Dreams + Imagination = Creativity

Creativity:
"the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations"  Dictionary.com

I spoke at one of the local churches last Sunday. I told of our dreams for our time in Honduras and our hopes and plans for fulfilling them. At the end of the service I asked this question. "What's your dream?" I asked it in the collective sense. Not you as an individual, but you as a group, a gathering of people. What's your dream?

People (in the context of a group) without dreams rarely accomplish anything.  Dreams are what keeps you going through the tough times. Dreams are the things that change the world.

"You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’?” – George Bernard Shaw

When your imagination fuels those dreams, creativity results.   Dreams + Imagination = Creativity

I believe that God created the world and the universe we live in. When I look at the earth, the incredible variety of landscapes, the multitude of species of plants and animals, I am amazed at the imagination and the absolute creativity of God.

Here's a truly amazing thing. We were created in His image! (Genesis 1:27)  We have been given the same creative nature that God has. God made us to be like Him. He wants us to be creative too.!

Although there is nothing new under the sun, the issues of the day, the challenges and the types of problems we face change. What worked 10 years ago or 100 years ago may not work today. As our world changes, how do we as individuals and groups change our views and bring new solutions to new problems. This is where our creative nature needs to kick in.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while” – Steve Jobs

When I look ahead at 2013 I see new and troubling issues that the Church and Society in general are going to need to face. Many of yesterdays solutions to today's problems are no longer working. We face poverty, both locally and globally, in so many ways, i.e.; poverty of material possessions, poverty of healthy relationships, poverty of safety and security. How can we, especially those of us who profess to be followers of Christ and His teachings, address these growing concerns in our own neighborhoods and around the world? I urge you to face them, and face them creatively.

Just as no two individuals are alike, so no two groups of people are alike either. Look at the amazingly varied features of the human face. All faces have the same basic features; nose, eyes, mouth, cheeks, eyebrows and yet somehow God has uniquely and creatively made each face different. (except in the case of identical twins) This floors me! Similarly, no two groups of individuals will be exactly alike either. Each group will have foundational similarities, but our dreams will be different and our approach to fulfilling them will be different also. Nor are we all creative in the same way or in the same areas. Allow others to act, react and think differently than you. Get creative, let your individualism as a church or an organization blossom and overflow into your community and the world. There's no need to try and mimic what everyone else is doing. Instead begin to ask, "What can we who are uniquely created for such a time and place as this do with what we have been given?"

Creativity is catching. I have seen it first hand. As I have begun to dream and to imagine what is possible, those around me have begun to build on my dreams and add to them with their own creativity. Encourage those around you to dream!

I write this final paragraph to the Church in particular. We should be the most creative people on earth. We believe that we are made in the in the likeness and the image of God. We believe in the supernatural power of this same almighty and creative God. Of all people, we should be turning the world upside down! Make 2013 the Year to Dream! 

Dreams + Imagination = Creativity.          Creativity + Faith = Supernatural Events.

I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. May this New Year bring you success in all you put hearts and minds to accomplish. May your dreams become realities.

DARE TO DREAM BIG! 

Mike

It's Been One of Those Weeks

You know what I'm talkin' about. We all have them from time to time. Up, down...good, bad. The weather hasn't helped either. It's been the same way. Beautiful snow fall turning to rainy slush. The driveway's a mess and for some reason it's hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit. Not that I've ever been particularly good at it.

I guess I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all we need to do here and all that we will need to do when we get to Honduras. Cold feet? Not at all, just some self-doubt and questions about so many things. On the other hand, each day that goes by I am more convinced that we are doing the right thing. See what I mean? Up, down...

I think once we get on the road that will all be gone. I've never liked living in limbo. On a positive note, it looks like we have the house rented. I feel really good about these folks. I think it will be a good fit. And on Friday evening we were invited to have dinner with wonderful couple here in town whom we had never met, but with whom we have so much in common. They have traveled to Honduras many times and shared with us a wealth of advise, information and experience. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. H------ for the excellent meal, conversation and encouragement.

In a couple of  hours I will be speaking at one of the local churches. When I was invited to come and speak I asked what they would like me to talk about. I have no agenda. I'm not asking for money nor am I trying to convince anyone to come to Honduras. Over the past several years I have come to enjoy public speaking, if I have something to say that is. I enjoy connecting with the listeners, finding that common thread that connects all of us, speaking to the place where we are, the realness and the reality of life. I'm less of a preacher and more of a story teller. I find that stories often speak to our hearts in ways that nothing else does. Jesus told a lot of stories. I think I will tell them a story about a certain family who, crazy as it seems, decided to move...

Retired...Kind Of

I'm unofficially retired. It's kind of like a sneak preview of myself 20 years from now. It feels...strange. For the first time in over 30 years I don't have a job. Several weeks ago a company from California bought my car trailer. Sent a driver all the way from the West Coast to get it. (In a odd series of events, this was the second trailer they have bought from me in the last three years.) Other than some paperwork, the storm work is wrapped up. I've cancelled the insurance on my truck and stowed it safely away in a corner of the shop. I wake up in the morning with nothing pressing to do. I don't think I like it! Oh well...like a friend of mine who knows me pretty well said, "You won't stay retired for long, Mike." He's probably right. I'm already making plans to start a business in Honduras as part of what we hope to do while we are there.

So although there is nothing urgent I need to do, there is still much to be done. I've slowly been cleaning out the shop so we can store all our belongings in it. I now have more room in there than I have had in years. Of course that will all change in a few weeks. By the looks of this photo I should degrease the floor, too.

This week Ben and Thomas helped me apply lettering to the cargo trailer we will be towing behind the van. Actually, after I showed them what to do, they took over and did it all. I had been debating on whether or not to letter it. The question in my mind was, "Will it attract more attention and curiosity resulting in theft with or with out letters?" I finally decided to do it, but chose to keep it simple with no specific locations or information.



Ben (front) and Thomas (rear)



Nice work, boys!

I'm anxious to get on the road. It will be good to actually have something fresh and interesting to write about. Thanks to all of you for hanging in there with me! Less than a month to go now.

BTW: If anyone in the Farmington area knows of anyone looking for a house to rent, ours will be available in January.

Tales from New York City

Early Morning Sunrise over Long Island Sound taken from Greenwich Point, CT

We're back home! On Tuesday we made the decision to head home. Leaving our digs at the Country Club which had become like a home away from home, we swung into Greenwich, finalized a few things, picked up our trucks and drove north. It felt right. So now, hopefully, we are back on track to leave for Honduras mid January.

We had a good time this past month. All of us came down with colds, but other than that we had a lot of fun. As my friend Bob Beckett once told me, it's all about the stories. And man, does my crew turn out the stories. Some I can tell here and some I can't. Some you just had to be there. I'm convinced that my crew has enough real life characters with real life events to make our own reality TV show that would easily compete against Ice Road Truckers or Swamp People.

Left to right. John Lee, John Paul and Mark

For instance, in the picture to the left is John Paul "JP" Grignon with his son John Lee. JP and John Lee are driving through Queens, NY when John Lee hollers he needs to go to the bathroom, "NOW". JP is following the bucket truck who in turn is following the Parks and Recs guy and has no clue where they're headed and doesn't want to lose them. So John Lee jumps out of the truck at a red light, climbs into the open top container on the back of the truck and begins trying to pass a kidney stone as JP continues driving through the streets of Queens! At every light JP hollers back asking if he's okay and ready to get back in. JP is half deaf and John Lee keeps yelling over the roar of the Detroit engine, "Keep going, I'm okay. Just passin' a kidney stone" all the while doubled over in pain. Now who'd a' thunk that one up?

Justin, Mark and Jon

On Thanksgiving Day the four of us, Jon, Justin, Mark and myself, drove into Manhattan. We drove by the yard where JP and Rickey parked their trucks. For some reason we decided to "decorate" JP"s truck with cones. The next day JP came home and told us he was sure another contractor, Randy Ball, had put cones all over his truck. He'd walked up to him and in no uncertain terms told him "don't mess with my truck". I asked him if he was sure it was Randy and he said, "Yes, 'cause Randy just smirked". It was all the four of us could do not to smirk! I had to keep JP from greasing Randy's door handles in retaliation! We never told JP until 2 weeks later when he finally opened his email and found this picture.

Steve with the saw, Rickey on the loader, Mark far left.

And then there's Rickey Hall, Fat Man Trucking and his stalwart ground man Steve Masterman. We call the bucket (to the left of Steve) "Pac Man". When Rickey's got it down on the ground picking up debris it looks just like the old arcade game pac man. Munch, munch, munch. There are too many stories I could tell about these guys, but here's one that you probably need to be there for. Mainly because of the accents. Mainers have a very distinct accent. We drop "Rs" where they should be and put them in where they shouldn't. I probably don't need to explain the New York accent if you've watched any TV at all. So, we walk into this pizza joint. It's busy. The guy behind the counter has orders, pizzas and dough flying every which way.

There are beautiful gourmet pizzas lined up in all directions. I can't make up my mind. Throwing his hands in the air the guy yells at me in a very strong New York accent and tone, "Come back when ya' know what ya' want. You're holdin' up the line." Steve steps up, "I want a loaded pizza". (pronounced peet-sir). The guy, "Ya' wanna' a slice or a pie?" (with waving hands and arms) Steve, "I want a loaded peet-sir." The guy, "Ya' wanna' a slice or a pie?" (with waving hands and arms) Steve, "No, I want a loaded peet-sir." The guy throws up his hands, gives Steve a slice of plain cheese pizza on New York crust, the thinnest in the world. Steve rolls his eyes, takes the cheese pizza slice and walks away. Ya' wanna' a slice or a pie!

El Salvadorian Deli

The food in New York is memorable. I was going to devote an entire blog just to the food we ate. The El Salvadorian owned deli ,where you could heap your plate so high the girl behind the counter could hardly carry, it all for $7 a plate...at first. Later on after several visits the owner began to slowly increase the charge when he saw us coming. Guess he thought he was starting to lose money on us.

The bagels...ohhhhh. There's nothing like a New York bagel!

The Eastern European owned bakery (right) in Maspeth that opens at 5 am, just in time for us to load up on delicious coffee and pastries. And then there was Rickey. He is an awesome cook. (Sorry Rickey, I lost the photo of you cooking spaghetti) I told him I'd back him 10% if he wanted to open a restaurant in Wilton. We all decided that he'd probably act a bit like the guy in the pizza parlor. "Ya' get what I fix ya'. Ya' don' like it, ya' don eat heyah." No, no Rickey, we love it.

I know we all gained weight down there.

So many memories. My good looking nephew, Justin, creating a traffic jam because all the women driving by wanted to stop and "chat". Mark, struggling with the weight of the world on his shoulders (below). Don't shrug, Mark. The sun setting over the Statue of Liberty. All the people we met.  Bob Hewett, project manager for Ashbritt, excited about the possibility of him and his wife coming to work a week or two with us in Honduras.

Even still, it's very good to be back home. Last night we spent the evening with two couples, good friends of ours, discussing plans for them to come to Honduras as families and give us a hand. Each of them bring their own gifts and talents. Music, sports, business, education. More friends are coming over tonight. Their son is interested in coming down as an intern.

I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT IS AHEAD FOR US!



Mark with the Unisphere (700,000 lbs of stainless steel) in the background, 1964 World's Fair



Decisions, Decisions

This past Monday I moved the crews to Greenwich, CT. Two different crews had bailed out leaving the town unfinished and I was asked to go in and mop up. Today we have off, but on Monday my brother Jon and I will return with just the two trucks, make a final sweep of the town and be finished. The big question on all of our minds is, "should we head home or go to New Jersey?"

Most of us are leaning towards going home. All of us have differing reasons, some are the same. We miss our families, we miss our dogs, we're tired, we have jobs to go back to, winter is coming and for me...our move to Honduras has already been delayed for a month now. On the other hand, there is still an incredible amount of work to be done here. There are huge amounts of money to be made. I'm torn between staying and going. If I stay, our move to Honduras would be completely financed and more. But if I stay, we may never go. That's the truth of the matter. Once I commit to a contract I'm obligated to remain until it's complete. That could be into next spring and then who knows what storms we'll get after that. Or something else will come up that requires my attention. I understand all this. I''ve seen it before.

From a Christian/Biblical perspective there are so many verses, principles and teachings that warn against being so caught up in the pursuit of material things that one loses sight of the Kingdom. On the flip side, there seems to be so much "wisdom" in storing up against the lean times. Being good stewards.

My heart says, "you've got enough...head home before it's too late." My intellect says, "better keep your nose to the grindstone, make hay while the sun shines, what about the economy...Honduras will still be there."

Decisions, decisions. Head or heart.