Comedian, Adam Corolla, talked about what makes America great on the Jay Leno show last night. It really helps put perspective on how rich we are…

“Griffith Park is the greatest place on earth. It’s why the US is number one. I take the kids there to ride donkeys and go in a circle… In other countries their donkeys have to work for a living…dragging lumber and coal…. Then they get in a miniature train and that thing goes in a circle… Then you go see a fountain with clean drinkable water that we don’t need just firing it up in the air and down the drain. We have so much as a country we don’t even need the water. You want to irrigate or drink? We don’t care. Fire it up in the air…and then if you look IN the fountain you see money! They were weighing my trousers down so we decided to throw money into the thing of clean water while the donkeys go in a circle. That’s why we’re number one.”

We got so tired of door to door interruptions at our home we placed a sign up on the door. It has eliminated a lot of unnecessary the traffic…use it if you like… Download the simple No Soliciting Sign.

NO SOLICITING
(unless you’re selling girl scout cookies)
We’re sure you’re a nice person with a worthy charity,
ideas to share, or great products to sell but
please DO NOT ring the door bell or knock.
We already give to charity, support great ideas,
and search out services we need on the internet.
Have a great day!
(If you’re a friend or neighbor just stopping
by to say hello, we’d love to see you.)

Noodles and Company…one of my favorite restaurants…

Anyone notice Mickey Mouse in this?

Here are a few of the movies we thought were worth mentioning that we saw in 2010 (not all released in 2010):

Despicable Me — Great message in a funny package. Shows how the heart of a hardened criminal can be changed by the lives of three young children. Favorite movie of the year.

Tangled — Just a fantastic adventure movie with lots of laughs. Favorite movie of the year.

Open Season 2 — Cute story about a dog that escapes the wild and then recaptured by his humans.

Planet 51 — Funny movie with a good message.

Case for a Creator — Documentary

The Case for Christ — Documentary

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale — Based on a true story from Japan of a dog that was extremely loyal to his master. Get ready to cry.

Julie & Julia — The story of Julia Childs and a woman that blogged through her cookbook in a year. Inspiring and entertaining with some views of France as well.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Fantastically funny and creative movie. Great message about pursuing your gifts and talents.

I Can Do Bad All By Myself — Serious message in a movie that makes you laugh, too. Lots of great music.

Jeff Allen: My Heart, My Comedy — Comedian Jeff Allen shares funny stuff about family and ends with a message that could save a few marriages.

The Blind Side — Inspiring story of a teen from a broken home that is adopted by an affluent couple and rises to play in the NFL.

Thou Shalt Laugh 1 — Very funny. A night of comedy for the family.

Thou Shalt Laugh 2 — Very funny. A night of comedy for the family.

Thou Shalt Laugh 3 — Very funny. A night of comedy for the family.

Thou Shalt Laugh 4 — Very funny. A night of comedy for the family.

How to Train Your Dragon — Incredible graphics and adventure in a gripping story that’s funny with meaning. How to train your dragon is the story of Hiccup, a young Viking boy who is the son of the king and doesn’t fit in with the others. After he invents a device that helps capture a dragon, he befriends it and learns new things about dragons that no one else knew.

Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue — A great fantasy film without the incredibly evil villains sometimes common in Disney movies. Cute, fun, and funny. When Tinkerbell gets captured by humans her friends set out on a quest to save her.

The Tooth Fairy — Funny movie with a message that we must believe and have imagination like kids do in order to achieve our dreams.

This weekend Jason Anderson from Eagle Brook Church provided a very practical message on parenting based on the words of Moses in the Bible. Even if you’re not a believer in the Bible or a follower of Jesus, anyone can learn from the wisdom presented in this book. Jason also shared ideas from the excellent book Parenting Beyond Your Capacity: Connect Your Family to a Wider Community by Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof.

The basic premise presented was that people are creatures of habit with regular routines in our lives. We should leverage these routines by being intentional and consistent in building them to be positive times. We need to make sure the routines we establish are moving us in a good direction and communicate what we value and believe.

Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6:5-7 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.”

This suggests four routines we can take advantage of as parents with our families to help us reach our goals of a healthy family:

1. Eat meals together. (“When you sit at home.”)
Meal time is a great opportunity to talk and learn. The key is you need to be together and free from distractions. Turn off the TV and computer. Do not answer the phone. Concentrate on the moment. During this time parents can act as a FACILITATOR and move the conversation forward by asking questions that get at critical issues like “Any new friends? What are they like? What do you appreciate about our family? What can we do better? Where would you like to go on our next vacation?”

2. Travel together. (“When you walk along the road.”)
Often parents are the drivers carting their kids from one activity to the next. The time together in the car is valuable and should be used wisely. During this time parents can act as a COMPANION and friend. Take the opportunity to be one-on-one with your kids. In addition, taking an actual vacation together can be a very valuable bonding time for families.

3. Put them to bed. (“When you lie down.”)
Just before bed your kids are in a place of comfort and security. Take a moment to ask them how things are. During this time parents can act as a COUNSELOR. Talk through the feats. Then tuck them in, tell them that you love them, pray for them, and say good night with your blessing. It can be a very powerful time 365 days a year.

4. Get up in the morning.
Every day is a new day, a clean slate, and a chance to reset. Do your best to provide positive encouragment and inspiration to start each day off right. During this time parents can act as a COACH. You can do it!

Here are some products I’ve found to assist you with valuable conversations. They provide a little guidance to help make it fun and interesting to spend time together as a family.
TableTopics Family
TravelTalk Conversation Cards
TableTalk Conversation Cards
Kid Talk: Conversation Cards for the Entire Family

During these times with your kids be sure to listen and be open to hearing what they say. You can learn from them…even in their lack of wisdom and experience in comparison to you. It can give you a new perspective on things. Overall, if you increase the quantity of your quality time together as a family you can have a better life.

The Official Child at Heart group on Facebook is for everyone that believes in living life with a youthful spirit…one that is Child-LIKE but not Child-ISH. Living with a “Child at Heart” spirit is about inciting wonder in a way that compels us to recapture the qualities we once had as kids and ignite a new passion for living leading to personal success at home, at work and in life.

I agree to practice the seven secrets to being a “Child at Heart”:
1. Activate my imagination…leading to creativity
2. Be quick to laugh
3. Experience things for the first time…Rejuvenate
4. Live in the Present…Play More
5. Look Up for Perspective
6. Believe the Impossible is Possible
7. Be Daring

As a result of this change in attitude and activities, I will experience the following benefits:
* Lower stress and better health.
* More fun. Work becomes play.
* Help and hope in tough times.
* More friends, stronger relationships, and community.
We need this more now than ever.

The main message of “Child at Heart” is this: By learning from the qualities of children, and bringing back some of those qualities we originally possessed when we were kids, we can live more successful and fulfilled lives by improving our leadership abilities, our relationship satisfaction, and our overall enjoyment of the life we live. At its core being a “child at heart” is about embracing and bringing back what we knew and how we acted when we were young for all our life.

Join the Child at Heart community today! It’s free and fun.

This week I attended two funerals for friends that recently passed away after battles with cancer. Doing so reminded me of the fragility of life and importance of relishing every moment.

One memorial was for Paul Singer, the former CIO at Target Corporation. He was a friend and mentor. As an exceptional businessman with character, he made good things happen and so was offerred many challenges. He was someone who knew why he was here in this world. Paul had a passion for adoption and he was driven to find homes for kids. He lived his faith. His life was too short but it was well lived.

His friends and family were asked to describe Paul in one word. Words they used were: respected, hilarious, compassionate, dignified, larger-than-life, unique, easy-going, father, and loving. If you were to learn one thing from Paul’s life it would be to create the kind of family that he did. Love your own kids and others as well.

The other funeral was for a friend’s wife Michelle. She left a legacy of creating beauty and playing roles of friend, daughter, sister, aunt, mom, and wife. Her life was a unique expression of her love for God. She lived and laughed a lot.

Facing untimely death makes us view our lives in a different light. It puts the importance and priorities on different things. We need to spend our time and energy on the things that have the most lasting value and impact. We should follow our passions. We need to balance appropriately all the roles we play.

I view the most important roles for me as husband and father. If I can fulfill those two roles at minimum I will have lived well. I am fortunate that my work roles are ones that I truly enjoy…in helping people support their passions with technology and inspiring people to have hope and laughter in life.

I encourage you to put some thought into your life this week and do two things.

(1) Ask yourself the following questions: How will you be remembered? What legacy will you leave? What will people say about you when you’re gone? Who’s lives are you touching and leaving better for it?
If you don’t like what the answer is, now is the time to begin changing it. For me, I truly hope that people don’t just say I was a nice person. I would view that as a failure.

(2) Choose one person you love and write down a list of all the positive one word descriptors that you can come up with. Send it to them now. Believe me, it will make their day.

For me, I wrote a few words about my lovely wife including: discerning, insightful, wise, loving, beautiful, heart-of-gold, fun, intelligent, caring, compassionate, inspiring, strategic, creative, focused, achieving, justice-seeking, enthusiastic, likable, persuasive, poised, confident, sympathetic, empathetic, optimistic, big-thinker, giving, generous, romantic, etc.
If you haven’t met Brenda and don’t know this about her, I encourage you to do so. Your life will be better for knowing her. (Fortunately for me, I get special priority time with her.)

The Bible says there is a time and season for everything (Eccl 3:1) and these past days were a time to mourn, comfort, heal, and remember. Fortunately, both of these people had a strong hope founded on their faith in God. They had made a decision to follow Christ as their leader. They modeled their lives after His example. If you’re going to choose a mentor…He’s the best there is. It’s a comfort to know in this season of loss after their passing, that this separation is temporary and it is for them just the beginning of new future life.

Who was someone that really mattered to you that you lost? What is their story and how did they make a difference in your life?