Top 7 = 2 grants in, Judah wins 2 matches, etc.

This week’s Top 7 includes a long run, a project milestone (for Beth), and two unexpected (but awesome) grants.

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Fitness = Long, Sunday morning run

I absolutely DO enjoy quick workouts— waking up in the morning, heading to the Garage, knocking out some cardio and lifting, and then continuing with my morning routine. 

75% of the time… BEFORE beginning the workout, I actually dread doing it. I feel a little sluggish, a bit sore…

But, like clockwork, within the first 5-minutes, I’m always super-excited I began. I feel better, more alert, and the day seems to roll far more smoothly.

I’ve learned to just push through.

Here’s the other side: the long, slower, easier workouts. There’s something about getting out on the road, especially when the weather is in the sweet spot (neither hot nor cold), and running an easy pace for a long, long time. My mind seems to think more clearly, ideas I’ve been thinking about readily come together. Something just “happens” in those times that doesn’t quite occur any other time. 

Chalk it off to Sunday. Another perfect run… 

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Finance = Future planning 

This week we met with a Trust attorney— they kind who help you make a plan for the future in the event that the inevitable happens before you thought it might and you don’t want to leave everyone else wondering what to do. 

There’s something graciously sobering (not overwhelming) about mapping “what happens to the family after you die” and putting it on paper. It brings an element of certainty— and even freedom.

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Family  = Judah, 2nd at his tournament 

Judah had a few wrestling bouts this week— one at a tournament and another in Montevallo. (Levi has been out injured.)

Tuesday he won back-to-back matches, besting his final opponent (pictured) by points— and overcoming a deficit near the end. 

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Field = Crosswinds lands 2 grants— $50K + $10K

This week, Bob called.

“I guess our meeting earlier this month with the foundaiton went well. They just sent us a check for $50,000 and said they want to continue partnering with us.” 

The check— from an not-wanting-to-be-named foundaiton— will fund the leader guide for the new Warrior Bible study on PTSD & Moral Injury, as well as help us finish the upcoming documentary, and more…

About ten minutes after the first call, Bob reached out again.

“There was another envelope in the mailbox, too,” he continued. “I thought it was something else, but it’s another check to help us continue developing an outreach project, also…”

There it is. Two in one week. And, just AFTER the end of the year (which went well, also).

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Faith = Beth uploaded the book

For the past 70+ days, Beth has been working on a book project. It began as an “I’ll fix the typos” for a ministry we were consulting / contracting with. As we prepped to launch the book, though, we noticed a few more issues.

No big deal. This kind of stuff happens all the time. You see a typo, you fix it. You see an unclear sentence, you re-word it. You find an unfinished chapter (they didn’t complete the final chapter of the book), you develop the ideas to culmination.

Beth presented a few options to the Executive Director, who cut her close to level-up the project. That meant a few 70+ hour workweeks, plowing right up to Christmas (taking only the day off), working on New Years, and more…

There’s still work to do. There always is.

After uploading, we generally look at a hard copy— and get a few others to do the same. Somehow, the books all look different in “real life” than they do on the screen. There are always more (minor) adjustments to make.

Then, I generally read them out loud. This was what led me to begin audio-booking my own books. But, any of them we work on, I sit and read it… aloud. It’s the best way to catch the inconsistencies, punctuation problems, etc…

So, more work to do. But, a major milestone hit.

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Friends = Text from an out-of-state friend 

Some of the best moments are the short, unplanned markers throughout the week. 

This week, I received a text from this guy, David. No real reason— just a “Hey, I thought about you…”

I met David YEARS ago at the second Advance (Advance 2.0, Birmingham, AL). Then, he joined us at MANY others, even speaking a few times. 

(BTW, recently a few guys have talked about rebooting the Advance.)

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Fun = Judah, Creed, Sunday evening 

This week, I realized that Judah— almost 15– was too young to see so many of the films that the other kids saw. Whereas I watched the entire Lord of the Rings series with them; he barely missed it. He had to go to bed. And, whereas they all saw EVERY Rocky movie, he missed those as well.

Over the weekend, we began pushing our way through— especially with the newest version of Creed slated for release. 

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Ah, this pic… 

As I was going through old photos, pulling together some of my content for Amplify, I came across this. 

That’s Mini— with me— after dropping the kids at school. We’re at Starbucks, where I’m busy plotting the “story line” for a video training. She— notice the grin— is happy to be working on, well… who knows… 

That’s the highlight reel for the week.

If you’re just now dropping in, each week I look back at the week behind + preview the week ahead— so I don’t miss anything— and look and highlight at least one thing for which I’m grateful in each of the 7 key areas of life…

💙 Fitness 

💰Finance

🏠 Family 

🛠 Field (work, career)

🙏 Faith 

👊 Friends 

🎉 Fun 

Download your free planner— the tool I use to manage the daily grind and then look back like this— at www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF