My family laughed at this picture (My Senior Portrait). My girls wondered why my hair looked so funny. While looking at this photo among others from my childhood, my wife and daughters were able to provide themselves with plenty of comic relief. But there is a key to why this was funny (beyond the high-top fade!).
The reason it was funny is because I have changed.
I am not the same person.
I don’t dress the same, think the same, look the same, or value the same things.
I am different. I have changed.
If I was the same, it wouldn’t be funny (or maybe it would be, just in a different way!).
It would just be me.
To progress and move forward means to change. Change in our habits, thoughts, behaviors, methods, relationships, possessions, etc.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…”
-eph. 6:12
“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.”
-psalm 119:60
Back in the day I was a MAJOR wrestling fan. Hulk Hogan, Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Junkyard Dog, Macho Man Savage, Andre the Giant, Roddy Roddy Piper, were just SOME of the characters I watched on TV on Channel 31.
My dad loved wrestling too. He would even let me stay up late to watch a few matches on school nights sometimes. I would watch the WWF cartoons on Saturdays and talk about the ‘36 inch pythons’ like Hulk Hogan. I did my best to ’say my prayers and eat my vitamins’ (I later found out that wrestlers took a lot of ‘vitamins’ to get as ripped as they were!). Wrestle Mania was a HUGE event that had EVERYONE talking at my junior high school.
I am not sure why I liked it so much, and never really envisioned myself wearing mult-colored tights, being called by some crazy sounding name, or having a chair broken over my head while the referee is pre-occupied with something else. I never dreamed of becoming a wrestler. And most likely, neither have you.
It wasn’t until recently I realized I was one.
Yes, a wrestler.
And you are one too.
You and I wrestle all the time.
No we don’t jump into a ring with bizarre hairdos and silly dances while attempting to pin an equally strange opponent. When you and I wrestle, we wear our regular clothes. We go by our regular names. We don’t travel to exotic cities for the big match. We rarely go outside our comfort zones to get into the ring. We don’t have to because we are not wrestling human beings.
We are wrestling God.
Wrestling God with our negotiations, our second guessing, our outright rebellion.
Wrestling God with our rationalizations, our compromises, our substitutions.
Wrestling God with our indifference, our inconsistencies, our resistance.
Wrestling God with our refusals, disobedience, and our excuses.
Yes, we are wrestlers. Just not the kind we are supposed to be.
We have been called to wrestle evil, injustice, darkness, and the Devil; instead we are wrestling God.
What the world might be like if His wrestlers were different.
My ability to win and have victory in my daily life is directly connected to how much I allow Jesus to win or lose. I win by allowing Jesus to win my heart. When He loses, I lose and have no power to win.
When I allow my ideas and will to prevail over the ideas and will of God, it is like having the opposing team in the huddle while game strategy is being discussed.
I can’t win.
But when I deny myself, surrender my will and rights to God, I can’t lose.
Every day I have the oppotunity to be a winner or a loser.
My 3 daughters invited Tiffany and myself to a dance showcase at the Newman house. They had outfits and dresses prepared, music ready, and choreographed steps. As cute as it was, it was much more than that.
It was so beautiful it put tears in Dad’s eyes. I kept thinking, “these are MY kids?”
They were so pretty, so excited, so energized, so intent on making us smile, I was completely blown away. I was SO proud. I desperately love my girls. They have my heart. They have my heart to such a degree that it almost hurts.
But do you know what is REALLY CRAZY?
God sees us and loves us with even MORE intensity. He is captured by our energy, our personality, and our intentions to do our very best. He desperately loves us. He is devoted to us. We have His heart.
There is an extreme battle between the Kingdom of God versus the Kingdom of Self. The Kingdom of God represents the place where God is in charge, and the Kingdom of Self where I am in charge. Self seeks ease, true Jesus followers seek the formation of Christ in the midst of hardship.
Six questions that are a simple test of whether I am a subject of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Self:
1. What am I thinking about?
2. What am I giving my time and energy to?
3. What am I spending my money on?
4. What do I pray about and who am I praying for?
5. What are the people I am spending time with doing with their lives?
6. What is God saying to me?
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.
-2 Tim. 2:3-4
A couple of days ago I saw the latest film in the Terminator franchise, “Terminator: Salvation”. It tells the ongoing narrative of humanity’s war against machines on a post-apocalyptic planet. The network of machines is called ‘SKY-NET’ and the humans are represented as ‘THE RESISTANCE’.
‘THE RESISTANCE’ consists of committed bands of brave souls huddled in abandoned buildings strewn across war torn cities. They battle metal bound adversaries with every amount of energy that they have. Though many miles seperate different pockets of the seemingly disjointed RESISTANCE, they are linked through the disembodied message of their leader John Conner.
Listening on two-way radios and other make shift devices, Conner’s messages give direction and hope. Understanding the desperate scene and in which their generation finds itself, the leader’s message defines their role in the story.
In our generation, I wonder if we understand OUR role in the story.
We live in a generation that exists on a planet in crisis. We wrestle darkness manifesting itself in multi-faceted evils. Lives are being broken, twisted, and destroyed on every front. Culture, distance, and experience may seperate us, but we are made one through the Message of our Leader.
His Message lets us know that we are soldiers, not civilians.
His Message tells us hardship and struggle will accompany our service as soldiers.
His Message tells us that as soldiers we cannot let the cares of this world to obscure the urgency of our mission.
His Message tells us that our aim as soldiers is to please the Commanding Officer that enlisted us.
His Message tell us that we are soldiers of His salvation, carrying hope to a dying world.
train:(verb) to develop or form the habits, thoughts, or behavior of (a child or other person) by discipline and instruction.
What are you training yourself to do and to be? How are your current actions developing you into the person you want to become? Who we are and who we are becoming is determined by the collection of the decisions and choices we make over the course of time.
We don’t get where we want to get all at once. Forward movement that lasts always happens slowly. Doors of opportunity can open quickly, but the path of good preparation is never fast.
In the mundane moments where right choices are often difficult, our training gets underway.
Through discipline, hardship, and experience we are shaped into God’s likeness.
None of us like bad news. We love to hear good news and never get tired of it. But bad news is a part of life. How we respond to bad news, will largely determine if any good can come out of it.
When Bad News comes:
We must PAUSE: When Bad News arrives, we are tempted to panic. The stress and pressure of the situation can lead us down a dangerous road. That is why we must PAUSE and get our bearings, accurately accessing what is real and what is our perception.
We must PRAY: Bad News can easily skew our perspective and force us into bad decisions. When we PRAY we break away from the limits of what we can see, and get God’s viewpoint.
We must PREPARE: Bad News can cause us to put our heads in the sand (see above picture) and make us timid. To overcome the challenge that Bad News presents, we must wisely PREPARE our next move. This involves getting counsel from others, doing research, changing our habits, etc.
Bad News can’t become good news without the right response.
“Twenty years from now you will more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Author Unknown
So many of us live with regret. We wish we would have done this. We wish we would have done that. But we didn’t. Now we can only wish things were different.
What we don’t realize is that we are planting the future seeds of our regret or contentment right now. If we don’t seize the opportunity of today, we are guaranteed regret tommorrow.
Years ago my sister worked as a manager at Arby’s. I would call in and disguise my voice and act like I was a customer who had purchased roast beef sandwiches and gotten sick because of bad meat. It was the funniest thing to hear her pause and profusely apologize for what had happened. I did it over and over.
It NEVER got old.
One time I called my cousin who worked at an insurance company. I would disguise my voice when he answered, then ask to speak to their celebrity endorser about my policy. When he didn’t put him on the phone, I got irate when I couldn’t speak to him.
It was hilarious.
Another time I called a friend who was in college at the time working at Hallmark to make ends meet. I called as a longtime customer of Hallmark (as an old lady!) that wanted a specialized birthday card for her ostrich. When she told me that something like that wasn’t available, I loudly voiced my displeasure.
I went on to tell her that as a longtime supporter of the company that employed her, that I was in fact putting her through school. I demanded that she thanked me for her education.
And she did!
That moment still cracks me up, years later. Taking the time to laugh, is time well spent. Sometimes being zany and crazy is absolutely neccessary.
We care a great deal about what shapes our young people. What are they watching, what are they reading, who are they hanging around? How are they spending their time? What are they focused on? What are they giving themselves to?
Intuitively we understanding the connection between exposure and influence. What they are exposed to ultimately shapes who they become.
Strangely, we are not as vigilant when assessing ourselves. But the principle is no less valid. What we are exposed to shapes our life.
What are we watching? What are we reading? What are we looking at? Who are we in relationship with? How are we spending our time? What is our mind focused on? What are we thinking about? What are we giving our life to?
The answers to these questions will go a long way in determining who or what is shaping us.
My family laughed at this picture (My Senior Portrait). My girls wondered why my hair looked so funny. While looking at this photo among others from my childhood, my wife and daughters were able to provide themselves with plenty of comic relief. But there is a key to why this was funny (beyond the high-top fade!).
The reason it was funny is because I have changed.
I am not the same person.
I don’t dress the same, think the same, look the same, or value the same things.
I am different. I have changed.
If I was the same, it wouldn’t be funny (or maybe it would be, just in a different way!).
It would just be me.
To progress and move forward means to change. Change in our habits, thoughts, behaviors, methods, relationships, possessions, etc.
Change can be painful.
But we can’t move forward without it.
Posted in Transformation, Family | 1 Comment »
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…”
-eph. 6:12
“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.”
-psalm 119:60
Back in the day I was a MAJOR wrestling fan. Hulk Hogan, Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Junkyard Dog, Macho Man Savage, Andre the Giant, Roddy Roddy Piper, were just SOME of the characters I watched on TV on Channel 31.
My dad loved wrestling too. He would even let me stay up late to watch a few matches on school nights sometimes. I would watch the WWF cartoons on Saturdays and talk about the ‘36 inch pythons’ like Hulk Hogan. I did my best to ’say my prayers and eat my vitamins’ (I later found out that wrestlers took a lot of ‘vitamins’ to get as ripped as they were!). Wrestle Mania was a HUGE event that had EVERYONE talking at my junior high school.
I am not sure why I liked it so much, and never really envisioned myself wearing mult-colored tights, being called by some crazy sounding name, or having a chair broken over my head while the referee is pre-occupied with something else. I never dreamed of becoming a wrestler. And most likely, neither have you.
It wasn’t until recently I realized I was one.
Yes, a wrestler.
And you are one too.
You and I wrestle all the time.
No we don’t jump into a ring with bizarre hairdos and silly dances while attempting to pin an equally strange opponent. When you and I wrestle, we wear our regular clothes. We go by our regular names. We don’t travel to exotic cities for the big match. We rarely go outside our comfort zones to get into the ring. We don’t have to because we are not wrestling human beings.
We are wrestling God.
Wrestling God with our negotiations, our second guessing, our outright rebellion.
Wrestling God with our rationalizations, our compromises, our substitutions.
Wrestling God with our indifference, our inconsistencies, our resistance.
Wrestling God with our refusals, disobedience, and our excuses.
Yes, we are wrestlers. Just not the kind we are supposed to be.
We have been called to wrestle evil, injustice, darkness, and the Devil; instead we are wrestling God.
What the world might be like if His wrestlers were different.
Posted in Media/Culture, Transformation, Discipleship | No Comments »
My ability to win and have victory in my daily life is directly connected to how much I allow Jesus to win or lose. I win by allowing Jesus to win my heart. When He loses, I lose and have no power to win.
When I allow my ideas and will to prevail over the ideas and will of God, it is like having the opposing team in the huddle while game strategy is being discussed.
I can’t win.
But when I deny myself, surrender my will and rights to God, I can’t lose.
Every day I have the oppotunity to be a winner or a loser.
It’s on me to decide.
Posted in Leadership, Transformation, Sports | 1 Comment »
My 3 daughters invited Tiffany and myself to a dance showcase at the Newman house. They had outfits and dresses prepared, music ready, and choreographed steps. As cute as it was, it was much more than that.
It was so beautiful it put tears in Dad’s eyes. I kept thinking, “these are MY kids?”
They were so pretty, so excited, so energized, so intent on making us smile, I was completely blown away. I was SO proud. I desperately love my girls. They have my heart. They have my heart to such a degree that it almost hurts.
But do you know what is REALLY CRAZY?
God sees us and loves us with even MORE intensity. He is captured by our energy, our personality, and our intentions to do our very best. He desperately loves us. He is devoted to us. We have His heart.
We are His kids.
And He LOVES His kids.
Posted in Relationships, Family | No Comments »
There is an extreme battle between the Kingdom of God versus the Kingdom of Self. The Kingdom of God represents the place where God is in charge, and the Kingdom of Self where I am in charge. Self seeks ease, true Jesus followers seek the formation of Christ in the midst of hardship.
Six questions that are a simple test of whether I am a subject of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Self:
1. What am I thinking about?
2. What am I giving my time and energy to?
3. What am I spending my money on?
4. What do I pray about and who am I praying for?
5. What are the people I am spending time with doing with their lives?
6. What is God saying to me?
Posted in Relationships, Transformation | No Comments »
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.
-2 Tim. 2:3-4
A couple of days ago I saw the latest film in the Terminator franchise, “Terminator: Salvation”. It tells the ongoing narrative of humanity’s war against machines on a post-apocalyptic planet. The network of machines is called ‘SKY-NET’ and the humans are represented as ‘THE RESISTANCE’.
‘THE RESISTANCE’ consists of committed bands of brave souls huddled in abandoned buildings strewn across war torn cities. They battle metal bound adversaries with every amount of energy that they have. Though many miles seperate different pockets of the seemingly disjointed RESISTANCE, they are linked through the disembodied message of their leader John Conner.
Listening on two-way radios and other make shift devices, Conner’s messages give direction and hope. Understanding the desperate scene and in which their generation finds itself, the leader’s message defines their role in the story.
In our generation, I wonder if we understand OUR role in the story.
We live in a generation that exists on a planet in crisis. We wrestle darkness manifesting itself in multi-faceted evils. Lives are being broken, twisted, and destroyed on every front. Culture, distance, and experience may seperate us, but we are made one through the Message of our Leader.
His Message lets us know that we are soldiers, not civilians.
His Message tells us hardship and struggle will accompany our service as soldiers.
His Message tells us that as soldiers we cannot let the cares of this world to obscure the urgency of our mission.
His Message tells us that our aim as soldiers is to please the Commanding Officer that enlisted us.
His Message tell us that we are soldiers of His salvation, carrying hope to a dying world.
We are soldiers.
Posted in Media/Culture, The Future, Transformation | No Comments »
“…train yourself to be Godly.”
-1 Tim. 4:7
train:(verb) to develop or form the habits, thoughts, or behavior of (a child or other person) by discipline and instruction.
What are you training yourself to do and to be? How are your current actions developing you into the person you want to become? Who we are and who we are becoming is determined by the collection of the decisions and choices we make over the course of time.
We don’t get where we want to get all at once. Forward movement that lasts always happens slowly. Doors of opportunity can open quickly, but the path of good preparation is never fast.
In the mundane moments where right choices are often difficult, our training gets underway.
Through discipline, hardship, and experience we are shaped into God’s likeness.
Posted in The Future, Leadership, Transformation | No Comments »
None of us like bad news. We love to hear good news and never get tired of it. But bad news is a part of life. How we respond to bad news, will largely determine if any good can come out of it.
When Bad News comes:
We must PAUSE: When Bad News arrives, we are tempted to panic. The stress and pressure of the situation can lead us down a dangerous road. That is why we must PAUSE and get our bearings, accurately accessing what is real and what is our perception.
We must PRAY: Bad News can easily skew our perspective and force us into bad decisions. When we PRAY we break away from the limits of what we can see, and get God’s viewpoint.
We must PREPARE: Bad News can cause us to put our heads in the sand (see above picture) and make us timid. To overcome the challenge that Bad News presents, we must wisely PREPARE our next move. This involves getting counsel from others, doing research, changing our habits, etc.
Bad News can’t become good news without the right response.
Posted in Relationships, The Future, Leadership | No Comments »
“Twenty years from now you will more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
-Author Unknown
So many of us live with regret. We wish we would have done this. We wish we would have done that. But we didn’t. Now we can only wish things were different.
What we don’t realize is that we are planting the future seeds of our regret or contentment right now. If we don’t seize the opportunity of today, we are guaranteed regret tommorrow.
Today is the day.
Posted in Leadership, Dream Awake | 3 Comments »
Years ago my sister worked as a manager at Arby’s. I would call in and disguise my voice and act like I was a customer who had purchased roast beef sandwiches and gotten sick because of bad meat. It was the funniest thing to hear her pause and profusely apologize for what had happened. I did it over and over.
It NEVER got old.
One time I called my cousin who worked at an insurance company. I would disguise my voice when he answered, then ask to speak to their celebrity endorser about my policy. When he didn’t put him on the phone, I got irate when I couldn’t speak to him.
It was hilarious.
Another time I called a friend who was in college at the time working at Hallmark to make ends meet. I called as a longtime customer of Hallmark (as an old lady!) that wanted a specialized birthday card for her ostrich. When she told me that something like that wasn’t available, I loudly voiced my displeasure.
I went on to tell her that as a longtime supporter of the company that employed her, that I was in fact putting her through school. I demanded that she thanked me for her education.
And she did!
That moment still cracks me up, years later. Taking the time to laugh, is time well spent. Sometimes being zany and crazy is absolutely neccessary.
Have you done anything crazy today?
Posted in Relationships, Family | 2 Comments »
We care a great deal about what shapes our young people. What are they watching, what are they reading, who are they hanging around? How are they spending their time? What are they focused on? What are they giving themselves to?
Intuitively we understanding the connection between exposure and influence. What they are exposed to ultimately shapes who they become.
Strangely, we are not as vigilant when assessing ourselves. But the principle is no less valid. What we are exposed to shapes our life.
What are we watching? What are we reading? What are we looking at? Who are we in relationship with? How are we spending our time? What is our mind focused on? What are we thinking about? What are we giving our life to?
The answers to these questions will go a long way in determining who or what is shaping us.
Posted in Leadership, Family | No Comments »