Jesus wants the rose...

The risk of staying...

I read this on blainehogan.com and absolutely loved what he had to say. Recently, he and his wife were given the opportunity to consider a job opportunity at another church. As I read the blog entry, I got a sense that Blaine was used to moving around. He left home at age 18 to embark on a sense of adventure. He wanted to live a life of risk, following God. However, as he contemplated this latest move, he realized the riskiest thing was to not leave and pursue this new opportunity, but to stay. Here's what he had to say...

Leaving is no longer the risky thing for me. The risky thing now is staying. It is submitting to the painfully transforming process of community. It is doing a dumb thing at work and then having to show back up the next day to face those you’ve disappointed. It is telling the truth instead of protecting yourself. It is letting people love you in spite of your ugly and broken bits and then letting them gently guide you into the light. It is showing up to dinners instead of going home and feeling sorry for yourself. It is letting yourself go - in a good way.

The risky thing is now staying. It is telling the truth instead of protecting yourself. It is letting people love you in spite of your ugliness and brokenness. It is staying and allowing yourself to be fully known.

It's that last line that scars me - allowing yourself to be fully know. I believe that is the greatest risk anyone can take. It's a risk that I'm not ready to take. I'm afraid of people knowing me completely. I'm afraid that if they know me then they will not like me. It is that fear that prevents me from fully exposing my heart. It is that fear that prevents me from saying some things.

The risk of being known, of allowing yourself to be fully known. It's a risk that I'm want to take baby steps toward. I want to be more real. I want to put my hopes and dreams out there. I want to say what's on my heart. But there's always the fear of what will people do with it.

Don't add or subtract...

This morning I read these words from Revelation 22

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

What a great reminder to neither add or subtract anything from the word of God. Just share it and let it stand for itself. A good reminder for me heading into the weekend.

Success...

I saw this over at deadly viper and thought it was great.

We live in a culture obsessed with success.

A CEO of a Fortune 500 company pulled into a service station to get gas. He went inside to pay and when he came out he noticed his wife engaged in a deep discussion with the service attendant. It turned out that she knew him. It fact back in high school before she met her eventual husband, she used to date him. The CEO got in the car and drove off and said, “I bet I know what you were thinking back there. I bet you were thinking you’re glad you married a Fortune 500 CEO and not a service attendant.” “No,” she said, “I was thinking if I’d married him, He’d be a fortune 500 CEO and you’d be a service attendant.” There are lots of opinions on how to be successful.

I don’t know about you … but I don’t know where I’d be without my wife.

Huge day...

Today was three and half years in the making, and there are times I never thought my wife and I would get see this day. Three and half years ago we were in debt. Big time credit card debt. I'm talking over $20,000 in credit card debt. In fact, I can remember begging a credit card company for a credit limit of $18,400 so we could put most of our debt on one card. In addition to this debt we had another card with a small amount on it - small compared to the other credit card. So around $20k in total. In addition to this credit card debt we owed an additional $20,000 on our car. Needless to say, we were hurting financially and we knew it.

In February of 2006 we decided to do something about it. We stopped using our credit card. We didn't cut it up. Instead, we put it in a block of ice. It was in the freezer for about 6 months before we cut it up entirely. We also got on a budget. We talked with a friend and she put us on a budget. We haven't been the best at sticking to the budget. Finally, we worked hard. I would take an extra gig here and there. My wife really stepped up and started taking every remote she could. She also looked for strategic ways to bring in extra cash or cut spending. This was the thing that helped us out the most.

Well, after three and a half years I can say that we have finally paid off our credit card debt. That's right. We owe nothing on our credit card and it feels AWESOME!!!! (We would have paid it off yesterday, but he credit card company was going to charge us $10 to do that. There was no way I was giving those guys another penny!)

Over the past three years I have learned so much about finances - specifically finances when it comes to marriage. First of all, it is so important for a husband and wife to be on the same page financially. When Ceci and I were on the same page we really started to see some progress in our finances. Secondly, I have learned the value of hard work. There were times when we wanted someone to take care of our debt. We wanted a big check to come in the mail, but it didn't. This debt was whittled away slowly over time. Knowing how long it took to get out of debt will prevent me from ever getting back into debt. Finally, I learned the importance of giving. Yes there was a time when we weren't giving. I thought we couldn't afford to give. But in all honesty, we couldn't afford not to give. In the last year, we really made the biggest headway in our debt. It was also the year, we gave the most away. Interesting.

Well, the day is here. We are officially out of credit card debt. Now, we are not debt free. We still have a ways to go. We owe some cash on our house and $5,000 on our van. But that's it, and it feels so good. So, now we celebrate this huge day, and we get back to work to tackle our remaining debt.

Leaving on a jet plane...

Well it wasn't exactly a jet plane, but it was a plane. A few weeks ago my daughters and I went on an airplane ride in Manistee. I have to be honest, I would rather be in a big plane. This little plane bounced around a lot, and shortly after take-off I was ready to ask the pilot to turn around and land. But, the girls were having a good time, so I had to man up! Oh, and when I say girls... that includes the pilot. Yes the pilot was a girl.

You can watch our entire flight below. It's only two minutes. It was a quick flight.

Effective...

Effective in ministry. Effective in life. Effective in my pursuit of Jesus. These are things I want in my life. I want my life to count. I want my life to matter, not for my glory, but for the glory of God.

The other day, I was reading through 2 Peter and I came across these verses;

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self‑control; and to self‑control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It hit me as I read these verses that if I'm going to be effective and productive, I must daily seek to add to my faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Now, I know it's only by the blood of Jesus that a person is saved. However, following Jesus is a daily thing. Daily, I must seek the heart of Jesus, the one who is full of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love.

Too often in my life I have been lackadaisical in my pursuit of Jesus. I haven't spent time reading the Bible or praying, and I wonder if I have been as effective as I could have been. Probably not. In light of this passage, may I daily seek to add to my life the qualities that are talked about in this verse, the qualities that are fully seen in Jesus.

My wife is hot.

That's right. My wife is hot! After having four kids, and being 16 years removed from her senior prom, she still fits into her prom dress from '93. In fact, she wore it to her sister's wedding and she rocked it. It was so much fun seeing her walk around, strutting her stuff in her prom dress from high school. Most women just want to fit into their wedding dress. My wife, fits into her prom dress! (By the way, we don't know if she still fits into her wedding dress because it's still covered in cake. We never got it clean. Oh well.)

Blessed...

On Friday my sister-in-law got married to a great dude.

The location was beautiful - an outdoor wedding on the shores of Lake Michigan, and it was a gorgeous summer evening - mid 70's & sunny. The ceremony was beautiful - you could definitely tell they are in love. They were giddy the whole ceremony. The reception was a ton of fun - My kids, my wife and I even performed the hoedown throwdown at the reception. Yes, I know all the moves to the dance. Pretty sad.

Overall, it was a great wedding and a great night.

As I looked through the pictures I took before the wedding though, I was overcome with emotion. I was emotional because I realized again how blessed I am. I have three beautiful daughters who are so different and unique. They each have their own personality and their own gifts. Every day, I'm amazed that I get the wonderful opportunity and privilege to be their dad.

My prayer for them as they grown up is for them to have a heart that loves Jesus. That's it. That's what I want for them. That's what I want to teach them. That's what I want to model for them. So, E, M, and P - may you grow up to have a passion for Jesus, and may you passionately pursue him every day of your life!