I had a conversation with a client today and I gave him too many options. I overwhelmed him on the phone call.

It would be better for me to pick what I believe are the best three options, and present those to the client. Choosing one out of three is much easier than one out of ten. I can always let them know there are more options, and those can be provided should they request…but the data dump can be just too much for a busy person to process.

I expect that if I begin to present solutions in this manner, overall forward momentum will increase. Clients will be more apt to accept what I propose, and it’s not only about closing sales, it’s about responsibility and growth.

They see your fruit, not your planting.

The important work you put in ahead of time. The relentless focus, the patient resolve, the innumerable repetitions. That stuff comes with a lot of failures along the way, and that work is never glamorous.

Only some of the seeds you plant are going to grow. So keep planting.

I still feel uncomfortable when I am challenged in woodworking.

When my design is found to be insufficient, when I know I need better technique to make the next step, when the project goes out of my comfort zone – I still feel uncomfortable, but now I am growing to appreciate and even look for the challenges rather than avoid them.

The beautiful thing is that every time I overcome a challenge, I level up! Even if I made mistakes and have to redo it, I learn from those mistakes, and that knowledge opens new opportunities, and of course new challenges.

If the Lord wills, I will be practicing some traditional wood joining in one year. This seems like a major challenge, because I don’t have the tools or the experience yet. But that’s just it! I will get the experience as I move.

My uncle said “to move silently through the woods, speed is your friend”.

It’s true! It is a surprisingly effective way to move covertly through a forest.

I am not sure why that is the case, but I conjecture that is it because we don’t have any time second guess ourselves. We make decisions instinctively rather than intellectually.

I went hiking alone in Haliburton Forest one fine spring afternoon. I lived under the cookhouse as an intern. I told my roomate that I would be back by a certain time, and the general direction I would be heading.

I was planning to head for an hour or two northwest and see a general section of the forest that I was unfamiliar with. When I reached my time, I would follow the logging trails in a general southeast direction back toward Basecamp. Eventually I would run into one of the major logging roads.

The logging trails proved more difficult to follow than the roads. It was difficult to keep a bearing while deep in the woods.

I wasn’t lost, but I wasn’t sure of the way forward. Was I heading to Basecamp or getting farther from it?

I could retrace my steps backward, but that would be 3 or 4 more hours of hiking and I would be late for sure. So I thought it better to keep going forward, whichever way that was. As the evening drew nearer, I felt that my place was too slow and that made me begin to feel desperate.

I felt my confidence slipping away with every step. It was harder to think clearly and I felt anxious, the forest seemed unfriendly. I prayed as I walked and I pressed on.

And then it all changed when I saw a beautiful old snag (standing dead tree).

A great wave of relief washed over me. It all made sense now. I had been here. I had seen that same tree a month or two ago. I knew exactly where I was and the shortest way back. Basecamp was only a couple kilometers away. I would be home within the hour!

That one solid point of reference changed my entire perspective. It helped me make sense of the environment around me.

Today I spoke with a manager about some challenges at a couple of his worksites. He is receiving conflicting evidence from different team members on what is happening at a certain site.

Those men, whom are on site, are his eyes. How can he lead the team effectively if he isn’t sure about what he is seeing?

I think it’s the same way we navigate in the dark – we must be patient. We walk in the light we know to be sure, we rely on our other senses, and we take only ONE step at a time.

Just because the future around your project isn’t clear, doesn’t mean you have to stop moving forward.

Keep going. Do not be afraid.

Psalm 119:105

I enjoy the journey. Destinations have rarely been as memorable for me. I enjoy the feeling that there is much more to come.

I can still remember the final production of Much Ado About Nothing, with the Ariel Players – over 20 years ago now. We had 6 months of preparation and anticipation, and then that Saturday night we were all done. It has forever changed the way I feel about that part of the city, because I have so many memories right there. Things that will never happen again in the same way to me.

I think that’s related to why I dislike turning out the lights at night. There is a certain sadness to thinking that the living room will be empty, quiet, still, and dark.

It is more pleasant to imagine it as always full of life, friends, and activity.

I was in the zone today while coding.

In the realm of JavaScript, the project was quite primitive, but for my level of experience it was just right. I lost track of time and ended up at the computer for a handful of hours.

In the end I achieved my goal, and it felt great.

I hope the product is useful for it’s intended audience, and now it’s time to focus my attention somewhere else.

A lady at Sorrel River Ranch once told me “Remember Daniel, God promises that His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path, it is not a floodlight. We won’t see the whole path, just the next step”.

That nugget has blessed me many times over, and I hope it blesses you too.

When taking on a new challenge, don’t choose to play the game that’s all about the outcome. The game that gives you only a single path to victory.

Choose to play the game of growth, where every challenge makes you stronger, every failure teaches you, and every step takes you a little farther.

Whenever, or wherever, you exit that trail – you will have won.

Take the example of magicians, they often have 5 ways out of a trick. Some exits are more desirable than others, but all are still a success and all still look like magic.

It’s what we discussed at Radiant church today, and is always the case, it seems to be incredibly timely.

How can every message be so fitting for my situation, when everyone else has a situation too – and they tell me it’s fitting for them?

Just this morning I had listened to 1 Peter, and was thinking about this passage in particular.

Our endurance of unjust sorrows is a gracious thing? And this is serious pain Peter is writing about – not someone cutting you off in traffic.

What do you do when you are profoundly mistreated? Do you feel like retaliating?

Jesus shows us a better way.

An absolute treasure is this song.

What I am learning right now, is that this is an ongoing process. With every step we take, a little more of the path is revealed, but we still don’t see the whole thing.

We still have a lot of questions, and we still have the chance to walk by faith, not by sight.

A favorite board game of mine is Betrayal at House on the Hill. It is made by Avalon Hill / Wizards of the Coast (which as I understand are the teams behind Dungeons and Dragons).

I have tried to get all of my friends, who have visited our home in the time since we bought this game, to play it at least once.

The goal of the first half of the game – Explore. Just go to any unexplored area, draw a card, and then follow the rules on the card (generally you will be instructed by the card to roll some dice).

However, the game gives you very little knowledge on whether you are on your way to winning or not – and many people found this frustrating.

What’s the point of playing a game when you don’t know if you’re winning or not? What’s the point of Calvinball?

I would argue that there is a point to Calvin Ball. It gives us a different perspective, the other person’s perspective. It lets us interact with them on their terms.

I think we spend most of our time in life orienteering – trying to get to a given point as fast as we can, and that we don’t spend enough time exploring – crossing the land to learn about it rather than to get across it.

Like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable, standing in the train station while everyone passes by him, feeling the currents, we can intentionally quiet our short term desires and just listen to those around us.

When we interact with another human conciousness, we can choose to slow down, listen, and explore their world a little. It makes for a much richer relationship.

Today it took a few more steps.

I measured at least twice for each cut, but the plans changed as I went.

I almost gave up!

Every change was meant to solve a problem that I discovered as I built, but the adaptations themselves brought more problems into the design. I made plenty of mistakes too, but I grew through the process. It’s a wonderful gift to be able to grow.

…. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
James 4:14 ESV

Some days this feels more real than others.

Today I was reading through the Akma blog from the summer of 2007 (it may seem strange but I read an old post from Seth Godin that referenced an Akma post from that time).

Anyway, Akma appeared to have a very active community at that time, with a ton of comments, engagement, and discourse. For the time I spent reading and drinking it all it, I felt like I was part of a community. I could hear each of Akma’s readers in their own voice as they commented and replied to one another. I imagined having this discussion with them face to face and then something happened. I don’t know what it was exactly, but in a moment I realized that I was reliving someone’s memories.

I saw in that one terrible moment, that those people aren’t real. Should I go and try to find them, they wouldn’t remember their words from 10 years ago, or they wouldn’t care about that topic because they had moved on, or they may have even passed on to eternity.

I hastily navigated to the most recent section of Akma’s blog – here at least I would find something real, something tangible to today.

In one of Mr. Adam’s more recent posts, he called his blog a ghost and asked if anyone still read it. Still I went on, I had to find something to tether me back and make me feel ok again.

And reality was brutal. Akma had just shared a beautiful eulogy for one of his friends – one of those same people I had just moments before had the privilege of interacting with, one of those faces and voices in the memories of his blog.

Jordan Cooper cannot speak with us any longer.

While we still have breath, let us use it for good.

…What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
James 4:14 ESV

The morning air was warm when I left home. It’s a funny feeling on the face – when the sun is barely over the horizon and yet you feel it’s flame, when the warm sticky air washes over your face so early. It makes me hunger even more the late autumn.

Ah by far that’s my favorite time of the year! When you rise early, the frosty air nips at your nose and ears and makes your eyes water just a little. The sun rises late and the shadows are long in the morning.

You can feel the change all around you. The trees aren’t growing anymore and the wind rustles up dried leaves. Where songbirds were once heard, now only the cry of a hawk circling far above.

Later today, you’re bound to see old fat groundhogs warming themselves and getting one last meal before their months-long nap. Squirrels have been eating acorns for a while now, so they too are fat. You will also see them putting the finishing touches on their nests before the snows arrive.

The dogs and horses are growing their long winter coats, but you can’t do that. So it’s time for a flannel and a worn out Carhartt jacket.

Crouching down by the fire pit not far from the house, you can warm your hands with a piping hot cup of tea. Boiling some water was the first order of business after you got the fire going. Now that’s taken care of, and next you have the sausages sizzling, and the eggs and potatoes frying.

The food will be ready soon and you’ll have the first plate ready for your wife, she always loves these mornings too. When the kids come out, they can make their own food – they love playing with the fire.

The long winter is coming, and it will be beautiful.

I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks about growth. We desire to grow and yet we don’t want to go through the uncomfortable process to get it. We want to be like a Marine, strong, brave and proud – but we don’t want to go to Parris Island.

It seems to me that the more we step out of our comfort zones, the easier it is to step out next time…and yet for me, the desire to stay in the comfort zone hasn’t really gone anywhere. The invitation to play it safe is still around.

I guess it’s like getting out of bed early in the morning, it gets easier to rise, but it still feels great to stay under the comforter!

Anyway, I wonder about intentionally growing. Is it better to continually challenge ourselves to go just one more little step again and again, i.e. growth by baby steps, or is it better to push hard for a time, relent, and then push again?

I suspect that both are good and should be used together, big goals and a lot of little steps to get there.

Why is it so difficult to be still? Are there old wounds and buried pains we don’t want to face? Is it FOMO (fear of missing out)?

Over the last couple days, I have been more intentional about quieting myself, and it has helped me to focus.

Why had I drifted away from this practice at all?

Relevant – closely connected or appropriate to what is being done or considered.

Important – of great significance of value.

Consider a conversation in search of a solution – be it water treatment, social reform, or how to deal with the latest hurdles in planning that big event.

I wager that when someone brings an obviously relevant idea to the discussion, they will grow and deepen the conversation, and may find a solution.

When someone brings an idea that is both important, and relevant, they are likely to find a good solution.

The third path is the fun one. What if we bring an idea that does appear relevant, but transforms the entire conversation? I think that’s where great opportunity is waiting for us.

I wrote two good old fashioned letters today. The hardest part of writing them was just getting started. With all the options for stimulus and entertainment, it felt like it would be much easier to just slide into Netflix than to write a friend.

I just asked Father for help, and He gave me help. And the writing, well that helped me in turn to process what’s happening in my life. God is working something beautiful, and the pain and suffering is only for a short time. When I read 2 Corinthians chapter 4 today – the second half of the chapter resonated with me down to my soul.

We’re just getting started.

At their wedding right now. I just stepped aside to grab a long shirt, because the sun is setting the vineyard is growing cool. The birds are singing their evening songs and the cottonwood trees are trembling

The clergyman spoke a blessing upon these, and that is so good. We need blessing in this world. There is enough trouble around us anyway. Let us each be a blessing to others.

Today I was planning to write about long-term vision.

Simon Sinek calls it the infinite game. He gave a speech at Google that you can find easily. Seth Godin just described Olive Trees on his podcast Akimbo. Olive trees live for millennia, and don’t produce much for years after being planted. Patience.

Instead, check out this photo from a forest. It’s tough to see the Forester, but he’s somewhere in this photo. At the end of this post, I’ll let you know where he is.

Anyway, this photo comes from a magical place. They call it The Living Forest. In the Ontario Highlands, very close to Algonquin park, you’ll find Haliburton Forest.

I was fortunate enough to spend 5 months of my life there, and it was during that transitional and ever so complicated coming-of-age at the end of my teenage years. I learned so much, and the memories still move me. I went hungry for a spell and learned to appreciate tea without sweetener. I hand washed my laundry. I heard timber wolves howl during the long winter nights, when the snow shined like no other under a clear moon.

I collided with people from different cultures, with different ideas. It was humbling. I failed and fell down a few times – and still have a literal scar from one of my mistakes. Isn’t that how we grow? I could have stayed home that winter and kept playing video games (which I played anyway at Haliburton Forest for the first couple months because I brought my Xbox with me… which is a an entire question in itself of why would I do such a thing when there was so much around me to do in reality?).

I guess what I’m getting at is that it was an adventure. Going to Haliburton Forest was risky and didn’t make much sense directly for a career, and it slowed me down from graduating college. But the lessons I learned there were worth an incredible amount. It was the real deal stuff that I didn’t get in the formal classroom.

So what’s your adventure? Where are you taking a risk and stepping out a little more than makes sense to most people?

And how’s the patience with the photograph?

Did you find the Forester?

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You can just barely see the tip of his hat over the rump of the black horse.

I’ve heard it again and again “do not be afraid”. Good words, makes sense, and I need to hear it even more! And you know what really takes the fear away? What brings the fear to it’s knees in no time? Knowing I’m loved, I’m valued, I’m worthy. My Father is always with me and He calls me son.

With every step there is growth, with every challenge I find opportunity for to be more honest, authentic, and vulnerable. And to the other side, the chance to save face, to try to hide, to blend in just a little more.

I’m incredibly blessed to have been given all these tremendous opportunities in life. Many things I have that others have only dreamed of.

I want to write about my wife, by baby girl (at least we’re pretty sure it’s gonna be a girl!), my family here and abroad, and my new business.

I promise I’ll fill you in on so much more, for now this is enough. It’s time for me to be going home.