Honesty; The Best Policy

Honesty is hard! So hard that I find many people avoiding it all together. I'm not saying they have been dishonest with me. I can't be sure. I do know this, that honesty is a must for those who choose to follow Christ.

I can think of many cliches regarding honesty and many of them seem negative. "Can I be honest with you?" "To be honest, I..." "Let me be brutally honest," Brutally Honest? Does honesty have to be brutal?

I guess honesty can be brutal to those who prefer the world of their own ideals to the truth that is staring them in the face. Take it from a recovering idealist; Truth is better than the seduction of a false reality. But I don't think honesty needs to be "brutal." It's not something that needs to brings us fear.

Jesus declared himself to be "the TRUTH, the way and the life" and No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. In order to "come to the Father" we must face the truth of who Jesus says He is and who He says we are. It is impossible to come to God with out coming through Jesus, Who is truth.

Honesty is good. And I don't simple mean being honest by telling the truth to others. It is imperative for us to be honest with ourselves. Our failings, our brokenness, our inadequacies take on a transformational value when we are honest about them. For instance, if we treat failure with denial, we are doomed to fail again. On the other hand, if we are honest about our failure, we will seek help and advice and turn that failure into an opportunity for growth. Same goes for our brokenness and inadequacy. Healing and Courage will come from truth and honesty. Faking it, will only lead to more pain and more fear.

My prayer for "Live Like You Were Dying" is that we as a the body at FSBC will be honest to God about who we are and where we can improve.

Father help me be honest with myself about the kind of husband, father, son, employee, leader, steward I have been. Help me be honest about how I have spoken to others so that I can Speak Sweeter. Spirit, lead me to a place where I can be honest about the feebleness of my attempts to "love" others and help me to love deeper with Jesus' love. Where I have chosen to hold on to hurt and anger and bitterness, help me to forgive others as you have forgiven me. I don't want to wait until my life is nearly over to do the things I ought to. Lord, I realize I'm asking for a blessing I don't deserve. Please grant me the blessing to live a transformed life.

Growing into EverNote

I started using EverNote early last spring when a friend turned my attention to it. I wish I could say that I'm an expert, on the contrary, I'm far from it.

Currently I'm using EverNote for keeping track of my Audio and Video teams schedules. It used be tedious to weed through all my old emails looking for the 2 month sign up schedule for these teams, just so I could send them reminders for serving. Now once those dates are filled with the names of my fantastic A/V team members, I simply forward the email to my EverNote and it is only a few seconds away and available to me on 3 devices; iPhone, iPad and computer.

Additionally, I've been using EverNote to keep track of my writing ideas and notes. When a blog idea comes to me I write something about it in EverNote. When a story idea comes - Evernote. I tweet or link to read later - I send it to EverNote.

My goal is to use EverNote more often and More effectively. For help with this, I'm studying and trying to apply the instructions and ideas I've found at Michael Hyatt's blog. Here is a blog of his where he has organized all his EverNote blogs.

A List of handy blogs for evernote users and learners!

Do you use EverNote? How do you use it? How does it help you the most?

Everyone Needs a Break

I last blogged on my birthday and have had several occasions since where I might have blogged, but other things have taken my time and priority.

First, I spent a week at the National Worship Leader Conference in Kansas City, Kansas. It was a fantastic time and I was able to spend some time under the teaching of some godly men, women and mentors. I sat under the teaching of Leonard Sweet, Scotty Smith, Tommy Walker, Tim Hughes, Rory Nolan and Buddy Owens, just to drop a few names.

As a worship leader this was a week to learn, grow, fuel and be challenged. All those things took place in me. I was exhausted when it was over and ready to rest. Having been to NWLC the last two years, I was prepared and already scheduled a week vacation following the conference. (Foresight is a wonderful thing when I can get it.)

I had every intention of sleeping till noon, indulging myself in my favorite books and shows on netflix. God had something different in mind and I'm so glad that at least on this occasion, He found me listening.

Here is what I heard my heavenly Father calling me to... Spend quality time with my kids and wife. The time schedule for this pastor of worship can be demanding. (my friends tease me that it must be tough only working on Sundays) Added to that my older 3 kids are teenagers and have many activities throughout the year. It's tough to get quality time with them and when I do get time it is usually with 2 or 3 of them at a time, so one-on-one time is even more rare.

My 3 year old gets one day with me every week throughout the year, so God impressed upon me that I should offer that to my teenagers as a part of my planned week off. Here is how it set up. Tuesday was Daddy-Jared day, Wednesday was Daddy-Hannah day and Thursday was Daddy-Timothy day.

Jared and I started our day with some work. Together we stood out in the hot 100+ degree morning and changed the driver-side head lamp assembly in my van. I'm not a mechanic and don't pretend to be, but it was good for Jared, I think to see me struggle to figure out how to get the old headlight out and the new one in. And he got to help and use his creative thinking gifts as we worked it out together. After, we went together to pick up Hannah from band camp, went to lunch together and did one more job before spending the afternoon watching some hero shows on Netflix. During our time I was able to share with Jared how, as a teen, I experienced many of the same pressures and teasing that he sometimes experiences. Too often I present myself to my kids as a "sure-of-myself, successful man." I allow them to see my successes but rarely my failures. Mistakenly they may only think that I have experienced success and have always been popular and sure-of-myself. On the contrary, this is far from reality. I pray that they don't think that they have to live up to a misunderstood concept of their dad.

Hannah and I got to make a trip to the city on Wednesday, and she drove. She has been anxious to try her driving skills in the city and on the interstate. She did well. Especially when she had to keep her cool when we encountered a tire tread which had recently been deposited in the middle of our lane. At first unsure of which way to go around, she slowed and chose the shoulder rather than changing lanes. It was the right choice as there were several cars behind us and in the next lane over. Her reward? Splitting a full slab of ribs from Oklahoma Joe's with her dad. It was a good time together.

Timothy and I also started our day with some work. I had recently built a raised bed for next year's garden and was needing to cut the tips off of the screws so we wouldn't cut our hands while digging in the dirt. I pulled out my dremel tool and showed Timothy how to use it. He caught on quickly and did the large share of that little job. We also needed to change a light in our stairwell, so I borrowed the long pole from the church and showed Tim how to use it. He also did great at this. We went to lunch with my friend Bob, and Tim got to hear what it is that grown men talk about: baseball, Bonhoeffer, theology, politics, church life. After the work, Tim schooled me at Halo 3, and we watched some Star Trek Voyager on Netflix.

Ending the week I got to spend some wonderful time with my wife. During the week we had begun reading a book to each other in the evenings, and Sunday we celebrated our 18th anniversary. We watched Captain America at the theater then went to supper and finished off with some Cold Stone, Coffee Lovers (our favorite) ice cream.

Too many times during the business of life, I'm putting off those little times I could be spending with my kids. It's easy to be exhausted mentally after a full day and full week of carrying the weight of my job on my shoulders. I'm getting better, but I still knew that I owed this week to my family. This vacation was more for our together time. I'll get "me time" later. I always seem to find time for me.

What is the best quality time you've spent with your kids or wife? Are they seeing the real you or are you only showing them the "you" that you wish you were?

Bonhoeffer

Well, I finally finished reading Bonhoeffer. It is a long book, but it didn't feel long. Eric Metaxas did a wonderful job of giving it flow and of course, Bonhoeffer's life itself kept me turning the pages. I was equally enlightened and challenged in my faith and my call to interact with my world around me, as a believer.

I had known of Dietrich Bonhoeffer for a long time, but only by name and that he had something to do with standing strong, for Christ, in the face of the Third Reich. What I did not know or understand was the way he first stood for Christ within the church. Bonhoeffer was indeed a prophet warning the church against the influence of the evil one who was using the new German government for a direct attack on the church and on God's chosen people.

Bonhoeffer stood up for the church against the attacks on the Bible. He stood for the Jews as they were first banned from the German church, as they were dismissed from positions of leadership in Germany and as they were ultimately sentenced to genocide. Bonhoeffer was a warrior of Biblical proportions not unlike, Joshua or Caleb, Gideon or David, as he participated in the dangerous plot to assassinate Hitler.

If you've never read a biography of a faithful Christ follower, you should. I've only read a handful of biographies, but I haven't regretted the time spent with any of them. And Bonhoeffer has moved to the top of that list!

You Should Read This

Andrew Peterson has written a really nice post regarding the Harry Potter saga. I'm linking it for you here because I want to encourage you to read it. I'll look for you comments on his post if you chose to join the conversation.

What's In It For Me?

The following is a fictional memoir and does not reflect the attitudes of anyone I know personally, though it may reveal the inner struggles we are all trying to overcome as we become the church He died for us to be.

Worship to day didn't do much for me. I wasn't inspired. They're supposed to inspire me and I just didn't feel it. People around me were raising and clapping their hands. A couple in front of me stood up and I couldn't see. The worship leader did not instruct us to stand up. I was doing it right and they were doing it wrong, yet they seemed inspired and I went away feeling worse than before.

The scripture must have been a good one, because I heard a lot of "Amen" and "That's Right" from folks around me but I guess I just didn't get it. It was from 2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us."

To me church should be about helping me be successful. I mean, God wants me to be successful right? That way I can show him how good I am. I want Him to be proud of me and pleased with me. If I'm successful, then I'll give credit to God. Wouldn't he want that?

The pastor kept saying that as "jars of clay" in the hands of God there will be no doubt that the power comes from him. Then he read from Luke 9:24-25 "For whoever would save his life would lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses of forfeits himself?"

Lose my life for God's? On purpose? That's just not the kind of message I'm looking for. What's in that for me? I'm looking for a church where I can feel good about myself and my ambitions. I think God wants to feel good and be successful for Him. This "jars of clay" idea just doesn't fit my idea of God.

I think I'll have to look elsewhere for the kind of inspiration I need. I don't mean leave the church! Good heavens, no. I have some really good friends there. They are humble, simple people, never complaining about what they don't have, but giving thanks for what God has given them. They are true servants. If I had a nickel for every time they brought me a meal when I was sick or when our baby was born or my mother passed away, well then I'd have a lot of nickels. I'd probably be able to start tithing! Ha-Ha- I'm just kidding. Anyway, I wonder why worship can't get inspired me to be more like those people.

For now, I'll just have to rely on myself for my own inspiration and work my hardest to get ahead in this world to make God proud of me.

Do you find anything here that resembles your own struggle to understand who you are to be "In Christ?" Do you value your own success. Do you devalue the "jars of clay" in which God has chosen to store His richest treasure - (you)?

Why Blog?

I'm struggling with the burden of having not blogged since May. I started blogging years ago to put my thought into writing. Writing is a great way to organize one's thoughts, though I'm not as disciplined at it now as I hope to one day be. It's something I think everyone should do.

Though I haven't been blogging I have continued reading a number of blogs. All bloggers blog for a reason. I'll give you some examples using the different blogs I like to follow.

1. Some bloggers blog because they are creative leaders. I like to follow the blog by Michael Hyatt. He blogs often and I can't always keep up, but I go back and read the blogs that grab my interest. Another creative leader I often follow is Randy Elrod. Also very creative, I have gained a lot from his blogs about how he uses technology.

2. Some bloggers blog to encourage. My pastor's blog, joestiles.wordpress, fits into this category, I believe. Though, he writes about a number of things, including family, most of his blogs are very encouraging to our congregation.

3. Other bloggers blog to organize their thoughts. I'm allowing for some overlap here, because I'm sure, to some extent, all bloggers write for this purpose. This is a great thing to do. I've already admitted that blogging helps me organize my thoughts.

4. Many bloggers blog to teach. I think our youth pastor, Andy, has taken this approach to blogging, as has another friend, Tracy, new to the blogging world.

5. Lastly, there are those bloggers, whose blogs are place for community. Rabbit Room, Shaun Groves are a couple of my frequent stops for this. Rabbit Room is a community of artists, (writers, musicians, etc.) seeking to use art to glorify God. It has become one of my favorite stops on the web.

I mean to leave room for overlap here and you may even have your own reasons for blogging that are not included on this list. It's not exclusive. When I blog, I have in mind several of the purposes listed above.

Maybe you don't blog, but you find yourself following several different blogs. You have your reasons. I'd be flattered if you would follow my blog. Join the others by clicking the "follow" tab. Or even better, leave a comment on one of my blogs and let's start up a conversation.

Why do you blog? If you do not blog, what purpose would lead you to consider blogging? Why do you read blogs? What blogs do you find yourself reading most often?

Free - In Christ

Memorial day gives us a chance to remember. Did you remember yesterday? Did you thank a veteran? I spent a lot of time contemplating the cost of the freedoms I still get to enjoy. For men and women who took the stand for what they believed and for the many who paid the ultimate price for freedom.

I wondered what I would be willing to stand up for? I thought about how over the last couple decades we have seen certain freedoms taken away from us. I thought about how our founding fathers sought to set up a government of the people, for the people and by the people and yet today, we see our government acting as if the people are here to support government rather than the other way around.

I considered how many freedoms I truly have because I am "In Christ." He paid the ultimate price for my freedom and yours.

Romans 8:1-4
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,a 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,b God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.c And so he condemned sin in sinful man,d 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

So, we are no longer condemned because of what Christ has done. However, we are still persecuted. There are so many to whom the message of Christ and the Cross is foolishness.

1 Corinthians 1:18
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

What does this have to do with us? Though we seek to carry this message into a world that thinks us to be foolish, it's Christ they're rejecting and not us. So why should it matter to us?

How often do we temper our boldness because of the fear of rejection? How many times does our confidence wane when we face criticism?

See, that's what I mean when I ask myself - What would I be willing to take a stand for? - What would I be willing to die for?

I am grateful for the veterans who have served and remember, with tears in my eyes, those who gave their lives for the freedom I currently enjoy. At the same time I'm reminded that this freedom is temporary. You can quote me on this - The United States of America will not last forever. In the historical scope of things we are a young nation. In our arrogance, however, we sometimes believe and act like this country will always be around and will always be free. Let's not deceive ourselves. We know too well that some, or should we say, many of our freedoms are already gone.

In direct contrast, the freedom we have "in Christ" is eternal. In fact, it was established for the specific purpose of eternity. If the temporal freedoms of an earthly nation are worth standing up for, worth laying down ones life for then how much more is Christ and His cross worth standing up for? How much more is Christ worth laying down my life for?

Would you join me in these thoughts? I'm not seeking to devalue the sacrifice for country. I'm proud of our veterans! Could you die for Christ? Could you stand up for the church, for Christ and His cross in the face of persecution - in the face of death? I'd love to read your thoughts.

The Centrality of Jesus in Worship

Thank you for allowing me, this past Sunday to share with you about worship. I've heard it said about me that my passion is worship. Let me amend this assumption, by saying that my true passion is WHO I worship - Jesus.

As I mentioned Sunday, our worship starts with Jesus. As we reach out with our worship - we find the One who first reached out to us - Jesus. To Jesus who poured out his blood, we pour out our worship! As God the Father raised Him from the dead, we raise our voices full of His praise!

We also can experience true freedom in worship. The Bible instructs us to worship in various ways.

Psalm 33:1-3

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;

it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

3 Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully, and shout for joy.

We should SING JOYFULLY. We should SHOUT for JOY!
We should PLAY SKILLFULLY on instruments such as a harp or ten-stringed lyre. (both very popular instruments in their day. We should sing A NEW SONG!

It's no mystery that the most important worship verse Romans 12:1 is immediately followed in verse 2 by a verse that speaks of transformation.

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters,* I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.* 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

This is our TRUE worship! also put - This is your spiritual act of worship (NIV) or This is your reasonable service (NKJV) - regardless of your translation of choice, I was to do what is TRUE and what is SPIRITUAL and what is REASONABLE.

God, in Christ, changes us as we worship Him. Simply being in His presence is surely transformational. He will transform us if we let Him and change the way we think. For this to happen, we must make sure our worship is Romans 12:1 worship. TRUE-SPIRITUAL-REASONABLE-worship. This is us dying to self and turning it ALL over to Him, our body, our finances, our attitudes. Let Him use us as he sees fit. This takes humility-selflessness-sacrifice.
One could make the assumption that if He isn't changing us, then perhaps there is still something we have laid claim to in our lives, something we have not yet given up.

The hardest thing for me to do, in this flesh, is to say these three words - "I am wrong." But, in order for God to change the way I think, I have to turn over my thinking to Him.

Isaiah 55:8
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

I have to confess this verse often. It's important. Not just when we don't know the answers, in fact, it may be even more important to confess this verse when we are absolutely 100 percent sure that we have the answers. No matter how right we think we are - "His ways are not our ways."

Father, change my mind and my heart and my will. Transform me until the only thing others see is Jesus reflected in me. Take all that I have, it's Yours. In fact, take my whole body, here it is, it's Yours. You gave it to me anyway and it's purpose should be to honor You. My mouth, that's a part of my body isn't it? Let it always honor You and speak boldly the name of Jesus. My fingers, they are part of this body, let the write what is True-Spiritual-Reasonable. My feet, also a part of the body. Let them go places that You would go, but I am too often afraid to go. My eyes are Yours too. Help me to see others they way Jesus sees. My life, my whole self is Yours.

I didn't mean for this post to be so lengthy. I'd love to read your comments. Are you discovering these same truths as you become more and more humble with your worship? Do you find God changing your mind? Have you ever had a thought that you just knew was right, only to find out that His thoughts are not your thoughts? Please post your comments below.

Up, Up and Away!

So many shows on television right now are built around the story of the main character/characters having some kind of super power. Chuck has downloaded a super spy database into his brain and can call upon special kung fu abilities he never learned, only downloaded. The Powell family gained their special powers from a plane crash, when a power giving serum was released into the air they breathed it in. Not long ago we were presented a show with the title Heroes.

As a kid and even still, I love a good hero story. This summer we'll see released at the box office, Thor, X-Men; First Class, Transformers; the Dark Side of the Moon, Green Lantern, Captain America, Kung Fu Panda 2, Cowboys and Aliens, Conan the Barbarian, the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie titled On Stranger Tides, and of course Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2.

So maybe I'm not the only one who loves a good story about a hero with extra special, supernatural abilities. But wouldn't the worst story be one about a hero with super abilities that refused to use them. He/she was embarrassed and afraid people wouldn't like them anymore or would talk bad about them. Perhaps they are proud and want to prove that they can do it all by themselves without their special powers. This is starting to sound familiar.

Don't you and I live out this story everyday? When we try to do things on our own, when our heavenly Father is listening, waiting for us to call upon his name.

Romans 8:11 "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you! And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."

There is power in the name of Jesus! There is healing in the name of Jesus! There is hope and life and deliverance in the name of Jesus! There is freedom, blessing, shelter, and peace in the name of Jesus!

Don't forget it, don't doubt it, don't deny it, don't suppress it.
Never be ashamed or embarrassed by His dwelling IN you.

Reject the notion that you have something to prove when you try and do it all by yourself. This is a foolish lie of our enemy, for he knows that where Jesus is at work (in YOU daily) that there Jesus will also be glorified. Our enemy is not interested in Jesus glory. When we do it all by ourselves, even when we succeed aren't we glorifying ourselves? What's the point of that?

Let's glorify the One and only true Hero, the Savior, the Son of God, Christ Jesus, by letting Him live His life out through us. Let us embrace His indwelling Spirit that He might do all that He wills with our lives. Let's put an end to this daydream of making ourselves the potter and get down to the business of being the clay.

(Is it just me or did that get too preachy?)

What do you think of this? Are you a hero fan too? Is Christ your ultimate Hero, worthy of the glory He earned by saving your life at the cross? Does He save you from something silly or serious everyday?

I Think My Eyes Are In Backward

A SHORT STORY - FROM A MADE UP DIARY

I think my eyes are in backwards and all I can see right now is myself. I’m blind to the needs of others around me. To me, they don’t even exist. All I can see are my needs. It doesn’t seem to be hurting me, but if it does, I think I’ll have to do something about it.

I was talking with a friend the other day who was asking for prayer and advice regarding some tribulation that had come his way. I thought about his story and it reminded me of something similar that had happened to me. Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly the same as what happened to me… come to think of it what happened to me had nothing at all to do with my friend’s situation, but I told it to him anyway. We both had a good laugh, but he seemed to go away sad. It was hard to tell, because all I could see was me. I think my eyes were put in backward.

This morning at my accountability group prayer time we each asked for prayer, but when we prayed I noticed no one was praying for the requests I had made. Maybe they just didn’t think they were that important. I know, I’ll bet they just didn’t know what I meant when I said “unspoken.” On my turn I was very careful to name the person Luke had asked for. You know, his friend who had cancer… or was it kidney disease? No, I remember, it was a hemorrhoid… no, no that’s not it either. But I prayed for him by name, or was it her? Come to think of it, it wasn’t his friend, it was his sister, Jill, I mean, Joanne… I can’t remember. I’ll have to ask him later. I think I just prayed for “Luke’s request”. God knew what I meant. I’ve gotta get my eyes fixed!

My ministry team meets tomorrow. I can’t wait to share all my ideas. They are going to love them, and if they don’t I’ll just join another team. I mean, if they didn’t want to do it my way, then why did they ask me to be on the team? They better not “tweak” my ideas either. I know God gave these ideas to ME, and it must be because He wants them done the way I would do them. Why else would He give me the idea in the first place?

My favorite radio station wasn’t coming through very well today so I tried out a couple other so called “Christian” stations. I couldn’t stand this one station. No matter how low I turned my volume down in the car, the music still sounded too loud. I didn’t like it. This music can’t be honoring to God, can it? I’m just sure that God doesn’t like that kind of music. It’s too grindy. God doesn’t like grindy music. At least not my god!

My eyes are still in backwards. I’m going to have to get that checked out. It doesn’t seem to be affecting my daily life, however, so perhaps I’ll put it off. Like I always say- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The Day I Didn't Feel Your Prayers

A SHORT STORY - FROM A MADE UP DIARY

No one prayed for me today. I’ve heard it said and said it myself – “I could feel your prayers.” But I didn’t feel anyone pray for me today. I walked through my day and so many things went wrong. I lost my keys in the morning and was late for work. Was anyone praying for me? I spilled my coffee in my car and ran out of napkins before I could clean it up. Someone please pray for me! Upon entering my office I was bombarded by messages and problems that I had to fix. Why won’t someone pray for me? Rushing back after lunch I slammed my breaks on but still rear-ended the car in front of me. I could really use some prayer!

Why won’t anybody pray for me? I’m a member of my church and they know me. Are they praying for me? My family raised me to follow Christ. Are they praying for me?

I ended my day on my knees and realized it was the first time today I had taken that position. Holy Spirit began to convict me that I had not prayed for anyone today. I had only been thinking of myself. Had I started the day in prayer and continued in a spirit of prayer throughout the day, perhaps I would have been less self absorbed. If I had been a person humbled to pray, Christ would have been my focus and not me. I realized then that the Bible says that Christ is interceding for each of us. That means, in a sense that He is praying for us. He had been praying for me throughout my troubled day.

From now on when I don’t “feel” the prayers of others on my behalf, I will stop and pray for others. I will remember that Jesus is interceding for me and he is watching me.

Next Read - Bonhoeffer

Finally finished JESUS MANIFESTO and it was worth taking my time. So full of words that point the soul in the direction of Jesus Christ. As a worship leader, I long to point to Jesus week after week - more so now, after reading this book, than ever.

Interesting that in this book were several great quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I've also read some quotes from him, which people have posted on twitter. It's interesting because I had already decided that the next book I would read would be BONHOEFFER - Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas.

You readers and/or movie goers may remember the story of William Wilberforce and the Movie - Amazing Grace, several years back. Metaxas first crack at a biography was Wilberforce and in his second effort he has picked a great man of God to study. I can't wait to get started!

It's going to take time to get through the 542 pages, but I imagine Bonhoeffer's unique life at the heart of the empire of evil that was Nazi Germany would take time to tell. If you've read this book or any by Metaxas post in the comments and encourage me and others to enjoy BONHOEFFER - Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. If you haven't, pick it up and start reading with me.

I think it was Billy Graham who said that every believer should always be reading 3 books - The Bible, The Hymnal, and the Biography of a Christ Follower.

Added 5/3/11 -- I read this morning that Bonhoeffer just won the Overall 2011 book of the year from ECPA.

God Love The Loser

What a fantastic and fun day was Sunday. Our 2nd annual dodgeball tournament unfolded before tens of roaring fans. The FSBC commissioner of dodgeball, Andy Miller did a fantastic job of putting together this unique event.

The five teams in the family division allowed younger ones to have a blast without getting dodgeballs flung at them by high school and college age specimens! I was not so lucky. I was among the eight teams who competed, (and I use that word very loosely) in the competitive division. In our first game I stood next to my son, Timothy and thought I would bravely defend him from any balls that flew at him.

The game was on, I ran to the middle and somehow, successfully snatched a ball from the grasp of the other team, and limped back to my position. No worry, I just didn't stretch out properly. Seeing a ball fly right at Tim, I'm impressed with how he dodges to his left and lets the ball in his hand fly across the taped off dodgeball court. Using my well established side arm technique, which has always worked well in softball, I also let one fly, literally. My first attempt to throw a dodgeball takes flight, gaining altitude as it crosses mid-court. And were it not for the wall behind the opposing team, I think the ball would have continued to rise, eventually hitting the ceiling. I hear the laughs and laugh at myself, but before I finish my chuckle I see another ball coming my way. Fast! I dodge, arching my back just like I saw my son do a moment earlier. But with significantly less success. As I'm arching my back to "dodge" the ball curves through the air and hits me squarely in the belly. I hang my head and walk off the court.

The rest of the tournament is much the same. I get my licks in too, once I learn how to throw one of those blasted balls without having it twist and curve and rise and swerve. Even my best throws seemed to swerve around my intended target. Throwing a live chicken would have boasted similar results. I did have a great time and I thank my other son, Jared for inviting me to the humiliation festival. By the way, he also had some great dodgeball moves on the court. (So Proud)

At the end of the day, with my shoulder burning like fire and my hip throbbing with pain, I had a moment to reflect. I'm so glad God Loves Losers. I am one. Not because of defeat on the dodgeball court, but because "All have fallen short of the glory of God" and "My righteousness is as filthy rags." As I wait for the Ibuprofen to kick in, I'm thankful that Jesus came to heal the broken and bring strength to the weak and rest to the weary.

Easter brings Victory to all of us. We had no chance for victory on our own. Our best attempts are foolishness at best, just like my first attempt to throw the dodgeball. Remember this week, as you prepare for Easter that though you were hopeless to win, JESUS BROUGHT VICTORY.

Thank you, Jesus my Lord. You defeated our unbeatable foe, which is eternal death, and won for us the unreachable prize, which is life eternal with You, our creator. Help us to truly live, even now. To come awake to the true life, which is in You. Some of us misplace our focus and act as if You are here to help us live the life WE want. Help us, rather, to understand that You are inviting us in to a new life, with You. Your life, living in and through us. We welcome Your resurrection life into ours and seek to let You live in us... Amen

Why Does Creativity Matter?

Too often we have allowed the definition of art to be limited to Visual and Aural forms of artistic expression. But there is so much more than what we hear (Music) or see (Paintings, Sketches or Sculptures) or see and hear (Drama/Video.) We tend to allow these mediums to complete our definition of Art, however, God has placed artists throughout the church. Skilled people who enjoy what they do, are serving the body of Christ and seeking to inspire the church of God deeper into the mysteries of His Love and many attributes.

Inspiring art is found in:

Architecture
Landscaping
Decorating
Speaking
Preaching
Teaching
Writing
Blogging
Story telling

...and of course
Sculpture
Painting
Photography
Stencil
Sketching
Videography
Acting
Set design
Mixing Sound
SongWriting
Singing
Playing an Instrument

Consider how Handel dealt with Lord Kinnouls congratulations following the premier of "Messiah."

Lord Kinnoul: "I would like to congratulate you on an excellent evening of entertainment for the masses"

George Frideric Handel: "My Lord, I should be sorry if I only entertain them. I wish to make them better."

You tell him Handel!

Whatever your art, do it for the glory of God. Apply it for the betterment of His church. Don't sell yourself short; Your art is important. It's important to God and It's important to the church. Where would our faith be today without the Psalms? David was an artist. Where would our faith be without the Proverbs or Solomon's Temple? Solomon was an Artist.

Think of how you have been encouraged by a well conceived combination of the right words delivered at the right time into your life. Have you been inspired by Art?

One of the greatest saints of recent memory was Henri Nouwen. As a professor of phsicology at Harvard, he made a trip to St. Peters-burgh Russia and visited the famous Hermitage museum. He saw the painting of Rembrant's Prodigal Son and couldn't take his eyes off of it. For 3 hours he stared into the painting and changed his life. He went directly back home and resigned his position and Harvard and went to work with the mentally retarded in Toronto.

WOW!

Has God used art to speak to you and inspire? Has art touched you so deeply in the spirit that it leads you to a transformation? God wants to change your life. Art is a medium He often uses to speak to His people. Are you being transformed? or are you being entertained? What are you looking for in art?

Happy Baseball Day!

It's that time of year again!! I'm so excited. For me Opening Day really is like a holiday. That makes last night Baseball's Eve.

My favorite baseball carol is probably "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" but that is probably everybody's favorite. I also like the clapping song, you know, the one with 2 claps followed by a pause then 3 quick claps. It goes like this; clap clap.... clap clap clap. Yeah... that's a nice baseball carol.

If I had remembered to leave my stocking out last night, I'm sure that George Brett would have come down my chimney and left a tube of liniment or lucky socks. I forgot to leave up my stocking, but I still have the hope and anticipation that comes with the start of a new season. No one knows who will win and who will loose. There will be many surprises and some teams will overachieve while others fail to live up to expectations.

It life, however we KNOW that Jesus has already given us the victory and conquered our foe, the devil! AND All things are possible in Christ; As we live out this life, we are more than conquerors. True, that nothing will surprise our Lord, but we will continually be delighted and surprised by what he does in us, through us and all around us. We will see Him do things that we just shake our head at and say "WOW." We'll call these thing miracles.

For those of you who enjoy baseball.... Have a Happy Baseball Day. And to ALL of you; may you know the blessing and joy of living each day "In Christ." In Him, you are more than conquerors, the victory is already here, Christ has won it and he invites us to join his team and share in that victory.

Birthdays Matter

Today is Nathan's 3rd Birthday. We can't believe that he is so big! He was such a surprise blessing to us 3 years ago. We never saw it coming, but God did. We are thankful! He is 10 years younger than his next sibling, Jared.

Jared turned 13 before Christmas. We are so proud of the young man he is becoming. He has so much to offer the world, and Christ is living in him and growing him physically and spiritually. We are having a party for him and invited guests this Saturday. It will mostly be family and a few friends, and just for the guys.

Several years ago, Mel and I decided that we would make the 13th birthday a special experience for each of our kids. We try to emphasize how we see God growing them into the young man or (young woman in Hannah's case) that he designed for them to be before the ever took their first breath.

On Hannah's 13th she had a tea party - I wasn't there (Girls only)

Timothy's 13th was spent in the woods at Clinton lake because he loves the outdoors and enjoys time in quiet solitude - we had a fish fry and the mentoring men in Tims life were their to encourage him- (Guys only)

Jared's 13th will be at our house and we will spend time playing board games - because Jared is a socializer - he loves to spend time with people. My prayer is that this will be an encouraging time for Jared too. (Guys only)

Have any of you reading this blog done something similar to recognize your kids "Growing in Christ?" Please leave your comments below. I'd love to hear your ideas; things you've attempted and if they were successful or not. Maybe you have participated in one of our kids birthdays and have some feedback.

I hope we have been successful; we're trying. We love our kids so much and look forward, expectantly to the great adults they will become as the grow in Christ.

Is Jesus Center?

I've really been enjoying this book over the last month. Some terrific theology can be found in this book which takes deliberate steps to restate Christ as the center of our faith. While reading this book, I have been very encouraged and affirmed, as I'm reminded of who I am "In Christ." I remember being told as I grew up in the church that, because of Christ, God no longer sees my faults and shortcomings when He looks at me. Instead, He see the righteousness of His Son, Jesus.

Jesus Manifesto also does a great job of glorifying Jesus as the "Firstborn of all creation." It reminds us that the whole of Scripture points to Jesus, just as Jesus says to the pharisees in John 5. Jesus, addressing the pharisees in John 5 says these words.

"You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life."

Reading Jesus Manifesto has reinforced this lesson; that the purpose for which we study the Word is to know Jesus. Sometimes in my life I have been guilty of looking to the Bible for a quick fix or a "How To." But the Bible is not a "self help" book, it is in fact quite the opposite, a "deny self" book.

As of today, I'm only 2/3 of the way through this book, but I have read enough that I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to put Jesus back at the center of their world.

60 minutes in an hour?

I was taught early in grade school that 60 seconds are in a minute, 60 minutes are in an hour and 24 hours are in a day. I'm starting to have my doubts about that math! This weekend an full hour just disappeared but it seems like a whole lot more than 60 minutes was lost.

I'm still trying to figure out why it is taking me 3+ days to catch up with the 1 hour of sleep I lost over the weekend. Haven't especially stayed up later than normal. In fact, by last weeks time clock, I'm going to bed an hour earlier each night. It's not adding up!

1 Hour missing over the weekend. Add back in the 20 minute name Sunday, plus a 45 minute nap yesterday. And by my calculations I've gone to bed 30 minutes earlier each night. That comes to an additional 125 minutes minus the 60 and I should be 65 minutes ahead! Why am I still tired? I'm still missing that 1hr.

Here is my theory--- I think the hours during sleep are longer than the hours we are awake! They must be. Because the hour we lose is supposedly the 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock hour. I theorize that if we set our clocks back on Saturday morning after we wake up, we would be much less tired because that hour on Saturday morning is truly only 60 minutes and the hour in the middle of the night is probably like, I don't know... I just know it's longer than 60, because my tired body is telling me so.

Fun, Fellowship and Rock-n-Roll

I'm still contemplating the devotion, talents and skills of our members involved in Phil's Diner 2. This past weekend was an awesome time of fun, fellowship and rock-n-roll. I enjoyed that our church was saying to our friends and neighbors "Just come and have fun with us." And FUN it was indeed.

Now we are all exhausted. I fought the temptation to cancel a Monday 5:15 creative team meeting. A team of which each member was involved in the Dinner Theater. I'm sure they were all as exhausted as I was and still am. I didn't cancel and we had a great meeting.

It's a good kind of exhaustion we are feeling. Job well done by all of you!! It was worth it. People came and some came back Sunday morning. Others will trickle in to our presence again, down the road and they'll remember the joyful spirits and presentation of Phil's Diner. They'll remember that we are a church. They have recognized that we are a family. They have seen us work and play well with each other. We set an example of being the body.

Here is a warning. In your exhaustion you (and I) need to rest. But it is tempting to turn inward and become self focused. This happened to Elijah after the big show at Mt. Carmel. God used him to put the prophets of Baal to shame, then Elijah ran and hid in Horeb. I've experienced this Elijah syndrome myself and it is the pits!

What am I trying to say? Cast, Crew, Leaders, Musician - You did a fantastic job Friday and Saturday and all the days leading up to them in which you worked hard a prepared. Now, rest and prepare yourselves to lead and serve again. But don't go hide and don't despair. The Lord is on your side and is with you. He will give you rest and He is not done doing great things IN you!