Ice Breaker – Ten Years From Now

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

Question:  What do you imagine yourself doing ten years from now?

My Answer:  In ten years, I will be 53.  It looks weird to me to type in that number.  The youngest operations manager in my department besides me just turned 55 this weekend, so I will still be younger than people who are doing my job now.  As far as work goes, I’m guessing I will still be working at my current place of employment.  I’m pretty sure, I’ll have some opportunities to move up a little in the next ten years.  I’m excited for what the next ten years looks like at my job.

In ten years, Leanne and I will be “empty nesters” as both our kids will be out of college.  I’m not looking to rush the current stage of our parenting, but I am excited for the prospect of enjoying time together as a couple.  Our initial “honeymoon” stage of our marriage was only a year and a half, so this will be an exciting stage in our marriage.  I think we will live in a smaller house.  We won’t have a mortgage (or any other debt), and we will be free to travel, give, and serve.

I plan to travel to Guatemala three (or more) times a year ten years from now.  I look forward to helping widows and orphans by building homes, teaching skills, providing meals, and sharing the gospel.

And finally, I plan to continue writing and speaking.  In ten years, I hope to have a few more books published, and I look forward to speaking to others – challenging people to stretch in their leadership, their families, and their lives.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – First Kiss

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

Question:  Tell us about your first kiss.

My Answer:  Tomorrow is the 22nd anniversary of my first kiss.  The first (and only) person I kissed was actually my wife.  We shared our first kiss at McConnell’s Mills in western PA.  We shared lunch together on a rock along the creek that runs through the park.  The kiss happened after lunch.  (A year later, I went for an accidental, icy swim when we when to the same location to celebrate the anniversary of this momentous occasion.)

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – Not Worth The Money

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

Question:  What job would you never do no matter how much it paid?

My Answer:  I’m not great with needles, and I’m definitely not great when it comes to blood.  I’m pretty sure I couldn’t handle being a surgeon no matter how much it paid.  I like the thought of helping people, but I don’t think I would be very much help if I was passed out on the floor.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – Childhood Nickname

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

This is a big week in my area as Pope Francis is in town for the World Meeting of Families.  Our city has been planning for a while, and his visit is causing all kinds of road closures, school dismissals, and business delays.  This week’s Ice Breaker is inspired by Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia.

Question:  What was one of your childhood nicknames?

My Answer:  My family moved from Illinois to New Jersey when I was eight years old when my Dad took a pastor job in the town of Mt. Holly, NJ.  We moved the summer before I started third grade.  When I started the new school year at a new school, my classmates soon learned about my Dad’s job.  Since many of my classmates were from a Catholic background, they thought my Dad was a priest.  They also thought my last name (Stolpe) sounded a little funny, and they played around with different rhymes to go with my last name – Dopey was one of those.  But the nickname that seemed to stick for a little while was Pope.  It doesn’t rhyme with Stolpe exactly, but it kind of looks like part of my last name, and it goes with my Dad’s job.

No one calls me Pope now, but there was a period of time at my current job when a few people called me Raging Reverend.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – Earliest Childhood Memory

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

This week’s Stretched Ice Breaker is inspired by a question we have been talking about in our house this past week.  It’s been interested to hear our kids responses, and I’m looking forward to reading your response.

Question:  What is your earliest childhood memory?

My Answer:  If I try to remember my early childhood, I go back to my family’s first house on Illini Drive in Carol Stream, Illinois.  We lived in this house until I was 5 years old.  I remember birthday parties, climbing the big willow tree in the backyard, climbing in the attic of the dog house, and playing with my friends, Mark and Debbie.  I remember playing my Dad’s snare drum, making blanket trains in the living room, and setting up a Matchbox car track from the living room down the hallway.  I remember our dog, Snickers, licking empty ice cream containers in the kitchen, and I remember riding my bike for the first time without training wheels.  One of my earliest childhood memories though is when my brother, David, was born and came home from the hospital.  I don’t remember any of the particulars, but I remember things changing in the house as we all adjusted to his arrival.  I would have been 2 1/2 when he was born.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – When You Close Your Eyes

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

Question:  When you close your eyes what do you see?

My Answer:  Initially, I see darkness when I close my eyes.  Then I see the fading image of things that had been in my vision right before I close my eyes.  As time goes on, I begin to see the vision of the Mini Cooper pulling out of the Starbucks parking lot where I am writing this morning.  Then I see the rolling waves of the ocean where I spent last Saturday with my family.  And finally, I see an open road in front of me.  I have so many thoughts and images that crowd my mind, but the image of the open road reminds me of the unknown adventure that waits in front of me today, tomorrow, next week, next year, and for the rest of my life.  And this is what I see when I close my eyes.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – Losing Track Of Time

Question:  Which activities make you lose track of time?

My Answer:  Writing, reading, and watching movies are activities that make me lose track of time.  Even as I write this post, I find myself nearly unaware that I need to pick up my son from his weekly Boy Scouts meeting.  Lately, I’ve been reading Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott, and her writing is beautiful.  As I read her book, I find myself laughing, smiling, and even crying while the world around me continues to buzz along.  And most movies take me to a land that knows nothing of deadlines, pressure, and responsibilities.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – Today’s Joy

Question:  What does your joy look like today?

My Answer:  I’m planning to take the morning off today to attend Hannah’s cross-country scrimmage meet.  The meet features multiple boys and girls races between ten (or so) schools in our area.  This will be Hannah’s last scrimmage meet of her high school career, and I’m excited to watch her run.  It brings me great joy to watch my kids doing things they enjoy and things in which they excel.  For Isaac, I find great joy watching him play music.  And for Hannah, I find great joy watching her run.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – Something New

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

Question:  When was the last time you tried something new?

My Answer:  I’m not one to try too many new things.  I like the same old, same old.  I don’t like change.  So trying something new requires a bit of courage for me to get outside my comfort zone.  The last time I tried something new was Wednesday afternoon.  I usually travel home the same way Western Pennsylvania which is where my wife was born.  We were in Latrobe, PA for a funeral (see yesterday’s post), and I took a different way home for the first hour plus of the trip.  It was nice to see new scenery and to enjoy the rolling hills along the back country road.  Maybe trying something new from time to time isn’t such a bad thing.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

Ice Breaker – I Didn’t Do It!

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

Question:  What is something you’ve never done that you think everyone else has done?

My Answer:  I’ve never seen Gone With The Wind.  I’ve never been to Waffle House.  And I’ve never been able to water ski successfully.

Today’s question made me think of the Veggie Tales’ song, We Are The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.  As you consider your answer to today’s question, enjoy some comic relief from Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and the rest of the veggies.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!