Back to College - University of Minnesota

Today was the first official visit to a college my son David is considering. The Institute of Technology at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities hosted this event. There were hundreds of students and parents there considering the college with primarily engineering degrees.

David does great in math and sciences and had an excellent ACT score. I am proud of him for many reasons. But I hesitate to brag about him because he seeks to remain humble. And I respect that. Know that he is one of my heroes.

The gathering today included a lot of smart people. As the program went on I thought from time to time of how I could have chosen certain majors. For some reason or other I did not consider engineering much, even though a friend went down to Milwaukee School of Engineering. Engineering includes math, physics, and technology.

But more than that, much of engineering is designing things that change the world. Some possibilities include dams, bridges, medical devices, heating and cooling systems, more efficient engines, water treatment systems, and new devices and systems that benefit people in some way. In ways we seldom consider, our lives have benefited from the work of engineers. Engineers designed the keyboard and mouse I am using right now.

So? Why should I care? Part of what I saw today was people celebrating who they are. Some may call them nerds or geeks. But they are also people with potential for significant things.

And so are you. Celebrate who you are. The recent teaching series at The House has included talk about seeds and fruitfulness. If you are a peach tree, produce that kind of fruit. If you are a coconut tree, produce that kind of fruit. Don't be jealous of others skills and giftings and personalities. Embrace who you are and be fruitful. Produce fruit from the seed you were designed to be. That is when you are most fruitful and effective.

Some of the engineers and potential engineers have embraced their unique skill set. Have you embraced and celebrated who you are?

Football Camp

It was fun to join my sister Robyn and her family at a scrimmage between the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend. I'm not a huge football fan. But my son is.

It was interesting to see how they do things. And we did get to see some good plays from fairly close seating. A key point for us this year is that the scrimmage was much more affordable than a regular game. Overall, I was glad we went.

I was disappointed they seemed to end early. A little fight broke out at the end involving a Viking player that needs to control his temper better. I am not sure if that was coincidentally at the end or they ended an hour early. Anyway, it was all kind of fun to watch them practice and scrimmage.

I am not big into celebrities. And that topic could easily be a whole article or two. But people do pay big bucks and dedicate many hours to view professional athletes, whether live or on TV.

Those professional football players we saw do have some special skills way beyond what most of us could do. And it is easy for us to start viewing life with a spectator mentality. Watching the professionals celebrates their abilities. But it can easily subtlely influence us into an attitude that the pros and stars are "better" than us.

God has created you uniquely. We share much of the same raw material. But the package called "You" ("Me") is special. Your physical abilities, your personality, your skills, your talents, the things you do more easily than others, your appearance, your voice, and many more things make you unique. And, for those committed to following Christ, additional giftings are available, consistently and "as needed".

All in all you have something unique to offer. You are designed to complete some tasks that no one else can do better. Your combination of who you are and what you have experienced has prepared you to impact the world and eternity in unique ways.

We have all seen how someone with experience can better help another person going through a similar situation. And even the painful events and struggles can help us empathize and serve in ways we could not without going through those upleasant times.

So celebrate who YOU are. Maybe you aren't a pro athlete or movie star. You actually get to be home most nights and weekends. Maybe you can do bookkeeping or run a machine or manage people or care for chidren far better than most of those pro football players could. They are good at their role. You are good at your role. Other than pay, there isn't much difference. They just have a different job.

There is no need to follow the crowd or try to be someone else. God created a variety of people. We can find things where we excel. And we can learn to say "No" to some tasks that are not a good fit.

Celebrate and embrace the special creation that is "You".