Jon Stolpe
Jon Stolpe
In Search of a Punt Returner
As you may know, I’m a big Eagles fan. Well, yesterday didn’t go so well for our Birds. If anyone knows of anyone who can catch of punted football or let it go without touching it, please send them to South Philly and have them touch base with Andy Reid. If you didn’t see the game, the Eagles lost the game thanks to two fumbled punts.
Overall, the rest of the team wasn’t spectacular, but they did enough to win the game. The defense played well despite giving up a couple of unbelievable plays by old-timer Brett Favre. I’m sure my brother (David) was thrilled to have his team squeak by after playing so poorly.
Ah, the plight of the Eagles fan. At least, I was able to enjoy the company of a good friend (Joe Homan) for the final quarter of the game.
Fly Eagles Fly. Better luck next week.
Until the next post…
Count Down to Supernanny!
Tomorrow night, we officially start our parenting discussion group (see the previous post). We have ten families signed up for this (not counting our family). So we’re looking at 20 adults and 20+ kids. We’re having a social event tomorrow evening, and we will officially start our discussion next week as we focus on “routine.”
We’re praying that this will be a positive thing for parents in our area. Also, we’re praying that God would use this group to spur people on towards increased involvement and community at our church. Finally, we’re praying that our babysitters will not only survive but thrive in what is sure to be initially chaotic.
We value your prayers and support as we begin this adventure.
Until the next post….
A Day At Ocean Grove
Yesterday, we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and a rare free weekend to take a day trip to Ocean Grove, NJ. Ocean Grove is due east of our own home, and we can get there in under two hours without any traffic. We discovered the place a few years ago when Leanne and I were looking for a place to get away for an overnight. Somehow, we fumbled upon this place, and now Ocean Grove comes with our highest recommendations.
For a little history on Ocean Grove go here. Basically, OG was set up as a camp area for the United Methodist church. It is known as God’s Square Mile, because the town itself is exactly one square mile and it maintains its association with the UMC. The people are friendly in this town. The boardwalk is basically for walking, biking, or just sitting around.
We had a great day at the shore. The kids enjoyed playing in the waves and in the sand. They also enjoyed meeting a few new friends from North Jersey and NYC. We all arrived home refreshed – looking forward to our next visit to Ocean Grove.
Until the next post…
Interview with Alberto Salazar
I love hearing stories about people who have undergone significant life change. Last night, I was reading an interview with Alberto Salazar from the October 2007 edition of Runner’s World magazine. The interview took place following Alberto’s surprise heart attack and near brush with death. Here’s an excerpt from Amby Burfoot‘s interview with the distance-running legend:
RW: Hearing your story is taking my breath away. What’s it like for you to relive it?
AS: Every time I think about it, I’m shocked that I’m still alive. I can’t believe how blessed I am that this miracle took place. It’s hard to think that I was basically dead for a certain amount of time, and now I’m still here. It’s very sobering. For a couple of days, I was going to sleep at night wondering. Am I going to wake up in the morning?
Now I’ve gotten over that and moved on to the reality of my situation – knowing that I’m going to face this again, maybe from my heart, maybe not. Maybe I’ll see it coming, maybe I won’t. But it’s going to come again. And that makes you think, Are you prepared? It forces you to delve into every part of your life. You think about things you’ve put off, regrets you might have. You begin to ask: Do I have some unfinished business? Have I let old disagreements get in my way? Have I left certain words unspoken to my brothers, father, sister, friends?
And it makes you think: You know what? I’m going to take care of all this stuff now. I’m going to start crossing things off my list. I feel so lucky that this happened, because now I see things much more clearly. I see that it’s stupid to worry about money and investments. Do people think I’m a great coach? That’s an ego thing; it doesn’t matter to me any longer.
God could have saddled me with some major physical or mental problems, but he didn’t. I’m so thankful that I’ve been set straight, and I only got a slap on the wrist, so to speak.
RW: You haven’t used the words exactly, but it sounds as if you’re saying this heart attack was part of a master plan.
AS: Yes, absolutely. I’ve always believed that God has a plan for all of us, but he doesn’t force it on us. It’s up to us to have the faith to follow the plan. In my case, I feel that I’ve been living a pretty good life – I’ve tried to be helpful to people, I’ve tried to help my runners perform at the highest level. But now I’m thinking God expects more from me than just that….
For more of this interview go here.
This interview reminds me of a verse from Colossians 4:2-6:
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Are you and I making the most of every opportunity today?
Until the next post…
Perelman on CBS3
Click here to see news coverage of the Perelman Building. As you can see by all my recent posts, this has been a big focus of my attention over the past few years. It’s really cool to see all the hype surrounding its completion and opening.
Until the next post….
Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out
My mom always says, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” I think what she was says was you’ll get caught one way or the other if you do something wrong. Even if no one on earth finds out about it, God knows.
I was reminded out this quote today due to a humorous story from our house. And it also reminds me of a story from my past that I will share with you as well. First, today our family decided to celebrate Labor Day by spending the day at our local YMCA. Today was the last day for the outdoor pool, and the weather was spectacular. Upon our departure from our house, we left our dog (Iso) uncrated and left to roam the house. He is not permitted to go upstairs in the house, and he knows it. Well, here’s where the quote comes in. When we arrived five hours later, we couldn’t find Iso. We searched all over the place, calling for him, whistling for him, and starting to worry that he had somehow escaped. I frantically ran back upstairs to see if he had somehow locked himself in a closet or a room with the door closed, and guess where I found him? In the bathroom. Apparently, he went in there, and the door blew shut behind him. Leaving him stuck there until we arrived home. Shame. Shame. Shame. (We were relieved to find him.)
This reminds me of a story from my childhood in Wheaton, Illinois. Sometime around 1st or 2nd grade, I decided to head off with one of my friends on a bicycle adventure outside the boundaries that my parents had set for me. I was sure that I could make it back home without being missed. Unfortunately, my pant leg got stuck in my bicycle chain when I was way out of bounds. I was left to get a ride home from a stranger who had to cut my pant leg just to free me from my bicycle. I can still remember the disappointment in my parents eyes when I arrived home. I can still hear my mom saying, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” I was caught! Being grounded for a week did a lot to teach me the importance of letting my parents know where I was going and of keeping within the boundaries that they had laid out.
I’m thankful that God gave me a few mild episodes like this to teach me important lessons that would valuable for the rest of my life.
Until the next post….
Perelman Building follow-up
Click here for an article and slide show that ran in the Philly Inquirer on 8/31/2007 about the Perelman Building (see previous post).
Click here for an article that ran in the Los Angeles Times on 8/17/2007 about the Perelman Building.
Today the front page story on the Philadelphia Inquirer was about the Perelman Building.
Very cool!
Until the next post….
Knuckles and Bozo
This morning, I ran 11.65 miles with Joe Homan and Dave Freed. It was a beautiful morning – low humidity, mild temperatures, great friends. Actually, we ran 10.05 miles. The remaining 1.6 miles was spent trying to make sure our new friends Knuckles and Bozo didn’t get hit by a car. Let me explain.
Knuckles and Bozo are the names we gave two dogs who ran alongside us for about 5 miles on the Perkiomen Trail. They were very friendly – perhaps too friendly. When we finally stopped to look at their tags, they lived at least 5 miles away. Amazing! Thankfully, a lady from the SPCA happened to be driving by as we were finishing up our last bit, and she offered to take them to their owners. This is certainly a funny story that we will remember for a while. We were actually starting to wonder if Joe was going to be adding two new pets to his family.
What a great day!
Until the next post….
Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building
For the past three years (give or take a few months), I have been working on a big project for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. On September 15th, the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building will open across Kelley Drive from the main museum building. This renovated and enlarged building will be the home to special exhibits, art storage, art conservation and preservation, art library, and offices for many museum employees. The picture above really doesn’t do the building a whole lot of justice, so I’d strongly recommend a visit to see this magnificent building.
My company had the pleasure of installing an HVAC building automation system, a fire alarm system, and a security system. I had the challenge of supervising the installation of the building automation system and the fire alarm system, and I designed the entire building automation system. There are several for cool behind the scenes things that happen in this building, and it was challenging and rewarding to be part of this landmark construction project.
Last night, I had the privilege of taking Leanne to the building for a special open house for the contractors, employees, and design personnel. It really meant a lot to show Leanne the fruits of all my hard work, and it also meant a lot to hear the praise of so many people from the museum and from the construction team.
What’s next? We’ll see…. For now, the Perelman building will be added to a long list of buildings that I will point out to my friends and family – proud to know that I had a part in it.
Until the next post….
Lunar Eclipse
This morning, I woke up for my 5AM run, and I had the pleasure of seeing the lunar eclipse. The eclipse had just started when I woke up, and it was in full effect when I returned from my 3 mile run in the dark on the Perkiomen Trail. What an amazing universe we live in. How can you tell me that there wasn’t a creator behind all this. Here’s a top six list of my observations today that God is behind it all:
6. The lunar eclipse this morning. Imagine trying to get three huge objects (sun, earth, and moon) to line up in the middle of a vast universe.
5. Our grass outside isn’t brown anymore. After a couple of months of little to no rain, it finally rained last week. And almost overnight our entire lawn went from brown to green. Try doing that yourself.
4. God puts people in our lives for relationships. Recently, a family moved into the neighborhood. We had been praying for a boy Isaac’s age to play with. The neighbors have four boys all around our kids ages.
3. God is our provider. I have a job. We have food and shelter.
2. God provides opportunities for us to interact with people who don’t know Him. Today, I had some awesome conversation with a co-worker of mine about evolution and intelligent design and God’s hand in everything.
1. God’s love is amazing. He loves me so much that He would send His only Son just for me even if I was the only one on the earth. To quote Vince Antonucci: “I am God’s greatest treasure.” (And so are you!) Lucky? Maybe. Blessed? Most certainly!
Until the next post….