Impact

What kind of impact are you making. I know that impact is the name of our middle school ministry...but peel your brain away from that for a minute. Are you making concussions in your world. Not beating people over the head so as to cause memory loss...but what kind of damage are you doing on the people around you. If you were a grenade thrown into a room...would people be influenced by you...or would you be a loud noise and bright light for a second and leave people wondering in five minutes, "what was that all about." With no permanent influence.

Deanna and I had an interesting conversation tonight. We talked about our past and the people that we have been friends with. We discussed how those friendships have transitioned over time from people who influenced us to people we have influenced. I speculate that many of friends have had a huge impact on me...but as we talked more, I wonder how many of my friends I influenced. Over the next few days, I'll share some thoughts about some of my friendships. This could be fun.

Question of the day: Would you rather drive a tank or ride in a helicopter?


Man's best friend? This is a picture of our dog "Ollie". Sit. Good boy. (He's over 75 pounds now...but just as cute...except when he tries to eat his own poop, or when he wakes up Aaron.)

Practicing Presence

To "pray without ceasing" and to continually be in the presence of God...that is the goal. The last few days, I have read the book, "God Is Here. Connecting with Him in everyday life." (or click here for a sample of the book) What an amazing thought. He is present right now as you read this. Or think about it like this: Many times I have gone to a worship service and thought that would allow me to enter into God's presence. But that is like saying that God is like a snake in a basket. The music and singing brings him out and he'll dance with us and when the music stops...he goes back into his basket. Sounds dumb when you read it doesn't it? I've done it way too often.

Well today, try and remember that God is always here. Always ready to talk. He's in the ordinary things that we do or are involved in. Yesterday I mowed the yard and was in his company as I sat on the mower breathing the exhaust. He made the grass I was mowing, we gave someone the smarts to create the mower I was on...he was in the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. He is always around...we just have to do our part to recognize it. It's going to take practice.

Question of the day: Would you rather mow the yard or shovel snow in the driveway?

Just keep swimming.

If you have ever watched “Finding Nemo”…you recognize that line.  I think that line maybe applies to spiritual disciplines.  Some days it’s hard to engage with the Bible or prayer.  But we have to “just keep swimming”.  Today, the verse has been rolling around in my head again…”continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is Christ who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:12)  Even when we don’t have the desire or the will to pursue God…he gives us both the desire and the power.  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear.  But a spirit of power of love and self control.”  Claim it today.

Question of the day:  Would you rather have an annoying headache or an annoying cough?  

Original Thought

“When we understand that God really understands…we’ll understand what a big deal prayer really is.”  --Scott Greene

That quote may be an original thought.  I know that many of you may not think I am capable…but I think I am.  As a matter of fact…I have many original thoughts, and many of them can’t even be shared with you right now because they are so cool.  At least in my mind they are.  That’s why I’m not letting them out yet.  All that said, the above thought is inspired by my own lack of understanding of how big God really is.  And I am so thankful that he is so big.

I am excited about what God is doing right now in my life.  Although lately I haven’t been feeling well and I haven’t been sleeping well…there is this cool feeling knowing that he is both my Lord and my savior…in spite of how I feel.  At times in my life I have separated those (Lord and Savior) and simply chosen for him to be my savior…without surrendering daily control of my life. Today, I think it’s both.  God help me to continue to live that out.

Big announcement coming soon to this blog.   Stay tuned!

Question of the day:  Do you ever read more than just the question of the day?

This sucks:  I had to scrape my windshield this morning!

Friendships

Question of the day:  Would you rather have a few deep friendships or many shallow relationships?

Who surrounds you?

So who do you most often find your self running around with. I am realizing that I most often find myself around people like me...and people that like me. While the second one is obvious (we surround ourselves with people who accept us) why do we more often than not find ourselves around people that are very similar to us. Think about it. They are people that look like you, dress like you, think like you...the list goes on.

What if we made a commitment to look for friendships among people not like ourselves.

Last year, I was looking at Aarons scrapbook from the hospital when he was born. All of our visitors (great people) were just like us. If he grew up only knowing the "scrapbook people", he would think that no one else existed...or worse...that he shouldn't like people not like him.

I don't know what this is going to look like in the future for me, but I want to have friends that are not like me...but who I like, and they like me. (kind or wordy, but I think you get it.)

Question of the day: What famous dead person would you really like to meet and why? (You can't say Jesus...that's too obvious.)

Interesting Fact: The state of Connecticut uses the following schedule to compensate workers for work-related injuries.

Lost or damaged body part
Thumb on your dominant hand is worth 63 weeks of compensation.
Pancreas is worth 416 weeks of compensation.
Any toe (other than your big toe) is worth 9 weeks of compensation.
Your nose is worth 35 weeks of compensation.
Huh.


Question of the day: Would you rather paint a picture or write a book?

Question of the day: Would you rather win an iPod, or front row tickets to see your favorite band in concert?

Being or Doing?

Who we are matters so much more than what we do. I know that may not sound right at first…but think about it. Who we are really drives what we do. If at the core of me, I am selfish…the things I do will tend to be things that serve me. Or you can look at it like this. Focus on being and not doing. I was challenged a few years ago (by someone I look up to) to examine my life and see where I was working more…in the “doing” or “being” area of my life. Here is what I have concluded. Many times I have been more concerned about my celebrity than my identity. (I’m not suggesting for one second that I am a celebrity, but I’m using that word to make a point.) Often we are concerned about what we do than who we are…for the sake of acceptance. Last year at Catalyst, I was challenged deeply by John Maxwell’s confession when he said that, “for too long I was concerned about doing something great FOR God instead of being concerned with God doing something great IN me.” That hit me right in the eyes…and still causes some thought today as you can see.

God, help me to focus on BEING and not DOING this week.

Question of the day: Would you rather read a page out of the dictionary or a page out of the yellow pages?

p.s. Enjoy some starbucks.

What a ride.

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways at the end, totally worn out, shouting, "Holy cow...what a ride!"
~Zig Ziglar

I love that quote. It's kind of humorous way of saying, "sell out for God...you really don't have anything to lose!"

Question of the day: Would you rather live in New Jersey or New Mexico?

Question of the day: Would you rather hold a chimp for a half hour or ride an elephant for a half hour?

Question of the day: Would you rather go camping for a week or stay in a hotel for a weekend?

Who can I...

Here’s a question to ask yourself: “Who can I make feel significant today?” What do you think our days would be like if we wrote that question on the inside of your eyelids (DO NOT TRY THAT) and walked around all day with that thought on our minds. Could it be that people would start to feel significant. Could it be that they might treat us as if we are significant. Well, the truth is. We all are significant. And when we don’t treat people like they are…we are trashing God. What? How can we be doing that? Well, the Bible clearly points out that we are made in the image of God. Therefore, not communicating to other people they are significant, is communicating to God that we don’t think a lot about him or what he made. It may be a stretch, but that’s why this is a blog and not a published article in a reputable magazine or newspaper.

Question of the day: Which ocean would you rather swim in...Atlantic or Pacific...and why? (We'll leave the Gulf of Mexico out right now due to obvious hurricane issues.)

p.s. Here's what I'm drinking this morning. I love hot chocolate!

Interesting article here. While I don't agreee with all of it...I like the passion behind it.

Burn it up.

At Catalyst, Louie Giglio made this statement:

"...our mission is to burn up our life for him (Jesus), so when we meet him,
we can say that we lived."

I love that idea. But it hurts when I begin to examine my life very closely. Seems to me that I act a lot out of self-preservation. That I'm not burning up my life for God. It's more that I'm warming it for myself. Don't be confused...I don't think he was talking about burning out. (I have enough entries about that) I think he was asking if we are leveraging all of our time, talents, energy and resources to LIVE for God. Not smacking people over the head with Bibles or handing out "Jesus Frisbee's"...but simply living with this one thing in mind. Give him glory. (Glory: Great honor, praise, or distinction. Adoration, praise, and thanksgiving offered. )
Mission for today: Give God glory.
Mission for tomorrow: Give God Glory.


Question of the day: Would you rather have a lead role in an Opera or be in the audience of the taping of Oprah?    

Question of the day: (Movies) Would you rather watch a Romantic Comedy that's really good, or a Big Budget Thriller that's not that good?

Aaron's Birthday

Today is Aaron's third birthday! I can't believe that the little man is three. I thank God for my family. My prayer is that lot's of people will know about Jesus because of Aaron...and that he will be potty trained very soon!

Question of the day: Would you rather sit in church or sit somewhere quiet reading the Bible?

Smaller than you might think.

Making a difference is usually smaller and quicker than one might think. (my paraphrase of Malcolm Gladwells idea behind The Tipping Point) As I look back over my life (that makes me sound old) I think some of the biggest changes in my life came about by some pretty small moments or actions. Deanna is my wife because I finally said, "will you marry me?". I am a Pastor because I knew God was asking me to trust him and I said, "yes". My current spiritual state of being is in place because I have decided in the small moments to make it a priority. I think I have gotten caught up at times thinking that life is about these big, huge moments at a camp, retreat or conference where I make a decision to finally do _________ . (insert whatever emotionally driven commitment you would like in the blank. I've probably made it.) But what I am learning is that it's about the small moments that usually cost me very little. Those are the times that make the biggest difference. I don't know, I'll think about this some more, but I would love your thoughts on this...along with the answer to the question of the day.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite way to waste time?

Another Catalyst quote that goes along with the statement from above: "Emotionally charged environments are like a fog." I'm learning it's not smart to make directional decisions in a fog. At least without a good compass and map.

Pace (third entry)

I'm starting to see a pattern. Yes, this issue of "pace" seems to continue to surface in my life. (cruise through my blog archives to read the "pace issue" pattern) It seems to root out the things that are really important, and let surface the things that are urgent. This really should come as no surprise to me. I've let it burn me before, so I now know what to look for and how to avoid an all-out crash. The key is, disrupting the pattern. I think this pace (what's driving what or who's driving who) issue is one that affects us all. (although I would question whether or not the little compassion girl in India we sponsor deals with it...her name is Vetriselvi). Last week at Catalyst, I heard Bill Hybels speak to this same issue. He said:

"the rate at which I was doing the work of God was destroying the work of God in me."

Wow...that's good stuff. I think I'm going to go for a walk and enjoy God's creation. God, help me with my pace today...even if it's just on the inside.

Question of the day: Which would you rather eat: a house salad from McDonald's or a house salad from Applebee's? (it's salad, is there really a difference?)

Here are the guys I went to Catalyst with.

Cultural First Responder

So here’s a thought. God has called us to be salt and light in the world. As a matter of fact, some of His last words were to “go into the world…”. What if we viewed every day as if we were “Cultural First Responders.” People who see the world around us in danger and jump in to help. Sure, we may be engulfed by flames, put ourselves in danger or we may even get scrapes and bruises from time to time…but it’s better than standing on the outside, yelling at people to “come out.” If there is something that 9-11 taught us, it was that those people who run in when everyone else is running out…those people are called hero’s. Since last week, I have been asking myself about my role in this culture…my context. Am I “running in”, or standing on the outside hollering at people to come out. I am not suggesting that we run out and become pot smoking drunks who commit sexual sin…that would be like running into a house fire and lighting yourself on fire. How does that help the people in the house. No, maybe I am suggesting that we arm ourselves with Gods truth, His wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit and become “First Responders” in our culture. People did that for me…the least I can do is use my divine giftedness to lend a hand to my generation and those who will come behind us.


Question of the Day: Do you feel like you are more often...
A.) An influence on others.
B.) Influenced by others.

I'll write more later.

Scott

Question for Tuesday

Catalyst Thought: I was moved deeply last week when I heard Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) make the following statement. "Six months after becoming a believer, most new Christians lose their influence with non-believers." That scares the poo out of me. I read that and I think, "Who do I have influence with? Do I have any influence with people who aren't believers. Do I even have friends who aren't believers?"
Now, pair that with this quote from Erwin McManus. "We're not losing the game (winning new believers) because people are becoming more secular, it's because we are becoming too spiritual." Yikes. Am I too spiritual for non-believers to stomach? That makes me want to quit my job in the church and start applying for jobs at the local foundry or at the BP station to meet and rub shoulders with people just looking for a friend. Let's not freak out... I know God has me here for a reason...but I want to be influential with people far from Him. God, help us all to be INFLUENTIAL today!

Question of the Day: How often in the last week would you say you have felt extremely tired (not just sleepy) or run down?
Answers to choose from:
a.) not at all
b.) sometimes
c.) often
d.) all the time.

Consumer or Consumee

This weeks blogs will be influenced in a major way by the conference that I went to last week. The conference was called, Catalyst: A gathering of Next Generation Leaders. Many of the thoughts I had and messages I heard are still rolling around in my head...you're going to get most of it raw and un-edited. Feel free to comment if you disagree with something, or to leave a note letting me know you have felt the same way. All I really know is this. I had an experience with God and I am confident that I am not the same. I thing that's why he wants us to daily have experiences with him. Not just at a cool camp or an amazing conference.
To provide some order for this Catalyst debriefing (my brain dump), I will highlight my thoughts from the conference every day with the heading, Catalyst Thought just so it doesn't get lost.

Catalyst Thought: When I worship, am I a consumer or am I being consumed? Louie Giglio threw out the thought that all to often we go to worship looking for what we can get...and we miss the point. Worship is about what we GIVE to God. I must admit, with the onset of new worship music (thanks David Crowder and Chris Tomlin) and some amazing worship bands to lead me...I have attended hundreds of amazing worship services over the last several years that have blown me away. But as I look back, I have acted as a consumer almost every time. I have gotten lost in the "taking" and have not come to the alter of celebration to "give". After his talk, we had a time of worship (celebration). For the first time in a long time, I was consumed by God instead of the consumer of God. I want that for my life every day!

Question of the day: If money were no object, would you rather eat Taco Bell or Hacienda?

Win the ipod

Here's how to win the ipod that we are giving away at "one".

1. Leave your name (first and last) and the answer to the "question of the day" as a comment on the blog posted each day.

2. That's it. For every comment you leave (maximum of one a day) you will receive one entry for the drawing to win the i-pod mini on October 23rd. You must be present to win the ipod. I can't stress this enough. Only leave one comment per day. Only one per day will count. If you don't answer the question, it doesn't count. There is no right or wrong answer. You will get an entry no matter what your answer is. Good luck.

Question of the day (October 9th): Which do you have a harder time with...reading the Bible or prayer?

I'm back

Well, it's been a few days since I last blogged, but I am back in town now. I will be gathering my thoughts over the next few days and will have some entry's that will reflect my time away. I was really good stuff. I can't wait to share more.

The race is on...

Today has been a whirlwind. I had a great time connecting with God this morning through silence and stillness and study (all "s" words...huh.) and ever since then, I feel like I have been in a race. I am trying to get everything ready to be gone for 5 days and man...it's crazy. The "nutso" part of it is that I have left God sitting on the sofa where I had my connection time with him. I know that sounds like a bad "middle school camp skit" but that is exactly what happened. Pray for me. Pray that I don't do that same thing over the next 5 days at this potentially life altering event. Also, if you think about it, shoot Deanna an e-mail to encourage her. She may not even know you, but she would like to hear from you.

I hope to update this from the conference...but if not, please come back next week. I hope to have some cool stuff.

Scott

The Greatest Quest

At the risk of violating the central message of my last post...you have to read this. I'm not suggesting that you "experience God through Billy Graham", but this excerpt from one of his books is amazing. It gets at the same idea that Tozer was talking about in my last post, but from a different angle.

The Greatest Quest by Rev. Billy Graham
You started on the Great Quest the moment you were born. It was many years perhaps before you realized it, before it became apparent that you were constantly searching—searching for something you’d never had, searching for something that was more important than anything else in life.
Sometimes you have tried to forget about the quest. Sometimes you have attempted to lose yourself in other things so there could be time and thought for nothing but the business at hand. Sometimes you may even have felt that you were freed from the need to go on searching for this nameless thing. But always you have been caught up in it again, always you have had to come back to your search. (complete excerpt here)

My desire is to go on that quest again this week. I have taken that journey before, but have abandoned it frequently. I pray that this week will be different.