Growing Pains

I cant believe we are in the middle of January.  It seems like yesterday that I was celebrating a wonderful holiday time with my family.  I was at a house today that still had a Christmas tree up and it brought back good memories of the past holiday season that I will have for a lifetime.

But life moves on with every second that ticks away, and I am in full swing with my new position in the Chicago area.  Change and fear seem to be the words that are most commonly heard around the office these days.  And I understand.  Some of our team members have doubts about their new responsibilities. Others are overwhelmed by a fear of failure.  Still others have become content to stay where they are and have lost sight of our purpose and passion and the direction that we should be heading.

I know these feelings are natural and, to some degree, to be expected.  But I also have had the opportunity to work with our Exec Team to work on a Forecast and Budgetary Plans for 2012.  And I can't wait to get things in place, to get the right people in the right places, and to start to work our plan.  For me, it is incredibly exciting and energizing to think about the future, and to dream and plan.

To plan and to create a vision for our team is the right thing to do.  Even God Himself says to plan and create a vision.  In the Old Testament, God says:

Then the Lord answered me and said;
Write the vision
And make it plain upon tablets,
That he may run that readeth it.

Within a few weeks, our company will look and feel differently.  Our Exec team is changing the ORG chart, policies, procedures, and even our culture and environment.  And we are running hard right now.
It is amazing the energy that it takes to get us to the next level.  I think it is easy to underestimate how much it can take out of you to get to the next destination.

And I have to keep reminding myself to stop and "smell the roses" because the journey is the thing that will be etched in our minds years from now.

Blogging in 2012

Last year was a good experiment for me in regards to blogging.  I enjoyed writing and chronicling my thoughts and observations.  It was especially therapeutic for me while I was alone at the camper.

But I am beginning to change my focus in several aspects of my life and I won't be attempting to write everyday in 2012.  I have my hands full at work and my brain is sometimes in "overdrive" at the end of a night and I can't seem to put together a coherent sentence.  Also, some of my blogs last year were simply "fillers".  Honestly, I thought they were lame.  Sometimes it takes me a day or two to formulate a thought that is worthy of my time to write and your time to read.

Full-time bloggers will tell you that blogging needs to take place once or twice daily to gain and keep an audience.  But, the number of followers I have reading my blog is not my goal.  I want to continue to write but I am only going to write 2 or 3 times per week.  Instead, I have a goal to complete a book about my granddad this year.  His life is fascinating to me and when I tell others about his adventures and his journey, people seem to be amazed. And I want people to know how extraordinary he is.

So, I would love you to continue reading this blog and staying in touch.  I recommend becoming an "official" follower of my blog by signing up on the right hand side of this page.  When you do, you will automatically receive my blog via e-mail. 

Here's to your best year yet! 

Happy New Year!!

I am ending 2011 in the perfect way (at least for me).  No loud parties, no big celebrations.  Just a quiet evening alone with my wife.  I have a roaring fire going in the outside fire pit, I am wrapped in a warm blanket, staring at the stars and moon, and reflecting on how blessed and grateful I am for everything that I experienced in 2011.

One of the things that I am thankful for is the release that I have experienced from writing this blog.  I wrote on 337 days (plus 19 other times on another blog of mine) and gained an audience from all over the world. The U.S., Canada, Singapore, the U.K., Sri Lanka, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Denmark, and India all visited the Campfire Chronicles on a regular basis. Strange thing is that I didn't tell many people at all about the blog.  And I didn't write to gain an audience.  I wrote to chronicle my journey and to communicate with my family.  Along the way, I started to take notice of more things and to be more aware of things around me so that I could write on a daily basis.  While at the campground, writing helped me sort out my feelings and thoughts and helped me make sense of things.  And as the year progressed, I think I gained perspective by being able to write.

In a strange way, the blog helped me gain new employment.  My brother-in-law reads The Campfire Chronicles almost daily and hinted at me working with him through a response to the blog.  Certainly, this was a life-changing event for me.  Since late October, I have not been in a camper without running water, taking showers in a cold cinder building, and being alone night after night with absolutely no human being in sight.  I am now in a huge city, surrounded by a wonderful family, living in a house (with running water) and loving my new position.  Yes, I am counting my blessings and consider myself very fortunate.

I have read several times throughout this week that people are ready for 2011 to be over and for 2012 to start and begin anew.  I am thankful for 2011 and wouldn't change anything.  I learned a lot about myself and about life.  I am grateful for the hard times and the lonely times.  I am grateful for the experience of pushing through and having to drive back and forth from Kentucky to Tennessee every week.  I appreciate my family and my life more because of it.

So, yes I am looking forward to 2012.  I want to do better, learn more, love more, and be more disciplined.  I also want to get in a "groove" and get settled.  I want to watch my boys from a distance and see how they mature as young men.  I am looking forward to a new season of my life with my wife as an "empty-nester".  I am looking forward to snow and traveling to places that we used to go to like Door County.

I also know that times will be tough.  With an election year and uncertainty surrounding us worldwide, things are more chaotic and less predictable than ever.  But with God's help, I am hopeful of another year of personal growth and maturity.

My God bless you in the New Year!!