Proirities

It seems the older I get...the busier I get. I thought it was supposed to be opposite of that! I'm a little frustrated sometimes at the lack of time to do everything I want. Maybe if I only slept for 1 hour each night, I could get more done. We all know that if I slept for only 1 hour, whatever work I did accomplish would not be my best.

I guess I have resolved to try and prioritize things. That said, your (and my) family needs to be a priority. You won't always have your kids, so cherish every moment with them now. Make time to spend time with them...make it a priority. I date my daughters - not often enough - but I want them to know what its like to be with a man that loves and respect them...not one that will take advantage or use them. How would they know the difference unless we teach them? I try to do "guy" stuff with my boys - again, not often enough - so they know what a real man is like, how they behave, how they treat women, etc.

Kids always model the behavior they see - good or bad! Your children are one investment you make that can draw eternal dividends.

Organization in ministry

Systems in ministry are a huge problem. Structure and organization loom large too because most of the people involved in ministry have never really been a part of a larger business organization. I've now been involved in ministry for over 10 years, but in business for over 20 years. I want to challenge people in ministry to not be afraid to ask for help, insight, maybe even pay for consulting services from people who know what they are doing! It's interesting to me how many people try to go at it alone and just stumble and fumble through things rather than look for help and expertise. Remember what the Bible says about pride, the fall, and all that!

The hype

Yes, all the hype around Tropical Storm FAY failed to deliver even one drop of rain in my area. I love how influential the media is!

Time to go have a good time with the family - we're going to play cards or something. Anyone ever hear of the game "hand and foot"? What a blast!

T.S. Fay

Gotta love hurricane season in Florida. Nothing like going back to the first day of school and then have the second day of school canceled!!!!! My work just notified all of us to work from home tomorrow - no complaint there!

I know everyone is trying to be "careful" but I think this whole hurricane thing gets blown way out of proportion by the media. I'm certainly not planning to buy anything special or stockpile items. There needs to be something done about places price gouging and stuff anyway. There is nothing I can do to stop the storm from coming this way, so why get so frantic about it anyway? If it comes this way, then so be it, I'll just do everything I can to protect my family.

Pray for Florida and I'll update you tomorrow...

Da Truth...

It's been a while since I had a rant...

Why can't people just tell the truth? Why is it so hard to admit you were wrong or had a bad day and did something stupid? Instead of just being honest, we employ the latest and greatest "spin-doctor" technology and avoid responsibility at all costs. How does that benefit anyone...except yourself? We're so selfish that we would, by virtue of our actions, drag the name of Jesus (via our testimony) through the mud while trying to maintain our own personal image!

The idea that Christians are "better than" everyone else is why we get caught up in maintaining an image anyway. Hopefully you are not a condemning or judgmental "christian" that looks down on others for their mistakes, but tries to hide our own. Hopefully you haven't forgotten that you're just as prone to mistakes as the next person...christian or not. If we are really interested in being Christ-like, we'll tell the truth and take responsibility for our actions.

Be more concerned about what God thinks than what people think about who you are...

Some media for a change...

Here's some pics from the fine arts experience. The boys weren't around much, so I didn't many pics of them. Here's Megan and Makayla...

Here's a picture of the whole group we were with...

The police in Charlotte had a unique was of getting around...

It's already started

The summer is over before it's actually over! The kids don't start school until next week, but already the madness has begun. We picked up school supplies today - what a mad-house!

Makayla has started practices with the swim team already! She has 7 meets, 6 of which are on WED's. After swimming is basketball...after that is track. Since she made the regional finals last year, we are expecting her to reach the state finals this year - as a sophomore.

Justin got his tonsils out today - we tried to slide that in before school so he would have enough time to recover. He's doing pretty good, all things considered. He's looking forward to playing sports at school this year, with his eye already on basketball, soccer and track.

Megan is quiting her job to concentrate on school...that was kind of my idea, since she has 3 AP classes and needs to bump her GPA for college entrance. It's a 3.75 weighted already, but the competition is fierce to get into college these days.

Jacob is excited about his last year at junior high. His asthma has been under control for some time now - so he is doing well. He's told me he plans on getting all A's at least once this year...he missed with only 1 B three of the 4 quarters last year!

Diane and I are doing ok...perpetually tired, but ok!

Fine Arts results....

The kids did great...I'm still recovering!

Here are some of the results:
Megan Strickland - superior with honors in her short sermon, her human video team advanced to round 2 and ended up in the top 25, her sign language solo was awesome!

Makayla Strickland - vocal ensemble placed 4th overall!

Jacob and Justin Strickland - human video group missed superior with invitation by 0.17 points!

Megan Russo - drum solo placed 3rd overall!

Amy VanHeerden - won the performance art category!

Michelle Rooks - placed 3rd overall in the 2-D art category


We had a great time and the kids all picked up a lot of good experience! We're going to really put a dent in the festivities next year in Orlando!

I'm going to try to get back on a regular blogging schedule this week!

FAF

We're headed out to the National Fine Arts Festival this weekend. All four of the kids qualified for at least one event, Megan actually qualified for 3 events. I'm not sure if I will get to blog at all next week ... so we will see!

Needed prayer...

My brother has been diagnosed with a very serious disease. It's called Retinitis Pigmentosa. If you would like to know more, you can check out this website:
http://www.blindness.org/content.asp?id=45

I'm asking if anyone that reads this blog, if you would consider adding David Strickland to your prayer list. Feel free to spread the word of this need for prayer to others as well.

This is a very difficult disease to handle, physically and mentally. When you consider all his future has to offer and the potential that he may not be able to physically see it take place...it can be quite disheartening. I know that my family and others in our marriage class and at church have committed to praying for his healing.

If you'd like to know more about him or his family personally, his wife, Monique, keeps a blog as well: http://moniquestrickland.wordpress.com/

Life Cycle

I live my life on a cycle...not a bicycle...a life cycle. I call it the innovation cycle because I am and always will be a continual learner. I think I started out life pretty dumb and have been watching and learning ever since...now that I think about it, I guess everyone started out that way! I think some get to the point where they stop enjoying learning and so they do just that. I've never gotten to that place, and even though I've not been in formal schooling for about 15 years, I feel like I have never left "school".

I often label myself an observer, because that's where the innovation cycle starts; observation. The cycle looks like this:

It's a continuing cycle...once you prototype, you start observing again. It works for any aspect of life. You have to be willing to continue learning and never decide to stop. Start looking at life like a school yard, and begin observing how you can be more effective in everything you do!

VBS...

My wife and I have been running VBS all this week at church. We have had record numbers of kids, well over 400 last night. For the last 5 years, we've been overseeing the offering competitions and recreation. For the first time ever, I think, the offering is nearly neck-and-neck. We do a fear factor type thing for the looser - boys against girls. I usually end up eating every night, but this year has been different:

MON - Boys lost, I ate meal worms
TUE - Boys lost, I ate chocolate covered ants
WED - Girls lost, Diane drank snake blood
THU - Girls lost, Diane ate crickets

Tonight is the finale and the children's pastor and his wife will get slimed based on which gender wins. Kids are fun...

Love God with your energy...

There is another saying I can't recall who to attribute to:

You need to pray like everything depends on God, then work like everything depends on you!

We definitely use energy to do things for God. Serve others, evangelism, ministry, etc. That's biblical and appropriate. In your haste to "do stuff", don't forget to use your energy to develop your relationship with God and get to know Him. As with any relationship, that requires effort and energy.

Along with hard work and effort comes the need for rest. One of the most ignored of the 10 commandments is #4: the Sabbath commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). If we were to weigh the 10 commandments by the number of words used to define them, this one (93 words) would be the most important. Rest was so important that God did it, don't you think you should too?

Make sure there are allotments in your schedule for rest...but make sure you don't get too comfortable resting!

Love God with your intelligence...

People don't get stupid when they get saved, but too many choose to turn off their common sense when it comes to spiritual things.

We all need to use your brain when developing a relationship with God! After all, God is the one that gave you that brain to begin with! If you’re not a morning person…don’t try to spend time with God in the morning, cause you're just going to fall asleep. If you fall asleep easily at night, don't get in bed and then try to spend time with God, cause you know what is going to happen!

Be smart about developing the most important relationship there is...

Love God with your prayer...

Do you know what prayer is? Have you every wondered if you even understand it? I think in America, we have really mangled what prayer is supposed to be by making it about what we want it to be. Here's a quick question:

If you throw out a boat hook from a boat and catch hold of the shore, then start pulling; are you pulling the shore toward you, or are you pulling yourself to the shore?

The answer is simple, but when it comes to prayer, a lot of people think they are pulling the shore to them. They believe prayer is a way to get God involved in their life. More to the point, they think prayer is the way to get what they want from God. It's a means to convince God of what he should do on your behalf. Help me on this test (even though I didn't study)...hook me up with this girl (even though she's hot, but doesn't love God)...help me not to get audited (even though I didn't fill out my tax forms honestly).

Prayer is surrender...surrender to the will of God and cooperation with it. Prayer is not pulling God into my will, but rather aligning of my will to the will of God. When you look at loving God with that kind of prayer, you can see how beneficial and effective it would be.

Love God with your passion...

What is passion? What does that mean? There's an old idiom my pastor uses that says:

The proof of your passion is in your pursuit

Being truly passionate about something means you will pursue it. It takes a place of importance. It gets elevated as a priority above other things. People are passionate about a lot of things. Some are passionate about sports, some about family and some about their job. Some are passionate about a hobby, some about working out and others about reading. Not one of those things is wrong, in and of itself. The things we must be willing to do is compare the level of passion for any of those things to our passion for God.

Be willing to check passion level of your heart about relationship with God. Make sure you work at keeping the most important thing, the most important thing.

It all starts here...

There has to be a single verse of scripture that servers as a foundation for a relationship with God. I think I found it...

Mark 12:29-30 – “Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.'” (the message)

Jesus was making it clear that this was the most important thing you could do. These 4 things are paramount to helping us understand how to love God. This translation seems to brings the ancient text to life. The KJV tells us we should love God with all our "heart, soul, mind and strength", but what does that really mean?

For the next few days, I want to explore what these 4 ways of loving God really mean...

Some more answers

I was chewing on what I wrote yesterday myself, when I thought I should write some more. I believe God still speaks to us today. I believe that there are many ways we can receive instruction and direction from God. Having said that...combined with what I wrote yesterday...I don't want to be accused of using my "not hearing" to be an excuse for being lazy.

Paul experienced God's silence...related to his "thorn in the flesh". He did not answer him during 3 separate "seasons" of his life when Paul really put his attention toward getting God's attention. The answer was finally "no". Of course, that's never the answer we want! God didn't stop there, he did promise to give Paul the grace to accept his situation. This is where we live. We all have something, someone or some aspect of life that we want God to change!

Just the other day someone prophetically spoke into my life. Here is what they said:

God is pleased with you. He has heard your prayer and is going to answer you, but you must remain humble.

That's much like what God's response to Paul was. God wanted him to maintain his humility so that God could receive the glory. Remember to always keep God in proper perspective...but more importantly, keep yourself in proper perspective as well.

Answers

I need some answers. You ever been there? I have been praying and pursuing God about some very specific stuff for over 5 years now...and I've gotten nothing. I've blamed myself, I've questioned my salvation, I've done it all. I know better than to blame God, so it seems there is only one other option. In these times of frustration I recently discussed it with a very wise person that I have the utmost respect for. It was during that conversation that they gave me a simple sentence that I wanted to share with you. If you find yourself struggling to make a decision or you are weighing several things and there appears to be no specific inkling or direction from God...remember this simple phrase:

When God is silent, it may be because he trusts you to make the right decision

Chew on that for a while...

I'm back

Wow...vacation was great. Kind of just what the doctor ordered. Relax, skim board, do some fishing and spend time with family - especially my wife! I love the beach. I took books to read, but got no where!

As promised, I'll post one picture. Not a great shot, but there weren't many to choose from. I've got to check with my sister-in-law to see if she got any video footage... I spent most of THU morning skim boarding since the wind wasn't that strong and the waves were lining up really nice. I quit early...not because I wanted to, but because I knew I would get hurt if I didn't. Last years hamstring popping experience was not only painful, but was debilitating! I couldn't walk right for nearly 2 weeks. So, I only put my body on the line for about 2 hours. I guess I'm getting wiser with age. I ran into 4-5 teenagers that all came down by the pier to skim...they were pretty good. They were amazed by my board (which was older than most of them...custom made in 1987), and my skills! Good times had by all...

new stuff

I'm working on my next book...and I wanted to give all of you a preview from the introduction...

God loves you. How many times have you heard that statement? Think about the magnitude of those three little words. Close your eyes and mediate on the concept of God loving you. Let them permeate your thoughts and transcend your limited understanding. Consider each of them individually for a minute. God; the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the universe. Loves; adores, feels affection for, finds irresistible. You; that combination of feelings, thoughts, attitudes and actions that make up a period of time. Put those together and you have an all-mighty creator of all things that finds everything about you irresistible.

the noise is back

Well...my "tomorrow" went a little longer than anticipated. It was nice having the peace and quiet of an empty house for a week. The kids are back and so, things are back to "normal" - whatever that is!

Sunday evening services continue to be a blast! Our pastor is really nailing it as he gets to the heart of apathy and mediocrity that defines the 21st century "christian". I again recommend you get the CD's, or the podcasts (if they are filming the evening services). They are a great resource to re-vitalize our zeal.

Things personally are pretty good. Work is crazy, but we have some vacation later this week to the beach - really looking forward to some skimboarding! Maybe I'll include some video clips and pics when we get back. Everyone I encounter along the beach is always impressed by the 40-something guy letting it rip out there.

The quiet has begun...

All four of our kids left for camp today. It's been about 18 hours of quiet...I can still hear the crickets - and I'm up way too late. The quiet will all come crashing down way before my kids get home on FRI. We have visitors on the way - will actually be here in about 20 hours or so. I'm enjoying the quiet while I can! Diane and I went out to dinner, ALONE! I almost didn't know how to act when the bill was less than $30! My clan usually runs me about $70 when we go out to eat...so we don't very often!

I'll have a more spiritual update tomorrow! I promise!

Getting behind...

I feel somewhat overwhelmed as of late...the summer has a way of doing that to you.

The kids (all 4) are headed off to camp next week, which means the house will be quiet...well kind of. My sister-in-law comes in next TUE with her husband and 3 kids. They will be staying with us until August 4th, when we leave for the National Fine Arts Festival. Yes, that really is 35 days! They live in Canada (Calgary), so they make it a long trip whenever they get to come! It's not so bad, though, since I'm her favorite and all...

The message on WED went great...response was good. I love preaching and teaching...

Part 2 is on for tomorrow...

I get to finish my message from last week, this week. I wasn't sure if I'd get the opportunity to finish right away or have to wait for awhile. Turns out, Pastor got back from vacation MON morning after driving through the night on SUN, then had presbyter meetings all day on TUE. I feel for the guy and am really excited about speaking again...

Sorry it's been a while...

I spoke on being an influence on WED. Here are some of the highlights:

All of you have a measure of influence, no matter where you work, where you live. You have influence on the lives of others. If you are married, you are an influence...If you have children, you are an influence...If you have a job, you are an influence...If you have a friend, you are an influence...You get the idea.

If you think about it…the entire New Testament models this concept. The process of relaying/advancing the gospel all lies in your ability to influences others.

Here's a diagram of what I call your “Sphere of influence”:

...more tomorrow...

Tonights service...

I get to preach tonight...YEAH! I've been working on my message and it's just pouring out of me. My message is titled - "Living a life of influence - allowing your life to make a difference". It's been amazing, with all the research and study, how God has just put it all together. I've already warned pastor that it's going to take at least 2 weeks to get through all the material. If you get to read this before 7:30pm or so this evening - remember to pray for me!

Where has it gone?

2008 is nearly half way over...where has it all gone? It seems like the year just started and already we've started summer (well, officially in a few days, but you know what I mean).

My oldest turns 17 this coming weekend...hard to believe! She's so grown up and that makes me feel pretty old. She'll be a senior this year and then we have to do the whole college thing. I thought Jesus and I had a deal ... he was supposed to come back before any of my kids got this old. It's kind of hard to deal with - but it is exciting to see them take some steps of independence. Letting go isn't really the hard part - it's the internal debating as to whether or not I did a good enough job raising her so that she can survive in this world - and thrive in her relationship with God. That's the weight I feel now...

It's way too early

Love will make you do crazy things. Yes, it is just after 4am...and my wife is headed out of town. Her nephew graduates from high school in Virginia this weekend and she's headed there to celebrate. Of course, she had a 6am flight, so that means leaving the house at 4 to get there. Now that she's gone, I can't sleep. I started doing some work, but of course no one else is up working and I can't get any work done either.

I get to preach next WED at church. So maybe I will work on my sermon. Keep me in prayer the rest of this week with my wife out of town...things could get interesting.

Father's Day

We’re doing a special Father’s day service this year titled "Who's your daddy?". We've combined forces with an energy drink manufacture to provide thousands of free energy drinks as a promotional blitz of the area. One of their products is actually called "Who's your daddy?". [http://www.empirebeverage.com/]

Their legal department has even worked with us to provide free marketing materials that merge their logo and ours, as well as provide us their products at cost! It should be an interesting service…the pineapple cranberry flavored drinks we are passing out are really good.

From bad to worse...

Here I go with another rant.

I’m so sick of people that blame God for the position we are in here in America. It’s as though they forget that we (yes, Christian’s too) have played a big part in where we find ourselves. Our pastor is doing a series on Sunday nights called “Awakening”. He has even suggested that people get a copy of my book – “Wake Up, America!”, [http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60247-809-1] because he and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to the state of the church in America.

The church is in worse condition than it was 100 years ago…that in spite of “revivals” that have been ongoing during that time. The point of this series is that it’s too late for revival in America…we need an awakening! We need the spirit of God to change our entire cities…not just recycle a few Christians.

You’d do yourself good to order these services on DVD or CD, they have been awesome. [http://www.victoriouslifechurch.com/]

Influence versus Dominance

I came across an interesting quote recently...

Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say. (Marketing Executive from Citrix Corporation)

There is real difference between influencing and dominating. As a leader, you need to be careful to influence, but never dominate. Dominance creates a huge lack of respect on both ends (the dominator and the dominatee). A relationship governed by influence creates a sense of shared control and at least some level of satisfaction. Dominance destroys all of that!

You have to be able to give and receive influence. Refusal to receive influence simply says you are stubborn, must have things your way and that you are better and smarter than anyone else.

The only good ideas a dominator recognizes are the ones they come up with. If anyone else has an idea or is going to receive credit...then you can forget it. Just this year at work I had an idea to fix a problem we discovered during the end of year processing. It was shot down by a very dominating person, only to resurface as a "miracle" solution (while I was out of the office) that was credited to the very person that originally shot it down.

It's a very frustrating type of relationship to be involved in, so examine your relationships (marriage, friends, business) and make sure you are not dominating others.

Relationships

I guess all of you think I watch too much animal planet by now...but actually, I learned most of what I know about animals from reading books and observation. I used to go on nature excursions with my grandmother in the woods, down the beach and many other places. They always had a bird feeder and I just enjoyed watching.

Speaking of grandmothers...I want to just post a word about how important relationships are. Both of my dad's parents have passed and neither of my mom's are doing well. I often feel guilty about not seeing my grandparents more before they passed. With the busy life I lead, I have all the excuses in the world not to see them or even be in touch with them often. After all, there are about 900 miles between us! But, if you have a relationship that just isn't quite right - make it a priority to do what you can to make it right!

Let me give you a few powerful scriptures to ponder...

• 1 Peter 3:7 - "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers"
• Matthew 5:23-24 - "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift"
• 1 Timothy 5:8 - "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever"

That's some "in your face" truth...you need to take care of your family and your relationships...make them a priority!

Loyalty (part 5) - Following instructions

Loyalty illustrated through nature:
The grizzly bear has a daunting reputation for a mean streak. While certainly dangerous, the loyalty and care the female exhibits for their young is something to learn from. She provides extensive training for her cubs and expects them to pay attention. Part of the lessons learned include following instructions and understanding them completely. Her loyalty is so noteworthy that even Proverbs takes notice (Proverbs 17:12).

In the scriptures:
Elisha was a man that knew how to follow instructions. You can read some of his story in 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2.

Loyalty (part 4) - Communication

Loyalty illustrated through nature:
The honey bee is often thought of as a nuisance. During their lifetime (about 38 day) they exhibit extraordinary communication skills. Within that brief lifespan, they must take on 5 distinct roles each requiring a different form and level of communication, without which the colony would collapse.

In the scriptures:
Read about the Rechabite family's loyalty and ability to give and maintain a reliable message (Jeremiah 35).

Loyalty (part 3) - Standing with those you serve

Loyalty illustrated through nature:
Canadian geese mate for life. The partnering rituals include interested males squaring off in battle. But, even victory in battle does not guarantee acceptance by the female. She is very careful when choosing whom she will make a lifelong commitment to and brute strength is not the only qualification she is interested in. This couple will fight predators together and willingly give their life, if necessary, to protect each other and their family. It's been noted that a "mother" goose will sit on and care for an infertile egg for up to 5 months beyond the normal incubation period. Talk about loyalty...

In the scriptures:
Read about Mordecai's loyalty and ability to stand by the one he served in his time of need ( Esther 2).

Loyalty (part 2) - Adjusting my schedule to those I am serving

As promised, the first installment of loyalty illustrated through nature:
The great horned owl demonstrated loyalty by building it's schedule around the needs of its young. They choose to nest in the cold, late winter months, rather than spring. They must sacrifice and endure the winter weather for at least 4 weeks without leaving the nest to assure they are properly cared for and kept warm. This early nesting period allows the owls to hunt small pray for their rapidly growing nestlings when there is a lack of foliage and cover. The nestlings grow from 3 inches tall to over 2 feet tall in a few months...so this helps the owls meet the tremendous food requirements of their young.

In the scriptures:
Read about general Amasa's disloyalty and inability to adjust his schedule to meet that of king David (2 Samuel 20:1-13), it cost him his life.

Loyalty

Loyalty is a foreign concept these days. I've been in the workplace for over 20 years and in ministry for over 10...and things are no better in ministry. I know a guy who recently signed on at one church and was lured away to his "dream job" within 6 months. That's not the worst of it, he left his dream job, although he had signed a multi-year contract, before the first year was up. I guess God changed his mind about his commitment level or so the excuse goes, I'm sure.

Reality is, most people are living their lives for themselves. Making their desires a priority over those they serve. That doesn't even work in nature...most animals are more loyal than most people. For those of you who don't know already - I'm a huge nature fan. If fact, I've just been inspired to do a multi-entry post on loyalty...all related to nature.

I'll post the next several entries on loyalty specifically as illustrated in the world of nature...and tie it back to scripture...

What am I working on...

I've started my next book. I actually started it late last year, just really struggling to find time to put some real effort into it. The research has been on-going since I finished the last book in early 2007, but I haven't been able to organize and put the details into the work that I've done so far. I did have a few sessions of writing time that allowed me to understand this - it's going to be a very important work.

This book will be about the root problem in the world today. Anyone know what it is? The battle between love and selfishness. Jesus gave two commandments that are the foundational principles for every commandment in the Bible: "...love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind... love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:7,39). It's no coincidence that both commandments involve love. Love and selfishness are the two greatest forces in life. A person chooses to walk in one or the other every day.

I'll be updating you with progress as things move along...all my fans will be the first to know what is going on!

Leadership

Leadership is a passion of mine. I've got so many cliche's I could make your head spin. Everything rises and falls on leadership...Leadership is a stewardship, it's temporary, and you are accountable...I could go on forever, but I won't. You do know that there is a difference between leaders and managers...right? Most of us have been "managed" for most of our lives, but few of us have the privilege of being "led"...much less led well. I recently heard some teaching that was called the law of thirds. It had to do with managing, but I think it would apply to leading as well.

Most of those around you fall into 3 categories...Supporters, Undecided, Nay-Sayer's. If you concentrate on your supporters, half the Nay-Sayer's will "disappear" and most of the undecided will shift to being a supporter. Unfortunately, most of us work on converting the Nay-Sayer's, because we naturally want everyone to like us. Nay-Sayer's almost never change, so when we take that approach, half the supporters "disappear" and most of the undecided learn that you get attention by becoming a Nay-Sayer.

Start working more with those around you that are positive and believe in you. I think you will see that others will start to come around and support you as well...

I've seen it all...

I thought there was nothing more in the world of weddings that could be discovered, but I was wrong. Check out this website: http://www.inflatablechurch.com. Click the enter the site area on the middle of the page and check this out. I'm not real sure what the market demand is for something like this....since no one really values marriage anymore anyway!

Speaking of marriage, by now you have probably heard that the divorce rate "in" the church has surpassed the divorce rate "outside" the church. Sad...but even worse is the reason why! If you think about it - it actually makes sense. The reason the divorce rate "in" the church is higher is because less people "outside" the church are getting married. Instead they are just living together and not going through the "formality" of marriage. They only see a piece of paper as the primary benefit...

Both aspects of this grieve the heart of God...marriage was the first covenant relationship created by God. Before governmental, financial or educational institutions - there was marriage. The "covenant" aspect of a marriage relationship is the foundation for all other "binding" agreements we have today. The fact that people consider it unimportant shows the nonchalant attitude of most toward something as important as marriage.

The fact that Christians are getting divorced at record paces also grieves the heart of God. Marriage is not easy - by any means. But that doesn't mean that when things get tough, you can give-up or cave-in and just move on. Problem is though...just like many Christians give up on their marriage when things get hard, many give up on God in the same way:

"the 'Fair-weather Christian' has no problem serving and living for God when things are going well and the weather is good. As soon as the storm clouds roll in and the clasps of thunder can be heard, they whine, complain and tend to blame God for their circumstances. This person is always in church; in fact they may serve in many capacities at their church. The problem lies in their heart. This type of person is never content and often grumbles or complains when things are not going their way. They see people as a means to get their way. Unfortunately, they see God in pretty much the same light. The danger with this type of person is that they are often convinced their religiosity and superficial duties equate to salvation. This type of person may have often grown up in the church. Their familiarity with church life causes them to live religiously but never really have a life changing encounter with God. Because of the lack of a real relationship with Jesus, they do not live in the power of the Spirit, but on their own power. This causes frustration when things don’t go their way and they can’t fix their own problems, so they blame God. They live in the disappointing and delusional lifestyle of self-fulfillment."
(This excerpt is taken from the book Wake Up America by Steve Strickland, released in January 2008, Tate Publishers)

If you haven't got you copy yet...it's not too late! http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60247-809-1
(available in audio book too on this site)

sick and tired...

I haven't blogged in a while because my son, Jacob, is sick again. Since mid last week he's not been breathing well and is on some pretty intense medication. I'm really sick and tired of him being sick. It's a stress on him, it's a stress on his mother and I, it's a stress on our marriage, it's a stress on our whole family. The frustration in knowing there is nothing I can do to help him is overwhelming. In fact, the knowledge that the doctor's don't even know what is really going on and can't control his breathing is even more frustrating.

If you are reading this, I would ask that you take 30 seconds to stop and agree in prayer with Diane and I for Jacob's healing. We know that God is able and agree that he will be healed. Thanks for your prayer and support...

Celebration

Tonight is Makayla's awards banquet for Track. She did so well this year...3rd overall at District for the 400 meters. Their 4X100 meter relay would have been first if they had not faulted on a hand off in the finals. Her personal best in the 400 is 62 seconds, only 12 seconds on the pace of the best time posted in the US in 2008 (high school, collegiate and professional) ... and she is only a freshman!

We are expecting phenomenal things from her in the near future!

Hockey

If you haven't been to a hockey game live and in person - you've never been to a real sporting event. I'm a big fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning (bad year, I know) and have been to several games. There is no other sport like it in the world. I happen to watch a good portion of game 3 of the Western Conference finals between Detroit and Dallas last night. Amazing athletes, highly skilled and tough as nails. In no other sport would you see a guy take a stick to the mouth, loose two teeth, need 15 stitches and be back out on the ice in less than 20 minutes. A football player would head to the locker room for the rest of the games...a basketball player would be out for 3 game...a baseball player would be on IR for a month.

We could learn a lot from their tenacity, willingness to fight and "never give up" attitude. I think too many Christians cave into the pressures and temptations of life. Too often they settle for the easy road and won't make tough choices. Life is going to bring a few "lost teeth" and require you to get stitches on more than one occasion...don't even let it show up on the injury report...fight through and use the strength that only God can provide to sustain you through difficulty and temptation.

Frustration

Funny that this post would immediately follow the patience post...

Life is very frustrating at times. Nothing seems to go smooth when it needs to, in fact, that's often when we find ourselves neck deep in "stuff" that just seems to push us over the edge. If it's not one thing, it's another. If we are trying to do ministry, our kids will struggle in school. It's always something trying to prevent us from living the victorious life God has called us to.

Please pray for me and my family - we've got some "stuff" going on and could use your prayers...

Patience

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog. There is a good reason this time. You see, I'm notoriously cheap and I was away for meetings the first half of this week - the Internet access was not free where I was staying...so I didn't have time to blog either...

I want to just rant a little about patience...cause I feel like I have some - but then I realize (when I desperately need some) that I don't really have enough. I've been waiting on some "things" for over 5 years now...and still I find myself waiting. I don't understand it, but I think I have finally stopped trying to make things happen on my own. I can say that when you try to make things happen for yourself - you often overlook what God has in mind for you. If you are patient...sometimes even beyond what you think is a reasonable amount of time...God will never disappoint you - in fact it will likely turn out better than you ever hoped or imagined! (Ephesians 3:20)

God's presence

We went to the Todd Bentley revival services again last night in Lakeland. The weirdo's were still out in full force, but things were different. The worship was so amazing and God's presence was thick. During worship I was so overwhelmed that I could not stand, but had to sit. As I sat, the presence of God continued to weigh on my, to the point of not being able to hold up my head and finally to the point that I could not keep my eyes open. I can't explain it any better than that, but for 75 minutes we worshipped in what felt like a heavenly atmosphere. The power of God was there to heal as well and there were many miracles. I'm still "buzzing" today and feel supernaturally charged.

Prayer

On this, the national day of prayer, it seemed the appropriate subject to write about. Prayer is something that is really easy that we tend to make really difficult. My pastor always says...if you can talk on the phone - you can pray. Prayer by many is generally selfish, which is OK sometimes, but it can't always be just about your and your needs/wants/desires. Instead of always praying for yourself...try interceding for someone else or for some worthy cause. It's amazing to me how many times that once I focused on others and their needs, my own needs were met in return! Make your prayer life a priority...otherwise your relationship with God will grow cold.

Bon Jovi...

You remember him...the 80's glam-rock star. He's still in the news occasionally, but a song of his came to mind recently while I was at a church service. Maybe you remember it..."You give love a bad name". Maybe you think (like I did), that's a really weird thing to be thinking about at church, but I couldn't help myself.

I found myself at the Lakeland Center on Monday night for a revival service with Todd Bentley. Great service - witnessed the supernatural and everything, but I think every weirdo within 500 square miles was there too. That's a little hard to say, as a Christian amongst a sea of 7000 or so others that called themselves Christians. What do I mean by weirdo you may be wondering? The 1970's outfit wearing, tambourine totting, bad t-shirt wearing "Christians" that can't clap on beat. They can act weird, dress weird and talk weird, but can't find a piece of clothing that doesn't have some corny Christian slogan or hand draw phase with glitter. It's people like this that give Christians a bad name. People see them and they just know sense the weirdness. Then they find out they are "Christians" and never want anything to do with church or even God for that matter.

So I decided to re-write the first verse and chorus of Bon Jovi's song in their honor:

An awkward style is what you sell
You promise yourself heaven but put me through hell
Your tambourine is distracting me
It may actually help if you could play it on beat

Whoa! You're not any fun!
Whoa! Your t-shirts are dumb!
No chance to change you, I think I’ll just run

Shot through the heart
And you're to blame
Darlin', you give God a bad name

Blogging is supposed to be consistent...

I was scolded this weekend by a friend that said blogging was supposed to be a regular thing and since my last post was in February, I wasn't really blogging. I'd like to thank Al for his honesty and I have committed to more regular and interesting posts.

At the event Al and I were both at this weekend, we had a great time...but I again encountered some very bizarre things. I love observing people and their behavior and it's always funny what kind of things I come away with from Christian events. I got to work with with some of the best people in our District over the weekend. Diane and I look forward to the Fine Arts festival every year and working with the District youth staff and the other pastors we work with for the event. Al, Darryl, Tammy, Tim, Tom and Shirley...you guys rock!

At fine arts, there are always funny things that happen. We see the best and the worst in people that call themselves a Christian. I don't really hold their frustration against them, but I have to relay what may be the most unreasonable excuse I have ever heard for trying to get scores and results quickly instead of waiting in a rather long line.

It was the end of the competition and a representative from each church is supposed to wait in a line to collect the results for each of the entries from their church. It was finally a moment to relax and another pastor and I were sitting in the registration room talking. Suddenly a masters commission student came in to relay a message. It seems a student sent word that their parent was dying - but they needed their score sheet before they left. Are you kidding me? We've heard a lot of excuses (from kids and pastors), but this is definitely in the top 10.

I guess the lesson in this is simple...live your life with integrity, honesty and honor as a Christian - in everything you do, say and even what you think. Remember this...whatever you compromise to gain - you will eventually lose.

Activities just keep on coming...

I had the privilege of being a workshop speaker at the Peninsular Florida Youth Workers conference this past weekend. It was a lot of fun. Diane and I worked together to build some workbooks for the workshop and it went very, very well. There were over 45 people that came to hear and everyone spoke well of the book and the workshop. We're hoping some of the contacts turn into bigger and better things.

We've started some marketing materials that we're going to use to push for sales and speaking engagements as well. I hope that all of you will keep us in prayer regarding these efforts. We know that God has given us this message to deliver and want to be good stewards with our time, talents and treasure.

We have some events coming up soon...

The books signing on March 8th at 1-3pm will be at the Gospel Inn in Lakeland, Flordia. This is a local Christian bookstore that has opened their door for us.

The book signing on March 15th at 3-5pm will be at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Brandon, Florida. This store is located in the Brandon Square Mall, so you can come see us and go shopping as well!

Drop a comment or email if you have any questions or want more details on any of these events.

More udpates

I've finally uploaded the video promo...I hope you like it. I owe a great debt to Dan Lively for helping with it. I think it came out well.

I spoke at the men's meeting for our church last night on the subject of the book. There were 50+ guys there and a really positive reaction. I am amazed what God is doing to get the word out. I know I shouldn't be, because after all, he's the one that told me to do this in the first place.

I really appreciate all the love and support from those that have contacted me. Keep us in your prayers during these upcoming events. I'll post more about each event as it gets closer.

February 10th - preaching at a church in downtown Tampa
February 21-23 - teaching a workshop to youth pastors from Florida
March 8 - book signing at a Christian bookstore in Lakeland, Florida
March 15 - book signing at Barnes and Noble at the mall in Brandon, Florida