Sunday I spoke about the need to grow as believers if we want to be more like Jesus at the end of 2011. We had a smaller crowd, because of snow and ice on the roads, but I sensed God had who He wanted there to hear this message….at least live…you can catch it here…
I’m very reflective this time of year…
As we head into a New Year, I considering if my life is achieving the things of greatest value…
One way I’m doing that is asking myself some self-evaluation questions…
For example…
Am I more concerned about:
Merry Christmas!
What an incredible year this has been! I’m thankful for the friends and opportunities God has brought our way this year. Our house has seen challenges and trials, as any year brings, but this year has been exceptional.
The circle of life continued again this year! Near the end of 2009, Cheryl’s father passed away with cancer. In early 2010, my father passed away, also with cancer. We walked through cancer with dozens of friends this year and we saw too many families whose lives were disrupted with the grief of death. At the same time,
Yesterday we made a decision to delay our youngest son’s flight home from Chicago until today, because of the threat of bad weather in Nashville. It was a hard call, because he had finished exams, he was ready to be home for Christmas, we miss him dearly, and I’ve already purchased bacon….
Here in Nashville the general talk was that we were on the verge of the next big ice storm. Schools closed early, grocery stores were packed, and games and activities were canceled or postponed. We’ve experienced ice storms in the past where everything was shut down, electricity goes out and motorists are stranded. Our area of the country has had it’s share of disasters in the past few years with floods, tornadoes and ice storms. I called Southwest twice. His flight, the last of the day, was already showing a delay of two hours. The two customer service agents I talked with (who were great BTW) both said the flight was subject to be cancelled and he would be bumped to the next day. They were offering free weather changes until the next day and their advice was to pick a flight after noon today. There were only three seats left on the afternoon flight.
With this information, for fear of losing a flight altogether, I pulled the trigger and decided to delay his trip home until today. As it turned out, the weather predicted never came, his normal flight arrived on schedule, and had I left things as they were he would have slept in his own bed last night.
I felt awful…but…
There is such a fine line between panic and preparation.
On one hand…
Tim Elmore is an incredible leader. He has one of the best understandings of how to reach the next generation of anyone one I know. I recently had dinner with Tim and can attest to this man’s incredible heart for people. I’m blessed to have Tim share his thoughts with us here today as a guest post.
In our recent work with students, Growing Leaders has drawn some interesting conclusions. We have seen a shift take place among the young people in Generation Y. (The kids born in the 80s are different than the kids born since then.) The research is in a new book called: Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future.
One of the shifts we’ve uncovered is that kids have moved from “activists” (who want to change the world) to “slack-tivists.” They still want to change the world — but sort of. They often don’t really want to work hard or make sacrifices. They’d rather sign a petition on a website, get a wristband and then return to a video game or YouTube. They’re more self-absorbed than their earlier counterparts. So, how do we grow a heart for service in our kids today?
Try this.
I’m sick of Satan’s dirty little tricks. Criticize me all you want for the strictness of this post but I’m not taking a chance in this area if my life and I want to use this post to encourage men to do likewise. If I’ve learned anything about being a man it’s that I am weak in this area. I’m tired of sitting with couples whose marriage is rocked because of an affair. If a man without proper discipline in his life tells you he’s not tempted sexually he’s most likely lying or impotent.
In nearly every situation I encounter (all but one or two that I can remember), the affair didn’t start in an instant; it started over a series of time and moments of indiscretion by the man (or woman). I can’t intelligently speak to this issue from a woman’s perspective, but here is the progression of the sin of adultery in a man’s life:
Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family. 1 Chronicles 16:43 NIV
What difference do you make in your home? David returned home to “bless his family”. Do you bless yours?
I am sure your family loves you. You are the mother, the father, the brother, or the sister. Of course, they love you, but are you lovable?
I’ve been writing about people I’m thankful for this week, encouraging you to do the same. Obviously our greatest thanksgiving should be for our personal relationship with the Living God, but I’m thankful He allows us to have people in our life to love and help shape us. We’ve shared about people who have helped us professionally, been consistent friends, and helped us grow spiritually. You can still do that in the previous posts HERE, HERE AND HERE.
Today, I want to share the group most of us would put at the top of our thankful list….our immediate families. The people in my life I’m most thankful for are my wife and two boys. I’ve previously shared most of these points about them, but they are still true today.
I saw this plaque in a store window in Michigan recently. I snapped a quick picture. I didn’t need the plaque, but I love the statement.
I dont’ know where the saying originated, but the most memorable time I heard it was when Jack Nicholson said it in the movie “Bucket List”. It’s a powerful and true statement about life.
It has a similar thought process to one of my favorite verses from Scripture. Ecclesiastes 11:3: “If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.”
It reminds me that
Do you have a consistent friend…one who has stuck with you over the years…through good times and bad times of life?
Are you thankful for them?
This week I’m focussing some posts on sharing thoughts of Thanksgiving. You can read yesterday’s post HERE.
I’ll start the discussion by sharing one of mine….
