Thanksgiving 2014

The First Thanksgiving

From Edward Winslow's firsthand account of what is considered the first 'Thanksgiving' from 1621:  

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week.

At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, and many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."  (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/thanksgiving.htm)

When one studies the roots of today's 'Thanksgiving', we often think of the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Rock that is located in Massachusetts.  However, we must not forget what, and who, they were thankful for. As Edward Winslow wrote concerning this first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims were thankful first and foremost for God and His blessings He bestowed on them.  Unfortunately in today's American society, we continue to remove any reference to God, as seen in Christmas and Easter which are both reduced to an 'Elf on the Shelf' and a bunny.

The Pilgrims understood to whom Thanksgiving was due- God.  This small band of Puritans left their homes and sailed into the unknown, yet continued to give thanks after many husbands, wives, and children had died during that first winter.  Today in 21st Century America, we complain when the last item sells out at the store during Black Friday.

I am thankful for...

- A God loved me enough to send a Savior to die in my place for my sins.  The ultimate sacrifice.

- My wife of almost 21 years that continues to amaze me.  The past year, she managed to survive a tiny apartment with three kids while I was away in Texas.

  

- Three great children.  I pray that God gives me wisdom to set an example for them on how to be men of honor and integrity that the world desperately needs today, and a beautiful daughter that will be a strong and courageous woman who loves the Lord.

- A Mom and Dad who raised me (and my brother) in a Godly home. They instilled in us a lasting Christian Faith that I hope to pass down to my children.

- My wife's parents who raised a Godly daughter that have been a great example to me and our children through the years.  

- Friends and Family.  All the cousins, aunts and uncles that we have been able to see over the past few years since we lived close.  Although we could not make it this year to the annual Thanksgiving Feast, we are blessed with an ever-expanding extended family!

- Opportunities that have come across my path over the years.  Although the past year was difficult by being apart from the family and friends back in Kentucky, I made many new life-long friends in San Antonio during the Army-Baylor program.  I will never forget the times we spent together in both the academic and social settings.

-  Not having to fly back to Texas! The worst part of coming home last year was knowing I had to leave and return to Texas!  Not anymore!

I am truly thankful for the blessings I do not deserve.  As David wrote in his 'Psalm of Thanksgiving', it is not because we deserve anything, but because He is good!

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

20 April 2014 Easter Sunday and the Nicene Creed

As a response to false teaching in the early church, n 325 AD, Christian leaders met at Nicea to discuss the growing heresy.  The heretical teaching denied the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.  What resulted was the Nicene Creed.  It lays out beautifully the foundation of an orthodox and Biblical  foundation for Christian believers today.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

http://carm.org/nicene-creed

Inspire a Shared Vision: Part Two of Five of my Leadership Development

Inspiring a Shared Vision is NOT Emotional Manipulation

Inspiring a shared vision is not the same as emotional manipulation.  Emotional manipulation, in my opinion, is selfish and me-oriented.  However, by instilling people with a passion for their vocation, then they will pass that on to their peers and patients or customers.  However, at the same time, I realize that looking at the future with ‘rose-colored glasses’ can discount the reality we live in today.  I can look back and see the times where working through difficult time with clinical staff who did not understand the reality of the business side of healthcare. 

            This is all too common in my experience.  Balancing where we want to go as an organization and staff and getting excited about where our bus was going, yet at the same time keeping expectations grounded in the present.  This is where I struggle the most, and my LPI results definitely demonstrate this shortfall.  The Data Summary shows that I rated this area last (46) of the five domains.  Furthermore, my individual observers also rated this area lowest, however higher than my self-assessment (51.9). 

            There were two comments from observers that were quite lengthy and extremely useful.  They capture the essence of where I need to improve.  Both observers pointed out that I do have a passion for our profession (rehabilitation, wellness and disease management), and they saw it in my actions and interest in the patients/customers.  However, the area that I needed to improve on was being able to articulate this passion and drive to younger and new employees.  Being able to show others who are new to the field, and could either leave the field due to discouragement or build on my excitement and passion.

            I see this truly borne out during March Madness and the basketball tournament.  A common theme we sometime here is the ‘Coaching Lineage’.  We saw Steve Alford coaching UCLA, who played and studied under Bobby Knight at Indiana University.  Coach ‘K’ from Duke also studied under Bobby Knight.  Then there is (as of this writing!) Billy Donovan, coach of the Florida Gators who played for, and was an assistant to, Rick Pitino (Louisville).  This is certainly true in academia and the Army-Baylor program.

            We look back and see those who are currently serving at higher levels and are passionate about our profession. Those same people will tell you it is because in their past a mentor or boss inspired them to do something greater with their lives.  They pulled out from their ‘student’ a common purpose that they shared.  I can see this more so in my civilian time, rather than my military time.  One of the greatest influences in my life, both professionally and spiritually, is someone who started out as my boss, but I now count as a best friend.  Mark instilled in me a passion for what we did in disease management for our small community of Beaufort, SC.  He was able to get the right size bus and as he (and eventually we) sought people to get on the bus, if they did not express a certain passion for our bus, then they were not allowed to get on. 

Once we filled up the bus, Mark’s greatest gift was to keep the right people on the bus and maintain the excitement we all shared.  He would continually remind us of our common purpose.  He is a gentle and compassionate man, a true servant leader.  His ability to listen to people helps him to maintain the commitment we all share. 

With my interest in human resources, leaders like Mark always pose many problems!  When you have a leadership mindset as Mark does, it becomes a magnet for the highest performer in the hospital, or organization.  When doing rounds on the hospital floors I was always being asked if there were any job openings in our department.  Those who asked these questions were the high performers in the organization!  Secondly, our employees were always receiving the highest performance ratings, not because of ‘rating inflation’, but because they were persistently exceeding the quantitative standards set forth! 

In summary, I learned a lot from Mark during my almost seven years working for, and with, him.  If I were to quit the Army today, I would not hesitate to work for him again!  I know this is an area that I need to improve.  I must recognize that by instilling a passion for our mission is not ‘emotional manipulation’, it is helping people recognize what motivates them.  And when this is accomplished, that employee may realize that he or she is on the wrong bus.  And that is OK!  That is part of servant leadership- helping people to improve themselves may help them get off my (WRONG) bus and get on RIGHT bus!

 

Model The Way: Part One of Five of my Leadership Development

MODEL THE WAY

The foundation of my leadership is much bigger than simply emulating someone.  From a spiritual standpoint, Jesus say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master.”   (Matthew 25: 23, New American Standard Bible)  God has brought into my life people that have invested in my in order to grow my skills, and now it is my turn to invest in others.  I do not believe in coincidences, God has placed these people in my life for a purpose.

Modeling the way is learning the good, bad and the ugly from those who are in life.  However, in the end, I ask myself what is it can I learn from that person?  Growing up, it was not always perfect, far from it.  I witnessed the struggle my parents went through as my Dad was ‘climbing the corporate ladder’ as he balanced family, job, church, and even elected office.  I have learned valuable lessons from watching my Dad as I grew up.  Even though the early years were difficult, I saw a Dad (and Mom) who worked through their difficulties, yet were committed to each other’s.  Their faith and vows were the bedrock of their lives and our family. 

As I married, I took the ‘good, bad, and the ugly’ from the experiences growing up and took time to learn from each of them.  I learned what not to do in a marriage and daily work to minimize those aspects.  The great things I witness my Dad doing, I do the best to emulate those.  Finally, there will always be ugly times, times where everything is going wrong and there is no one to blame- this is what I call life!

Whether it is being gone for long periods of time from deployments or working through my wife’s miscarriages; I must show patience, understanding, grace and love to those around me.  God has shown me immense grace on a daily basis, and that requires me to do the same to others.  I love my parents, wife, family and those I count as friends.  Like a clay model, modeling the way is a continual process, and hope my children see in me what I saw in my Dad.

Weekly Thoughts for 23 March 2014

How I reacted when taking the Finance I (Semester 1) and Healthcare Operations (Semester 4) Exams

1.  Ninety-Nine.  Just like a deployment countdown, this week we crossed the triple-digit mark.  Tuesday was a great day as it marked 99 days until I pull up stakes at the Alamo KOA and head north.  It is truly downhill from here.  I will miss my friends in Elizabethtown and the deep friendships that have developed over the past five years. 

2.  Vows.  A very special Aunt and Uncle are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this weekend.  They are a true example of 'through sickness and health, 'til death do us part.'  Something that is missing in today's marriages.  A while back, my uncle had a tragic accident with a closed-head injury.  Through much prayer and support he recovered with only a loss of speech ability and some physical function that requires him to use a wheelchair for longer walks.  Today, when the world would expect the wife or husband to the spouse into an assisted living facility, my Aunt (with much help from family) persevered as a loving wife and has never left his side.  He has volunteered at the local hospital for years and they are constantly travelling with their kids and being active grandparents!  Congratulations!

3.  Visit.  My wonderful wife is coming for a visit soon.  The kids are visiting their Gram and Grandad in Beaufort, SC and she is coming down.  Even though I will be in school occasionally, she will have time to relax in 'the trailer down by the river'.  Being an avid reader, she will have time to relax and read without interruptions!

4.  Oral Examinations.  For some reason, I am not overly concerned about the Orals Examinations at the end of our Didactic Year.  On June 20th, we will individually meet with a panel of examiners for about 45" where they will quiz us on our classwork, projects, papers and knowledge of the past year.  The purpose is to see if we are able to adequately bring together the various theories and concepts and articulate them as a potential health care executive. 

      This is not unlike my last orals examination that occurred in 1995 for my first Master's Degree at the University of Florida!  I was grilled for two hours by two physicians, two PhD Physical Therapists, the Assistant Dean and my Thesis Chair.  That was painful.  The first hour was my research presentation on 35mm slides (old school!) that was frequently interrupted by the board for questions and clarification.  We took a break where they huddled to plan their attack on my research, methods and results!  Then we reconvened where they drilled deeper into my written thesis and picked it apart.  When that painful process was over, they excused me from the room, and debated whether my work was worthy.  Finally they brought me to come back in, congratulated me on successful passing my orals board, then gave back my written thesis with a list of required corrections prior to publication. 

     The bottom line, is to prepare and not start digging a hole that only gets deeper.  Be honest and up front.  Come across confident, yet not arrogant.  Speak clearly and concisely and with command of the topic.  We are not expected to be master's of everything, but we should at least be experts of our projects, papers and assignments.

Akuna Matata!

Weekly Thoughts for 23 March 2014

How I reacted when taking the Finance I (Semester 1) and Healthcare Operations (Semester 4) Exams

1.  Ninety-Nine.  Just like a deployment countdown, this week we crossed the triple-digit mark.  Tuesday was a great day as it marked 99 days until I pull up stakes at the Alamo KOA and head north.  It is truly downhill from here.  I will miss my friends in Elizabethtown and the deep friendships that have developed over the past five years. 

2.  Vows.  A very special Aunt and Uncle are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this weekend.  They are a true example of 'through sickness and health, 'til death do us part.'  Something that is missing in today's marriages.  A while back, my uncle had a tragic accident with a closed-head injury.  Through much prayer and support he recovered with only a loss of speech ability and some physical function that requires him to use a wheelchair for longer walks.  Today, when the world would expect the wife or husband to the spouse into an assisted living facility, my Aunt (with much help from family) persevered as a loving wife and has never left his side.  He has volunteered at the local hospital for years and they are constantly travelling with their kids and being active grandparents!  Congratulations!

3.  Visit.  My wonderful wife is coming for a visit soon.  The kids are visiting their Gram and Grandad in Beaufort, SC and she is coming down.  Even though I will be in school occasionally, she will have time to relax in 'the trailer down by the river'.  Being an avid reader, she will have time to relax and read without interruptions!

4.  Oral Examinations.  For some reason, I am not overly concerned about the Orals Examinations at the end of our Didactic Year.  On June 20th, we will individually meet with a panel of examiners for about 45" where they will quiz us on our classwork, projects, papers and knowledge of the past year.  The purpose is to see if we are able to adequately bring together the various theories and concepts and articulate them as a potential health care executive. 

      This is not unlike my last orals examination that occurred in 1995 for my first Master's Degree at the University of Florida!  I was grilled for two hours by two physicians, two PhD Physical Therapists, the Assistant Dean and my Thesis Chair.  That was painful.  The first hour was my research presentation on 35mm slides (old school!) that was frequently interrupted by the board for questions and clarification.  We took a break where they huddled to plan their attack on my research, methods and results!  Then we reconvened where they drilled deeper into my written thesis and picked it apart.  When that painful process was over, they excused me from the room, and debated whether my work was worthy.  Finally they brought me to come back in, congratulated me on successful passing my orals board, then gave back my written thesis with a list of required corrections prior to publication. 

     The bottom line, is to prepare and not start digging a hole that only gets deeper.  Be honest and up front.  Come across confident, yet not arrogant.  Speak clearly and concisely and with command of the topic.  We are not expected to be master's of everything, but we should at least be experts of our projects, papers and assignments.

Akuna Matata!

2 March 2014 Weekly Reflection

Weekly Reflections

1.  Grace- as I completed my second Half-Marathon, The HEB Alamo Half Marathon, I had a different attitude about those running around me.  In the past I would routinely think in my mind, "I can't believe that person is out here running, he should spend more time away from the buffet.!"  However, I have noticed as I have gotten older, I now find myself thinking, 'Good for you, you are doing today what most people will never do."  I believe that God has given me an improving ability to think the best of people and have grace in my thoughts.

2.  Patience- my i-Phone died Saturday morning.  It would not restart after charging overnight.  Researched the web, went to a couple of stores to find an answer.  The last store told me to go to the Apple Store at the mall and they would probably replace it for free.  I was in panic mode as I was preparing for the above race and had all my running pod-casts and music all ready to go.  I was panicking!  However, after 30 minutes at the Apple Store, I had a new iPhone and all my 'stuff' restored and was ready to go!

3.  Family-  It has been a tough year being away from the family.  However, when I do get back home, I find that the time is very enjoyable.  I do not take for granted my wife or kids.  I love them all very much and cannot wait to get back to them each time I visit. 

4.  Friends-  Like any military school spending a year with my future colleagues at the Army-Baylor program, some will become friends for a lifetime.  I look forward to continually growing friendships.

5.  Faculty-  There are three teachers I have had throughout my academic life.  My H.S. Swim Coach and geography teacher, my Graduate School Research Advisor, and now will have two new mentors to add to my list.  These individuals have invested both professional and personal time in my growth and maturity.