December 2011
13 posts
4 tags
What I'm Learning
I’ve had one consistent goal every year since my late twenties, to be a lifelong learner. I try my best to read everyday for a couple of hours. I also try to write down my observations about life, people, relationships, influence, church, and politics a few times a week. And I’m actually holding myself accountable again to blog about those observations at least three times/week.
On top of that,...
5 tags
Just like Vodka
I woke up this morning with vodka on my mind – don’t ask!
I was thinking about how much our lives are like vodka, at least mine is…
Vodka Facts:
Vodka can be made out of pretty much anything, just like us. People come from all walks of life with differing kinds of heritage both natural and spiritual.
And just like vodka we are put through a rigorous process of filtration. The only difference...
4 tags
Being at Home
Everyone needs a place where they can just be themselves – preferably that place is home. A place where you can talk, laugh, debate, unplug, unwind, even just sit back in quiet and read. To me home isn’t so much about location, it’s about whom you do “home” with…
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines home as: one’s place of residence or the social unit formed by a family living (being) together. ...
3 tags
Stop Hoarding God's Love
Today’s guest post is by Matthew Snyder. Check out his website and follow him on Twitter @matthewlasnyder. As always, leave your comments below.
* * * * *
“Half-assed Christianity just isn’t my thing,” he said.
Every couple of nights in college, one of my closest friends and I would walk. We had no destination in mind because where we were headed was irrelevant to us – it was more about the...
4 tags
Through Thick and Thin
I had a friend tell me once, that if you get into the second half of life with a few close friends you’re really doing well. When you’re young, you’re convinced that you’ll keep your friends through the entirety of life. Remember the promises made to your high school friends, how you were going to be best friends forever. Read the back pages and margins of your High School yearbook. How many...
2 tags
Starting With a 10
I heard John Maxwell teach that it’s important to start with a “10” over everyone’s head. Too often we meet people and want them to prove themselves or measure up before we start valuing them. Because of our cynical nature and the fact that we’ve been hurt so many times, it’s just easier to lower our expectations and wait people out.
Maxwell’s statement flies in the face of our natural...
5 tags
4 tags
What My Call is Really About
Today’s post is written by Jacob Hoyer. Visit his website and leave your comments to the post below.
*****
Shortly after I finished a year doing missions work around the world, I vowed I would only ever do ministry full-time. Ministry was my CALL and I was ready to go after it. So I took a support-based position with the organization that had mobilized me into the nations. Forty hours a week...
2 tags
Go Add Some Value
I think often about this fact - everywhere Jesus went the environment was changed. Read it for yourself - health broke out (spiritual, relational, & physical); peace and faith displaced unrest and despair; death was replaced by life (spiritual, relational, & physical).
So the challenge that lies before us, if we’re actually going to be Christ in this world, is what will we do to...
4 tags
Monday Musings...
“I begin to ask myself how we can learn all the things God wants to teach us if we limit our intake with fear. I see fear everywhere: the common fear of having to think in a new way; fear of listening to other spiritual points of view; fear of revelations about God that don’t fit comfortably with existing ideas and opinions. Could the God of all creation really only be capable of revealing...
1 tag
In Between
Today’s post was written by Braedon Tabor. Check out his website and leave your comments below.
* * *
We’ve heard a lot of bullshit in our days, plenty of people telling us how things will end up. This isn’t just a spouting off about how “the man” has lied to us. This stretches back to the beginning of mankind.
Lots of people heard lots of things about the coming days: “In that day… when...
4 tags
I wouldn’t say that…
Those that know me best know there aren’t many things I wouldn’t say. I mean, find me at a time where I’m really mad, really scared, or really excited, and you might walk away surprised or even disappointed.
I’ve matured in a lot of ways during first 50 years of my life. I think differently, love differently, assess God and relationships differently, and I’ve even learned to embrace a different...
3 tags
Nicholas's Story...
Below is the story about a young man’s struggle to become His Heavenly Father’s son. Please note the obstacle that the church created to His sonship. As elders we too readily forget that the battles we engage inside The Body become hinderances to others’ intimacy with The Father…
______________________________________________________________
This is my story. This is...