A Few Things I Learned In 2011

Here are a few things I learned from 2011.

1. I hit a wall about half way through the year. I started to compare myself to other pastors in the country. I know that I have blogged about not doing this, but I found myself watching so many different people online preach, and thought "wow, if I could just preach like that.." This is something I will absolutly not do in 2012

2. I gained insight into how urgent it is to keep a good name. I am reminded that a good name is important, so doing whatever is necessary to make the right decisions is what must be done.

3. Words are strong. Speaking positive even when I don't want to is the only option I have. Even when people royally tick me off, I am obligated to speak positively to them and about them.

4. Praying daily is essential for spiritual momentum. Staying connected with God on a daily basis needs to be a top priority.

5. Don't let your family go too long without you. Your kids need you, your brother and sister need you, your wife need you, your husband need you, and your parents need you.

There is so much more that I could write on what I have learned this year, but it would take hours to read, so I hope this little burst encourages someone out there in internet land.

My Almost Minor Addiction

This is no secret to my friends who live around me, but to the rest of you that I am not able see at least once a year, I want to let you in on a minor addiction of mine. That's funny, I can tell that you are hooked now! I happen to have a bit of a passion for xbox live. It all started with Call Of Duty Black Ops. I vowed I would never play first person shooter games, but Black Ops was extremely theraputic. Ok, that's a little over exagerated, but I spent a ton of time honing my trigger pulling, and grenade tossing skillz. I thought I would never spend that much time with a TV and Controller ever again! I thought I was freed from stayihg up late and talking with people all over the world. I thought I was actually going to be able to sleep without seeing crosshairs in my dreams. How could I have overlooked the fact that we live in a world that is constantly competing for a better online gaming experience? When I started to see the advertisments and trailers for Modern Warfare 3I knew I was doomed! I knew The late nights and crosshair dreams were going to strike with a vicious force all over again. And trust me, they have! Once again I find myself spending time in front of my TV holding a Wireless Controller, and strapping on my Headset so I can communicate with the voices on xbox live. With 2012 only 6 weeks away I have a new goal that these theraputic, (ha ha), games have taught me. My goal is to spend more time with my bible, alone in a room, strapping on a headset to hear the voice of God. 2012 starts NOW for me. I strongly desire to hone my faith so I can toss strong words that will impact people for the greater good. When I fall asleep I want to dream of how blessed we can be when we spend time intentionally getting to know God. Let's gear up for a year where our focus is on HIM!

Who Fails Who

Tuesday morning I take a little time to check into the NFL stats and highlights. We all know that our favorite teams and players fail the fans from time to time. Trust me I know this really well in the fact that I am a Vikings fan. Here's kind of a humbling thought. Our friends will fail us, our employers will fail us, and sometimes we even fail ourselves. With that comes great dissapointment, and feelings that are somehow tough to manage. But here is a great promise: Hebrews 13:5 "I will never fail you, I will never abandon you." It is a promise that can bring comfort when we experience all different kinds of failures. God will never fail you, He will never fail me, let's take that promise and intentionally apply it to our daily living.

Live With An Intentional Mindset

As we were together as a family my mother would always say "we better enjoy this time we have together, because we might not get too many more opportunities to enjoy each other." It never failed, we knew it was coming before we would all part and go our seperate ways. The idea that time flys is so real! Think about it for a second. We are in the middle of October! Crazy! In just a few short weeks we are going to be driving slowly through our neighborhoods dodging goblins, spongebobs, superheros and other masked characters looking to fill their bags with candy. After that we only have 2 months before the new year arrives. How do we navigate through these fast paced years and make the biggest impact we can make? It all begins with becoming Intentional. If we are intentional our expectations become real, and we are able to turn our thoughts and desires into reality. If we are intentional we can bring focus to our day, and capitalize on what we have identified as important. If we are intentional about becoming a better parent, we will become a better parent. If we are intentional about helping others, we will help others. If we are intentional about growing spiritually, we will grow spiritually. Go ahead and add your own sentence, and you will do whatever that is, if you are intentional. I am excited to see what happens as we live with an intentional mindset.

10 More Pounds

Anybody else out there having a tough time losing 10 pounds? That's all I want, lose 10 more pounds and I will be at my goal that I set for the end of the summer! So I decided for some motivation, I will watch the new season of The Biggest Loser on Hulu, up my cardio workout in the gym, and see if the weight watchers points plan might work. I was really excited when I found out that it is possible to calculate how many points I am allowed per day. I was even more excited when I found out that a Mcdouble Bacon Cheeseburger from Mcdonalds is worth 7 points. I love that burger! (lol, I saw your face when you said "eww.") But here's the other thing I took note of. Even though that burger is allowed in the weight watchers point system, it's not neccesarily good for me. All of the fat grams, sodium, calories, and carbs, still affect my body. This reminded me of a principle that comes righ out of the Bible -

1 Corinthians 10:23 - "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive."

So, I guess I'll have to change to eating those Olive Garden Breadsticks! (O come on... I'm JOKING!)

Ahhh!! The Rapids!

In college a group of us decided to go to a great place for cliff jumping. Once we arrived, someone thought it was a "fantastic" idea to swim across the river to the cliff jumping site. So, the ego side of all the men chimed in, and we started our swim. I remember the rapids in the middle of the swim. They grew stronger and stronger. I was getting tired, and I remember thinking to myself, "I am going to drown out here because I am so tired." There is not a whole lot you can do in the middle of a river with strong rapids but swim, swim, swim, and push through the pain. I was wearing shoes because cliff jumping is easier on your feet if you have some padding. However, I felt they were working against me, so I took my shoes off and let them float away.

Have you ever felt like you are going to drown because of some sort of life situation? Maybe it's a financial situation, or a relationship situation, or a health situation. Maybe you feel like you are stuck in a rut, and as you grow tired your first thought is, "I am not going to make it, the rapids are too strong!" When this thought hits, find the thing that is holding you back, and let it float down stream. Get rid of the pieces that you think are going to kill you, and swim! swim! swim! You will make it to the other side.

Back To The Blog!

WOW!!! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get back on the BLOG! I want to be transparent and let you know why it has been such a long time since I have been writing. This Summer Has Been Crazy! Alot of great things have happened, but also alot of things have been going on that I have never had to face before. Have you ever had things happen in your life where all you can say is "I hope this all works out for the good?" Or how about this, you thought something was going to work out one way, but it totally went a different direction and threw you off the wagon? That has been my summer in a nutshell. Here is the key thought I have had all summer long. Stay The Course, Be Open To New Direction, And Trust For A Bright Future. Be Confident When Things Are Going Great, And Be Confident When Things Are Going Crazy. Don't Allow Worry To Consume Your Heart. Fight, Fight, Fight, and Rest, When You Can't Fight Any More. I hope you all had a great summer!

30 Days To Live Part 2

Brief Humorous Story - a man was given six months to live. Upon the hearing of this news he asked the doctor if there was anything that could be done medically to extend his time. The doctor replied “ no, but I would suggest this – move your mother in law in your house to live with you” – puzzled by this reply he asked the doctor “will this make me better? - the doctor replied “no but I promise you it will be the longest six months of your life“

30 Days To Live is more of a reminder to do the important things in life on a daily basis. I think every day goes by so fast and we sometimes forget what is important. Here are a couple of things I think are awesome to keep in mind on a daily basis.

#1 Help Others Who Are Experiencing Your Same Struggle. If you found out that you had 30 days to live, wouldn't you find yourself helping anybody with whatever issue they were facing? We always think we need to have it all figured out before we help, but what I find is when I help someone who has a similar issue as to what I am facing, it actually helps me through my struggle as well.

#2 Help Others By Giving Your Support. Have you ever had someone unload their life junk on you and while they are talking you are completely overwhelmed, you can’t believe what you are hearing, you know that you have absolutely no answer, and when they are done talking you know you are going to give them that embarrassing blank stare? Here’s the good news, you don’t always have to have an answer. Sometimes the best statement you can make is, “I have absolutely no idea what you are going through, but I’m standing with you. You don’t have to do this by yourself.”

#3 Help Others By Leading Them Toward Stability. Peoples lives are always being moved, and changed, and frustration can take over really quickly. When they lay their heads on the pillow at night they find themselves begging for stability.
I think we can lead others towards stability by saying, “Even though the whole world is changing, Jesus is the same and he cares deeply for you!

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

#4 People Need Significance. There is a pastor that I watch a couple of times a year on TV, and every time I have watched him he has said this phrase, “There’s A Champion Inside Of you.” I won’t watch him for like 3 months and I turn him on and there it is again, “There’s A Champion Inside Of You.”

People just need to hear that from time to time. If I found out that I had 30 days to live, I would become the Significance Cheer Leader. “You… Are… Significant…” “Who Rocks The World, You Rock The World.” Your Significant… You’re You’re Significant…
S I G N I F I C A N T.”

There ya have it. A Couple of things we can start to do today.

30 Days To Live

This weekend I have been thinking "What If I Found Out I Had 30 Days To Live?" Powerful thought isn't it? I think there would be some changes I would make. For instance, if I had 30 days to live I would most likely spend a whole lot more time with my family istead of using phrases like; "yes, let's do that in a little while," or "I'll be able to play with you in a little bit." If I had 30 days to live I would spend longer nights talking with my wife at night before I go to bed, and maybe even watch her as she sleeps. If I had 30 days to live I would most likely say no to some things that are a waste of time. All in all, I look at this concept and I am hit by the thought that we spend alot of time doing things we really don't need to do, and we miss out on the good things in life. What if you had 30 days to live? Would there be any changes you make?

.....MMM....

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!!" You're reading this right now. Do you ever find yourself asking that question? Vent it out. What is going on in your heart right now?

Something God Doesn't Know

Did you know that there is something that God doesn't know? You're reading that line thinking to yourself, "Wow, this guy is doubting the all - knowing power of God." No really, there is one thing that God doesn't know, and here it is, get ready.... pay attention... focus... GOD DOESN'T KNOW THE IMPOSSIBLE. Consider this thought as you begin to dream about your future. Consider this thought when you think to yourself, "It's Never Going To Happen because it's..... Impossible :(

Michelangelo said "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that our aim is actually too low and we reach it."

Here is a pretty cool thought. In the bible there is an amazing verse in Mathew 19:26 that says, "...with man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible." God doesn't know the impossible. I believe that if many of us would stop saying "that's impossible" we would see God move on our behalf and watch the impossible become possible. Put a little trust in God, and watch how those things you once thought were impossible, become possible.

You Want Me To Set What?? GOALS!

What's up everyone in Internet land! HAPPY NEWYEAR! Can you already feel the excitement of the new year? If you can, make a little noise right there where you are sitting (woop woop. I remember exactly where I was a year ago today. I thought I was setting up 2010 as year that would simplify my life, but instead I ended up complicating it. Ahhh, what a horrible feeling. Hear are the two questions I asked myself at the beginning of 2011.

1. Where Don't I want to be by the end of the year?
2. What Do I need to Do to make sure I make great decisions for 2011?

If you had a tough year last year, I want to say "DON'T GIVE UP!" This year is going to be a better year for you. I don't know all of the things you have going on in your life, but I promise, if you set some goals, simple goals, you are going to move through this year with confidence. Take one day at a time, don't get stressed out, don't think about all the things that are going wrong, and don't think "I QUIT!" You are going to make it. Let's set some goals together this year.