Happy Tuesday!

Ok you guys, I’m feeling pretty bad about not being able to post a blog yesterday. Had a guest blogger lined up and something must have happened to cause the no show. We were on the other side of civilization during my blog time… remember, I was the Tuesday night speaker at the Bethel Youth & Young Adult Camp… somewhere in the REMOTE Mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

The camp was amazing… we had a blast! Eric May and Erin Francia did a BEAUTIFUL job overseeing the event… of course I always over-critique my messages and feel like that one could have been MUCH better… but it WAS what it was supposed to be and that’s as perfect as it needed to be! Maybe, I’ll come back to the topic of OVER-CRITIQUING… please standby!

On this very short trip, I reconnected with the son of some very dear old friends… a story is too amazing for this short blog. His name is Matt Gross, now one of the lead singers of The Call Worship… the band that played at the camp! Their band was AMAZING… and that bizarre reconnection with Matt after something like TEN YEARS… wow, there is a GOD!

At the camp, I talked about breaking from this lifeless religion to awaken our slumbering movement. I started with a summary of Sleeping Beauty… ended with the song, Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence… a profound message to our emerging generations… and to the church in general.

How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors?
Lading you down into my core,
Where I’ve become so numb.

Without a soul,
My spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve become.

Before saying goodbye for this morning, let me keep my promise and spend a few more lines on the topic of OVER-CRITIQUING.

For me, this is a real hinderance to my SANITY and to my overall EFFECTIVENESS. I bet you have this same glitch too, maybe not as bad… maybe far worse! And whereas we should aim for perfection in all we do… we should be able to APPRECIATE our BEST!

Prepare, present, critique, make adjustments, present again… critique again, make more adjustments… PRESENT AGAIN, CRITIQUE AGAIN, MAKE MORE ADJUSTMENTS… all the time realizing that even though we are not what we HOPE TO BE… we are NOT WHAT WE WERE.

We should learn to celebrate PROGRESS… become fanatical about APPLAUDING OUR BEST… and trust that God is taking OUR BEST and making it PERFECT for every moment of our journey.

I pray that todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! Please add your super duper thoughts and have a most outstanding day!