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Ron Edmondson

Friday Discussion: Do Opposites Attract?

By Culture, Funny, Marriage

This Friday discussion originates from a discussion we had in my community group meeting this week. Our topic was marriage and in almost every couple, the husband and wife were extremely different in how they approach situations. It wasn’t a strictly male/female discussion. The males and females were split on some of these issues. It was just that two people wired completely different had married one another. I do know from a counseling standpoint that these difference also cause conflict, but is it who we are attracted to…those that will naturally conflict with our personalities?

So today, share your opinion: Do opposites attract?

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November 5, 2010
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The Summit, by Eric Alexander: A Book To Challenge and Inspire

By Christians, Culture, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, God, Life Plan, Vision

What are you afraid of?

Do you have a dream you haven’t tackled out of fear?

Have you allowed your weaknesses, even your disabilities to hold you back from all God would have for you?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you MUST read this book.

The Summit, by Eric Alexander, retells the story of Eric’s powerful story and his unique life journey of guiding people with disabilities to the most perilous places of the world, including Mount Everest’s first blind ascent. In The Summit: Faith Beyond Everest’s Death Zone you will follow in their historic footsteps, and learn about faith, trust, prayer, depending on God, as well as the perseverance needed during these climbs and in your own life. Be inspired and motivated by Eric’s insight, not simply to survive but to thrive every day in God’s grace.

You can even read the first two chapters free HERE. Can’t pass that up!

Be inspired, be challenged, be moved…Read this book!

(Watch this video for more inspiration!)

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November 4, 2010
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Don’t Shy Away from the Word Balance

By Business, Children, Christians, Culture, Encouragement, Family, Leadership, Life Plan

Over the years, I’ve heard differing opinions on the use of the word balance. I’ve learned there are many who actually hate the use of the word. For example, some say the life of a Christian is never balanced because God wants all of our lives. I couldn’t agree more. Others say it’s impossible to balance between work and home because one of them deserves our greatest energy (our home), and yet the two extremes will always compete for our best time and energy. I completely agree. In those contexts, I agree balance should not be our goal. We should prioritize our life around the extremes of life, ensuring that those things we value most receive our greatest attention.

Balance, however, doesn’t always mean things are equal. I prefer to use the term balance to…

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November 4, 2010
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Preparing to Recover in the Moment

By Business, Church, Church Planting, Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

Yesterday morning I was scheduled to do the welcome at Grace Community Church. After the first song, I was scheduled to come on stage, welcome people to the service, and we would continue worship. It was that simple. Before the second service, I was in a meeting in another part of the building. All of a sudden I thought to look at the time. The service had started and I was late. I jumped up and started running for the auditorium. I arrived just in time to hear one of our worship leaders covering for my absence. I was mortified. Thankfully, Dustin covered for me.

The incident, however, served a purpose, because I was reminded of an important principle

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November 1, 2010
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Public Recognition Makes a Difference

By Church, Church Planting, Encouragement

We have an all staff retreat yesterday (Friday) and today (Saturday). A couple times a year we get away to dream, plan, evaluate, critique, and stretch ourselves. A great part of that is the relationship-building that takes place as we are in the same place for hours at a time. Friday night our spouses joined us for a meal and fellowship and Saturday morning we have a session with staff and spouses. It helps us get buy-in from the families of Grace staff.

One of the take-away challenges for us today was to encourage another staff member. We drew names of everyone in the room and were asked to email that name with an encouragement, including everyone else to see the email. I picked the name Katrina Watts. Katrina leads our preschool ministry. Here is the email I sent Katrina:

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October 30, 2010
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Friday Discussion: The Christian’s Role in Politics

By Change, Christians, Culture

Thanks for being a part of Friday discussion. You can now check out the past Friday discussions in a newly created category HERE. Continue to add your thoughts on those subjects.

For today, let’s discuss politics. You aren’t afraid of that, are you?

So let me jump in quick: I grew up in a church environment where to be a “good Christian” you had to belong to the “right” party. It was an easy decision who to vote for, because most everyone around me, or at least the vocal crowd, were Republicans. And, you weren’t just any Republican, you were a very conservative, James Dobson Republican. I’m not trying to be offensive, but that was the environment in which I lived.

In my church today, and among many of the younger generation with whom I minister, that seems to have changed. They seem far less concerned about parties (much as they are far less concerned about denominations), than they are about causes and issues.

Do you see a change? Let’s discuss politics today. Consider these specific questions.

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October 29, 2010
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7 Emotions from the Male’s Side of Infertility

By Children, Culture, Encouragement, Family, Parenting

Cheryl and I have often said that one of the greatest trials we have walked through in ministry with people is the hidden pain of infertility. Every time we celebrate the birth of someone’s child we also know of a couple who can’t seem to get pregnant or have recently had a miscarriage. (I wrote about the pain of the childless in a previous post HERE.) Many reading this post will have walked through this pain personally.

One aspect of this which I may have overlooked is the man’s side of this issue. I knew men struggled with infertility also, but I am not sure I realized the extent of it. Recently I was talking to a man who shared his hidden pain during he and his wife’s time of infertility. It opened my eyes to the man’s perspective.

When a couple is battling infertility here are 7 emotions the man often feels:

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October 28, 2010
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7 Phrases We Should Never Use to Start a Sentence

By Culture, Encouragement, Family

In years of doing ministry, through personal experience, and by living life with others, I’ve learned a few things not to say. I’ve seen well-meaning people make proclamations they can’t keep. What I’ve come to realize is that life has a way of throwing us surprises, so we should be proactive in guarding our heart and life.

With that in mind, I would be careful starting a sentence with the following phrases:

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October 26, 2010
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Addressing a Porn Generation

By Christians, Culture, Encouragement, Youth

When I was a teenager, if I wanted to view porn, I would have had to find a magazine. Honestly, even though I may have wanted to, I never had or found a stash. I knew everyone where I might have bought some and if my friends had their own stash of pictures, they never shared them with me.

I did a little babysitting as a teenager in addition to my grocery store work and I did manage to find some magazines at one of the houses where I worked late one night. Those images are still with me today. As much as pornography was probably a part of my generation, it wasn’t that accessible to me.

My boys have grown up in a different generation….

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October 26, 2010
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What if We Did Church Like This?

By Change, Church Planting, Culture

I love the partnership I have been able to have with Catalyst Conferences. I enjoyed blogging from there earlier this month. (You can read my posts HERE.) One of the things I love most about Catalyst is that I’ve met many of the people behind the scenes. They are authentic, transparent, and passionate about Christ and helping the church better reach a lost world. Jesse Phillips is one of those guys. I’ve had several opportunities to hang out with him and I absolutely love his heart. He has some passionate ideas about the church today. I think one of the thing my generation needs to do a better job with is listening to his generation. So, recently I asked him to guest post some of his current thoughts on the church here on my blog.

HERE is a guest post from Jesse Phillips of Catalyst:

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October 24, 2010
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