Intentionality

What are you doing today that is intentional? One thing that I have discovered of late is this: if you don't intentionally pursue your destination, the odds of chaos increase exponentially.

Think about it.

*If you are driving your car somewhere, and you don't drive towards your destination on purpose, you are more than likely going to get lost.

*If you don't tackle the house project that is before you with intention, than you are more than likely going to end up with multi colored walls, crooked lines, mismatched furniture, and a headache from arguing with your spouse.

*If you don't raise your children on purpose, then they are more than likely going to take their own path, which is not always the best path.

*If you don't live your marriage with intention, then you take the chance that you will drift in your love.

The examples could continue, but let's look at the driving example for a minute. If you are lucky enough to own a GPS then you will understand this analogy very well.

To go somewhere that you have never been you first have to enter the address into the GPS, give it a couple of moments to compute the best possible route, and then you must follow the directions turn by turn so that you will safely reach your destination. If for some reason your GPS has directed you on a route that has a road block, then with the simple click of a button, you can find the best detour so that you remain on track to reach your desired location.

Life must be lived this way. If you and I pursue our destination on accident we will either never reach that destination or we will make it, but we will make it later than we should.

All of us have dreams and hopes that we would like to reach in our life. We have stories to write, conversations to have, lives to impact, children to raise, love stories to engage in, and differences to make.

If we leave that to chance, we may or may not get there, and we will probably spend the majority of our time fighting fires on rabbit trails.

Whatever area of life you are needing to focus on with more intentionality take into consideration the following thoughts:

*Identify where you would like to go

*Program life's GPS

*Pray for God's direction

*Ask other people who have been down the same road to help give you directions

*Read a book about the lives of other people and how they reached their destinations

*If life throws you a roadblock, hit the detour button

*Pray (Where does God want you to detour)

*Ask others who have hit the same roadblocks to give you directions

Don't live life accidentally.

Live life intentionally!

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years

I have recently finished reading Donald Miller's newest book; "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years." Let me just get it out of the way and state - this is a must read. This is the third writing of Miller's that I have read, and I have yet to be disappointed. Donald Miller writes with a level a candidness that few others do. The main take away for me from this book is; we are all living a story, which is a part of a grander story, let's make the stories of our lives worth reading. Don weaves the stories of his own life and the life of others through the truths of this book. In the end, I realized that I had laughed out loud, cried, and finished the book wanting to take a hike, feed a starving child, climb a mountain, or mentor a boy without a father. Today, I am committed more than ever before to writing the story of my life so that others will want to read it!

The wonder of it all . . .

I am currently on vacation in Eureka, KS. Usually I am up for trying something new, especially on vacation. So last night, I loaded up the sail boat with my cousin Bryce and headed out across the lake. Let me reassure you from the start that we managed to stay upright and not capsize the boat. In the midst of 'tacking,' 'steering the rudder,' 'adding tension to the sail,' and 'making turnabouts,' the realization hit me once again, everyone of us needs that quiet space that we can spend time in to pray, meditate, reflect, and in general to relax and be still. Maybe for you it's the sail boat. For someone else it may be the mountains or a hiking trail. Wherever and whenever is not important. The important thing is that you go there. Turn off the sounds of this world and tune into the voice of Jesus and the wonder of His creation.

yup . . .

Lately, I have had the desire to write more. I have an idea for a small book that has been churning for some time now. It goes to reason though that before I dive into some form of a book project that there should be a fair amount of practice, right? With this new desire though, I am coming to some realizations. The realization that writers have blocks when they don't know what to say (write) is becoming very apparent! Frankly, I struggle too on what to write. Let's you and I be honest, you don't want to read all of the thoughts and feelings that I have. Honestly, I don't want to read about all the thoughts and feelings that I have - and I live those thoughts and feelings every moment of every day! So here is my thought, feeling or question for today -

"When is it apparent that someone is spending too much money?"

Feel like a random question?

It is not - it is a thought that I have had today as I have looked at the news!

The Power of a Whisper

"Had saul not obeyed His whisper from God, Ananias could not have obeyed the one he himself received."

For me, this is one of the lessons that I am taking from Bill Hybels new book, "The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God. Having the Guts to Respond."

I live about 2 miles from the home of the Goodyear blimp. Rarely does a day go by when I do not have the privilege to see this rather gracious vehicle glide through the stunning blue skies of Northeast Ohio. Frequently, the pilots are projecting some sort of message on the massive display screen that is located on the sides of the blimp. Usually, there is some form of an advertisment or congratulatory message. When we have the rare honor of seeing the blimp at night, the messages that are displayed are particularly bright and easy to read. I'm not sure about you, but this is often how I want God to speak to me about the matters of life - send the blimp over my backyard in the middle of the day with a bright message that gives me specific instructions. So often though this is not how God speaks to us. Rather, God chooses to speak to us in the slightest of whispers.

Pastor Hybels spells out the importance of listening to God's voice for us in his newest book. One of the reasons that it is important for us to keep our ears in tune to that 'still small voice?' Our obedience to the whisper creates opportunities for others to obey the whisper that they hear.

Thank you Pastor Hybels for sharing with us the lessons that you have learned from your many years of listening to the whisper.

Blink

I have recently finished reading another fascinating book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled, "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking." Once again, in true Gladwell form, I was taken on a fascinating journey into realms that I have never visited. This time it was the realm of thinking.

Everyday, multiple times a day, in all aspects of life, we all make snap decisions or judgments. Whether we realize it or not, we make a fair amount of those snap decisions based on our prejudices. We make those quick judgments based on things that lie behind a 'locked door' in our mind. The truths that I took away from this book were many, but one bears sharing here.

It is imperative that each one of us intentionally work to train our minds to slow down, if ever so slightly, when it comes to making important decisions. It is important that we work intentionally to slow our thought processes down when we are talking with people so that we can better read the non-verbal cues that they are giving us.

To paraphrase Gladwell at the end of the book; "when we are able to take charge of the first two minutes of a conversation, a decision, an audition, an interview, etc.; we will be able to see people and circumstances for what they truely are."

Thank you Mr. Gladwell for writing another thought provoking book!

Exponential: How you and your friends can start a missional church movement

As part of Zondervan's blog tours, I have had the privilege to review books that are new. This has been a wonderful opportunity that I hope will continue.

The lastest tour has taken reviewers to the book, "Exponential: How you and your friends can start a missional church movement," written by brothers Dave and Jon Ferguson. This book was my first exposure to the Ferguson brothers, and I am sad that it has taken me this long to become acquainted with them.

My heart is that God's Kingdom will be advanced in this world through the ongoing salvation of people who are not currently connected to a life giving relationship in Christ. I believe that I have found kindred hearts in the Ferguson brothers. Through this book, they are challenging the rest of us to think about ways to build God's Kingdom on this earth. They are challenging us to think about ways that may be foreign to us, but ways that are essential for us to consider if we are going to be serious about reaching those who are outside of a relationship with Christ.

The entirety of the book was summed up in the early pages with this quote; "reproducing isn't about our kingdom; it's about God's Kingdom."

This is a must read for any church leader. As a matter of fact, go here; "Exponential: How you and your friends can start a missional church movment," and buy a copy now!