A Pathway No One Knew Was There!
Friday, July 31st, 2009 By 5 Comments
Happy Friday!
Heaven picked up her birthday gift yesterday. Thanks to the combined efforts of her Nanny & Poppa, Uncle Dave, Emily & Me, and the special PASTOR/FRIEND price offered by Chris & Stephanie of Pets N Pals in Staunton, VA… Heaven now has ANOTHER animal living in this house! (photo)
Her name is Lucy Balsamo, a Chug breed… half Chihuahua and half Pug. Very cute, ultra hyper… and so far no potty accidents in the house! The speech we gave Lucy on the ride home must have helped! Thank God! lol
Thanks for all your prayers over Emily’s dad… and all the encouragement you’ve given to our family… means so much to us! His condition has not improved YET… but we remain hopeful! We’re all going to cross over one of these days… and there are not many people more prepared for eternity like Merle… but we still NEED his loving influence in our lives… so we stand in front of this mighty mountain and we HAMMER it down with our FAITH.
I meditated on a few verses from Psalm 77 this morning… they JUMPED off the page and GAVE ME LIFE. Maybe it’ll have the same affect on you!
Psalm 77:16-19
16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
its waters looked and trembled!
The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain;
the thunder rumbled in the sky.
Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world!
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea,
your pathway through the mighty waters-
A PATHWAY NO ONE KNEW WAS THERE!
Obviously, this text references the time of the Israels exodus from Egyptian slavery… the most miraculous deliverance of all time, led by the legendary prophet MOSES.
As you know, Moses opened a fury of plagues on Egypt until Pharaoh finally released his slaves. Right after Israels initial departure, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased Israel with the fiercest military on the face of the earth.
Israel was on foot… Pharaohs bloodthirsty warriors raced on chariots! As if things were not already so far beyond the scope of HOPE… Israel runs straight up to the banks of the Red Sea!
So often, we find ourselves in similar moments of absolute IMPOSSIBILITY! We too feel as if we are being HUNTED by all the armies of hell… and just when things cant get any worse, we run into the DEADEST ENDS OF OUR LIVES.
In these times, we should MEDITATE on these verses from Psalm 77 and CONVINCE OURSELVES that GOD ALWAYS HAS A PATHWAY!
- We should remember: When the Red Sea saw you, O God… its waters LOOKED and TREMBLED!
- We should remember: The sea (our obstacle) QUAKES to its very depths!
- We should remember: The clouds pour down rain, the thunder RUMBLES IN THE SKY… the arrows of lightening FLASH!
- We should remember: Gods thunder ROARS from the whirlwind… his lightening LIGHTS UP THE WORLD!
- We should remember: The earth TREMBLES AND SHAKES!
- We should remember: Gods ROAD leads THROUGH THE SEA… his pathway leads through the might waters… and THROUGH OUR MIGHTY OBSTACLES!
- We should remember: God ALWAYS HAS A PATHWAY NO ONE KNOWS IS THERE!
So never give up… never quit… never lose hope… even where there seems to be NO WAY. God CAN ALWAYS MAKE A WAY!
I hope that todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives. Please leave a few lively comments… and have a super day!
redefining purpose: destiny vs. legacy
Thursday, July 30th, 2009 By 9 Comments
Happy Thursday!
A few weeks ago, I invited our drummer to preach his first sermon at DFC on a Wednesday night. Well, last night was the magic moment… and Greg Baker led his MOM and his COUSIN to the Lord at the end of his message. He taught about having the courage to STEP UP and STAND OUT… and about demonstrating boldness to endure all the persecution that comes with living for Christ. Great first message for Greg Baker!
Recently, I’ve been doing so much thinking about the word LEGACY. Here’s a clip from page 2 of chapter 3 of my book, Make me a Legend! Some of this material was just written this morning… and it’s unproofed. So be kind… and ENJOY!
redefining purpose: destiny verses legacy
Since I’m on the subject of destiny vs. legacy, let me describe the contrast I see between the two. Ever since I can remember people have told me, “One of these days son, you’re gonna change the world!” I’ve been commended over and over for my “winning personality” and all my God given talent. Nearly every person I’ve ever had a long conversation with has made a prediction about my influential future.
Believe me; it’s electrifying to hear these kinds of things predicted about my life. For me, and for so many others, fulfilling this kind of destiny starts out with the illusion of becoming some kind of celebrated person. Yeah, we do want to make a difference, but we really like what DESTINY means for us way more than we’re willing to admit. At first this is an energizing ambition, but over time it loses its luster. For me, even though I had a very big destiny to carry out, something vital was missing. That’s when I stumbled upon the bigger meaning of life… LEGACY!
Please don’t get me wrong here. I do believe very strongly that every human has a beautiful destiny. I’m not suggesting that legacy is a replacement term for destiny. What I am suggesting is that legacy is a far more encompassing gauge of purpose.
Destiny says, “I am created to do something great, so I need to discover whatever this is… so I can zoom around the world, do a bunch of extraordinary things, and kick it all the way across my finish line at death to receive the trophy of a civilization.”
Legacy begins the same way and then adds, “The greatness of my destiny is measured by what I pass on to the coming generations. I fulfill my purpose in life by honoring those who have gone before me, serving those who are with me today, and blessing those who will follow in my steps.”
When talking about destiny, most people seem to focus on the “me” factor. We ask questions like, what am “I” called to do with “my” life? Legacy demands a shift of focus. Legacy asks questions like, what are “they” called to do with “their” precious lives? Destiny is about me, legacy is about them. Legacy opens you and I up to the much bigger picture of them! It makes us feel more responsible for their future than our own.
To illustrate this point, let me tell you about my friend Jimmy Floyd. A few years back, he was the most passionate softball players I had ever met! Still today, his enthusiasm for sports is unprecedented. One of my favorite things to do in life is to bring up sports to Jimmy Floyd… and watch him go! Last year, I asked Jimmy if he was getting excited for the coming softball season. Jimmy’s response taught me so much about legacy!
Once Jimmy’s two babies had progressed into toddlerhood… and once Jimmy’s kids were able to play catch with daddy, Jimmy Floyd lost his passion for winning home run competitions and being the star player of our league. Jimmy Floyd became enlivened with a far more encompassing gauge of purpose… the LEGACY of his children and all children! Was Jimmy excited about the coming softball season? His response: “I don’t know if I’m gonna play as much this year. I’m more excited about seeing all these teenagers step up… and I’m really starting to get cranked up about living through my kids!”
This is what legacy is all about. Loving someone else’s home-run MORE than our own. Shedding tears of joy when an apprentice knocks one out of the park…
Please chat about this section of my book… leave your comments and have a super Thursday everyone!
Put Yourself Out There – Give It All Away!
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 By 11 Comments
Happy Wednesday!
Photo: Emily Wall Balsamo (since this blog is going to be about her)
If you haven’t done so YET… go back and read the past two blog posts AND comment with your personal verbs! It’s one of the funnest brainy things I’ve done with myself in a long while. Try it… you’ll see!
My aunt Kim is in from Maine… so we decided to host my entire family at our house last night. Even though a few couldn’t make it… the moment was a classic one for Emily and I.
Acts 20:25b You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: It is MORE BLESSED to give than to receive.
Isn’t that true!
The older I get, the more I find myself wanting to SERVE and GIVE to other people, rather than to be served and given to. I mean YES, I love receiving gifts and I really appreciate when people serve me and my family.
All gifts are a BLESSING and GIVING gifts is a GREATER BLESSING!
Gifts are an expression of LOVE.
John 3:16 For God LOVED THE WORLD SO MUCH that HE GAVE his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
As you might know… Emily’s dad is in the hospital really going through it. I think he’s been there for more than a week now… and after something like 8 blood transfusions, his white blood cell count remains at zero. Please don’t feel bad for us… instead, believe with Merle and with us that his body will respond to our FAITH and PRAYER! Believe that things will change for Merle over the next few days… and he will come home from the hospital to continue with us as a solid rock of character and inspiration!
When we scheduled last nights dinner at our house, we hadn’t planned on Merle still being in the hospital. So as the day got started, my Aunt Sherry sent a very kind facebook message stating that everyone decided to let us off the hook by postponing the party to another day sometime in the future.
So I met with Emily and asked her how she felt… and her response was instant. She couldn’t think of ANYTHING else she would rather do than to SERVE people we love at our house last night. She said, “I spent quality time with my dad yesterday and we’re going to see him tomorrow… so tonight I want to have this party.”
In the middle of Emily’s trial, she knew without hesitation… that it is MORE BLESSED to GIVE than it is to receive. This is ONE reason I admire Emily so fanatically!
And as we hosted my family… we had the time of our lives. Everyone seemed to have so much fun enjoying good company, admiring the water gardens, feeding the fish, watching the frogs, playing the corn hole game, swimming in the pool, eating GOOD FOOD, and sitting around the fire roasting mellows and making smores!
This was the very BEST thing Emily could have done yesterday… and the BLESSING was all hers… the underrated satisfaction that comes with GIVING! I thank God, my family honored us by coming to our house and ALLOWING us to honor them.
Most people turn INWARD when they encounter hardship… they hoard during times of lack… they cancel life to hover over the pain of their situations. Sometimes, it’s very important to hide away and FIND PEACE and GRACE in seasons of prayer and fasting. But this is not ALWAYS the path of healing.
Many times, our victory is FOUND in reaching out! The answer to lack is not found in hoarding… it comes through GIVING! In times of pain, the answer is not found in hoarding our love… it come when we GIVE OUR LOVE AWAY!
Have the hardships of life driven you into a place of seclusion? Are you wondering why there is no victory… no answer to your prayers for help? Maybe… the answer is found in todays blog! Instead of hiding and hoarding… BE BRAVE… try something NEW! Put yourself OUT THERE and GIVE AWAY ALL THE LOVE YOU HAVE LEFT… and watch what happens NEXT!
Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full-pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you GET BACK.
I pray that todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! Please leave your comments… have a super day!
Life Management: Choosing Better Verbs
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 By 7 Comments
Happy Tuesday!
Congratulations to Kristin Via… thanks for commenting on yesterdays blog. I loved reading through the VERBS of YOUR weekend. Very enlightening! Everyone else… you should TRY it… go back to yesterdays blog and do the FUN exercise! Kristin, I’m curious to know what kinds of things you learned about yourself during that ten minutes? Maybe we’re all curious?
I guess what I’m trying to do here… is in a very gently way… lead each of us to trace our recent steps… to DISCOVER what were really up to with our lives.
Yesterdays blog was my version of an old time management assessment exercise. The experts say that in order to cut out non-productivity and cut down the chaos in our lives, we have to TRACE OUR STEPS for a week… and then ANALYZE the data.
In order to do this successfully, there is a demand for HONEST DATA. We have to be willing to LOOK at our lives… not the fantasy versions we describe to our friends and our bosses… but the real deal everyday US… the good bad and the ugly.
This is why I chose a WEEKEND for our exercise… because weekends are SUPPOSED to be our resting days… and we don’t feel like we have anything to PROVE to ourselves or to anyone else when tracing our weekend steps. But still, there is so much to be learned from the VERBS of a weekend, isn’t there?
Jesus described our lives like branches on a tree… branches that needed to be pruned from time to time so they can become MORE FRUITFUL! This means that over time, activities we once deemed as highly productive areas of our lives… they run their course and become sources of pain and death.
We need to be continually on the lookout for these dead places on our branches.
As we analyze the HONEST DATA… we have to demonstrate courage to PRUNE back every FRUITLESS VERB from our months, weeks, days, and HOURS.
Going through this process is a spring cleaning for the SOUL! Once the clutter has been removed, we are poised for NEWNESS! Creativity emerges… growth happens… delicious fruit is gathered and tasted!
More than the personal reward found in this exercise, is the accountability to GOD it creates in our hearts. How accountable are we currently feeling towards God for the VERBS of our lives? What percentage of our time is God ACTUALLY leading the way? On the contrary, what percentage of our days are spent in fruitless activities?
Don’t you think its time to fix up your branch… to ready yourself for the most EFFECTIVE and FRUITFUL season of your life? Me too!
Pruning positions us to rest more effectively, work more effectively, parent more effectively, minister to others more effectively, and live FAR MORE effectively? It all begins with a transparent tracing of your daily steps… an honest recording of your VERBS.
Here we go again… another OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERACTION. Today… re-read yesterdays blog and consider doing the VERY SAME assignment for YESTERDAY (A MONDAY)!
I hope todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives… we love you and we PRAY for you! Please leave your VERBS… and have a super day!
Find Me!