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June 2, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Tags: ORAIA . Author: mark schilling . Comments: Leave a Comment
THE END OF THE WORLD 2011…the take away
1.People give way to much air time to idiots.
This applies to almost every arena of life. Politics, Religion, Literature etc.
2. People of faith can be so easily misled.
Some Christians can be so foolish. Christ isn’t a fool. Christianity isn’t foolish. Like Gandhi said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” This isn’t universally true but it was most certainly true on this one. Here’s a verse that could have saved someone a million dollars…
Matthew 24:36 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Don’t get all weird, Read your Bible people.
3. We all love a good laugh
People of all colors, creeds, languages and economic backgrounds love a good laugh. I for one feel we all owe Harold Camping a big “thank you”. In a time with so much bad new he gave us a good laugh. Wasn’t what you were shooting for Harold but I wouldn’t call all of this a waste. We laughed, we cried, we gave away all earthy possessions. All in all it was a good day.(Other than the fact I threw my diet out the window expecting a glorified body TODAY… back to the gym for me Monday.)
4. Go big or go home.
On thing I will say, Harold Camping went BIG. I haven’t seen such commitment since Donald Trump went after what’s his names birth certificate. Talk about commitment, man Harold, 2000 billboards nations wide, that’s HUGE.
5. There will be an end.
An end to me and an end to the world. Not sure which will come first but its going to happen. Unfortunately I won’t have the luxury of knowing exactly when it will happen. Whether it’s May 21st 2011, ten years from now, 80 years from now, who knows, but it’s going to happen. We wish we had an exact date, to plan, prepare…. just generally be ready. BUT WE DON’T
Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
There will be and end. Don’t let Billy Joel shape your theology. You won’t laugh with the sinners. You’ll cry and gnash your teeth with the sinners. Live with passion. Live with purpose. Live close to the person of Jesus Christ. Live knowing that you’re not promised another day.
Truth is when the song ends and the dance is done knowing and living for Jesus is all that’s really going to have mattered. PS there aren’t good people and bad people. There are bad people and redeemed people. PERIOD.
Happy apocalypse 2011 everyone!!!!
BECAUSE OF ME…FOR ME
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NIV) Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
This good Friday we as a family where attending service at our church. Part of the service included a video piece depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. My normally hyper and easily distracted 3 year old son was transfixed upon what was being portrayed on the screen. He kept his eyes fixed as he rattled off questions.
-Why are they hitting Jesus?
-Why are they doing that to him?
-Why daddy why did they kill him?
These are pretty weighty scenes and even weightier questions, the answers to which are more than tough to articulate to a 3 year old. I said the first thing that came to mind.
Why are they hitting Jesus? Why are they doing that to him? Why? Because of me, for me….
It’s good to know that Christ died for the world, because he truly did. But it’s important that in the enormity and the far reaching work of the cross that we don’t miss how personal the work was. Christ died for me. For MY sin.
Today I thank God that he sent his son to die for the sins of the world but I thank God that he came and died because of me so my sins would be dealt with. I thank God for Jesus that came and died for me so that I could have right standing before God.
Because of ME… for ME…Thank you Jesus
LIVING FOR EXPECTATIONS
I was enlightened to a reality lately that deeply resonated with me. It is that we ALL are living for expectations. The word itself offers immense insight.
There are actually 2 ways to define the word expectation:
1- The act or state of expecting, the act or state of looking forward or anticipating
2- The state of being expected
We either live our lives to fulfill what is expected of us by others or we live our lives in the state of looking forward with anticipation to what lies ahead of us. Parents, teachers/professors, employers, family and friends can all place expectations upon you. Some expectations are well meaning. Some expectations are others peoples attempts to live vicariously through you. Some expectations are down right awful. Whatever they are, they are downright overwhelming when you add them all up and try to live your from underneath them.
I want to live my life in light of the first definition not the second. I want to live my life in a constant state of expecting, looking forward with anticipation to the future. I do this by knowing and reflecting upon who I know I am as defined by God. I do this by cultivating and leveraging all my time, talent and treasure to love God and people and to let God’s voice speak the loudest in my soul. Finally I do this by being fulling engaged in the present with eyes on the future and my heart anchored in eternity
I pray for you if you are being crushed by what others expect of you. I pray you would realize there is a God that believes in you and has prepared for you an abundant life that’s worth looking forward to and anticipating.
Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Let Christ in you spill over into what’s around you
2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (NLT) All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
John 16:33 (NLT)I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Paul wrote the words of 2 Corinthians 4. He called his circumstances, situations and troubles “small” the KJV says “light afflictions”. How could Paul call beatings, lashings, stoning and false imprisonment LIGHT AFFLICTIONS?! He understood what Steven, Job, Abraham, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego understood. He knew what was IN him was more important than what’s AROUND him. Every person, everyday, in every way is choosing to live to be at peace with what’s around us or with WHO lives IN us. We are choosing to either allow Christ in us to spill into the world around us or to allow the world around us to spill into us.
-What’s around us is temporary. Christ in us in eternal and victorious.
I pray that the storm your facing would subside. BUT IF IT DOESN’T I pray that you would know that in this life filled with troubles you have the hope of Glory that is in you. Not only is he in you he wants to give you peace in the storm and be a conduit of peace to others.
-Don’t let what around you still INTO you. Let what’s in you spill over into what’s AROUND YOU.
Choose to be 5 again
Yesterday my daughter went with my wife to New York city to take her brother to the airport. Before they left my 5 year old daughter came up to me and whispered “I think we’re going to get to see pointy buildings”. She had the biggest smile assaulting her face at the prospect of seeing the the beautiful skyscrapers of New York. I got to thinking about how my kids are so easily gripped with wonder and joy . My next thought was “I need to be more like a 5 year old”. Every day I have access to wonder and joy and yet I don’t pause to feel the blessing of it all. Whether its the way my 3 year old boy gives me a huge hug and says “love ya dad” or the warmth of hot soup enjoyed on a cold winter day, there’s wonder within reach. So many times we get caught up in the minutia of emails, bills and the like and miss so much. Life goes by fast and so do the chances to enjoy the everyday. Ya I know stuff can go wrong and life can be bad at times but even when you’re sick you can relish the amazing way popsicles make you feel better if not for a minute. We’re blessed by God with so much and yet we take so much of it for granted Take a minute and see what’s beautiful around you.
-being first when a new cashier opens a new check out line
-the video guy waving the late fees
-those tiny cracker they give you free to put in soup
-the joy in the face of parents as they show you there newborn for the first time
So much wonder and I don’t want to miss of minute of it. I’m going to end now so I can go outside and catch a snowflake in my mouth like my 5 year old does so well.
IT IS WELL
2 Kings 4:25-27 So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunammite. 26″Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she answered, “It is well.” 27When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
This story is amazing. There is a lot we don’t know from reading but there is also a lot we DO know. In this story we’re introduced to a woman who’s only name is “the Shunammite woman”. We know that she recognizes the man of God Elisha as such. We know know that she is old, without children and to a certain extent content in that even when asked what she wanted she said basically “I’m ok”. We know that Elisha speaks a promise that’s fulfilled in the birthing of a son. After a few years the boy dies and this woman isn’t going to just let it go at that. She goes to the man of God a again to set right what has gone wrong. There are several lessons I walk away with from this story
-As a child of God I have promises that are mine in Christ.
2 Kings 4:15-17He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16Then he said, “At this season next year you will embrace a son ” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.” 17 The woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her.
For this woman it was a son but we all have something that is yet to burst forth. Personally, I don’t want to settle until I take hold of all of that for which Christ has taken hold of me
-For time to time that that promise will be attacked and I’ll have to fight for it
2 Kings 4:18-24When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19He said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her lap until noon, and then died. 21She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out. 22Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.” 23He said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.”24Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward; do not slow down the pace for me unless I tell you.”
Marry didn’t understand it all when Jesus was crucified. Elizabeth didn’t understand why her son John died. Abraham didn’t understand why God would ask him to sacrifice his only son. But they trusted that God was working ON it while they where in the midst of it. Things aren’t dead until God says they’re dead and sometimes I have to fight for the promises of God.
-I MUST keep a positive profession while I pursue my promise
2 Kings 4:25So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunammite. 26″Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she answered, “It is well.” 27When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”
Her son was dead but she kept hope alive while there was still hope to reach out for. Sometimes my negative words can speak death over what God says is still alive… So no matter what I go through I must declare IT IS WELL!
I can say it is well because…
-I have someone that will hear my petition and fulfill the promise
2 Kings 4:29-36 Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way; if you meet any man, do not salute him, and if anyone salutes you, do not answer him; and lay my staff on the lad’s face.” 30The mother of the lad said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” And he arose and followed her. 31Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, “The lad has not awakened.” 32When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed. 33So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the LORD. 34And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. 35Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and stretched himself on him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes. 36He called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”
In every storm, valley or trouble I have a God whose ear can hear my cry and whos arms are strong enough to reach in and transform the situation or comfort me in the midst of the situation. Either way I’m NEVER alone and so I can declare with all that is in me IT IS WELL!
a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ
I often recall the story historians tell about the funeral of Charlemagne because it made an impression on me. As you all will recall, Charlemagne was the greatest Christian ruler of the early Middle Ages. The story goes something like this -
After his death, a tremendous funeral procession left his castle for The Cathedral at Aix. When the royal casket arrived, with a lot of pomp and circumstance, it was met by the local bishop, who barred the Cathedral doors.
The Bishop cried out, as was the custom, “Who comes?”.
The Emperor’s proud herald proclaimed “Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire,”
The Bishop replied, “Him I know not,” – “Who comes?”
The herald, a bit shaken, replied, “Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth.”
Again the Bishop roared – “Him I know not,” – “Who comes?”
The herald, now completely crushed, responded, “Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ,”
The Bishop responded, “Enter! Receive Christ’s gift of life!”
I’m coming to realize life has trends(or at least my life). When I was young I was weak and incapable and don’t know it. When I was a teen I was strong and incapable(and didn’t know it). When I was in my 20’s I was strong and felt capable. Now that I’m in my 30’s I’m coming to realize I’m neither as strong or as capable as my ego had told me. What I do with these little moments define me. How YOU deal with moments of clarity define you as well.
All these life trends effect the way we relate to God. We only reach for grace when we need it. The fallacy is not realizing that we are ALWAYS at ALL TIME in need of God’s grace. The error is thinking that there is ever a time that we have it all together. This year my hearts cry is to stay in touch with my need for God’s grace. At the end of every day the reality remains that you and I both are but a lowly sinner who begs the Gift of Christ
MY BOOKS OF 2010
When I was young my pastor told me “Mark leaders are readers”. I’ve found that to be so true. So here are my books for 2010… some good, Some garbage. Check them out and see what you think. let me know if you’ve found any of these to be helpful or interesting to you.
-In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Disciplines to the Green Berets
-Fasting: Opening the Door to a Deeper, More Intimate, More Powerful Relationship with God
-The Grace Awakening: Believing in Grace Is One Thing. Living it Is Another.
-The Remnant
-Love is a Verb: Stories of What Happens When Love Comes Alive
-Man’s Search for Meaning
-No Other Gospel: Finding True Freedom in the Message of Galatians
-Footprints of the Fisherman
-Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road
-In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars
-Spiritual Leadership
-He Chose the Nails
-Essential Church
-Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions
-The Barbarian Way
-Holy Discontent
-Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD
-Know Doubt: The Importance of Embracing Uncertainty in Your Faith
-Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran
-The Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
-The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World
-No Room for Error: The Covert Operations of America’s Special Tactics Units from Iran To Afghanistan
-As a Man Thinketh
-The Science of Getting Rich
-I Was a Stranger: A Christian Theology of Hospitality
-The Imitation of Christ
-Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers
-The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
-Stuff Christians Like
-Over The Top
-Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus
-Leaving Homosexuality: A Practical Guide for Men and Women Looking for a Way Out
-The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die
-59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
-The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
-The Psychology of Winning
-How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life
-Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life
-How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday
-Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
-The Joy of Believing in Prayer: Deepen Your Friendship with God
-Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be With God
-Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear
-To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance
-Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
-Jesus Among Other Gods The Absolute Claims Of The Christian Message
-A Mind for God
HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: STEP 6
6 – After thoroughly blowing off everyone for 4-6 weeks begin to complain about how no one is “reaching out to you” and how “no one cares”.
After you’ve failed to return calls and defriend everyone on facebook start to drop some status’ and tweets that allude to the fact that no one cares. Now this is REALLY important, start to generalize and depersonalize. ALL those “PEOPLE” at church are soooo… Get the idea? Try it.
Here’s an example:
ALL those people at THAT church are ALL about my MONEY? If you really enjoy Irony that last example is super fun to use especially if your total giving to said church has been $14.50 in the last decade… Try it, it’s sooo funny.
It’s always easier to kill(literally and socially) if you you can depersonalize and dehumanize your intended victim.
Tomorrow we take on step 7: Google a random doctrine and pick a fight with your pastor about it
I FEEL GOOD I FEEL GREAT I FEEL WONDERSFUL…REPEAT
I’m at the peak of my training for an upcoming marathon and feeling great. One of the academic fields that fascinate me (I mean other than music therapy, English lit, dance, philosophy and art history) is sports psychology. It has everything I love about psychology MINUS the blaming your mother for failure to breast feed and your father giving an inadequate amount of hugs. Every elite athlete that I have ever read about has enlisted the help of a sports psychologist at one time or another. I’m specifically fascinated by the mental conditioning techniques that are taught to these athletes.
1. SELF-TALK. “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” What you think about affects how you feel, act and perform. The long and short of it is: your life will go in the direction of your most dominant thought.
Here are a few examples published in TRIATHLETE magazine:
“My mind is quiet.”
“I am at ease.”
“My mind is calm & quiet.”
“I have great athletic skills.”
“I am tough and strong mined.”
“I’m energetic and alive.”
“I am confident.”
“I am in control and on a roll. “
“I am quick to make decisions in a stressful situation.”
“I see myself getting better and better each day in every way.”
What is your mantra? What are you saying to yourself?
2. MENTAL IMAGERY. In his book serious training for endurance athletes, Rob Sleamaker says, “The Mind creates an image of a movement before initiating the movement.” Self-talk and mental imagery go hand in hand in my estimation. You have to see yourself finishing strong and with a smile on your face. Maintaining a positive mental state is difficult as we are more inclined towards negativity and quitting
3. FOCUSING SKILLS. Focus on the moment. Don’t stress about the past mile, but focus on the mile your in. Don’t worry about the miles that lie ahead but be present and be positive.
4. RELAXTION TECHNIQUES. RELAX. Remember in life no one gets out alive. Ya, I said it. Point is, live well and ENJOY the ride. Perfectionism in egotistical, so stop it. When you do ANYTHIING perfect come tell me. Until then, if you’re plagued with perfectionism, you will be equally plagued with and inferiority complex as you will constantly find yourself falling short of your self imposed insanity. A better goal is optimal performance. “The optimization mind-set combines the desire for the greatest possible performance with the understanding that training and competition happen within variable and often unpredictable conditions”(Jeff Simons PhD). Might I just say this is equally true of life.
GOOD GRIEF (PART 4)
“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”~Kahlil Gibran
I was recently at a conference where Ed Young Jr. was speaking. In his talk he used the made up word “brutiful”. He was talking about service to God, indicating that it was totally brutal and totally beautiful…in other words Brutiful.
I would say also of grieving and loss that it too is brutiful. There is a headstone in Ireland that reads, “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” I think that says it well (mental note: come up with a witty and pithy epitaph for my headstone).
Psalms 30:5 says “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” In the darkest seasons of our soul, our hearts reach out. It reaches out for something real and lasting and true. Someone said “the death of a loved one produces emotions that can be described as the feeling of reaching out for someone who has always been there, only to find that when we need them one more time, they are no longer there.”
Grief, unchecked, can cover us in indescribable darkness. A feeling that no one can understand me, and no one can help me. But the truth is that there is comfort for those that grieve. Matthew 5:4 says; “Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” When you’re hurting and suffering loss, God himself offers comforts. I know that in pain, the finger of blame often points upward towards God, but where else can we turn when what we thought was sacred and unshakable gets shaken? Only God is unchangeable. Not only does God offer comfort to those that mourn, but he also offers empathy. You see, God also knows the pangs of loss and grief as he endured watching his son suffer and die. And when his divine finger could rightly point to me and assign me the blame for his son’s death, he reaches out his arms in love. WOW! It was our sins and short-comings that made Christ’s death a necessity. Yet instead of giving us what we deserve, God gives us the comfort and forgiveness we NEED.
In your grief and pain, don’t turn from the only one that can truly offer you the help you need. Today, except and embrace the divine gift of comfort God offers to the grieving and let him hold you through the pain. If you do, you can discover what the psalmist discovered in Psalms 147:3 that: He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
LEVERAGING PAIN FOR PURPOSE
St. Francis with a Leper
It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
Til it was a battle cry
-Regina Spektor (the call)
How do we leverage pain for purpose and loss for gain? I think a sign that we are healing from grief is when we are able to move past the need for others to see how much we’re hurting to sharing in the hurting of others. Who better to empathize with the hurting but one who has suffered loss. But so often we stay cocooned in our own conscience pain and fail to be moved by those that are suffering all around us.
I believe pain CAN be leveraged for purpose. I believe the subtle feeling that, “I can make a difference”, can be metamorphosized into a world changing battle cry. BUT HOW? Well I don’t think simply being aware of a need is enough. I think you have to feel it. I mean you have to feel it deep in your gut. A tear jerking, goose bump producing, sleep loosing, heart sick feeling. Now there are needs all around us every day that we ought to do something about. I don’t need a sign from God to step up in those cases and help but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about finding that “thing”, that need that moves you to your core.
You don’t move till you feel.
You can’t feel till you see.
And you’ll never see if you don’t look.
I encourage you to open your eyes and look with “God eyes” to see needs that are all around. There are needs in your family, neighborhood, city, nation and the world. I for one sat and watched documentaries on the genocide in Darfur today. I watched them until I wept, and than I watched some more. I wanted to feel it, not just see it. Seeing life through another mans eyes makes me see my life different. It makes me want to live my life different. There is a Chinese proverb that says “I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”
Look around until you see something that moves you. Let it pull you out of the cocoon and release you into doing what you where created to do… Help and serve the world around you.
I was reminded lately of this powerful story of St. Francis. He was young and wealthy and had it all, at least according to worldly standards until he had a life transforming encounter.
“One day, in a singular moment of personal conversion, Francis encountered a leper. In his age, lepers were forced to ring a bell wherever they went and to cry out the warning: “Unclean!” Society had embedded in Francis an incomparable loathing for persons afflicted with this class of illness. He had always feared both the disease itself and the horrible disfigurement it wrought. Customarily he reacted to lepers with repugnance and anxiety. Like so many of his contemporaries, his personal revulsion affected the further humiliation of these afflicted persons and added to their suffering. Nonetheless, in a decisive moment of illumination, Francis suddenly perceived in this leper the embodiment of God’s beauty, a human being to be loved and cared for tenderly. By embracing the leper, the Saint learned to embrace all people just as Jesus did.” (from shrinesf.org)
AN UNSUNG HERO
Carl Wilkens
I recently listened to a lecture on “ethical responses to genocide” that took place at Stanford University on February 27 2007. In it I heard one of the most moving stories that I have heard in a long time. It was a so inspiring that I want to share it here.
Carl Wilkens is a hero whose name you probably have never heard. In 1994, he was the only one out of 257 American who chose to remain Rwanda after the horrific genocide began and stayed there throughout the duration of the 100 days of hell that claimed the lives of 800,000 innocent people. Wilkens was there as a missionary for the Seventh Day Adventist Church
Here is part of his epic true story….
…On April 9 and 10, the remaining American citizens, with the exception of Carl Wilkens, drove out of Rwanda to neighboring Burundi. U.S. Diplomat Laura Lane describes the struggle to get every American citizen out alive.
“I was the political security officer at the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, and I remember calling all the Americans and saying here’s your evacuation point – here’s where you need to go, and I remember making the call to Carl and he said, ‘Laura, there’s people here, they’re depending on me. I can’t go.’”
Carl says, “You know, right there in front of me was our house girl who’s a Tutsi. Worked for us for several years. I knew as soon as we left she would be slaughtered. There was a young man who was our night watchman. A Tutsi. He’d be slaughtered. And there was no way convoys were letting anyone take Rwandans with them. And at the time my family was evacuating, we lived on a dirt road, and I watched my family drive away down the road. I walked back up to the gate. Closed it and locked it, but as I went back up there and knelt down on the floor with our house-girl and night watchman, and we prayed for the safety of my family, it was a pretty empty feeling.”
Carl stayed there in Rwanda to care for hundreds at the Gisimba Orphanage.
One day the genocide came right to his front door. Carl recounts “And then, all of a sudden, these militia guys began to appear, circling the whole compound. All of them with assault rifles and grenades and stuff. Then all of a sudden, a car comes sliding in the dirt parking lot there. A cloud of dust, and out gets a guy we called Little Hitler.” … “I called Phillip at the Red Cross and said We’re surrounded. Looks like we’re about to have a massacre. How can you help me?’”
Carl eventually got Kigali police to show up and stop the attack.
“I drove out of there, past all the barriers. Militia didn’t hassle me. I said I’m going to the prefecture office. I went there and the secretary who had befriended me said, ‘Listen Wilkens, the prime minister is here today. Why don’t you ask him for help ? [This was] after I had explained my situation and I said, ‘What?! The prime minister? That’s like asking the devil for help!’”
“When you’d get into situations where you’d look for an ally, you’d look around for some sign of sympathy, whether it was just a look or a glance, and you’d appeal to that part in them. And so, when the prime minister comes out with his entourage, I stand up and say, ‘Mr. Prime Minister, I’m Carl Wilkens, Director of ADRA.’ And he looks at me and says, ‘Yeah, I’ve heard about you and your work. How’s your work going?’ I say, ‘Not well sir, all the orphans are going to be killed.’ He stops and confers with assistants. Turns back to me and says, ‘I’m aware of situation and we’ll see to security of your orphans.’ And he was gone.”
That singular appeal to the most unlikely of advocates led to the lives of hundreds be spared.
It has been said that Mr Wilkens single handedly saved more people during the genocide in Rwanda than the entire Clinton administration. Can one man make a difference? Carl Wilkens answers that question.
(Excerpts from The few that stayed by Michael Montgomery and Stephen Smith)
WHO KNOWS ONE?
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld
WHO KNOWS ONE?
This is a A Passover reflection by Rabbi Michael Strassfeld which was recited during the Passover Seder in 2006. It really stirred me.
Who knows one?
Who knows one? One is the Janjaweedmilitia cleansing Darfur.
Who knows one? Two is the stealing and killing of livestock.
Who knows one? Three is the poisoning of wells and the destruction of crops.
Who knows one? Four is the deliberate use of rape to destroy and humiliate families.
Who knows one? Five is the creation of 2.5 million people: displaced, hungry, susceptible to disease.
Who knows one? Six is the over 400,000 people who have already died.
These and more are the plagues of Darfur.
Who knows one? I know one.
Send a postcard to President Bush. Urge him to takeleadership on this issue.
Lo dayenu-but it is not enough.
Who knows one? I know one.
Encourage institutions to hang SaveDarfur banners
outside their buildings.
Lo dayenu-but it is not enough.
Who knows one? I know one.
Attend the rally in Washington, DC on April 30th.
Lo dayenu-but it is not enough.
I know one.
Encourage others to go to the rally.
Lo dayenu-but it is not enough.
Who knows one? I know one—Rwanda.
Who knows one? I know one—Bosnia.
Who knows one? I know one—Cambodia.
There are too many ones. And I am the child who does not know how to count:
One. Two. Four hundred thousand. Six million.
For six million are the lips of our dead mouthing
“never again” in eternal silence.
Who knows one? I know one.
For I am that one.
One person created in the image of God.
It is for me alone to speak out. I and no other.
Not a messenger, not a congressperson, not a president.
I alone am here to tell the tale.
Who knows one? I am that one.
And who knows–I may be the one who will make
the difference.
SAVE DARFUR.
THE “REAL” ME.
“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.” “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
This quote has haunted me since high school. I guess it cuts to the heart of us all in that we are all trying to discover what of us is “true”. All of us in some way are living contradictions. There is the “me” that I want to be and the “me” I really am. The only difference between all of us is how big of a gap exists between the “me’s”.
Youth is, as “Nate”(as his frat brothers called him) Hawthorne put it, bewildered. I would go further to say that they are plagued with bewilderment. The question arises again and again…”Who am I? Not the me I let my parents or friends THINK I am… WHO AM I REALLY”??
St. Augustine say, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” Our purpose is not to be invented but discovered. It is God who puts eternity in our hearts and purpose in our step. And every step we take away from him is a step away from our assurance that our life has purpose.
We all must take a good hard look at our lives and take inventory of both the things that are viewed by the multitudes and the things only we see in the mirror and deal with it. If its something that’s shameful, change it, remove it or redeem it. If its something you’re proud of but no ones sees value in but God take a stand for it today and stop letting the crowd box you in.
Let today be the day you walk away from contradiction and towards continuity. Discover the purpose for which you where created and pursue it with passion.
“If you hate it, change it. If you love it, LIVE IT OUT LOUD. And don’t let anyone shut you up or shut you down”
Qualifying for Boston
My blog says “faith, family, fitness and fun” but rarely do I talk about fitness. But his weekend I ran a Marathon near Cleveland Ohio. I did it in 3:14:50. Its was good enough to quality for the Boston Marathon and good enough for second in my division. I can’t “feel” my legs as doctors like to call it but that will pass. Remember, what doesn’t kill you gives you a permanent limp and and ugly scar(I think that’s how the expression goes). So ya, that was my weekend. Not EVERYTHING went perfect, but hey, that’s life.
THIS JUST IN…..!!!!!
To qualify for the Boston marathon, 18-34 year old men have to run a United States track and field certified course within one calender year with a finishing time of 3 hours 10 minutes… that would be a 7:15 average mile. I did a 3:14:56 averaging a 7:26 mile. I was under the false assumption that 3:15 was the time. This must be what an Olympian feels after he’s been stripped of his metals for drug use… Only difference is I’m NOT an Olympian, i DIDN’T win a gold or even enjoy the high of using performance enhancing drugs. Other than that it’s EXACTLY THE SAME. So yup I am a loser that’s failed my family my country and my God…. OK maybe that’s a bit much but you get the idea.
Lessons:
1. Get your facts straight and not on your iPhone while on the way to the start line.
2. Sleep good the night before.
3. Don’t post to your blog till you do adequate fact checking.
4. Don’t be a slacker and STINKING GET IT TOGETHER and qualify next time…..
THE REAL DREAM
Proverbs 13:12 (NLT) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
At this weekends race there was something that left an indelible mark on me, and it had nothing to do with me at all. At the start line there were hundreds gathered in a gymnasium that served as the staging area for the race. Among the crowd there was one man that looked to be in his early 40′s. He was wearing a shirt with this impressive list of marathons on his back that he’d run this year with corresponding check marks for those that he’d completed.
- Winter Buckeye Marathon
- Athens Marathon
- ORRRC Marathon
- Glass City Marathon
- Flying Pig Marathon
- Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon
- United States Air Force Marathon
- Road Runner Akron Marathon
- Towpath Marathon
- Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon
- Inland Trail Marathon
Needless to say I was impressed as were his friends, family and fellow runners that I observed offering warm wishes as this marathon would serve as the final check mark on this awesome list.
That’s not what left the indelible mark. What blew me away happened at the finish line. I bumped into “Mr. Marathon” after the finish. The same gym that was crammed before the race was now all but empty, except for tables covered in the usual post marathon food. There were only 6 or so runners in this huge gym. I guess you could say it was the front runners (if you’re allowed to call them such a thing in a race with 200 runners lol). As I walked over to graze on some fruit and water I approached him and this was our conversation.
Mark - “Great job”
Mr. Marathon - “I did it”
Mark - “Ya man, 11 marathons… AWESOME”
(At this he burst into tears)
Mr. Marathon - “NO, I did it, I qualified for Boston. I did it. It took 11 times, but I DID IT. No one knows but I was just trying to qualify but I couldn’t. It took 11 times but I did it. Everyone thought I was doing this just to run 11 marathons in a year but I was just trying to qualify for Boston”.
At this point I got a little emotion myself. For all the non-runners its NOT about a race or a time alone. Its about accomplishing a goal. There isn’t anything quite so beautiful as seeing someone achieve a hard fought for goal. What’s tragic about this to me is that for TEN marathons everyone congratulated this guy, but he went home feeling like a failure. Everyone thought he was a “success” but when he looked in the mirror he saw a failure because he was defining “success” differently than all those around him.
I wonder how many people have cars, jobs, houses and all sorts of accomplishments that win them fan fair. Things that they can list on there back to feel like it all matters but only serves as a constant reminder that there not achieving the thing that’s deep in their heart. At the end of my life I don’t want a long list of things I simply got or accomplished or did… I want to be able to say I did “IT”. The “IT” that God’s placed in my heart…I want to accomplish the dream, the hope, the reason that I’m here. I deeply believe that everyone has an “IT” that God has placed in his or her heart. Pursue it with passion and if you fail, run again! If you fail again, try again! If you feel heart sick your most likely not pursuing it. If your life feels fruitful you’re most likely pursuing it… But if you’ve been sidelined or sidetracked I’d like to encourage you. Don’t give up or give in until the dream is fulfilled and the mission is accomplished.
MAJORITY RULES…!!!
Good job Democrats you did it! You got the majority. So now its go time. No more Teleprompters, no more kissing babies its game day! All those dirty republicans are out of the way with their antiquated ideologies of keeping your hard earned money and such. I’m going to sit here and wait for you all to blow my conservative mind. Fill me with hope, transform me with a warm cup of “change” I’ve been hearing so much about. I’m not cynical… I’m ready. And I don’t want to hear A WORD about republicans because we lost and you won. PLEASE, show us how simple it is to transform the world.
I sit here with baited breath to see how Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and our new president will convince Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong-il that this whole “death of the west” thing is silly and to join them for hors d’oeuvres at the white house followed by a tickle fight in the east room (no pun intended…. Wait.. that pun was intended).
I anxiously anticipate how President Obama(I just threw up in my mouth a little typing that) will make socialism look sexy again. So you have 4 year…..READY… SET……ROCK MY WORLD!!!
Oh! and P.S. Obama took over 15 minutes to vote in Hyde park… Most likely he was looking for the yellow “present” button. Well first lesson of the presidency, there is no yellow “present” button in the oval office… Good luck with that one lol
BOYCOTT THIS BLOG!!
WHY do you want me to boycott your blog?! Well I’m glad you asked. I’ve taken the time to review some of my previous blogs and it was to my horror and dismay. Seems I’m 2 parts dyslexic, 1 part crazy, and 4 parts how-did-this-guy-get-past-sixth-grade-English. It was brought to my attention by my editor that I seem to have a minimal grasp of the English language. Furthermore, it was stated that I should be quarantined as to not pollute the general population with my ineptness. (Wow, harsh)
Here are some of my editors comments:
“Mark shows a complete inability to properly use there/their/they’re also were/where/we’re and lets not forget then/than.”
“Mark’s contempt for proper punctuation is a cause of concern, not only as it relates to his writings but also it seems to be a negative indicator of his mental health as a whole.”
“Mark shows a gross flagrancy in his use of capitalization. I can only assume that he was taught that capitalization was merely a suggestion more than a hard and fast rule. Either that or he was mercilessly beat by a gang of capital letters as a child, thus making him a bit skittish in their presence.”
So while I begin a path of personal healing in this area of my life, I ask you to help in one of the following ways:
1. Every time you observe a grammatical error snicker to yourself.
2. Write a seething comment pointing out my mistake…which I will totally post.
3. Boycott my blog all together fearing that I’m making you dumb.
4. Hug an elementary school teacher.
5. Hug me. (my personal favorite)
6. Be patient and realize that you aren’t perfect either JERK….ok…ok… I’m sorry I didn’t mean that. But it’s too late I said it and there is NO way to take it back.
STOP SAYING THE FOLLOWING….OR I’LL SLAP YOU
1. “Fairly unique”
-Either its unique or its NOT… Decide.
2. “At this moment in time”
3. “With all due respect”
… followed by something TOTALLY mean or disrespectful.
4. “I mean it in the best possible way”
…No you don’t your mean and you thinking prefacing your mean comments with that will soften the blow…It won’t..
5. “Peace out”
… Say it again and I will slap your mouth!!
6. “24/7″
7. “It’s not rocket science”
8. “Literally”
…Unless your health was detrimentally affected by your laughter, you DIDN’T “I literally died laughing”.
9. “My bad”
…REALLY, do I need to even address this one?
10. “Anything over 100%”
…There is no 110% no 200% ONLY 100%… and folks giving 100% should still matter. To say anything over 100% is to spit in the face of every statistician (which on the other hand might be a good thing).
11. “Poke”(FACEBOOK)
… I HAAAATE that word… you click that button I WILL call the cops.
12. “Conversate”
… You think it sounds smart… it really just sounds stupid.
13. “Peeps”
…. Unless its Easter or you’re Jay-Z don’t say it.
14. “When God closes a door, he opens a window”
…What is God a cleaning lady airing out my life?
IDIOMS?!….more like IDIOtic :-)
Here are 10 idioms that you have either heard or said recently. You understood it but I DOUBT you can articulate what they mean. Have fun and PLEASE leave a comment with your favorite idioms or genius explanation of the ones listed.
1. An Axe To Grind
2. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch:
3. Make No Bones About
4. Raining Cats and Dogs
5. Rule Of Thumb
6. Son of a Gun
7. Spitting Image
8. Start From Scratch
9. Tie the knot
10. Down To The Wire
A BIG FYI TO ALL Restaurants everywhere
Dear owner of restaurants everywhere,
When I go out with the family to eat, I go to feel good. I go to enjoy a hot fresh meal. But we need to talk. Somewhere, someone thought it would be funny to put ridiculous names on the menu. I don’t know why this happen although I have some sneaking suspicions. I think that the wait staff is unhappy with pay or work conditions or something and they derive some sick satisfaction from hearing ME order….“Ah, yes, I’ll have the DRAGONFIRE CHICKEN”. I’m SURE they’re thinking “heehehe, ah yes sir, would you like extra dragon or extra fire with that”. And YOU outback steakhouse, you’re the WORST offender with your Toowoomba Pasta, and Kookaburra Wings. Are you for real?
And if I go to the Cheesecake factory and I’m trying to be healthy(P.S. its the CHEESECAKE factory so healthy is a joke) I have to actually say to a complete stranger who is taking my order “yes, I’ll have the WEIGHT MANAGEMENT GRILLED CHICKEN”! You’re really making me do this? Are you seriously making me say that?
And one more thing. I feel really foolish when your menu forces adjectives like “incredible” or “awesome” or “worlds best” in front of menu selections. Tell ya what, bring me the chicken sandwich and I’ll be the judge of whether or not it’s incredible or awesome or worlds best. Until then, restaurant owners, have a chat with your menu and tell it to stop acting so pompous and bragadocious
THE ADVENT CONSPIRACY
I’m SOoo excited for what our church is doing during this Christmas season. Take two minutes and check out our promo video for Christmas campaign.
CRISIS ADVICE
GE CEO Jeff Immelt
I thought I’d pass alone something I read on Harvard Business Review Editors blog. In it, Steve Prokesch passes along some great advice for leaders from GE CEO Jeff Immelt.
Be decisive: Make decisions, including some occasions when you don’t have perfect information.
Be accountable: Stand by your decisions, admit when you’ve made a mistake, and make sure you and your team are accountable.
Be transparent: Don’t just tell the truth, share the intent behind your decisions.
Be a unifier: Make people feel like they’re part of something that will last.
Be willing to change yourself: Embrace personal growth.
Leadership, Immelt said, is “an intense journey into yourself. It’s about how much you want to learn. It’s about how much you want to give. It’s about personal change and just being ready to renew yourself every day.” Amen!
GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS – INSTALMENT 1
This is the perfect gift for the wanna be S.W.A.T team member that’s been sentenced to 25 years to life at an office job. Don’t let the cubicles get you down my corporate commando friend because this year Santa stayed up nights crafting you the PERFECT gift. You wanted a GLOCK but life delt you an iPhone. You wanted handcuff to slap on the bad guys after a foot chase but fate landed you with pen embossed with the company logo to jot down all your systems passwords. Up till’ now you thought for sure there was no way to reconcile the contradictions in your soul, BUT NO MORE. Thanks to the good folks at e-Volve you can now throw on their new Gadget Shoulder Holsters. Now peter from H.R will be saying things like “have you seen (insert your tough as nails name here) from accounting? He looks like he can take on an arm.” Or maybe you’re a single chap that’s trying to stand out in the khaki clad crowd. Just throw on your new e-volve Gadget Shoulder Holsters and watch the ladies swoon. Around the water cooler you will surely overhear the ladies say things like, “(insert your soon to be single no more name here) seems 10 time more studly than he did at that one day ergonomics seminar?”
THANKFULNESS
Job 1:21 (NLT)
He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
I want to take a few days to ponder the issue of thankfulness.
- Why gratitude and thanksgiving is important?
- What we ought to be thankful for?
- What Thankfulness produces in us and those around us?
Today I want to begin reflecting on the words of Job. His words are laced with enormous implication for anyone who follows Christ. It’s so easy to be thankful when we feel the hand of God is stretched out towards us benevolently. Thankfulness slips from our lips to Gods ears with ease at his giving, as rightfully it should. Job, this afflicted child of God, says words that expand, to an uncomfortable degree, the margins of thankfulness. You see the standard response for me is that when the Lord gives I praise his name but when what he’s given me slips through my hands like sand, I grieve and question his goodness.
Helen Keller said, “I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God.” As I read her words I think of MY shortcomings. I think of the things that I wish I had or things I wish I could get rid of the things that I’m just generally unthankful for. I see God and am thankful when I can see Him writing neatly in 12-point font across the pages of my life. But I’m starting to realize that God is outside the margins as much at he’s in the neat print. I’m also starting to realize that if I can learn to be thankful in retrospect I can learn to be thankful in real time. I pray that in this season of thanksgiving God will grant me the grace see him even beyond the margins and be thankful. Not thankful for the trial or trouble but moreover that he is with me and working on my behalf.
“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” ~G.K. Chesterton
I’M THANKFUL
-For the innocence in the eyes of my children
-For friends that love me
-For a wife who knows when to NOT let me leave the house when I’m dressed like “an 8th grade science teacher” (whatever the heck that means)
-For a wife that puts up with me….THIS IS NO SMALL FEAT(ask her)
-For a wife who knows when to NOT stop me from leave the house in an outfit that she hates cus’ she knows I’m attached to it for some strange reason.-I’m thankful for my son who is strong, wild, brave and funny beyond words.
-I’m thankful for my daughter who won’t let me leave the house without a hug.
-I’m thankful cus’ this week she put her two tiny hands on my cheeks and told me I was her best friend.
-I’m thankful for my wife who is smoking hot!
-I’m thankful for the breath in my lungs today. It means I have at least one more change to improve on yesterday
-I’m thankful cus’ when I woke up God had brand new mercy for me.
-I’m thankful that my “job” is helping others find God and meaning for there life through him.
-I’m thankful for my son who shares his WHOLE heart with me…. Even though I don’t understand 90% of the words he uses to do so.
-I’m thankful that as I write tears are in my eyes because I realize JUST HOW MUCH I have to be truly thankful for.
Write a list. Write a long list. Don’t just think it…WRITE IT! Look at it and realize that even though things aren’t exactly as you’d have them to be… They’re far better than they could be.
Happy Thanksgiving
QUESTION EVERYTHING
Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
I wanted pass along and interesting excerpt for Martin Linstroms book BUY-OLOGY. In it he challenges why we do what we do.
Play along with me for a moment as we head to the supermarket. Shouldn’t take long; there are only a couple of items on our list.
Lets make our way to the peanut butter section first. There’ Skippy, peter Pan, Jif. The generic supermarket offerings, plus a few virtuous organic brands- salt-free, no sugar added, the sort where the oil rises to the top.
Most consumers think about their choice for all of two seconds. In this case, let’ say you grab the Jif, and we’re on to our next stop.
Was your decision rational? It may have seemed that way to you as you made your choice, but it wasn’t, not by a long shot. If your decision-making process was conscious and articulated- my guess is it might have gone something like this;
I associate Skippy with childhood…Its been around forever, so I feel it’s trustworthy…but isn’t it laden with sugar and other preservatives I shouldn’t be eating?…Same goes for Peter Pan, plus the name is so childish. And I’m not buying that generic brand. It cost 30 cents less, which makes me suspicious. In my experience, you get what you pay for…The organic stuff? Tasteless, the few times I had it…always needs salt, too…Plus, didn’t I read somewhere that “organic” doesn’t necessarily mean anything, plus it’s almost double the price…Jif…what’s that old advertising slogan of theirs: “Choosy Mothers Choose Jif”…Well, I am a fairly discriminating person…
These are the subconscious conversations that go on in our heads every time we choose one product over another. Except, they are rarely, if ever, uttered aloud. Instead, we rely on almost instant shortcuts that our brains have created to help us make buying decisions.
As I read this I wonder how many 100’s of unchallenged decisions I make every day. Who cares about peanut butter? I’m more concerned about how many of my thoughts, emotional responses, coping mechanisms and words are simply outworking of an unchallenged, subconscious, inner life. My default mode is to do what I’ve always done. It’s not exactly what I want but it gets me through the day. Problem is, I don’t want to “get though the day”. Like you, I want to live a full life, and to do that I have to clear the clutter. I have to remove the unproductive and resolve to allow truth to permeate every area of my life.
Question everything. You may find that your have some grounded, godly and highly productive subconscious behaviors. You will also inevitably find that you have some silly, baseless and downright godless subconscious behaviors. Let the discovery of the good encourage you that you CAN be strong and you CAN make good decisions and let it be a propellant to change the bad .
Mandela on leadership
Nelson Mandela is 90 and passes along to Richard Stegel 8 leadership lessons.
Number 1: Courage is not the absence of fear- it’s inspiring other to move beyond it.
-”I can’t pretend that I’m brave and that I can beat the whole world.” But as a leader, you cannot let people know. ” You must put up a front. And that’s precisely what he learned to do: pretend and, through the act of appearing fearless, inspiring others.
Number 2: Lead from the front- but don’t leave the base behind
-”Once your arrive at the beachhead, then you the people to move on”.
Number 3: Lead from the back- and let others believe they are in front
-”The trick to leadership is allowing yourself to be led too”.
Number 4: Know your enemy- and learn about his favorite sport
-Mandela realized that even the worst and crudest could be negotiated with”.
Number 5: Keep your friends close- and your rivals even closer
-Mandela recognized that the way to deal with those he didn’t trust was to neutralize them with charm.
Number 6: Appearances matter- and remember to smile
-”For white South Africans, the smile symbolized Mandela’s lack of bitterness and suggested that he was sympathetic to them. To black voters, it said, I am the happy warrior, and we will triumph”.
Number 7: Nothing is black or white
Number 8: Quitting is leading too
-”Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make”.
WHERE’S JESUS GOING FOR CHRISTMAS?
Hebrews 13:1-3 (NLT) Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
LITTLETON, Colo. — This time last year, Monique White was living in a tiny motel room and looking for work, pining for the Thanksgivings of her childhood when dozens gathered for the holiday feast.
On Thursday, White will fulfill her holiday wish. She has a home and a job, and thanks to an impromptu Craigslist posting, more than 30 strangers are gathering at her house to share a banquet of nine turkeys, four hams, 16 boxes of stuffing and a dozen or so pies. White, 36, posted a two-sentence invitation on the Internet classifieds site last week. The receptionist at a dentist’s office was feeling a little lonely, her two sons spending the holiday with their dad. So she figured maybe four or five strangers would reply to her ad and join her and longtime partner Doug White at their suburban Denver home for Thanksgiving dinner.
Instead, dozens replied. People laid off work. People with no family. People ashamed to bring their children to a charity Thanksgiving dinner at a soup kitchen. “I thought there was no way I could judge who is worthy of sitting at my table. I have to invite them all,” White said, sitting at her dining room table as she went over some of the e-mails. So all 32 people who responded are coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. White’s boss heard what she was doing and said he’d pay for the food. A local hotel is bringing over tables and chairs. A professional magician in the area replied and offered to come perform for the kids. National media outlets have shuffled through the Whites’ modest town house writing about the unusual offer.
It’s a far cry from last year, when the Whites were living in a motel room. They had a long-haul trucking business that had gone out of business. “Last year it was just us two. It was horrible,” she said.
Things have turned around. Both are now working, and they’ve bought the town house. With the economy as it is, the Whites say they’re barely making ends meet. But they feel compelled to share what they do have with others. “That’s what Thanksgiving is about: Helping other people out however you can,” Doug White said. He’s had little time to contemplate the meaning of Monique’s Craigslist gesture. He was busy making the first turkeys, putting one in the oven as soon as another came out. But there’s truly plenty to give thanks for over the past year. “People need to stop being so worried about me, me, me, my bills, my life. You stop worrying, and look what happens?”
This should be a common story of every Christ follower!
Matthew 25:35-37 (NLT) For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?
WHO IS A STRANGER:
1. The misjudged
- “They probably bought that car by selling drugs
- “That homeless person is probably a drunk or a crazy”
- “See that tattoo? That’s a gang tat… He’s trouble”
- “See how terribly dressed that person is? They’re lazy”
- AND ON AND ON IT GOES…
“We judge other by their actions and ourselves by our motive”
-WE ALWAYS LET OURSELVES OF THE HOOK and place others on it
1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT) But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
-Lets look past the visible and peer in on the invisible. See people with fresh eyes and see what others don’t see. See the beauty and value that God sees when you look at others.
2. The Lonely
Psalm 25:16 (CEV) I am lonely and troubled. Show that you care and have pity on me.
“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty”. -Mother Teresa
(2006) In a new University of Chicago study of men and women 50 to 68 years old, those who scored highest on measures of loneliness also had higher blood pressure. And high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, the number one killer in many industrialized nations and number two the United States.
Lonely people have blood pressure readings as much as 30 points higher than non-lonely people.
Richard Suzman of the National Institute on Aging, which funded this research, said he was “surprised by the magnitude of the relationship between loneliness and hypertension in this well-controlled, cross-sectional study.”
The study concluded that about one in five Americans is lonely, a gnawing emotional state that is a patchwork of feeling unhappy, stressed out, friendless and hostile.
Some psychologists think that associations between loneliness and health or physiology are just part of a generic stress response, but this new research suggests loneliness has a unique impact.
-Who is within your reach that is lonely?
-It’s easy to say that if they are close enough to touch they probably aren’t lonely but it’s NOT true. Use this Christmas to pull someone that’s lonely close. You may find as you seek to relieve their loneliness yours will be relieved as well.
3. The desperate
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” -Henry David Thoreau
-Don’t judge people by the actions that arise from their desperation but resolve to bring them in out of the cold and speak hope to the desperation.
4. An outsider
There is this great interaction that occurs in Les Miserable. Jean valjean the quintessential stranger is welcomed in to the home of a bishop. Jean valjean is a desperate outsider with NO ONE that believed in him. He stole from the bishop and when Jean valjean is brought to the bishop by the police the bishop says “I gave those to him and then he says this most moving line:
“Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!”
In this epic story you see that this single act of love and deep hospitality done by the priest totally turned Jean Valjeans life around. I believe we can all be used in similar ways
“People are drawn to Christ not by crosses or creeds but by Christians that live like him” -Mark Schilling(lol)
Who can we take in this Christmas? Maybe not literally into our homes, but MAYBE. Be open and ask God if there is a stranger within your reach who you can bring in.
Jeremiah 22:3 This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!
GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT – INSTALMENT 2
This is the PERFECT gift for grandparents who loves their grandchild. Nothing says “I love you and couldn’t care less if this gift will make your parents have to move to a bigger house” like giving a 6 1/2-Foot 40 pound Teddy Bear to your grandchild. Grandma & Grandpas of the world just imagine how your little grandchild’s face will light up with joy (and how their parents face will light up with disdain for you) as they see what you got them from Christmas. You will definitely shore up the spot of “Best grandparent”(and most loathed parent) with this $499.99 monstrosity. “But Mark can you really put a price on love?”… Great question. I’ve got $499.99 that says you can…. What I MEAN is, Grandma and Grandpa can ….So get out there and tap into your 401k and say I love and watch the surge of Christmas emotion.
Clarity and Complexity
How we define success and significance will set the trajectory of your life. If success equals money, you will do whatever it takes to have a bunch of it. If significance is defined as being known and envied, you take jobs that are visible and admired by the masses. “How do you define success?”… This is a great question to ask yourself in the mirror…TODAY. When you are able to define it, the hunt is on. Donald Sensing said, “The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you discover why.” The moment of discovery is a moment of both clarity and complexity.
There is Clarity because you now know the pursuit that brings fulfillment.
There is Complexity because often the prerequisite to stepping into and engaging your call is a season of preparation, which quite frankly can be a drag. Also, there is complexity because what you should do isn’t always what you desire to do. I think this is because we often desire base and carnal things. We buy(sometimes literally) into the lie that if we own that or drive that then we’ll feel fulfilled.
In my humble estimation fulfillment, success and significance, in so many ways, is rapped up in helping others. It’s found not in the acquisition of things but in the giving of love. Even though I know that fulfillment is found in giving and loving, I can find myself still pursuing vein things. Everyone talks about what you will look back and wish you did different when you arrive at the end of your life. But as I’m nearing the end of my…. 20’s I can look back and point to the things that mattered and the things that didn’t. I’m not saying “man I’m soooo glad I got the Turbo instead of the straight 6 cylinder” I’m saying “I’m glad I invested in that relationship” or more often “I wish I HAD invested MORE in that relationship”. These are the moments of clarity that help me overcome all the complexities and help me regain focus and pursue the things that really matter .
Emily Dickenson wrote a great poem that I love entitled Not In Vein.
Not in Vein
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain:
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Be Still My Heart
The other day I woke up with the weight of a 1000 thoughts and worries. It was that vague, “I’m not sure EXACTLY what’s stressing me out but I’m stressed never the less” feeling. The kind that makes you lose your appetite and your chest to get tight. All this happened in the 30 seconds it takes for me to close the distance between my bed and coffee maker. Have you ever had a day like that? You wake up and the stress of yesterday has bled into today setting its tone before it has begun.
The reason I write is not to share stress but to share what happened in spite of this. There was a phrase that kept coming to mind: “BE STILL MY HEART”… First, I felt as if I was “hearing” that phrase deep inside me but then I decided to consciously speak it to myself. As I sipped my coffee and began my day I kept whispering to myself “be still my heart”. Don’t ask be where this exact phase came from. Homer (the epic poet, not Simpson) said, “Be still my heart; thou hast known worse than this”… but I don’t read that much Homer so idk.
As the vague stress became more defined, having names, dates and dollars I would whisper “Be still my heart”. I don’t rule the world; I don’t appoint the rising or the setting of the sun… But sometimes I stress as if I did. Don’t look at me like that! You do it too! But as I choose to speak peace to myself I could feel my chest begin to unknot and the weight on my shoulders begin to lift.
Psalm 116:7 (The Message)
I said to myself, “Relax and rest.
God has showered you with blessings.
Soul, you’ve been rescued from death;
Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;
And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”
SIT DOWN WE NEED TO TALK
As one commissioned with the shaping of young minds there are several topics that need to discussed. There are several factors that make a young person rise to prominence and achieve true success. The question is often posed “What contributes to success?” Also “What are the factors that keep a young person from succeeding?” Well, after some keen observations I have discovered what I feel to be some of the claws that are tearing the moral fabric of our society to shreds.
The first is underwear and the second is sweat pants.
When I grew up my mom loved me (and still does). Chapter 32 of the mom handbook is titled “inside voice vs. outside voice”. This helped me as a young man to learn how to choose socially acceptable volume levels. Choosing a proper decibel level is CRUCIAL when saying a Hail Mary vs. hailing a cab (& no I was never catholic). Now I don’t know how often the mom handbook is revised but clearly its time for and update.
First: Underwear. Now this is a two way street and applies to both guys and gals. I know, I know you paid good money for them but by way of review lets dissect the word “underwear”…. UNDER – WEAR. Pretty clear what the inventors intended. Its not cute, its not attractive and it’s not cool. Get yourself together and put it back under your wear.
(MOMS- if your child tries to leave the house and you can visibly see boxer, brief or brassiere showing, SLAP THEM IN THE HEAD… I won’t call the police… promise)
Second: Sweatpants. Unless you plan to sweat in these pants… DON’T WEAR
THEM. Not to the mall, not to church, not to school, not ever, no exceptions… And no, UGG boots don’t make them an outfit. Like there cousins “inside words” sweatpants are inside cloths. Write all the words you want on the butt, you STILL shouldn’t wear them past your mailbox unless you are continuing on to the gym. The same goes with pajamas. I’m not sure what everyone’s problem is with jeans, khakis, skirts and “slacks” but please, you are destroying our nation faster than the liberals in Washington with these unfashionable and nasty behaviors.
(If you agree with this blog… I wrote it… If not my wife wrote it)
NOT AS EASY AS YOU’D THINK
When I was a kid I remember around Christmas time my parents would give my sister and me money to shop for Christmas presents for the family. This didn’t strike me as weird for a while but one day it hit me that my parents where giving ME money to by THEM presents…”does that count” I began to think to myself. It was at about this time (or the decade surrounding it… my childhood is a bit hazy) that I noticed these wooden deer in some shop somewhere. As a young kid I remember thinking “I bet I could make those with my dads tools”. So there I was in my dads shed cutting and hammering and cutting myself and hammering my fingers and just TRYING to make something that I could proudly present to my dad. I remember hearing my dad approach the shed. I remember him not barging in but asking from outside the door “Mark, you need some help”. In annoyance I said, “I’m fine”(I’ve always been determined…ok stubborn). 10 minutes went by and he came again, “You sure you don’t want my help, I can help you?” and again I rejected his offer. Finally the third time a few minutes when he said, “Mark, lets do it together.” We (ok HE with ME “assisting”) proceeded to craft a small heard of little wooden deer. I should pause here and say “Thanks dad” I would still be in that shed today if he didn’t help me.
I wonder if this is what God must have felt like as he looked over the mess of humanity, from the failure of Adam and Eve to the struggle of Mary and Joseph? He had to watch as his stubborn children cut, hammered, toiled and struggled futilely trying to live life apart from his intervening hand. He offered help through the giving of the law, the ministry of the prophets and through angelic visitation but man couldn’t construct a life that was presentable to God on their own. Finally he said, “I’ll go myself”. And he comes, not kicking the door off the hinges but as a baby, in a stable with a gentle knock. A gentle “you need some help”. Sadly man rejected him the baby grew to be a man and as he taught in the streets and the synagogues if it was saying, “I can help you”, yet again he was rejected and condemned to die. But he rose from the dead and now he sits at the right hand of the father in heaven whispering to you this Christmas. It’s the familiar voice behind the door you’ve been ignoring; it’s the whisper that speaks to your heart saying “Let’s do this together…you can’t do this without me.” Your time and resources are wasting away, your life is bruised and your heart is aching…It’s time… Let him in.
Revelation 3:20 (NLT) “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
SEASONS GREETING???…. REALLY?!?!?!?
I stopped the store the other day, in between appointments, for a delicious, cold, Perrier. After paying my $1.57 and before exiting I was offered this salutation “seasons greetings”…SEASONS GREETING!!!??? I asked him “what does that even mean? ” Is that like “howdy winter” or “welcome winter solstice”?? He just gave me a blank stare. Stick with me cus’ I really do have a point. Here it is; WHERE’S THE BACKBONE?
In 2005 FOX NEWS conducted a poll and among the questions they asked;
Which of these late December holidays do you celebrate?1. Christmas 96% 2. Hanukkah 5% 3. Kwanzaa 2% 4. (Other/Refused) 1% 5. (None) 1%
That means that 96% of people won’t mind if Brad from the GAP says “Merry Christmas” or “Happy birthday Jesus”. I know I know “corporate” instructed them to do that so as not to offend the Jew or occasional Zoroastrian that might swing in for a new pair of chinos. But please people if this is truly about offense lets do this by the numbers. Of the 96% how many do you suppose you are, straight up, ticking off with “season’s greetings?” Just guessing it’s much higher than the percentage of Muslims, Jews and Hindus combined that got warm fuzzies when you offered up your spineless “happy holidays.”
Now I’m not trying to be a jerk I’m just saying if I walked in to, lets say, Hollister and was getting cashed out by an athletic young kid sporting his Yamika and he offered me a “Happy Hanukkah bro” I wouldn’t be mad. I’d probably say, “You’re a Jew, awesome, my savior’s a Jew, Merry Christmas.”
So lets go over the numbers one more time shall we. 96% want a “Merry Christmas”. %1 of people didn’t have the gull to give an answer to a telephone poller thus wont put up too much of fight if you give THEM their “Merry Christmas”. 1% said, “None, thus, they don’t give a rip, so, give um their “Merry Christmas. %5 are Jews so look for the Yamika and tread lightly. As for the %2 of observers of Kwanza….it was made up in 1966!!!
Lets cut all this PC stuff and stop the non sense and show some backbone. I mean 40% of teens are EMO and don’t want to “have a nice day” but that doesn’t stop every sales clerk in the world from subjecting them to THIER world view and forcing a “have a nice day” on them everytime they leave their establishmesnts. So MERRY CHRISTMAS and thanks for the Perrier Mr. “seasons greetings” man.
NOTHING SAYS CHRISTMAS LIKE UGLY BATS
I was reading through my collection of The New Yorker magazines (as I do every year around this time). I came across a great article in the February 1988 issue entitled “Bats” by Diane Ackerman.
“As the bat closes in, it may shout faster, to pinpoint its prey. And there’s a qualitative difference between a steady, solid echo bouncing off a brick wall and the light, fluid echo from a swaying flower. By shouting at the world and listening to the echoes, bats can compose a picture of their landscape and the objects in it, which include texture, density, motion, distance, size and probably other features, too. Most bats really belt it out; we just don’t hear them. This is an eerie thought when one stands in a silent grove filled with bats. They spend their whole lives yelling. They yell at their loved ones, they yell at their enemies, they yell at their dinner, they yell at the big, bustling world. Some yell faster, some slower, some louder and some softer. Long-eared bats don’t need to yell; they can hear their echoes perfectly well if they whisper.”
Her writings made me think about this reality; there are so many people around us that are hurting and silently screaming waiting for something to come back at them that will guide them in the midst of their darkness. I’m thankful at Christmas that Christ came to answer the heart cry of humanity. He hears us when we prey, weep AND scream. If you cry out to him your breath won’t be wasted.
Life lesson #25 for my son; “Bones heal and chicks dig scars”
Twas’ Christmas morn and all through the house unwrapped toys where strewn about. Sounds quaint right? WELL Niko being Niko had to sauce it up a bit and add a little excitement to our Christmas morning.
His papa had given him a sweet trike on which he was tearing it up and what happens next we are unclear. What we do know is this, Yiayia found the wreckage in the ditch (the trike on its side next to the kitchen sink) and him bleeding from his head. Having received stitches so often as a kid I that got one of those punch cards so the 10th stitch was free, I knew right away that he needed a couple himself. With a sense of urgency I did what any dad worth his salt(whatever the heck that idom means) would do… I immediately grabbed the camera and took pictures for posterity. Knowing the seriousness of the situation I carefully set the aperture, f stop and shutter speed to ensure a quality picture. THEN Stephanie and I took him to the ER…. Now Niko and I prefer trauma room 36b. There is a window, a rocking chair and 27 in LCD T.V. with cable. Also it is right next to the nurse station so it’s Business Class as far as ER’s are concerned. Unfortunately, we had to go to the “Minor procedures” room… no window, no T.V. , no fun. But we made the best of it and 4 sutures later my boy was a man… ok ok so he’s a 19 month old with 4 stitches but you get the idea. All and all an awesome Christmas, fun was had by all. 
2008 OF MY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF 2008
1. Bonding with Niko in the E.R. …. Several times.
2. Discovering the key to clean coal technology…But I forgot to write it down.
3. Anna declaring, “Dad, I don’t talk to boys”. No sweeter words has a Dad ever heard.
4. Setting a P.R. in the marathon 3:14:50… next year, PRIZE MONEY!!
5. Finishing in the top 10 at the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k with my friend Corban.
6. Kissing my wife a lot…. I really like doing that.
7. Disney with the family… Magical (I have to pay Disney World Inc. 5 cents for using that word… crap.)
8. Being involved in the process of God in so many people’s lives… always humbling.
9. Watching Sarah Palin tick off EVERY democrat by helping the republican ticket … priceless… did she mention her husband races snowmobiles?
10. Meeting A GREAT new friend (you will have to figure out if I’m talking about YOU.)
I had 1999 others but they got deleted and I’m NOT retyping them.
NEW YEARS DAY “HANGOVER 10K” & GETTING OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE
So this morning, while the most of the sane world was sleeping I got up to run the annual Hangover 10k. Today it was minus 2 with the wind chill at minus 10… But it was a dry cold so it was OK (that’s what people say about heat and it ticks me off every time). Any-who, people ask me why I do silly things like this and the answer is quite simple… It puts me out of my comfort zone.
I think as often as possible it’s good to push yourself out of your comfort zone in as many areas of you life as possible. It’s where the good stuff (stuff sometimes being frostbite) happens. Today it was fitness but tomorrow it might be that pivotal conversation I’ve been avoiding because it’s out of my comfort zone. Or maybe it will be asking someone in my life that loves me deeply to be truthful about what things in me could handle a little change.
What areas in your life have you chosen a comfortable groove over growth? Maybe it’s the emotional pain you’ve been denying instead of dealing with. Maybe it’s the abundant waistline that’s keeping you from enjoying an abundant life. Whatever the potentially painful thing is… face it. The discomfort of a heart attach is far greater than the pain of the treadmill (although some of you may disagree). The pain of loosing a friend to addiction and wondering if there was more you could have done is FAR more difficult than the discomfort of an intervention.
Comfort is not the measure by which we ought to make life decision. Decisions ought to rise from a right perspective, right principles and potential for progress. So this year push yourself out of your comfortable groove and into uncomfortable growth.
Oh, P.S. I came in 8th… and also I WASN’T hung over… and others where which may account for my high ranking.
“Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same” – All At Once, The Frey
IGNORE THE HECKLERS
There will always be things that will come to rob you of vision. I want to take some time to talk about things you can do to protect the vision you have over the course of the next few blog posts . But let me say one thing about vision before i jump in. If your vision is some self-centered, ego driven, humanistic vision… let it die. BUT, if it is a selfless, godly vision you need to learn to fight for it.
So without further ado:
1. Ignore the hecklers
Nehemiah is a great book of the Bible as well as a great story of receiving, maintaining and fulfilling vision. In it we see a man who gets a burden to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and along the ways faces more than a little opposition. He faces opposition from both enemies AND friends.
Nehemiah 4:3-4 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”
Nehemiah 4:12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
Tobiah was a knucklehead dude with a beef with Nehemiah so we expect a little razzing, but the Jews, really? He’s doing this in part and parcel FOR THEM and he has to put up with them heckling and trying to deter him. There is a hard lesson to be learned here; sometimes the people that SHOULD support you DON’T. Just deal with it. You can cry yourself to sleep every night telling God how people are mean and loose years or you can hear the following two words: PETER, JUDAS. Build a bridge and get over it. Sometimes the people that should support you DON’T. Wish they did, but they don’t always. You can’t let it keep you from you goal.
No matter who you are or what you do or what you accomplish you will ALWAYS have a heckler or two. Knowing that should help you, to some extent, to not feel so abnormal. If you’re a million dollar pro ball player or you work retail at the mall you will have a heckler or two from time to time. You have to find a way to shake it off. If you don’t they will get in your head and short-circuit your vision. So ignore the hecklers, take to the stage and rock the world with what you have to offer.
“It is not the critic that counts not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the Arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming but he who does actually strive to do the deed who knows the great devotion who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
VISION DEFENSE…PART 2…REFRAIN FROM THE COMPLAIN
Neh 4:10… there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.
Proverbs 4:26-27 (The Message)
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust.
SHUT IT! Seriously! Didn’t your mamma teach you that if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say anything at all? The Truth is we are creatures of habit. People that are in the habit of looking for the negative will ALWAYS see it. Whether it’s the economy, politics or the weather these people can bust out a complaint faster than Paris Hilton can say, “that’s hot”. But just like you can train your brain to see the bad you CAN train it to see the good. In pursuit of your vision there will always be junk along the path. There will always be issues that you can complain about. Now, here’s the deal, if the issue you’re complaining over is unchangeable than your complaining over it is a waste of time and energy. If the issues are changeable than spend the time and energy you’ve dedicated to complaining on actually changing it. In the book of Nehemiah people began to complain that there was too much rubble to accomplish the vision. But although Nehemiah saw the rubble he didn’t spend his energy on complaining about it but rather spent his time and energy on building. Here are some tips to shift from complaining to obtaining.
1. Disassociate yourself from a negative, complaining mindset.
-When a negative thought comes into your mind and the urge to complain arises instead of berating yourself and saying “I’m so negative” say “That’s not me, I refuse to give space or expression to that negative thought”.
2. Fill the newly found space with positive and uplifting words.
-When to leave negativeville you will begin to realize just how much mental real estate you have. Begin to give voice to EVERY positive word that enters you mind, even if you are alone. You really can retrain your brain and create new, positive, neurological pathways.
3. Own your mood.
-If you dwelling on that your thought its your decision and its you choice. The sooner you own that fact the sooner you can change. If it’s not your fault you cant change it so own it and begin the process of change.
4. Let people know.
-Let people around you know that you’ve committed to NOT complaining and ask them to give you a gentle nudge (or a slap right on the mouth) if you go negative. I’m more apt to hold the line on a personal resolution if I know I have to explain WHY I punked out or backed down.
VISION DEFENSE PART 3…Refuse to let exhausting cripple you
HOUR 8 - MILE 48
Hebrews 12:2 (The Message) Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.
“God wants me happy”. You would be shocked to hear how often people say that to me as a “man of the cloth”. REEEaaaaaallllllyyyyyy, he wants you happy? I wonder if Jesus said that as he was humiliatingly nailed naked to a cross? He didn’t! Ya know why he didn’t? Because Jesus understood something that we need to get: God is more concerned about accomplishing his purposes than he is micromanaging our happiness. Let me share a little story.
There was once a dad with a VERY active, 18 month old son. And this son seemed to have a secret agenda of being hospitalized daily. The father, because he loved his son would sometimes have to slap his sons hand to keep him from, say, crawling into the broiler. The son would cry not understand the heart of the father. The fathers heart of course was to keep his son alive long enough to be potty trained. -THE END
(THE EVENTS, CHARACTERS, AND FIRMS DEPICTED IN THIS MOTION PICTURE ARE FICTICIOUS. ANY SIMILARITY TO ACTUAL PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, OR TO ACTUAL EVENTS OR FIRMS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.)
My point is that in pursuit of any worthwhile goal you WILL as some point reach the breaking point of exhaustion. And when you do, focus on the reason for your struggle, the purpose in the pain and goal you’re after. Reach up to God for strength then REACH DEEPER in yourself and keep going!!! I love what 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
“Whenever there was an opportunity for it, one had to give them a why – an aim – for their lives in order to strengthen them to bear the terrible how of their existence. Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on. He was lasoon lost.” –Viktor Frankl (in his book originally titled “from death-camp to existentialism”)
VISION DEFENSE PART 4…Remember that the fight isn’t just a fight for YOU
Nehemiah 4:14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
All great pursuits have to have a touch, or a ton, of altruism. Martin Luther King, Jr. said; “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” To really endure through the pain of the pursuit you HAVE to have a goal that’s not me-centric. There can’t be anything emptier than to reach the finish line of life only to realize that no one is there because you ran for yourself and by yourself. By our very nature we are obsessed with ourselves and our own self-interests. So complete, so unfailing and perfect is our love for ourselves that Christ himself used it to set the bar on how we ought to love others. He said, “you see how you wake up thinking about YOU and go to bed thinking of YOU, try doing that for someone other than YOU.”(paraphrase).
If you’re fighting for a vision that is all about you, you need a new vision. If you’re fighting for a dream that isn’t about you than fight as if someone else’s life depended upon it. Today we honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr. He was a brilliant and privileged man that CHOOSE to lay down his life for others. He could of lived fighting for himself and those in his immediate circle but rather he choose to fight for the rights of the oppressed. He died fighting, but the fight didn’t die with him because the fight wasn’t FOR him. I want to live a life fighting for others and join, in some small way, in the legacy of those that choose the same.
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
VISION DEFENSE PART 5 – BALANCE
Neh. 4:16-18 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.
Nehemiah understood something that we all struggle with; we can’t sacrifice tomorrow for today. We all want to have a smile on our face today but not at the expense of the smiles of tomorrow. There is ALWAYS a battle that’s right in front of us, a fire that needs extinguishing. But imbalance comes when we allow nearsightedness to rob our future. At some times Faith, Family, Work, Play, Finances, Health/fitness will demand more attention from us than at other times. I’ve found in both my reading and experience that balance comes as we are able to properly manage the following two things:
TIME – Your most precious resource is not money but time. The rich and poor have this in common, they both have 24 hours in their day.
PERSPECTIVE – How you see it is as important, if not more important than WHAT you see. Your attitude about “IT” is as important as whatever “IT” is you’re facing.
Every day is a good day to ask yourself how you may be giving a disproportionate amount of time to something that’s creating imbalance. And every day is a good day to ask yourself if you’re viewing something in a wrong or tainted way which is resulting in imbalance. The journey towards your purpose is a tightrope walk and unless you can learn the art of balance you will inevitably fall far short of it.
“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.” -Thomas Merton
VISION DEFENSE PART 6… THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING A FAILURE AND BEING A LOSER
Yesterday I was on the treadmill at the gym listening to Glen Beck on FOX news. He was talking to Chris Gardner, the man for which the movie THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS is based upon. Glen said to Chris “I relate to your story because I was a failure most of my life. I was NEVER a looser, but I was a failure”. I thought that was a unique and thought worthy distinction. At first the two words may seem interchangeable but they are not. Failure is simply no meeting an intended objective. But to be a looser is to internalize failure and to make it into WHO you are. You make the switch from being a failure to a loser when you accept failure. It can also be said that you become a loser when you quit. If you rise to fight another day you will never be a loser.
Truth is, we need to change the way we see failure. I’ve seen it taught this way…
S U C C E S S <-> Y O U <-> F A I L U R E
Seeing it in that way creates an enormous amount of undo stress and tension as we pursue our goals. But really, we ought to see it in this way…
Y O U –> F A I L U R E –> S U C C E S S
Instead of seeing failure as something that only happens to looser see it as something that is along the path of winners, because truly it is. See failure as a necessary evil on the path to greatness, an obstacle that YOUR winning attitude can push through.
Consider the following:
-Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
-Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and one of his teachers described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.
-Henry Ford went broke five times before he succeeded.
-Jack London who wrote “call of the wild”, received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.
-27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
-Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
GUEST BLOGGER – JORDAN BOYCE
In the next couple weeks you will hear from some of my friends from around the country and around the WORLD(ok Canada) on the topic of vision. The first in the line up will be the youngest of my guest bloggers. Jordan Boyce is dynamic 18 year old that serves on the leadership team of GROUND ZERO a minsty of New Life Worship Center in Rhode Island. He is presently serving as in intern at THE CITY CHURCH in Seattle Washington. Here’s what he had to say…
I Can Do That
I believe most teenagers lack vision because they have never seen vision in anyone else their age.
My youth group was set up for many years with the exact components to be a success. We had a youth pastor, a band, and free pizza- all the perfect ingredients for growth, right? Yet, week after week apathy permeated myself and every other teenager in that place. It was as if we showed up to take a 2 hour nap every friday night- then go to Chillis.
One Friday night i woke up. If i was honest i think it was my friend Nate that woke me up. It was if i had been in a haze for months seeing the same worship and hearing the same message week after week. In one moment my being came into focus as I saw my 17 year old friend stand up to preach. It was only a 15 minute message, but it was not the message that spoke…It was the fact that a 17 yr old was preaching. My eyes seemed to be opened and mind activated to one thought: “Pshh, i could do that.”
It was as if Nate reached into my head and flipped the “on” switch. A teenager was actually doing something viable in our youth group! A teenager actually had a vision better than surviving those forced 2 hrs of church! I had an example set in front of me, and it allowed me to have my own vision activate. I preached 1 month later.
Paul writes to his young protege Timothy to be an example to all believers- essentially he is telling Timothy to live out his Christianity so that other believers can think to themselves “Pshh, i can do that”. Vision begets vision. One teenager waking up is sure to wake up other teenagers. Just one man named Moses woke up an entire nation called Israel to the fact that they were greater than slaves. Teenagers have become slaves chained to the daily grind of hanging out, showing up at church, and watching movies. These teenagers are actually a mighty nation, the called out ones. Yet, so many settle for a menial existence simply because they have never seen someone their age who has a vision bigger than going to Chillis on a friday night.
Its as if many of our youth groups are trapped in a massive room that is pitch black. Just one match needs to be lit. One match that gives off just enough light for a few other teenagers to find and light their own matches- until whole youth groups are illuminated by people who have seen a match lit and lit their own matches.
Whole youth groups need to be illuminated- but it starts with just one teenager. One teenager who does something that will make their friends think: Pshh, i can do that.
(you can hear more from Jordan at jordanboyce.wordpress.com)
LOVE PEOPLE, USE THINGS
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT)You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
January 24 Erik Salvador Ayala went on a shooting rampage in the streets of Portland, Oregon. He killed two and injured seven before shooting himself in the head. If that’s not depraved enough look at a portion of the suicide note this unemployed, depressed 24-year-old left his roommate:
“You know my ps3 is special,” it said. “Similar USED ps3s go for AT LEAST $450-$500. Our landlord guy wants a ps3 like mine. Let him know that $400 would be a GOOD deal. If he doesn’t want it, format the drive by going to Settings>system Settings>Format Utility. You can say that it “comes with the latest firmware software” to help market it on the Internet. In case you don’t know, it’s the special “100% backwards compatible” (60GB) ps3.”
Why am I posting all this? It’s simple really. What bothers me here is that this messed up story doesn’t shock me. It SHOULD but it doesn’t. It doesn’t surprises me because this is the end of a culture that obsessively loves things and heartlessly uses people. The aforementioned idiot is more concerned about his stupid PS3 than he is about the harm he was about to bring into the lives of an untold number of people. SOOOO SELFISH. This story punctuates my point about the warped value system in culture but we ALL have been guilty at one time forgetting what’s important and valuable. LOVE people, USE things…. just a reminder
ALL IN – WINS COME WHEN YOU’RE ALL IN
We’re starting a new a series entitled simply entitled “WIN”. The first in the series was was about missions. I’ll post the notes later. ANYWHO I thought I’d make a video to illustrate the point…
(LEGAL DISCLAIMER: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. THIS WAS DONE WITH MEDICAL AND SAFETY OVERSIGHT)
MAKE UM’ FEEL IT
Microsoft founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates at the elite Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference made a powerful point about the deadly sting of malaria.
“Malaria is spread by mosquitoes…I brought some. Here I’ll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected.”
Gates said this while opening a jar onstage at a gathering known to attract technology titans, politicians, and Hollywood elite. Gates waited a minute or so before assuring the audience the liberated insects were malaria-free. He went on to say:
“There is more money put into baldness drugs than into malaria,” Gates quipped, triggering laughter. “Now, baldness is a terrible thing and rich men are afflicted. That is why that priority has been set.”
Lessons to be learned from Bill( Mr. Burns) Gates through this:
- There isn’t anything like an illustration to prove a point.
- Bill Gates would be scarier than Osama bin Laden, Kim Jong-il & Nancy Pelosi combined if he turned his powers towards evil.
– People generally don’t care about something until it affects them
– Bill Gates is SOOO rich that he knows where and how to procure a jar full of mosquitoes!
- Learning has to be mixed with experiencing to be effective.
ANOTHER ALCOHOL RELATED RACE
For my fellow runners, I wanted to tell you how I spent the first part of my Saturday. I competed in the Kuyahoora kickers Beer and chili 10k. I finished in a less then respectable 42:28, which was good enough for 7th. The conditions where so so and since I finished 7th, clearly it wasn’t stacked with elite runners. It was 25 degrees and windy. It was by far the hilliest 10k I’ve ever competed in.
One small observation…. Today it was the Kuyahoora Kickers Beer & Chili 10k. The last race I competed in was the hangover 10k and in the summer I’ll do Americas largest 15k, which finishes at a beer factory where sweaty runners get trashed at 10:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. With races like these it’s surprising that there isn’t a stronger correlation between running and alcoholism.
FAMILY FUN DAY
Every family should have a day. If not a full day at least a solid evening. Since I’m throwing out mediates here are a couple more: husbands you should have 10 significant minutes of conversation with your wife every day… not ya ya ya, REALLY listening. You my think “what’s 10 minutes?” but ask your wife if you do it now…. case closed. You also should have one night a week for date night. But here is a one minute “how to” video to help you have your very own family fun day
WWW.OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE.COM
WWW.OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE.COM
Question: how did you just read that?
There are two ways that you might have read it;
Opportunity is nowhere OR opportunity is now here.
Do you see and ugly or a beautiful lady?
Interesting how we all see the same things every day and yet we “see” it different. I see a tragic downturn in the real estate market another sees the EXACT same condition and sees an investment opportunity. A civilian sees one thing while a cop may see another. You see curdled milk I see cottage cheese…. Ok, that one was just plain gross. The point is we generally accept that the way we see it is the only way to see it. If it’s not the ONLY way we secretly know it’s the right way. But I propose that maybe you ought to look at it again. Look at that job, relationship or loss again… for the first time. Look at it with fresh eyes. Life is as much about prospective as it about position. Too often we obsesses about changing our position when it can’t be changed. At the same time we tragically neglect the one thing that CAN be changed which is our perspective about the position/place we’re in…. Ironically our position often won’t change until our perspective changes.
That relationship might not heal until you see them as wounded instead of wicked.
That past pain might not heal until you see you can leverage it for purpose.
You may only see a broken life but begin to see where they’re at as the first chapter of an epic tail of a transformed life.
PERSPECTIVE….”Today is a good day for you”
Two years ago I had some word done on my nose. I had and extremely deviated septum that needed to be drilled out. Ya, sounds unfun right? IT WAS! After drilling out by face in surgery, my doctor, and excellent ENT Doctor, packet it with gauze like a civil war muzzle loader. I had to come in for a check up feeling uncomfortable from the intense pain and self-conscience due to the blood dripping for my gauze packet nose for the last 4 days since the operation. The doctor came in the examination room and declared in a thick Lebanese accent “today is a good day for you”. To his absurd declaration I retorted “NOT REALLY”. He listened patiently while I outlined all the reasons why it was NOT a good day: the pain, the discomfort, the annoyance…. When I finished, he said, “I see”, then he said “today is a good day for you”. He excused himself saying he would return in a minute. I was a little annoyed and bewildered by his behavior. He had my attention to say the least though. I listened as he went to the examination room directly adjacent to mine. I heard a husband and wife ask abruptly, “Is it, is it cancer?”… There as a pause and the doctor said, “I’m sorry, it is, and its stage 3”. That’s when I heard them cry. It was a bitter, scared, broken kind of cry that hopefully you only cry a few times in life. I cry that was fitting for a TRULY bad day…. I cried too… I cried because in one minute my entire perspective changed. I literally didn’t feel any pain or discomfort. The only thing I felt in that moment was a deep empathy for the faceless strangers that where hurting right next door The doctor came in a few minutes later with some paper work for me to leave with. He looked me in the eyes knowing I heard everything that had happened only a few feet away and said…“today is a good day for you” to which I replied, with visible tears still in my eyes and a radically changed perspective, “today is a good day for me”.
Don’t ever loose perspective. See God, see hope and see the good.
THE FALLACY OF A PRIVATE LIFE
Ignaz Semmelsweis was a Hungarian physician called the “saviour of mothers” who discovered, by 1847, that the incidence of puerperal fever, also known as childbed fever could be drastically cut by use of hand washing standards in obstetrical clinics. While employed as assistant to the professor of the maternity clinic at the Vienna General Hospital in Austria in 1847, Semmelweis introduced hand washing with chlorinated lime solutions for interns who had performed autopsies. This immediately reduced the incidence of fatal puerperal fever from about 10 percent (range 5–30 percent) to about 1–2 percent. At the time, diseases were attributed to many different and unrelated causes. Semmelweis’ hypothesis, that there was only one cause, that all that mattered was cleanliness, was extreme at the time, and was largely ignored, rejected or ridiculed. He was dismissed from the hospital and harassed by the medical community in Vienna, which eventually forced him to move to Budapest. Up to the point of his discovery 1 in 10 otherwise healthy women DIED after HE treated them. 1 in 10!! Since Semmelsweis was in innovator and since Vienna General Hospital was a teaching hopital he worked on cadavers on nearly a daily basis. He would go from working on cadavers to birthing babies WITHOUT washing his hands.
This great Doctor considered every other variable that might be the contributing factor to the demise of his patients but kept coming back to the chilling reality… HE WAS THE PROBLEM. It’s told that there where women that birthed their child in the street to avoid coming in contact with him. Something that was on him got was getting on his patients and eventually killed them. He touched death and transferred it to his healthy patients and it brought death to them. Try as you may to convince yourself to the contrary, we are holistic people. You can’t compartmentalize who you are. What you touch in private affects your public life. Touching death in your private life will bring death in your public life.
Wearing my heart on my sleeve
I’ve learned that one of the tricks of life is keeping a soft heart and developing thick skin.
Act… React
Act… React
Act… React
“They” say 80% of all statistics are made up right on the spot… So let me add to the 80%. I would say 10% of your life is spent in action and 90% is spent in reaction. When people act vengefully we’re tempted to act vengefully. When someone subjects us to hurt it’s easy to respond in a hurtful way. You yell… I yell. You use harsh words…I use harsh words. This ISN’T the way it’s supposed to be, at least not for those that claim to follow Christ. He said, “Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also’. So I get the part about doing good, blessing and praying it’s the “offer the other cheek also” part that I struggle with. The problem is I think the old saying “fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me”, is engrained deeper in our souls than the words of Christ. I want to be like Christ. I want be able to put my heart out there. I want to be able to love deeply and wildly. I want to keep a soft heart. I don’t want to become cynical and jaded and I realize that that’s a divine attribute. To be able to love like Jesus and open my arms to people when I know it may result in them putting nails in my hands is the character of Christ. But to love in a way that matter is put your heart out there. Its to risk a broken heart so that you can help in the healing of someone elses broken heart. If our hearts, hands and heads are connected to Christ we’re experiencing pure love and are able to wear our hearts and our sleeve and love deeply and in a way that people desperately need.
“I Shall Not Pass This Way Again”
I shall not pass this way again-
Although it bordered be with flowers,
Although I rest in fragrant bowers,
And hear the singing
Of song-birds winging
To highest heaven their gladsome flight;
Though moons are full and stars are bright,
And winds and waves are softly sighing,
While leafy trees make low replying;
Though voices clear in joyous strain
Repeat a jubilant refrain;
Though rising suns their radiance throw
On summer’s green and winter’s snow,
In such rare splendor that my heart
Would ache from scenes like these to part;
Though beauties heighten,
And life-lights brighten,
And joys proceed from every pain,-
I shall not pass this way again.
Then let me pluck the flowers that blow,
And let me listen as I go
To music rare
That fills the air;
And let hereafter
Songs and laughter
Fill every pause along the way;
And to my spirit let me say:
“O soul, be happy; soon ’tis trod,
The path made thus for thee by God.
Be happy thou, and bless His name
By whom such marvelous beauty came.”
And let no chance by me be lost
To kindness show at any cost.
I shall not pass this way again;
Then let me now relieve some pain,
Remove some barrier from the road,
Or brighten some one’s heavy load;
A helping hand to this one lend,
Then turn some other to befriend.
O God, forgive
That now I live
As if I might, sometime, return
To bless the weary ones that yearn
For help and comfort every day,-
For there be such along the way.
O God, forgive that I have seen
The beauty only, have not been
Awake to sorrow such as this;
That I have drunk the cup of bliss
Remembering not that those there be
Who drink the dregs of misery.
I love the beauty of the scene,
Would roam again o’er fields so green;
But since I may not, let me spend
My strength for others to the end,-
For those who tread on rock and stone,
And bear their burdens all alone,
Who loiter not in leafy bowers,
Nor hear the birds nor pluck the flowers.
A larger kindness give to me,
A deeper love and sympathy;
Then, O, one day
May someone say-
Remembering a lessened pain-
“Would she could pass this way again.”
~ Eva Rose York
STAND UP FOR THE SUDANESE
This week Sudanese president Omar Bashir denounced the United Nations and all related aid agencies. He demanded that 11 agencies that are there for the sole purpose of feeding and keeping alive 2 million of HIS citizens cease and desist and leave the Sudan. WHY you may ask. He’s doing this in protest to the fact that the ICC(International Criminal Court) have issued warrants for his arrest for genocide and crimes against humanity. As they should since he is possibly the worst living dictator. He’s a deranged psychopath that through ethnic cleansing has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands and has displaced millions more. Bottom line is he seems to be making it his personal mission to spend eternity in hell. His expulsion of the U.N. and aid agency means the emanate demise of hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent Sudanese men, woman and children. Here is where the issue is for me. The ICC is a joke and something that presidents Bush and Clinton saw unfit for the U.S. to be part of. WHY? Because if you where to poll the world they would say 90% percent of what the U.S does is a crime against humanity including all military action and the teen choice awards. SO, if we where to join the ICC they could put former U.S. presidents, military leaders and any other U.S. citizen in jail they find guilty.
The kicker here is that its rumored that President Obama has softened his resolve on joining the ICC in the face of its recent denouncement of president Bashir. Although the ICC got it right on the issue of president Bashir realize that even a broken watch is right twice a day and the U.S. should not be in cahoots with the ICC.
You should do 3 things on this matter
1. Study out the matter for yourself and come to your own conclusion.
2. Call and write your congressmen and senator and tell them you don’t want America to ever be a part of the ICC
3. Tell them that we as a nation must act on behalf of the helpless of the Sudan by force if necessary.
THE 2%
A phobia is defined as a persistent, irrational, and severe fear of certain objects, activities, and situations. Millions of Americans have one whether it is of heights, spiders or clowns. Those that have a Phobia, not simply a discomfort or a fear but a true phobia, have what Physiologist call a phobic response better known as “fight of flight”. When this happens the sympathetic nervous system kicks in. So when your are exposed to what ever it is you have a phobia a signal goes from the eyes to the feet almost illogically bypassing the brain. This is when you will see grown men squeal like a girl and run like a scared child at the sight of a mouse.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman in his book ON COMBAT, says the universal human phobia is human combat or interpersonal human conflict. He says, “If I walked into a crowded room and emptied a pistol in one of them, or hacked at one of them with a machete, up to 98% of the average audience would experience a true phobic-scale response.” So what is to be said of the remaining 2%, they are the warriors, they are the fighters. Most people run from a fight, most think that preservation of life is the highest value but some think preservation of justice is the highest value. They are the ones that don’t run from the fight but straight into the fray. These are the elite soldiers of the Navy SEALS or RANGERS or S.W.A.T. member. They are the firefighters of 9/11 that ran into the twin towers when everyone else was running out. They are the truest leaders of all.
Tragedy, pain and injustice WILL happen in your life, I can guarantee it. What’s not guaranteed it that there will be someone willing to run into your mess when everyone is running out. I may forget those that ran out when it all went wrong but I’ll NEVER forget those that ran in. They are the ones that sustained me in the pain. They held my hand in the mist of the hurt. They where the ones that spoke faith in my heart when fear was in my eyes.
I want to be in the 2%.
“Is there something wrong with these people? No. There is something gloriously right with them. Because if we did not have warriors, men and woman willing to move toward the sounds of the guns and confront evil, within the span of a generation our civilization would no longer exist.” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Things in your life outside of your control? Go take a nap.
Psalm 37:7 (NLT) Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
There are times when my human action can bring about definitive change and there are many other times where the change that’s needed can only be an act of the divine. my attitude, behavior and actions are in the realm of MY control. This isn’t to say that I can have whatever attitude I want and do as I please, it means that my attitude, behavior and actions are issues that I ought not to be sitting around waiting for God to act. If I swear like a sailor I don’t need to be, “waiting patiently for him to act” I need to slap myself in the mouth and knock it off. There are issues far outside of my human control. I can do WHATEVER I want but I’m not going to will myself or others out of a serious illness. I can’t pull my retirement account out of the toilet by getting angry as Chris Brown on the way to the Grammy’s(ya I DID just say that). There are issues every day when we have to truly put our trust in God.
Ways to demonstrate trust in God:
1. Refuse to speak in a fatalistic matter. Any reference to the “end times” is strictly forbidden. Don’t worry your stock values WILL come back up. What you say in crisis DOES matter, so fill your mouth with with prayer and words of hope.
2. Fill your head with the right stuff. Get Gods words in your head. Greater than what the doctors, prognosticators or pundits say.
3. Sleep. As you lay your head to rest at night its like a prayer of trust. It’s saying, “God I believe that as I sleep you are taking care of the things that are outside of my control.”
Imagination is not creation by Steven Furtick
I thought I’d pass on along to my readers a truly great thought by Steven Furtick. I would encourage you to click on his name and read the full entry… GREAT stuff
Imagination is not creation Some people fancy themselves as being “creative”, or ”creative-types” because they have a lot of ideas. Cool. You have ideas. So does my 3 year old. That doesn’t make you creative. An idea without implementation isn’t creation. It’s imagination. By definition, being creative requires that you create something. True creative people don’t just dream it-they do it…or oversee the strategy to get it done. True creativity results in a product. Not just an idea.
ONE WAY TO GET THE LADIES TO NOTICE YOU
Meet Craig Clasen, your average 32 year old spear-fishing snorkeler. Last June he decided it would be a hoot to get in a battle royale with a 12-foot tiger shark. He spent 2 hours fighting this beast until he finally finished it off by stabbing it in its skull. He’s quoted as saying, “Once I shot it in the gills I felt a moral obligation to finish the job,”…. “In the end we put a knife in its skull.”
A couple things Craig did here: one, secured the “OMG you did WHAT!!” award and also fashioned for himself the greatest line to land a perspective wife….”pardon me, I’m Craig, I stabbed a 12-foot shark in the skull on it’s own home turf and killed the sucker”, BAM, DONE, see you at the wedding. Moral of the story is, if you you’re a single guy and you’re ready to wed but can’t seem to get the ladies to notice you …fight a shark.
I know what your thinking, “Mark does the fact that this guy got in a death match with a shark and won make him more of a man than me?” Well, mister anonymous question asker guy, the answer to your question is YES!!!… Unless of course you performed the same feat blind folded.
(The proceeding was satire and in no way do I want to have any of my readers fight a shark)
ME ON ONE.org
I was asked to contribute to ONE.org. ONE is a great organization that’s making a huge difference and one that i believe in. They posted my sermon to their site and you can link on it by clicking here….“HERE” . If you like, vote for me.
HEALTHY THINGS GROW
Hebrews 10:24 (NLT) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
I read a story covered by ABC news about a baby that is a medical mystery because of the fact that she won’t grow. Atlanta Ruzman of the U.K. said her first clue that something was wrong with her pregnancy came at seven months, when she was barely showing a bump. Suraya Brown entered the world at just over two-and-a-half pounds. That was 14 months ago. But today, doctors in England are baffled by the case of Baby Suraya who, it seems, has refused to grow. Even now, her daughter is barely above the weight of an average newborn at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. This is only two ounces heavier than the birth weight of her older sister, Akilah, who was born about a year prior to Suraya.
As a read this story I have this thought “WHO CARES”……… Now that I have your attention….
Truth is, OF COURSE I’m concerned. I’m not brash or indifferent to the obvious tragedy outlined in this story. It’s an obvious tragedy because babies are supposed to grow. Healthy things grow. At the first sign that growth isn’t happening the normal, natural thing for any loving parent to do is to stop everything and investigate why. The question that comes to mind is this. Why is someone a jerk for acting indifferent to the retardation of natural growth of a child but its ok to not even flinch when fellow Christ followers around them haven’t grown ONE BIT in years? We need to have a high level of vigilance to ensure that we and those around us are growing. Why? Because the Bible commands it and to settle for anything less than your best is to squander your God given potential. Hebrews 10:24 says, “motivate” or “provoke” which come from the greek word to “incite” or “irritation”. Its more than suggesting or nudging its getting fully engaged in the helping those around us be their best.
AT THIS POINT
...the pictures just cus i like U2 and their song
John 6:60-68 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67″You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
There are three very note worthy words in the above passage and they’re. “AT THIS POINT”. Jesus is doing his thing and preaching up a storm and making it real clear that following him wouldn’t be a cakewalk and as some of the disciples got it they exited stage right. They where with him to a certain point but then something happened that made then reconsider. As we walk out our faith there will always be points where walking away will seem better than walking on. The pack always thins on the approach to the finish line of any race. The start of a thing is always filled with excitement and anticipation but the ensuing journey is often filled with complexity, confusion and difficulty. So who makes it to the finish line? The answer to that question is found in the response that Peter gives; “to whom shall we go”. What keeps your feet firm on the path of faith in Christ is a realization that there really isn’t any other path. Life will inevitably throw you ‘points’ where quitting actually seems to make sense, but hang on and walk on. Where else can we go? Who else has the answers? The truth is even when difficult things slip through Gods permissive hand and into my life he is STILL my only hope. When things happen that confuse and bewilder God alone is STILL my only source of comfort and truth.
“AT THIS POINT.”
You may me at this point where you may want to walk away but don’t. Stay in it and walk on and lean into the truth that Christ alone is the source of life.
DON’T LOOSE YOUR GRIP
2 Samuel 23:9-10 (CEV) The next one of the Three Warriors was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite. One time when the Philistines were at war with Israel, he and David dared the Philistines to fight them. Every one of the Israelite soldiers turned and ran, 10except Eleazar. He killed Philistines until his hand was cramped, and he couldn’t let go of his sword. When Eleazar finished, all the Israelite troops had to do was come back and take the enemies’ weapons and armor. The LORD gave Israel a great victory that day.
I love this story for so many reasons. I love how two guys, David and Eleazar, dared an army to fight them. I love how, even when those that where suppose to fight ran off, David and Eleazar kept fighting valiantly. I love how Eleazar cleaved to his sword and wouldn’t let go. It’s as if they knew that they where so far into the fight that it was shorter to go through than to retreat.
I think everyone is moved by stories of valiancy and bravery followed by victory. The stories speak to something deep in us. These stories show us in others what we sense might be true of ourselves. That sense is that we’re capable of far more. Truth is you can go ten times further, endure 10 times more pain and accomplish 10 times more than what you think you can.
As we focus on the prize on the other side of our current struggle in enables us to endure the pain and discomfort of the moment. You may be wounded but you’re not dead so fight on. The Bible says “every one of the Israelite soldiers turned and ran” and as their back turned from the battle history turned its back on them and there names where forever forgotten. Eleazer charged ahead and became immortalized THROUGH the fight. Know who you are, know whose you are know the reason that you fight…. THEN FIGHT.
A WATCH CAN SAY A LOT ABOUT A MAN.
There is something that I feel I must draw attention to and that is Secretary of the treasury Tim Geithner. He seems to be on a one man mission to help usher in an new era of unprecedented government oversight in finance. On top of this he has the gull to stand up to the nation and basically say “trust me with the future of your freedom and finance”, having personally dodged paying his OWN taxes for four years. Now these facts are alarming but what REALLY makes me mad is his wearing a $15 plastic Timex wherever he goes. Now let me set the scene. Tim Geithner is THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY! Him wearing a plastic watch is the equivalent of wearing white tube sox with a tuxedo. I don’t know that’s going on in his head. If I had to guess it’s the 5k he must be running this weekend. I’m sure he wants to keep his running watch on to remind himself to stay focused on what’s REALLY important. Looking at his job performance I would guess what’s really important to him is placing in his age division at the 5k fun run he’s obviously training and dressing for.
So good luck Mr. Secretary don’t let your work get to you. This whole financial mess, I’m sure, will work itself out, so don’t you stress… you don’t want to pull a hamstring or anything. All work and no play will make you a dull boy so lace up your sneakers show this nation what you’re made of.
SAY NOPE TO DOPE
On Thursday, March 26th the President, as part of his “It feels so good to talk” campaign decided to take questions from the good folks on the internet. This is is how it unfolded…
“…we took votes about which questions were going to be asked, and I think 3 million people voted or 3.5 million people voted,” he said. “I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation.”
Now here is how he responded…
“The answer is, no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy,”
Now I’m not a genius, but I think the president missed the point. Call me old school but I think drugs are bad. I know I know, I need to relax but i think special “K” should stay a delicious break cereal and ecstasy is something you feel after setting a PR in the marathon, but i guess I’m a prude. I must have missed the part where drugs stopped being an ethical, moral, health, and social issue and became a purely economic issue. I mean I get it people I’m not an idiot like I let on, I understand the issues surrounding the issue of the legalization of mary-j but PLEASE. When the leader of the free world fields a question from the brownie munching pro-potters on the world wide web he shouldn’t just hop scotch over the obvious and implicite dangers of drug use. He, at some point, should have thrown in a “just say no” or “say nope to dope” . This really gets me fired up as I’ve seen young people throw there lives away with drugs. The last thing the crying parents ask me is, “I wonder what affect this will have on the economy”. Every person who reads this should Email thier congressman, senator and the white house and tell them (OMG I can’t believe its coming to this), “SAY NOPE TO DOPE”!!!
PROTECT THE FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE
You have a vitally important opportunity to immediately send a message to prevent a critical loss of access to healthcare professionals who are being systematically pressured to violate ethical standards. Here’s what’s been happening:
- In August 2008, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) took long-overdue action to address a growing crisis of abortion-related discrimination that could force thousands of conscientious healthcare professionals out of medicine. After several months of public comment on its proposed regulation, in December 2008 HHS finalized a regulation that made clear the protections offered by three civil rights laws passed by Congress with bipartisan support.
- The civil rights laws declare that American tax dollars will not fund programs in which healthcare professionals are fired, penalized or otherwise subjected to discrimination because of their ethical stance related to abortion and other morally controversial issues.
- However, in March 2009, following protests from abortion special interest groups, the new administration officially declared plans to rescind–get rid of–the conscience-protecting regulation. The administration has, as required by law, called for public comment on the proposed plan to get rid of the conscience-protecting regulation, with a deadline of April 9, 2009.
This move by the Obama administration is a bold and aggressive move that undermines the “right of conscience” that has been protected for 30 years. You can argue for abortion(which I clearly oppose) but to say that a Doctor MUST perform what they consider to be murder or else face being disbarred is obhorable.
If you agree that this is wrong let your voice be heard. Click on this link and speak up —> FREEDOM2CARE
WHERE IS GOD
If there is one things that will forever fascinate me is to watch people demonstrate incredible strength in the face of unimaginably difficult circumstances. Last night I was awe inspired as i watch the great singer/song writer Steven Curtis Chapman take the stage. Under the spotlight he begin to sing of the greatness and yet the mystery of God. This might not be so note worthy if it weren’t for the fact that the Chapmans faith has been tested in the most profound way. Last May in a horrible accident they lost their 5 year old little girl maria in an accident at their home. There’s nothing like a song sung by a survivor. I could see it in his face. There was pain, yes there was pain, but through the pain i could see strength, great strength . It was truly inspiring. He said “There is more mystery to God than there’s ever been”. But he added, “I’ll carry with me those mysteries and this brokenness until I go home to be with God”. WOW!
Dean Karanazes, writing in the April issue of OUTSIDE magazine said about a completely not spiritual activity:
A great run definitely involves suffering. I think any adventure athlete will tell you that there’s honesty in suffering. You feel more alive than when you’re just cruising along. There are moments where you have very lucid thoughts. On day four, running across the Sahara last year, i nearly passed out at mile 23 of a 28-mile stage. I was dehydrated, it was extremely hot, I had exhausted my salty foods, and i was rationing my electrolyte tablets. My ears were ringing. My head was spinning. I was seeing stars. I finally sat down in the sand and just looked around. There was no one there. And I sat there for probably 15 minutes and got in my own head and said: Don’t get ahead of yourself. Be in the moment. Don’t think about the race to you have to do tomorrow. Just take on step. Do your best on the next step. There’s magic in misery. I talked to God out there. (Karnazes, 46, won the 2008 Four desert Challenge, a 621-mile stage race across the Atacama, Gobi, Sahara, and Antarctic deserts)
There are many things in life that shift, trend and change . And when they do we instinctively reach for what is secure and unchanging. There is a taste, a feeling, an experience about deep pain. Steven called it mystery, Dean called it magic but either way there’s only one person who knows the hows and whys… and it’s NOT me. When we can entrust the mysteries of life to our maker My prayer is that when life’s race produces suffering and misery that I’ll reach out for God, the unmoving anchor of my soul, and let him turn my suffering into a song that will strengthen others in their race.
sermon notes – TREASURE
Trading up- from the tangible to the intangible
-we all want to trade UP -
Dr. James Dobson: I arrived on campus before the other students got there, went over to the Administration Building—kind of strolling around, getting the feel of the campus. I was 2,000 miles from home. I remember walking up to this trophy case that was there in the Administration Building.
There were the trophies from past athletic victories that the college had had—mostly basketball. In the center of this case was a tennis trophy. It was about, at least, two foot high. They build them five foot high to day, but in those days, that was a big trophy. It was spiral in nature. It had a cylinder n the center of it, and on it were the names of the students who won the school tournament every year back to 1947. Here were the tennis greats through the years at Pasadena College where I was a student.
I remember salivating as I stood before that trophy case. I looked at that list of names, and I said, “Someday, someday, my name is going to be engraved on the tennis trophy. I’m going to get my name on there as the best tennis player in this school.” I had that as a goal. It’s hard to believe today that that would be that important to me. It’s interesting how your values change over time.
But as an 18-year-old, that was one of the chief goals of my life…was to win the school tournament and to get my name, especially, on that trophy, so that freshman, 10 years later, would come and stand before that case and look at my name among the tennis greats. That tells you a little bit about my ego needs at that time. As it turned out…I succeeded in 1957 and 1958. I won the school tournament, and they duly engraved my name on the trophy. That was my legacy to future generations.
I left the school, and that’s been many years. About 10 years ago, Will Spaite’s (a friend) son was up on campus of Pasadena College rummaging around, looking for something, and he found that trophy in the trash. My trophy, with my name on it, and all the tennis greats down through the years since 1947, was summarily thrown away. He found it in the trash. He rescued it, took it home, and they cleaned it up, and Will brought me that trophy. So, I have it in my office today, and there my name is.
Dr. Dobson discovered the truth of what Jesus taught…
Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT) “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
-Your heart is where your treasure is
-You will pursue what you treasure
-Your life will be defined by what you pursue
Solomon:
Ecclesiastes 2:8-11 (NLT) I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! 9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worth while anywhere.
The body of David Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey, London England where he was born, but his heart was buried, as he requested, in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed a box containing the heart of the man who they loved and respected. If your heart were to be buried in the place you loved most during life, where would it be?
-Money
-Sports
-Career
-High School Relationship
-Possessions
-Image
Isaiah 33:5-6 (NIV) The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
SERMON – VOICES IN THE STREET
Prov. 1:20-33 the voice of Wisdom
Prov. 7:6-27 the voice of the immoral woman (strange woman: to be a stranger, be one alienated)
-5 Truths about voices-
Two types of voices-Internal -External
1. The right voice doesn’t always say what you want to hear
-the voice of wisdom it direct and confronting
Proverbs 1:20-23 Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. 21She calls out to the crowds along the main street, and to those in front of city hall. 22″You simpletons!” she cries. “How long will you go on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools fight the facts? 23Come here and listen to me! I’ll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise.
-the voice of the adulterous woman is smooth and seducing
Proverbs 7:13-15 She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said, 14″I’ve offered my sacrifices and just finished my vows. 15It’s you I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!
2. The right voice isn’t always the loudest voice
1 Kings 19:11-13 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
3. You’ll always hear the wrong voices when you’re in the wrong places
Proverbs 7:6-9 I was looking out the window of my house one day 7and saw a simpleminded young man who lacked common sense. 8He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman. He was strolling down the path by her house 9at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
4. You can tune you ears to listen to the right voice
Proverbs 2:2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding
5. What voices you listen to will determine where you go and what you will become.
Prov. 1 –wisdom will make you wise, make you to live in peace & safety unafraid of harm
The voice of sin:
Prov. 7:26 for she has been the ruin of many; numerous Men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death
BEEN ON VACATION
Well I havent been getting mt blog on as i was on vacation with my family in Florida. We had a great time of fun and frivolity. And we cought up on some sleep… OK, niko did. But I’m back know and look forward to all that this summer will bring. Also I’ll be blogging for the next 5 days or so on the subject of Valleys. -GOD IS GREATER THAN YOUR VALLEY-
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO DO TO GET YOUR ATTENTION?
I love varied terrain. i’ve driven in the Midwest and i get board. No hills, no valleys, just level even corn fields. Life is the same. We love the mountain tops and hate the valleys but the Mountain tops wouldn’t be so amazing if it weren’t for the valleys and the blood sweat and tears of the climb to get to the mountain top(gosh I sounded a little like Hannah Montana there). The Bible mentions 32 different valleys and i want to draw attention to just a few.
1. The valley of trouble or The Valley of Achor. Achor is the valley of punishment.
Achor is the valley where Achan was stoned to death. The Lord said, “Do not take anything that is in Jericho.” Achan took money and a coat, and sin came into the camp. Then the battle of Ai was lost. Joshua called all the people and cast lots. The lot fell on Achan. God said, “Take him out to the valley and stone him to death.” They stoned Achan and his wife and his children. They named that place the valley of Achor (the valley of chastening). Achor in Aramaic means, literally, “oh-no-you-didnt”. Achan DID and got the God slap down. God kindda has a God complex and with God is his way or the high way. And P.S. the highway is the hard way.
Hosea 2:6-7 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
To this God replied …
Hosea 2:15 (NLT) I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble(achor) into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
When we do it our way and reject the chastening of God it gets tougher. But when we turn to God and away from our foolishness he always makes a way of escape. he transforms our stupidity into serenity and our trouble into triumph.
Leadership lessons of the navy seals
I have been so busy that my blog has taken a back seat as it should as it isn’t on my top 10 most important things in my life. But i hope to get back at it and continue sharing about valleys in the bible but i thought i’d throw this on in there to mix it up. I went through a book this weekend i thought id pass along for your consideration
Leadership lessons of the navy seals by Jon Cannon is a great book that translates the lessons of the battlefield into use in the board room. Thought i would pass on some of the thoughts found in this great book.
(chapter 3) Leadership – The Hardest Easy thing
1. Forget the Village concept – one person has to be in charge
2. State your mission
3. Choose your opton while the choice is still yours
4. Stand up ad take the hit
5. Make a Gosh Darn(edited for content) Decision
6. Put you stand on things right away
7. Give them the big picture
8. Point the boat in the right direction
9. Get comfortable with chaos
10. The vast majority of the time, you know what you should do
11. If you think no one else can replace you, you’re an egotistical GUY(edited for content) who’s failed
12. There’s no “I” in “shut up and do the work”
13. Don’t become a leadership stereotype
14 Know which leadership style to use
15. Ensure that you possess three primary leadership tools
16. Increase your number of leadership vehicles
17. Assign an honest broker to bring you back to earth
18 Then seek out and listen to the rest of your people
19. Be unapologetic when you fire someone
20. Enforce your chains of command
21. Don’t make work your employees life
22. There is a fine line between tradition and obsolescence
23 Let them be angry when they have the right to be
24. Them them when the ship is sinking
25. Communicating hysteria wont drive production
26. Communicate that you trust them
27. Kicking them unnecessarily reveals your incompetence
“the price at which he was valued”
Matt 27:9 This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says, “They took the 30 pieces of silver – the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel.”
The point came for Judas that will come for each of us when we will see how much we truly value Jesus. “The price at which he was valued by the people”. As I read those words they jumped off the page. When Christians talk about Jesus and their relationship with him they don’t ever say, “Jesus has some value to me” or “following Christ is kindda important”. But they would be real honest if they did because saying he’s priceless is a bit disingenuous. The truth is we all place a price on him. However aware or oblivious we are to it there IS a price we assign to him.
I pray that Christ would dwell richly in your hearts and as you come to the realization of the great value he has a placed upon you and the great love he has for you that you would value him more and more with each passing day.
Valley of decision! (The Valley of Eschol)
Numbers 13:23-25 (NLT) When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
Number 13:25-29 …“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
Eschol is located just inside the Promised Land. The Israelites came to the door of the Promised Land at Kadesh-Barnea and they appointed twelve spies. Those twelve spies went over into the Promised Land. They said it was a land that flowed with milk and honey. But they also saw the very real obstacles they had to overcome to take hold of it. The valley of Eschol is where the Jews made the decision of their life. It was at Eschol where they had to decide, “Shall we go forward or shall we go backward?” We will all go through valleys of decision.
Should we keep what we got or go after that which we where born to take hold of?
Should we run in the face of a fight?
Should we settle for second best or fight for first?
There are crossroads in life where a decision must be made. Do we go our way or God’s way? Our faith isn’t faith until it’s tested. The Israelites had to decide if they where going to go by what God had promised them or by their fears. When we are in the valley of decision we generally feel it. It’s as if the fabric of our faith is being pulled apart and we can feel that what we are really made of is about to become evident. It’s in these times that we must decide that the words and ways of God will win out. Faith is generally not absolute but its the winner in the fight with doubt. And in the valley of decision is when faith MUST win out because it is a decisive crossroad.
For those in the valley of decision, a place of deciding if God can be trusted and if his words are true, I pray you would feel his presence and that you would find your way through this valley in that your faith would be found tried and true.
The valley of battle (The Valley of Elah)
1 Samuel 17:17-20 (NLT) One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. 18 And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.” 19 David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. 20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.
In the valley of decision, God is there. In the valley of suffering, He is there and in the valley of battle, He is there. There is a thought that battles in life are to be endured and tolerated. And although I would say that the resting state of our life ought to be peace there is something that needs to be said of the battles we faith. we believe that God is a of peace but the psalmist says in Psalm 24:8 “Who is the King of glory?The Lord, strong and mighty;the Lord, invincible in battle.” God is a God of battle. This is good news because this means that when we take on righteous battle that God doesn’t turn his back and tell us he’ll meet us on the other side? It means that God is ready to get right in the thick of the fight.
Hebrews 11:32-34 (NLT)How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
I love this verse because it show that you not only don’t have to die in battle or simply survive the battle in the valley you can thrive and grow strong in the valley of battle. Whatever you valley, God is greater than ANY valley and will prove that he is still God in your valley of battle.
1 Kings 20:27-28 (CEV) The Israelites also prepared to fight. They marched out to meet the Syrians, and the two armies camped across from each other. The Syrians covered the whole area, but the Israelites looked like two little flocks of goats. 28The prophet went to Ahab and said, “The Syrians think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys. So he has promised to help you defeat their powerful army. Then you will know that the LORD is in control.”
You thought Hiroshima was a tragedy try hibachi
Last night i was out celebrating a friends 25th birthday. 15 friends enjoying fun and frivolity. Now here is where the plot clots and my blood boils. As much is I would like to walk the line with the masses of Americans that believe that nachos bellgrande is a traditional mexican dish or that Australians actually use the words “kangaroo” or “boomerang” ANYWHERE in their dining experience… I CAN’T. Hibachi makes my blood boil like the onion stack filled Saki lit aflame under the guise of “look, Japanese mount Fuji”(a volcano that hasn’t erupted since the 17TH CENTURY!!!!).
Lets get right to it. Any “typical” cowboy hat wearing, gun slinging, gang banging, Michael Jordan and Levi’s 501 loving American can see that something is clearly not right about this dining experience.
One, they are cooking the food in front of me. WHY?!?! The very reason i go out to eat is to avoid the kitchen and all its trappings all together.
Second, I don’t need ANYONE offering to throw food in my mouth during dinner unless I magically turn into cocker spaniel between the appetizer and the main course.
Third, call me crazy but when I’m looking for an “authentic” Japanese meal it would be great, as a base line, if the chef WASN’T Chinese…. Ya I can tell the difference.
Fourth, lighting the grill top in such a way that it singes my eyebrows isn’t impressing me. I was able to burn and blow things up when I was 10 and I got what you should get if you do it again… a beating.
Fifth I don’t know what banging and flipping a spatula incessantly have anything to do with your rich heritage.
But in all kidding aside if anyone out there can answer these questions that plague my soul email me at ilovebrucelee@yahoo.com
NO ONES LAUGHING AT GOD WHEN….
I’ve always liked Regina Spektor but she really hit a cultural nerve with this one. Its all fun and games til your backs against the wall…
OUR DEEPEST FEAR
I was listening to a conversation about what our attitude ought to be in athletic competition. whether it ought to be humility, confidence or cockiness. To that conversation was sighted this amazing poem. hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness,
that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually who are we not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people
won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And when we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.-Marianne Williamson
YOU CANT HAVE IT ALL
YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ALL. The sooner you get that the sooner you can focus on the point of life which is taking hold of all that is yours to take hold of. The old adage goes, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too”. I need to pause to say I hate adages that lack clarity. The bottom line is life is about choices, clarity and focus and unless you’re at a Las Vegas buffet you can’t choose it all. At some point Michael Jordan had to choose between basketball, baseball and golf. As a side note remember when he thought that he could do it all and choose it all and tried to play pro baseball too…. he was a laughing stock. At some point Beethoven had to choose between classical piano and that Emo band that was trying to get him to go on the road and do clubs in germany. I really think he made the right choice. OH, and that guy that came up to me after making the life transforming decision of making Christ the center of his life. He said “I was a Unitarian Universalist and was struck by the notion that EVERYONE can’t be right I had to choose and I’m choosing Christ”. EXACTLY. You can’t have it all.
In our youth we need to get out hands on everything and try to find what we’re made of and what we’re good at and have a grace for. As time goes by we need to choose carefully but we have to choose…. Why? You guessed it, you cant have it all. So many people that you could marry. So many ways in which you could spend your life and serve the the kingdom of God, the world and your neighbor. So many places your could live. But you have to choose. If you don’t your life will be and inch deep and a mile wide. You will live a indistinct, ordinary and unexceptional life.
I want my life to be clear. I want your life to be clear. I want my mission to be clear, not only to me but to everyone who crosses my path. You can’t have it all but when you choose rightly you will truly have it all.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
“EVERYONE” doesn’t exist
“Everyone hates me”
“Everyone loves it”
“Everyone thinks…”
“Everyone knows that…”
“Everyone loves…”
If there is one thing that can bring a fight with someone to a whole other lever it is broad sweeping generalizations such as, “You ALWAYS” or ”you NEVER”. If you don’t believe me find someone that is deer to you and pick a fight and throw out some generalizations and just see what happens….. Wait, that’s a HORRIBLE idea, on second thought, don’t do that… Just trust me, its true.
There is no ‘everyone’ anything. Why does EVERYONE(see what i did there…tricky right?) insist on throwing that word around? Because everyone can’t all agree about anything… well except that airline food is gross and that Joshua Tree was the best U2 album ever.. but other than that consensus is a bit of a misnomer.
People will often come in my office to talk to me about some issue in their life and the very first words that come out of their mouth will be “everyone…”. I’ll stop them dead in their tracks and say, “Who is ‘everyone’”. To which they will give a VERY short list of people. Its funny what the net result of this is. It deescalates the situation from a world wide crisis to a regional or more accurately a personal event. I mean, come on, don’t be an ego maniac. EVERYONE doesn’t even know you exist. Of those that know you exist a bunch don’t care. Of those that care that you exist even fewer have taken the time to formulate an opinion about anything about you. So lets all just take a deep breath and realize we’re not that cool and that EVERYONE isn’t staying up nights formulating opinions about us.
When people say “everyone” what they are saying is “the group of people whose opinion of me matters”. There are a ton of people who’s option doesn’t matter to me and the same should be true for you. I’m not giving you license to be a jerk and not give a flip what people think of you. What I’m saying more over is that you can do EVERYTHING right and there will STILL be people out there that will hate you. Deal with it. Its reality.
I guess the logical question here is, who is your ‘everyone’? Although my family, mentors and close friends are a small number, if they all felt something about me it mine as well be the whole world (everyone). Because, as wrong as it may seem, my little world feels like the whole world. You need to be careful who’s opinion of you matters. When you’re young you want the whole world to love you, but HEY your teen age years called they want their false reality back. If you’re a teen reading this and take a play from the grown ups playbook and concern yourself with the right peoples opinion.
And as i have heard it said, “Above all else, God’s opinion of you makes every other opinion not matter”
ACT NOW!
A bill (A6702/S4779)-is being rushed through the New York legislature that would allow minors to receive any vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease without parental knowledge or consent. And there is no minimum age limit contained in the law.
This bill would, at the least, allow minors to receive vaccines for hepatitis b and human papilloma virus (HPV) sold under the trade name Gardasil.
Gardasil has been associated with an unusually high number of adverse reactions including severe neurological damage and death.
Three hepatitis b shots are already required to attend kindergarten in New York. Why then the need for additional shots. And why are we vaccinating newborns for a sexually transmitted disease?
Please call the following key legislators and ask them politely not to pass this bill:
Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver
(518) 455-3791
Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith
(518) 455-2701
Or go to www.mykidsmychoice.com for more information. PLEASE don’t take my word for it read the bills for yourself I think you will agree this ISN’T g0od.
I don’t believe its the goverments job to decide how to protect or raise my kids or yours. I don’t want a Goverment that can’t figure out how to pass a budjet on time deciding what should be injected in my kids.
As Christians i TOTALLY believe in the power of prayer but when there are steps we can take i think its incumbant upon us to TAEK THEM. I already call both the Speaker and Majority Leader this morning and told them i am AGAIN these bills and it took no more than 5 minutes. Please call and and respectfully tell them the same
EX NIHILO – OUT OF NOTHING
In the different theories of creationism is that of creatio ex nihilo which is “creation out of nothing”. It begs the question, could God take nothing and make something? Can something rise from nothing? In the beginning God created…. and it was good. Then he handed it over to us, his creation, and it got bad in short order. Maybe the theory of creatio ex nihilo is absolutely correct. Whether or not this theory is correct frankly doesn’t concern me too much. Whatever he did, he did. However he did it is great. I believe that God created it all. I have a strong faith that can accept, without doubt, that God created it all. But this blog post REALLY isn’t about that at all. My question and concern is much more current.
God makes something out of nothing. –We take that something and turn it into nothing. –Can God take my nothing and again make it something… something of real value?
We take what’s good and by our own self will and egotism run from the creator of good and turn the good thing bad. The good opportunity, the good friends, the good gifts…. If we aren’t careful we can take them all and reduce them to nothing.
ex nihilo – out of nothing
I believe that God can take a universe void of a single particle of dust and create all we see and have yet to discover. The real question is this: do i deeply believe that he can take a broken relationship, gift or life and out of nothing create something again? I’m staking my life on the fact that he can. For the next few days I want to share stories of how we can make something out of nothing with God’s help. We are created in the image of God and that includes his creative nature. That part of him that CREATES. We posses that same quality. We feel it in us when it all falls down. It’s that stirring, that discontent, that hunger to be whole and right and good. ex nihilo… out of nothing, i believe can come something…. something beautiful.
EX NIHILO – PART 2
This last week I had the distinct privilege of spending a couple days with some amazing people. In the heart of Brooklyn N.Y. is METRO ministries headed up by Pastor Bill Wilson. They exist to serve the most at risk children in the five boroughs of New York City. I rode on one of the buses that’s dispatched to get the kids. As I rode the first thing I was struck by the poverty.the feelings where reminiscent of those I experienced in the barrios of the Dominican Republic or the slums of Mexico. Having kids of my own a deep empathy welled up in me at what I saw. These kids have nothing it seemed.
How will they make it? How will they rise from the nothingness they’re surrounded by?
Even as I was contemplating that question I began to see the answer. The two assistants that rode along got off every time the bus stopped to greet the kids and hug the mothers. It was ALWAYS moms, not one dad, which is almost always the case in these neighborhoods. Once every seat was jammed with 3 kids I began to see what all this was for. The assistant, a big high school kid, began to lead the kids in song… “God is a big God oh yes he is. He will pick you up, he will turn you around, he will place your feet on solid ground”. The kids sang so loud it left my ears ringing and my minds eye seeing how something can rise from nothing.
We where on one of the last buses to arrive and fill an auditorium filled with about a 900 other kids. The amazing team was the kids the lessons of the week entitled, “storms will surely come”. Instead of the normal storm that you’d hear taught to this age group i heard them say things like, “maybe your dad went to jail this week and you don’t know when you’ll ever see him again” and “you mom may be on drugs” and “maybe you got an eviction notice and you’ve been forced to live on the street”. I looked around to see little kids beginning to cry. I realized that these illustrations where are all too real. This is a world that few of us are exposed to but one that Pastor Bill Wilson has chosen to surround himself in and live for.
It’s easy to misunderstand Pastor Wilson. He’s rough and to the point with the look in his eye like that of a prize fighter. Ones that’s battled but hasn’t been beaten. He reminded me of Jesus how he seems to draw the children and frighten the timid and religious. He don’t mince words and he lives will intentionality. That intention is clear to be a voice that bring hope. Its easy to look at these kids and say they’re hopeless but he clears that up in short order. He says, “These kids aren’t hopeless, they just don’t have hope”. He, and the team at metro ministries have made it their mission to bring that hope, the hope of Christ, in a place that others say, “nothing will come of these kids”.
Metro Ministries proves that ex nihilo(from nothing), something beautiful can come.
Matthew 19:14 (NIV) Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
EX NIHILO – PART 3 – REPAIRING FRACTURED FREINDSHIPS
In 1975, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt’s famous painting “Night watch”. He took out a knife and cut the painting up. In 1990, a man sprayed acid onto the painting with a concealed pump bottle. Security guards intervened and sprayed water onto the canvas. Luckily, the acid had only penetrated the varnish layer of the painting and the painting was fully restored.
Rembrandt painstakingly created a masterpiece that in a moment of impetuousness was almost destroyed. E.R. Bulwer-Lytton said, “It is difficult to say who do you the most mischief: enemies with the worst intentions or friends with the best.” So what do you do with a relationship that is so valuable and precious but now lays cut, broken or fractured through harsh words or foolish actions? What do you do with the pain, the heart wound and regrets? I think the answer lies in the way in which Rembrandt’s painting was treated. The curators would never decide to simply throw this iconic work away because it was damaged. WHY? Because it is priceless. Rather the painstaking process had to begin to restore what was deeply damaged.
I hear people say silly inaccurate things about relationships one being, “you shouldn’t have to work so hard for to make a relationship work” WRONG! In fact I would say you only get out of a relationship what you invest into it. Especially when one or the other or both has been wounded ‘work’ is exactly what its going to take to fix it. Here are a few thoughts on how to try to redeem something from a relationship that’s on the brink of nothingness…
-Assess the value: Some relationships are for a season, some should have never been and some are for a lifetime. Relationships, even great ones, go through seasons of conflict. But whatever the case you must asses the relationship you are in before you seek to reengage and repair it.
-Handle with care: Like a damaged Rembrandt, a damaged relationship must be repaired with care. Its can’t be fixed haphazardly since it was most likely haphazardness and impetuousness that brought the relationship into it’s broken state.
-Own your part: They say it takes two to tango. I don’t tango but I do know that it doesn’t always take two to make a relationship go wrong. If you did the cutting, OWN IT, and repent of it… from the heart.
-Forgive freely: Healing can’t come were forgiveness isn’t granted. It doesn’t mean opening yourself to get cut again but rather forgiveness is a balm that heals the cut that’s already there. Forgiveness is more a gift to the wounded than to the one who did the wounding.
-Forge forward with new wisdom: To learn from others mistakes is wisdom. To learn from your own mistakes is smart. To refusing to learn from your own mistakes is just plain stupid. Make every conflict count and let it make you and your relationships better.
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” -C.S. Lewis
I THINK I HAVE A PROBLEM
I’m planning my next Ultramarthon and realizing that my running may be more of an addiction than a pass time. Here are some of the reasons.
1 -I spend more time in the drug section than the food section of Wal-Mart.
2 -I can expound on the virtues of eating salt.
3 -My son cries harder when he misses a training run with me than he does when he gets hurt
4 -I know the location of every corner store, public restroom, and water fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.
5 -People at work think I’m in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.
6 -I always have at least one black toenail.
7 -Every summer i strongly consider preemptively having all my toenails removed
8 -I really envied Tom Hanks’ long run as Forest Gump.
9 -I think its totally logical to get up for a 20 miler at 4am
10 -I gleefully share the refining qualities of pain and suffering to anyone who will listen
11-I don’t go on any trips without Google mapping a run before I get there.
12 -As an infant I was dropped on your head.
13 -I can easily listen to 3 audio books a week…while running
14 -When I see the “SYRACUSE 50 MILES” sign on the thruway it reads like a dare.
15 -I drink from a water bottle at the dinner table and don’t think its weird.
16 -My wife doesn’t believe me when I say “never again” after a ultramarathon.
Well I gotta go time for my second run of the day
Any idiot can run a marathon. It takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultramarathon.
–Alan Cabelly
I KNOW YOU’RE ALL HURTING ABOUT MICHEAL BUT…
Today the world grieves at the loss of Michael Jackson. The sang, he danced……(trying to think of something else)… Ya that’s all I got. People are calling his death a tragedy. The truth of the matter is, his entire life was tragedy. Here’s a man that is a clearly wounded soul that pushed through who knows what kind of childhood traumas to make money for those that worked around him and “supported” him. Michael Jackson perfectly exemplifies the dysfunction in our culture. We celebrate talent over character and mental stimulation over mental health. Dog fight if you will if you as long can catch a football. Take an Argentinian lover as long as you’re a charismatic Governor. Slap your girlfriend around just make sure you’re a snappy dresser with a great lawyer and song that’s top 10 in iTunes.
Bono once said:
“My own dad didn’t encourage me much, maybe to save me from being disappointed. And my way of rebelling has been to prove I can go out and win the love of the whole world. But it’s a funny need for compensation that makes you need fifty thousand screaming people telling you they love you in order for you to feel normal.”
I’ve always thought that there is a hidden wound and a need for acceptance in those that need the lime light. Michael Jackson was walking wounded. He wasn’t misunderstood. I think the world wants to believe he was misunderstood because it’s easier than facing the fact that we are entertained of the back of his dysfunction. He had two of the most bizarre marriages ever… Fathered two children(the biggest victims here) that he used like publicity props… Faced MULTIPLE allegations of pedophilia… Had his face shaped and reshaped by plastic surgeons like modeling clay in the hands of child… and on and on and on. I watched HUGE crowds gather outside the courthouse at his child molestation trial to “support him”. I thought “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?” Child molesters are tried every day in this nation and when do you see hundreds gather to “support” them…..OH! I forgot this one sang and danced. Shakespeare said “The evil men do lives after them the good is oft interred with their bones” but I would have to disagree. John Gotti at his death was given the burial of a dignitary instead of a criminal murderer and now Michael Jackson will be honored and enshrined as a saint.
Parents lost a son yesterday and siblings lost a brother and that is sad. Its sad because he died before his time. Its sad because the time he DID live didn’t really look like living from my perspective. The saddest part is that America won’t learn anything here. I know i know America is saddened and grieving and if you listen carefully you can hear our culture collectively saying,
“Bye Marilyn Monroe, Bye Anna Nicole, Bye Chris Farley, Bye Micheal….. Give us the next star to amuse ourselves with as we watch them slowly self destruct…”
THE LAW OF REVERSED EFFORT
Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Judges 15:14-15 As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists. 15 Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
-Have you ever seen someone panic in a pool? They fight hard against the water but sink.
-Have you ever “tried” to sleep, knowing you needed rest for the day to come? All that resulted was a sleepless night.
-Have you ever made a relational mistake then try to kick it into overdrive to make it better? It most likely got worse.
-Have you ever racked your brain to place a song or a name or such? Net result: you usually can’t… until later, when you stop trying and it pops right into your head.
All these and a hundred more examples point to the truth of the law of reversed effort. According to Aldous Huxley the law of reversed effort states; The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed.
If you know me or read my blog you know I’m all about hard work and effort. However, there are times that the harder we fight for something the more ground we seem to loose. It may be that we are fighting to take a hill that we were never meant to take. It may be that we’re taking a hill that we’re not YET meant to take. Or it may be that we’re going about the fight wrongly empowered.
Rogue wisdom says, “pick your battles carefully”. This bit of wisdom has always been counter to my impetuous nature. Every battle has often looked worth fighting and so I’ve fought. Problem is, even when I win, I loose because I rise from the fray exhausted, with little to show for my efforts. I’ve learned, or rather I should say, I’m learning to pick my battles more carefully.
I’ve had my moments, those rare, beautiful moments of clarity. It’s in these moments when I truly get it. You see when we pick the right battle, for the right reason, at the right time, empowered by something greater than us, it all comes together.
God help us to never drift from the reality that we need you and the strength that you give.
HERE’S TO YOU NIKO CHAMPION
A 16 second video that will explain everything you need to know about why my wife is amazing(and tired) and why my son is crazy. He’s a quick one…. and a cubs fan.
COMMANDING VS. DEMANDING RESPECT
Command: To direct with authority; give orders to. Deserve and receive as due
Demand: To claim as just or due
Respect: High or special regard
Its sounds cute to say, “everyone deserves respect”. I hope when people say that, they AREN’T saying that I have to give every person I meet high or special regard. I mean really?!?! I think everyone deserves civility and consideration but not everyone deserves respect by definition. Which brings me to my point. There are two way in which you can garnish respect. The first is to demand respect while the other is to command it. I’m blessed to have great leaders around me that set an example of commanding respect.
You want to be a person that commands respect do the following:
- Love those under you and care for your subordinates like those you’re subordinate to.
- Walks the walk and don’t just talk the talk. Lead from the front and don’t be afraid to get your nails dirty
- Truly celebrate when others succeed, even when they are succeeding at something you are pursing.
- Focus on where you’re going. That’s the only reason people follow you… because you’re actually going somewhere.
OR you can be a person that demands respect by neglecting the above items and do all the following:
- Insist people ALWAYS refer to you by your title.
- Obsess over superficial things. Spend you energy looking like a leader. Right cloths, body language, words ect.
- When something is getting done make sure you’re right there. Don’t worry about being a part of the productivity, but make sure you’re right in the middle of it.
- Push your subordinates around and suck up to your superiors. In other words, memorize and be an active part of the pecking order
- In general make sure you don’t spend a lot of time on your content and character but focus you attention on your image.
If you command respect, you will positively effect countless lives having the comradery of both your superiors and subordinates and when you reach your goals you will have tons of people that will celebrate with you. If you live your life demanding respect you might reach some goals but it will be lonely when you get there and those that DO rejoice with you will do it only in an obligatory manner and thus your successes will be shallow. in his book Into the Wild C. McCandless said, “Happiness is Only Real When Shared”. When you’re a true leader you will not only be able to joy in others success’ but you will always have people around you that will truly joy in yours.
greatest counseling how-to video EVER!!!
I literally thought this was how to deal with just about any problem when I first started working with people(God forgive me lol)
You don’t know what you really think until…
You don’t know what you really think until you say it.
I’m struck by the amount of times people will make appointments to see me in hopes that I’ll have the answers to all their problems. I can tell, as they sit down, that their plan WAS to show up and articulate their thoughts in a clear and concise way. Yet something common happens when they open their mouth. As they begin to talk, a look of bewilderment and confusion covers their face as the unexamined thoughts that lived in the seclusion of the mind crosses the threshold of their mouth into the light of day. What they thought was a settled issue evolved and changed into something entirely different as it went from being internalize to being verbalized.
You don’t know what you really think until you say it. Our thoughts can deceive while community reveals the genius as well as the frailties of our thoughts. We all need people who we can bounce ideas off. Not every little thought that crosses our mind needs to be shared but the ones that take on a life of their own and have the power to begin to shape, or reshape us, need to be shared.
Speaking of which ….Have I ever told you the idea I had about a car that can use extinct birds as fuel? Birds that you’ve never head of like the Tahitian Red-billed Rail or the Mauritius Blue Pigeon would now be able to be burned to power your car. Now for all the tree huggers that are reading this take heart, this car would have a great exhaust that would produce ZERO toxic emissions thus making it Eco friendly. Net result: No more high fuel bills and no more annoying lists of lonely extinct birds.
…. Tell me what you think
LIVING IN MY PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE
Lamentations 3:27 (NIV) It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
Today, like every other day, i woke up living on 3 parallel planes.
Firstly, I woke up in the FUTURE. I mean I wasn’t always 30, and every decision I made up till this day set the context of the day I’m currently in. I’m in the future of my teen years and my twenties. Looking at today as the future is a sobering reminder that I will always reap what I sow.
Secondly, and most importantly, I woke up in the PRESENT. I have to be careful not to wallow in the the past as I’m powerless to change my past. All that I can do with my past is learn the lessons of it so I’m smarter in the day I’m in. Also I can’t live out my present in a day dream imagining my future lest I lose traction for today. With these two tensions in mind I’m in the present and have to focus my energies on the things that really matter. I have to realize that I have only so much life energy to spend and I have to spend it wisely.
Thirdly, today I’m in my PAST. I’m 30 today, and just like if feels like two seconds ago I was twenty, in two more seconds I’m going to wake up and be 40. And just like I wish I shook myself a little harder when i was 20 the 40 year old version of me is yelling at the 30 year old version of me to shake myself and make the most of the moment I’m in.
Life is about tension.
Live only in the past we become paralyzed. Live only in the present we become hedonistic or wreckless. Live only in the future we never take hold of it. But if we can learn to find the tension of the three, life stays dynamic, fruitful and forward moving.
IT’S ABOUT BALANCE
There was a great graph(of sorts) in the most recent WIRED magazine. I thought I would pass it along to you since it’s a VERY helpful chart to help you squadner the 9 hours that the average American spends glued to some kind of screen every day. Its helpful because you wouldn’t want leave the rotting of your brain to chance. As they say, “fail to plan and you can plan to fail”
My friend and I developed a great app for all you runners out there. its call 4 STAGES OF COMPETENCE
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Personal growth is dependent upon our recognition of a lack and a desire to do something about it. Psychology refers to it as the 4 stages of competence:
1. Unconscious incompetence -(You don’t know that you don’t know)
-This is the WORST place to be in. You are ignorant of your ignorance
2.Conscious incompetence -(You know that you don’t know)
-This is the first day of the rest of your life. This is the point at which real change can begin to occur
3. Conscious competence -(You know that you know)
-At this point you are functioning properly but with a fair amount of focused effort. What was once a non-existent response has become a strong secondary re sponse that you are able to execute with minimal intrusion of the primary nega tive response.
4. Unconscious competence -(You don’t know that you DO know)
-By focused discipline and repetition what was once a secondary response has not become a primary response with minimal conscience effort
The process can’t begin until we are WILLING to face step one. We have to be willing to face the reality of what isn’t right about our thinking or behavior. Through prayer and genuine community I believe that you will be able to come to the places of your unconscience incompetence and begin the process of change.
PHRASES THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN OUT OF ROTATION
I was thinking the other day that there are certain phrases that should never be said.
1. “Smell my hand”
” This is a phrase almost exclusively used negatively. Whatever you got on your hand, wash it off. I know misery loves company but really, its too much… wash your hands! Now, for the rare occasion that you somehow procured a delightful smell upon your hand you’re still suspect in my book.
While we’re talking about hands….
2. “I just washed my hands”
This is a statement that you’ll hear after shaking a persons hand that just got done “powdering their nose”. They shake your hand and feel compelled to tell you they just washed there hands. Now, I know why they’re doing it… they, in some sick way, think that you’ve attributed the moisture on their hand to the fact that they somehow peed all over their hand and took no corrective measures and left the bathroom and promptly shook your hand. This is ridiculous! If you are so wildly dysfunctional that you do pee on your hands and then leave and shake peoples hands you aren’t about to say, “oh sorry, my hands wet, I just peed on it”. I mean, come on, I get it you washed your hands, they’re wet, and I take that as a sign of good hygiene. Congrats to you, you’re potty trained. It’s you, mister “perfectly dry hand” guy that just left the bathroom that I worry about
3. “You still working on that?”
This little gem is said by the waitress that is trying to get you out of the restaurant to bring in another better tipping patron to take your place. They’ve likened the meal they served you 20 minutes prior to a fine work of art to be completed, rather than the 1200 calorie transgression it really is. Am I still working on it? yes, I’m still working on it. I was just about to put the finishing touches on it. I think you will be really pleased with the end result.
4. “Oh snap”
This is used by someone who suffered sever head trauma in 1998 and was put in to a medically induced coma and just woke up last week. It’s also used by people they may still feel it is 1998. Just like the unibomer was sentenced to be locked up on 1998 this phrase should join him. I don’t know what it means, I’ve never known. It should ONLY be used when you are CLEARY mocking it. if you have more PLEASE tell me… make me laugh
FLOW
I’m reading a great book called, FLOW IN SPORTS by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It’s a great book and totally worth the read. The whole book centers on the phycological experience of being “in the zone”. In his book, Csikszentmihalyi talks about how we experience what he calls ‘flow’. His flow theory is both simple and profound. In a nutshell It’s this, when you’re performing below you potential it leads to boredom if you try to perform above your potential it leads to burnout. When you perform at the top end of your ability it does two things. First, it gives you that amazing sensation of flow. In running its called a runners high. Second, it serves to stretch you and redefine what is the top end of your ability. I remember the first time I ran a 10k in 49:20 in my early days of running. I felt I had done the impossible and it felt amazing(the old lady I finished with felt the same as me). It was my best time…. up to that point. As I make a habit of pushing the upper limits of my potential athletically I can consistently improve. The side effect of all this is that along the path of improvement I get to experience the best kind of high. The high of performing to my full potential and growing better and better. Now, as I can do the 10k in 40 minutes flat I still get that same high I felt when I did it in 49:20. But its not about the time, its about pushing myself to be my best every day. I get so excited when someone tells me they did their first race or set a PR. Sometimes they hesitate to tell me their times as if I’ll mock. The truth is I get so excited for them, whatever the time, because THEY DID IT! They pushed themselves and the smile on their face tells on them. They’re proud of themselves because they did their best and they feel great about it…. and so they should!
Feeling flow can be experienced in every arena as you push yourself to be the best you can in every area of life you’re blessed to posses.
I wanna be a better husband, father, pastor, friend, athlete, student and friend. What do you wanna be better at? it DOESN’T just happen. You have to push yourself. Push yourself today! Feel the rush of blood. Feel the sweat build as you perform at your very best. A boring life…. well… is boring. Don’t except the status quo or yesterdays acomplishments. achieve something great TODAY!
BURN THE SHIPS
Colossians 3:23 (KJV) And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
In 1519, Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico on the shores of the Yucatan with 500 soldiers and 100 sailors. With these relatively small band of men he sought to take hold of the Aztec treasure they knew to be there. With only 600 men Cortez took that land and reshaped history. How did he do it with such a small group of people? the answer is found in the last line of the “motivational talk” he gave before they left the waters edge and moved inland. As he wrapped up is talk he said, “burn the ships”. He wanted to make it abundantly clear that failure or retreat weren’t options.
I think failure happens more often than it needs to because we let failure BE an option. Its good to have a fallback BUT DON’T FALL BACK. If you have something in you’re heart to do… DO IT! Don’t settle…. Period.
Here are some tips how to stay on point….
1. Ask yourself why you are doing ‘it’! -Scrutinize the motive behind the motion.
2. Be able to articulate to yourself what ‘it’ is. -You have to have a clear finish line.
3. Verbalize you goals to those that will support you- You need cheers in the process not just in the final product.
4. Don’t confuse detours with dead-ends- Obstacles WILL come but they don’t have to be the end unless you let them.
5. Find joy in the pursuit - I like running races… not just finishing them.
shhhhhh listen…
James 1:19 …You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry…
Ok, I have to be honest here, I’m writing this as much for my own reflection as I am for everyone else’s reading. Listening hasn’t always been my strong suit. OK, FINE… you just had to push… its my weakest suit!! There are so many voices and so much noise that its easy to consciously or unconsciously shut it all down and listen to NONE of it. The problem lies in the fact that my growth potential lies not in what I say but what I listen to. There are the obvious voices that are vying for my attention, but the voices that can some times speak the loudest are the ones without a mouth.
-The excitement and joy in the eyes of a child.
-The grief in the eyes of elderly man that’s lost his wife in death.
-The feeling of the autumn wind blowing in my face.
-The feeling of seeing a soldier board a plane heading to war.
-The way someone carries themselves when they’re in unfamiliar territory
All these things can speak. They all have a voice. They all can show us something and teach us something…. if we listen.
I want to grow. I don’t want to wake up next year and be the same person I am today. I want to be better and I have to slow down and choose to see, to listen, to learn and to grow. When my daughter tells me a story with unspeakable excitement it says that joy may not be as illusive as some make it out to be. When I see grief, it speak to me that life is short and relationships are all that really matter. When I feel that autumn wind blow, it tells me that the most valuable things are often free. When I see a solider leave for war, it tells me that bravery and heros are all around us and we should take more time to thank them. When I see an outsider in my inside world, it speaks to me that i have great power to make someone feel loved and welcomed…. and on and on and on.
Every day, in so many ways God is whispering to you. Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to respond wrongly…… Shhhhhhh, listen, there’s something you need to hear…. do you hear it? Are you listening? It’s right there in front of you, the chance to grow, the chance to be better… Don’t miss it.
WELL…TECHNICALLY…
There are many things that are technical. Math is technical. Sports are technical. Plumbing and electrical are technical(trust me). But faith ISN’T technical. I got to thinking about this after I heard someone mention their so called “technical virginity” they where so proud of. REALLY?!?! I think they might be missing the point.
When I say that faith isn’t technical what I’m saying is… well, let me put it to you this way…
Commandment I… CHECK!
Commandment II… CHECK!
Commandment IV… CHECK!
Commandment V… CHECK!
Commandment VI… CHECK!
Commandment VII… CHECK!
Commandment VIII… CHECK!
Commandment IV… CHECK!
Commandment X… CHECK!
“THEREFORE, I HAVE STROOOOONG FAITH! Furthermore I have a close walk with God and possessing and abundance of righteousness”
The truth is that a person could be doing all this and be far from God and be nothing but self-righteous. HOW, you may ask. Because they read John 14:15 wrong which actually says “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”.… It DOEN’T say if you obey my commands it means you love me. Love produces behavior that is pleasing to the object of the love. But performing certain behaviors doesn’t automatically indicate love.
If you have put all your time and energy into the techniques of Christianity you’ve not only found yourself exhausted and unfulfilled but most likely feeling far from the mark.
Our faith journey must always be a pursuit of relationship with Christ and a cultivation of passion. If we do that our lives will be DISTINCTLY different than those that are far from God.
ANNA WAS SICK…
Before my fingers even touch the keys tears are filling my eyes. February 24th 2006, Stephanie and I received the worst news. We were sat down by our Doctor and told, “your daughter has cancer”. I will never forget how those words hit my heart like a razor sharp arrow. The doctor left and I immediately put my arm around Stephanie and I prayed with our four month old daughter in our arms. I’ll never forget the prayer I prayed that day. I said, “God, I don’t understand but we trust you and we need you”. This is how the greatest test of our life began. Surgery, Chemotherapy and more doctors visits than I can even remember and we’re on the other side. That journey is part of our story. It’s become a part of who we are. Not in an ugly jaded way. The Bible says that God can give us beauty for ashes…. and that’s what I want to share with you here. I learned a lot about myself, others, God and life through the journey. Things I hope I’ll never forget.
I learned that Stephanie and I are stronger than I thought. I learned that I am a deeply emotional being. I lived so many years without realizing how deeply God created me to feel. I felt such deep grief. Grief so deep it literally caused pain. You wouldn’t think it but I learned about joy as well. With every positive prognosis joy filled my soul in a way I’d never known. I learned that even warriors cry. I’ve become so much more in touch with my emotions through the journey and I’m thankful for it…. I could go on and on but for the sake of brevity I’ll stop there.
I learned about others. I learned that friendship and community in crisis is not optional its required. I can remember within hours of finding out that our little Anna had cancer, the entire pediatric Oncology unit of Syracuse University was filled with family and friends. They where there. That was the most important thing, and the thing I’ll always remember. They were just there silently supporting and loving in our toughest hour. They continued to be there through the months when the pain of it all hit again and we needed someone to cry with. Stephanie and I are so thankful for our friends.
I learned that God is more mysterious than I knew. I subconsciously thought that good things happened to good people and bad things happen to bad people… Karma really. In our youth we want to know what we know, but as I get older I realize that life has many more question marks than exclamation marks. There’s so much mystery. It’s what we do with the unanswered questions that in a large way defines our faith journey. I still don’t understand a lot about what happened with Anna, but I know God is real. Why? Well there’s lots of reasons, but here’s one that I’ll carry as long as I live: I felt his peace come upon me February 25th in the middle of the night as I held my sick little girls in my arms as I prayed . Peace isn’t a normal human response in a moment like that but that’s exactly what invaded me in the moment I needed it the most. Life is long and sometimes painful but God is faithful even when we don’t understand.
I learned that life is frightfully fragile. I realized in a moment that for all that I do to protect, preserve and prolong my life, tomorrow it isn’t promised to me. That reality challenges me to live well today. All this made me fearless towards death but focused on the reality that all men die but some never truly live… I want to truly live. I not only wanna truly live but want to lead as many other people as I can to do the same.
OH, hows Anna? She’s doing amazing. She is the most amazing, beautiful, complicated, brilliant little girl and we thank God for her and Niko every day. I was inspired to write after Anna got the all clear and healthy for Anna’s Doctor.
-If you are a Cancer survivor I would love and be honored to hear your story. Please leave me a comment.
”Minor” Barricades
In 1962, Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., erected barricades on Peyton and Harlan Roads in an attempt to prevent the Peyton Forest neighborhood from being integrated. Delineating the black and white sections of the city, the barricade attracted national and international attention. Soon local black activists began picketing the barricades with signs that read “We Want No Warsaw Ghetto,” and equated the barricades with the Berlin Wall. Minor barricades, MAJOR problem.
A tiny barricade seemed insignificant but it was a touch point, a dividing line. For Atlanta it was a little barricade that represented something much much bigger. What is it for me? A “little” lie, a “little” character flaw, a “little” compromise. From the outside it seems insignificant but the inside is where the real war rages. Unfortunately by the time most people wake up to the reality of what’s broken, the scars are deep and the path of restoration is unspeakably more difficult than it needed to be if the issue was addressed much earlier on. I’m flawed beyond mention and in need of Gods mercy every day.
I’m in trouble when I forget just how much grace and mercy I need.
I’m in trouble when I begin to forget how frail and fallen I am.
I’m in trouble when I drift from the cross and enter in the world of self-justification and rationalization.
We all do it, in varying degrees, to avoid the reality of who we are and aren’t. But to realize our potential we have face the reality of our often painful present position and lean into Christ and appropriate the grace he offers to remove all the blockade and barricades that limit us and become all that God designed us to be.
What’s the barricade in your life that you call minor but in reality is causing, or has the power to create. MAJOR problems on your path?
Me vs. God
Genesis 32:22-28 (NLT) During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked He replied, “Jacob.” 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”
God wants to bless you but not on your terms. Here’s Jacob, who loved God, but whose life is marked with the character flaw of doing things in his own strength. From scheming for his brothers blessing to manipulating his father in law to trying to broker a peace with his brother using his finely tuned diplomatic skills Jacob was a good at seeing God as his supplement and not his supply. He had many blessings but still felt half alive knowing that there were relationships and circumstance that he couldn’t reconcile in his own strength. God shows up on the scene and begins to wrestle with Jacob as if to say, “you think you’re tough huh?”. Jacob takes up the challenge. He demands, “bless me”. God says, “whats your name?”. Jacobs name has a meaning like “schemer”. It’s as if Jacob is saying to God, “bless this scheming, heal grabbing life”…. God’s says, “Na, I think I’ll change you and bless that”.
Are we willing our way through life trying to get God to bless our way are are we trying to align our lives with God’s will, realizing that’s what’s already blessed?
Every story ends the same. The Bible says that at the end, EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The only difference is that those that confess that now can stop the endless, exhausting, wrestling between their will and God’s and allow Him to bless their life so that they CAN make a difference.
Start over (part 1)
I love opening a box from Fed Ex. Something I’ve ordered thats ‘finally’ arrive 48 hours after ordering. I love driving a new car. I love wearing a new outfit. I love meeting a new friend. There’s something about “new”. It just has a ring to it, doesn’t it? But sadly nothing stays new forever. Some things lose their newness and you discard them like that *N Sync concert tee. Its NOT new in fact its straight up played out. But other things lose their newness yet they are meant to remain in your life.-the friendship
-the job
-the marriage
-the ministry
-the vision
-the job
-the marriage
-the ministry
-the vision
There are a lot of things that you feel when you enter into something new. You feel excitement and a sense of expectancy. You feel energized and optimistic. These emotions and a plethora of others serve you well as you endeavor onto an avenue previously unexplored. But as the road becomes familiar and the scenery, once awe inspiring, becomes familiar the emotions that where felt in the beginning CAN begin to fade……what then? Well in our western 20th century culture the celebrated thing to do it put on your blinker and take the nearest exit. That solid road becomes a slippery slope undergirded by statements like, “I deserve to be happy” and “I shouldn’t have to work this hard at ….”.
Nothing good happens apart from hard work. We have to push through the bump, slumps and humps on the path towards our goals. Furthermore it’s by personal conviction that you can continue to keep you passion, excitement and sense of newness in your friendship, job marriage ect. this week I want to discuss the way that i keep freshness and newness in your life.
Its time to keep doing the things you need to be doing. Its time to do you BEST at it and that can happen as you make a fresh commitment to it and choose start over.
Tomorrow: part 2. remember why you started in the first place
START OVER (PART 2)
“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” -Hardy D. Jackson
The longer a race, the easier it is to forget why you are running. The loss of of vision leads to lack of motivation which will eventually leads to dropping out. This progression is as true in life as it is in a race. When you feel a lack of motivation in any area of your life there are are several things you can do rejuvenate fresh passion
-Ask yourself if you should be doing it in the first place.
If your goal has a weak base like selfish ambition or fear the process will fade to a drudgery.
- If I feel it is something that was right to begin I have to ask myself if it was a seasonal commitment of a lifelong commitment.
If I come to the conclusion that the endeavor was legit than I need to be able to remember why I started in the first place. I revisit the heart of the pursuit.
- Surround yourself with fresh motivation.
I do this by reading books, connect afresh with similarly minded friends, watch movies that capture the passion of the thing I’m after.
-Mix it up and find a way to shake yourself out of the rut.
if you run, enter a new race. If you job is in a slum work with fresh fire and creativity like your job is on the line. ect. ect.
-Tell someone who never told your goal, vision, story.
There is something about revisiting your roots that has the power to breath fresh life into an old vision.
Passion is the lifeblood in in pursuit of your purpose. We MUST keep passion in the process and fuel on the fire so that the God given goals of yesterday don’t become fall on the trash heaps of unfulfilled potential in our tomorrows.
START OVER (PART 3)
Stay with me, God. The night is dark.
The night is cold: my little spark
of courage dies. The night is long;
be with me, God, and make me strong
-Junius, Vietnam veteran
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Deuteronomy 6:10-13 (NIV) When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
At the beginning of a daunting task its easy to lean on God and look to him for strength. Especially if the task we’re taking on seems monstrously bigger than us, we naturally look for something bigger than us to get through. However, as we acclimate to the new environment or task our dependence upon God can wain. It’s as true for us as it was for the children of Israel. Just as our eyes fall off of God inevitably our feet fall upon a tough patch. Its inevitable, even in the most God ordained, noble pursuits we “will have trouble”. It’s in that moment that we come to a decision point. We decide to either quit, persist on our own strength or go back to the start… the place where we put our whole trust in God to get us through.
When your courage fades and your strength wains go back to the start and remember your redeemer and draw fresh life from him like you did when you first began
WHAT AM I PREPARED TO SEE
“There’s what people want to hear,
there’s what people want to believe;
there’s everything else
and then there’s the truth.”
I heard that quote this week and I immediately wrote it down. The filter through which we absorb the world around us is what we WANT the world to be. Unfortunately, the world isn’t what we want it to be in present simply because we wish it was. However, the world can, to some degree, become what we want through facing the truth of what it currently IS.
Its way more convenient for me to believe things like Human trafficking and child sex slavery DOESN’T exist. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “People only see what they are prepared to see.” We are only able to bring about significant change when we are willing to face the truth of reality no matter how ugly that reality is.
There are realities that need to be faced IMMEDIATELY. What realities are you refusing to face in the world, moreover what realities do you need to face in YOUR world? We can never face the reality we see on the news until we are willing to face the reality of what is in the mirror.
Fight-Flight-Posture-Submit
Lt Col. Dave Grossman in his book On Killing postulates that the old Fight or Flight model is flawed. “Fight or flight” was first described by Walter Cannon in 1929. His theory basically states that, in moments of extreme crisis peoples sympathetic nervous system kicks in causing them to either run away from or engage the obstacle. Grossman states that the sympathetic nervous system allows for two other options, previously unexplored. In addition to fight and flight he states that posturing and submitting are two other viable options.
We all face obstacles in life and how we engage those obstacles ultimately defines the type of person we become. We all wish that we were the type to stand, face and fight the giant that stands before us. There is a God given, soul deep desire to be truly brave. Unfortunately for us and our delicate ego, too often, we find ourselves running from the fight. I will say that running away can be strategic at times. Maybe you’re not prepared to fight or the timing is wrong or you’re being forced to fight on the wrong terms or it’s simply not your fight to fight… Whatever the case, from time to time, running fits the bill. The following two are cowardly;
Posturing is looking the part but not truly engaging. Its giving enough to say your tried but not enough to actually overcome the obstacle. “It tired to work it out”, “I tried to get the job”, “I tried to finish that race” and on and on and on. Its weak and you know it. You know it but others never have to if you master the art of posturing. You save face, on a certain level, to the masses but you are hardly able to look yourself in the mirror because you know your not fighting the fight only striking a pose and making noise.
Submission is the end. You see the foe and instead of fighting you simply surrender. Although this may not not mean the instant cessation of life it always brings about a kind of death. When you give way to a thing you know you should have resisted something inside of you dies.
I want to always be able to properly assess myself. I want to be able to know what are my fights to fight and to have the courage to fight them. I pray that I would not submit to something I’m called to subdue. And I pray that I spend my energy fighting my fight and not posturing for peers, praise or paparazzi.
SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS
Proverbs 19:3 (NLT) People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
In 2000, the American Medical Association said poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused 400,000 U.S. deaths — more than 16 percent of all deaths and the No. 2 killer. That compares with 435,000 for tobacco, or 18 percent, as the top underlying killer. Along with that was Alcohol consumption at 85,000 deaths;(3.5%). Sexual behaviors (20,000) and Illicit use of drugs (17, 000).
I absolutely believe that God can heal. If something goes wrong in your body that is absolutely out of your control I believe that God is the great physician. But what if your health condition is YOUR fault? You have to find a real idiot physician to give you gastric bypass simply because you cant by-pass the dessert. You also will be hard pressed to get on a list for a lung transplant if you’ve been filling the ones the good Lord gave you with smoke for the last 20 years. What’s my point? I’m so glad you asked. As I said before God is the great physician and as such places a burden of responsibility upon us to be stewards over the amazing bodies he’s given us. One of the places I believe Christians open themselves up to mockery from those outside the church is when people find out we’re praying for God to “heal” us of issues that are completely self inflicted. I don’t say these things to shame those that are struggling with these types of issues. I say it to empower you with the realization that you CAN change your situation. If it truly is genetic then get a doctor involved. But let me say one thing about that.. The American heart association says that the rate of obesity has tripled since 1960 among men and doubled among woman. Even for the Darwinist out there they don’t believe genes evolve that fast. What does evolve that fast is our poor lifestyle habits.
At the end of the day why does all this matter? It’s not an issue of vanity but of utility. I think God wants you to live a good, long, FULL life. A life that is marked by energy, creativity and vitality. I want to live to run races with my grand kids and more than that, I can do more for God in 80 years than I can in 60.
Its high time the church leads the charge in the area of healthy living. If you say you follow Christ(can I be blunt)… you shouldn’t be perishing from the things listed at the top of this page. Stop rationalizing, stop justifying, stop delaying and determine to take the resources God’s given you and make healthy lifestyle choices and LIVE.
OH! and a little side note. I wonder what good we could do in the world with the $147,000,000,000 we spend a year on health care issues related to obesity in America.
References:
Ali H. Mokdad, PhD; James S. Marks, MD, MPH; Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc; Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH. Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004;291:1238-1245.
WHAT’S IN MY HAND?
Exodus 4:1-3 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
“God helps those that help themselves”. If you where to ask the average guy on the street if that’s in the Bible most likely the answer would be yes. But it’s not. What is, however, is a pretty clear theme that God wants us to do the possible and believe him for the impossible. God could have done anything he wanted with Moses but said, “Whats that in your hand?” It’s as if he was saying between you efforts and mine we can get this done. News flash: God DOESN’T need us AT ALL to do what he wants to do. But by his divine will he chooses to make us part of what he’s doing. Lest you relegate the story of Moses to an isolated incident I offer for you consideration these examples as well:
Lazarus is dead and before he raises him, Jesus commands the people to, “remove the stone from the grave” and after, commands the people to, “loose him and let him go”. (John 11:1-45)
Elisha asks of the widow woman, “what do you have in your house?” and “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few” After she did it a miracle of multiplication of oil took place enabling her to provide for her family
(2 Kings 4:1-3)
Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram and had had leprosy. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” After he did, he was made whole.
(2 Kings 5:10-14)
Peter needed tax money and Jesus told him, “go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
(Matthew 17:24-27)
Today we have to do the possible THEN pray for God to do the impossible. My kids will often say when asked to do something, “I can’t”. I look at them and say, “don’t say I can’t, say, It’s hard”. Difficult isn’t the same as impossible and in or weakness or weariness we think they ARE the same . The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”. Why does he give us strength if he just planned on doing it all himself? He gives us strength to do our part and remain on our feet while we wait for him to to do his.
What’s in your hand? What’s in your power to do while you wait for God do what’s in his power to do?
In need of a good hero…
From Government officials to sports super stars to ministers we look for shining examples of what to be. For a season it seems we’ve found one. One to whom we can look and deeply admire are seek to emulate. Then it happens…. the fall from grace. This week in the news it’s Tiger and next week it’ll be another. It’s sad but true that heroes are harder to find than ever.
I may be assuming too much in thinking that you and I define hero in the same way. The truth is a lot can be discovered about a person by whom they look too as a hero. Athletes, Musicians, Billionaires and Celebrities aren’t my heroes by their skill alone but how they leverage their positions to help others. Many are strong to be strong and powerful to be powerful but VERY few aspire to power to help the powerless. Although many claim there aspiration to greatness is to help the hurting its usually a thin veneer covering the truth that they’re in it for themselves and themselves alone.
I’m looking for heroes… the real and genuine kind. I’m blessed to have heroes that I know in my life people who’s name you may never know but who are making a real difference in the 
lives of the people around them. But more than looking to find more people to whom I can admire I want to look to Christ as my example. Furthermore I want to allow his example to shape my life in a way that I’m unashamed when people follow my example. so I, Like the Apostle Paul, can say follow me as I follow Christ. 
REALLY HAPPY
Proverbs 15:13 (NLT) A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.
According to Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness, there are two kinds of smiles…
“Duchenne smile” and the “Pan American” smile. Here is how Seligman describes the two smiles…
“The first, called Duchenne smile (after its discoverer Guillaume Duchenne), is genuine. The corners of the mouth turn up and the skin around the corners of your eyes crinkles (the crow’s feet). …Genuine smiles are produced spontaneously by the unconscious part of the brain. When a person genuinely smiles, the orbicularis oculi and the pars orbitalis contract in addition to zygomaticus major, causing the cheeks to raise and the skin around the eyes to crease.
The Pan American smile (after the flight attendants in television ads for now-defunct airline), is inauthentic. In Duchenne smile, the facial muscles involved are difficult to control voluntarily.. Therefore, it’s difficult to fake a Duchenne smile unless you smile from within. The Pan American smile is a perfunctory smile, on created by the cerebral cortex (conscious brain). It is nothing but a courtesy smile as in the case of a flight attendant responding to a patron. It’s an expression of courtesy and politeness rather than inner joy. Alas, the Pan Am airline is dead but the smile will live forever.
Proverbs say that a glad heart produces a happy face. A glad heart can sometimes be illusive. When we can’t be genuinely happy we put on an artificial face to the masses to get by. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to just “get by”. I want to live a life marked by GENUINE joy and happiness that overflows to the point that it not only affects my face causing it to shine, but a genuine joy that is contagious to those I come in contact with. As you study out the subject of happiness you discover quickly in both secular and Christian writings that happiness comes not in consumption but contribution.
I have good news, you CAN be happy and Jesus gave you a clue how.
Acts 20:35 (NLT) …You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
While the joy of consumption habituates and gets less sweet with each bite joy multiples as you give and contributes into the life of another. This Christmas bless someone else in a meaningful way. When all is said and done the give of the gift might just be the one that with the biggest smile.
FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR
fundamental attribution error: The tendency to over-value dispositional or personality-based explanations for the observed behaviors of others while under-valuing situational explanations for those behaviors.
See if you’ve ever experienced the following….
You get cashed out by a clerk that barely talks to you…He must be a Miserable jerk.
A person drives up behind you driving fast and swerves around you and cuts you off…. He must be and irresponsible sociopath.
The waitress at the restaurant is aloof, ignorant of the special and get the order wrong… She’s must be uncommitted to her work and lazy.
Fundamental attribution error is the error that arrises from assuming that what you see is what you get. Moreover its assuming that the behavior you see in the person you’re interfacing with is completely self explanatory. The truth of the matter is there is usually more than meets the eye. Maybe the clerk that seemed miserable isn’t a miserable jerk but just fund out he was getting evicted from his apartment. Maybe that crazy driver is getting his wife to the hospital. And the waitress… maybe, just maybe, its her first day on the job. Its funny how the introduction of previously unknown factors can racially shift our perspectives towards people isn’t it?
We are ALL guilty of falling into the fundamental attribution error. We all want to be able to resolve what we see around us. We all want to be able to “get it”. We want to be able to feel that we can wrap our minds around what we see and to feel like we are able to understand the heart and motivation behind what we see in the people around us. The fatal flaw in all of this is we can only judge on what we see and know yet we only know what we know and what we DON’T know is staggering.
We judge other in what we see yet we ourselves want to be judged on what can’t be seen by the casual observer. Behavior can’t always be excused but it often can be explained and that explanation often brings about a radical shift in perspective. This year I want to look at people with new eyes. I don’t want to be quick to draw conclusion and cast judgement. I wan’t to do this for two reasons.
1. You can’t deeply love those upon whom you’ve cast harsh merciless judgement upon
2. I never want to be on the receiving end of harsh merciless judgement.
Two steps ahead, two steps behind
The gun goes off and another road race begins. I love racing in almost any condition. Today it’s 25 degrees and the roads have 2 inches of packed snow making it feel like a race on the beach minus all the positive attributes of a beach run while retaining all the negative ones. But it doesn’t matter because there’s just something about putting all my strength up agains the strength of others that I love. It’s easy to be a legend in isolation… a bit tougher to to do so in the shadow of the masses. Racing for me is a type of reality therapy, a place that reminds me how good,or more often, how average I am . In the sport of running, racing is as real as it gets. Running by definition is a very lonely and isolated sport but racing changes all that.
I don’t know what motivates me more the guys, whose foot steps I hear just behind me or the guy, who’s running two step ahead of me. My heart pounds, my lungs burn and my mind races in a way that I rarely feel while running on my own. The dominating thought that fills my mind is, “I can’t let these guys beat me”. In all reality, I don’t even know ‘these guys’. It’s not as if I’m up against Usain Bolt so why all the huff? It’s not so much that I don’t want to be beat by ‘these guys’, but moreover I don’t want to be beat. I’m not pushing myself to beat two guys whose names I don’t know, who I’ll never see again, I’m pushing myself to see what I’m capable of. That’s really the heart of competition. All the others competitors simply create a context to accomplish that, to find out how good we are.
There’s a love/hate relationship with those that push us.
Hate, because the pain the pushing and competition leave us feeling vulnerable.
Love, because the pain the pushing and competition unearth the best in us.
Half way through the race the guy that was two steps behind me was able to push by me to join the other person that was already in front of me. I tolerated this for two reason; there were many more mile to race in which to undo his overtaking me. Also, I didn’t have the strength to stave off his advance. Miles went by with the these two guys backs silently taunting me and calling me unmentionable names. Right towards the end I decided, even in the midst of exhaustion, to stick it to the two guys in front of me who clearly conspired for months to ruin my day. I pushed past both of them in the last half mile securing my place two spots closer to “top dog” status. I crossed the finish line, taking note of the time: :03 better than my best.
:03 better than I could have done without the fight
:03 better than I could have don’t without the competition
:03 better than my best
:03 worse than the guy who finished in FRONT of me 
Tomorrow I’ll get up while it’s still dark, lace up my sneakers thinking, “next time I’m gunna beat ‘the guy’ that beat me”. In reality, my race wasn’t again the two guys that I beat or the guy that I was second best to, the race was against MY second best.
All our races in life are really just a race in which we will decide if we will give our best or our second best. If a race is worth running, it’s worth running for a PR. If a race isn’t worth running for a PR its a race you ought to take yourself out of.
MY 2010 RESOLUTIONS
With the new year upon me I feel the urge to make some resolutions. I had to force myself to only make 10 keeping in the spirit of it being 2010…. So hear goes
1. Lose 10 pounds after intentionally gaining 10 pounds.
2. Get serious about stockpiling food for Armageddon.
3. Do a duet with Jay Z. I’m thinking a remix of, ‘from a distance’ by Miss Bette Midler.
4. Do some volunteer work at the fish hatchery.
5. Enter a speling be and WIN.
6. Arm wrestle the Dalai Lama. Win, lose or draw I think it’d be enlightening.
7. Successfully get a call though to and prank the oval office.
8. Stop being so shallow and self absorbed
.
9. Settle on a plastic surgeon to do my calf implants.
10. Buy the “bourne” series box set…(that’d be so sweet)
I know it’s a lot but I’m really feeling it this year.
50 Reasons Why We Cannot Change
One reason we don’t change is because of the excuses we make… Here are 50 pertaining to business from fast company
By: Fast CompanyWed Dec 19, 2007
- We’ve never done it before.
- Nobody else has ever done it.
- It has never been tried before.
- We tried it before.
- Another company/person tried it before.
- We’ve been doing it this way for 25 years.
- It won’t work in a small company.
- It won’t work in a large company.
- It won’t work in our company.
- Why change — it’s working OK.
- The boss will never buy it.
- It needs further investigation.
- Our competitors are not doing it.
- It’s too much trouble to change.
- Our company is different.
- The ad department says it can’t be done.
- Sales department says it can’t be done.
- The service department won’t like it.
- The janitor says it can’t be done.
- It can’t be done.
- We don’t have the money.
- We don’t have the personnel.
- We don’t have the equipment.
- The union will scream.
- It’s too visionary.
- You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
- It’s too radical a change.
- It’s beyond my responsibility.
- It’s not my job.
- We don’t have the time.
- It will obsolete other procedures.
- Customers won’t buy it.
- It’s contrary to policy.
- It will increase overhead.
- The employees will never buy it.
- It’s not our problem.
- I don’t like it.
- You’re right, but ….
- We’re not ready for it.
- It needs more thought.
- Management won’t accept it.
- We can’t take the chance.
- We’d lose money on it.
- It takes too long to pay out.
- We’re doing all right as it is.
- It needs committee study.
- Competition won’t like it.
- It needs sleeping on.
- It won’t work in this department.
- It’s impossible.
DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WHOLE?
John 5:1-9 (NLT) Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath,
Reading the above passage I was struck deeply by the question posed by Jesus to this crippled man. It struck me as odd, “would you like to get well”? It seemed strange and a touch insensitive. But as I looked deeper it became more clear. If this guy, who’d been in this broken state for 38 year, got well, it would me a totally new life. He’s had sick friends, sick hangouts, sick talks, sick everything. He didn’t hold a job or really know anything of that life. To be made whole meant to not simply leave his infirmity behind but the entire life he’d built around it. It stinks to be broken but with enough time you can learn to function with even great levels of dysfunction, even to the point of accepting it as normal. This man had a broken part of his life that stayed broken so long that his whole world began to reflect his brokenness. Left unattended long enough this condition began to break his heart and his very spirit. We know it by the question that came from Jesus.
Its like that with all of us. Something goes wrong and if we don’t, make it right it begins to infect our whole life. It becomes like a drug injected in our veins filling the totality of who we are. We are holistic people. Try as we may to compartmentalize our lives, keeping separate the rights from the wrongs, the black from the white, eventually it all spills over making our whole life gray. It makes what was once a crisp clear life indistinct at best.
When Jesus asked, “Would you like to get well”, he was speaking to the very heart of the man. When he said “Stand up”, he was speaking to the spirit of the man, challenging the notion he had that his situation couldn’t be turned around. He was speaking life to the heart and the spirit of the man that had been swallowed up in hopelessness and despair through the years of dashed and deferred hopes. Even while this man was explaining why his situation looked bleak and a resolution was improbable Jesus was speaking life into him.
Maybe you see yourself in the life of this man.
Broken and making excuses.
Broken and blaming others.
Broken and hanging with the wrong people
Broken and NOT fully trusting that God can bring a turnabout
Broken…. But about to be made whole and you hear the words of God, “Stand up”
10 laws of effective communication
Just went through ‘Words That Work’ by Dr Frank Luntz and thought I’d pass along the guts of it by way of executive summary
1. Simplicity: use small words. The more simply an idea is presented, the easier it is to understand – and, therefore, the more credible it will be.
2. Brevity: use short sentences. This is less about self-restraint than it is a matter of finding exactly the right piece of the language jigsaw puzzle to fit the precise space you’re trying to fill.
3. Credibility is as important as philosophy. If your words lack sincerity, if they contradict accepted facts, circumstances or perceptions, they will lack impact. Tell people who you are or what you do. Then be that person, and do what you have said you would do.
4. Consistency matters. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Remember, you may be making yourself sick by saying the same exact thing for the umpteenth time, but many in your audience will be hearing it for the first time.
5But offer something new. If something doesn’t shock us or bores us, we move on to something else. If what you say generates an ‘I didn’t know that’ response, you have succeeded.
6. Sound and texture matter. The sounds and textures of words should be just as memorable as the words themselves. The rhythm of language is in itself musical.
7. Speak aspirationally. Messages need to say what people want to hear, to touch people at the most fundamental, primal level, by speaking to their deepest hopes, fears and dreams. The best speeches make idealists of us all.
8. Visualise. Paint a vivid picture. Take M&M’s: ‘Melts in your mouth, not in your hand’. The slogans we remember for a lifetime almost always have a strong visual component, something we can see and almost feel.
9. Ask a question. A customer complaining to the shop manager that her meat has too much fat in it is less effective than if she asked: ‘Does this look lean to you?’. Similarly, asking ‘What would you do if you were in my shoes?’, puts direct pressure on the recipient of your complaint to see things your way. Making a statement in the form of a rhetorical question makes the reaction personal.
10. Provide context. You have to give people the ‘why’ of a message before you tell them the ‘therefore’ and the ‘so that’. Some people call this framing. I prefer the word context, because it better explains why a particular message matters.
The autotelic life
One of the books on my January read list was, “Finding flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It’s a great book completely worth the read. One idea that’s brought out is that people that derive the greatest amount of joy from life are those that posses what is called an autotelic personality.
“An autotelic activity is one we do for its own sake because to experience it is the main goal. Applied to personality, autotelic denotes an individual who generally does things for their own sake, rather than in order to achieve some later external goal.
An autotelic person needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power, or fame because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Time stress has become one of the most popular complaints of the day. But more often than not, it is an excuse for not taking control of our lives.” (Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
There are so many areas of our life that we simply ‘do’ but don’t ‘engage’ in. From washing cloths to paying bills to shaving there are countless things that fill our calendars that that don’t seem to have any potential to enrich our existence or contribute to the feeling of having a fully engaged, exciting and dynamic life. The tasks are done for sheer utility. But there is a problem in all of this: We can begin to feel like a slave to all the fast we perform and even to the very lives we live.
If you work the job only for the pay… you might have a full bank account but could end up emotionally broke.
If you eat gross food only to stay thin… you will eventually be back to the comfort food you love.
If you work out only for the “perfect” body…. you will eventually cancel the gym membership
But it you find a way to enjoy the job, the taste of the healthy food and the exhilaration of the intense workout the chances that you will maintain those areas increases exponentially.
I want to feel fully connected and present in the life I live. I want my waking hours to feel rich with life. I suspect you desire the same. There is an enormous amount be said on this subject so I’ll keep my thoughts brief.
Here are are a few times to increase the quality in the life you are presently living…
1-STOP complaining. It’s an energy sapping time waster that ISN’T a quality of a person who’s deeply enjoying their life.
2-Find ways to take pride even in the little things you do.
-From mowing the lawn, finishing the quarterly sales report find away to do it in a way that you can take real pride in
3-Make a list of things that you do that you feel don’t ultimately enrich your life and quit.
Examples of this are:
Excessive T.V.,
Gaming,
Certain relationships that need to end,
The job that you keep because you are afraid to go after the job you know you’d love,
4-Be present in the tasks you perform and cultivate a sense of self-awareness focusing on the positive feelings you are feeling in the moment.
5-Engage in an activity that, for you, is truly life giving.
God wants us to enjoy life. Joy was his idea. From running, to knitting, to reading a book, make time to engage in an activity just for the joy found in the activity itself
Life is to short to spend it simply “passing the time. ENGAGE the time. SEIZE the day. Make the most of every moment even the moments the feel mundane. Look for ways to breath fresh life into the life you’re living. Stop wish and hoping and acting and working on it TODAY.
FOLLOW THE HURT
When dealing with people it’s easy to get transfixed in their present state without giving any mind the past that produced the person you see before you…
Where did all that anger come from?
How did they get some tangled up in addiction?
Why is this person so far away from the place they want to be?
The answer is, follow the hurt,. different stories, different family backgrounds, different circumstances but the same conclusion.
“Everything was going along fine… then ‘x’ happened and hurt me.”
There are so many words to say the same thing….
aching, aggrieved, agonized, all torn up, battered, bleeding, bruised, buffeted, burned, busted up, crushed, cut, damaged, disfigured, distressed, disturbed, grazed, harmed, hit, impaired, in pain, indignant, lacerated, marred, mauled, miffed, mutilated, nicked, offended, pained, piqued, put away, resentful, rueful, sad, scarred, scraped, scratched, shook, shot, sore, stricken, struck, suffering, tender, tortured, umbrageous, unhappy, warped, wounded
simply put…. hurt.
Whatever ‘x’ is that caused the hurt it can shape a life so powerfully and destructively if not dealt with. Some hurts fade, some hurts stay. The same event can happen to 10 people and mark them in 10 entirely different ways. The pain that fades is fine but the pain that lingers leaves a mark and must be addressed for health and growth to occur.
The haphazard voices that chim in with…
”Get over it”
“You gotta move on”
“Hey a lot worse things happen to people every day”
All of these pat answers are empty and in no way serve to help someone move past the pain and into purpose.
HOW DO YOU GET TO THE HURT?
-have a place where the story can be told
-Have a vulnerability that welcomesd the Holy Spirit to show you the place of pain.
-Get around people that have the spirit of wisdom and counsel who can help lead you to the place of pain.
WHAT DO YOU DO ONCE YOU FIND THE HURT?
1 Peter 5:5-7 (NLT)… “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” 6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
It may seem simplistic, but the reality is that if you don’t release the pain in a healthy way it’ll manifest itself in an unhealthy way. Seek out empathetic ears, tell your story and begin the process of surrendering the pain to God.
To surrender to God:
First, you must acknowledge that you’ve grown powerless to the pain.
Second, you have to look to God as your answer.
Third, believe that he possess the power and desire to life you up from the ashes.
Fourth, give him you pain and receive his gain.
It’s a process, but one that works.
OK, I CAN DIE NOW
Donald E. Scruggs of Chino California is on to pure gold with the US patent he just applied for. What is this amazing idea he needs a patent for you ask? Well, it’s about the coolest must have accessory of the season… a coffin you don’t bury but one you literally screw into the ground. This has to be about the coolest idea in a grave yard since the invention of the 21 gun salute. I’m not saying I’m looking forward to dying but if my wife loved me enough to bury me in one of these sweet numbers it would take the edge off the whole dying thing. So forget the standard 6×3 plot I’m only going to need a tiny circumference for my final resting place. Oh, and the best part… Me and Jesus laughing our heads off from our box seats watching my pallbearers sweat their butts of struggling to put me 6 feet under.
OPPORTUNITY
OPPORTUNITY
by: Walter Malone (1866-1915)
-
HEY do me wrong who say I come no more - When once I knock and fail to find you in;
- For every day I stand outside your door
- And bid you wake, and rise to fight and win.
- Wail not for precious chances passed away!
- Weep not for golden ages on the wane!
- Each night I burn the records of the day–
- At sunrise every soul is born again!
- Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast?
- Dost reel from righteous Retribution’s blow?
- Then turn from blotted archives of the past
- And find the future’s pages white as snow.
- Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell;
- Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven;
- Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell,
- Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven.
- Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped,
- To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb;
- My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,
- But never bind a moment yet to come.
- Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep;
- I lend my arm to all who say “I can!”
- No shame-faced outcast ever sank so deep
- But yet might rise and be again a man!
Autosuggestion
Luke 6:45 (NKJV) A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Autosuggestion is using the conscience mind to train the sub-conscience mind. Autosuggestion is accomplished by presenting your conscience mind with repetitive thoughts until those thoughts become internalized. The sub-conscience takes over in crisis taking you in the direction that you truly believe in. If you are afraid of clowns(Coulrophobia), for instance, that fear is in the conscience mind but is much more deeply entrenched in your sub conscience. So, when a clown comes knocking on your door to raise money for the shriners(for instance), you FREAK. Try as you may, with your conscience mind, to convince yourself that your fear is unfounded, your sub-conscience mind hijacks your conscience mind throwing you into an un-funny panic attack. This happens because at some point your fear was reviewed, repeated and reinforced in the conscience until it became deeply embedded in the sub-conscience. This is what autosuggestion is all about.
Our sub-conscience if chuck full of powerful beliefs and assumptions. Assumptions that range from what dogs, clowns and people are like, to what people think of you and what your future holds. These sub-conscience beliefs are so powerful that they will determine the trajectory of your life if left unchecked.
The above example with the clowns(who should be treated with great suspicion by the way) can leave you feeling a little helpless in the area of autosuggestion but the truth is that you are far from helpless. There are reactions and coping mechanisms that we all have, some that work and some that don’t. We have to challenge those areas of our life that keep bringing us back to an unfruitful and self sabotaging state. We have to take charge of our conscience mind and all the faculties connected to it until if fills our sub-conscience mind pushing out all the junk.
1. Identify defective thoughts or thinking patterns
2. Identify and articulate the truth that SHOULD be filling your mind
-As for me its that truth is Word of God. No substitutions.
-Make truth short and easy to remember. save the wordiness for your novel.
3. speak it. Over and over and over.
-You’re literally brainwashing yourself. washing away the wrong and infusing your mind with the right
-There’s something so powerful about verbalizing a thought. It gives the thought life and power. this is true in the negative and positive so be careful little mouth what you speak.
4. speak in the affirmative
-don’t say “I won’t fail”, say, “I will succeed”.
-The sub-conscious does not acknowledge negatives. ie can’t, not, won’t
5. Surround yourself with things that reaffirm the right thoughts.
-From music and media to people guard what surrounds you.
I don’t want my life or yours to be shaped by the irrational or inaccurate. We must challenge all our thoughts lest we wake up a the end of our lives only to realize the we have become the product of our wrong thinking.
WINNERS VS. LOSERS
Losers let it happen.
Winners make it happen
Losers see thunderstorm
Winners see rainbows
Losers see icy streets
Winners put on ice skates
Losers complain
Winner train and gain
Losers take chances
Winners make choices
Losers are aggressive
Winners are assertive
Losers seek attention
Winners earn respect
Losers fix the blame
Winners fix what caused the problem
Losers live in the past
Winners learn from the past and enjoy living in the present while living towards the future
Losers make promised they often break
Winners make commitment they always keep
Losers react negatively
Winners respond effectively
-so losing is a habit and so is winning
-Denis Waitley
SUNK COST EFFECT
Rob Hall (Jan. 14, 1961 - May 11, 1996)
On May 10, 1996 eight climbers died attempting to climb Mt. Everest. Two of the climbers where Rob Hall and Scott Fischer two very seasoned and amazing climbers. What happened? Why did these climbers die? One of the most dominant theories is that they ignored turn around times they had set for the team before
climbing(A turn around time is a time set to begin to descend whether or not the summit has been reached). Why did they ignore the turnaround times? It’s what economist call the sunk cost effect. The sunk cost effect is moving forward because of a fixation upon past investments and cost incurred up to the present. You see, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer where professional guides that charged their clients up to $70,000 to be guided to the top of Everest. People don’t pay to get close to the top, they pay to summit. When 2:00p.m. rolled around on May 10th 1996 the team was so close. They’d invested so much time, money and effort. To turn around was to throw all that away. The problem was they where so caught up with retrospective investments that they became blind to
Scott Fischer (Dec. 24, 1955 – May 11, 1996)
prospective costs. In this case that cost was their very lives. If they could do it all again, no doubt, they would have turned around at 2 p.m. sharp, cutting their loses and saved their lives. But as it’s said, “Hindsight is 20/20”.
‘Sunk cost effect’ is an economics term deal with money. The commodity of life though is time and how we spend and invest it ultimately defines us. My ego will often mislead me into committing more of myself when what I should do is walk way. I watch people, especially in romantic relationships become blind. They are are flying and 30,000 feet at 500 miles per hour and the dash becomes illuminated with all kinds of warning lights. The smart money is to land A.S.A.P and check it out or simply deplane. Unfortunately, this isn’t what happens most the time. They often push on, ignoring more and more lights and they don’t stop until they hit the side of a mountain. What could have ended in a handshake ends in a painful heartache that can last a long time.
Cutting your loses is so tough. but losing it all is tougher. There are times when doubling you efforts is the right thing to do. There are times when walking away is best. Sometimes you climb on, sometimes you turn around. Knowing what to do is tough and how to respond demands a lot of wisdom. But one thing that has to be said is that sometimes walking away is best. We always stay in because we believe that it will be beneficial to us and add to our lives. The truth is that sometimes the greatest addition comes through subtraction.
Is there any area of your life that you are climbing and need to be turning around? Get wisdom, get perspective and get moving in the right direction.
You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em Know when to walk away and know when to run. -Kenny Rogers
NO SELF MADE MEN
I was working on my computer the other day with FOX News on in the background. Through the banter I hear one commentator say, “He’s a self made man”. In that moment I stopped to reflect on that statement… “A self mad man”. I started to think about if for a minute, conducted and internal poll, and concluded it was crap. There’s no such thing as a self made man. I can’t take all the credit for who I am, and neither can anyone else. 10,000 people laid bricks on the path I walk. Some laid significantly more than others but it’s only pride and ego that would declare, “I laid every brick upon which I walk”. The truth is from my Mom and Dad that believed me to my first boss who took a risk on giving me my first job there are others that share in the totality of who I’ve become.
Here’s just a few examples…
I remember in 12th grade my music teach encouraged me to be me when I was diggin on Jazz when my peers where all about pop. That little nod from a teacher freed me to be me just a little bit more.
My Dad cheering louder than all the other Dads at my little league games gave me the courage to swing for the fences, not only in that game but in every challenge I’d face in life.
Pastor Mike Servello Jr. who gave me the mic when i was 19 to speak. In retrospect I didn’t have much to have say about much but that moment gave me a chance to spread my wings and give expression to a gift that I’m still using.
My wife who once, in her brilliance, saw a fatal flaw in me and by Socratic method changed the course of my life by simply saying, “I know what you don’t want to become, but what DO you want to become?”
There are a 1000 little things that have happened in every life to bring us to were we are. We often reflect on the negative things that have happened to us while relegating the positive things that have happened to us as mere chance. To get anywhere great in life you have to work hard and fight through adversity but don’t forget that you can never do it alone.
Take a minute to think of the people that laid the brinks in the path you’re walking on and don’t forget to show them a little love. I think you’ll find that it changes your perspective a little.
Thanks Mr. Traglia
Thanks Mom and Dad
Thanks Pastor Mike
Thanks Stephanie
PARKINSONS LAW
Parkinson’s law simply defined is,“work expands to fill the time available”. millions of lemmings(people) go to work every day to fulfill their job duties which supposedly takes 8 hours for each of them…. or does it? If you put a million dollars in front of each of these “working as fast and as hard as I can” employees and told them they could have the cash if they could finish their work by noon you would be shocked what the outcome would be. The TPS reports, calls, account transfers or milking of the cows would get done by noon. I mean think about it;
Term papers don’t take a whole college term. It takes one all nighter and $18 worth of Redbull.
A woman will read 359 cards before picking the ‘perfect card’. I on the other hand will buy the first one that doesn’t have an animal, felt, a rose or a cartoon character on it. For our disproportionate uses of time will BOTH receive the same, “awwww thanks”.
Our lives are filled with so much junk that is simply filler. from the FOX News Alerts(oh no! Another car chase in L.A.)to the 100’s of emails that fill your inbox weekly, your life is spent on junk.
Important lesson coming so get out your pencil and paper… ACTIVITY DOESN’T EQUAL PRODUCTIVITY. In fact, when we spend our time in activity that doesn’t translate in to productivity, it leaves us feeling exhausted.
Here are some tips on how maximize your time.
1. Start your month, week, day defining the wins for said period of time.
2. Every day start by reminding yourself what is the “win” for that day. This works for the stay at home Mom as much as it does for the M.D..
3. Time activities. Don’t “putter around the lawn”. Mow the dang thing. Mine takes 32 minutes, mower to weedwacker to hedger. If your fighting with your wife you could fill 4-5 days doing the same activity.
4. Get rid of junk that doesn’t work. start with mail. You don’t need it. try to get rid of it all. PS checks are for 1900-1999. Stop using them… ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF ME IN LINE. DEBIT CARD! DEBIT CARD! DEBIT CARD!
5. STOP saying your busy or stressed. Most likely you’re unorganized or saying yes to the wrong things. You CHOOSE the life you are living. The sooner you believe that the sooner you can begin to take responsibility for and and change the course of it… Starting with the way you spend your time
If you have other tips PLEASE SUBMIT THEM. I’d love to here from readers of this post
If you’re in a spiritual funk today, you might want to…
from Pastor Steven Furtick by meredithbrock
-Pray out loud.
-Write your prayer out.
-Read your Bible out loud. Start here.
-Apologize to someone. Even if it’s not primarily your fault.
-Talk to someone you trust. If you don’t have someone, hire a professional.
-Rest.
-Exercise.
-Start eating better.
-Drive around listening to a sermon.
-Turn up some worship music really loud. Shut the door. Sing along.
-Go back and do the thing you know you were supposed to do.
-Get organized.
-Repent.
-Encourage somebody who would never expect it.
-Get back in church. Serve somewhere.
-Quit complaining.
-Go on a date with your wife.
-Tell somebody thank you.
-Give some money away.
-Call on the name of Jesus.
-Remember how far He’s brought you.
-Realize that He’ll never ever leave you.
Just a few ideas to get you started.
You can take it from here…
ACT AS IF YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE AROUND
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 22:13 (NLT) The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!”
I’ve heard it said, “pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you”. The bystander effect is, “a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present.” There is power in community but there can be a fatal flaw. In the late 1800’s an agricultural engineer named Max Ringelman* studied how to produce the highest level of efficiency from his workers. In one study he had a individuals pull on a rope with increasing weight. In the same study he also had a group of men pull on a rope with increasing weight. The result: the individuals averaged 185lbs when in a group they averaged 140lbs. WHY? When you are alone you know you will receive all the praise or punishment for the outcome of your performance. However when there is a group, the praise is spread out as well as the punishment thus reducing motivation in the members of the group. This is why when someone is being mugged they are better off getting mugged in front of 50 people rather than 1. WHY? Glad you asked. When there is a group there is a shared assumption that, “surely there is someone better qualified than me here to handle this”. When there is only 1 person the thought goes, “if I don’t do something no one will”. This is what the bystander effect is all about.
There are soooo many people smarter, and better qualified than me in sooo many areas. This is a thought that I literally have to push out of my mind. I have to push it out of my mind because life throws things at me that I have to handle. If I don’t it’s easy to begin to play the roll of victim. The victim say, “if only______ was here I could do this”, “if only I was like______ I could do it”, “if only I had _____, i could do it”. Victims draw from a bottomless pit of excuses. But I’m NOT a victim I’m a victor. Failure and defeat if more of a choice than most of us would care to admit.
There is a part in all of us that want to hide behind the door of excuses, entrenched in flawed thinking that cripples us and keeps of from engaging the hurting world that’s outside our door. BUT THE HANDS OF GOD ARE NEEDED… NOW! John 4:35 say, “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” He says, “open your eyes”. You are need now. Throw aside excuses. Stop waiting for someone else to make the first move. Act as if you’re the only one around… and ACT.
If we wait we’ll miss it.
If we wait until we feel fully equipped and ready we’ll miss it.
If we wait until we have it all together we’ll REALLY miss it.
-Who is within reach that you can help today?
-What encouraging words can you speak today?
-Who could you bless today?
-Who could you forgive and be reconciled to today?
Fifty Reasons Why Christ Suffered and Died
These are taken directly from “Fifty Reasons Why Christ Suffered and Died” By John Piper (follow the link for a free PDF download)
1. To Absorb the Wrath of God
2. To Please His Heavenly Father
3. To Learn Obedience and Be Perfected
4. To Achieve His Own Resurrection from the Dead
5. To Show the Wealth of God’s Love and Grace for Sinners
6. To Show His Own Love for Us
7. To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us
8. To Become a Ransom for Many
9. For the Forgiveness of Our Sins
10. To Provide the Basis for Our Justification
11. To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness
12. To Take Away Our Condemnation
13. To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation
14. To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful
15. To Make Us Holy, Blameless, and Perfect
16. To Give Us a Clear Conscience
17. To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us
18. To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness
19. To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him
20. To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age
21. To Reconcile Us to God
22. To Bring Us to God
23. So That We Might Belong to Him
24. To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place
25. To Become for Us the Place Where We Meet God
26. To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End and Become the Eternal High Priest
27. To Become a Sympathetic and Helpful Priest
28. To Free Us from the Futility of Our Ancestry
29. To Free Us from the Slavery of Sin
30. That We Might Die to Sin and Live to Righteousness
31. So That We Would Die to the Law and Bear Fruit for God
32. To Enable Us to Live for Christ and Not Ourselves
33. To Make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting
34. To Enable Us to Live by Faith in Him
35. To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning
36. To Create a People Passionate for Good Works
37. To Call Us to Follow His Example of Lowliness and Costly Love
38. To Create a Band of Crucified Followers
39. To Free Us from Bondage to the Fear of Death
40. So That We Would Be with Him Immediately After Death
41. To Secure Our Resurrection from the Dead
42. To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities
43. To Unleash the Power of God in the Gospel
44. To Destroy the Hostility Between Races
45. To Ransom People from Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation
46. To Gather All His Sheep from Around the World
47. To Rescue Us from Final Judgment
48. To Gain His Joy and Ours
49. So That He Would Be Crowned with Glory and Honor
50. To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant by God for Good
BOOKS OF 2010 SO FAR
The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die
by John Piper
59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
by Richard Wiseman
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
The Psychology of Winning by Denis Waitley
How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life by J.J. Luna
Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (Masterminds Series) by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday by Gerry Spence
Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be With God by Bill Hybels
The Joy of Believing in Prayer: Deepen Your Friendship with God by Joyce Meyer
Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! by Anthony Robbins
Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Frank Luntz
To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance by Kirk Johnson
UNEXPLAINABLE, UNDENIABLE GOD
John 9:25 (NIV) He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
The work of God is often unexplainable as was for the blind man in John 9 that finds himself experiencing the healing touch of Jesus. Although Jesus never defied the ordinance of God he disregarded the ordinances of men, especially the ones that placed tradition over compassion and empathy towards people. This time he healed on the Lord’s day. How dare he do the Lord’s work on the Lord’s day right!? Not only that but he’s using a drinking cheer, “here’s mud in your eye”!!! (ok ok in the spirit of full disclosure drinkers took if from Jesus and not the other way around)
Jesus seemed to have the habit of totally destroying paradigms people had of God. People who felt, on some level, that they where able to contain God in the definition they had created for him. These, “we know just how God does and doesn’t work”, people were more than a little ticked off to see him heal the “wrong” guy on the “wrong” day in the “wrong” way. It reminds me of a story I read by Micheal Dillion writing about Sir Edmond Hillary. Hillary is the first man to ever climb Mt. Everest. In the climbing community he is no less than a demigod. Dillion writes…
“I once filmed Hillary up here sitting on a rock, casually holding an ice axe, reminiscing with his son Peter. An American trekker chanced upon us, watched for a while, and unable to contain himself any longer, said to Hillary ‘Hey, Bud, that’s not the way to hold an ice axe’, and proceeded to show him how to do it. Hillary thanked him but said nothing else. The American went off, still oblivious to whom he had instructed. I know no man with less reason to be humble. Yet know no man more humble.”
These men thought they owed it to Jesus to set him straight and explain how God works… how laughable. The healing that Jesus brought about in this mans eyes was way beyond explanation but totally undeniable. That’s often the way it is when God truly touches someones life.
There is so much that can be defined and explained about the ways and means of God but there is vastly more that is beyond definition and explanation. Gods ways are far above are ways but when he bring me peace in a storm I don’t really need an explanation. When he supernaturally gives me wisdom or provision I don’t demand understanding about it all. Frankly if I had to choose to between a God that can be explained or a God who I can’t deny… I’d choose the latter every time.
Tips to reduce stress by Dr. Daniel G. Amen
Daniel G. Amen in his book, MAKING A GOOD BRAIN GREAT he recommends a great 11 step plan to reduce stress.
1. Recognize that too much stress can make you sick and hurt your brain
2. It’s okay to say no and to renegotiate your commitments
3. Get enough sleep
4. Regular exercise is one of the best stress-busters on the planet
5. Use regular prayer/meditation
Physicians Larry Dossey (healing words) and Dale Matthews (the faith factor) outline the power of prayer. In these books they say that, “people who pray and read the Bible every day are 40% less likely to suffer from hypertension than others.”
6. Practice self-hypnosis to calm the brain
-focus you eyes on a spot, and count slowly to twenty. Let your eyes feel heavy as you count, and close them as you get to twenty
-Take three or four very slow, deep breaths.
-Tighten the muscles in your arms and legs, then let them relax
-Imagine yourself walking down a staircase while you count backwards from 10 (this will give you the feeling of “going down” or becoming sleeply)
- With all your senses (sight, touch, hearing, taste smell) imagine yourself in a very sleeply scene, such as lying by a fire in a mountain cabin or in a sleeping bag at the beach
7. Become your own bio feedback machine
8. Avoid substance that stress the brain
-caffeine
-nicotine
-ephedra
9. Consider stress-busting supplements
10. See a therapist
-Here is MY personal input on this particular one… Find someone who counsels from a Judeo-Christian perspective. There are NO neutral and objective counselors so pick a therapist who shares your most deeply held Christian beliefs.
11. Get more laughter into your life
Back to my Ultra miles
I like setting ambitious physical goals. For me running is a pure, organic sport. It’s solitary in that i take the credit and the blame. I’m not against team sports I just like pushing myself and know when i fail it was because of ME… unless I get hit by a car… in which case failure(as well as lawsuit) would fall in the lap of the driver of said car. Never the less I digress. Running is straight forward and I think that’s why I like it. This year I hope to run further than I have ever run in a race and so far I’m right on track. I’m up to about 65 miles a week with two rest days. Looks about like this
Mon -Rest
Tues. – 9 miles
Weds.- 5 miles
Thurs – 9 miles
Fri. – Rest
Sat. 3-4 hours of running
Sun. 4-5 hours of running
Pretty straight forward really. Now 5k and 10k training plans seem to grow on tree but I’ve been hard pressed to find good plans for the longer distances. If you’re reading this and know of ones for the 50mile and 100mile race distances send them my way. I’m up to 31 miles for my long runs and I’m feeling great so far. Lessons for the rest of my ultra friends that I’ve learned so far.
1. Listen to you body.
If you are tired and it’s 8pm and you can get away with it… go to be. kinesthetic awareness is huge in running ultras. You have to know when you are lacking salt or potassium or not getting enough proteins or sleep.
2. Never cheat on the long training runs.
feel the burn now or DNF later. Get out there and lay down the miles. You can fake a 5k but can never fake a 50miler.
3. Invest in a waterproof bag for your cell phone.
You can purchase them in the a kayaking store or the kayaking or camping department of EMS or DICK’s sport. nothing will taint your otherwise great run like finding out your camel-back leaked and ruined your iPhone.
4. Watch your fluid
Watch how much and what kind is going in and what kind and how much is going out. If you are on a training run of more than a few hours I say its good to take a little potty break every 30 minutes or so. PS brown is a bad color for pee FYI. I like to run in the country for no other reason than I fear the inevitable headline that will follow my imitate arrest.. “Pastor arrested for peeing 8 different times in 5 towns in one day”… not good for business. So word to the wise be descreet.
5. know the difference between pain and injury.
This differentiation is only able to be made after putting a lot of time into the sport. But the words said by every coach, “walk it off” doesn’t always hold true.
6. carry two credit cards when you run.
I like to stop every 8-10 miles at my friendly neighborhood corner store for a refile of whatever I have the hankering for. Nothing chaps my hide faster than having my card decline for NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER while I’m half dehydrated and 15 miles from home when it’s 90 out. Yup I’ve been there. sooo bring two card. Why not cash. weeeeeelllll the clerk gets a little testy when i hand them a sweaty $10 aaaaaand i hate parting the 98 cents in change since God knows I’ve not about to have all that change in my pocket on the way home
HOW TO BECOME A LEGALIST
Thanks to Mars hill for this contents
THE COST OF CHARACTER AND MORALITY
The Cost of Character and Morality
from George Barna by George Barna
After enduring months of speculation and critiques about Tiger Woods and his character flaws, how refreshing it was to see a long-time professional golfer name Brian Davis display a level of honesty rarely seen in professional sports.
Davis, a Brit who has been on the PGA tour for years without a tournament victory under his belt, was battling Jim Furyk, the world’s sixth-ranked golfer, for the tournament crown and prize money. Finishing in a tie after regulation play, they entered into a sudden death playoff. On the first hole of the playoff, Davis hit a ball that went off the side of the green, down some rocks and settled on the hard sand bordering Calibogue Sound.
As Davis chipped his shot onto the green, his club grazed one of the reeds sticking out of the sand. He didn’t see it clearly because he was concentrating on his shot, but as soon as his ball rolled to a stop, he approached the tournament director and indicated that he wasn’t sure but believed his club may have touched a stray reed on his backswing. (FYI, the course rules stated that moving any object on the course other than the ball and grass receives a penalty.) The director stopped play to view a video playback and, sure enough, a reed swayed slightly as Davis’s club nicked it – so slight a tap that the movement of the reed was detectable only via slow-motion playback! Viewing it, Davis assessed himself a two-stroke penalty and, with that act of honesty, handed Furyk the victory.
It not only prevented Davis from winning his first professional tournament but also cost him $411,000 in prize money.
Think about this. Nobody but Davis saw the infraction. In fact, not even he saw it clearly – he merely suspected it may have happened. Rather than ignore the possibility of an infraction and instead win his first PGA event, he did the right thing. The honest thing. A costly thing. In an age where it seems as if every athlete is challenging authority and rules to get an edge on the competition, Davis’s behavior seems almost unsportsmanlike in its adherence to the letter of the law.
Moved by the video clip I had seen of this event the night it happened, I cruised the headlines of the major sports websites the following morning, looking for the adulation such a choice should have received. Nada. It was not evident anywhere. I had to dig through a series of articles on the ESPN site to find a recap of the moment. That article was very complimentary toward Davis, but the write-up itself was buried. Maybe that was because the tournament didn’t stack up well when compared to the importance of the NBA playoffs or other sports events happening that day. Or maybe it’s because Americans are just so dedicated to winning that we don’t care much about character.
After all the ends justify the means.
I sure hope others saw that act of honesty and courage and share it. I was blessed to be watching the sportscast that showed the clip with one of my daughters. Neither of us cares for golf (I was waiting for the Lakers highlights to be shown – they finally had a few) but I was so thunderstruck by the brief report of Davis’s choice that I replayed it for both of us to see several times. What a wonderful example for us to discuss and to watch unfold. I hope you get to see it somewhere and enjoy the beauty of someone who lives the values we claim to embrace.
“VACATION MAN”
There is an epidemic that prevalent in major vacation areas that needs so overdue attention. The epidemic is “vacation man” . Oh yes I see you over there. You have a look of pride on your face. You have spit in the face of fashion for pure functionality. The oversized plastic sunglasses that could be used to summit Mt. Everest was clue one that you had joined the vacation gang. You all walk around without shame. In fact there is an exuded pride that you have found the perfect fanny pack to organize whatever it is that you find overtaxing the confines of your otherwise perfectly adequate wallet. Oh the pride! The pride of wearing sock and tevas or crocks or sandals. You could have played it low key with a pair of earth toned ankle length socks camouflaging your grave offense… BUT NO! Not you, you wear calf high white tub socks that scream, “I’m a middle management accountant that’s been freed from captivity for 2 weeks and I want the whole world to know”. I’m not here to point a finger and mock(like so many others are doing right now at you). I’m here to applaud you. You’ve overcome so much to be standing there in your two sizes too big bermuda shirt. Your destination embossed vizor is a crown of victory your wear upon your partially balding head. You are king! And the cubicle cronies the world over whisper your fame. You have done it. And underneath it all are several powerful statements:
You do life on your terms…You somehow convinced your wife that your wardrobe and behavior is how vacation is done as you liberally apply SPF 145 to your children’s pasty skin.
Your boss is not your master….. That ridiculous invisible dog on a leash you carry is a powerful metaphor of that. You a not a joke you are a voice for all of us. I wish i could be so brave.
You chart your own path….In an age of iPhones and GPS’s you cast it all aside for trusty maps of roads, malls theme parks(and what i believe was a blueprint for a shed) that you open at random intervals to the chagrin of your onlooking family. Why do you do it? you do it to say, “HEY I’m a man that charts is own course both in life and in the clearly charted Magic Kingdom”(as well as to find a bathroom).
So three cheers to you. You are a pillar of freedom we all aspire to.
YOU CAN GIVE MORE
Mile 41 on empty being told to stop by a Medic
Last Saturday I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile ultra marathon. I trained well. I got plenty of rest the night before and fueled my body like a pro. In spite of all that around mile 35 I could feel myself running out of steam. The 14’000 feet of elevation change was hitting me harder than I had expected. By the time I hit mile 40 I could hardly think straight. In fact when my mind came out of the exhaustion induced haze it was in I couldn’t think of a single reason to go another mile. I pushed through the tough spots early in the race by telling myself, “your fast and strong”. But by the end I had no more psycho-babble self-talk to work with. I kept thinking, “I’ve got nothing left, I can’t give any more”. Then it hit me, if my children’s life depended on my finishing, I’d finish. I mean, I would find a way. So the issue really wasn’t that I had nothing left to give but rather I didn’t want to give any more.
I think it’s easy to confuse inability with lack of drive or desire. Someone said, “obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” In the midst of feeling a depth of exhaustion that I’d never experienced before my brain was telling dirty lies to mind. Your brain is an organ meant to gather all the intel generated by the experience of your bodies five senses. The brain is totally objective but the mind on the other hand can’t be studied with CAT scan because while the brain is busy gathering hard data the mind is busying itself with feelings, perceptions, reasoning’s, thoughts and fickle judgments. Here is where the problems begin. I love how when you go to the Doctor and you’re in pain they ask you to tell them if the pain is a 1 or a 10. If you take 50 people and take a ball-peen hammer to their knee cap the pansies would all say the pain was a 10 while those that have background in street fighting or say watching 6 seasons of American Idol, in other words those that have felt a lot of pain, might rate their pain lower. The brain of all 50 have experienced the same thing but the mind has interpreted it(subjectively) different.
When someone says, “this is impossible” or “this can’t be done” what’s happening most times is that they’re brain is misinterpreting what they’re mind is saying. For me, when I was running my ultra, my mind was saying this is the most pain you have ever felt. My brain decided to turn this into, “you can’t give any more”. As soon as I changed the filter through which I was judging my compactly to continue my compactly increased exponentially. Strangely this shift wasn’t simply a psychological it became physiological. I began to literally feel better. When we tell ourselves we can’t go on what begins between our ears infects our whole body.
For me my brain lied about my ability to give more in a race. What is your brain lying to you about today? Maybe that a relationship is bankrupt. Maybe that the degree isn’t obtainable. Maybe that an addictive behavior is unchangeable. Whatever it is I propose to you today that there’s more in you than you are aware of and you CAN give more. Dig deep, look at if from a fresh perspective and keep running.
FAN MAIL.
I wrote and blog awhile back about wearing pants so low that your butt sticks our and wearing sweatpants and uggs. It’s was meant to be satirical. Aaaaaaanywho, I received a lot of love over this particular post(that was sarcasm in case you needed clarity). There was one particular comment that I thought that I’d pass on. It comes from AJ in Arkansas(I know that because I traced his isp address lol).
hahaha! this is so retarded…i do both of these things…first off i sag because its more comfortable then having your pants hiked up all the way…the way it looks is just what comes with comfort…also whats wrong wit wearing sweats! why should i dress up in slacks jeans… or wutever your suggesting i wear when im just going to the grocery store to pick up milk…or kickin it with my friends…why shud i care..aslong as im comfortable and not not harming any1 whos to tell me any different…
stupid.
First off AJ, Strunk and White(Google that) are rolling over in their graves over your grammar but clearly this was crafted as a txt on your phone. Second, I don’t know if I own “slacks jeans”. Third, you ARE causing harm with your fashion! “HOW” you may ask. Well every time someone sags their pants a puppy is kicked. How do I know that’s true? I know it’s true because it’s ME that kicks the puppy. Finally I’m unclear if your real name is “stupid” seeing as you signed off your email with that or if that is what you are calling me. Finally, I know what you’re thinking Mr. Stupid(assuming that’s your given name)…. “How can this guy write so brazenly and bravely?” I’m glad you asked. I’m so fearless towards you because no one that sags their jeans can catch me in a dead sprint.
In closing, AJ, I love ya man. I have a ton of people I know that do these things whom I, In good natured fun, Bust their chops. They see the humor in it and tease all in fun.
opinions
I just want to say that you are entitled to your opinion. I’m entitled to mine as well. I want to write about the part of this that makes me mad. There are times when I discover that my opinion is stronger than my argument for it. I’m blessed to be surrounded by some amazing people. People that are as loving and kind as they are smart and committed to truth. These are the people that shine the light of logic on the gaping holes in faulty opinions that I can occasionally hold. This is a good thing. I mean…. kind of. On the one hand it stinks because no one what’s their weakness’ to be expossed. On the other hand I don’t want to be touting something as truth that is nothing but baseless opinion.
I’m shocked to find out that some people are quite content to hold an opinion that is unapologetically untested and in some cases, dangerously wrong.
Signs your holding on to an opinion that you need to back up or let go of:
-You aren’t sure why you believe it.
-You qualify your statement with, “my mom/friend/church/mailman believe”. They might be right but go to the source.
-You believe it because your political party believe it.
-Your opinion is rooted in slick marketing or a rhyming slogan. i.e. “Bush lied troops died” or my personal favorite “hope and change” (i think i have to pay the dems a nickel just for saying those words)
-Your punch line in a debate about your opinion is, “trust me, it’s true”.
-You avoid anyone that challenges your opinion or belief for fear that they’ll expose your ignorance.
Remember ignorance can be educated stupid is fatal. Robust debate is a good thing the wise like it the foolish fear it
RUN FOR LOVE146.ORG
I am so excited to let everyone know about something exciting that is happing through GC and Redeemer church. I, along with some other passionate people will be running 146 miles from Albany NY to New Haven Ct. over the course of 5 days, bringing awareness and raising money for LOVE146. This amazing organization headed up by Rob Morris. This group works toward the end of child sex slavery and exploitation. They are connected to the International Justice Mission are are doing amazing work here in America and around the World.
We are already getting a lot of support from companies like FUEL BELT and NATHAN SPORTS. You can be involved as well. I encourage every reader of my blog to link through RUN FOR LOVE 146 and become a fan and supporter. Soon we will have a link on the LOVE146.org website where you can give directly to LOVE146 in support of this event.
Please consider getting involved. What we are doing is more than symbolic it’s going to be significant in really making a difference and you can play a role.
Human Trafficking Worldwide
27 million – Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world.
Source: Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves. According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), estimates vary from 4 to 27 million. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates 2.4 million people were victims of
human trafficking from 1995-2005. This estimate uses the UN Protocol definition of human trafficking, and includes both transnational and internal data.
800,000 – Number of people trafficked across international borders every year.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: 2007.
Note: The TIP Report in 2001 and 2002 estimated this figure at 700,000; The TIP Report of 2003 reported 800,000 to 900,000 victims; The TIP Reports of 2004 through 2006 reported 600,000 to 800,000 victims.
1 million – Number of children exploited by the global commercial sex trade, every year. Source: U.S. Department of State, The Facts About Child Sex Tourism: 2005.
50% – Percent of transnational victims who are children.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2003: 2004.
80% – Percent of transnational victims who are women and girls.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: 2007.
70% – Percent of female victims who are trafficked into the commercial sex industry.This means that 30% of female victims are victims of forced labor.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons: 2004.
161 – Countries identified as affected by human trafficking:
127 countries of origin; 98 transit countries; 137 destination countries. Note: Countries may be counted multiple times and categories are not mutually exclusive. Source: UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns: April 2006.
32 billion – Total yearly profits generated by the human trafficking industry. $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries. $9.7 billion in Asia $13,000 per year generated on average by each “forced laborer.” This number can be as high
as $67,200 per victim per year.
LOOKING FOR “ME TOO” MOMENTS
Luke 19:1-10 (The Message) Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.” Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?” Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.”
In spite for the progress that’s been made in areas like racial and gender equality we as people are still fatally bent towards division, partisanship and classism. You don’t have to interact with someone for more than 5 minutes to find a list of things that put you and your new “friend” in different camps. Morally, religiously, politically…you name it. We judge ourselves perceptive and great judges of character that we can find that which is objectionable and worthy of segregating and alienating that person from us. But before you slap yourself on the back one more time for your skillfully honed discernment skills consider something with me for a moment. We draw lines between us and others based on what is different from us. Us of course being the one in the right(duh) aptly outfitted with scriptures that support us. Imagine what it must have been like for Jesus to leave the confines of heaven, packed with all that was congruent to all of who he was to grace the streets of earth rich with all that was 100% cross to him. It would take Jesus 1 second to list all the reasons that he wouldn’t be talking to this person or that THAT person but that’s not what he did. I mean even those that the world considered to be the religiously and morally “put together” Jesus would find to be morally repugnant. Jesus didn’t even run to those the world considered worthy he ran to what the world considered the bottom of the barrel and began to befriend them.
Everyone is looking for love, connection, value and for someone who gets them. I need it you need it. Next time you meet someone new before you begin the list of all the reason that you couldn’t be close to this person or why the person isn’t “worthy” of your time or love remember two things. First, there is some part of that persons story or person-hood to which you could say, “me too” and in that moment you’ve found a powerful connection point upon which to build. Second, Jesus who, totally in spite of us, loves us. With the 1000 things about me that are different then him, he still reaches towards me in love. This morning as I write my heart is filled with a desire to be more like Christ and love those around me more. I pray that something inside of you as well would say, “Me too”.
TRUST BUT VERIFY
Acts 17:11 (NIV) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Socrates said, “The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living”. To that I would add that the unexamined religion isn’t worth possessing. I think it’s great people love and trust the churches they attend and pastors that lead them but where it all goes wrong is when you take everything you hear and see at face value. I have the privilege of being a part of a church that is open and moreover encourages questions. Ronald Reagan would often say, “trust but verify”. I think it is a sign a health that a Christ follower is constant pursuit of truth and deepening their understanding of the faith they hold dear. Most walk around with beliefs, dogmas and opinions that are FAR stronger than their ability to Biblically defend the. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…”.
You’re a Christian and not a Muslim? Why?
You Believe there are ONLY 66 books of the Bible? Why?
How do you know you can trust the Bible?
Why did Jesus even have to die like that all bloodied up on a cross?
I’m also amused that most believers stake their very souls on what is said in the Bible… But hardly ever read it. How seriously would you take a Muslim that hasn’t even read the Koran or a Hindu that can’t remember if there are 3 or 4 Vedas. This is one small reason that some followers of Christ are laughed to scorn because they aren’t like the Bereans who examined the Scriptures daily to see if what they had been taught was clearly in the world. I’m definitely not writing as one who has it all figured out but as one who feels fully in touch with my need for God and better understanding of his Word. This is not a call to skepticism but an encouragement to be daily finding holes in your understanding and seeking to fill it with truth.
FAR TOO EASILY PLEASED
“…if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased”
C.S. Lewis (in his sermon, “The Weight of Glory”)
John 4:7-10 (NIV) When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
If you study history you will find this is the first recorded account of water cooler talk. The woman is talking about temporary fixes in the presence of Jesus, the God man, that was able to serve her an eternal solution. The problem was she was oblivious to whom she was speaking and of the gift he could provide. “if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would ask.” If we are smart, we only ask for things from those we believe we can get that which we ask. If we believe someones capacity is small our requests are small. If we believe someones capacity is LARGE our requests are LARGE. This seemingly benign dialogue between Jesus and this woman can become a source of great conviction if we understand what Jesus is say. He’s saying in essence, if you prayer and prayer requests are small you’re saying I’m small. If your requests are weak you think I’m weak. We only truly believe the parts of the Bible we act upon. If we say we have a God in heaven that is amazing and huge and able to do the impossible but it doesn’t dramatically affect the way we pray we don’t really believe it….IF we believe, we would ask.
This is Truely loving God’s creation
I’m quite certain Noah didn’t get this moved when he saw a rainbow but maybe I’m just way to casual about rainbows. You watch and decide
146 MILES OF LEARNING
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This week I completed a 5 day, 146 mile journey. I ran it for LOVE146 a group that works to end child sex slavery and exploitation. I had a support vehicle and others that joined me for segments of the run. I’ve read a lot about the greats in the sport of ultra running like Scott Jurek who just ran 165 miles in the IAU world 24 hour championship. Marshall Ulrich who is the undisputed king of endurance and who’s exploits qualify him to be a marvel comic character. Then there’s Dean Karanazes who completed 50 marathons in 50 days and on and on they go. Bottom line I knew what I was about to do was humanly possible but I wasn’t entirely sure if I was the human that could possibly do it.There are a million metaphors between ultra marathoning and life and spirituality .
1.Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt. 6:34)
Each day I had to focus on that day. There where times when I felt pretty crappy but had to think, “I have 14 more miles NOT 4 more day. Get through that day then eat, pray sleep and gather strength for the next days journey
2. Weakness can be turned to strength and you can become strong THROUGH battle(Heb 11:34)
I have done multiple back to back long runs in training so I pretty much knew how I’d feel in the 3rd day but running 5 days of long runs was no mans land for me and a place I’d never been. I was a little shocked when I woke up and put my feet on the floor and felt better then my second day it was a total shock to me. I felt progressively better as the days went on. this was the most incredible part of it all.
3. Life is full of beauty and ugliness. what you most focus on shapes your state of mind (Philippians 4:8)
I’ve never seen so many stinking animal carcasses in all my life along the 146 miles of the road. Seriously, it seemed just as I finally rid my olfactory lobe of the smell of road kill I’d run past another. But on the other hand there was so much beauty and so many laughs. Your state of you mind and your view of life is shaped by what you most focus on.
4. Pain is part of life.(Ecc 3)
suck it up and shut up. You hurt, I hurt, we all hurt. The definitive quality between winners and losers isn’t who hurts but who rises and moves forward in spite of the pain
5. You can go way further and accomplish WAY more than you think you can.
Your body and brain are WAY stronger than you give it credit for. Running 146 miles was something I wasn’t entirely sure that I could accomplish… but I did. WHY? Because I tried. Stop making excuses about whatever you call “impossible” and just go try
PASSION FUELS THE FIRE
If you ever want to matter at what you do you have to be passionate. There are times in every persons journey in their pursuit of a dream when passion will seem dormant or waning and it’s to that person I’m writing. Pursuits without passion saps your strength and causes you to quickly question what you’re doing. A day, a week, a month without passion might happen but if you allow yourself to continue on without fueling your fire with authentic passion you will eventually drop out. So what do you do in seasons when passion seems illusive?
1. Run away
I’m serious. As soon as you can plan it get your hands completely out of what you’re into and breath fresh air far away from what you’ve lost passion for. This doesn’t have to be expensive just well thought out. A weekend climbing a mountain. Taking in some amazing movies you’ve wanted to see. Read a couple books that are far removed from your circle of delegated responsibility. This isn’t a call to irresponsibility but to reinvestment into yourself.
2. Get around passionate people
These don’t have to be people that do what you do but people that are truly fired up about what they do. Passion is contagious, so find people that have it and get reinfected.
3. Go back to your roots.
Why are you pursuing and doing what your doing? What started this journey? Go back to the start and get re-inspired. This week I met a truly messed up kid, a love for broken people was reignited in me. Maybe it was a movie, a book, a sermon or an event that set you on the course you’re on. Go back and revisit. Maybe just maybe is with spark the fire in you all over again.
4. Open up to someone that gets it.
Sometimes a conversation can stem the tide and make a huge difference. Open up to someone and pour your heart out to someone that deeply cares for you and believes in your dream. Everyone grows weary from time to time. Open up. Maybe they have strength, vision, encouragement and passion to pour in. FYI Jesus is a great first choice for this. After Jesus find a flesh and blood friend and connect with them as well.
If after doing your best to get passion back and nothing works you may need to take drastic measures. I’m not talking about a week or a couple months. I’m talking about a sustained season of passionless living. If this is you you may need to make some changes. If you’re a pastor that hates what you do… you’ve not helping anyone. If you’re a volunteer and hate what you do month after month find a new way to serve where passion is present. Life is too short to be miserable and passionless all the time. Ask God for wisdom and make a move don’t just ‘hope’ it gets better make a move and shake things up. I pray that you would live lives of filled with passion, purpose and joy.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and the art of “flow”
I have read 3 of Mihalys books and loved them. This short video captures of the heart of this ground breaking thoughts on the subject of flow and living a full life rich with optimal experiences. check it out, interesting stuff
RACE REPORT – Green Lakes Endurance Races 50/100k
This was my first year participating in the Green Lakes Endurance Runs(GLER). I have to stay from the start what an amazing site for a race it is. The lakes, fields and trails offered views that made the event worth attending for there owns sake. As for the course it was a mulit-lap course. for the 50k guys it meant 4 laps and for the 100k it was 8. This was my first go on a multi-loop Ultra-marathon and I gotta say I really liked it. Going through the same aid stations multiple times gave me a chance to build a little humor and camaraderie with the great volunteers that would staff each station as well as feeling with each progressive lap I had a sense of what was coming next. The start was 6:45am which meant the sun was just up(so no head lamp… a big plus) and the weather was nice and cool. It was a perfect day to race. As for me I was a bit under trained. After the 146 miles I logged on the run for LOVE146 at the end of July I had let running fall just where I wanted… nowhere in my life. But I got the urge to run and race soon enough(a tell tail sign of addiction FYI) but not soon enough to be properly trained so I was racing at about 80%. As indicated by my disastrously uneven pacing.
Lap 1 – 1:05:44
Lap 2 – 1:06:10
Lap 3 – 1:20:35
Lap 4 – 1:36:38
Total - 5:09:07
On a positive note my good Friend Doctor Jeremy Joslin aka “the blister whisperer” was there doing some medical studies on us as well as caring for the ill. It was great having a friend there. He came in handy lap two patching a hot spot on my foot. All in all it was a great race that I will TOTALLY participate in next year. Great, fast, beautiful, course(finished 35th overall). Well organized and close to home. Next year I’ll shoot for the 100k.
I LOST BUT IM NOT A LOSER
Micah 7:8 (NIV) Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
There is a difference between losing and being loser. Losing is part of life and part of the path to being a winner. The difference between losing and being a loser is you become a loser when you begin to make losing your identity. What do Larry King, Donald Trump, Marvin Gaye and Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain have in common? Besides being world famous they also have all at one time or another had to declare bankruptcy. I think you’d agree that bankruptcy is a big loss. But breaking the bank doesn’t have to break your spirit or your will to rise above it. There are always things that will come your way on the path, but what you hold close to your heart will be the thing that defines you. Do you define yourself by the falling or do you define yourself by the rising? As a Christ follower I have a strong example to follow. Christ fell down HARD on the path to the cross and he fell hard as he died between to criminal in the shadow and under the weight of sin. He fell with the hecklers and the mockers and the enemy gloating over him. What makes Jesus Jesus is not that he fell but that he was able to rise from that fall.
It happens to often that confess that we’re dead when we’re really only wounded. Where have you fallen and suffered a setback? In your job, finances, marriage, ministry or LIFE? Let today be the day, even while your enemy gloats, that you invite Christ the comeback king into your crisis to set your feet on some solid ground and take life’s bankruptcies and turn them into victories.
ILLUSION OF CONTROL
Yesterday was a monumental Dad day. Yesterday was my first born Child’s first day of school. I had to hand her over to her teacher and walk away. ya ya ya I know what all of you cold hearted seasoned parents are thinking “get over it, it’s part of life”. But although this is a well worn road it was the first day my feet had walked it. These days make you feel a touch helpless and a LOT not in control. I don’t know about everyone else but I had all these ‘what if’ questions race through my head.
What if there is a problem, does the school have all the right numbers?
Do the teachers know what do if she has to get medically treated?
Does any of the staff have a proper military training that would prepare them for nuclear, biological or small arms attack?
Just the normal questions that every parent asks themselves on this day. But at the heart of it was this thought…. Today I don’t have control. But here is the cold hard truth: I don’t really have control…EVER! I mean I can do my best but my best is nowhere near fail proof. This is the scariest part of parenting. We can do our 100% best and stuff can still happen to our kids. It can happen as they sleep by our side or it can happen at school. It can happen while we are driving them in their top of the line car seat or it can happen when they are teenagers and they are in the passenger seat while their friend drives. And that’s just a couple variables that only pertain to our kids. What about me. I can work and save and the stock market can crash and I have nothing. I can eat organic and workout religiously and get cancer. I can love my heart out only to have my heart broken. I can do everything culture says insures a happy life and my life can fall down. (WOW, this is a depressing blog). This is a lot of uncertainty. The real question is what do we do with all the “what if’s” and all the uncertainty?
There are really only two things to do.
1. Build a life with the illusions of control and infallibility. Like I said, healthy diet, exercise, car alarm, home security system, 401k, 403b, the right degree, the right job, the right neighborhood…. all illusions. Come on, you and I both know it. But part of us are tempted to build a whole life around these illusions.
2. Build a life of trust in God.1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” When I had to get in my car and leave Anna behind yesterday I was comforted that there was a God that loved her more than me that stays, always, right by her side. Does that mean that nothing bad will ever happen… NOPE. John Ortberg in his book “KNOW DOUBT” said “I think what we’re all looking for isn’t certainty but well placed trust”. Trust placed in my silly little illusions of control aren’t well placed to say the least. Trust placed in God has proved itself time and time again in my life to be well placed.
I choose to trust God even when things I don’t understand happen to me or those I love. I choose to trust God even when things don’t make sense. I choose to trust because I’ve seen his trustworthiness prove itself out. I choose to trust because I don’t trust myself, the culture, the media, the stock markets, the government or the reliability of things labeled “organic”. My God is faithful. My God is trust worthy. My God loved me enough to send a savior to save me from my own illusions of control an the illusion that I could actually save myself. I love God and trust deeply that he is in control even when I don’t see it. We all have to put our trust somewhere. I choose to place my trust, my kids, my family, my finances, my health, my future and my life in the hands of God…. If you think that’s funny and juvenile I have a question for you…
Where do you place your trust?
BEING WITH JESUS
Mark 3:14 (NIV) He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach
I’m in a little study on apostleship and one verse that you will eventually come on is this on. I don’t know about you but I REALLY want to do great things for God. I want my being here on planet earth sucking oxygen for 80+ years to matter.
I want to DO great things for God.
I want to BECOME like Christ.
I want to help BUILD the Kingdom of God.
I want to LEAVE a legacy of faith behind me.
These are all great things but Mark highlights something so beautiful about the calling of the 12. The first reason for their calling was simply to BE with Jesus. Not to DO stuff for him. Not to BECOME like Jesus. Not to BUILD the Kingdom of God. Not to LEAVE a legacy. Our first priority is no different than our first priority and that is simply to BE with Jesus. The doing, becoming, building and leaving will never happen if we don’t perfect simply being with Jesus. I’m reminded of the words of Gilbert K. Chesterton. He said “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”
Being with Jesus precedes DOING things for Jesus
Being with Jesus precedes BECOMING like Jesus
Being with Jesus precedes BUILDING anything for Jesus
Being with Jesus precedes LEAVING anything that’s worth leaving.
In all that you do today make a little time to be with Jesus. He loves your doing, being and building but before all that he loves YOU. I want my life to be like that of the disciples so I’m going to do what they did and focus on the simple art of BEING with Jesus. If you can perfect that the rest WILL come.
MY BLOG SUMMED UP IN A PICTURE
Thanks to wordle.com for this pictorial summation of my blog. “Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.”
rebeccadunk.wordpress.com
I want to let you know about a great blog. What’s different about this blog is that it’s written by a 12 year old! rebeccadunk.wordpress.com Rebecca Dunk is the daughter of A couple of my friends who pastor in Canada. She’s love God, is funny as all get out and I want you to check out her blog. She has better grammar than me for sure(lol) and has some great thoughts for tween girls. What I love about Rebecca is that she’s leveraging her gifts and abilities today. She’s not waiting until she’s older to make the difference she can begin making now. Check it out and leave her a comment as well. Rebecca you ROCK and I hope my girl is as passionate as you when she’s your age.
P.S. her mom and dad have a blog too if you’re into the whole “people over 12 saying stuff” scene pauldunk.com
INSECURE
Romans 12:3 (NLT) Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
To think more of yourself than you should is pride. To think of yourself less than yourself than you should is insecurity. Both are wrong and both need to be dealt with. The truth is is that both are really a type of self obsession. the failure to walk with security is insecurity. Insecurity is starts like an vice. It starts as your slave and ends as your master. How many things are done in the course of our day that are driven by insecurity.
How will I look?
How will I sound?
Will people think well of ME?
Will (fill in the blank) approve of me?
How to I compare?
Am I writing this blog to impress you?
These are just a few variations of the types of sub-conscience(or conscience) questions that can fill our thoughts, govern our actions and shape our lives. In no uncertain terms.. THIS IS NOT GOD’S BEST FOR US. We all make the decision of living two types of lives: Me-centric lives or Christ-centric lives. A life driven by insecurity or pride is a life that is Me-centric and NOT Christ-centric. I remember days and seasons of time when insecurity choked the life out of me. I began to realize that I wasting all my energies on questions that didn’t matter while failing to ask the questions that REALLY mattered.
-Does this please the Lord?
-Does this behavior build His Kingdom?
-Does this conversation point others to faith in Christ?
-What time, talent and treasure can I leverage for the God spent his Son on me?
-Does God laugh at my jokes? (ok so this last one proves I’m not quite there)
These are just a few questions that can serve to get our eyes off ourselves on on to the One that really matters.
God help me to live tomorrow more Christ-Centric than today and the next more than the last. Thanks for putting up with me, thanks for your grace and thanks for the love that grips me to the core when I spend even a moment thinking of it. It makes me wanna pour out my whole life at the cross and for your kingdom. I love you God.
REAL FAITH
2 Samuel 10:12 (NIV) Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.”
I think I’ve often confused faith in God with believing things will turn out as I’ve requested them to turn out via prayer. People will often say, “God failed me” or “God let me down”. This is Christian speak for “I was unsuccessful in getting God to fulfill MY agenda”. Does God listen when we pray? YES. Does prayer have the power to transform things? YES. But I miss it, we miss it, when we begin to think that prayer subjugates God to us. Faith in Christ isn’t believing things will turn out as I’ve envisioned them. Faith is trusting and surrendering to God no matter how things turn out. Our part is to be strong and fight bravely for the King and his Kingdom. If we mess this up we will find our “faith” frustrated and our lives filled with disappointment. If we surrender to Christ without conditions realizing the price he paid for us our lives will me marked by unwavering gratitude and fulfillment.
Galatians part 1
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 gives the clearest outline of what the Gospel is all about when it says…
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Paul speaking to the Galatians in Galatians 1 and start to make it clear that there is only Gospel that culture both outside AND inside the church wants to pervert.
Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
We all want to be able to look ourselves in the mirror and feel like we’re ok.. that we’re right, righteous. There are two essential ways that we pursue obtaining that righteousness. The first is works based righteousness. This is the righteousness obtained by following the rules of culture the courts and the church. This is best personified in the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-23. This guy had it together… or so it seemed. He was following as best as he could all the rules in an attempt to feel right but yet he had an internal sense that he was missing the mark. WHY? Because works righteousness doesn’t hold the power to make you right. So then what does? Christian righteousness. How do we gain it.
Ephesians 2:8 best outlines it….
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
Timothy Keller says this…
“So then have we nothing to do to obtain righteousness? No, nothing at all! For this righteousness comes by doing nothing, hearing nothing, knowing nothing, but rather in knowing and believing this only – That Christ has gone to the right hand of the father, not to become our judge, but to become for us our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, our salvation!”
Salvation has NOTHING to do with us. Salivation, grace, righteousness is entirely IN SPITE of us. When we really understand this it transforms us from the inside out. Paul bore fruit that was in keeping with this Christian righteousness that I don’t think is in any way unique to him. I think the following things that happened in Paul will become the universal response to anyone that takes hold of true righteousness through the finished work of Christ alone.
-You stop fearing people (Gal. 1:10)
-You become a servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10)
-You want to preach Jesus to EVERYONE (Gal. 1:16)
-Christ is made manifest in you (Gal. 1:16)
Modern Thinkers Creed
Modern Thinker Creed
by Steve Turner
We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don’t hurt anyone
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.
We believe in sex before, during, and
after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.
We believe that everything’s getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.
We believe there’s something in horoscopes
UFO’s and bent spoons.
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,
Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher though we think
His good morals were bad.
We believe that all religions are basically the same-
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.
We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens
they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its
compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps
Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn
We believe in Masters and Johnson
What’s selected is average.
What’s average is normal.
What’s normal is good.
We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and
bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors .
And the Russians would be sure to follow.
We believe that man is essentially good.
It’s only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.
We believe that each man must find the truth that
is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth
that there is no absolute truth.
We believe in the rejection of creeds,
And the flowering of individual thought.
If chance be
the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky
and when you hear
State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!
It is but the sound of man
worshipping his maker.
HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: Step 1
A lot of people think that “backsliding”, “walking away from God” or “losing faith” is a thing of chance but really it’s easy and anyone can do it… even you. There are a few nearly universal steps every passionate Christ follower must take to get to prodigal town. I’m here to show you how. So fasten your seat belts and lets get at it.
1 – Experience something that shakes you.
It can be a conspiracy film about how someone found Jesus’ bones at the baggage claim at the Newark airport which clearly debunks Christianity as a whole. It can be something tragic like your boyfriend of 9 days breaking it off because “God spoke to him”. It can be that you stayed single a biiiiiiit to long and now your singleness is causing you to question the entire cohesion of the universe and your faith. Or it could simply be an unanswered prayer. Take your pick. Whatever your “something” is it’s the starting point of the end. It’s basic physics(a class I skipped FYI) if you think about it. Newtons 1st law states “objects in motion stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force”. You WHERE in motion following Christ UNTIL something meets you on the path. If you don’t deal with it you die with it. It’s as simple as that. Your faith walk will come to a grinding halt unless you deal with the something that’s become a barricade on your path.
So lets review kids:
step one to walk away from faith in Christ – Experience something that shakes you
Tomorrow step 2: “Shhh don’t tell anyone what your going through”
HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: STEP 2
Ok kids on to step 2 of how to lose faith.
2- Don’t tell ANYONE what you’re going through.
Lock everyone out. Say something like “I need to figure this out on my own”. It’ll make you sound deep and it will also allow you to be all alone with the most brilliant, grounded, intelligent person you know… YOURSELF. Now I know what you’re thinking “wait Mark I thought we needed people?”… hogwash!!. But since you’re struggling let me give you a few mantras.
“No one understands what I’m going through”
“No one care”
“I don’t need other people telling me what’s best for ME”
“I know what’s best for me”
“How do I know the people I’m talking to are even real?” (that last one is for the aspiring existentialist)
What ever mantra you choose, you have to rock that mantra. It has to get stuck in your head like Paparazzi by Lady Gaga. A repetitious internal mantra is key to expertly isolating yourself from people that could help… I mean “control” you.
So in conclusion prince smarty pants you got a handle in your own life and don’t need any loving friends, family or leaders gettin all up in your grill and in yo’ b’ness. Lock it down and go inside your brilliant self and when it come to others just put up NO VACANY sign.
Join me tomorrow for step 3: “Stop praying immediately”… cus’ when you’re trying to lose faith the last person you want whispering sweet nothings in your soul is Jesus… ya know what I mean?
HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: STEP 3
3 – Stop praying.
If this sounds to hard for you super spiritual people out there start slow. If quitting prayer cold turkey feels like more more than you can handle start by getting reeeeeal formal in prayer. Make all your prayers sound like poorly quoted verses from the old King James Version of the Bible. This way, although your ARE praying you strip it of all it’s relational aspects(That might keep you grounded in faith) and at the same time you get to save face by telling people you’re still “in prayer”. This formalizing of prayer helps transition your from “spending time with God” into something a bit more formal like “talking TO God”.
After you have “talking to God” down, transition it to something a bit more hostel like “talking AT God”. It’s high time you give God a piece of your mind. There are some things he’s not aware of and it about time your threw off the kid gloves and let Jesus know what’s REALLY going on around here(with the whole middle east thing it’s doubtful he’s aware). I’m talking finger wagging, voice raised kind of stuff. Now, a little pointer here. Don’t leave any room for him to talk back. If you do, he might start saying all kinds of life giving, faith establishing words that could ultimately ground you and that would be TOTALLY counterproductive to what we’re trying to do here. So stomp, yell and wag that finger but DON’T listen… very crucial to losing your faith.
If you do all this, before you know in no time you’ll be effortlessly snubbing the Trinity around the water.
Now we’re getting to the sneak stuff: STEP 4
Tomorrow we’ll discuss step 4. In step 4 I’ll encourage you to get out there and start talking. BUT NOT ABOUT STEP 1. Start talking about how you’re not “feeling” anything in prayer or church. Ohhhh man it’s gittin good now….
DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
Luke 1:26-48 (NIV) In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” 46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
Luke 2:1-20 (NIV) In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
When I read the story of the coming of Jesus here are of few of the things that jump off the page…
1. Say yes to God even if it doesn’t all make sense
Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
2. Surround yourself with people that will cultivate the seed of God that’s in you
Luke 1:39-40 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
3. God’s watching even when no one else is
Luke 1:48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
4. Don’t let your current context keep you from your calling
Luke 2:7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
5. Christ came to bring peace and the favor of God
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
6. Christ took the initiative but he leave the choice to respond to US.
Luke 2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Merry Christmas my friends. Make sure to take a minute to say thank you to the person that gave the greatest gift ever given
HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: STEP 4
STEP 4 TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: Talk to someone, BUT NOT ABOUT STEP 1. Talk to them about how you don’t “feel anything” when you pray, worship, attend church, watch TBN ect. The specifics don’t matter just make it real clear that you’re just not “feelin’” it anymore. This step is AMAZING cus’ it’s totally subjective and tough to come back at. If you really wanna make step 4 count, when you say “I’m just not feelin’ it” stare blankly into the distance as if you’re about to cry. The other way to pull of step 4 is to say it with a touch of indignant anger. Let me get right down to it. If you you’re not “feeling” whatever it is you think you should be feeling then deal off.
I mean if when you pray it doesn’t feel like a gentle Yankee candle scented breeze is blowing across you face: DEAL OFF
I you go to church and the preaching doesn’t leave your mind blown and a permanent smile stamped on your face: DEAL OFF
Here is why….
I’m sure when Christ dead the death we deserved to die nailed on the cross of Calvary I’m sure he felt nothing but rainbows, goosebumps and non-stop waves of total elation. As his follower I deserve the same kind of feelings based faith that he enjoyed… I mean right? Right?
So in conclusion: Step 4 to losing faith is to become obsessed with feelings. Get obsessed with feelings and you’ll be on the fast track to prodigal town
HOW TO WALK AWAY FROM GOD: STEP 5
5 – Get busy(NO… not like that… that comes later)
Get busy with work, family, sports, school. This will allow you to give reason for your absence from church, where people might care enough to ask how you’re doing and thus create awkward moments. Who wants that? NOT ME and not you… and that’s why this helpful guide is here.
Here are a few tips on this one. First, make it believable. you can’t blame “work” for missing Sunday if you work at the post office so make it something noble and lofty… Like “Oh man I wanted to be there sunday but someone had to pet and care for the shelter dogs and the humane society”. Or if you’re allergic to dogs try “Ya I should be at church next week if my indoor dodgeball league doesn’t have practice”. Whatever you do just get too dang busy to be around Gods people.
Listen people, don’t go reiventing the wheel and trying to come up with something fresh. This stuff works.
It’s worked for untold 1000′s IT WILL WORK FOR YOU. If you want to walk away from God there are the steps….PERIOD.
Join us next time for step 6: after blowing off everyone for 4-6 weeks complain how no one is reaching out to you. It’s gunna get rich so don’t miss it. See you next time… same bat time, same bat channel
