I have a dog, his name is Winston. We call him Gene for short. Don't ask, because I couldn't tell you. When people ask me about my dog, my response is always the same..."Gene, he's the best and everybody loves him." That's the first thing that comes to mind when I think about my dog.
On Friday, September 26, 2014 at 2:14 A.M. my grandma passed away. As I reflect on the life my grandma lived, I am constantly reminded of what I say about my dog. My grandma was the best and everybody loved her. She truly was the greatest woman I have ever met. it's hard because we all live with regrets and feel bad about how much time we did or didn't spend with someone, but I don't want to live in that. I don't want to live a life of regret. I want to live in the legacy that she created and instilled in me.
The last conversation I ever had with her went something like this...
Me: "Grandma, I love you and I'm praying for you."
Grandma: "That's Right"
That's who my grandma was. She was a lady that loved Jesus more than anything. She loved her husband, loved her kids, loved her grandchildren, loved her great grandchildren, she loved life, she loved serving others, she loved hosting, she loved cooking, she loved baking, she loved to laugh, she loved a lot of things. But most importantly she loved JESUS. There was nothing more important to her than Jesus.
My grandma ran the race and finished well. She took her last breath on earth holding the hand of her husband of 67 years, surrounded by her family, who were praying and singing hymns all around her.
As my family spends time together, telling stories, mourning, and remembering my grandma there is one common thread through all of it. My grandma truly loved people. I can't help but believe that the reason my grandma was able to love people well was because she loved Jesus well.
If I want to be the type of person that truly lives in the legacy she instilled in me, then I have to love Jesus well. I want this to be my hearts only desire...
"You can take my stuff. You can take my position. You can even take my family. But you cannot take Jesus away from me. He is in my heart. His awesomeness, his majesty, his sufficiency, his love for me-these things will last for eternity. He is the ultimate meaning in this life and the life to come." (Judah Smith, JESUS IS)
I'm not there yet, but my desire is to love Jesus well and in turn love people well, just like my grandma.
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Monday, September 29, 2014
Thursday, March 08, 2012
The Vision of Leader
Throughout my journey on leadership I have listened to, read, and been told so many different things about leadership styles and theories, so how do you decipher which ones are right for you?
The one thing that seems to keep coming up to me is VISION.
Leaders have vision and they share vision with the people inside their organization and outside the organization as well.
Reading through the book of Joshua the strength and courage keep coming up. My challenge is to be strong in courageous in the VISION that God has given to you and your organization.
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The one thing that seems to keep coming up to me is VISION.
Leaders have vision and they share vision with the people inside their organization and outside the organization as well.
Reading through the book of Joshua the strength and courage keep coming up. My challenge is to be strong in courageous in the VISION that God has given to you and your organization.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Who gets your time?
So I recently read the book "Choosing to Cheat" by Andy Stanley and I thought it was a great reminder of what is really important. After reading the book, I was intrigued and listened to a podcast by Perry Noble called, "The Forgotten Bride". I think that both of these guys listed out some great reminders of ministry and family and how they interact. So I wanted to share a couple of the key things that I took away from both of them.
First of all I just really liked the idea of choosing to cheat. Andy says that in life you are going to cheat something out of time but we have to choose what is going to be. None of us have a problem filling up a schedule or a calendar but rather the problem lies in saying "no". We have to choose what we are going to spend our time doing.
Perry was talking about the church being the Bride of Christ and that we need to spend less time in bed with the Bride of Christ and more time in bed with our wives. And as much as that doesn't apply directly to my life right now, it is about setting the patterns and habits that I want to use to lead my life and my family someday. He also goes on to say that the Bride of Christ has been doing fine for 2,000 years so we need to pay more attention to our own Bride. (I love the candid openness and honesty)
The last thing that really stood out to me in these was the idea that if we can't lead our families well then we can't lead our churches well. I think that is true! God has called us to lead families and I think we need to take that call more serious than our call to lead the church.
I think these are two great resources that all pastors/leaders should read. They are a great reminder to families and single people alike as they will help teach you guiding patterns and principles to living a healthy lifestyle both in ministry and at home!
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First of all I just really liked the idea of choosing to cheat. Andy says that in life you are going to cheat something out of time but we have to choose what is going to be. None of us have a problem filling up a schedule or a calendar but rather the problem lies in saying "no". We have to choose what we are going to spend our time doing.
Perry was talking about the church being the Bride of Christ and that we need to spend less time in bed with the Bride of Christ and more time in bed with our wives. And as much as that doesn't apply directly to my life right now, it is about setting the patterns and habits that I want to use to lead my life and my family someday. He also goes on to say that the Bride of Christ has been doing fine for 2,000 years so we need to pay more attention to our own Bride. (I love the candid openness and honesty)
The last thing that really stood out to me in these was the idea that if we can't lead our families well then we can't lead our churches well. I think that is true! God has called us to lead families and I think we need to take that call more serious than our call to lead the church.
I think these are two great resources that all pastors/leaders should read. They are a great reminder to families and single people alike as they will help teach you guiding patterns and principles to living a healthy lifestyle both in ministry and at home!
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