A timeout2few weeks ago, I realized that I needed a timeout.  No… I wasn’t in trouble nor was I attempting to escape any responsibility.  I simply began to notice signs of burn-out in my life and ministry.  God graciously provided a tremendous place of solitude thanks to one of our church families.  I must say it was everything I expected and nothing that I expected all at the same time.

I am ashamed to admit that this was my first personal retreat like this as a pastor.  I began by emailing several of my mentors and close friends in ministry and asking for their wisdom on how best to arrange and structure the time.  I am thankful for this group of men whom God uses to encourage and challenge me.  I spent time each day reading Scripture, praying, reading Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby and Grace Abounding by John Bunyan, and journaling many pages.

Here are some of the observations/lessons God illuminated for me…

  • The enemy loves to isolate and separate
  • Oh how I tend toward self-sufficiency
  • I am too often satisfied with human efforts
  • Distractions come in all shapes and sizes
  • I spend too much time on outward attention rather than inward evaluation
  • I am impatient
  • I struggle with control
  • Too often I become so consume with wasting time that I find myself stressing over it
  • At any moment I am either becoming more like Christ or less like Him
  • I focus too much energy on leading others rather than being led by the Holy Spirit
  • I have fallen in a pattern of being satisfied with a “little bit” of God
  • I “can do” many things but God has “called me” to preach and pray… if I fail in these areas, I fail as a pastor
  • A deeper love for people is granted by the empowering of the Holy Spirit and nothing else
  • Slow down… breathe… don’t rush…

God revealed many powerful verses from His Word this week, but here were the two that seared my heart…

“Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?  No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush.”  Jeremiah 6:15

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him…” 1 Chronicles 16:9a

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FridayFunFacts

  • The USPS handles over 40% of the world’s mail volume.
  • Pretzels were originally invented for Christian Lent.
  • Every gallon of saltwater yields more than 1/4 lb of salt.
  • King Kong was Adolf Hilter’s favorite movie.
  • Pittsburgh is the only city where all major sports teams have the same colors:  black and gold.
  • Pollen never deteriorates.  It is one of the few natural substances that lasts indefinitely.
  • In most advertisements, the most often displayed time on a watch or clock is 10:10.
  • A company in Taiwan makes dinnerware out of wheat, so you can eat your plate.
  • Israel is 1/4 the size of the state of Maine.
  • Coffee beans aren’t beans – they’re fruit pits.
  • Male hospital patients fall out of bed twice as often as female hospital patients.
  • Eskimos don’t gamble.
  • The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain.
  • A group of frogs is called an army.
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Be encouraged today and celebrate His presence!

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

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If office_gossip-web1a random survey were issued asking the question, “Do you trust someone who consistently gossips?”  Most would respond, “Absolutely not!”  However, isn’t it interesting that a person who gossips always seems to find an audience?  What is more interesting is that this happens within church families as well.

We are challenged in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (ESV)

Gossip is when you’re sharing a problem or criticism with someone who is neither part of the problem or part of the solution.  If they’re part of the solution, then it’s legitimate to share it with them. (Rick Warren)

Notice what Paul being inspired by the Holy Spirit says in Ephesians 4:29.  Paul is revealing that we are to stop one thing and start something else.  He says “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths…”  Corrupting is often used in the New Testament in describing rotten fruit or fish (Luke 6:43; Matthew 13:48).  Instead, Paul challenges those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ that we are to give grace.  God’s call upon our lives is that as a Christian speaks we are to give grace and benefit others rather than corrupt them through what is spoken.

What might God do in our midst if we committed ourselves to being givers of grace as we speak to others.

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FridayFunFacts

This week has flown by in our family’s world.  Are you ready for the weekend?  Because, you know, it is Friday!

These won’t add any value for your weekend but always good things to know…

  • Identical twins do not have identical fingerprints.
  • Only 1% of bacteria cause disease.
  • Contrary to popular belief, London Broil is not a cut of beef but rather a method of cooking.
  • Ears of corn always have an even number of rows of kernels.
  • Buttermilk does not contain any butter.
  • Tsunamis travel as fast as jet planes.
  • The word taxi is spelled the same in English, German, French, Swedish, and Portuguese.
  • People are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider.
  • There are more plastic flamingos in the U.S., than real ones.
  • There is a town called Paradise and a town called Hell in Michigan.
  • A group of officers is called a mess.
  • Approximately 1/3 of the population can’t snap their fingers.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Where is Raul? from Allen James on Vimeo.

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Ever had a moment where it seems like everything is caving in around you?  That feeling of being overwhelmed… a moment where you don’t know whether to cry or scream, “I cannot do this?” a moment where the enemy seems to have surrounded you from every angle?

Take a moment and read Psalm 18!  He is waiting to take our every situation when we let go and trust His provision.

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TThank you!his morning I began several days of reading in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.  Often times when I begin reading and reflecting upon a new book of the Bible, I will read through the book for a few days repetitiously to gain a full understanding of the context.  This morning was different.  I began reading in Colossians 1:1 and quickly made it all the way to Colossians 1:3.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,…” (ESV)

I continued to read thru chapter 2, but my attention remained on this single verse.  It is so easy for my prayer life to be reduced to a list when I am praying for others.  “Please be with… please, help them… please, heal them… please, comfort them…”  My guess is that others find this pattern repeated in their prayer life.  I am guilty of thanking God for His salvation and activity in my life, but fail to thank Him for what He is accomplishing in others.  So today, God is challenging me to thank Him more for what He is doing in the lives of others.

Take a moment and anonymously post something you are thankful to God in the life of another in response to this post!

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FridayFunFacts

With Friday comes Fun Facts… Today’s Friday Fun Facts are made possible by the Cool Facts App on available for the iPhone.

  • All polar bears are left-handed or pawed
  • The Bank of America was originally the Bank of Italy
  • Goats do not have upper front teeth
  • More people have a phobia of frogs than rats
  • There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos (I have not verified this information)
  • Only 1 out of 700 identity thieves gets caught
  • The earth is .02 degrees hotter during a full moon
  • All coffee is grown within 1,000 miles of the equator
  • Every hour one billion cells in the human body must be replaced
  • Pepsi-Cola was originally called “Brad’s drink”.
  • 15% of Americans secretly bite their toes
  • The heart of a woman beats faster than the heart of a man
  • Halle Berry’s stunt double in the movie, Catwoman, is a man
  • Bananas aren’t actually a fruit but a type of herb
  • At birth, a panda bear is smaller than a mouse
  • One in every four Americans has appeared on TV.
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Oactive_listening-791684ne of the joys I have as a dad is the responsibility of taking our teenage daughter to school most mornings.  Our commute is approximately 30 minutes which allows time for both of us to fully awaken and have some great conversation.  Obviously some morning commutes are quieter than others.  Many mornings are filled with laughter by what we see or hear or remember from the past few days.

This morning we experienced what I would call a “lost in translation” moment.  My lovely wife and daughter stopped to pick up dinner last night at Pei Wei without me.  So this morning we were discussing the food and she commented that the crab rangoons had too much crab and were really crabby.  When she made that statement evidently I wasn’t listening very well because I did not hear the word “crab” or “crabby.”  What was a “b” I thought was a “p”!  That is not a word we typically use in our family so I asked with a slightly turned head, “What are you saying?”  So she repeated it verbatim… needless to say we both laughed hysterically when we realized what had been lost in translation.

Isn’t it interesting that most of us think we are good listeners.  I confess it is a struggle and something I am really striving to improve upon.  Here are a few things I am learning in striving to be a better listener…

  1. Listen with your eyes. Studies reveal that 80% of conversation is non-verbal.  It’s not only what people say but also the manner in which they say it.  By looking someone in the eye it communicates value… that what they are saying is important enough for you to stop what you are doing to listen.  I continue to be reminded as someone once said, “You cannot fake listening.”
  2. Listen with your heart. It’s a challenge but it is critical that we refuse the tendency to develop our response while someone is speaking.  When we do we miss the opportunity to listen with compassion to what the person is not only saying but what they are feeling.  Many times throughout the Gospels it is said of Jesus that he had compassion for people.  We must do likewise.
  3. Listen with your time. I continue to discover the more time I spend with someone the better I understand what they are saying and the better we communicate.  If we are going to be better listeners, we must make time to be with people without thinking of where we are going next or all the other things we could be doing, etc.

What practical ways are you learning to be a better listener and avoiding things being lost in translation?

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