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.

It's Never Over

So tonight I was watching and listening to the Indians game. I turned on the game at the point where we were down 8-0, which quickly went up to 10-0. I gotta say that I wasn't overly thrilled with the team's prospects for the evening. In fact, most of this season hasn't been all that promising....which is hard for me to say as I'm a die hard Tribe fan.

Well, what happens you may be asking? Yep, the Tribe bullpen finally has been pulling themselves together and get us into the 9th inning with us down 10-4. They've gone 5 scoreless innings to get us to that point. So, the Indians get a few players on base and I'm still ho-hum about it. Then they score a few runs, and I'm starting to try not to get my hopes up. Then, all of a sudden it's 10-9 and we've got the bases loaded! But, then I realize that Victor Martinez is up, who's in the middle of a 0-18 slump. So, what happens, YES the improbable! He gets a base hit which scores two runs, and the Indians win!

So, why do I bring that up in a blog that is supposed to be uplifting for Christians on their journey? I use this as a great example of why you shouldn't hang your head down low no matter what is going on in your life. You could be getting attacked by the enemy in 20 different ways. You could be the subject of most country music songs where your Truck just broke down on your way to bury your dog who died of a broken heart after your girlfriend left you! Yet, there is the promise of Our Father that he'll be there taking care of each one of us. He's there in it all with you, and although you feel the entire weight of the world if you give it over to Him, he'll help you through it all.

My family has recently gone through something similar. Last week I didn't write here because I was focusing on my wife's lost purse. Had to check credit reports and put alerts on our accounts. We had to stop all her debit cards, checks, and file a police report. That had me all freaked out, and I didn't handle it well right away. I tried to take care of it all myself and was extremely frustrated. Once I gave it up to God and allowed him to work in the situation everything went smoother. So far nothing has happened to us through all of this. I praise Him every day for that, and will continue to do that. It wasn't just luck that the deposit of money we were going to do wasn't in that purse. It was His grace that allowed it to be this way.

So, in conclusion if I try to do this all myself then not much good comes of it. Just like with the Indians tonight. If every player tries to hit a home run, then no one is on base for the rest of the players to hit in. They were down 10-0 people, and they won the game! What kind of odds do you have against you, and would it be easier to get through what you are with His help?

Changing Some Focus

Do you have anyone in your life that just makes you want to do this:

Traci and I were looking at the week we had coming up and discussing things, then praying together as we do every Sunday night when in the discussion we were talking about someone that was going to lead me to go crazy all week. So, I asked for prayer in dealing with them. When she heard the request she looked at me and asked if I ever prayed for the person as well as myself in dealing with them. Man, talk about getting hit with something big eh?

So, here I've been thinking about this since she said that. Sometimes we're way too focused on ourselves aren't we? No matter how much we as Christians try not to be a part of what the world is doing, it still gets us one way or another. Here I was asking for prayer in dealing with someone when I should have also been praying for that same person! It was all about me wasn't it? Well, I'm going to resolve to be better at that from now on. Sure, I still need prayer for dealing with some things that will come up, but they also need prayer in order to some day become a Christian themselves. All it took was my wife to nail me for all of it to sink in. I'm sure that no one else has had the same thing to happen to them right? Next time you have someone who you need prayer in dealing with, remember to pray for them as well....it'll help bridge that gap. All in God's timing that is.

Tend The Fire!

Man, I’ve recently been in a rut lately again. It happens every here and then, almost like the changing of the seasons. It’s a gradual slide that leads me here. I’m sure you’ve all been there at one time or another where you just let something go one day, which turns into a week, etc. It’s very easy to do, and most people I talk to have done that from time to time. It’s almost like a diet right? You take that one day to break the diet because one day won’t hurt, or you are at a special event and you can’t be the ONLY person there not eating all the great foods, right? Now I think we’re all on the same page.

Well, my rut hasn’t been food, it’s been a spiritual life kind of rut. As I said before, I don’t know how it happened, and it’s not really severe at this point even as I’ve learned to figure out early when it’s happening and how to fix it. You see, that spark I had is heading towards just a smoldering brush fire. I don’t always do the things that is necessary to keep the fire fully burning. I took a day off from my devotions, I spent all day watching sports one day, I focused entirely on the kids instead of God, something like that happened! So, one day probably I lost my focus, and that probably lead to two days, three, or four days in a row. Before long, a rut began!

So, how does one get out of a rut like this? Well, the first thing is realizing it. Secondly you have to go and find a way to build back the momentum. For me, the rut isn’t deep at this point, but it will get worse if I don’t get moving – something I’ve already started to do again. If you ask me, it starts with my prayer life. Some days you pray so you can feel all warm and cozy inside. You tell yourself if I pray to God about this then make my decision myself on the issue I at least can say I prayed about it – I know no one reading this has done that, right? That is like throwing a piece of newspaper on the fire you built. You get a couple seconds of flame, and then it goes right back to what it was before.

Ok, now that we realize there is a rut, it’s time to build back that fire. Time to focus our lives back on God. As I said yesterday as Elder of the Day, prayer is integral. God put Sunday as the start of the week to get your attention people! Prayer, Worship, Teaching all is there on HIS day to help prepare you for the week! He’s helping to fill us up with him so that the events of the week don’t take his His place in our lives. Start your week off right by spending time with him in church or outside of it, as long as you dedicate time to him. Then, start off each and every day in prayer. As I said yesterday, it doesn’t have to be on your knees at the bedside (although that is awesome if you can do that!). Instead, pray when you get ready in the morning, or do your morning work out. Pray in the shower, or the car on the way to work. What is important here is the focus that you are giving your day. Invite him to be a part of your day and to walk with you all day long. He’s there anyway, but when you focus on Him being there your day has a totally different look to it.

Next, throughout the day as you have a free minute, as you use the facilities, or as you struggle, find time to seek God! He doesn’t have the answers people, He IS the answer! Doing this will help you build momentum through your day and week. You’ll find that you are more in tune to what God’s doing in your life, and what He has in store for you. I know that recently I’ve gone back to doing these things and the momentum is coming back to my life. I’ve learned over time to see it slipping earlier in the process than ever before. I’ve learned to put more logs on the fire if I want to keep an ongoing, lasting flame. I now do what I can to tend to the flame, do you?