Have you ever been taken out physically? Maybe someone gave you the old "1,2"? I haven't. I guess I have never been in a real fist fight. I have walked from two fights, neither of which I felt were worth fighting back.

How about verbally and emotionally? Do you remember that statement..."Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me."?

Right and wrong! Sticks and stones can break our bones, that is true. However, "words can never hurt me" is not true.

Since you will most likely get arrested if you throw sticks and stones at people, what can you do? How about throwing insults and demeaning comments? You might as well call words "sticks and stones" as well. They can do the same damage, only in a different way. The damage words cause is on the inside, it is longer term, it takes more time for healing.

Just think, if someone beats you with sticks and stones you will be seriously injured. A few weeks later you will be better. If someone hurls insults at you, trash talks you, brings you down and hurts your feelings you will be severely injured. This injury takes more time to heal.

I have been trash talked, insulted and brought down verbally. Even though I have forgiven the insulter and given the situation to God; the insults, trash talk and verbal abuse still come to mind at times.

Take a moment to remember a time where someone hurled verbal sticks and stones at you. Now, make a commitment to never allow yourself to do this to others. See, we never want to receive verbal abuse, but at times we dish it out and don't think twice.

Let's go to another comment I heard from my mom when I was a child. "Think about what you say before you say it."

Moral of the story: Sticks and stones can break bones- words can break hearts. Hearts are harder to repair. Don't throw verbal sticks and stones.

"I am what seems to be good. I am where you don't expect me to be. I say what you want to hear. I work with other people to get closer to you. I hide out waiting for you. I sneak around. I put secrets in your ear. I scheme and plan. I try to be with you all of the time, if I'm not with you, I'm working for you, doing what I do. I whisper. I am most certainly cautious. I do my job well, I work hard. My job could be easier if you would only help me. Give up, work with me, give in. Be my friend."
Sincerely,
Angel of Darkness

Have you seen the enemy working in your life? The Word tells us in John 10:10 that the "thief comes to destroy." Keep in mind, your demise can come slowly. It may not happen over night. The good news is in the rest of John 10:10 where Jesus says that He has come to give life to the full or in abundance.

The enemy will use whatever he can to get to you. He may even use people you would have never expected him to use. Prepare yourself, this is more than possible. Things might be difficult, they might be hard. Don't give in! Next time you face the enemy, embrace John 16:33. The world has already been overcome! Victory is yours!

I am a football fan. I LOVE football! My team..yes it is "my" team, I own them...just kidding. Anyway, my team is the New York Giants. I am so stoked that we won the Superbowl last year and hoping that we will make it again this year. Sorry Dallas, I think we will take you this Sunday! Booyah!

As a NYG fan I do different things. I watch as many of their games as I can, I support them by wearing NYG apparel, I defend them to other team fans. I Check their web site and keep up with as much as I have the time to keep up with. I even have a NYG sticker on my car! Are you a football fan? Have you seen people like me before? I'm sure you have. Maybe you are one.

Let this question soak in your for a second: Would I be considered a "real" NYG fan if I never watched their games, didn't wear their shirts or didn't care about their victories? What if sometimes I even went for the other team?

Most will agree that if I didn't watch their games, didn't wear their shirts, didn't support them and so on that I was not a true fan. Fair statement.

What about Jesus? What if I don't pursue Him every day, read His Word, go to His church and genuinely seek after Him? What if I just went to church every week or two, or three? What if I didn't talk about Him? What if? Would you consider me a "fan" of Jesus? Let's take this further...Would you consider me a "follower" of Jesus?

I hope that you answered "no!" If I didn't pursue Him in every way possible I would be no more than the person on the apposing team.

I really like the New York Giants, I will most assuredly never cheer for the apposing team.

I LOVE Jesus, I MUST live fully for Him, and Him alone.

So many people claim to be "Christians", that is what has inspired this post. I am a Christ follower, that means I FOLLOW Him. My prayer for you today is that you would shift from where you are into a full blown relationship with Christ, so much so that you would follow Him in everything.

"Obedience is to do what you are told, when you are told, with a happy heart!"

Have you heard that before? I must have heard that a million times when I was young because it still rings loudly in my mind.

I am constantly reminding my daughter of this statement above. See, she is a really good girl, but being 4 nearly 5 she is learning how to obey and how to obey the right way. See, sometimes she will do what she is told to do but she complains, shrugs her shoulders and hesitates to do it. Sometimes, she wants to wait, she wants to put it off until, well, until she wants to do it or it is more convenient for her. The challenge is that this is not true, pure obedience. This is disobedience.

I find this to be true for me today. On a different level, of course. My instructions aren't necessarily coming from my parents any more. I have many different people that I am responsible to. Mostly, I am responsible to God.

I find myself struggling to obey with a "happy heart" all of the time when God gives me instruction. Sometimes, like Carmen (my daughter), I struggle with doing what God tells me to do when He tells me to do it. For some reason I think I may have better timing or something. I have told Carmen to do something that would pull her away from her toys and she struggles with that. In the same way, God tells me to do things that pull me away from things I like or enjoy. Sometimes God gives me instruction that doesn't seem to make sense for my timing, I struggle with that.

God has revealed this statement to me: "Obedience is to do what your told, when your told, with a happy heart."

Regardless of my agenda, my plan and my priorities. I have to be obedient. Why? For the same reason Carmen has to be obedient. If she isn't, discipline will inevitably occur. I hate discipline just like Carmen does. The good news is that when she is obedient she is rewarded - blessed. Same for me, when I am obedient, I am rewarded and blessed.

We have two choices: 1. Obedience. 2. Disobedience.

Which will you choose?

1. Do what you say you will do
2. Follow Christ

3. Own it

Many times when we venture into something new or different we kind of half hearted go into it. In order to gain full support from your spouse in anything you need to own it. You need to spend time preparing, know details, have a plan and mostly, you must buy in!

If want a new shirt what do you do? You go to the store and buy the one you want. But before you go to the store, more than likely you probably have an idea of what kind or style of shirt you want to buy, you probably have a budget in mind and most likely you know what store(s) you will go to in order to buy the shirt.

What happens if you don't know these things before going to purchase the shirt? You go to a ton of stores, spend a ton of time, spend more money than you originally wanted to, and probably get more than one shirt- shirts that you didn't necessarily want.

To get the shirt that you want you have to own it before you ever get to the store. When you own it before you get there you know it when you see it. You will stay in your budget, you have spent less time and frustration. Overall your experience of getting a new shirt will have been lovely.

Same thing goes in any area of your life. You have to own it before you ever pursue it. You have to own it before you ever present it. You have to own it before you go for it. If not, you will never get it. And you certainly won't gain support from your spouse.

You spouse wants to see that you have taken all the appropriate steps in you plan. You spouse wants to see that you have a plan. How can you expect support from your spouse if you don't even fully support yourself?

Do what you say you will do. Follow Christ. Own it!

2. Follow Christ
Seek after God's heart every day, this will give your spouse assurance.

Following Christ is more than telling God what you want and asking Him to accommodate. To follow Christ is to seek Him, know Him and be obedient to everything He says.

Your spouse wants to see that your relationship with Him exists. Don't begin getting up early and waking your spouse to let them know of what you are doing. Allow Christ to consume you to the point where it is obvious.

Take your plans, visions and aspirations to God. Ask Him for clarity, ask Him to confirm to you that this too is His plan, ask Him to give you guidance.
This is more important than you may think. See, God holds the whole universe, nothing happens without Him knowing or being a part of it. If you shoot off into some new plan you have created and God is not in it, nor does He approve. This could mean devastation for you. This could also mean devastation for your relationship with your spouse.

On the other hand, if you seek God's heart on your plan, and He blesses it. Go for it!

In summation: Your spouse wants to see your intimate relationship with Christ, they want to know that you are having faith in Him not just in you. They want to know there is more behind this than just some idea you had.
If you're not following Christ yet, today is the best day to start. If you don't know how, shoot me a message I'd love to help you.

Support from your spouse is hinged on your obedience to Christ.

A few days of no blogging = well, I guess it = a few days of no blogs. Anyway, I am back.

We just came through the Thanksgiving holiday, what a great time! I got to smoke the turkey for my family this year - that was great. We had my sister and her family in from FL, everyone came to my house - wonderful!

We sat in a circle after lunch and and told what we were thankful for. Of course, all of us could have gone on and on but we kept them short and sweet. I mentioned my thankfulness for my wife who loves and supports me even in my wildest dreams and aspirations.

The most interesting thing about my wife, anyone for that matter...they have a choice, they don't have to support you.

Here are 3 ways to gain your spouses support:

1. Do what you say you are going to do.
"I'll take the trash out after dinner." "I'll take the kids to practice." "Yeah, I'll do a couples Bible study with you."
These comments barely touch the surface of different commitments we make to our spouse.

If you say you are going to do something, do it!
You said you would take the trash out after dinner and now it is the next day, the trash truck has already came and your trash is stacked up. Now, your spouse is mad. It is this kind of failed commitment that ruins your chance of the "bigger" ones.

When we get down to it on this taking the trash out issue. Not only did you fail on a commitment but you lied. You said you would do it and you didn't. That is a lie.

How can we expect support if the spouse doesn't even have a reason to beleive us?

In doing what we say we will we earn trust which in turn will give us support.

Next time your spouse doesn't support your absolutely crazy idea or plan, check the amount of trash stacked up in your garage.

As a Christian I have been called to represent Jesus. Is that it? Just represent Him? Nope. I have been called to something more than just representing Him. I will tell you that in a minute, first let me explain "representing Jesus".

Represent: "To present the likeness of" (dictionary.com).
As a Christ follower it is our job to represent Christ. To show Him through us. This can be very hard at times. Sometimes it is hard to represent Christ when someone says something rude to us or cuts us off in traffic. Sometimes we simply choose not to represent Christ because it may be easier the other way.

On the other hand, representing Christ can be made so much easier. Don't! Yup, that's what I said. Don't represent Him. I will explain: In John we are told that if we keep His words He will make His home in us. We see in this passage that Jesus lives in us and it is because of Him that we live. So, my statement comes from this thought. If Jesus makes His home in us then we don't need to try to represent Him. We need to live, and the only way we can live is through Him. He is our life.

Now I sound like some seminary graduate...confusing. Allow me to simplify: When you wake up, give you day to Jesus, remember that He lives in you, allow Him to be in control. You will naturally represent Jesus as He is living through you. How about that?!

Now, what is that other thing I have been called to do for Jesus? Rock and roll for Him! Nope, I'm not in a rock band. I just like that term. I have been called to rock and roll for Jesus- Abide in Him, allow Him to manifest Himself in me and rock for Him!

We have many different things we can be passionate about. When we are passionate about something we rock it! We need to get passionate about Jesus and rock and roll for Him. Or, as my favorite saying goes...we need to "shake and bake" for Jesus! How about we put them together and make it that much more serious? We need to rock and roll and shake and bake for Jesus!

Are you doing this? Today, let Jesus live through you. Live loud! Rock and roll!

I have been doing a few projects around the house these past few days. One that has made a pretty big impact in my life is a shelf I was to re-paint.

Let me tell you about this shelf. It is a basic shelf, maybe around 48" square. We keep it in our living room decorated neatly with books, pictures and toys. Very nice. Mindy has had this shelf for a long time...I have no idea how long, just a long time. Mindy painted the shelf brown about a year and a half ago, it looked nice. Now, we are transitioning to more black than brown, so that's right, time to go black.

We decided it would be best to strip it as it has been painted several times and wasn't looking as good as it could. Bad idea! I have been working on this for a few days in my spare time. It is very monotonous and tedious, sometimes I don't feel like I am getting anywhere. Thankfully, I think that I might have it done today! Hopefully!

Thinking about this shelf I am reminded of us...people, especially Christians. Like the shelf, in the beginning we looked good, we were smooth and new. After a few re-do's to fit in better we began to look old and used, maybe even a little sloppy.

This shelf has taken many applications to get all of the old paint off. It has taken a lot of scraping and sanding. It has taken a lot of patience and a lot of work. Does this sound familiar? This is us! As people, especially Christians we can get to the point where we need to be stripped. We need to get all of the old life off of us and start all over. This process hurts, it is monotonous, pain staking, and hard.

As I near the end of the stripping process and look forward to the painting process. I am reminded that we need too will have an end to the stripping time. It doesn't last forever!

Maybe you are in a season of life where God is "stripping" you of all of your old life and ways. Be comforted, you will soon be to the point where He can begin creating you again!

Maybe God is not stripping right now but needs to. Ask Him to, then prepare for it, He will do it. The process will not be fun, but the final product will!

Maybe you have been stripped and re-painted already. You should hold fast in this time, keep yourself clean, don't allow unnecessary coats of paint. Stop and remove them as they come. Maintenance is a lot easier than demo. Trust me!

Sitting on the edge of your seat. Palms sweating. Beads of sweat form on your forehead. Your heart beats increasingly faster. The time gets nearer. The excitement rises. The anticipation builds deep within your soul. Ah! You could almost scream with all of the pressure building within.

A new adventure. A new journey. A new challenge. Better than any high. I live for this!

Sitting in the same place or position for too long is boring. I have to move. Dressing a certain way, doing the hair a certain way...it has to be changed. Style cannot remain the same. Some may call this ADD, I have no clue. I just know that I love starting, changing and creating! I call all of this living!

Why do I speak of all of this? I am there. Itching for the next thing. Itching to re-create, itching to change, itching to be doing what I feel like God is telling me to do.

I don't call this ADD, I call this living! For me, being content and successful is being right in the middle of God's will at that very moment.

Are you in the center of God's will? Or are you sitting on the edge of the seat?

Every Monday morning after breakfast and before I leave for the office I would take the blue Rubbermaid trash can full of trash from my garage down to the street. After the trash was removed we would bring it back into the garage.

All was normal...until several Monday's ago. I took the can down and went about my routine. Later that day Mindy saw it turned over and empty but she was not able to bring it back in yet. As I returned home I did not see our trash can, I opened the garage door and still nothing. "It must have blown down the street" I thought. "But why aren't the neighbors cans blown over and around?" I looked down the street and saw nothing. I looked between houses, in my back yard and found it no where. So, I asked Scott (my boss who lives one street over) if he stole it. As you would probably expect, that was absolutely preposterous to him! He'd never thought of such a thing. I have even watched all of my neighbors cans to see if they snatched it. They didn't.

Now, several weeks have gone by and we have been without a trash can. It has been OK, we simply set our bags of trash by the curb for the trash men to pick up. It has worked. But every Monday I think about the mysterious disappearance of our trash can.

Until yesterday! Monday night Mindy said that she saw a can turned over that looked exactly like ours in our next door neighbors driveway. She was so suspicious she even went and looked at it. Sure enough, exactly like ours, only it was dirty, like it had been used for construction debris or something. Well, this aroused my curiosity! My neighbor doesn't even use a trash can and has not since ours went missing. She didn't even have one out that morning! I wanted to assume that it was our can and bring it home but I didn't.

Tuesday morning- early- I was in the garage on the treadmill and heard some bustling outside of my garage. I simply thought it was the wind- no big deal. After I got done with my work out I opened the garage door and there it was...that blue Rubbermaid trash can and lid leaning between the back of my car and my garage door.

It has been returned!!! Immediately I recognized this to be the craziest thing that has ever happened to me! Someone stole my trash can, used it for several weeks, and brought it back!! How crazy is that?! Will they steal it again? What made them steal it in the first place. It's not like it was expensive. Why that one? Why not a nicer one like my neighbors that has wheels? Who knows!

If I had the number for Shurlock Holmes I would call him. Most importantly, I can rest knowing that my trash can is back, safe and sound.

It can't be cheap!

When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He died! He didn't just get beat up and hurt for a few days. He died! Jesus knew how much your life and mine cost. He knew that in order to give salvation freely to all people He would need to pay that cost in full.

Jesus didn't try to pay some of the cost and get the full benefit. He paid the full cost. When you go to purchase a shirt that cost $30 you can't give the clerk a $20 and expect to take ownership of the shirt. You have to pay the full cost!

Since Jesus paid the full price for my life and yours we should give Him full ownership.

Jesus paid the real expense but for some reason we think that we have to pay some expense to be owned by him. To be owned by Him we would allow Him to take full and complete control of our life. We would not hold any area back. We would give Him all. The expense we think we have to pay is the surrender of the world.

May I remind you, Jesus died for you. Your dirty little habit can't exist anymore, that TV show that you watch needs to be given up, that language you use...done, that magazine you look at...done, that lifestyle you are trying to keep needs to be surrendered fully to Jesus...Why? HE OWNS YOU!

"Well I'm not ready to give that up." Do you think Jesus as a human was ready to be beat and murdered?!

When Jesus lives fully in us and we are doing our best to be fully surrendered to Him He blesses us.

I can't explain how it feels to have Jesus residing inside of me...it is the most incredible experience! Emotions, fulfillment, happiness, ah the list could go on!

I will leave you with what I started with...

It can't be cheap!

Things God showed me this week-end:

Nothing can take me out of God's hand. John 10:28-30
Once we give our life to Him we are His. He won't let us go and nothing can remove us!

You may know God but do you know God? John 14:8-10
Do you know Him?

The greatness of your relationship with Christ can be seen and felt when we ask. We can do great works for Christ. John 14:12-14

We must obey and keep Christ's commands. We don't have to rely on us. God gave us a Helper...The Holy Spirit. John:15-18

The world can't see Jesus, as He is not here physically. The the way the world sees Jesus is in and through us. John 14:19-21

We are God's home. If we keep His Word He will make His home in us. John 14:23-24

We are only human we are not perfect. The Holy Spirit will help us remember God's Word. John 14:26

We don't have to be afraid or be troubled, Jesus give us peace! John 14:27

Jesus is our source. He will work us over (weeding, pruning etc.) so we are more productive for Him. John 15:1-2

We have to abide in Jesus to bear fruit. Without Him we can't do anything. John 15:4-5

If we don't remain in Him we will be good for nothing. Like a fallen branch-lifeless-good only for fire. John 15:6

If we live (abide, remain) in Him He will give what we ask to The Father's Glory. John 15:7-8

If we live (abide, remain) in Him our joy can be full! John 15:11

We don't have a choice...Jesus chose and appointed us. We must bear fruit- real fruit- fruit that last. This is our command. Jesus will give us our desires when we live in Him. John 15:16

The world will hate us because we aren't of the world anymore. Jesus pulled us from it. If it makes you feel better...the world hated Jesus first. John 15:18-19

Feel better Christ Follower, The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, you don't have to do that part. John 16:8

We can ask, God will grant. Our joy can be full! John 16:24

Sure living in this world can be hard...don't worry, don't have trouble, Jesus has already overcame the world!!!!! John 16:33

God is so good to us to give us such great promises. We don't deserve His greatness, He gives it freely! LIVE IN JESUS TODAY!

Competing for attention is probably not that great. BUT, when it comes to my daughters competing for mine, it is flattering!

Mindy was off to minister at the juvenile detention center last night so I had the opportunity for some alone time with my daughters. We had a great time! The highlight - even though this kind of competition is not healthy - was my daughters somewhat competing for me. Still makes me feel good inside. Just so you don't think I'm a bad dad, I did everything right. That's right I'm a perfect dad. Just kidding! I did not encourage competition, especially for my attention. I gave it to both of them freely!

Anyway back to my time with my girls. It was particularly special last night for some reason, as it is not like we are never alone together. The silly faces, the climbing up and over me as I laid on the floor, jumping on me and the continual wanting to mess up my hair. We had a great time!

When one of them would be giving me a hug the other then needed to do the same. It was quite flattering and cute - especially at this stage of their lives. I love my daughters! I am so thankful that God blessed me with them.

Since I think like this I do have to add this next few words: God, our father, what does God feel like? We are His children. Are we trying to be right in front of Him, trying to be the closest? I know how I feel with my daughters trying to be the closest to me. It feels so good. I want to give them more time and bless them in more ways. Wouldn't our Father - God, wouldn't He be the same? More so... Compete to be the closest to God today! Flatter Him in your attempt.

Be kind!

How often do we hear that word anymore? I used to hear it a lot when I was young. But, not so much anymore.

I wonder whatever happened to that? Kindness is a virtue! If we are kind, people like to be around us. If we are kind more people are attracted to us. If we are kind we get along better with ourselves and others.

Don't we want people to be attracted to us and like us? Why not try being kind today? We live in a self-service culture. We revolve around ourselves. We live for ourselves and we think about and for ourselves. Often times in this way of life we leave other people behind. We get in a hurry and cut out in front of someone. We want a promotion so we might step on others to get there. We need a certain deal to go through so we rudely push.

Often times we are RUDE! What good does being rude get you? NOTHING! It is funny, a mile down the road we come to a stop light and the car we ripped out in front of is now 3 ahead. A year after we used someone to get us to where we wanted to be in the corporate ladder they are now being promoted to our boss. That deal we rudely pushed for: now it's the worst thing and we wish we didn't have it.

Today: Be kind! Think about others before yourself. Let someone out in front of you in traffic. Help someone at work. Say something nice about someone. You'll be glad you did!

"God is still in control."
"I am shocked!"
"I can't believe it."
"Good job Arkansas, our state was red."
"Lord, heal our land."

These are just a few comments I have heard early this day after election day. I have to say what is screaming inside of me:

GIVE ME A BREAK!

I mean come on! When was God not in control? Why are you shocked? You must have been blind to not see it coming. Why can't you believe it? It's been apparent for days if not weeks that this would be how the election ended. What does it matter what color our state was? God will heal our land, everything that happened yesterday could be the beginning stages. God might be taking us down so we as a country will be humble and seek Him.

COME ON CHRISTIANS, WAKE UP!

If we want Christ represented in our country and through our elections we have to represent Him ourselves. We have to spread Him around like an uncontrollable wild fire. We can't just sit around on our rear ends expecting people to all of the sudden change their own morals and values and cry out for God!

Get done with all of the political mumbo jumbo and get yourself REAL with Jesus! Tell other people about Jesus - live Jesus! Who knows, president elect Obama could be introduced to a personal relationship with Jesus if we could ever wake up?!

Our country is not suffering because of the results of any election. Our country is suffering because us Christians are sleeping while the enemy is working. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't sit around complaining about how the elections did not go your way - DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! The world is still here. Options are limitless! If our world was sold out to Jesus, don't you think things would be different? Let's get to work!

Do you remember what it feels like to truly be embarrassed?

Last night I spoke for a connection group for just a few minutes regarding a ministry opportunity. I went in with a great attitude looking forward to the time and the results. However, I came out embarrassed, feeling pathetic and acting to myself like I had a low self-image.

I was off from the start. My mind was all over the place, I could not hold a normal conversation, I was not talking to other people the way I normally would. I was off. Then, I got on the stage...before I say the next point, just know I speak a lot, in front of nearly every different age group and number of people. I love speaking in front of people. Anyway, I got on the stage, was introduced and then I spoke...not sure what all I said I just know I spoke. That spot in my memory is kind of dark. What I do remember is the beads of sweat rolling from my forehead and the feelings like the group was dead.

The time ended and all was well, good results were gathered. I got in the car trying to reenact the experience and absolutely beating myself over it. Then these words came belting through my car radio: "You got blood on your face, your a big disgrace, kicking your can all over the place..." Yes, you know it. That line stuck into my head and pulled me down even more.

Please keep in mind, I talk to people a lot. I LOVE speaking! It is quite possibly my favorite thing to do. And, I normally have a pretty good self-image. I am not the type to beat myself up.

What was the problem? Simple: Not speaking in the Spirit.

I went in to the meeting just fine, good attitude and all. I went through my moments terribly and left even worse. I didn't prepare. How else could I have prepared? This is my deal. Preparation in the Spirit.

I don't do ministry. God does ministry through me with His Spirit. I can't do it...clearly. He does it through me and I wasn't prepared. In other words, I had not given the time to Him and invited Him to rock it for me.

My days are rockin' when I have invited The Spirit to rule them, when I have given full control to Him. I can't make anything good. God's Spirit makes good though, and sometimes He does it through me.

You don't have to feel the way I did. Get in The Spirit. Ask God to rule and reside in and over you. Give Him full and complete control. Guess what? This takes full pressure off of you. How relaxing is that?!!

Remember that time you were having a tough day? Maybe you are there today. Do you remember your attitude that day? As the day progressed you became increasingly more upset. Someone could say something funny and it just ticked you off even more. You saw something lovely and you wrinkled your nose at it. You got even more ticked off when you were around those few people that were laughing and having a good time. You even thought to yourself: "What is there deal? They are causing such a commotion. Nothing is that funny!" Now, as you are thinking back to that day you may be experiencing tightness in your chest in the memory.

That day nothing could cheer you up. Nothing could make you feel better. Everything was stupid, dumb, lame or pathetic. Everything sucked!

Now, since we are just recounting the events of that day that you experienced. Looking back, was everything really that bad? For that matter, was anything that bad? What was that bad? Yup, that's right, your attitude! Face it, you attitude was terrible!

Because you had a terrible attitude nothing could be lovely to you, nothing good could happen and you restricted people and God from blessing you.

Point: Attitude determines outcome!

Tomorrow when you wake up, resolve within yourself to reject any negative emotion that rises within you. Resolve to have a great attitude. Resolve to have a great day. After all, attitude determines outcome.

If you are having this day today. I will get very elementary with you: STOP IT! I know, I know, it is not that easy. But it is. Take your focus from everything negative for 10 minutes and place it on positive things for the whole time. After you get done fighting with yourself you will begin to lighten up and quite possibly begin to experience happiness again. You can not allow a negative attitude to reside within you. You have to reject it. Why? Attitude determines outcome.

We all want a good outcome. Right?

I had the opportunity take an old friend to the Summit yesterday. Since we are not fortunate enough to be able to connect more than only every couple of months he had not seen the black stripe in my hair. So I now have a new nick name..."Black hawk." Nice!
Two things I took away from this time:
1. Relationships are important!
2. We need relationships so people can be there for us when we have ups and downs.

I carved pumpkins with my girls yesterday morning. That was great! Carmen wanted her pumpkin to be scary. She showed the pumpkins face and roared at same time. Her face was priceless! Lily painted her little pumpkin. How adorable! She actually did it, she held the brush and did it. Amazing! She was done painting when she began to play peek a boo with her hands...which were covered with paint! Too cute!
Mindy is a rock star of a mom and wife! She really knows how to lead our family into a great time of bonding and making memories.

We went to the Loving Choices banquet last night. Mindy volunteers here and she hosted our table. She did a great job! If you are not involved with Loving Choices, well, you should prayerfully consider how you could be. Here are a couple of facts from last night:
1. 43% of women age 50 and under have or will be affected by abortion.
2. The lady who was "Roe vs Wade" is now a sold out Christ follower who stands strongly against abortion...publicly.
It doesn't take that much to be a HUGE part of saving lives!

Great day!

Here's the scene: Person laying in bed asleep. Spouse is in the kitchen brewing a nice pot of coffee. As the coffee is brewing the aroma travels throughout the whole house eventually making it's way to the person who is asleep. Then it happens, the person awakes. They sit up and take the intoxicating aroma in. "Ah, smells like...skunk."

If you were a book how would you read?

Have you ever saw a book thought it looked good so you picked it up, read the back and discovered it was junk?

How about a book that looked good, the back read good but once you got through the first chapter or two you tossed it because it was junk?

There are tons and tons of books written and published every year, but only few make it to the best seller list. Why is that? Most of them are junk! Books are hard to write...I know on a minuscule level as I have tried to start writing one.

What makes a good book? Content! Back to the 90's for a sec..."duh!" In order for the book to sell people have to want it. They have to be attracted to it enough to pick it up, then captivated quickly through a brief description or thesis.

Some books have great content, some don't, some will catch you and not let you go while others will merely disappoint you and possibly discourage you from reading altogether.

What kind of book are you? Every day people are "reading" each other. People are getting sold on your personality or the opposite. People are diving into you one chapter at a time by way of friendship. Are you filled with great content or are you discouraging people from reading?

As I mentioned earlier - tons of books are written every year and very few make it to the best seller list. This means that some if not most of those other books don't hold very good content. Out of the tons of books written every year, which have the most influence? Should I say it again? "Duh!" (Maybe this is my word of the day.) The best sellers are the most influential.

Today as your friends, family and acquaintances read the book of you resolve within yourself to be a best seller. Be that one book that hits the top of the charts and people can't go without.

My mother in law asked if my kids could spend the night with her last night...uh yeah!!!!!!! OF COURSE!
My wife and I had the evening to ourselves, we had a great time! Oh yes, we had a GREAT time! Even though I miss my girls it was worth it.

Mindy and I went to see Fireproof. I will only say it once...if you are married or if you think you ever will be married you need to see this movie.
I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the film. I am by far no movie critic but I will share a couple of thoughts:

1. Clear presentation of the gospel
This movie clearly spelled out why we need Christ and how to receive Christ.

2. Clear practical instruction for how to "fireproof" your marriage.
I know that is the name of the movie, but it absolutely makes sense. I appreciated how real life it was.

3. From the gut - tear jerker.
I am by no stretch of the imagination a cryer. Especially not in movies. However, there were several scenes that grabbed me...deep down inside and tried to turn me inside out. Of course being a manly man...I tried hard to keep these emotions hidden trying to avoid manly embarrassment.

Overall I think this movie was a home run! You need to see this yourself and you need to take some friends...take some lost friends.

Back to my night alone with my wife. We had a great time at the movie where I snuck in my cheap diet coke and avoided paying $4.00 for a small popcorn. Then we enjoyed each other's company at home. There is something in alone time with your spouse. Not only did we have a great time, but we had great conversation. We connected at a deeper level. We shared thoughts, ideas, visions and concerns. We were whole hearted into each other!

Arlene, thanks for blessing us by taking the girls!
Mindy, thanks for being a rock star wife! You are truly a gift from God! I love you!

How often do you laugh?

You can not manufacture true laughter. These days laughter is really almost scarce. In my connection group last night I led us in a silly little competition. I laughed my head off! I was laughing so hard it was almost embarrassing! I am smiling just thinking about it.

Have you ever had an experience like this? Ya know, the intense from deep inside of you laughter, lack of oxygen because you are not breathing laughter, right hand slapping leg laughter?

We have plenty of reasons to not laugh today: The presidential campaign, the economy, the war...on and on.

Are those reasons not to laugh or to laugh?

These can be depressing issues. I don't even need to go into that, we know they could be. Do you want to go about your day being miserable, dwelling on negative things? Or, do you want to go about your day feeling joyful, light hearted and free?

We have plenty of reasons to laugh today: The presidential campaign (Tina Fay), the weather, family, friends, having food and clothes and definitely, if you belong to Jesus...being Saved!

As you journey through your day, look for good things and positive things. Find the funny. Smile when you don't really want to and maybe just maybe you'll catch yourself in one of those embarrassing laughs where you can hardly breathe and you are slapping your leg.

We can't control most depressing things in life. We can create opportunity for joy!

Go make a silly face at your co-worker. Go tell a stupid joke that barely makes sense. Go hug someone. Go smile!

Most of us may not get in this situation very often. I am here several times a week.

Opportunities to care for the poor and oppressed.

James 2:15-16 says "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?"

As Christ followers it is our job to do this. But wait! What about all of those who have blown all of there money on drugs, alcohol or the like? What about those who are just too lazy to work? What about those who don't seem to want to be in a better position?

Matthew 7:1 Be careful about your judging.

"Being kind to the poor is like lending to the Lord; He will reward you for what you have done." Proverbs 19:17

Here in 1 John 3:17 we see that if you have enough and don't help people God's love isn't in you. That is pretty bold...wow!

Please, take time today to pray and ask God to open your heart to this matter. In today's economy we (Americans) are latching on to everything we have thinking that it will never go anywhere (Matthew 6:19-21). We are scared about where to put our money in fear of losing it. We are hesitant to fill the gas tank thinking that it might come down a bit more. We don't want to buy anything 'cause we think we too will be broke in coming months.
Please, ask God what His will is for you in this time in America. Please realize that there could be someone living 2 doors down from you who has kids and no food. The dad lost his job due to cut backs and they just lost all of their money in the market.

Please help people. My favorite question: What Would Jesus Do? Maybe you are not able to shell out a ton of money to pay a light bill or buy groceries. But maybe you can spare a couple cans of food, maybe you can help someone get to an interview, maybe you can watch someones kids for a little bit while they try for a new job. The list of maybes can go on all day.

The convention got smaller.

I went to the annual associational meeting for Southern Baptist last night. "What did you learn?" Great question. I learned that the asociation has gotten smaller. I guess the attendance shrunk around 30%.

I have made jokes that going to this meeting makes me feel young and thin. I think this statement must be more true than false because I destinctly remember people from last year that seemed to be pretty close to...well you know. And they weren't there this year.

What's the point?

1975, were not there anymore. We are in the year 2008. This year we have an african american running for president against a POW. iPhones are still cool, but are much more common. There are cars that can park themselves and most new cars have screens in the dash that can do a number of things like show you where you are and how to get where want to be. This is 2008!

Every year technology advances. Clothing styles change. Cars are reimagined and rebuilt. Music styles change and cultural relevance gets that much harder.

We can't expect to latch onto a good hymnal and nice pews and still reach the rapidly changing culture. It seems that we have gotten good at one style and way of doing things but now it is 25-30 years later and more people than ever are dying and going to hell. We need to wake up and get with the program. If Wal-Mart (the world's largest retailer) doesn't re-shape, re-align and re-order it would crash.

We need to let go of the home phone realize that cell phones are not shaped like bricks or in bags and wake up to the culture. Seriously, if someone came to you and seemed to be stuck in a time warp from 25+ years ago would you engage with them? No, you wouldn't be able to relate.

How important is Matthew 29:18-20? Our commission is to bring people to Jesus, baptize them and teach Jesus' commands. How are we to do that if we are the ones stuck in the time warp?

I broke three of my toes trying to rescue my daughter.

Friday afternoon my four year old Carmen was playing in her home made club house in the living room. This clubhouse consisted of a cardboard box and a quilt. Ah, to have the imagination of a four year old again!

I had just stepped into my office and sat down at the desk when I heard a huge thump and an immediate screaming cry from Carmen. I instantaneously jumped from my chair and took off for the living room...only to be slowed down by the door and my left foot kicking the door jam as hard as possible.

I didn't let this slow me too much as Carmen was crying, I hopped the rest of the way into the living room. As I layed down on the floor I retrieved Carmen from the folded box, held her on top of me and tried to calm her all the while wanting to cry myself and maybe throw up from the deep pain in my foot and toes.

Later I realized that 3 of my toes were broken and they still hurt as I write this.

Something God just showed me a few moments ago through my pain was "a father's love." See, even though I know God loves me so much it is hard sometimes to see or believe as we have problems that we don't think are getting fixed.

Here's the break down: My foot was absolutely killing me, but my thoughts were not for my foot they were for my hurting daughter.
Jesus' thoughts were not for his dying body but for the rest of civilization. WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR EVERY PERSON TO KNOW HOW MUCH GOD LOVES THEM?

My prayer for you today is that no matter where you are in your spiritual journey you will wake up and fall in love with Jesus! He loves you, you owe Him EVERYTHING!

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay our life down for our brothers." 1 John 3:16

Here we are, the last day in this 4 part blog.

What is your dream? What are you jumping for?

What/who is the saran wrap in your life? Identify (if you haven't) and remove this barrier.

Have you really tried "everything"? Stop thinking about what you have tried and start thinking of new and different ways to try.

You may ask yourself: "Is it even God's will?" And this is a great question. The #1 question you could ask. Let's look for a minute.

We see in Proverbs 16:3 that if we Commit whatever we want to do to the Lord then our plans will succeed.

How do you know if your plans are honoring to God? Psalm 32:8 tells you that God will teach you and instruct you; show you the way to go.

How do you know the will of God? Psalm 40:8 "I desire to know your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
You must "desire to know" God's will. You must hide His Word (The Bible) in your heart. Psalm 119:105, God's Word is the light to your way, shouldn't you use it?

Lastly for today: Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Allow me to point out the most critical portion of this verse: "Delight yourself in the Lord..." Enjoy serving Him. Strive to be irresistible to Him. Put His Word in your heart. Meditate on Him. Follow His light. Seek His face. Delight yourself in the Lord!

"But I've tried everything!" Have you ever heard this before? When was the last time you said it?
Thinking about those crazy fleas in the jar again, imagine this dialogue between fleas:
Young flea: What is it like on the outside?

Old flea: Well it is real nice, paradise if you will! Dogs everywhere, freedom, everything we could ever dream of.

Young flea: So, it is better than in this jar?

Old flea: Well, of course!

Young flea: Then why don't we team up stop jumping for a minute and create a plan?

Old flea: Ha! We tried that ages ago. We've tried everything! This is what we have to do. Just keep jumping and stop thinking about the outside.

Young flea: (self dialogue) well, I suppose since he is old and wise I should listen, after all, what do I know? He said they've tried everything, there is probably nothing else to try.

It seems that there are a million different ways to do nearly everything. How could one have "tried everything"? Seriously!

When you go about your day, think about that statement: "I've tried everything." Next time you get to a difficult part of a task or a challenging time in you job, communication with someone, or a diet think about the ridiculousness in this statement.

What/who is the saran wrap in your life? (barrier to you achieving your dreams)
What are you jumping for? What are your dreams?
What haven't you tried yet?

So let's go back to those fleas in the jar. There they are still jumping. What is the definition of craziness?

"Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result."

Those poor fleas, they just don't want to get hurt. I mean seriously, if someone told them the saran wrap was gone don't you think they would go ahead and make their escape? Not necessarily. They have been hurt so many times they are absolutely sick of it. Besides that, can't you hear some of those fleas being the bully fleas saying: "Go ahead jump a little higher, it's ok now!"? Can't you hear that. They just want to see the other little flea get hurt.

What are you jumping for? Maybe you would like to finish your education, get a better job, spend more time with your family, lose some weight? What is it for you?

Do you remember that time when you put it out there. You had a dream and you went for it only to be shut down. When you hit that saran wrap that hurt didn't it? You haven't tried to jump that high again have you?

Here is a weight loss example: I had a goal of losing 30 lbs. I began my diet and exercise program, a week later I stepped on the scale only to hit my head on the saran wrap; I had gained 2 pounds. Not what I was going for. I evaluated my program and worked harder. Stepped on the scale a week later with only a loss of 2 pounds; back down to the starting point. Frustrated I took the day off. Then another and the rest is history.

Please spend some time on these next questions. Search inside of yourself for the answer. Ask God to reveal these things to you:

From yesterday: What/who is the saran wrap in your life?
What is making you jump? What is your dream?

Spend some time on these. We will look at a few more things over the next couple of days including some scriptures.

I leave you with this to ponder on: If you are doing the same thing getting the same result, don't you think that if you did something different you would get a different result?

I am a dreamer and a visionary. I am person who believes that anything can happen. Yes, I said anything.
I believe that if you wanted to share Christ with most or all of America you could.
I believe that if you wanted to become a millionaire you really could.
I believe that if you wanted to start a cause to slow global warming you really could.
I believe that if you wanted to get into the best shape of your life you really could.
I believe that if you wanted to start a new business you could.
I believe that if you wanted to have and grow a healthy family you could.
I believe that just about whatever you want to do you can.

Most people are probably wondering where I will inject the "If it's God's will", it is coming...tomorrow.

Dream for a moment. What is your biggest dream or aspiration?

Here is the problem: Most people in our civilization don't believe they can so they try to make it harder for others.

Now here is the next problem: Now that you've heard that statement, the excitement of your dream dwindled back down.

If you trap a few fleas in a jar they will jump out to their freedom.
If you trap a few fleas in a jar and put saran wrap on the top they will jump and hit their heads.
After many headaches and chiropractor visits they choose to not jump so high.
If you removed the saran wrap what happens?
The fleas continue to jump pain free. Only now they don't jump out. They are your prisoners forever. Why? They don't know that the clear barrier isn't still there. It hurts too much to jump and check.
This way they feel like they are working and trying to get free. In reality they are doing nothing. Just a great workout program.

What is the saran wrap in your life?

Have you ever been walking in somewhere and it seemed like you were in the trail of someones scent? The further you walked the sweet fragrance became stronger. In your mind you were hoping the fragrance would stay, so you could enjoy it the rest of your time there. Then, amongst the crowd you felt yourself getting closer to the aromatic scent. Maybe hundreds of people in that place but at that moment it was just you and the scent.

Have you been there before? Maybe someone was sporting some really great cologne or perfume? Ah, that scent, you are still fond of it's memory now.

We (Christians) are that sweet smelling aroma. We are the exquisite fragrance that captivates the whole room. We are Christ's fragrance.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NCV
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's victory parade . God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost."

I like how the NKJV puts the first part of this scripture 14-15a: "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ..."

Remember that person you were following because they smelled so good? We (Christians) are being followed too. People are attracted to the fragrance. Just like you had to know what cologne it was, people have to know what it is that is different about us.

I would think that your scent of Christ could be made stronger by your level of commitment to Him and your time spent with Him. So, my question is this: How much Christ are you putting on today?

Most people enjoy the scent of a nice perfume. Be led in triumph...diffuse the fragrance of God in every place!

A note to Christians

Live the dream
Fight the fight
Go to war
With all your might
It could end
Before the night
Act now
Make it right
Stand up tall
Live out loud
Be true
Over the crowd
They never knew
Don't be proud
What you've got
You should share
Give it freely
Do more than care
Stand up tall
Over the crowd
Give your all
Live out loud!


Matthew 28:19-20

God has lit a new fire, a new passion in my life. I am absolutely jakd about it! Yesterday I had the opportunity to share this with my brotha (bf) and my wife (bff). I was so ignited by the response, the passion, the dream and the vision! All which God started in me-us and we get to run with it.

I had a great time visioning, dreaming and planning for this God given idea. I am so thankful to my wife and brotha for being there, encouraging, challenging, shooting ideas, and keeping me sane. Isn't it so awesome how God puts people in your life to lift you up, to keep you normal, to help you be extraordinary!?

Without people to share this, the passion in the fire may dim down. I don't believe that God wants that to happen, He wants it to burn like crazy, He wants it to consume the culture. He wants Himself to consume the culture. He wants His Cross to consume the culture.

Who is it in your life that you can be passionate with? Who is it that you can be transparent with? Having people like this in your life is SO important. Think about a real fire, someone has to make it (God) someone has to keep loading it with wood (others)! This is important!

What does God want to do with, in or through you? Who does God want to use to pour gas on you so you can burn for Jesus? (figurative-don't set yourself on fire).

My wife is absolutely great! Recently for my birthday she had purchased a couple of gifts for me. Great right? Well, it was but she got them a couple of weeks early. She wanted so badly to give them to me before my b-day. She was like a little kid in her excitement; she could barely wait. So, me being the tough "stick to the rules" guy that I am... I waited. Yes, it was hard.

Have you ever been like that? Maybe knew something great and wanted to share it but couldn't wait? I remember when I was dating my wife I knew I loved her, I wanted to tell her. I did not want to wait, I couldn't wait, I had to tell her.

The secret, whether it is something you want to say, something you have or whatever it is for you is almost always hard to keep.

Let me ask you this question: Has Jesus saved you from sin? From eternal separation from God? From hell? Has your life been changed forever for the better?

Is this something that is waiting on the tip of your tongue for the next opportune moment?

Knowing Jesus is something we need to share with everyone. The benefits won't be the "I love you too" that I got from my wife or the gifts that were so patiently waited for. The benefits could be another person saved from the pits of hell, forgiven for sins and given the greatest life and eternity ever dreamed of!

Don't hold the secret! If you know Jesus. Share Him with every single person you can.

Recently I spent a lot of time at an event called Bikes, Blues & BBQ. It is the 3rd largest biker rally in the country, and the 1st largest as far as how much money is raised for charity.

If you have never been, here is an idea of what it looks like: Thousands of bikes, plenty of food vendors, fair type atmosphere, loud live music, stunt bike shows and plenty of other things.

I helped with what was called Kids Zone. It was an absolute blast! We had the opportunity to see more than 1500 people come through our tent!

Before coming to BBB (Bikes, Blues & BBQ) I wanted a bike, now I need one. That was just a little side note.

The culture of people at this biker rally was quite different than the culture I live in every day. The way people dressed was different, they way they talked, what they ate, the music they listened to and so on. The biker community is really their own culture.

I went to the event with a small expectation of a somewhat dark feeling. I kind of thought that it would just be dirty, and their would be that evil feeling in the air. I was wrong! The realization that I was wrong happened immediately. It was quite the opposite in fact, the feeling I got was good, fun, cheerful...it kind of almost felt like going to camp or something.

Not only did we have great success in our tent, I am encouraged and challenged by this whole event.

As Christians we should minister to everyone. We should lay our judgements aside, lay our pride aside, lay our religious beliefs aside and simply share Jesus. In the first letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth Paul laid it out for us: Read this then come back!

I am not telling you to become a biker and turn your life over to reaching more bikers. I am simply saying that we need to minister where we are.....

We need to pull our heads out of the religious hole wipe them off and get to Jesus business.

I enjoy watching football, particularly NFL. I am a college fan as well, just not as much as the NFL...especially the Giants!

Last Sunday I watched parts of a couple of games. One game that I referred to earlier in the week in another blog was the Colts vs. the Jags. The Colts are my second favorite team and I could care less about the Jags, even with an ex Razorback druggy on the team. Naturally, I was cheering for Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Towards the end of the game, only about 2 minutes or so left, the Colts came from behind and barely got ahead. This whole part of the game was so intense for me, I could barely sit down. When the points were scored I was... very excited to say the least. I thought the game was over at that point. I celebrated and in my celebration my lovely wife says:

"It is amazing how people can get so excited about something that doesn't matter to them personally. I wish people would get more excited about Jesus."

This is not a perfect quote, but it's pretty close.

At that moment I simply agreed. And went on in my celebration. Sometime later in the week some show or something came on and my wife got excited about it so I said:

"I wish people would get that excited about Jesus"

And it was funny. But that is not the point. Here is the point:

We should be more excited about Jesus than anything else in the whole world. Here is the play by play: Here is a guy that straight up died for each of us on the cross... He was nailed to beams of wood... for us! He was mocked, spat on, beat, battered, stabbed and killed, dying one of the most brutal and painful deaths, for us!

Now, we all have the opportunity to serve and live for Him. Why wouldn't we? He died for us.

As Christians we should not be able to stay seated out of excitement for Jesus. God created us, sent His only Son to die for us, saved us. And here we are, boring old Christians. Come on!

The challenge for all of us: WAKE UP, and GET EXCITED ABOUT JESUS!!!! Talk to Him, live for Him, read His Word (The Bible), TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIM!

Michael Phelps recently won 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. What a victory!? What an athlete!
Most of his races were very close. Do you remember the one that he won by 100th of a second? That was close!

Indianapolis Colts, an NFL football team that in recent years has taken home the super bowl championship. They lost by 2 points on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Give me a break! (personal note)
It was a pretty cool game to watch it all went down in the last 2 minutes. First, Peyton Manning took the Colts to a last minute lead. Then, with only 1 minute left in the game the Jacksonville Jags came back for the victory. With only 4 seconds left they scored again, giving them a 23-21 win.

What if Phelps would have gotten distracted for a half a second in each of his races?
What if the Jags would have put in their 2nd or 3rd string players for the last minute?

Phelps wouldn't have gotten all the medals, and the Jags wouldn't have won the game.

According to Scripture "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

For Phelps it came down to 100th of a second. For the Jags- 1 minute.

How is your life story? Don't count on tomorrow to re-write it. Go with today.

Seriously! Are you really going to act like a Christian just because you go to church every once in a while? What a joke! It's not like people don't know. Oh, so you go to church almost every time the doors are open. Still, it's not like we can't see right through you. It's not like God can't see right through you. Come on.

Yes, I'm talking to you. You have been going to church and playing the roll, but get real, you're only going for your image. Oh, you're different huh? How is that? I see, you go because you feel guilty when you don't. You think going to church will make you better? Get real. How old are you anyway? Hmm, I would have never guessed.

You know, you know what you need to do. You know you can't go on the rest of your life living like this. You know one day it will all fall apart. Why are working so hard to have a guilty conscience? Why are you working so hard to be a hypocrite? Don't you know that God can see you all of the time? Don't you know that God even knows your thoughts?

Why don't you make up your mind and quit wasting your life? Wow! I still can't believe how old you are. That is just about ridiculous! One would have thought you would have grown up by now. Wow.

How do you think God feels? He created you for HIMSELF. He didn't make you so you could lallygag around life like a pathetic hypocrite, being one person on Sunday and a totally different person on Monday. Get real, you are breaking God's heart! You are breaking God's heart!

Sure, I wrote this today. But I could have written this to myself a few years ago. God wants you.

If you hear this letter today. Come on, give it up! Give God yourself!

Have you ever quit doing something? Maybe you were going to quit drinking soda? Maybe you wanted to diet, so you quit eating carbs?

You are committed and excited. Then after a week or so someone offers you just a little bit of what you had stopped consuming and you say to yourself:

"Just a little every once in a while won't hurt."

And for the most part that is true. I mean seriously, what will one soda a week do to you? The problem is after that first time, because then there is a second, then a third, and before you know it you have stepped back into your old ways.

Have you been there with something? I have many times.

Here's the thing, sin is the same way. You have repented and committed to not doing sin or a certain sin any more. How many indulgences does it take? That's right, just one.

Here's the good news. With discipline, self-control and commitment coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit you can do it. The longer you abstain from that sin, the easier it gets to not do it anymore.

If you don't have self-control or self-discipline: What are the fruits of the Spirit? Aha! Isn't one of them self-control? Yes! Surrender power over to Him and He will set you free!

Take the trash out.
Clean your room.
Wash the dishes.
Bathe the kids.
Change the babies diaper.
Clean the car.

Have you ever heard any of these request/commands before? Maybe from your spouse or a parent? I have heard plenty of them, as I'm sure most of us have.

What is the attitude when we are told or asked to do something? Do you remember that movie "Big Daddy" with Adam Sandler? Do you remember that scene where Adam Sandler (Big Daddy) was quietly eating chips and watching a hockey game when the boy (Julius I think) woke up from his nap and he wanted to watch the "Kangaroo Song?" It was so important to the boy that he watches the video because it is his routine...nap, watch the kangaroo song. However, it was very important to Big Daddy to watch the hockey game. They went back and forth for a minute then finally the boy was allowed to watch the video.

What's the moral here? Do whatever kids want to do? Absolutely not! Big Daddy wanted to make the boy happy, he wanted to serve him, sure a little of that desire came from the fit the boy was throwing, but genuinely deep down inside he wanted to serve the boy and make him happy.

Shouldn't we be this way with everyone? Not to simply give everyone everything they want. We should have a desire to serve everyone, we should have a passion to put other people first. Why? To share Jesus.

According to Scripture we are free from all men. We are not in slavery. We are free. "Land of the free, home of the brave." According to Scripture we should be servant to all.

"I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can." 1 Corinthians 9:19

"To win as many as I can." We are called to serve others in order to win them to Christ. We are not to serve others to bring glory to ourselves. We are not to serve others to give your life to them. We ARE to serve others in order to WIN AS MANY TO CHRIST as we can.

We should be imitators of our Savior, the Lord of all, Jesus Christ. He came and became servant to all. He did not become servant to all for His sake but for the sake of His Father. He came that we might receive true life and to bring Glory to God The Father.

We know what Christ did, He served all and died for all. We can hear the instruction from Paul in 1 Corinthians, "be a slave to all so we can win as many as we can." What is holding you back?

In the movie "Big Daddy" the hockey game held him back, but eventually he surrendered. What do you need to surrender? How much fuller would your life be if you did as Christ did and became a slave to all?

I am not suggesting that you throw yourself into a slavery as of old times. I am suggesting that you serve others, making them more important than yourself. For what purpose? Winning more people to Jesus!

What is the focus in your life today? Yourself, or others? What do you need to do immediately to become more like Christ? How many are destined for eternal separation from God because you are not willing to serve and share?

Instead of the request/commands at the top of the page, how about these:

Thanks for taking the trash out, I didn't even ask!
Thanks for cleaning your room, you weren't even told!
Thanks for washing the dishes, what a surprise!
Thanks for bathing the kids, what a blessing! Etc.

Thanks for getting that door for me or helping me with my groceries or getting that off of the top shelf for me, etc. By serving others we are being imitators of Jesus. By serving others we are sharing Jesus, who knows what God will do next? You could be serving someone and they ask you what you have. Then you lead them to Jesus.

Are you ready to serve?

Have you been searching for that great feeling?
That feeling that sweeps over you and deletes every negative part of your life for at least a few moments?
That feeling that starts low and works it's way up, so far that you just want to yell out of pure excitement?
That feeling that gives you goose bumps?
That feeling that won't allow your face to go without a smile?
That feeling that seems like everyone wants?

In my small view of our country, America, it seems that we have an incredible desire to feel good. The commercials tell us how great it will make us feel to have:
The new Caddy, the new shoes, that restaurant, those clothes, that candy bar, this cologne and that kind of b/f, g/f or spouse.
What we learn from these commercials is that we need to have these things and eat at these places to feel good. We need to look and dress a certain way to feel good.

The interesting thing is that a lot of times we treat God, The Bible and church the same way. We are looking for that feeling or that fix. You know what I'm sayin'! Maybe a quiet time is done in expectation that God will make us feel good the rest of the day. Maybe you go to church to get that feeling that sweeps over you. I don't know what it is for you. I think you can identify with this though.

What is wrong with pursuing the feeling? Thanks for asking. I will answer with a question: When you bought that new car, you felt great! What happened after you owned it for a while? Maybe after you ate in it a few times? That's what I thought. Eventually the feeling disappeared.

God requires much more from us, more than us pursuing a feeling, more than us wanting to feel good for a few moments. God wants us to get to know Him, God wants us to surrender fully to Him regardless of how it feels. See, just like anything else, the feelings won't be there every second. The difference between God and everything else is the fact that GOD WILL ALWAYS BE THERE! He will never leave us or forsake us.

How are you pursuing God today? Are you looking for a feeling, or are you striving to know Him?

This morning my 4 year old came running into the room, ran straight to me and latched on to me in quite possibly the biggest hug I have ever gotten from her.

A birthday hug that made the entire 1 year older thing worth it. I filled up with joy and had to restrain the tears of happiness and love. My heart was touched.

The morning has been absolutely great! My lovely wife, my favorite breakfast, decorations and gifts. What more can one ask for?

For some reason this year I had not been that excited about my birthday. I haven't even been excited about gifts...what is up with that?! It's not like I am really old or something. Maybe it has just been the business and distraction.

Even though my excitement level was not up, this day has turned to be one of the best birthday's ever!

This has gotten me to thinking...as I always do.

A lot of birthday's for many people mean a lot of presents, parties and attention. For some if they didn't get exactly everything they put on their "list" than they are devastated. For others if they don't get the most expensive of everything they are crushed. For me, this year was different. I didn't come in expecting a whole pile of expensive gifts or an outrageous party. It was almost just another day. Until...

The joy of the Lord filled my soul! Does that sound traditionally religious or what?! I have everything I ever wanted: An intimate relationship with Jesus, a FABULOUS wife and 2 daughters that love me.

Today my joy did not come from ripping the paper off of the newest gadget. My joy came from the Holy Spirit living in my life and the love that was given to me on my "special day" from my family.

Still morning time I am already reflecting on my day, my birthday. Here is the break down:

My wife and daughters are my gift from God- I am incredibly blessed!

Thanks to my family, definitely my wife and daughters this birthday has earned it's place in my personal birthday hall of fame.

If there are candles to be blown, my wish will be for tomorrow and every following day the be the same. Days filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit and love in my family.

It may not be your birthday today, but that doesn't mean it can't be a "special day" for you too.

The Patriots have confirmed that Brady is out for the season, the Boston Globe reports. The team released a statement Monday that read: "After extensive tests this morning, it was revealed that Tom Brady's left knee, which was injured in the first quarter of yesterday's game, will require surgery. He will be placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2008 season."

And just like that. The rise and fall of one of America's greatest athletes. Super bowl champion, undefeated in the regular season- maybe the greatest quarter back of all time?!

Tom had no control over his injury, he did not go out on game day knowing he was going to get knocked out of the rest of the season. He did not ask to be hit. Yet, it happened.

What about your life? Sure, you may not be a great quarter back, neither am I, but what about you? See, Tom Brady has spent many years polishing and detailing his talent and skills in the game of football. He has invested numerous hours and dollars to become the best. Now, after just one hit he is out for the rest of the season.

I see two morals here. The first:
Live your passion! That is what Tom Brady has done. He probably wakes up nearly every day thinking about his passion-football. What is your passion? Are you investing in it? Is it a healthy passion?

The second:
Live today as if it were last! As I said earlier, Tom didn't know he was going to get knocked out of the season that day. The same goes for all of us. Scripture tells us that we don't even know what will happen tomorrow, we are only a vapor that appears and then vanishes. How are you living? Are you living counting on the future? How much value do you hold in today?

Even though I am not a Patriots fan, I see the loss of Tom Brady from this season as painful to the whole NFL.

Let's ask ourselves this question: "If today was my last day, how would I live?"

Out of frustration the truck behind me jerked from behind me over to the "fast" lane in order to pass me and the slow goer in front of me. Only to end up behind me again about a half a mile ahead.

Have you ever been this person? You may not even be in a hurry, you are just on a mission, a mission to get from point A to point B. The problem is that every one keeps getting in your way! People pull out right in front of you while eating a sausage biscuit and talking on the cell phone. Grandma drives 10 MPH under the speed limit. And for some reason the car in the fast lane can't go any faster than the car in the slow lane who is going UNDER the limit. What is up with that?! So with a small amount of frustration you take every chance you get to advance in the race to wherever you are going. You swerve in and out of a traffic, you tail gate the person in front of you in order to squeeze over and in the end at the finish line or at least at the light before exiting to your finish line you realize...all of that racing, swerving and reckless driving got me 1 car length in front of the grandma who was driving 10 under.
What was the point? You didn't make any major advancements and you certainly didn't "win!" After all, no one else knew you were racing!

I drove through this situation this morning, only I for once was the person casually driving along in no major hurry. (this may be a first).

Isn't this how life is sometimes? We speed though constantly changing lanes, trying everything to make advancements and in the end we may be no further ahead?

I am not saying that the turtle wins. I am certainly not a believer in that joke. What I am saying is that when we have a mission, a calling if you will. We should be consistent, solid, on a pace. See, in the end the person who wins is the person who makes it, the person who successfully lived in God's will and plan. We all need to count the cost of wreckishly changing lanes in our life at any little desire.

If you keep driving down life's highway changing lanes, speeding, tail gating and the like you are more than likely to get in a wreck, therefore devastating all hopes of making it to the finish line. Much less with any amount of success or accomplishments.

That person going 10 under the speed limit, don't just pass them by without a second thought. God may have placed them in your life for a reason. You may be speeding right by the people God wants you to make deposits in.

Allow God to lead you, peacefully let Him guide you through the highway's of life.

My wife sent this passage of Scripture to me this morning. She sent it to me for me to read and believe for myself, as if I wrote it. What a great encouragement!

I want you to know that I love and appreciate my wife! I thank God for Mindy every day!

Enjoy.

Isaiah 49:1-6
All of you people in far away places, listen to me. Listen all you nations
far away.
Before I was born, the Lord called me to serve Him.

He made my tongue like a sharp sword. He hid me in the shadow of
his hand. He made me like a sharp arrow. He hid me in the holder for
his arrows.

He told me, "Israel, you are my servant. I will show my glory
through you." But I said, "I have worked hard for nothing; I have used
all my power, but I did nothing useful. But the Lord will decide what
my work is worth; God will decide my reward."

The Lord made me in the body of my mother to be his servant, to lead
the people of Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to
him. The Lord will honor me, and I will get my strength from my God.

Now he told me, "You are an important servant to me to bring back the
tribes of Jacob, to bring back the people of Israel who are left alive.
But, more importantly, I will make you a light for all nations to show
people all over the world the way to be saved."

The other night as I was sleeping my wife suddenly woke me up (at 4am), saying that she thought someone was in the house, she said that the garage door was open a light was on and the door from the garage to the house was open. So, being the extraordinary husband-investigator that I am, I grabbed my 9mm...ok, well I don't have a gun but I did begin to look around and behind doors to see if there was a murderer in my house. After a couple of moments of looking my wife turned the light on in our master bath. Can you feel it? Yes, there, in the bathroom a mere few feet away from where we were sleeping, a dog. A dog about 60 lbs or so had managed to get into our house and was simply sleeping in our bathroom floor.

How did all this happen? A series of simple mistakes. The car was not all the way into the garage so the door went part of the way down and back up again, the door to the house must not have been latched perfectly, and we must have left the light on.

I finished checking the house and got the dog out (thankfully he was not rabid!). We went back to bed.

Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and it should never happen again! But, since it did I have done some thinking about it and realized that this dog situation is somewhat like our sin situation.

See, I didn't want that dog in my house, but because I wasn't faithful to ensure all entry points were secured it was able to come in. Sure, it was just a dog. But, isn't sin the same way? We go on about our life thinking all is good, and then all of the sudden we are getting woke up in the middle of the night with this giant sin in our life, we wonder, how in the world did that sin get here? Simple answer, all our entry points were not secured.

The Bible tells us to "guard our hearts". Why is that important? Well, what if instead of a dog in my house it was a murderer? Your heart is the core of your life. As the old saying goes, "what comes out of your mouth, comes from your heart."

Scripture also tells that the"devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

In conclusion. If you don't make sure your garage door to your heart is closed sin is going to swiftly walk right in and eventually take over.

How do I secure myself from sin? "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

We have a process, make sure all the door knobs and dead bolts are locked, make sure the garage door really went down and now, my wife locks the door knob from the garage to the house. See, we don't want any intruders. We will even go to extra measure to ensure we don't get any.

WOW! Yesterday was it, praise the Lord!

I am so excited the tearing down is done. I already feel refreshed and renewed and I am excited to see how the re-build goes.

One of the things that I have learned over these past few days, especially yesterday is that no matter how much I thought I knew I didn't really know.

I have been reading and doing independent studies for several years, I have been in business I have had success. I have met with great leaders, highly successful business people and highly educated people. I have continually sought out knowledge and experience, I have been like a sponge continually craving more. BUT, now I feel like I haven't learned anything! Don't argue with me, just come along.

I am not saying I am stupid, I am not saying that I have forgotten everything I have ever learned. What I am saying is... follow this... I thought I knew more than I knew. Right this very moment I am looking at my bookshelf's, full of books that I have read, books that have enlightened me and taught me. Today, I could go back and read them all again and it would be like I have never read them before.

My mind I new, my ego is... well I want to say it is gone but that might be egotistical, it is smaller. God has done a major work in my life. If you have followed along with this months blogs you know some of what I am saying.

I am SO encouraged, I am entering into this great new journey of development, growth...construction!

Please pray for me in this time.

I have no major reason to think this, but I do feel like my time of tearing down is about over. Matter of my opinion I think today might be the last day, don't know for sure. I hope it is.

In time with the Lord this morning He reminded me that through Him I can do all things. This is a popular section of Scripture. Why is that significant for me today? Much of my defeat has come from seeing many of my weakness'. More of my defeat has come from focusing on my weakness'. Through my focus on defeat the enemy took foothold and gave me more defeat.

God reminded me that I can overcome the enemy with just Jesus' Name! He reminded me that I can overcome my weakness' with His Spirit, and I can change my focus with His power! You may be think to yourself, "Duh!" Don't feel bad, I am thinking that too. In the midst of the sky falling how easy is that? Yeah, easier said than done. Or is it?

I think that it is easier done not said. I think that we spend too much time thinking and too little time doing. At least I have. I have spent way too much time focusing on my weakness' and too little time asking God to take over. It is almost like I want the junk to continue. But I don't! I feel like I am in an argument with myself. There is the battle.