Who are you?

I just got out of a meeting where we discussed who we are as church. It's such a great (and challenging question).

Who are we? As a church who are we?

What is our purpose? Now I know a lot of people will say well we exist to "love God and love others," or we are to fufill the 5 purposes of the church: We will have discipleship, worship, relationships, outreach and ministry.

But does that alone answer who we are?

So often the church (and followers of Christ) operate without really knowing who they are.

I like the illustration I once heard of a man who was bowling with a blindfold. When he asked how he was doing, the answer was "does it really matter, you can't see what you're aiming at anyway."

We left our meeting with a charge to really pray and discover who we are?

Today's Walkaway: It matters so much to discover who you are b/c it gets to the heart of how you'll function in life.

Whether it's on a team, in a church or in your business if you're not what you're contributing to the big picture you'll not have a vested interest in the results.

A few weeks ago I watched the Cincinnati Bengals practice and for what it's worth I can catch a football way better than Shayne Graham. But how he catches doesn't matter b/c he's the kicker. And Shayne Graham was one of the best kickers in the NFL last year. He doesn't get upset b/c he can't catch a pass b/c he know he's a kicker.

He knows what to aim for.

So who are you?

Firsts

I just got back into the office. I slipped out for a long lunch to hangout with my kids after their first day of school.

They were so excited about school. They had there new school clothes, back packs and lunch boxes. As I listened to their little voices talk about how cool school was it was a great shot of encouragement to me. They told some cool stories and we just laughed at a few first day things they encountered.

It reminded me that life is often best lived through the eyes of children. Everything is so brand new to them and they have this contagious spirit that can recharge you (even when you're having a rough week).

So to Brooklyn and Gabe I say "thank you" for reminding me of the important things.

Today's Walk-Away: Take a minute or more and re-evaluate what makes you smile. And if it's been a while since you've smiled think about your days of the school playground when all that mattered was who could jump higher and run faster.

mowing your grass (AT NIGHT)

I have heard of wearing your sunglasses at night (feel free to sing or hum the song while you read this) BUT I've never heard of mowing your grass at night.

A few weeks ago I heard my neighbor mowing their grass in the dark. Now, I know it's summer and I don't mean it's late in the evening b/c the days are longer, kind of dark. I mean it is after 10:00 PM and I hear the lawn-mower fire up. One more detail - this lawn-mower isn't the cool John Deere kind that has a head light on it. It's just an ordinary, run of mill, push lawn-mower.

So I thought maybe it was just a fluke and my neighbor had a really busy week and this was the only time he could do it - UNTIL a few days ago. He was mowing his yard again in the dark.

What's the deal?

It would be one thing if the result of him mowing in the dark made his yard look better but in my humble opinion it doesn't.

How about you and your life. Are you mowing (living your life) in the dark?

fishing

I'm not a fisherman! I pretend to be one for ONE weekend a year. It's not that I'm a girly guy who won't touch fish or can't bait a hook. It's just I don't normally find the time or really have the desire to do it. Now when I do go fishing I really enjoy it. It's relaxing and frustrating at the same time.

Well last weekend was my ONE weekend a year. I caught a fish BUT what I really wanted to brag on today was my son's fish.

Check this out:

That is Gabriel's almost 20 inch large mouth bass. He was so proud it. He invested his time (fishing), didn't get frustrated, and fished in the right location and it paid off.

Sounds like really good LIFE advice.

Our investments and our attitudes have a lot to do with what we catch in life.

My walkaway: What you sow you eventually reap. I had a converstation with someone who is doing something the right way it's paying off for him. He's had some difficult seasons in life but I'm excited about where God is leading him. It's neat to see what happens when you invest and have the right attitude along the way.

autograph

Thursday, my son, Gabe & I went to Georgetown, KY to watch the Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp. We had such a great time and I'm planning on making it an annual Father/Son tradition. The highlight of our day came at the very end of our day at the camp.

We had got several autographs but the ONE he wanted was none other than the starting QB and 2006 Pro Bowl MVP, Carson Palmer. I had heard through a few different guys that day that's Palmer's autograph was a tough one to get.

So I shared that with Gabe and we agreed we'd try. Well at the end of the day after waiting in the almost 100 degree heat - I got it!

He was thrilled.

It was the perfect cap to an incredible day with my son.

On the way home Gabe said he had such a great day and said, "thank you daddy for taking me."

I almost cried!

It was such a moment to able to spend quality time with him and talk about life and watch how God shaping him into such an incredible young man of God.