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The Encounter With The Cold Glass of Water
About four years ago I was a missionary in Honduras. My wife
and three-year-old daughter were with me as we traveled to
remote areas building medical clinics. We accomplished most of
the work during the summer months when school was out in the
States. At times we would have one group get on an airplane to
leave the country and have another group get off an airplane to
start back on a project. We would assist the new group getting
into a hotel to rest after the long trip and then while they
rested, go back to our little house and do laundry, cut the yard
and load up to head back to the mountains for the next one or
two weeks.
I was running on just a few hours of sleep, and it was over 100
degrees Fahrenheit outside. My grass was almost knee high and
all I had to cut it with was a line trimmer, or as we call it, a
“weed eater.” However difficult it was, I was blessed to have
the line trimmer. Most of my neighbors used machetes and a
crooked stick to cut their yards.
I had been cutting for some time when I noticed a small boy
leaning on my security fence. It was common for beggars to come
to my fence and even go through my trash looking for something
to eat. I must admit, I had a lot to do and I was ignoring the
little boy. He just kept standing there. He was dirty and wore
only a little pair of tattered shorts. I was covered with cut
grass, hot and had too much to do before getting back out in the
field to be bothered with giving handouts. The group would be
waiting.
Finally, I had to take a break, and I walked over to the little
boy and sat down near him. He looked up at me with his dirty
little face and asked “Papa, (Spanish for Father/Priest) may I
have a cup of water.” Immediately Matthew 10:42 came to my
mind. Here I was, so caught up in missions work, I had
forgotten the mission. I went in, got one of our best
glasses (not one of the usual paper cups reserved for such
occasions), and filled it with ice and water. I took it to the
little boy and watched him as he savored every last drop. He then
handed me the glass; and with a smile as big as his face, he said,
“Thank you and God bless you Father.” No, I’m not a priest or
even Catholic, but he gave me the highest salutation he could
think of.
We continued on with the group that had arrived that day and
numerous others who had come with a heart to help the Honduran
people, but I have never looked at things the same way since
that encounter with the cold glass of water.
About four years ago I was a missionary in Honduras. My wife
and three-year-old daughter were with me as we traveled to
remote areas building medical clinics. We accomplished most of
the work during the summer months when school was out in the
States. At times we would have one group get on an airplane to
leave the country and have another group get off an airplane to
start back on a project. We would assist the new group getting
into a hotel to rest after the long trip and then while they
rested, go back to our little house and do laundry, cut the yard
and load up to head back to the mountains for the next one or
two weeks.
I was running on just a few hours of sleep, and it was over 100
degrees Fahrenheit outside. My grass was almost knee high and
all I had to cut it with was a line trimmer, or as we call it, a
“weed eater.” However difficult it was, I was blessed to have
the line trimmer. Most of my neighbors used machetes and a
crooked stick to cut their yards.
I had been cutting for some time when I noticed a small boy
leaning on my security fence. It was common for beggars to come
to my fence and even go through my trash looking for something
to eat. I must admit, I had a lot to do and I was ignoring the
little boy. He just kept standing there. He was dirty and wore
only a little pair of tattered shorts. I was covered with cut
grass, hot and had too much to do before getting back out in the
field to be bothered with giving handouts. The group would be
waiting.
Finally, I had to take a break, and I walked over to the little
boy and sat down near him. He looked up at me with his dirty
little face and asked “Papa, (Spanish for Father/Priest) may I
have a cup of water.” Immediately Matthew 10:42 came to my
mind. Here I was, so caught up in missions work, I had
forgotten the mission. I went in, got one of our best
glasses (not one of the usual paper cups reserved for such
occasions), and filled it with ice and water. I took it to the
little boy and watched him as he savored every last drop. He then
handed me the glass; and with a smile as big as his face, he said,
“Thank you and God bless you Father.” No, I’m not a priest or
even Catholic, but he gave me the highest salutation he could
think of.
We continued on with the group that had arrived that day and
numerous others who had come with a heart to help the Honduran
people, but I have never looked at things the same way since
that encounter with the cold glass of water.
[video=youtube_share;Ii_tRjKxPPc]http://youtu.be/Ii_tRjKxPPc[/video]
[video=youtube_share;6X1xH9ZjwP8]http://youtu.be/6X1xH9ZjwP8[/video]
The Issue of Money
Shortage of money is the number one common factor in the hundreds
of prayer requests that we receive each week.
If money is not the central issue, a money shortage is usually
present in both marriage difficulties and health problems.
A sizable percentage of readers deal with money
shortage issues.
Some think it doesn't belong in an inspirational email but let
your money get tight and get an unexpected check and see if that
doesn't inspire you.
I want to address the issue of money as briefly as I can.
For a few, my experience may shed a new light on your situation.
Some may have a radically different opinion, that is expected;
but for many, this will help change your view and possibly your
approach to your money situation.
I deal with more money shortage situations than most people
simply by virtue of being a Pastor of a church and a businessman.
People come to me, both for advice and money in both the church
and business worlds.
Hopefully the eight principles below will help .
Principle #1 - Hardly anyone has enough money.
-----------------------------------------------------------
At a recent meeting in my company, some thought I was bragging
when I said that I had enough money. I was absolutely serious.
I have always had enough money, but I have not always made a lot
of money.
When I earned less than minimum wage, I had enough money.
When I earned minimum wage, I had enough money.
I have enough money now.
Someone asked the multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller
the question of "How much money is enough?"
His answer was, "One more dollar than I have."
He therefore, would never have enough, no matter how many
billions he had.
I have seen people earn more than double what they were earning
in the previous year and they still did not have enough money.
Money is one of those things where unless the spirit gets right,
you never have enough. Having enough money is primarily a matter
of spirit, not amount, understand this.
Principle #2 - You are rich when you have enough.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Don't be like Rockefeller or else you will forever be dissatisfied.
Often our change from poor to rich is more spiritual than financial.
It is why Paul could say if you have food and clothing then you
should be content.
Perhaps we should realize that instead of struggling so hard to
get more that we should simply want less. The problem with
wanting more is that it never stops, and most find that even when
they get "the stuff," it's not what they thought in terms of real
contentment.
Jesus said:
a. The Kingdom of God is within
b. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Everyone wants the kingdom, yet everyone also wants to be rich.
I preached a sermon called, "The Roughest Verse in the Bible."
It was concerning this basic principle. You can listen to it on
WMA (best) http://www.theonlineword.com/s/5125.wma
MP3 http://www.theonlineword.com/mp3/5125.mp3
Just maybe, for many of you, you have enough already.
Principle #3 - Neither The New Testament of the Bible or any of
the teachings of Jesus promise nor promote material wealth.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Some will argue against this to an extreme, but I have looked for
it over and over in the New Testament of the Bible. It simply is
not there unless you take a scripture and twist it to mean what
it really didn't say or you must make speculations about things
that aren't written in scripture.
No words in the New Testament promote wealth when looked at in
context. NONE!
"What about when Jesus told the disciples where to fish and they
had the great haul of fish?" you ask.
Read what they did with the increase after they got it. The
disciples ate from the fish then left the fish to follow Jesus.
When you read exactly what they did, the pattern becomes clear.
We can sometimes be masters at making scripture say what it never
meant because it is what people want to hear and it often justifies
our own agenda.
Jesus NEVER pointed us towards material wealth; he did quite the
opposite when you read what he actually said.
Many passages plainly point you away from riches but none plainly
point you towards it, not in the New Testament.
And no, the verse, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou
mayest prosper and be in health," is not talking about riches.
Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8, that if you have food and clothing
you should be content. I thought about that verse as I was
alone one day. I had a BIG problem with it then, and I still
struggle to fully understand and accept it.
"What about shelter?" I thought.
How in the world does God expect you to be content with no house?
That just didn't make any sense to me.
So I asked God in a quiet moment, "How can a person be content
with no house?" God answered me and though I didn't like the
answer, the minute I heard it, I recognized the truth of it.
The answer was, "Did my son have a house?"
"Whoa!"
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
(Mat 8:20 NIV)
Not only are we not happy with food and clothing, we often aren't
happy even in medium or large houses. We want mansions and guess
what? Given enough time, we often aren't happy in those either.
Principle #4 - Rich and poor are relative terms.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I went to the Amazon jungle. I wanted to see the rain forest
before man destroyed it. The children in the jungle were excited
to see an ink pen.
We trekked through the jungle all day with a native guide.
He said our hike would culminate by visiting the rich man's house.
I was expecting a huge mansion overlooking the river. When we
got to his house, it indeed sat on a hill, but it was hardly a
mansion. It was more like a shack on a hill. His house was
distinguished by the fact that it had a generator. The rich man
had electricity. When the rest of the village was dark, he had
light, therefore everyone in the village considered him
"The Rich Man."
I learned a great lesson from that. He had no indoor plumbing,
no air conditioning, no marble counters or carpeted floors. His
house would not even meet minimum building codes in the poorest
neighborhoods in America. However, he had electricity when
everyone else was in the dark, therefore he was rich.
In many parts of the world, what we consider poverty is
considered great wealth. We have so much food in America that
eating too much causes America's biggest health problems.
Principle #5 - Happiness is not dependent on money.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Amazon jungle was perhaps the poorest area that I have ever
visited. There was no industry. The huts did not even have
doors. Yet, in the midst of what many would consider extreme
poverty by American standards, again I saw something.
The people were quite happy.
The ability to sense spirit is something God gave me long ago.
When I sold newspapers as a boy through many of the neighborhoods
in Atlanta, the minute people opened the door, I could sense
whether the house was happy or sad.
I sold newspapers in the richest and poorest of neighborhoods.
Both had their share of happy and sad homes.
The guide told us as we walked through the village with the
doorless huts, "We marry around 13 or 14."
"13 or 14?" I repeated, amazed at such a young marrying age.
"What is the divorce rate?" I asked.
"Less than 5%," he replied.
Again I saw that material possessions don't guarantee happiness.
We have relatively huge wealth along with a relatively huge
divorce rate.
Principle #6 - One American family has contributed to more
financial disaster than any other.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Joneses.
Because we often try to keep up with the Joneses, it strains our
finances to the limit and beyond. My father, often quoted,
"If your outgo exceeds your income then your upkeep will become
your downfall."
Too often we live way above our means. I have always had enough
money because I have always kept my expenses well below my income.
Whether you earn millions or minimum wage, the principle applies.
Years ago my wife began selling a nutritional system.
The system had a cassette tape explaining it. She went
throughout several Atlanta upper income neighborhoods putting
the tapes in mailboxes.
She only selected the fancy houses as she only had a limited
number of tapes.
Six people responded wanting the system. The system cost $100.
Of the six people who responded, not ONE had $100. Each had a
story of why they had to wait until payday or could only pay a
part now but none had $100.
"How could that be?" my wife asked. "I specifically only put
these tapes in BIG houses. They all had two fancy cars and
$200,000 plus houses. How could their finances be so tight that
they don't have $100?" she kept asking me.
Because they lived next to The Joneses,
who lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to The Joneses,
who lived next to ...
Principle #7 - Lack of a budget.
-----------------------------------------------------------
At the church, I have a financial expert teach a class each
month. It is a six-part series that we repeat each six months.
It teaches people how to manage their money. We often tell
people in the church to give 10% of their money to the church,
but we give them no knowledge on how to manage the other 90%.
People came to me with testimonies about how the class changed
their financial lives. The first thing the expert did was to
have everyone create a budget.
NO ONE had a budget. No one could say exactly how much they
were spending. Sure, they all knew what the rent or mortgage
was, but it was often the "other" stuff that sunk them. No one
could tell you with any degree of accuracy exactly what they
were spending as a total.
The expert told the story of how one lady had come to him for a
loan. She wanted to buy a car. She was going to pay for the
car by the week at one of those "pay by the week" places.
She got angry at him when he would not lend her the money.
He had her to do a budget. When she did, she was shocked to see
that the weekly payments plus what she was spending on other
stuff added up to more than what she was earning. If he had
loaned her the money for the down payment on the car, it would
have been sure financial disaster.
WRITE IT DOWN exactly how much you spend each month on
EVERYTHING. You may be surprised. Just something as simple as
a two pack a day cigarette habit is $200.00 per month.
Principle #8 - Learn the principle of giving.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I cannot logically explain this, but I know it is true. It is
no accident that the U.S. is the most prosperous country on the
face of the earth, but we also give more than any other country
on earth.
Yes, I know the U.S. has flaws but that doesn't change the
principle or the result. We benefit from our benevolence;
we suffer for our malice.
God spoke a Word of Wisdom to me personally concerning money.
"Anything beyond sufficiency is insignificant."
It has taken me a long time to understand that but the longer I
live, the more convinced I am of that truth.
Money is similar to food. You need it; if you run short, it gets
very uncomfortable and even unhealthy. Yet excess consumption
has great dangers. Having excess food is wonderful if you do
the right thing. The problem is not in having the excess; the
excess is a blessing. The challenge is in doing the right thing
with the excess.
Even the Old Testament of the Bible listed lack of both money and
food as a curse and its abundance a blessing. The problem was
that it wasn't long after the abundance that the people became
corrupt. It is very hard to keep abundance in balance.
That's why Jesus said it was HARD for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God.
Money has always been and always will be an issue.
It traps most in this world; it even traps most of us preachers.
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
The Pharisees, (ministers and priests) who loved money, heard all
this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones
who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.
What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
(Luke 16:13-15 NIV)
The messages of this week have presented you with the principles
for abundance and some guidance for using the abundance.
Remember that a golden chain binds just as tight as an iron one.
Shortage of money is the number one common factor in the hundreds
of prayer requests that we receive each week.
If money is not the central issue, a money shortage is usually
present in both marriage difficulties and health problems.
A sizable percentage of readers deal with money
shortage issues.
Some think it doesn't belong in an inspirational email but let
your money get tight and get an unexpected check and see if that
doesn't inspire you.
I want to address the issue of money as briefly as I can.
For a few, my experience may shed a new light on your situation.
Some may have a radically different opinion, that is expected;
but for many, this will help change your view and possibly your
approach to your money situation.
I deal with more money shortage situations than most people
simply by virtue of being a Pastor of a church and a businessman.
People come to me, both for advice and money in both the church
and business worlds.
Hopefully the eight principles below will help .
Principle #1 - Hardly anyone has enough money.
-----------------------------------------------------------
At a recent meeting in my company, some thought I was bragging
when I said that I had enough money. I was absolutely serious.
I have always had enough money, but I have not always made a lot
of money.
When I earned less than minimum wage, I had enough money.
When I earned minimum wage, I had enough money.
I have enough money now.
Someone asked the multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller
the question of "How much money is enough?"
His answer was, "One more dollar than I have."
He therefore, would never have enough, no matter how many
billions he had.
I have seen people earn more than double what they were earning
in the previous year and they still did not have enough money.
Money is one of those things where unless the spirit gets right,
you never have enough. Having enough money is primarily a matter
of spirit, not amount, understand this.
Principle #2 - You are rich when you have enough.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Don't be like Rockefeller or else you will forever be dissatisfied.
Often our change from poor to rich is more spiritual than financial.
It is why Paul could say if you have food and clothing then you
should be content.
Perhaps we should realize that instead of struggling so hard to
get more that we should simply want less. The problem with
wanting more is that it never stops, and most find that even when
they get "the stuff," it's not what they thought in terms of real
contentment.
Jesus said:
a. The Kingdom of God is within
b. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Everyone wants the kingdom, yet everyone also wants to be rich.
I preached a sermon called, "The Roughest Verse in the Bible."
It was concerning this basic principle. You can listen to it on
WMA (best) http://www.theonlineword.com/s/5125.wma
MP3 http://www.theonlineword.com/mp3/5125.mp3
Just maybe, for many of you, you have enough already.
Principle #3 - Neither The New Testament of the Bible or any of
the teachings of Jesus promise nor promote material wealth.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Some will argue against this to an extreme, but I have looked for
it over and over in the New Testament of the Bible. It simply is
not there unless you take a scripture and twist it to mean what
it really didn't say or you must make speculations about things
that aren't written in scripture.
No words in the New Testament promote wealth when looked at in
context. NONE!
"What about when Jesus told the disciples where to fish and they
had the great haul of fish?" you ask.
Read what they did with the increase after they got it. The
disciples ate from the fish then left the fish to follow Jesus.
When you read exactly what they did, the pattern becomes clear.
We can sometimes be masters at making scripture say what it never
meant because it is what people want to hear and it often justifies
our own agenda.
Jesus NEVER pointed us towards material wealth; he did quite the
opposite when you read what he actually said.
Many passages plainly point you away from riches but none plainly
point you towards it, not in the New Testament.
And no, the verse, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou
mayest prosper and be in health," is not talking about riches.
Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8, that if you have food and clothing
you should be content. I thought about that verse as I was
alone one day. I had a BIG problem with it then, and I still
struggle to fully understand and accept it.
"What about shelter?" I thought.
How in the world does God expect you to be content with no house?
That just didn't make any sense to me.
So I asked God in a quiet moment, "How can a person be content
with no house?" God answered me and though I didn't like the
answer, the minute I heard it, I recognized the truth of it.
The answer was, "Did my son have a house?"
"Whoa!"
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
(Mat 8:20 NIV)
Not only are we not happy with food and clothing, we often aren't
happy even in medium or large houses. We want mansions and guess
what? Given enough time, we often aren't happy in those either.
Principle #4 - Rich and poor are relative terms.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I went to the Amazon jungle. I wanted to see the rain forest
before man destroyed it. The children in the jungle were excited
to see an ink pen.
We trekked through the jungle all day with a native guide.
He said our hike would culminate by visiting the rich man's house.
I was expecting a huge mansion overlooking the river. When we
got to his house, it indeed sat on a hill, but it was hardly a
mansion. It was more like a shack on a hill. His house was
distinguished by the fact that it had a generator. The rich man
had electricity. When the rest of the village was dark, he had
light, therefore everyone in the village considered him
"The Rich Man."
I learned a great lesson from that. He had no indoor plumbing,
no air conditioning, no marble counters or carpeted floors. His
house would not even meet minimum building codes in the poorest
neighborhoods in America. However, he had electricity when
everyone else was in the dark, therefore he was rich.
In many parts of the world, what we consider poverty is
considered great wealth. We have so much food in America that
eating too much causes America's biggest health problems.
Principle #5 - Happiness is not dependent on money.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Amazon jungle was perhaps the poorest area that I have ever
visited. There was no industry. The huts did not even have
doors. Yet, in the midst of what many would consider extreme
poverty by American standards, again I saw something.
The people were quite happy.
The ability to sense spirit is something God gave me long ago.
When I sold newspapers as a boy through many of the neighborhoods
in Atlanta, the minute people opened the door, I could sense
whether the house was happy or sad.
I sold newspapers in the richest and poorest of neighborhoods.
Both had their share of happy and sad homes.
The guide told us as we walked through the village with the
doorless huts, "We marry around 13 or 14."
"13 or 14?" I repeated, amazed at such a young marrying age.
"What is the divorce rate?" I asked.
"Less than 5%," he replied.
Again I saw that material possessions don't guarantee happiness.
We have relatively huge wealth along with a relatively huge
divorce rate.
Principle #6 - One American family has contributed to more
financial disaster than any other.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Joneses.
Because we often try to keep up with the Joneses, it strains our
finances to the limit and beyond. My father, often quoted,
"If your outgo exceeds your income then your upkeep will become
your downfall."
Too often we live way above our means. I have always had enough
money because I have always kept my expenses well below my income.
Whether you earn millions or minimum wage, the principle applies.
Years ago my wife began selling a nutritional system.
The system had a cassette tape explaining it. She went
throughout several Atlanta upper income neighborhoods putting
the tapes in mailboxes.
She only selected the fancy houses as she only had a limited
number of tapes.
Six people responded wanting the system. The system cost $100.
Of the six people who responded, not ONE had $100. Each had a
story of why they had to wait until payday or could only pay a
part now but none had $100.
"How could that be?" my wife asked. "I specifically only put
these tapes in BIG houses. They all had two fancy cars and
$200,000 plus houses. How could their finances be so tight that
they don't have $100?" she kept asking me.
Because they lived next to The Joneses,
who lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to The Joneses,
who lived next to ...
Principle #7 - Lack of a budget.
-----------------------------------------------------------
At the church, I have a financial expert teach a class each
month. It is a six-part series that we repeat each six months.
It teaches people how to manage their money. We often tell
people in the church to give 10% of their money to the church,
but we give them no knowledge on how to manage the other 90%.
People came to me with testimonies about how the class changed
their financial lives. The first thing the expert did was to
have everyone create a budget.
NO ONE had a budget. No one could say exactly how much they
were spending. Sure, they all knew what the rent or mortgage
was, but it was often the "other" stuff that sunk them. No one
could tell you with any degree of accuracy exactly what they
were spending as a total.
The expert told the story of how one lady had come to him for a
loan. She wanted to buy a car. She was going to pay for the
car by the week at one of those "pay by the week" places.
She got angry at him when he would not lend her the money.
He had her to do a budget. When she did, she was shocked to see
that the weekly payments plus what she was spending on other
stuff added up to more than what she was earning. If he had
loaned her the money for the down payment on the car, it would
have been sure financial disaster.
WRITE IT DOWN exactly how much you spend each month on
EVERYTHING. You may be surprised. Just something as simple as
a two pack a day cigarette habit is $200.00 per month.
Principle #8 - Learn the principle of giving.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I cannot logically explain this, but I know it is true. It is
no accident that the U.S. is the most prosperous country on the
face of the earth, but we also give more than any other country
on earth.
Yes, I know the U.S. has flaws but that doesn't change the
principle or the result. We benefit from our benevolence;
we suffer for our malice.
God spoke a Word of Wisdom to me personally concerning money.
"Anything beyond sufficiency is insignificant."
It has taken me a long time to understand that but the longer I
live, the more convinced I am of that truth.
Money is similar to food. You need it; if you run short, it gets
very uncomfortable and even unhealthy. Yet excess consumption
has great dangers. Having excess food is wonderful if you do
the right thing. The problem is not in having the excess; the
excess is a blessing. The challenge is in doing the right thing
with the excess.
Even the Old Testament of the Bible listed lack of both money and
food as a curse and its abundance a blessing. The problem was
that it wasn't long after the abundance that the people became
corrupt. It is very hard to keep abundance in balance.
That's why Jesus said it was HARD for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God.
Money has always been and always will be an issue.
It traps most in this world; it even traps most of us preachers.
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
The Pharisees, (ministers and priests) who loved money, heard all
this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones
who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.
What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
(Luke 16:13-15 NIV)
The messages of this week have presented you with the principles
for abundance and some guidance for using the abundance.
Remember that a golden chain binds just as tight as an iron one.
[video=youtube_share;fMtCX7pTNJQ]http://youtu.be/fMtCX7pTNJQ[/video]
Don’t Worry
A pastor had been on a long flight from one place to another.
The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign
on the airplane flashed on: Fasten your seat belts. Then,
after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the
beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence.
Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."
As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of
the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of
the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve
the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."
And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could
be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up
the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was
like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the
airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next,
it dropped as if it were about to crash.
The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of
those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I
could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed.
Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were
wondering if they would make it through the storm.
"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant
nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat
on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her
small world was calm and orderly.
"Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then
she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in
her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible
storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell
with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half
to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and
unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.
It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally
reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to
disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had
watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm
and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.
The child replied,
"Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."
There are many kinds of storms that buffet us.
Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can
easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into
apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such
times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be
at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being
tossed about a darkened sky.
Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot.
He is in control and taking us home.
Don't worry.
A pastor had been on a long flight from one place to another.
The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign
on the airplane flashed on: Fasten your seat belts. Then,
after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the
beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence.
Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."
As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of
the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of
the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve
the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."
And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could
be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up
the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was
like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the
airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next,
it dropped as if it were about to crash.
The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of
those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I
could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed.
Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were
wondering if they would make it through the storm.
"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant
nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat
on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her
small world was calm and orderly.
"Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then
she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in
her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible
storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell
with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half
to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and
unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.
It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally
reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to
disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had
watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm
and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.
The child replied,
"Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."
There are many kinds of storms that buffet us.
Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can
easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into
apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such
times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be
at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being
tossed about a darkened sky.
Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot.
He is in control and taking us home.
Don't worry.
[video=youtube_share;CBfjTDJqngI]http://youtu.be/CBfjTDJqngI[/video]
7 Principles of an Eagle
1. Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or with
other small birds. No other bird can go to the height of the eagle.
When Moses went to commune with God on the mountain, he
left the crowd at the foothills. Stay away from sparrows and
ravens.
Eagles fly with eagles.
2. Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on
something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites
his prey, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No
matter the obstacle, the
eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.
Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the
obstacle and you will succeed.
3. Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey.
Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not.
Be careful with what you feed your eyes and ears with, especially in movies and on TV. Steer clear of outdated and old information. Always do your research well.
4. Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm's winds to lift it higher. Once it finds the
wing of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds.
This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings.
In the meantime all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees.
We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights.
Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.
5. The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursuing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it.
He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He then brings it back to the female eagle.
The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of catching the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her.
Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.
6. the thorns bare. When the scared eaglets again jump into the nest, they are pricked
by thorns. Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next, mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air.As they shriek in fear, father eagle flies out and catches them up on his back before they fall and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly.
The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; The preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success; The being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are may result into our not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and live on. We may not know it but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns.
The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper.Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.
7. When an Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out.
We occasionally need to shed off old habits & items that burden us without adding to our lives..
Author Dr. Myles Monroe Edited
1. Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or with
other small birds. No other bird can go to the height of the eagle.
When Moses went to commune with God on the mountain, he
left the crowd at the foothills. Stay away from sparrows and
ravens.
Eagles fly with eagles.
2. Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on
something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites
his prey, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No
matter the obstacle, the
eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.
Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the
obstacle and you will succeed.
3. Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey.
Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not.
Be careful with what you feed your eyes and ears with, especially in movies and on TV. Steer clear of outdated and old information. Always do your research well.
4. Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm's winds to lift it higher. Once it finds the
wing of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds.
This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings.
In the meantime all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees.
We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights.
Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.
5. The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursuing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it.
He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He then brings it back to the female eagle.
The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of catching the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her.
Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.
6. the thorns bare. When the scared eaglets again jump into the nest, they are pricked
by thorns. Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next, mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air.As they shriek in fear, father eagle flies out and catches them up on his back before they fall and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly.
The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; The preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success; The being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are may result into our not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and live on. We may not know it but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns.
The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper.Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.
7. When an Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out.
We occasionally need to shed off old habits & items that burden us without adding to our lives..
Author Dr. Myles Monroe Edited
[video=youtube_share;JxRtIC8nw3Y]http://youtu.be/JxRtIC8nw3Y[/video]
twelve suggestions to help discover your calling
Written by Patrick Morley, Founder Man in the Mirror
Adapted from The Seven Seasons of a Man's Life (Zondervan)
Once that fire to serve the Lord starts to burn in our hearts, we bump up against some obvious questions:
I want to serve the Lord, but what can I do?
Wouldn't I have to be a full-time minister to serve the Lord?
What kind of personal ministry can I do?
Is my work part of my calling?
Why is it taking so long to get in gear?
What is God's will for my life?
Let's explore the answers to these important questions.
What The Bible Says…
The Bible offers a comprehensive overview of our call to serve. This snapshot will give you a firm base upon which to build your own personal calling.
God Made Us To Serve Him: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…" (Ephesians 2:10).
God Has Already Determined What He Wants Us To Do: "…good works which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
God Wants Each Of Us To Bear Much Fruit: "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (John 15:8). In fact, fruit proves we are His disciples.
To Bear Fruit God Gives Each Of Us Different Spiritual Gifts: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:6). Spiritual gifts are unique spiritual abilities given by God to help us in serving Him. (For a full discussion of this topic see my book, The Rest Of Your Life, "Chapter Eighteen, Developing a Personal Ministry".)
Some Are Called To Speak, Some To Serve, Some To Both: "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides…" (1 Peter 4:11).
We Each Serve God As Part Of A Larger Body: "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:4-5). All of us working together form a beautiful mosaic of loving service.
The Ultimate Purpose Of Our Service Is To Bring Glory To God: "…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:11).
The Nature Of The Call To Service
The Bible makes no distinction between sacred and secular. For the Christian, all of life is "spiritual." Francis Schaeffer put it this way:
One thing you should very definitely have in mind - that is that a ministry such as teaching the Bible in a college is no higher calling intrinsically than being a businessman or doing something else.
Many people who sense the desire to serve God welling up within them assume they must now do something else. This is rarely the case. For 99% of us, God probably wants us right where we are (see 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 24). Generally, we should keep doing what we already do, but differently - with a whole new orientation to pleasing Christ.
The call to service develops in three phases: calling, equipping, and sending. When God "calls" He rarely "sends" right away. Instead, we usually go through a season of "equipping" when we encounter delays, uncertainties, and hardships. God uses these times to work some things "into" our lives and some things "out of" our lives.
Twelve Suggestions to Help Discover Your Calling
Use the following suggestions to help you clarify God's calling on your life, including both your work and personal ministry.
1. Employ the Means of Guidance. To help us discern His will, God has given seven means of guidance: The Bible, prayer, the Holy Spirit, conscience, circumstances, counsel, and fasting. Use these with liberality, keeping the question before you, "God, what is your calling for my life?"
2. Discover Your Spiritual Gifts. Make the effort to learn your spiritual gifts. This will help you discern your direction as much as any single thing. Your church may offer training in spiritual gifts. Ask your pastor. Also, check with your local Christian bookstore for books and other resources. A previous A Look In The Mirror is entitled "How to Determine Your Spiritual Gifts" which you can order from us. Knowing your gifts will help you in your work as well as personal ministry. For example, a man with the gifts of leadership and faith may be suited to own his own business.
3. Identify Your Motivated Interests. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." In other words, God puts desires into our hearts to do His work. Pay attention to your desires. Pray over them and see if your motives are pure. Discovering your motivated interests can help you direct career choices as well as choose personal ministry opportunities.
4. Complete Your Written Life Purpose Statement. To understand God's larger purpose for your life is to know why you are here and what your life is about. Develop a written life purpose statement of one or two sentences. Base it upon a Scripture verse if possible. (For a fuller treatment of this topic see my book, The Man In The Mirror, page 68.)
5. Keep a Journal. Consider keeping a journal of Scriptures that touch you, impressions you have, your concerns, and new insights you learn about yourself, God, and His calling. Look for patterns of interest or concern.
6. Keep Driving Toward the Vision. Vision is a mental picture of a desirable future. Eventually, God will give you a picture of what He wants you to do. This may be more or less clear. The key is to always keep driving toward the vision, even if you must drive slow because you are in a fog. Act in light of what you do know. Don't not act in light of what you don't know.
7. What to Do When Strategy Is Unclear. God has given me a vision: "To help bring about a spiritual awakening in America by reaching the men and leaders of our nation for Christ." The picture is a spiritually awakened nation. Yet, the precise strategies for my part are not completely clear. So, I continue to seek to be faithful to what God has already shown, and vigilant for more clarity as I keep moving with what is already clear.
8. Reorganize Work Life to Allow for Personal Ministry. Jim refused a promotion because it would put him on the road four days a week. Lin quit a position because his boss wanted him to work seven days a week. He found a job selling lights bulbs with 1,325 established accounts that required a normal 40 hour week. Don't be so bogged down in work that you never have time to serve the Lord in other ministry capacities besides your work.
9. Employ the Power of Faith. After winning the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, #1 ranked tennis pro, Pete Sampras, was asked if he thought he could win the Grand Slam (the four major international tennis tournaments) like his hero Rod Laver did in 1968. No one since Laver has won it. He answered, "No." That pretty well sealed his fate. The negative power of disbelief cripples your vision. But the power of belief or faith is enormous. Faith is not mere positive thinking; faith is believing God in the face of unbelievable circumstances. It is trusting that what God puts in your heart as "desire" is within His power to bring about.
10. Maintain Priorities. Regardless of what specific ministry or occupation God gives us, we all have inescapable priorities which we must not neglect. For example, our mates, children, walk with Christ, personal finances, rest, exercise, and work. We must take responsibility for our own private lives.
11. Expect Opposition. Live your life in light of the vision God has given you. Don't let opposition deter you. God gave Nehemiah a vision to rebuild his city, but he encountered stiff opposition. Nehemiah 4:9 says, "We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat." In other words, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! In the end, God fulfilled the vision He put in Nehemiah's heart, a vision that appeared dead.
12. Be Willing to Take Some Risks. After an invigorating discussion on calling, equipping, and sending, a man said with tears in his eyes, "But I'm just not feeling called." The counsel to this man, who at the time was not serving the Lord at all, was, "Do something." Many men never attempt anything significant because they might fail. They would rather be perfect in potentiality than imperfect in actuality.
Application
Do you know what God is calling you to do? If you are still trying to discover His calling, why not take a few moments right now or during your next quiet time and review each of these twelve suggestions carefully. Ask yourself how you can employ each suggestion to help you discover His good , pleasing and perfect will for your life.
Written by Patrick Morley, Founder Man in the Mirror
Adapted from The Seven Seasons of a Man's Life (Zondervan)
Once that fire to serve the Lord starts to burn in our hearts, we bump up against some obvious questions:
I want to serve the Lord, but what can I do?
Wouldn't I have to be a full-time minister to serve the Lord?
What kind of personal ministry can I do?
Is my work part of my calling?
Why is it taking so long to get in gear?
What is God's will for my life?
Let's explore the answers to these important questions.
What The Bible Says…
The Bible offers a comprehensive overview of our call to serve. This snapshot will give you a firm base upon which to build your own personal calling.
God Made Us To Serve Him: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…" (Ephesians 2:10).
God Has Already Determined What He Wants Us To Do: "…good works which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
God Wants Each Of Us To Bear Much Fruit: "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (John 15:8). In fact, fruit proves we are His disciples.
To Bear Fruit God Gives Each Of Us Different Spiritual Gifts: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:6). Spiritual gifts are unique spiritual abilities given by God to help us in serving Him. (For a full discussion of this topic see my book, The Rest Of Your Life, "Chapter Eighteen, Developing a Personal Ministry".)
Some Are Called To Speak, Some To Serve, Some To Both: "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides…" (1 Peter 4:11).
We Each Serve God As Part Of A Larger Body: "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:4-5). All of us working together form a beautiful mosaic of loving service.
The Ultimate Purpose Of Our Service Is To Bring Glory To God: "…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:11).
The Nature Of The Call To Service
The Bible makes no distinction between sacred and secular. For the Christian, all of life is "spiritual." Francis Schaeffer put it this way:
One thing you should very definitely have in mind - that is that a ministry such as teaching the Bible in a college is no higher calling intrinsically than being a businessman or doing something else.
Many people who sense the desire to serve God welling up within them assume they must now do something else. This is rarely the case. For 99% of us, God probably wants us right where we are (see 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 24). Generally, we should keep doing what we already do, but differently - with a whole new orientation to pleasing Christ.
The call to service develops in three phases: calling, equipping, and sending. When God "calls" He rarely "sends" right away. Instead, we usually go through a season of "equipping" when we encounter delays, uncertainties, and hardships. God uses these times to work some things "into" our lives and some things "out of" our lives.
Twelve Suggestions to Help Discover Your Calling
Use the following suggestions to help you clarify God's calling on your life, including both your work and personal ministry.
1. Employ the Means of Guidance. To help us discern His will, God has given seven means of guidance: The Bible, prayer, the Holy Spirit, conscience, circumstances, counsel, and fasting. Use these with liberality, keeping the question before you, "God, what is your calling for my life?"
2. Discover Your Spiritual Gifts. Make the effort to learn your spiritual gifts. This will help you discern your direction as much as any single thing. Your church may offer training in spiritual gifts. Ask your pastor. Also, check with your local Christian bookstore for books and other resources. A previous A Look In The Mirror is entitled "How to Determine Your Spiritual Gifts" which you can order from us. Knowing your gifts will help you in your work as well as personal ministry. For example, a man with the gifts of leadership and faith may be suited to own his own business.
3. Identify Your Motivated Interests. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." In other words, God puts desires into our hearts to do His work. Pay attention to your desires. Pray over them and see if your motives are pure. Discovering your motivated interests can help you direct career choices as well as choose personal ministry opportunities.
4. Complete Your Written Life Purpose Statement. To understand God's larger purpose for your life is to know why you are here and what your life is about. Develop a written life purpose statement of one or two sentences. Base it upon a Scripture verse if possible. (For a fuller treatment of this topic see my book, The Man In The Mirror, page 68.)
5. Keep a Journal. Consider keeping a journal of Scriptures that touch you, impressions you have, your concerns, and new insights you learn about yourself, God, and His calling. Look for patterns of interest or concern.
6. Keep Driving Toward the Vision. Vision is a mental picture of a desirable future. Eventually, God will give you a picture of what He wants you to do. This may be more or less clear. The key is to always keep driving toward the vision, even if you must drive slow because you are in a fog. Act in light of what you do know. Don't not act in light of what you don't know.
7. What to Do When Strategy Is Unclear. God has given me a vision: "To help bring about a spiritual awakening in America by reaching the men and leaders of our nation for Christ." The picture is a spiritually awakened nation. Yet, the precise strategies for my part are not completely clear. So, I continue to seek to be faithful to what God has already shown, and vigilant for more clarity as I keep moving with what is already clear.
8. Reorganize Work Life to Allow for Personal Ministry. Jim refused a promotion because it would put him on the road four days a week. Lin quit a position because his boss wanted him to work seven days a week. He found a job selling lights bulbs with 1,325 established accounts that required a normal 40 hour week. Don't be so bogged down in work that you never have time to serve the Lord in other ministry capacities besides your work.
9. Employ the Power of Faith. After winning the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, #1 ranked tennis pro, Pete Sampras, was asked if he thought he could win the Grand Slam (the four major international tennis tournaments) like his hero Rod Laver did in 1968. No one since Laver has won it. He answered, "No." That pretty well sealed his fate. The negative power of disbelief cripples your vision. But the power of belief or faith is enormous. Faith is not mere positive thinking; faith is believing God in the face of unbelievable circumstances. It is trusting that what God puts in your heart as "desire" is within His power to bring about.
10. Maintain Priorities. Regardless of what specific ministry or occupation God gives us, we all have inescapable priorities which we must not neglect. For example, our mates, children, walk with Christ, personal finances, rest, exercise, and work. We must take responsibility for our own private lives.
11. Expect Opposition. Live your life in light of the vision God has given you. Don't let opposition deter you. God gave Nehemiah a vision to rebuild his city, but he encountered stiff opposition. Nehemiah 4:9 says, "We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat." In other words, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! In the end, God fulfilled the vision He put in Nehemiah's heart, a vision that appeared dead.
12. Be Willing to Take Some Risks. After an invigorating discussion on calling, equipping, and sending, a man said with tears in his eyes, "But I'm just not feeling called." The counsel to this man, who at the time was not serving the Lord at all, was, "Do something." Many men never attempt anything significant because they might fail. They would rather be perfect in potentiality than imperfect in actuality.
Application
Do you know what God is calling you to do? If you are still trying to discover His calling, why not take a few moments right now or during your next quiet time and review each of these twelve suggestions carefully. Ask yourself how you can employ each suggestion to help you discover His good , pleasing and perfect will for your life.
In Everything
==============
“In everything that I have created, your pain, your struggles
and your disappointments, there is beauty.
In everything the devil has created, even that which appears to
be beautiful, is at its core, ugly.”
~God~
from the sermon, “See the Beauty”
==============
“In everything that I have created, your pain, your struggles
and your disappointments, there is beauty.
In everything the devil has created, even that which appears to
be beautiful, is at its core, ugly.”
~God~
from the sermon, “See the Beauty”
[video=youtube_share;bWS4rghoxLA]http://youtu.be/bWS4rghoxLA[/video]
[video=youtube_share;4d9RJMOP9Tw]http://youtu.be/4d9RJMOP9Tw[/video]
The Winning Game
On a hot, sunny afternoon, a small boy stepped up to bat.
The crowd watched like hawks for his move, waiting for the
sought-after home run that most likely wasn't to be.
After all, these kids were five and six years old, much too
little to stroke a ball past the pitcher, if at all.
The little guy's determination showed in his stance: gritted
teeth, slightly bulging eyes, hat-clad head bobbing slightly,
feet apart, hands with a death grip on the bat.
In front of him was a small softball, sitting perched like a
parrot on a lone tee, awaiting the six swings that the batter
was allowed.
Strike one.
"Come on, you can do it!" came a solitary voice out of the
bleachers.
Strike two.
"Go for it, Son!" the proud father yelled encouragingly.
Strike three.
"Go, go, go..." the crowd joined in.
Strike four.
"You can do it!" just the father and a couple of viewers
crooned, others losing interest and turning to bleacher
conversations.
"YOU CAN DO IT!" And suddenly bat hit ball, amazing the crowd
and the little boy, who stood rock still, watching it travel
slowly past the pitcher on its way to second base.
"Run!"
The stands rumbled with stomping feet. "Run, run!"
The little boy's head jerked ever so slightly and he took off
toward third base.
"No," the crowd yelled.
"The other way."
With a slight cast of his head toward the bleachers, the boy
turned back toward home.
"NO!" My son, the umpire, waved him toward first base.
The kids on both teams pointed the way. The crowd continued to
cheer him on. Confused, he ran back to third.
Then following the third baseman's frantic directions, he
finally ran toward first base but stopped triumphantly on the
pitcher's mound. The pitcher moved back, not sure what to do
next.
The crowd stood, shaking the bleachers with the momentum.
All arms waved toward first base. And with no thought for his
position, the first baseman dropped his ball and ran toward the
pitcher.
"Come on," he yelled, grabbing the hand of the errant batter,
and tugged him toward first base while the crowd screamed its
approval.
The ball lay forgotten as a triumphant twosome hugged each other
on the piece of square plastic that marked the spot where lives
are forever shaped.
No one will remember the score of that summer afternoon game.
Two little boys, running hand in hand, toward a goal that only
one should have reached.
Both came out winners.
In fact, there wasn't a loser in the stands or on the field that
summer day, and that's a lesson none of us should ever forget.
Winning is more than being number one.
Winning is helping another when the chips are down.
It's remembering to love one another.
~Author Unknown~
On a hot, sunny afternoon, a small boy stepped up to bat.
The crowd watched like hawks for his move, waiting for the
sought-after home run that most likely wasn't to be.
After all, these kids were five and six years old, much too
little to stroke a ball past the pitcher, if at all.
The little guy's determination showed in his stance: gritted
teeth, slightly bulging eyes, hat-clad head bobbing slightly,
feet apart, hands with a death grip on the bat.
In front of him was a small softball, sitting perched like a
parrot on a lone tee, awaiting the six swings that the batter
was allowed.
Strike one.
"Come on, you can do it!" came a solitary voice out of the
bleachers.
Strike two.
"Go for it, Son!" the proud father yelled encouragingly.
Strike three.
"Go, go, go..." the crowd joined in.
Strike four.
"You can do it!" just the father and a couple of viewers
crooned, others losing interest and turning to bleacher
conversations.
"YOU CAN DO IT!" And suddenly bat hit ball, amazing the crowd
and the little boy, who stood rock still, watching it travel
slowly past the pitcher on its way to second base.
"Run!"
The stands rumbled with stomping feet. "Run, run!"
The little boy's head jerked ever so slightly and he took off
toward third base.
"No," the crowd yelled.
"The other way."
With a slight cast of his head toward the bleachers, the boy
turned back toward home.
"NO!" My son, the umpire, waved him toward first base.
The kids on both teams pointed the way. The crowd continued to
cheer him on. Confused, he ran back to third.
Then following the third baseman's frantic directions, he
finally ran toward first base but stopped triumphantly on the
pitcher's mound. The pitcher moved back, not sure what to do
next.
The crowd stood, shaking the bleachers with the momentum.
All arms waved toward first base. And with no thought for his
position, the first baseman dropped his ball and ran toward the
pitcher.
"Come on," he yelled, grabbing the hand of the errant batter,
and tugged him toward first base while the crowd screamed its
approval.
The ball lay forgotten as a triumphant twosome hugged each other
on the piece of square plastic that marked the spot where lives
are forever shaped.
No one will remember the score of that summer afternoon game.
Two little boys, running hand in hand, toward a goal that only
one should have reached.
Both came out winners.
In fact, there wasn't a loser in the stands or on the field that
summer day, and that's a lesson none of us should ever forget.
Winning is more than being number one.
Winning is helping another when the chips are down.
It's remembering to love one another.
~Author Unknown~
[video=youtube_share;d4itjCoSKdg]http://youtu.be/d4itjCoSKdg[/video]
[video=youtube_share;nMgNwVfBihU]http://youtu.be/nMgNwVfBihU[/video]
Where Are You?
Six types of behavior choices:
Level 1
I don't want to get in trouble
Level 2
I want a reward
Level 3
I want to impress someone
Level 4
It’s the rule. I follow the rules
Level 5
I consider other people’s feelings
Being quiet in a movie theater
Level 6
It’s my code.
That's who I am.
Where are you?
Six types of behavior choices:
Level 1
I don't want to get in trouble
Level 2
I want a reward
Level 3
I want to impress someone
Level 4
It’s the rule. I follow the rules
Level 5
I consider other people’s feelings
Being quiet in a movie theater
Level 6
It’s my code.
That's who I am.
Where are you?
[video=youtube_share;ASbmV_8RkGI]http://youtu.be/ASbmV_8RkGI[/video]
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