Learnings At The Grill

I, like many males this time of year, love to grill out meals for my family. I enjoy the time spent in the back yard cooking up these manly meat concoctions for the families enjoyment. The reason I bring that up isn't to brag about the fact that I bought a new grill the other day (notice I did mention it though!) but for the fact that I learned two things the other day when I used it the first few times.

#1 - If you are unsure of how something is going to work, don't walk away from it! Yep - the first time we used it I was getting phone calls about softball, etc. and I ended up leaving the brats for a little too long. Par for the course, 5 of the 10 were burnt to a crisp in the process. I had a good flame going and the brats were cooking up well. Yet, I walked away from it and what happened? I now had crispy brats! I should have stayed there and watched them cook, and made sure they were cooked evenly, etc.

This should be done with your spiritual life as well. I've seen a number of people get almost too turned on for God at times. (Ok, not really possible, but follow me here) These people jump right in with both feet and really seem to have the fire burning to a full blaze. They are eating up every book they can find and learning so much, so fast. (almost like a baby when they are learning to walk who takes one step, and think they can run.) What happens next, they fall flat on their face, at least spiritually. Make sure you "cook" your spiritual life on all sides. You're probably not going to be able to stop everything from your previous life right away and be happy. It has to be gradual, and watched....don't let it burn to a crisp!

#2 - You have to try again and again. It's true, I didn't let the burnt brats get the best of me. The next day not only did I grill again, but I grilled something different, trying a new technique. Much like changing your life, you may have to change a lot of things in your life. You may have to even adjust the process in order to get the changes to work. It may take many times before you get it right. My point here is that you have to keep trying as it's worth it in the end. Not only were the pork chops I made good, but the Dr. Pepper mixture that I basted on it made for some good eats. I'd gone back and tried it again, and it was well worth it.

Anyway, I'll let you know if I have any more adventures to learn from this weekend as we host the family for a cookout on Saturday. Happy 4th of July, and thanks to all that are and have served in defending our country! God Bless The USA.

Quiz Time

Ok, I'm a big fan of Facebook and I spend a lot of time on there playing games when I want to unwind. One thing that I keep seeing is people making and taking quizzes about other people. This led me to today's blog: It's time to take a quiz about YOURSELF!

1) When was the last time you opened the Bible when you weren't at church?

2) When was the last time you actually prayed that person you told that you'd pray for them?

3) When was the last time you prayed with and/or for your spouse (or future spouse as the case may be.)

4) When was the last time you helped someone with anything when it wasn't convenient for you?

5) When was the last time you did something because it advanced His kingdom, and not just your own?

6) When was the last time you read a devotion or a book and actually worked that new knowledge into your day to day life?

7) When was the last time you really gave everything you had into your family? (Be it playing with the kids, teaching the family a moral lesson, etc.)

8) When was the last time you put yourself aside and devoted yourself to mentoring someone that needed to be mentored?

Now, I'm not going to tell you that if you answered this way or that way that you scored so many points, and that certain totals say this or that about you. In fact, I'll be the first to admit (easy since I'm writing this before anyone else can read it) that I can't even answer some of the questions that I've put up there. You may ask what that means...and all I can tell you is that we all have work to do in our spiritual lives.

The goal should be to have the lines that divide our lives into quadrants to be blurred all together. Your life is not your work life, your spiritual life, your home life, etc. Instead it should be just one life: HIS LIFE. If you want to be more like Jesus and know WWJD then work towards having those lines that divide your life blurred and start having answers for the questions above. YOU can make a difference in the kingdom for HIM, and getting there takes one step at a time.

10 Years Down!

So, today marks the 10 year anniversary of my coo in getting Traci to be my wife. So many things have happened during our time together that I'd have to write a novel the size of War & Peace to get it all down on paper. But, instead I'd like to share with you some of the things that I've learned while being married so long. (These are in no order as I'm not really big on ranking things, etc.)

#1 - If you keep Christ the center of your marriage then you're gonna be held together. Sure today we mark a great milestone that is worthy of the happiness that I have in my heart, but it's not like we haven't had hard times during this time. Yet, here we still stand together hand in hand thanks to God's grace. He has been the glue in our marriage through the easy and the tough times.

#2 - Kinda goes along with #1 there - I'm not all that important in the long run. What I mean by that is that the world doesn't revolve around me. The same can be said for Traci as a matter of fact. Instead, the world revolved around God and HIS plan for our lives. Once we figured that out I think we became even stronger as a unit. It was hard at first as we both had our own goals and desires, and with every kid it's been harder and harder to fit in time for our own stuff. Now, if one or both of us still focused on ourselves all the time the other person would feel slighted or worse not loved at all. By keeping him at the forefront we've learned how to work together towards HIS goals, which many times end up going along with ours anyway! So, keep that focus on him and he'll reward both you, your spouse, and the marriage as a whole!

#3 - Each kid you have will drain some of your energy. My goodness, I think about what I use to be able to do before we had kids and I wonder how I was every able to do any of it! We use to have no problem staying up all night and still working on no sleep. We use to work out together, do puzzles, watch movies, etc. and still get the house clean etc. Now days we're lucky to have clean clothes, dishes, or stay up past 10 PM! I've figured out that the kids took the energy, as they always have more than I ever want them to have. Yes, this and the changing of the date are God's little pokes of fun at us! I tell you, every time I figure out what today's date is it changes to the next day! How rude!

#4 - Back to seriousness (as serious as I ever get on here): It's NOT going to be easy. Yes, we've been married 10 years now, but I tell you that we both work at this marriage thing all the time. I don't have all the answers on how to make our marriage better just yet. In fact I never will! We continue to evolve as people, and so does our marriage. The minute we stop working at it, that is when we stop caring if you ask me. You have to talk with one another and keep getting to know what makes each other tick. Don't just assume that your wife likes French Vanilla creamer in her coffee, as she may have discovered that some new flavor is now her favorite. Some times she doesn't want the radio on during the car ride but instead wants to spend time with you without the distractions! Pay attention, and if you don't know ask! I don't think there has been a time that I've asked Traci a question about her that she just laughed at me for asking when I asked in a serious manner. She appreciates that I care ,and I'm sure if you are reading this and are married, your spouse will feel the same way!

#5 - Praying together works! In the past Traci and I have done devotionals together, read the same books separately and talked about it, etc. But, I think the thing that we've done that helps us the most is praying together. Sure, this goes back to #1 again and where we are focused. Every Sunday we review the upcoming week and what is happening each night. We talk about things that have happened or will be happening, etc. Then after that we pray together, giving it all to God to do with as He will. We know that He's in control of our schedule, and of all the tasks that we have to do. By turning this all over to Him we aren't burdened with trying to do it all on our own. We've found that our weeks go by much easier with Him leading us through them. Who controls your week?

So, that is us in a nutshell. Marriage, money, and parenting are some of my favorite subjects to discuss, so if you are reading this and want any advice in those kind of areas please let me know. I thank you for reading and I look forward to what else God gives me to write to you about in the near future. I hope you've enjoyed just a few things I've learned about being married. Put God in control of your marriage people, you'll be a stronger unit because of it!

There is no "I" in team

I'm sure you've heard the saying many times before, especially if you've played any team sports in your lifetime. The saying is used very often to bring about team unity and get everyone on the same page. But, how does this go along with what I normally discuss in this blog? Keep reading my friends:

Saturday evening the Cleveland area suffered another loss for a team thought to win a championship that season. The Cavaliers were defeated for the 4th (of 6 games) and final time by the Orlando Magic. Now, being a fan of many Cleveland teams this didn't surprise me too much as it's happened to all of our teams at one time or another. What bugged me about the whole thing is how Lebron "King" James acted throughout the series. It felt to myself and many that I've talked to during the series as though Lebron was trying to do it all himself. This was a huge contrast from the way the season went and even the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. Another thing that annoyed me was how the face of the franchise (Mr. James himself) acted after the team was defeated in the deciding game. He ran off the court without congratulating the Magic players, one of whom was a good friend of his. Then, he didn't even talk to the media after the game, something mandated by the NBA. So, what two concepts (ok, probably a lot more, but I’m limited in time here, give a guy a break) can you get from this series:

1) You can’t go at it alone and expect to prosper. Lebron tried at times to do it all himself in those games and went almost 1 on 5 on the court. Sure, there were times when he passed the ball to the other guys and times when maybe he needed to take over. However he needed to really trust in his teammates, especially when the going got tough. Instead he did his own thing and failed both himself and the team he plays on. What in your life are you trying to do alone? What in your life could get easier if you talked to someone else (a mentor perhaps) or prayed and trusted God to take care of the problem? Trust the people around you, and if you don’t then get different people around you. Surround yourself with strong influences that will help build you up instead of take you down with them. Oh, and if they are good enough to be with you in the good times then they just might be good enough to be with you in the bad times – but you never know unless you trust them in those situations. God will put the right people there with you if you ask, have you asked him lately?

2) You must have respect. Lebron on Saturday lost the respect of many people for his actions after the game. When you are not victorious you need to keep your head held high and act like an adult no matter the circumstances. Have there been times in your life where you weren’t respectful of those around you? Are you doing things that you shouldn’t be doing that would really lose the respect of family, friends, co workers, etc. if they found out such as gambling or pornography, etc.? If you truly respect those around you and want to earn their respect then you will find a way to get help for the problems. I’ll suggest that you start with prayer and finding someone close to you to talk with. A mentor relationship can be invaluable.

I’m sorry if you are a Cavs fan and don’t agree with my thoughts on what Lebron did over the weekend. I agree that he is a greatly talented basketball player, but other than that he needs to grow up….and all the money in the world will not help that happen. I will say this to everyone, feel free to comment and leave your thoughts and feelings on the subject. Or, talk to me in person, in an e-mail, or phone call. I love to talk about these and the many other things I’ve written about and will write about here in the future. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks to everyone for reading. It’s through our giving each other our thoughts and feelings on items such as these that allow us to keep building Momentum and keeping the I out of T-E-A-M.