Hey, it's been 2 weeks since I posted last. It seems that I grew tired of making these posts at around the same time as I grew tired of being involved in MDN. After the Once In A Million Wine & Dine Event, I kind of lost interest... for a while. Yes, I was involved in the Transportation Challenge, to an extent, and in the Entrepreneur Challenge, to an extent. But a few things were also going on in my personal life.
For the Transportation Challenge reveal, I was absent. Well, actually I WAS there (at the Aldergrove Wreckers) at 10:00 am with my son Carter when we were supposed to start filming, but I had to leave at 11:30 and they hadn't yet begun. This was the style of MDN, and I wasn't really surprised, but a little disappointed. Except for the reason I had to leave was that my Mum was getting married that day in Langley, and I was co-officiating the ceremony! (more on that later...)
For that challenge, I tried to schedule car pooling. Stephanie was organizing car pools, but work (I work as a term at Canada Post) had me in Chilliwack, and nobody else was going that far into the Valley. Carpooling didn't work. Neither could I have biked to work, though that could have been fun! Around this time, though, many of us were wondering if filming would ever end. The days were getting shorter and colder, and instead of complaining about the heat at the MDN Bank, there were complaints about the cold at the MDN Bank. I also didn't participate in the car sale - I had no car to sell, and I was driving a school bus for a local church's bus ministry that day. I do wish I had been able to be there, but we all have priorities, and we need to say "no" to many good things in order to say "yes" to the ones we value more. For me, that day, it was hanging out with my two oldest boys and taking them on a bus trip and to Kids Klub.
The following week, I was on hand for the challenge. I actually made it on camera in a number of spots, which really surprised me because I was definitely more heavily involved in previous challenges (heading up entertainment at the Garage Sale, serving and helping with entertainment at the Wine & Dine, etc) and didn't show up on those episodes. It was a good challenge. Carissa with SLAP (www.slapcenter.com) was phenominal with showing how businesses can become viable. She answered some of the questions I had for her pertaining to starting a church, which is completely different (though very much the same) from starting a business. For a church, for instance, you're not concerned with making a profit (maybe a prophet... har har). But there are business principles for a church planter to follow if he wants to keep his head above sinking. Carissa talked about building a vision and mission in a way I hadn't heard before, and it was really inspiring! In addition, I let the cat out of the bag a little bit more in the context of the community which I had been growing increasingly socially comfortable with, that I am here to share the Gospel with Aldergrove. It's always a bit tenuous, sharing something like that, because immediately people go into self-protective mode like I'm the Amway guy. Like I all of the sudden have an agenda - as if nobody else does. But once I got to know the people and they knew I wasn't a crazy religious nut (much to the chagrin of the producers of the show, I'm sure), I was able to reveal my intention more and more. I got to drive Gary back home after that event and we had a great talk about his dream start-up business and mine, and agreed to help each other in any way that we can.
I was involved in the marketing group for that challenge, as I had started helping people with building a twitter following. I figured I could get the word out for the night market that way. But I obviously wasn't it in 100%. There were other things going on in my life, and again they took priority. I had already agreed to speak at a pre-teen youth event in Surrey (here) the night of the Night Market, so I couldn't attend that event either, which was also disappointing but I know I made the right choice. Of course, knowing that I wouldn't be at the actual event, it was hard to be motivated to give all I could FOR the event.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but it keeps on coming back to my mind and rumbling around my soul. At the very beginning of the Million Dollar Neighbourhood, we had a town hall meeting when Bruce Sellery gave some excellent financial tips. It started with determining what money means to you. Some of this was shown in the first episode. People came up and said "money means freedom, and I don't have any of it". Others said "Money is a prison". Some people said that money is what gives them the life they always wanted. One person, Darren Patrick, said that money is for other people - namely those on First Nations reserves without proper drinking water. I was surprised that only one person in that crowd talked about money in any way other than "it's for me, me, me...". I'm not slagging those who said that money's for their happiness or success - that's the way the world is. But I was refreshed to hear Darren say that he sees his money for other people.
Secondly, Bruce said something I'll refer to for many years to come. He told us that most people work, work, work, work, work, work, play, play, and die. He wants instead to work, play, work, play, work, play, work, play, play and die. I totally dig where he's going with this. Money to him is the opportunity to play, to travel, to enjoy life. I appreciate that. He said that he works really hard, drives a less-than-impressive automobile, and makes other sacrifices, so that he can "play" throughout his life. I totally get that, and I'm inspired by it.
But I'm afraid that Bruce only has half (at most) of the picture. If he works, plays, works, plays, plays, plays, plays, then dies... then what? If all he ever has to do is play, play, play, play, die, then what? Francis Chan made a really good point here. He says that life here on earth is such a small part of our eternal reality. He brings a long, long rope on stage, which stretches off the stage out the door and he says 'imagine this rope goes on forever, and that this rope is a timeline of your existence. This red part at the tip represents your time on earth. You have a few short years here on earth, and then all of eternity. What blows me away is that some of you, all you think about is this red part."
Now, maybe you don't buy it. Maybe you don't think that your life is eternal. In that case, what Bruce says is right. Work, play, work, play, play, play because that's all you really have to hope for. But in the end, it's frustrating isn't it? Because other things interfere with our playing plans. The weather turns, or terrorists screw up the flight schedules, or the thing that you thought would satisfy your craving just doesn't, and you need to work more to enjoy the next great thing. Solomon, one of the richest men whoever lived and certainly the wisest, had leisure at his leisure. He built anything he ever wanted, had all the sex he ever wanted, lived life exactly the way he wanted. And he said that it's all meaningless, leaving you feeling empty inside. They say that the most dissatisfied people in the world are those who have "made it", and found out that at the top of the ladder things aren't so rosy. They've spend their lives, their energy, their time, their money, their stuff, their family, on getting to the top, and it's not worth the investment.
What if there IS more? What if it's great to save and dream and plan for this life, but that there's something greater beyond this life that we don't even know anything about? What if the top of the ladder here is nothing compared to what we could ever consider in the future? What if there are things we could invest in here to make that future a brighter place? This is the hope I have to share with Aldergrove, and God willing I'll have more and more opportunity to do so.
I'm excited about seeing this week's episode, because my son Carter's picture has already shown up online at https://www.facebook.com/MillionDollarNeighbourhood. Here it is:
The episode follows the week that the kids took the lead. Again, admittedly, we weren't hugely involved. It's easier for the kids to handle finances and food and all that stuff when they're teenagers or even pre-teens... but what are we gonna do? We did get together with Stephanie and Ryan and their kids though for an evening. We had fun. We'll have to do it again soon!
But since I haven't seen the episode yet (I wait until they come online because I don't have cable) I don't have much to say about it. Stay tuned!
For the Transportation Challenge reveal, I was absent. Well, actually I WAS there (at the Aldergrove Wreckers) at 10:00 am with my son Carter when we were supposed to start filming, but I had to leave at 11:30 and they hadn't yet begun. This was the style of MDN, and I wasn't really surprised, but a little disappointed. Except for the reason I had to leave was that my Mum was getting married that day in Langley, and I was co-officiating the ceremony! (more on that later...)
For that challenge, I tried to schedule car pooling. Stephanie was organizing car pools, but work (I work as a term at Canada Post) had me in Chilliwack, and nobody else was going that far into the Valley. Carpooling didn't work. Neither could I have biked to work, though that could have been fun! Around this time, though, many of us were wondering if filming would ever end. The days were getting shorter and colder, and instead of complaining about the heat at the MDN Bank, there were complaints about the cold at the MDN Bank. I also didn't participate in the car sale - I had no car to sell, and I was driving a school bus for a local church's bus ministry that day. I do wish I had been able to be there, but we all have priorities, and we need to say "no" to many good things in order to say "yes" to the ones we value more. For me, that day, it was hanging out with my two oldest boys and taking them on a bus trip and to Kids Klub.
The following week, I was on hand for the challenge. I actually made it on camera in a number of spots, which really surprised me because I was definitely more heavily involved in previous challenges (heading up entertainment at the Garage Sale, serving and helping with entertainment at the Wine & Dine, etc) and didn't show up on those episodes. It was a good challenge. Carissa with SLAP (www.slapcenter.com) was phenominal with showing how businesses can become viable. She answered some of the questions I had for her pertaining to starting a church, which is completely different (though very much the same) from starting a business. For a church, for instance, you're not concerned with making a profit (maybe a prophet... har har). But there are business principles for a church planter to follow if he wants to keep his head above sinking. Carissa talked about building a vision and mission in a way I hadn't heard before, and it was really inspiring! In addition, I let the cat out of the bag a little bit more in the context of the community which I had been growing increasingly socially comfortable with, that I am here to share the Gospel with Aldergrove. It's always a bit tenuous, sharing something like that, because immediately people go into self-protective mode like I'm the Amway guy. Like I all of the sudden have an agenda - as if nobody else does. But once I got to know the people and they knew I wasn't a crazy religious nut (much to the chagrin of the producers of the show, I'm sure), I was able to reveal my intention more and more. I got to drive Gary back home after that event and we had a great talk about his dream start-up business and mine, and agreed to help each other in any way that we can.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but it keeps on coming back to my mind and rumbling around my soul. At the very beginning of the Million Dollar Neighbourhood, we had a town hall meeting when Bruce Sellery gave some excellent financial tips. It started with determining what money means to you. Some of this was shown in the first episode. People came up and said "money means freedom, and I don't have any of it". Others said "Money is a prison". Some people said that money is what gives them the life they always wanted. One person, Darren Patrick, said that money is for other people - namely those on First Nations reserves without proper drinking water. I was surprised that only one person in that crowd talked about money in any way other than "it's for me, me, me...". I'm not slagging those who said that money's for their happiness or success - that's the way the world is. But I was refreshed to hear Darren say that he sees his money for other people.
Secondly, Bruce said something I'll refer to for many years to come. He told us that most people work, work, work, work, work, work, play, play, and die. He wants instead to work, play, work, play, work, play, work, play, play and die. I totally dig where he's going with this. Money to him is the opportunity to play, to travel, to enjoy life. I appreciate that. He said that he works really hard, drives a less-than-impressive automobile, and makes other sacrifices, so that he can "play" throughout his life. I totally get that, and I'm inspired by it.
But I'm afraid that Bruce only has half (at most) of the picture. If he works, plays, works, plays, plays, plays, plays, then dies... then what? If all he ever has to do is play, play, play, play, die, then what? Francis Chan made a really good point here. He says that life here on earth is such a small part of our eternal reality. He brings a long, long rope on stage, which stretches off the stage out the door and he says 'imagine this rope goes on forever, and that this rope is a timeline of your existence. This red part at the tip represents your time on earth. You have a few short years here on earth, and then all of eternity. What blows me away is that some of you, all you think about is this red part."
Now, maybe you don't buy it. Maybe you don't think that your life is eternal. In that case, what Bruce says is right. Work, play, work, play, play, play because that's all you really have to hope for. But in the end, it's frustrating isn't it? Because other things interfere with our playing plans. The weather turns, or terrorists screw up the flight schedules, or the thing that you thought would satisfy your craving just doesn't, and you need to work more to enjoy the next great thing. Solomon, one of the richest men whoever lived and certainly the wisest, had leisure at his leisure. He built anything he ever wanted, had all the sex he ever wanted, lived life exactly the way he wanted. And he said that it's all meaningless, leaving you feeling empty inside. They say that the most dissatisfied people in the world are those who have "made it", and found out that at the top of the ladder things aren't so rosy. They've spend their lives, their energy, their time, their money, their stuff, their family, on getting to the top, and it's not worth the investment.
What if there IS more? What if it's great to save and dream and plan for this life, but that there's something greater beyond this life that we don't even know anything about? What if the top of the ladder here is nothing compared to what we could ever consider in the future? What if there are things we could invest in here to make that future a brighter place? This is the hope I have to share with Aldergrove, and God willing I'll have more and more opportunity to do so.
The episode follows the week that the kids took the lead. Again, admittedly, we weren't hugely involved. It's easier for the kids to handle finances and food and all that stuff when they're teenagers or even pre-teens... but what are we gonna do? We did get together with Stephanie and Ryan and their kids though for an evening. We had fun. We'll have to do it again soon!
But since I haven't seen the episode yet (I wait until they come online because I don't have cable) I don't have much to say about it. Stay tuned!
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