Home Archive by category "Life" (Page 29)

Category: Life

Could YODA Be Wrong?!?

Our small group tonight started a study of the book of James, our primary topic this evening was on suffering – not necessary the major life altering sufferings – but the daily struggles and trials that upset our plans and frustrate us, but that God is trying to use to form our character. It isn’t just the “big” sufferings that God uses, He used the little daily “stuff” too. In fact, at times, the major battles are easier as they are obvious, but we can easily miss the small battles that actually have a huge impact on our spiritual growth. Below is a piece I wrote awhile back that was published elsewhere, but I wanted to post to my blog for my small group and to archive it here for future reference.   Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. One of Yoda’s most famous quotes, from the second half of the Star Wars saga, is his ominous warning to the young Anakin, “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suf-fer-ing.” (Did you read those words with the appropriate Yoda inflection?) I certainly don’t doubt that fear leads to anger, or…

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I am free.

I AM FREE I woke up in the middle of the night recently with these words forming in my mind. I have learned via the trials and tribulations of life that everything that ever worries me, concerns me, bothers me, irritates me, hurts me, saddens me, angers me, depresses me, or holds me back from victorious fellowship with Jesus have one little word in common: me. I heard Jesus whisper in my ear, yet again, “Let go of ‘me’ and you will be free.” The words below flowed in those early morning hours as my heart aches to be free of me. (click for full size) (This is now my daily prayer to keep me focused on Him, not me)

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A Baseball Writer With Heart

As I have bragged before (here, here and here or when he got me a Frank Thomas ball) my little brother is a beat reporter for MLB.com as the Blue Jays reporter. While I enjoy baseball, I’m nowhere near the avid fan my little brother is – which is why I marvel at his writing. As I blogged about once before, I am impressed at how his writing transcends mere baseball reporting. I’m not a Blue Jays fan (technically he isn’t either), but I follow his blog as I because I enjoy his writing and I don’t want to miss when one of these “beyond baseball” masterpieces comes through.Well, he did it again! He has written another “baseball article” that demonstrates that his ability to articulate LIFE and not just baseball, and is what makes him such a masterful sports writer. Before you read his article about how Blue Jays top prospect Travis Snider has dealt with several deaths recently, including his mother, it might interest you first to realize a few things not mentioned in the article about Jordan’s personal connection to this story. First of all,  Snider’s mom Jordan’s and my mother both have the same name, though…

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Making An Impact, or Not!

A Jelly Fish for God? Read on! Not too long ago, the most important thing to me was my personal contribution to the Kingdom of God. I’ve literally been “in ministry” since I was a young boy. To me, as the son of a preacher man and a mother who served in the local church with creativity and a keen sense of leadership – serving God was what it meant to be a Christian. By the time I was a teen-ager was I traveling to minister in churches besides my own and by my mid-twenties I’d been to over ten countries on mission trips ministering to children and equipping leaders. From the time I got up in the morning until I collapsed in bed at night, I lived to serve God. As I look back, I still am so thankful for all the amazing opportunities that God brought into my life, but I also feel the burden of stress and the deep exhaustion that was my daily experience. And the loneliness. I have learned the hard way that “Impact” is not the purpose of my faith. It is a result of following and serving God, but it is not why…

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Now THAT is a pile of snow!

I was up in Wisconsin on Saturday speaking at the INSIDE-OUT Elmbrook Children’s Ministry Conference, and could not believe what I saw when I arrived: (click any picture for a larger view) Yes, they had construction machinery moving the snow. MAN, was I jealous, that looked like so much fun! That is some serious snow removal! They take all the snow and put it in one corner next to a retention pond. By the end of the day, the pile was HUGE! I was told that their snow pile last into July! I just HAD to see the view from up there! It was a lot bigger than it looks in these pictures, and teens were snow boarding down the other side! Why did I climb the mountain of snow, with a cane and a sprained ankle? Because it was there!

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