Disproportionate

Life gets pretty crazy sometimes. Without God's help, our lives can easily slip out of balance. When this happens, things that aren't really important in the grand scheme of life have a way of getting way too much attention. This, of course, causes the things that are valuable and necessary to shrink to unusual proportions! I've noticed that many times others see them before we do...

I wonder if it would be different if we could literally see our priorities...if we had to carry them around or try to hide them from others. They may look as ridiculous as the pictures below. Do these remind you of anything that is out of balance in your life?

This Samsung phone is fully functional.
It's size is 15ft long, 13ft high, and 3 fit deep!

First news is the world's smallest newspaper.
Created by Leonidas Schwindt in the 1930's.

World's largest rideable motorcycle
6500lbs, 15 ft tall

Smallest cat in the world. Only 3 lbs.

Take a moment and do an inventory of your life. Is anything bigger or smaller than it should be? Let God be at the center and he will help you with this!

Three Precious Gifts

I thought I'd take some time this week to talk about my three precious children. Why? I've written much about ministry in the church and to our culture, but there is one ministry that comes before both of these: our family!

Yet sometimes it seems so hard to balance work and family. How do you do it? I encourage you to leave a comment. Without a doubt there are other readers who could benefit from your wisdom.

So here it goes...I apologize if this reads like a Christmas letter!!!

Zachary (middle) is 8. He's in the 2nd grade and he wants to be a firefighter someday. He spends a good deal of his free time riding his bike, playing baseball, and practicing the piano. Zachary has a voracious appetite for music. Probably his favorite thing to do is to hide behind things and then jump out and scare the living daylights out of his dad!

Trevor (right) is 5. He's in Kindergarten and he wants to be a baseball player when he grows up. He play tee ball and is very athletic for his age. Trevor loves to play board games and he's also the family comedian. He loves his Gameboy and weather.com. He would do just about anything to play baseball in the backyard with his brother and his dad.

Kyrsten (left) is 2. Well, what can I say? For all the dads out there that have daughters, you know that having a little girl is special. Let's just say, I hope I can toughen up by the time she becomes a teenager or I'll be in big trouble! Kyrsten loves to eat and talk on the phone (her pretend one, that is!). She's quite independent. She's currently learning to go potty and put her shoes on.

I hope this helps you to get to know my family a little bit more. For those of you who are wondering why I left out my wife, I didn't forget her. I will talk about her in a later post.

What Holds Us Together

This is an amazing video of Louie Giglio speaking about laminin, the building blocks of our DNA and the greatness of God. I hope it inspires you to worship the Lord. Enjoy!

Ishmaels and Isaacs

A couple of days ago I was reading about Abraham...

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"(Genesis 17:17-18)

Study the life of Abraham and you will quickly find that Ishmael came as a result of Abraham's attempt to fulfill God's plan his own way. Ever done that before? It's easy to do.

God had told Abraham many years earlier that he would have a son with Sarah and that he (Isaac) would be the child of the promise. Isaac would be the channel of blessing and further God's plan on the earth. But Abraham couldn't wait. Along came Ishmael...and then...if it wasn't enough...he asked God to "bless" Ishmael!

Do you see the imagery here? Have you ever asked God to "bless" your Ishmael?


We are like Abraham when we pray for God to bless our finances while continuing to purchase things that we can't afford. We are like Abraham when we ask God to bless the plans we've formulated apart from Him. We are like Abraham when we ask God to bless our marriages while treating our spouse in ungodly ways. We are like Abraham when we ask God to bless ministries that may be good ideas, but were never birthed of the Spirit.

I think the most amazing part of this scripture (keep reading...) is that God didn't give up on Abraham or His plan. Abraham clearly screwed up; however, God waited until he had accomplished what he wanted in Abraham...and then came Isaac.

If there is anything to remember about this part of Abraham's life, it's this:

God's promises are the channels of His blessing in our life. Let's not try to fulfill them on our own. And for those of us who have brought Ishmael's into our lives and even have had the audacity to ask God to bless them, remember that God's mercy and forgiveness overflows to those who seek it. Just as Isaac was given to Abraham, so God will fulfill His promises to you and me!

Back to the Basics

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you!

Startling Statistics About Pastors

This past week I ran across some statistics that stopped me dead in my tracks. As someone who grew up as a pastor's kid and has been in full-time pastoral ministry for 11 years, these facts hit close to home. I share them not to bring discouragement to you or disrepute to pastors. Instead, my prayer is that they will spur you on to pray for the Church and its leadership. In fact, will you pause and pray after reading this blog entry? My hope is that we will never forget the incredible spiritual battle that wages against us.

• 80% of pastors believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor’s children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.
• 90% of pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the demands of ministry.
• 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
• 85% of pastors said their greatest struggle is dealing with problem people such as disgruntled members, elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors.
• 90% said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be before they began.
• 80% of pastors’ wives wish their spouse would choose another profession.
• 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
• More than 1500 pastors leave the ministry every month.

Statistics cited from Phil Pike's blog post called Pastors -- Wimps or Endangered Species?

Amazing Grace...

Every once in a while, I run across something that just about blows my socks off. The following video is definitely in that category. Hang on to your seat!

FYI...it takes Victor Wooten a minute or so to get to Amazing Grace. You'll know it when you hear it. BTW, I posted a couple more great music videos on the bottom right of the blog...

Have a great week and keep on worshiping!