Trusting in the slow work of God

Last night brought a rare moment of being able to just sit in the living room and be quiet for awhile. It was a prayerful time: who I am, my family, church and all the horizon will unknowingly reveal. While staring at our fake fireplace a line from a prayer I heard a few months ago arrived, "Trust in the slow work of God." It comes from this prayer by Father Teilhard de Chardin:

5 simple steps to get the most amazing study Bible on the planet right now (for free)!!!

One of the most important things for someone who loves Jesus to be engrossed in is the Bible. Not to merely read it but to study it, learn it, and live out its message. That type of study takes time, work, and resources. For the last 10+ years the best tool I've found and used for my own study is Logos Bible Software. It is the most amazing resource that actually saves me time and makes the work of studying fun and easy.

I'm incredibly pumped about a new resource that Logos has recently released, a brand new study Bible called Faithlife. There really isn't anything else out there like it and it has the potential of empowering the church for Bible study like never before. Check out this short video that gives an overview:

50 Days of Prayer

We've been doing strategic planning at New Life Lincoln Park this summer and one of the things that has become apparent is that we want to become a church that highly values prayer. We don't want to be people who pray just because it's one of the Jesus things to do. We want to be people who have prayer as part of our core DNA. We are not going to be a church that does a bunch of stuff and then asks God to give it an OK. We are going to seek Him, follow Him, and join Him in what He is doing!

The only way to become a people like that is to develop a daily habit, a daily discipline of prayer. In light of this, today at church we kicked off "50 Days of Prayer"

Pastoring: the happiest of jobs, the most painful of jobs

Within the same hour yesterday I came across two different articles that speak about the job of being a pastor: 

• One from Forbes: The Ten Happiest Jobs 
• And one from a daily devotional that a friend from church forwarded to me: What Our Pastors Wish We Knew.

Though seemingly in contradiction of one another, both are accurate. 

To be honest though, I hope more people read the second one.

 

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you." 1 Thessalonians 5:1

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Did you fall for yesterday's Back to the Future scam?

Oh Back To The Future.

You are up there with Ferris, the Breakfast Club and Ghostbusters as movies that inspired my generation's mindset (probably explains a lot about my weirdness). You also inspired us to skateboard more than Tony Hawk ever could and to play guitar before we ever heard of Guitar Hero. And though hardly any of us had ever seen or heard of a DeLorean before you (just admit it), nothing can take your place in our minds when that word is by chance uttered.

So yesterday was a big day.

It started slow but then grew like wildfire on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Yesterday was the day that Doc set the time machine to in Back to the Future II:

Obviously anyone who grew up with these movies would get instantly excited and then share the big news. I did. It was like an instant reaction: BOOM! RETWEET! RESHARE! REPIN!

Thing is...it was a scam.

How to give comfort to soldiers

Over the weekend Jeannette and I were able to take the kids to the Magic House in St Louis. It's one of the best children's museums that we've been to with tons of different environments for the kids to be creative and play make-believe.

"Once Upon a Time" was an exhibit of walking through various storybooks. One of the stories took place in a civil war setting, so there were tents, prairie items, soldier gear and the such. 

Amongst everything our kids definitely liked the drummer boy's tent:

But one thing I thought rather interesting was in the "medical tent." It was completely decked out with bandages and stretchers so that soldier patients could be attended to. On the back wall of the tent hung this sign:

Don't quit too soon

Seth Godin wrote the following on his blog today.

"I don't even know what I'm afraid of"

This is the fear that kills brands and b2b sales and individual creativity. It's the fear without a name, without a face, without false facts that can be shot down or arguments that can be reasoned with.

This is the amygdala firing, the lizard brain being triggered without rational explanation.

When we are wrestling against the elusive and resilient fear with no name, often the only choice is to live with it, to care enough about forward motion and practical progress that we can come embrace the inner trembling that won't give up.

In market after market paralyzed with fear, this trembling might be the very best sign that you're on to something.

He is speaking about business, but the truth flows into faith and relationships as well.

Life gets shaky at time. Life can bring a ton of uncertainty. Life can be downright scarey. Throw in a side of loneliness or hurt or letdown and things can move from uncertainty to overwhelming in the blink of an eye. 

Living in the red white and blue doesn't like this. We don't like uncertainty nor imbalance and certainly hate the feeling that we have no control. So whenever we find ourselves wrestling with the "elusive and resilient fear with no name" we would rather step away than step up. We'd rather go after balance and wholeness somewhere else than risk facing the unknown outcome of where we are.

So where does faith come in then?

Maybe that shaky, uncertain, scary, lonely, confusing, fearful spot is the most amazing, holy, beautiful, incredibly spot you could be in. 

Maybe you look around with, "God, why do you have me in this impossible situation? 

And maybe God looks around with, "Why not? It's perfect! You get to trust me and I get to show off!"

Easy doesn't produce faith. 

Easy doesn't produce anything.

Imagine what you're on the verge of!

Whether marriage, family, friendship, or church: Avoid backwards. Move forward. Don't give up. Keep on.

Don't quit too soon.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 10:39-11:1

The father who keeps his promises

Sunday night our family visited Mosaic, Erwin McManus' church in West Hollywood. It was an incredible service and Erwin gave a phenomenal message, as expected. Before we left for church though, our kids had their hearts set on going swimming at the hotel. We knew we wouldn't be able to make visiting Mosaic if we took a dip, so we ensured them there would be swimming when we got back. 

While buckling Baylee in after church the first words out of her mouth were, "We're going swimming when we get back, right dad?" I love swimming and having fun with my kids, so with complete confidence and intention I said, "Baylee, we are going to swim! I promise you! Unless the pool is broken, we will swim. And if for some reason it's closed when we get back then I promise we will go in the morning." The result was one huge smile.

Now take the fact that 8pm Los Angles time is actually 10pm to Baylee and Jaxon's little Chicago bodies and add to it a 35 minute drive back to our hotel, and result is two zonked out little kids. Gone. Comatose. At this point it didn't matter if the pool was open or not.

But it did matter in the morning. At 7:45am Baylee was awake and the first words she said were, "Daddy, do we get to go swimming?" But she didn't stop there. She added the other words. She played the trump card. She called me out.

There was a day when it snowed REALLY hard.

We haven't gotten a lot of snow in Chicago this winter. Really barely any. But that wasn't the case in February of 2011. Last year we had one of the worst snow storms ever. Last year was when Snowmaggedon hit!

It was a year ago February the snow storm of the century headed toward Chicago. Now in saying that, this century is only 12 years old. Regardless, the winters over the last 12 years have for the most part been pretty lame. But what we saw crawling across the weather radars toward us last year did indeed look like a huge blue monster. The way that people talked about getting extra water, extra food, fuel for generators, blankets and the such, it was like they were getting ready for Y2K all over again.

The hour came. The monster crawled across Chicago. It was indeed the storm of this young century.

Snowmageddon. 

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!

A passion to end modern-day slavery

Highlighting the Passion2012 conference in Atlanta from this past week, this is pretty amazing 3 minute video. It's worth every minute to watch:

And now I'm asking myself what it looks like to join this movement on a day to day basis. 

Thoughts?

When was the last time you went to church?

Just because the last message was incredibly boring doesn't mean today's will be.

Just because no one said HI before doesn't mean no one will smile and say welcome today.

Just because fakes were at the last place doesn't mean they aren't genuine at the new place.

Just because you were hurt at the last church doesn't mean you can't find healing at the next one.

Just because the last pastor was a prideful jerk doesn't mean the next can't be a humble servant.

Don't condemn all Christians as guilty because a few act like complete idiots.

Don't attempt to hold Jesus hostage because of how His children behave sometimes.

Don't allow a few worse case scenarios to blind you to all of the best ones.

When was the last time you went to church?

Don't miss an opportunity today.

Pray Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani doesn't get executed!

Literally just heard of this within the last 15 minutes. 

And in light of the situation, the reality of the above sentence is in and of itself a complete travesty!!!

Here is the situation, copying from the Washington Post:  

Just days after Iran released two Americans accused of spying, an Iranian court has upheld the apostasy conviction and execution sentence of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s supreme court had previously ruled that the trial court must determine if Youcef had been a Muslim before converting to Christianity. However, the judges, acting like terrorists with a hostage, demanded that he recant his faith in Christ before even taking evidence. The judges stated that even though the judgment they have made is against the current Iranian and international laws, they have to uphold the previous decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom. 

Here's the the link to the full article: Christian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces potential execution.

Stunned about this. Heartbroken for Pastor Nadarkhani, for his wife and children. Praying fervently for him right now. 

Taking this from another blog I read about the situation, it sums up actions steps that can and should be taken:

• EDUCATE. Read the story below from the Washington Post and educate yourselves. [here for RSS readers]
• ADVOCATE. Click this email form to write the Iranian embassy, urging them NOT to go ahead with the execution following the trial. I’ve included a copy of my letter in the comments.
• PRAY. Pray. And pray some more.
• SHARE. Share Pastor Yousef’s story and faith. 

I wrote a note to the Iranian Ambassador. If you do so, please be respectful and follow the suggestions given on the site. If you're not going to act in such a manner, then don't write an email.

And pray...pray...pray for Pastor Yousef Madarkhani.

A reminder of - "I want to holded"

Back in January I shared this story of Baylee almost bringing Jeannette and I to tears (happy ones): "I want to be holded" It's actually one of the most read posts ever on my blog.

Well, Saturday night before bedtime Baylee and I had the below conversation. It was another reminder of wanting to be held.

Me: "Baylee, will you promise me that after you turn 5 that you won't get any bigger? Can you just stay like this? I really like you this size."

Baylee: "Sure. Wait just a minute." 

She then turns around in front of me, closes her eyes and clasps her hands, "God, please let me be five for a long long time. Amen."

She then turns back to face me and says, "I hope he answers that dad because I like it when you hold me." 

And again...she near brings me to tears.

Tonight's moment made me think of the one back in January. Very lucky to have this little lady in my life - because she continually points me toward seeing what is most important.

"Lord...teach me to pray like a 4 year old. Amen"

White Ribbon Day: Remembering 9/11 [VIDEO]

The day after the attacks, my friend Dave Trout came to me with 8-10 hours of 9/11 news footage recorded on one VHS and an idea for a video. The plan was to create for church a montage video, set to the song, White Ribbon Day. After two all nighters, about two hours before services started, the memorial video was finished. 

Here it is:

My 2yr old Jaxon & G.K. Chesterton

Monday we had lunch at a McDonalds near Midway airport. Because I was flying out for work in the afternoon, we went to this particular Golden Arches so I could laugh with the kids in the play area up till the last minute before having to head over to the airport.

It really is amazing to think of the minds that artfully concoct the different tube and slide patterns. Kids go through laughing and sweating and enjoying every minute, parents go through at the risk of needing reconstructive knee surgery afterward.

This particular play area had an enclosed section that I could actually stand up in, thanks be the maker, my head just an inch or two from the ceiling.  It was circular, about 5 feet across, and for whatever reason my two-year-old Jaxon loved this part of the structure. Probably because he didn't have to really climb anything to get to it, just one tube crawl into the enclosure. 

Week in Review

I've been really trying to get into a regular blogging rhythm lately.  It's just a good place for me to process what I'm experiencing in life, regardless what it is (scroll to the bottom of the page and read the left column, as far as why I do this blog). One cool thing I've seen in the writings of other bloggers I follow is the concept of a day for random meandering.  Ben Arment calls it his "Wednesday Morning Run Down" and Tim Schraeder calls his the "Monday Mind Dump." Love this idea, and am going to learn from it. For me Saturdays will be the best day for meandering, hence, "The Week in Review." 

Here we go...

"I want to be holded"

We were eating dinner last night when Baylee told us that she doesn't want to turn five next December.

"I want to skip five and not get big."

We both gave out little laughs, "Everyone gets big Baylee."

"Not me, I want to stay like this." It was a proud declaration.

The parents play along, "Well, why don't you want to get bigger?"

She looks each of us in the eye, "Because if I'm big you won't be able to hold me. I want to be holded."

Jeannette: "I think I'm gonna cry Baylee."

Me: "Baylee, you could probably ask me for whatever you want right now and you'd get it. New car?"

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them. Matthew 18

It is inevitable that we all grow up.  But true faith is doing so without losing the desire to be holded by Him.

And He'll always hold you.

Always.

Always and always.

We forget that though.  That He wants to hold us.  I know that I do.  I think I forgot that more in 2010 than any other time in my life.

But Baylee reminded me last night of the truth.  "I want to be holded."

We will all grow up, but we can always grow young.