Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ouch!

Yesterday I bit my tongue and WOW did it hurt. Now before I get too far into this I'm not comparing this to snapping your ACL or anything but two days later every word I say really hurts. I mean it hurts to swallow!

Got me thinking (I don't do that often) about what I say and now that it hurts to talk I'm much more intentional about what I say. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Too often we don't think enough about what we are going to say and just blurt something out.

I guess my application is - learn to think before you speak. We've all heard that before and we all know it but I've been chewing food for a lot of years and still bit my tongue.

Monday, April 28, 2008

the circus is in town

I took the kids to the circus Friday night. We had a blast! When we got to the UD arena they had lots of carnival-like rides and things you could spend your $$$ on. I tried to shield my kids eyes to protect my wallet. So we get in line to get our tickets and the guy behind the counter says, "Welcome the Circus!" He asked my kids if it was there first time at the circus - they said, "YES." So he says, "how does the front row sound?"
They were so excited. We came into the arena and I showed the kids how close to all the action we were.
Before the circus started I took them to the top of the arena. It was in the nose-bleed seats. The circus looked really small way up there. There wasn't as much energy and I felt really disconnected. The kids were anxious to get back to the front row.
I started thinking about where were sitting and how that relates to God.
The closer I am to God the more excited I am and the more I want to be a part of the action. When I drift in my relationship I feel disconnected and wish I was closer to Him.
Today's Point: Closeness to God is a choice. I choose today my level of engagement and involvement with him. I can be active and my attitude can be postive or I can choose to, as some football players do, sit this play out. But I need to remember that that where I sit is up to me.

Friday, April 25, 2008

popsicles & prayer

Today is my day off! The weather is beautiful and I don't have a lot to due BUT I'm staying indoors with my daughter Emma. Why? She is sick! Yes, sick includes several trips to the white throne! Who knew a five year could have that much inside of her. (Sorry about that visual)

I feel helpless. She has a fever and just wants to lay on the couch, watch TV and rest and eat popsicles!

I wish I could do something or switch places with her. It's difficult as a dad to sit back and watch your child be sick.

So, I pray for her and hold her and pray some more. There's somethig about praying for your child and the incredible bond it develops. I'm sure the prayer works but I'll keep feeding her popsicles too!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

dream big

I sat down today with my associate youth pastor and began planning out our 2008-09 calendar year. We are planning events, services, outreaches and missions opportunities. After four cokes and a great meal we have a rough outline of our year looks like.
As we were planning we started to dream of what could be...I once heard that conviction is 'the belief that something could be fueled by the belief that it should be.'

As I dream big for our student ministry I have a conviction that the bigger I dream the more students we will reach and the more students we reach, the more students we will see become followers of Christ.

Dreaming big is exciting which leads me to the NEXT BIG THING...I'm going to go pray for God's blessing on these BIG ideas.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Sleeping Dogs



Ever once in a while something happens and you wonder why in the world you did "that" or said "it." You wish you could take "that" or "it" back but you can't. So you're left with a choice.

How do you make "it" better? Because let's be honest we've all done or said something that we know we should not have but the real test of wisdom is what do you do AFTER the sleeping dog is awake.

And how do you make "it" better in the long run?

I think the most important thing I've discovered is to learn how to pray about your next step.

From Moses to Nehemiah to Paul we see how when a circumstance has the potential to get ugly prayer is crucial.

When we pray, we get God's perspective on the situation and more importantly His desired outcome. ABW verse: We SHUT UP and let God work.

When we just react, we get our perspective on the situation and try to get our desired outcome, which is usually trying to prove how right I am and how wrong you are! ABW verse: We ignore God and make a the mess even worse.

So this week if you happen to do "that" or say "it" remember God can make "it" better or you can make it worse.

Monday, April 14, 2008

12 years!




Beth and I celebrated 12 years of marriage yesterday! (That's US in Hawaii 12 years ago - just kids!)

Wow...12 years.

It's been so much fun. My wife is my best friend and I can't imagine life without her.

It's incredible how ONE woman can make me feel so confident and provide clarity when I need it. How she can make a negative situation not seem so bad and she make me smile by just walking into a room!

We made a decision early on in our relationship to speak words of encouragment to each other and never use words to cause injury.

We've seen so many couples use negative words from their past, or from each others mistakes, or from life's hurt and take those words and damage their marriage.

I proud of our marriage and the example we've set in front of others and our children. It's been a lot of fun and at times had it's frustrations and through it all God has been so faithful.

It's been an amazing journey thus far and I'm looking forward to everything God has for our next dozen years.

So to my beautiful wife: I love you!

And oh...to my faithful readers - I didn't forget the roses...

Thursday, April 3, 2008

plan A


This week I learned a great lesson. I had a meeting with my pastor and he asked me about a presentation I was giving. Our church is raising money to help bring much needed relief to the country of Swaziland. Swaziland's AIDS crisis is now making national news. 1 in 10 will live to the age of 35. Over 40% of the country of Swaziland has AIDS. So we are making an effort to help.

I shared with him my thoughts, my big idea and how I was going to pitch my idea to raise money. Then I leaned back in my chair and waited for him to say, "good job!" He responded with - "What's your plan B?"

To which I responded, "I don't need a Plan B - plan A is soooo good that it's all I need."

We talked about that for a few minutes and Pastor Stan helped me realize that yes plan needs to be a good one but in case it misses the mark...have a backup plan.

Well, Tuesday night I made the presentation and Plan A went over great BUT I am currently working on a Plan B.

You see, even though the response for Plan A was incredible (I told you it was a great plan) I am working to a Plan B just in case the response to the incredible Plan A isn't.

My Point: Being prepared is so important. I never want to be caught looking like I wasn't ready for something to happen when if I would have just thought through the situation I would have. That's called process. I'm learning that the more process (thinking, evaluating, Plan B's) I do the more success I'll have.