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The Dirty Part of the Job

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 By 5 Comments

Good Morning!

It’s Tuesday… birthday eve for me! Gonna be 38… it’s been a good life! I have so much to be thankful for… and so many dreams to be realized in the next 38…

An Extravagant Foundation: So far, this is what I have… or this is what I JUST ABOUT have! It’s taken a very LONG time getting to this place… 38 years of LEARNING and ADJUSTING… underground: shoveling dirt and laying block!

This morning I want to give you guys a few paragraphs from chapter 7 of my book, “Make Me a Legend.” Please keep praying I will FIND FAVOR with the right people… and get the publishing process underway! Enjoy the clip…

the dirty part of the job
Nervous people demanding split second results; this is our world. And when today’s achiever can’t measure results in terms of above ground progress; they usually jump ship in search of something far more immediately gratifying. It’s comical to watch how enthusiastic people are when they first encounter a sizable vision like ours. Springing up so quickly… out of no where, unreservedly committing their blood, sweat, and tears to nothing more than a well pitched dream… only to fizzle as they calculate how much longer it could take before they will be able to personally benefit from this dream.

Building foundations takes a very special kind of people. Building extravagant foundations takes the rarest of all! Foundation workers have remarkable foresight. With bizarre enthusiasm, they bed down in dirty places for however long it takes to get a towering dream into the air. They’ve counted the cost, knowing they may never experience the pleasure of standing on their own platform. Foundation workers accept responsibility; they welcome responsibility… for the dirty part of the job!

Get what I’m trying to say here? We must never become discouraged with these foundational years. Legendary buildings require extravagant foundations. So hey, let’s take our time… and build something extravagant… something that carries the very real potential of outlasting us by a hundred years or more! Let’s bed down in dirty places… for however long it takes to GET OUR TOWERING DREAMS UP INTO THE AIR!

I hope todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! I’m praying for you guys, with great joy in my heart! Have a super duper day everyone!

Filed Under: Journal & Message, The Book Tagged With: , , , , ,

Anticipating a Quantum Leap

Monday, June 29th, 2009 By 6 Comments

Happy Monday!

Journal: Lovely weekend. Saturday… we made two birthday parties and a graduation party… and I still managed to blog and write in my book and sermonize and hang out with my family! Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL DAY! We had the biggest technology glitch of our lives at Destiny Family Center… STRESS CITY for about 10 minutes… a PILE of kids we’re on the platform ready to sing songs they learned at vacation bible school… and no sound on the video! It was SUPER embarrassing… I think a few tech team members might have had an ACCIDENT or two! I know I did! LOL 

The service turned out PHENOMENAL… life changing for EVERYONE! The message, “I Still have a Dream” really seemed to RESONATE with so many people! The feedback was instant and keep coming throughout the entire day! 

My birthday party was UNREAL! So MANY people showed up… the food was DELICIOUS… everyone was SMILING and interacting… new friendships were formed… people were catching fish… and boating… and playing horseshoes… and! Wayne Howard, one of our newest DFCers… he’s the manager of Smoothie King and brought free smoothies for EVERYONE at the party… I had TWO!

Great day… the LOVE was therapeutic! 

Monday is my day off… today should be an interesting one! First, I’m planting my beautiful birthday plants! Then, I’m visiting two guys in jail… short of a miracle, one of them is looking at something like 25 to life… and depression seems to be taking over his heart. I pray that I’m able to give both these guys LIFE TODAY! Then, over to Charlottesville so I can pray for a man that’s having a pace maker installed. The day ends with a dear friends birthday party at Cheeseburger Paradise… FISH TACOS BABY!

Oh, and I think we’re planing to free Coree’s pet Red Fox at some point… that should be fun! And I hope to squeeze in a few hours of writing… an hour of swimming… and a few potty breaks! LOL

I feel so much anticipation this morning… like my life is building up into a GIANT QUANTUM LEAP! These have been months of change… aggressive CHANGE! And whenever I try to figure it all out, I get confused… it doesn’t really make sense. It’s so easy to wonder where God is and what God is up to. I’m tempted to make some crazy moves… to act aggressively… to take matters into my own hands.

And then I realize that God is so brilliant… his ways are so much higher than my ways! So I resolve myself to BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD! I keep meditating on his LOVE FOR ME… I spend hours thinking about how good he has been to me these past 38 years! And as I TRUST, his peace calms my agitated heart…

My fears FLEE AWAY… and my CONFIDENCE RISES! New visions come… and HOPE FILLS MY HUMBLED HEART. From the ashes, I see NEW LIFE and BETTER IDEAS… I climb up to my knees and then to my feet… with a message he has given me… a feeling really… a feeling that becomes a message… as I let the message in, it takes over my life… and I am UPGRADED… I am TURNED INTO ANOTHER MAN… a BETTER MAN… a SUPER MAN!

Oh, the pleasures of walking with God… the PEACE of knowing that ALL THINGS work together for our good! Sometimes, life doesn’t make sense… and in those times, we must TRUST GOD even when we he does CRAZY THINGS WITH US! 

These are my random journal thoughts for the day… I hope you’re inspired to TRUST GOD WITH YOUR OWN LIFE… on a much higher level, to ANTICIPATE something EPIC! 

Please leave a comment before you leave… it will only take a minute! I just prayed for you guys… so have an AMAZING DAY!

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I Still Have a Dream Today

Sunday, June 28th, 2009 By 5 Comments

Happy Sunday!

Got up early, wish it was earlier… having a phenomenal time with God today… would love to extend it for a few more hours! Yesterday was the biggest Saturday for the blog site ever… thanks for the interest you guys… hope your Saturday was beautiful in every way!

All night long, every time I awoke… the word HOPE was calling out to me!

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I STILL HAVE A DREAM! (The Trumpet of Conscience 1967)

After all you’ve been through, dare to say, “I STILL HAVE A DREAM!” 

I hope to see a pile of you guys at Destiny Family Center this morning… 10am. Guess what I’m talking about?

Ohh… my birthday party celebration is tonight at 5pm… details and directions in the Destiny Times… HOPE you can make it! Have a super day everyone!

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Refresh Yourself!

Saturday, June 27th, 2009 By 2 Comments

Happy Saturday!

What are you guys planning to do on this very lovely day? Gonna REST and REPLENISH? Maybe go for a walk… or a run… or a swim… or a hike… maybe spread out a blanket and have a picnic? Even if you’re working… schedule some YOU TIME and REFRESH YOURSELF at some point before the sun goes down! 

re·fresh (r-frsh)
v. re·freshed, re·fresh·ing, re·fresh·es
1. To revive with or as if with rest, food, or drink; give new vigor or spirit to.
2. To give new freshness or brightness to; restore.
3. To make cool, clean, or moist; freshen up.
4. To renew by stimulation: refresh one’s memory.
5. To fill up again; replenish: refresh a drink.

Thesaurus: verb 1. revive, cool, freshen, revitalize, cheer, stimulate, brace, rejuvenate, kick-start (informal) enliven, breathe new life into, invigorate, revivify, reanimate, inspirit!

Can you FEEL the LIFE? The ENERGY? The OPPORTUNITY? 

God made humans to go VERY STRONG for 6 days… then REFRESH on the 7th… and GO VERY STRONG for another 6 days… and REFRESH every 7th day! In American culture, we typically view the WEEKEND as our time for REFRESHING!

Whether your day is today or tomorrow, or a little of both… take the GIFT OF REST and use it for MAXIMIZING your effectiveness! When your on, BE ON 125%… and when you are OFF, be off 125%! If you work hard… make sure you PLAY HARD TOO!

While I am talking here about the need for REFRESHING our mind and body, I also want to promote SPIRITUAL REFRESHING! 

Acts 3:19-20 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of REFRESHMENT will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.

This is HOW people SPIRITUALLY REFRESH… by taking the time to pray and turn away from of our sins… and the Bible PROMISES REFRESHMENT from the presence of the Lord! 

Here are some simple tips for making sure your TOTAL PERSON IS ALWAYS PROPERLY REFRESHED…

  • Exercise 3-5 days EACH WEEK. (Body)
  • Eat healthy 5-6 days a week. (Body)
  • Spend 5 minutes a few times a day breathing in fresh air. (Body)
  • Schedule new experiences each month. (Mind and Spirit)
  • Spend quality time with quality people each week. (Mind and Spirit)
  • Rest outside on a blanket or a hammock, beside a creek or pond, some place inspirational… a few times a week. (Mind)
  • Read one or more exciting books each month. (Mind)
  • Find something hilarious to laugh about each day. (Mind)
  • Listen to praise and worship music and pray each morning. (Spirit)
  • Actually READ your Bible and mediate on certain verses… each day. (Spirit and Mind)
  • Keep a daily journal. (Mind and Spirit)
  • Go to church every Sunday (and mid week if available)… did I say EVERY? (Spirit and Mind)
  • Please COMMENT with your ideas… 

These are just a few that came off the top of my head. I pray that todays blog adds tremendous value to your AMAZING lives! 

Ohhhhhh… wait! Please don’t forget my BIRTHDAY PARTY CELEBRATION tomorrow at 5pm… get details and directions at Destiny Family Center tomorrow morning. Hope you can make it!

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Seeing Into the Soul of a Celebrity

Friday, June 26th, 2009 By 5 Comments

It’s Friday!

Even though this means absolutely nothing to me, I know that most of the NORMAL people in this world get excited about TGIF! I’m wishing you guys a beautiful weekend! Destiny Family Center is throwing me a BIRTHDAY PARTY on Sunday evening… 5pm at the home of Mike and Cindy Fortin. You can get directions at the church office or by coming to church Sunday morning! I hope you’re able to show up and SHOW ME THE LOVE! lol The Fortins have a BEAUTIFUL place… with a very nice lake! Oh… and there will be delicious food and lots of FUN THINGS TO DO! 

Yesterday…

Sure was a real shocker huh? FARRAH FAWCETT and then MICHAEL JACKSON… both dead in one day? The whole world feels the epic impact of yesterdays loss… billions are mourning. A news caster for Fox News stated that Michael Jackson was possibly the most recognized human face worldwide, certainly ONE OF those faces! 

As this was going down and the news was coming out… I was praying for the very real families buried underneath the layers of fame that surrounded these two icons! Throughout the past decade, I have prayed for Michael Jackson, so many times. His life was so loaded with controversy… who can really imagine the PAIN… and maybe the GUILT this man CARRIED IN HIS HEART. None of us will ever know the truth about what was going on behind closed doors… but we do know that a REAL PERSON lived in front of us in a very high profile kind of way… and now he is gone. 

Michael Jackson lived in seclusion because of his FEARS and PHOBIAS. And despite his EXTRAVAGANT precautions… he still died young at 50!

FEAR, STRESS, GUILT, and ANXIETY… more deadly than any physical illness. Whenever I watched Michael Jackson on the news, this is what I saw… a person SHOULDERING THE WEIGHT of his own sinfulness… imploding under the PRESSURE of controversy… hiding in the dark because of his FEAR of losing it all… a man with everything and never able to enjoy anything.

I prayed for Michael Jackson. I prayed for him so many times… as I pray for many public figures. I look past their photoshopped images… and their 20,000 square foot houses… and all their luxuries… and fame. When I look hard enough… I can see the real human person… the lost and hopeless person who needs the very same savior we all need!

When humans become famous, we make them out to be gods… we assume they have arrived… that they have it all… and need nothing. Yet, they CRY just like you and me. There is nothing in all this earth lovely enough to silence that unsatisfied inner longing to BE NEAR WITH FATHER GOD. 

From this we see how badly people need Jesus! Everyone needs Jesus! Oh the PEACE of having our sins washed away… the FAITH that takes away our fears… the MERCY that removes our guilt! Proverbs 27:20 says that LUST IS NEVER SATISFIED. Meaning that there is no end of WANTING until we FIND THE INNER PEACE OF LOVING GOD and BEING LOVED BY HIM!

As I pray for the Fawcett and Jackson families today… I pray for God to LIGHT A PATH for their feet… a clear and simple path to the only place they will find GRACE for this moment. I pray for the billions of mourners… that they will see what I have written about today… their deep spiritual craving, that is only satisfied at the foot of the cross. May the whole world see the EMPTINESS of luxury… the LONELINESS of stardom… and the AMAZINGNESS of Father God… who reaches out to all who need REST!

Matthew 7:28-29 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

Matthew 9:36-37 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were HARASSED and HELPLESS, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

I hope todays words add tremendous VALUE to your amazing lives! Let’s pray quite a bit today… lets help people find their way to PEACE! Please leave your comments… have a most outstanding day! 

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