• adammclane.com mobile

    That’s right sports fans. My blog is now compatible with your mobile phone. So the next time you are waiting on a plane, chilling at a coffee shop, or just killing time feel free to check out my site on your web-enabled phone.

    Bloggers, add this to your wordpress self-hosted site.

  • The day there was no news

    Imagine this. A day with no news. A day with no wars. A day with no natural disasters. What would that day look like on the news? It would look like this.

    HT to Cory

  • My 10 Favorite Films

    I got tagged on this one by Chris. I love movies and have eclectic taste so this ought to be a  good time. In no particular order here are my favorite 10 movies.

    1. The Godfather, part I – Shear brilliance. A real family film if you know what I mean. I’ve seen it about 15 times and catch something fantastic each time.
    2. The Godfather, part III – A lot of people don’t like this movie but I find it fantastic. It ties the first and third together masterfully.
    3. Hoosiers – Gene Hackman is an inspiration in this movie. This true story shapes a lot of who I am as an Indiana boy.
    4. Rudy – The best Notre Dame movie out there. It was filmed at a time when ND was on top. And the fact that a lot of the extras are people I went to high school with always helps.
    5. Tin Cup – “This is a defining moment. And the thing about defining moments is that you either define the moment or the moment defines you.” Maybe one of the best lines in a movie, ever.
    6. 50 First Dates – Adam Sandler finds the perfect balance of male and female romantic comedy. I laughed, I cried… and generally at thinks that would make you blush.
    7. Little Miss Sunshine – Two words: Super freak. It’s a tragedy that this movie didn’t win best picture in 2006… I’m still not over it.
    8. Juno – The scenes with Juno and her parents are amazing. When Juno and her dad talk about finding love… that is the kind of parent I want to be. (Less the pregnant daughter of course!)
    9. 12 Angry Men – The original of course. This is group dynamics 101. Anyone in ministry needs to watch it 20 times.
    10. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby – This is not the most complete movie in the world. But it has some sound bytes that I catch myself quoting all the time. I prefer the baby Jesus personally.

    The rules of the “game” are simple:
    1. list your top ten favorite films (in no particular order).
    2. if you’re tagged, you’ve got to post and tag 3-5 other people.
    3. give a tag back (some link love) to the one who tagged you in your post
    4. give a hat tip (HT) to Dan

    I’m tagging…

    Kristen (queen of the indie film)

    Adam (because he’s moving and needs a mental break)

    Ryan (because he needs a reminder to blog)

    Autumn (cos she watches more movies than anyone I know)

    Dennis (because “i’m teaching in Cuba this summer” is no excuse!)

  • The home stretch

    Home stretchMegan has about three weeks left of school. Like a lot of other kids in school, she can only think about the finish line. How many days until she is done with first grade, gets a vacation, and enters second grade? Right now that is all those thoughts dominate her mind.

    We are using this time, this moment, to emphasize three McLane values. She knows them… now she is getting to live them.

    Value #1: Winners don’t look back. It doesn’t matter what the sport is, if you keep your eye on your competition and what they are doing you are more likely to lose. We teach our kids to focus on doing their absolute best. If they are in first place… only look at the finish line and do your best. For her school work Megan needs to focus on being #1 and not focusing on what her friends are doing. They may be doing great right now, or they may be cashing it in. But there is still important learning to be done in these final moments. I know that historians tell you that looking back helps you not make mistakes in the future… that may be true for some things. But for me, my ministry and my business depend on my looking forward toward the goals and focusing on the winning… all that matters are the two times I can control: Today and tomorrow. Looking back only leads to failure.

    Value #2: Never give up. We say this all the time when we wrestle and play with the kids. “Do you give up?” The right answer is “Daddy, I never give up!” (As they are pinned down on the floor struggling to get up and knock me down.) The life of a McLane is never a bed of roses. We’re not handed anything… we earn what we have with hard work, diligence, honesty, and perseverance. I moved out of my house before my 18th birthday and I learned this lesson the hard way. Sure God wants to bless us. But in my life, God blesses me when I’m working hard. I expect my kids to translate that value to everything they do. From soccer to karate to 1st grade. Until the teacher or coach tells them its time to go home, they don’t give up.

    Value #3: Finish strong. Let’s face it. Most people are lazy. They know that doing 70% of their job and making 51% of people happy means doing a “good job” and getting a raise. Our society expects and rewards mediocrity. (Sorry, but this is why I hate unions. Unions reward mediocrity.) I don’t believe God desires mediocrity from His children. We teach our kids that finishing strong matters. From the first day of 1st grade to the last day of first grade… everyday matters. When I’m at work, finishing a project strong is all that matters. It doesn’t matter that I’ve had a great week of preparation. It doesn’t matter that the meeting started good. It doesn’t matter that I have a good plan. What matters, what you are judged on, is execution. Strong execution of a plan, task, or even a sermon makes up for inadequacies in other areas.

    These are the values I teach my kids. Are they biblical? You tell me.

    What values do you teach your kids? What values do you express in your daily life that emphasize who you are, your life story?

    Bonus: What does this have to do with the Protestant Work Ethic?

  • Problems with your man? Take the test

    marital chartI was talking to a former student last night. She has issues with some dude. She was reflecting on advice I gave her years ago… “If your friends say he’s a loser, and your mom says he’s a loser, he’s a loser no matter how much you like him.” But maybe the problem was that this young lady wasn’t scoring high enough on this test? Get that score about 50 and you’ve got yourself a good wife!

    Take it and let me know. (click on the image to see full-sized version)

    HT to Boing Boing

  • 7 ways you can connect with me

    connect with meOne of the reasons I blog is to stayed plugged in with the people in my life. So I thought it would be good to point you to the right sidebar and walk you through 7 ways you can connect with me.

    1. About me. Head over to this link to learn what I do, why I do it, and some other fun stuff.
    2. E-mail. My email address is mclanea@gmail.com. That comes to my phone, is on my desktop, and otherwise follows me around everywhere.
    3. Facebook page. If you are under 30 you probably have one too. It’s a great way to send me messages, see who I’m friends with, check out the causes I care about, and a bunch of other stuff.
    4. Google shared items. For serious. Wanna know what I’m reading and I think is interesting? Check out this page… it’s changing all the time as I keep up with about 100-200 sites per day. When I think something is worth looking at, I click “share.”
    5. Linkedin. For people under 30, it’s a Facebook for professional-types to connect with one another. Check out my profile, add me as a connection.
    6. Subscribe to my blog’s feed. Join millions of others and follow my blog. (OK, just my wife and my mom.) You can subscribe using your favorite feed reader or via email.
    7. Follow me on Twitter. Twitter is the latest dance craze sweeping the nation. Well, not so much. I use it as a back channel of letting my friends know what I’m up to in an informal, fun kind of way. Why? Because Facebook, Linkedin, RSS, reading my shared items, e-mailing me, and reading all about me may not be enough Adam McLane in your life.

  • Happy Birthday Megan

    Happy Birthday MeganIt’s hard to believe but my oldest child turns 7 today. Six was a good year to her. She has finished most of first grade. She is learning like crazy. She just got baptized. She has a lot of friends. She is in love with Webkinz.

    Megan loves animals, especially her cat Lovely. While Lovely is a pretty grumpy cat to me, she is super gentle with Megan… who is a bit rough with the feline.

    Turning seven is a big deal. As I look forward to the next 12 months for her I can foresee a lot of changes, a lot of exploration, and a lot more learning. Megan is just about the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet. Gosh, I love that kid.

    A couple of Megan tidbits from a daddy perspective—

    1. Megan was born on the ideal day. Kristen and I were meticulous in planning the pregnancy. In our family, it’s against the rules to have a June baby as nearly every day is taken. And I didn’t want to have a baby while I was in school, so I needed to make sure she was born after finals and before mid-August. And Kristen didn’t want to be pregnant for a sweaty Chicago summer, so that left a window of May 12 to May 30th. In fact, we circled May 12th on the calender and did some math to.. um… time everything out. Yes, I’ve been known to make a plan and stick to it! So while Megan was technically “late” according to the doctor, she was born on the date we planned out many months before.
    2. On November 20th, 2000 I journaled this about getting started with a family: We finally made an agreement to get started the first time we met your cousin Ryan. I instantly fell in love with his “McLane-ness” and I absolutely had to have one, my very own McLane. For some reason I was convinced that any children I had were going to look just like mommy’s family. (Jacob in particular.) But as soon as I saw little Ryan crawling around his grandparents yard I knew I was ready. He was just too cute and way too stubborn! Let’s just say that prophesy has come true. Megan is all McLane and she is slightly stubborn.
    3. Megan was a boy. At least she was a boy 3 times in ultrasounds. (Friends of ours ran an ultrasound school and used Kristen’s belly as a lab rat. It wasn’t until Megan was about 5 minutes old that I made the observation and went over to Kristen… “Our boy doesn’t have a piece.” [direct quote!] In fact, on the video taken immediately after she was born you can hear us calling her Paul. (We’ve had our kids names picked out since we were dating!)

  • A true test

    17th @ SawgrassFew holes in golf bring so much fear as the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. It’s all mental. At just 137 yards the par 3 should be a slam dunk. For most PGA Tour professionals they would hit this large green 95 out of 100 times. It should be an automatic par or birdie.

    So why is this hole consistently one of the hardest in golf? Well, the green is completely surrounded by water. The island green rattles the nerves of the most tested names in golf. Woods, Michelson, Els,
    and Garcia all quake as they approach the hole.

    Leaders have won the tournament on this hole and leaders have lost the tournament on this hole. It is one of the few holes that TV commentators keep a running, career tally of how players have done on the hole. Phil Michelson is +15 on the hole in his professional career.

    They key to the mental anxiety of this hole is an island about 60 yards to the right of the tee box. This acts as a visual trick. Players eyes lie to them about the hole based on that island tree. Players who ignore that and ignore the sucker pin on Sunday’s do well just hitting the ball 140 to the center of the green.
    Players who come to the hole looking to make a statement or take a risk are often rewarded with a new ball and a pitch from the drop zone.

    It’s the same in life. Life often puts a sucker pin and a floating tree to distract you from you. Those who succeed admire the game, admire the sucker pins temptation, and the floating tree is just an amusement.

    What’s your sucker pin? What’s your floating tree?

  • Using CCTV to Your Advantage

    CCTVHere in the USA, these pesky cameras are popping up all over. But they’ve been around for a longer time in the United Kingdom. Check out what this band did with some CCTV cameras and the Freedom of Information Act.

  • My prayer for Romeo

    God of this cityI thought it would be good to let everyone know my prayer for Romeo. I know this isn’t a new song or a new twist or even a new video for anyone in the Romeo family. But I’ve been listening to this song and watching this video a lot lately. Will you join me in praying for our community? Greater things are yet to come here in our city. I believe it, do you?