Handyman

Owning a home obviously comes with a lot of responsibility. Some of the responsibilities are a bit easier to handle than others. I have very little (ok not really any) handyman skills. I guess a lot of people learn how to do these types of things from their dads, but not me. My dad taught me how to make pizza but we skipped the lessons on changing tires, power tools, and other things of this nature.

Even though I don't have the handyman skills, I feel like I need to learn how to be able to do things around the house. I don't want to have to pay a butt load of money every time I need something little done. Over the past few days I have been trying to handle some plumbing issues at the house. I had a leaky shower faucet and what should have entailed replacing one washer ended up involving two busted valves and 7 trips to Home Depot and Robertson Plumbing in a 12 hour period.

I was finally able to take care of the issue today. There were certainly times over the past few days when I wished I would have hired someone else to come out and do it, but in the end I am glad I didn't. I got a deep sense of satisfaction from knowing that I had conquered the dripping shower head. I fixed it all by myself!

I think that often I am pretty hesitant to try new things. I generally do not like taking risks and avoid situations that I am not comfortable in. I saw this quote the other day by oil tycoon Boone Pickens he said, "Don't fall victim to what I call the ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire.” I think I generally stay in aim-aim-aim mood. It felt good that in this situation I just fired. I didn't do everything right, but I was able to learn as I went a long.

I'm ready to fire more often.

Happy Happy Birthday

So today is my 24th birthday. I must admit 24 sounds a whole lot older than 23. I think part of it is because I have made the transition from early 20s to mid 20s. In honor of my 24th birthday, I have decided to make a list of 24 things I hope to do before I turn 25. Some of these will be more tangible than others...

1. Love my wife more.
2. Read more books.
3. Spend more time investing in the lives of my students.
4. Go skiing!
5. Improve the golf game.
6. Start doing more writing...whether that be blogging, articles, or something else.
7. Figure out the whole going to seminary thing.
8. Work out more consistently
9. Continue to be disciplined in saving money.
10. Have more opportunities to speak
11. Serve/volunteer somewhere on a consistent basis
12. Manage my time more effectively
13. Go to a STL Cardinals game.
14. Be more encouraging of others
15. Have a better understanding of who I am and what God is calling me to do.


Okay so 24 is a lot...I think the list will stop here for now.