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Recently I read Tom Paterson’s book Living the Life You Were Meant to Live and enjoyed it a great deal. I even took part in a 2-day life plan evaluation with somebody who works with Tom’s system (Pete Richardson in Colorado) and, together, we evaluated the significant events of my life, my working style, my management style and so on, and then hi-lighted the stuff I was good at and also the stuff I wasn’t. I left with a very clear picture of what I needed to do over the next ten years. I also left understanding what I needed to let go of. What I found out is that I am a visionary entrepreneur. I come up with ideas and I love to get them started. I also discovered I am not a manager. I can manage a small staff of self-starters, people who do not need to be managed or told what to do, but I can’t manage a team that is looking to me for specifics. In other words, I treat people the way I like to be treated. I want to come up with a vision and then given the resources to make it happen. Check [...]

My friend Tyler has a great blog over at www.tylerstanton.com. He makes terrific video’s, actually. Very funny. Anyway, so he does these “five questions you’ve never been asked” interviews and here’s his interview with me: Of the videos the Tripp and Tyler have made, this might be my favorite: Or this one:

As a writer, sometimes I wonder what the “profit” of my work is. While I write spiritual books that help people, I also like to write fiction that, well, just tells a story. I’m working on a novel now. And from time to time, I wonder if working on a simple novel is worth anything to anybody. But then I remind myself of four important truths: 1. God does not run a company in which He is looking to make a profit. His creation is more like family than business. In a family, everything isn’t “profit” driven. What’s important in family is togetherness, empathy, understanding and solidarity. 2. The creative process is something God went through and goes through in the creation of our exposition, the very planet we live on. If He had created a factory within which we were designed to “get work done” there would be no beauty in a sunset (it would distract the workers) or romantic inclinations toward our partners. God extravagantly made the world for our pleasure, and it gave Him pleasure to make it. 3. When you create a piece of art, you are experientially understanding God. You are practicing solidarity with Him, [...]

My dear friend Penny wrote a small piece for a Mothers Day article on the Burnside Writers Collective site and for Relevant Magazine. I read it in a hotel room in Boulder and teared up. So grateful for people like Penny and her mom and for my mom as well. Technically, Mothers Day is actually today, so I thought I’d reprint Pensive’s article (Pensive is my long-time nickname for Penny.) Penny, you are a saint! And by the way, happy Mothers Day to you. Quinn is lucky to have such an awesome Mom. Here’s Penny’s article: I used to hate Mother’s Day. The mylar balloons, the pink cards, the stories on everyone’s lips about their plans for taking their mom out to eat or to a movie. They all seemed to taunt me in a sing-song voice: look what we have and you don’t. After a headlong flight from my stepfather at the age of 11, the mother I knew disappeared, retreating somewhere deep inside. In her place, a withdrawn but angry woman rose up to take over her beloved facial features and voice. By the time I was a teenager I had stopped caring, stopped listening to the woman [...]

Happy Mothers day to you. I thought we’d do something a little motherly today, in honor of our moms. The first song that came to mind was Patty Griffin’s song Mary, which is about Patty’s grandmother, but also pays homage to Jesus’ mother. My mom’s name is Mary, too, so it’s special for personal reasons. One of the great songs, regardless. Here’s Erin McCarley covering Patty’s Mary. If you’ve not heard Erin’s original stuff, do yourself a favor and check her out. Terrific. Call your mom. She loves you. And here’s Patty with Emmy Lou Harris and Shawn Colvin (with Buddy Miller) performing Mary.