Fire Pit

Last night, we decided to go outside and enjoy the cool weather. One of my youngest son Bailey's favorite things is to roast marshmallows around the fire pit. So, after a little homemade chili for dinner, we cranked up the fire and did some roasting. To the left is a pic of the fire. Below is a video of the fire. Enjoy.

Cool Nascar Story

Watching the race at Homestead today reminded me of one of the coolest things I ever got to do. 2 years ago, I had tickets for my oldest son and I to go to the Nascar Race at Homestead. Unfortunately, that day was a big commitment day at the church that I used to pastor at. Fortunately, two of the other pastors had tickets also. One of them knew a guy that flies people to the race via helicopter. He got him to meet us at the Opelika Airport right after service and fly us to the speedway. We were dropped off right behind the track and rode a golf cart to our seats in the infield grandstand. It was those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I will never forget.

Margin

This week I finished the book shown on the right called "Margin". You have probably never heard of it. I picked it up off a bargain table because I struggle having margin in my life. It started off tough - written by a Doctor (Richard Swenson), but I stuck with it and found it to be an excellent book on finding margin in your life. He not only talks about how to find margin, but why we have lost it and how our culture has changed over the generations. It is a little cerebral, but worth the effort. I got some great ideas from it but have not had time to implement them - get it? Haha? Click on it to order it.

Car Line

I have discovered that car line is a very precise science. As part of my fatherly duties, I take my oldest son to school each morning.
On the first day of school, we left 20 minutes before school because it is only 5 minutes away. He was 5 minutes late. This is absolutely the worst car line I have ever seen. Even though I am sure they know more about it than I do, I have some theories (surprisingly) on how to make it better.
Nevertheless, we adjusted our departure time to 35 minutes before school starts and I would drop him off with 10 minutes to spare - the whole ordeal taking me about 35 minutes.
By a twist of fate, one day we left 5 minutes early (40 minutes before school starts) and I got him there in 10 minutes and completed the whole trip in 20 minutes. That has become our new routine.
It is hard for me to believe that the whole flow is so precise that 5 minutes can make a 15 minute difference, but today we left 5 minutes late and it took me 35 minutes again.
Oh well, I guess people are more routine oriented than they would like to believe. It is also interesting to note that we pass the same people running and walking in the morning in almost exactly the same places.

It

I just finished "It" by Craig Groeschel today. It was absolutely one of the best ministry books I have ever read. I think it could definitely be applied to business as well. Craig talks about ministries that have "it" and how to get it, keep it, and also how you might lose it. His humor and storytelling style make it an easy and entertaining read. I DEFINITELY recommend it to everyone. It is a MUST READ if you are in ministry. A great book to go through with your team. If you have read "It" leave a comment. As always, just click on the book to order from Amazon.

Nick's First (Real) Job

Well, today I drove Nick to Publix for his first day on the job. He has been to training a couple of times but today was the Grand Opening of his store so it was his first official day. As we pulled out of the driveway I realized that this is about the time that I got my first job as a gopher on a contruction site.

No, I did not have to impersonate an animal. I was the guy that had to go for everything.
"Matt, get me some nails"
"Matt, get me some more 2x4's"
"Matt, clean up this mess"
"Matt, get me the saw/hammer/other tool I need"
It actually paid well for a 14 year old, so I had more money than all my friends. I have worked ever since that day but ironically don't have more money than all my friends anymore.

Today, Nick starts his work life. I expect that he will be very successful.

Almost 10 months

Well, it's been almost 10 months since my last post. I picked up my first consulting client about that time and got caught up in that and just fell out of the routine. I have thought about restarting many times, just have not taken the time. Well...the time is now. My catalyst was that there are still people checking in and I would just like to say thanks for that.

The last 10 months have been challenging for the Mashburns, but we have learned a lot. I am going to try to post more often. I have read over 50 books since I last posted (a little scary) so I will probably post about some of them. Maybe that is where my posting time went?

We are involved in a great church that you can read more about here and really enjoying it. Melissa is still doing well in the network marketing arena and the boys are great. Check out an article that Melissa just wrote about Nick's hospital ordeal here and an article Nick wrote about thankfulness here.

Today Melissa helped me setup a Facebook account (a little late I know) that you can checkout here. I hope to get that all figured out.

I am looking forward to some hopefully entertaining musings to share with you. Until then, leave a comment and let me know you are still out there.

For One More Day

I had previously read Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie" and really enjoyed it, so I grabbed "For One More Day" to give it a try. I was not disappointed. It was great. Very inspirational. It reminds us that our loved ones may be gone at any time and we don't want to live with regrets about how we spent our time with them. I enjoyed it so much, Mel and I tivo'd the movie and watched it also. They changed a few things, but the message was the same. I highly recommend this one. Click on it to order.

For all my Mac Friends

More Than a Carpenter

I recently finished More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. One of my friends recommended it a while ago. It has been around a while. I was expecting a book that went into more depth about Jesus' life. What I found was a book that gave evidence of Jesus' existence. It reminded me of "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. Even though it was not what I expected, it was a good read and a quick read. I definitely recommend it for anybody you know that is investigating the claims of Christ. Click on it above to order it.

Updated Reading List

I have to apologize. I have not kept my reading widget updated (on the right side of blog page). It is updated now and reviews of the books that are no longer on the list because I finished them will follow over the next several days. Sorry about the delay.

Free Furniture

We are still really having a great time with the Wii that the kids got for Christmas. We decided tonight that we are getting rid of our living room furniture so we will have more room to play. If you are interested in any of the pieces, just post a comment. We are willing to trade the whole group for a second wii controller. We are tired of swapping controllers. We could also use ice packs, ace bandages, and any emergency room connections you might have.

Cool Sunset

Just wanted to share:

A Few Pics from our Trip So Far

This is where the day starts with a little reading, thinking and conversation with God:

This is the view from there:

This is my spot on the beach (a little more reading, zune, and playing with the kids):

and the view from there:

More later,

Wow Wii!!!

We had a great Christmas morning at the Mashburn house. Melissa and I were fortunate enough to score a Nintendo Wii for the kids this year. They had no idea we got it and were so excited Bailey actually screamed when they opened it. The fun did not stop there, though.

I used to be a big gamer as a kid but have never been very interested in video games as an adult. The Wii will change all that. What an amazing game system. The way you actually act out the motions to play the games is amazing. I got so tired from playing that I actually was wishing there was a game you can play sitting in your chair.

I also think I rediscovered some old sports injuries. I think I will actually be sore in the morning.

We got to Marco Island tonight (and brought the Wii). We are looking forward to some beach and wii time over the next few days.

Going to bed with sore elbows,

Merry Christmas

Hi Everybody,

I know it has been a while since my last post. I will be back soon, but I wanted to pop on tonight and wish everybody a Merry Christmas.

Tonight we went to Christmas Eve Services and then watched "The Nativity Story" together. We are off to Marco Island tomorrow after the gift opening festivities in the morning. I am sure that will provoke some blogging.

See you all soon.

Merry Christmas,

We Are The Champions!

Sorry it has been almost a week since my last post. I have started my new company/job. More on that later. First, I want to share some exciting news.

Five years ago, myself and Sammy Waller started a softball league at Flamingo Road Church. It started with about 120 guys playing on 8 teams. Since then we have played 7 seasons (twice a year for 2 of those years) and this year we had 16 teams with about 250 guys playing. I have seen a lot of guys get connected to church and God through the league.

Since the beginning, I have had good teams and bad teams, but never won a championship. This year, that all changed. Last Thursday night, we won the championship. It was a great night and something I have been waiting for. We all celebrated and had a great time. Here is a pic of the team with the monster trophy:

Sorry about the quality, it was taken by my son with his camera phone.

I just wanted to post this to say thanks to all the guys that have played with me throughout the years and to celebrate success.

My Favorite TV Theme Songs

I recently realized how catchy some TV show theme songs are. I took the liberty of capturing a few . Below are my top 5 right now, not in any particular order.

BTW - I like the shows too.

Boundaries With Teens

As part of my daily reading, I read a book to help me be a better father. This is a part of my life that is not intuitive for me. I tend to be very busy and therefore miss some of the cues that I should pick up on. This book helped me a lot with that. The best part about this book is that most of it is broken up into chapters that take on one challenging topic for teens. Not only is it a great sequential read, but it is a great reference tool. The solutions were very realistic, unlike may parenting books. I definitely recommend it for those who are raising teens - boys or girls. It gives equal time to both gender's issues.

The LikeAbility Factor

Tim's first book "Love is the Killer App" is one of the best books I ever read, so I came into this one with high expectations. You know how sometimes when you go to see a movie that everyone has told you is great, it turns out to be just OK and you wonder if it was because your expectations were too high? This book was like that for me. It is a good book about relationship building which is one of the 3 principles in his first book, but this one did not knock my socks off. However, if you struggle in this area, it does have some great info. Bottom Line - read his first book and go from there.