Soul Care Pillars

So often I feel as if my soul is suffering in the midst of the demands and stress that the world, and I put on it. This morning I read something on Stirred Up Leadership that I thought was excellent. So thank you to Mindy Caliguire for a very well done post. I hope it resonates with you like it did with me!

Architecturally speaking, pillars are strong and reliable. They stand the test of time. Properly placed, they create space and buttress a structure.

Over time we have recognized the important, space-making role that core spiritual practices play in helping us both live and lead from the strong structure of a healthy soul, with plenty of space for God. These specific practices are foundational to what Soul Care offers.

Experience some right now:

Prayer
Take a minute now to turn your thoughts towards God directly. Is there something you’re grateful for? Take moment to thank the Source of all good things. Something you’re worried about? Specifically name it… and ask for God’s help. Totally confused about something? Go ahead and ask for wisdom! Perhaps you want to simply sit in silence, attentive to God’s presence and love. Just for a minute—or twenty!— breathe deeply, and rest in God’s presence and love. James 1, Philippians 4, James 1, Psalm 131

Spiritual Friendship
What’s the most challenging area in your life these days? Is anyone walking through that with you? Be sure to let your soul-level friends know what’s really going on. Pick up the phone, send the text, write that email, or just stop by… they may pray with you, encourage you, hear your confession, or even just “be with you” in it in a way that helps you stay open to God. Any of your friends going through something significant these days? Take a moment to pray for them, too… and then connect. Ephesians 4:16, Galatians 6

Use of Scripture
Unlike any other book, the Bible is “living and active” and a variety of ways exist to study, read, meditate on, and be shaped by the truths. We do not want merely to know the principles it contains: we want to connect with the Person it proclaims. We can rely on it, take comfort in it, be corrected by it, find hope and direction though it. Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119, John 5:39

Solitude/Silence
The demands of daily life—especially in our 24/7 “wired” world—make it difficult to really hear from God and allow His person to form the basis of our identity. Even Jesus needed time specifically set aside to connect with His Father. Might there be things God’s been trying to convey, but you’re not listening? Not noticing? Take a few minutes to turn off all electronics (yes, even the computer!), and pay attention to God. Better yet, look at your schedule now and set aside a few hours—or days—in the next month to “be alone with God”. At-home parents, executives, pastors, students… we all need solitude. Psalm 46, Mark 1:35-37

Soul Searching
Where has God been at work in your life lately? In the pages of a journal, or in a few minutes of prayer, ask God to help you search through yesterday… where have you sensed His presence, or not? In hindsight, do you notice things you missed in the moment? Are there areas God has shown you where you strayed in an attitude or choice? If you’re human, the answer is likely yes! Confession yields life-giving freedom and soul-level peace. So, out with it. Come clean. Find grace. Psalm 139:23-24, 1 John 1

Simplicity
True simplicity is about developing a singularity of heart, or of purpose. It may impact our “stuff,” but most importantly it describes our focus—everything in life aligns to a central goal: Total surrender and abandonment to God. While many of us long to live into that kind of destiny, we often unknowingly clog and clutter our own path. Do you know who God’s made you to be, and for what purpose? How closely does your current life reflect that goal? Take whatever step you can today to bring alignment between those two things. By doing that, you’re caring for your soul through simplicity. Let God know it’s a journey you are willing to take… maybe write about it in a journal… and then pursue it wholeheartedly. Hebrews 12:1-2, Matthew 6:19-34, Prov. 11:3

Something to Die For

Occasionally I will read something that really strikes me as something worth sharing. Today I read this from Rick Warren regarding our convictions. As you read this, I encourage you to ask yourself what you would be willing to die for?

Every day in the business and professional world we see - and sometimes suffer - the consequences of people acting and making decisions without clear, well-thought-out convictions. As someone has said, if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.


Dictionaries usually define conviction as a fixed or strong belief. In reality, however, conviction is much more than that. Your convictions also include your values, commitments, and motivations. I like the definition of conviction I once heard from Bible teacher Howard Hendricks: "A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for!"

Convictions determine our conduct. They motivate us to act in certain ways.When people initially become followers of Jesus, for example, they often do things simply because other Christians suggest or model those behaviors. They pray, read the Bible and attend worship services because they observe and want to emulate the examples of others.

This is reasonable for new believers. Little children learn the same way. However, as we grow and mature, we eventually must develop our own reasons for doing what we do. Those reasons become convictions. Here are some important principles about convictions to remember:

Biblical convictions are essential for spiritual growth and maturity. An irony about our world today is people often have strong convictions about weak issues (things like their favorite sports, clothing and music) while having weak convictions about major issues (the difference between right and wrong).

Try making a list of your spiritual convictions. Are your convictions weak on any major issues? The Bible teaches us, "Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping" (1 Corinthians 16:12-15).

People without convictions are at the mercy of circumstances. If you fail to determine what is important and how you will live, other people will determine it for you.

People without convictions are weak individuals that mindlessly follow the crowd. I believe the apostle Paul was talking about conviction when he said in Romans 12:2, "Don't let the world squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your mind from within ..." (Phillips translation).

Conviction helps us be diligent in continuing to grow spiritually. Growth requires time and effort. Without convictions about growth, people become discouraged and give up. No one persists with a difficult task unless convinced there is a good reason for doing it. This applies to prayer, studying the Bible, and seeking to live out biblical principles in our everyday life and work.

Knowing what to do (knowledge), why to do it (perspective) and how to do it (skill) are worthless without the conviction to motivate you to actually do it! People who have made the greatest impact on this world, for good or for evil, were those with the strongest, deepest convictions. They were not necessarily the smartest, wealthiest, or best educated, but convictions moved them to move the world.

Buckeyes and People

I'm a big fan of buckeyes…not just the football Buckeyes, but actual buckeyes. This fall, my wife Connie and I have encountered many buckeye trees and we have been able to collect a few of these awesome treasures.

I had a couple of these unopened shells sitting on my desk for a while, waiting for them to open up to reveal the beautiful nut that had been growing inside. After viewing these for a few days I began to think about how similar a buckeye is to a human being.

These outer shells of a buckeye are not very attractive and they even have barbs on them which resemble a porcupine. So not only are they ugly but they can actually hurt you. However, once they open, a surprisingly attractive nut is revealed. Buckeyes actually look like they are made of a rich type of wood that is polished perfectly—very beautiful.

Many people might not look very pretty from the outside and might even hurt others at times. However, each and every person (even the unlovable one) is created by God and loved by God. This makes even the most disliked person someone worth loving. Because, just like a buckeye, under that “ugly” shell there is a beautiful creation inside. Hopefully this will remind us to be more forgiving and understanding and help us to remember to extend a bit more grace to others, even those who drive us crazy…and maybe even our spouses!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

That's All I Can Stands!

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
~Harold Whitman

Is that not one of the all-time greatest quotes? I love it.

Isn't it amazing how each of us is wired? Think of it, no one person is wired the same exact way you are. Each of us have different likes and dislikes. Something that makes one person bored completely lights up another. That's incredible to me.

I once heard Bill Hybels give a talk about a topic called Holy Discontent, which he also wrote about in a book by the same name. He said that he spent some time pondering what preceded vision. What happened inside of Billy Graham that made him want to rent his first stadium? What happened inside of Martin Luther King which birthed his dream?

He came to the conclusion that vision is preceded by something that wrecks us, something we can't stand. Something so strong that it spurs us into action.

Popeye had moments like these. They were typically when his beloved Olive Oil was being harassed that he said, "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!" At this point he would gulp down his spinach and then open up a can of you know what.

So what can't you stands? Answering that question will help you to discern what God made you for. It will also help you to understand what makes you come alive. And this is what the world needs, just ask Harold Whitman.

Partnering With God

I am serving on the next team for the Walk to Emmaus in Northwest Ohio. This is a 72 hour spiritual renewal program based on Luke 2:13-35. It is truly an awesome experience.

During our team meeting yesterday in preparation for mid October's walk, our Spiritual Director shared that on his way to our meeting he passed by a church with "Will there be anyone in Heaven because of you?" on its sign. His immediate reaction was, "Of course not--that's up to God!"

As he thought more about this though, he began to see that it is up to God, but it is also up to us. What he meant is that, yes, it's God's deal, but He has chosen to work through us to do His will on earth. In other words, He wants to partner with us to do His work.

He went on to share that while God wants to partner with us, we are not to take this job on ourselves or try to force anything. Our role is to fully let go of our expectations, desires and motives and simply be willing to be used however the Lord would want to use us. This is easier said than done, especially for someone with the gift of leadership; however, it is what we are all called to do.

We must remember that, on an Emmaus team or in life, it is not about us. A part of the Emmaus Team's Canon sums it up well:

I am here only by God's grace; I am here only so that He might do His mighty acts through me--not because of me! I will not overstate or overemphasize my role during these three days by any work or deed!

The Floor Was Spotless

My son's favorite Bible verse is Colossians 2:22-23 which says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. The reason, because it was the first verse he memorized.

It's kind of comical now, because every now and then when I catch him acting lazy or lethargic, I'll ask him what his favorite verse is. He typically grins sheepishly because he knows he's not honoring God. This is true of each of us at times, especially when we have to do something that we see as mundane or "beneath us."

Check out this story that I found on Stirred Up Leadership which illustrates the application of this verse very well. It's a letter from Joe Horness, Programming Director and Worship Leader at Bay Pointe Community Church who was preparing for the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. In preparation for the Global Leadership Summit internationally every year, they host various trainings all over the world to pour into their volunteer teams. Joe is one of those trainers who sacrificially gives of their time to travel to Congo, Uganda, and Nigeria to help set up for the Summit. Below is an excerpt from his travel updates sent during his recent trip through Africa:

Dear Friends!

Here is just a snapshot of a wonderful moment I hope I'll never forget. As I was doing the final teaching, two young girls, probably 11 or 12 years of age, came in the door near the back of the church. In their hands they carried buckets of water and 2 rags. They quietly began moving the benches from the back of the room, taking them outside so that they could clean the floor. When they came back in, they quietly dipped their rags into the buckets, bent at the waist and began mopping the floor to clean up the dirt and dust that had been tracked in over the past 2 days. An hour later they were still at it and they had only cleaned a third of the cracked, concrete floor. It was back-breaking work, but the floor was spotless!

When everyone had left I walked back to talk to them. I began by asking them if they had mops they could be using. They didn't understand what I meant. When I described using wooden handles to push the rags around so that they could stand up straight, they told me that they didn't have anything like that, and besides, they could get the floor much cleaner if they did it by hand. "But you're working so hard," I protested. One of the girls immediately lit up with a huge smile, her white teeth bright against her dark hair and skin. With great joy she corrected me; "But we're doing it for Jesus! It is not hard when we are doing it for Him!"

We are always so awe-struck and humbled when we see stories like these begin to flow in during GLS season every year.

Planning

A friend of mine shared something interesting with me the other day. It's a quote from author Ray Anderson which, I imagine, could be somewhat controversial. He said, “The will of God is the outcome of a good plan.” Interesting, don't you think?

A warning to those of you in the "We can't plan, only God can" camp--you aren't going to like this post much. I tend to agree with what Anderson is saying. I do believe we are to plan. I also believe we are to submit those plans to God...or actually plan with Him, but we ARE to plan.

The fact is, if we don't plan adequately, we will lose our peace among other things. Years ago, Phil, a friend of mine (not his real name) who was a part of a small group or Bible study I helped to lead, received notice that his home was being foreclosed upon. At the time, his life was an absolute mess. His wife had left him, he was out of work and not really interested in finding a job and his health was in serious jeopardy. He was also battling depression which was understandable.

27 days before he was to be out of his house, myself and two others (one of them was our pastor) went to him to see how we could help and to offer some encouragement. I asked, “Phil, what is the plan to get your stuff out of your house?”

He said, “Now that’s the difference between you and me. You’re a planner and I’m not. I’m feeling good about things right now so I’m just going to do my best and God will work it out.”

My pastor responded, “Phil, failing to plan is planning to fail.”

Phil did not want to hear that at all so he dismissed it. So, we left without a plan to help him. Three days before he was to be out of his house, Phil called me and I could sense the utter panic in his voice as he said, “Jim, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I need to be out of here in three days and I haven’t done anything!”

If there was such a thing as a peace scale which measured the amount peace in a person on a scale of one to ten, Phil would have been at negative 50. He had no peace. Zero. Zip. Nada. He was running on fumes.

Phil did end up making it through those times but the fact remained, he had no peace at that time. A big reason for that was because he had no plan.

I share this story with you, not to bash my friend, but rather to help you (and me). I have heard it said that a smart person learns from his own mistakes while a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. I am hopeful that this illustration can be something to help you to avoid the same sort of mistake in your life.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3

Embracing Your Role

Matt Yeager, a good friend of mine, just wrote a book which is in the process of being published. It's called Sport Rules. I had the privilege of reading some of the chapters from the book in a book summary which Matt had given me to read. It is very well done!

While sports have a tendency to bring out the worst in people, the overriding purpose of this book is to use athletics as a way to teach life lessons from a Biblical perspective. Each chapter is short and to the point but filled with great content for athletes of any age, coaches and parents.

One chapter in particular really caught my attention. The chapter is titled, "Embrace Your Role." Here is an excerpt:

A number of years ago there was a gifted young man who played tight end at the University of Toledo. Andrew (Dakota) Clarke was a special player. at the end of his junior year, he was in position to break a number of school receiving records and was the #3 rated tight end in the country. everything was going well and an imminent NFL career was in his future.

Suddenly, everything changed about a week after the season ended. He was sitting in the football team room during a meeting and as he leaned back in his chair, it broke and he fell to the ground. Everyone in the room laughed, including Dakota, and the meeting continued. The next morning, however, Dakota had a shooting pain in his back that prevented him from getting out of bed.

Eight months later the pain continued to plague him, resulting in a medical red shirt for the following season. A year later he still had not seen much improvement and was able to participate in about 20 plays during his final season.

During those last two years of his career I never heard him complain about his situation. On the sidelines, he became the biggest cheerleader of his teammates and won their respect by his engagement in the team's success. He was a valuable asset to his teammates and his coaches.

Dakota embraced his role. When he was a leader on the field, he performed to the best of his ability. When he was sidelined, he became a leader from the team bench.

...An athlete's impact is more than their contributions in competition. Dakota lined up for 20 plays over two years and still made a huge impact on his team. In fact, at the team banquet, he was the only senior to receive a standing ovation from his teammates.

Don't underestimate the value of what you can contribute. Whatever your role is, embrace it and maximize it.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Philippians 4:11-12

Patience and Wisdom

I've been spending quite a bit of time the past few months in the book of Proverbs. I feel like God is pressing in to me that I need to be seeking wisdom (Proverbs is called by many the book of wisdom). I have also found myself in some situations recently, many in my own home, in which my patience has been tested in a major way.

Well, I just found a picture which does a great job of summing up these two great qualities: Patience and Wisdom. I may need to get it framed for my office...

Letting Go

First it was daughter # 1, Kristin, who moved out last month. Now, # 2, Molly, is leaving the nest. Tomorrow we begin the trek to move her to the Chicago area.

I have to admit, when I first heard of Mol’s plans last year, I was a bit skeptical. I wasn’t sure she would actually do it and I wasn’t convinced it was a great idea. Not because Molly isn’t capable. She’s one of the most talented people I know (really—she’s not only beautiful, but she’s an incredible people person, very like-able and good at just about everything she puts her mind to).

Over time though, my mind has been changed. I truly believe that Mol will soar while on her own. I am convinced this is going to be a great move for her as she embarks on her life sans her parents.

I think the majority of my early reluctance about Mol moving was due to my hesitancy to let go. I wanted her to remain under my “roof” so I could continue to protect and care for her. Also, I’m certainly not old enough to have TWO children depart our home, right?

I have come to realize that if we kept Molly at home, she would not fully be able to become the person God created her to be. She needs some life experiences, good and bad, to develop herself and to learn.

As I was pondering this, it occurred to me that this same principle holds true while leading people on the job. We may adequately train them but we may be hesitant to let them go as they may not do it the same way we would. Or, heaven forbid, they might not do it correctly. As a leader, there comes a point when we must let go and let people flourish or fail. Either way is good as it provides confidence and/or great learning opportunities.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Buckeye Fever

I can't believe it, but football season is officially upon us--yea! Very shortly I will be heading south for Ohio State's home opener and I can't wait. Tonight they take on the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Many are predicting a strong season for the Buckeyes and they are slotted at #2 in the pre-season national rankings right behind the reigning champs, Alabama.

So, tonight we will get a glimpse to see how they look. Will they measure up to what the prognosticators say? Will they overlook Marshall in anticipation of next week's scary opponent, the Miami Hurricanes?

These same questions can be applied to each of us as well. Are you all talk and no action? Do you oftentimes not apply yourself when things are boring or the opponent doesn't seem that tough? God's Word clearly states that we are to be doers of His Word (James 2:26) and we are to work at anything as working for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23).

GO BUCKS!