Time for a change

The time has come for a change. I have appreciated all of the spoken support and encouragement and have decided to make a name change in order to foster and encourage further direction of this space. Knowing where we are and where we want to be are key factors to success within this discussion and within our individual lives.

Why “The Intentional Life”?

Many of us today go through the chores of our daily lives without realizing the source of our actions. We glaze through this life. We give it 50%. instead of holding to that TRUTH that TODAY is a GIFT. In order to realize the full potential of the day set before us, we must INTENTIONALLY seek out and fulfill the goals we wish to accomplish.

What will be different?

Not much. This will continue to be a place of struggle, of triumph, and of self-realization. The stories and charges set forth are not meant to condemn, but liberate us in that the crap we’re going through has a PURPOSE. And that purpose can be sought and found through Jesus Christ. Through intentionality, we can begin to fully grasp his will for each of our lives.

Let us continue to DAILY seek and find the purpose for which the Lord has designed us.

Let us reach our full potential.

Let us do this TOGETHER.

Our God is the shiznit

Our God is greater,
Our God is stronger,
Our God is higher than ANY other.
-Chris Tomlin

DANG. That's big. Nah, that's HUGE. God is bigger than ANYTHING.

Huh? What about that anxiety that I just can't seem to control?
GOD IS BIGGER.

What about that porn addiction I just can't seem to get under wraps?
GOD IS BIGGER.

What about the loneliness that haunts me to the point I can't sleep at night?
GOD IS BIGGER.

Let's face it ya'll...the devil is going to use whatever he can to hit you in the face. For ME? It's fear, anxiety, and insecurities. I have them. I deal with them. And I struggle with them. But the deal is... God's bigger. God's better. And God is more than awesome than any struggle you or I may ever deal with.

Take courage. God is near. God is BIGGER.

It's not about me

It's not about me.

It's not about you.

It's not about anyone else in this world.

It's about JESUS.

Our lives, our worlds, our needs, our desires...need to be focused on JESUS.

I'm horrible at this. I feel as if I can be so selfish, as if every move I make has an ulterior motive...to please myself.

I'm sick of it.

What if the first words we asked ourselves in the morning were, "What can I do for Jesus?"
What if we started asking ourselves NOT what action will please us or make us most comfortable...but what actions would please Jesus?
WWJD bracelets may have been a fad, but what if our actions actually showed what they meant??

I'm ready for something more. I'm ready for something more than me.

I don't want to go

I’m struggling.

I’m struggling with leaving. I don’t want to go.

I was doing good. I hadn’t wept. I hadn’t gotten anxious. I wasn’t ready, but yet I wasn’t there. It felt as if I was in limbo.

This hurts. It hurts to leave. It hurts to say good-bye. The tears aren’t going to dry-up anytime soon…but it’s ok. God has his hands on my life. God has his hands on our lives.

We have hope in a savior who loves us more than we could ever imagine. If I could ingrain one thing on all our hearts it would be just that…JESUS LOVES ME

Accept his love. Thrive in his love. Hope in his love. TRUST in his love.

But if You say go, we will go.

If you say wait, we will wait.

If you say step up out on the water…we’ll fix our eyes on You and we will come.

-Rita Springer

Who's you LORD??

Who is lord of your life?

Who’s the reason you make your decisions? Who’s the reason you wake up in the morning? Who’s the reason you choose not to sin?

As we spoke upon last time, I had this particular girl I lived for in middle school. Then I got to college and it grew that much worse. I lived for popularity. I lived for girls. I lived to be accepted by others.

I chose to sin to be accepted by others.

Jesus is Lord of our life, only if the actions we choose to make prove it.

If we choose to lie to gain acceptance by friends, we’re choosing our friends as LORD over Jesus.
If we choose to cheat on a test, we’re choosing academic success as LORD over Jesus.
If we choose to go too far with our boyfriend/girlfriend, we’re choosing our boyfriend/girlfriend as LORD over Jesus.

Who has lordship of our lives? Look at our actions, they’ll let us know.

Who are you living for??

The cutest girl in middle school was Rachel. Rachel was an athletic, blonde bomb-shell. I was smitten from day one. I acted like I thought Rachel would like. I dressed like I thought Rachel would like. I talked like I thought Rachel would like.

I wanted to be liked by Rachel. I acted differently around Rachel. I LIVED for Rachel.

Something tells me I'm not alone in this.

We live for acceptance in a group at school. We live for popularity within the youth group. We live to meet our parent’s expectations.

But it doesn’t stop there.

We live for our girlfriend/boyfriend’s love and appreciation. We live to gain that next promotion at work. We live to be cool and to be funny and to be accepted for who we are.

The problem is…we don’t always find acceptance. We don’t always find love. We don’t always find appreciation or the promotion.

We fail because we’re human. Others make mistakes because they’re human.

The person who won't fail us?

JESUS.

May we dress for Jesus. May we talk for Jesus. May we act for Jesus.

May we LIVE for Jesus.

Cottage Cheese Explosion

I have a theory. This theory states all individuals must have some kind of a pet before they have children. I would go as far as stating before they are married, but we’ll save that for a later time.

Pets are great. Pets are lovable. Pets are fun. Pets come with a level of responsibility.

Kids are great. Kids are lovable. Kids are fun. Kids come with an even greater level of responsibility.

Get my drift?

I currently live with a dog. Her name is Dolly. The dog technically belongs to one of my housemates, but Dolly has become the token household pet.

Dolly is sweet. Dolly is kind. Dolly is also really old.

One night, I was draining a container of cottage cheese. I had left the container in my car during the middle of the summer for around 3-4 hours. Consequently, the contents became very ill toward my tongue. Even my frugal behavior couldn’t bare the taste or thought of what I was ingesting.

So I emptied the container. However, the drain began to stock-up. I reached for the garbage disposal and left it on for a split-second too long. I don’t know if this is supposed to happen, but I soon had cottage cheese sprouting like Old Faithful out of the sink.

It was messy. It was chunky. It was everywhere.

As I attempted to clean up the mess, the water stopped working. In addition, Dolly, chose now as a perfect time to begin beating her tail against the door, wanting to go out.

Here the sink is, covered in rotten cottage cheese and I have no water to clean it up with Dolly’s tail beating the door like a freight train.

I blew my lid.

We’re not talking the “I gently opened the door to let her out.” We’re talking full-out belt…”GET OUTSIDE!” You get the picture. It was ugly.

I immediately realized I had sinned against Dolly. She came back to the door as, let’s face it, all she wanted to do was check for rabbits outside. I had a choice though for what was to happen next.

I apologized to Dolly. I told her that I had wronged her and asked her what I could do to make things right.

Dolly looked at me with her big brown her eyes and laid next to the counter. I had been forgiven. We were ready to move on.

The choices we make now, create our habits in the future.

May we choose to admit our sins and ask for forgiveness now, in order that we may make a habit of it in the future.

Talking With Our Dad

Prayer.

The big P word.

It can be exciting. It can be scary. It can be daunting.

I’ve prayed some pretty weak prayers. Like, the Cubs would win the World Series. Still waiting on that one! Or I would pass this ridiculously hard accounting test for which I’ve barely cracked a book.

Shoot, I’ve even prayed for evil. Like, the time Steve Bartman single-handedly ended the Cubs shot at a World Series title in 2003. I’m not bitter. Or better yet, that I could maybe, just maybe, make-out with that good-looking girl just across the way.

Yeah, I’ve done it. Don’t judge…because you have too. It’s human!!

In Matthew 6:5-9, Jesus teaches us to pray to our FATHER. God is not some distant being in a far-off land. God is not some Zeus-like figure who occasionally sends Hermes down to earth as a message-keeper. We get to talk to him OURSELVES!! We get to be in an intimate relationship with our DAD.

Dad is bigger than our weaknesses. Dad is bigger than our struggles. Dad is bigger than our failures.

Dad is bigger than our weak prayers.

I don’t get prayer…but when our heart is seeking our father’s heart, it works. Like the time we’ve prayed for that sibling to come closer to Christ. Like the time we’ve prayed for sleep when all hell is breaking loose in our minds. Like the time we’ve prayed for wisdom when the words just wouldn’t come out right.

Other times, prayer doesn’t seem to work. It could be the friend, who wasn’t cured from cancer or the loved one, who never made it back. It could also be the job, that didn’t come through, or the sickness, that just won’t seem to go away.

I don’t get prayer! I don’t think we ever will. But this I do know, even during the sucky times where everything just..SUCKS. Our father is still listening. Our father still wants to hear our voices.

Our dad still cares.

Where is the light??

Word on the street has it…WE, as disciples, are the LIGHT of this world.

Huh? Really??

From what I’ve been checking out, more people are interested in the neon “lights” flowing from that bar downtown than our churches just down the street.

So why?? Why is this happening to where we as people (“Christians” included), are more interested in the temporary pleasure light (lust, drunkenness, greed, etc) than in the eternal light Jesus Christ offers?

Maybe because we suck at showing this light.

Per Jesus in Matthew 5: 14-16, WE are the light of this world. I think it should be noted that God doesn’t call us to be lighthouses. He calls us to be lamps. What’s the difference? A lighthouse stands still and doesn’t move. A lamp, on the other end, is MOVABLE and can be placed closer to those who NEED the light.

It’s about time we stop chilling on the sidelines, and start getting in on this action. It’s about time we start shining our light from WITHIN the darkness, instead of from the outside.

So…what does this look like???

Relationships. Instead of waiting for someone to come to you, to talk about Christ…what if we actually went to them??? I’m not saying Jesus-cube-style, but rather getting to know them as a PERSON rather than a NUMBER to save.

We’re either light or darkness. There’s no halfway. Let’s start acting like light.

Porn

Porn.

The internet. TV. Radio. Magazines. Victoria’s Secret. Shoot…the Wal-Mart bra section.

Sex sells is not just a saying, it’s a truth.

Our world is infatuated with sexual intimacy. It’s everywhere.

For the single guy or girl out there who has no way to “release” this sexual energy, porn just makes sense. It’s free. It’s easy to access. Shoot…it’s even pretty easy to hide once a couple buddies show you how.

We even try to reason with the Lord on this issue. “Well, it’s not that big of a deal…it’s just a picture, right?” Or…”I’ll quit when I get married because then I’ll be able to have sex.” Or even better…”Everybody else is doing it…it’s just natural for my age group.”

So what does Jesus have to say about porn, you may ask?

In Matthew 5: 27-30, Jesus makes it very clear that by just LOOKING at a woman LUSTFULLY, we have already committed adultery with her. He goes on to say we should gouge out our eye and cut off our hand if they should cause us to sin for, “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Dang. I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty clear. God AIN’T messing around on this one.

Porn = lustfully looking at a woman = ADULTERY = sin.

Plain and simple. Case closed.

However, let’s not stop there. Porn isn’t always something you can decide…”Hey, I think I’m going to give up porn today.” Marriages have been ruined by porn. Lives have been ruined by porn. For many, it’s an addiction.

Why do I know this? Because I’ve been there.

I’ve struggled with porn and been an on- and off-again addict for over 8 years. That’s a long time. It gets easier as we daily CHOOSE to deny ourselves, but it is STILL a temptation.

How can we then begin to find victory?

Through CONFESSION and ACCOUNTABILITY.

If you struggle with porn, I am PLEADING with you to go here. No…I’m BEGGING you to log-on here. XXX Church offers FREE software that allows someone you know to receive emails about questionable sites you’ve been visiting. It’s very subtle. It doesn’t block any sites. But it does provide ACCOUNTABILITY. Enter my address at dwhenrichs@gmail.com. Allow me the opportunity to assist you in this struggle.

I won’t judge, because I’m right where you’re at.

We can find victory. We can find victory…together.

The Hardest Person To F******

We’ve been wronged.

We’ve been hurt.

We can be sinned against in a variety of ways. Failure to keep promises, such as the one who said they’d love you forever. Mistreatment through emotional or physical abuse in an attempt to make one feel better about themselves. Being taken advantage of to satisfy someone else's selfish desires.

And the list keeps growing.

But you know who the hardest person to forgive may be? The one person I just can’t seem to let go?

Myself.

I’ve wronged others. I’ve lied to others. I’ve mistreated others.

But God says to forgive everyone, which means even MYSELF.

Confess and seek forgiveness from others and from God. God will grant forgiveness to the heart that comes in obedience. Others may not forgive, but this is their choice for which we have no control.

Choose to forgive.

CHOOSE to forgive yourself.

Jesus has already paid the price for our sins…they’re gone…completely wiped away!! Why? I have no clue except for a God who loves us eternally and a thousand times greater than the strongest love on this earth.

Let us learn from our mistakes, but don’t let us dwell in them. It’s through God’s forgiveness, that He truly works to find REDEMPTION in our lives.

Suck it fear

Fear.

Even the mention of this word brings up images of snakes, spiders, or heights. It could also conjure something deeper, something more intense. Fear riddles the body and leaves us spineless…unable to move, unable to function.

Fear has taken many different forms in my own life. At times, I’ve been fearful to be alone. Not necessarily relationship status alone, but just alone in my own skin, in my own house. Even worse were the times when I had to drive long distances. After a few panic attacks surrounding road trips, the fear of another attack has riddled me SPINELESS at times, completely OVERWHELMED by…fear.

But what happens when we embrace our fear? What happens when we allow ourselves to be exposed to this fear?

Victory.

Victory comes when we are EXPOSED to our fear and DEFEAT it. But how? How can we defeat fear? In Matthew, Chapter 4, after being tempted for the third time, Jesus COMMANDS the devil by saying “Beat it, Satan!” How does this look in our own lives?

By telling fear…to SUCK IT.

You have no power over me.

You will be defeated.

Fear is only a future thought that we give meaning to in the present. The question becomes…will we allow fear to continue to CONTROL us or will we find VICTORY? The answer is ours to choose.

How do you celebrate your birthday?

24 years ago…I was born. 24 years of pain, joy, failures, and success. Birthdays have never been a big deal to me, but I’m starting to question....why not?

Birthdays are celebrated in a million different ways. Some have birthweeks, a weeklong celebration of their birth. Others throw extravagant parties (ever seen My Super Sweet 16?). Yet others, like myself, play it cool like it’s nothing huge.

But why shouldn’t birthdays be a bigger deal?

Why shouldn’t we celebrate every year with which we’re blessed?

Why shouldn’t we thank God for the abundant lives for which we were created?

I believe it may because we downplay our importance here on earth. We forget that God has chosen us, and only us, for the plan he has set for our lives. We forget that God, the creator of all things, lives INSIDE of us through the Holy Spirit. We forget about the gifts God has given us, by focusing on those which he has not.

Obviously, we have reason to celebrate. The question remains…will we?

Bad Day?

Have you ever just had an off-day?

Just one of these days where everything just seemed…not right?

The sucky thing is…that’s life. We’re going to have these days we just can’t connect. We’re going to have these days where our intestines just won’t mesh. We’re going to have these days we feel like life has given us a huge right-handed hook across the face.

But these days don’t define us.

Too often, we beat ourselves up for the off-days. We begin to label ourselves by the missed cues, the missed connections, and the missed assignments. We fool ourselves into thinking we’re some sort of failure.

But these days don’t define us.

A knowledgeable individual once said, “Every day is a new life to a wise man.” Let us then concentrate on the newness of tomorrow…on the opportunities to connect, the opportunities to lead, and the opportunities to succeed.

Forget about yesterday, for it is gone. Tomorrow, however, is a new day.

What do you want tomorrow to look like?

What are we doing?

What are we doing with our lives?

Are we tied up in busyness…work and school from 8 to 5, soccer practice from 5 to 6, dinner from 6 to 7, and then maybe an hour or two to catch The Office and to bed? What…to wake up the next day and do the same thing?

Is this really what life is supposed to be like?

We have to begin making intentional choices of what we’re going to do with our time. If we want to be an artist, paint. If we want to be a writer, then start writing. If we want more time with family and with God, then stop choosing not to spend more time with family and with God.

Our life is what we choose it to be.

Life is about choices every minute of the day. Choice after choice; day after day; piled one upon the other.

What are you doing with your life?

The choice is yours.

What does faith and trust really look like?

"This I do know, if God chooses to heal me, then God is God, and God is good.

If God chooses not to heal me and allows me to die, God is still God, and God is still good. To God be the glory."

- Zac Smith (Husband and father of 3 that went home on May 16, 2010)

Ummm, excuse me....Who are you??

Who are you?

Seriously, who are you?

No….not what you do for a living or what school you attend. But who are you, really?

I know who I am.

I’m Derek. I am a child of God, eternally loved. I like to play sports. I like to connect and develop relationships. I like to help those in need and challenge others (any myself) to live lives we’ve always wanted to live. I like tennis. I like playing with little kids. I like being goofy. I like making people laugh. I like to sing, dance, and just have fun. But most of all, I enjoy spending time with friends and family.

We’ll notice most of these are “I like” statements. Nothing too complicated here. We could even put “dislike” statements. Whatever helps us define who we are.

These statements tend to focus on our core foundation. They are attributes and abilities not having changed a whole lot. Now our cirumstances may change, but these qualities tend to remain consistent.

Having this foundation, we can understand the difference between who we are, and what we’re actually doing with our lives. For instance, we can use our ability to connect with others for selfish reasons or in service. Therefore, I don’t believe any of us are inherently good or evil…it’s about the choices we make.

So, who are you?

The Life You've Always Wanted to Live

John Croyle is an amazing person. A star on the University of Alabama’s football team in the early 70’s, he was All-SEC in 1972 and only lost one regular-season game under Coach Bear Bryant. After graduating college…he had a choice. Play pro football or choose another pathway in his life. After talking to his coach, Croyle decided to pass on professional football to start a Christian home for wayward boys. Huh? How was that even a choice??

Seeing John in person, you can tell why he made this decision. He spoke with passion…with focus...with purpose. John Croyle knows what he wants out of this life and goes after it with a drive like no other.

3 questions have helped John direct his paths and I'd like to take the opportunity to explore each in the coming weeks.

1)      Who are you?

2)      What are you?

3)      What are you on earth for?

My hope is that by taking a glimpse at the questions above together, we can direct our own lives with the same focus, drive, passion, and boldness John Croyle lives day-in and day-out.

One for the Sleepless Nights

I’m struggling today.

I’m struggling with pride.

I’m struggling with sadness.

I’m struggling with being content.

Currently, I’m in a hotel room outside of Dallas, TX. I’m an auditor so we occasionally get to travel. However, this is the first time I’ve traveled since December. Things are a lot different since December.

I’m facing pain; the pain of wounds that my actions caused for several months. I made some immature decisions that I have to grow up from. We’re not forced to grow up; it’s a choice.

I can choose to grow or I can choose to crumble. I can choose the ways of my past of getting lost in tv, playing on the internet…numbing my mind from the pain and brokenness of this life. But I’m not going to.

I’m choosing to accept the pain. Accept my pride. Accept my sadness. Accept not being content…because the numbing is not working anymore. Sure, I can starve the pain and brokenness for a little while, but it’ll be back.

God doesn’t want you and me to live in pain. God doesn’t want you and me to live in brokenness. God wants us to seek him and sometimes that takes time. Growing pains will come, but we’ll be stronger when the day breaks in the morning.

It’s easy to talk about the day break, but it’s harder to deal with the pain until then. But I choose the comforts of the Holy Spirit over the comforts of this world. That way I can find true growth...true joy...true life.

The Magic Formula for Happiness - What Really Matters

What do we expect from God?

The decision to accept Jesus into my life has been the most important decision I’ve ever made. This decision has given me a reason to live freely, in addition to hope and comfort, especially in time of need, At the same time, I may have expected a little less pain, sadness, and brokenness in my life. I almost intended the decision to accept Jesus to “fix” me and be able to wake up the next day and be completely perfect.

Donald Miller challenges us in his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, with the following passage, “And when you stop expecting God to end all of your troubles, you’d be surprised how much you like spending time with God.”

Happiness is a choice. The world around us has a plethora of options to seek temporary happiness through whether it be popularity, materiality, drugs, sex, or another. But this happiness is only temporary. It’s gone in the morning, just as easily as it was to make the decision the night before. Instead, I challenge us to accept our pain and choose to find true happiness through ourselves. We can then find that true joy comes from these type of choices. Does it suck at the time? Yea, but it’s worth it.

Brokenness and pain surround our lives, but it’s our choices that define whether we find true happiness and accept God at his fullest.

The Magic Formula for Happiness - Relationships

Within the context of dating relationships, I have been a victim of the “freshness of dating” syndrome. And what’s not to like about dating? You’ve got someone you can find comfort in, snuggle up with on a cold winter night, and just spend life with in companionship. The problem lies when the “freshness” tends to wear off and we’re faced with the messiness and hardships of our lives.

A lot of problems with my own relationships came because I expected happiness to come from the relationship...instead of myself. I expected someone else to be perfect and bring me joy when…that’s just not reasonable. What ends up happening is you lose a fantastic person due to something that wasn't their responsibility.

When God calls us to marriage within Genesis, it is stated the, “two became one.” It’s not saying the ½ and a ½ made one, but two whole people came together into one relationship. I’m not saying that we have to be perfect to go down this road of dating, but rather I’m challenging us to not expect the other to “complete us.” When we expect relationships (or even marriage) to be the source of our happiness, that's when problems tend to arise.

The Magic Formula for Happiness, Pt 1

Growing up, I viewed happiness as a top corporate position, a wife and 2 kids, a nice car, and a posh house in the suburbs. This was epitome of success in my small world. Once I hit this point in my life, I would be “there” and would never be unhappy again.

Your perfect scenario may look a little different, but I believe our human nature tends to make us think that once we hit a certain point in our life, sadness will forever cease. First of all, we may never achieve our “dream” scenario. Even if we did, would this really solve everything? Would we really never be sad again if we achieve all of our dreams?

We'll be taking a look at what truly defines happiness throughout the next week, but let us take the opportunity to start with material possessions. We live in a world that is constantly releasing something new: new iphone, new 3D TV, etc, and we tend to think, "If only I could have (insert cool thing), my life would be complete."

Donald Miller challenges us in his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, with the following, “And when you stop expecting material possessions to complete you, you’d be surprised at how much pleasure you get in material possessions.”

In a world where bigger is better and we are all rushing to MacAuthority to get the latest Ipad, may we take a minute to truly appreciate the possessions we do own. I’m not saying the Ipad 2 is inherently evil, but when we tend to seek happiness through an object, a problem does arise.

To be continued in Pt 2....

The Blood Drive

The blood drive. The needle in my flesh. The pain in the inside of my elbow. Life is taken for life to be given back away. Fears are faced; fears are conquered.

7 years ago, I did the cool thing; I gave blood and got out of Spanish class to boot…what a sweet hook-up. While a freshman in college 2 years later, I decided to give blood to impress a couple upperclassmen ladies. Within 1 minute of the needle piercing my skin, I was lying on my back with my feet in the air. Another minute later, and the needle had to be pulled as I was fading too quickly. Needless to say, I hadn’t been back since.

But then Tuesday arrived and my arch-nemesis reared its ugly cross-like head at me once again. I’d run out of excuses (aka traveling to foreign countries) and had to embrace my fear. I was scared. I was nervous. My palms soaked in sweat. I was “that guy” once again with his feet in the air.

But I filled that bag of blood. I conquered the blood drive and will be back the next time. Will I always be fearful? Maybe, but I have a pretty good feeling next time is going to be that much easier.

Donald Miller tells us in his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, that conflict creates a good storyline. No one wants to read or watch a story where there is no conflict, no force to be overcome. For me, fear of the blood drive was just one of the many conflicts I’ve faced on a daily basis. However, I was sick and tired of being held back.

Will we always have fears holding us back? Yes, but the truth is God didn’t give us a spirit of timidity, but one of strength, ready to conquer the battles that arise in our everyday lives. God is by our side, helping us fight the battle…one blood drive at a time.

What fears are holding you back?

Blessings to the Max

“‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops,
What if Your healing comes through tears,
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near,
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise.”

Take a few moments to read over the lines above Laura Story challenges us through her song, “Blessings.” When we think about blessings, we tend to think of getting a new promotion, acing a test, or the sight of a newborn child. These are wonderful blessings that no one could every say otherwise, but let us take a broader look at what defines our blessings.

To take it a step further, we could also define blessings as wisdom and strength (emotional, spiritual, physical) among other attributes. For me, I’m working on my emotional strength. I’m working on accepting my fears in this life that surround me, and fighting through them with confidence.

The thing is, we have to sometimes go through pain to achieve wisdom. For my own situation, I’ve had to deal with wounds in my life that were cut 10 to 15 years ago that I’ve only bandaged. I’ve bandaged these wounds with popularity, girls, and money. However, I’m sick and tired of bandages. I’m ready to expose my wounds, but that comes with a price…pain.

The pain in this life will continue to try to bring us down, but we will be healed. We will be healed through the tears and the pouring rains of our current situations.

What are wounds in your life that may need to be exposed to pain in order to heal?

The Suckiness of Life

Life sucks. Get a helmet.

One of the best phrases EVER from my personal favorite, “Boy Meets World.” The comedy is strong, but the words are even stronger. How true is that statement in our own personal lives? Personally, it can hit to the core at times. Life sucks and we’re inevitably going to have deal with loneliness, sadness, pain, and fear among a load of other emotions. These emotions are unavoidable, but our response is up to us.

So what do we do? I propose that we accept the fear, loneliness, sadness, and pain. What?? We actually allow ourselves to experience these emotions? Now I’m not proposing we sulk in negativity to the point of depression, but I am proposing we accept these emotions rather than avoid them. If we can accept our loneliness in its current state, how much sweeter will companionship be once we have that blessing? Or if we can accept and embrace our fear, how much stronger will we be once we defeat that fear?

For those of us who strive to “live life to the fullest”, help us to accept the pain in life as much as the joy. May we then truly find the fullness we are striving towards.

Decision Time

Decisions. Our lives revolve around the choices we make in our everyday lives. Say we want to call our family more to keep in touch. That’s a start, but did we actually choose to call our family this week, or did it happen to be passed over? Even better. Tests. We can say we’re going to do better on that next text, but did we actually choose to study or did we choose to hang out with friends past 11?

I have a problem with not taking responsibility for my choices. I’m the king of excuses and my favorite one…God. Well, God didn’t plan for me to pass that test. Well, God obviously didn’t want me to have that job. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there isn’t such a thing as divine intervention. If we choose to disobey God, we're going to know it. But for the job interview we didn't get, if we didn’t choose to prepare ourselves, was it really divine intervention? Or was it our own choice?

A mentor of mine quoted Tim Elmore when he said that we are co-creating our lives with God. WE are making decisions and choices of where we want to lead our lives. Do you believe that God is towering over us, making sure we don't mess-up the chess match? Or do you believe in a loving God that’s going to love us just as much if we choose Wheaties over Cheerios for breakfast?

It’s time to take responsibility. And it starts now.

Nothing....Zilch....Nada

Without you, I am nothing.

Without you, I am nothing.

Hillsong proclaims this declaration in their song “Search My Heart”. It sounds so great off the lips…”Without you I am nothing, God. Without you I am nothing.” Maybe we even put a hand up in praise as we make this statement with our fellow Christians. But do we really believe it? Do we really believe that without God, we are nothing? And if so, do we live this out in our daily lives? Heck, do we even want to be nothing without God?

God doesn’t call us to be hermits, but he does call us to love. Without God, we are broken and needy. With God, to tell you the truth, we're still broken and needy. But we have hope. Hope in the love of Christ that he’s going to do a good work in us. Hope in that God will use others to help carry our burdens when the crap won't stop hitting our lives.

What if we came together and were willing to be broken and needy? What if we were willing to allow God to use those around us to help carry our burdens and mend the broken seams? What if we challenged each other to put our eternal hope in Christ? Because the truth remains, without God, we are nothing.

What do you want?

What do we want out of this life?

When was the last time we seriously asked ourselves this question. Do we want a title? Do we want time to spend with our family? I know growing up; I always wanted to be an Olympian, a doctor, or a top CEO. Olympian is out of the question due to physical limitations, while I really don’t like science so that exes out the doctor. The CEO, on the other hand, is plausible. I could go to grad school, get a sweet degree, continue on the corporate track and have a nice office. But is that what I want? Now, your talents may be in another area, whether it be music, science, writing, or just being a darn hard worker, but the question remains the same.

Personally, I want something a little different. As much as the corporate title may sound sweeet (and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that people who strive for these accomplishments can't be very good people --- on the contrary, they're some of the best people I know), that’s not personally what I want. I'm convinced life comes down to 1) God, 2) priorities/boundaries, and 3) choices. These are just decisions we have to constantly be asking and making of ourselves. The only question that reamains is...what do you want?

Better Than Taylor's Love Story

“If I can speak in the tongues of men and angels…if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge…if I have faith that can move mountains…if I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love…I am nothing…I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13

All of our actions are to be done out of one single verb…love. What? You mean God doesn't care that I donated half of my clothes to Goodwill (dang, I miss that sweet jacket)? He doesn't care that I gave my entire Saturday to play bingo with the elderly at the retirement home (man, my clothes still stink)? But that's not all it's about. Once Jesus encompasses our life, what we're called to is…love. The service and works will then flow from the love we allow to consume us. Now this is much easier said than done, especially when people are well…jerks. Personally, I can really suck at showing love while in the car. Whether it’s a car going 55 in the left lane of the interstate or another car sitting in the middle of the road without its blinker on…these things just get to me. But both of these are just distractions; distractions to the one truth the world needs all around us…love.

Now, with the past week having been set a part to say “I love you,” why don’t we ignore our current relationship status, whether it be married, dating, or single, and set our eyes upon sharing love with, well….everyone.

Poop on the Windshield

It was just one of those weeks. You know those weeks where nothing goes right and you keep expecting the end to be right around the corner, when in all reality it’s just another staircase spiraling downwards? From being late to work, to staying at work too late, to not getting all the work done, to failing a test…you think it’s all about to end, “Just get me to the weekend!” And then poop comes down on your windshield. And we’re not talking a single bird, but a whole flock. At first you don’t know what keeps hitting your car but then the dread starts to overwhelm you as you realize you’re stuck with nowhere to go and poop just won’t stop raining down.

But then an opening comes along, an intercession to the poop falling down on your life. Someone gives you the gift of grace and lets you slide in. Jesus comes in and leads you saying, “It’s ok, I’ll wipe you clean, let’s keep going.”

The poop of life is inevitable but the way we deal with it defines who we are inside.

The Art of the Cope

Faith? Trust? What do these words really mean? Are they just words to say to yourself when you get down? Or is there a way to physically perform each of these actions? I believe the latter. What do these words mean to me? These words mean trusting in God and realizing that the short-term coping measures this world offers are just that, short-term.

Now don’t get me wrong; coping is a way of life. However, there is a distinct difference between healthy and unhealthy coping. I’ll be straight up-front and let everyone know unhealthy coping is far easier and quicker to relive the pain. And in our “instant gratification” society, short-term coping is the perfect fit. However, it is again, short-term, and soon enough we’re bound to find ourselves going back to the unhealthy coping trigger again and again, broken and longing for more. How do I know? Because I’ve been there.

Know this though; my prayer is our unhealthy coping will find an end. Whether it is the day we finally face the consequences for our actions or the day we finally get sick of the proverbial cycle, there is hope. How you may ask? Jesus. Jesus Christ and the accountability of your brothers and sisters in Christ. We are needy people, made for relationship. Ironically, the only way to break out of our personal cycle is through someone else.

Blood of the Lamb

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt you didn’t do anything right? A day where you just woke up and knew this day wasn’t going to be a good one; a day where you knew you were going to deliberately turn you back on God’s’ desires? The fact is, by the end of that day, we’re left empty and realizing why we don’t want to be that person of the world who focuses only on themselves. “Hallelujah, for the blood of the lamb that was slain”. You gave it all Jesus. You didn’t take one day and decide that you were going to turn your back on us as sinners. But the thing is, even through your perfection and our imperfection, you still love us. You still love us God, for some wild reason beyond our simplistic comprehension. And for that, we praise you and we love you.

“Well, I'm falling to my knees. I feel the earth beneath,
With the weight of my sin, and this crushing unbelief,
Could You really love me with all that I've done, oh Lord?
Hallelujah for the blood of the Lamb that was slain.”

We love you God.

Words For 2011

Our youth group on Wednesday was challenged to spend time in reflection; reflection towards the blessings of 2010 and our prayers for 2011. This time allowed us to take a purposeful amount of time to consider all God had done for us along with our worries and fears about the upcoming year. I challenge everyone to take a bit of time, whether it is 5, 10, or even 60 minutes to reflect on God’s glory this past year. You may be very well surprised at the blessings you recall and experience once again!

After that, I challenge you to reflect on this upcoming year. I decided to take it a bit further and considered the words that I hoped would define my life for 2011. They are fasting, vulnerability, and accountability.

I’d like to reflect on each element/word in the upcoming days, however, I challenge you to prayerfully consider the words that you want to define your life in 2011. Write them down, repeat them every day, and most importantly, challenge your thoughts and actions by them each and every day in 2011. May God bless our lives together, as we follow in obedience.

We love you God.

Borderland of Fear

We're stuck in fear. We're stuck in the borderland before God because of our fear. We're fearful to move closer to God so we use excuses; excuses like we need more time, more money, more confidence. We're broken and free to admit it, but we use it as a crutch, as an excuse.

I’ve felt extremely blessed within the last few years. I started to get my life straightened out and made goals while realizing my desires for this life. The problem is God has opened doors, but I don’t want to move. I may never get a new job or move locations or get married because of fear. If this sounds similar to your own life, you may be telling yourself, “Oh, just give me another year or two, then I’ll be ready.” But seriously, in another year or two, where are we going to be at? My guess is down in the dumps, burned out that God hasn’t shown us where to go. On the contrary, however, God has neon lights blasting everywhere, reminding how much He loves us and how much He wants us to go after the desires of our hearts. But we can’t see the lights. The light are covered; covered in the muskiness of fear.

God, help us to wipe away the muskiness of fear that’s clouding the vision you are trying to show us. We know You’re there. Remind us again and again how You want to bless us, how You’ll never leave us or forsake us, and how You want us to go after the desires of our hearts. Because, let’s be honest, if our hearts are in You, our desires will be blessed. Help us to remember You will always keep blessing us whether it's plan A, plan B, or plan Z. You are there and all we need to do is trust, trust that You will bless us no matter the door we choose. You’re bigger than us and our choices and for that, we thank you.

We love you God.