Cute Kid, originally uploaded by Joe Lencioni.

So I was asked to do a little post on milestones and kids. Generally the Milestones that we associate with kidmin are:

• Dedication
• Salvation/Baptism
• Preparation for the teen years

I know the last one is fringe probably between kids and students. But we’ll just put it on our list

I’d really like to focus on a specific aspect of the milestone for this post. You see milestones are generally used to provide reference points along the journey. They are should be viewed in a way that allows families to say, “Ok we’re on the right track”. They provide focus and guidance for parents. But honestly, I also think they can be tough to understand. If we see them a reference points then they hold the correct place in the realm of a child’s life. However, when they are skewed as goals or items on a checklist then the results could be ineffective.

The purpose of milestones is to give people a picture of the long term, the overall life experience of a child rather than isolated singular events. Why is this small thought important?

From Dedication forward parents begin to put pressure on themselves to perform well as parental units. By casting the vision of a journey rather than getting to salvation/baptism or to the teen years without error, we hope to see parents take some pressure off themselves and their kids. Not only that but provide proper opportunities for kids to question and grow in their view of God and Christ.

Over the next few posts I’ll talk about how I feel about the milestones mentioned above and also a couple more thoughts.

First of all I want to clarify, in no way is Human3rror, aka John Saddington, asking me to do this in anyway. Mainly cuz he doesn’t know me. I am not a part of his super great affiliate program for the Standard Theme. (Cuz I’m trying to win a free copy ) But I have to give him a ton of link love.

This guy puts it out there consistently for us bloggers and doesn’t get enough credit. I have learned a ton of countless things from his site and the ones that he points me to. If you are having any issues with blogging you need to rss to these two sites: ChurchCrunch and Human3rror. It will change the way you think about technology and the church, help you with your blogging craft, and it’s just a fun site!

John is coming out with a new Wordpress theme for us .com er’s called the Standard Theme. It’s sweet and I will get my hands on it one way or another and I’m thinking you at least need to check it out! Click on the link and visit his sites and comment all over his page. He’ll hit you back!

Anyway my readers, send me questions over twitter and email on blogging tips and how-to’s. I just point them to John cuz he is an expert and he’s committed to his craft of expertise. It’s time to take your blog to the next level. Buy the Standard Theme and RSS Human3rror and ChurchCrunch. It’s way more than worth it!

O and if you want something a little more awesome, check out his web company MilkEngine

View on Vimeo.

67/365 - DEADLINE, originally uploaded by Arieseffects.

So I’m a basketball nut. Love it. Tomorrow is the trading deadline in the NBA. In other words, last day for teams to trade their players to other teams before the end of the season.

Last ditch efforts to improve
Big time risk
People with no *ahem* guts
Smart Decisions
Dumb Decisions

All of the above and more are brought on by the deadline. It’s a crucial time and it’s often what makes or breaks teams. Not to mention the fact that some teams are just trying to get under payroll to avoid paying a penalty tax. So they are just calling the year a fail and thinking about the future.

It’s incredibly interesting to me, how many crazy things get floated around during this time as well. Bottom line: leadership lessons to glean.

How do you/we perform during the clutch? Not gonna lie depending on the type of decision I’ll either look like a ridiculously talented specimen of mankind or I’ll fold up like a 34 year old card table.

But it’s the stress, the drama, the missed opportunities, the capitalization of risk, and the overall raising of temperature that get me fired up. In the end a call is made and you have to deal with it. Plain and simple.

So what do I do with crazy deadlines? Music. Generally classic rock with a strong drum solo. Rush would be a staple.

So how do you deal with deadlines is my question? Do you pound Rockstar energy drinks til you smell like guarana? Or is coffee your super boost? Maybe some Wii tennis? What’s in your deadline toolbelt?

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty…This is my highest and best use as a human.
-Ben Stein