10 Things I'm Thankful For - Monday 11/30/09

So at the end of the 11th month of this year, here is what I am thankful for:

1.  Vick's vapo rub.
2.  The staff of the Kids4Christ Choir
3.  Computer's with Internet connections
4.  Cartoon Network (because it keeps my boys so busy)
5.  Grandma, who watched the boys so I could direct the bell choir.
6.  My mom, who is suffering so much right now.
7.  My dad, who is doing his best to take care of her.
8.  My sister, who is worried so much for our parents well-being
9.  Sam - who loves me just for who I am, and Lil Olin, even though he loves me for only what I can do for him :-)
10.  Jessica.  She is everything to me, and all I could ever need

So what's on your list today???

10 Things I'm Thankful For - Sunday 11-29-09

Here is my list for Sunday, November 29, 2009

1.  My sister and her family - I miss them very much
2.  A family together time today after church
3.  For WALLY BERRY, and his wife Pat, too.
4.  For Judi, and her spirit of fun
5.  For my Bros.-in-law, who so graciously helped  my parents get back on the road.
6.  For Don, who shows strenth in the face of such tough times.
7.  For all the people who will help me get through this week (and next, and the one after that)
8.  For my wife, who in spite of all of my business, loves and cares for me.
9.  Dual screens on televisions (don't ask)
10.  For Jesus, who died for my sins (thanks for the reminder, Don).

I have a great life, and so much to be thankful for.  You??

10 Things I am Thankful For - Friday and Saturday

OK, so things got a little crazy yesterday and I didn't get a chance to post the 10 things I am grateful for, so here is a bonus list.

1.  Waking up early to go shopping with Jessica - BY OURSELVES!!!
2.  Enjoying starbucks with my wife.
3.  The opportunity to buy gifts for my wife.
4.  Walking arm in arm with my woman as the sun rose behind us.
5.  Seeing my kids after a great morning.
6.  Going home and cuddling
7.  Great dinner of turkey leftovers
8.  Nice evening spent with wife
9.  Thankful for a day that helps me remember what's REALLY important.
10.  God - who made it all possible

11.  A Snowday!!  Yes, I am thankful for a day off so I can enjoy it a little.
12.  For friends
13.  For having family around and enjoying their company.
14.  For warmth and safety that I feel at home
15.  My mom and dad
16.  My aunt who watches after my parents.
17.  Seeing the baby move in my wife's tummy
18.  For the second thanksgiving meal that I will enjoy later on.
19.  A few quiet moments spent with afforementioned spouse
20.  That SHE loves me even though sometimes I don't have all the time I would like to spend with her and the boys.

Even though you may forget a day of the thankful list, don't forget to be thankful!!

Thanksgiving 2009 - 10 Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving!! While folks around the world go about their day, we Americans take a day off to enjoy football, turkey, family and turkey.  Did I mention turkey??  Although this is a completely different world from when I was a child.  I remember we used to celebrate Columbus Day.  Now, they call it something else.  Some people are afraid to upset Native Americans, so Thanksgiving Day is less about the First Meal, and more just about getting together and being grateful for what is going on today.

But I AM thankful for that first meal.  I am so glad that a bunch of people came over on three ships.  I like to think that the meal those folks shared was an amazing time of joy and celebration.  It saddens me that political correctness has choked the life out of all of our celebrations.

I am thankful that we live in a country where at least we do have the freedom to celebrate and commemorate the times in our history that made us what we are today.

So, as Don asked us to do last Sunday, I am creating a list of things that I am grateful for.  Here is my Thanksgiving Day list.

1.  For health and safety of my family over the past year.
2.  For the little child growing inside of my wifes tummy.  That he/she is healthy so far.
3.  For all of the cooking that has been going on for the last couple of days.
4.  For Sally, Wayne and Dan who have been very instrumental in putting together the Tree Lighting Ceremony with me. Thank you guys!!!
5.  For the way that God has provided for me and my family this past year.
6.  For the different and unique ways we have found to communicate with each other this year.
7.  For Vicki, who takes time out of her crazy schedule to bring us a turkey pan.  Hero!!
8.  For my boys so eagerly helped make this mornings breakfast.
9.  For the feast we will enjoy later this afternoon.
10.  A Savior who died to make all of these things possible.

Happy Thanksgiving.  Make a list.  Check it twice.  You can never be TOO grateful.

10 Things I am Thankful For - Wednesday 11-25

So I am trying to write a list of ten things I am thankful for each day between now and Christmas day.  People from churches all over the nation are engaged in an exercise to be more grateful, to express the way that they are thankful.  Some are doing it privately, in a journal or just on a sheet of paper.  Some of us are using our blogs to let others share in the exercise of thankfulness.

It's not a top ten list.  I am not sitting down to write down the most important things in my life.  It is simply an exercise to remember how much I truly do have to be thankful for.

So here is my list for today.

1.  My wife - who loves me for who I am and makes the BEST homemade desserts
2.  My boys - who keep me so busy that I don't get to fat, in light of #1
3.  Modern appliances that make life so much easier.  Yes, I am thankful for my dishwasher.
4.  Central heating and air - because 90% of the world doesnt have it.
5.  Podcasting - it allows me to always listen to the word presented in different ways, to different people.
6.  Another day off, and for the family that will come over later today.
7.  SO many people, who are preparing their hearts and lives for ministry this Christmas
8.  Warm Blankets piled high (you know what I mean)
9.  The ability to work, and be productive
10.  I lack nothing.  I have everything I need. I want everything I have.

How about you?  What are you thankful for?

10 Things I'm Thankful For - Tuesday

Day 2 of the Thankfulness Project and here is my list for today:

1.  My boys
2.  Health Insurance Coverage
3.  The little baby growing inside Jessica
4.  My family is generally healthy
5.  My parents were not more seriously injured in their accident
6.  Great in-laws. Yes Vicki, you made the list today.
7.  Reconnecting with my good friend Tim
8.  Discovering my cousin Neil and growing closer to distant relatives
9.  The details of the Yucaipa Christmas Tree Lighting came together so well
10.  Jesus - we put up out nativity sets and that reminds me that everything goes back to that little baby.

If you haven't guessed, these are the things that came off of the top of my head.  So they are not in order of importance.  It is amazing to see how much we truly do have to be thankful for.

Encourage someone else that you know to sit down and make a list....

Make it a great day.

The 10 things I am thankful for.

At my church, our pastor gave us a challenge to write down 10 things we are thankful for each day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am going to start today.  Here is my list for today:

1.  My God, who created everything.
2.  A day to do nothing but relax in bed with my wife and the boys.
3.  My Wife
4.  My 2 great boys
5.  A great job that allows me to do what I love and serve others.
6.  The choir I get to work with at YCC
7.  A secretary who makes my life easier in the midst of chaos
8.  the iPod!!!
9.  A beautiful home to call my own (where I can run around in my jammies all day.
10.  Good food at lunch today.

I am also thankful for guys like Jeff Baumgardner and Adam McIntyre, who remind me how lucky I truly am.

Now, go write a list of your own.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Tired, but content. Happy.

I am not depressed.  Not sad.  In fact, I am very happy with things in my life right now.  2 amazing, yet hyper kids.  A wife who grows more beautiful with every passing day, and a job that is very fulfilling.

I guess the last post was just written while I was very sleepy and people may have thought that I was a little discontent, or unhappy with how things are going right now.  But I really enjoyed writing it and thought is was written well enough to share with my friends on Facebook.

I am pretty hard on myself, because I often think i should be able to be the answer to most questions.  The solution to most problems, and available to suit all of your needs.  That is nonsense, and I know it.  You know it.  But that doesn't keep me from trying.

If you know me, you know I like to have fun, try to have a lot of energy and encourage you as much as I can.  So if I came across needy or a little emo, sorry, that was not the intention.

That being said, I am quite proud of updating the old blog 2 days in a row.  I do, however feel a little quilty sitting here typing while Jess is upstairs reading the boys to sleep.  Maybe I will go fold some laundry....

Tired. The New Normal

The grind is here again.  I can feel it begin to weigh on me a bit.

At the beginning of the fall, I was doing OK.  I could generally make it to the 11 o'clock news, having done all of the chores and watched the required amount of DVR material. But I am started to loose a little traction.  I got more sleep than i have in months over this weekend, but just found myself (or more accurately, got caught by my wife) snoozing a bit during the kids "nigh-night show".  Am I old?  Or is this the new "normal"?

The fall program is certainly in full swing, so I do have a bit of a reason - if not an excuse - to be a little tired.  But I don't remember it hitting as early in the year.

I don't feel old very often, although there are those times that I get off the couch to go to bed at 11PM and all of the bones crack and the muscles don't snap back the way they used to.

And it's not that I don't get plenty of rest.  I usually get a really good 8 hours worth, so I can blame it on lack of sleep.

So what is it? 

I really do think it is the new normal.  Never before have we been asked to accomplish so much. We work our jobs, we do the house work.  We try to spend the right amount of time with the kids, and dote on our spouses as much as possible.  But the question I find myself asking to myself - and a lot of the times out loud - is "how have I failed YOU today?"

Most of the time I can answer that question for myself.  I give 100% every day and try to handle as much as life throws at me.  But sometimes, no matter how hard I try, there are always items left on the to-do list. 

That's when I have to remind myself of a little concept called balance.  Sure, work is important.  But, so is family time, and a little ME time.  There's time to do the yard work, and time to do the house work.  There is time to completely veg out in front of the TV, and root for the Dodgers and Angels.

So if i failed you some time in the past week or so, let me say that I am sorry. But bear with me, I am doing the best I can.  I am trying to work this thing called "balance"

And at the end of the day, tired is the new normal.  There aren't enough hours in the day.  There's not enough of us to go around.

My advice?  Do what God has set before you to do, and let Him worry about the rest. Oh, and don't forget to rest - He set aside a day to do it.  So should we.

Labor Day: The Gateway to Christmas?

So here we are we at Labor Day Weekend.  It's the last gasp before fall sets in. It's also a chance to take a look back at some of the things that happened over the summer. And it is the last moment to make sure that plans are secure for the Christmas season.

Chances are you haven't planned a single present for Christmas, where those of us in the church work community are already in full swing in terms of getting ready for the season.

First things first. What I did on my summer vacation.  For the first time (and quite possibly the last), I took an exteneded vacation, a sabbatical.  My plan for the time off was to record music, catch up with my family.  I acheived at least a part of that, because I spent a good amount of time with my family, doing stuff that we don't get much time to do because of the time necessary to do my job.  Lots of trips to Disneyland, a trip to the beach and alot of time hanging out around the house.

The sabbatical took a dramatically different turn. After much discussion and prayer, my wife and I decided to start a small business taking advantage of some of the skills that I have and the demand that seemed to be there for those services.  We started planning and getting some of the necessary paperwork done almost immediately.  Before long we had a name, a website and a plan to help make ends meet a little better.

A week into the time off, our little man fell off of a chair and broke his elbow (or at least suffered some trauma there) and got his first cast.  That eliminated some of the plans that we had made.  No beach trips, or hanging out in the sand.  No hanging out in the pool or doing anything that might jeopardize the healing of his arm.  The best thing that came as a result of that is that it forced us to hang out around the house and rest.

Having kids around does not lend itself to writing much music, so that part of the time off did not meet the goal.  That may take actually getting away and spending some time concentrating on writing and recording alone. And it seems that it may be a while before that happens, because....

Jessica is pregnant!!!  and for anyone who knows our story, this is huge.  She had suffered three miscarriages over the past year and it seemed that having a third child was going to be pretty tough.  But pretty close to the beginning of the sabbatical, we found out that she was pregnant and actually saw the little baby jumping around, getting ready for the challenge it will be to be the little brother or sister to Olin and Sammy.  Just a little word to the unborn child.  REST NOW!!!  We are excited and will be looking forward to having the baby in February, and NO we don't know what it is, and may not find out.  Stay tuned.

I have been back to work for a month now, and have been trying to get back into the swing of things.  Meetings, piles of email, voice mails and unfinished business from the summer took a couple of weeks to catch up with, but now, attention turns to the fall rehearsal and Christmas event season.

So today is a pause, a last gasp before the true fun begins. 

I felt led to plan an event that would involve several local churches, and on December 4th, I will work with the city of Yucaipa to create a memorable Christmas tree lighting event.  We are going to have the combined choirs and orchestra from area churches to perform a concert at the conclusion of the lighting.  A huge undertaking, but one I think will be a blessing to the community, a great opportunity for local churches to work together, and I think it will be a really cool way to introduce Jesus to the community in a non-threatening way.

Then, there is the opportunity to lead the choir for the Steve Green concert that will take place in mid-December.  Lots of rehearsals and planning will go into the event, but it will be another opportunity to get different people together to accomplish a common goal. 

Add those events to the regular duties I have at the church, the new business I am trying to get started, and trying to take care of my family, and I may need a vacation at the end of the year.

But for right now, I am just going to turn off the computer and get ready for the last third of the year and all of the blessing that are to come. 

After all, this weekend is the "gateway to Christmas"

So it's been another week.

It's been a whole week since I last posted, and I wanted to see if I could get in an entry every day for a week. Clearly it did not happen. Stuff happened of course, and I could get into a real long discussion about how it made me feel, but what fun would that be? Right?

My favorite part of the last week has been the Saturday I spent with my family. We stayed in bed all morning, did some chores and then took a nap. Turns out we would need it.

The last week, like most weeks was really busy so that day was quite the change of pace. Here is what I remember of last week.

Tuesday was pretty cool. I got to have lunch with my parents, something that rarely happens. It was nice to see mom and dad, and my aunt and give them a chance to hang out with Lil O and Sammy. They seemed to enjoy the visit. Then it was off to the dentist for a short visit for Jessica then home for the dinner---bath---show---story---sleep routine for the kids.

Wednesday was another in a series of recording sessions with Tawndi Wohlwend. This one was very productive, not just from the standpoint of achieving a lot in terms of her music, but I got a lot of church work done, too.

Then I got to meet with the couple that I will be marrying this weekend. They are really a nice couple with a lot to look forward to, and a number of challenges to overcome. I am praying for them.

Thursday was a regular day. LONG and tiring. Thursday really are a challenge. I try to make sure that everything is ready for the Sunday services and for the choir rehearsal and the band rehearsal, so there is a lot of catching up to do on emails and phone calls for the weekend.

One welcome break comes at 2PM, when I meet with my accountability group. It is really just a bible study for leaders and such, but it normally challenges me and reminds me of some of the things that get easily lost when you get so busy. We talked about the 4 qualities of a good leader. Honesty, Humility, Humanity and Heart. I think I am equally good in all of them, but upon further reflection, I am equally bad at them. I am going to work on the Honesty one, because sometimes I have to tell people and say things to people that they may not want to hear. I don't want to protect anyone anymore. I want to be able to say the things that need to be said without the fear of people not liking me, or not respecting me. I want to do what is best for people and that means being honest at all costs.

Thursday nights are bitter sweet for me. I miss my family when i have to go back to work until late at night. But working with the praise team and the choir is the highlight of my week (work wise) the band is just plain fun, but the choir has been a highlight of my ministry of late. God has chosen to grow it and there is an energy in the group that I have not experienced before.

Friday was pretty cool this week. It is always nice to go out and golf, but this weeks golf was special. We worked on the promo videos for our upcoming golf tournament. Mike (my father in law) was on his game - not really golf wise - but he was really great on the videos. We had a lot of fun. I ended up working at the church for a while to get the video done, but it was ok. Then it was back home again for the dinner---bath---show---story---sleep routine. Fun!!

The there was Saturday. The van didn't leave the driveway. Enough said.

Sunday was another tough day. Jessica says they all are. There was video feed stuff to work out at the church, a seminar that needed some special tech stuff, and if that wasn't enough a LONG rehearsal with the choir and orchestra after church. It was only 8 hours, but it felt like an eternity. I think we accomplished quite a bit.

We got in a little afternoon relaxation in before dinner, then it was the dinner---bath---show---story---sleep routine again. It didn't take that long, though.....

Then Monday it's time to hit the reset button and do it all again. Meetings, rehearsals, emails, phone calls and all the other stuff that comes with wearing many hats at the office. Got to eat lunch with Lil O and Jess though. That was great time.

So that's it. I sometimes feel like people don't think I do enough if they find that I do non-work stuff. I am coming to the realization that I need to do MORE non-work stuff and that has to be ok. I will always put in a ton of hours and I will always get the work done. I just need to do a better job of managing my time and keeping the important things first.

So my thought of the day....?

When is my next day off? I don't even want to think about it.

Malignant narcissism or benign self interest?

I report, you decide....

A few weeks back I purchased a web address from that powerhouse of superbowl advertising - godaddy.com. I bought my name, www.olinrichey.com. Then i was having a discussion with some guys at the office about how most blogs were pointless expressions of personal opinion, doing very little to effect any kind of change and usually just served to show how truly ignorant and self centered some people were.

Then i thought to myself - I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!!

I mean, what kind of person goes out and purchases their own domain name? I could understand if I was famous and needed to let my fans know about my goings-on. Or if I had a CD that I was pedalling, or even if I had something of interest to say that would help someone, or change the world for the better.

I don't do that much that is really interesting and my opinions are not really worth that much either.

But I still have a website with my name on it. Seems kinda silly.

Could it be benign self interest? maybe. I like the idea that I can actually own my named website. How many people can say that. Sometimes i dream that I will make a big enough difference in the world that some people will actually say to themselves, 'I wonder what is going on over at www.olinrichey.com.

Then i realize that even after I have posted this, I have written www.olinrichey.com twice. (make that 3 times now).

I think i can rule out malignant narcissism. I have enough contempt for myself that I think I can keep my ego in check. We'll see.

As for this exercise in blogging, I really haven't done much of it. 4 posts in six months doesn't exactly qualify as being a prolific blogger. But I did make a New Years resolution to blog more and get all of the thoughts and ideas out of my head and into the ether.

So I hope to be able to say, "check back often" and mean it. Maybe it will force me to have an opinion. Maybe it will make me try to live a life that is a little more interesting. If it doesn't work for you, I won't hold it against you if you don't come back to my silly little website.

But before I go, here is my little nugget for today...if my music is too loud, you're too old!!!