Why Feb 1st is when you should make your New Year's resolutions

Many people fall into either one of three categories when it comes to New Year's resolutions. 

There are those who year after year enthusiastically commit to various audacious goals only to experience failure a few months in. The meant well, but it just didn't come together. "Well, if the Cubs can try again next year so can I" is the annual attitude.

There are also those refuse to set resolutions. "No one ever sticks with those. Who wants to feel like a failure?"

And then, similar to the existence of Big Foot, there supposedly is a group of people out there who indeed do keep resolutions. I always wondered if such people were successful because they set goals like, "I'm going to make sure to breath every day this year." But if the resolutions are actually more challenging then this, then I need to meet the Sasquatch so I can ask him what the secret to success is.

To set goals is a good and necessary endeavor, a discipline of the successful and prudent. I'd like to offer the suggestion that maybe the reason some fail at keeping resolutions is tied to when they are made: New Year's Eve. 

The pain of miscarriage and the goodness of God

Devastating. 

When talking of miscarriage, I'm not sure if there is a better word that can be used to describe what you're going through. Every person I've ever met who has gone through the experience uses this word when telling their story. 

Good.

When talking of God, this is one of many words we can use when describing Him.  Goodness is part of His defining character. It's who He is...all the time.

How these two words can come together in one story is hard to fathom. Yet, I'm incredibly thankful for my friends Tiffany & Daniel Schaaff. Last week Tiffany shared their story on her blog and beautifully brought these two words together. 

I'd really encourage you to take a minute and read her entry: God is Good...So Good!

Everyone Mad Libs

The only people who don't like Mad Libs are the people who don't know what they are. And Nazi's. 

So for all of the unfortunately misinformed, and for all of the short evil dictators with little mustaches out there, this is the idea behind Mad Libs:

Wrong worship in the church

This video is rather funny, and also rather potent with truth and reality:

May we never minimize worship to simply singing songs on Sunday.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 

The worst Christmas program ever...

...includes what?

Hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. So I'm looking for some input from whomever will offer it: 

When you think of Christmas programs/services that churches put on - what makes them just plain bad?

What doesn't make for a good Christmas program? 

As I'm thinking through things for Christmas this year - I'm really curious what people will share. Please be honest - and please don't bash/critique someone's opinion. =)

Leave a comment below. Thanks!

Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt's search for the myth

Last week, there was a headline on the Huffington Post Entertainment page that I couldn't resist clicking: "How Heidi and Spencer Squandered All Their Money"

If you've stood in line at a grocery store at any time over past this year, you've probably at least once seen their names on a magazine cover. A headline about her numerous plastic surgeries. One about their supposed divorce.

Here is the summary, with the main points: How Heidi and Spencer Squandered All Their Money. Here is the full article: When Reality-TV Fame Runs Dry 

My opinion: EVERYONE should read this article and really think it through.  Why?

An elderly cerebral hemorrhage survivor got in my face

This week I'm working with a smaller education conference in the southern part of Illinois. It's incredibly hot, and the church only has air conditioning in the sanctuary, which basically means I've been sweating like a dog for the last three days.  It's still been a great time.

Not long after I did my presentation on Logos, an elderly woman came up to me and asked if she could sit with me at my table.  She thought the software looked amazing and wanted to get it to help her get ready for Sunday School. 

"This will be a good tool for me I think. I love to learn and study God's Word, and don't take the opportunity to be able to do so lightly"

"I'm with you there mame," I said. 

Looking over the Logos form, she says, "You see, I'm a cerebral hemorrhage survivor. Most people do not survive that ordeal. But I did"

That's just ugly!

The Aspire Pastor's Conference is going on right now in Phoenix AZ, and I'm here with some guys from the Logos team.  Last night we heard Bob Pitman speak on everything the pastor does being about Jesus; pastors aren't to ever proclaim themselves, we are proclaiming Jesus.  Sometimes the most basic truths are the ones we need reminded of, and they also make for the most powerful sermons.

Toward the end he was talking about genuine and fake humility when he said this:

Some of the ladies in our churches have their blouse sleeves down to their wrist, their skirts down to their ankles.  They have large bee-hive hairdos that tower over the congregation.  I asked one such lady why she does that, to which she said, "I'm just trying to have humility."  Come on lady - that's not humility, that's just ugly!"

6000 people in attendance, and you could probably hear me laugh above them all.  Even this morning I'm laughing as I type out the recounting.

Then he said this: "Humility is not an outward expression, it is an inward reality."  

Now that's powerful.

Always good to get a humility check.  Always good when it comes along with a pretty hilarious story.

"I won a button for being humble once, but they took it away from me because I wore it." - Mike Warnke 

Muscles on a Plane

Just got home a bit ago from Southport, NC.  My Southwest flight was an early one, taking off at 7:10am (6:10am to my internal Chicago clock).  I had a window seat near the front, there was another guy in the aisle, middle seat was empty.  Score.  However, I was toward the front of the B Seating Group when I sat down and it was a full flight. The extra elbow room was only temporary.

Traveling corner to corner

Heading home to Chicago today after a week in California.  Great week for work, and it's been awesome to have my family along with me for the ride.  We fell in love with San Francisco!  What an amazing city!

This trip started last weekend when I was in Burlington, VT.  But last Sunday morning, I wasn't only coming home from VT, I would be traveling from Burlington, VT all the way to Los Angeles, CA.  My itinerary looked like this:

My birthday, my mayorship, my grandpa

Today is my birthday.  I turned 36.  Four more years on this side of the hill.

Presently, our family is driving south down RT 41 in Indiana to my parent’s fishing trailer near Terre Haute.  It’s about a 3 ½ hour drive, and just for clarification – Jeannette is behind the wheel right now.  Baylee is watching the Incredibles, Jaxon is out cold, and I’m spending some quality time here with my Mac Book Pro (once you go Mac you don’t go back).

Coming down 41, not too far south from 90/94, we passed the McDonalds in Highland, Indiana.  This is a special McDonald’s.  This is the McDonald’s that I am the former mayor of.  Yes…I’m serious.

The Mess & The Iceberg

Yesterday I wrote about the 7-11 owner Jeannette & I talked with who was robbed at gunpoint.  The idea of lingering pain is still on my mind (yes, it's lingering), so this will be my cud for awhile.

Do you tell people what you're feeling or what you're going through?  

Do you open about things you've gone through, whether they are part of your past or present?  

As far as our feelings and hurts and ideas and fears and doubts and dreams go, we treat the idea of sharing any of them, of opening up, a lot like company coming over.  

I Cried Like A Baby

Wednesday morning I posted the story of when I almost lost my iPhone.  Just a note for the cynical: every part of that story was true, including the punch in the gut part at the end.

After hitting the post button I was sat in my office thinking about that gut punch and my life, my expertise in screwing up, and my warehouse of questions.  It wasn't a dark cloud moment, but it wasn't time for cartwheels either.

I Lost My iPhone!

Late afternoon on Monday Jeannette & I took off to Indy for a couple meetings I had.  For the 3 hour trip I was wearing my usual uniform of shorts, t-shirt, and sandals, but had my "work clothes" of slacks, polo, and...sandals ready to change into upon arriving at our hotel before the first meeting.

We hit some horrible construction traffic part way down and realized we were going to be cutting it short getting to my 7pm meeting.  Rather than banking on being able to stop at the hotel first, we pulled into a rest area so I could change in style.

Inception

Monday night Jeannette & I  were finally able to see Inception. Like when we saw Avatar, we were coming in a couple weeks after the initial release.  Part luckily, part purposefully, I didn't read anything being said - so, I managed to come in as normally desired: with only the general plot idea and no spoilers.

A New Direction

Really appreciate the comments I've received from my last blog post.  It seems I'm not the only one who has experienced a season like that.  Hearing others feedback has clarified for me a community reality: it's important to be honest and open about such things.  I never want to be the leader who puts on the "I have it all together" facade. 

A confessional prayer

March was a low month for me.  I don't want to go as far as to say it was a "dark" month - but it was definitely a time of soul searching and soul trembling.

Processing a new layout

I think I have the site the way I want it.  Now I just need to get writing again.

Writing here is something I know I need to do.  Thinking through things at a deeper level - whether it be something experienced that day or a movie I watched - is something that makes me...me.  When I'm not doing this I know I'm either too busy or for whatever reason closing myself to who I really am.  For the last few months it has been a little bit of column A and a little bit column B.

But as I move into the next chapter of my story...I need to write, I need to process.

And I also need to update my other two incredibly out of date pages, my fam page & my study/teach page.  One at a time...one at a time.

How do you come back from your daughter dying?

Though there aren't a ton of Christians artists/bands that I really like, Steven Curtis Chapman has indeed always been a favorite. I honestly can't think of one of his projects that I'd consider a "bad album." Sure, there might be a song, or at the most two songs on a CD that I don't care for (Ex: Dancing with the Dinosaurs), but normally 8 out of 10 songs are great. Of those, 2-3 are usually amazing to a caliber that other artists can't compete or compare (Ex: Speechless, Magnificent Obsession). He's consistently a quality artist, consistently an incredible and fresh song writer.

And then his adopted daughter was killed in a freak car accident.

Along with everyone else who knows who he is, I was completely shocked by the news (article). Being Baylee's dad, my heart broke for him. Broke! I remember holding Baylee tight that night and praying, "Be with him Jesus. My heart feels his pain, but at the same time I can't imagine it. I don't want to."

How can he come back from that?
How can he keep singing and performing?

And if he does keep going, what's the first single going to be? It's not like he can just ignore the tragedy. At the same time, I'd selfishly think, "don't let him sugarcoat it."

Well, SSC's new song is out. It's called "Heaven is the Face." And as always, as should have been expected...it is amazing!!! And it is so for two reasons.

It's amazing because it's the same quality music and song writing I've always expected and received from Steve Curtis Chapman. The rhythmic guitar playing, the melody, the lyrics - pure and total SSC - as always.

It's also amazing because he put his heart out there. He didn't sugarcoat it at all. Instead he's honestly and genuinely shared part of what he's experiencing with us in a 3min, 46 sec song.

Here's the tune, followed by a video of his comments about it. I encourage you to give it a listen, maybe it can be an encouragement to you or someone you know.

Another Great Story you need to hear: Sarah Cook's story

Sarah Cook was in our youth group for a long time, a girl we love and care about very much. Sarah recently had the opportunity to share her story on the Joyce Meyer's television show. Not a Joyce Meyer fan - but I am a huge Sarah Cook fan, and here is her story:

The first part is all Sarah:


The second part is Sarah dialoging with Joyce Meyers:


I had to break them up in order to have the whole thing fit on YouTube.

Pass Sarah's story on to those you think would be encouraged by it.