What dreams do you have for your marriage?

What dreams do you have with your spouse?

What things do you look forward to doing together in the future?

What adventures do you want to go on together?

When you stop dreaming about your life together you are at a scary place in your marriage. (especially when it becomes about my dreams, not our dreams.) In the church world when you stop dreaming about what could be, you have lost your passion for your work. The same is true in our marriages. When we stop dreaming about our marriages and what they could be for the glory of God, we will lose our passion for each other.

So dream BIG dreams TOGETHER!

Start that orphanage TOGETHER!

Mentor that younger couple TOGETHER!

Go on that date you have always thought about doing TOGETHER!

 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:9 ESV)

3 simple ways to encourage your pastor by R.C. Sproul Jr

Monday can be the hardest day in a pastor’s life. The “post sunday blues” can play tricks on his mind and heart. So I thought it would be good to repost this blog I read on three simple ways you can encourage your pastor:

First, pay attention to his labors. When the pastor labors in his study to prepare a Bible study lesson, or writes a blog post, and the sheep under his care pay no attention, it is discouraging.

Second, speak well of him to others. If word comes back to him, and it will, that you have spoken well of him, to others in the church, or even to those in your community, he will have to take your good word to heart.

Third, pursue godliness. Because he loves you, what your pastor wants more than anything else is for you to grow in grace and wisdom, to become more like Jesus.

Read full article here.

Even in Sleep

“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustains me.” – Psalm 3:5

Read that again . . .

What an amazing thought! Every morning when I wake up it is a testimony to God’s sustaining power and work in my life. I can do nothing when I am asleep. God is the one who must keep me alive.

What an AWESOME God! For more than 12,045 days God has been merciful to me and sustained me in my sleep.

My prayer is that we would rely on the same power that sustains us when we sleep to live the life He has called us to today. I believe there is really no other way to live and sleep reminds us of this fact.

The Most Important Thing My Mom Gave Me

My Mom has given me a lot of things in my life . . .

Life – She chose to have me!

Food – There is nothing like my Mom’s cooking.

Discipline – She taught me how to discipline myself to accomplish my goals in life.

Hard Work Ethic – My Mom is one the hardest working people I know.

Although all these are very important, the most important thing that my Mom gave me was . . .

PRAYER

I am the person I am today because Christ listened to a Mom who bombarded the throne of grace with prayers for me. Even today I could take you to her home and pull out her prayer notebook and show you our families names and specific prayers she is praying over them.

Thanks, Mom! You are still making a difference in my life and the life of my family because of your prayers.

I love you.

Happy Mother’s Day!

No Better Picture of Jesus and the Church

SPEECHLESS!

Weird: Because Normal Isn’t Working – Values

My final monday review of Craig Groeschel’s book, “Weird: Because normal isn’t working.”

In the last section of his book, he deals with spiritual drift, a burden God has given you and the one thing God is calling you to do.

In spiritual drift he challenges the readers to guard against it by reading the Bible, worshiping God, getting involved at church and praying. If you have drifted from Christ, he ask the question: “What will it take for you to get back to him? The first part is nonnegotiable: repent.” (201)

In the chapter dealing with a burden God has given you, he calls this burden a “weird blessing”. This is something that breaks your heart. It “unsettles you, disturbs you and upsets you.” (207) He asks two very convicting questions: “When was the last time you felt your heart pierced by the plight of another person?” (209) and “Why are our biggest dreams and goals self-centered?” (213)

Finally, he calls us to identify the one thing God is working in our lives to be different by asking these questions:

1. What one thing do you desire from God?
2. What one thing do you lack?
3. What one thing do you need to let go?
4. What one promise do you need to claim?

Thanks for joining me in this journey of learning to become “Weird” for the glory of God. May we never go back to normal!

Weird: Because Normal Isn’t Working – Sex

My Monday (on Tuesday) review of Craig Groeschel’s book, “Weird: Because normal isn’t working.”

By simply putting the word, SEX, in a section of his book, Craig brought the number of readers to a new high (just like it will for my blog). In this section he focuses on three areas in regards to sex – marriage, pornography and parenting. In marriage, he focuses on taking steps to avoid adultery. In pornagraphy, he challenges us to set up moral margin in our lives. In parenting, he pushes parents to be on the front lines of telling their kids about sex.

Food for thought from this section:

“Great marriages never happen by accident. They always happen on purpose.” (155)

“The reason people fall into any sexual sin is because they get too close to the opportunity.” (163)

“Truths you can share with your kids to combat the lies and answer their whys:

1. We’re made to stick.

2. Sex is a huge deal.

3. Everything counts.

4. Experimentation is always dangerous.

5. You weren’t born for porn.

6. Modesty is cooler than being hot.” (182-184)

Weird: Because Normal Isn’t Working – Relationships

My Monday (on Tuesday) review of Craig Groeschel’s book, “Weird: Because normal isn’t working.”

In my opinion section three of his book is the best section of the book (By the way, the ebook version of this book is $2.99 on Amazon. Buy it here.). It is focused on relationships with emphasis on marriage, parenting and people pleasing. Here are some takeaways I got from this section:

Marriage:

“If you want your marriage to be better than normal, you must concentrate, communicate, and collaborate.” (110)

“To have a wonderfully different marriage, we’ve got to close the gap between intentions and actions.” (113)

“I’ve counseled men . . . to add one word to their expression of love: BECAUSE.” (113)

Parenting:

“Instead of trying to lead our children to be like those around them, we should lead them to be like Christ.” (121)

“Our greatest priority as Christian parents is to gradually transfer our children’s dependence away from us until it rests solely on God.” (125)

People Pleasing:

Funniest story in the book is on pages 133 to 136. I laugh everytime I read it!

“People pleasing is more of a spiritual problem than a relational problem.” (137)

“The fear of God is the only cure for the fear of people.” (138)

Other sections:

Section 1 review - Time

Section 2 review – Money

4 things Macy has taught me about life.

Today we are celebrating Macy’s 4th Birthday! As I have been looking back over her four years of life, there are four things she has taught me about life . . .

1. Smile all the time. – Macy’s smile is the sweetest smile I have ever seen (She takes after her mother!). It is not to often that you can catch Macy without a smile on her face (unless she is being picked on by her brothers!).

2. Love life. – Macy loves life. From the moment she wakes up till the time she falls asleep at night, she is full of energy and joy.

3. Be Helpful. – Macy loves to help! (Helping Grandma make homemade rolls.)

4. Ask lots of questions. - Macy loves the word “WHY?”. Although it can be quite annoying, I pray she will always ask questions and some day find Jesus to be the answer to them all!

Happy Birthday, Macy! Your Daddy loves you very much.

Finisher

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest finishers the game of basketball has ever known. If the Bulls were close at the end of a game, you knew with MJ on the floor; you had a chance. He didn’t just finish during games that did not matter either, he finished in the playoffs and finals.

Do you ever feel like in the game of life you need a finisher like that?

Maybe it is . . .

• A season of suffering you are going through.
• A particular sin you wish you could overcome.
• A guilty conscience you are trying to work to make right.

Let me introduce you to the greatest finisher the WORLD has ever known . . . JESUS!

I love Job’s reply to the suffering he was experiencing is his life: “For He will complete what he appoints for me.” (23:14)

Paul speaking about the salvation and sanctification of the Philippi believers says, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Christ.” (1:6)

Jesus taking the wrath of God that was rightfully our payment said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)