Category: Personal

It's Time to Sow and Go!

Lorin Olsen

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies first. – 1 Corinthians 15:36

Today is my last day with General Dynamics and with the United States Marine Corps. And I am overwhelmed with many emotions. But God has been immensely gracious. He has gently reminded me that the things which I have planted and nurtured won’t come to pass until my time at MCEITS ends. Consequently, I am joyful that the seeds which I have planted WILL bear fruit – even though I won’t be here to see (or taste) that fruit.  Indeed, I was reminded that my role was to be like that of Johnny Appleseed: I must sow and go.  So it is now time to leave the forest that I and others have planted.  We might be fooled into thinking that this forest still looks like bare soil. But we have all seen the vision of the forest.  Ladies and gentlemen, I planted the seeds that were in my bag. I made sure that the spring rains haven’t washed away the seeds.  And now I must leave the forest for each of you (and all of you) to tend.

Be true to the mission and vision that you have for yourselves and for MCEITS. Good luck – and thanks for the fish!
 

Sincerely,

Lorin B. Olsen
Senior Manager
Sears Holding Corporation
(913) 735-3658 cell
cyclingroo@gmail.com
http://cyclingroo.com

https://plus.google.com/112039022986516057445/posts

It’s Time to Sow and Go!

Lorin Olsen

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies first. – 1 Corinthians 15:36

Today is my last day with General Dynamics and with the United States Marine Corps. And I am overwhelmed with many emotions. But God has been immensely gracious. He has gently reminded me that the things which I have planted and nurtured won’t come to pass until my time at MCEITS ends. Consequently, I am joyful that the seeds which I have planted WILL bear fruit – even though I won’t be here to see (or taste) that fruit.  Indeed, I was reminded that my role was to be like that of Johnny Appleseed: I must sow and go.  So it is now time to leave the forest that I and others have planted.  We might be fooled into thinking that this forest still looks like bare soil. But we have all seen the vision of the forest.  Ladies and gentlemen, I planted the seeds that were in my bag. I made sure that the spring rains haven’t washed away the seeds.  And now I must leave the forest for each of you (and all of you) to tend.

Be true to the mission and vision that you have for yourselves and for MCEITS. Good luck – and thanks for the fish!

 

Sincerely,

Lorin B. Olsen
Senior Manager
Sears Holding Corporation
(913) 735-3658 cell
cyclingroo@gmail.com
http://cyclingroo.com

https://plus.google.com/112039022986516057445/posts

Bouncing Between Various Quanta of Activity

Lorin Olsen


It has been an amazingly hectic week.  And today has epitomized the chaos that I’ve felt.  This week has seen a lot:

  • We got back from vacation (which was really just a long weekend).  But we have been struggling to re-integrate into our normal routines.
  • The man who enticed me to leave my previous job has left our company.  I am quite disappointed.  But God has already quieted my heart.  And He is teaching me how I can transform a disappointment into a blessing – and a ministry.
  • I’ve decided to step back into the management pool.  So I’ve submitted my name for consideration by the company’s leadership team.  I have been heart warmed to learn that my application was not summarily dismissed!  😉
  • Our dishwasher decided to develop a weak bladder: when we turned it on, it leaked everywhere.  At eight years, it was time to buy a new unit.  So we went and bought an updated dishwasher (Bosch) with a stainless steel finish.  Our black appliances are starting to look a little dated.
  • After getting a new dishwasher, we also realized that it was time to update the refrigerator.  While we liked the looks of a matching Bosch unit, we decided upon a Samsung stainless steel unit because it had better reviews on Consumer Reports.  It also had some features that my wife really wanted.  So Samsung got the nod.
  • We cleaned out the garage to get things ready for appliance delivery.  Actually, we’ve re-arranged some stuff while sorting some other stuff into the trash.  We now have room for the old refrigerator in the garage.  I am voting for a beer and wine fridge; Cindy is considering my suggestion!

With these things as a back drop, today has been chaotic and wonderful.

  • We’ve worked to get the old fridge ready for replacement.  We still have to move the final stuff into coolers.  But we will be ready for the arrival of the new refrigerator.
  • I’ve updated my resume so that I can get it submitted to the leadership team.  I’m really hoping that they have the same opinion of my capabilities that I have.
  • We’ve gotten all the dishes done.  Normally, this is simple.  But it’s been years since I washed a lot of dishes by hand.  We did mostof them earlier in the week.  But we now have to keep up with them throughout the day.
  • My son left a boatload of laundry for us to do for him.  Apparently, he’s been stacking the clothes in his room waiting for someone to do them.  Gosh, are all nineteen-year old men this naive?  And are all middle-aged parents this accommodating?
  • After many hours of sorting and shuffling leftover laundry, we’ve finally gotten around to doing the week’s laundry.  Phew.  I never thought I’d make it to this point today!

With a lot of tasks finally moving through the pipeline, I’ve finally gotten a chance to address a couple of tech challenges.

  • I’ve copied all of the photos from Meredith’s wedding onto our media server.
  • I’ve updated Cindy’s phone so that she can access the media server from where she travels.  The latest firmware build for the storage server is quite good.  Western Digital provides a redirect service so that I can get to my photos (and music and movies) from the public Internet.  This is very cool.  But it reminds me that security is an everyday consideration these days.
  • I’ve updated my router firmware to enable uPNP sharing.  This will certainly help our mobile experience.  But I am a little leery about this change.  I’ll have to research a little more to see if I’ve opened myself up to exploitation.
  • I’ve flashed my phone with the latest CyanogenMod firmware.

I think I’m finally able to breathe a little sigh of relief – but not for long.  Once the refrigerator is delivered, Cindy and I will have a lot of work to do.  But now that most of the prep work is done, this part should be fun.  But I do think that pizza will be in order!

-Roo

My Phone, The Chew Toy

Lorin Olsen

It’s marred and unseemly… but it still functions.
These words will haunt me for awhile. When I got up at 4:30, I really  didn’t want to get moving. But my life has mission and purpose. So I  got up and got prepared for the morning commute.
Everything was progressing to plan until I went to disconnect my phone  from the charger. Alas, there was no phone there. I worried that I  might have left the phone at Cheddars last night. But I dismissed that  thought and proceeded to hunt the phone down.  I called my mobile phone  from the house phone. After three or four rings, I heard the phone  vibrating. I chased down the sound.
When I found the phone, I was disheartened. The phone was in my wife’s  chair in the family room. The protective case was utterly destroyed.  And the phone itself has scratches and bite marks. Apparently, my 19  year old son’s 75 pound puppy had decided that my phone was a chew  toy. He had disconnected my smartphone from the wall and carried it to  the family room while I was asleep.
I was furious. Since everyone else was asleep, I restrained the urge  to utter a primal scream. I settled myself and finished preparing for  the morning commute. Then I hit the road, I was white hot. And that’s  when God began to speak to my heart.
I wanted to rage. He calmed my heart. I wanted to punish the puppy.  God reminded me that the puppy didn’t know any better. I wanted to  have harsh words with my son. God reminded me that my son is a lot  like the puppy… a whole lot like the puppy.
I was finally cooling down a bit. I then started to think about  replacing the phone. My anger swelled. Then I thought about cool new  replacements. And that’s when the real lesson began. Yes, the phone  was blemished. And there are some serious teeth marks on the speaker  grill. But the phone works. After all, I’m typing this, aren’t I?
God then spoke even more clearly: I am the phone. I was made with a  purpose. And in my “as built” state, I was sleek and beautiful. Then I  entered this fallen world. And the world wantonly ripped me from my  purpose. It chewed me up. It marred my image of myself. But it didn’t  alter my purpose. Nor has it prevented me from fulfilling that  purpose. God will still use me to accomplish His purposes – despite  the scratches and bite marks found throughout my soul.
Friends, don’t let your daily concerns rob you of the joy that can be  found when fulfilling your God-ordained purpose. You WILL be marred  and bruised. But your purpose remains. Go forth with joy as you  discover and fulfill your purpose.
-Roo