The Important Two

The two most important influential things in your life is based off what you read and who you know. This is very true for the most important thing in your life being your walk with God. What you read about Him and the type of people that play a part in your walk with Him. It is also true for every circumstance in your life. The things you read will impact your knowledge and wisdom in an either positive or negative way. The people you know will help or hinder the situations in your life. They will also open up many doors of connections along this thing we call life. God puts people into your path not just for this season but also to help you find the next. It is also important not to necessarily believe everything you read and/or listen to all the advice you hear. This is where discernment is mandatory. This is where your relationship with Jesus comes into play. He will always speak to you, we just have to be in tune with the way He is speaking.

Since 2011 is about to be a wrap, I want to share with you a couple books I've read and some of my personal opinions about them. Some you might want to check out...

Good To Great by Jim Collins - You can apply many of these business truths to biblical aspects of leadership. He challenges the reader to not settle for good things but to remove good things for greater things.
Onward by Howard Schultz - This was one of my personal favorites because I am intrigued by minds like this. Again, he had many concepts of leadership that can and should be applied to ministry.
Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick - A great challenge of faith to stop living life in mediocrity and not only asking God to move in impossible ways but expecting Him to.
Big God by Britt Merrick - He's not the best writer but what he has experienced in life and how he has applied the truth of God to his life is admirable. A great challenge to live in faith using the examples of faith in Hebrews 11.
Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley - A great and challenging book for developing leaders in our students. A must read!
Crazy Love by Francis Chan - I liked this book but I would not recommend it for a new believer. This is a book to challenge those who claim to walk in God's love. Are we really doing it right? Do we really love Jesus? I understand and love Chan's heart in this book but it takes 87 pages to first talk about grace. You can't talk about God's love without talking about God's grace.
Dying To Live by Clayton King - This was the best book I read this year about my personal relationship with God. Very challenging and another must read!
Love Wins by Rob Bell - I do not agree with this book but it's important to read books like this because they force you to really see what God actually wrote. Read it for yourself before you form an opinion but then read Erasing Hell by Francis Chan. Erasing Hell was one of the best books I've read about what the Bible actually says about topics such as Heaven and Hell.

2012 to-read list...
Radical by David Platt
A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo
Forgotten God by Francis Chan
The Passion Of Jesus Christ by John Piper
Greater by Steven Furtick
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Torn by Jud Wilhite
Gospel by J.D. Greear

Traditions

It's my favorite time of year and in my family we have a couple traditions around the holidays. Traditions that I hope will continue for the rest of my life. They provide great memories and are a lot of fun. For example, we always get our family Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving. Christmas Eve is always filled with two presents from my mom, new pajama pants and an ornament that reflects a memory of something that happened over the past year. On Christmas morning, she makes her famous french toast which we only have once a year and is my favorite thing ever. I'm sure you have some traditions of your own (Please share some in the comment space below). Traditions are great and we all hate when they are broken, especially because someone forgets or thinks we are too old for them. However, there are some traditions that must be broken and may in fact be hindering your walk with God. Let's take a look at what I mean...

I've grown up and experienced all kinds of churches. All kinds of denominations, old, new, good focus, bad focus, great leadership, poor leadership, etc. Some things that some churches don't realize is that they are being led by traditions instead of being led by the Spirit. Matthew 15 explains it. In verse 6, Jesus says, "Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition." We find ourselves continuing to do things that don't help us grow because no one likes change or doing the same things because no one wants to see something else 'fail'. We don't seek God daily in prayer for direction and we sacrifice relationships for the sake of our traditions or because this is how we started things. We try so hard to be different that we forget to live life and enjoy people. Seek the Lord and live in obedience to Him, then be prepared to do something uncomfortable or risky...

You're Alive

We all go through seasons of life. We all go through ups and downs but I think we often times miss the experiences of life because of our attitude towards a particular situation. Have you ever been frustrated, ticked, or felt disrespected? Have you ever been pushed to want to be angry, emotional, or scared? That's a good sign because it means you're alive! You have the opportunity to live life, don't pass up a moment to have fun because of your mood. Psalm 115:17 says, "It is not the dead who praise the Lord..." Embrace those emotions, embrace those feelings, and then follow in faith. It feels good to be alive...How are you going to make the best of it?

In Season

It's ironic how often we find ourselves in one season of life wishing we were in another. Then we get to another season in life and wish we had our old one or a different one. You have parents with kids that sometimes wish they were able to be alone with each other. Then when they are empty-nesters, they wish they had children at home again. You have students hating to go to classes and wishing they had real jobs but when they are in the real world they wish they could go back to school (lets be honest, college was fun). You have days at work when you wish you had less to do but then you get upset that you don't have better opportunities when your season of work is not pressing. The list goes on...each of you have had times of wishing you were in another season of your life. I wonder how many blessings we miss because we aren't focused on the opportunities that God has placed right in front of us now.

I have found myself pondering these thoughts before and it brings up this question...Are we really content and focused on growing in the season God has placed us in?

Paul said in Philippians 4:10-13 (while in prison) that he has learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. The fact is, the secret to being content is to know that through Christ I have and can do all things. Being content is something that is learned. You have to teach yourself to be content in any and every situation. That doesn't mean it will be easy or something that will just happen overnight. You have to constantly remind yourself about being content with the things that God has blessed you with. The Christian walk is a daily battle. That is why in Luke 9:23 God commands that His followers must pick up their cross daily. That is why in 1 Corinthians and Romans, Paul explains the importance of dying to your selfish and earthly desires daily in order to stay pure. Being content is a battle and until you make your desires submit to the authority of Christ, you will always find yourself in one season, wishing for another, missing out on what God has in store for you now. You'll find yourself always wanting more and missing opportunities to bless others. Hebrews 13:5 says be content with what you have because God said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Take some time to meditate on that, and let today be the day you start to train your heart to be content in any and every situation.

Who Cares...

I just had an extremely frustrating day. It is very easy to get discouraged, upset, and off track when life happens. It's also funny how God works. Yesterday, Marc's mom backed into his car. He was rattled and it affected his mood for the night. I gave the typical 'it could have been worse' and the whole how can God be glorified through this talk. Fast-forward 24 hours, I take my car in for an oil change. As they are pulling in the car, the brake hose ruptured. I'm ticked, going to have to spend way more money, and have the inconvenience of spending most the day there. I get dropped off at home by AAA and explain to Marc my crap filled day. His eyes widen as he spits back the "talk" I gave him the night before with a grin on his face (That's just funny). Fact is, no one wants to hear it in the moment but here is a great perspective on God...

It is wrong and arrogant for me to praise God yesterday when life was good with no conflicts and no worries and to not praise Him today when life is frustrating and filled with chaos and inconvenience. Pastor Steven just finished a series on Favor. Just because God's favor is on our lives does not mean we will go without unfortunate events. It does not mean God will give us 'favors'. God's favor is not for convenience but it's for His purpose, it still comes with trials and difficulties. The issue is we are distracted by things that don't really matter.

That is why God is good. That is why God will still get my praise. That is why I can say who cares, it's just a car. It's just money. It's easy to get in the dumps when you don't have much. It's easy to get frustrated when cars break down and you have to pour money into them. It's easy to question God for the 'bad' things that happen in life. However, Philippians 4:19 is a promise that God will supply all your needs according to His riches. So, I can say it's just a car...I can say it's just money because the car and the money that I do have is not mine anyways. Everything I own belongs to God and until you start to look at your 'possessions' in that way, you will always have a feeling of entitlement and you will never be grateful for the things that God provides.