North Point Community Church Circa 1996
North Point Today:
Oh how things change!
I wonder where I’ll be in 14 years….what New Passion will look like?
One Last Year
Well….that dreaded time of my life has arrived. I seriously think I am having an early midlife crisis; I was on the drive home last night and I felt my chest hurting, sure some could say that it was just indigestion or something of the sort, but I swear it was 30 knocking on my door, and a heart attack or stroke about to take me to meet my Maker!
Yes, today I (and maybe a few others) celebrate my turning 29. That’s just a sober reminder that I have 364 days until my clock ticks past the big 30. Seriously, how did I get this old, this fast? It really feels like a blip on the radar. Other than the 4 gray hairs I’ve been able to count amongst my regularly colored hair, I feel like I am still a teenager. Wow! How many old people have I heard say that? And then they are in a pine box the next day.
I am thankful for all 29 years of my life (Disclaimer: I am actually typing this a day early and scheduling it for my birthday, so if I am found dead, just ignore this line…I meant to say I am thankful for all 28 years of my life!) Thinking back, I have nothing to complain about, only things to be thankful for, here’s a handful, if you care to see how God has blessed me:
1. Life
2. I was raised on a solid foundation by loving parents
3. I have the sexiest wife on the planet (I was able to secure her before I was even 20…I know, I’m smart, very smart)
4. I have 3 of the most amazing, beautiful children on the planet…yes even more amazing than yours.
5. A Wonderful family (sisters, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, Granparents, and the in-laws)
5. My dream was to visit California once in my life…I’ve been there 6 times now.
6. I have Amazing friends (and we let Laura Kerr hang around, because we like her husband, Trevor)
7. I get to pastor amazing people at an amazing church (New Passion Church)
8. I’ve got a home, a hot shower, a comfortable bed, a leak-free roof, a car to get me where I need to go, a job to help pay the bills, lights that work, food in the refrigerator, a stove to cook my food (and a wife who is a good cook).
9. A computer to connect me to the rest of the world via Twitter & Facebook
11. I got fat in my 20’s & I lost it all in my late 20’s. It was an interesting ride, but I don’t intend on going back that way (I truly cannot afford to anyway. Its going to take 8 years to replace the 8 years worth of clothes I had to give away)
10. The tiny impact I hope I’ve been allowed to make in the lives of students and adults through the ministries God has allowed me to be a part of. I only hope my influence changes someone’s world within their lifetime.
Though I could go on and on and on…I need to get started on the 364 days I have left until I am 30. I’ve got a lot to do, just in case I don’t make it, or I break a hip or something. Happy Birthday to Me! 🙂
15 seconds
Last night I caught myself getting lazy.
I emptied an ice tray (that’s what poor people without automatic ice makers use) and was about to put it back into the freezer when I thought to myself how ridiculous I was. I get lazy a lot! I have a bad habit of dropping my clothes off at the end of the bed or in front of my closet. I was not raised this way, in fact I had a chore book as thick as a phone book that my dad was very thorough with checking.
So I decided to do the right thing and fill up the tray that I had just emptied. A funny thing happened, I needed ice this morning, and I had a full tray waiting on me.
Last night, I wondered how much time I was worried about wasting when I was about to put the tray back in empty, so I figured I would count, just to see how long it would take me to do the ‘right’ thing, I also recorded a couple of other things and their times:
- Fill up ice tray, put in freezer – 15 seconds
- Clean up Tristan’s mess with cloth, put in hamper – 12 seconds
- Re-hang shirt I decided not to wear – 7 seconds
- Plug up my cell phone instead of letting the battery die – 5 seconds
35 seconds actually saved me time and problems. I had ice when I needed it and did not have to wait a couple of hours, there was no mess on the floor to step in, my shirt was not making the room messy on the floor or on the bed, and I didn’t have to wait half the day to use my cell phone because it was charged. It pays to take the 15 seconds to do the right thing. Now I need to take the 20 minutes and clean up those areas I put off.
20 minutes or 15 seconds? What are you putting off that will cost you more time and problems in the end?