Michael Hindes

Reminding Yourself of You…

Sometimes we get confused, just plain lost.  We forget who we are, why we’re here, and what we’re supposed to be up to.

This happens for a few reasons:
Fear that we’ll fail - Nothing like the good old fear that we’ll just really suck at being us

Too many voices - from parents, to teachers, to bosses, to mentors, and friends; it seems that everyone has opinion of who we are.  Sometimes these opinions are helpful, sometimes they’re driven by control, so learn to discern

The “good enough” principle - we start doing the good things, the close enough things, the right in front of us now things.  This isn’t necessarily always bad, but we can actually lose out on the real thing we’ve been called to

Laziness - occasionally we need a good swift kick in the butt (so consider this yours if you’re in need)

Here’s a few triggers to get us moving in the right direction:
Stay in the Spirit - keep praying in the Spirit, it really helps to block out the other voices

Prophecy over yourself - speak truth about who and what you are, remind yourself the prophecies that have been spoken over you by others

Stay connected with people who bring out the best in you - we all need people who will tell us the truth about how we’re really functioning and progressing

Get around leaders who have a habit of getting people to maturity and destiny - avoid at all costs big promises from people who won’t get their hands dirty with your messiness.

Learn to be thankful for every open door - your future’s directly impacted by your gratefulness 

___________________________________

This inspiration was brought to you by the awesome atmosphere of the Nairobi Java house - remember to keep us in your prayers.

Love and miss you all…

Reminding Yourself of You…

Sometimes we get confused, just plain lost.  We forget who we are, why we’re here, and what we’re supposed to be up to.

This happens for a few reasons:
Fear that we’ll fail - Nothing like the good old fear that we’ll just really suck at being us

Too many voices - from parents, to teachers, to bosses, to mentors, and friends; it seems that everyone has opinion of who we are.  Sometimes these opinions are helpful, sometimes they’re driven by control, so learn to discern

The “good enough” principle - we start doing the good things, the close enough things, the right in front of us now things.  This isn’t necessarily always bad, but we can actually lose out on the real thing we’ve been called to

Laziness - occasionally we need a good swift kick in the butt (so consider this yours if you’re in need)

Here’s a few triggers to get us moving in the right direction:
Stay in the Spirit - keep praying in the Spirit, it really helps to block out the other voices

Prophecy over yourself - speak truth about who and what you are, remind yourself the prophecies that have been spoken over you by others

Stay connected with people who bring out the best in you - we all need people who will tell us the truth about how we’re really functioning and progressing

Get around leaders who have a habit of getting people to maturity and destiny - avoid at all costs big promises from people who won’t get their hands dirty with your messiness.

Learn to be thankful for every open door - your future’s directly impacted by your gratefulness 

___________________________________

This inspiration was brought to you by the awesome atmosphere of the Nairobi Java House - remember to keep us in your prayers.

Love and miss you all…

To Live is Christ?

Philippians 1:20-25 NIV I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.

_____________________________________________________________

I was in Phoenix again this past week with my friend getting chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer.  Nothing new to report, he’s been battling for 16 month - sometimes it looks like we’re winning, sometimes losing.  He just keeps fighting and we just keep praying.

I woke up the last morning of our visit with the above verses surging through my head – probably catalyzed by the previous days strenuous schedule.  For more than 14 hours we went from appointment to appointment – lab work, nurses, physicians, practitioners, nutritionists, homeopaths, and finally nine hours of chemo.  Every appointment had a little good news and a little bad news.

The day was to say the least grueling!

“For me to live is Christ, to die is gain”

That last day we had a great talk sitting in the beautiful Phoenix sun at the edge of a putting green.  We talked about life, death, fears, victories, defeats, and this verse.

Here’s what we came up with.  To die is most certainly “gain”, it’s the reward for a life lived in faith.  We’re not exactly sure of what it all looks like and how it all pans out, but we know He’s there.  And wherever He is has to be spectacular!

But what about “to live is Christ”?  What does that actually mean?  We sat for a couple of silent moments and pondered this one phrase.  Then we discussed for several minutes the ideas that came to mind.  Here’s an overview of our thoughts.

“When we get to heaven; He will be there; He’s Christ; Heaven desires us, longs for us, but it certainly doesn’t need us; because it already has a Christ.  But here, living on this earth, that’s another story.  See on this earth we are Him, the world needs us, it needs our voice, our presence, our hands, and feet.  It needs our faith, our perspective, and our take on life.  I John 4:17 tells us that just as He is in Heaven, so are we on this earth.  So in Heaven He is, but in this life we are…”

We can’t be too quick to check out of life, no matter how difficult it gets.  No matter the pain, disappointment, loss, or grief.  To choose to leave before our time would be selfish - the world needs us, because it needs Christ

So we live to fight another day…

a few years back JT got a hole in one on a short par three, he actually hit the ball directly in the trash can from the tee box - here’s the proof, and I have witnesses