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Re: What My Dog Trainer Reminded Me About Leadership

Ken Christensen — Sun, 11 May 2014 23:24:16 -0000

I really enjoyed this post. In fact, this is the third time I've read it. It isn't because the absorption is slow, rather because this tendency is so ingrained. The blame game is as old as Adam & Eve. While I don't agree that every accident that a trained dog has is my fault, I get the point. If my dog has an accident and they did everything they could to let me know and I ignored it, then it is my fault.

Having said that, there is a flip side to this, and a story to tell.

I've got allergies to dry mowed grass, the kind you have in late July or August where you're mowing the lawn because there are a few places that need it, but you can't just mow those places. Because of that, we had outsourced our lawn mowing. Well, we're experiencing some budget constraints, and I could use the exercise, so a couple of weeks ago, I started mowing the lawn. The first time I did it I wanted to impress my wife when she got home from work. Mission accomplished!

Now the second week, I mowed it a day earlier than the typical once a week mow. The reason? I was out golfing in the back yard with Ginger, my 16 Lb miniature poodle. I take two whiffle golf balls out. I hit one, she retrieves it, and I hit the next one. It has done amazing things for my golf game, and she loves the time we spend together doing this. But this morning, she was getting frustrated trying to find the ball when it settled down into the tall grass. I had to mow the lawn so that she could enjoy our time together. The funny thing is I really wanted to do it, Ginger had changed my heart.

I'm going to submit that the reason making these necessary changes are so difficult for us is because we ultimately haven't changed our heart. And if I haven't changed my heart, how can I expect those I lead to see the benefits?

Re: How a chicken sandwich taught me I don’t like change.

Ken Christensen — Wed, 07 May 2014 20:43:56 -0000

Hope, I really enjoyed reading your story. All too often those of us who say we like change have things we'd rather not see changed. I've got a longer list in a shorter period of time with Chick-fil-A, but to say I'm a fan would be an understatement. We share the same favorite sandwich! And back when my CFA still had the cheese sauce, I would dip the waffle fries in that. I also just finished eating a chocolate chunk cookie crumbled on top of the parfait instead of the crushed Oreo cookies.

Our scrapbook store, http://www.CafeCrop.com is honored to participate in Operation Write Home, where our customers make cards to ship to service men and women so that they have a home-made card to send back to their loved ones.

Thanks for sharing your site with the GN community! Great job!

Re: Tea Party, Nisly Not What We Need

Ken Christensen — Mon, 05 May 2014 17:36:18 -0000

I'm not in District 22, but I've got friends who are. Matt May, your last two sentences are contradictions. Kubacki is on record of not listening to everybody, so common sense would vote for somebody else. Anybody else.

Re: 6 Benefits to Getting Rid of Your Smartphone

Ken Christensen — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 19:11:00 -0000

Absolutely Matt! So easy to say, so much harder to actually do.

Re: 6 Benefits to Getting Rid of Your Smartphone

Ken Christensen — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:52:41 -0000

Matt, I'll bite. While I wholeheartedly agree with you, I'm not going to ditch my iPhone. How can that be? I'm not addicted to it. I interact with people socially, and I use my smartphone to enhance that, not instead of it. As a testament to that, I've still got an iPhone 4s with 16GB of memory, even though I'd love to get the latest iteration with all the memory possible and fingerprint unlock. The truth is that I don't need that. Not really.

That's not to say that I could never get to the point of ditching my smartphone. I just don't have the same compelling reason to make that move. It isn't a distraction while I'm working, or golfing.

Bottom line is I'm my own distraction, so unless I have a plan, it will not matter if I have an iPhone, an iMac, a MacBook Pro, or any other piece of technology... or lack them. Without sticking to my plan, I'm toast!

Re: 5 Reasons You’re Not Getting Traction with Your Platform

Ken Christensen — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:35:06 -0000

My how I wish I could say, "Michael, you're wrong!" The father of procrastination for me has been the fear of success. Notice I used the words "for me." That's because there are far too many things that can lead us to procrastinate. I could have included far more by simply saying "fear." Fear of success, fear of difficulty, fear of the time it will take, fear of the outcome, fear of failure.

Here's what I've learned. When you're in the middle of acting, it is harder to succumb to those fears. The excuses evaporate. And success isn't that bad, neither are all of the things we allow ourselves to be afraid of.

I'm looking forward to the day when my blog allows me to afford Platform University!

Re: Why I Ditched My MacBook Air

Ken Christensen — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 10:55:06 -0000

Julie, that's the other thing I really like about Apple products. They still work, and work well, long after my PC laptops would have required an upgrade of some kind. We purchased an external Apple monitor for the MBP my wife used. Unfortunately, it was not compatible with my ancient white MacBook. I kept on asking my wife if her laptop needed to be replaced, so we would both have MBPs that were compatible with the Apple Monitor. But she was still happy with it 3 years later! I finally figured out a way to make the switch. We purchased a refurbished MBP that was about a year old, and purchased two years of Applecare. Our cost was less than a brand new MBP without Applecare! And here's something I've never said about any other piece of tech. I was happy to get her old MBP! The only things I've done to it since was upgrade from 4gb of RAM to 8gb, because Mavericks is a bit more demanding in the memory department. And I swapped out her hard drive so we had another layer of backup.

Re: The blunt truth about greed and freedom that was delivered over 30 years ago

Ken Christensen — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 18:14:15 -0000

Glenn, I'm not so sure we should be as hard as you were on Apple. It is easy to get caught up in the relative nature of wages, and consider Chinese workers to be underpaid. This Wikipedia entry for Foxconn paints a better picture, even though there is clearly room for improvement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... I've been to a place where the minimum wage is $15 per month, and gasoline costs $5 per gallon. I can't imagine working an entire month for three gallons of gas. We wouldn't get very far here in the United States with just 3 gallons. The question I have is what is the comparable quality of life for those who work for Foxconn, and those who work where those workers came from? Wouldn't it be nice if we could open something up here in the United States, and employ 200,000 people in one fell swoop? The problem is that even at minimum wage that would cost more than $3 million, and we aren't even talking about anything beyond labor costs. You'd have to build the factory. Put in place all of the infrastructure, and then there'd be unions and regulations to deal with. So we can forget making millions of iPhones in the United States, we wouldn't be able to afford them.

It also isn't just Apple. There are so many other companies that are doing the same exact thing.

Re: Is the Supreme Court presiding over the Constitution’s destruction?

Ken Christensen — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 23:26:36 -0000

"With you here, and with us in my own home, in the long run, success or failure will be conditioned upon the way in which the average man, the average women, does his or her duty, first in the ordinary, every-day affairs of life, and next in those great occasional cries which call for heroic virtues. The average citizen must be a good citizen if our republics are to succeed. The stream will not permanently rise higher than the main source; and the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of the nation. Therefore it behooves us to do our best to see that the standard of the average citizen is kept high; and the average cannot be kept high unless the standard of the leaders is very much higher." Theodore Roosevelt

Re: A Caution For Every Christian That Drinks Alcohol

Ken Christensen — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 14:17:00 -0000

Thank you for your perspective on this. As hard as this is to say, I think we need to add more to this. There are folks who eat too much, so seeing pictures of a rack of ribs on a grill could cause problems for them. This brings up the other side of this equation, and the idea of balance. Balance requires work. Sometimes hard work. Try this experiment sometime, but be careful that you are prepared to not fall. How long can you stand on one leg with the other leg bent at the knee and held so that your thigh is parallel to the floor? From experience, when you first start this exercise you will discover that your balance isn't what you thought it was. With more time and practice, you'll be able to do this for a longer period of time. If you do it you will know the work that it takes to maintain balance.

How does that apply to these issues of liberty and the limits of it? Simple. We have to be intentional if we ever hope to improve our physical balance. We have to be intentional about the exercise of our liberty so that something unintended and unwanted doesn't occur. So the question I ask is do you love anything so much that you aren't willing to give it up to prevent physical or spiritual harm to a brother or sister in Christ? Or, how about the person who isn't following Christ?

Re: Classy Romney on MSNBC’s Attack on Grandson: ‘They've Apologized…We Hold No Ill Will’

Ken Christensen — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 13:50:15 -0000

upbeatread1, I wish I was incorrect about Liberals. You've cited several things from the liberal play book, "Love one another", the "good Samaritan" and such. Actually doing good vs. just talking about it is admirable. Sure those are important. Here's the problem though. The "Good Samaritan" did what he did with his own money. The Democrats and other liberals want to do their version of good with taxpayers' money. Doing that moves government from doing the things that are proper for a government to do, into the realm of robbing one group of people to reward others.

For example, the Bible says that if a man isn't willing to work, he should not eat. Many on government assistance do nothing for the help. In fact many of them have learned how to play the system. That hardly qualifies as work as the Bible intended.

This government assistance also eliminates the need for me to be charitable for those truly in need. Indeed, if this level of active charity were taking place we would actually be addressing the real need, not the superficial one that providing monetary assistance meets.

Forgive me for being blunt, but there's something wrong if somebody who teaches the Bible thinks that you don't need the Bible to live a godly life. The Bible isn't just some "holy book", the Bible is God's living breathing Word.

God is Love, but God is also Truth and Just. The Bible doesn't teach that we are here to help make the world a better place. We are here to tell the world that we all deserve hell, but that God sent His Son, Jesus to die, in order to redeem them. It really doesn't matter what a righteous life is to you. God is the one who decides that, and unless you have been redeemed by Jesus, all the good you, or I might do isn't righteous enough.

Re: Classy Romney on MSNBC’s Attack on Grandson: ‘They've Apologized…We Hold No Ill Will’

Ken Christensen — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 09:45:36 -0000

upbeatred1, the problem is that there is far too much anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Furthermore, so many "liberal" tenants are contrary to God's Word, that I find it hard to believe that "liberals" love the God of the Bible. Why do I say that? Because the Bible says that if you love God you will do what he says. I will admit that there are far too many times when I've not done what God says, and that is why I'm glad that God loved us enough to send the Savior, Jesus, to die and redeem us.

Re: Someone Please Help New York Times With Econ 101

Ken Christensen — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 10:35:57 -0000

Democrats could care less about the truth, just not much less!

Re: Someone Please Help New York Times With Econ 101

Ken Christensen — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 10:34:23 -0000

William Weissbeck, I would say that part of the reason for "record corporate profits" is because of actions by the Fed. Another part is the fact that "Wall Street" demands quarterly results, and if you're having trouble with top line numbers, the best way to impact bottom line profits is to reduce costs. One of the biggest costs is labor, so you figure out how to do more with less. Yet another problem with labor supply is skill related. We don't need as many blacksmiths today because our main form of transportation is no longer the horse. Let me get back to the decision to raise prices or take a little less in profit. I cannot raise prices in a vacuum. More often than not, my competitors put a cap on my pricing. Then it is actually presumptive to think that I'm even making a profit, let alone taking a little less of one. Any business owner doesn't take a profit, they attempt to earn it.

Wayne Langley, I highly doubt that Republicans love high unemployment. I tend to vote largely Republican, but I have to say the Republican party has lost its way. I don't love high unemployment because that means higher taxes, more of a burden on those who are working, and less true investment by private enterprise to get the economy moving again.

Government isn't a part of the solution here. They are the problem. By your reasoning, Republicans should be all for raising the minimum wage because it would produce more unemployment!

Re: Someone Please Help New York Times With Econ 101

Ken Christensen — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 10:16:29 -0000

I manage several small businesses, and I can assure you that Jono's brother-in-law is not a poor businessman. It seems to me that you have no idea what it takes for a business to open their doors and succeed. One of the businesses in our industry is closing its doors sometime in February. I wish they weren't. It means our industry will not be served as well, and ultimately that means customers suffer. Ironically, if customers in every industry had clarity as to what silly thing the government was going to do next, they might actually have money to spend in one of our businesses. If our sales volume goes up, then we can afford to hire. But if everything remains the same, and nobody knows what shoe will drop tomorrow, then spending is constrained, and my ability to retain the workers I have, becomes a challenge. So, if that's a challenge, then I sure am not going to be adding new positions.

Re: Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, Race & Faith

Ken Christensen — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 17:45:25 -0000

Thank you for writing down what I've been talking about since the verdict. I really enjoyed the transition from race card to trump card! Brilliant. The reminder to those of us who follow Christ, is one we needed to hear.

Re: God Won’t Give Us More Than We Can Handle

Ken Christensen — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:02:28 -0000

Wow Shane! This must be the week to challenge the presumptions we make about what God's Word really says. God won't give me more than I can handle if I depend on Him. If I don't depend on Him, what He gives me will seem like more than I can handle, and make me wonder if God knows what He's doing! The ultimate end of both scenarios is that I soon realize my complete dependence on what God is willing to do through me, and even in spite of me!

I'm working on sharing the presumption that I've had, and hopefully I can be as concise as you've been in making this point.

Re: What Not to Do When Visiting First-Time Guests

Ken Christensen — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:45:18 -0000

I can think of worse things! But seriously, this does raise an issue. There are some who clearly have the gift of evangelism. Yet we are all called to do the work of an evangelist. So what is the issue you ask? We don't train for this. That's right. We have discipleship for just about everything else... but for this, we somehow think because we're all followers of Jesus, we all know how to be an evangelist. For those of us who don't have the gift, it requires work. And it requires all sorts of different teaching methodologies. I need to be hands on in a mentor type relationship, at least for something like this. Let me explain. I have lower back issues. I've been to the doctor, and they've given me written directions and diagrams for stretching and exercises to do to help. I never could figure those out. It wasn't until I was taking karate classes that I learned by experience how to stretch. Now I have the muscle memory, and now I can share with others who have the same problem I do. Do you see the connection here? Everyone has the same problem I do. It's called sin. And we just need to learn how to share the solution that we've found. I've been stretching for over 3 years now. I've been a follower of Jesus for over 30 years, and I've been much better at sharing my faith with others over the past 6 years primarily because I've been around people who have led by example.

I said I can think of worse things. Here's what's worse. Not being willing to try, for fear you'll fail. Or, not being willing to try because you don't want to offend. Or not being willing to try because people won't like you. Or not being willing to try because you buy into the "everything's relative" mantra of our culture. Remember, God will build the church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

To try and fail is better than not trying at all. So, thanks Shane, for trying. Thank you too for being vulnerable, because in your honesty, you are no doubt encouraging others to step out in faith, trusting that God can take even our failures and use them to bring glory to himself.

Re: Instant Analysis powered by One News Now

Ken Christensen — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:54:50 -0000

While it is true that the United States is not a theocracy, it is not true that it was intended to be a democracy. A democracy does not protect the minority, while a republic does. And, the only way to protect the minority is for the majority to live under moral law. In our case it is the limitations of our Constitution places on government that are meant to limit government. That isn't working very well for us right now because governments at all levels have taken over control. While that's happened, laws that contradict Nature (and by extension, Nature's God) are ultimately futile. The legislature in Florida, or Louisiana could outlaw hurricanes, but nature isn't going to respect that law. What makes us think that we can take the natural order of things defined by God, and say that it shouldn't matter what sex they are if they love each other? Do we think that there won't be consequences? They may not be as obvious as a hurricane in my example, yet that doesn't mean that there are none.

Just like Bill Clinton's desire to encourage home ownership by relaxing financial requirements might have increased home ownership, it also had the unintended effect of encouraging irresponsible home ownership, and the resulting housing bubble.

The problems we face here in the United States, and indeed the world, are because we have lost a moral compass. Morality is not a matter of opinion, unless of course you surrender your opinion to the only One who's opinion matters. God's.

Re: Bye, Bye Rob Bell

Ken Christensen — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:21:03 -0000

I do not share your skepticism, nor your belief that the "Editing... score[s] cheap rhetorical points" nor is it disingenuous, and it does nothing to Shane's credibility. Rob Bell has left no doubt in my mind that he's no longer worshiping the God who created everything. And unless the course of Rob Bell's thinking and belief is radically changed, it is only a matter of time before other sins are excused away for one reason or another.

Re: Bye, Bye Rob Bell

Ken Christensen — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:41:07 -0000

Andrew, you are a child of God in the sense that we all are. You are
also just like everyone else who has fallen short of God's standard. It
really wouldn't do you any good to see the church affirm homosexual
relationships, because it isn't the church's place. God's Word calls
homosexual practice a sin, along with adultery, lying, murder, slander,
and gossip.

It is easy to justify behavior that God calls sin,
by saying Jesus paid for that. But, what does that say about the
relationship? How committed would your "committed relationship" be if
you found him cheating on you?

Jesus paid an awful price for my
sin. Sadly, I'm not yet perfected and I still sin. When I do, I eventually feel terrible. I confess my sin, and seek
forgiveness. And I ask God to help keep me from evil.

I think it speaks volumes when you claim affinity with an organization that seeks to redefine God's law, while at the same time claiming to be a "child of God". Be careful you may get to the point of no return and find God saying, "I never knew you."

Re: Clean out the Dev Shed

Ken Christensen — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:33:06 -0000

ACS integration would be great. Our church currently connects to ACS as a link, and then everything is on ACS. While this works, it means that if they redo their theme, they have to also redo the ACS theme to match. I started to check and see if ACS had an API, and I didn't see one, but I could have just not drilled down enough on their site.

Either way, C5 / ACS integration would be great, especially if it integrated with your other add-ons such as homegroups.

Re: What To Do About These Kinds of Prayers

Ken Christensen — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:49:23 -0000

Thank you for framing the issue so well, and for not letting Christendom off the hook for having its fair share of those who are not really followers of Jesus, who lead others!

Funny thing is, God promises that those who preach the Word with the wrong motivation, His Word will still have an impact.

Try that with anything you or I say or write! I'm working hard to side with God, over the objections of my flesh.

Finally, thank you for the reminder to pray!

Re: Defy God At Your Own Peril

Ken Christensen — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:47:28 -0000

Good morning to you too Justin! Thank you for your kind words. Please feel free to contact me privately on Facebook. I would be delighted to figure out a way to share more personally. Where are you located? Also, as I suspect you realize, if you've read any of my other posts, I'm a work in progress myself. I think we risk becoming complacent if we think we know it all. Further, we set ourselves up for failure if we stop thinking critically, because we were not designed by God to be blind followers.

Re: I’m Dumping Starbucks

Ken Christensen — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:03:57 -0000

Thank you, Shane!