When storms come your way.....

A couple of weeks ago Angela and I could feel the cool wind picking up outside, and could see the dark storm clouds coming. However, that night I slept through the storm no problem. Angela, on the other hand, was startled, woke up, and couldn't go back to sleep. The next morning she couldn't believe I slept through the storm!

It reminded me of this verse in Psalms: In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust (Psalm 4:8).

When the storms of life come against you, as long as you are "dwelling" in God, you dwell in safety and trust—nothing can take away your peace and joy. What does it mean to dwell in Him? One of the definitions of the word means to keep your attention directed toward something. The more you keep your attention directed toward God, the more you will know Him and the more confidence you will have. When you focus your heart and your thoughts, when you worship and are intentional about taking your next "spiritual step", you are dwelling in Him.

Do you need His peace and protection? Focus your heart and mind on Him. As you dwell on Him, you will see God be your Protector, your Defender, your Strength, your Shelter and so much more!

Closer than you think

I read a great verse today. Do not cast away your confidence, for it carries a great reward (Hebrews 10:35).

Have you been praying and believing for something that seems like it is taking a lot longer than you thought? Many times, people can miss God's best simply because they give up before they see their "due season" come. Often our answer is closer than we think. If it seem like things are getting more difficult, remember, when the intensity heats up, that means you are closer to the next thing God has for you.

God works behind the scenes on your behalf, where you can't see. Do not cast away your confidence today because your reward is coming. And just like a new mother forgets about her labor pain when she is finally holding her newborn, you will forget about your struggle when you are holding on to your promise.

Milestone

Two days ago, Collin swam without "floaties" for the first time. He was extremely satisfied to swim all by himself, and we were proud parents (and a bit surprised!).

Are you a Net addict?

I find myself spending more and more time at the computer. It begs the question - am I getting addicted??

Are you an Internet addict? If so, you are not alone. There are a growing number of people out there who cannot live without multiple daily visits to cyberspace. In fact, it is so bad that they neglect their appearance, their wives and husbands, their kids, and their jobs.

The experts say anonymity is the biggest reason people get hooked on the Internet. In fact, 83 percent of web addicts say that is the reason. No one knows who they are, so they can take more risks—in chat rooms, gambling, playing violent video games, even bidding on eBay.

Most online addicts deny they have a problem. But Internet addicts may get agitated if kept off the web, lashing out at those around them. And people who have addictive tendencies in other areas are more susceptible. If you are not sure whether you are addicted, there is a test on www.NetAddiction.com.

Here are some of the questions from the online test. Have a look; if you answer frequently, or often, or always to one or more of these questions, you might have a problem.

1. How often do you stay online longer than you intended?
2. How often do you neglect other things in your life to spend more time online?
3. Do you often form relationships with other users?
4. Do you find yourself snapping at people who bother you while you’re online?

Starbucks store closures

Here it is ladies and gentlemen! The "official" list of Starbucks stores that will be closing next year. You can check it out here www.starbucks.com/aboutus/USStoreClosureInfo.pdf

And WHY do I seem to be in such a good mood?

Because I am in luck! Even though they are closing down several area stores, NONE of my "regulars" are included.

Praise the Lord and pass the skim!

How about yours?

Leading Spiritual Pathways -Part 2

Every person in our church community is at a different place in their spiritual journey (no pun, but I love that this is our name - Journey Church).

For us, we are continually finding ways to infuse this awareness in with how we communicate and teach people in our large, weekend gatherings. For example, we are intentional about....

1. Recognizing and acknowledging it!

There are a LOT of ways to do this, but we are intentional about doing this during our welcome time at every weekend gathering. Usually, it sounds something like this:

“Our mission here is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And what that simply means is that no matter where you might be at in your spiritual journey, first of all - we are glad you are here. But secondly, our hope is that we can help you take your next step forward on that journey.

2. Helping people locate where they’re at in their journey.

Often times, I’ll wrap up my talks by having a few moments of reflection where I will ask the question - Where are you at right now in your spiritual journey? And what does your next step look like?

To help people think through this, I will often times say things like:

For some of you, you are very new to this journey and it is just a HUGE deal that you are even sitting in church today.... Perhaps for you......your next step is making the decision to come back again next week.

For others of you, you have been learning more and more about the ways of Jesus.....you’re pretty well convinced that following Him is the best way to live your life......and so for you, your next step is to reach out to him to solidify that desire.... Perhaps you’ve been following Jesus for a while now - maybe even for years.... Maybe your next step is a matter of taking that step of faith in your life that God has been leading you towards.....

You get the idea, right? And of course, there are not just three categories - these are just three examples. Really, it is just a matter of us being sensitive at each gathering to however God might be working in people’s lives.

On a side note, I think it is important that we do not forget that God is at work in people’s lives LONG before they step foot into our doors. For some reason, there is this crazy idea out there that says, "As soon as we get them IN....then God will start doing something great." What the heck!? Why do we think that God only resides in our buildings and services?! No way.

God is so much greater than that. And He is at work in people and places everywhere.

Leading on Spiritual Pathways

Here is a fact: Every person who walks through our church doors is at a different place in their spiritual journey. Think about it.

It is one of the most beautiful things in the world to me. If everyone really was at the same place, how boring would that be??

And I know that for some of you, this all seems pretty elementary... Yet, the more time that I spend around pastors and church leaders, the more I am amazed at how our awareness of this RARELY shows up in how we communicate and structure our ministry environments!

And while we certainly don’t have it all figured out, I can tell you that there are some things that we are learning that have really helped us in our endeavor to reach our mostly unchurched community.

So with that said..... I am going to spend some time over these next few days sharing some of our....I guess you could call them best practices. Basically things that we are very intentional about doing at Journey that helps people recognize and hopefully.....at the end of the day, take their next step forward in their journey.

And I will start by sharing some of the things I try to be very intentional about in the way I communicate at our weekend gatherings.

Stay tuned.

"It's not a good night to be an athiest"'

If you are a baseball fan then you watched Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers set a new single round record with 28 homers in the first round of Home Run Derby. Much more amazing is Josh Hamilton's story of how God saved him from a life of drugs and alcohol that almost ruined him.

He said, "When I get the urge to have a drink or do something I'm not supposed to do, I think about what a hypocrite I would be to my Christianity and my sobriety." He continued, "My wife told me in the midst of my addiction that God was going to let me get back to baseball." Then Josh Hamilton added, "Being able to share my story, that's what it's all about." If you want to read more about his story here is one version in the Dallas News.

My favorite line of the night was from one of the ESPN announcers while Hamilton was clobbering homer after homer out of Yankee Stadium, "It's not a good night to be an atheist."

8 Secrets of Leadership - Nelson Mandela

I read the recent issue of Time magazine yesterday and on the cover was a picture of Nelson Mandela and it was titled, The Secrets of Leadership: 8 Lessons from one history's icons. The article was written by his long time biographer Richard Stengel, who seems to know him like a friend. Some of the lessons were not the usual leadership lessons that you might read in a book by a business professor, and others were very predictable. However, the most interesting part is how tactical he was in his approach to leadership and the tactics that illustrate these leadership lessons. To get all that you need to read the article. Here is the summary of the lessons from a leader who led in such a way as to bring about real transformation:

1. COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR - IT'S INSPIRING OTHERS TO MOVE BEYOND IT.
2. LEAD FROM THE FRONT - BUT DON'T LEAVE YOUR BASE BEHIND.
3. LEAD FROM THE BACK - AND LET OTHERS BELIEVE THEY ARE IN FRONT.
4. KNOW YOUR ENEMY - AND LEARN ABOUT HIS FAVORITE SPORT.
5. KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE - AND YOUR RIVALS EVEN CLOSER.
6. APPEARANCES MATTER - AND REMEMBER TO SMILE.
7. NOTHING IS BLACK AND WHITE.
8. QUITTING IS LEADING TOO.

Time also has a narrated photo essay: Modern Hero. It is terrific and shows us how Mandela inspires us. And for extra credit you can take a look at The Making of a Leader, an additional article by Richard Stengel on Nelson Mandela.

Why do we carry so much stress?

There has got to be some good reason why we take on so much stress in our lives. Even if we know all our worries are killing us, we still invite more and more of it into our lives.

Why do I feel the need to carry so much stress? What am I hiding from or covering up? What hole in my life am I trying to fill with stress?

Those are tough questions. But if you don’t deal with them, none of my stress-busting tips are going to do you any good—not for long, anyway. If you want to be free from stress, you have to learn to say no.

You have to pick the events and ‘yeses’ that will yield the greatest reward in your life. Here’s an idea: next time you know your response should be no, don’t leave room for compromise.

When your stressed-out friend asks you to co-chair the graduation committee, don’t just say, “Let me think about it.” Instead say, “Right now, that’s impossible.” And shake your head from side to side as you say it.

Studies show that when you do that, the person you addressed is much more likely to hear no.

Even Jesus had to say no to those around him when it was time to be still and listen for the voice of God. Remember what happened after Jesus fed the five thousand? The people were so impressed that they were ready to make him their earthly king—by force if necessary. No doubt it was flattering to be asked. I know I would be very tempted to give in if somebody wanted to make me their king! But that wasn’t what Jesus was there to do. So instead of going along, saying yes, taking on one more thing, he “withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:15 NIV).

When the high-pitched whine of our earthly stress jams every signal around us, we not only lose perspective, we lose an opportunity to hear from our heart, from our loved ones and from God himself. Before you say your next “Yes!”, ask yourself if you are prepared to add the accompanying stress to your life.

I look at it this way: If the vessel is already full, where are you going to put that golden opportunity for success or for ministry when it finally arrives? You hear it every morning at the coffee shop: “Would you like room for cream?” Yeah, this time I would. Thanks

Back from the Windy City

Angela and I took a weekend up to Chicago and had a great time. We actually took the train from Indy, saving some gas $ and easy drive time. This was our first time away from the boys in a while. (we highly recommend every couple to take vital time for each other!!).
We took the riverboat cruise, where it highlighted the history of Chicago. Did alot of walking Michigan Ave., shopping, etc. We found two great restaurants - The Saloon Steakhouse on Chesnut and Smith and Wellensky's (ended up getting our meal free - they overcooked our steaks, then undercooked them - they took it back three times). Although it took us longer than it would otherwise, we appreciated the complimentary meal!
We arrived late last night via train, where Angela's father picked us up. Now that I am on Journey time, my week is full!!

It's Christian's birthday tonight (the big '4'), so we are going to celebrate with "auntie" and grandpa and grandma!

Focusing Your Life

You can't accomplish much in this world without focus. When people or companies lose their focus, things begin to fall apart.

On any given day you can see what happens when people (or companies) lose focus. Company X sells the best hamburger in town. They get bought by a bigger company XX who takes them nationwide and expands their menu to include everything from salad niçoise to donuts and ribs. The hamburger fans get confused and start going elsewhere for their burgers.

Tea Company Y wants to move their stock price up and decide they can do that by launching more flavored iced teas, so they add ten new flavors. The consumer gets so rattled trying to make a decision at the grocery store they just buy a diet soda instead. Mercedes stands for luxury. BMW is the Ultimate Driving Machine. Volvo stands for safety. But when these brands have gotten lured into expanding or changing their focus, the results have been disastrous.

Today, right now, your focus is being challenged more than ever before. Multitasking will kill your focus. The lure of money will cause you to lose your focus. And sleep deprivation will also ruin any chance you have of staying on course.

And guess what? You need focus in everything you do. Have you ever been in a discussion with your spouse and lost focus? Have you ever reached down to grab a French fry that dropped on the floorboard of your car? Losing focus can kill you. But each day we seem to lose a little more focus in everything we do. We pack our schedules with nonsense that leaves us exhausted and confused. We over-schedule our kids with far too many activities. We have become reactors to way too many stimuli.

Our biggest problem is that our “focus muscles” have atrophied. We think growth only comes through change, so we change everything even if it’s already perfect. It’s true enough that we need to be open to change. But it takes time to get things right. If everything is always changing for no good reason, how will we ever manage to perfect the latest change?

Church @ the park

Sorry about the partial picture of the day, nevertheless we had a great time yesterday at Deer Path park as Journey gathered for some fun and an outside service on the tennis courts. Aaron, our youth pastor, talked about the great aspects of "Community" and how powerful it is when we model our lives after the Acts 2 church. As kids played, some of the adults played a mean game of Volleyball...it was my "annual" game!

Bowling and vacation

This is a camera phone mug shot of the boys and I bowling at Pinheads. They did incredible, even though they had the "kiddie" barriers up for them. Sadly, I did lose to Collin on the first game! I'm not a bowler, but enjoy going out every decade or so....

We are on a "family" vacation this week, so my posts may be lean after July 6th.

I'm looking forward to our Journey "Church @ the Park" tomorrow. Should be a blast!

4th Cause

The fourth cause of marriage difficulties is this: Immorality (ethical or moral "lapses" - whatever you call them.) And it doesn't always have to be adultery.

It can include lying, being too greedy, or a lack of anger management. Yes, you need to call your spouse's attention to their sin. How do we respond? The last thing we want to respond with is ,"I'm better than you." Rather, you need to respond with a humble heart . . . a heart that admits, 'I could do the same thing or something like that even if I haven't."

None of us is perfect and if we're going to act as though we are, we lessen our chances for reconciliation with the offending person.

The goal is avoiding these things are maintaining an undivided heart!

3rd Cause for Marriage Challenges

Here's the third: Different preferences!

When you were dating, the two of you enjoyed one another's preferences. This is what made you a couple. Your wife may have had many friends and you appreciated that about her. But now she spends so much time with her friends on the phone, meeting for coffee or shopping at malls that she has no time for you anymore.

It's important to see these preferences are not wrong. It just means your spouse thinks differently than you. One of you likes to spend the afternoon sitting at the beach curled up with a good book and the other wants to go water skiing at the lake. You can both do your "own thing." But also leave room for something you can both do together or just take turns.