A lucky man

Facebook has been fun to reconnect with friends. People from High School, College and places I have worked are now returning to my life. It's great. On facebook I run into girls from back in the day who were the most beautiful at the time.

Fast-forward 20+ years and I am now married to "that" girl who was considered beautiful by the guys she went to school with. In fact, Lori becomes more beautiful each year (not just because I am biased)! After 17 years of marriage, Lori Coyne is the most beautiful woman I have ever known and she continues to get better.

Thank you Lori for loving me!

Haiti, some trash and a change in perspective

It was December 1984 and I went Haiti to help build a church building. It was my first flight (a whole other story) and first trip out of the U.S. There were 19 total members to our party and our goal was simple; help construct a church building in a mountain area of Haiti!

Here were some of things I experienced. No electricity, nightly dog fight. We slept in the dirt. Adults ate something every 1 1/2 days, children ate once daily. To live into your 40's was really good! No TV, no extra clothes...and in the midst of it all- Haitian's were the happiest people I have ever been around.

A child had a piece of trash and was making car sounds and driving it through the dirt. The child was happy with trash!!!! At age 17, I was confronted with a message opposite of what I knew in America. Happiness does not come from things!

Haiti has become a reminder of not becoming so involved with consumerism. Reminders help keep our journey moving correctly. Take a moment and think about your reminders. The mark your path and keep you headed in the right direction.

I have been fascinated with this story

I sat a few weeks ago on a discussion with a group of people I work with. An author and teacher was reminding us of a story from the Bible (Luke 19) about Zacchaeus. Here is the scene.

The streets were filled with people because they had heard that Jesus was coming. It was likely hundreds or thousands of people packing the sides of the roadway. Something like the Macy's Day Parade!

It was so crowded that Zacchaeus could not see and climbed a tree to catch a glimpse. It was in this environment (thousands of people) that Jesus chose one man out to meet with! Sometimes I see Jesus as working with crowds best and here was a perfect opportunity, but He chose 1 man. In fact, He chose the local "tax collector", a man hated by this own race of people.

For me, I am challenged to not be drawn by the crowd only, but by the needs of people! It may be hundreds but likely it's just 1 person that I should meet, encourage or listen to their story! I think I can meet 1, how about you?

National Championship

Tonight is the night! Florida vs. Oklahoma in the College football championship! Since I grew up in Oklahoma, I have always been a fan! Tonight I am going on record as supporting Oklahoma and seeing what happens! If we loose, I will be bummed out! I will celebrate with a victory.

Funny thing about being a fan is: if I watch, cheer, get happy/sad and don't even tune in to see the game AT ALL, it has NO IMPACT on the outcome! Reason: I AM NOT PLAYING THE GAME! I will get harassed if we loose and congratulated if we win, but I am just a spectator.

Personally, I like cheering more for things that I have something to do with the outcome. How about you? Are you a spectator or a player? Are you associated with "winners" but are not really winning anything. Even better, are you associated with "losers" but really have nothing to do with the loss?

Let's concentrate on the areas where our participation really makes a difference, like investing in the people around us!!!!

Student Ministry Giving

I had lunch with some church staff members yesterday. As we were talking about what they value in their different areas of church work, the Youth Pastor spoke about "Zero Budget". He went on to explain the the youth department took ZERO dollars from the general church budget in 2008. They decided to teach the students to give so all money to operate would come from the students only!

That process began and they decided to give 15% to the rest of their church (Big Church). Later they decided to give 25% to a foreign mission. At the end of the year they were operating with more money than the previous year even though they were giving 40% away! Great example of giving. His goal was to raise a generation of students who understand "how to give" and "how to live" because they use this money to benefit people.

I hope this challenges you to use your resources to help people and make a significant difference in the lives of people you know!

Enoughness!

I was reading my Bible this morning and challenged in the area of contentment. Specifically I am reading "Solo" which is a great Bible to use for personal time. It's basically a Bible with small portions for each day and then the opposite page has questions or background to help get the most from what you are reading.

So, this morning it was telling the story about the Isrealite people were complaining about being hungry while living in the desert! God heard the people's complaints and provided Quail and bread. For me, it was a quite cold morning to sit in my warm house and begin to see what I complain about NOT HAVING, when I need to see all that I DO HAVE!

I love my home, our vehicles are paid for and work well. We don't have debt and actually have some money saved. I love the place I work and my families health is great! These are the big things, but when I took time to get down to smaller items, I could really see how my "contentment" is based on wanting more and getting it!

Today I will try again to love what I have and not what I don't! Join me.

Legislating Jesus

I have some friends having a great discussion on Facebook regarding Abortion, Gay rights and more. In short, I don't think that we can legislate "Jesus"! What I mean is, we cannot vote for measures that will force or help people to follow Jesus Christ.

I vote! I vote for legislation that makes sense. I desire to follow Jesus and live with others who may not share my ideals! In some ways this has blurred the lines for me, but I find myself not making judgments as much about where others might be! I find myself allowing people who follow Jesus and those who don't to just be where they are!

It looks passive or lazy, but for me I must suspend judgment in order to understand where someone begins. Said another way, I may want to help a friend through a tough time, but since they have to go through it, I will WAIT to be asked to help! I have made my offers, but I cannot force them into decisions they are not willing to uphold.

I will continue to vote for measures that make sense to me as a follower of Christ, but more important to Jesus are the people and His church!