I’m Baaaaaaack!!

Posted on February 22, 2012 by John Drouillard

I’m baaaaaaaack! Ok. So it’s not all that exciting. Did you ever get to a point when something just had to go? I coming out of one of those times right now. Fortunately for you and unfortunately for me maintaining this blog drew the short stick. In December I sold off my business and accepted a project manager position at a great high-end custom kitchen company. Since then it’s been kinda crazy, but things are now starting to settle down.

I’ve had some time over the last three months to get some great ideas of things I am planning to write about, and I’ve decided to give you a sneak peak. Here are my 5 hot button issues of the day.

1- The rise of Rick Santorum!

This is great story and one that I predicted I might add. It proves that good old fashion hard work and good character still do matter. I know some of you don’t care about politics but I’m going to tell you why this guy matters.

2- Why men need to pull up their pants and lead.

This one is going to be fun. I’m sure not everyone is going to be happy, but someone needs to say it and it might as well be me. We’ve abused our God-given authority and also been sissified. Now it’s time to see what God’s word says about men.

3- Parenting

Is your kid the one screaming in the store and you keep saying, “If you don’t stop we might not get the chocolate…last time, if you don’t be quiet we might not go to McDonald’s” Enough already. Get a spine and parent. We need to reintroduce some kids to the woodshed. Ok. I know that sounds harsh, but seriously act like the adult and parent.

4- Is your spouse your best friend?

If you answered NO to that question you might not want to read this post. If you think I was hard on bad parents…you haven’t heard anything! It’s a shame I even have to write this post. Unfortunately some of you dopes answered no.

5- Did I mention the rise of Rick Santorum?!?!

Warning!! You may get tired of the Rick Santorum posts. Probably not because they will be informative and maybe a little educational with a splash of humor.

Get ready. Its going to be a fun couple of weeks!

What are your hot button topics?

Will You Be Ready?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by John Drouillard

How do you respond in tough situations? How do act when the pressure is on? Who are you when things are not going your way?

I’ve had a lot of conversations lately that end in “you don’t know how you would respond either in that situation” Really? I think I do know.

A parent told me that I too would probably yell at the coach and blame them if my kid wasn’t getting enough playing time. My emotions will get the best of me. Huh?! I don’t think I agree with that.

Has anyone ever lost a championship game and had a camera shoved in your face? Carl Edwards did on Sunday. For those that don’t know who Carl is let me fill you in. He drives in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He was leading the championship standings heading into the final race last Sunday afternoon. Tony Stewart trailed by a few points and had to win the race to secure the championship. Tony did win the race and Carl finished second in the race and tied in the final points standings. Tony won the championship by the tiebreaker of winning the most races in the Chase.

Immediately after the race Carl jumps out of his car and gets a camera and a mic shoved in his face. I don’t know about you but I would be pretty upset at this point. Maybe devastated would be more appropriate. It is estimated that Carl may have lost $12-16 million. This isn’t just the championship earnings but all the endorsements and sponsorship money that goes with winning the title. Like I said…devastated!

Instead I heard the best answer I ever heard in an interview. This is not an exaggeration. I’m known to exaggerate a little at times but not here. This was seriously the best answer ever.

Did you hear it? It happens so fast and most people probably never thought about it. He said he told his wife that if he didn’t win he would be the best loser NASCAR ever had. Carl prepared what he would do before the situation arose. He wasn’t counting on losing, but if that happened this is how he was going to respond. With total class!

How often do we find ourselves in a predicament and then begin to wonder “what should I do?” I hate to be the one to break this news to you, but it’s too late at that point. We need to be ready in all situations.

I know how I would respond when my kids aren’t getting a lot of playing time because I’ve thought about it and have a game plan. I won’t allow my emotions to take over my tongue. If you want to be a great leader or parent or boss or anything, you need to be running every possible situation through your mind to prepare yourself should any situation arise.

When we become reactive to our situations we become, in a lot of ways, dangerous. We begin to do and say things that can cause irreparable damage to lives and relationships. As a married man I cannot afford to wait until I am in an inappropriate situation with a female before I try to determine what I should do next. At that point I have already gone too far. I clearly know what I would do if many different scenarios were to take place.

It’s time to step up and start preparing ourselves to make better decisions. They are easier to make when the pressure isn’t on! So let’s be prepared!

How would you have responded if you were Carl Edwards?

Final Board Meeting

Posted on November 16, 2011 by John Drouillard

Has it really been eight years? A lot has happened in eight years. I've had three more kids, started a business and turned 30 and 35.

October 2003 was a sad time in the body of our congregation. We had a pastor resign because of a lot of miscommunication and mistrust in the leadership team by the congregation. Our conference decided we needed to set up a "transition team" to guide us through this mess. What fun?!?! In the middle of this shocking and tearful meeting I was able to hear God speak. I was clear he wanted me to lead this team. HA!! I was 27 and had no experience leading such a huge undertaking. We had a church in turmoil and not a lot of trust flying around. It didn't seem like the ideal time to start my church leadership role. It didn't matter really though what I thought I heard God saying because the church needed to nominate and vote on this group of people.

Surprise, surprise. I was put on this team and then appointed the chair. Sometimes God has a funny way of playing jokes on us. Those were some long and painful days. Ones where I learned and grew a ton.

Our church has changed a lot since then. We now have a board that overseas the pastor and the ministry team. We now have a healthy thriving body. We now have a congregation that has trust and respect for its leaders. We've come along way in the last eight years. I am honored to have worked with the leaders that I have worked with who didn't think that the task was too big. They didn't take off and run. They stuck it out and we made some hard decisions that not everyone liked all the time.

That brings us to tonight, or last night as you read this. Last night was my final board meeting. I served my term and now I get a break from leadership for at least a year. I have a lot of mixed emotions. I enjoy the interactions with great leaders, I LOVE helping to lead a body of believers and I also kinda like being in the know. On the other hand it will be nice to have a break from all the responsibilities. A wife, five kids, and a business take a lot of time and energy all by themselves.

Speaking of my family, they have been awesome!. They are very encouraging and supportive. They have made it so much easier to be in leadership. I Love my wife and would not be the leader I am without her and her support. THANKS HON!!

Thank you also to all the fabulous leaders that I have been able to work with the past eight years. Thanks for your patience, encouragement, leadership, and integrity that you have led with.

Finally, five things I've learned in the last eight years.

1. You cannot over-communicate.

2. You really do reap what you sow. Sow trust, reap trust.

3. Humility, humility, humility. Oh yeah, it doesn't hurt to be humble!

4. Be able to state clearly why you are heading the direction your heading. Everyone may not agree with the decisions made but will be more willing to follow if they trust you understand where your headed and why.

5. PRAY!!!!!

What are you helping to lead? What are you learning during your leadership times?

Politics Poll

Posted on November 9, 2011 by John Drouillard

I need your help. I have a few political pieces I would like to write and would like to find out a little info about my readers before doing so. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions and give me any other thoughts you might have regarding politics. Thanks!!

1. Are you a registered voter?

2. Are you registered: Republican, Democrat, or Independent

3. Do you vote?

4. Do you enjoy, tolerate, or abhor politics?

5. Why?

6. Anything other thoughts on politics?

I know you guys are often quiet here but I really need your help this time. Have a great day!

I Am Not A Dog!

Posted on November 3, 2011 by John Drouillard

Enough is....Enough!!

I can't take it anymore. I can no longer remain silent or ignore. I will not allow anyone else to define who I am! I AM NOT A DOG!

Why do we allow the media and society to define who we are? Why do we encourage them by watching their TV programs? Why do we laugh at their jokes?

My neighbor says to my wife the other week that she is going to have to lock me up. Why? Because we have a new neighbor moving in that happens to be a single female. Are you kidding me?!?! WARNING!! If you're easily offended please skip to the next paragraph. I wanted to jump down his throat, rip out his right kidney and shove it in his mouth. Come on, man! We're not all sex-crazed maniacs that need locked up when women are in our presence. I work extremely hard at being a man of high integrity and honor. Trust me, it isn't always easy, but I owe that to my God, myself, my wife, and my 5 kids. By the way, I buried my neighbor behind my shed. Just kidding!! I chose to pretend I didn't hear his childish attempt at humor.

It started with Al Bundy in Married...With Children. Then it was Homer in the Simpsons. We have become numb to the fact that dad and men are doofuses and dogs. There hasn't been a TV show in 20 years that shows dad in a positive light. OK. Maybe there is one or two, but the vast majority of shows, magazines, and newspaper articles do not think highly of men.

How did we get here? I believe that we have put such a strong emphasis on women and women's rights that we relegated the role of male to basically...nincompoop. Don't get me wrong. I believe in equal rights and treating women fairly. I have 4 daughters and I want them to be treated fairly throughout life. I think what we have done instead of bringing women up is to bring men down. We have trashed them for so long that some of you have begun to believe it. We've excused our bad behavior as male testosterone.

Let me be the first to tell you. Being male isn't a get-out-of-jail free card for ignoramus behavior.

My wife is attending a women's class at church discussing modesty. This isn't a do or don't wear certain clothes class. It is more of a getting to the heart of it all class. In part, they are looking at themselves and seeing what they can do to help men behave better. Although this is an aspect that probably does need some working on, it should not be up to them to do things to make us "behave" better. If you can train yourself not to over-drink, not to swear, not to beat your wife, why can't you train yourself to not be a dog? We need to be the ones to work on our lust issues, not write them off to, "I'm just a horny man". A woman can cover herself from head to toe and that is not going to change your heart when it comes to lust. Let's step up and show the world that we aren't all dogs.

I have to continually walk away from guys telling jokes and wanting to show me things at work. I don't mind doing it, because it gives me the opportunity to tell them how they should be treating women. By the end of it they are usually the ones embarrassed. Even when its 5 or 6 of them and 1 of me.

OK. Now that I've ranted for over 600 words let's take a look at what we can do to work on making sure we're living lives of integrity and not idiocy.

1- Start reading the Bible and living by what it says. I guarantee that if you live like the Bible says no one will confuse you with being a dog. Start with Micah 6:8 "He has told you O man what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?"

2- Talk highly of your wife (and women in general) in and out of her presence. I adore my wife even when she is not around. I have never intentionally talked about my wife in a negative light in the presence of someone else. I also do not allow other men to degrade their wives or girlfriends in my company. I am continually amazed at what one person can do when they aren't afraid to lead. Others will easily follow suit.

3- Turn off the TV. This is going to make some of you mad. Stop watching those stupid shows. Why continue to encourage negative ideas and thought patterns of what a man is? If you don't believe me that you have become numb to it, just try it for a few weeks. You'll turn it back on and be appalled. If not, your issues are deeper than what I can help you with.

4- Get around Godly men. Just as, if you lie with dogs you'll get fleas, the opposite is true. If you hang out with Godly men they will eventually begin to rub off on you. For those that don't like to read the instructions you might not want to hear this but we men need each other. We need the encouragement and to know that we are not the only one trying to live a life of integrity and honor.

5- Think more highly of yourself. This isn't new age. God created you in his image. You are a son of a King. If I remember correctly that makes you a prince. Start acting like one!

What do you guys think? Am I out there or right on? What are you doing to live a life of integrity and honor?