Post for July 25th, 2011

July 25^th, 2011

All my life I have been attending Christian conventions that have a tendency to affect a person’s life in an amazing and profound way. This is something that has occurred to and for me often; so often in fact that I tend to maybe not realize the significance of these happenings. Well here we are at the end of July 2011 and yesterday something was shared so profoundly amazing that I believe my life is never going to be the same again. I have a friend who is often sending thoughts into the universe and then watching as they materialize. This is amazing and while I appreciate this, I have a somewhat different view as I am often grateful after the fact when thoughts and wants I have projected don’t come to pass. I guess this is part of the wisdom of knowing what to ask for… not always sure I know what that is. Anyhow what follows is a snap shot of my current situation, written down in part so that a year from now if I want to analyze what has transpired I will have a point of reference to analyze it from. I have tried to include what is, what I would make it if I chose… and then of course next year I will analyze this to see what actually comes to be.

First a brief analysis of my situation as it currently stands:

a)      Currently in a very rocky and rough relationship. Some day’s the waves are close to swamping the boat and it’s only by bailing like crazy that it stays afloat. (Hey I know this is nothing special… many face similar or worse but it is my reality)

b)      I am working hard at work but results are hard to come by! My work relationship with my bosses is much the same as my marriage. It may be more responsive to a change in attitude however.

c)      Cash flow is extremely tight… changes in the first two items however could change this significantly.

d)      Kelsey is fifteen starting high school in the fall, Liam is thirteen. Both are good kids with Kelsey being the most grounded of the two currently. Sometimes her level of maturity amazes me. Liam has a heart of gold and I hope like crazy he can find his passion and enjoy a measure of his sisters’ success. Both spent some time with me in the last few days just us two and it was nice and profitable. Currently both of my children strive to serve God in the way I subscribe to and believe. This is a incredible blessing to me and makes me feel very blessed.

e)      We so far have only had bits and pieces of convention. This was super spectacular and tons of treasure… however this doesn’t replace the process that a whole convention brings it is still a priority for me to get a full convention sometime in the next little while.

f)        I am driving a worn-out Charger on which I owe more than it’s worth. Currently in need of a cleaning! Why do I mention this? Well for me my car is a big deal. A lot of how I see myself is tied into the vehicle I drive. A lot of my stress with the work I do is connected to issues revolving around my vehicle.

g)      I weigh in at about 300 lbs … not sure if this will change or not… currently committed to working on this with some co-workers starting in a week. The support behind making this shift is growing as word gets out amongst my co-workers that I have committed to doing this. Funny I have all the tools, have had for a while, they are currently collecting dust in the basement of the house so it will be interesting to see if this does indeed change come August first.

h)      Kelsey doesn’t have a sponsor and I am currently scrambling to keep up with horse bills on my own. Again as work succeeds so will this however it would be a incredible relief to my outlook and the pressures I am feeling if this somehow were to finally become a reality.

i)        Also I am going to insert here the hypothetical view of what from my current limited vantage point I see as perfect.

j)        If I could live in what I would see as a perfect world for me right now I would live the following:  I would resign my position with my current employer so that I could work fulltime at managing the career of my daughter and other riders finding them sponsorship, horses and other opportunities. We would be in the process of buying or setting up a breeding facility and we would be planning and scheduling the next years show season. Now to be fair much of this in a limited scope is something I am doing already with limited resources and in conjunction with activities currently with Riqueza and their program and long term goals.  To be fair some amazing things have happened and I really want to stay focused so that I don’t miss these because it hasn’t happened exactly as I have envisioned it!

I am going to try and implement the secret of success that was shared yesterday and am writing this all down so that twelve months from now we will have an accurate measure of:

 i) how well I have implemented the activities and

ii) if I have succeeded what the results are!

So here is the lesson, first the famous story often shared and re-shared: (Yes I have heard it before and yes I should have gotten this before today… however what matters most is I am getting it now!) So here is the storey:

The Rocks in a Jar Storey:

A high school science teacher wanted to demonstrate a concept to his students. He takes a large-mouth jar and places several large rocks in it. He then asks the class, "Is it full?

"Unanimously, the class reply, "Yes!"

The teacher then takes a bucket of gravel and pours it into the jar. The small rocks settle into the spaces between the big rocks.

He then asks the class, "Is it full?"

This time there are some students holding back, but most reply, "Yes!"

The teacher then produces a large can of sand and proceeds to pour it into the jar. The sand fills up the spaces between the gravel.

For the third time, the teacher asks, "Is it full?

"Now most of the students are wary of answering, but again, many reply, "Yes!"

Then the teacher brings out a pitcher of water and pours it into the jar. The water saturates the sand. At this point the teacher asks the class, "What is the point of this demonstration?"

One bright young student raises his hand and then responds, "No matter how full one's schedule is in life, he can always squeeze in more things!"

"No," replies the teacher, "The point is that unless you first place the big rocks into the jar, you are never going to get them in. The big rocks are the important things in your life ...your family, your friends, your personal growth. If you fill your life with small things, as demonstrated by the gravel, the sand, and the water...you will never have the time for the important things.

So, what are the "Big Rocks" in your life? Spending time with your children, your parents or your spouse? Taking the seminar or class to get the information and perspective you need to succeed? Making the time to set goals, plan or evaluate your progress? When you are hassled because there is no time, remember the story about the Big Rocks and the Jar!

Now the story wasn’t shared in this depth yesterday ( it wasn’t necessary as most of us are familiar with it.) but it was used to start the lesson. Then the following was stated: KEEP FIRST THINGS FIRST.

1)      Keep the Kingdom First: oh so easy to say… maybe not so easy to do! Earlier this year I actually happened on a app that put the bible on my phone. I thought what could be easier, my phone is always with me and always on so no problem I will always start my day first with reading and then with catching up on my messages and email.s. Nope didn’t work and for a long time now it hasn’t been even opened so that this morning when I went to open it the first thing I had to do was update it! I did this and next will be ensuring that it gets used daily before anything else. Easy for me to pray at night…usually because the weight of the day presses me into it, not so easy to start my day this way. Day will now start with that first even before I get out of bed. This will be followed by a verse or two… before I check the emails or messages or news headlines. I am going to log this daily to see how I do. Not a big deal but easily measured so easily tracked.

2)      The second first is like onto the first… (This is sorta a trend you will see.)  Choose things that will help you accomplish item one! In everything you do remember that choices you make affect the kingdom. Is God part of your choices, do you run all of life’s decisions by Him? If not the time to start doing this is now. Let Him make all your choices and you will see amazing results. Some of us now live with choices we made without Him, that’s part of life however now is not  too late to start getting Him involved in the future!

3)      The world is full of spirits and even good spirits. However the responsibility lies with you to try the spirits and determine the ones that are from God. This is pretty simple really as a Godly Spirit will only point you inline with what Jesus taught. If what the spirit is presenting you is not inline with Jesus, then its not a spirit from God, it’s just that simple.

4)      From time to time you might think you see something in your brethren that isn’t inline with the Will of God. If you do, before you say or do anything do the following:

a.       First examine yourself to ensure that you are not guilty of the samething in some way.

b.      Pray about it desperately entreating God on behalf of your brethren or what you perceive to be the issue.

c.       Finally if and only if it involves you personally would you ever say anything and then only from your own position and conviction and how it is affecting you, not anything ahout your brethren’s relationship with God.

5)      The next thing is make sure that you always put others friend and foe before yourself. If what you are doing requires you putting yourself before someone else then there is something that must be addressed. The spirit of Christ and God is not me first! Our nature thrives and pushes for me first! It is encouraging to know that as you succeed with item #1 then item #5 will become more and more natural to you! There are a few little things you have to get first and when you do it will benefit you more than you have ever thought possible. As we work at the items #1 through #4 then the more naturally item #5 will become for us.

6)      (I believe there were more things for the first things first list however time had run out so the final was as follows.) Bring Peace everywhere you go. You can’t bring Peace if you don’t have it. So therefore when you are putting first things first one of the things you will be praying desperately for is for Peace so that as you go from place to place you will have this to leave! Funny isn’t it how this whole list ties together and how every item builds to this one.

So there you have it… lets just see what change in the year ahead? Lets see what changes in me? Lets see what changes in my relationship at home with my spouse and my kids?

Its funny one of the other thoughts shared was that was that life is full of troubles, there always will be troubles however the fact that a Child of God can live in a world of troubles and not be overcome by these same troubles is a charecteristic and confirmation that he/she is a child of God!

Update

I really should have updated this sooner. Oh well I am taking a few minutes to do this now before I change gears and prepare some estimates to send off to some potential clients.

Liam is thrilled with having a holiday this week. One of the things however that fascinates me is that he actually wants to be bored some of the time! I suppose that this helps slow the holiday down somewhat… but I do have to chuckle at this and the fact that he resisted some of the activities I was suggesting simply because it would make the time go by too fast!

Kelsey is working really hard on her riding and thanks to the support of a local branch of the TD Canada Trust; she is registered to show in the second week of the Bow Valley Classic at Anderson Ranch just south of Calgary. She has had a breakthrough in training this week and last night got Leo her horse to work with her all on her own without any input from her coach or anyone else. This is a huge step forward and really gave her confidence and massive boost. I love it when this happens and feel grateful for what this has given her in helping her grow into a tough and confident lady!

I am just a tiny bit jealous of the holidays the kids and my wife are enjoying this week. However work does have a lot going on so this does offset it somewhat and I like being busy more than anything else. I have crews gearing up for the start of a new job and so I realize this means I have several tasks to address as well.

Anyhow this is my update for now and will post again in a little while.

Cheers.

Tim

Kelsey's storey

March 9, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

I am forwarding this letter on behalf of my daughter. Please read through the letter and then feel free to contact me with your comments.

Kelsey my daughter at the time of writing this is soon fifteen years old and half way through grade nine. Kelsey is a vivacious, outgoing girl who easily meets new people and makes new friends. Early in elementary school we discovered that Kelsey has a learning disability that makes academics a struggle and causes her a great deal of frustration along with her teachers. Unfortunately we all made the mistake of assuming that it was lack of effort and ability or attention first before becoming aware that it was none of these things… poor little Kelsey’s brain just doesn’t work like the majority of children and while she comprehends theory’s and concepts at a average or above level she can not transfer this into formula’s or spelling in a written form. Even simple words come out jumbled. I wish I could say that this was discovered and addressed before any damage was done, but unfortunately we all; parents and teachers alike slogged away and Kelsey was made to feel lazy, dumb and a under achiever in many ways, her confidence paying the biggest price.

The reason this is significant is that when this was finally discovered things changed dramatically for Kelsey in the sense that her adjusted grading began to reflect she is a very average young lady. That being said she has a very negative taste in her mouth for academics and continues to continually find it a struggle.

We used to ask Kelsey what she would like to do… dance, act, participate in a competitive sport and the list goes on. Always however her response was the same… “I want to ride horses!” Finally one Sunday afternoon driving down a gravel road just off the main highway I saw a sign stating riding lessons were available. I wrote down the number and called to see what it was all about. The coach at the stable said, “Yes sometimes I accept new students, but I would like to meet Kelsey and talk with her.” This then was arranged. In her interview the coach asked Kelsey how badly she wanted to ride and she responded, “I would get a tooth pulled if it meant I could ride!” She didn’t have to get a tooth pulled, but in short order Kelsey started learning to ride. Her coach insisted that she learn all of it and so Kelsey started from cleaning hooves almost as big as she was to standing on a stool to put on the horses tack.

Kelsey from the start loved this… even cleaning the stalls etc. She finally had found something that she felt at home with. Then summer camp came… part of the camp was a small written test… Kelsey studied and studied as this was so important to her.  The day of the test I will never forget the heart break I felt when they read the scores… Kelsey’s was the lowest… her face fell… she was crushed… she knew she knew the answers but what she had written had not communicated that! All of a sudden all of the feelings from school came flooding back and she was convinced that riding would be no different than school had been in the past. What followed was several weeks of a very sad little girl who’s heart had been broken… something she had grown to love was being snatched away from her. We responded quickly, I met with her coach explained what had happened and fortunately she could empathize having faced similar experiences with her own children… carefully we began rebuilding what was almost lost… Kelsey’s confidence returned.

Winter turned to spring and a new showing season began… this brought on the question to Kelsey… do you want to show? No! The answer was emphatic and definite… I do not. She was content just to ride… however friendships had formed with the other students at the stable and so finally after several invitations Kelsey agreed to go to a horse show to help with the horses and watch her friends. She came home bubbling over… “Daddy I can do that!” and so started her showing… she was right… she could do it and before the end of the year she was first and second for the 2008 year in the province of Alberta in the two levels she competed at.

In the 2009 riding season Kelsey advanced from x-rails and 18” jumps to where at the end of the season she was competing as a jumper over 2’3” and 2’6” fences. In her very first show at this level she competed in classes of 15+ riders and placed in eighth and sixth places! This brought about an amazing invitation; her coach and several riders from the world renowned St. Georges Stable in Calgary were competing in Tucson Arizona at the Tucson Fall Preview and the Tucson Fall Festival shows. Kelsey was invited to compete there also… and so arrangements were made so this could happen. Kelsey returned home as Reserve Champion in the .75 Division. The following weekend she showed for the first time at Spruce Meadows and won 2009 Novice Champion for the 2’3” class.

Kelsey continued competing and training with diligence throughout 2010. This was a good year for Kelsey and as she bonded with her horse Leonardo they continued to enjoy a great deal of success. Kelsey competed in the Bow Valley Classic I and II and the Mid Summer Classic I and II. She won Champion and Reserve Champion at both of these and then at her own stables first annual horse show she won Champion again. The year was finalized by her second trip to Tucson Arizona where she competed for a second time this time at the .85 level. She did very well winning Champion and two Reserve Champion placing out of a possible four, she also competed for the first time at .90 (3’) going in four classes and placing in all four visits to the ring.

If you are interested we have developed several plans for sponsors of various levels contact us and we'll come up with what works best for you!

From a Dad's perspective!

I am going to blog about being a Dad to my two kids. I am going to sort out through typing the challenges and thoughts that crowd my mind. Maybe it will keep me focused; it definitely will help me relieve the churning of the thoughts that so often stew away far to long without clarity or action on my part.

My daughter is a gifted equestrian competitor; in the past four years since starting to ride she has consistently achieved unbelievable results in the sport she is passionate about.  In 2008 Kelsey won first and second for the province of Alberta in her level of competition. In 2009 Kelsey won Spruce Meadows Novice Champion for her level. In 2010 Kelsey won Champion at Bow Valley Classic at Anderson ranch. Champion of both Riqueza Riding Academy shows and out of four opportunities at the Tucson Fall Classic in Arizona last fall she won Champion in One, Reserve Champion in Two and missed her third Reserve Champion ribbon by 1 ½ points.

Here is the hitch however, Kelsey has a secret, Kelsey has ADHD and struggles with school in a big way! Now as a teenager this is further complicated by the mood swings and hormone swings that come with puberty. My struggle is to be supportive both emotionally and financially while assisting my beautiful and talented daughter in living her life independently and pursuing her dreams despite the Nay Sayers and Detractors which seem to dot ever stage of her adventure. One of the steps on this process is to find Kelsey a sponsor so that we can better develop her riding career. If you want to see details of this please visit her website at www.ktsequestrian.com.

My son has totally different challenges; he is smart as a whip, popular and bright but despite this he is very reticent to take risks in any aspect of his life. He recently starred in a very funny play at school which was extremely well received and he excelled at not only knowing his lines but keeping the whole cast focused! The thing that I noted about this was that prior to seeing the performance he in no way let on that his was a leading roll; from his preamble you would have pegged him as one of the supporting actors! It will be interesting to see where this all unfolds; again I just follow on and try my best to ensure a balanced approach. His next venture was to tryout for Badminton, this didn’t work out for him, however he doesn’t seem to be to affected by this rather he is carrying on with his regular routine anxiously waiting for spring to arrive.

So there you have it… Entry number one on this matter of blogging about my adventures of being a Dad!

A post after a silence

The clock is ticking down towards the end of the day! I am glad that this day has gone as well as it has. I had a small victory yesterday; I managed to resist temptation twice last night and was pleased with myself for this.

Today I had a salad for lunch, this pleased me also as I am sticking to the guidelines of my habits very closely and I think it is slowly having results. I forgot to take my lunch today so that made it a little harder.

I was a little down at the start of the week about the admonition to be calling and prospecting more, but now the idea has grown on me and I am liking what I have to do to make this happen. Let’s see how this rolls out.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone… its Turkey Weekend here in Canada and I am going to enjoy it. It also happens to be my 19 wedding anniversary on Tuesday as well, not so sure how to work with that one! Will let you know how it all falls out!

Just a ramble to get frustration verbalized!

I know; I know there is nothing gained by not being consistent. I am working on this. I see around me the benefits of consistency all the time and yet I do struggle with it.

Just a short post to state for the record I am working hard at sticking to my guns and resisting the things that tempt me so often when it comes to my eating habits.

I had to ask for my commission checks again this morning and that is always a real downer as I find it nerve wracking and stressful. I am to the point where in order to firm up my daughter’s entry fees in the competition in Tucson I have to get these checks so I can’t just wait anymore. I really hope I don’t have to call again. Shortly I should have the final checks for some more projects and then I will be submitting yet again for another one…

I am going to enjoy the change of pace for a few days. It should a good change if not exactly a break.

Just a wednesday post

Is determined to enjoy this wonderful Wednesday! I am waiting and waiting for something from someone else is hard for me. I don’t multi-task at all well and in fact it can often lead to minor disasters when on occasion I attempt it.

My daughter rides and yesterday was tough for her as her horse hurt himself and so she couldn’t ride at the regularly scheduled time. Funny how this affected her whole outlook; it hopefully is minor so that in a few days things are back to normal. Actually coach checked the horse this morning and found all to be sound so I will have a very happy girl this afternoon.

I managed to stay on track on my eating yesterday except for a Timmies doubledouble last night. I am hopeful that today I do a little better. I have been good with lunches and sticking with salads, however evening meals are a little tougher as the options of what the others will eat somewhat limit my choices.

I didn’t go to bed as early last night as I should have as I was trying to fix something on a computer game for my daughter. I finally had to postpone it for another time as it got late and I seem to need my sleep.

Actually I just got one of the phone calls I was waiting and things are progressing onsite. I will need to meet with two of my contractors to keep things smoothly moving along.

Well this is going to be all for now. However thought I would take advantage and get a post done while I was waiting.