Being Mad

I've heard it many times in my life whenever the discussion of future, life, dreams, purpose, career, or anything like that comes up. I've ever said it myself. If there is anything that truly makes you made, so mad that you have to do something about it - then do it. That is what you are supposed to do.

Well, I had a catalyst moment in my life a few weeks ago in which I truly got mad about a lot. Once that began to happen I eventually realized that one of the reasons I am mad is because it is me. God also told me the reason that I can't do anything about it now is because I have not yet dealt with it in my life.

God's words are tough to swallow most of the time. I am thankful for that. If it was easy then God wouldn't be amazing to me. I love how I can listen to thousands of words spoken and written and isn't even worth remembering...but when God whispers a word or a phrase it cannot be ignored and is usually life altering.

Thank you God. Please continue to bombard me with conviction from your Holy Spirit.

Crazy Love

So, I know I haven't blogged in months. That is how important what I am about to say is. Crazy Love by Francis Chan in one of the most amazing books I have ever had the pleasure reading.

Seriously, read this book. I'd love to tell you all about it and how much it has spoken into my life, but I don't have the time nor the energy. But what I will say is this - if you can get through Chapter 4 without completely evaluating your life than you are definately a better man than me. And then maybe you should reread it once or twice more.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan - a must read.

Crazy July, August in the Zoo

Sorry for not posting any blogs lately. July is crazy. I have been home a total of around 10 days with only a few of those days consecutive. I was at three weeks of camp, a couple weekends of vacation, and the rest planning for September. Monday will have a new post.

But for now, something to think about. I just read a blog by Mark Batterson and he is giving a few looks at his new book "Wild Goose Chase" coming out Aug 19.

He asked if we treat people in churches similarly to animals in a zoo. Do we allow freedom or do we restrict it? Is that right or wrong? What are your thoughts, I'd love to hear them!

Happy Fourth

Have a great Fourth of July!

We've talked about truth in entertainment all week. Any other forms of entertainment that have spoken and/or motivated you?

Truth in Entertainment (We are Marshall!)

I've often wondered what would happen if more of us could unite ourselves. As a church, imagine what could happen if we united more than we divided. This is one reason why I love this whole One Prayer idea Craig Groeschel decided to do that so many others have joined in with.

What if we could, politically, decide on what needs to change is just find a way to do it in unity? Imagine how powerful a united front could become when people decided that the end what much more important than the means.

This is what happens in We are Marshall in several different parts. The one that stands out the most to me is when the remaining football players rally together and rally the entire student body and town to protest the removal of the Marshall football team. Then, as a the School Board meets, they begin to chant. It's an amazing portrayal of unity.

Try to do more to unite, especially for Jesus, then divide and get in the way.

Any time that you have experienced unity? What did that do for you and for your cause?

Truth in Entertainment (Rocky, Rocky!)

Good ol' Rocky. Recently I watched Rocky Balboa (definately not my favorite of the series, but I still love it.) The scene that inspires me so much is when Rocky is giving "the speech" to his son and he tells him "It's not how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and get back up!"

This motivates me to be more tenacious in my life. I give up too easy. But, the funny thing is, sometimes I do think we need to quit. We just have to somehow instinctively know when that is. But still, whenever I get hit hard, I wanna get back up. I wanna keep going. I want to move along and continue to pursue my goal. If that goal is happiness/joy (Monday's post), or if it's to shine on (Tuesday), striving to be more like Jesus, trying to improve my character, influencing those around me, or pursuing anything else!

Get back up!

When is a time you were motivated to get back up?

Truth in Entertainment (Shine On)

This comes from a song called "Shine On" by needtobreathe. If you have not heard then you need to check it out with whatever you use for music.

The song also has a music video in which several people walk around lit up with Christmas lights on them and whenever he/she comes into contact with someone else - the other person also lights up.

So, when is the last time you affected someone with your light? I'll be honest by saying that I'm not really sure. I can give the answer that pastors like me are supposed to give, but I just don't know, for real, when I really passed "my light" onto someone else.

It's time for me, and maybe you, to "shine on."

When is the last time you influenced someone in this way?

Truth in Entertainment (Happyness)

I love media, for the most part. I love entertainment. I just love to be entertained. But the best part of entertainment is the raw emotion and thoughts and life direction it can send you in. This week, I want to share with you some of the truth in entertainment that has motivated me recently.

"The Pursuit of Happyness" is a wonderful movie and a wonderful story. While I could spend a lot of time on the movie and the different aspects, I want to spend time on just one line. At one point Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) says that at that moment he knew what happiness was. This happened at the end of the movie when he finally accomplishes all of his goals.

He was chosen out of the many interns to become a full-time employee as a stock broker with Dean Whitter. Then he walks about the building and begins to clap and the voiceover says that he finally realized happiness. This inspires me to ask a question:

When do feel you last experienced true happiness, or joy?

What is the thing in life, in your job, in your career, in your family that really brings out happiness? I can't imagine going through life without having moments of true happiness. But I also don't think we can always live in true happiness. I think it only comes in slight moments. The reason I say this is because if we always had true happiness, we would no longer have it because we would take it for granted.

This post is nothing special other than true reflect and find out what really makes us happy. Maybe, if there is little of it, it is time for a change with something. Maybe different aspects of your job or life need more focus because of the joy it brings. Also, we need to know (as in the case of Chris Gardner) maybe we just need to put more effort into the pursuit part of happiness.

What makes you truly happy?

Rebelliousness (5 of 5)

The final question/instruction of my painful learning.

Where is your heart?

If your heart has bitterness, anger, or rebellion (for rebellion's sake) then you need to check that attitude. Again, the first day I wrote this blog on rebelliousness, my heart was not right. I still think some truth came out of what was said, but we always want to rebel against others. A common factor in all of that rebellion is selfishness. We want what we want when we want it and nobody can tell us different or make us do different.

Whatever. It is that attitude in me that needs to change. I need to grow up. I claim to be a young adult, but I rarely act out the adult part of that statement. I want to be a little kid again when it was all about me. Now, I need to realize that it's not all about me, it's all about Jesus and I need to do whatever needs to be done to keep it that way.

And the authority that is placed over me was placed there by Jesus. So even if I think I am doing something that's right or fine but it's different from others in authority over me, then I am not doing what Jesus wants. There may be a conversation that can take place in order to find the proper balance, but I need to do what Jesus wants and he rarely wants me to rebel against others.

Unless it's a way of life. Sin. Evil. Etc. Those things do need to be rebelled against. So where is your heart in this whole scheme of things? I hope that your heart, mind, soul, and attitude is with Jesus and bringing Him all of the glory!

Rebelliousness (4 of 5)

Again, I come back to this because I always find that whenever I am questioning something about life, I tend to ignore this aspect of it. Prayer.

So you love living in rebelliousness (I'm loving this new word). Well, where is that taking you? What kind of mindset do you have with it? Where is your heart? It becomes far too easy to get caught up in our own world of rebellion, confusion, questioning, doubt, etc. And I think a lot of what we have talked about so far on this blog leads to doubt. I think the main reason is we begin to leave out prayer.

Pray about whether or not your thoughts and attitudes are of God or if they are of yourself. I wrote the last post two days ago. I wrote that because I was going through an attitude myself. I did not pray about it immediately and the language between that post and today's are completely different. After some time in prayer, I see that the things that I was having issues with were legit, but MY attitude toward it all was completely wrong.

So, pray. It gets said a lot and it gets made to be complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Ask the God of all wisdom what your attitude is and if it should be different. It is throught prayer that we get to the heart of the matter.

Rebelliousness (3 of 5)

Today, we talk about history's favorite target of our rebellion: authority.

Yesterday, we talked about others' convictions against us. What if it is those in authority over us?

We love to talk about and rebel and discuss how we would change those in authority over us. Specifically, the government. We can never be happy about what they do, or say, or think. We always think we know better. We always think we can do better. Or else we think that we can act better over the one situation we are currently upset with.

The truth of the matter is twofold. The first is: It's true.

Let's not kid ourselves now. We are not all stupid, ignorant, worthless beings that cannot have think or hold and opinion and do not that the ability to make a decision. And, truth be told, we sometime our the expert in the situation we are thinking about. Truth be told, there are many different people (perhaps you are included) that can do a better job than whichever leader you have in mind.

The second truth is: Regardless, that person is not you.

While you may be the expert in your situation. For instance, if you live in Iowa or another flooded area right now, you are aware of the damage done and how the federal, state, and local governments can help you. You are aware of how they should help you. You can talk about how the bridge should have been raised 15 years ago. You can talk about how the levee should have been restrengthened 15 years ago. You can talk about how this and that should have happened differently. But, one thing you are not considering is that there are thousands and millions that have the same thoughts and opinions as you. As a leader, you much have all of this in mind when making a decision.

For me, this comes into play whenever I have to coach an athletic team. I have a desire to win - especially in a few select sports. But, I also have a desire to be fair, most of the time. Many times others become very upset about all sorts of things - playing time, playing ability, play calling, etc. While a person may be correct in what he/she is saying (and I acknowledge that I make bad decisions) this person is usually thinkly of only himself. Or she is only thinking of her and her closest few. As a coach, however, I have to think of the entire team and everyone involved.

The truth is, and I am realizing how long this is, is that all authority comes from somewhere. In the end, the ultimate authority is God and all authority is given through him. (See Romans 13)

This is why we live in a democracy. If you can do a better job then step up or shut up or be a positive help. If you have a problem, go through the proper channels instead of complaining to everyone around you. Instead of being a thorn, be a help and volunteer your help.

Again, it all comes do to the heart.

Rebelliousness (2 of 5)

Lately, I have enjoyed a freedom that I have not had for a long time. I like it. I really enjoy it. I plan on keeping it.

I don't know if this is because of some form of "rebelliousness" or what, but I do know that I am closer to God than ever and that I am living in freedom and joy that I have not had before.

In life, everyone else is an expert on your life and what you should do or so or whatever. But, it seems that nobody is an expert in their own life. We all grow and change over time, even simply hours. In that, some of the growth is us. Some is mentors/family. Some is peers. Some of it is God. This is great. It needs to continue.

But, if I began to do everything that others think I should do just because it has worked for them and that God has told them to do such, then that is great. But that does not mean it should be the same for me, right? For instance, there is an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic sitting next to one another. Now, if the alcoholic has a sip of alcohol then that individual may have just opened Pandora's box in his/her own life. If the non-alcoholic takes a sip, it may turn out to be just that - a sip. If the non-alcoholic takes a sip and influences the alcoholic, then we have issues there too.

Now, I am not making a theological statement one way or the other about the drinking vs. abstinence of alcohol right now. It just happened to be the best example for this. I think that scenario becomes obvious as to what each individual should do in that scenario. But if the scenario turns out to be two non-alcoholics, what should happen then? What if the non-alcoholic (who is of age I feel I should strongly emphasize) is alone? What is permitted then?

Paul says it perfectly in Romans 14. Also in 1 Corinthians 10:23 where he says, "everything is permission - but not everything is beneficial or constructive." Again, it comes back to where is your heart in your attitude of rebelliousness?

Rebelliousness (1 of 5)

Ha, I think I just made that word up. Sweet.

I am a natural rebel. Probably because of sin. But even beyond that, I love to go against the grain whenever possible. I like to do things others don't think I'll do. Sometimes, I love to just say or do something that will truly upset someone.

Basically, I have no problem when God tells me to do something. I have no problem (well, maybe for a short time) when God's Spirit convicts me of something.

My problem comes when someone else thinks that his/her convictions should be mine as well. Yeah, I have a serious problem with that. There are a lot of different "convictions" I could talk about, but I won't talk about those at all. However, I do want to talk about rebelliousness and the heart that comes behind it.

See ya tomorrow.

Sorry

Hey, this is my apology for any of those just dying for another post. Obviously, I have not posted at all this week.

As a rule of thumb, I can't guarantee a post every day. But I will tell you that I will generally blog in series and that series will always start on a Monday. So, check on Monday @ 6 am CST and if there is a post then there will be one for the rest of the week. If not, don't even bother checking back.

Existence (5 of 5)

Really, the short of the posts this week are to encourage you in your struggle toward making a decision on the existence of God.

I want to encourage you to continue in that fight for the truth. The truth is out and it does exist. Fight for it. Struggle through it. Continue to seek it. Do not let your age, nor your status, nor your education, nor your past, nor your present, nor your peers stop you finding the truth about God.

Just remember to continue praying and to continue seeking Him at church.

Existence (4 of 5)

Many believe in God.

Many of those still don't follow God.

Many think that they'll just wait until later.

Many think that now is the time to have fun.

Many people are wrong.

God exists and He is the Creator of the Universe. Why would anyone think that He doesn't want me to have fun? Why would anyone think that He doesn't know what would be truly entertaining for me?

There is a huge problem with "just having fun." Often, it doesn't end in a fun way. Often, there are too many mistakes that are made that aren't too fun. Often, one gets too far and too deep and cannot get out. What if your fun gets you shot eventually? What if your fun gets you in jail eventually? What if you fun ends with unplanned children? What if your fun puts you behind the wheel of a car that ends a persons life?

There are a lot of people that like to live rebelliously and have fun. The problem is that there are hundreds of millions of other "rebels" out there thinking the same thing. Jesus was a true rebel. He led the minority and through Him started a revolution and the majority. Give that one a shot if you are thinking of being a rebel.

Existence (3 of 5)

Check your mental state.

If you are already being negative toward life, then any life decision you make will relfect that negative attitude.

Ex. If you took a test and bombed it and then bring that into a spiritual decision, it will negatively affect the outcome.
If you have a bad day at work and then you decide that God doesn't exist.

The reverse of that is also true. It's amazing how different things are when your mind is in a positive or a negative state.

The same thing happens when we pray. If you have a horrible day or a horrible month (more on that another time) and you pray for whatever from God then it is likely that your attitude will reflect God's "answer." But if you are in a great mood and you pray for something, that will in turn positively affect God's "answer."

This happens in my life all the time. I will be extremely excited about some dream or idea that I have and the next thing I know is that God somehow gives me immediate permission to alter the course of my life just because I like the idea. Now, this isn't God which is why "answer" is quoted. It is our interpretation of what we want to hear.

The opposite is just as accurate. When you think you are worthless then you will never think that God wants your help. The trick with all of this is to work on being open-minded through prayer for God's response.

Existence (2 of 5)

The question still looms, "Does God exist?"

To answer that for you quickly - yes, He does."

The problem that I find I always have when dealing with this question, which I do question often, (and it does come whenever I facing a challenge or a coming transition in my life) is that too many people that are searching for that answer do it wrong. I think that it is wonderful to talk to other people about. I think it is wonderful to search to find your answer, (depending on what that searching is, of course) but there is a source that you cannot forget which most do. Pray.

I seems that whenever someone is having questions about anything spiritual he/she always forgets to pray. That is ridiculous. When I went to school and I was in theological classes, I was in constant struggle with issues of God, religion, and the practice fo such. But one other thing that I failed in was to pray about what I was struggling with.

Too many people are growing up in church in their youth groups or whatever and when they have to make the decision to follow God on their own and they talk to others that have already decided against following God. Instead of continuing their search, it is ended through the words of another struggling soul that doesn't have anything figured out.

So, again I say it - pray. Make no decisions without prayer.

Existence (1 of 5)

Here's the kicker for many in "transition."

The question is: "Does God even exist?"

The first thing I have to say is this...you will always notice that whenever you are in a physical/mental/emotional transition, you will always be in a spiritual one. This is the question that will come in some shape, form, or size whenever thinking about life's difficulties.

The second thing I have to say is that you do not need to be afraid of this question. Just because you are asking it does not mean that you are a bad person, a bad Christian, etc. It also does not mean that just because you are asking the question that the doubt validates your negative answer or response.

Too often people are told to never let that question enter their mind. We are told that we are not supposed to think like that in church or that having questions means we cannot love God. I definately disagree with that. Don't worry. Ask the question. But there are some guidelines to follow which we will talk about for the rest of this week.

Back to the Finding of God's Will...

Something that has not been mentioned yet that absolutely must be.

PRAY.

In all that you do in life pray. Without prayer you cannot and will not hear the voice of God. He wants to speak to you. He is speaking to you. You just need to listen. Sometimes that means listening in silence, sometimes kneeling, shouting, praying, fasting, reading His Word, talking to trusted peers, conversations with mentors, reading other books.

If you currently are not hearing from God on something - do this. Change it up. Do something you don't normally do. If there is something on the list I just mentioned that is not something you regularly do, then do it. Pray longer...pray shorter. Sit in silence.

One thing a mentor of mine told me to do once that revolutionized my prayer time for that week was to do nothing but thank God (unless something really, really huge came up.) That was a good week. Don't ask God for anything like we usually do, just thank Him for giving us what he already has.

Change it up, listen, and you will hear.For of you praying about something, I'll be praying for you this week. Feel free to comment your prayer so I, and others, can pray specifically for you. (I would suggest using some discretion in commenting certain things however.)

Choosing the Right Dream...

This is the fun part.

If you are like me and love to dream then keep doing it. It will take you down the right path toward find this "will of God." God has placed those dreams inside you and DO NOT let anyone take that away from you.

Let me tell you how God dreams. BIG, HUGE, IMMENSE, COLOSSAL, MAJESTIC, GREAT, MASSIVE, GINORMOUS (yes, I just used a thesaurus.) If your dream is not that way, then it is not God's dream.We need to dream God-sized dreams because it makes us rely on Him and Him alone. If we can do it on our own then we are doing something wrong.

Now, for clarification, often times God will lead us up to this point. So, if your "dream" is to work at McDonald's as a friar, greaser, cook...whatever we call 'em then that does not mean it is not the right "dream." But what God will do with is get you promoted to a certain level.

Sometimes, what we fail to see is that "dreaming" has nothing to do with our career. Maybe your passion is the brokenhearted, the poor, Indians, Hollywood, etc. Sometimes we just need to make ends meet so that we can pursue another passion.

Note - sitting on your butt doing absolutely nothing (playing recreational sports like you are professional, playing video games, surfing the net, being a beach bum, and make pointless youtube videos) is not God's idea of a dream for you. That is what we call a hobby. Keep it just that...a hobby.

Another note - I do realize that those can lead to something - please don't think that I believe there is no worth in those activites. And now I am walking an even finer line, so I'm just going to shut up now.

Dream...

One of the biggest tools the Enemy has against us is to cut off our joy. One of our joys is to dream, imagine, believe in something bigger than you.

This happened to me. At 23 I became a youth pastor. I was even quoted by a certain district superintendent in a message as "living the dream." And truth is that I was. A year later I went into a year-long depression. I have never been depressed in my life, I have always been the energetic, joy-giver, the person everyone loves to be around and the guy that will always make you alivee in some way. I was consumed with joy.

Then, after enough external criticism and dream-killing, I began to become even more overly critical on myself and others than I already was. Satan used this to take away my desire to dream for more - bigger, better, and just different.

I sank into my depression. Finally, through others (including myself and especially God) I realized that I was depressed. I began to force myself to do things to get out of it - especially prayer. Then, I began to dream again.

Sometimes dreams can be crazy, redundant, radical, and HUGE!!! All of this is OK. Continue to dream. Follow your dreams. But learn that not all dreams are to be followed.

The Will of God...

One of my favorite things to talk to graduating students, college students, and beyond is this topic. We just did our graduation ceremony for all of our high school graduates and this is one of the questions that really starts to be asked a lot. Not just in high school graduation, of course, but that is today's focus.

It usually looks like this:

"What is the will of God for my life?" "I want to find God's will for me!"

This kind of make me laugh. The truth is God probably has many things for you to do. I think it is ridiculous to try to figure this out at 18 or even at 30 for all I know. I think God changes us as we grow older and uses our experiences to catapult us to something new. I would suggest changing the question to: "What do I want to do with my life right now?"

But, if you refuse to change the question than ask yourself this: "What do you love so much that it makes you upset?" I think that is a good place to start. God has placed a dream and a desire in you. Many of us have one or two dreams. Others of us have scores of dreams. The trick is to decide which one to tackle first.

More on this later...

Hello...

At this stage in my life I am realizing that 99% of all 18-35 struggle through this time in their life with the various transitions that one must make. Whether it be where to go to school after high school, what vocation or career to take, who is God and where do I stand with Him, should I get married, can I ever find a suitable partner for a week let alone a life, when will I ever be happy with my job, will I ever make more money, why can't life be easier, is there ever an escape, or an end to this incredibly long list of questions without question marks? Then this is blog should be a good one for you.

This is my struggle and my identity right now. At 22 I faced a lot of these issues and not others. Today at 25 I face a completely different set of issues have answered some from before and just stopped trying with others. Many things may be dark and tragic. Many will be comical and make you laugh. A lot of it will just be unveiling my true self to show to how vulnerable, insecure, and pathetic I can be.

I am sure at 30 things will completely change. But, I feel that this stage of life is forgotten about and too many "successful" adults have forgotten about this struggle that he/she went through in this time of life.

I will do my best to post regularly and to develop some type of rhythm with post, series, topics, etc. One other thing that I want to strongly emphasize is for you to leave comments and ask questions. What better to way to talk about your struggles than on this site?