When I was a kid everyone used to ask me, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” When I was really young that question would always illicit a very fanciful answer. It was always filled with wild adjectives and big ideas that would seem more real to me than my real life.

As I got older, I began to be tested and told the kinds of things that I would be “best” at in hopes that I would direct my life to what other people said would be my best available choices. Being a fairly compliant kid (my mother might have issues with this assessment) I set out to be and do what I was told I would be best at. But, inside me there was always this wide-eyed kid who wanted to be somewhere else, doing what my heart cried out for.

As one who is now approaching what people say are my “retirement years” I find myself once again having to make a choice. Should I listen to the conventional wisdom of the crowd and think in terms of retirement or should I finally make the choice that is best for me? I have chosen the latter and the door to a new adventure has opened!

But, what about you? Are you making the right choice for you? Or, are you, like so many ready to put your dreams on hold and make what others are saying is “the right choice?” Now don’t mistake determination for bitterness. I made choices throughout my life and have lived a beautiful adventure with my bride and our children. But, in these final years which inexorably end in passing through the vale of life and entering eternity, I want, not the dreams of my youth, but of my today, of my now, of my own choosing.

For those just beginning the journey, make the right choice for you! For those lost in the busyness of the journey, make the right choice for you, and for those of you looking more closely at the end of the journey, make the right choice for you.

Share this:

It is only 12 days into the new year and it is already getting really complicated. I appreciate the new things that are beginning to take shape so quickly in the new year, but I am also very concerned about how these things will effect the bigger goal of living a quiet and peaceable life.

In thinking about how easily things get complicated, I came up with five things that I need to keep in mind to stay in balance:

1. Set a limit to the hours I work on a given day. Complicated lives come when work hours are set by circumstances rather than me.
2. Make sure I spend enough time with my family. Even if we just watch some TV together being with my family makes me slow down.
3. Make sure I spend my time in valuable endeavors rather than frivolous ones. My habit in complicated times is to retreat into the frivolous. This must stop!
4. Make sure I keep my 20112 “three words” (basics, focus, strength) in front of me and work on them every day.
5. Keep my time with God my priority in life. When life gets complicated, time with God is an “easy” thing to set aside. (Did I just say that!)

My commitment to living the quiet and peaceable life has to be more important than anything that complicates my life. It is hard when these complications make so much noise. However, it is the most necessary thing that I can do throughout this new year.

How are things going for you? Are you already experiencing a level of complication that is making your life more difficult than quiet and peaceable?

Share this:

This is the second post on this subject in as many postings. I don’t want to bore you, but I do want you to see how important this subject is and needs to be. Excuse my hyper-focus, but I hope you enjoy the thoughts!

I am excited about the new year! Not for the reasons that most people would think though. I am excited to slow things down to get more accomplished than any other year of my life so far. Yes, I did say slow down to accomplish more.

See, I have come to understand that in life we are constantly in a battle. The battle is waged on several fronts:

1. The battlefield of our mind – who is going to control the way we think and the thoughts that we allow to occupy our thinking?
2. The battlefield of our spirit – who is going to control the activity of our spirit and the things that make our lives valuable?
3. The battlefield of our time – who is going to control our minutes, our hours, our days and how will we use the one equal element of life effectively?

I have been on the short end of these battles for most of my life, allowing my life and its value and effectiveness (along with God’s plan) to be sacrificed on the alter of the immediate. The “now stuff” has always overshadowed the true meaning of life.

What excites me about this year is that I have made a choice (not for the first time but for the final time) to let God control my mind, my spirit, and my time. I want to live what the scripture call the quiet and peaceable life (1 Timothy 2:1-4) and have come to understand that the only way I can do this is by yielding all of me to the Christ who saved me.

I am not foolish enough to believe that this choice will go unchallenged by the world around me, the constraints on my time, and the Devil himself, but I am committed to the choice. It is the firmness of this commitment that makes me so excited.

I understand that living this life will change me and that those that I have worked with in the “old life” will not always like or appreciate my decision. However, this is the life I have been looking for since my salvation in 1976 and this is the life I am pursuing in the power of God’s Spirit in 2012.

Would you like to join me? How would you start out? How can we help others to make the transition to such a life?

Share this:

Image via Wikipedia

With a new year just about 6 hours away, I am ready to get things started! I am excited about the year to come because God has big plans and I am ready for him to lead.

For most of my Christian life, I have known about God’s desire to lead, but I have also known about modern man’s affinity to what “gets things done.” These two seem to always cause my head to spin and my life to spin out of control, even though I want God’s leadership above all else.

Last year was my “I give up” year. It was the first time that I told God, “I quit” and “if my life counts for anything it will have to come from you.” I started talking less and listening more. I still have a long way to go, but in the end it was wondrous!

This year is the other side of the coin. I am ready to move again. Only this time I want to move only as God leads and will not move without his direction. I want, more than anything to pursue (and find) the quiet and peaceable life. And what’s more, I want you to join me!

I am convinced that this quiet and peaceable life is the place where we need to be to find the more abundant life promised by the Lord Jesus to all his followers. My life is about faith, family, business, and ministry. It gets confusing and crazy sometimes, but this year I am going to live a yielded life and let God have it all. I want to know life in a quiet and peaceable way.

Have a happy new years eve and let’s pursue the quiet and peaceable life together!

Share this:

Hi all! I know that it has been a while since I have written. My life is ever evolving and I find myself getting caught up in the speed and busyness of this world without even realizing it until I look around and weeks have gone by. That is what has happened to my blogging efforts here.

This morning I am making a commitment to slow down again and write.

What can you expect as I write here? You can expect my commentary on life, the events of the day, and the need for all of us to take a deep breath and enjoy the world we have been given. I am not going to be the kind of commentator that spends his time trying to scare you or cause you to see the “dark cloud behind every silver lining.” I am going to talk about life, rest, hope and peace.

You will also see many blog posts from the past disappear (as well as whole categories and tags). I am not going to worry about SEO, keywords (long or short tailed ones), or how to “monetize” this site. This blog is personal now and I my only goal is to create friendships that last a lifetime from right here in front of my keyboard. Let’s enjoy the journey together!

Talk more soon ….

Share this:

Did you ever make a right decision that was almost immediately followed by something happening that made you doubt your right decision?

I know that I have and I know that many of my friends have too! The lesson in this is that life is a battle! That being said, how should the battle effect us?

I believe that there are several lessons that we need to learn:

1. The battle will make you stronger IF you choose to grow from it.
2. The battle will make you smarter IF you choose to learn from it.
3. The battle will make you better IF you choose to rejoice in it.

Life’s battle is a just a fact. It destroys some and elevates others. The only difference between the two is the attitude you have toward the battle. Those who think the battle to be unfair usually end up damaged at best and destroyed at worse, while those who live life to the fullest through the battle will succeed.

The choice is yours – How will you do in the battle?

Talk more later ….

Share this:

I have made a choice. I am going to change my world. I am going to build organic friendships and an organic business. I don’t know how things are going to work, but I have faith that they will.

I believe that my faith is the most powerful gift that God has made available to me and I have chosen to live that faith with reckless abandon. This blog will be the platform for the life that God has told me to live. It will include every aspect of life and will hopefully encourage others to make a similar choice.

I will talk about life in general, relationships, business, health and how all these fit into a life of faith. I hope to be a blessing to everyone who reads while challenging people to think in new and fresh ways.

This declaration is a promise that I am making first to God and then to you. It is not a “pat on the back” or a “look at me” declaration, rather it is about walking worthy of the vocation to which I have been called. May God bless you as you read. Please comment, please challenge me, please step up to change your world.

May God bless you as we change our world ….

Share this:

Is there something in the water? I have been reading a lot lately from people who really move me on a personal level. What I have seen lately is very encouraging as I see those who I began to watch for reasons of business also share a my desire to make the world a better place.

Chris Brogan had a great post this week called, “What We Let Slip Away” in which he speaks of the value of nurturing relationships with people as a priority in life.

Along with this Mark Schaefer posted a great article today speaking about how social media “is an opportunity to create not just “conversation,” but movements.” This idea allows those who will to do much more than just make a living online.

I have plans for this blog and my life for the next twelve months that reach into every aspect of life and will hopefully build an organic movement for life-style success for everyone who participates. I am excited about seeing my teachers in the blogging world embracing a similar tact. This let’s me know that the burden I have and the direction I have decided to go makes sense to more people than just me.

Consider your own life, business, and relationships. Ask yourself if there are things more important than what you possess? Can you step up and be counted? Would you lead a revolution of thought in your own “world?”

Talk more later ….

Share this:

Let’s see …. so far I have questioned whether many people really understand the whole concept of living a quiet and peaceable life. I then said that if you are going to get to the point that you can live this awesome kind of life, you have to be able to come to the end of every day thinking the right thoughts. Finally, I gave you a short little plan for clearing your head so that you can maintain this quiet and peaceable life.

Today I want to conclude this mini-series by trying to add the element that is the “secret ingredient” that I have not yet spoken of. This ingredient is the simple act of prayer. Yet, it is not just asking God for all the selfish things that you want him to give to you. It is, rather your prayer for “… all men, for Kings and and for all that are in authority …”

Think about this for a minute. If you were praying for “all men (this word means mankind)” and especially for those who are in authority in our lives (yes, even those we don’t like or agree with!) we would be free from the struggles these relationships naturally bring, and in doing so we would have the power to live the quiet and peaceable life.

The quiet and peaceable life is a fragile thing and is most often destroyed by the naturally occurring conflicts in our lives. Now praying for all the people in our lives may not relieve all conflict (I am certain that it won’t) but it will keep your eyes focused on the best interests of even your enemies, thus allowing for you to be at peace with them, with yourself, and with God.

This peace will lead you into a quiet life filled with godliness and honesty. What a great place to live!

Take some time this week and put this simple plan into practice and see whether or not you find more quietness and peace in your every day.

Talk more later ….

Share this:

I have heard a lot of people in my life time say something like, “I have been broke and I have had lots of money … and I much prefer the latter!” I understand the sentiment, having also been on both sides of that equation.

However, the problem that occurs in a free capitalist society like ours is that money can (and very often does) end up taking on a position of value that can actually harm the life of individuals on both sides of the spectrum. Those without money lust for what they don’t have and those with money waste it on “riotous” living.

What should be the balance? What should we know about money and how should we be training the next generation? I think that there are three basics to the whole discussion of money:

1. Money is not inherently bad. Everyone and every organization in the modern world needs money to survive. If you ask most non-profits what they need to maintain and/or expand their programs, nearly everyone would say, “More resources.” (Code for more volunteers and more money!)

What makes money “bad” is when it becomes the principle thing in life. When nothing else matters but the accumulation of more money and the stuff it can buy. Real balance occurs when people are willing to live in comfort while seeing their wealth as a way to give back to society as a whole. To make the world they live in better and to make the succeeding generations better prepared for the future.

2. Wealth should be the by-product of living a productive life. You know, hard work and all that goes with it! Now I am not saying that everyone has to be out in a field with a hand held hoe, growing his/her own food. What I am saying is that those looking to make their wealth by “hook or crook” should honestly rethink their position.

Long-term success comes from hard/smart work that is rewarded by a loyal customer base. To look for ways to short-cut this effort may provide short term gains, but in the end will force those practicing the short-cut to compromise integrity for money.

3. Money should allow those with it to enjoy the fruit of their labors while also finding ways to bring others along with them! If life is really so great at the top, then why would we not want to do our best to bring as many people as possible with us to the top. Microsoft as a company has produced thousands of millionaires, just as has Walmart. Many ordinary people have been given incredible advantages in life because the founders of these companies sought not only their well-being, but also that of their employees.

While every corporation can be found to have shortcomings in some areas, the ones that hold the greatest value to me are those that do the most for those who work hard and give back the most to back.

Life indeed is more than money. As you strive to build your own success, don’t forget to take time to stop and smell the roses once in a while. Look up and see that the most important element in this world are its people and their relationships with God and each other!

Work hard, be rewarded, but don’t make money the principle thing! Money always wins in those cases and you will always loose way more than you gain.

Talk more later …

Share this: