Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 4.28.14

Week 11 of my Give It Away journey

I've now given away 70 items. I gave my first item away on February 17. Here is how it all started.

A few observations:

• It has been easy - When I started 11 weeks ago, I anticipated having enough extra stuff to keep me going for years. Not sure it will be years, but I've pretty easily found over 70 items.
• It is getting harder - It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes per day to find something, take a picture of it, copy the image from my phone to the computer, edit the picture, add the picture to this blog, and write something about it. It was easy to make the time initially, but is getting harder, because it doesn't feel like something "new" anymore.
• It has caused me to think differently - Because I'm looking for stuff I really don't need, I'm frequently asking myself, "Do I need this?" It has helped me put "stuff" into perspective.
• I'm happy - My son and I were talking about all the stuff we have given away and realized that we don't miss any of it!
• Not sure how much longer - Like most things, I started out strong and enthusiastic, but over time, the enthusiasm has waned. For example, last week I went four days without giving something away and found five things in one day to make up for it. Before too long, I may start giving away one thing each week instead of each day. 

Monday 4/28
We were given a used barbecue grill a few months ago, so I decided to get a nice grill spatula. It looks nice, but it didn't work as well as I had hoped. I had a cheap one that actually works better, so this one I'm giving away.







Tuesday 4/29
Found this kitchen knife that we don't use. It is nice to open a kitchen utility drawer and be able to easily find what you need.

Wednesday 4/30
I worked for Growers Express for a couple months, just before they took a few of us and formed a new software company called TRUETRAC. TRUETRAC has since been acquired by FoodLink.






Thursday 5/1
My wife and I are part of a non-profit called They Are One. I wore this bracelet for a few months, but now it just sits on my dresser.


Friday 5/2
I used this Bluetooth keyboard and case with my iPad for a couple years. I found that I didn't need the keyboard anymore so I'm giving it away.







Saturday 5/3
I cleaned out my bedside table and found several things to give away. This small flashlight is the first of four items.


Sunday 5/4
Here is the second of the four items I found in my bedside table. This is an USB wireless adapter.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

Starting April 19, the guys of the 3gdadnetwork and a few friends, will be reading and discussing Meg Meeker's book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. 

Chapters 1 - You are most important man in her life
This chapter was hard to read because she spells out why dads are so important to a girls life.

"Be it good or painful, the hours you spend with her-or don't spend with her-change who she is."

Chapter 2 - She needs a hero
Who doesn't want to be a hero? Meg challenges dads to step up and be a hero to their daughters.

"If you don't accept the authority that is naturally yours, if you don't set high standards, if you don't live a life of moral principle, your daughter will suffer."

"Don't cave, persevere. Heroes see a battle through until the end; they never run away. So stay in the fight, stay engaged with your daughter and your family, spend as much time at home as you can, stay consistent, loving, kind and patient, and remember that you are more resilient then your daughter is."

Chapter 3 - You are her first love

"Your daughter will draw a picture in her mind of how you see her, and that's the person she'll want to be."

"Daughters with a curfew know that someone wants them home and is probably waiting for them. Daughters without curfews wonder."

"Fathers often overestimate their daughters' maturity"

"Let her know that nothing she can do, even running away, getting pregnant, tattooing her ankle, or piercing her tongue, can make you stop loving her."

"Remember that whatever she says, the very fact that you thoughtfully and consistently enforce rules of behavior makes her feel loved and valued."

"Think about the kind of dad you want to be. Sure, it will take hard work. But love isn't just about feeling good. It's about doing what you don't want to do, over and over again, if it needs to be done, for the sake of someone else. Love is really about self-sacrifice."

Chapter 4 - Teach her humility

"These days, humility is a politically incorrect virtue. But genuine humility is the starting point for every other virtue."

"Humility doesn't make sense unless it is modeled. IF you want your daughter to love reading, you must read."

"Our daughters don't need excessive praise to feel good about themselves."

"The paradox is that happiness is truly found only when it is routinely denied."

"If you teach your daughter to be good rather than simply happy, she will become both. Teaching your daughter humility is a wonderful gift. And it can be taught only by example."

Check back to see what we've learned each week.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 4.21.14

Week 10 of my Give It Away journey

Monday 4/21
Back in 2006, I read a great book called Boundaries by Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend. Today, I'm giving a way an extra participants guide.







Tuesday 4/22
I was really into electric toothbrushes for a while. Unfortunately, you need to buy new heads which wasn't as easy as you might think. I found that it is easier to use the free one the dentist gives you.







Wednesday 4/23
When I bought my Callaway Steelhead X-14 Irons back in 2002, I also bought this set of iron head covers. I haven't actually put them on my irons in since 2010. It is about time to give them away.



Thursday 4/24
I read Every Man's Battle a couple years ago and again last year. This is a brand new copy that I've had stashed in my closet. There are a few books that I'd say are life-changing. This is one of them.







Friday 4/25
I was making pancakes and noticed that we had several I spatulas.  I started pulling them out of drawers and realized that we had at least three extra.



Saturday 4/26
For a long time we didn't have a grill. We picked up this George
Foreman Grill thinking that we would use it grill. Turned out we didn't use it as often as we thought we would. A friend gave us their old gas grill, so now I'm giving away our Foreman.






Sunday 4/27
The end of the week turned out to be kitchen items. Here are a couple more spatulas.

Who Knew? Taking an early morning walk is pretty awesome

I get many things from my job. One of them is time alone in my car. I work for a software company in Silicon Valley, but I don't live there. That means I get up and drive 70 miles to work several times a week. It takes me anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours each way.

At first I didn't enjoy the drive, but a few months ago I stopped listening to the radio and started listening to podcasts that my wife suggested. They helped pass the time and I started learning. One of my favorite podcasters is Timothy Keller, who is the pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. 

In addition to listing to Keller, I started to talk with God(praying). It was great, because I had been wanting to spend more quality time with God, but with kids, etc., I was struggling.

Here comes the part about taking a walk. My work allows me to work from home a couple days a week. I found that I missed the time I naturally had with God when commuting, but I  wasn't taking any time to pray when at home.

I decided to change, and started taking a half hour walk around my neighborhood on the mornings I work from home. On my first walk a couple weeks ago I took the opportunity to notice my surroundings and realized that they were beautiful. Yes, it was overcast, but the air was crisp and the hills were awesome.

I recommend it to anyone. Both the walking and spending time with God.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 4.14.14

Week 9 of my Give It Away journey

Monday 4/14
I'm giving away a 9-led Brinkmann flashlight. I like small led flashlights like this one but I prefer even smaller ones.






Tuesday 4/15
Today I'm giving away another Blackberry accessory. This phone charger worked on my Blackberry Curve.






Wednesday 4/16

Yet another Blackberry accessory. These came with one of Blackberry phones. I don't call which one. I carried a couple Curves over the years. That was my favorite phone because it had a trackball and you could do almost everything you wanted with one hand.





Thursday 4/17
When I was in South Sudan last year, I bought several South Sudanese soccer jerseys. This is an extra one that was too small for me and too large for my kids. Size: XL






Friday 4/18
Here is a really old sweatshirt that I'm giving away but it may end up in the trash instead.

Saturday 4/19
I've collected several golf divot tools over the years. I don't need this one from The Ranch Golf Club.



Sunday 4/20
Our pastor at Shoreline Community Church wrote this book. Last year, the small groups in our church went through the book for several weeks and included a short video. It challenged us to live the life we claimed to have.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 4.7.14

Week 8 of my Give It Away journey

I have to admit that it is getting a little harder. Up until now, I have been able to easily look around and find stuff I don't really need. I'm now needing to look harder and spend more time thinking about how much I use each item.

Monday 4/7
A couple years ago I had a Droid Razr cell phone and accessories. It went into the trash because I dropped it one too many times. Today, I'm giving away the vehicle navigation dock.

Tuesday 4/8
I tend to buy accessories for my cell phones. Today, I"m giving away another Droid Razr accessory, the desk dock.






Wednesday 4/9
I'm giving away my extra pair of Ray Ban polarized sunglasses. I've been carrying them around in my car for months. It is about time I give them away and have a less cluttered center console.

Thursday 4/10
This iPhone 4 (GSM) doesn't work. It turns off frequently and will not come back on unless you let it sit for a couple hours. My research tells me that you can take it to an Apple store and they will replace it for $150. I haven't taken it to an Apple store myself, so your experience may differ from my research.





Friday 4/11
I've collected and held onto many adapters over the years. Here is one I used with my Blackberry. It is a 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm adapter.



Saturday 4/12
Each year, I attend the Global Leadership Summit in San Jose. This past year, I bought this book thinking I would have time to read it. Didn't happen. As a matter of fact, I don't anticipate having time to read a book like this for a while. Right now, I'm reading Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know and boy is it convicting and challenging.


Sunday 4/13
I bought this used DVD to show my kids. They liked it but the DVD is scratched toward the end.

Who Knew? Learning to read would come in handy

Second installment in the Who Knew series



I almost didn't learn to read. There, I said it.

That was almost 40 years ago and seems like another life. Actually, life was very different when I was in grade school. I tell my kids we had color TV, but in reality we only had one color-green.

Why do I find it interesting enough to blog about my almost tragic life? Last month, a few friends and I started blogging about what God is doing in our lives. I have to admit that I'm enjoying it. The 3gdadnetwork blog has provided me an easy way to document the events and causes that inspire me.

I was a late bloomer academically and struggled with phonics through third grade. I progressed by cheating and pretending and thought I was pretty good at it. My third grade teacher saw that I was struggling, and offered to tutor me that summer if my mom would watch her kids during that time. I don't remember her name or how often we went over to her house, but by the end of the summer, she caught me up.

I was an average student till high school, where it finally started to click. I did well and eventually received my BSBA from what was then called Central Missouri State University.

This blog post would not have happened if not for the compassion of my third grade teacher and the encouragement of my mom.