hmm...

let's see if i remember how to do this...

thoughts on safety-

i am thinking that safety is an unattainable illusion. don't get me wrong, i want safety...for my family, for my life. i want it, i plan for it, i pray and hope for it. but at the end of the day, it is unattainable.

as americans, one of the most dangerous things that we most of us do IS.... drive a car! really?we pray and pray for safety. we plan for it, we hope for it...and then we get in the car and do not even consider that this is the most dangerous thing we are going to do in our whole little life is drive a car. not to mention when i text, email and look at facebook while i'm driving. (don't frown...i know some of you do too.)

the funny thing i have been thinking lately is that when i read the scriptures, i don't often read about people who were worried about their safety. think about it, especially after Jesus had ascended.

i have no conclusions...just thoughts. i spend a lot of time thinking about what it takes to get things done in our business. i don't like to rock the boat, it typically isn't good for business. i want things to be safe, little risk. i like my life like that too. problem is, it doesn't line up with scripture very well.

what have you risked lately? i dont want to simply be a "boring" car driver...i want to live a risky life.

thats all i got for now...see ya next sunday night, maybe sooner.

discipline, envy and honesty

ok, this thought has been going through my head lately..BUT, this is not a thought out post...make sense?

i am very envious of people who are highly disciplined.  that is the honesty part of it...people who work out, run...people who are organized, people who are task and goal orientated....people who are have strong spiritual disciplines.  i am envious of those people.  not the people who can for a season be disciplined...but the one's who set out for a life of disciplined action.

i am not one of those people, yet.  and, to be honest again,  it pisses me off !  i know what is good for me...we all do.  if not spiritually then at least health wise, why is it so hard to be disciplined.  spending money, managing time, setting priorities, spending time on the important things, spending time with the Lord.

anyway...i am envious.  i am thinking through this stuff right now.  how do i become more disciplined?  i am guessing it isn't just as easy as it sounds. if it were people would just react, i would just set a plan of actions and follow them.  the problem isn't the set of actions it is the motive behind the action.  i am guessing it goes deeper into another level.  or i might just be over thinking it...

forgetting

i forget lots of things!  eric cooper was walking out of the house the other day and had forgotten something that he needed to have.  in a moment of haste, i said,"buddy...why is it that you can remember so many little things about stuff that happened 4 years ago, but you cant remember to grab your back pack!?"  he said something like, "i don't know dad.  i guess i don't have a good memory."  he felt very dejected.  i felt like a jerk.  

i had to stop in that moment and remember that i do the EXACT same thing!  so, i told him.  "You know who else does that very same thing?  ME"  and we went on to have a great conversation and i am sure there were even doves flying around or something...maybe not the doves, but it could've happened.

anyway, i read a passage of scripture this morning that reminded me of my good, selective memory. 2 Peter 1:5-9 It is a pretty recognizable passage of scripture.  add faith to goodness, knowledge to self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.  we are supposed to make every effort to have these qualities.  because if you have these, they will keep you from being unproductive and ineffective.  BUT if you don't have them, i love what scripture says, "he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."

i have a selective memory AND i can be very nearsighted.  i am focused on things that happen today or even down to an exact moment.  i forget sometimes how i am.  sometimes it seems like i forget who i am.

then, i had to do an inventory of those qualities.  i had to remember that i am not who i was.  i had to remember i have been CLEANSED.  

maybe you need to remember that today as well...or maybe just me.

am i a terrible person?

i have a small confession to make.  i would rather listen to secular radio stations over christian radio stations.  most days...i don't think christian radio stations are that good.  the dj's seem like they are either WAY out of touch with anybody who MIGHT not be a christian and actually listen for more than 20 seconds.  OR they just try way too hard to be some shock jock christian radio person or something...  

the music is ok from time to time and i do listen to worship style, contemporary christian music from time to time.  a lot of the time actually...but it is usually from a cd or on my ipod.  

i am in my car a lot.  i travel in my car for a living, so i listen to stations all over this area.  not just the greater springfield area...and almost inevitably, when channel surfing in a new area...i can tell if it is a christian radio station before they identify themselves as one.  the way they talk, the music, the commercials, them always asking for money...listener supported in their tag line.  so, by me saying i can identify them as a christian station, to me isn't really a positive...

anyway, dont know if i was feeling convicted or what...just thought i would confess my sins to the world wide web...lol  

is anyone with me or am i a terrible person all by myself?

thanks eric cooper

my boy is a little like his dad sometimes.  he is a bit obsessive from time to time.  every since he was little, i am talking like 3 or 4, he has worn his socks inside out.  not only are they inside out, all of his socks are one particular kind.  why?  because the others hurt his feet...

i have always poked fun at him because of this...well, today, i would like to say i am sorry.  i am realizing how brilliant he really is.  i never can find matches to my socks, b/c they are all different kinds.  so, i need to eliminate all but my favorite kind and i won't have that problem.

i told you he always wears them inside out.  why?  b/c of the line at the foot of you sock where they sow it together...it bothers him.  so, when you turn it inside out....your toes have the same smoothness the rest of your foot enjoys!  this morning, i found the pair of socks that i believe to be one of my favorite brands.  put them on, went to the gym to run.  the socks feel really good, except for the toes...hmm...turned them bad boys inside out and voila!  perfect socks! 

it is taking me a while, but i am coming around to his way of thinking... 

random thoughts

here is some randomness that is going through my head right now.

- excited about small group meeting tonight!

- i have some great new friendships in my life, i am loving that.

- ready to get back to work today!

- i am tired from the gym this morning...i ate a little too much on vacation...oh well!

- really praying to be a good parent and family leader

- looking forward to hanging out with some old friends this afternoon! one of them is this guy.

- thankful for a good spring break vacation with some great friends.

- did i mention that i am ready to get back to work!

- got to see a really good friends new baby last night! 

- i am trusting in God to show me some things in my life.

- i am hoping i listen...

just a few things going through my head right now... back to work, or whatever you were doing...  

see ya soon!

WWJD?

ok, since there is a lot of conversation on this topic on a previous post.  i thought i would make a post about this and clarify a little what i read.  a little background info...

i made the comment to fran that i was re-reading The Shack and in it, a comment was made by Jesus.  He said something like his life wasn't meant to be an example to follow.  I said that we had a great conversation about this in our small group, i thought it meant that we don't have to try to be perfect.

so, a few clarification points and a few discussion points about this.

i know The Shack is fiction.  fiction, by definition is; the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration. (according to dictionary.com) so, would i base my theology, the study of my understanding of God, off of this book?  no, not really.  nor would i get worked up and say that the book is blasphemous! (a friend of ours said this about the book) 

i do think the book can be helpful in trying to portray God in a way that is different than most people think about Him.  for us, it is a great conversation starter!  it is a great way to open the scriptures and see if they really say that is how God is.

here is the quote i mentioned to fran.  

"You mean,"  Mack quipped, "that i can't just ask,  'What would Jesus do?'"Jesus chuckled, "Good intentions, bad idea.  Let me know how it works for you, if that's the way you choose to go."  He paused and grew sober.  "Seriously, my life was not meant to be an example to copy.  Being my follower is not trying to 'be like Jesus', it means your independence is killed.  I came to give you life, real life, my life.  We will come and live our life inside you, so that you begin to see with our eyes, and hear with our ears, and touch with our hands, and think like we do.  But we will never force that union on you.  If you want to do your thing, have at it.  Time is on our side."

From The Shack, chapter 10

Tara, I too have been taught that we ought to be holy just as Christ was holy and i thought that meant doing or NOT doing a bunch of stuff. it is 1 peter 1:15-16, it says... but just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "be holy, because i am holy."  my question would be, what makes you holy?  i have tried to be holy, and i fail really bad when i try to be holy.  i usually end up more holier than thou, than i do holy.  i think the conversation between mack and jesus portrays a clear direction with how to be holy.  

check out these verses...

Colossians 3:12 ...  Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  we are holy and dearly loved because he chose us!  then we are able to do the list that follows.  the list doesn't make us holy...

2 Timothy 1:9 ..  who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

Hebrews 10

you will have to read all of that, there is goodness in that chapter!

now, if we were to try and live our life perfect...following the mantra, WWJD.  we might end up feeling defeated when we fail.  but, IF we understand that we can not be made any more holy than we already are...  then the list becomes easier to accomplish.  we dont have to accomplish it by ourselves.  we realize that Jesus is inside of us, allowing us to see as they see, hear as they hear, act as they would act.  

i first heard it from louie giglio, "the key to christianity isn't trying, the key to christianity is dying..."  

does this change any of your thoughts?  what do you think?  are you a try-er or a die-er?

motives

Fran posted a comment on the post before this one, methods vs. message, that has bothered me for a couple of days.  you do have to go back and read the post and maybe even watch the video on the site it is linked to before reading on...  you dont want to?  i know...i never do either, but seriously...it will make more sense!  

ok, the conversation about is it ok for methods to change, but the message must never change...and fran asks the question, what about the motive? does it change the message and the method?  in a word, YES...sounds easy at first.  think about this though, God's message is him desiring to be known among all the people of the world.  His fame, His glory, His renown....that is why God does what He does.  God is into God! (as Louie Giglio says).  I believe that...His method of letting the world know that He is God is, you... and me.... us, one could say, The Church.  collectively, we show people who God is!  individually, we show people who God is!  you ought to re-read those last two sentences...if they didn't scare the hell out of you, you should re-read them several times...

if our motive is anything other than showing people who God is, it changes everything!  if we want to have the coolest, hippest church in town, b/c we like to show off how innovative and cool we are...that is how we show God to the world.  God is a show-off.  if we want to have the most traditional church in town...that is how we show God to the world.  God is boring.  if we choose to do nothing and be complacent about everything that goes on in the world today...that is how we show God to the world.  God is out of touch and is way too big to care about anything we do.  

motive is HUGE!  i could not say it any better than this...

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God.  Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God.  The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love--so you might live through him.  This is the kind of love we are talking about--not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.  No one has seen God, ever.  But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us--perfect love!        1 John 4:7-12 The Message (emphasis mine)

this piggy backs on what Fran says here. 

God is love, and it is our job to show people who He is.  now i know that seems simple to say and there are a lot of doctrinal belief statements, and figuring out how to put flesh on that seems next to impossible with all of the stuff that goes along with modern day western culture church... maybe we should just try to go one step at a time though, first, realize that we are beloved!  that is huge!  second, love each other.  third, allow God to dwell deeply within us and let his love become complete in us...perfect love!

the motive would be pure, the message would be truth and the method would be complete!  i pray that this would become reality in my life as well as everyone who has the love of Christ inside of them!  

peace!

Happy Birthday Hayward!

Hayward is a friend of mine that I try to have coffee with 3 or 4 times a month.  He has a tremendous amount of insight and wisdom!  Yesterday he turned 83 years old!!!  That, in and of it self, is a huge mile stone!  But, it is minimal, when you consider his heart for young church leaders and the body of Christ!  

He reads this blog and is probably chuckling to himself right now as he is blushing...lol  He reads, I am guessing, but probably some where around 10-15 church leadership blogs.  He has read a ton of books on the emerging church movement and modern theologians.  He listens to contemporary worship music, so that he can be acquainted with the music and the message.  He has been a BSU director and still has an amazing heart for collegiate ministry and college students.  He is very insightful to the future of the church!  And God has used him in my life to challenge me and my thought processes about God.  He inspires me to keep on pressing on toward the goal of pursuing after Christ and his plan for my life.  And he inspires me that it isn't ever too late to make a huge contribution to so many in life!

Hayward, Happy Birthday!!  and Thank you for all you have been in my life and so many more that I know you have influenced over your long life span.  You are a great man of God!

See ya soon for some coffee...

ps...(hayward is a former teacher, so I thought i had better get my caps on... :-) )

no plans....

well, you  know how when you ake plans and then everything changes!  it happened...  i had plans to write a different blog today, BUT i have to run to OK now b/c my schedule changed.

so, hope to see you tomorrow.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

it seems like i have been on vacation from blogging...it only seems that way to me.  why?  because although it has been a while since i have blogged, it hasn't been a vacation. i have been gone working, kim has been gone working and then shopping. (there you go leslie...my payment for my lack of compassion...lol) two broken arms, scaled up water heaters, broken water lines, tenants leaving, starting new accounts, upwards b-ball, machine gun (cover "hair" band)...that one was fun! umm, the list could go on and on.  

so, all of these are excuses...don't you feel sorry for me?  or at least you could empathize with me. the fact of the matter is, i have been undisciplined in the past several weeks.  i mean, there have been outside influences that have added to the complexity of trying to be disciplined.  but, i have used that as an excuse to slack in some of my disciplines.  

isn't that life...?  no point in feeling guilty or beating yourself up.  just time to become a little more disciplined.  until the next major thing happens in life...then there will be a blip on the radar screen.  a time where discipline goes out the window for a few weeks...

until then...

see ya tomorrow...hopefully :-)

the biggest gap

well, this could be the biggest gap ever between two related posts.  i have been out of town with the family last weekend, just taking a break...which didnt end up too relaxing, but that is another post.  and i was in oklahoma working sunday night thru yesterday afternoon.  so, lots of thoughts between this post ,about my new friend mike, and today's post.

here are a few...

i kind of set you up.  you could have read the last post and went, wow...that daniel sure does have a "heart for the lost", he was willing to be in somewhere they serve beer  just to witness to someone...  ok, you probably didnt think that exactly...but you get my point.  

OR you could have thought, wow!  that daniel sure is an idiot...you cant go around buying beer for sinners and expect them to be saved!  daniel sure is "back sliding", he is the one who might need to be saved...again...  he has been going to that assemblies of God church...  lol

well, i've thought versions of both scenario's.  here is the reality of it.  i almost didn't say anything to mike.  i almost just clammed up...you know why?  sins of commission.  some how in my talking with someone about Jesus, i automatically focus on what i am doing, and if i can be a "good enough witness".  how in the world does one man's lack of a connection to the Creator of everything get turned into something about me and my depravity?  i don't know, that is my answer... i don't know.  but here are two things i think it could be; 

1. a conviction of the Holy Spirit.  the Holy Spirit could be convicting me of my actions and saying, "hey...what are you doing?"  "you don't need to be here"
2.  an enemy saying, "you are not good enough to say anything about this Jesus you believe in" "you are a loser and everyone in here is going to look at you like you are a loser if you start talking about Jesus"  "you freak" "religious whacko" ... you get the point

i am not for sure which it was that night, maybe some of both. i don't know!

i think, i have been conditioned to respond to sins of commission, the sins i commit.  i feel guilty, i repent, then i do it all over again.  i tend not to feel that way about sins of omission, the sin of apathy and doing nothing.  i have walked away from dozens of opportunities to talk about Jesus and after a day or so...i stop feeling bad about missing the opportunity.  

i once heard a guy speaking about sharing the Gospel, he shared with an atheist.  the atheist told him that if that were true... if the only way to have life was to follow Jesus, if God came to earth and died on a cross to take away the penalty of mine and your sins.  then this atheist said he would crawl over broken glass to tell the world about this Gospel.  

right after i originally posted about this experience with mike last week, i saw this post on SCL.  it is about what a christian should be vs. what a christian is.  and then, on the same site i saw this video from penn of penn and teller.  

in a season where everyone is blogging,  merry christmas, ask your self... what does it mean to me, Christ came, what does that mean to me?  and, how am i going to tell everyone i meet about the Saviour who came?  

Merry Christmas!

honestly??

i went to jra on wed. night, curt preached a message that has stuck with me  this week.  it is something the Lord has been teaching me for a while now.   the idea is, do we only expect God to show up in the sensational environments...and if we do, do we miss Him in the ordinary.  in the day to day things of life, do we miss Him.

it got me to thinking...is my blog an accurate depiction of who i am, or is it a highlight reel?  this guy, whom i do not personally know but his is my favorite blog to read, is challenging me on the topic of, honesty and transparency.  so, i went back and looked through some of my post.  and THEN i looked at the gaps between some of the posts, and i thought about that time.  where was i?  what was i doing?  

here is the bottom line, i am not a super smart spiritual person.  i yell at my kids when i am in a hurry and they all of a sudden decide to be the slowest human beings on the face of the planet, i cuss enough to make a sailor blush on certain days, i look out for number one most of the time, there are way more days that i dont read my bible and dont have profound thoughts than days that i do, i love stuff!...cars, tv's, phones, toys...etc...   

i guess that really isnt the bottom line, this is...  i know that without the grace of Jesus, i am nothing.  and i know that you gotta love a God who says, you ARE jacked up...but i can work with that if you would just come on...follow me.  

so i guess my point is this (and it is mostly directed at me...lol) , quit focussing on how jacked up you are and quit portraying something your not!  start focusing on the One who tells you that He can work through you, despite how jacked up you are or i am!  one story in the bible makes me think of this, peter.  peter disowns Jesus 3 times, but later in Acts or the rest of the new testament...you read about peter leading a super natural life.  pretty amazing...

just wanted to be a little open n honest today...have a great weekend!

questions

i dont know about a faith that provides all the answers to life's mysteries. i need a faith that has more than simple answers to some of life's most complex questions. i need a God that is bigger than anything i can describe, i need a God who is greater than anything i can compare him to, and i need a God is bigger than the questions or answers that i have.

we have been struggling with 4 questions in our student ministry and on the surface they seem like the most basic questions. but when you kindof peel back the layers that they are wrapped in, you will see that they penetrate to the core of who we are or who we claim to be...

they are these...

1) Do you, YOU, believe that God is great? and how great is your God?
2) Do you believe that God's way to live is the best possible way to live?
3) Do you, again YOU, want to be in love with God?
4) Do you really want to live your life with the power of the Holy Spirit leading you everywhere He will lead you to go and living out the holiness that He leads us to live?

good luck with these questions...i hope you struggle with them as we have. they are all tough and they reveal much about us, but as you dig into them they will reveal much about how you view God and this life of following Him. probably for me, the hardest is the last one...i am not for sure that i want to know the explicit will of God for my life.

maybe i will post more about that later...