Visionary Leadership
We are spending some time at the San Diego Wildlife Park. Last year we took the family there as one of the first things we did on our path of getting busy and back on track after Johnny died.
It was a good day last year, and today a day of remembrance while we celebrate our our little Marlo.
Life can be so very tough, but take it a step at at time, focus on each other and hold tight!
My countdown to home has begun, and I can’t wait. It will have been 6 weeks. 6 weeks away is far too long. The time before this was 8 weeks away – FAR TOO LONG! It is great to have work, and a paycheck. We definitely count our blessings. But, nothing takes the place of “us”.
This trip home will be so different than the last trip home. My last trip was spent in the hospital, except for the day we took the kids to Disneyland, and the days I felt I may be sick (not worth the risk of being in a NICU spreading germs). It was hard to come back to Australia, while little Marlo was still in the hospital. Now, when I go home I will be greeted by Marlo! She will welcome me home. How wonderful.
All of my kids in the same house! The older kids are deep into school, and I hear they are doing quite well. I have a sophomore, freshmen, and a 7th grader! Just a few days, and we will ALL be together at our home!
Family, such a wonderful thing.
I am on the train currently sitting backwards on the train. Sitting backwards is just like the old station wagons with the rear seat facing the car behind you. Wave, smile, make faces, and then try to pretend like you don’t see each other.
Riding trains to and from work is pretty nice. What makes it a proud moment is knowing that your dad is directly responsible for commuter trains in Los Angeles and the surrounding counties. Many people credit him as the reason things actually got done in the first place. Yes, a proud son riding the train to work.
It also gives you time to relax and think about the day. We all need to take some time to plan the day ahead or reflect on the day and what we accomplished.
Today I fired up my notebook and got on the internet to do a little post as well as talk to my mother in Australia. All in a train ride to home.
Tonight I was invited to head over to Crossroads church in Corona for a night of comedy. It was a blast. The main acts were Michael 
Rayner and Robert G. Lee. Both were very good and definitely good for the whole family.
Excellent night filled with great fun. If you ever get the chance to see Michael Rayner you need to take the opportunity and bring the kids. He is very good and you can just tell he is a fun guy. Definitely a guy that you just like from the beginning.
It was a great time with some good friends. Great job Crossroads!
Today as I was waiting for a meeting I grabbed a magazine showing the best burgers in Orange County. Currently living in the Inland Empire or the 909 as many call it, I understand that many things are better in Orange County.
Always on the lookout for the best burger, I was drawn to the magazine immediately. The burgers looked amazing, so I thumbed through the 5 or so burger places looking for the closest one to my meeting place.
Much to my good fortune I was pleased to find one not far from my location. A restaurant called “A Restaurant” had made the list for one of the best burgers in Orange County. Fantastic, I just needed to wrap up the stressful and heart jerking meeting so I could make a dash with my bride the most intriguingly named “A Restaurant”.
Upon entering “A Restaurant” I liked the atmosphere. I was after the lunch crowd but before the happy hour and I am sure lush Bentley driving dinner crowd. There were a few people in the dimly lit most bar type feel restaurant.
The workers were pleasant and we were seated in a comfortable booth. The wait staff was excellent, coming from the 909 is a pleasant change. I ordered the burger exactly as it is served.
It is a strong blue cheese burger with caramelized onions and Thousand Island dressing. The meat is high quality and mouthwatering. The blue cheese was strong even for a blue cheese fan such as me.
I have saved the best part of the burger for last… the bun. It is an amazing bun. The bun looks like it will be heavy, but it is light and has a flaky crust. It is just amazing. The bun is the best part of the burger.
While this isn’t my top burger in the USA, it is the best one I have had in California. The atmosphere was nice, staff excellent, and the food somewhat unusual and great.
I highly recommend stopping by the famous “A Restaurant”, often visited in the past by John Wayne, when I believe it was called a different name.
Today is Friday! This weekend is all set to be a great weekend. Tomorrow is our first ever Men’s Breakfast at the new theater church. This will be a great time, and the breakfast is at the theater! I am really excited. It should be a lot of fun with a bunch of new Christians.
Sunday of course will be great, but back to Saturday. Boise State plays, and once again they should come out winning by a large margin. The game isn’t on TV here in So Cal, but I can watch it on the internet (ESPN 3). The BCS standings come out after this week and Boise State may just end up as #1 or #2 in the BCS standings. Shockingly enough, the Boise State schedule has been tougher than most of the top 5 teams to this point. Since they haven’t lost, they deserve to be #1.
I also have another school report due for my Masters in Leadership. Just one more week of this class and then we jump into the next one.
So another busy weekend for us. I hope your weekend is a great one. Let me know what you have planned.
Today is gloomy day, which for So Cal is awesome! We don’t get gloomy here except I suppose from politicians. Overcast and a 40% chance of rain. Yes, rain in So Cal in October. Do we dare dream?
I need to complete preparations for the wedding I will be performing this weekend for my cousin. I am very excited about this wedding. It is a simple wedding, that I find very awesome. It will be under a big oak tree in Boise. Bring your own chair and it is potluck. Isn’t this awesome? Did I say I was excited?
I can honestly say I have never been excited for a wedding. Yes even my own. You see I didn’t know I would tie the knot when I did, it just happened that day. Really, it did. I said to Marsha, “do you want to get married today?” She replied,”yeah.”
As we say in show business, the rest is history. Done deal. Walk of Home Run. You get the idea. So the excitement while of course it was there, didn’t have time to boil. As we say in our family, “a watched pot never boils.”
Seriously, do you know that is is a proven fact that a watched pot takes much longer to boil than one that isn’t watched? It is true. Do you know why? Well, you keep taking the lid off to watch it, and it let’s out the heat.
So, yes the wedding will be great, the excitement is building, and the simple is so often beautiful. This will be one of those times. It should be very fun and relaxing.
I will speak on Sunday at another church in Idaho to which I am looking forward to very much. I like making new friends and seeing old ones. Since this one is near to my old home there may just be some old friends.
There is a 40% chance of rain and 100% chance of politicians. I hope the rain washes the politicians down stream.
This weekend I went to Big Bear and had a great time with people from all over Southern California and listened to Ron Salsbury from New Life Pismo Beach.
Had a good time. On the way back I was in a large RV going down hill. If you have ever taken the road to Big Bear to the valley you will understand how steep this hill is. It is STEEP! Well a little over half way down and about 1/4 of a mile from the really steep part our brakes gave way. Absolutely no brakes.
I know this sounds like an adventure for me, and you are right in your thinking. This time though the District Superintendent for So Cal who was driving got it stopped by dropping into a lower gear and pulling over.
So roller coast ride down taking the fast lane to the runaway truck stop was avoided. I didn’t realize that I was supposed to be a bit fearful until we stopped and about 30 minutes later someone stopped and let me know. I guess I just figured you would drop into lower gear and start applying pressure to the E-brake.
We made it home and I was able to watch the Boise State Broncos beat Oregon State Beavers! Go BSU!
Married 17 years
Father of 6 (2 Passed Away)
Ordained Pastor
Air Force Veteran
Texas Small Business Owner [Read More …]