ContemplativeJourney

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...