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?

God gives second chances

To say that God gives second chances is a bit of anunderstatement.  I mean, it’s like sayingthat the internet is useful or that women are complicated.  The truth is so much more than that.  I wonder if I took a tally in my life of allthe stupid things that I have ever done, every sin, every foible, every baddecision, misstep, evil intent, wrong choice…how much would they add upto?  Thousands upon thousands, Isuspect.  And yet God’s grace issufficient for every single one of them.

Sometimes after I do something particularly boneheaded Ifeel guilty or ashamed about it.  Iconfess the sin to God and make it right. But sometimes I wonder if he will really forgive me.  Of course he will, and he does, but I stillwonder for a moment.  I wonder because Iam human and can’t fathom forgiving someone that many times. 

I struggle forgiving someone twice.

The mystery and sheer audacity of God’s grace moves me.  His mercy is so vast that it creates in me asense of awe, wonder and even fear.  Idon’t understand how it can be so, but I believe it is.

I am so thankful that God forgives, forgives, and forgivesagain.  On the verge of a brand new year,let this be a refreshing thought.

Knowing vs. Experiencing

My adopted son Matthew had never seen snow in Ethiopia.  (That would be weird.)  But he knew of snow, and he saw pictures of hisnew siblings in the snow.  When it snowedearly this year, he seemed unimpressed. We thought he would be more excited. He looked out the window and shrugged his shoulders.  We tried to get him excited about it, but hewas not.

But then all the kids got their snow gear on.  Hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants…all werelayered up for maximum warmth and limited mobility.  Matthew did not like this much either.  He was hot and itchy.  But then we went outside.  The snow was perfect for packing.  We made snowballs, and snowmen, and snowangels.  We rolled around in it and threwit and enjoyed it.  Matthew especiallyliked knocking down the completed snowmen. Doh! 

Matthew loved the snow. He shrieked and giggled and laughed. He was overjoyed in it.  When itwas time to go in, he objected.  Hewanted to stay outside for hours.

I was thinking of this event, and the difference betweenknowing something and experiencing something. One can be objective, cold, calculated. The other can be known, felt, accepted. It’s hard to put into words the difference.  It’s much easier to describe.  The same is true of knowing about God andexperiencing God.  We can know Godwithout drawing close to him, without being passionate about him, without fullyembracing the new life in him. 

So when it comes to your relationship with God, go jump inthe snow!

Finally understanding the incarnation

I’m not sure where I heard this story years ago, but it helpsthe way I think about the incarnation—that God the Son would enter the world asa lowly human—that he would humble himself like this.

A man’s family left him at home as they travelled to churchon a snowy Christmas morning.  He did notbelieve in church.  He did not believe inChristmas.  He did not understand why Godwould send his son into the world to live and to die, and to beresurrected. 

The snow was coming down harder and harder.  The man looked out the window and noticedsome baby birds having trouble in it.  Hewas afraid they would die as the snow came down in sheets.  The man put on his winter coat, hat, gloves,boots and went outside to help the little birds.  First he tried shooing them into the barn,where it was warm and dry.  But everytime he came near to them, they would flutter away and get deeper into thesnow.  Then he tried laying down somebird seed in a pathway to the barn, hoping that they would follow thetrail.  They would have none of it.  Then he tried getting close enough to thebirds to catch them and carry them, but again, the birds were more terrified ofhim than they were of the snowstorm. 

The man was moved with compassion as he realized that thebirds were going to die.  He foundhimself wiping tears from his eyes.  Andas he did a thought flashed though his mind. “If only I could become a little bird! Then I could lead them into the warmth and safety of the barn.  Surely they would follow me then.  Then I could rescue them!”  And just as the man came to this conclusion,he heard the church bell ring in the distance. 

And that’s when it hit him. He finally understood what the incarnation was all about. 

Merry Christmas!

Captured by the Hunger Games

Although “young adult fiction” is not usually my cup of tea,I have enjoyed the wildly best-selling The Hunger Games, by SuzanneCollins.  I was predicting it was goingto become a movie, and apparently it will be. The story is about a young girl in a desolate future who participates ina state-mandated annual contest.  Thecontest is composed of randomly selected children, and ends when all but one ofthem are killed.  It is a riveting, albeit depressing, concept, and Collins does a great job painting apicture of a disturbing future through the eyes of a teenage girl.

Maybe it’s because I have a teenaged girl of my own now thatI found the book compelling.  But most likely it’sthe reason I like every good story—because it contains elements of the GrandStory.  I have had this theory that anygood story (despite the medium—movie, book, spoken, etc.) is good because ithas borrowed off of the story that resonates within all of our hearts.  It happens to be the same story that wecelebrate at Christmastime, the love of God poured out sacrificially throughhis son Jesus.  It is the story ofCreation, fall, redemption and restoration. It is the story that has a birth, a life, a death, a resurrection, andtransformation.  If you look closeenough, you can see these threads woven into any story that has ever capturedyour imagination, and that's because God put them there. 

What’s the best story you have read or watched recently?

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