I believe... that I shouldn't drink alcohol

I said, I shouldn't drink alcohol. That doesn't mean the I believe everyone should avoid alcohol. The Bible doesn't teach us to avoid alcohol, it teaches us to avoid drunkenness. (See 1 Cor 5:11 & 6:10)

A few years ago, while going through my divorce I spent way too much time and money on alcohol. I never became an alcoholic but I did get drunk with some regularity. After I was saved, God convicted me about my drinking and I cut myself back to 2 drinks on any given occasion. If I was drinking, it was 2 drinks and no more.

Later, when I was called to a leadership position in the singles ministry of my church, I realized that I was in a place where I was known by many people. I may not have known them, but many of them knew me or at least knew my position in the ministry. In realizing this, God convicted my heart to give up alcohol altogether. I didn't want people who struggled with alcohol to see me, a leader in the singles ministry, having a drink and then decide that it was okay for them to have one, also. God's Word tells us in Romans 14:13; "Decide instead to live in such a way that will not cause another believer to stumble and fall." It goes on to say in verse 23; "If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning." I believed that by drinking alcohol I may cause another believer to stumble so I quit. God convicted me and I listened to Him.

So, should you drink alcohol? If you don't struggle with drunkenness or alcoholism, have a drink and enjoy yourself. Just don't get drunk.

But that's not really the entire issue here. This post is actually inspired by a Facebook discussion on whether or not believers should celebrate halloween. I've met believers on both sides on this issue. I, personally, believe that it's okay for me to enjoy halloween. I don't struggle with evil thoughts or desires on that day any more than I do any other day of the year. It has no negative affect on my spiritual walk. But I also believe this, if my celebration of halloween causes a fellow believer to stumble, then it's no longer okay for me to celebrate halloween.

So, if you believe something is wrong, don't do it. It really is that simple. But, remember to not become prideful in your conviction because that is just as detrimental the the cause of Christ as whatever you decided not do. Don't replace one sin with another.

Do what you think is right and honors our Lord and...

...Enjoy the ride.

I believe... that I need to be rich!

Well, I don't completely believe that, but I'm working on it.

When I say rich, I mean what you think I mean; I want lots and lots of money. I also want to be rich in relationships, in knowledge, in health, etc.... I want the abundance that God talks about in His Word. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that His "purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." " Them", by the way, is you and me.

Before you go off on how selfish I am, you need to know that I don't want the abundance so that I can hold onto it, I want it so that I can give out of that abundance. Sure I want things for myself. I want vacations and big screen TV's, but I also want to be able to write $10,000 checks to meet the needs of those less fortunate. By the way, those $10,000 checks will be in addition to the tithe that I already bring faithfully to my church.

I'm trying to change my mindset about wealth. I'm working to teach myself to risk big so that God can bless big. I'm learning to think like a rich person. It's scary and I'm not the biggest risk taker in the world, but I'm working on that, too. I sparred with a 4th degree Black Belt the other day. I've got a nice bruise across my chest and I almost lost a contact but I got a few shots in and had fun in the process. Bruises heal and I can always make more money, but I don't like the idea of my life ending without having really lived it. I don't want any regrets - I want to know that, while I might not have accomplished everything that I tried to do, at least I tried.

I believe that I need to be rich. More importantly, I believe that God wants me to be rich. His Word is true and that's what He tells me: "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8 There it is; He will bless me so that I can be a blessing.

Enjoy the ride...

What I believe....

This will be the first of a series of thoughts on the topic on my beliefs. I'll start here:

I believe that God came to earth as Jesus; fully God, yet fully man. He lived and served and was tempted and yet still lived a sinless life. I believe that He died on a cross for my sins and rose again three days later proving that He is God. I believe that confessing Him as Lord and Savior is the only way to heaven.

So many people, Christians included, think that living a good life will get them to heaven and it's just not true. God's Word tells us that Jesus is the one and only way. We, in our own power, can never be good enough to earn our way into heaven.

I've had people say, "Why would God only provide one way to get to heaven?" My answer is this: First of all, He's God and He can do what He wants, and second; why does He need to provide an alternate route when He's already given you very specific directions.

Chew on that for a while and I'll be back with some more of my beliefs.

Enjoy the ride!!

It starts at home

I was having a conversation a few days ago with some great men that I serve alongside in our church's mens ministry. We got into a bit of a debate about service versus sacrifice and sacrificing in order serve. I brought up an unfortunate but true point - the biggest sacrifice for many of us men is to give up our own agenda to be home with our families.

Many of us men get so caught up in doing and accomplishing for work, for our ministry, and for our communities that our families get left in the dust. I think one of the most important things that I can do as a man serving in a mens ministry is to serve my wife and family well. God calls me as a husband to "love my wife as Christ loved the church...." Personally, I take that command very seriously.

I'm not saying that achieving is wrong or even sinful; I am saying, that if you get things out of order, you will have to pay the consequences. God, wife, kids, and work, in my opinion, is the best order. I also believe that wife, kids and work can and will sometimes shift in order for us to best honor God, but God should always be first. Work will sometimes have to take precedence over your wife and kids because you are their provider. Sometimes the kids may have to come before your wife; however, if you and your wife are on the same page, she'll probably be supportive of that. The thing to remember is that these shifts in order should only be for a season of time and things should get back into their proper order.

If you're in your second year of a shift in that order, you might need to re-evaluate some things. I lived a life where the kids became the priority and that ended in divorce. If you've read any of my previous blog posts, you know that there was more that contributed to my divorce than the kids, but the kids became our excuse for not spending any time alone together. When we quit working on our relationship with one another, we eventually got to a place where there was no relationship outside of our kids. Obviously, that's not a good place to be.

I would say that those shifts in order shouldn't last more than a few months, and even then you should have days when you put them back in proper order, even if it is only for a day or two. If you do that, then you will be spending the vast majority of your time keeping things in order as God intended them to be.

I hope this makes some sense to you. Take it from me - I've screwed it up and paid the price. I've learned from my mistakes and I'd like you to do the same (learn from my mistakes, that is). Don't feel like you have to make all the same mistakes yourself.

Enjoy the ride!!

Scott

Thankful enough?

I was thinking about all of the blessing in my life the other day and had this thought: Am I thankful enough? My conclusion... not possible!

There is no way for me to ever be thankful enough for all my blessings. Here's just a few:

1. Jesus (who died for my sins)
2. Awesome wife
3. Awesome kids
4. Great family
5. Great friends
6. Great job
7. etc....

That's just a small portion and I can't be thankful enough for those I listed so I'll just focus on the first one and I think you'll see my point with regards to the rest.

Jesus died for my sins long before I was even around to commit them. How can you ever adequately thank someone for giving their life so that yours will be saved? Perhaps die for them? But Jesus doesn't need me to do that; He is the One that was, and is, and is to come. He is God and He loved me enough to give His life so that I can have an eternal life with Him someday. I can never be thankful enough for that. It's just not possible.

The rest is really just an extension of that. Jesus is God and God is the creator of all things. My wife, kids, friends and family, job are all things that are a part of His creation and that bless my life. So He gave is life for me and everything that I am, that I have, and that I know is because of Him. He gave me life, saved my life, and has blessed my life. How can I ever be thankful enough? Again, it's just not possible.

But here's the good news! I get spend the rest of my life living in His blessings and thanking Him for them. A lifetime of "thank yous" will never be enough, but what a joy to live a thankful life... a lifetime giving Him thanks for who He is and all His blessings.

So, are you thankful enough? Give it some thought and...

Enjoy the ride!!

Life goes on...

Ain't it the truth?? No matter what we do the world just keeps on spinning. Even when we'd rather it stop, even when we shut down, life goes on....

In my life, I'm never more aware of this than when there is something happening with my ex wife's family that I am not included in. Of course, I always get to hear about it because my kids are involved.

Now, don't get this twisted. I'm not longing for what was, or what might have been. That's not the case. I love my wife and I love my life. I believe that God brought us together and I know that we are blessed. What I'm talking about here are the consequences of past actions, mistakes, etc... that continue to this day. I miss my ex's family and it makes me a little sad, at times, to miss out on their lives.

Currently, my ex's mom is in the hospital. She had a heart transplant 8 years ago and her body is rejecting the heart. They're treating her and she should get through this, but it can be difficult to be on the outside of the loop. Sure, I know the important details, but it's not the same as visiting her, even though I could. None of my ex in-laws would have a problem with that, it's just that I feel I need to let them have their time to deal with what's going on without adding any tension to the situation. I did get to talk to her on the phone and she knows that we're praying for her, so I feel like I've done all that is appropriate to do.

That said, it brings to light the idea that life does go on and it will go on without you. Take it from me, because this type of situation makes me feel that while I'm living my life, another part of my life is going on without me. That's a consequence of divorce. While there is no doubt that my life is blessed; I've got a wonderful wife that I love deeply, great kids, a great job, and a great church, it's times like these that I am reminded of the effects of my past sins.

I pray that you can learn from my past mistakes. Don't make all the same mistakes yourself, learn from mine. That, for me, makes all the pain and heartache that I've suffered worthwhile. I thank God that He's helped me learn from my past so that I will have a great future. Remember, life goes on - with or without you. I'd suggest that you hang on and...

Enjoy the ride!

A grand new adventure

God is so good. I avoiding blogging about work because I was miserable and I've heard horror stories about people losing their jobs because HR departments are monitoring their social networking activities.
Anyway, I've been miserable for a few months now and really didn't know what to do. A couple of weeks ago a couple of prospects came on the radar, one of which was very intriguing, the other was the same job with a different company.
Well, God gave me the push I needed to make a change when I was terminated last Tuesday. Unfortunately, the more intriguing job looked to be a couple of months away and I really didn't really want to stay in marketing and go with the other company. Fortunately, God lined everything up and I'm now working at the more intriguing job. I've gone to work with a great friend at his Martial Arts studio. Top that with the fact that it's a Christian business.
The business is called Arts of Defense Martial Arts. It's a mixed Martial Arts facility(MMA); meaning we offer various MA programs starting with Tae Kwon Do (that's the main program). We also offer Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA (ATT certified), and Kickboxing.
Keep an eye out for further posts - I'm looking forward to letting all of you know what's going on with this new adventure starting with a visit from our Head Instructor, Carlos Machado. I'm definitely going to...

...Enjoy the ride!!!

Does someone need to take away your belt?

Last week I had a conversation with my friend/martial arts instructor about his recent trip to Philadelphia for his fourth degree black belt training. He said the first thing they did to him, at the beginning of the first training session, was take away his black belt and give him a white belt. They said that was to help him to remember where he came from. Then he sparred for an hour - 3 minute rounds with one minute of rest between rounds. Oh yeah, he got a new opponent each round - all were black belts. (We're talking Tae Kwon Do, BTW.)



That conversation sparked a thought: What if we wore colored belts that indicated our level of spiritual maturity/learning? Would that help us remember where we came from? Would that help us remember that we are witnesses to the love of Christ? What if someone came to you and told you they were taking your belt and giving you a white belt? (If I remember correctly, the white belt indicates a "blank slate," a complete lack of knowledge of the martial art that you are beginning to train in.)



Do you think this would be a good tool to help us remember to be humble in our faith? I've heard it said that the biggest obstacle to furthering the case for Christ is Christians. Personally, I've heard too many of these stories - the one coworker who attends church regularly and professes faith in Christ, even invites his/her coworkers to church, but talks down to the waitress at lunch. Maybe they attend church but talk down any other church or denomination. Who would want to be a Christian if that is the example that they get on a daily basis? I wouldn't. If these folks had belts, we could take them away and help them remember where they came from - that we are all sinners in need of a savior.



We'd all be well served to remember where we came from and how we got to where we are. So, the question is; "Do you need someone to take away your belt?"



Enjoy the ride....



Scott

Don't Suffer in Vain

I've written a little about this in the past but feel that I need to come back to this topic. So many of us get lost in our suffering and fail to learn or grow through it. Suffering is a part of life and we need to learn how to move forward in spite of it. We need to learn to live through our suffering and not in our suffering.

Romans 8:28 (NLT) says; "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." I've had to stand firmly on this promise in the past.

After my divorce I had no idea that my failures could be used for good. As I look back over the last few years I can see how God has used my failure to bless others. I get opportunities to talk to people and share my failures with them in hopes that they might make better decisions than I did. My wife and I lead a small group to mentor dating and engaged couples. My children have come to know the Lord because, in my brokenness I called on Jesus to save me and now I've raised my children to know Him, too. If my ex-wife had not divorced me I would probably not have given my life to Jesus and I would not be raising my children to know Him. That's 3 lives saved, so far, because of a divorce.

Reread the scripture above - it says that He causes everything to work together for the good. What a great God we serve that He can use even our failures to produce good works! Here's the kicker, though; we have to lean on Him, pick ourselves up, leave our pity party behind, and live our lives. We have to trust Him and be willing to let Him use us and our suffering to work things for the good.

Don't suffer in vain. Trust that the Lord can and will use your suffering to produce something good. You may not be able to see how, but He can. The best person to comfort someone who's lost a child, is someone who's lost a child. The best person to minister to an addict is a recovering addict. We relate more easily to those that know our pain. Let the Lord use you to work for the good and...

...enjoy the ride!

Scott

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #1

Well, we finally made it guys. We're finally getting to the #1 way to show your wife that you love her. I told you that you might be surprised. Here it is:

#1 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Quoting Jesus from Matthew 22:37, NLT)

Surprised?? If not, then you're probably doing a pretty good job of showing your wife that you love her.

For me, guys, everything in life comes down to that one scripture. If you "love the Lord" to the very best of your ability, then you will do what Christ says in the next verse in Matthew; "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you "love the Lord" you will do your best to love your wife as Christ loved the church (remember #2). If you "love the Lord" you will serve her well (see #3-10).

Guys, it's very simple; if you "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind." then you will do your very best to honor Him in all aspects of your life. Sure you will fail. We all do. Your character is revealed in how you respond to your failure. Do you give up? No! You get up, repent, ask God to forgive you and to help you do better in the future, and then you work and strive to do better. You learn from your mistakes and you move forward.

Give it a try. If Christ isn't first in your life, give up control and give Him a try. Honor Him in your life; your marriage, your parenting, your work, etc.... He will not fail you. Yes, there will be trials along the way, but He will carry you through. He is faithful.

Put Christ first and see what He can and will do for your marriage. My bet is, He'll bless your socks off.

Enjoy the ride!!!

Scott

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #2

#2 - Love her as Christ loved the church

I'm assuming, of course, that if you're reading this blog that you are a Christian. If you're not, write me a comment to this post and we can discuss that. You might also read the previous posts for some ideas on how to better love your wife.

Now, for the #2 way to show your wife that you love her. God's Word tells us in Ephesians 5:25 (NLT); "...husbands...love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her...."

I believe that most (probably all) of us would be willing to give up our lives for our wives. If that is the case, then why do we struggle to serve them. Why is it so hard to help around the house, listen to her, help with the kids, be patient with her? Why do we stop dating our wives when we marry them?

How about this, if we're willing to give up our lives, literally, then why not figuratively. Why do we willing give up our wants and desires for what she wants and desires? Why do our agendas always rate over hers?

I think if we spent a little more time being attentive to our wives needs then life will be much better for us. God created her as a "suitable helper" for us. Let's create in her heart the desire to play that role by leading by example. If you want to be served well by her then you might think about serving her well.

This conversation has so many tangents that they can't all be covered. Some of you are asking, what about the "wives be submissive" part of the scripture from Ephesians? My answer (with a question) is this; if you're not loving her as Christ loved the church then should she be required to be submissive? Give it some thought guys. If you are doing your part then she will, almost certainly, do her part. Give it a shot.

Enjoy the ride!!

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #3

#3 - Pray with her

I'm giving you this one with the assumption that you're already praying for her, and if you're not, shame on you.

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 18: 19-20 (NLT); "'I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.'"

Jesus is our representative before our God in heaven. He took our place in dying for our sins and He made us holy. How awesome is it that we can come together as believers and He is there with us? When you pray with your wife you have invited Jesus, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to be there with you.

Talk about making a marriage strong - take the time to pray, at least daily, with your wife and bask in the presence of the Holy Spirit and lift up your praises, your cares and concerns the God that loves you. His Word says that, "...My Father in heaven will do it for you." It doesn't say He "might" do it, or He'll "think" about it; it says He will do it.

Make the time to pray with your wife. I promise you will be blessed for it.

Enjoy the ride!

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #4

#4 - Speak highly of her.

Proverbs 31:10 (NIV) says, "A wife of noble character who can find?" I know a lot of you guys are saying "Amen" right now. "Where is that woman - I'd like to find her?" I know where she is because I'm married to her. She's mine and I'm not giving her up!

Here's the real deal guys you probably have a wife of noble character, also. If she doesn't have it now you can draw it out of her. (Check out #5-10 for a few tips.) Speak highly of her - the chances are great that she'll live up to what you say about her. If you speak highly in one area she'll probably try harder in other areas to gain your praise.

We need to remember that our words are very powerful. We tend to live up to or down to what people say about us. Let's give our wives the praise they deserve by speaking highly of them whenever possible. They deserve it if for no other reason than for having to put up with us.

Later in Proverbs 31 - verse 25 it says, "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."

If you want to, be selfish. Bless her with words of praise and you'll be blessed in return. It may seem like work to begin with, but once you see the blessings come back to you, you will wonder why you didn't do this all along.

Enjoy the ride.

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #5

#5 - Give her a gift!

This may take some research guys. I have confidence in you, though. We men are problem solvers. If the problem is that you can't remember what she likes, then you'll have to do a little digging. That might mean asking questions and listening to her (see way #9.) A little conversation with your wife might just be a gift in and of itself.

Don't make this too difficult. If you can't afford to buy her a gift make her something. A gift is a very broad idea. It could be cleaning the house, washing the car, taking care of the kids so she can sleep in, etc... The big point here is to find out what she likes or wants and then present it in such a way that it is seen as a gift.

How about this: if your wife would like some help around the house, make her a coupon book - each coupon is redeemable for some chore that she'd like a break from (see above.)

Put your thinking caps on guys. The more we continue on this journey together the more we will learn about our wives. I promise, that's a good thing.

Enjoy the ride.

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #6

# 6 - Seek her counsel

When God created woman He created her as a "suitable helper." (Genesis 2:20) Doesn't it just make sense that you should seek her counsel.

Sure, you can hit me with all of the scripture about the man being the head of his house and all that stuff ,but let's back it up a bit. He also tells us that the "two shall become one." You can try to take God's Word out of context all you want - if you're married, she's should be part of the decision making process.

We can't forget, guys, she'll add the feelings to your decisions. We think without the feelings, and sometimes that's the way it needs to be, but her counsel will help you make better, more well thought out, decisions.

Keep her in the loop. It will confirm to her that you love her and trust her.

Enjoy the ride.

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #7

#7 - Date her!

I know, I know! It's a novel idea. The whole dating thing was supposed to end when you got married, right?? Wrong! You should continue to pursue your wife. The guy she fell in love with is the one that pursued her.

Guys, we have this mentality that once we have something we no longer need to work on it, or in the case of marriage, for it. If you're a car guy and you finally get that car of your dreams (that would be a '67 Shelby Mustang 500 in case anyone wants to give me one) you would take care of it wouldn't you?? Of course you would! So why don't we work harder to take care of our marriages. You'll get out of it what you put into it. I promise you'll gain much more from a happy and content wife than you will from any car, I don't car what it is or how much it's worth.

Enjoy the ride.

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #8

# 8 - Write her a love letter!

Come on guys; it's not that difficult. Get some paper and write some stuff down. If your struggling, just start with the things that she does that make you happy. Does she keep the house clean, is she a good Mom, a good cook, is she good in the bedroom (yep, I said it and I don't mean does she keep the bed made), does she love the Lord? Those are just a few good ways to get started.

Of course, I hope you're telling her all of these things from time to time. If you take the time to write it all down, I think that she'll appreciate that you spent that time thinking of her. If she's anything like my wife, she'll keep the letter.

Have fun with this one. You should enjoy writing it and I'm sure that she'll enjoy reading it. Remember, women like this touchy feely stuff. To show her that you love her, you need to be in tune with that.

Enjoy the ride.

10 ways to show your wife you love her - # 9

#9 - Listen to her!

This might mean turning off the TV for a few minutes. ***TIVO is an awesome tool - figure out how it works and you won't miss a minute of your game, hunting show, HSN, or whatever show you're into.

Notice guys!! I said turn the TV off! Don't mute it or pause it - the bright light will draw you back in. Turn it off. A few minutes of your attention could be priceless to your wife.

BTW... you listen with your mouth shut! This is not a time to try to fix "all that ails" her. Nod your head and try to empathize (look it up) with her. If she wants your opinion on anything I promise you, she'll ask.

Give it a shot and...

Enjoy the ride!

10 ways to show your wife that you love her - #10

Before I get to the countdown of 10 ways to show your wife that you love her, let me give you a little background on where this is coming from.

God has been working on my heart, since my divorce, and has given me a ministry from that pain. That ministry is this - I guess you could call it my mission statement: To increase the percentage of lasting, happy marriages by mentoring dating and engaged couples and also, by mentoring married couples struggling in their relationships.

I decided to word it that way for the positive language. I didn't want to say, "decrease the divorce rate," because of the negative words even though the message is still positive.

So there you go. That's the mission statement for the ministry that God has given me and I wanted to start incorporating a little more of that into the blog.

With that said, here is #10 in the countdown of ways to show your wife that you love her:

# 10 - Tell her!!

What could be easier than that? If you're not "feeling" it, but you want your marriage to work, then say it anyway. I'm not one that subscribes to the idea that you always have to "feel" in love. Feelings come and go and, by the way, love is not a feeling - it's a decision. I promise, no matter how in love you "feel," at some point that feeling will go away. According to The Five Love Languages it will last about 2 years. At that point, you have to decide to stay in love. So, tell her.

If you do this I'll bet that the feeling of being in love will be more common than not having that feeling. We all like the "tingles" of being in love and this will help.

Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown. #1 will probably surprise you.

Enjoy the ride!

You still have your salvation!

I was listening to Pastor Mark Driscoll the other day and he was teaching from 1 Peter 1:3-9 which state: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

Many of us have heard the scripture from James 1:2-3 that says: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. Pastor Mark uses the scripture from 1 Peter to really drive home the point that we usually take from this scripture in James; regardless of your circumstances you should rejoice.

You lost your wife?? Rejoice! You lost a child? Rejoice! You lost your job, health, dog, parent's, etc...? So what, you should rejoice!!

I'm sure, at this point, you're wondering why anyone would rejoice in these circumstances. The answer is at the end of the passage from 1 Peter; your reward is your salvation. You should always rejoice because you can't lose your salvation. He has saved us.

Sure there are tough times ahead. No one ever said that being a Christian would be easy but, at least, we know our reward! When it comes right down to it what else is there.

I don't want this to diminish our grieving process as humans. We will have hard times, but if we turn to God's Word He shows us what is really important and we should rejoice. Jesus didn't die in vain - He conquered death, rose from the grave and saved us from our sins. Rejoice! Today is the day that the Lord has made!!

Enjoy the ride.

What do people say about you??

Check out the video on this blog.

In my blog post from 1/21, I wrote about the fact that people are always watching us. That video just proves my point.

I'm curious what you think about this. I've heard it said, in the past, that we might be better off calling ourselves "followers of Christ" rather than Christians because the word Christian has such a negative connotation (sorry for the big word) these days. That's all fine and good; we could do that. Maybe, though, it would be better to help people redefine their idea of Christianity by living lives that give Christianity a positive example.

Let's not rename ourselves, let's redefine ourselves. Let's live lives that honor Christ and proudly call ourselves Christians.

Enjoy the ride.

Encouragement & Accountability

Below is an e-mail that I sent to the members of my men's group this morning. We meet every Thursday morning at 6a.m. (Yes, we do that willingly - a good breakfast menu helps.)

Hey guys,

I just wanted to share a thought with all of you.

We talk often about offering encouragement, support and accountability to one another. That's one of the biggest purposes of our group. Here's my thought: encouragement and support are something that we should share and offer to one another, accountability is something we ask for.

On that note, I want to encourage you all to share your blessings, failures, victories, etc... with the group by e-mailing us. We can encourage each other by sharing how God is working in each of our lives and there is no need to wait until next Thursday.

As far as accountability goes - you just need to ask. We've offered it to one another but real accountability comes when you humble yourself enough to ask someone to speak truthfully to whatever it is that you're struggling with. I promise you that you won't regret reaching out to another brother. We've all been there and we all have our own struggles and we all need accountability in our lives. Lust, pride, greed, arrogance, are just a few examples. If you want accountability - ask.

I hope this encourages each of you.

God bless,

Scott

Enjoy the ride....

What if this was you??

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT)

We've all heard this following scripture before, but what if it was describing you? That would put a whole new spin on it. Check this out - replace the word "love" and "it(s)" with your name and appropriate personal pronoun (he/she, his/hers.) I'll use my name as the example:

Scott is patient and kind. Scott is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. He does not demand his own way. He is not irritable, and he keeps no record of being wronged. Scott does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Scott never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (Modified from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Wouldn't it be great if that scripture described us? Good news! It can. Sure we'll fail many times, but it does provide a great example of how to live.

Put your name in there and then, to the best of your ability, become that person. It'll be worth it - for you and for your family.

Enjoy the ride.

Overwhelmed!

Has the Spirit ever done that to you? Has He sent you thoughts in such a rush that you can't help but feel humbled and overjoyed? Well that's happened to me just now so sit back because this may take a while.

This all started hitting me a little while ago as I was getting ready for bed. I've prayed with my wife so that she can go to sleep because I don't know where this is going. It started with the thought of being blessed and verbalizing that when I greet people. In Texas we don't just say "Hi"; we ask, "How are you?" So I was visualizing myself answering, "I'm blessed" and the reactions that I might get.

From there, I became overwhelmed with thankfulness and joy for all that God has done in my life. From the time I accepted Christ, about 5 years ago, I've lived a whirlwind of existence. He's healed me of depression, made my relationship with my ex-wife friendly and cordial, my children have accepted Christ as their Savior, I've developed great friendships, I've married the most awesome woman in the world (you might argue but I've got a great case), I've had financial blessings, I have a great mentor, and the list goes on and on.

God's Word is so awesome. I haven't even managed to read all of it yet and I still believe that every word is true. He tells us to not worry because He knows what we need (Matthew 6: 25-34.) Yep, I've seen that come to pass. Good job, plenty of food (I've got the gut to prove it), great friends, a loving wife, etc....

He tell us in Romans 8:28 that He works all things for the good for all who are called according to His purpose. Check! I accepted Christ; He healed my depression, He uses me as a small group leader, He took away my anger, He renewed my relationship with my children (they've both accepted Christ). He used the sin of my divorce to humble me so that I could use that pain to speak into the lives of others headed down the same path.

His word tells us to make disciples of all nations. This means that we are to tell others about Christ. This is a difficult one for me. I have a struggle verbalizing my faith unless someone asks me directly. Recently, however, I was convicted of the need to verbalize my faith by an atheist when he said, "How much do you have to hate a person to not tell them about eternal life if you really believe it to be true?"

I was convicted by this in such a way that I schedule lunch with a friend to tell him that I know the way and I wanted to share that with him. It was difficult, but I did it and God did His part. This is how it went down:

I'd been inviting my friend to the men's conference held at my church this past weekend (Jan. 23-24) for a couple of weeks. I shared Christ with him on the 16th and invited him and his family to church that weekend - they didn't show. I persisted about the men's conference and he didn't go - he went on a date with his wife. Her therapist had told her that day (Jan. 23) that she needed to find her faith and my friend told her that they would be attending church that weekend. They showed up (the pastor spoke on PorNo of all things.)

Now you might believe in coincidence, but I don't. I witness to my friend and then his wife is told that she needs to find her faith and then they show up to church. God works for the good in all things.... Oh yeah; and I've been praying for them for years. God is good!

So, all of these thoughts started because I feel so blessed. I am blessed - beyond measure. I think God just really wanted me to get that tonight.

We serve and mighty and awesome God. He keeps stretching me and every time I follow through He comes through with His part. He doesn't need us to do what we can do in our own power - that stuff gets done. He needs us to get outside of ourselves so that we step out so far that the only way things will work out is if He shows up. What an awesome and humbling place to be. Believe me the stretching isn't fun but it's well worth the effort. God never said that living for Him would be easy - only worth it.

Well, I'm sure that this came out as jumbled as it came into my head. I hope that it speaks to you. I'm just overwhelmed with how great God is and I had to get it out.

Live for Him and enjoy the ride...

Someone is always watching (and listening)

If you've ever wondered if people are paying attention to you, here is a great example.

This is a guy who was just a complaint waiting to happen. It could have been Bay Area Fellowship just as easily as it was Lifechurch.tv. Sure the lady could have been more courteous, and no he wasn't fair in condemning the church (or Christianity) based on one person's actions, but this is why we have to be aware of our actions and our words at all times.

Someone put it to me this way once; "Does your driving speak louder than the fish (ictharus)stuck on the back of your car?"

It's not that we won't fail. We know we will; but do our lives reflect, during the week, the person that everyone sees at church on Sunday?

Enjoy the ride...

Hey, church people!!!

Do you have a sense of humor?? I hope so because this is funny. Check out this link.


By the way, if you don't have a sense of humor I don't want to hear about it. In the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy, "That's funny! I don't care who you are, that's funny!"

Enjoy the ride.

New discovery!

I've discovered that, even if I stop watching TV, there is still plenty of stuff to occupy my time. Amazing! I just knew that I would have more hours in the day.

We purchased an antique table last year around April. I've been working to refinish it ever since. Until 2 weeks ago I'd only finished the 2 leaves and now it's practically done. I only have to finish the table top. Who knows how long ago I might have finished it if I'd cut the TV out sooner.

I've also kept up with reading my Bible daily. Nothing has really jumped off of the page like the verse did last week but I'm still in His Word and that's a good thing.

How about this discovery: I don't get nearly as annoyed with my kids when there is no TV for them to interrupt. Wow!!

Here's another one that is great. When we (the parent's) cut back on TV the kids seem to do the same thing. My kids spend most of this past Saturday outside because I was in the garage working on the table. The two oldest help with the table until that got boring and the neighbor's cat caught their attention.

So far the no TV thing has been great and I don't expect that to change. If you feel like you spend to much time in front of the tube, give it up for a couple of weeks and see what you think. I think that you'll find it to be a great decision, too.

Enjoy the ride...

Jiu jitsu

Brazilian jiu jitsu to be exact. (My wife calls it who-hits-who.) Yep, I'm 40 and I've taken up martial arts. What was I thinking??

Actually, I know exactly what I'm thinking and I'm having a blast. I took up kickboxing for fitness a few months ago. I wanted something new and lifting weights and riding my bike just weren't doing it for me. I needed something more active.

The kickboxing is great. It's far from monotonous and working out is fun again but, I've always wanted to learn a martial art and jiu jitsu looked like fun.

It's a blast! You remember wrestling with your friends when you were a kid? This is the similar but you learn techniques for submitting your opponent. Arm and leg bars, choke holds, etc... Top that off with the fact that it provides a great workout. There are times when my ribs don't seem to expand enough for me to get the air I need into my lungs.

So, yep, I'm 40 and I'm having fun wrestling with other grown men. It's just another adventure in life. One that I've passed up for years and now I'm really enjoying it.

Have you ever wanted to try something new? Today's the day - go do it.

You might as well enjoy the ride.

Dedicating the kids...

It's amazing how quickly the Lord starts speaking to me when I start spending some time with Him and studying His Word. I accepted a challenge to read through the Bible this year, and the day after I started He showed me the scripture that I wrote about in my last post. I know that, depending on where my heart is, I won't see or hear things that clearly each day this year. What I do know is, if I continue on this path, I will hear more from Him this year than probably any other year in the past.

Today was another example; the Lord was really working on my heart regarding my kids. I felt Him telling me that I should dedicate them to Him. As much as they may get on our nerves, our children are a gift from God and should be raised to glorify His name. What better way is there to love our children than to place God first in our lives and let Him show us how to love our kids. With God in His proper place in our lives, He will overwhelm us with His love and that will flow out of us to our children and everyone else around us.

So tonight, when we pray together at bedtime, we will dedicate our children to our God. In doing so, we will also rededicate ourselves to raising them in such as way as to honor and glorify His name. This is a win/win situation if there ever was one - for the kids and for us - and God receives His glory.

Enjoy the ride...

The "eye's" have it!

Isn't God's Word amazing! It will speak to you in new ways each time you read it. God is so good.

I was challenged a few days ago by the Director of Bay Area Fellowship's Men's ministry (MoB - Men Of Bay Area) to join with him in reading through the Bible in one year. I accepted that challenge and God showed me something new today. The thing is, I've read this before, but today it really jumped off of the page at me. It's from Matthew 6:22-23a; Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness.

This scripture is from Jesus' sermon on the mount when he's preaching about money. It's buried within that section between Jesus telling us that we shouldn't store up treasures here on earth and that we can't serve two masters.

But why is He talking about our eyes within this section on money? Is He addressing envy? I'm not sure. Whenever God's Word speaks about our eyes, in the context of what we see, as a man I tend to think it's addressing lust. If that's the case, this scripture would really seem out of place. Or would it? Jesus knew that the love of money leads to all sorts of problems.

I think the point may be that our eyes can lead us in all sorts of dangerous directions and if we love money more than Him then we're much more likely to follow our eyes wherever they may lead.

So maybe that scripture is speaking about lust to me and envy to the next guy. Maybe it's speaking to the person with "stuffitis." Whichever it is for you, and it could be many more issues that I haven't listed, I encourage you to guard your eyes and guard your heart.

I'll give you another scripture to bring it all home for you. I'm sure you've heard part of the second verse before - it comes from 1 Timothy 6:9-10; But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

God's word is so good. I hope this speaks to you in some way.

Enjoy the ride...

No TV???

This just might be more difficult than I thought. It's Jan. 3 and a Saturday. I was gone most of the morning and when I got home for lunch I was exhausted. I just wanted to eat my lunch and sit in my chair and relax. Problem! My daughter wanted to watch TV. Sure I could have said no, but her brother and sister were with their Mom, so she was alone, and I didn't have the heart to send her to the other room. Sure, I could have gone to the other room but I'd been working outside so I didn't want to lay in my bed and the floor is just too hard.

Anyway, this is going to be tough. When you cut out something that takes up so much of your time it can be difficult to find things to fill that time. Plus, if the kids are watching TV then I have to be elsewhere. I don't multi-task well, so I can't sit in front of the TV and do anything else but watch it.

This is definitely a work in progress. I'll get it figured out. I have some projects that need some attention.

I had a bad day with the weight loss thing, also. I exercised but didn't do so hot with my meals. Sausage kolaches for breakfast and a burger for lunch (homemade, so less greasy) and a grilled chicken salad for dinner.

Obviously, it's all a work in progress so I'll keep posting to let you know how things are going for me.

The "Doing life together" post is still in the works. The words weren't coming today. I'll post it when it all comes together.

Enjoy the ride.

New Year, new goals

First of all, I'm not a goal setter. Never have been. At least not in the sense of writing them down and checking them off as I accomplish them. I know, for some of you, this is a big stinking deal. Sorry, it's just not something that I was ever educated about. I was well into my 20s before I ever heard the concept of writing down goals and it has just not stuck with me.

So with that said, I'm going to be posting these few simple goals for all the world to see. Hopefully, this will provide me with some accountability. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Read through the Bible this year. (The director of the men's ministry at my church challenged me on this one so it's not my idea.)

2. No TV (with minor allowances for Extreme Home Makeover, family movie nights, and UFC fights - not the reality show; so I'll get 1 hour a week with occasional bursts to 4 hours.) This is a big deal for me - I've wasted a lot of time in front of the TV. This should free up plenty of time for #1.

3. Drop my weight to 200 - 210 and maintain it in that range. I remember how good I felt at that weight. And at 40, with cholesterol issues, I need to make some changes. (Any help with a diet plan would be appreciated, if it includes burgers that's a plus.)

4. Regular blog updates of day-to-day happenings in my life and on these goals. I should have plenty of time since I'm cutting out (mostly) TV.

God bless all of you. I hope that you had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

Next post: Doing life together. I started it on 12/2 and I think that I should finish it.

Enjoy the ride...