Milestones

How do you deal with those major milestones in your life, and specifically, in your kids' lives?  Milestones are great of course, but they can be bittersweet too.  How do you preserve the positive memories and not linger on what is now over?

As our third child is just a few weeks away from arriving, my wife and I are busy getting our house in order to make sure everything is ready.  Yesterday we were given bunk beds by some friends (thanks Dave and Wendy!).  Last night was the first night our boys have ever slept in the same room, and the first night our youngest son has slept in a bed instead of a crib.  It was two milestones, and two birds with one stone.  A great moment to be sure, but as my wife and I walked out of their room after putting them to bed, we exchanged a look of "Oh this is so great!...but I'm a bit sad at the same time..."

Sad only because your kids grow up so fast.  We took pictures and videos, and we'll remember that night.  But how did it come so quickly?  I find myself asking that question more and more lately.  I try to take distinct mental notes, clear mental snapshots, to make sure I remember those moments.  Even with those though, the memories begin to fade with time.  That's why the pictures and video are important.

A friend told me that perhaps a good way to deal with the quickening pace of life is to look forward to what's coming.  Instead of being sad about what's now over, look forward to the big moments (first day of school, first girlfriend/boyfriend, graduation, etc) and celebrate when they arrive.  It's good advice.

As I write, my wife has just texted me to say both my boys had a great sleep.  On to the next chapter :)

Resolutions

Here we are, two months into the new year.  How are your New Year's resolutions coming along?  Still going strong, or did you forget about them on January 2nd?

I've made a few resolutions this year.  I haven't called them resolutions because that has too many connotations associated with it. These are just things that I've just decided to do this year.  With some I've done great, others I need to be a lot better.

• Be healthier (specifically, go to the gym).  I'm proud to say that this has been a great success so far.  Since the beginning of January, I have gone to the gym between 3-5 times every week (except for one week when I was sick).  It's taken a lot of determination, a shift in mentality, and some re-arranging of our family schedule, but it's worked.  And I'm surprised to say...I actually enjoy it now!  It's become a habit, and I hate missing a gym day.  I never thought I'd be that guy, but surprisingly, here I am.  (P.S. for aspiring gym people, having a goal really helps)

• Be more generous.  This specifically has to do with food, believe it or not, lol.  Money a little bit too, but mostly food.  My wife and I are frugal and don't eat out a lot or get a lot of junk food, so when we do, it feels like a special treat.  And to give part of that away...it's tough sometimes (don't judge me!).  So I've been working on being more generous, and generally speaking I think I've been doing a better job of this.  I can still improve, but I'm better than I was.  It's a work in progress.  I feel a bit like Joey...

• Do daily devotions.  This...still needs a lot of work.  Life gets busy, kids get in the way, etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah...you know all the excuses.  I just need to be better with this.  My wife and I talked about this the other night and decided to tackle it together.  So we're going to try to both be better, tag-team it, and encourage each other.  I know we're two months late on this, but better late than never.

• And a resolution I've just added...be better with blogging.  I'm horrible with this (as you may have noticed, before this week, my last post was in November).  However, I have blogged for three out of the past four days...and I hope to continue.  Granted, it won't be this often, but the plan is to be a lot more consistent.

In the end, resolutions are all about bettering yourself.  Some you may be great at, others may take more work.  But the great thing is that is never too late to start, and you can ALWAYS get back on the horse and keep trying when you mess up (see yesterday's post).

Happy resolution-ing!

Finish strong!!

I was inspired today.  Inspired to be the best I can be.  To push and never give up.  To keep going despite all odds.

This race was from 2008, but I just saw it today for the first time.  This is Heather Dorniden, running a 600m race (3 laps).  In the lead on the second lap, she gets tripped...and then...well, just watch  (skip to 1:08 if you don't want to watch the whole race).

The guts, determination, drive, heart...(I could go on)...that it takes to do this leaves me speechless.  The word "inspiring" doesn't do it justice.  It's beyond words.

We all get knocked down in life, often unfairly, but it's how we rebound that matters.  Heather didn't give up.  She said later that all she wanted to do was finish the race, but then she heard the crowd and got a surge of adrenaline.  The result is one of the most amazing finishes of any race I've ever seen.

Let's be realistic, we can't win every race.  BUT, we can at least finish the race, and it's up to us how we finish.  Heather has inspired me to finish the best I can.

Leap Day

It's leap day today!  A day that only comes once every four years!  This is a really unique day!

Christmas, birthdays, Easter, Canada Day, etc, all come every year, but leap day...leap day is like the Olympics, or the World Cup.  And because it's such a special and unique day, I think it needs to be marked in a special and unique way.  So this morning for the duration of All New Breakfast Club, Todd drank tea (usually my drink), and I drank coffee...horrible coffee (usually Todd's drink).  But I took it a step further and decided to dress backwards (this is a homage to my camp days as a kid, where we had "backwards day"...good times!):


           


Weird, yes, but I just wanted to do something different and fun.  So, what are you going to do today to mark Leap Day?


(Here's one more that a friend sent me):

"A day to do things you ordinarily wouldn't do, to take chances!"

A decade later

This was a big week for me.  10 years.  10 years that I've been at LIFE 100.3.  I started November 18, 2005 by delivering a newscast at noon just to help cover when someone was sick.  10 years later, I'm still here, and loving it.  If you're a new listener, here's a synopsis of my history at LIFE.  If you've been listening from when I started, well first, thank you!  And for you, this is a behind-the-scenes of my past decade.  (If you don't want to read this whole thing, just skip to the last couple of paragraphs.)

I remember starting out.  I remember my first newscast.  Hearing myself on the radio and thinking, "This is so cool!"  I remember being super nervous and doing the best I could to impress the bosses.  I remember finishing the newscast, and Scott Jackson saying to me, "Hey, could you come in Monday morning and do our news again?"  And so I did.  Then I was asked to come in on Tuesday...then Wednesday.  And for 5 months I literally worked day to day, week to week; Scott would ask me at the end of every week, "Hey, can you help us out again next week?"  Finally in March of 2006, I was asked, "Do you just want the job?"

You would think my immediate answer would be "YES!!"  But it wasn't.  I had to go home and think about it.  I didn't want to do news.  I hated news.  I couldn't care less about it (at the time).  But I also looked at how many doors God had opened for me to get to that point, and it was almost impossible for me to turn down the job offer.  God kept orchestrating one thing after another, and I knew I had to say yes, even if I wasn't super excited about it.

It took some getting used to, but it wasn't long before I start to like news...and no one was more surprised than me.  Even though I still really wanted to be a DJ, I was somewhat enjoying connecting with politicians, attending press conferences, and researching, writing, and delivering newscasts.  I took ownership of the news department and worked hard to make it sound good.  But it was tough slugging.  There were days when I just wanted to quit.  When I just got frustrated and would think, "What am I doing with my life?  I don't mind news, but it's not what I really want to do!".  I would wonder if I would ever get the opportunity to be a full-time DJ, or if I should just move on.  I was subbing for DJ's when they were sick, but that was only a few days to a few months at a time.  I wanted the real deal, my own show.  There were days of arguments with management, and believe it or not, there was even a time where I almost lost my job because my attitude just wasn't right.  But what they say is true - attitude is everything.  I prayed, changed my attitude, and worked hard.  And that was the trigger I needed.

After six years of doing news and sub-DJ'ing, I was finally given my first real DJ shift - afternoon drive.  That's a big show for your first gig.  I also got bumped to News Director.  And after about a year of doing that, I was given the Ministry Relations portfolio as well, which I've really enjoyed.  It's been great to connect with pastors and hear what their churches are doing to reach out, and see how we can work together to spread the good news.

And now for the last year and a half, I've been back to mornings, but this time as a DJ, host of The All New Breakfast Club.  I can honestly say that this is the most fun that I have had at LIFE (and I've been having fun since the beginning, so I'm in a pretty good spot right now).  I enjoy coming in to work.  Todd and I end up spending most mornings laughing, both on and off the air.  How can you complain about a job where you spend half of your 8-hour workday laughing?  The rest of the day is taken up by preparing for upcoming shows, connecting with pastors for Ministry Relations, and overseeing the news department, and as I mentioned, I enjoy both of those.

Over the past 10 years, I've lived my life out on the air.  I've gotten engaged, married, had a kid, then a second, now a third (my wife is pregnant).  I've talked about my personal struggles with temptation, doubt, and feeling far from God.  Listeners, I have prayed with you, cried with you, laughed and struggled together with you.  And you have done the same with me.  I have had the incredible privilege of being part of your lives, and hopefully ministering to you and bringing God into your lives - and again, you have done that for me.  You have made this job what it is - fantastic.  You have made it fun.  You have made it worth the struggles and difficult times.  You have...made it.

I got into radio to do Christian radio.  I'm blessed to have been able to do this for 10 years.  I remember in March of 2006 when I accepted the offer of employment.  I signed the papers in Scott's office, and we ended off by praying.  I specifically remember him saying, "God, please let this be a long-term and fruitful stay for Tim at LIFE."  10 years later, I'd say God answered that prayer.

Thank you listeners.  Thank you Scott and LIFE staff.  Thank you God.  It's been a great 10 years.

Thanksgiving

We had a great talk-back show today on The All New Breakfast Club.  The question was, "What is something that someone has done for you that you will always be thankful for?"  We got a ton of fantastic stories...lots of tear-jerkers....like a guy who's dad bought him goalie pads when he was a kid, and years later he found out that his dad had to hitch-hike to work the next two weeks because he couldn't afford the gas to drive.  Amazing sacrifices.

It got me thinking about some things that people have done for me in my life.  Here's a few.

As a kid, my brother always stuck up for me.  He was my older brother, and protected me from bullies in the playground.  I was always so humbled by that.  When he and I went on a vacation years later and a person disrespected me for no reason, my brother stuck up for me again.  My brother is awesome.

When I took my first extended trip away from home, it was tough on my parents.  I was going for 3-4 weeks, I was flying by myself, and it was a mission trip, so there was an element of danger.  They let me go though.  When I arrived and opened up my suitcase, I found a tract that they had slid in with some hand written notes of encouragement and love for those time I might get down.  That tract meant so much to me.  I've never forgotten it, and I still have it in a box in my garage (I hope!).

When my wife and I got married, we hit a financial rough patch.  We were struggling in September 2009.  But three times in one month, money showed up.  Once it was our pastor with a rent cheque.  Another time it was $250 in grocery gift cards (I still don't know who gave us that).

A few weeks ago when my car died and my family needed a vehicle, we were struggling to find anything decent in our price range.  My uncle heard about what were going through, and wrote us a cheque that doubled our car shopping budget.  It was incredible.

These are just four simple stories that come to mind.  But when someone does something nice for you, you never forget it.  And you are encouraged to pay it forward.  I know I am.

So, what has someone done for YOU that you will never forget?

Vacation

My wife and I were on vacation last week, and many people will say that we did something a bit crazy.  We went camping with two young kids - a 2.5 year old and an 11 month old....and with my wife being pregnant.  Now, it was car camping, much lighter than what we were considering (hiking for an hour into the deep bush), but that was a good decision because yep, it was a bit crazy...a lot of fun, but a lot of work.  For those considering something like this, know that while it is a 'vacation', it's not really a vacation.  It was fun, but not relaxing...

It was fun.  It was awesome to see our two boys out in nature.  They LOVE being outside.  They love playing together.  No iPads, laptops, or TV.  Just having fun outside.  We brought a bunch of toys and they had fun playing, chasing balls, swimming, playing in the sand, and getting horribly dirty.  It was fun creating memories together.  It was fun watching my 2.5 year old play with his new 'Thomas' flashlight that he got specifically for camping, and that he loved.  It was fun spending time as a family with no agenda.  It was fun taking on a new challenge, something that we knew would be difficult, but that would be worth it in the end.  And it was.

But not relaxing...  Kids can be a handful.  Little boys never seem to run out of energy.  There was never a down moment, which is a bit of the opposite of what camping is supposed to be, lol.  We were always on the go chasing after one or both of the boys.  Nap times were difficult, and night time...well that was a write-off.  Getting them to bed was quite the challenge, then keeping them asleep through the night was next to impossible.  There was very little sleep.

But despite the craziness, we would do it all over again.  We love camping, and we want to pass that down to our boys at a young age.  Next year when we have three kids, we will do it again (Lord-willing).  It's a cheap, fun vacation, away from all distractions and technology.  It's a great way to reconnect with God and be reminded of his incredible creation of nature...do you know how many deer we saw??  We lost count after the second day!

Yep, we'd do it all over again.