Another Step

Imagine you decided to take a trip southward and eventually ended up in Antarctica. This would take some serious maneuvering of travel modes, but it is distinctly possible that the frozen tundra of the South Pole would be your stopping place if you kept going south.

Once you arrived, you might complain about the cold temperatures and how it wasn't what you expected, but this is still the journey you chose to undertake. With a desire for warmer temperatures and a lack of enthusiasm for your surroundings, you can begin a northward trek. The truth, however, is that you won't be on a sunny beach in a short period of time. Your journey to the South Pole took a while and the warm beaches of Miami, Florida aren't quite within reach yet. You've got to keep traveling in the right direction to get where you want to be.

I see this being similar to the picture of recovery. We usually end up in predicaments (relationship, financial, mental health, habits, addictions) because of a series of choices. While we can see positive gains from a change of direction, there are still steps of healing that will take time. Committing to the process of growth and healing is a lifelong journey.

You can't change in a day what took a lifetime to create, but you can take another step in the right direction. Where do you need to take a step today?

Seeking Serenity

We have recently started a program called Celebrate Recovery which is a Christ-based recovery program aimed at helping people find healing from life's hurts, hang-ups, and habits. There are repeated elements of the weekly service which help as we all search for positive routines in our life. One of those practices involves reading the serenity prayer aloud collectively before dismissing to our groups. While the repetition can potentially lead to numb recitation it can also become more powerful as it embeds itself in our spirit. The words are powerful if we focus on the intent behind them and hopefully learn to make it a vital part of how we push forward in recovery each day.


God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Press On

I was talking with a friend of mine over coffee this morning about the habits in our lives. We are both runners and push each other to keep putting in miles and improving our fitness. We also encourage each other in our spiritual life and the pursuit of things that are eternal. There are enjoyable parts of each of these areas of our life even though we readily admit our struggles in consistency of effort and success.

I was sharing how I had run in Arizona last week on our mission trip and how difficult it was at an elevation of 6500 feet above sea level. On one of my running days out there, there was also a headwind of 25-45 miles per hour. Needless to say, it wasn't one of my best days on the road, but I persevered and finished anyway.

The realization hit us both that this isn't too different from our spiritual focus. There are times when everything we do seems to come easy. Understanding Scripture almost seems second nature, our prayers are focused and powerful, and even meditation is extremely fruitful. There are also times when it seems as if I am reading the Bible in a language I've never seen before, I can't keep a prayer focused for ten seconds, and any attempt to meditate is quickly squashed by my own energy.

I don't stop running when I have a difficult day(s) on the roads, but I push through and then get ready for the next one with an anticipation of it being better. I'm learning to do the same thing with my spiritual practices. Even though I may get frustrated with what I feel is a lack of progress, I push through and get ready for the next day with the anticipation of it being better. It may not radically improve in one day, but I believe it will happen if I keep working on it without giving up too soon.

Finish Line

At my age I hope that I am far from the finish line of life. As I get older however, I still find myself thinking about that time and the legacy that I will leave. My focus is obviously spread over several areas in my life: Christ-follower, marriage, family, ministry, friendship, and leader. While my specific objectives will be different in each one of these, it is safe to say that I want to be able to finish well in all of them. 

I don't know exactly where my finish line is, but I can focus on finishing well along the journey. If I am committed to this principle through each day, week, month, year, and season of life, then the exact timing of the end is less relevant. Finishing well becomes my philosophy in each important piece of who I am. A lifelong commitment to excellence that is lived out daily will lead to the legacy I hope to leave.

Creating a Spark

It's a good idea to ask yourself if the things you are doing make a difference. I regularly check my actions to see if what I spend my time on is catalytic in nature. In other words, is it creating momentum in a positive direction or just checking off a task list? While that sounds like a lofty goal, I think it can be expressed much more simply than that by asking if what I did that day/week made a difference. 

I think we make a difference in more ways than we are aware. It can be deliberate acts of kindness like paying for a stranger's coffee, baking cinnamon rolls to appreciate teachers, or letting someone in front of you in the checkout line. It can be through our deliberate, faithful prayers for other people's relationships and for physical healing. Differences are made with the intentional time we set aside to spend with our families-from a family dinner to coffee dates and random conversations. Our impact is felt when we volunteer at church and in the community. Speaking words of encouragement simply for lifting other people up will make a bigger difference than we realize.

Determining what we do that has a catalytic effect may not sound simple, but hopefully we can see the things we do that are making a difference each day. It's the day-to-day little things that build our character and help bring positive change.

Just One

This journey of life is often difficult. There are circumstances and events surrounding us that are often outside of our control. Our relationships go through rough patches with some of them becoming permanently severed in the process. Our minds work overtime as we try to make sense out of insensible facts and the decisions of others. We even fret over the outcome of the future even though we can barely make sense of today's happenings. Sometimes we will manage to push through these storms and be at peace. There are other times when it all seems to collapse at the same time and we become completely undone.

There is no magic button to have it all make sense or for everything to become instantly better. We simply have to remind ourselves that while we may not have seen this confluence of events God is not surprised or caught off guard. We recognize that we cannot manipulate all of life's events to work out for our own good and put our faith in a Father and King who is able to control what we cannot. We take a deep breath (sometimes through tears and often in frustration) and simply ask God for the strength and focus we need for this day.

We can't travel a journey of 1000 miles all at once and we won't arrive at a secure, confident future in a blink of an eye either. We trust God for what He brings to us today and seek nothing more. When we can pray this in confidence we'll find that God is giving us exactly what we need to persevere for this one 24 hour period. We'll then see that the difficult journey becomes more manageable when we only ask God to give us what we need to be strong today.

Bit By Bit

We had a clean up day at Northridge today with 35 dedicated souls, which was extremely productive

for a three hour period of hard work. It gave us the time to get some new things done, but to also deep clean and spruce up areas that had been neglected for some time. It's often easy to let things go for a while, but eventually the mess becomes great enough to do something about it. The problem with waiting and allowing it to progressively worsen is that it takes longer to get it back to normal. If we'd just work at it a little bit at a time we'd find it stays in better condition and doesn't take a comprehensive, intense cleaning session to improve it.

Sounds like a lot of different things in our lives, doesn't it?

Do & Be

There are certain things that a leader does-thinking strategically, being observant, listening well, casting vision, organizing events & people, setting goals, etc. Anyone with the time and talent can do these things and assume the title of leader. These responsibilities alone don't necessarily make someone a leader however. It's not just about the things that you do, but it's about who you are. So many people become consumed with the competency and talent level of a high powered individual that they forget about the most vital mark of a leader--their character. Effective & influential leadership isn't just about the "doing" but also about the "being." One can't exist without the other although far too many people falsely believe one can compensate for the other. As growing leaders we have to continually work to strengthen both areas-our abilities and our integrity.

What are you doing each day to develop your competency and character? Daily purposeful focus is the only way to become someone worth following.

One Hit Wonder

When we were on vacation in Florida, I was watching ESPN SportsCenter one morning before heading down to the beach. They mentioned that the Oakland A's had a promotional day at the ballpark for Terry Kiser the actor who starred in the 80's flick, "Weekend at Bernie's." For those unfamiliar with this cinematic classic (tongue-in-cheek here), Kiser played the role of a guy who was dead for 90% of the film. I see that he has done other things in his career, but this one movie was being celebrated over 20 years later at a baseball game.

I was thinking as I watched the highlights from the game how disappointing it must be to only have one remarkable event to celebrate during the past 20 years of life. What would happen today if we had a day honoring the greatest accomplishment(s) in our lives over the past two decades? Would we only be remembered for one act of faith in the distant past? Would our spouses only boast about an event that happened on an anniversary many years ago? Would our children only be able to tell the story of a long passed vacation or special family day?

I would hate to think that my life would be narrowed down to celebrating memories of "that one time" ten years ago. I don't want my life to be a one-hit wonder, but instead a testimony of enduring faith and persevering love for God and my family. That doesn't mean that I will always get it right, but it does reflect a desire to be a constant expression of Christ and striving to make each day count in my relationships.

24 Hours

"At the end of the day" is a phrase that is used to describe a situation where everything has been taken into consideration. I was mowing this morning and listening to a pastor who uses that phrase quite often in his preaching and it got me thinking. What is true at the end of the day in my life?

• Whatever I didn't accomplish today will be there tomorrow--and if it's not I really don't have to worry about it
• I am one day closer to the end of my life here
• My wife is still the love of my life
• I love three incredibly beautiful and gifted daughters
• I am a product of heredity, my environment, and God's grace
• God's mercies will be new when I wake up
• Even if today's circumstances have been uneven or unpleasant, God still works all things out for my good
• I tried to better myself today--even in some small way
• I didn't have all the answers to my life when I started this day & still don't
• I am blessed by the people I am fortunate enough to interact with each day
• I have had an impact on someone today--whether positive or negative
• I am a son of the King
• To paraphrase one of my favorite baseball writers, "And tomorrow will be better than today."

Day by Day

I am a goal-setter and vision caster (although not as much as I would like to be.) I write every day in my Franklin Planner, keep task lists in my phone, and keep running lists of projects that I look over continually for thought & plans of attack. 

My wife & I just had a conversation about my day at work and I commented that I got some things done, but I wasn't satisfied with what I achieved because there is still so much to do. She replied that she always expected that answer and never anticipated hearing me say that I had finished everything on my list. 

That was not the style of life in Arizona on our mission trip last week however. I got up each morning with the first objectives of drinking as much coffee as possible, praying, and immersing myself in the Word. The rest of the day was determined by the work projects from AICM staff and hitting the rez on the blue bus. I didn't find myself constantly checking a task list or wondering how to spin things into greater productivity. I simply worked with our team to get that immediate job done and move on to the next one.

I don't want to lose my future focus in what I am doing now, but there was a simple satisfaction in striving to complete that day's task and nothing more. It is a balance I need to continue to learn to manage. By nature of my calling I must seek the future, yet I should also find satisfaction in completing what today holds and enjoy the journey while it lasts.

Bringing Joy

As I strive to find more joy in my life (see this post), I found myself praying & thinking more about how to increase that in my life. It started with reading through Scripture, focusing in prayer and then asking myself some simple questions.

What brings me joy? What is it that I want to continually take part in that brings me a sense of fulfillment?

I find it in simple things like a good cup of coffee & a conversation with a friend. I find it in teaching & preaching-one of my true sweet spots. Intentionally investing in other leaders brings satisfaction & completeness. I think of how I feel sharing Christ with middle schoolers at camp and the joy I felt last summer serving as campus pastor to youth ministers & leaders at CIY Move. There is a fullness in serving in the mission field with faithful friends who do it every day. 

The joy I feel laughing with my children at the dinner table or simply hugging & kissing them is pure. The simple joy of holding my wife's hand and staring at the lake reminds me of how blessed I am to have her as my life companion. 
I don't believe that we have to throw away parts of our life (sin notwithstanding) to find joy. True joy is when we invite God into every part of who we are & take pleasure in how He moves through it all.