20 Seconds of Courage…

Last night, my son Paul pulled another tooth. He didn’t want to. However, his gums were bleeding, and hurting, and this loose tooth was inhibiting his ability to eat his PB & J sandwich! Dad needed to step in. I told him the tooth simply had to go. Some Orajel would help. However. at the end of the day, I stole a line from the movie: “We bought a zoo.” Remember this?

In my conversation with Paul, I refernced the movie and told him that with many things in life that we’re scared to do, all we really need is 20 seconds of courage. 20 seconds of courage to help us do what we know we need to do, but scared to do it. Along with some motherly love, I think this idea really helped Paul. He puled it and profited financially from his decision!

I wish I could say that we only needed courage when pulling teeth. However, there are countless situations and decisions every day that scare all of us to death. What do we need? 20 seconds of insane courage: courage for a conversation, a phone call, and email, or simply a private decision. Countless times in my own ministry, there are decisions and conversations that I am absolutely scared to death to act on! The longer I procrastinate the more it costs me and the more it hurts. Often, it just requires 20 seconds of courage for me just to say out loud what I know needs to be done; what I know to be true. It always profits me to get to the other side of that twenty seconds of courage. What profit awaits you today, just on the other side of 20 seconds of courage?

Ungrateful kids…

Tricia and I work constantly on coaching our kids to have grateful hearts and express gratitude to people. We are on them constantly to say their “Thank You’s.” It’s a work in progress. Frankly, nothing gripes me more than ungratefulness from my kids.  Doing things constantly for our kids, only to be met with apathy, indifference, and ungratefulness? Parents do you know what I mean? Honestly, it doesn’t just make me angry. At times, it breaks my heart. In fact, nothing breaks my heart more than being taken for granted by my kids. As I simmered on one of these frustrating, heart breaking moments this past week, God spoke to me. No, it wasn’t in an audible voice, but it was almost that clear.

I am God’s kid. I love my Heavenly Father. I love God more than anyone or anything else in my life! I am thankful for my Father and all He’s done for me. I just don’t express it all that well. I struggle with an ungrateful heart and expressing gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I guess that means my ungrateful heart gripes Him and breaks His heart, at times.

Wow. All of a sudden, I know where my kids get it. I am an ungrateful kid! They get it from me. I got it from my parents. They got it from theirs. All the way back to Adam and Eve. I am an ungrateful kid. I need to work on my “Thank You’s”. I am a work in progress. As I learn gratefulness and expressing gratitude to God through my words, actions and attitudes, I model gratefulness for my kids. It’s been said often that discipleship is more caught than taught. I know how to disciple my kids in the area of gratefulness: become a more grateful kid in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

What about you? Do you ever struggle with being an ungrateful kid?

What my broken iPhone just taught me…

So my iphone case broke. I ‘ve been planning on getting a new one.  However, in the meantime, for the first time EVER, I’ve been carrying my iphone around without a case. I never abuse my phone. I have never had any damage to an iphone before. I felt good about myself and my odds. God even sent a prophet into my life. Saturday Night, Steve Aylor, our Spiritual Formations Pastor, sees my phone and issues the prophetic word from the Lord: “Dude (that’s how prophets talk), you’d better get that phone covered. I dropped mine without a case not too long ago, and the glass shattered.” I tried to convince him I knew the dangers; but that I always took good care of my phone and had a flawless record. I felt good about my chances, I wasn’t in a hurry to get a new case,  and I would be fine. That was a Saturday. Monday night, 48 hrs later, I’m at a Braves game with my son Paul, getting out of the car, and guess what? Fumblerooski. I dropped it and:

“Pride goes before a fall.” Those were the first words that entered my mind. Actually that’s a loose translation. God’s Word actually says:

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” Prov 16:18 (NIV). 

Honestly, there are many other areas of my life, where I would be tempted to know the dangers, but think that somehow I am immune to disaster; immune from temptation; immune from having anything bad happen to me. However, pride goes before destruction. The more I tend to think that I’m above that temptation;that I would never be tempted to do this or that; that I am immune from that calamity; that this or that will never happen to me…the more susceptible I am to letting my guard down, and be hit with something I’ve never seen coming. What is the antidote to pride? Humility. Understanding that except by the grace of God, I am nothing, that I am above nothing, and I am capable of anything, outside of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God’s Word says it this way:

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” Prov 11:2 (NIV)

Today, humble yourself under God’s mighty hand. Let him know that you know that you need Him. Let Him know that know that you need His grace, His power, and His protection. Let him know that you know that you’re are capable of anything and that’s not always good. Let Him know that you are depending on HIm. Let Him know that You know that You need His wisdom today to protect you from disaster. That’s what I just did…and I feel safer. By the way…my iphone has already been fixed…and it has a case on it!

Father’s Day Weekend @mtnlakechurch!

Father’s Day Weekend is going to ROCK @mtnlakechurch!

First, we kick off a new series called: “Call of Duty.” It doesn’t matter whether we’re men, women, or students, God will use this series in our lives! If you’ve ever yearned for your life to be more pleasing to God, God will use this series in your life! Our theme verse for the series is: 2 Timothy 2:4 (NIV) “No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.” This series is going to rock!

THEN, following our 5:30 service that Saturday night, we have rented out an entire theater to take 175 men from our church to see the “Man of Steel” on opening night!

Suffice to say, it’s going to be an AWESOME weekend! Get here! In the meantime…invite someone else to come, too!

Weekend Reflex 6/2/13…

I can’t believe how awesome our weekends at Mountain Lake have been these last two weekends! Usually Memorial Day Weekend and the first week of June, there are VERY FEW at church, and everyone that’s there seems sunburned or bummed they’re NOT on vacation! HOWEVER, we have had TWO AWESOME WEEKENDS IN A ROW! People have been showing up, God has been showing up, and lives are being changed! Here are a few reflex from the weekend:

* We opened the services with Smash Mouth’s “Everyday Superhero”. I so identify with this song!

* I continued our “Heroes” Message series. Almost every hero has some false public identity they try to maintain in everyday life. You and I are the same!

* Taught on Gideon: “Gideon should be a hero to all of us who have a hard time believing in ourselves, or viewing ourselves as a hero in God’s eyes.”

*  ”The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!’” Judges 6:12 (NLT). When God called Gideon a hero, he looked nothing like one. However, God saw not just what He was, but what he could become! It’s the same with us. When God sees us, He sees not just who we are, but who we can become!”

* “To become a hero in God’s eyes, we must believe we are who God says we are.”

* Lies we believe that Gideon was tempted to believe: Lie #1: I don’t matter. Lie # 2: I can’t do this.

* The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” Judges 6:16 (NIV)

* “God loves making conquerors out of cowards.”

* Students left for camp this morning! Pray for “Momentum”!

* Another awesome weekend @mtnlakechurch!

A Church FOR the community…

There are two types of churches: churches that operate IN a community; and churches that operate FOR their community. They make the community a better place to live because they exist! They are meeting the needs of their community!

At Mountain Lake, we decided several years ago, that we were not just going to invite the community to our one week service, but love our community and meet needs! Every year, our investment into the community grows!

This month, through our annual Greater Impact Offering, our church purchased, packaged, and provided 60,000 meals for needy families in our communities and distribute these meals to area food pantries (including our own).  343 Volunteers showed up this past week to prepare and package the meals and get ready to send them out!

 

 

 

The above picture is of my son Paul, who’s 8. I’m so pumped when I think about the fact that my kids will grow up not viewing church as a one hour production, but the living, breathing, body of Christ, that exists to love our community, and meet their needs in the name of Jesus Christ!