Category: Life


It’s a good question to ask…

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Spirituality
Mar.15, 2011

I love it when my understanding of a concept gets challenged.  Although it feels good to have your understanding affirmed, I prefer times of revelation and learning that helps me continue to grow and stay sharp. At a recent leadership forum, Mark Sanborn took my definition of “leadership as influence” to a new level. He shared that Christ-like leadership is “positive influence.” The fact is that we influence people positively and negatively, but Jesus calls us to lead in a way that adds significance to the lives of others. The only way we can positively influence others, is to first be positively influenced by Jesus Christ. Not just sometime in our past, but daily through authentic, meaningful experiences with Him. The influencer must himself/herself intimately know Heaven’s Influencer.

How is Jesus influencing you today? Good question to ask, don’t you think?

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What an awesome Father we have…

Filed Under: Family, Life, Spirituality
Jan.27, 2011

I’m amazed at God’s love for us each day; it is far deeper than we can ever imagine. Today, I was reflecting back to when my boys were but babies. With each one, there were so many nights I just sat and watched over them as they slept. Admiring every detail about them and blushing at the thought that they were mine and I belonged to them. I sometimes caught myself daydreaming of what they will bring to this world one day – what they will become, what their hopes and dreams will be.  Truth is, my dreams for them far exceed the best dreams I have had for myself. As a matter of fact, I’m sure I’m not the only dad that has done that.

Psalm 3:5 (nlt) “I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.”

God watches over His kids, not only when we sleep, but also with every waking moment of our lives with a love that can never be matched. I can only imagine that He too admires His imprint, and is ever so pleased that we belong to Him. What an awesome Father we have…

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If

Filed Under: Life, Uncategorized
Nov.03, 2010

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too:

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same:.

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

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Life lessons from the garden (Part 2)

Filed Under: Life, Spirituality
Sep.30, 2010

Started some “lunch with…” sessions on Thursdays dedicated to connecting with some important relationships in my life.  Some I have the privilege of mentoring and others who I get to learn from. At a recent “lunch with” Thursday, I connected with a friend who shared something I will probably always remember. In response to how things were going with him, he said “I’ve been spending a lot of time with branches and not nearly enough with the vine.”  He was referring to good things like ministry meetings and activities, in comparison to time alone with God. Jesus reminds us of our absolute dependence on the vine:

John 15:5, 7-8 NLT
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

Our first priority is to live in vital connection with Jesus Christ, and then our time with others should serve to mutually strengthen our relationship with the vine. Time with others, even with good activities, should never trump or replace what we can only get from Jesus Christ. When they do, we feel limp and weak. But on the contrary, when we have abided in the vine, incredible results follow:

  1. Answered prayer (v.7)
  2. A fulfilled purpose (v.8)
  3. We bring great glory to the Father (v.8)

Jesus said: “He is the Vine – We are the Branches.” He is the Source and Supplier of everything I need, not only to survive but to thrive… to really live life. On a personal level, we discover that he is not just a source, He is our Source of:

    • Peace
    • Power
    • Significance & Purpose
    • Wisdom, Insight, & Understanding
    • Faith & Forgiveness
    • Creativity & Innovative Ideas

Have you prioritized your connection with the vine? You can start again, today!

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Life lessons from the garden (Part 1)

Filed Under: Life, Spirituality, Uncategorized
Sep.23, 2010

We were discouraged when our favorite palm, a beautiful Sago Palm that serves as a centerpiece of our landscaping, appeared to be dying. Its branches or fronds became yellowed and sickly and we felt we needed to relieve this plant of its suffering and misery. When we realized the value of the plant, we wondered to ourselves what other options we had. So, Connie and I decided to prune it and agreed we will give it a year to see what happens. I’m not talking about a minor trimming, Connie cut every questionable branch off until all that was left was a huge yellow bulb – and yes it looked strange.

It was a few weeks later that we started seeing baby Sago Palms coming up around it, a week later a whole new growth of fronds started emerging from the center tree (see pic). Somehow our unskilled yet deliberate pruning not only released the plant to reemerge in a healthy way, but we now have two new plants that will be transplanted in another part of our humble landscape. It works for Sago Palms and for our lives. John 15 tells us that our Father also serves as a gardener over our lives and likewise prunes so that we can be fruitful.

Sago palm's new growth

John 15:1-2 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” nlt

What might you identify in your own life as being

  • Unproductive?
  • Rotten?
  • Full of canker?
  • Just plain ugly?
    • In your lifestyle
    • In your relationships
    • In your work-style
    • In how you treat your spouse or your kids or your parents

Perhaps it’s time for a pruning. On the other side, there is fresh beauty and fruitfulness yet to emerge.  Let the pruning begin…

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Youth

Filed Under: Life, Spirituality, Uncategorized
Aug.29, 2010

It doesn’t matter how old you are, we all go through seasons where we feel that getting older is an enemy of opportunity – the best is somehow providentially reserved for the young.  I no longer believe that. I don’t think God is hung up with our age, as we sometimes are. More and more I am realizing that God does not solely reserve His best ideas, creativity and abilities for the younger generation. I am certain they are available to anyone passionate and faithful to bring it to their generation and those to come. It’s about His purposes being fulfilled, and we each have a small part in it. Having a right mind when it comes to how we think about life and aging becomes very important, at least it is to me. I want to be faithful to serve God with a youthful heart.

Psalm 103:5 HCSB “He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

I found this poem that has really inspired me to think differently. It was penned many years ago by Samuel Ullman. Thought you might enjoy it too…

Youth

“Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means the temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.”

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A friend indeed

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Uncategorized
Aug.25, 2010

As a leader, I have always strived for a goal. It is not a popular one in leadership circles but it is one I still believe in wholeheartedly. The goal is simply to be received as a friend to those who are accountable to me, those who follow me, and those with whom I have influence.

Sometimes friendship is seen as something people, especially employees, might abuse and I know we have all had negative experiences with those who seek to take advantage of us. However, fear and suspicion shouldn’t shape the way we view others and especially future relationships we build.  As a leader, don’t be afraid to share your belief in people and let them know that you’re for them. I figured, if it’s good enough for Jesus  – one who has made it clear it is how He chooses to relate to His followers – it ought to be good enough for me as I lead in His name.

John 15:15 niv “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

A real friend is one who desires the best in you; would risk comfort to tell you the truth and believes in your highest potential. They are never embarrassed to be seen with you, and desire to share their happiest moments with you. For those whom I have the privilege of leading, I hope I can always be a friend indeed!

David

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Time to make some changes

Filed Under: Life, Spirituality
Jun.15, 2010

I read a quote by Gordon MacDonald that has been messing with me in a very good way. From his book, Ordering Your Private World, he writes…

A driven person is usually caught in the uncontrolled pursuit of expansion. Driven people like to be a part of something that is getting bigger and more successful.… They rarely have any time to appreciate the achievements to date.… Driven people are usually abnormally busy. They are usually too busy for the pursuit of ordinary relationships in marriage, family, or friendship … not to speak of one with God.

As a driven person, it is easy to fall into the trap of pursuing the good over the best. Where do you begin to get things back on track? You, like me, can start by asking yourself some tough questions and responding to them honestly.

Questions such as:

  • Have I stopped to appreciate all that God has done?
  • Am I just way too busy?
  • Would my wife and my kids feel I pursue and prioritize them more than my career or ministry?
  • Am I making more progress in my relationship with God than in my work for Him?

I know if you saw my answers you will be as unimpressed as I am. However, there is never a better time than the present to make adjustments. Thank God for His grace and leading – I am making some changes.

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Sophia and Isaac’s Dedication

Filed Under: Family, Life
Jun.07, 2010

I had the awesome privilege of dedicating my niece’s daughter Sophia, and nephew’s son Isaac in Houston, Texas this past Saturday. Sophia is 5 months and Isaac is 2 going on 12 :-) with his pin-stripe suit.

We as believers in Jesus Christ, have a tremendous responsibility given to us when the Lord blesses us with a child. He entrusts us with the responsibility to raise up our children in the knowledge of God. In Mark 10 we read of an encounter Jesus had with children.

Mark 10:13-16 HCSB Some people were bringing little children to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me.  Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I assure you:  Whoever does not welcome   the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on them and blessed them.

Even to the casual observer, it’s obvious the gospel writers placed particular importance on Jesus’ attitude toward children. When everyone wanted to keep the children from Jesus, he invited them in and had some rather harsh words for those who hindered them. But do we also observe that not only did he delight in them, they seemed to delight in him. As parents we must make room for that. I believe the greatest thing we can deposit in the life of our kids is an endearing view of God.  Affirm how very precious, life changing and beautiful it is to walk through life with a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is the best way to establish the right foundation, one built upon Jesus Christ.

For me, it was quite an honor to share this special time with them. I know that both Sophia and Isaac are going to grow up and do great things for God.

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A Dying Father’s Lessons on Life for His Teenaged Daughter

Filed Under: Family, Life
May.27, 2010

The following is an excerpt from an article I read in the Harvard Business Review published Tuesday, May 25th 2010, about a man named John Tarbell who recently lost his battle with cancer. He was working on his most important project: a comprehensive guide to how to live a good life. It was something he spent years working on for an audience of one: his only child, a daughter, now 15. It comprised lessons drawn from his life, and from his mentors, and covered everything from friends and partying to finances and careers. John’s lessons remind one that having a few simple guidelines can help yield a life of worthwhile accomplishments. I can only hope that my life lessons – a document of successes and failings, wins and loses, steps and missteps – will help spare my boys unnecessary pain, and prepare them to have a more enriching future.

Here are 8 career lessons from John Tarbell:

1. Seek out a mentor — possibly someone who was involved in your hiring process. Learn what to expect two or three years ahead and prepare for it.

2. Assume the behavior and habits of the people at the next level, and you will demonstrate that you can get there.

3. Whatever you do, be sure your involvement and actions’ ethics and results will look honorable and wise if they appear in the right hand column of the Wall Street Journal’s front page. They just might.

4. ”Try to find out what you’re good at, and have a passion for, and get someone to pay you for doing it” — advice I was given early on, and it has always proved to be the path for success and, just as importantly, happiness.

5. The first job is rarely anything but a start. Do the best you can, try to work with people you like and admire, and hope for the best. In your lifetime, you may change jobs, if not your career path, many times.

6. Avoid bosses who promise promotions and advancement but who take credit for your work. They won’t fulfill their promises to you.

7. Save for a rainy day and always be able to support yourself. You can lose everything in a flash, and scenarios of financial adversity do present themselves in life, even to the best prepared.

8. Avoid speculative ventures. If making money were easy, everyone would be wealthy. If someone can’t answer all your questions and ”what ifs,” there’s something wrong.

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