This is your life, you might as well make the best of it!

Do you just stumble through your days? When trouble comes calling, and it will,  take a moment to remember it will pass. You will get through it and better times will lie ahead. When good times are upon you, enjoy them, don't look too far past them to what lies ahead. Enjoy the good times and press forward through the bad. Sounds easy enough but not so easy to actually do.

I tend to focus on the good now. At one time I would dwell on the negative. It's not very fun focusing on what is wrong but many live in that way. Instead, look at the blessings you have. If you are reading this you have access to a computer and the internet has much good to offer. So long as you're looking in the right places.

Plan for the day trouble comes knocking. Some things you can't predict or be fully prepared for but most can be. When in times of plenty store up for what lies ahead. I don't mean just in physical things but in spiritual things too. It is so easy to fall into a place of stagnation because when things are good we can kind of forget where it came from. Don't get too big for God to be in your life. The moment you start to stand on your own strength is when you will begin the inevitable descent. Pride comes before the fall.

Learn to be content in all situations. In times of high stress I would become very angry and lose sight of the good things. Now when in stressful times I tend to smile(on the inside at least) and know it will pass. I trust in something bigger than me and my finite position. Faith is huge for me. I don't take myself as seriously and am not as intense as I once was. I will always be a somewhat intense guy most likely but I think God made me that way for a reason. Letting go of people and situations is hard for me but I'm learning about submission and I see the wisdom in it. I don't have to carry other peoples luggage around with me. It is not my Cross to bear so to speak. You can't carry someone else on your back forever. Everyone has to find their own way. Caring for them is good and noble but to carrying them is not doing them or yourself any good. Take responsibility for what you are responsible for and leave the rest up to God.

So enjoy your life. Whenever possible live at peace with everyone. Don't take the good things for granted and don't make the tough times worse than they really are. Moderation is the key.

A Christ follower living in a secular world: Be strong and courageous but more importantly be y...

A Christ follower living in a secular world: Be strong and courageous but more importantly be y...: I spent a lot of time trying to seek out people that could help me grow as a person. People that had it all together and didn't need anythin...

Be strong and courageous but more importantly be yourself!

I spent a lot of time trying to seek out people that could help me grow as a person. People that had it all together and didn't need anything from me. People that I totally approved of to help me to improve myself. It was an exercise in futility because my standards were tough. Brutally tough and surprisingly enough to me rather unattainable. Truth is everyone has warts of some sort. None of us are perfect. There was one perfect man but we crucified him on a cross. That being said there is a lot of good qualities in the people I meet. Most have many good qualities that I tended to look past when I saw their weaknesses.

In the Bible there were many examples of good men but other than the Messiah each had his quirks or faults. Moses had a temper, David was an adulterer and Elijah was overcome by fears many times to name but 3 great men of God. Not that I deserve to be lumped together with these great men but I too have my faults and day by day I continue to work them out with God's help. I'm 43 now and am still maturing as a person. I know myself better now than ever before and have come to terms with the fact I do have limitations although they are becoming less limiting.

In the book of Joshua, God says over and over to Joshua to be "strong and courageous" and that is good advice for anyone with issues to face in life. God spoke to me(not with words but in thought) and told me to be strong and courageous. That I am the strong and to start acting like it. Rather than focusing on my inadequacies to instead focus on my strengths while still recognizing that I have limitations. So going through life trying to be everything to everybody is a flawed path. Looking to others to be everything you're not is also a flawed path. Being the best you can be is important and do things with full effort. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you truly need it. Don't play it safe and stay in your comfort zone because if you never stretch yourself then you'll never discover your full potential.

So step into the future with boldness. Don't cave in to fear and trepidation. Be strong and courageous with others. Help them with their blind spots and they can help you see yours too.

Blessings!!

A Christ follower living in a secular world: Motives for this blog

A Christ follower living in a secular world: Motives for this blog: I enjoy expressing ideas and concepts in this blog. I use it as a place to blurt out whatever is on my mind. Often in life we have to be pol...

Motives for this blog

I enjoy expressing ideas and concepts in this blog. I use it as a place to blurt out whatever is on my mind. Often in life we have to be politically correct given the situation we find ourselves in at the time. I've talked in previous blog posts about filters and their importance. I don't want to be purposely offensive in this place but if I have something to say this is a place I feel totally free to say it. Some of my posts never get beyond the draft stage. I'm not doing this to make you think like me but just expressing my POV. If you get a little something out of it then that's wonderful. I truly hope people do. The way I learn best is by experiencing different viewpoints and figuring out what works best for me.

Sometimes the lessons I learn have little to do with what has been said by others. Several of the most life changing revelations I've had from God have been during sermons about some totally unrelated topic. Just one sentence can be the basis of a great epiphany in a 500 page book. Look for the diamonds in the rough.

At times I have a lot to say and the blogs will be frequent. Other times I'm just soaking in the world around me and don't really feel the need to share some pearl of what I consider wisdom. I used to have to offer my opinion on everything and anything but I try to measure my words better these days. I'm not the foremost expert on anything really. So take what I say for what it is worth. I do appreciate the readership I get here. Having people browse through my musings from all around the world is cool.

Be blessed!!

A Christ follower living in a secular world: Submission and Surrender, how contorted those word...

A Christ follower living in a secular world: Submission and Surrender, how contorted those word...: When you think of submission what is the first image that pops into your head? I think of a hostage pleading for his/her life with the kid...

Submission and Surrender, how contorted those words have become.

When you think of submission what is the first image that pops into your head?

I think of a hostage pleading for his/her life with the kidnapper who is brandishing a knife or gun.

Not a positive image for sure. Some one begging for mercy with a violent predator of some sort. You may have a different image but I'm guessing it isn't good if you think at all like me.

So now we come to surrender, What image have you got?

I think of a soldier raising a tattered and crudely fashioned white flag. Someone who is looking haggard, bloody with slumped shoulders and full of shame. Again not a positive image.

So upon becoming a Christian and learning to Love him I had trouble at first with those words. Being that they brought up negative imagery for me made it difficult to integrate into my belief system. In fact it is 7 years since I first handed my life over and this year I am working hard at submission to authority. I didn't understand that if want to lead first you must learn to follow. I have a stubborn nature and it takes time to get past my walls of human reasoning. I knew I wanted to follow but just didn't know how. Being that I was a bit of a control freak none of it came natural to me.

Most, if not all, successful businesses operate on this principle. Delegation of authority is the only thing that leads to real growth. It is a matter of trust or faith. The people around you may not do things the way you would do them but it doesn't necessarily make your way right. A lot of times with regards to God I resisted his way and, of course, it didn't work out as I planned.

The truth is if you believe yourself to be self sufficient God will not use you to do his will.

So although it is something I've worked on since the beginning of my walk in recent times it has become a focal point. It is working out very well. I have a temporary position at my work place that I'm in charge of a small crew. I don't have any large mandate or big title nor do I care. A number of people working with me are capable workers and need little supervision. My job is to give them a direction and a focus then let them take it from there. I have several new workers and they need more instruction of course. I trust the people I work with to help in that manner along side me. The team is growing and improving not because of me but because of the group of us.

Had it not been for God I would still be trying to do everything on my own. In fact it is only because of God that I have this opportunity. He gave me this opportunity and sent along side me the perfect compliment of skills in my fellow employees. Even the office person coordinating the operation is highly capable and knowledgeable. The whole experience has been a challenge but I'm very much enjoying it.


An absolute essential of being a Christ follower is allowing him to be the leader of your life. Which means surrendering your will to Jesus and submitting to his authority in your life. The Bible is full of great examples in how God uses people that trust in him. I've seen that come alive in my life and in others.

Before you get authority you should learn how to submit to it. Mathew 8:5-13 has an example of a leader who understood authority and how it works...

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.  “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

  Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

  The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.  I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

  Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it.

Jesus blessed this non Jew and said he had great faith. Why? Well it was because he accepted Jesus authority over that of his own. In military terms Generals don't start off as Generals. They start off as Lieutenants and that is only after much schooling and more submission to higher authority. If you want to lead you must learn to follow or you won't succeed. Before the fruit of being a Christian would start ripening in my life I had to learn about submission and surrender. I'm not there yet but I am learning. Jesus is a magnificent teacher but he won't feed those that aren't hungry.

I am a work in progress. I want to take it all on at times but know better. As for surrender, I honestly don't want to take the reigns in my life anymore. I have never been more content with life than I am right now. As for my temporary position that will end soon but as Rick Warren wrote "life is a temporary assignment". The only thing that is permanent is eternity and I know where I'm spending that so I might as well get God's help here too.

Blessings to you, may you be a good and faithful servant in everything you do!!