How's your vision?

"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." - Anais Nin
How true is this statement? It's amazing how we can experience the same thing, whether a movie, concert, anything really, and all have a different view. That's becuase it us truly us as individuals. We all look through a different lense, our lense. It has been formed by our past experiences, our choices, our thoughts, our hopes of the future, how we see ourselves, etc. So whether that is missing great opportunities or always seeing the negative in everything, much of it depends on who we are and how we see ourselves. That's why we must continue to get to know ourselves and never stop doing personal maintenance.

remembering

I trust you had an incredible day off yesterday and enjoyed some time with friends and family. I spent yesterday in Canton Ohio with about 30 or so family and friends. We ate alot of food...wonderful food....ham, BBQ, jello stuff and anything else a person could ever desire. We threw some "cornhole"...(of which I lost in the championship and am still bitter...ha). But seriously, as I looked around, I couldn't help but give thanks for those who gave their lives for our freedom. Without their great sacrifice, we wouldn't be enjoying this freedom. There is a cost to freedom. Many of our young men and woman are still paying it today. I am so grateful to live in this great country where the stars and stripes are a constant reminder of our freedom.

Overtraining

Tomorrow I have a race. 3.1mile run - 15.7 mile bike - 3.1 mile run. After a tough day yesterday in training, I took today off. I slept for 8.5 hours. So much I was actually sore..ha! Anyway, I want to race on fresh legs and I'm feeling good today. I know my weakness is to overtrain. Too much high mileage/intesity can be a bad thing. I love to work hard, but too much of a good thing can be devastating. How about in life? We run at this crazy pace and we start becoming less and less effective. Why is it so hard for me/us to take a day off? God has created us to work in cycles. Look at seasons, day and night, weeks, etc. God Himself even took some time to rest on the 7th day of creation. Soooo, don't overtrain in the race of life.

Off Day

Have you ever had one, a day when you just weren't up to par? A time where you just couldn't shoot the ball, think as quick or operate as you normally could? This morning was one of those days for me. I'm in the gym cranking out another Ironman triathlon workout and it just isn't there. My legs are sore and feel like lead and my arms are exhausted in the pool. I tried a few times to push through, but finally just went to the hot tub. With a smaller race in 2 days, I would probably do more damage than good. This was my first "off day" in 6 months.
I don't know about you, but it is good to know that everyone has "off days", including professionals, politicians, movie stars, etc. I guess the real question is how fast will we rebound from it, and will we let it ruin our day, week, year or life? It's days like today where we all realize that we are human and fragile. I'm glad to know that I serve a God who doesn't have an "off day". I mean if He did........we would all be in big trouble.

over/under

Just thinking about every problem that we face and how we choose to deal with it. Issues of struggle are a wedge in our lives. It will either drive us up or down. You can tell when you talk with people whether or not they are over it, or under it. What about you? What past things are you over and what are you under? Are there any changes that need to be made?

Courage

Listening to an Andy Stanley message from the Catalyst Conference this morning in my "automobile university". He talked on Courage and challenged with some great questions. One was: What are you afraid of? We all hit roadblocks or tough situations where we are afraid to step up or speak out, or perhaps to make the tough call. We must define that fear and learn to live with some constant fear for it is a constant companion. But where fear lies, there is also opportunity. If we fear missing an opportunity, more than not doing something, we will prevail. For the fact is "you obey what you fear". So let's get some healthy fear going rather than the unhealthy stuff that hinders us from reaching our potential. Go get some courage!

Identity theft

We just finished a series at C3 entitled "Identity Theft". Yesterday we talked about how "our past is not our identity". We closed with a time of everyone bringing a rock and placing it in a pile symbolizing that they were leaving their past at the altar. It was a cool time with our church. We also addressed how we usually go back to our desires even though we have great intentions. Desires trump intentions every time. We must begin to desire what God has for us and move past just have good intentions. God has our real identity that is only found in Christ and we must guard that against theft.

mother in-law

My Keri's mom flew in yesterday from Alabama to spend a couple of days with us. Now for some this may be a bad thing, but for me it's all good. I have like "The Perfect" mother in-law. I mean she has a 4 wheeler, bass fishes and shoots a deer every year while still remaining to be feminine! What more could a guy ask for? Oh yeah, she used to ride a motorcycle. Anyway, today we are all heading for the zoo, which should be a lot of fun. I'm sure I'll enjoy the chance to swap hunting stories sometime during the day. Maybe a nugget for myself today would be, when I'm away from work....really be away from work. I will try to focus totally on my family and give them my undivided attention. So if I don't answer my cell phone.....now you know why.

half full or half empty?

Came across this quote - "A pessimist is someone who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks."
I have met people like this. They are not happy with themselves and everything they see, do or are a part of is negative. But we must realize that being a negative person is our choice......so if that's you, change it. Sometimes we feel that someone else can make us really happy. But true happiness must start inside of ourselves, with a relationship with Christ. So try today to see the bright side of life.

good decision

A mentor of mine once said "I make a good decision and then I make my decision good". I feel like that right now. We have sought God and He has led us to the decision of planting C3 church and now it is our job to do our best to make that decision good. That is done by not looking back and doing everything within our power to make this thing work. God is giving our church incredible favor, but we must continue to push forward and hear His heart. I think it is awesome to know we serve a God that wants us to succeed more than we do.
Are you in the process of making a decision or making a decision good?

mom

I hope you had a great mothers day yesterday. I was blessed to have my mom here at C3 for both of our Sunday services. We had her take a little piece of each service and she did great. Also at the end of my message, I brought my mom on stage and we sat while I thanked her for her investment in my life. It was a real special time for both of us.
Moms are truly amazing! Don't forget to let yours know that once and a while. When I think of all the sacrifices that were made on my behalf by my mom over the years, I am truly grateful. I love you MOM!

branding

It has been awesome to see the effects of branding first hand with our C3 logo. It is simple yet it is easily recognizable. Everything we print, mail, email, screen,newspaper articles, t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc, has our logo on it. Talking with people in our community, they are now beginning to recognize it and put 2 and 2 together. Honestly, we are the only church in this area with a brandable logo. How is your logo? Is it brandable? Is it marketable? What is it saying?
- The UPS guy stopped me as he saw me putting up a small yard sign off the road to give me a package for C3. He said, "I didn't even read the sign but I knew it was one of your church signs". Wow, just the look and the logo are saying more than we even know.

Gangs in Pickerington

As a part of this LEADS (leadership program for Pickerington) today I learned an interesting fact at a session with one of the commanders of our police department. The fact that we don't have any gang activity in Picktown because we are considered "off limits" by the former gang leaders who now live here. They have gotten out and are raising their own kids in a safe environment. They are living among us! So I guess to all those former gang bangers living in my neighborhood, I want to say "THANKS"!
Just some food for thought.

Wonderful Business Meetings

I am in a business meeting right now and blogging due to a leak of the wireless password. (It pays to know people) As part of this ministers fellowship, different ministers are arguing some resolutions and the wordage of it. Really if you break it down, all of these guidelines have been put in place because of some incident or break in integrity. But I guess as human beings, we are prone to making bad decisions and we need some structure to keep us accountable. Perhaps the next resolution will be to keep people off of their computers.....and that would be due to a decision on my part. I'm just trying to contribute and do my part in this meeting.

District Council

I have spent the last couple days at District Council. This is where the ministers in our cooperative fellowship get together for a business meeting, networking, fellowship and services. It is always good to see some friends who energize you. In life there are 2 kinds of relationships....energizing and depleting. Energizing relationships, are those with whom you can let your hair down and you don't have to entertain them or be the one who constantly gives. Draining relationships, are the one's where you are constantly giving to another's needs. Many times we don't have a balance, and wonder why we feel so drained or burned out. So go work on some of those mutually energizing relationships!

batman underwear

My kindergarten son Kaden stepped off the bus the the other day with his head down and his feet were dragging all the way to the door. He was visibly upset about something. Come to find out while on the bus ride home from school, some kid got in his backpack and pulled out a pair of "batman underwear" for all the world to see. (They were in there because of momma following the teachers recommendation, in case of an accident) He immedietely grabbed them and tried to hide them, but the damage was already done. He said all the kids were laughing at him. What do you say to that as a parent? I tried to tell him that stuff like that happens and that life goes on. Also, to remember how that feels so you don't ever make others feel that way. He seemed to have forgotten the whole thing within a short time and was back to himself.
How about you? Who are you when you are wearing the wrong outfit to an engagement? Or how about when you are the one being laughed at? It is always good to know that we have a Heavenly Father who gives us an uninterrupted flow of love and acceptance. So even when the all world is against us, we can rest in knowing we are eternally accepted.

tee ball

I am now one of the assistant coaches on my 6 year olds tee ball team. Picture this, 15 excited kindergartners in their new baseball cleats, hats, gloves and bats. The ADHD is flowing like milk and honey and none of them have a clue on how to throw, hit, run bases or even a hint of the rules. Where do you start? What are the steps on how to teach baseball 101?
Have you ever felt this way in ministry? How and where do I begin training and developing people for ministries. With our T-ball team the head coach has apparently done this before. He started with the basics....this is home plate. Back to us as leaders, we must get back to the basics. Realize you have to start somewhere and it is going to take time. There will be many dropped balls, strike outs (even in t-ball), tears, and excitement. But this leading others thing is all about process.

I'll let you know how this team shapes up in the coming weeks

bubbles

This little machine is awesome! My kids were having a blast chasing bubbles. It is amazing to see how excited these kids got over soap suds. It always amazes me how some of the simplest things bring about so much joy and fun. Things like balloons, big boxes, paper airplanes and such. Why do we lose that as we get older? When is the last time you enjoyed one of the simple things in life? Maybe it's a hug from you child, a bowl of ice cream or a sunny day. Take some time today to give God thanks for something small today.

scuffed

Training for my Ironman triathlon in September, I am putting some serious miles on my shoes. My old pair had to be retired yesterday and my new one's were pulled from their box. There is nothing like having NEW stuff. So I'm driving and I put my new kicks on and step out of the car to show them off to Gary, when I notice this black line scuff on the front. How devastating! I mean I try to see how long I can go before getting them dirty and WHAMO!....scuffed already! It's like the first scratch on your car, it hurts. But then I got thinking about how this is just life. Things get old and worn and everything materialistic is only temporary. Isn't it amazing how much energy we put into our stuff? I'm all about taking care of what God has given me, but I'm trying to put more of my attention on things that are important. My family, friends, church and most importantly my walk with Jesus. So bring on the scuffs!