Getting off the Treadmill of Life

Steve, a pastor friend of mine, and I were having a discussion recently about the busyness of life and how it is so difficult to get off the "treadmill" at times. During our chat, he shared with me something that he practices. He tries to “divert daily, withdraw weekly and abandon annually.”

I said, “What does that mean?”

He went on to share that he attempts to schedule down time each day (divert daily) whether it be going to the mall for an hour during the day or working out or just closing his eyes and being quiet for five minutes. He said this helps him to remain focused and avoid fatigue during the day.

He continued that he tries to unplug for a longer period of time once per week. He said this is his Sabbath day as given to us by God in the 10 Commandments:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work… (Exodus 20:9).

Steve then shared that he does not consider this a super spiritual day. He doesn’t spend the entire day meditating on God’s word. He sees it as a break from the normal routine of work.

This is something I began practicing a little over a year ago. Do I always get it right? No. But Sundays (which are my Sabbath) have been fun days for me and I really look forward to them. I believe this period of rest is very beneficial to me and my productivity the rest of the week.

Then on an annual basis, Steve abandons his normal life. For him this is different from a vacation. What he does is schedule a trip with two or three of his close friends who live in different parts of the country. They rotate each year to a location near one of them to make it fair. Here are Steve’s words to describe what this week looks like:

“It is a time completely devoted to spiritual renewal. The days are given to study and reading and talking with each other about what the Lord is revealing to each of us. It truly is a time of iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17).

The day usually starts with each person having their own quiet time which naturally flows into discussion about various insights each of us might be receiving from the Lord. At times we help each other with preparation for business, ministry or personal direction for the next year.

We usually kick back during the evenings with little to no structure. We may go to dinner, play cards or go to a movie.”

This discussion has really challenged me to step up my game when it comes to chilling out. I am currently trying very hard to incorporate this into my schedule and so far it has helped me a great deal. And the thing that amazes me is that even when I do take a break from work, the world keeps on rotating! Imagine that!

"Be still and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10a

True Freedom - Part 2

Today I took my daughter Kristin's dog, Tysen, for a walk. He's still a puppy and doesn't quite know how to do the leash thing yet, so truthfully, he took me for a walk. Tysen is a Yorkie-Poo and only weighs about 10 pounds, yet he dragged me around because of his eagerness.

Anyway, on the back end of our two mile jaunt, we encountered a very large black Labrador. It was clear to me that he was contained by an invisible fence system, but Tysen didn't know this. Because Tysen thinks everyone is happy to see him, he went charging full bore toward his new found friend. The black lab was not pleased and charged at him with a loud and deep bark. Tysen timidly backed off. As we proceeded on, the lab followed us along his owner's property, but due to his unseen boundaries, he was not able to reach Tysen. I believe that Tysen thought the "limitation" of his leash was keeping him from danger. Because he knew he was out of harm's way, with each step it seemed that Tysen regained more confidence.

I believe Tysen was actually thankful for his leash. Much like I wrote several weeks ago about my daughter, Molly, I think he saw for the first time in his young life that, rather than being a hindrance, his leash was protecting him and actually giving him more freedom.

To quote my earlier post, Jesus came, not just to save us, but to give us life to the full. The Biblical mandates of how to live life are there, not to restrict us, but to give us true freedom.

"Free" sex has not caused true freedom. It has caused millions of cases of sexually transmitted diseases. It has created millions of broken homes and hearts.

"Free" use of alcohol and drugs has not brought freedom. It has caused millions of deaths and broken lives...and homes. I know some addicts who tell me regularly that they feel like they're in a prison.

The same is true for everything that we choose to do on our own that goes against God's mandates for us. Just like Tysen, you and I will need to learn this one way or another.

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
The words of Jesus, John 10:10b

Elderly Wisdom

I heard something recently that was very enlightening. In a study of 95 year-olds, they were asked what they would do differently if had opportunity to live life over again. Their answers were a little different than I thought they'd be. They said they would:

1. Risk more
2. Reflect more
3. Do more that would outlive them

Think about that for a second. Now think about how much time you spend avoiding risk. How about the time you spend being busy? Not much reflection time is there? Ponder on the amount of time you spend doing things for you rather than doing things for others or things that will outlast you.

Pretty sobering isn't it? It is for me.

The book of Proverbs tells us 27 times that we should seek wise counsel. Those who have lived for 95 years certainly have experienced more than us--we should listen to them.

Let's agree to learn from our elders and:

1. Risk more
2. Reflect more
3. Do more that will outlive us

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

Deuteronomy 32:7

Discipline For Greatness

A few posts ago, I shared about the fact that some of our Truth At Work groups watched Bill Hybels interviewing Jim Collins, author of Good to Great. This interview took place at the 2006 Willow Creek Leadership Summit.

While discussing what makes companies great, Collins shared this formula for greatness, "Disciplined people produce disciplined thought which produces disciplined actions which produces greatness."

I think it would be safe to say that most of us want to be great (I would also bet that everyone would have a different definition of what "great" would look like to them). Yet, so few want to do what is necessary for that to occur. Not many are willing to pay the price, whatever it might be.

Collins is sharing something that shouldn't be surprising to us. In order for greatness to occur, it must start in the individual, with discipline. That's a word that very few people like. That means hard work and effort and giving up things we really don't want to give up.

Over 3,000 years ago, Solomon shared some similar nuggets of wisdom (all from the book of Proverbs):

• Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth (10:4)
• He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son (10:5)
• Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor (12:24)
• The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied (13:4)
• The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty (21:5)
  

Contentment

An Amish boy and his parents were visiting a mall. While the mother looked for cotton fabric for a new apron, the father and son stood around, amazed by almost everything they saw. They were especially amazed by two, shiny silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again.

The boy asked, "What is that, father?" The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I don't know what it is."

"Could it be a time machine?" asked the boy. “I heard about this movie picture show where people leave the earth in shiny vehicles.”

"Praise the Lord", said the father. "There sure are miraculous things in the city."

While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed, and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up. They continued to watch until the last number was reached, and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order.

Finally, the walls opened again and a gorgeous 24-year-old woman stepped out. The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son, "Go get your mother."

While this is a humorous story, it does illustrate the human condition, at least in this part of the world. We are rarely content. We want bigger...we want better...we want faster...we want more.

This past Sunday, my home church showed the first of a three part series that Dave Ramsey did concerning money. He had a lot to say about this subject. In fact, he said that contentment is so important, that it is the most powerful Biblical financial principle there is. More powerful than saving and even more powerful than giving.

I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with him on his ranking of this, but I will agree that it is incredibly important when it comes to our finances. I also believe it is a key ingredient in our spiritual health as well.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5

Joseph & Joy

On Saturday night, my wife and I and some friends attended Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lucy, a very talented friend of ours was playing the Narrator, the female lead. Her five children were also in the production so we were looking forward to this very much.

The show was absolutely amazing and I was blown away by the talent level of the cast.

At different points during the show I found myself in tears. At first I thought it was because of the talent that was on display (which does make me somewhat emotional for some reason). But then I realized that the tears were for something else because they only seemed to be there when Lucy was performing during certain scenes.

Lucy has been going through some gut-wrenching stuff recently, and it has really devastated her. She has been put through the wringer. Yet, here she was on Saturday, a picture of joy, doing a phenomenal job as the Narrator. I have seen this production before and she was absolutely perfect for this role (as were each of her kids in their roles)!

Anyone who didn’t know her would have no idea the tough times she is going through. I think this is why I was choked up. She was practicing what Paul told us to do in Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (emphasis mine) Paul doesn’t say to rejoice only when things are going our way. He says, always! In fact, Paul penned these words while sitting in a jail cell. Rejoice in the Lord always. Just what Lucy did.

From a human perspective, being joyful when things in our life are going south is impossible. It is only because Lucy is filled with the joy of the Lord, that she is able to do this. The same can be true for us.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b

Interested Instead of Interesting

Last week, some of our Truth At Work groups watched Bill Hybels interviewing Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and pictured above. This interview took place at the 2006 Willow Creek Leadership Summit.

Collins had some incredible stuff to share about what organizations can do to be great.

However, one thing in the interview stuck out to me more than any other thing. At that point in his life, Collins had been going through a spiritual awakening of sorts and he was beginning to embrace Christianity. When asked about this by Hybels, Collins replied that his journey had been helped greatly by his personal board of advisors.

First off, the fact that he had a personal board was impressive to me and a great lesson to us all to not do life alone.

Second, he went on to say that he received some of the best advice from one of his advisors who said, “Jim, you spend too much time trying to be interesting. Why don’t you spend more time being interested?”

Wow. Great advice.

Dale Carnegie said that the best way to attract friends is to show interest in others. That is also a great way to show the love of Christ!

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

The Trap of Isolation

I have the amazing privilege of leading an organization called Truth at Work in the Toledo area. In Truth at Work we put together roundtable groups of business leaders who act as a board of advisors to one another to help each other to grow their businesses while at the same time helping them to grow personally and spiritually. These are extremely powerful.

Yesterday, our 2nd Tuesday group met (they meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month) for the usual four hour meeting. Once again, it was incredible.

We had a new member join the group and he was in attendance for the first time. He was someone whom I had spoken to about Truth at Work about 15 months earlier and he kept putting it off because he said he couldn't focus on anything with the economy doing what it was doing. Besides, he said he wouldn't be able to afford anything else anyway.

Immediately after the meeting, he came up to me and said, "I wish I had gotten involved in this when you first told me about this. I had no idea how helpful this would be to me!"

I know what he was feeling. He felt like he just took a big drink after being in the desert for days. He felt like he was no longer alone. He felt encouraged.

This is not a surprise. In 1 Peter 5 we are told that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Whenever I have watched a lion chasing its prey on TV, let's say a zebra, I see the lion going after the zebra that is by itself because that one is seen as weaker and more vulnerable. So, the devil tries to isolate us so he can devour us. In fact, the word "devil" actually means to tear or divide.

I encourage you that when you are feeling like you don't want to be around anyone for long periods of time, to fight through that feeling and gather among friends. Especially if those friends can encourage you, hold you accountable and provide you with wise counsel.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:25

So Be It

I read a book a while back in which the author describes someone as a "So Be It" Christian. I really liked that term and it is something I have been asking God to make me. Someone who, regardless of my circumstances, will say, "So be it," knowing that God is in control.

Yesterday at The Masters, Phil Mickelson, on his second hole, had an important 4-5 foot putt for a par. During his backstroke, some debris from a tree fell right in his line which caused his ball to veer off course. Really an unfortunate break (See above video).

Not only an unfortunate break, but come on, what are the adds of something like that happening?! And happening during one of the most important rounds of his career?!

Yet, Mickelson seemed unfazed. He walked to the next tee and went about his business like it was nothing. It was as if he said, "So be it." Cool stuff.

This could have sidetracked him mentally and he could have lost a lot of shots and the tournament out of frustration. I was sitting at home with nothing invested and I was upset. I couldn't believe that had happened. I felt bad and was still thinking about it several holes later. In fact, I was saying to myself, "I hope he doesn't lose this tournament by one shot!"

But, as you probably know, Mickelson hung on to win his third green jacket by three shots. So be it! Thanks for the great example Phil!

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
Philippians 4:11b

Nothing's Ever Easy

On Monday of this week, my father came and installed a shelving unit that he had made for us for out family room. He is a dentist by profession but he is also a master craftsman when it comes to woodworking.

The unit he built for us is incredible and contains shelves and a place to put a television which we also purchased this week (with money he gave us for Christmas to help pay for it). He had purchased a universal TV wall mount that was already installed. All we needed to do was hook up our TV and hang it on the mount...or so we thought.

Monday night, I began the process of doing this when I found that the mounting kit did not have the right sized bolts to screw into the back of our TV. So, off to the hardware store I went to get different bolts. Well, those didn't fit either. So back I went. I got two other sizes and those didn't fit. At that point, the hardware store had closed, so the next day I got the size I needed.

Last night, Connie and I began the installation and found that the bolts (now the correct size) wouldn't fit through the brackets of the mount. I called their customer service line and was told that their "universal" wall mount was not compatible with our TV. So...it is still not installed. We have some ideas that might work, but it is going to take some work.

It seems that nothing is ever easy (especially if it involves me doing something like this).

Same is true in life. Many people I know have told me that they thought their lives would be filled with much less problems after they became a Christ follower. They were surprised to find that that is not the case. Christian or not, we will all face challenges. Those challenges are easier to handle though when you have Him in your corner.

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Jesus in John 16:33

True Freedom

My wife and I have wonderful kids. Really. We are blessed beyond measure. And it amazes me at how different three children can be who came from the same parents.

Our 19 year-old daughter Molly is incredibly gifted, talented and caring. And, she is also very independent. She is at a place right now where she does not like to take advice, especially if it comes from her parents (gee, I've never been there! Kidding).

Right now she is in Florida with her uncle and aunt (my sister) and their four young boys. She was asked to go along to help watch the boys which will give my sister a little bit of a break.

Before leaving, my wife Connie suggested to Mol that she take sunscreen with SPF 30 in it to help prevent a sunburn. Molly said something like, "No, I'm going to take 15. I'm sure that'll be fine."

Well...Connie received a call after day one or two and Molly was not feeling well at all. She is very burned and has what she thinks is sun poisoning.

Connie, to her credit has been very loving toward Mol throughout this. No, "I told you so" attitude at all which is very cool. Probably because she, like our daughter, didn't like advice when she was that age either.

I'm not sharing this to bash my daughter, because I have nothing to bash. I've done all this before myself...many times. Like Molly, I learn best through my experiences and failures. The reason I bring all this up is because this got me thinking about freedom.

When we are teenagers we often feel that our parents are just telling us the way to do certain things because they want to restrict our freedom. Many Christians and non-Christians feel the same way...that the Bible, the Word of God, is simply there to put restrictions on us and to limit our freedom.

In both cases, it is exactly the opposite.

Parents typically share input to provide more freedom to their children. This of course isn't seen readily by the children until they are older, but it's the truth. In Molly's case, she probably viewed it as exercising her freedom to put on the sunscreen of her choosing. And that is a form of freedom. However, what she has discovered is that this has actually lessened her freedom. Now, she must cover up and limit her time in the sun because of her exercising her perceived "freedom." The recommendation of my wife on sunscreen was really to provide more freedom for Molly.

Same with the Bible. Jesus came, not just to save us, but to give us life to the full. The Biblical mandates of how to live life are there, not to restrict us, but to give us true freedom.

"Free" sex has not caused true freedom. It has caused millions of cases of sexually transmitted diseases. It has created millions of broken homes and hearts.

"Free" use of alcohol and drugs has not brought freedom. It has caused millions of deaths and broken lives...and homes. I know some addicts who tell me regularly that they feel like they're in a prison.

The same is true for everything that we choose to do on our own that goes against God's mandates for us. Unfortunately, just like Molly and me, many of us will need to find that out on our own.

True freedom can only be found in one place...in the One who came to give it to us.

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

The words of Jesus, John 10:10b

Transformation

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year for a couple of reasons. One, it signifies a change in our weather. Typically this time of year our weather begins to improve drastically. Buds appear on the trees. Crocuses start blooming. Birds are chirping. A rebirth of nature. An awesome time of year.

Second, this is Masters week. The week that the golfing world's eyes are on Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. I have watched this tournament, one of golf's four "majors," since I was a kid and it remains one of my favorite sporting events to watch.

I love this for a couple of reasons. One, the course is perhaps the most immaculate course in the world. It is impeccable with lush green grass and blooming azalea and dogwood-lined fairways. In addition to the incredible beauty, the greens are slick with lots of undulations which makes for some very exciting golf.

I received an email back in February showing some pictures of Augusta National under a blanket of snow (see hole # 11 above). Quite a different site as compared to what this hole normally looks like (see picture below).

And this this snow-covered picture was taken less than two months from when the tournament was to begin! The transformation that would be needed in such a short time was mind boggling to me.

Very appropriate timing considering the amazing transformation that took place a couple thousand years ago yesterday. Transformation from Good Friday to Easter...Jesus transforming from death to life.

Because of what Jesus did for us, we, too, have this power to transform our lives, no matter what we have done or what we are facing. I encourage you to ask God to help you to transform you into the person He desires you to be.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2a

Love

My wife Connie and I just finished watching Kerry Shook and his wife Chris share about love and marriage on TV.

He said something that I have heard many times, that love is not a feeling, it is a decision. This is so true, yet this is so misunderstood in these days of Hollywood "love".

But don't we all want that loving feeling? I know I do.

Well, he went on and said something that I thought was great:

Love is a commitment...
which produces an action...
which produces powerful feelings.

So, we can have that loving feeling with our spouse. But the commitment comes first.

On the night that we celebrate His last supper, it makes me think about the commitment that Jesus made because of His love for us. No greater love...

Happy Easter!