A holey ear and the Holy Spirit

Today at Faith Lutheran the Word was Luke’s description of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Luke explains Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. I’m a huge fan of the Holy Spirit and carry a symbol of it with me. As my mind drifted during the sermon (sorry Pastor Peg, it happens to all of us at some point) I was reminded that I’m often asked about my ear ‘jewelry’ – when did I have my ear pierced, was it the result of some debauchery, what is the significance of my favored adornment?  It seems fitting to answer the questions and put speculation to rest today.

 I still find the story personally uplifting as it was the result of a fatherly act rather than a bet or a drunken impulse.

It was Thanksgiving week in 2003. I was working in my office in Fremont when the phone rang and my, then 10 year old, daughter Sarah was calling. We had promised Sarah she could have her ears pierced if she did well in school and met certain benchmarks by the Thanksgiving break. Sarah had achieved all that was necessary and was in the mall with her Mom and her sister Jennifer. Despite the other two girls signing up for additional ear piercings, Sarah was anxious and having second thoughts. She asked if I could be there.

I headed out to the mall and joined them. Jennifer and Laura had their ears pierced while Sarah held my hand and watched attentively. Now it was Sarah’s turn. She still couldn’t bring herself to succumb much as she wanted her ears pierced. I sat her on my lap and we tried again – nothing doing. In the end I asked, “What if I have my ear pierced while you are sitting on my lap so you can see it doesn’t hurt?” To my astonishment she agreed. Now I was hoping it really wouldn’t hurt, as much for her sake as mine! The (very patient) piercing lady shot my ear and then both of Sarah’s in quick succession. Of course that was after the interminable, and totally irrelevant, discussion about which was the “gay” ear to make sure my one earring would be on the appropriate side. Interestingly I never considered letting the hole heal over and have worn an adornment ever since.

The stud I usually wear is a dove representing the Holy Spirit. It is normally pointing down to symbolize the Holy Spirit coming down to us as it did to Jesus at his baptism. Occasionally I find it rotated which seems to imply the Holy Spirit is whispering in my ear. Hopefully I’m listening!

From time to time I replace my dove with something fun or festive – perhaps a cross, a Halloween decoration, or a Christmas ornament – but I soon grow uncomfortable missing the Holy Spirit in my ear and so return to my dove.

Master-Mind Alliance Chico – January 2010

“Do you have a definite major purpose, and if so, how much of your time are you devoting to attaining that purpose?” – Napoleon Hill

I am so proud of our Master-Mind Alliance Chico group – it just keeps getting better and better. This Wednesday’s January 6^th meeting was so energizing for me as I watched members continue to stretch both in their own goals and in their desire to help each other. It’s hard to keep count of their revelations and new ideas (we should meet on Epiphany every year!).

The education theme this month was “Time Management – Work Your Rocks”. In his Founders minute, Richard Paris Borough talked about time pressure and the effect it can have on our lives. We learned a simple routine – the Everyday 5 – and how the purpose of time management is to do less not more. Richard also reminded us that most people don’t fail by making mistakes.  They fail because they don’t take action.  If you fall into this category, change your ways.  

In our Chalk Talk session we covered time management issues such as identifying and managing your Rocks; understanding the difference between Urgent and Important; and, as many of you know, my favorite- Stephen Covey’s 4 quadrants. We also talked about how to focus on Quadrant II and exercise the 4 D’s strategy (minimize Distractions; Delegate;  Delay; Don’t do it) for shifting time spent from Q III to Q II. We worked on Done Business Strategy #7 and the four kinds of time – Prep Time, Show Time, Detail Time & Free Time. A favorite idea for some members was designing a Model Week and creating a colored “Quilt” spreadsheet to identify their Rocks and the time needed for them. We wrapped up the Chalk Talk with an admonition to “Say No to Yes” more often.

Our problem solving session this month was dedicated to our members’ review of 2009 and their thoughts about 2010. The remarkable (but perhaps not surprising) outcome was that every person present considered 2009 a positive, and in many cases a pivotal, year that will lead to even greater success in 2010. What better testament for a group of business owners looking to create their Done Business when much of the world is still focused on despair and negativism? I know where I prefer to go and who I want to hang out with!

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world.  The unreasonable man persists in trying to make the world adapt to himself.  Therefore, all progress in the world is the result of unreasonable men.”     - George Bernard Shaw

 Go be unreasonable men and women!!!!

TTFN

If you’d like more info on Master-Mind Alliance Chico and the Done Business concept, contact me and either Bob Gruhler or myself will be happy to enlighten you.