Friday afternoons are often a bit more relaxed, but relaxed doesn’t mean lazy. The Strong-End Summits (videos that will keep brains and hearts afire) are a way to end our week strong and come back refreshed.

Maya Beiser’s presentation at TED2011

The 2Cellos (Sulic & Hauser) SCAMPER an anthem

One Cello – Four Players: Simultaneously

Those weren’t Mission:Impossible, but this one is:

My wife-to-be, Angela Thye, posted this Nelson Mandela quote yesterday on our SansoneSpot site:

"Our deepest fear in not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous.  Actually, who are you not to be?  Your playing small doesn’t serve the world."  - Nelson Mandela

That last line struck me: "Your playing small doesn't serve the world."  It's one thing to be humble, but another to negate the gift and potential that lies within you.

Reminds me of this scene from Big Fish, Gigantificationism:

by Angela J. Thye (Sansone)

To the Critics,
I have read your claims
I have heard of your disdain
I have been appalled by the brash boldness by which you wield your swords
and loudly proclaim your one-sided judgments and close-minded conclusions through your megaphones

And although that day may come when I speak these things to your faces
for now I write it down at 9:29 PM on March 15th — my 45th day of walking by the side of my Michael
It has only taken me 45 days to see what you have so grotesquely missed by hundreds of miles
It is you who is to be pitied not I
for I know a man who you, with your plank-filled eyes and prideful hearts, may never know
and for that you are to be pitied
for I know Michael Gordon Sansone for who he truly is
a man who is my gift from Father and my most valued prize in this earthly life for. . .

He is a valiant warrior
He is a faithful follower of Christ
He is a humble servant of the King
He is a kind brother
He is a fiercely devoted foxhole friend
He is an extravagant lover
He is an obedient and faithful disciple wherever Father leads
He is a man who lives with the highest forms of integrity in all areas of his life
He is a man of humility
He is a man of faith-filled prayer
He is a lifter-up of the bruised, burdened, bleeding, and beaten down
He is a light to those who walk in darkness
He is a filler of empty cups
He is a beacon in the dark alleys to which most venture not
He is a man of generosity, freely giving whether from his plenty or his little
He is a raiser-up of the unjustly accused, cruelly misused, and maliciously mistreated
He is a valiant warrior
He is a servant leader
He is a brave and brilliant visionary
He is a man of quiet wisdom
He is a coach who skillfully empowers those he trains
He is a fellow journeyman who will walk beside you long before others will notice you and long after others have left you
He is my Michael

So say what you’d like, but know that your words are wrong and grotesquely misplaced
I pity you because the fear or the shame in your heart that made you miss knowing a man who lives his life as a gift to others
His name is Michael Gordon Sansone
And I will proudly stand beside him until my dying day

Sincerely,
Angela Jane Thye (Sansone)

You’ve got to go through a valley to get to the peak. Give me peaks and valleys every time.

When I arrived back in Iowa in mid-January, little did I know . . . I was about to meet the love of my life. I wasn’t looking. I wasn’t even thinking. Not in the status or situation I was in.

What began as a friendly exchange of emails and short face-to-face meetings while serving others, blossomed into a fully engaging romance for the ages.

With consistent, transparent, frequent styles of conversation to each other – we fell in love. When walking together in agreement, working together towards the same goals, things just click.

Our marriage mission statement came together without even knowing it was being crafted:

Sansone Mission
February 23, 2011 — Day 25 — Philippians 1:25
Because He first loved us Uncommonly
We love with Uncommon Love
We serve an Uncommon God in an Uncommon Way
We celebrate with Uncommon extravagance
We embrace others with Uncommon love, service, and devotion
Father, bring us the common, we’ll turn it up and “un” towards You
in an extravagantly loving, abandoned faith and obedience way

By being the same person offline and online, the same person in public and in private … and recognizing the journey through a valley finds a peak on the other side … an uncommon life is lived.

Meet my bride-to-be, Angela Thye. She is my love, my strength, my laughter, a source of energy I’ve never experienced.

I wonder if we can U-Stream the wedding? (coming May 26, 2012  August 6, 2011)

Update: We can and did USTREAM it. Here are our vows:

I love you, Angela  T Sansone

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. 

May your tables have abundance of good food and good conversation, and your days be filled with love, peace, joy, and fun.

Thanks for reading and sharing in 2010.  I look forward to 2011!

Photo on Flickr by heatherknitz