Monday, Monday

While going through school my professors, including my dad (my favorite professor), would warn all those going through their classes that a day off is very important in life. Whatever your profession is, this rings true. To be successful, maintain a long career, and a healthy lifestyle, it's important to re-charge our batteries every week. For myself, Monday is my day off. I've been trying hard to re-adjust my day off to NOT include chores; it's just not my cup of tea. On the other hand, I haven't been too successful in accomplishing this goal. So what do my Monday's generally look like? Sleep 'til 8am or 9, take a shower, and from then on it varies depending on the week, weather, etc. Most generally my day off will include something that gets my mind off the grind of life, builds a greater relationship with my wife, and most importantly focuses on worship towards God (God calls us to live a lifestyle of worship to him...by the way).

Being in Ministry, it's very important to me to have this time to allow God to pour into my life. I, like everyone else, needs not only the physical and mental re-charging, but the spiritual re-charging as well.

So when is your day off? Whenever that is, don't feel guilty about enjoying it to the fullest. If you don't have one, then I strongly encourage you to make some re-adjustments. I hope that whoever you are, and wherever you are, may even take a moment of that time to seek God's perfect plan for your life. "[...] I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for" (Jeremiah 29:11, The Message).

Oh, and the picture above is from the classic movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I'm sure we could all pick out something good to take from this movie. And if not, then at least we'll enjoy a good laugh.

Crazy Awesome Night

Last night in CSM (Core Student Ministries...it's what I do), we had a crazy awesome night. Normally, besides the normal prep, worship practice, etc., we will have 9.12 Live (our high school service) in the youth room, and 6.8 Life Groups (our middle school small groups) at someones house. Last night, a group of students arrived to the church at 4pm to finish some prep on a meal they were about to take and serve to the homeless in downtown Wichita. So anyways, they left to serve the food, and we had a combined 6.8/9.12 worship night in the youth room (which, by the way, was only the 2nd time that we've combined the groups). The worship night was awesome; it was very encouraging to see the students open up their hearts to God and push themselves out of their comfort zones in worship. During the middle of the worship night, the students and leaders who had went downtown to serve the homeless came back and finished the worship night with us. Now that's ministry, to have part of the group actually going during a service and putting their relationship with Christ into action. I can't wait to hear the stories of the students experiences from going downtown...Crazy Awesome Night!

Leadership

This is more of a random post, not the type where I'm sitting with information in hand. In other words, this will probably end up more as sharing a thought that I am currently pondering.

What is your leadership style? Some have a very autocratic style of leadership, others have a passive-aggressive style (both, I'd say, may not be so healthy), still another might lead in an entirely different style. I think Christ illustrates a great example of positive, godly, and successful leadership. His leadership style, while he was with his disciples was deeply routed in relationships. First, Christ had a relationship with his heavenly Father. Such that, when Christ was faced with the greatest challenge he showed trust and submission to God and to His plans; "'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will'" (Matthew 26:39, New International Version). Second he had a unique relationship with his disciples. Throughout the New Testament we see examples of how Jesus Christ taught by showing his disciples in the process of ministry, then involving them as He was teaching them, and finally by stepping back and allowing his disciples to work from what they've learned from Him. As leaders we have a responsibility to those whom we lead, and as Christians we ultimately have a responsibility to God. Relationships are not the only key to great leadership, it also involves continual learning in ones field, being willing to assume risk based on ones best judgment and knowledge, and more.

When I was a kid, I had a t-shirt that had a picture of one fish swimming against a stream of other fish. As a leader, this is what is required; paving the path that others have not chosen to take. As a Christian, even if one doesn't have a leadership role in a church or a ministry, often times having that relationship with Christ means that we will, at times, have to go against the flow of culture.

Please understand that I'm not a professional in understanding leadership, and I don't acclaim to be. However, one can find many books to glean from and to gather insights on a subject that people will always be growing in. After all, this subject does deserve such attention.

Oh by the way, Jesus knew that his disciples would not succeed every time, but that's a part of leadership. After all, only One on earth has been perfect.

Mentoring

www.dictionary.com defines "Mentoring" as, "To serve as a trusted counselor or teacher, especially in occupational settings." I believe that mentoring is very important, especially in today's world. Whether one is picking up a younger "up and comer" in their profession, or a couple of friends connecting to hold each other accountable and to build the other up, I believe mentoring is one key to the success of the future of today's society. More importantly, as a Christian, I believe that Christians mentoring other Christians is vital for the movement of God. Today's society challenges the young Christian to question the validity of God, the truth of Scripture, and the experience and encounter of the Holy Spirit. What a mature Christian mentor brings to the table of a young Christian is the battle scars of life, the life experience of knowing that God is a God who will never leave or forsake. By looking at the very definition of "Mentoring" given from www.dictionary.com, I believe that we can learn three defining lessons in mentoring. 1. Service. In my occupation, service is a key way of life. Service involves volunteering, a caring heart, and a desire to make a significant difference in society and in one's life. Mentoring involves all of this. A mentor needs to have a serving heart and attitude; one who understands that what they are doing is making a difference in a person's life and in our future. 2. Real. People are attracted to other's who are real. One who bleeds red, cries real tears, has real successes as well as real failures, and one who holds their head hi while learning from lifes experiences. As a Christian, other people what to see one growing in the Lord, and not just holding a psuedo-reality of, "I've arrived." A real person is one who other's want to learn from and follow. 3. Commitment. I think commitment is a basic in relationships. People don't open up to others and a relationship can't grow if one doesn't feel that the other is committed to the relationship in listening, learning, and being their for them. Also, in mentoring, (as well as life), both change and growth takes time. People will see lasting results if they stay committed in mentoring. So who are you mentoring, and who are you allowing to mentor you. Finding a quality mentor and being a quality mentor takes time...don't give up.

1. service
2. real
3. commitment

Photo Booth

Last night I was showing my parents my nice, beautiful, sleek, fast, wonderful new MacBook that my wife bought for me. I decided that I wanted to use Photo Booth to shoot a quick video of around their house. After I shot the video, I was having some problems of Photo Booth wanting to shut down. Well, no need to worry because Apple, Inc. has the #1 rated customer service. So the next morning (this morning) I called 1-800-MY-APPLE, and we quickly discerned that the problems were not with Photo Booth but rather with a 3rd party application that I had "Migrated" from my iMac in my office. What did we do? Well, we trashed the 3rd party application (I don't even know why I had it to begin with), and walla...problem solved. Oh, here's the video that I shot...I'm sure you're stoked to see it.

Family Time

Today, Kaydee and I left, to Springfield Missouri, to visit my parents for the week. I always love coming here and spending time with two of my most favorite people in my life (obviously Kaydee being my most favorite of all). Having this time often reminds me of how important it is to connect with family. My parents always tried to instill in me a mindset that would help to keep me focused in life; that being keeping an order of importance and focus in life: God, family, and then work. Getting caught up in the business of life, work, etc., it's very easy to neglect family, but times like this give me an opportunity to get my focus in check. I appreciate the gift of family that God has given to me, and I look forward to this week with my wife, parents, sister, and brother-in-law. There are many things in life that come and go, but family is always here to stay.

By the way, I appologize if this thought has been scrambled. As I wrote this, I've carried on conversations with my wife and mom, and loved on a dog (Emily, we got her for my mom's birthday). It's hard for me to multi-task in such ways.

My Current Read

I'm about to venture into this book, and I'm looking forward to it. Have you read this book? If so, give me your thoughts. Let's create a discussion. After all, it will help to keep me accountable to read it.