Last night we were at an academic awards ceremony at my son's high school.  Naturally, Toni and I were very grateful for what he accomplished.  But it was great to be in a room with kids who had achieved so much already in life. 

I was really struck by the words of the M.C. that night – a math teacher from the high school.  He simply said this:  "Success is a habit.  You might think that you are here because you were lucky or it was some fluke that you got here, but that's not true.  You worked hard at it.  You had great habits.  Success is a habit."
I had never quite heard it put that way before, but I loved the thought.  I think the Apostle Paul might agree.

A person who has a mediocre gift set but works hard at developing that skill set every day will accomplish much more than a person with a fantastic skill set who plays video games all day and never engages them.  I've always been intrigued by the notion that if you spend an hour at one subject every day, you can become an "expert" in it within a few years.  Fascinates me.

So my question to me (and you) is: Are my habits making best use of whatever gift set God has given me?  How am lining up my habits so that God can best use them to bring value to Him and to others?

So my oldest son Jordan and I are off a on a road trip tomorrow morning.  We'll wrap it up next week at the Orange Tour stop in Los Angeles.

So excited to have the best part of a week with just the two of us wandering around the west coast.  He planned the route. Let me just say we'll be on the road a lot.

Might check in here from time to time, but I'm totally excited about being able to build into his life and him into mine.  Talk to you soon. 

How's your balance lately?  Mine has been a bit off.  I've put in extra hours the last few weeks and have felt more pressured than normal.  It's a blip, but it's got me noticing some things.

When I work too much:

• I laugh less
• I cram devotions into smaller spaces
• I am less charitable in my mood
• I'm actually less productive

As I was thinking through this in the last few weeks, I was reflecting on a talk I heard recently from Doris Kearns Goodwin.  She's a presidential biographer and was reflecting on a lesson she learned early on in life.  The lives lived best involve a passionate pursuit in three spheres: work, love and play. 

She contrasts Abraham Lincoln's life with Lyndon Johnson's.  Lincoln worked ambitiously, loved deeply and played hard.  Even in the midst of the civil war, he went to the theater about 100 nights each year.  Johnson, on the other hand, focused mostly on work.  And in his senior years realized he had lost deep relational connections with his family and had lost passion for anything recreational.  He died bitter and heartbroken.   You should hear the talk.

As much as we admire biblical heroes, I wonder if I mistakenly think they are heroes because they were all "work" all the time. That's not true.  David loved music and the arts.  Jesus apparently loved to celebrate and even go to parties (few people ever talk about this).  Both deeply pursued meaningful friendships and relationships. Maybe God's definition of a full life is bigger than mine.

Life needs to be a balanced, passionate pursuit.  I know my tendency is to want to work. 

What do you think of the three spheres Doris mentions?  Do you agree?  I find when that's true in my life, I'm at my best.  What do you think?