Ice Breaker – Cheese

This has to be one of the craziest ice breaker questions that I have ever asked here.  The question is inspired by my son, Isaac.  He often jokes around about how he introduces himself to others.  He says, “Hi, I’m Isaac, and I like cheese.”  I occasionally ask my family for ice breaker question ideas.  So this question came directly from Isaac.  Here goes:

Question:  What is your favorite kind of cheese?  (I told you this was goofy!)

My Answer:  I’ve been to several places where cheese is a major food group.  A couple of years ago, our family vacationed in northern Vermont.  During our vacation, we visited the Cabot cheese factory.  I had no idea that there were that many cheeses.  I’ve also had the privilege of visiting France where there are so many different kinds of cheese.  I like different kinds of cheese depending on what else I’m eating.  For example, there is nothing like provolone cheese on an Italian hoagie or a corn beef sandwich.  I like Colby jack cheese with Lebanon bologna.  And I like cheddar cheese on my tacos.  One of my favorite kinds of cheese to eat by itself is cooper sharp.

How’s that for a cheesy post?  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker by leaving your answer in the comments.  I look forward to reading your cheesy answer.

(If you have an idea for an ice breaker question for our weekly post, let me know your idea.  If your question is chosen, I’ll answer the question, and I’ll give you the credit for the question.)

School’s Out For The Summer – Another Milestone

This morning, I’ll be going out to breakfast with my wife and kids and then I’ll be heading into the middle school for an awards assembly and celebration gathering for my daughter who will be ending her middle school career.

As I was tucking her into bed last night, Hannah confessed that she was sad that this was her last day at the school before she heads into high school in the fall. She has grown close to a great group of friends. She has enjoyed the joys and challenges brought on by her wonderful teachers. And she has especially fallen in love with the library and the library staff.

I know she’ll do fine at the next level, but I can also empathize with her feelings of sadness at the thought of leaving familiar territory and the prospect of facing the unknown. While it’s important to celebrate the past (and that’s what we’ll be doing today), it is also important to embrace the future. Just as God’s love has been evident in the past, His mercies will be new in the journey ahead.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23

So as one of our kids bids farewell to middle school today, I thank God for the promise of a new day, a new chapter, and a continued hope that lies ahead.

Hannah, I’m so proud of you, and I’m looking forward to seeing how God reveals his mercies to you in the next step of your adventure.

What milestone are you facing these days? Are you looking forward with apprehension and fear or with hope and excitement (or maybe some of both)?

Experiment: Free Advertising On The Stretched Blog

Many aspects of blogging are an experiment.  Picking the right theme.  Choosing the right layout.  Deciding on a catchy title for the whole blog or for just a blog post.  In some ways, I feel like a scientist as I daily work on the craft of writing.  Yesterday’s experiment proved to be worth while.  The experiment involved guest posting over at Jeremy Statton’s blog (Living Better Stories) and hosting guest blogger Kevin Haggerty (TheIsleOfMan.Net).  Yesterday, The Stretched Blog experienced its single biggest day of traffic to date.  (If you haven’t done so already check out those two posts titled Rediscovering My Dream and Learning To Count To Five.)

With this in mind, I’d like to try another experiment today.  Are you ready?

I’d like to offer three free advertising spots that will go on the right hand menu bar of my main page.  I will select the “winners” of the spots based on response to this post.  All you need to do is tell me why you think The Stretched Blog would be a good place to promote your blog.  I’ll choose the three winners, and I’ll reach out to you via e-mail to coordinate the actual advertisement.  I can probably help out a little with creating the advertisement, but I’m hoping that you might already have an idea that would fit in this spot.  The spots will be 125 x 125.  I’ll announce the winners in a few days.  Sound good?  Let’s try it!

Why do you think The Stretched Blog would be a good place to promote your blog?

How are you experimenting on your blog these days?

The Stretched Blog Visits Living Better Stories

Today is an exciting day here on The Stretched Blog.  I have the privilege of guest posting over at Jeremy Statton’s blog (Living Better Stories) today.  My post titled Rediscovering My Dreams shares some of my journey and thoughts regarding overseas missions.  Here’s an excerpt to get you started:

It was almost two years ago that my wife and I were making final preparations for the missions trip of a lifetime to Nairobi, Kenya.

A Painful Death

As we finalized our packing list and visited the doctors for our final immunizations, the wheels began to fall off our plans. My wife was starting to deal with significant anxiety issues and her health began to deteriorate. We wrestled with a decision we dreaded.

Should we go on this trip and risk health problems in an unfamiliar country? Or should we cancel the trip and miss out on this adventure?

[To read the rest, click here.]

Please head over to read the rest of the post.  Also, check out the rest of Jeremy’s blog, and sign-up to become one of his regular readers.

As I mentioned earlier, Kevin Haggerty is guest posting here today.  Check out his post titled Learning To Count To Five by clicking here.

Learning To Count To Five – Guest Post by Kevin Haggerty

Today, I have the privilege of presenting a guest post by Kevin Haggerty.  Kevin and I have become friends over the past few months thanks to the wonders of the blog world.  His writing at The Isle of Man is generally humorous and he often shares thoughts in his daily posts that stretch me.  I’m honored that Kevin would consider sharing his Stretching story here on the blog with The Stretched Community.  I’ve included a short bio for Kevin at the end of the post.  Please visit his blog, add his blog to your regular reading, leave him a comment, and tell him that I sent you.  Thanks!

[If you’re interested in sharing your Stretched story with the rest of The Stretched Community, leave me a comment so we can connect.]

Learning to Count to Five

About a week ago, Jon asked me to write a guest post for his “Stretched” series. It was kind of comical to me, the timing of it anyway, because I’m currently going through a period of my life where I’ve never felt more stretched.

Here’s the brief rundown, for those of you who don’t know me:

• In October of last year, my wife, Kim, and I bought our first house, after being married for two years.
• In December, we received the incredible news that Kim was pregnant with our very first child.
• In March, I found out that I was not going to be offered a contract to teach next year at the school for which I’ve worked for the past six years. Essentially, I was going to be (and have been) laid off.

That’s the short version.

It certainly isn’t how I drew it up, but when does life ever work that way? We don’t get the 12-month forecast for our life. Though, that would be nice, and if that were a website, I’d totally add it to my RSS reader subscriptions.

Instead, we generally get hit with life-changing news, then we have to adjust on the fly, like a hockey line change.

You don’t get advanced notice. You just have to make it up as you go.

So, at 32 years old, I’m at a place where I’m having to really figure things out. It sounds torturous, and in a lot of ways, it is.

But it’s also an awesome opportunity.

I have the chance to start over, in a lot of ways. I have the chance to take all the things I’ve learned and experienced and use them to branch out in a new and exciting direction.

Currently, on my blog, I’ve started a series of posts called “When Life Karate Kicks You in the Face.”

It will feature multiple volumes and will go until I’m done. Yesterday was the beginning of the series and featured Volume 1. I’d love it if you checked it out. Tomorrow, I’ll be posting Volume 2. It’d be great if you were able to read that too, and maybe even share in the discussion as it unfolds.

In the meantime, I want to share with you some of the things that have encouraged me during this down period.

There are two things I’ve used to help me when I am tempted to give into the demons. Maybe they’ll help you too.

Advice from Jack Shepard

In the hit television series, LOST, one of the main characters, Jack Shephard, gave some advice on how to overcome adversity.

In the very first episode, Jack tells Kate (also one of the main characters) a story to help her deal with the fear she is facing, while she is in the middle of stitching up a wound on his back.

Jack can tell the story better than I can, so why don’t I let him tell you instead:

It seems corny and cliché, but there’s a lot of truth to it. Jack was faced with a circumstance wherein he could have run for the door, and allowed disaster to overtake him (and the poor girl on the operating table), or he could have got a hold of himself and fixed it.

In life, often, those are our only two choices. Fight or Flight. Sometimes, I run away. But I can’t run away from this one. My wife needs me. My unborn son needs me. I could run, but I’m not going to.

Encouragement from a Friend

During all of this, my friend Shawn Smucker has been an incredible resource and encouragement to me.

If you’re unaware, Shawn wrote a book, Building a Life out of Words, about his decision to walk away from his business as a contractor, to follow his dream of being a writer, all as a married father of two young children.

Shawn made it work for him, but it wasn’t easy. Not in the slightest.

Shawn has been aware of my journey. I’ve talked to him a lot, along the way. He’s given me advice and really helped me a lot as I’ve been trying to decide just what to do.

One day, he e-mailed me. He asked me how I was doing. It was one of my “bad days.” I was honest with him. I told him I was depressed. I told him I wasn’t doing well, and that I was considering abandoning my dream of being a writer to do something “safe.”

Here was his response:

Hang in there, man. It’s a long road. There’s no time for feeling sorry for yourself.

I saved that. It meant a lot to me. I’m so grateful he had the courage to reach through the internet, grab me and shake me when I needed it.

There’s no time for feeling sorry for yourself. Sound urgent, doesn’t it?

It was urgent. It still is.

What will it be for you today? Will you give into the fear? Or will you count to five, face the terror and then take the control back. It really is a choice.

What will you choose today?

Kevin Haggerty is a 32-year old husband and expecting father. He runs and writes for a humor blog called TheIsleOfMan.Net. For his full-time job, Kevin is a middle school teacher and basketball coach. He also writes for a mixed martial arts (MMA) blog called MMAMania.com. He’s the oldest of seven children, a continual skeptic and smart people think he’s funny (at least that’s what he tells himself).

Announcing June Giveaway Winners

Last week, I announced that I would be giving away two prizes to lucky winners.  The winners were selected randomly, but their chances increased based on interaction on the blog and other social media platforms.  This was the first time, I’ve tried something quite like this, and I’m happy to say that the results were promising.  I added several new subscribers to the blog and new fans of the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook Fan Page.  There were also new commenters on the blog this week, and The Stretched Blog received several plugs this week via Twitter.  Overall, the blog experienced the third highest week of traffic since the beginning of the year.  I will definitely be trying this type of giveaway again.

Okay, I’ve delayed long enough.  Here are the winners of this month’s giveaway:

Winner of Platform by Michael Hyatt:  Mark Sullens

(Mark entered by being a fan of the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook Fan Page.)

Winner of Love Does by Bob Goff:  Tim McNatt

(Tim entered by being a subscriber of The Stretched Blog.)

I’ll be reaching out to the winners this week via e-mail to confirm mailing addresses.  Thanks to everyone for entering this month’s giveaway!

 What would you like to see me giveaway next month?  What other giveaways should The Stretched Community check out?

You Are An Important Piece Of The Puzzle

Today, I’m leading a Foundations Class at church.  We’ll be talking about using our gifts as part of living a transformed Christlike life of servanthood.  As I thought about this topic, I thought of puzzle (see my picture below).

Each of us along with our spiritual gifts represent of piece of the puzzle.  Our piece is an important part of the whole puzzle.  When we show up and use our gifts in the right place, the puzzle becomes more complete and beautiful.  When one of the pieces is missing, the puzzle isn’t complete.  When we put the puzzle together incorrectly (like when we try to plug into the puzzle in a spot that doesn’t match our gifting), the puzzle doesn’t work out so well.

Do you know your spiritual gifts?  How are you using your gifts?

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.  I Corinthians 12:1-31

3 Thumbs Up! June 9th, 2012

Saturday typically means 3 thumbs up around here on the Stretched blog.  Each week, I highlight three things that deserve a thumbs up.  Here are my three for this week:

Thumbs Up Number 1:  Perkiomen Carnival Fireworks.  It’s been several years since we’ve taken the kids over to the Central Perkiomen Carnival (formerly known as the Schwenksville Carnival).  But it’s rare that we miss out on the Friday fireworks that are a traditional part of this carnival.  We have the benefit of watching the fireworks from the edge of our backyard.  Last night, I picked up Hannah from her 8th grade formal dance (that’s a whole other story).  After we got home, we sat in our backyard enjoying the fireworks.  For a small town, they do a great job with these fireworks each year.  The beauty is that I don’t have to fight traffic when the shows over.  I just fold up my lawn shares and walk in the house.

Thumbs Up Number 2:  MacBook Pro.  We just picked up our MacBook Pro this week, and I honestly haven’t had a lot of time to play with it yet, but I can tell that this product deserves a thumbs up.  It’s an adjustment to mindshift from the PC world to the Mac world, but I like what I’ve seen so far.  The screen is clean, the navigation seems good (once we get used to it), and the machine itself is well-built.  It was a bit pricey compared to other laptops on the market today, but I get the impression that we won’t be disappointed.  If you have a MacBook, do you have any tips for a new user like me?

Thumbs Up Number 3:  Jumping Tandem.  Jumping Tandem is an incredible blog by Deidra (Dee) Riggs.  I recently rediscovered this blog thanks to the wonders of the internet and social media.  Dee shares her journey with amazing creativity, passion, and style through her writing.  Dee and her husband live out in the mid-west, but I have the privilege of knowing her when she was part of our church and our small group ministry several years ago.  Please check out Jumping Tandem, so you can see what I’m talking about.  This blog is definitely worth adding to your reader.  Stop by and leave a comment; tell Dee that I sent you!

What else deserves a thumbs up this week?

(Don’t forget to get in the Giveaway that I announced on Monday.  I’ll be announcing the winner next week.)

Ice Breaker – Picnic

Happy Friday!

Friday means Ice Breaker here on the Stretched blog. Each week, I ask a question designed to help us learn a little bit about the Stretched Community. I answer the question in the post, and you answer the question in the comments. This is also a great opportunity to interact with other readers by commenting on their answers. Since we’re heading into the summer season, I thought it would be fun to pick a question that relates to a fun summertime activity. Here goes!

Question:  What is your favorite picnic food or activity?

Answer:  I love picnics and potlucks. I love picnic foods like watermelon, hamburgers, and pasta salad. But my favorite picnic food is probably homemade guacamole. I realize you can have quack mole any time of the year, but our recipe came to us during a picnic in the early years of our marriage. The recipe calls for avocados, red onion, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, salt, and lime juice. Dipping nacho chips in this guacamole is so delicious.

As for picnic activities, I love sitting around and relaxing with friends, but I also love picnic games – especially lawn games like horseshoes, bocce ball, and croquet. I have great memories of playing all three of these games at past picnics.

Okay, now it’s your turn. Answer this week’s ice breaker question in the comments.

(It’s not to late to get in on the giveaway that I announced on Monday!)

How To Recharge Your Battery

Last night, I sat in the back of my car with the hatch back open during my son’s weekly scout meeting.  I watched the boys running around with what seemed liked endless energy.  They ran back and forth across the open field as most kids played ultimate Frisbee.  Meanwhile, a smaller group of boys were playing wall ball.  They kept running and running until it was time to change activities.

As I looked on, I recalled days of my youth when my energy also seemed to have few limits.  I would go until I collapsed.  I still feel fairly young at 40 years old, but there is no question that I don’t have the same energy reserve that I once had.  Yes, even a guy who runs marathons gets tired.

The more I looked on, the more this verse from Isaiah kept coming into my mind.

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

I don’t know where you’re at with your energy.  I’ve read a lot of blog posts recently that indicate that there are many people who are feeling the need for a break.  People are worn out, tired, and depleted of energy.  If you’re like me, you need this reminder from Isaiah.  There are lots of energy drinks, energy bars, and other energy foods that offer temporary relief from our empty energy tanks.  Many people offer ideas for ways to keep our energy at a high level.  But there is only one Place that offers true energy replenishment.  Those who turn to God will experience renewed strength and energy.

That’s what I needed to hear.

How’s your energy these days?  How do you recharge your battery?