Who are you? Where are you going?

Who are you? Where are you going?

How would you answer these questions? Have you answered them recently?

One of my bosses at work asked, and laid out all the questions below in preparation for a team-builder event. I thought to myself: good questions! Then conviction hit, WOW, I wish I had been paying even more attention to the stuff I believe really matters.

The same STUFF came up in a conversation at training this week. We were practicing interview techniques, and asked one of my coworkers, "How would you define success?" She started saying "RESULTS", went on to tell about how her dad instilled the desire to set goals, then achieve them. My heart started to break, because I could see in her eyes a little girl trying to gain the approval of her father, for years. Later in the practice interview, she admitted to not having friends, or family, and that her whole life was about work. Hmmm....Maybe she/we should focus less on results, more about enjoying daddy.

This is a real Fortune 500 corporate questionnaire, with real answers I submitted today: Maybe I would have answered this survey differently about two years or even two weeks ago. How about you? Have your priorities changed? Should they? Should mine?

Who are you?

Rank the following things from 1 (most important to you) to 11 (least important to you)

1. Sense of belonging
2. Being trusted
3. Pleasant work environment
4. Interesting work
5. Loyalty from above
6. Job security
7. Recognition from above
8. Challenging work
9. Money
10. Opportunity for travel
11. Opportunity for promotion

Please answer the following questions about yourself

--What do you like to do in your spare time? Facebook, blogging, spend time with my sons, men's group

--Who are the most important people in your life right now and why? Church: They help me understand why I am here, and provide the venue for me to help others Family: They are a key part of my mission

--What are you most passionate about in your life? Finding God in the details of life and sharing that with others

--What are two of your biggest strengths? Empathy, storytelling

What are two things about yourself you are trying to improve? Move from Dissipation to boldness, relationship with daughters

--What are your favorite movie and your favorite book? The Guardian/Wild at Heart --What are you most looking forward to in the next 12 months? Restoring a house for street outreach and student referral

--What is the one thing most people don’t know about you but you wish they did? I love to blog, build community

--What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about having a job to support yourself? Leading a long-term community service project that helped others discover God and find hope in the midst of the difficulty in their lives


Below is a message from Scott Himes about Your story,

Band of Brothers Wedding Celebration

Photos

The youngest among the Band of Brothers (Jeremiah) is getting married. To honor and help him, we got together last night to share some great Brats (thanks Bill), some stories, and finished up with some pool (9-ball) in the basement. We even watched a short video of Jeremiah sky-diving!

Each of the guys spent time asking God about the stories from their own life, and the life-lessons they learned. Most of the stories were intensely personal, but the life lessons below seemed that they deserved to be remembered, not just by Jeremiah, but anyone who is in a relationship with a spouse, or with God.

---

Brad C.

1. "New covenant....written on their hearts...remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:31-34 ....Its a covenant based on forgiveness.
2. "[God] calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:17 ....Seeing our spouse as God does
   
3. "Love never fails" 1 Cor 13:8 ....Love always wins, despite what you see.

---

Bill O.

1. "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth" Proverbs 5:18 Set a high value on your marriage and your wife. Everything you invest in marriage now will pay off dividends for the rest of your life.
2. "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife" Proverbs 21:19 I once heard that you can’t win an argument with your wife…cause even if you win…you still loose. Women react to the way we treat them and they become quarrelsome when they are not being treated well.
3. "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. "Proverbs 27:6.... Stay in the company of people who will give you good advice and tell you what you need to hear rather then what you want to hear
4. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 ....Seek fellowship of other men who desire to grow in Christ, fight the good fight, win the race and help you stay on your current path in life.
5. "...may you rejoice in the wife of your youth" Proverbs 5:18

---

Bill G.

1. "...we are the salt of the earth" Matthew 5:13
2. "....Is tasteless food eaten without salt.... I refuse to touch it...such food makes me ill." Job 6:6
3. A chefs hat doesn't make a good chef. We season life, the seasoning the good Lord puts into you. Each flavor from the Holy Spirit ( salt, pepper, basil) helps the bland pot of stew.
4. Love her even when you don't like her. My dad said " soup with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate".

---

Garry C.

1. Communication: Prov 13 Real communication, stay connected.
2. Consideration: Helpful and forgiving and considerate of each other
3. Compromise: Honor and value one another
4. Conflict: Learn how to have conflict
5. Committment Malachai 2:16 God Hates Divorce, not many times God says he hates something
6. Christ: Takes Three to Tango Ecclesiastes , a chord of 3 strands is not easily broken.
   

Shared a song called Slow Fade

---

Ed B.

Learn how to breathe...not respond out of emotion, but in response to God. If you make a mistake, you can alway fall back on the fact you are a man....they usually accept that as a good reason :)

---

Joel C.

Let her shop, saving other thoughts for the next event.

---

Scott H.

I ask my wife to replace the word Love in 1 Cor 13 with his name everywhere the word Love appears, and asks her how he is doing on each of those measures.

1. Put toothpaste on her toothbrush
2. Call her another name, like "Beautiful", careful not to use it to be manipulative.
3. Recognize that as they draw near to God (picture three points on a triangle), they will draw near to each other.
   

---

Mike C.

From Brennan Manning (Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God)

"Ruthless trust is choosing to be a homebody. As you exhale breath throughout the day, let AH be a simple reminder of your true domicile. My gracious Lord has shown me that the best way to strip fear of its awesome power is to be a homebody, to stay home in the palace of nowhere. Ruthless trust is an unerring sense, way deep down that beneath the surface agitation, boredom, and insecurity of life, it's gonna be all right. Ill winds may blow, more character defects, may surface, sickness may visit, and friends will surely die, but a stubborn, irrefutable certainty persists that God is with us and loves us in our struggle to be faithful. A nonrational, absolutely true intuition perdures that there is something unfathomably big in the universe (kabod), something that points to Someone who is filled with peace and power, love and undreamed of creativity--Someone who inevitable will reconcile all things to himself.

Why does our trust offer such immense pleasure to God? Because trust is the pre-eminent expression of love. Thus, it may mean more to Jesus when we say, 'I trust you,' than when we say, 'I love you.'

Where am I in all this? With you, clasping hands each morning and crying out in union, "Lord Jesus, I trust you, help my lack of trust."

Photos here

http://picasaweb.google.com/bluebird1996/2009BandOfBrothersWeddingCelebration#

Death, What are we to make?

6/23 Ed McMahon, 86
6/25 Farrah Fawcett, 62
6/25 Michael Jackson, 50
6/28 Billy Mayes, 50
7/1 Karl Madden, 97
7/4 Steve McNair, 36
7/6 Robert McNamera, 93

Death, What are we to make?
Very rarely do we see
the mighty fall so suddenly.
What are we to think, what are we to see?
If to them it happens, what dear Lord of me?

Is my life the same today....
will I live for naught.
Did it mean anything?
What now I have I wrought?

At the end will others know
the better life ahead
If my life were over now,
If my body dead.

All that lies within me
Now quickens at the call,
"Live your life as though you died",
or live
not at all.

My hope is in you

Death be not proud (John Donne)
Death be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better than thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Restoring Lives West: July 4th

Woke up, fell out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat

A day in the life
Beatles, 1967

Do your days run together, until you forgot why you were alive?  Today I had an adventure with my friend Garry with a weapon of war that was a lot like a Star Wars light-saber.  We spent the morning clearing brush a trash and yes, even tearing out an old fence (cost me a cracked rib).



We braved poison ivy, hidden danger in the weeds, but we triumphed together just before the rains came.  It was a good day to read a section from the Wild Goose Chase (Batterson),  "We have a primal longing to be un-caged.  And the cage opens when we realize that Jesus didn't die on the cross to make us safe. Jesus died to make us dangerous". Think about what he asked the rich young ruler to do.

Here is a quick list of the cages we allow ourselves into:
1) Cage of responsibility
2) Cage of routine
3) Cage of Assumptions
4) Cage of guilt
5) Cage of Failure
6) Cage of Fear

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Luke 18:18
much more to learn about this.....stay tuned.   :) 

Our mission: Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done …..on earth as it is in heaven

The Kingdom of God is at the heart of Christianity; the goal and mission of Christians. The question “What is the Kingdom” is central to seekers for God’s highest purpose and pleasure. 

“Seek first his kingdom and righteousness”
Matt 6:33 

God compares his treasure to a pearl, a full net, and a harvest at the end of this age.  The King’s dominion (Kingdom) is when God’s rule, or sovereignty is established. Where is the Kingdom?  George Ladd explores this question with passion in “The Gospel of the Kingdom”.  What follows is a summary of insights of the book that show the Kingdom of heaven is coming, AND has come already.  The bible is used to explain it may not be what you think. 

I expect most people to stop reading before they get here. 

Life is too busy, and they are doing pretty good with God right now.  I don’t write this for you.  I write this to remind me of who I am, where I am going, and how we can get there. 
 
The Age to come
Once we thought heaven was simply a “place” far away in spiritual realms, in the sky.  And honestly, don’t most believers look to a future time; an inheritance when Christ Returns? The scriptures say “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt 25:24).  “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father” (Matt 13:43). In fact, Jesus told us “many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt 8:11

Early in the book, the end times are laid out simply as “The age to come”  (described most completely in the book of Revelation),  the time ushered in by the first resurrection of the dead, only to be consummated by a 2nd resurrection after the millennial Kingdom. So, despite the rule of Christ and the saints during this 1000-year Kingdom, the power of death and sin will not be completely destroyed until after the millennial Kingdom is over.



Unfortunately, here is where most of the rest of you readers drop out...thinking all this Kingdom stuff is so far out that we just drop back, do the best we can, and wait.  Too bad!  Bear with us just a moment.  Let's lower unbiblical expectations about the “perfect” Christian Life. Not all problems we face will be resolved in this age (or even the millennial Kingdom).

Yet there is comfort in knowing that there is a kingdom on the way, and more importantly, that God has not abandoned us.  God is on a different schedule, and a different plan.  Don’t get caught waiting, for something that is already here.

Get ready to ride!   

The Kingdom is Today:
Christ gave himself that he might deliver us from this present evil age. (Gal 1:4)  This age is a time before that final deliverance, sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, envying murder, drunkenness etc. Those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  (Gal 1:19-21)  Gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were objects of wrath Eph. 2:3. But we will move into the kingdom “entering it violently” Luke 11:52,   “driving out demons” Matt 12:28.

Now we see the Kingdom as within, the personal “inner man”: The kingdom of God is a matter of ....

1. righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 12:17). 
2. We have been  “ delivered from the kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved son” Col 1:13.
3. Look neither here nor there for the Kingdom of God is within you  Luke 17:20-21.
4. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.  (Mark 10:13)
5. "My Kingdom is not of this world."  Jn 18:36.

The Mystery of the Kingdom
“Blessed is he who takes no offense at me”. How could the Kingdom of God be here while sin and sinful institutions still existed?  Instead of destroying the human will, he attacked the sovereignty of satan.  The Kingdom does come with power, but only to those who receive it from a willing heart and a submissive will.  That is why there is nothing we can due to add to the potency of the seed, though we can soften our hearts, and choke it out with the pleasures of life.

The Life of the Kingdom:
The key idea here is that the future has already begun…, the Holy Spirit is in us as a down payment. "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you" Jn 17:3.  Knowing God involves responding to him, not just intellectually knowing about Him.  The Kingdom of God has come unto you, as he has placed his seal upon you, the seal of ownership , his Spirit in our hearts 2 Cor 1:22, the first-fruits of the Spirit (Rom 8:22-23).  Ladd reminds us this is more that a bible promise, it is an experience, a reality, a possession. 

The Righteousness of the Kingdom
Forgiveness is the ultimate act of love.  You know that, right?  It is a reflection of a man’s heart, because  it is not really the outward behavior that God is most concerned with, but the innermost thoughts and disposition of a man. What you are is more important than what you do. There is an imperative for a pure heart, free from the  motive of personal vindication, revenge, legitimate rights and selfish concerns.  Love is not merely an emotion; it is a concern in action.  Forgiveness can only be an act of love, and we can only really forgive in response to being forgiven by God, and we are called to it (Matt 6:12).  This is HUGE!!

The Demand of the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God will come in power, though it has already come to do its work in secret.  Having tasted the powers of the age to come, how do we enter in?  Here is the "ouch" part for me personally…we must repent.  Some people go through life vacillating, wavering, unsure of themselves,  never able to say a distinct Yes or No.  These are people who never accomplish anything worthwhile for themselves or their fellow men, but who dissipate life and energy in inner conflict and indecision.   The Kingdom of God demands immediate urgent decision, like the rich young ruler, sell all you have and follow me.  David found his strength in “Him who strengthens me”.  We have to take up our cross, and crucify our desires for Christ to be Lord, for power and victory in LIFE. 

The Kingdom, Israel and the Church
Eclessia…the Body of the Church of Christ; "A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" 1 Pet 2:9.  Here is where the work of Christ is done, “violently” overthrowing demonic strongholds.  This is the purpose of the church, (Rev. 5:9-10), to reign on earth.  Men cannot build the kingdom, but God works in the world through the church to proclaim the kingdom, those who hear can chose to accept or reject it.  The redeemed are part of a kingdom because they will reign on earth.  The church is the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Mat 5:13-16). 

When will the Kingdom Come?
Our mission, the mission of the Gospel of the Kingdom,  is to hasten the coming of the Day of God (Pet 3:12)  The gospel of the Kingdom is the announcement of what God HAS done and WILL do: 

1. He has broken the power of death
2. He has defeated satan, and as a result,
3. He has overthrown the rule of sin. 

God has a reason for you and me, a purpose; to tell the message and so accomplish the mission, to set the captives free. Is our purpose merely to progress; or to run in cycles of advance and retreat?  Let us set aside our petty vision of insignificance and accept the bold purpose for which we were made: The Kingdom.

Is there a different way?

Turkey Run: Band of Brothers

Do you have questions?

Much of my life is a response to questions.  This past weekend, a few brothers and I tried to answer some questions, and get to learn each other's story along the way. Where are you?  Where are you going, and what stands in the way?

One of the questions that go the biggest response was around "How do you keep score?  And should you?"  One famous study from Yale in 1953 said that the 3% of Yale graduates
who had written goals had more wealth years later than the other 97% of
the class combined. As we looked at this from a spiritual perspective, the response was a delightful picture by Micheal Dean and a discussion around how critical that the real measure of success is only about being pointed toward, and moving toward God, and his desire for us.

          

Danger, battle, fellowship. It's all part of our journey, and we share it together as we learn each other stories.  We talked about our shame, about the lies we are prone to believe, about the hope we have been given, and not being the "weak link in the chain".  We read from Daniel 2 about the statue of gold, silver and clay, and about how the "treasure" of human design will be and should be completely destroyed by a rock that becomes a mountain, an everlasting Kingdom.  We saw a huge pile of nicely split firewood at the bottom of a creek, clearly a huge effort totally washed away by the water.  What a reminder.
 

I heard my own story, listening to others; deceived by pride I cannot diagnose, by loneliness, fear of man, reliance on the intellect, substance abuse.  We heard how we have allowed the heart to grow cold for lack of response to God, not turning to him and seeing suffering as a training program, and a failure to invest in real treasure so to lead the heart.   During the short time together, we learned to trust each other, as each one served in a special way; providing a plan, bringing the food, clearing the trash, or bringing a song.  The guitar music played into the night as we told our stories, each man careful to listen as if it was his own, because in a sense, it was.

As we were hiking John reminded me of his job as a roofer, "be careful where you place your foot, it could be your last step".  We saw the trees bend toward the light in most un-natural ways, and a tree that refused to  die, even though it had been uprooted.  Once in the water, we worked as teams to navigate the river.  Though the tiny kayak was faster, and easier to navigate, somehow the company of being in a canoe was more memorable, and rewarding.

Listen to the Songs
http://www.divshare.com/playlist/561627-b56

See the Pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/bluebird1996/TurkeyRunBandOfBrosSummer2009?feat=directlink

Read the Questions
http://www.divshare.com/direct/7657180-043.pdf


"You awake to find yourself in the midst of a great and terrible war. It is, in fact, our most desperate
hour. Your King and dearest Friend calls you forth. Awake, come fully alive, your good heart set free and blazing for him and for those yet to be rescued. You have a glory that is needed. You are given a quest, a mission that will take you deep into the heart of the kingdom of darkness, to break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron so that your people might be set free from their bleak prisons. He asks that you heal them. Of course, you will face many dangers; you will be hunted.

Would you try and do this alone?

Something stronger than fate has chosen you. Evil will hunt you. And so a fellowship must protect you. Honestly, though he is a very brave and true hobbit, Frodo hasn’t a chance without Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. He has no real idea what dangers and trials lie ahead."
                                            Waking the Dead, John Elderidge