Wait, she was how old?

Today we had the opportunity to go to church with one of my favorite 11 year old boys. Brennan was the ring-bearer in our wedding and is the son of my boss/friend. He is a pretty special kid. I enjoy being around him and hearing him tell stories, and dependent on his sugar intake, they are delivered at varied paces. Once I remember him telling me a story and I thought he was going to wear a hole in the carpet from pacing and was going to pass out from lack of oxygen to the brain.

For whatever reason, today was the day that a detail from a bible story, that I am sure Brennan has heard over and over, decided to stick.

Our pastor was talking about Mary being a teenager and the angel coming to talk to her…

Brennan, with a quizzical look on his face, leans over and says, “wait, is that true?”

I nod.

His face is in shock. You could see the inner monologue… “this story just got crazy!!!!”

And so I start to think about this detail. I think about how our culture views teen moms. We have made a novelty out of it, a reality tv show out of it, and Maury Povich has made a career out of exploiting them.

There is still judgment.

I have to admit, I see a young girl with a baby bump and think… “there must be a story there…”

So, when Mary said “let it be to me according to your word”
Did she know what she was getting herself into?
The judging looks, the rumors, the circus, the lies…

You know what Brennan is right… this story is crazy…

May it be in my life, that when God calls me to crazy that I say, “let it be to me according to your word”

blessings
be inspired
sj

That story sounds familiar…

I just got done reading Anything You Want by Derek Sivers

It was a great read. I highly recommend it. It has some really great principles in it from a guy who has quite a story to tell. And he tells it really well.

He speaks to the principle, you can’t please everyone… and ends up saying this,

“It’s a big world. You can loudly leave out 99 percent of it. Have the confidence to know that when your target 1 percent hears you excluding the other 99 percent, the people in that 1 percent will come to you because you’ve shown how much you value them.”

Sivers, Derek (2011-06-29). Anything You Want (p. 23). The Domino Project. Kindle Edition.

I read that and think… I know a story like that…

Luke 15:3-7
New International Version (NIV)
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

An interesting reminder of a powerful parable…

What do you value?

blessings
be inspired
sj

Hope; standing there, right in front of you…

Have you ever seen “hope”?

I promise you that I saw “hope” standing right in front of me.

During our church service yesterday, our pastor invited out to the stage a twenty year old by the name of “Wilkie.” Wilkie was born in Haiti. Wilkie has a story that is the polar opposite of mine. Wilkie’s mom would sleep around with men to earn enough money so that her kids could eat. This lifestyle lead to her death, leaving Wilkie a homeless orphan. He told stories about living on the streets and sleeping under porches on rainy nights. He told us that he would eat mud. Did you get that… MUD… He ate MUD.

Wilkie eventually met a man named John who would give him food. John gave him opportunities. John was not a wealthy man, he was just a generous man. John would tell Wilkie, “Just because today was bad, doesn’t mean that tomorrow can’t be better.” WOW. There it is… HOPE.

Wilkie was adopted by a family in our church when he was in sixth grade. He had never been to school before. He didn’t know English. He did have HOPE.

Wilkie came and told his story and it overwhelmed me. I don’t know about you, but , when I hear a story like this, I find it hard to believe. I don’t have a box to put it in. I don’t relate to homeless; orphaned; mud-eater. I have had such a spoiled and privileged life.

And yet sometimes I lack hope.

How dare I lack hope.

So, there I sat in church overflowing with emotions as I literally was looking at HOPE, standing there, right in front of me.

“Just because today was bad, doesn’t mean that tomorrow can’t be better.” – John

blessings
be inspired
sj

Availability Challenge

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing Jon Acuff speak.

If you don’t know Jon, you need to. He is brilliant and godly.

He is an author, blogger, speaker… and downright hilarious guy…

Check him out at www.jonacuff.com

One of his main challenges in his message was: “be available”

more specifically, “what are you doing to make yourself available?”

this is where I get super convicted… am I really building time into my schedule to become available?

what are you doing to make yourself available?

blessings
be inspired
sj

Fishing with nets…

As I am working my way through the study of Luke, I look at the open of chapter 5 and see Jesus in a boat with fishermen who fish with nets.

When Jesus says, “one day you will fish for men,” I wonder what went through their minds.

But, I am also struck by some parallels between fishing with a net and evangelism. I am not saying that this is a major revelation or anything. I am not even suggesting that I have done the supporting research to defend my argument. I am simply hypothesizing.

This is how I got to my theory… I was reading and thinking to myself… “when you are fishing, choosing your bait is important… what kind of bait would make a difference…” then I was going to draw some kind of parallel to being careful with what kind of bait you use to “fish for men.”

Then it hit me. Fishing with a net has no bait… (again, I haven’t done the research to support this, so if you are an avid fisherman that knows this is not true… well, then you win)
If this holds true… Fishing with a net has no bait, what are the implications and parallels with evangelism?

just a few thoughts
blessings
be inspired
sj

Choosing memories

It is interesting to me that the last place of inspiration for a post was at a funeral service, and now I come to post after a viewing service…
My wife’s grandfather went home to be with the Lord and suffer here no longer.
At his viewing, I heard his bride, now widow, saying… “the picture I have of him in my mind is of him when he was courting me” (not of him laying peacefully in a coffin)
I thought that is so beautiful.
I hope that people choose to remember me at my best.
And let me remember those around at their best.

John Cutler, thank you for your service to our country, for your care for your family, rest in peace… Can’t wait to spend eternity with you !
blessings
be inspired
sj

“tired from labor…”

I had the privilege of attending the funeral services for a dear saint this weekend.
I knew her because she was a fixture in the church where I grew up.
She was one of my Sunday School teachers.
She was a joy-filled person.
My memory of her is and will ever be with a huge smile on her face.

The service was a great testimony to her life. Her family had kind things to say about her. And the church was packed. This woman had great impact.

The pastor used a phrase towards the beginning of the service referring to her now having rest because she was tired from her labor for the Lord.

I sat there and thought… “dear God, please let that be said of me”

I struggle with being tired from nothing… and I have the great ability to give in to sluggard-ish ways… You don’t have to read much of the Proverbs to know that sluggards are not the good guys…

I count it a true privilege to have known Verne Bixby: to see her example of otherliness, to see her great smile, to have received her hugs, her prayers, and her love.

I desire to finish today tired from laboring for the Lord.

blessings
be inspired
sj

I’m Thirsty…

I am sure many churches are going through a series on the last words of Christ on the cross.

I am sure that I have studied these verses time and time again.

I am seeing these words in a whole new light this year.

This Sunday my church looked at the words of Jesus, “I’m Thirsty”

To know that Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully man, would utter these words shows that he was FULLY MAN. He is someone with whom I can identify.

When you hear the account of what Jesus went through physically, it is staggering… beyond anything I could ever hope to have to face…

I have recently gone through a physical ordeal where I had to have emergency surgery to remove a very diseased gall bladder. Thankfully, it was caught in time and the surgery was able to be done laparoscopically, which is making the healing go much quicker.

Several years ago I had my wisdom teeth pulled and that was a very painful process. I remember people telling me that it would hurt… and they were right.

I have had sprained this and thats and even a bout with a kidney stone… so, I know some pain…

But, when I hear about what my Jesus went through…

I realize that what I have experienced doesn’t hold a candle…

I am comforted to know that Jesus knows what pain feels like, and I can go to Him and He can say… “me too.”

I am also grateful that He experienced this pain so that I might have life… life eternal and life abundant…

I realized that when the doctor said, “if we didn’t get this gall bladder out of you, it would have been a life or death situation…”

God has given me life again!

I am so grateful

blessings
be inspired
sj

How far… and when?

I have heard it said many times that the longest distance is between your head and your heart… and most times we are talking about when you can get something into your head that you “believe” and then the time it takes for your heart to truly “believe” it…

But, I need some other measurements… I am struggling with getting things in my heart up to my head… and it seems further… There are things that I really desire and wish to be doing, but, I can’t seem to get them to my brain to tell my body to actually start doing things…

I read a lot of people who talk about this struggle… and I know that the solution lies well within the Nike slogan… “just do it”… I know that I need to just ship something… produce… create… do…

It just struck me today that I know that there can be quite a distance between knowing and owning a thought or belief… but, I think there is just as great a struggle between owning a desire and acting on it…

As I sit and write this post, (the first in too long of a break) I now realize that the good folks I have been reading and even the marketing execs at Nike are correct…

So I challenge you to join me… What lies in your heart that seems to be too far away from doing?

Just Do IT!!!
JUMP!!!
Create!!!

blessings
be inspired
sj

Best Quote of the weekend: “Silence is

Best Quote of the weekend: “Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.”
James 1:19… and for even more on the topic…http://thirdfloorthoughts.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/the-great-theologian-john-mayer/