Friday, October 30, 2009

Cut From The Team

My 13 year-old son, Robbie spent the past two afternoons sweating with 51 other 8th grade boys trying out for their school's basketball team. I was able to watch the last half hour of both days of tryouts.

It quickly became apparent to me that Robbie would not be making the team. Many of the kids were well ahead of him in their ability and knowledge of the game.

As I watched him though, I was impressed, because he gave it everything he had. He probably knew that he was not going to make it. However, he was running hard and making great V-cuts (a move used to get open on offense). These were things that most of the other kids were not doing.

In spite of his efforts, Robbie did not make the team.

However, I am extremely proud of my son. He tried. And he tried with all his heart. What more can you ask for?

I am also proud of the way he handled hearing the news that he would not be on the team. When I asked him what his thoughts were, he replied, "I'm disappointed but I'll just have to try again next year."


Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Axioms for Life


I just finished watching the above movie. I have seen this before but, for some reason, I liked it more this time than ever before. Maybe it was because I didn't feel rushed while watching it and I could really think about what was being said.

Included in this short movie are some really good quotes and axioms for life. Do yourself a favor and invest three and a half minutes in this.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Passion

Last night, my family and I went to see the David Crowder Band (pictured above) in concert at a church north of Detroit. They were fantastic!

There were a couple of warm up acts before they performed, Seabird and Danyew. They were also very good.

Although I liked Danyew, they were probably my least favorite of the three. Despite that, I found myself drawn to one of their band members more than any of the other performers last night There were only two members in Danyew: one sang and played the guitar while the other played drums and generally pounded on anything that was around him. I found myself focusing on the drummer which I thought was odd, as most times I primarily watch the lead singer.

I think I spent more time watching the drummer because of the passion and intensity with which he performed. Someone performing with passion is very magnetic to me whether they are on stage, being a parent or working in an office.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23

Friday, October 23, 2009

Using Bad For Good

Chris Spielman shows his college football hall of fame plaque awarded to him on
Sept. 5 at Ohio State to his wife, Stefanie.
His four children and Ohio State great Archie Griffin look on.

Chris Spielman is one of my favorite Ohio State football players. He was a guy who gave his all on every play. The team seemed to feed off of his intensity. Without question, he is one of the greatest linebackers ever to wear the scarlet and gray. He also was a tremendous player in the NFL for many years.

However, I gained even more respect for him when, in 1998 after 10 seasons in the NFL, he put his career on hold to be at his wife, Stefanie's side as she began her battle against breast cancer. I don't think many men would have chosen to do that. What a great example.

I was at the game on September 5th of this year in which Chris' induction into the College Football Hall of Fame was celebrated (pictured above). I didn't realize that Stefanie was sick again until I saw her in a wheel chair.

A week or so ago I saw an article online which appeared in the Canton Rep in which they shared a little about their struggle. The last section of the article focused on their Christian faith and how that has gotten them through some difficult times. This same article appeared in our local paper a couple of days ago, only they decided to omit the entire section about their faith. Sad.

This quote was contained in that section:

Their journey together has been about football and fame, but it also has been about strength, courage and keeping things in perspective.

“I think we’ve been given certain assignments in life,” he said. “I like to think we’ve done the best we could for (cancer survivors) in service as opposed to shutting down. Hopefully, we’ve been able to make a difference with the monies raised and the people we met and talk to that our experience can help in a small way.

“This is an honorable and humbling journey we’ve been on. It’s something that is way bigger than being a football guy.”


What struck me as I read this article was they way they have used this as a positive thing. The Speilmans have used their celebrity and influence as a platform to raise millions of dollars for cancer research. But they have done so much more than that...they have given hope to many, many people who are dealing with tough circumstances in their own lives. What an incredible and honorable thing.

"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
Esther 4:14b

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Suspended

My 13 year-old son Robbie, came home sobbing from school on Monday. It seems that someone in gym class came up behind him and choked him.

Later in the day I found out what led up to that. This kid was teasing Robbie and calling him names and not using nice language. Robbie said he was just ignoring it until after they ran the one mile run. Robbie said this other kid was teasing him about how slow he ran and started with more name calling. Robbie said he had had enough so he pushed him. That is when the other kid grabbed Robbie from behind in a choke hold.

Yesterday, the assistant principal talked to all the parties involved. Robbie ended up being suspended for a day because he pushed the other boy. The other kid was suspended for the remainder of this week. While I don't like my son being suspended, I think this is pretty fair.

I asked Robbie if being choked like that hurt. He said, "Yes, but not as much as being teased in front of everyone."

My heart ached for him and still does. This is more proof that our words are very powerful. They have the power to build others up or to tear them down.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21

Monday, October 19, 2009

Nature's Beauty

I have been mesmerized while driving around the past couple of weeks by the leaves in our area. They have been spectacular!

While riding with Connie, my wife, this weekend I asked, "Why don't leaves just fall to the ground without changing color? I mean, it doesn't seem like there is any reason they would need to change colors."

Connie said, "Maybe this is just one of the ways that God shows his love for us. Maybe He just wants to do this to the trees for our enjoyment and to remind us of Him."

I like that answer and that's what I'm going with! Now when I look at the trees it gives me another reason to give thanks to my Heavenly Father.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Fear Not!


Check out this 92 year old woman, Pauline Jacoby...she is incredible.

What can we learn from her?

1. There is no need to fear, Jesus is with us and will protect us when we call on Him.
2. God's word is an extremely effective weapon. No guns or pepper spray needed.
3. Forgiveness is very powerful.
4. Praying for others can immediately soften their hearts.
5. Humility is very refreshing.
6. God can use any situation to impact someone's life.

Way to go Pauline!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Power of Community

As many of you know, I lead an organization in the Toledo area called Truth At Work. We work with Christian business leaders to help them to grow their organizations in a God-honoring way, while at the same time helping them to grow personally and spiritually.

This is all done through four hour long monthly roundtable meetings in which 12-15 peers act as a board of advisers to one another. As a result of these meetings many ideas are developed both on the business and personal side of things.

The thing that has become apparent to me over this past year is the incredible power of community. When things are tough, as they are now in our economy, our natural tendency is to hole up by ourselves to weather the storm. That is not what God wants from us. He wants us to do life together because he knows we need the encouragement. The way I look at it, life is like this formula:

Me + Community + God = unlimited potential

In the above video, Lynn Fruth shares that he pays a substantial sum of money each month to be a part of this group...and he'd pay ten times that amount because of what he gets out of it! I hope this encourages you to surround yourself with other Christ-centered individuals.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Gross National Happiness

I watched a show yesterday afternoon that my wife had recorded from last spring. It was hosted by Michael J. Fox and the show was all about optimism.

One of the most interesting parts of the show was when they talked about Bhutan, China. While most countries measure their Gross National Product (GNP), Bhutan measures their Gross National Happiness (GNH).

To see how they do this, click here. As the sign above indicates, they see GNH as being much more important than GNP. One governmental official said, "When we began to measure this, we realized that it all comes down to social networking or relationships."

Interesting. They say that money does not buy happiness. According to Bhutan, this is very true. It's all about the relationships! I think Jesus would agree!

"Love your neighbor as yourself."
Jesus

Monday, October 12, 2009

Doing the Impossible

I attended perhaps the strangest football game I have ever seen on Saturday. Ohio State hosted the Badgers of Wisconsin and the game was anything but ordinary.

During the game, the Buckeyes had the ball for 17 minutes versus 43 minutes for Wisconsin--normally indicating a Wisconsin blowout win. The Buckeyes gained a total of 184 yards to 368 for Wisconsin--typically indicating a Wisconsin victory. Ohio State ran 40 plays from scrimmage to 89 for Wisconsin--again, normally indicative of a Wisconsin win.

Prior to this game, I would have told you it was absolutely impossible for Ohio State to win with statistics like these. However, Ohio State won the game 31-13. How did they do it? They scored two touchdowns on defense (both interceptions returned for touchdowns) and they returned a kickoff for a touchdown. In fact, of the 44 total points, only one touchdown was scored from an offensive set (Wisconsin's touchdown came on a fake field goal).

Quite an unusual game. Very similar to life.

The Bible is chock-full of stories where God used individuals who you and I probably would have passed over. For instance, He picked Moses who could not talk very well to lead the Israelites out of bondage. We would have said it was impossible for Moses to complete the task at hand. He also showed up at times when things looked hopeless like when He parted the Red Sea to help the Israelites. Again, we would have said this was impossible.

He does the same today.

So, if you are facing a seemingly impossible challenge or if you are feeling too small for the task at hand, remember, that is when God shows up!

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
1 Corinthians 1:27

Friday, October 09, 2009

Generosity

Yesterday I attended my third funeral in the past few weeks, all for really neat people. The funeral yesterday was for the mother of a great friend of mine, Janet Northrup. She was an incredible and selfless woman.

I first met her about 28 years ago. At the time, she was caring for her husband who had contracted Multiple Sclerosis and was in a wheelchair. She continually took care of him without complaint for many years until he passed away several years ago.

At the service yesterday, many words were shared about Janet and her impact on the lives of so many people; however, two things stuck out for me.

First, was that she was all about relationships. One of her grandchildren shared that when one of her grand kids spilled or broke something, she would calmly respond, "That's OK, it's only a thing--you're more important than that!" What an incredibly loving attitude.

Second, was that she was extremely generous with everything, her time, money, her things.

It was clear that Janet really understood Jesus' command to love others as you love yourself.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Matthew 22:36-39

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Axioms



ax⋅i⋅om  [ak-see-uhm]–noun
1. a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
2. a universally accepted principle or rule.

I have become a big fan of axioms. I think I've always liked them but I've become more aware of their power after reading Bill Hybels' book Axiom.

Fortunately, as Chapter President for Truth at Work I am in an environment in which I get to hear new axioms regularly. Here are a few from recent roundtable meetings:

* When you live your life by principles, you have very few decisions to make.
* Transformation begins with a profound relationship with the way it is.
* The answer to the “how” is saying “yes” to God.
* Tomorrow never comes.
* Good management is truth, not avoidance.

I came across the above video and I loved it because it has some really good axioms we can live our life by. I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Half Full Or Half Empty?

A friend told me a story yesterday about two young boys. One was an optimist and one a pessimist. Each boy was put in a room by themselves for four hours.

The pessimist found every toy he ever dreamed of in his room. The optimist was placed in a room filled with six feet of manure.

Four hours later, the door was opened to the pessimist's room. He was found crying. When asked what was wrong, he responded, "I don't know what to play with first!" Then he also whined, "Something might break!"

When the door to the optimist's room was opened, he was found to be happily digging away. When asked what he was doing, he said with an expectant smile on his face, "With all this manure, there's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

So which one are you?

Monday, October 05, 2009

Watch Your Mouth!

My son, Robbie and I made the trip to Bloomington, Indiana to watch Ohio State take on the Hoosiers of Indiana Saturday night. Robbie and I had a great weekend together which was helped by the fact that the Buckeyes played pretty well and won easily, 33-14.

During the game we sat in front of perhaps, the most obnoxious Ohio State fan in the world (coincidentally, he is the one who took the above picture). He was not just obnoxious, but he was also LOUD...a bad combination. He would yelled insults at Indiana fans. He yelled at Ohio State players when they didn't do what he hoped they would do. He yelled at the referees. When the Indiana cheerleaders came into the stands to cheer for their team, he even yelled at and booed them.

Not only was this guy annoying to me and others around us, I was actually embarrassed. He was giving all of the IU fans around us a very bad opinion of Ohio State fans. In my experience, I believe most Ohio State fans to be civil and classy people. However, there are a small percentage like this guy who taint the perception of others. Too bad.

The same is true of us as Christ followers. We are all on the same team. We must guard ourselves so that we don't act like the fan who was sitting behind me, otherwise others' perception of Christianity might take a hit.

But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Colossians 3:8-10

Friday, October 02, 2009

Free

A little over three years ago, I began writing my Bleedership monthly newsletter (named after the book of the same title I wrote). I wrote it primarily for Christian business owners and doctors so that they could share them with their employees and patients as a way to encourage and minister to them. They would purchase a quantity to hand out or to leave in their waiting room for patients to read and take with them.

Surprising to me, people began to be blessed and this little ministry began to grow a bit. A couple of months ago I was thinking about ways that more people might be impacted by this and I decided to give it away to anyone who would like it. Yes, I still charge those who would like printed copies as that is how it is supported, but I will email a copy of the newsletter each month to those who would like it.

If you would like to check this out each month, simply go to http://www.bleedership.com/ and take 20 seconds to complete the form and it will be sent to you. I believe it will encourage you (if it doesn't, you can unsubscribe at any time).