Do your job

Bill Belichick, the genius coach of the New EnglandPatriots, has a slogan.  He not onlybelieves it himself, but he expects everyone who plays for him to drink the same coolaid.  His mantra is simple, “Do your job.”  He expects every player to learn his job anddo it well.  When everyone knows how hispart plays into the whole, that is when success occurs.  When a 350 lb. lineman decides he wants to playquarterback, or vice versa, success does not happen.  When a wide receiver mistakes his role for amedia hound, success does not happen.  When players get caught up with anything but winning games, success does not happen.  When players do not learn their job well and mistakes are made, successdoes not happen.

Belichick’s formula is all about playing to one’s strengthsand overcoming weaknesses.  He breaks itdown into four parts: being prepared, working hard, paying attention to thedetails, and putting the team first.  Whenthese things take place, success occurs. Lots and lots of success.

It’s easy to see how this outlook can be translated topractically any business or ministry. Each of us needs to understand our God given skills and see how they fitinto the overall organization.  Once thatis establish, we would do well to pay attention to the same four parts: be prepared,work hard, pay attention to details, and put the team first.  Often, one or more of these pieces is missing.  Evaluate your own job or ministry with this filter.  How are you doing?

Going outside with no clothes on

Sometimes I do not properly prepare before making a ministrydecision.  I may do everything that isneeded to make a set a good course of action: I may strategize, talk to others,determine a course of action, etc.  But Imay miss the most essential ingredient of any good decision: prayer. 

Prayer is the clothes of a good decision.  It is how we truly determine that we areheaded in God’s direction, and not just our own.  It is the difference between a good idea, anda God-idea.  The Bible says “unless theLord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Also, prayer is the partthat invites God to give us spiritual protection from the enemy.  Without it we are more open to attacks,failure, and even humiliation. 

If you are on a the verge of an initiative, big or small,seek God’s will in prayer.  It may be foryour family, ministry, or just a personal endeavor.   Put it all in his large trustworthy hands.  He can handle it.  He will protect you.  He will set you on a good path.

Don’t get caught outside with no clothes on.

Ungrateful

We are ungrateful people. 

I know, that’s a pretty depressing way to start a post, butit’s true.  We have so much, and yet weare consistently unsatisfied. 

Yesterday I was listening to a Cuban pastor speak aboutbeing a Christian under Castro’s regime. He said that when he was 9 years old, officials came into his classroomand asked, “who is the Christian?”  Hestood up, alone.  The rest of the class wasthen directed to spit on him, and throw papers at him.  In shame and humiliation he stood there whilethe other kids taunted him. 

When I hear a story like this, I tend to contrast it with myown ungratefulness.  How often do I forgetthe amazing gifts God has given me?  How often do I forget how good I have it?

I was also reading in my devotions this week about thewandering Israelites.  In the book ofNumbers, we are told of their many complaints. God had given them an amazing gift of food, called manna, which wasessentially honey wafers from heaven.  Yea, I said honey wafers...   from heaven.  They had enough food to eat without any effort on their part.  But how they came to despise thisgift.  They said, “Give us meat!”  So God sent them quail.  And it’s hard not to read the Lord’s humor inhis reply: “Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it…until it comesout of your nostrils and you loathe it.” (11:18-20)  This sounds like something I would say to mykids!

God loves us, and he provides for us, but he does not likeour ungratefulness.  In this season of Easter, let’s strive to cultivate hearts of thankfulness, awe and wonder, at allthat God has done for us through his Son.

Selfish

I don’t think of myself as a self-centered person.  Fact is, it’s easier to see others around meas selfish.  You know the thoughts: “Wow,I can’t believe they bought THAT” or “Must be nice to live THAT way” or “fullof yourself much?”  But not me, I’m notselfish… am I? 

I recently took a long hard look at my heart and did notlike everything that I saw.  It may notalways appear it from the outside, but inside my heart is drawn to, well,ME.  What the bible calls “the flesh” isalive and well, and it wants to make ME happy. I want to be happy, healthy, and blessed.  I want others to be as well, of course, butnot nearly as much as I want ME to be.  Canyou relate?

Now this phenomenon is subtle, but it’s present.  The covert nature of my selfishness makes itmuch harder to cure.  But when I amhonest with eyes wide open, I see myself for what I am—a sinful man who isdesperately in need of the grace of Jesus. The more I acknowledge this truth, the more I receive the grace I need,and the more humility pours over me like a wave. 

If you are like me, begin with baby steps (think Bill Murrayin What about Bob?).  Question everydecision to see if it comes back to YOU. Check your prayer life and see if your prayers are all about YOU.  Probe every intention, every action—test themand see if they are others focused or focused on YOU. 

You may not like what you see at first, but it’s the firststep toward true humility.  

Do you have a soul mate?

Two-thirds of all Americans believe in the concept of a soulmate.  Simply put, it means that there is some particular person out there who was made to completeyou.  To understand this concept morefully, all you have to do is pick a romantic comedy, at random, and hit the play button.

Apparently, the first sighting of “soul mate” is by Plato,in his dialogue The Symposium (385 BC).  Basicallythe concept is that humans originally had four arms, four legs and a singlehead with two faces (see picture).  Zeus believed thatthis made the human far too powerful, so he split them in half, condemningthe two to spend the rest of their lives looking for the other.  From this idea comes the expression: “She’smy better half.”  (It is true, at leastin my case.)  The idea of the soul mate,is not a biblical one, but is one drawn from mythology. 

There are a number of obvious problems with thisconcept.  If you do not happen to findyour soul mate, and he or she marries another, you create a relational dominoeffect of devastating proportions.  Ifjust one person marries wrong, that affects scores of other relationships. And the odds of marrying wrong are horrific!  If you only have one soul mate, the greatestodds say that your other half lives in India or China.  And since you don’t know Mandarin, and havenever been to Asia, you are romantically challenged, to say the least.

I think a better way to look at relationships is either compatibleor incompatible.  That, coupled withsearching for God’s leading in your life, will lead to a healthier outcome.  Too many people have gotten married, realizedhow hard marriage is, and quit, thinking that they did not marry their soulmate.  There is one time-tested andbiblical way to know who your soul mate is: It’s the person you marry.  Onceyou say “I do,” then you have found your soul mate—for better or for worse.  

A hug from the Father

When Matthew first moved in with us from Ethiopia about 5months ago, he was affectionate.  But asis sometimes the case with adopted children, his insecurities and fears beganto keep him from hugging me.  He wouldallow hugs from other family members, but despite our positive relationship,he began to show resistance to me, his new father.

Even though I did not take this personally, and evenunderstood why he was doing it, I did not give up trying.  I would go into his room when he was about togo to sleep, and give him the chance to get a hug.  Or when I left the house in the morning forwork, I would often ask, “hug?”  He wouldshake his head, no, and pull a blanket over himself.

But just as I thought would happen, over the past few weeks,he began allowing hugs from me.  Itstarted slowly, and grew from there. Recently, he began to not only allow for my hugs, but ask for them.  At first, I would hug him with sometenuousness.  I did not want to push himaway.  The other night, I only hugged himwith one arm.  He was going to bed and Iput one arm around him and gave him a squeeze. He surprised me.  He looked up atme quizzically and said in his broken English, “Only one arm?”  I hugged him with two arms, and he reciprocated.

When God the Father adopts us into his family, we sometimesstruggle to let him “hug” us—to allow him to show us his deep love andaffection.  I know in my life, I cansometimes push him away and not allow myself to experience his overwhelming andunconditional favor.  Sometimes it’sbecause we feel unworthy.  It’s becauseof our insecurities and fears, or maybe because of our lack of faith.  But as we grow in him, we begin to let him “hug”us—a little at a time.  We may even workup to a “one-armed hug.”  And in time that is not enough.  We become aware ofhis loving embrace and presence in our lives—all the time.

Realize that just because you may be holding God at bay,doesn’t mean that he is not in your room every night looking for a “hug.”  The Bible says that he is faithful, even whenwe are not.  He may be standing in yourroom right now, looking at you, longing to express his love to you in sometangible way.  

Will you accept it?

What does God sound like?

My favorite super bowl commercial this year surprisedme.  Like most people, I am usually asucker for the one with the baby, and his smartphone, with an E-trade app.   Or maybe it’s little kid dressed up likeDarth Vader trying to make a car start by using the force.  The Doritos commercials were pretty good thisyear, apparently a product of a fan-submitted video contest.  Who doesn't want to see a baby flung throughthe air by his grandmother?

                                                                                                                                                

But my favorite was none of these.  It was actually a very seriouscommercial.  It was the one for Chryslerthat aired at half time.  It starredClint Eastwood’s compelling, hard-edged voice saying, “It’s half time inAmerica too…and we’re all scared because we know this isn’t a game…”   Now, for just a moment, put aside whetherthis commercial had any political implications, and put aside the factthat it was a product endorsement. And just listen to the final words of the script:

“This country can’t be knocked out with one punch, we getright back up again and when we do the world’s gonna hear the roar of ourengines.  Yea, it’s half time America andour second half’s about to begin.” 

(You can see the full commercial here.)

It’s not so much what he is saying, but how he says it thatmakes the ad so powerful.  It’s the samevoice that took cheesy, bad-scripted “spaghetti westerns” and made them hugesuccesses in Clint Eastwood’s career.  Itis a voice that communicates severity, an iron will, a definiteness ofintention.  It’s a voice that says that evil will be punishedand that justice will prevail.  It’s avoice that says I’m not going down without a fight.  It's the kind of voice, you might imagine, that God would have.

In the Scriptures, God has many voices.  We don’t get to hear them with our ears, butwe can imagine them in our spirits.  Hehas a tender, compassionate voice, but he also has the roar of a lion.  And he wants his voice to be heard throughus, his followers.  There are times whenours is that voice of compassion.  Butsometimes we need to have this other voice. The best way I can hear it is in this Chrysler commercial.  It is the sound of tenacious, unflinching,unapologetic faith that is rooted in a big God, the love of what is good, andthe hatred of what is evil.  It growlswhen it sees the weak being oppressed. It resounds when it encounters temptation. It erupts against that which would oppose the things of God.

In light of this world we are living in today, have you found this voice?

Subtle Temptations

Today's guest post is by my friend Kastin Atash-Krupinski.  You can enjoy her blog, as I do, here.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

Lent is a new practice for me, but in the idea of it I find so much beauty and humility. It’s a time of awareness of the very things that place a divide between me and God, the things that are hidden idols, stealing my attention away from Him. It’s a time of observance and examination.

The last few days I’ve sat with God, asking Him to show me the areas of my life where I am separated from Him. I came to realize that it is in my mundane, daily life where I’ve turned toward my own strength instead of His. It’s the areas that I feel are so insignificant and vain. These things are not important enough to bother God. I should be able to get a handle on them on my own. But God lives and specializes in the “mundane”. He is here in the mess, in all the mess. When I choose not to bring these matters to Him, by default I turn to the enemy, who in turn floods my mind with lies. Subtle temptations give way to sin.

The sin I’m struggling with is excessiveness. The good things in life- those things that are God given blessings meant for me to enjoy in moderation- have become temptations that drive me to overindulgence. It’s food, time, money, focus…. me. Sinful desires.

It’s not a matter of removing these temptations out of my life, because they were meant to be a blessing. It’s a matter of taking these temptations before the Lord and asking Him to help me receive them in moderation. It’s a matter of facing the enemy, instead of turning away, and reclaiming these God given gifts.

My idols are the things that put the focus on me- on this temporary flesh and this temporary world. I need kingdom-driven days, living in the ordinary through Christ; approaching the mess as Jesus would; honoring my body in recognition that Jesus dwells in me; approaching others through and by the love of Jesus in my heart. The abstaining and the shedding, the denying of the flesh, invites God’s presence into everything I do.

I anticipate Lent to be a time of awareness and simplification, accepting God’s gifts with gratitude and in temperance.

Jesus, You are enough. Let me accept your blessings and take only what I need. Let me surrender all things to You. Prepare my heart as I move into a sacred space of awareness.

Because you've got to have faith

When I read the Scripture at face value (which I try to do),one of the themes that comes forward crystal clear is that of audaciousbold-faced faith.  The Word does notmince words when it comes to faith: you've got to have it.  God declares that “without faith it isimpossible to please him” and that “he who comes to God must believe.”  He says that “faith is the substance ofthings hoped for” and that it is the “evidence of things not seen.” 

Jesus says that if we have faith, just as small asthe smallest little seed, we can move mountains.  He says that we can say, “Hey mountain, timefor you to scat!” and it will.  (NewRevised Rob Tucker Translation)

Since I haven’t seen any mountains moving lately, I suspectmy faith is smaller than the smallest little seed.  I have been convicted of my own lack of faithin recent days.  There seems to be adisparity in what I believe God CAN do, and what I believe he WILL do, in mylife and ministry.

A friend of mine had a great quote about this onher Facebook info.  It’s from a man ofrenowned faith, Hudson Taylor, who did move mountains--metaphoricallyat least.  He said: 

“Many Christiansestimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attemptvery little and they always fail.  Allgiants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned onHis power and presence to be with him.”

And herein lies the essence of power-filled faith: believingnot in one’s own strength, but in God’s power and presence to be with us.  Really believing.

Making God famous

Lately I've noticed a growing theological trend.  I saw it again the other day in the form of atweet.  It said something like this: “Whatcan you be doing right now in your life to make God famous?”  Implied is that we need to spend our lives ina way that is worthy of God, and in so doing, we will help others to see himfor how amazing he is.  I have seen this ideawritten in church mission statements, and have heard it expressed as the personalgoal of one’s life.  Some people see “makingGod famous” as the entire reason they exist on this planet.

I applaud the motivation behind these kinds ofstatements.  They are obviously stated bywell-meaning Christians who desire to make an impact for God in this life.  But I do have one little, tiny, theological disagreement:

God doesn’t need my help.  

God is already pretty famous (understatement alert!).  I sometimes have the privilege of helpingwith this truth.  But he is not famousbecause I desire for him to be so.  He isnot famous because I have outworked others in my zeal for the kingdom,  He is famous because, well, he just is.

Maybe it’s because we are in an election year, but it seemsthat some Christians are embracing a political metaphor for the kingdom ofGod.  God is the politician, and we arehis handlers.  Like running a goodcampaign, our main job is to put out lots of ads making God look good andmaking his enemies look bad.  We are toparticipate in a kind of cosmic spin control so that our candidate that getsthe most votes at the end of the day.  Inso doing God is made famous, and we have done our part.

But I don’t think that’s a helpful metaphor.  I think that a more biblical picture isadoption.  God says that we have beenadopted into his family.  He is ourloving father.  We receive all the rightand benefits and blessings of the fact that he is already incredibly rich, powerful, and famous.  Even though we don’t deserve it,we receive the status of becoming his children, and the privilege ofparticipating in his eternal work.

In Genesis 12:2 God is blessing Abram (and through him, thewhole nation of Israel).  He declares, “Iwill make you into a great nation.  Iwill bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.”  Wait, what? Hold on there, God.  I thought wewere supposed to be making YOU famous? God, you have it backwards!  I’msupposed to be blessing you.  But ofcourse, this kind of thinking puts us in the seat of power, instead of God.  It unwittingly declares humans to be the oneswith control over the relationship, instead of the almighty Creator.

The good news is that breaking this political metaphor takesall the pressure off.  We no longer haveto worry whether or not we’re making our candidate look good.  Instead we can simply focus on being afaithful witness in this world, a small light to shine his glory wherever wego.

God is already famous. He is already on the throne.  Hedoesn’t need my help, or yours.  And yethe is pleased to allow us to be adopted into his family and to participate inhis work.

I drink your milkshake

We all get tired. Fatigued.  Worn down.  Deflated. Discouraged.  Depressed.  It’s part of the human condition.  In my experience, these feelings usuallyfollow some type of victory—spiritual or otherwise.  They may also follow a prolonged push to achievesomething, having achieved it, you may feel good for a short moment, and then fallflat. 

Fortunately, Jesus has some good words for us.  He says (Matthew 11:28-30), “Come to me, allyou who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Ah, such nourishing words.  These are words of truth, life andencouragement.  Their application in mylife fills me up in a way that others cannot. Jesus continues, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I amgentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Amazing. Wonderful.  Necessary.  These are words of grace and provision.  Jesus satisfies our every thirst, including thatof our souls.  Where else can you go tofill up your soul?

One of the most riveting and troubling scenes of any movie I haveever viewed is that of Danielle Day-Lewis’ climactic performance in “There willbe Blood.”  In that oft-quoted scene, hedeclares that he will “drink the milkshake” of his enemy.  The scene reveals the world’s view of things—it’sall about taking, depleting, emptying. It’s all about what can I get out of this vapid, hollow existence beforeI die.  In order to succeed, some feel, Imust suck the life out of anyone and everything around me in order that I mightprevail.

Jesus, of course, has a different view.  His is an eternal one, where the last willbecome the first and vice versa.  His isa reality that says, “I will give you rest.”  Instead of taking from us, he promises to pourinto us.  He fills our spiritual milkshake.

Come to him this day if you are ready for a refilling!

A new name

Next month, my son gets his new legal name.  He was Mathewos, and now he will officially beMatthew.  Perhaps more significant isthat his full name will become Matthew Robert Tucker.  In other words, he will take on the name ofhis new father.  I wanted Matthew to havemy name as a symbolic statement about his place in our family.  He is our true son, in every sense of thatterm, barring shared DNA.  He receivesall of the benefits (as well as side effects!) of being my son.

In the Scriptures, receiving a new name was a big deal.  It was God’s statement about a person’s newidentity.  You once were Abram, but nowyou will be called Abraham.  You once were Saul,but now you will be Paul.  You once werean outsider to God’s grace, but now you bear the name of Christ.  Your identity is bound up in Him, with all therights, privileges and benefits that His name carries.

Having a new name also means that our past is justthat.  It’s the past.  The future is ripe with new potential, a newstory, a new life.  Having a new namemeans starting over with a new heritage. It does not forget the past, but neither does it dwell on it. 

No matter what you are dealing with in your life right now,don’t forget the new name that has come to you through Christ!  Through faith, you become his beloved child, bearing His name.

Tom Brady's crazy belief

You don’t have to like Tom Brady to appreciate hisstory.  Just before Brady was picked asthe 199^th pick in the NFL draft, he went for a teary-eyed walk with hismom and dad, wondering why he had been passed over, once again in this, the sporthe loved.  He was looked over in Highschool, and twice in college, losing out to other quarterbacks.  Six quarterbacks were taken before Brady in 2000: Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, MarcBulger and Spergon Wynn.  

Who even remembers Giovanni Carmazzi?

When Brady met Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, he shookhis hand and asked if he knew who he was. Kraft said, sure, you’re our 6^th round draft pick.  Brady looked him in the eye and said, “I’mthe best decision this organization has ever made.”  Now while it may strike you as arrogant for askinny, gangly, 4^th string rookie quarterback to say this to theowner of a proud franchise, it also happened to be true.

But only Tom Brady believed it.

For the next years, Brady dedicated himself to being thebest QB he could, and prepared as if he could be called in at any moment.  Most New England fans had never heard of himthe day he finally got called in to rescue injured Drew Bledsoe, and the rest ofcourse, is history.  In a couple weeksBrady will be playing for his 4^th super bowl ring. 

His story makes me ask a few questions about my ownlife.  First: do I believe in the greatnessof the God given calling on my life?  Also:am I preparing myself in such a way as to be prepared for whatever comes next?  And, do I care too much about who others think I am, rather than who God has made me to be?

How about you?

The history of dating

For our young adult ministry, Liquid Tuesdays, we are doinga series on dating.  I started out theseries with a brief history of dating. Many young adults who are finding dating to be anything but enjoyable intoday’s culture, find some relief in knowing that this thing called dating hasnot been around for a very long time.

The earliest one can find the word “dating” in print is1914, and that’s about how old it is. Before that, courtship reigned in the Victorian age for several hundredyears.  Before that, of course, wasarranged marriages.  The idea of findingone’s true love for marriage would have been a strange concept for people inmany cultures, for many thousands of years. Social, financial or familial reasons would have been much biggerfactors in finding a spouse.  Also, theidea of  individuals making all their owndecisions about marriage would have been just plain weird.  Families got together to talk, matchmakerswere procured, dowries or other considerations would have been hashed out.  The advent of the automobile really launchedthe idea of the modern date, as now the couple could leave the hawking eyes offamily members and head out to dinner and a movie. 

The sad thing about the history of dating is that in thepast several decades it has taken a significant moral downturn.  The 60’s and 70’s brought about theprominence of sex in the relationship, the 80’s brought legwarmers, the 90’sbrought fierce independence and emo-angst. The TV show Friends revealed a trend of casual friendship dating,friends with benefits, and dating that is generally not headed towardmarriage.  And now we are seeing a wholenew revolution called internet dating, which allows people to meet in virtualreality without the risk of in-person rejection.

Where all this will go is anyone’s guess.  But I personally hope that younger adultswill reclaim some of the positive aspects of the past, without losing what hasbeen learned in the present.  I hope theywill allow for a healthy community to be active in the process (the church),allow dating to be headed toward relational permanence (marriage), and thatthey will allow Jesus to be the center of their relationship(Christianity). 

It all makes me very glad that I am not in today’s datinggame.

You can LIKE the Skipping Stone here.

What Tullian Tchividjian said

I’ve been reading Tullian Tchividjian’s (Cha-vih-jin) newbook called Jesus + Nothing = Everything, and really enjoying it.  The premise is in the title, but it’s a hardtruth to embrace.  Tchividjian says thatGod really does offer us everything in the work of his Son, but to accept it,we need to let go of everything else.  Toooften we are prone to add something to our faith to make it feel complete.  Consider it for yourself: Jesus + myambition; Jesus + my bad habit; Jesus + my future; Jesus + my family; Jesus +my job; Jesus + my stuff; Jesus + my relationships… On and on this game goes.

We suspect that one little plus sign after Jesus will do noharm.  We would be wrong.  Adding something to Christ’s sufficiencymakes all the difference between having inner peace vs. a restless spirit. 

I was wondering what I may be subtly adding to the amazing Gospelof freedom.  At times, I fear about myfuture.  I suspect this is a bit of anidol for me—my vision for my life vs. God’s. A daily yielding is necessary to make the math complete.   Jesus + nothing = everything.  His future for my life will be the betteroption.

Do you believe the equation? Or have you added something too?

That's not fair!

One of the things we learned preparing for our adoption wasthat children who are adopted into families with pre-existing siblingsreally struggle with a sense of fairness. It seems strange to think of a child with so little possessions coming into a familywith (relatively speaking) so much, quibbling about fairness.  But that’s the way it generally is. 

In our house recently it has gotten worse than ever.  If another child receives anything "extra", Matthewis quick to point out the perceived inequity. Of course, he receives much more than the others overall as wescramble to help him catch up to what they have (new…everything!).

As usual, I am reminded of our adoption into the family ofGod.  We came from so little, spiritually speaking, and through Christwe arrive at so much.  But we often struggle when it appears Godblesses others, but not us.  Others seem tohave it all, while we are struggling with every day life.  Our attitudes must seem just silly toGod.  How can we have so much and yetforget about it so quickly?

Spend some time today remembering.  Remember all that God has given you inChrist.  Thank him for all of the thingsthat are right in your life.  Remember that he is a great Father.

It's (still) better to give than receive (short home video)

My son Matthew had his first American Christmas recently.  His reaction to receiving gifts warmed our hearts.  As great as his joy was, ours was greater still, reminding me of the words of Jesus (quoted in Acts 20:35) that it's better to give than receive.  Here is a captured moment from our Christmas celebration.

Contagious leadership

In just one basketball game, my 11 year old son learned apowerful leadership lesson that I did not know when I was twice his age.

The score was, um, ...notgood.    The morale of our team was…low. People were playing defense like they just found out their favoritechildhood pet just died.  Energy, effort,teamwork…all by the way side.  It was notlooking good for the Thunder. 

My son was a little discouraged because coach decided tostart him off the bench, something he hasn’t done in years, in this, hisfavorite sport.  I must admit, I was abit surprised myself.  But I told him togo out and be aggressive, to play his hardest, and he will be surprised with the results.  He agreed. And he really poured it on.  He checked his ego at the door and playedlike he was in the NBA finals. 

We lost.

But along the way an interesting thing happened.  His team was inspired by his attitude and effort.  They started playing defense and even made afew baskets.  Their voices were louderand they began to high-five at mid court. Someone gave my son a pat on the back. They were in this game! 

Leadership is contagious. It rubs off.  It leaks.  Your attitude, effort and heart will inspirethose around you.  And it doesn’t matterif you are “coming off the bench” either, as leadership is never from thetop-down, it’s always bottom-up.  It’snot about the role or title you’ve been given, it’s always about simply...leading.  

Finding a sacred space to meet with God

Our lives have been a tad bit unbalanced over the last yeardue to an extra family member and a building project.  We are finally coming down to earth andfeeling things begin to normalize.  Oneof the surprising benefactors of our new space in our home is a place for me toquietly reflect with God in the morning. I have heard from several people that I trust that having a dedicatedspace, free from worries, cares and distractions, is a real benefit.  Unfortunately, I have not had that ideal spotat my disposal.  It has been tremendouslyrefreshing to sit down and meet with God, without a kid saying “daddy look at me,” or have a toy hit me in the back of the head.  Praying and reflecting on the Word aretwo of the most important things that we can do in this life; we should give them ample time and an ample space.

On another note, if you haven’t yet seen the “You Version”Bible app, you should probably check it out. It very conveniently gives you multiple Bible reading programs, and allthe Bible translations you would ever need. You can check it out here.

Do you have a “sacred space” for your times with God?  

Moves like Jagger

I don’t know where he got them from, but my son Matthew candance.  I guess it’s because he doesn’tshare my DNA.  I’m not talking yourtypical 5 year old silly dance, either. I’m talking full out, star-appeal, solid-gold winning moves. For thelongest time I couldn’t figure out where he learned his moves.  I mean, he is from a remote area inEthiopia.  But then I realized hewatches his sister play her Dance game on the Wii. Nice.

If you start playing music in the house, Matthew will startdancing.  One always leads to theother.  Then you will watch him andsmile, and then he will get embarrassed and stop. 

It makes me think of our relationship with the HolySpirit.  Maybe that’s a stretch, butthere it is.  When His presence isprevailing in our lives, our response is immediate; it is joy and freedom andhealing.  In a sense, our spirit dances with Him.  He fills us up, and we show itwith our lives.  Sometimes we get embarrassedand we stop, but we shouldn’t. 

When was the last time you danced?