Archive for May, 2010

I Almost Lost It

Posted: May 25, 2010 in Family, Leadership, Life
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Last week was a very busy week for me.  I had something scheduled every single day. It seemed like I had something scheduled every hour.

I went home for a brief moment to clean up, change clothes and prepare to return to the regularly scheduled programming of my busy life. As I went to leave, I realized I had misplaced my phone.  I began the frantic search to find it.  I looked everywhere. Under the couch. In the bedroom.  In the bathroom. On the stairs.  On the kitchen table.  I even looked in the refrigerator.  Hey…you never know!

At the heat of the search, my five year old son kept trying to talk to me.  “Daddy, I want to tell you something.”

He interrupted me numerous times.  He was following me from room to room.  Trying to talk to me, trying to get my attention.

However, his dad had more important things to do, had places to be, had people to see…his dad did not have time to talk.  Couldn’t he understand?

Then, after searching for my phone for almost thirty minutes, I gave up because I had to leave.

As I left, my son met me at the door and looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said, “Dad, I just wanted to tell you something… I found your phone…here.”

Wow…

There are so many things I could say right here.  But I will just say this.  Do not let the busyness of life rob you of the importance of life.  Because, in our busyness it is possible to miss the fact that what we are searching for may be right in front of our face.

Stop the Noise!

Posted: May 17, 2010 in Life
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The television.  The radio. The computer. The phone. The news. The neighbors. The kids. The boss. The co-workers. My own mind…  Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the noise of the world we live in?

I love music.  I enjoy movies.  I like sports.  I enjoy my kids. I love my wife. I like my job. I appreciate good conversation. I like to web surf. But sometimes…the continual flow of information and input takes what should be enjoyable and makes me want to scream, “Stop the Noise!!” 

However, on the other hand, it seems I have become addicted to the noise.  Always having my phone and checking e-mail, facebook, websites, blogs, etc.  If I’m not on the phone, I’m at my computer.  Then, to relax, I turn on the radio or TV.

I’m just wondering…what is my addiction?  Is it a need to be connected? Is it a need for more input?  Is it a need for information? Why do I desire the very noise I want to stop?!

There does seem to be a place in the depths of my heart that cries out for more than the noise.  There is a cry for something that will speak to the deepest place of my being.  I long for what will touch my desire for belonging, for purpose and for a connection with something or someone greater than myself.

In the midst of all of the noise, I guess what I really want is… to know God. I mean…to not just know about Him, but to truly know Him.

But, to know Him, I need to hear Him. I know He speaks.

And I know He speaks to us through His written Word.  So in my quest to hear from Him, I found this:

A wonderful passage in the book of 1 Kings, Chapter 19, verses 11-12.

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

My addiction to noise can never take the place of the still small voice of the Lord.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10

God, speak to me.  I am listening.

I Choose…

Posted: May 11, 2010 in Leadership, Life
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I was thinking about yesterday.  Actually, I was thinking about many yesterdays. I have lived long enough to have built up quite a collection. 

There are many things stored in my yesterdays: Good memories; Bad memories; Painful memories; Joyful memories.  And within each memory, there are multiple emotions waiting to be relived: joy, sadness, anger, hope, anxiety, love, remorse, happiness.

Then I thought about tomorrow.  Tomorrow is powerful. Tomorrow simultaneously brings the hope of new beginnings and the dread of problems or the pain of bad situations that never seem to change.  Sometimes tomorrow looks promising; sometimes it worries me and fills my heart with dread.

When I look at yesterday, I often want to go back in time and fix things I messed up.  Or, go back and relive joyful moments I never want to forget. When I look at tomorrow, I want to leap ahead and see what is about to happen.  I want to see the future so I can prepare for the worst or make sure I don’t miss something good that is about to take place.

And when I am done reminiscing about yesterday and dreaming about tomorrow, I realize where I am. I am here. Not in yesterday. Not in tomorrow. But I am here…in the moment of today.  And it is then I begin to live. 

For while yesterday holds the power of memories gone by and tomorrow possesses the attraction of the unknown moments ahead, it is today which wins the contest for my attention. 

Yesterday you are powerful; you can hold me back or propel me forward. Tomorrow, you are strong with your ability to infuse me with hope or weigh me down with worry. But today, only in you can I actually live. 

So thank you yesterday for the memories. Thank you tomorrow for the promise of new beginnings.  But, I choose today, because only you are the gift from God that gives me the opportunity to live.

I have instructed you TODAY…so that your confidence may be in the Lord. Proverbs 22:19

That’s What He Said!

Posted: May 5, 2010 in Leadership, Life
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I confess.  I am a collector.  You might even call me a hoarder.  What is it that I hoard you may ask. Well, there is one thing of which I just cannot get enough: words…quotes to be exact.

I love quotes.  I read them; I think about them; I collect them.

So please, allow me if you will to share a brief sample of my collection.  Enjoy!

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” Chinese Proverb.

Sometimes the result is not as important as the obedience.  Pastor R. L. Smith

It’s better to inch your way toward the right finish line than to finish first place in the wrong race. Steven Furtick

“No man ever listened himself out of a job.” -Calvin Coolidge

Prayer is a means of bringing us into conformity with God’s will, not a magic mantra that ensures God’s conformity to ours. (unknown)

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” – Anon

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. -Thomas Jefferson

I won’t let worry about my future or regrets of my past rob me of present possibilities. Steven Furtick

Good things come to those who wait, but great things come to those who are proactive. (unknown)

Cowardice asks: Is it safe? Consensus asks: Is it popular? Character asks: Is it right? -Martin Luther King Jr

When we automatically assume the worse about people then we cannot effectively lead them! -Perry Noble

Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. Faulkner

Do not let what you can’t do, hinder what you can do. (unknown)

“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.” John Maxwell

“Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” John Maxwell

A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves. (Unknown)

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.  Albert Einstein

Good leadership is about developing a rhythm of life, not an equation.  Nancy Ortberg

Our ability to love is reflected in our capacity to forgive. ~ Nancy Ortberg

An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. Jeff Mallett

People learn more from your admission of weaknesses than faking strengths. It builds hope that God could use them too.  RickWarren

God will purify our motives as we walk out our Godly ambitions.  Derek Levendusky

“True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never without cost” – J. Oswald Sanders

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus Christ

Again, like I said, I am a collector. So, feel free to comment and leave some of your own.  I would love to add them to my collection.