Friberg's Friday Favorite

Mark Schultz has touched millions with his music. He has blessed the military, thousands of families, and many people in prison. Last year, I had the opportunity to meet him at a concert in St. Cloud. We spoke after he was done performing and I was amazed at his humility and care for people (especially the men and women in uniform).

Love Has Come has been on the air for a couple of months. After hearing it play again this morning, I believe that this song could be used powerfully in a worship service.

Everyone's Potential

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to learn a great lesson in leadership at Gold'n Plump Chicken. Ron (the head Elder at Westwood) is a manager at Gold'n Plump. He took me on a tour of the plant and I was amazed at what he does for a living.

Ron is in charge of raising all the chickens that produce the fryers that we purchase at our local grocery stores. Ron's chickens are raised to lay the eggs that will eventually be used for us to consume. To put it bluntly, Ron's chickens live productive, active, and long lives.

To start out the tour, we walked through the thousands of eggs that were waiting to be put into their incubation chambers. He described the different coloring of the eggs (browner is healthier), how long the eggs are in the incubator (18 days), and the process that happens once the chicks are born.

After looking at the eggs, we drove out to a farm and walked through THOUSANDS of baby chicks. He told me that each of these little chicks will produce 150 fryers (remember, they are being raised to produce the food that we eat). Ron told me that each fryer is worth $2 to his business. Each little chick is work about $300. The barn was controlled (food, water, temperature, and lighting) and set to produce the best environment for healthy growth.

As we walked up to the second level, we saw 5 dead chicks. He sighed and told me that losing these chickens cost his company $1,500. He saw the little birds for more than what I could see on the surface. He saw lost potential. He saw value.

After we were done looking at the birds, Ron told me that he looks at people the same way he looks at his chickens. He said, "Everyone has the ability to be used by God in great ways. Everyone has been given amazing gifts and the leaders around them should maximize their potential. Empower, encourage, and fan their flames into greatness!"

Wednesday's Brian Teaser

Good luck with these riddles!

(1) If three cats catch three mice in three minutes, how many cats would be needed to catch one hundred mice in one hundred minutes?

(2) What is so fragile that when you say its name you break it?

Friberg's Friday Favorite

We visited a church this past Wednesday. We enjoyed a nice evening of worship and communion. They taught No Reason To Hide to the church. I think the song is an excellent band song. Any musician would enjoy playing the shuffle groove and unique band hits throughout the song.

Wednesday's Brian Teaser

Brett Favre is back in the news. Is he gonna retire? Is he coming back? In all the excitement, my question today is about him...

For the past 3 seasons Brett has played for the Packers, Jets, and Vikings. Can you tell me what happened on his last pass for each team?

Thanks for playing!

In Virginia!

We made it to Virginia.

Our long drive is over and we made it safely across the nation. We thank God for His protection and safely taking us on our way.

As we traveled, I have learned some things since leaving the Midwest. There are some different cultural nuances that I have already experienced.

1. Chick-fil-A is all over the place (and is very tasty!).
2. Everyone waves when you drive or walk by them. Everyone. I was on a walk with the dog and a couple people walked out from their house to wave at me. Really? It felt kinda weird...
3. People enjoy talking. I could say that people do not seem to be in a hurry. We were in the bank taking care of some financial things and people in the lobby were just jabbing away as if they had no where else to go. I also noticed the extended talking at Liberty University as well. The workers just chat and gab and chat and chew and cluck and gab...
4. Everything is better with a little BBQ sauce. Lets cook something on the grill. We gotta get more BBQ sauce!
5. It is humid and hot. I know that it is humid and hot in the Midwest. I realize that there are days that are ridiculous in Minnesota. It is different in the south. It has been humid since we have been here. Hot - Hot - Hot!
6. Everyone loves college football. No one really cares about the NFL.
7. I know I already said it but...I love Chick-fil-A!!!

Overall, I am experiencing new things. I will continue to post anything new about our experiences in Virginia.

Wednesday's Brian Teaser

We leave for Virginia in two days. I have not been faithful to this blog...I plan on picking it up when we get settled in next week.

I still want to offer a question ('cuz it is Wedensday...):

We are moving out to Virginia, and we will begin our next chapter of life with Liberty University. In honor of this transition, today's question is: What is the mission of Liberty University?

Thanks for playing!