wondering what new dynamic that will bring as we seek to move forward.
This, to me, is a perfect example of addition by subtraction as the divisive, combative spirit they brought to any discussion served no purpose for a church that is very much about breaking down walls and fostering unity and community within the body and the church universal. Our hope is that they can find a church that is more in line with their vision and values, but where they will not only engage but will grow to fully functioning uniters in the body of Christ.
Obviously, there are moments when you see someone leave and think, "It's probably for the best." But in the life of the church you also see people leave who you love, who you've ministered with and who you hate to see go. Our friends Aaron and Dana are going back to the church they attended before Mercy and this is definitely an example of subtraction simply being subtraction. There isn't any animosity or hostility or anything of that nature, there are just more relationships at their last church and they need to be somewhere that they can both connect. I'll miss Aaron as part of the worship team, but know that we'll still get together for coffee and conversation. Our hope is that they are able to reconnect in a way that brings them health and life and that Aaron's absence on our team will simply be an opportunity for somebody else to engage in ministry that wouldn't have otherwise.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Changing Seasons
It's currently hovering right around 0 degrees outside, but things at work are definitely pointing to a change of season. Coats are ridiculously marked down to the point where I hate to go into our cold weather shops to sell because it feels like you're trying to sell at a yard sale. On the flip side, now is the time to buy next season's coat if you can find a size and style that works for you.
I've been spending more and more time in the exercise and bike shops instead simply because I've been dealing with my Youth Cold Weather shop since the last week in July and I just desperately need the coats to go bye-bye. I've been having a good month though as exercise sales are still happening (though not as often as around New Year's) and bike sales are happening a little more often.
Case in point, I'd had a pretty quiet day yesterday in terms of sales and had kept occupied with training a new associate in my shops and consolidating the Youth Cold Weather shop after selling a ton of coats over the weekend and was just about ready to leave when I spotted a couple in bikes. 30 minutes later, two more bikes were out the door and my slow day looked like a really good day for February.
With any luck, we'll be out of the cold weather business in two or three weeks and bikes can rule the world again!
I've been spending more and more time in the exercise and bike shops instead simply because I've been dealing with my Youth Cold Weather shop since the last week in July and I just desperately need the coats to go bye-bye. I've been having a good month though as exercise sales are still happening (though not as often as around New Year's) and bike sales are happening a little more often.
Case in point, I'd had a pretty quiet day yesterday in terms of sales and had kept occupied with training a new associate in my shops and consolidating the Youth Cold Weather shop after selling a ton of coats over the weekend and was just about ready to leave when I spotted a couple in bikes. 30 minutes later, two more bikes were out the door and my slow day looked like a really good day for February.
With any luck, we'll be out of the cold weather business in two or three weeks and bikes can rule the world again!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Cold weekend
The weekend was definitely too cold to do much of anything, but I still managed to keep fairly busy. I really didn't want to do much of anything since I'm fighting another cold and temps were below zero with high winds. Nonetheless, I had at least one project that had fallen through that really needed to be done. I took some time on Saturday to build a backstop for our drumset at church much like the one that I built at Hanfield several years ago made up of two sheets of plywood with acoustic foam stapled to them and hinged in the center.
I estimated the project would take about 90 minutes to complete, but no trip to Lowes is complete without a couple of follow up visits. My first visit saw me acquire the supplies, but leave the hinges at the store. I realized it when I was half way to the church but decided that with the wind howling and the hatch open on the Aztek, that I'd be better off dropping off the plywood and then going back for the hinges. My second trip was a success as the hinges were still at the register where I'd left them. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I got back to the church that I realized that the hinges did not have a removable pin. A removable pin makes the panels easier to take apart and store. A third trip was in order.
By this point, my cold had generated a nasty sinus headache and I decided to head home for lunch and some meds before finishing up. I headed back to Lowes, returned the hinges, got the hinges that I should have bought in the first place and went to the church to finish the job. It came together pretty quick even though my staple gun had to be refilled or have the chamber cleared about every four staples. I finally had everything set up by about 3:30, four hours after I initially set out to start the project. I was able to head home and hang out the rest of the day.
Sunday morning we headed out for church. Still cold, but not as windy. We were able to hang out at home after church until we had to go back for a meeting about naming the church. We are in the process of merging our congregation (Mercy Church) with the congregation that owns the building (Good Shepherd Community Church). It is an interesting process that I've mentioned on a few occassions which will eventually leave us with one church, two services and dual denominational affiliation with the Christian & Missionary Alliance and Mennonite USA denominations. Unfortunately, there's a bit of contention over the naming of the church in its new entity, but that's another post entirely.
Today I have the day off and have been doing shuttle service to All City Elementary, USF and First Baptist Preschool, otherwise I wouldn't leave the house. Maia and I have to leave soon to pick Amy up and it's snowing pretty hard at the moment, so odds are good that I'll be going outside to pick up Amy and to scoop snow before the day is out.
On the plus side, things at work are beginning to foreshadow the changing of seasons as my youth cold weather shop is dwindling rapidly and golf has expanded. We're only a few weeks from serious expansion of bikes and then we can start having fun again.
I estimated the project would take about 90 minutes to complete, but no trip to Lowes is complete without a couple of follow up visits. My first visit saw me acquire the supplies, but leave the hinges at the store. I realized it when I was half way to the church but decided that with the wind howling and the hatch open on the Aztek, that I'd be better off dropping off the plywood and then going back for the hinges. My second trip was a success as the hinges were still at the register where I'd left them. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I got back to the church that I realized that the hinges did not have a removable pin. A removable pin makes the panels easier to take apart and store. A third trip was in order.
By this point, my cold had generated a nasty sinus headache and I decided to head home for lunch and some meds before finishing up. I headed back to Lowes, returned the hinges, got the hinges that I should have bought in the first place and went to the church to finish the job. It came together pretty quick even though my staple gun had to be refilled or have the chamber cleared about every four staples. I finally had everything set up by about 3:30, four hours after I initially set out to start the project. I was able to head home and hang out the rest of the day.
Sunday morning we headed out for church. Still cold, but not as windy. We were able to hang out at home after church until we had to go back for a meeting about naming the church. We are in the process of merging our congregation (Mercy Church) with the congregation that owns the building (Good Shepherd Community Church). It is an interesting process that I've mentioned on a few occassions which will eventually leave us with one church, two services and dual denominational affiliation with the Christian & Missionary Alliance and Mennonite USA denominations. Unfortunately, there's a bit of contention over the naming of the church in its new entity, but that's another post entirely.
Today I have the day off and have been doing shuttle service to All City Elementary, USF and First Baptist Preschool, otherwise I wouldn't leave the house. Maia and I have to leave soon to pick Amy up and it's snowing pretty hard at the moment, so odds are good that I'll be going outside to pick up Amy and to scoop snow before the day is out.
On the plus side, things at work are beginning to foreshadow the changing of seasons as my youth cold weather shop is dwindling rapidly and golf has expanded. We're only a few weeks from serious expansion of bikes and then we can start having fun again.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Pushed to Grow
A constant theme in our ministry at Mercy is the need for me to grow as a worship leader in the charismatic vein of the church. It's been a struggle to push beyond boundaries that are the result of previous worship traditions, my more introverted tendencies and a simple lack of exposure to the type of worship leader that I am being asked to emulate.
Shel has been very good about stressing that this is not about being something that runs counter to my personality, but about growing into the leader that this particular community of believers needs in order to continue to pursue the vision of Mercy Church. We've had moments in the last four or five months that point to things moving in the right direction, but there still isn't the consistency that all of us would desire.
We will be continuing to check out other leaders at other churches that I can learn from (hopefully we'll be attending one such church later this month), but I would also appreciate prayers for growth and the worship life of Mercy.
Shel has been very good about stressing that this is not about being something that runs counter to my personality, but about growing into the leader that this particular community of believers needs in order to continue to pursue the vision of Mercy Church. We've had moments in the last four or five months that point to things moving in the right direction, but there still isn't the consistency that all of us would desire.
We will be continuing to check out other leaders at other churches that I can learn from (hopefully we'll be attending one such church later this month), but I would also appreciate prayers for growth and the worship life of Mercy.
One last Super Bowl note
Oh yeah, the halftime show...
Tom Petty? Really? I bear no ill will toward Tom Petty. I definitely respect the man and his music, but what the crap? I understand that those who organize the halftime show have the unenviable task of selecting an artist to perform for about the broadest audience imaginable, but recent selections (with the exception of last year) were, first and foremost, safe selections to avoid any Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake controversies. The Rolling Stones (who would have thought that they would be considered safe 40 years ago?), Paul McCartney, Tom Petty... Who's next? Tony Bennett? Tom Jones?
The show was really very uninspired, especially in light of Prince's performance last year where he not only engaged the audience but tore up the guitar in one of the most virtuoso instrumental performances ever to grace the Super Bowl universe. In contrast, Tom Petty couldn't even muster up the high notes to sing melody on the choruses of some of his own songs and was about as engaging as you would expect an introverted singer/songwriter to be. I thought he had a very safe performance, but can we put a stop to the way past their primetime halftime shows?
In Petty's defense, Alicia Keys performed about an hour before the game in what also was a pretty uninspiring medley of some of her hits. Alicia Keys is a great musician and performer who is more deserving of the halftime show than Tom Petty, but I doubt she would have fared much better.
Tom Petty? Really? I bear no ill will toward Tom Petty. I definitely respect the man and his music, but what the crap? I understand that those who organize the halftime show have the unenviable task of selecting an artist to perform for about the broadest audience imaginable, but recent selections (with the exception of last year) were, first and foremost, safe selections to avoid any Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake controversies. The Rolling Stones (who would have thought that they would be considered safe 40 years ago?), Paul McCartney, Tom Petty... Who's next? Tony Bennett? Tom Jones?
The show was really very uninspired, especially in light of Prince's performance last year where he not only engaged the audience but tore up the guitar in one of the most virtuoso instrumental performances ever to grace the Super Bowl universe. In contrast, Tom Petty couldn't even muster up the high notes to sing melody on the choruses of some of his own songs and was about as engaging as you would expect an introverted singer/songwriter to be. I thought he had a very safe performance, but can we put a stop to the way past their primetime halftime shows?
In Petty's defense, Alicia Keys performed about an hour before the game in what also was a pretty uninspiring medley of some of her hits. Alicia Keys is a great musician and performer who is more deserving of the halftime show than Tom Petty, but I doubt she would have fared much better.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Super Bowl stuff
Great game! I didn't really have a team that I was rooting for going in, but found by halftime that I was pulling for the Giants. You would think with the rivalry that New England shares with the Colts that I would want anyone but them to win, but my hatred of other teams doesn't really run that deep once my teams are elimated from contention.
My desire to see New York win was probably somewhat fueled by all of the cheating allegations that have come out in regards to New Enland's Super Bowl win over St. Louis. As a fan of the game, I'm very put out by the prospect that a team that has had the "dynasty" label attached to it may have blatantly broken league rules to acheive that label. I guess my justice streak runs pretty deep.
As for the commercials, there were a few I liked and a bunch I didn't. On both ends of the spectrum were ads from Budweiser. I liked the Bud Light fire commercial to kick things off. The Will Ferrell one was funny, if a little off color. Their beer may taste horrible, but at least their commercials are entertaining (for the most part).
I was disgusted to see in the paper that the Clydesdales scored high again. I have long despised Budweiser's Clydesdale ads (with the exception of some of the football playing ones). They are overhyped, overly sentimental and, again, their beer tastes like (insert your euphemism here). The whole "Rocky" thing was uninspired and predictable and I pray that the day will come when the Clydesdales are no longer treated like a national institution.
The only good thing about the football season ending is that it means the spring classics in cycling are about to begin. While other football fans go into fetal position until pre-season NFL games kick off again, I get to start enjoying my other favorite sport.
My desire to see New York win was probably somewhat fueled by all of the cheating allegations that have come out in regards to New Enland's Super Bowl win over St. Louis. As a fan of the game, I'm very put out by the prospect that a team that has had the "dynasty" label attached to it may have blatantly broken league rules to acheive that label. I guess my justice streak runs pretty deep.
As for the commercials, there were a few I liked and a bunch I didn't. On both ends of the spectrum were ads from Budweiser. I liked the Bud Light fire commercial to kick things off. The Will Ferrell one was funny, if a little off color. Their beer may taste horrible, but at least their commercials are entertaining (for the most part).
I was disgusted to see in the paper that the Clydesdales scored high again. I have long despised Budweiser's Clydesdale ads (with the exception of some of the football playing ones). They are overhyped, overly sentimental and, again, their beer tastes like (insert your euphemism here). The whole "Rocky" thing was uninspired and predictable and I pray that the day will come when the Clydesdales are no longer treated like a national institution.
The only good thing about the football season ending is that it means the spring classics in cycling are about to begin. While other football fans go into fetal position until pre-season NFL games kick off again, I get to start enjoying my other favorite sport.
Too many computer users
We've added Maia as an official user of the computer. She's starting in on some of Xander's old favorites like pbskids.org and nickjr.com. It's getting a little hard for each of us to find time to do the things online that we'd like, such as blogging. I know I've missed at least two posts in the last week in order to keep the peace in the house and not kick the kids off of the computer. Oh well, growing pains.
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