Sharpen Your Saw

While working out in Mennville I learned several important lessons about how important it is to “sharpen the saw” as leadership guru Stephen Covey says. Sharpening the saw can really only be described by Covey's word-picture:


Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree.

"What are you doing?" you ask.

"Can't you see?" comes the impatient reply. "I'm sawing down this tree."

"You look exhausted!" you exclaim. "How long have you been at it?"

"Over five hours," he returns, "and I'm beat! This is hard work."

"Well why don't you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw?" you inquire. "I'm sure it would go a lot faster."

"I don't have time to sharpen the saw," the man says emphatically. "I'm too busy sawing!"


Sharpening the saw is about renewing yourself - physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Self-Improvement (or Self Growth) is one of my favorite themes. What can you do to sharpen your saw? Do you need to start exercising? Do you need to start challenging your mind with new ideas? Do you need to spend time serving or connecting with God? Do you need to choose to courageously sit with someone and explore some of your emotional issues? Or do you need to set aside time for friends or family? Whatever it is, I encourage you – sharpen your saw. Investing in your growth is not a bonus in life – it’s a necessity!

Billy Story

After reading Franklin Graham's biography recently I thought I would also read his Dad's story titled Just As I Am. Though he wasn't perfect, I'm a big admirer of Billy. He is a good example of what someone sold out for Christ looks like. Anyway, I'm reading and I came across this story (p. 123-124):

It was October 1948 and we were in Augusta, Georgia about to conclude a fairly successful two-and-a-half-week citywide Campaign. Though I had recently taken on the presidency of Northwestern Schools, I was still on the road a great deal, speaking at YFC rallies, conferences, and evangelistic campaigns.

Our Augusta Campaign clearly was not having any impact on the people in the hotel. An automobile dealers' convention was in town that Saturday night, and around one in the morning a wild party erupted in the next room, awakening me from a deep sleep. Grady came to my room to complain.

"I can't sleep."

"I can't either, and tomorrow's a big day," I said to him. "I'm going over there to put a stop to this." I wrapped my bathrobe around me and went out and pounded on their door.

"Whad'ya want?" asked the drunken man who responded to my knocking.

"I want to speak to this crowd!"

I had intended just to tell my neighbors to stifle the noise, but I guess the preacher in me took over. I yelled for silence into the crowd of thirty or forty carousing man and women behind him. Startled they quieted down.

"I'm a minister of the Gospel," I began. Pin-drop silence. This was a bunch of South Carolina auto dealers who knew a Bible Belt evangelist when they saw one, even in his bathrobe.

"I'm holding a revival Campaign in this town. Some of you may have read about it in the paper."

Not a reasonable assumption.

"I daresay most of this crowd are church members. Some of you are deacons and elders. Maybe even Sunday school teachers. I know your pastors would be ashamed of you, because you're certainly not acting like Christians."

I got bolder: "I know God is ashamed of you."

"That's right, preacher," one of them piped up. "I'm a deacon." "And I'm a Sunday school teacher," a woman confessed.

Well, I stood there and preached an evangelist's sermon to the crowd. I don't know what happened to the party after I left, but there was no noise for the rest of the night.

That was not my usual pattern, of course, although I have endured more noisy hotel rooms than I care to remember. But sometimes an evangelist has to be bold, and sometimes he comes across as brash!


The image of Billy Graham in his bath robe breaking up a late night party makes me chuckle. May we all have the guts to confront our brothers and sisters in Christ when they forget that being a Christian means acting like one.

May Light increase!

Real Estate Musings

Ah, winter. The time of year when a young man's fancy turns to . . . real estate! This is my favorite time of year to buy. There is kind of a lull in the market which means that there are some houses sitting on the market that have been there for a couple of months. Sellers get desperate. I'm getting the itch to pick up another rental property and have looked at a few places recently.

The market here in Winnipeg has cooled off - there is still demand for houses but the supply has increased dramatically in the past few months. Here in Winnipeg we have a very diversified economy so we are relatively safe from the radical swings in prices that other one source economies (Alberta - oil, Ontario - manufacturing) get but house asking prices have started to stabilize and in some cases go down. I've seen some houses drop their asking price by 20 or 30K in the last month. I'm happy because this means properties will be easier to find and buy, sad because the equity in my properties that I use to buy them will decrease as well. Soon I will have to find private investors to work with me. I also have someone who wants to formally partner with me (create a small company) so I am exploring that option as well.

The question is: buy now or wait? I talked to the head of the Winnipeg Realtors Association last week and she counseled me to wait, maybe until spring. Prices should keep dropping and supply should go up she says. The thing is that I don't like to give in to fear when it comes to investing. Most potential investors don't take action and the ones who do (wisely) are the ones that realize profits. Fear and greed drive the market and I would rather just pick up a property or two a year as deals become available then hold off simply because I'm afraid. Perhaps she is right, maybe I should wait until there is even more fear out there and then buy? I'm thinking of starting another blog that will just focus on Real Estate stuff, but I thought I'd just update you a little bit. Also, if you're interested in taking your money out of a terribly performing asset (say, mutual funds or stocks!) and put them into something more stable let me know. Also, if you are interested in learning more about investing in a slow market, feel free to visit this site (stinkymarket.com) and download a free ebook with lots of strategies. I'm reading the ebook right now and find it fascinating. Also there is an amusing campy video that made me laugh!

P.S. Looking at houses can be tough because you sometimes run across places you'd like to get for yourself. Here's a cute one in North Kildonan close to my work . . .

The French Paradox

Lately I've been thinking alot about my health and wondering what I need to do to improve my long term outlook. Yesterday I stumbled upon this link found it quite enlightening. How is it that the French can eat a diet that contains large amounts of butter, cream, and other foods rich in artery-clogging ‘unhealthy’ saturated fats, yet nationally their rates of heart disease are quite low? The French don’t diet and don’t spend hours working out in the gym. This is, of course, seen as a paradox because conventional wisdom has it that such a diet should increase heart disease rates - but they are actually among the lowest in the world. The article cites a few theories on why the French do so well with their unhealthy diet. These include:

1. Associating food with pleasure, not health.
2. Small portion size.
3. Red wine habit.
4. Food quality over quantity.
5. Home cooking tradition.
6. "No snacking" habit.
7. Water instead of pop.
8. Walking and naturally active lives.
9. Self discipline.

Most of these I have heard before and are sense but it's interesting to see how when they all come together into shared cultural values and lifestyles and what the benefit is to overall health. Number one was especially interesting: maybe instead of fixating on food's health value we should instead look at it's pleasure value? Obviously if you eat too much of a certain food (everything in moderation) you begin to enjoy it less. Also, in the article it expands on each of the 9 theories and the insights on self-discipline and the eschewing of diets (number 9) strikes me as very different understandings of such ideas then we would have in North America. I think the French have lots to teach us. For more food paradoxes, check out this article.

Going Solo

One of my goals this year was to go on at least three 24 hour "solos" before the year is done. A solo for me is a personal retreat where I get away from people (usually in nature) and just be with God. When I was a youth pastor/camp director in Mennville I usually did it at least once or twice a year. It was easy; I had flexible ministries that encouraged such things and I had a plethora of cabins and places I could go that didn't cost me anything to use. I still had to book the time off, but it wasn't that difficult.

Fast forward to now that I live in the city. If I want to go on a solo, it actually costs me something! I now have to sacrifice on a larger scale my family, time, and especially money (which is on the tighter side at this stage in our lives). And so . . . I have put it off. Even though I know how good it would be for God and me.

Recently though I have been feeling more and more the desire, nay, the need to get away. Spending extended time with God does not just seem like a "good thing to do" but a necessity. My soul is crying out for it. Just like I feel occasional retreats are necessary for my wife and I's relationship, I need these times away with God as well. I have justified not doing it because of all my life stuff but now I need to just do it. I think it was Gandhi who said there was no worship without sacrifice so I suppose the fact that it costs you is itself a part of the experience.

I guess I just need a place to go. Anyone have ideas? Or know anyone who has a cabin that they would let me borrow (or rent at a reasonable cost) and that isn't too far from Winnipeg?

In the past I have talked to people about this solo thing and many have said "That sounds so awesome, I wish I had the time to do that." I used to think something like "Well, you have to make the time!" and feel a little spiritual pride. But for the past few years I've been saying what they did (oh, the irony)! It's humbling but true. I encourage you - if you think or know personal solos would be enriching for your relationship with God, don't be like me - make the time.

May Light increase!

Book Review: The Year Of Living Biblically

Book Review: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Thanks to Lee who saw this on my Amazon Wish List and offered to let me borrow it. This book has had a fair amount of buzz to it, so I'm not sure exactly what I can add to the many reviews out there but I will try. First of all this book is quite unique. I mean it really is different. The story is about an editor for Esquire magazine (definitely not a Christian magazine) who decides to spend an entire year trying to follow the Bible as literally as possible. A liberal agnostic who is Jewish in, it is humorous to see him attempt to not just follow the commands but to attempt to be open to a faith that he fully admits he does not have. If you hear the premise of the book you can see two possible dramatic conclusions: an eventual embrace of faith or a passionate rejection of it. I don't want to give too much away from the ending of the book but neither of these happens. I liked that.

What makes the book so different and so unique is the tone of the author. You keep bracing for negativity and criticism but instead you are met with something else - respect. The book is witty and pokes fun at much but even as he interviews and considers the fringe elements of Judaic and Christian fundamentalism he treats them all with respect. Christians could learn something from this respectful tone! I also liked his honesty as he grapples with complex issues of religious observance and the difficulty of keeping even the simplest of commands (ex/thou shalt not lie). Some of his attempts to keep the commands about cleanliness, circumcision, and stoning had me both laughing out loud and thankful for the freedom that Christ followers have from the Law. His attempts at things like prayer and faith made me think about my own spiritual journey quite a bit and at times I felt myself quite moved. All Christians can fall into the trap of outward expression of religion for religion's sake and this book helped me to see how empty that really is (especially at the end).

The author spends 9 months trying to observe the Old Testament and then 4 months on the New Testament. It was interesting to see how he noted the major difference in Judaism and Christianity; Christianity to be truly embraced is the belief in Christ. The author fights this. All in all, I found his embracing of the last 4 months to be a bit lackluster but he is honest about it. How can he truly embrace it when he has not truly embraced Christ? I found his honesty refreshing.

I recommend this book to those looking for something a little different. I read portions out loud to Jobina some night and we both laughed hard. I was also challenged as I felt some of my own views towards God challenged and sifted. This book is not for everyone but it's a great way to see the Bible through the eyes of a honest spiritual seeker (albeit it one who admits his own impure motives in doing this experiment). It would be a great book club book or a nice break from all the sanitized and squeaky clean Christian books that you see in your local Christian bookstore. To hear/read a sample of the book go here. I rate it 4.4 stars out of 5.

Logo Feedback: And The Winner Is . . .

Hi Everyone, thanks for all the great feedback. I have forwarded the link to my previous post to the designer who has already told me he has appreciated the input. Of course I said I would give away a book prize to one lucky commenter. So using a totally random generator which I found online the winner is . . .

Jay Boaz!

Congratulations Jay! You have just won Mere Christianity, one of the classics of modern Christian thought (and an excellently serious yet witty read). I will contact you about getting the book to you. If others are bummed because they didn't get it, feel free to pick up a copy from my bookstore. Thanks again to everyone who left feedback, stay tuned for more giveaways!

Logo Feedback Wanted (and Contest)

Riverbend Counselling, the plucky upstart counseling center that I work at has someone working on some temporary logo designs for us. They have sent us two designs so far and I'm wondering if I could get some specific feedback on which ones you like (if any), and specifically what you like/don't like about them. After a few days I will go through the comments and randomly choose one commenter who will get a free copy of C.S. Lewis's bestseller "Mere Christianity!"

Logo 1


Logo 2


Thanks again for your thoughts!

Warning About Slowly Fading Away

I was very touched by this video and its words (even though I'm not particularly in to the music of Casting Crowns). I thought of it was a good warning, kind of like the warning the author of Proverbs gives to his son . . .



P.S. I first saw this on Lena's blog.