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

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.

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…

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.”

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

Their sound is a global one – current, expressive, liberating and refreshing music that heralds the anthem of the local church. Yet, as it should be, very much Christ-centered. Hillsong’s  musical expression balances depth with rhythmic ease. The Psalmist David, a fellow hymn writer, would have been proud (at least in my opinion). They stand among the great worship leaders of the church today.

So, I just wanted to give honor to whom honor is due and thank God for the gift of Hillsong United.

Get a taste at - Hillsong United

So, I got up this morning and for the pure entertainment of seeing my kids squirm, I decided to practice my dancing moves.  The responses were interesting today.

Jon said, “Dad – please, the last time you tried popping and locking you popped and locked your back. ”  Of course, the only one I can turn to for a supportive comment was Connie who said, “Your dance steps were the main reason I married you,” but I did detect a bit of sarcasm in her voice. In my humble evaluation, I thought the dance moves were pretty good given the difficult audience.

Truth is, in life there comes a time when it seems we just stop dancing. What is dancing? It is simply an outward expression of an inward experience. Not just talking about the fox-trot or samba, I’m talking about the way we live. God wants us to live out loud what He is doing within us. It’s the life He has invited us to enjoy.

What has caused you to stop dancing? Not literally, but in a figurative sense. Have you stopped taking the time to have fun, regardless of whose watching, and just enjoy the moment? Caught up in the business of work, careers, raising kids, it’s easy to forget that God has given us this urge to move and laugh. God wants us to experience joy in our moments because He is always in the moment.

You will never wake up and find God in a bad mood. Life in Him is always a dance. Freeing, exhilarating, and carefree; not always so very cautious and careful. So maybe today hasn’t started off the way you planned it. Rewind the tape, bring God into the picture, and dance just as if no one was watching.

dance as though no one is watching you,

love as though you have never been hurt before,

sing as though no one can hear you,

live as though heaven is on earth.  –unknown

Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; King James

P.S. Look for me on the next season of Dancing with the Stars… unless of course, they are intimidated by my moves!

It was a farmer’s word. When, into his herd, there was born an animal so beautiful and shapely that it seemed absolutely destitute of faults and defects, the farmer gazed upon the creature with proud, delighted eyes. “Tetelestai!” he said, “Tetelestai!”

It was an artist’s word. When the painter or the sculptor had put the last finishing touches to the vivid landscape or the marble bust, he would stand back a few feet to admire his masterpiece, and seeing in it nothing that call for correction or improvement, would murmur fondly, “Tetelestai!” “Tetelestai!”

It was a priestly word. When some devout worshipper, overflowing with gratitude for mercies shown him, brought to the temple a lamb without spot or blemish, the pride of the whole flock, the priest, more accustomed to seeing the blind and defective animals led to the altar, would look admiringly upon the pretty creature. “Tetelestai!” he would say, “Tetelestai!”

And when, in the fullness of time, the Lamb of God offered Himself on the altar of the ages, He rejoiced with a joy so triumphant that it bore down all His anguish before it. The sacrifice was stainless, perfect, finished! “He cried with a loud voice Tetelestai! and gave up the ghost.”

This divine self-satisfaction appears only twice, once in each Testament. When He completed the work of Creation, He looked upon it and said that it was very good, when He completed the Work of Redemption He cried with a loud voice “Tetelestai!” It means exactly the same thing.

F.W. Boreham, A Handful of Stars (London: The Epworth Press, 1922), 102-013.

• Thoughts to be had
• Words to be said
• Love to be expressed
• Gifts to be given
• People to be encouraged
• Memories to be shared
• Birthdays to be celebrated
• Laughter to be enjoyed
• Tears to be shed
• Blogs or perhaps books to be written
• Projects to be built; and that’s just the beginning

Even better yet…

• People I must encounter
• Some that need to find Jesus
• People that need a kind word, or just need to be heard
• Lives to be rescued
• Babies to hold, and grandkids (God willing) whose dental plan I must ruin
• In short, life to be lived

I’m sure you get the picture.  As beautiful as life has been and in-spite of what has already been accomplished, there are things yet unfinished. Have you thought of what’s unfinished in your life? I thank God that not only can we trust Him to start us off well, He can be trusted to help us finish well. (Heb 12:2a “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”)

Let’s leave nothing undone!

Connie reminded me of how beautifully, with each day of creation, God seemed to pause and declare – “It was good” (Gen 1:10b). At the end of it all He said, “It was very good” (Gen 1:31). The truth is that He could have created it all in a moment, yet He chose to spread it over time and enjoy each aspect of His creation. I wonder if life could be more fun if we too paced ourselves, and captured the beauty of what’s happening in the “now.” 

Today, take a moment to acknowledge what God is doing within you, to enjoy your kids, your spouse, your friends, your church, and your life. This moment will never come again.

Acts 6:10 kjv ”And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”

 It reminds me of the importance of constantly seeking God for more of His wisdom and Spirit. In our day to day, we too can find ourselves drawn in petty arguments and disagreements. Like Stephen, we can choose a response seasoned with wisdom and the Spirit of God, or a response that reeks of our fleshly desire to defend our positions and our preferences. Wisdom knows when to be silent, when to listen, and when a response is needed. Wisdom also knows the One whose preferences really matter.

Today, let us give God permission to shut our mouths, and if we must speak, give us His words and the grace to express it in His way. It’s the best way to respond.