Ten Key Moves – Spiritual Leadership

I have had a lot of hits the past several days on my Ten Key Moves posts.  Being familiar with the Men’s Fraternity schedule, this doesn’t surprise me.  I am thankful for this because it has encouraged me to get out my list and take some time to review and reflect.  By the way, you can read all of the key moves I’ve written about under the category on my home page “10 Key Moves.”  Thanks for reading.

In reviewing my list, I see that I left out something very critical.  It’s something I’ve been working on, but is not on my list.  It has to do with my spiritual leadership at home, and I’m adding it now to be stated like this, “I will continue to grow so I will be a strong spiritual leader in my home.  I will lead family devotion and prayer times.  I will pray with my wife and children individually on a regular basis.  I will take every opportunity to teach and to lead by example, including finding opportunities for us to serve together.  I will encourage my family to pursue God individually, utilizing the spiritual disciplines that He has given us.”

In order for this to happen, I must be passionately pursuing God.  I cannot lead my family or anyone else spiritually if I am not growing.  In addition, I have to make it happen by setting aside a regular time and place where we will come together for family devotions and prayer.  Otherwise, it will be too easy to let other things take priority.

In my sermon this past Sunday I spoke about the need to be a disciple in order to make disciples.  An older couple in our church told me afterward that their 40 year old son told them that he remembers seeing his dad reading the Bible at the kitchen table and said it made such an impact on him.  That made me stop and think.  My time with God is usually spent in the early morning hours down in our basement before my family is even awake…

Okay.  With all this said, I would like to share something that I learned while preparing for my sermon.  I’ll give you the shortened version.  Have you ever heard the term “the apple of the eye?”  Usually, it is an endearing term used for someone we care about a lot, especially one of our children.   It can be found in the Bible in about four places, depending on what version you look at:  Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8, Proverbs 7:2, and Zechariah 2:8.  Interestingly enough, it can also be translated “the pupil of the eye.”  It comes from the Hebrew phrase iyshown ayin, which means “little man of the eye.”  Have you ever looked into the pupil of someone’s eye.  You will see a small image of yourself.  In English the word pupil comes from the Latin word pupilla, or doll, which is derived from pupus or pupa (boy or girl, respectively).  Therefore, we use the term pupil to mean a student (small version of the teacher) or the black part of the eye where we see a reflection of our own image. 

I learned this as I was studying what it meant to be a disciple.  One of the definitions given for disciple is pupil.  As the word pupil means “little man of the eye” in Hebrew, we need to become little versions of our teacher (little men of our teacher’s eye).  That is what it means to become a disciple.  We should be so close to our Teacher that, in a spiritual sense, we can see our reflection in His eyes.  In addition, He should see Himself reflected in our lives.  In Jesus’ time, a disciple was one who was trying to become like his Rabbi in every sense.  He would not only be trying to gain knowledge, but would try to do everything the Rabbi did.  As disciples of Jesus, we need to learn to be like Him in every sense.  We need to have the knowledge, but we also need to live like He lived, doing the things He did.  When we do this, then we are equipped to make disciples, and it begins in our homes.

May God bless you as you seek to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ and lead others to do the same!

Tools, Tools, Tools

Nothing too deep today.  Just a story to share.  It was just my little guy and me at home last night, as the girls all had other things going on.  I decided to hang a mirror in the kids’ bathroom that we purchased on Saturday.  It was so cool because we found the perfect mirror that would tilt down for the kids, and it was on clearance at Lowe’s for 50% off!   We were finding that one mirror was not enough for three girls when they were all trying to brush hair, teeth, etc… in the mornings to get ready for school or church.  Imagine that!

So, I started getting all the tools together – drill and bit set, level, screwdriver, tape measure, hammer…  Yes, I needed a hammer to install a mirror as scary as it sounds.  I had to tap the wall anchors in.     I got a little nervous when I looked at the list of recommended tools for the job, though.  It included a hacksaw, pipe wrench, and pipe cutter!!  Even though I’m a little slow in the home improvement department, I quickly figured out that this was a generic list for any fixtures that this company produces, especially when one of the instructions said to be sure and cut off the water before installing the product… 

Immediately, my son got excited, and ran to his room to get his tools.  I decided to stop for a minute and help him pick out the same “tools” from his toolbox that I was going to be using.  Of course, he had to get his hard hat, too.  Maybe he was afraid I would drop the mirror on his head.   He kept asking, “What are you doing?” and “What’s that?”.  I really laughed when I said, “Hmmm…”, and then heard a little echo, “Hmmm…”   He was mimicking everything I was doing.  I’ve come to expect that, but it still fascinates me that he is watching me so closely. 

When we were finished, we had done something constructive and had some great time together.  I was just happy that it was all level and looked nice.  For me, there is a great sense of satisfaction when I’m able to do things like this, and especially when I can include the kids.

Now, I just need to schedule my projects so I can include other kids who don’t have dads around.  I would love to do that, but I do so many things on the spur of the moment.  Of course, there wasn’t room in the bathroom for too many more little hands, but I need to be thinking along those lines.

May God richly bless you today!

I’m Watching You, Dad

I have a bum finger, making it a little uncomfortable to type, plus I’m trying to get ready to preach on Sunday.  Therefore, I’m not going to write much today.  However, I do want to share this video that one of my good friends sent me yesterday.  It meant a lot coming from him because he said it reminded him of my son and me.  I actually have a picture of my son and I “mowing” the yard together like the one in the video.  Powerful message…

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5486ae62fd502645138e

May God bless you today!

Be a Blessing

My brain is too tired right now to go into anything real deep.  However, as I have shared before, God seems to teach me in “themes.”  Several of us went to a class Monday night, and I was reminded that we are here not just to be blessed but to be a blessing.  This goes all the way back to Genesis 12 (and repeated 4 other times in the book of Genesis) when God told Abraham that He would bless him, that he (Abraham) would be a blessing, and that all peoples on earth would be blessed in him.  I’ve heard this message before, but this was some deep Bible teaching on the subject and has really made me think.

I have been blessed beyond belief, and there is a great responsibility that comes with that:  I must be a blessing to others.

What would it look like to go about everything I do with the attitude that I want to be a blessing?  I want this to be our family motto:  BE A BLESSING.

May we all be a blessing to others today!

Quality Time

I feel like I scored a major victory this weekend with my second oldest.  While trying to find some time to spend time with a little girl who lost her daddy to cancer a few years ago, I thought it would be best to include one of my daughters who is close to the same age.  I knew with the personality of this particular daughter that it wouldn’t be a problem if we took a friend along for our “Daddy / Daughter” time.  However, I was floored by the results.

I was a little late picking them up from basketball camp and they were already speculating about what we were going to do.  They were sure we were going bowling, and they were excited about that!  I never dreamed these two would have an interest in bowling, but they did.  Therefore, I deviated from my original plans and we went bowling.  It was fun, but I wanted to do something a little more interactive.  We had some time left after that, so we went to the museum.  At our county museum they have a room where kids can roll play and the adults can interact.  They have a little school room, a house with a kitchen, a general store, a teepee, and a boat among other things.  We had so much fun.  I discovered that our little friend has quite a servant heart.  She wanted to do all the “cooking” and kept serving us instead of sitting down to “eat” with us.  Of course, she has too much energy to sit and be served.  It’s amazing what we can learn about children when we take the time to do things like this.

Both girls thanked me numerous times for doing this.  However, after I dropped our friend off, my daughter kept hugging and thanking me throughout the day.  She kept looking for opportunities to do things for me, and would then hug me and say, “I can’t thank you enough daddy for taking us bowling and to the museum today.”  She called it Daddy, Daughter, Friend time, and couldn’t have been more pleased.  I’m still reaping the benefits today – I ate lunch with her and she hugged me and thanked me again.

I’m afraid I’ve been missing the mark with her up to this point, but I finally got it right by speaking her love language:  QUALITY TIME.  It has been easy for me to connect with my oldest daughter because we’re a lot alike.  It’s easy for me to connect with my son because it just comes naturally.  However, I really have to make the effort to connect to my two middle daughters, especially the one I’m writing about.  She has a totally different personality and it is easy for me to miss the mark with her.

Let me encourage you today in what I’ve learned.  It’s important to learn our childrens’ love languages.  What speaks to one child doesn’t speak to another.  They are all different and we need to be students of them in order for them to feel loved.

May God bless your efforts in learning how to speak your childrens’ love languages!

Fathers Matter

If you have followed my blog much at all or have read some of the archives, you know I am passionate about ministry to single parent families.  This article from All Pro Dads sparked me and I want to share it with you.

This post is really not for single moms.  It is for those who have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of fatherless children.  However, I know that some single moms will read this, so I want to give this disclaimer:  If you are a single mom about to read this,  PLEASE don’t automatically think that your son or daughter is going to fit into one of these statistics just because they live in a single parent family.  God is the father to the fatherless and the defender of widows.  Put your children in God’s hands.  He will bring mentors around them to fill the gaps where you can’t.  Pray fervently, and watch God work in the lives of your children.

Dads, let’s make a difference in the lives of our children.  Be engaged.  Help them grow in their walk with God.  Don’t leave them hanging.  Be intentional.  Teach your sons what it means to be a man.  Let them know they have what it takes – don’t leave that question unanswered.  Let your daughters know they are lovely, beautiful, and captivating.  Let them know they are a real princess, because their real Daddy is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (part of a Dean Trune quote).  Teach them what to look for in a man.  Tell all your children that you love them and are proud of them and tell them some things they are good at for starters.  I could write so much more, but I need to end here for today. 

If you cannot tell, I have a renewed sense of urgency today.  Read this and learn why.

http://www.allprodad.com/playbook/viewarticle.php?art=53

May God give you wisdom in living our true and undefiled religion…

“Frosty, Man, Frosty”

I think that is a quote from an A&W Root Beer commercial from when I was a kid, but I’m not totally sure.  You’ll see later on why I named this post the way I did.

Anyway, we’re home after a very eventful several days in Texas.  I’ll give you a little run down of our trip and things learned along the way.  The first morning we were there, I was reminded of the incredible pride that the people have for their state (I haven’t lived there for 11 years, so it has faded over time).  Even the waffle iron at the Super 8 spit out Texas shaped waffles.   I cut the rectangular section out of the middle and said, “Hey kids, look, it’s Kansas”, but they all looked at me like I was a goof… 

Overall, we really had a good trip.  The weather was beautiful, hitting mid-70’s to 80 on at least three of the days we were down there.  We celebrated my wife’s Grandmother’s 90th birthday with several family members and friends in attendance.  The kids enjoyed lots of time outside, driving around on the Ranger and golf carts, among other fun activities, like feeding goats and deer.  My son got to ride with his uncle on the big farm tractor, though he was more enamored with the lawn tractor, probably because it’s green.  He got a non-animated John Deere video for Christmas and loves it…  The biggest thing for me was getting to work with my father-in-law and his neighbor in getting the heater fixed in our van.  We were able to do it for about a third of the price that the shop wanted here.  It was a lot more difficult than we had originally thought, but we got it done.  At one point, my father-in-law went in and told my wife that we had taken everything off but the windshield, and he wasn’t far from the truth!  I really enjoyed working with those guys.  The neighbor is a retired mechanic and really knows his stuff.  Neither of them was afraid to take things apart and do whatever needed to be done.  I’m always afraid of making things worse than they were before I started.  I learned two very valuable words in the process:  Gorilla Glue.   We were thankful for the heat yesterday as the cold front came through and the temps were colder the further north we traveled. 

Unfortunately, several of us got hit with the stomach bug and from about Monday through Saturday someone was sick to one degree or another.  Let’s just say that during all the bowl games that were going on, we had our own bowl game that we named the Lysol Toilet Bowl…  Sorry, that was bad…

I got to watch two of my favorite movies while on the trip:  Second Hand Lions and Facing the Giants.  Yesterday, we had a good life lesson as we were traveling home that went along with one of the themes of Facing the Giants. 

We had a 9 1/2 hour trip home yesterday, and the kids travelled very well.  For lunch we went through the drive through at Wendy’s.  I made a mistake in ordering, but corrected myself.  I ordered three Jr. Cheeseburgers but changed it to three Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers.  However, when I got to the window and they told me the price, I questioned that it sounded like too much.  Sure enough, they had charged us for all six burgers.  I told them that I only wanted the three Bacon Cheeseburgers, and they corrected the price.  However, when we got down the road we realized that they gave us all six burgers.  Can’t take food back (well we can, but they’ll just throw it away anyway), we were already down the road, and we had told them, so there wasn’t much we could do.  Also, they had been out of toys, so they gave the kids Frostys in stead.  SWEET!!!  No useless toys and they got to have a treat.

Fast forward five hours or so…  We decided to have “dinner” at McDonald’s because we had a gift card and there was one in the middle of the interstate that we could pull in and out like a pit stop.  Believe me, those are the only reasons…  So we ordered three regular cheeseburgers, right?  What is an important ingredient of a cheeseburger?  You got it – CHEESE.  They even wrapped each one neatly in the yellow paper that indicates that it’s a cheeseburger.  My oldest daughter began to open them one by one, saying, “Hey, there’s no cheese.”  By then, we had moved forward and the line was long and we were ready to get home.  So…  the kids grumbly decided to go on and not contest it.

Thus, I had a chapel lesson for this morning:  Praise God in the Frosty moments and the “not-so-cheesy-cheeseburger” moments.  Just like the coach said on Facing the Giants:  “we’ll praise Him when we win and we’ll praise Him when we lose.”  We were really blessed earlier in the day and felt robbed later on, but we still need to praise God for everything.

We have so much to be thankful for.  It would have been easy to focus on the sickness that went through the family and believe me, we had to focus on it way more than we wanted to.  However, we have so many things to be thankful for.  I’m looking forward to what God is going to do in 2009.

Happy New Year.  May you praise God no matter whether you are on the Frosty side or the not so cheesy cheeseburger side of life right now.