Sharing a God Moment…

God is so amazing!  I really don’t have time to blog, but I’m going to sneak this one in.  It just fits with the new focus of the blog and what God is teaching me.  A friend let me borrow a book and study to look over to possibly use to mentor youth.  I am meeting with a teen this afternoon, and I pulled the book and study out to look over it.  Remember me writing in my last blog on Saturday about God teaching me in those early morning hours spent with Him that mentoring, coaching, and counseling is really about the heart?  Well, this is what the title of the book is: The Squire and the Scroll:  A Tale of the Rewards of a Pure Heart!  I remembered the Squire and Scroll part, but not the rest.  How cool is that??  I read the book to re-familiarize myself with it, and there is a verse at the end of the story.  Any guesses?  It was the verse I posted about on Saturday:  Psalm 119: 9:  How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word. What a confirmation!  I can’t wait to take this young man through the study.  Anyway, lots to do, but wanted to share that.

May God bless you as you seek Him today!

Radical Love for God

My day yesterday began at 4:00 a.m.  I attended the “School of Leaders” from about 5:30 to 7:30, taught chapel for Community School, drove to Manhattan, KS to hear my spiritual coach / mentor, Dean Trune, speak at Manhattan Christian College on the topic of radical love for God, had lunch with him and some other great people, walked around the Kansas State University campus with Dean and talked about family, ministry, and life in general, drove home (stopping along the way at a roadside park for some time with God), had two counseling sessions (in which I was able to see God working in amazing ways in each person’s lives), learned how to check pH and chlorine levels in the baptistry from a friend, got home around 9:30, was bombarded (in a good way) by stories from the day from some kids who were up way past bedtime but wanted to see me, curled up in the recliner with my son to read a Franklin book (after which he quickly went to sleep), read my Bible and went to sleep about 11:00.  What an awesome day it was!!  I felt so good when I went to bed.  My cup was full and I had experienced a full day of spending time with God and seeing Him at work.  Most days that are busy aren’t as fulfilling, but this was a exceptional day.

Just focusing on one part of the day, I’d like to share a little about Dean’s presentation.  Dean challenged his audience to having radical love for God vs. casual love.  He talked about the character quality of passion.  He defines it as a strong and compelling desire for God that results in an intentional and intense pursuit of Him.  That gives me goosebumps.  Loving God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength is radical, not casual.  His love for us is not casual.  For goodness sake He loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for us, taking all sin upon Himself, so that we may live eternally.  That is radical!  If we have a radical love for God, time with Him will be our top priority.  We spend time with those we love.  Dean went as far as to say if we don’t spend time with God, how can we say we love Him.  When we have casual love for God, our time with Him gets sacrificed.  However, when we have radical love for Him, it is me and my will that gets sacrificed, and that’s a good thing!  When we have casual love for God, we disappoint Him with our priorities.  However, when we have radical love for God, we may disappoint people with our priorities, but not God.  I’d much rather disappoint people than God!

He stated that casual living is a learned activity.  It is learned by being around other casual Christians.  New Christians are often on fire (radical) because they haven’t yet been exposed to the casual Christianity that we too often see in the church.  You know – the kind that we too often see in those who have been Christians for a long time and have lost their zest and passion for God.  In America, we too often worship the gods of comfort, security, and control (and right up there is the god of entertainment), and this leads us into being casual.  However, we are to love God more than we hate suffering.  This leads us into radical living – living that goes completely against the culture.  Too often we have radical excuses, but we shouldn’t try to justify our disobedience.  Radical love for God means saying, “YES,” when He calls, no matter the risk and sacrifice.

So, that’s about all I have time for today.  I have a devo. at a nursing home, two counseling sessions at the pregnancy care center, a baptism, Wed. night All Stars (no I’m not talking about the World Series, but our Wed. night program), and the men’s post encounter…  It’s going to be another great day.  I can’t wait to live radically and share it with others.

May God radically bless you today as you radically love Him!

God’s Wisdom and Strength, Not Mine

Wow, after my post late last night, I had a confirming Word from God early this morning.  I love when God does this.

All of the passage that I read was significant:  I Corinthians 1:18-2:5.  However, I will just type the part that hit me the most, beginning in vs. 25:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.  Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.  It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”  When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear, and much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

That is how I move forward, not in my strength or wisdom, but in God’s power.  God is the Father to the fatherless and the defender of widows.  Pure and undefiled religion is to look after widows and orphans in their distress and not to be polluted by the world.  How will He accomplish this?  Through us… His people.  Let us rise and take this city not by storm but by love.

You are the God of this city.  You are the hope to the hopeless.  Greater things are still to be done in this city.

Doing What I’m Called To Do!

I really have way too much to do to be blogging, but I feel like I need to do it.  I’ll catch up on other stuff later…

God is so amazing.  He has brought me into a career that totally fits the way He made me.  And, He is continuing to grow and develop me in my career and purpose.  My part has been to listen and obey.  I’m sure I don’t always get it right, but I’m trying.  I just want to continue to be clay in the Potter’s hand to be molded into the man He has created me to be.  Over the past week, I have had a couple of friends who have told me that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, which is a great encouragement.

As I look back over the week, I am so amazed at what God has done.  I have been able to teach a couple of chapel lessons on abiding in Christ through spending time in God’s Word.  I have been able to have lunch with my kids and with two kids from church, who are a part of our ministry to single parent families.  I have been able to deliver a bed and dresser donated by generous church members to a very grateful lady who needed them.  While there, I got hugs from three girls who are also from a single parent home and was able to have a prayer with them.  It was so awesome.  I have had seven counseling / coaching / encouragement sessions with various people and families this week.  After taking the “Servants by Design” test, it was obvious that counseling and mentoring are definitely part of my God-given design.  One family in particular that I met with this week is putting God first and He is moving through their family in an amazing way.  They are seeking where God wants each of them to serve.  I had a great talk with my mentor today, who always encourages me.  I also had the privilege to read to three different classes at one of our local elementary classes.  I absolutely love to do that because I can use different voices and help the kids enjoy books.  Not to mention, I give their teachers a little break.  I also went with three other guys to a training in Wichita called “Armor Up.”  I had a wonderful time with these guys.  We are exploring how we can start a ministry to the men who come into our local pregnancy care center.  I am so excited about this opportunity.  Tomorrow night we will get together with the families from our single parent family ministry, then Saturday I will meet with our local outreach team to talk about upcoming outreach events, such as a game feed, and on Sunday we will have session fourteen of Men’s Fraternity: The Great Adventure, where we will begin to talk about our “unique designs.”

Besides all that, I’ve had some wonderful early morning times with God, I’m still on track with Bible memory and my daily read-through-the-Bible plan, and I’ve had some good time with my family this week.  In fact, tonight, we’re going to have a family night.  Look out Wii, here we come.

I’ll have to admit, after saying all that, that I have been a bit stressed the past few days with the pace of life and everything on my to-do list.  However, I decided to take a few minutes and reflect on all the good that God is doing in me, around me, and through me.  I can’t help but be excited.

It’s been a God week, and I pray the same for you!  May God’s blessings rain down upon each of you!

Bring On The New Year!

I really don’t get into New Year’s resolutions.  If I call it that, it is almost like giving myself permission to do what most often happens with resolutions – QUIT.  However, it seems to be a great time to look back on the past year and to look forward to the new one.  I like fresh starts!  The last day of 2009 was awesome.  We were down in Texas spending time with my wife’s parents, who live next to Lake Brownwood.

On New Year’s Eve, I got up early and spent some great time with God.  In addition to Bible study and praying, I spent some time thinking back on all He had taught me throughout the year and all that had taken place.  I also spent some time praying and reflecting on how I want / need to grow in 2010.  Among these are to read through the Bible again (and not with the goal of getting through the Bible, but getting the Bible through me) and to memorize a verse per week, beginning with Psalm 91, which I have adopted as my theme passage for the year.  I will share one more of my goals for this year with you, and won’t bore you with the rest.  My mentor has the goal each year of making it the best year in his marriage, from his wife’s perspective.  I have adopted this goal for the year, as well.  I want my wife to be able to say that this is the best year of our marriage.  If I can say it, and she can’t, that means I have been selfish.  God has been teaching me that selfishness has no place in marriage (or anywhere else, for that matter), and this will be a great exercise in selflessness.

Later in the morning on New Year’s Eve, my oldest daughter wanted to get out and drive the golf cart, so she drove the other three kids and I down to the Lake.  We spent a good 30 minutes or so skipping rocks across the channel.  We were having a blast.  One of the girls brought me a piece of a clam shell that was sort of pearl colored and shiny, and it was in the shape of a heart.  Just the day before, as I was finishing up my study of Malachi, I had read the verses in Chapter 4 where it says that the prophet Elijah will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.  I kept the piece of shell as a reminder.  As God always does when He wants to drive a point home with me, He re-enforced this teaching by leading me to study the book of Luke next.  This morning, I read Chapter 1, verse 17:  “And he (John the Baptist) will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  I got chills when I read this verse.  God is reminding me to not neglect my own children as I minister to others, and I believe it is a confirmation in what I am doing to try to encourage other men in their fathering.  It also encourages me to take advantage of the opportunities God is giving me to help others grow spiritually.  I love when God does this!

After our rock-skipping adventure, my wife and I left the kids with her parents and went on a date.  We saw the movie, “The Blind Side,” and I highly recommend it.  It is based on a true story of how a family took in a fatherless child and made a huge difference in his life.  Those of you who know me know why I like this movie so much.  I have such a heart for those children whose Dad can’t or won’t be a part of their lives.  Anyway, we went for a late lunch after the movie.  We had a great visit over a Schlotsky’s sandwich and soup.  This was one of our favorite places to eat early on in our relationship, and it brought back great memories.  After that, we went shopping and then went back to rescue the grandparents.  Later that evening, the kids opened gifts from my wife’s siblings.  You probably heard the scream clear up here in Kansas when they opened up their Wii.   Anyway, it was a great way to end the year.  We got the Wii hooked up last night, and some of us are a little sore today (yes, even I played… LOL).

I am so excited about what God has in store for 2010.  I want to apply Psalm 91:1 (typing from memory since this is my memory verse for the week): “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

May God bless you as you seek Him in 2010!

Don’t Fence Me In

I’m guessing most people have given up on me, as I haven’t blogged in awhile.  However, this morning, a friend commented on my last post (from over 2 months ago), and it inspired me.  Then, I began to read some of my old posts and realized what all God has been teaching me this year.  Back on May 20, I wrote how I was sensing that “thirty-seven” was going to be a significant year.  God has not disappointed me.  I climbed my first mountain and went on my first overseas mission trip.  In addition, God has taught me so many things along the way.

One thing that is happening from all of this is that the spirit of adventure deep inside me is manifesting itself in big ways.  This is the perfect year for me to be going through Men’s Fraternity – The Great Adventure.  We are almost half way through the course, and I am excited about the second half.  I am trying to process it all.  One thing I’m trying to do is bring my spirit of adventure together with my desire to help people grow spiritually.  For me, being outdoors and doing things like climbing mountains is such a spiritual experience, such an incredible time with God.  One of the things I put on my “Life Compass” (things I want to do before I die – could also be called the “Bucket List”) from Men’s Fraternity is that I want to be a spiritual life coach.  I’m not sure what that looks like, yet, but I hope it involves some trips to the mountains with people who want to grow closer to God.

I only have a certain amount of time on this earth, and I want every minute to count.  I will try to blog more often as God leads me on this adventure called life!

May God bless you as you seek Him first and embark on the great adventure that He has for you!

Mountain Top Experience

I’ve had a hard time writing lately.  I start to write and then it just doesn’t sound right.  Here goes another attempt.  I wish I could just download what’s on my heart.  It all sounds good on the inside until I try to write it out…  Maybe I should just do little bits at a time.  I always end up writing mini-novels.  One thing I learned on this trip is that we climb mountains one step at a time.

I just got back from a trip with a friend to Colorado to ascend Mt. Elbert.  Let me tell you, the view from 14,433′ was spectacular!  Though, it was probably the most taxing thing I’ve ever done physically and mentally, it was also one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  I learned a lot about myself and a lot about God on that mountain.  Before I left home, I kept joking about “dying on the mountain”, meaning I wasn’t sure that I was in the physical shape to do it.  Well, I did die on the mountain in a way.  I came back a different person on the inside, having had spent time with God on the mountain.  I kept thinking of how it must have been for Moses on Mt. Sinai as he spent time with God for 40 days and nights.  No wonder the dude was glowing when he came back down.  I think I was almost there after just a few hours.  I desperately want to go back and do it again.  I have always found such peace in my heart when in the mountains.  There is just something about it that frees my heart, and the dreams begin to flow again.  My sense of adventure seems to heighten.  God uses the mountains to bring restoration and renewal to my soul.

Yesterday, I was watching one of the videos to prepare myself to lead Men’s Fraternity 3 – The Great Adventure.  Robert Lewis read a quote from John Eldredge’s book Wild at Heart that really spoke to me: “Adventure with all its requisite danger and wildness is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of man.  The masculine heart needs a place where nothing is prefabricated, modular, nonfat, ziplocked, franchised, online, or microwaveable; where there are no deadlines, cell phones, or committee meetings; just simply where there is room for the soul, where finally the geography around us corresponds to the geography of our heart.  Deep in a man’s heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at the kitchen table:  “Who am I?”  “What am I made of?”  “What am I destined for?”  It is fear that keeps a man at home, where things are neat and orderly and under his control, but the answers to his deepest questions are not to be found on television or at a ballgame, or in the refrigerator.  These answers require a courageous adventurer whose quest is nothing less than the best of life.”

I hope to share with you over the next days some things that God really taught me during my adventure up the mountain.  I think I’ve written enough for now.

May God bless you as you seek your own adventures!

Spiritual Retreat

It is a beautiful day.  The rain has cleared and the sun is shining.  It was a perfect day for my spiritual retreat.  I rode my bike down the Jim Martinez Sunflower Trail.  I have a couple of favorite spots by the Arkansas River where I stop to spend time with God.  I had some great time of seeking God and listening.

Awhile back, during another spiritual retreat day, I asked God what His vision for my life was.  I believe that answer is becoming more and more clear as I have been spending time seeking Him and listening.  As I have been reading through the book of Nehemiah, I sense an urging to become a repairer of the breach that has taken place in families.  This includes leading men to be better spiritual leaders, husbands and fathers, helping people to grow spiritually and teaching them how to pursue God (after all, His Holy Spirit is our “in-house” Counselor!), helping strengthen marriages and families, and by standing in the gap for single parent families.  I’m not so arrogant as to think I’m perfect and can do all of this myself or in my own strength.  In fact, the whole thought of it kind of overwhelms me.  However, I am available for however God wants to use me.

I believe that all of the ministries that I’m responsible for can be aligned under this key vision of building the wall and repairing the breaches that are happening in families.  God is teaching me a lot about leadership, which will be crucial as I lead teams in making this happen.  He is also leading me toward getting more training in couseling.  My heart is wide open to His wisdom and leading.  Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.

May God bless your family!

Nehemiah 3 – The Power of Teamwork

I am enjoying a beautiful morning on the  patio.  I love spending time with God outdoors.  It just does my heart good.  I’ve seen sparrows, orioles, robins, chickadees, a woodpecker, a bluejay, a cardinal, and lots of squirrels.  This is the time of year I enjoy having lots of trees.  When fall comes, though, that’s a different story.

Well, in Nehemiah 3, the construction on the wall begins.  I love it that it starts with the priests.  As the spiritual leaders, they are the ones who are poised to set the example.   They rebuilt the Sheep Gate, where the sheep are washed before being brought to the temple for sacrifice, and they consecrated it.  They also consecrated the walls.  It was the firstfruits of their labor and was dedicated to God.

Then, as we go down the line, we see differing levels of involvement.  Some wouldn’t work while others worked with zeal.  Many were working in an area where they had a vested interest (close to their home or area of work).  It seems like some took multiple assignments.  This was a very diverse group of people who came together for one purpose: to rebuild the wall.  Each may have had different motives for being involved, but it was apparent that no one could do it alone.

I have no doubt that Nehemiah had incredible leadership skills to bring all these people together under one common purpose and vision.  He didn’t try to be some kind of her0 and do the work himself.  He must have cast a compelling vision with a good plan that included clear expectations.  I believe we can take this principle and use it in the church or our places of business.  People will rally around a vision if it is worthy and they can see their part in it.  Everyone has different gifts and talents and they would like to be able to use them if they can see where they could make a difference.  A good leader can cast such a vision.

It is so amazing when people come together and work toward a common goal.  Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.”  When two are working together, it’s amazing how they can get more work done that if they had each worked separately doing the same thing.  When many come together, watch out.  The results will be phenomenal.  Believe me, this is an area where I need a lot of work.  For too long, I’ve had a hard time asking for help and have had the “I’ll just do it myself attitude.”  Like I’ve said, I’m learning a lot and look forward to applying it.

AND, as we will learn next time, men will fight for their cause if they believe in it and have a vested interest.  Stay tuned for tomorrow when Nehemiah shows his “William Wallace” side!

I’m sure I could write much more about the power of teamwork, but I have lots to do to help get ready for a cookout here at the house tonight.  I’m really looking forward to having the families from our Wings of Love ministry over tonight.  We may even have a campfire and roast some marshmallows. Hey, maybe I can teach my kids the value of teamwork by casting a vision and getting them to help us get ready for tonight…

May God bless you as you work together, doing the work He has called you to do!

Nehemiah 2 – God at Work

In continuing my study of Nehemiah, I just want to share briefly what I learned in Chapter 2.

After praying and fasting for 3-4 months, Nehemiah could no longer hide his sadness (burden) from the king.  This could have cost him his life because everyone was supposed to be cheerful in the presence of the king.  However, the king noted that this was sadness of the heart and asked Nehemiah what was wrong.  In fear, Nehemiah stated the problem, and the king responded with the question, “What is it you want?”

At that point, I’m guessing Nehemiah’s heart skipped a few beats.  All of his prayer, fasting, and mental planning and preparing had come down to this moment.  What does he do?  He sends up a flare prayer (you know… one of those, “Oh, Lord be with me” kind of prayers when you’re right in the middle of a situation) and then answers the king.  He had already been praying about it, and obviously he had a plan in his mind prepared for the day the door opened.  So, he told the king exactly what he wanted to do, and not only did the king give him the ”time off”, he made sure he would have safe passage along the way and building materials once he got there.  Then, Nehemiah gave God the credit in the last part of vs. 8: “And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.”

Once in Jerusalem, Nehemiah and a few men went by night to inspect the damages.  As a true leader, he didn’t just send someone else to do it, he made the assessment himself.  With a job of this magnitude, he couldn’t rely on second-hand information.  He had to see the damage himself.

Then, he cast the vision to the people of Jerusalem by saying, ”You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.  Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”  He presented a problem that was affecting them, then a solution, and lastly told them about the benefit it would be to them to have the problem solved.  Then, he backed it up by telling them all that God had already been doing to lead them to this point (giving a little history for those who were clueless how he had come to the point of knowing this was what God wanted them to do).  In the true spirit of Henry Blackaby’s book, Experiencing God, they saw what God was doing and they joined Him in His work because at the end of vs. 18, they said, “Let us start rebuilding.”  And so they did.

At the end of Chapter 2, I love how Nehemiah answers the opposition, those who were ridiculing and mocking them: “The God of heaven will give us success.  We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”  He knew what God wanted him to do, and he was not swayed by their words.  That’s what happens when we stay close to God  – we know beyond a shadow of a doubt what He wants us to do and we won’t let anything stop us. 

Do we want to know God’s will?  It comes from first knowing God and abiding in Him.  As we are spending time with Him and / or doing His work, He will often lay something on our hearts.  The first reaction is to begin to act on it.  However, if we really want supernatural results, we better spend some time praying and waiting for God’s timing.  During this praying and waiting time, a vision will probably begin to form in our minds and we’ll probably write down what God is teaching us.  Then, when the time is right, He will make things happen beyond our wildest imaginations, and we’ll know it’s from Him because there is no way we could pull off “something like that.”  We’ll cast the vision, share what God has been doing, and people will get onboard!  And through it all, we’ll be in total awe, giving God all the glory.

Like I said yesterday, I’m in the praying mode regarding several things on my heart, including our ministry to single parent families, but not limited to it.  Waiting is not easy, but it is worth it.  I don’t want to step out ahead of God, like I’ve done before.

May you abide in God and build intimacy with Him first and foremost!