The Season of Lent has begun. You might have seen some of your co-workers, neighbors, etc. with a gray-ish smudge on their foreheads yesterday. In my faith tradition, Lent is a time to take stock of our lives and make decisions on how to make changes so that our lives more closely reflect our beliefs.
Some people use the Season of Lent to eliminate bad habits from their life, or to become healthier, or to spend more time with family… For many Lent has become a time for giving something up. Lent is meant to be a time for us to once again take stock of our lives, what is good and what needs changing.
For many of us we want our lives to be better. We want our relationships to be healthier. We want our waist lines to be smaller. We want our lives to be different in some way, but our lives are so busy it becomes difficult to find time to not only think about how different our lives could be but what we need to do to live into those desires.
Those who lived before us saw wisdom in taking different seasons of the year to focus on something area of our lives. They came to realize if we don’t focus on something we will fail to focus on anything. For me, Lent has become less about giving up something and more about giving myself to something. For me, giving up soft drinks or television just to give something up might not be the best use of this season. But, trying to become a better husband, or a better father, or friend might be much more beneficial. I know if I gave up soft drinks, at the end of Lent I would resume this consumption. But if I become a better husband I’m not going to slip back into being less of a husband.
I hope that you find a way to take advantage of this season, and your life becomes more complete by the focus of the season.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Your Creation...
This last Sunday my youngest son came home from Church with a paper plate. But this wasn’t just any paper plate. This is a paper plate that he created an angel on during his time in our Church’s Nursery. Well, he created in as much as a 2 year old can; he had some help from those watching over him. Someone traced his foot on a paper plate to make the body of the angel. He had some help bending pipe cleaners for wings and a mouth. He had some help gluing on little fuzz balls, googley eyes, and glitter. But this is his angel, and he is sooooo proud of it. He has been walking around showing each of us his angel. He has been trying to tell us about his angel (in a way that only a 2 year old can). He is proud of his creation and he wants to show everyone.
When is the last time you were proud of something you accomplished? When is that last time you did something and could not wait to tell everyone about it, or show others what you were able to accomplish? Each one of us was created uniquely. Each one of us was given abilities, talents, gifts to use and share with the world. Not all of us are able to make plate angels. Not all of us can fix a car or a lawn mower. Not all of us can prepare a meal. Not all of us can speak up for those that do not have a voice. Not all of us can teach children. Not all of us can… But, each one of us can do something! And that something we can do should give us some pride. If there is not anything we have done that we are proud of, it is possible that we are not using our gifts, or at least not using our gifts to benefit the world.
May there be something in your life that you can’t wait to show others. May there be something you are doing that you can’t stop telling others about. Be proud of what you can do, because you may be the only person that can….
When is the last time you were proud of something you accomplished? When is that last time you did something and could not wait to tell everyone about it, or show others what you were able to accomplish? Each one of us was created uniquely. Each one of us was given abilities, talents, gifts to use and share with the world. Not all of us are able to make plate angels. Not all of us can fix a car or a lawn mower. Not all of us can prepare a meal. Not all of us can speak up for those that do not have a voice. Not all of us can teach children. Not all of us can… But, each one of us can do something! And that something we can do should give us some pride. If there is not anything we have done that we are proud of, it is possible that we are not using our gifts, or at least not using our gifts to benefit the world.
May there be something in your life that you can’t wait to show others. May there be something you are doing that you can’t stop telling others about. Be proud of what you can do, because you may be the only person that can….
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Through a freind's eyes
I have several friends who blog on a regular basis. I will get a message on Facebook or I will get an e-mail letting me know when they have posted a new post on their blog. Not too long ago I was reading a friend’s blog, about a friend they met in college. As I was reading my friend’s post I began to realize my friend was writing about me. It was interesting to catch a glimpse of myself through my friend’s eyes.
We were made to be in relationships. We need relationships. We need people around us who will help us see ourselves in a little different way. Often, we can’t see things about ourselves, because we are too close to the situation… We need people around us who can help us see the good and bad in our lives that we are blind to. That does not mean we let others define who we are, but we need to let others speak into our lives so that we have a more complete picture of who we are.
Having people in our lives that can and will help us see ourselves more completely is a huge gift to us. They can help us act in a different way or refrain from doing certain things so that we don’t always have to learn the hard way. They can also help us see the many ways we are unique, we are gifted, and the talents we were created with.
I hope that you have people in your life who will celebrate your uniqueness by sharing with you the gifts and talents they see in you. I hope that you have people in your life that will help steer you away from the pitfalls they see up ahead. I hope that you have people who will help you see yourself in a more complete way, those that will not define who you are but will let you grow into who you were created to be.
We were made to be in relationships. We need relationships. We need people around us who will help us see ourselves in a little different way. Often, we can’t see things about ourselves, because we are too close to the situation… We need people around us who can help us see the good and bad in our lives that we are blind to. That does not mean we let others define who we are, but we need to let others speak into our lives so that we have a more complete picture of who we are.
Having people in our lives that can and will help us see ourselves more completely is a huge gift to us. They can help us act in a different way or refrain from doing certain things so that we don’t always have to learn the hard way. They can also help us see the many ways we are unique, we are gifted, and the talents we were created with.
I hope that you have people in your life who will celebrate your uniqueness by sharing with you the gifts and talents they see in you. I hope that you have people in your life that will help steer you away from the pitfalls they see up ahead. I hope that you have people who will help you see yourself in a more complete way, those that will not define who you are but will let you grow into who you were created to be.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Night Lights
When we moved into our current house several years ago, it seemed so dark at night. The first few days/weeks I cannot count the number of times I bumped into a cabinet, or a piece of furniture, or I slapped at a wall trying to find a light switch. I purchased numerous night lights to save my shins, elbows, etc. from the torture that furniture laying in wait dishes out.
The night lights were nice. I could see where I was going at night and didn’t have to turn on all the lights in the house to do it. The kids had a light in their room so if they happened to wake up in the middle of the night, they could get their bearings and go back to sleep.
A few months ago, I started noticing that I don’t like the lights anymore. It started with a light that wasn’t even in my house. About a block away there is a street light. Once the leaves fell from the trees in our backyard and our neighbors’ yard (and I think one or two branches might have come down by the wind), that street light shines right in my eyes as I lay in bed. I can see that silly light even with my eyes closed. So I would roll over and the light from our electric blanket would shine in my eyes. At times I have lain in bed not able to sleep because of how bright the house is.
Now that the house has become more familiar, I am able to notice all of the other lights I didn’t notice before. There is a light on the VCR, the phone cradle, the TV, our alarm clocks, my wife’s computer, the coffee maker, the space heater in the corner, etc. These lights were there before, yet I was just not aware enough to notice them. Our house is anything but dark anymore, and there have been several night lights that have had to find their way into a drawer.
How often in life do we deal with other “night lights”? For a time they are helpful to help us get our bearings, or get us where we need to go. These things may help us feel more secure or make us feel more freedom... But, at some point, they stop becoming helpful and become more of a hindrance or inconvenience.
The subtitle of a book I was recently given is “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.” Too often we continue to rely on things that were once helpful, long past their usefulness. There are times in our lives we need to put those things away because they aren’t needed, because we have grown, changed, and have become more comfortable in our surroundings. We may have to find a new “tool” to help move us forward in our lives, but if we cling to what got us here, we won’t ever get there. For healthier relationships, minds, bodies, etc. there are things we need to let go of so that we can grow and change.
The night lights were nice. I could see where I was going at night and didn’t have to turn on all the lights in the house to do it. The kids had a light in their room so if they happened to wake up in the middle of the night, they could get their bearings and go back to sleep.
A few months ago, I started noticing that I don’t like the lights anymore. It started with a light that wasn’t even in my house. About a block away there is a street light. Once the leaves fell from the trees in our backyard and our neighbors’ yard (and I think one or two branches might have come down by the wind), that street light shines right in my eyes as I lay in bed. I can see that silly light even with my eyes closed. So I would roll over and the light from our electric blanket would shine in my eyes. At times I have lain in bed not able to sleep because of how bright the house is.
Now that the house has become more familiar, I am able to notice all of the other lights I didn’t notice before. There is a light on the VCR, the phone cradle, the TV, our alarm clocks, my wife’s computer, the coffee maker, the space heater in the corner, etc. These lights were there before, yet I was just not aware enough to notice them. Our house is anything but dark anymore, and there have been several night lights that have had to find their way into a drawer.
How often in life do we deal with other “night lights”? For a time they are helpful to help us get our bearings, or get us where we need to go. These things may help us feel more secure or make us feel more freedom... But, at some point, they stop becoming helpful and become more of a hindrance or inconvenience.
The subtitle of a book I was recently given is “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.” Too often we continue to rely on things that were once helpful, long past their usefulness. There are times in our lives we need to put those things away because they aren’t needed, because we have grown, changed, and have become more comfortable in our surroundings. We may have to find a new “tool” to help move us forward in our lives, but if we cling to what got us here, we won’t ever get there. For healthier relationships, minds, bodies, etc. there are things we need to let go of so that we can grow and change.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Rocks
My oldest son started a bad habit his first year of school. The school that he went to had several large trees that dropped “nuts”. Our son would grab hand full’s of these “nuts and place them in his pocket. He has passed this habit on to his younger brother. The items they place in their pockets (who knows for what reason) have changed. Sometimes we find dandelion heads, or leaves, very often we find rocks, pebbles are probably a more appropriate term, but they are still rocks.
Recently I was taking clothes out of the washer and dryer and found several rocks that had escaped our pre-wash search. As I was taking the rocks out of the washer and dryer I was a little frustrated. “Why do the boys pick up these rocks and leave them in their pockets? “ I thought to myself. As I was asking the question a memory hit me. When I was younger my family had a ranch southwest of our hometown. When we would go to the ranch my brother and I would take “hikes” and find all sorts of beautiful or unique rocks. We would pick up these rocks and take them to Mom so she could see the wonderful treasures we had found. We also wanted to bring these treasures home, but Mom would always tell us that they wouldn’t look as unique at home. Sometimes we would listen to her and leave the rocks to be rediscovered later, but sometimes we smuggled some home. After a few days or sometimes a few weeks we would pull out our rock treasures to marvel at what we had found and brought home. It never failed, every time we pulled these treasures out all we had were just a bunch of rocks.
These memories started me thinking. How many times are we like those rocks my brother and I used to smuggle home? In our natural environment we sparkle we shine, we are beautiful, we are unique, but when we are taken out of our natural environment we look a little plain, we don’t look as special…
I hope you never have to suffer from being taken out of your “natural environment” and look plain and ordinary. I hope that you can find your “natural environment” so that you can sparkle and shine, and show the world your uniqueness.
Recently I was taking clothes out of the washer and dryer and found several rocks that had escaped our pre-wash search. As I was taking the rocks out of the washer and dryer I was a little frustrated. “Why do the boys pick up these rocks and leave them in their pockets? “ I thought to myself. As I was asking the question a memory hit me. When I was younger my family had a ranch southwest of our hometown. When we would go to the ranch my brother and I would take “hikes” and find all sorts of beautiful or unique rocks. We would pick up these rocks and take them to Mom so she could see the wonderful treasures we had found. We also wanted to bring these treasures home, but Mom would always tell us that they wouldn’t look as unique at home. Sometimes we would listen to her and leave the rocks to be rediscovered later, but sometimes we smuggled some home. After a few days or sometimes a few weeks we would pull out our rock treasures to marvel at what we had found and brought home. It never failed, every time we pulled these treasures out all we had were just a bunch of rocks.
These memories started me thinking. How many times are we like those rocks my brother and I used to smuggle home? In our natural environment we sparkle we shine, we are beautiful, we are unique, but when we are taken out of our natural environment we look a little plain, we don’t look as special…
I hope you never have to suffer from being taken out of your “natural environment” and look plain and ordinary. I hope that you can find your “natural environment” so that you can sparkle and shine, and show the world your uniqueness.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Time, Talents, Touch, & Treasure
I ordered a book a few months ago from Amazon.com. Amazon had suggested this book based on previous purchases I had made. I ordered the book and it sat on my shelf for several weeks. One day last week I picked up the book and began to read it. It only took me a couple of hours to read through the book (only because it is a pretty short book, not because I am an extremely fast reader).
The book, The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy (the founder of Chick-Fil-A), is a good book if you get a chance to read it. In the book the authors tell a sort of fictitious story about an encounter between a financial broker and an executive. The broker was curious about the lifestyle of the executive, so he spent some time learning from the executive. The executive shared (among other things) he felt he had a responsibility to give of his Time, Talent, Treasure, and Touch. This got me thinking a bit…
Each of us have 4 T’s, we have Time, we have Talents, we have Touch, and we have Treasure (some have more than others), but we all have these gifts to share with others. If I am to spend out of one of these categories, it may cost me being able to do something I want to do. If I spend one of my hours volunteering in the community, it costs me an hour I typically spend in another area of my life. That is at least what many of us think of giving our time. This thought hit me as I was sitting in a meeting with other leaders of the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. We were discussing our use of time and resources as we planned for the future work of our Conference. Our Bishop said something that drove my thoughts back to the executives 4 T’s. We were discussing a lot of things that would be very effective, but the Bishop asked are these things helping us be effective in our Mission?
I can use my time effectively. I can use my talents effectively. I can use my touch effectively. I can use my treasure effectively. But just because I am effective in using the gifts that I have, does not mean I am using them wisely or impacting the world around me. If I want to use my time or my talents to impact lives, I may have to spend my time and my talents in a different way so that I am being effective in the Mission I have for my life. If I want to use my treasure to impact others around me, I may have to delay a purchase so that I can use my treasure to be effective in the Mission I have for my life.
What is your Mission in life? Do you have one? What are some of the hopes you have for your family, your neighborhood, our community? Are you using the gifts you have available to you to make the hopes and dreams you have for those around you a reality? Are you using the gifts you have to make your mission in life a reality?
The book, The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy (the founder of Chick-Fil-A), is a good book if you get a chance to read it. In the book the authors tell a sort of fictitious story about an encounter between a financial broker and an executive. The broker was curious about the lifestyle of the executive, so he spent some time learning from the executive. The executive shared (among other things) he felt he had a responsibility to give of his Time, Talent, Treasure, and Touch. This got me thinking a bit…
Each of us have 4 T’s, we have Time, we have Talents, we have Touch, and we have Treasure (some have more than others), but we all have these gifts to share with others. If I am to spend out of one of these categories, it may cost me being able to do something I want to do. If I spend one of my hours volunteering in the community, it costs me an hour I typically spend in another area of my life. That is at least what many of us think of giving our time. This thought hit me as I was sitting in a meeting with other leaders of the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. We were discussing our use of time and resources as we planned for the future work of our Conference. Our Bishop said something that drove my thoughts back to the executives 4 T’s. We were discussing a lot of things that would be very effective, but the Bishop asked are these things helping us be effective in our Mission?
I can use my time effectively. I can use my talents effectively. I can use my touch effectively. I can use my treasure effectively. But just because I am effective in using the gifts that I have, does not mean I am using them wisely or impacting the world around me. If I want to use my time or my talents to impact lives, I may have to spend my time and my talents in a different way so that I am being effective in the Mission I have for my life. If I want to use my treasure to impact others around me, I may have to delay a purchase so that I can use my treasure to be effective in the Mission I have for my life.
What is your Mission in life? Do you have one? What are some of the hopes you have for your family, your neighborhood, our community? Are you using the gifts you have available to you to make the hopes and dreams you have for those around you a reality? Are you using the gifts you have to make your mission in life a reality?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Choices
When my family and I returned home from our Christmas travels, I started feeling a little under the weather. This feeling quickly turned into not feeling good at all. I spent the better part of a week reclining on the couch under several blankets and I still could not keep from shivering. I didn’t eat because I wasn’t hungry, watching movies or TV was not relaxing, reading a book was not relaxing. Nothing seemed to help take my mind off of my shivering, or my aches, or how bad my body hurt, etc…
While trying to find a more comfortable position on the couch I started playing with my cell phone. I have downloaded a lot of apps I rarely use, and since nothing else was helping to distract me from my pitiful condition, I thought I would look through these apps and see if I really needed all of these programs I had on my phone. One of the first apps I opened was one that helped count calories and track a person’s diet. I had downloaded the app because I really wanted to lose some weight; I just have a hard time making the choices to get the extra weight off. The more I played with this app the more I wanted to use it to keep up with what I put in my body. Since I had nothing better to do I began inputting the foods I was eating, and then I went back several days trying to remember everything I had eaten and input that into this program. I knew what I had been putting into my body but did not realize what exactly I was consuming. I did not realize my guilty little pleasure every morning (a 12 oz. can of Coke) was taking up a lot of the calories I was allotted per day. I did not realize how many calories I was blowing through with the little snacks I normally had at the office.
In less than a week my body shed 20 pounds. I would highly recommend not losing weight by being sick. But I now have several choices before me. I can go back to the way I was consuming food and quickly regain those 20 pounds, or I can begin to make changes in what I consume to keep the weight off and possibly get down to a healthier body size. I can choose to do what I have been doing or I can choose to make changes in my life to spend more time exercising to make my body healthier.
Twelve days into this New Year, most of us have choices before us, not just about how much we eat or don’t eat, or exercise or don’t exercise… We have choices before us to begin to change our lives and the lives of those around us. The choices we have are sort of like the choices of food we consume. If my New Year’s Resolution is to be a better spouse, am I going to “consume” choices that help me become a better spouse? What about a better friend? Or a better parent? Too often we view our choices independent of all other choices we make, but too often our choices are dependent on other choices we make. Each choice can help us become a healthier person, a better person, the person we have hoped we could become. There are no wasted choices, no choices that really don’t count. Poor choices can take away valuable time, energy, and resources that could be dedicated to moving us closer to our desired resolutions.
The choices we make today will impact our lives tomorrow. My hope is that we all make better choices, so that we become who God created us to be.
While trying to find a more comfortable position on the couch I started playing with my cell phone. I have downloaded a lot of apps I rarely use, and since nothing else was helping to distract me from my pitiful condition, I thought I would look through these apps and see if I really needed all of these programs I had on my phone. One of the first apps I opened was one that helped count calories and track a person’s diet. I had downloaded the app because I really wanted to lose some weight; I just have a hard time making the choices to get the extra weight off. The more I played with this app the more I wanted to use it to keep up with what I put in my body. Since I had nothing better to do I began inputting the foods I was eating, and then I went back several days trying to remember everything I had eaten and input that into this program. I knew what I had been putting into my body but did not realize what exactly I was consuming. I did not realize my guilty little pleasure every morning (a 12 oz. can of Coke) was taking up a lot of the calories I was allotted per day. I did not realize how many calories I was blowing through with the little snacks I normally had at the office.
In less than a week my body shed 20 pounds. I would highly recommend not losing weight by being sick. But I now have several choices before me. I can go back to the way I was consuming food and quickly regain those 20 pounds, or I can begin to make changes in what I consume to keep the weight off and possibly get down to a healthier body size. I can choose to do what I have been doing or I can choose to make changes in my life to spend more time exercising to make my body healthier.
Twelve days into this New Year, most of us have choices before us, not just about how much we eat or don’t eat, or exercise or don’t exercise… We have choices before us to begin to change our lives and the lives of those around us. The choices we have are sort of like the choices of food we consume. If my New Year’s Resolution is to be a better spouse, am I going to “consume” choices that help me become a better spouse? What about a better friend? Or a better parent? Too often we view our choices independent of all other choices we make, but too often our choices are dependent on other choices we make. Each choice can help us become a healthier person, a better person, the person we have hoped we could become. There are no wasted choices, no choices that really don’t count. Poor choices can take away valuable time, energy, and resources that could be dedicated to moving us closer to our desired resolutions.
The choices we make today will impact our lives tomorrow. My hope is that we all make better choices, so that we become who God created us to be.
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