Do you have it all together?

Instead of admitting we don't have it all together, we spend massive amounts of energy faking it that we do.

I felt the need to share this audio message today by Rick Warren.  It's simplistic, yet hits to the core.

I hope you enjoy it.

Everybody's broken

Into the deep

This song holds special meaning to me. 

First, it is the song my wife and I chose for our wedding.  I can still recall how overcome I was when she walked into the library where our ceremony was taking place.  Every time I hear this song I am humbly reminded of that wonderful day and how deep our relationship has become.  I love her dearly, deeply and with all the good I could ever muster in my heart.

Second, it is a call to faith.  We can enter the ocean and swim and tread water, but for how long?  Keeping my heart and mind focused on my God allows me to not be concerned with my surroundings.  When I falter and start to slip beneath the waves, Jesus is there to pull me back up and keep my eyes above the waves.  While I was in the Navy I spent many, many days and nights at sea.  It is there, in the middle of the ocean on a starlit night that I came to realize how great and magnificent this world is.  I was virtually in the middle of nowhere and felt the presence of God.  I think that when we get those chances to be in the wilderness, or body of water, away from the hustle and bustle of life, that going deeper into a relationship with Jesus invigorates me, settles me, and allows me to just be an breathe. 

Go ahead, take the plunge into the deep.

Spilled milk always curdles

I know, I know, it's another idiom about life.  But you know that there is always truth in them.  Seemingly innocent statements can have a big impact on your life.

We've all been in situations where we've been disappointed over an outcome.  Sometimes those disappointments are from family, sometimes from friends, and sometimes at work.

I've been around long enough (yeah! retirement is looming closer) to know that a business is in business to make money and not all decisions about hiring, firing and advancements can be taken personally.  I also know that having the expectation that a person will behave in a particular form or fashion is often unrealistic.

What I've come to realize, and try to practice daily, is treating others with respect and kindness and doing my job to the best of my ability.  Should the person I'm treating kindly not care, nor respond in similar fashion, I know that I did what was right.  The same thing goes for work.  At the end of the day it's just a job.  It doesn't define me, limit me, or make me anything other than an employee.

Our focus should be on what God thinks us and how much he loves us.

Give without expecting and you will prosper.

Human clay

From conception to beyond death, we are constantly being formed, reformed, molded and remodeled.  During our time on earth, who we become is a result of our genetics, family upbringing, socioeconomic status and to a great deal, the influence others have on us. 

As we mature into adult hood, or perhaps even younger, we have the ability to remodel ourselves into what we want to be, even to the thoughts we think.  Of course remodeling isn't always a pretty process.  For example, right now there is work being done on our home; it's messy and noisy, but the end results are worth it.  Just as messy can be the change we wish to be done in us as an individual. 

I was very aware of who I wanted to be versus who I really was.  The positive changes that have been occurring in my life have come with angst, anxiety, emotional turmoil and struggle.  As humans, we sometimes only focus on where we want to be when it comes to making changes in our life.  If you're in the midst of a personal remodeling, might I suggest you take a moment and see where you are compared to where you were.  You may be closer than you believe.  For my life, I've allowed Jesus to enter my heart and be the sole (soul) contractor.

Peace be with you.

A pick axe and a shovel

I've always wanted to change the world into a better place where there is no conflict, no broken hearts, no disease, no famine....the list is long.

In my younger years I would figuratively get my pick axe and shovel and attempt to make a "grander canyon".  What I didn't realize is that one person couldn't do all the work.  It took about 10 years, thousands of workers and 30 million pounds of explosives to dig the Panama Canal.  How silly of me to think that my not so well thought out attempts would make a grand impact.

As I've grown closer to God my understanding of changing the world is to have an impact on one person at a time.  Sure, we all learn of the cascading effect of multiplication in school, but what I didn't do was apply that simple tool.  The "plan" is so much easier now.  Be kind, be generous, be loving, let God work and speak through me.

Keep digging!  

Stained glass souls

When you see light shining through stained glass what do you pay attention to?  The details of how the craftsman meticulously leaded all the pieces together to make a magnificent picture or, the multi-colored light shining through?

What comes to mind for me is how we are all fractured in some way and if we allow Jesus to weave the fragmented pieces of our life together for good and let His light shine through us, no piece of man-made artwork could ever compare to that!

As for me, I've been fractured, broken, kicked around some and yet, I allow my God to weave me into a great piece of art for His love to shine through.  Everyday is a chance to shine and I hope your light is shining brilliantly!

One and done.

No, it's not about a sports tournament.  It's about life.  Yes, for Christians, we believe that life on earth is a one shot deal.  What do we do while we are here to make life bearable, fun, justified, or want to leave a positive legacy?  I don't know about you, but I am sometimes guilty of running through my daily life trying to accomplish everything I can. 

As I get older I find myself purposefully slowing down the pace of my life.  Not in an attempt to make it "last" longer, because I could die at any moment.  The reason for slowing down is to take the time to interact with those in my path to listen, to commiserate, to console, to pray for and with, to be compassionate, and to be less about me and more about others. 

For me, I'm 100% sure how this all ends and what's in store after my physical body is no longer needed, or for that matter useful.  My hope is that those that I interact with will find the same path to heaven.  When my time comes, I'll be waiting for you on that golden shore cheering for you!