ContemplativeJourney

Peace with God. Do you have it? In our quietest, my private moments, it is common for all of us to wonder what the purpose of our life is. Especially in difficult times; times of loss and tragedy, we wonder, "Why?"  We ask ourselves, whether we verbalize these questions to others or not, what is life all about, and what is my part in it? Why am I here? God has answers for our questions. All of our questions. Ultimately, the Gospel is about answering these most important questions. Some people believe the Gospel begins with the "4 Gospels," Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Not true. The Gospel story begins in the Creation Story, with Adam and Eve.  It takes further shape in the story of Abraham, the spiritual father of the nation of Israel.  I want to talk about what Abraham discovered, and how Abraham's discovery impacts all of us - every living person. God made promises to Abraham. Huge promises. Promises not possible to keep, at least not possible fo...

We live in very sobering times.  Indeed, we have seen again in London tonight, how suddenly and tragically terror can strike at the heart of a beautiful summer evening.   "Run. Hide. Tell."  This is the Tweet put out this evening by The Metropolitan Police in London. 3 words that describe a state of fear.  Run.  Where, exactly?  Hide. From who? Where? And for how long?  Tell.  Tell who? Tell them what?  The police, and the government authorities, all have a duty to warn. Fearful messages like, "Run, Hide, Tell" serve us well in this regard. Nevertheless, if we are followers of Christ, our hearts are tuned to a different set of messages;   As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'   Jesus answered: Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will com...

  I remember a song that was popular about 15 or 20 years ago. It was about falling down and getting up again. I think it was about a Priest, or something.  I was looking for an image tonight of that idea...fall down 7 times, get up 8.  Turns out, it's a Japanese Proverb. Then I came across this picture. Powerful, isn't it? I cannot get up. Cannot get up. Get up. Up. When I look at this fighter, I see "spent," "done."  Exhausted. Dejected. I feel kind of like this guy tonight.  Mental and emotional battles are often more exhausting than the physical battles. Do you remember the movie "Parenthood," with Steve Martin? There's a scene at the end where he's talking to his mother, and she is comparing life to a roller coaster. He's thinking about all of the worst aspects of the roller coaster ride, and she's thinking about all of the fun and exciting aspects of the ride.  Life is a wild ride. I call it my 'wild toa...

“Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.” ― Rick Warren , The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for   Interesting isn't it? This internal battle to convince ourselves of our own significance...   You were created by God for a specific purpose, so don't dismiss your significance. As much as you may doubt it, there is no one else alive today who can fulfill your  purpose.  And you will remain here on this earth until the very moment God has ordained to bring you home to Himself.  And what exactly does that mean?   It means, whether you're 5 years old, or 105 years old...if you are still here, there is still a unique purpose for your life.  In the story of mankind and God's involvement with us, we learn a few things of vital importance: We are broken, imperfect people.  At our core, each one of us craves to be known and v...

JOY! What is it? Have you got it?  Most of us think of joy as an emotion related to events in our lives.  Here's what the dictionary has to say about it: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation Here's my question for you - is it possible to live our lives in a state of joy, regardless of what is happening around us?  Is the only source of your joy caused by something good happening to you? We  have been studying 'joy' this month at church - we call it "joyology," or the knowledge and science of joy.  Maybe you already knew this, but there is an entire letter to the Christian church that was dedicated to the subject of 'joy.'  It was written by the Apostle Paul (a devout Jewish man who went by the name 'Saul,' before he became a follower of Jesus) and sent to a group of other Jesus-followers in the city of Philippi. Philippi is a city located ...

  A funny thing happened on my way to losing weight after gastric sleeve surgery in July of 2015.  Me.  I happened.  The same 'me,' I must confess, that I've been living with for all these years. The me that wants results without the work.  The me that bemoans my struggle with obesity, but does not take the doctor's directions seriously.   Yes, that's me.    Oh, I could tell you all about my stress at work, or relationship stressors...you name the outside excuse, I've used it.  Bottom line:  after losing between 50-60 pounds in the months immediately following surgery, I managed to gain about 30 pounds right back during the course of this past year.   What did it take to finally get  attention again? Honestly? I'm not sure I know. Maybe a combination of how my clothes fit, or didn't fit...maybe seeing some other friends do really well caused me to reflect on my bad choices.  I decided to watch "My ...

As I have watched the Presidential race unfold during the past 15 months, I have at various times supported different candidates, but throughout these long months of argument and debate, the core values which inform my voting decision have remained the same. I don't know who will read this blog, or what your personal and political views might be...given the strong and opposing views of our fellow Americans, and the nearness of the Election on November 8th, I've begun to turn my thoughts toward our future under a new President.  I am voting for Donald Trump.  He was not my choice during the primary season, but he is my choice today.  Not because I'm deceived or naïve about his behavior and comments in past history, or because I necessarily disbelieve the women who have accused him of unwanted sexual advances. I don't know what he did or didn't do or say...and unless you were present, neither do you. I realize my ability to vote for Trump might seem outrageo...

I have been wrestling with this blog idea for several weeks, and was admittedly hesitant to take on the "problem of sin." Here's where it all began...a sunny day in Murphy, and I'm on my way to the City of Murphy Municipal Court.  I was pulled over by an officer a few weeks ago, due to having an expired registration sticker.  The solution turned out to be a simple one, and I had until August 26th to appear at the Court with a copy of my license, my ticket, and my new registration paperwork.  I walked in, and was immediately grateful to live in a small community where there is little activity in the Municipal Court.  Within 5 minutes, my $20 fee was paid, and I was happily on my way. As I walked outside, a thought struck me...a reminder of what the scripture says about the impossibility of any one of us keeping 100% of the law perfectly. In the New Testament book of James, a letter written to the church, James is talking to believers about the problem of sin, an...

School is back in session, all around us.  On Monday, school begins in the districts surrounding my neighborhood. It's been my habit to blog periodically on the topic of each Sunday's sermon. I sometimes get out of the habit, as was the case between May and this month, but our sermons at Elevate Church myelevatechurch.com have been so good, I can't help but share.  Something I was taught long ago, and still practice today: taking notes.  You will always absorb and remember more of what you hear, when you take notes. It's also true that sharing information with others helps us to learn the material ourselves, and part of my reason for sharing is my own desire to internalize these messages. We are excited to welcome new children's ministers to our leadership team this month, and today's sermon was shared by Phillip Heider, our new Children's and Family Life pastor.  He began by sharing about God's calling on his life - a passion for discipling the...

Some days feel like a vortex. Today was one of those days.  Not a bad day at all. No.  Just a swirl that seemed to go faster and tighter as the day progressed.  I looked at the clock and it was 2:15. The next time I had any awareness of time, I had missed a scheduled call at 3:30. Jumped on the phone to re-initiate the call, and the next thing I knew, it was past 5 o'clock.  Heads down in an attorney's redline of a Lease, it was suddenly 6:30.  Suffice to say, the time got away from me, and I didn't come close to finishing everything I had promised to various people before I left the office.  Finishing up those items comes next, after I take these few moments to process a few things. During the month of August, my church has been focused on a 21-day prayer challenge. We do this every August, which I think is a spectacular way to lead up to the beginning of the school year.  I don't have kids in school, but the seasonality of the school ...

What? A plan for personal growth? Yes. That's what the experts tell us.  We actually need to take time, sit down, and create a plan for our personal growth.  It doesn't happen automatically.  I suppose one way to say it could be, "Aging is not the same thing as growing." Personally, I have been in a disjointed mental space for the past several weeks. I could point to several factors and circumstances which have impacted me during this time, but bottom line, it's up to me to take care of me, and I have not been doing an excellent job in this regard during the month of May. If we sat down over coffee today, and I asked you this question: What is your plan for personal growth....?   Would you have an answer?  Would you be able to grab a journal or a notepad, or even a sticky note, and say, "Here's my plan!"?   Mind you, I'm not talking here about your goals and aspirations...I'm talking about a specific plan to grow personally in w...

It's time to cross over from the monotonous march of the spiritually mundane into the full abundance of all God has promised us in Christ Jesus! Such a transition is worthy of no less than your best red shoes, so I left church and went straight to the discount shoe store to grab mine!  Yes, I did! I'm very serious about what these red shoes say...I hope people ask me everywhere I go, "Why are you wearing those red shoes?"  Because, you know what? I intend to wear these red shoes with outfits to which they do not belong...they are a signpost, designed intentionally to draw attention to a message people are hungry to hear! In his letter to the church, Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15-16, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have." Today at Elevate Church in Murphy, Texas, Pastor Kalyn Brassfield began a sermon series entitled, "Crossing Over....

An odd title for a blog perhaps...I hope it caught your attention. The underlying idea I wanted to talk about today is our common temptation to sin, and the how we can learn from what the Proverbs say about the temptation of the prostitute. For decades now, I've been reading through the Proverbs each month, in order of the days, because there are 31 chapters in Proverbs.  And for decades, I have endured the chapters that focus on the prostitute, because I wrongly thought these admonitions had nothing to say to me.  I was wrong about that, and I'd like to share what I think all of us can learn from the temptation of the prostitute... In Proverbs 5, 6 and 7, the writer spends almost the entire chapter warning against adultery; which, as I've said, has always been a frustrating few chapters for me, because I wanted to move on to a topic more applicable to my life.  Not very long ago, I asked God to show me what I could learn and apply from these chapters, even...

I feel compelled to address this enormous lie that exists within the network marketing industry.  It is the worst thing about our industry, and causes many people heartache, self-doubt and disillusionment.   What is the lie??   Here it is, brace yourself:  If you spend a modest amount of money to join a great network marketing company, and simply share it with your family and friends, within just a few weeks or months, you'll be earning a six-figure income!!   This is, in a word: poppycock!   When I talk to folks about Nerium International, and my dream to build a family of Brand Partners who work together to build an enormous business all around the world, many of them recoil in horror! Why would I get involved in such a thing?  After all, isn't it a "pyramid" scheme?  A scam? A no-win deal for all but the "few who got in early?"   Actually, no.  The real pyramid that I'm involved with is the company I own.  Y...