Loving What You Do...

"Don't ask the question of 'what does the world need?'... instead ask the question, 'what makes me fully alive?'... then go do that because what the world needs most is men and women who are truly alive" Thoughts by John Eldredge, Paraphrase by Micah Andrews

I love being a daddy to two little girls. I love being from Alabama. I love the struggle to continually make my wife feel like she hung the moon. I love connecting the dots with and for other people. I love when people get it! That moment when all of the gears in the lock just click into place... when I play a part in that glassy-eyed look in others eyes because it all just made sense for the first time. I love connecting people to their inner passion.

When I lay down at night, nothing is more fulfilling and gratifying than to know I've spent all waking hours of my day doing what I love to do. My inside world is at peace.

Make a bold move. If you don't know what 'just does it' for you... quit running and stop, look around, make time to figure it out. You deserve to spend your life doing something that matters forever... no matter how small your role may seem or be.

I hope you find what makes you fully alive. Happy Trails.

Two Amazing Mothers...

I am a blessed man. I have been blessed to have one of the best examples of a Christian in my life... my mother. Dianne Andrews is one of my heros. She is the strongest woman I have ever known. She is a perfect example of compassion, wisdom, and love. She taught me first hand what it means to serve others and put other people before yourself. I watched her do this with her children at school and many of their families. Her wisdom has enriched my own marriage. Her love for God and family has permeated me to the core. Her family is tops in her life and time and time again I have watched her put us before herself. She is a giant in a small physical package. Happy Mother's Day mom.

I have also been blessed with a wife who is an incredible mother. Karie always puts our daughters first. I love to watch her laugh and even more I love to make her laugh. Her smile is magnetic. I thanked God today for her because I am who I am in part because of my wife. She is a strong woman. I guess God knew that it would take the efforts of two amazing women in my life to raise me. I love to watch Karie. She makes me tick. She fires me up and calms me down. On this day that we are supposed to honor our mothers... I honor them both.

Thank you Lord for two amazing women in my life that have helped shape me and mold me into the likeness of Christ.

Delayed Action

You may remember the book by Bruce Wilkinson that hit the list in 2000 titled, "The Prayer of Jabez"... it ran in the similar current of the WWJD bracelets of previous years. It was the craze and every Christian seemed to catch on to the fact that there was even a book in the Bible called 1 Chronicles. To me, this short read brought a great re-awakening to the beauty contained in the Old Testament.

There was one piece of this prayer that I remember praying vividly... (as I too got caught in the craze of Jabez) "Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory..."

I remember praying that portion of the prayer and personally implying financial enlargement. Maybe I wasn't the only one with this little hidden agenda.

But I believe that I prayed that prayer with a sincere heart, ultimately with the purest of motives, and really asked God to expand me and the places I would go. I realized today that this may be happening right before my eyes. You see, I spent the last twelve years of my life making my own little circle as dynamic as I possibly could. My circle basically consisted of people in my church. Once I took a step to venture outside that circle my territory has been enlarged. Not necessarily financially but in the first three months of my "new adventure" I have met more people than ever before. I actually said today, "I have met more people in the last eight days than I have in the last eight years."

People are awesome. People are interesting. People are full of stories. People are real. There are actually people outside my previous circle that love God as much as those from inside my circle. In an attempt all of my adult life to not live in a sheltered little bubble... I actually lived in a sheltered little bubble. My territory is expanding.

I wonder if He was just waiting on me and I actually caused a delay in the action to the prayer that I prayed more than eight years ago? To be completely honest... who cares? All I know is this piece of the ride is amazing.

Do yourself a favor... meet someone new.

What Time Is It?

Have you ever been in a jam with time? It seems like there is always more to do in a day than there are hours. What about a time crunch? Ever been there? Deadlines are what make the world much more interesting. Due dates are always accompanied by anticipation.

What about the expected due date of your first child? Or maybe the never ending battle of personal finances VS. the stack of bills... followed by the check or payday that is just in the nick of time. Or maybe even the much awaited phone call that you thought would never come. I heard it said once that "timing is much more important to God than time."

Acts 1:7-8 (The Message) says, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses..."

I am reminded this morning to not sweat the time factors of today, or this week, or even of this lifetime. I'm looking for that line that says... "what you'll get is the Holy Spirit."

Would the Real God Please Stand Up?

Lately I have begun to notice that there are a lot of differing opinions as to who God is. It reminds me of the old TV show that used to ask at the end of the show "Would the real (God) please stand up?" I know that everybody has their own way of looking at God. Each of us got our image of God from some place - our parents, our preacher, from Sunday school, from a magazine, from our own imagination. I see a great divide in the world over what God is really like, primarily into two sides, and they are very different. It makes me wonder what the real God might look like, because if I were to talk to 5 different people, I think I would get 6 different responses to the question of who God is.

The two versions that seem to best categorize the images we have of God are divided on one basic premise: either God is love, and thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread, way worthy of sending His son for, or He is a God that demonstrates His love by looking past your repulsiveness and forgives you, despite your hideous sin, but can't stand the sight of you without looking through Jesus. It boils down to this: one version of God sees us as basically good, the other as basically bad.

It seems an important question to answer - how does God see you? It seems pretty foundational to not only how we see God, but how we relate to Him, to the world, and to life. The picture we have in our heads affects everything about how we 'are' in the world. If God is wrathful, punishing, and angry, we react to that image accordingly. If we see Him as loving, patient, or graceful, we will respond to that image. What we think about God makes or breaks how we relate or don't relate to Him.

Ask yourself for a moment this question; "What is my God like?"

There is probably an answer that comes into your head. You list a bunch of qualities about what you think God is like. Now let me ask a second question; "When life goes really bad, what do you believe about God?" If you are really honest, there might be another picture behind that answer. I find that in my past, 'God' changes quite a bit based on what is going on in my life. When things were great, I saw Him as giving, loving, enduring, patient. When life fell flat on its face, suddenly I wondered if God was distant, angry, disapproving, disappointed. When life was too busy and I felt lost, God was frustrated, waiting for me to get my act together, and a little displeased with me.

In the last year I have had a huge rethink on my image of God, and I have been challenged with the thought "God loves me". I have always believed He loves me, but there has always been a caveat in the sentence. He loves me if I am doing all the religious activities. He loves me if I behave well. He loves me if I am serving Him. But if I am really honest deep down inside, there is always a 'but' in there. My 'but' says that He loves me, but there is something I could do to screw that up. My 'but' says that there must be a limit somewhere - that I could do such and such to make His love stop. Like I am that powerful!

I am finding it really hard to just be with 'God loves me', and that God is really love. So right now that is my spiritual act of worship. I have sorta committed to not move on to anything else until I can fully take that in. No luck so far. It is too overwhelming, and it disrupts too many years of works theology. It leaves me powerless before Him. And I don't like that feeling.

Thoughts by Mike Ege.

Life coaches Mike and Laura Ege challenge people who are tired of shallow, ineffective faith to go beyond the brink of what they've always known and ignite a spiritual journey full of adventure, purpose, and freedom. To learn more about living a spiritual edge-venture and sign up for a FREE email series, '7 Radical Freedoms', visit their site at http://www.OutsideEdgeCoaching.com.

Crossover...

I love the few games each year when the NL bouts against the AL in MLB. I also love the reality shows that pit celebrities in "out of their place" type environments... such as the new CMT hit show Gone Country. And dare I not mention the episodes of Crossroads that pair such famous acts like Bon Jovi & Sugarland, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby and Maroon 5 and Sara Evans.

Well, tonight, Karie and I have just returned home from a similar duet matching two completely different worlds of music. We attended with some of our dear friends the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant concert. My take on the whole thing is somewhat different from Karie's. She found ways to remain entertained while I was amazed at the vocals of Alison Krauss, her amazingly talented band and the rock icon Robert Plant.

I was a little star struck to think of the large number of people that have been influenced by one man... Robert Plant. It was cool. To hear some of the great Led Zepplin tunes played in a bluegrassy fashion was a great treat. If you get a chance to see this show... I highly recommend it. Check them out at www.robertplantalisonkrauss.com

Timing Is Everything...

First of all... this may get a little long so don't say that I didn't warn you. Sixty-one days ago, Karie and I jumped completely into the next chapter of our lives. Having no idea what the next chapter looked like or even where the story would take us we stepped out. All we held to was a promise... "if you trust Me... go."

Today, April 25, 2008 that next chapter began. I accepted the position of Director of Volunteer Services at The Foundry. Trust me, I'll tell you much more about The Foundry in days to come but check it out for yourself at www.thefoundryonline.org

But the journey has been amazing. I have met so many amazing people. My great friend Barry Copeland never ceases to amaze me at how many people he knows and how vast his knowledge is. Barry is a coach, a friend, a voice of stability... and I am forever grateful to Barry and Kathy for their unfailing friendship to my family.

The last two months and one day have been a rollercoaster to say the least. There have been days of solidarity and standing firm on God's promises for my family and there have been days that I have felt completely alone in this thing. There have been days of obedience as well as moments and days of disobedience. I have grown so much in such a short period of time. I have found through talking with several others that my two month journey is relatively short for people changing careers. I actually got to share with a incredibly talented young woman this weekend about our journey and she is on a very similar journey going on eight months now. I guess God knows how long to let us go before He steps in.

I have been reminded that He is so concerned with all of the details of my life. I, at times, have been so close to the trees that I couldn't see the beauty of the forest. I am realizing once again that He is more concerned about us simply walking with Him than He is about all of the big and wonderful things we can do and accomplish in His name. He just wants us to be with Him and try to get to know Him. It really is that simple... yet I have the unique ability to always try to complicate God.

I have struggled with the song "Friend of God" over the last few years because to me it implies that He is ordinary. That song removes some of the mystique and majesty and reverence of the Almighty. I mentally struggle with the fact that He wants to know me in an intimate and friendly way as opposed to a mighty and overbearing kind of way. I guess that's my spiritual baggage. I've fallen guilty of thinking that He is a watchdog watching my every move and even disappointed in me when I fail. I've been guilty of seeing the Creator of heaven and earth with a domineering aspect attached to Him. When in reality He leaves a lot more of this life up to me than I ever imagined. That's not to discount the fact that He is supreme and all of that but more simply to say that He is control of everything and allows me a lot of leeway in how I get to the places He has ordered for me. I guess I really am a friend of God... He literally knows my name.

For my new chapter in life... I could not have laid it out any better or more fitting for myself than He has with the Foundry. I am full of excitement that I have been given this opportunity to use what He has given me for the things that He has set in motion.

For all of you have been full of encouragement and concern for me and Karie... thanks. For all of you who have prayed for us every day... thanks. For all of you who have just been our friends... thanks. I owe you. I love you. I thank God for you. I'll keep you posted on things as they unfold. I start my new job next Thursday, May 1. Karie is thrilled as well and maybe in part because I will no longer be tearing our home apart in one of my many "projects" since I've had all of this time on my hands.

You know who you are... THANKS.