I was praying with my daughter (7) tonight, and we are practicing going through ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.)
A sample of some of her prayers:
Adoration - God, we love you because you never do anything wrong.
Confession - God, please forgive me for being so excited about Christmas that I forget it is about You.
Thanksgiving - God, thank you for sending your son.
Supplication - God, please help me to share the gospel.
I am humbled, and all of my fancy words in my prayers are shamed by the simple words of faith. This is the reason we need a childlike heart.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Some resume tips...
I am a hiring manager and here are a few tips from the resumes I have been sifting through:
- the plain text version of your resume is the one I am likely to see. i just don't have time to bring all of the documents into word.
- put most important or impressive things first. I am more likely to read the beginning than the end.
- Don't put vague technologies. If you just put "Linux", then I assume you used it as an environment. It is better to say, "Linux Kernel Experience (2.4-2.6)"
And a bonus for new grads:
- One co-op job does not qualify as "extensive" experience. This type of hyperbole causes me to toss your resume.
- the plain text version of your resume is the one I am likely to see. i just don't have time to bring all of the documents into word.
- put most important or impressive things first. I am more likely to read the beginning than the end.
- Don't put vague technologies. If you just put "Linux", then I assume you used it as an environment. It is better to say, "Linux Kernel Experience (2.4-2.6)"
And a bonus for new grads:
- One co-op job does not qualify as "extensive" experience. This type of hyperbole causes me to toss your resume.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Lessons from Chess - Part I
As I am teaching my kids how to play chess, I am realizing how many strategies from chess are applicable to life in general as well.
For example, the goal in chess is to checkmate the other person's king. A VERY common beginner mistake is to focus on taking the opponent's pieces instead. Even some of the things we teach them such as "point" values for each piece help lead to this problem.
But in chess, as in life, you must keep the main thing the main thing. So next time, you find yourself paying a lot of attention to something you should ask yourself if this is helping you get closer to your goal or is it just a distraction.
For example, the goal in chess is to checkmate the other person's king. A VERY common beginner mistake is to focus on taking the opponent's pieces instead. Even some of the things we teach them such as "point" values for each piece help lead to this problem.
But in chess, as in life, you must keep the main thing the main thing. So next time, you find yourself paying a lot of attention to something you should ask yourself if this is helping you get closer to your goal or is it just a distraction.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Nothing new under the sun....
I came across this quote from the Christian Century during the roaring 20's. I am surprised how much it is still with us....
'The desire for quick and unearned results is a national disease' (June 7, 1923).
Wisdom from the past...
I came across this wonderful quote today and I wanted to share it:
I am not sure how this mixes with beliefs I hold dear, but something about it strikes a chord within me. I think it is the idea of power behind restraint. Restrained power is not weakness, but strength.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!
-- Theodore Roosevelt
I am not sure how this mixes with beliefs I hold dear, but something about it strikes a chord within me. I think it is the idea of power behind restraint. Restrained power is not weakness, but strength.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Teaching chess...
I am teaching my older two children (6 and 4) and my wife how to play chess. I am using two WONDERFUL books:
Chess for Children and
Chess Workbook for Children (This one I bought from WholesaleChess.com )
The first book is very good for introduction to the game in bite-sized pieces. The second book does a much better job on openings, tactics, and it has lots of exercises.
I have also gotten my kids a chess game for the computer which the kids really enjoy:
Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster It does a REALLY good job of being patient while teaching basics like how to checkmate with various piece combinations. (For those of you that are stuck on a Windows box, there is a version for Windows
The computer game does have some annoying characteristics such as it doesn't take up the whole screen. arrrghh. Oh well, it doesn't bother the kids.
Also, Philip (4) has recently gotten me to leave him a chess puzzle every day before I leave for work. I bought the Polgar book for getting mate in 1 puzzles to leave him each day. (WARNING: This book is not for the faint of heart. It is HUGE.)
Chess for Children and
Chess Workbook for Children (This one I bought from WholesaleChess.com )
The first book is very good for introduction to the game in bite-sized pieces. The second book does a much better job on openings, tactics, and it has lots of exercises.
I have also gotten my kids a chess game for the computer which the kids really enjoy:
Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster It does a REALLY good job of being patient while teaching basics like how to checkmate with various piece combinations. (For those of you that are stuck on a Windows box, there is a version for Windows
The computer game does have some annoying characteristics such as it doesn't take up the whole screen. arrrghh. Oh well, it doesn't bother the kids.
Also, Philip (4) has recently gotten me to leave him a chess puzzle every day before I leave for work. I bought the Polgar book for getting mate in 1 puzzles to leave him each day. (WARNING: This book is not for the faint of heart. It is HUGE.)
What you wear matters....
I had never thought about this before when picking a t-shirt for casual travel, but the other day I was on a plane and I spotted Jared (of Agile Artisans) wearing a shirt with the ruby logo and the rails logo (and a logo for a company I can't remember.) This started a conversation which lasted the entire plane flight and covered subjects ranging from technology to parenting to chess and back again.
It made for a very enjoyable flight, but the conversation never would have happened if his shirt hadn't advertised about him.
He encouraged me strongly to get back to blogging again as an outlet for writing and communicating. At one point, I mentioned that I felt like the common theme in my life was teaching others to see the world differently. He exclaimed that would be a great title for a blog. So here we are....
It made for a very enjoyable flight, but the conversation never would have happened if his shirt hadn't advertised about him.
He encouraged me strongly to get back to blogging again as an outlet for writing and communicating. At one point, I mentioned that I felt like the common theme in my life was teaching others to see the world differently. He exclaimed that would be a great title for a blog. So here we are....
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