A New Look

Sometimes a new look can help us out, I have a saying; "predictability breeds boredom". I get bored pretty easily so it helps to change things up every once in awhile. Karyn and I often change the furniture in a room, we just changed what was a spare bedroom into a family room and Karyn just changed her hair style a bunch. I can get bored going on the same running routes, the way I drive to work, my workouts, etc. Rarely do people take the time to get perspective to see where change might be good, do you? I am going to switch gears to our spiritual lives (I am a Pastor after all). Are you stuck in a rut spiritually? Do you read from the same Bible, write about the same things in your journal, pray the same way day after day? It's good to change things up to keep our relationship with God fresh. I encourage people to read a different version of the Bible every so often, read books on spiritual disciplines to get new ideas, listen to the Bible instead of reading it only. Sometimes a new look is a great idea!

It is Well with My Soul - or Not!

I grew up in the Midwest in the 60-70's and my family attended a Main line Denominational church where we sang hymns Sunday after Sunday. Most of them I didn't understand or even question, I just sang along like everyone else. I became a born again believer right before graduating from High School and headed off to one of the Best Christian Universities in the United States,(www.taylor.edu) and we had Chapel Monday, Wednesday and Friday's at 10:05 in the morning. This was long before the Modern Praise music era we have now, and so we sang more hymns, accompanied by either the piano, the huge Pipe Organ or both. Sometimes for a special treat, the brass ensemble would join in giving the hymn a sort of regality about it. One of the many hymns I remember singing was "It is Well with My Soul". As I said I was a new believer, and I hadn't yet learned to stuff down or hide my duplicity when I came across a hymn that wasn't true of my life, (that would come later). I remember a specific chapel one morning and singing the chorus "It is well, it is well with my soul" when I stopped singing, I stopped because it wasn't true. I couldn't sing the words because my soul was in anguish over many things, instead I pushed the huge lump in my throat down as far as it would go, fought tears but finally gave in. I didn't wail but my face had a slow stream of water streaming a straight line under both eyes, down each cheek and dripping off of my jaw. I hoped no one saw me, I was a college wrestler after all, and a guy. Never mind that last sentence. I knew I had to do something about this and not singing this hymn in the future was not the answer. I needed wellness of soul. I wasn't sure how to get it, was there an Rx for that? Yep, come to find out there is. 1. Be open, honest, transparent and admit it to yourself, God and a trusted friend. Psalm 32, 51 and James 5:16. 2. Figure out how you got there in the first place. 3. Remove the source of angst, lack of peace - Get right/nearer with God! 4. Do your best not to repeat it again, and choose to live under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit and by living out the Bible. Now on Sunday mornings at church and whenever I listen to praise/worship music I occasionally come to songs I know are not completely true of my heart/soul/life. Rather than continue singing them, it's best for me to address the issue. I don't want to live with a lack of peace when I do not have to. Proverbs 4:23 says to

" guard your heart/soul above everything for it is the well-spring of life."

The important thing for me was and is to be honest and get to the heart of the matter and never give the enemies a foothold by waiting until later. It is also important to be well in my soul because I need peace and it's available. Living with peace also allows me to show those I come in contact with what it looks like to be at peace for others lacking peace. And today there is a lot of robbing, killing and destroying of the peace God desires for us. (see John 10:10).

How to Take Daily Vacations For Free!

Joy - what comes to your mind when you read that word? It's important so take your time. That word is mentioned at least 242 times in the Bible, and is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. John 10:10 Jesus says; "The Thief comes only to rob, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, life to the full." Satan is a joy robber! He is, just look around, even most Christians lack true joy!! Joy is a happiness that is NOT based on circumstances. That's a great thing because most of the circumstances of our world are not good. It seems like the weather is almost always extreme, so is the economy, the job market, the stock market, the daily headlines and the political arena are tragic and full of evil. The Joy Robber is nearly everywhere. But I emphatically believe that true believers in Jesus can and should be experiencing Joy everyday, in fact several times a day. Joy is not based on your personality type by the way. Those of you who know me, know that I am a glass half full kind of guy, in fact I would go as far as to say my glass isn't just half full it's over-flowing. To God be the glory on that! Joy comes from so many things!!! It's an appreciation of what God does in nature that is there all the time, yes, stopping and smelling the roses is a joyful thing. Looking at the clouds, watching a baby discover something, a ski run down a steep trail, being with friends, learning something new from the Bible that you never saw before, watching someone get baptized, a worship song, it's so many things. That's my point, JOY is nearly everywhere and we are to experience it frequently, but....the Joy Robber is doing all He can to rob, kill and destroy our joy. How's he doing with you? I mentioned in my last post the concept of daily vacations and this is what I was referring to. I practice certain disciplines that protect me from the joy robber but I also run into several opportunities everyday to be robbed of joy. People I counsel who are in really rough spots, physical pain that seems to be my constant companion, friends and family who are experiencing tough times, or finances that are not where I want them to be and could scare me when I think hard about the future. But, the abundant life Jesus talked about has so much to do with JOY. In fact check this out from Luke 10:21. 21 "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do." Do you see it? Jesus was full of joy and said we need to be child-like to experience joy. To me, joy is like a daily vacation. It's not worrying, but finding the joy in almost anything. Psychologist and Medical Doctors agree that those who laugh several times a day are healthier and live longer. I want to exhort you to live in JOY, let JOY flow out of you and you will not only experience daily vacations, your life will be so much better and full!

Daily Vacations

Some people can get down right obsessed with vacations, spending crazy amounts of money,(they probably don't have) planning and making long lists of logistics like catching planes, getting people to watch the house, stopping the mail, and putting special voice mail and e-mail messages on our phones/computers to let people know we are gone. Then there is the issue of pet care, watering plants and if that is not enough, we have to work our brains and bodies to the bone before we can go,only to have everything piled up for us when we get back. When it's all said and done, we will either come back refreshed or....needing rest from our "vacation". How can we avoid this situation?

I do my best to spend time every morning and throughout the day getting refreshed in my soul, that way I won't NEED a vacation. Don't get me wrong, getting away is a great idea, in fact Karyn and I are leaving tomorrow to stay at a cabin in the mountains at about 5,000 feet elevation, just a few hours from our home in Charlotte. Getting away gives perspective that you can't get when you are in your same environment day after day. But...when we create balance in our lives and do our best to practice important disciplines, watch out for distress, spend time with friends who energize us and not too much time with those who do the opposite, then there is a good chance we won't be in a desperate place to have get away How are you at this? Part of the reason Karyn and I are getting away is to do some goal setting for our marriage, listen to God, dial it down and get away from demands. We SHOULD come back refreshed and ready to live out the goals we set from the vision we sensed God speaking into our lives. In my next post I will share what I do daily/weekly/consistently that leads me to having lots of energy, being mostly at peace and stay focused. I would love to hear your ideas, we can help each other!

Speed Mentoring

I heard this topic years ago and thought it was a really great idea, but I haven't heard it spoken of at all in a long time. Since there are so many different ways of learning I thought about this one and just in case you are not aware of it, here goes. Speed Mentoring is basically finding people who do what you do except that they do it better than you. What you can do is approach them and ask them to show you how they do what they do. It can take a couple hours in a conversation, or you can shadow them while they perform the skill, or both. Reading books is great, and so is going to conferences and hearing speakers expound on their skill, but Speed Mentoring gets you closer to the person (networking and relationship building) and you have a chance to get better too. So whether it is in your job, in a hobby or it's a spiritual skill, consider Speed Mentoring as a great option to get better at something you truly want to. On the other side of it, perhaps you are good at something and you see someone with potential, and that you believe in, why not approach them and see if they would be interested in being mentored by you. I urge you to be cautious about this as it may be perceived as prideful, so make sure you already work closely with them and you know that they respect you and your abilities.

It's the Simple Things in a Complex World

I am about to turn 54, ugh! Typing it looks like it's someone else's number, not mine. My body is starting to catch up to that number however and I am just going go ahead and admit that. BUT, what will always stay young is my heart and soul and I think one of the reasons why is because I keep things pretty simple. I literally stop and smell the roses, enjoy the shape of a cloud, smile at people having a good time, I love to laugh and play and be around happy people and so on. I KNOW that this keeps my heart and soul young. I can spot quickly when I am letting the complex and downer parts of the world in and I rebuke it. I am not saying that I duck responsibility, because I have walked through plenty of difficult situations with people and organizations. I am saying that I do my best to not carry the weight of those people and situations around with me. Take some time and consider the weight of your heart/soul. If it's feeling particularly heavy a simple test would be to figure out how much of the complex world you are carrying around with you and how you are missing the simple things in life. God wants us to live joyfully but I don't see a lot of joyful people. Who can blame anyone, the news and newspapers for the most part report bad news. Most people carry too much debt, don't like their jobs, have too many bills and too little time. Television has a few feel good shows out there but they are out-numbered, and we seem to be either in a big hurry or staring at our smart phones too much to even look up/around to notice the simple and good things in life. So, put your phone in your pocket, turn your music off in the car (every once in awhile), slow down and enjoy life a little, it's good for your soul!

Being Included

Inclusion is huge on the positive side, exclusion is frightfully damaging on both the short and long term. While growing up I nearly always felt on the outside looking in. I saw pretty early on that there is the popular crowd and then there is the rest? I have always felt like the rest but wanted to be the other. And that feeling hurt, what I did was either die inside but look happy on the outside, or....I worked hard to be included with the popular crowd. For the most part you CAN earn you way into the popular crowd by being smart, talented and or athletic, or you get in by being from a well to do family or being especially attractive. Early on I was not considered smart, a little below average if the truth be told,and athletically it took me awhile as well. Eventually I was good enough to compete at the college level but never won a championship. My parents worked very hard at providing for us 5 kids but we were not rich, and regarding the especially attractive part, let's just say even though I am not ugly, I am no head turner. Relative to this are those social events that come with invitations, some people get invited to things that the majority do not. Knowledge can be a cruel thing sometimes, like when you know a party or wedding is happening but you were not on the guest list. There is this wedding coming up, a huge affair, the Groom is the most handsome and amazing guy, the woman he is marrying is NOT. Most people figure that He is either codependent and rescuing her, or he sees something in her everybody else has missed. He lavishes her with love. So when the invitations came out, many of the people who received them thought about going but because the couple is so odd, many are choosing not to attend. They sent gifts ahead instead and are managing to find something else to do. The Bride has her family and friends who are coming and count this as the highlight of their lives for they never were a part of his crowd. In the region of the country where the wedding is taking place they have as a custom to go find people to attend so that the wedding will be well attended, the more the merrier! The wedding has not happened yet, for I am speaking of Christ and the church. The wedding will happen soon, I'm not exactly sure when because there are still seats to fill. It will be the most extravagant event in history, Royal weddings will have nothing on this one. All are invited but only a few (relatively speaking) will actually choose to come. It's a choice. I am over whelmed to have been invited, it feels so good to not be on the outside looking in, and because I grew up knowing what the opposite feels like,I am going because He loves me, forgave me and He sacrificed for me. I could never get there on my own merits, looks, talents or brains. His love is immeasurable and we are not just the invitee's, we are the object of His affection, the Bride. There is a seat at the wedding and reception for you, but will you come? For God so loved the world that He gave His very own Son to die for us so that we might live and have life forever, and all we have to say is yes to the invitation. Being included is a huge deal!