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.