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There are a few things that I truly love about the Microsoft culture:
Philanthropy — Bill G has truly modeled a spirit of giving back, and that every one can help — and that spirit of generosity really seems to be permeated in the mindset of Microsoft management at all levels.
Tenacity — While some MS products are leading in their segments, others battle against large incumbents — but we keep our eye on the prize and keep improving our offerings. Search being a good example
Marketing initiative — I used to envy the ‘Microsoft Marketing Machine’ when I was on the outside. And it is even cooler sitting in the eye of the storm.
The reason that I bring up these three (there are others) is that the folks at LIVE.COM have done a very cool thing for Search – by adding a community donation program to search.live.com.
While some other search engines may greedily take all of their profits with every searching click, the folks at Live.com will donate one penny per search query to your favorite charity or school.
So, please —
If you have not tried search.live.com recently … check out SEARCHandGIVE.com, which is powered by Live.com’s search engine
If you have tried it (and therefore obviously understand that it is a strong search engine) – consider changing your search provider to searchandgive.com. Start donating to your local school or charity — one click at a time.
It really is simple — go to the site, register yourself with your Hotmail / Windows Live ID, and then pick your charity/school from the list. It will ask you to confirm SearchandGive.com as your search provider and you are done!! I used search already, so to make it even easier, I added it as one of my tabs on my home page.
As always, thanks for reading
God worked on me a little this week – with some new clarity that I thought I would share.
But to appreciate it, here are two quick unrelated pieces of background:
My previous spiritual walk – serving as a Head
Until recently, I looked at a period of my life around 5 years ago as being the time when I thought I was most in the center of God’s Will. I was passionate about an annual event called “The Walk to Emmaus” which is an ecumenical three-day retreat where denominations, age and vocation were all stripped away (along with mobile phones, televisions and radio). The result was a weekend of guys getting real with God and each other. I had been able to participate and later serve in about one per year, and was preparing to lead one. Alongside that and within my local church, I was the Chairman of our Deacon ministry, had an active accountability partner and a thriving friendship with one of the staff, and in general – was on the top of my game. God was really stretching my Spiritual Gifts of Leadership, Administration and Discernment. In turn, I was fervently reading Christian Leadership writers like John Maxwell, Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley, etc.
I thought I was “in the zone”. And then, the pastor resigned under very negative circumstances, the church started breaking up and was never the same, my best friends and I went in different directions and I became spiritually burnt out. My Christian reading and my quiet times cooled and my passion became quiet. And for a while, I was angry and disillusioned. Later, I started to realize but was disappointed that I was no longer being asked to provide leadership in my Christian circles. I had revelation that because I had unplugged from my Heavenly source, any direction or leadership that I offered would be of my will – not His. And so, I struggled to find peace in the fact that I would not be “leading” again, until I started truly being “led” by the Spirit in my own daily life. But I just couldn’t seem to get the motor started again.
My current vocation – having recently hired some Hands
In my work life, I very recently hired someone who is specifically intended to amplify my output — meaning that I am responsible for creating a large amount of materials, and literally needed more hands on typing. The way that my company looks at the relationship between my new teammate and I — I own the plan of what is to be done and he is primarily intended to be my extra hands – in almost a headless kind of way. Now, of course, he brings his own experiences and ideas to the table, and I anticipate that my plan will adapt as we work together, based on his experiences and capabilities, alongside what my committed goals are to our larger team.
But on paper, he might be thought of as “hands without a head”, while I might be considered “a head without enough hands”.
Putting it together
Of course, as I write the words here, the clarity of what I have already started seeing is hopefully apparent to you, as well. We are all “hands without a head” to Christ. And while He can do anything that He wants, He chooses to do those things that are uniquely capable by Him in the work of our minds and hearts, and often chooses to delegate those things that need hands to us.
Lately, I have found a great deal of satisfaction in working the AV (lights/sound) within my local church, usually in the children’s ministry of all places – or within a dark and locked room clicking slides for the main adult worship. I am never on stage, and I doubt that many folks know who I am or what I do – other than the fact that the band seems to know the words to all of the songs, or seeing that the kids enjoy church and there seems to magically be lots of music and videos and fun things going in the room. Until recently, while I had been surprised to find myself enjoying and being completely satisfied in this nearly anonymous role, parts of my mind believed that if I just reinvigorated my quiet times and could somehow reawaken my passion for Christ, that I would be plugged back in and God would start flexing my leadership muscles again.
But in retrospect, I had it wrong.
Certainly, in my workplace, I firmly hold that the only kind of leader that I want to be is that of a Servant Leader, so I hope that my new employee will come to view me as genuinely interested in lifting him up and equipping him for his personal success as well as our joint endeavor. And of course, our teamwork will result not strictly by my will, but instead from the combination of his experiences plus my plans – which is not that different from the course that God has for me, based on my experiences and His plans (except that He charted my experiences too). It is what makes me uniquely capable to serve within His larger plan, similar to how my new teammate is uniquely capable to help me in my work role this year.
So as I started helping my new employee ramp this week, God seems to be reminding me that I am still “hands without a head”, regardless of where or how I serve. If He chooses to use my hands on a soundboard during Childrens’ worship or use my hands to craft a leadership direction some time in the future, I am still just “hands”. I was never – even when leveraging spiritual gifts like “leadership” or “discernment” – a "head", only His hands.
Yes, I admit it. I had pre-judged something, based on hearsay and fragments of information – specifically, the unsuitability of Harry Potter on children.
My past
As a bit of contextual reference, I was not raised in a religious family but Christ found me as a young adult (21). And over the past seventeen years, I have been growing in my faith and understanding. Of course, just less than 10 years ago, I became a father – and I am still struggling with how to raise my children in a Godly way, without having those experiences myself. I was also an only child, so I struggle with the whole sibling conflict thing – but that is another story.
Not that many years ago, when the Harry Potter series was reaching fervor, I had conjectured and decided that it would never be suitable for my kids to be exposed to that. As I write the words, I know how boneheaded they must appear – and I agree. Most pre-judging and assuming, when looked at in hindsight, is boneheaded.
In this case, I could easily find Biblical teachings to back up my prejudice.
Deuteronomy 18:10 — There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
Except for one thing – the Harry Potter books don’t teach or encourage witchcraft – they simply tell the story of an boy in a magical world.
What prompted the change? My son and my mom
Last Fall, my oldest son turned 9 and entered third-grade. While he is an above average reader within school, he had not expressed any real interest in really reading until my mother came over with the first few Harry Potter novels – two copies per edition. My mom comes over every weekend to play with her three grandkids, usually taking them one-on-one to parks, swimming, tennis, etc. And she was hoping to read with Joshua in parallel, where they could do some together and then read separately during the week – catching up each weekend.
It was then that all of the memories of her reading on her own and alongside me came flooding back. It was her example that made me such an avid reader during my formative years, and likely was a key to whatever successes that I had later – having become a fairly fast and somewhat diverse reader. And then I remembered all of the Greek Mythology that filled my early teen years, and some of the practical benefits it yielded later (such as when my high school class had to read some, I had read those and others, and was well over-equipped). I actually took a Greek Mythology class as a literature elective to balance my Computer Science / Engineering major in school. I also recalled all of King Arthur’s stories, filled with the wonderment of Merlin’s magic, as well as the battles and quests that really did give me an appreciation of knighthood and the ideals of a forgotten, if not partially fictional, time. I was also raised to appreciate movies, with classics like the Wizard of Oz coming to mind.
So, if my mom wanted to encourage my kids reading and help awaken their imaginations in new ways, how could I say no? Very easily, actually – but it wasn’t ‘no’, as much as ‘not yet’.
Direct Experience over Hearsay
Partially because I know that as a father, I am directly and uniquely responsible for every aspect of my children’s upbringing – and partially because I am kid at heart, I wanted to read it first.
When my kids became interested in Pokémon, my wife and I bought GameBoy’s too – to play with our kids, to understand what they were being exposed to, as well as having another common point to talk about (and help them through). As they started branching out in other interests, Anita and I have continued to precede and co-participate in those activities too – whether it be screening a movie that we’ve already seen through the new eyes of ‘parental viewing’ instead of just re-watching for our own enjoyment, or playing every kids video game for an hour or two before our kids can try it – returning perhaps half of them due to content or other unsuitability (thank goodness for GameStop’s return policy and Blockbuster rentals).
The first time I picked up the first Harry Potter novel, I didn’t put it down until I was halfway finished. Another evening and I was finished – and enthralled – and it was approved as ‘suitable’. Joshua consumed it in spurts over several weeks (mostly because the first ¼ is somewhat dry – presumably to create contrast between the dull existence before young Harry learns that he is a wizard and the miraculous world he enters from them on). So, I was glad that my mom and I read with him to keep him going. After a while though, he started carrying it in his backpack to school. His teacher allows students who finish their assignments to climb up into a loft/hang-out area and read – so he was! And he continued to read.
While he was finishing the first book, I bought the blu-ray DVD series of movies. We often use ‘big movies’ as rewards, such as letting my oldest boy watch one installment of Star Wars after each six-weeks honor-roll. For those, he and I had big-kid night and everyone else, including mom, had to clear out of the house. To celebrate finishing the Harry Potter book, my mom, my son and I sat down on a Saturday afternoon with some Chinese food delivery and watched the first movie. It was awesome to see the faces and hear the voices that we had read about. And the following day, Joshua and I began the second book. By then, my mom had read the entire series, so she now goes back to re-read before each celebratory movie day.
Looking ahead
Yes, we are progressing across the entire series – back to back. I try to stay slightly ahead of my son and his reading – so that when he finishes the book, we watch the movie – just the three of us. And then we begin the next book. Joshua is currently in his fourth book – all 743 pages of it. And when we are on long car rides, waiting in restaurants, wherever – it is all he carries with him. His Gameboy and DS mostly gather dust. And it turns out both his teacher, as well as his pastor at church, are both Harry Potter fans – enabling to have some great conversations and feel connected in new ways with other adult influences in his life.
I have received some contrary, but well-intentioned counsel from folks around their concerns of introducing my children to ‘witchcraft’. Certainly, in this day, there are many influences that parents need to keep their kids from – and that includes providing clarity between fictional topics like magic, and the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives and the eternal salvation of our souls. But I know that my son understands that difference, which we talked about a few times, particularly during his first HP novel.
Being confident in my son’s understanding of Jesus, and proactively reading what he reads and participating in what he is interested in – I am truly enjoying this part of his growth. He is becoming a voracious reader. No one can deny the influence that ancient mythology has had on the literary world, nor the more recent Arthurian lore, or even movies such as the Wizard of Oz – or Star Wars. I have heard that the J.K.Rowlings’ series on Harry Potter has been more influential in motivating young readers than any other series in the last 50 years. And for those of us who didn’t have to wait in between each book, the effect is even more magnified.
So, yes, I used to be prejudiced – assuming and deciding without knowing, based on misplaced intent without information. Of course, when I was a teenager, I was an atheist, having assumed and decided without understanding God’s will for my life and His love for me. And there have been other times, such as when Novell NetWare owned the server world, and I scoffed at Microsoft’s puny little toy called ‘Windows’ – and we know how that turned out.
My lesson learned
Perhaps one definition of ‘maturity’ is embracing that we don’t know what we don’t know – being content in the lack of knowledge, being open to the experiences that will change that and allowing hindsight to affect our foresight for the next unknown.
There will always be folks, some well-intentioned and others perhaps with a slanted agenda, that will continue to preach to those that are less informed and willing will listen, with guidance that sounds authentic perhaps even Biblical, but is laced in preconceptions and misinformation. And fruit of a poisoned tree causes others, good intentioned as myself and my counselors, to make uninformed decisions and perhaps even proliferate the prejudice.
In my parental journey so far, I have learned that Pokémon may have started as ‘Pocket Monsters’ but they are not evil. They are creative and have stimulated a mutual activity enjoyed across my whole family – not only through the electronic games, but also the TV series that my family watches together, some of the stuffed animals that my kids sleep with, and the books that include ‘starting readers’ for my first-grader, as well as older books. And Harry Potter is just another boy, who happens to have some amazing adventures not unlike young Arthur under Merlin’s tutelage or Dorothy with her red-shiny shoes while she is away from Kansas – with some insightful life lessons woven within some wonderful storytelling. And as Dorothy wakes from her dream that was laced with small fragments of reality but elaborated with brilliant story, so too does my son leave the world of Hogwarts and witchcraft – firm in an understanding of what is real, what is truly supernatural and what is simply fiction.
As I continue to seek what my Godly Father wants me to become as a father to my own children, I look forward to the next adventures that my children and I will share together, including likely the breaking down of other preconceptions – and some really great stories.
Thanks for reading
(background)
Genesis 37-41 tells the story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, eventually ran Potipher’s house (who was captain of the Egyptian guard), betrayed by Potipher’s wife to land in prison, ended up running the prison. Eventually, translates Pharoah’s dreams and ends up running Egypt during their famine.
One of the core themes is how God had to break Joseph down of his ego and build him back up. Along the way, God put Joseph in charge of both an estate (Potipher) and a large institution (prison) — to prepare him to lead a country, under Pharoah.
Fast forward to January 2008, Ed Young at Fellowship Church is currently teaching a series on "Betrayal" – and I must confess that it is uncovering some issues for me that I obviously have not completely processed. Specifically, around "Authority Issues". Ed has taught previously that:
One must get under whom God has put over us, so that we can get over what God has planned to put under us.
I have struggled with this before – as I am now, not in concept but in practice, and would welcome your feedback and guidance.
In looking specifically at Genesis 39 … during Joseph’s first time of success, while running Potipher’s house, it turns out that Joseph was there for 10 years. This wasn’t a case of immediately being recognized for his potential and being placed in charge. It is interesting to me that God blessed everything that Joseph did – including those over Joseph, even though they didnt share Joseph’s beliefs. It was how God moved Joseph "up the ladder" in responsibility, as Joseph continued to grow in his faith.
Psalms 40 actually describes David’s sustance, but paints a picture of Joseph as well – and any other servant who perseveres while waiting for the Lord’s providence:
PSALMS 40:1-4 I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and he set my feet upon a rock … How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust
Joseph’s patience and perseverence were blessed by God, as God progressively molded him:
GENESIS 39:5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all he owned.
It came over a long period, and is likely where God truly broke Joseph’s ego and started rebuilding him. So that when tempted, he realized that breaking Potipher’s trust was not only a violation to Potipher, but more importantly to God – since Joseph was placed under Potipher by God’s direction. When tempted, his reply was:
Genesis 39:9 "How could I do this great evil and sin against God?"
(notice, Joseph saw sleeping with Potipher’s wife to be a sin against God first, not Potipher. Joseph understood whose authority he was truly under)
(FAST FORWARD)
So, the obvious lesson that I see is that I do need to get under what God has placed over me — and I really do get that.
My question for your consideration and feedback is: What if Joseph had other opportunities while working for Potipher?
As Joseph’s stature grew in the eyes of Potipher, and the gradual promotions continued, Potipher likely would have come to Joseph and said "Because all you do is thriving, I will now put you in charge of ____". Surely over those 10 years, a couple of things could have transpired:
1) Joseph couldn’t have been successful by himself. He was being groomed by God as a leader, so he would have been leading others – eventually the entire staff of Potipher’s house. At certain points along every leader’s path, one has the opportunity to pull up as you go – and take others with you. In this case, Joseph would have had opportunities to lift up others in the house that were also thriving – if for no other reason than to fill his last role as he took new ones.
At some point, could Joseph not have also possibly had opportunities to tell Potipher "Master, thank you for this new role, but XX is better suited and these last victories would not have been possible within him."? Not to shy away from his own victories or personal growth, but to share the burdens.
2) And arguably, with Potipher as captain of the guard, others in Pharoah’s world would have seen Potipher’s estate thriving. There might have been opportunities where Joseph was considered for other tasks, where he might say "Master, I will serve whomever I am told" but move in different areas or houses.
Here is my quandry —
As one struggles with where God has put you, within any organization or management structure — and small victories begin to occur. How do you know when to make moves – or stay where you are in perseverence? As new opportunities, particularly psuedo-lateral opportunities present themselves, how do you know when God is moving your path as part of your ascension? or that you should stay where you must continue to struggle in perseverance because God is still breaking you and teaching you things where you are at?
In short, when do you know that God is through molding you in this phase of your adventure so that you should move on for the next phase — versus when you are escaping from what God is trying to do with you and walking your own path?
Put in Joseph’s terms, maybe it shouldn’t have taken ten years with Potipher? Perhaps Joseph had learned what God wanted him to learn in 2-3 years, but Joseph didn’t move when God presented growth opportunities. And after 10 years of Joseph refusing to follow God’s leading, God had to allow something extreme to happen – i.e. similar to being swallowed by a whale to get Jonah to Nineveh. In this case, Joseph was thrown in jail so that he could then ascend to run an institution.
Why would Potipher believe the false accusation from his unfaithful wife against Joseph who had served him faithfully and prospered him for 10 years? Did God not have to harden Potipher’s heart to facilitate that? Maybe God did that because Joseph wasn’t moving along the opportunities that God had presented earlier? Or maybe, it all happened exactly on plan — and Joseph declined every opportunity because he was still growing according to God’s will and needed more breaking/perseverance.
How do you know?
A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.
If you tend to take yourself too seriously, give yourself and everyone else around you a break. Recognize that laughter breeds resilience. Laughing is the quickest way to get up and get going again when you’ve been knocked down.
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