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The Verbs of My Beautiful Weekend!

Monday, July 27th, 2009 By 6 Comments

Happy Monday!

Parachuted, prayed, studied, listened, worshiped, called, gave, pilgrimaged, gagged, experienced, connected, blessed, napped, vacuumed, swam, played, whimpered, visited, went, had, watched, prayed, talked, called, listened, spent, hung out, watched, fell, thanked… all the VERBS of my BEAUTIFUL weekend!

Parachuted from my high rise bed early Saturday morning, prayed for all my friends, studied like a professor, listened to some really good worship music and worshiped like a crazy person, called a few people and gave them a word of encouragement, pilgrimaged to Richmond, gagged watching everyone eat oysters at the oyster cookout, experienced a most impressive church service @ Destiny Family Center yesterday, really connected with two families at lunch who might start coming to church, was blessed by someone else paying for our meal without telling us they did so, napped for 15 minutes (first Sunday nap in YEARS), vacuumed the pool, swam in the pool…

Played frisbee golf with a very fun group of friends, whimpered when Emily stabbed me with her pencil during frisbee golf (lol), visited Pet’s N Pals to let Heaven look at a new puppy she WANTS (aaagggghhh), went to Blade Bain’s birthday party… outstanding food and FUN with a beautiful collection of people, had meaningful conversations with a few very meaningful individuals…

Ended up with Nathan and Jeremy under the tent in the rain watching a 9 minute you tube video about AWAKENING, prayed for awakening, talked about turning our RELIGION into a MOVEMENT, called Ricky Lee Wade on the way home and listened to his enthusiasm for Jesus Christ and the things he had written in his journal as he reminisced over his past few years, spent some quality time with Ricky on the phone about the subject of mentorship, real time coaching, and teaching… and hung out with my daughter watching Law and Order until I fell asleep thanking God for a super two days!

Have you ever taken the time to TRACK YOUR VERBS? This is my first time… right here, out in front of the whole wide world! You guys should try this exercise. Write out a LONG paragraph (or three) including EVERY detail of your weekend in short statements… then, extract the verbs! Very enlightening!

Verb: any of a class of words expressing ACTION, EXISTENCE, or OCCURRENCE, or used as an auxiliary or copula, and usually constituting the main element of a predicate (Ex.: give, build, run, be, happen, do, have, would, seem)

Ok… so, let’s have some fun together! EVERYONE… write a long paragraph about your weekend… then EXTRACT the verbs and LIST them in a separate sentence as I have done in this post.

MAYBE, we’ll LEARN something about ourselves! Maybe we’ll GET A GOOD LAUGH! Maybe we’ll gain some kind of spiritual revelation…

So PARTICIPATE guys and gals… we’re all waiting to EXPERIENCE YOUR SPECTACULAR VERBS!

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The Oyster Cookout

Sunday, July 26th, 2009 By 3 Comments

Happy Sunday!

How’s your weekend turning out thus far? Mine’s been EVENTFUL… good times with family! We spent most of yesterday in Richmond, honoring Emily’s oldest brother for turning FIFTY. Poor guy… old fart. lol

At THIRTY-EIGHT fifty doesn’t seem so bad really. I cant elaborate on this thought without slipping in to “where did all those years go” mode… so, I’m moving on to HAPPIER thoughts.

Davids brother Jeff Wall hosted the party… Jeff and Anne are lovely hosts! Ever heard of The Jeff and Anne Show? Check it out on their myspace… and listen to Jeff and Anne perform a folk song! (joke)

They had an OYSTER cookout for Dave… ewwww! (gagging as he types)

Jeff’s brother in law, Eddie has to be the most passionate OYSTER ENTHUSIAST I’ve ever met. He came VERY close to talking the Chuckster here into eating one. Well, one does not actually EAT an oyster… he DRINKS, or SLURPS the slimy mud sucker down his throat… as shivers race up and down his back… and his gag mechanism stands by on ULTRA HIGH ALERT!

After SPANKING Jeff and Wayne at the last horseshoe game on vacation… Wayne decided to bring a new game for us to play. It was called “Chuk”… nice name, but the “stupidest” (word I learned from my President last week, lol) game ever. Actually, it was ok I suppose… if I could have only won a game! Yes, Wayne and Jeff… there it is… I admit, you two beat Coree and me fair AND square. We’ll ALMOST fair and square… next time Coree and I will be sure to have our glasses. lol

The real gaming highlight of the day was when my wife Emily and her cousin-in-law Stephanie DOMINATED the other two “CHUCK’S” of the family at the Chuk game! Oh yeah, I almost forgot to explain… there are THREE Chucks in our combined families. Such a beautiful name by the way!

Good job Emily and Stephanie… you gals were absolutely UNSTOPPABLE with that “Chuk” game! Way to REPRESENT the Balsamo’s, Emily! And don’t even try it Jeff and Wayne… Emily has been a BALSAMO longer than she has been a WALL.

We went and visited Emily’s dad in the hospital before the party… had a beautiful time with an amazing guy! I appreciate you guys praying for Merle… he’s had SEVERAL blood transfusions this week and his white blood cell count is still at ZERO. His faith is strong and we’re all believing that yesterdays bedside prayed made the difference! Standby for glorious testimony!

Appointment Reminder: church at Destiny Family Center 10am TODAY! If you can’t make it IN PERSON, watch the entire service ONLINE starting at 10am EST.

Have a super day everyone!

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Loving Jerky People

Saturday, July 25th, 2009 By 6 Comments

Happy Saturday!

Nearly rumbled with a few jerks yesterday… almost lost my smile… immersed myself in good conversations with beautiful people and OVERCAME the jerks. Some people! I mean we’ve all been a little jerky at times, but some people have no manners.

When this happens, I have to remind myself that jerks are not born, they are created. Most of the time, people get WEIRD and ARROGANT because of some outside INFLUENTIAL FORCE… and they really can’t help it.

Everyone needs to be RESCUED from something. I was a real jerky guy at 19 when I first met Christ… still more jerky than I’d like to be after 18 years of Christian living. So glad God didn’t interview me before LOVING me. So happy he loves me even when my enemies ask him not to. lol

Loving some people is almost IMPOSSIBLE. Jesus said…

“Love your enemies (the jerky people in our lives)! Do good to them (yeah right). Lend to them without expecting to be repaid (OUCH). Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High (thats the goal), for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked (no wonder he is GOD). You must be compassionate (able to see life through others eyes), just as your Father is compassionate.” Luke 6:35-36

God is kind to people who are not kind to him. This is because he is COMPASSIONATE!

Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

This morning, I am deeply convicted about the feeling of RETALIATION I experienced during this jerky encounter. I got irritated way more than I should have. Instead of praying, I started thinking about what I should say in my comeback speech… and I started to magnify the obvious flaws of my attackers.

This morning, my PEACE returns as I remember my own obvious flaws and my own need for Gods mercy… and all the things I’ve done with my life to place others in misery from time to time. I spent so much of my prayer time asking God to make me a far more loving person… and far less a source of trial for others. I want to BLESS and not curse… and I just like you, I need God’s help to do so.

As I close out this message… I’d like to encourage YOU to seek Gods heart for the antagonistic people in your social circle. Seek for a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with A DESIRE TO ALLEVIATE IT. Look beyond the PAINFUL SYMPTOMS affecting your own life, and SEE the real need… then pray for transformation like there is no tomorrow.

I hope that todays short message adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! Here’s a song to help…

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epic strength: from forward motion & positive developments

Friday, July 24th, 2009 By 4 Comments

Happy Friday!

Amazing day yesterday was! The blog site was on fire. I loved the interaction! I actually got butterflies in my gut yesterday thinking about how FAST our stats are climbing and how influential this tribe is becoming.

Yesterday, at my Destiny Family Center office, we experienced the most productive day of the YEAR! Every meeting was highly INNOVATIVE… the ENERGY was epic! It’s SHOCKING to consider HOW FAST THINGS CAN TURN AROUND!

When I was in business, I learned that todays efforts are building (life, business, career, ministry) 90 days out… there is not much I can do to change RIGHT NOW at this moment… but I can change the NEXT QUARTER… RIGHT NOW! Does this make sense?

Whatever is going on in our lives today is the result of things we have done for the past 90 days to several years. We harvest the SEEDS of yesterday… we reap what we have sown or NOT SOWN.

This is a petrifying reality… because most of us need CHANGE as SOON as we RECOGNIZE our need for change! One day we wake up saying WOW, whats happened to my world? My God, I have to FIX this right now! Hurry up everyone… emergency meeting to discuss how to turn this around in 7 days! But, that’s not usually possible, is it?

Life is all about MOMENTUM.

Webster defines momentum as 1: a property of a moving body that the body has by virtue of its MASS and MOTION and that is equal to the product of the body’s MASS and VELOCITY : a property of a moving body that determines the LENGTH OF TIME required to BRING IT TO REST when under the action of a CONSTANT FORCE OR MOVEMENT 2: strength or force GAINED BY MOTION or through the DEVELOPMENT OF EVENTS.

For this topic of discussion, definition two says it best. Momentum is the strength or force gained by MOTION or through the DEVELOPMENT OF EVENTS.

In the world of momentum, there is a POSITIVE MOMENTUM and a NEGATIVE MOMENTUM… and both forces can take us to places we NEVER imagined! Which side of momentum are you on today?

If one desires to do anything substantial, he or she must learn to BUILD UP EPIC DEGREES OF STRENGTH OR FORCE… by FORWARD MOTION or through the development of POSITIVE EVENTS.

For me, momentum is built by:

  1. keeping my daily walk with God fresh and vibrant,
  2. loving and serving my wife and kids,
  3. being ON when I am ON and OFF when I am OFF,
  4. meditating on my vision 30 minutes EVERY day,
  5. taking care of my health,
  6. keeping my conscious clear by repenting of my sins,
  7. maintaining confidence and boldness,
  8. focusing on who I am in Christ and how much God loves me,
  9. valuing others above myself,
  10. seeking to bless EVERY person I intersect with,
  11. sacrificing and serving the people I lead,
  12. meditating on God’s Word ALL DAY, EVERY DAY,
  13. spending daily time praising and worship God,
  14. blogging, twittering, writing, and speaking with epic levels of passion,
  15. demonstrating FAITH in all my thoughts and actions,
  16. resolving to be listen for Gods direction and be led by his Holy Spirit!

I’m sure there are more… thats a good start for the discussion! Please share your MOMENTUM BUILDERS with the rest of us… and comment on the 16 I have listed.

Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9LET US NOT BECOME WEARY IN DOING GOOD, for at THE PROPER TIME we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us DO GOOD TO ALL PEOPLE, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

If your world is really messed up today… be very careful not to mull around in the mess. Ask God for ENDURANCE… and START BUILDING UP NEW MOMENTUM for a better tomorrow! Things can change… your big dreams can be realized… with the strength that is gained by FORWARD MOTION and through the DEVELOPMENT OF POSITIVE EVENTS!

I hope todays blog adds TREMENDOUS VALUE to your amazing lives! God bless you all!

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Get Connected: Mentor, Peers, & Apprentices!

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 By 12 Comments

Happy Thursday!

I opened a flikr account yesterday… gonna start posting my most unique and artistic photos… check it out sometime.

Todays blog comes from the thoughts contained in chapter 11 of my book, “Get Connected: Mentors, Peers, & Apprentices.”

Over the past few days, I’ve been reconnecting with a few of my old highly influential friends. From different parts of the country… these guys are innovative thinkers, epic dreamers, rising legends for sure!

My purpose for reconnecting is pretty obvious. Over the past seven years, I’ve become far to narrowed in my focus… I’ve lost way too much contact with the outside world. This has caused me to lose quite a bit of my FORESIGHT and CREATIVITY.

So, I decided to change this… and what a difference it’s making!

I believe that God places a DIVERSITY of influences in our lives for the purpose of mutual impartation. There are three groups of people we should be connecting with for the enhancement of our future AND theirs. Show me your NETWORK and I will predict your future!

  1. Yoda’s
  2. Fellow Jedi’s
  3. Apprentice Jedi’s

Yoda’s… are those guys and gals who have already achieved the success you’re currently aiming for. Yoda’s provide mentoring, coaching, training, and teaching… so that emerging Jedi’s can ride on their successes at ACCELERATED levels of growth.

Fellow Jedi’s… are the guys and gals who are on similar levels, learning similar things, and experiencing similar degrees of progress and achievement. Just like the proverb, “As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Fellow Jedi’s ACCELERATED growth through the synergy they create for one another.

Apprentice Jedi’s… are the guys and gals who are just now getting a DREAM. They are raw and unrefined… without table manners, or people skills, or anything else besides a PICTURE OF WHAT CAN BE! Apprentices need Jedi’s just like Jedi’s needs fellow Jedi’s and every Jedi needs a Yoda! Make sense?

Wise Yoda’s and rising Jedi’s pay attention to the words and actions of every apprentice… humility opens the way for them to LEARN from everyone and everything.

In a healthy network of influence, there is a CONTINUAL EXCHANGE OF IMPARTATION… up and down… side to side… down and up! We all need people to run ahead, run beside, and follow along!

Connections have to be NATURAL… they should not be FORCED. Therefore, we should pray about this… and then exercise patience as we CONNECT with the RIGHT people for the SPECIFIC purposes we are DESTINED to carry out!

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you have any personal stories that might illustrate my thoughts here? Please, interact with each other today… and may this message add tremendous value to your amazing lives!

If you LOVE this blog and want to help expand our influence, please spread the news to your network through twitter, facebook, myspace, email… whatever. We appreciate you passionately introducing us to your AMAZING NETWORK of Yoda’s, Fellow Jedi’s, and Apprentice Jedi’s! Have a super day!

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