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Always Something

As you know I have teenager.  Its always something.  Help with Algebra, help with his computer, where are my shoes, I need money.  Its always something! This morning it was “Where is my wallet?”.

ARGH.

Man, I wanted to react like this:

Matthew 17:17 (New American Standard Bible)

17And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

But knowing that what I am doing as a father is showing him his heavenly father, I had to look past that.  Yes, there are times to overturn tables with a teenager.  And Jesus took the approach with those who held him in complete contempt.  But most of the time his approach is more like this:

Matthew 7:7-11 (New International Version)

7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Yes, God is patient with us.  He is OK with us asking.  He is ok with us bringing it again and again and again and again and again and again and again etc etc.  Just ask he says.

Man, if I could just be that kind of father, and friend.

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Daily Post

Weekend of Champions

Everyone wants to be a Champion.

This weekend in my house there were several Mario Kart tournaments.  Andrew was schooling his grandparents in the finer arts of racing, while his grandmother was just figuring out how to turn the Wii Wheel. That didn’t seem to deter her however, as she hung in there, putting around the course in 12th at her own speed, undeterred by the constant heckles of “push 2”, “you need to go faster” and “here comes Andrew to lap you again”.

Then there was that Super Bowl.  Mr. Manning throws an “pick 6”, interception for a touchdown, to lose the game. Disappointing, to say the least. Do you think that makes him any less of a winner?Any less then of one of the greatest players ever to play.

Oh and then there were the commercials.  Disappointing.  But we know, the marketers will be back again next year with another brand of humor and attempts to keep us glued to the set.  (Also, here is the link to the Tebow Ad – what was the big deal?)

And then there is us.  We continue to battle and fight and race.  Sometimes we lose ( read sin), sometimes we throw an INT ( that’s interception for you non football fans out there, also read mistake), sometimes our words just don’t have the impact they are meant to have.  Does that make us a failure? Does that diminish who we are in God’s eyes?  Even though we think it does, it doesn’t.  He love is unfailing and our hope keeps us going:

Hebrews 10:23-24 (New International Version)

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

And we keep on fighting.

Hebrews 10:39 (New International Version)

39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Don’t shrink back, even in the the face of mistakes – keep on fighting.

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Daily Post random thoughts

Random Thought Friday

Phew, its been one of the messy starts – raining, teenagers, early meetings. So today its a set of unrelated random thoughts to keep you “buffeting” and staying strong.

  • Isn’t is awesome that you can turn on a water spigot and clean pure water comes out – and usually as much as you want.  Thats my friends is an incredible blessing.  Don’t take it for granted.  Especially on another rainy day.

If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is weary of it as much as you are. – Frank Laubach

  • Here is an pretty funny site that won  Collide Magazine‘s top Pop Culture & Faith Blog of 2009.  And the author has a book coming out in April you may enjoy. Its called Stuff Christians Like.  You may find it helpful in your daily walk as well!
  • Check this out.  Harding University is doing something good and cool.  https://tentsandtarps.org/
  • Any finally just a happy verse to keep you going on Friday.
Psalm 118:23-25 (New International Version)

23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.

Sing it, and Live it!

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Daily Post

Speed of Change:Becoming an Expert

Way back in December, I posted about the speed of change, and mentioned that I would revisit that issue in the future.  Well, earlier this week, while the auditory portions of my brain listened to a conference call ramble on, the visible portion of my brain, surfed the web with reckless abandon, until I stumbled upon a article about becoming an expert.  It was at this point that all of my focus was on this article.

Although the comments after the post debate some of the findings,  the writer of the post, Penelope, refers to a Harvard Business Review article entitled The Making of an Expert, where research points to this conclusion

that there is no correlation between IQ and expert performance in fields such as chess, music, sports, and medicine has borne out his findings. The only innate differences that turn out to be significant—and they matter primarily in sports—are height and body size.

Essentially suggesting that to become an expert at something it takes time, training, and desire.  The article also points out the importance of a mentor and guide  in developing expertise.

I find this interesting to apply to work, but I also find it interesting when we think about ourselves.  I can’t remember how many times I have heard people pray to be a “better Christian”.   We expect that we can utter a single prayer, and boom the character trait or temptation that we struggle with just disappears!  It’s not going to happen like that.  Mastery take time.  Author Malcolm Gladwell has make famous – ( apparently, as I have not personally read this yet, only references to it, although I have heard him speak, so I think that makes it ok for me to quote him!?!)- a 10,000 hour rule to becoming a expert.  That’s 5 years!

So today realize that the world is changing fast around us, but don’t be discouraged if you don’t see the mastery in your life overnight.  It takes time.  But not just clock time.  It takes time working at the problem. It takes time working with a mentor, it takes time studying, praying for change, focusing on the issue.  You can change, you can attain mastery.

1 Timothy 4:7 (New International Version)

7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

What do you think?

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Daily Post

National Letter of Intent Day

Its here.  Its the culmination of all the college football recruiting.  Its National Signing Day, or Letter of Intent Day.  (For all of you non football fans – its the day when high school seniors “commit” to the university which they will attend and play football.  Its the day they make their intentions clear. – who wouldn’t be excited about that, right?)

So anyway, college football fans will wait anxiously today to see if their school will commit enough talent to make the fans happy for the next 5 years.  This is one of those out of control, overly hyped days that make America what it is.

However, declaring your intent isn’t always hyped up.  Sometimes is a little, well unfortunate, like the two guys caught stealing Twinkies because they left their tracks in the snow.  They made their intentions well known to all.   However when it comes to our lives, intent isn’t hyped up enough.

Declaring our intentions is important.  No coach likes a player who is not certain which team his is going to play.  Likewise, deciding how your going to live is important as well.  Being intention in our actions or living with intent is good.  Deciding how you are going to approach situations in life ahead of time helps you deal with those situations when they occur.

Think about your intentions.  Fence sitting is really becoming less and less fashionable.  If you had to sign up today, where would you sign up?  And recall Joshua, and the day he declared his intention.

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:1-15