The true spiritual significance of remembering “all of the saints” is one that really stands in contrast to the American tradition of what we tend to think about with Halloween.

For much of modern human history (since at least the 16th century) All Hallows’ Eve—in other words, Halloween—has been notable for what it anticipates. The “eve” in the name isn’t just for show, just as the “eve” in Christmas Eve suggests something else is just over the horizon. That something, in the case of Nov. 1, is All Hallows or All Saints’ Day (fun fact: it’s also known as Hallowmas, which sounds like the greatest Christmas-Halloween mash-up ever, where kids wear costumes, gorge themselves on candy and get gifts. Like that wouldn’t take off immediately). Christians all over the world will celebrate today, remembering the saints.

Interesting how over time the cultural tradition has shifted from one of honoring the saints to one that honors the dead and focuses more on the macabre.  Have you ever been enlightened to something that gives new meaning or understanding to something that is familiar?

[hat tip to Mashable]

Is the lack of boredom killing our productivity?

It made me think about my own pre-technology laden days I had as a kid and how I used to spend that time. Times spent riding 40 minutes on the bus, each way, to and from school. Hours spent riding the mower over 4 acres of grass. Summer afternoons spent working in the hot sun on a next door farm. Hours spent driving to and from State College, PA during my university days.

I have to agree with Phil, I believe there is value in boredom as it spurs our creative thinking processes. Granted, boredom isn’t much fun at the time, which is why our brains look for anything and everything to fill the void.  It’s just that now we have found easy electronic devices to fill that void.  Is that now interfering with our natural creative energies?

Many people don’t like to be alone with their own thoughts. Just the idea of it scares some.  I think by growing up with older parents, in a more rural setting without any brothers or sisters living at home, I kind of got used to it.  I would make up games that I would play by myself, take my dog and go horseback riding in the woods near by my house or ride a mini-bike.  During those times, there was no iPod to listen to or smartphone to tweet from.  It was just me and my thoughts – pretty boring by today’s standards.

I think even now, while I enjoy technology and learning about new uses for it, I still look for opportunities to get away.  Some days I will turn the radio off in the car so it can be totally silent. Other times I enjoy a walk or run in outside without technology distractions.  I find it gives my head a chance to “breathe”; a much needed time to get perspective and reflect.

How about you? When was the last time you had a good idea or a creative thought? Was it during the middle doing other things or when you had time just to think and ponder?  Will the next generation loose the ability to value boredom?

Photo by Plum Speckled Photograhy

Like her brother, this is her first year playing at a higher level (Seniors). She is also her first year playing for her Middle School team so I’m very proud of her for both!

While she is the youngest on the Seniors Talleyville Team, she got to pitch in 3 innings in the first game and had 6 strike outs.  Way to go Madeline!

Wishing you all the best for a great softball year as well!

Rowan is playing his first year in the Majors Division on Horizon Services.  Very proud to be his father and look forward to the coming season!  Good luck son!

The idea is simple but unique:

A night of presentations with a twist. Presenting on a subject of their choice, speakers have exactly five minutes to teach something, enlighten us, or simply inspire—backed by twenty slides auto-advancing every fifteen seconds.

The presentations were very well done and especially creative – not your typical “business meeting” PowerPoint slides by a long shot! They are not sales pitches but rather opportunities for local leaders to share things that they are passionate about.  A sampling of what who we heard from included:

• Joseph Masiello – Delaware’s Teacher of the Year will speak about the Power of Teachers!
• Patrick Callahan – How a tweet turned into a trip for him to Pakistan (which he returned safely from!)
• Kati Driscoll – AAA – How to decide if your social program is successful
• Sam Hobbs – Twin Lakes Brewing
• J. Anthony Miguez – Putting Wilmington on the map
• Maiza Hixson – DCCA
• Bill Swezey- What is “The Cloud” Anyway and Why Should I Care?
• Scott Spencer – The potential of High Speed Rail for Delaware and our nation
• Mike Schwartz – 2nd & LOMA- One year later
• Julie MacWilliams and Erin Sicuranza – Jumping the Mommy Track

Historic Queen Theater

This one was especially well timed as they held it in the recently renovated Queen Theater on Market Street. The Queen was once a vibrant place that was a vital part of the downtown community in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century.  I was amazed to recently learn of the history and the significance that the Queen played in the life of Wilmington, which makes its return all the more special as the city revitalizes itself especially in the LoMa (Life On Market) area.

I definitely look forward to attending future Ignite Wilmington events as well as seeing performances at the World Cafe Live at the Queen!

I mention this not at all out of pride or conceit, but to encourage. If I can do it, I know you can to! Trust me, I am not a fast reader or someone who reads dozens of books a year.

As I shared during the interview with Pastor Eric during our “No Comprendo” series, YouVersion makes finding a reading plan that works for you very easy. There are plans that cover the entire Bible and ones that are topical (like anger, marriage, finances) as well as ones that for youth.  YouVersion is web-based and available not only on your computer but on as an app or in mobile web format on all major mobile devices so you can have access to it at any time.

The Bible isn’t just some holy book that “religious people” carry around to show off or beat people over the head with. It is a book of life and hope for all of us. It is how God speaks to us and shares his message with us. There will be parts we don’t understand, but that is okay – we need to start and let the Spirit guide us!

How about you? Have you tried a reading plan yet? Are you ready to try one now? I would love to hear what you have tried or are thinking about trying. You can leave comments here!

Ben Francisco scores winning run in bottom of 9th in first game of 2011. Rob Carr - Getty Images

High Hopes
With the off-season return of Cliff Lee, the Phils have 4 starting aces to throw at their NL foes and an offense that even with the loss of Jason Werth, has potential to score runs in bunches. They have been an exciting team to watch for the past 3 seasons and 2011 looks like it could be magical year for the players, fans, the city of Philadelphia and even for Major League Baseball. The club has been fortunate to have the senior leadership of Charlie Manuel and Ruben Armaro who have made some bold and surprising moves. They seem to know what they are doing and have earned the respect of players and fans alike.

World Series or bust. That seems to be the growing expectation among the fans of Philadelphia and even in the club house. They believe they have what it takes to win it all. Over confident? Maybe. There are a lot of games to be played and there are a lot of hurdles to get by, including the injury bug, but there is no reason to doubt their chances are as good if not better than the rest of the league.

Is it fair to have such high expectations of a sports team or any organization? Should we be disappointed when a team “only” makes it to the first round of the playoff then looses? Most teams would just love to make it that far. Many players never get to taste the playoffs, not to mention wear a championship ring on their finger.  Does the pressure of having higher expectations in yourself and by your fans help you do perform better? It seems that the best athletes are those that rise to the occasion and rather than crumble under the pressure they soar. Conversely, it seems without high expectations (or with too low of expectations), many will fail or only reach mediocrity.

What About the Real World?
It seems to make sense to have these hopes and expectations for sports teams that have the right chemistry and talent, but what about the “real world” where we work and live? Should we have high expectations of our leaders at work, church or government? What about our families and our relationships? If our expectations are low are we just setting them (and ourselves) up for failure? Some of us would rather play it safe and not risk being hurt or disappointed and in so doing, miss out on the opportunity to ever taste the thrill or experience the excitement that comes from achieving something that seems impossible.

Do we cheer for our friends and coworkers or do we insult them or try to bring them down. Do we encourage our kids and be there biggest fans or do we point out what they are doing wrong and constantly have to ‘show them’ how it should be done? Do we support our spouses, church leaders and workplace bosses or do we spend our time finding their faults and pointing them out to others?  How much better would they be if we had high expectations and cheered them on?

I believe sports are so popular because we all want to experience what winning is like. We want to be the hero and the one people cheer for. What we often overlook though is the number of times the star players have struck out, the amount of practice they have put in and the sacrifices they have made along the way.

Maybe it’s time we spent as much enthusiasm cheering those around us as we do our favorite sports team. I wonder how many more champions we would produce if we did?

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