I found this video on a friend’s Facebook account.
This is why its taking us so long to leave Iraq…
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Conditioned
January 27, 2009 By 4 Comments
I have a battle that wars within me constantly. Its a battle between desiring to be the Christian that Christ wants me to be and to do Christianity the way I was taught to do it.
I believe football has more conditioning and training drills than any other sport. I’ve played all of the major sports in school; football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. I missed out on underwater basket weaving. Football has so many positions and each position has a different function depending on the play, so the training is extensive. If you are an offensive lineman, one play may call for you to run block while the next requires a pass block, then an entire new play may require that you perform a pull block to open a bigger hole for your running back. This process of training is often referred to as “Conditioning.”
When I got out of High School, I held several jobs. One of my greatest closing lines when interviewing was to assure the company that I had the skills to perform the job, but because I had never worked in the specific position or for a competitor, I would do the job exactly the way they trained me to do it, unlike career employees, I was not conditioned in any other method of doing the job, basically I was a blank slate. I was communicating that I had not been programmed to do it any other way, rather I would perform the job only in the manner that they conditioned me or trained me to do it in.
I struggle with this in Christianity. I grew up being programmed that a lot of Christianity was a duty instead of a relationship. Even though I know better, I find myself reverting back to this approach in my faith walk. Don’t get me wrong, some of my Christian conditioning was good for me, and I use the skills all the time, but then there are some areas that are toxic to my relationship with Christ. I don’t want to do Christianity, I don’t want to have a checklist to make sure I am not making God mad. I fight against some of the opinions that were taught to me as ‘fact’ and as ‘the Gospel’. I’m left questioning a lot, is this (particular issue) a non-negotiable or is it a mere opinion of a righteous individual? In the end, I guess God uses this struggle to keep me reliant on him during the times I have this war raging within me. Join the Conversation: Have you been conditioned?
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Is It Really That Hard?
January 23, 2009 By 5 Comments
I can only speak for men, but seriously, is it really that hard when you are finished doing your business in the restroom to…
Flush
Snap
Zip
Lather
Wash
Dry
Are you really going to miss that 60 seconds?
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My New Favorite Song
January 22, 2009 By 1 Comment
I heard this song, Angels on the Moon, by Thriving Ivory on Jimmy Kemmel Live last night…
I guess I wok up at just the right time from falling asleep watching LOST.
Clayton’s hair is not that great in this video, but it was awesome on Kimmel last night, and oh yeah, I wish I could sing like Clayton.
Join the Conversation, What’s a new song or new artist/group you’ve discovered lately that the world needs to know about?
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Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus
January 14, 2009 By 3 Comments
h/t: Todd Hampson w/ Timbuktoons (their blog)
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PDYM the Conference: Worth the Money
January 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I am really excited about PDYM the Conference and can’t wait to head out to Saddleback Church to attend on March 24-27. Okay, maybe I’m a little excited about getting to eat at Wahoos and In and Out Burger too 
With my budget being tighter this year it made me think twice about spending the money to attend a conference.
But I know the training that I’ll get, the people I’ll get to rub shoulders with, and the fact that Doug Fields will be teaching all the general sessions makes it more than worth the cost of going, plus its in Southern California! 
(Did you know you can follow Doug’s personal Twitter account? Click HERE)
I really think it’s worth you joining me at the PDYM Conference! If you want more info about the conference you can go to http://www.pdymcommunity.org/ or just leave a comment on my blog and I’d love to tell you more about it myself.
See you there!
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A Man on a Mission
January 11, 2009 By 4 Comments
Let me clarify up front…I am a Gator Hater!!! I am an unashamed, proud Georgia Bulldog’s fan and under normal circumstances would pull for any team that played our border foes, however on Thursday night, things changed for me. We’ve all most likely heard the promise made at the press conference, if you haven’t I embedded the video here…
Tebow is passionate about football and about winning, but he is more passionate about Jesus! On Thursday night, I found myself pulling for, not the Gaytors, but Tim Tebow. I found it amazing that the game announcers could not even talk about Tebow without talking about his faith and his off the field missions work. There was no seperating Tebow from his faith. Now I know there are groups of Christians who act like Christianity should almost be on the down low, as if we were living out a covert faith life. I do understand the desire not to be identified with the cheesy Christian-ease that some enjoy, but I believe the early Christians would take issue with the idea that we should live out Christian principles but only talk about Christ if someone gives us the opportunity. Their lives were all about Christ and they preached the Gospel to everyone they had the opportunity to do so with. I see that with Tebow, he is all about Christ. Some people would not pull for a player just because he is a believer, however when someone will put all of his or her fame and reputation on the line to live their life absent of self and for God’s honor, it makes me want to pull for them.
When most college students are partying and wasting their spring breaks away, Tebow is taking the free time he has to share Christ with a disconnected people across the ocean. Tebow made me think of the first Christians on Thursday night when the announcers could not seperate the faith from the man. Francis Chan talks about in Crazy Love…The early Christians never called themselves “Christians” – it was people outside the faith that first called them “Christians” because their lives reflected Christ. As you can see in the video, Tim Tebow is on a mission to be successful and to win at the game of football, but I know that he is more interested in being on a mission to see lives changed through the Gospel of Christ.
There are thousands of Christians in college football, but I have seen none who are as vocal or as passionate about Jesus as Tebow. I believe God allows people to rise to certain levels on a national stage, not because they have followed the principles in Your Best Life Now, but because God knows He can trust them to use it and not abuse it. You will never see Tebow in his game gear without a scripture under his eyes or a praise for his Savior from his lips, and as long as he is surrendering his spotlight to allow Jesus to shine, I believe He’ll continue to be given the opportunity to excel in what he does. His life reflects what Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.” I believe it is people like Tebow who can spark a passion for Christ in an entire generation! So, Thursday night this Gator Hater, cringed and celebrated a man sold out to Christ hoist a National Chapionship and a MVP trophy in victory in hopes my Bulldogs can allow him to demonstrate overcoming defeat next season
Join the Conversation: Thoughts?
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Happy Birthday Gavin!!!
January 9, 2009 By 4 Comments
My little “oldest” son Gavin turns 6 years old today! I must say that I am extremely thankful to God for giving Gavin 6 healthy years of life, for protecting him in ways we’ve known (through a horrible car accident 3 years ago) and in ways that we will never know. I am thankful that the Lord has given Gavin abilities that some children do not have as well as gifts and passions such as art, soccer, and doing anything creative that comes to his mind.
I love my boy. I love how he thinks he is strong enough to beat me up, how he helps his younger brother Tristan, how he hugs me in the morning, before he goes to school, before he goes to bed, and just because. I love that his way of showing me love sometimes is a drawing or doing something out of his passions and gifts. I love to watch him get excited about something and watch his words get scrambled trying to explain what he’s excited about. I love his faith and purity in believing that Iron Man would answer his invite to his birthday party. I love to hear him pray at meals and before bed, especially when he prays for the “sick, the hungry, and the poor” – I think you could understand that I could go on and on all day about all the ways I love Gavin, so I’ll stop here, however…
I have to admit that as I think about Gavin turning 6, it is a little saddening to me as well. I use to hate hearing adults say, “It seems like it was yesterday…” But, the fact is, that is reality, especially once you become a parent. Time flies by, years literally seem like days, and as I reflect back on 6 years with Gavin, I realize that the next 6 years will be here in what seems like a few days. If I had my way, I would not let him grow up anymore. Even though children are challenging to raise, I don’t want to lose what I have with my son where he is now. I will no longer have a 5 year old Gavin, and reality stinks sometimes!
So while I am joyful for the life my child has been blessed with and who he is as a person…I am a little disappointed that I no longer have him at 5. Happy Birthday Gavin!!!
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Transitions
January 5, 2009 By 3 Comments
2009 is going to bring some exciting things! I can see some major transitions that will be taking place in the coming months and then I know there are transitions that will surprise me that I do not see coming. Some of the changes and new directions are HUGE and many details still have to be worked out before I can even talk about them with clarity. So today, I’m wondering, when you’ve had a specific upcomign transition, how did you approach it, or how do you approach it? Or, what is something valuable you have learned through a major transition in your life? Maybe it was a change of career, or a major move, a bigger step in leadership, an addition to your family, etc…Join the Conversation, today I want to learn from you…I’m all ears!
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2009
January 1, 2009 By 5 Comments
Happy New Year! I am thankful that I have been blessed to live life for another day and hopefully for another year. I am thankful for a healthy and happy family.
I resoluted not to do New Year Resolutions a couple of years ago and that is the only resolution I’ve ever fulfilled, so in keeping with my new found tradition, I will not be making any New Year Resolutions, however I can say that 2009 is going to bring some big things, definitely some changes in the life of my family, and though I cannot share it all now, I am excited about some stuff that is going to be happening later this year…I’ll be talking about it soon, until then, here are a few 2009 goals that I’ve set…I really haven’t thought much about this, but these were on my mind yesterday:
- I want to know my Jesus more
- I want to know my family more
- I want to be more of a blessing to people in need
- I want to create more memories with and for my kids
- I want to keep my 49 pounds off that I lost between late 2007 and 2008
- I want to grow as a leader
Join the Conversation: What are some of your resolutions or goals for 2009?
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