We've Moved!

OK... so I only have three followers (very loyal followers), but I am moving my blog to WordPress. The address for that blog is: http://ramblingrhinos.wordpress.com/

The formatting and editing are soother and easier for me to use. Keep following and reading on my new page. Let me know what you think about the new format and blog name: Rambling Rhino's Blog. Thanks!

Put People On Notice

I was sitting in the airport today and thought, “I want to be a pilot...” Except, I don’t want to spend a lot of time in flight school... and I don’t want to spend all of those hours logging in miles flying... and I don’t want to pay all of the fees that go along with getting a license...

Um... I guess when I say “be a pilot,” I mean wear the cool suit and get noticed.

Ever notice how those guys get noticed in an airport? They stride with such confidence across the airport terminal. Everyone turns their head and stares at the cool stripes on their coats as we wonder, “What cool place they’re going today?”

Yep, it would be cool to be a pilot and get noticed.

And then I boarded the plane and started reading another Donald Miller book (this makes two in as many months). In his book, In Search for God Knows What, he writes about a game most of us play in psychology class in High School. The game is called Lifeboat. On the Lifeboat are a group of 10 people, and the group has to decide which two get thrown overboard to the sharks because only 8 can survive.

The “ethical dilemma” is trying to determine who is more worthy of life... which race deserves to survive... which age group... and so on. I bet if a flight crew were on the Lifeboat... they would get the nod to live...

Miller writes, “I get this feeling sometimes that after this world ends... we will wish we had seen everybody as equal, that we had eaten dinner with prostitutes, held them in our arms, opened spare rooms and loved them and learned from them... I didn’t know that cool was just a myth and that one person was just as beautiful and meaningful as another.”

What’s weird is that I noticed that group of pilots from across the room... but I barely noticed the person sitting next to me. My problem is that I want to get noticed by others, and I don’t do enough noticing people who don’t get noticed. Something has to change.

Everyone deserves to be noticed. It doesn’t take much to make someone’s day either. A smile... a nod... a hug... Maybe we don’t think it’s really worth the effort. Think again.

“Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison was asked why she had become a great writer, what books she had read, what method she used to structure practice. She laughed and said, ‘Oh, no, that is not why I am a great writer. I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into a room where my father was sitting, his eyes would light up. That is why I am a great writer (Miller).’”

That sounds so simple... and it got me thinking something while I boarded the plane. I wondered if the pilot who was flying the plane received the same kind of encouragement from his dad, like Morrison did when she was a little girl. I decided to poke my head in the cockpit and find out... I slid into the co-pilot seat (because it was open) and started quizzing him about model airplanes and struggling with using all of the parts (I always had some left over). In time, I took over the controls and actually flew he plane -- ok... none of that last part was true, but I’ll bet you noticed!

I think I’ll go buy a pilot suit -- nah, maybe I’ll work harder at noticing the people in my life more.

** Did you get noticed by someone? How did it change your life? Who is the one person you want to notice to help “turn their life around?” Let me know (send an email to jshanselman@gmail.com)!

Just Wondering

Ever wonder where kids come up with ideas? In my house, there are three distinct little “voices”, and they all clamor for attention. No, I’m not schizophrenic (at least, that’s what the voice in my head keeps telling me anyway!).

My three kids vie for attention. Car rides can be the most entertaining... and exhausting experiences. Each of my children has something to say, and they want their contribution to be acknowledged.

I can’t recall the number of times I’ve said, “Will you please let (fill in the name of a child here) have a turn now?!” Of course, that child will maximize that introduction with a long pause (for dramatic effect) and then say something like, “Um... I forgot what i was going to say.”

This week, I’ve been really reflecting on the things my kids ask as we do life together.

My youngest, Solomon, comes up with some of the funniest things... and he knows it (he’s destined for an acting career). Lately, he’s been trying to say things that are profound. Two days ago he said, “Hey Pop... when I grow up I wanna be just like you.” When I got over the sheer flattery... I was a little scared that he really meant it.

My second oldest child, Gracie, is beginning to notice the world around her. Most second graders are happy to go to school and try and just fit in with the other kids. As we drove to pick up her mom after school she said, “Hey Dad... there’s this kid named (I’ll call him Mike) in my class... he’s kind of different...” As a protective father I thought, “That rotten little Mike... he better stay away form my little Angel...” I was thinking about the “crushes” boys cultivate in Elementary school and how evil all little boys are.... Good thing Gracie derailed that train when she said, “I mean... he doesn’t have any friends, and he looked really sad the other day in PE when we were running laps...”

I knew Gracie understood how to love God and love people because she really felt empathy for Mike... and I silently asked God for forgiveness...

My oldest child Naomi asks questions all the time. She might pass the Idaho bar exam by the age of 15. I kissed her good night and she asked, “Papa... are you going to leave?” What?! “I know mom is going to the store in a few minutes.. I was just wondering if you’ll be staying home with us when she does?” That might seem silly, but in the heart of every little girl is need to feel safe and protected. I said, "Of course not Naomi... we won’t leave you alone.”

Those three questions are HUGE...and most people will ask them as long as they are on this planet:

1. Who is my example?
2. Who is worthy of love?
3. Who is going to protect me?

This was my reality check: I can’t fill that role in my kids lives forever. Here is how I’m forced to eventually answer their questions (even though I will do my best):

1. I will fail.
2. I won’t be always be lovely.
3. I can’t be everywhere.

I have to trust that those questions will be answered like this: God won’t (fail), God will (always love), and God can (protect).