A lot of people have commented about this photo of me. They wonder what I am laughing so hard about. The photo was taken at Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks of New York. It was October and I was speaking at a men's retreat of my home church, Grace Christian Fellowship in Cortland.
We were all standing on the boat dock close to the lake when one of the guys was dared to strip down and jump in the lake. Mind you that it was October in upstate New York and the lake was probably 50 degrees! Well the guy did it, and I laughed so hard that I almost peed my pants. And someone shot a picture of me.
The photo has an additional meaning for me. I have realized that I must either laugh at some things in life, or cry over them. Sometimes I do both. But my sadness over poor stewardship and even worse leadership that I have observed in various contexts can be overwhelming sometimes. So this picture reminds me to laugh hard when I can.
Today is August 1st and I am starting a new blog. I had a blog for about 2 years after I moved to America from Europe. Since then I have not blogged, but now I am starting again. I have titled the blog, "Step Up to Life" which is a reference to a company I started with some friends almost a year ago (see www.stepupenterprises.com).
I'm concerned about three things which I want to give voice to here:
1) Our stewardship of life - time, energy, money, etc.
2) Leadership - how we exercise it, what truly great leadership looks like
3) Next steps - everyone has a next step and I'm interested in people take next steps in healthy ways
This blog also serves as a journal of "notes from my edge." These notes are part of a manuscript I am writing on leadership. I'll share some of that along the way as well. So I hope you will be helped and encouraged by a few reflections here.
