Five years & counting…

Today marks the fifth year I have had this blog. Here was the 1st blog entry I ever had – How are we to Breath?

It is crazy to look back at some of the things I have written, some of the things that consumed my thoughts, some of the things that my mind reflected on, some of the absolutely horribly structured sentences & just poor ways of trying to articulate what I was thinking.

I am still really struggling with what to do with this blog… What the purpose of it needs to be. My thoughts are to chaotic & disorganized for me to safely say that this blog will be …. THIS… or … THAT… I have this fire though that stirs in me that causes me to want to furiously move these fingers of mine to let the thoughts out of my head & onto paper or onto the keys that brings a story or thought to life. It is this desire I think to hope to finally birth something out of my own existence. Or maybe the proper response needs to be my desire to reflect an already beautiful life of God to others to better understand what he desires to birth in us…

Still not sure, still learning how to breathe like my first post back in 2007 was trying to articulate.

My ‘suffering’…Lent

Well it is time for Lent. That time of year where many protestant Christians partake in a time of sadness and ‘suffering’ sorts to enter into a reminder of what Jesus came, lived and did for us on the cross. The period of Lent goes from Ash Wednesday till the Saturday before Easter (46 days). It is a time where to reflect on Christ’s suffering leading into His triumph.

It is also a time where ‘faithful’ Christians take up their own practices of ‘suffering’ to draw them closer to Christ.  A time remember our frailty and deep deep need for Gods love and grace in and over our lives. It is something that has been practiced for centuries. There are some incredible resources out there called spiritual disciplines that can really help draw closer to God and Christ like action in our lives.

What I have noticed over the past few years though is this sad truth of weak suffering. I have watched students and adults give up facebook, chocolate, twitter, soda and video games for 46 days. Now when I hear people camp this as a suffering my heart breaks. Many of us have reduced this time to a superficial time of ‘fasting’ from things that aren’t all that good to begin with. I watch as some folks give up these things but don’t add, prayer, reading their bible, acts of Christ-like service, practice of piety.

This is a time designed for us not simply give up our guilty pleasures but a time to delight in Gods pleasure and grandeur for us and over us. So beyond the suffering you may have added to your daily routine, what have you added, what are you practicing that will help you draw nearing to God this season?

Here are some things I have added to my Lenten practice…

• Getting up every morning at 6am to spend an hour in prayer and reading.
• Journaling my thoughts and prayers during this time
• Practicing a different Spiritual Discipline each week
• Attending to self-care ( taking care of my body better with what I eat and exercising 3-4 times each week)

Again, these are more practices for me. I’m not giving up anything really. I have seldom found very much pleasure and Joy through Christ in those moments (some have and praise God for that).  This time of year is a perfect time to join 100′s of thousands if not millions around the world that will be participating in this season of Lent.

Don’t just give something up that brings you pleasure, draw near to your heavenly Father so he may delight in his child. The ultimate pleasure…

Stay tuned for ways of diving deep into your ‘suffering’ this lenten season.

Your invitation to Lent

Lent doesn’t have to be just another 4 letter word in our christian vocabulary. I wrote about it last year being a word that we use as a time to give up things that bring us pleasure. You can read more about that here…

I wanted to give out this invitation to join in this season. It is a powerful christian practice that allows us to draw nearer to the suffering of Christ, ultimately the pleasure and intimacy of God. Strangely its something that we can do anytime of year, but practically it is a time where the Christian Church looks at Jesus suffering, time in the wilderness leading to His execution and death on the cross, all proceeded by his glorious resurrection.

Why is lent for you? Because God’s love is for you, His grace, His provision, His wounder, His Kingdom is for you and for me. Lent is an invitation to experience not only the suffering of Christ but the joy and presence of of that love, grace, provision, wonder and kingdom God has for us.

There are a few ways you can except this invitation…

• Giving up a thing that brings you great pleasure – many give up things like food or technologies that bring them joy for a 46 day period leading into Easter. This removal of normal things causes one to find pleasure else where…in God
• Fasting – giving up foods and drink. This is a widely practiced aspect of lent. Fasting can be from removing certain food groups, certain kinds of drink from ones diet.
• Spiritual Disciplines – instead of listing them out you can Google spiritual discipline practices or check out this link here. These are practices that help us draw closer to God and Christ-likeness. There are some great practices here for sure. I will posting some each week if you want to keep coming back here.

There are so many other ways and so many disciplines one can enter into. My encouragement is that you would draw nearer to God these next 46 days leading into Easter. Make this a time for you and God, not for others and God. This is your invitation, not your students, not your churches, not your children or your spouse. This is your invitation.

I’d encourage you to subscribe to this blog if you would like to know more about spiritual practices and disciplines. Throughout this season I will be posting a lot about them and my journey in them as well. You can subscribe by clicking here

Friday Five: Lent is around the corner…

It is crazy to think that the time of year has come for the celebration of Lent. My tradition as a younger christian was not based in this practice at all, but with my involvement at a Lutheran church I get the privilege to partake in it & bring about some great resources for our church to participate in the season as well.

This year I am a little more excited than normal. I think because of the prep time I have had to get ready for this year & our theme. I wanted to share five reasons I am super excited about this year’s Lenten time at Faith Community…

• We are teaching through Parables of Christ. I have always been fascinated by this teaching style of Christ. Some of the parables I ‘kinda’ understand. Some are total ‘what the heck’ to me, but needless to say I am so ecstatic to be teaching on them for the next 6 weeks on Wednesday nights at 4.30 & 7pm…

• We have created an entire devotional booklet (I will be posting next week) for our congregation to be guided, grow and go deeper in their faith. To often we simply just focus on the guiding or the growing, but very very excited to be giving people the opportunity to go this year as well…

• We have added a new element of spiritual practices each week to our devotionals. I am so excited about this because I am getting to use more of passion for spiritual formation in our church & helping peoplegrow a little deeper into their relationship with Jesus…

• I have some pretty radical prayers coming from my soul that is so ready to experience some radical transformation in my life, physically, emotionally, spiritually… am I missing any ‘lly’s’ there?

• I will be taking this Lenten year just as much for myself  if not more as I bring to others. I serve others a lot in my job but rarely take time for myself. I am going to refocus that this year & really spend some time for myself with God trying to understand more about my soul & my heart.

So, what about you? Lent is around the corner… are you ready? Are you participating in it? If so how?

Check out our Lenten Promo video as well…

Friday Five: People Who feed my soul!

As of late I have begun to realize and place a greater importance on my ‘soul’. That fuzzy, kinda hard to explain essence that is a part of who we are. Some say it directs us, some say it connects us with God, some say its the true essence of who we are called to be. I say… I’m figuring it out, but I know when my soul is out of whack and I need some help.

As I take time to figure out how to strengthen it, care for it more, I have come to the conclusion that my soul is fed by many interactions and thoughts I ‘ingest’ day in day out. I wanted to highlight 5 people who feed my soul in different ways, but all ways that help keep my soul nourished.

• Rick Lawrence Is editor and chief at Group Publishing in Loveland Colorado. He just authored Sifted, has another book coming out called Shrewd, leads an incredible track called Jesus Centered Youth Ministry at possibly one of the greatest youth ministry conferences in the world, Simply Youth Ministry Conference. Rick’s writings and teachings have been a huge blessing to me. Rick is a masterful story teller and ‘wordsmith’ of painting pictures that help you better understand attributes of God and situations. He is a man who is so transparent and open with what God is teaching him, through the hard things and the incredibly nourishing things. I get the pleasure of getting to have him speak into my life from time to time.

• Patrick Lencioni  Is the found of Table Group, a consulting firm and writes leadership fables to help illustrate great leadership points for successful business and life moves. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Patrick other than at the Leadership Summit this last year. Patrick’s ability to tell fables is so inspiring to me not only in that it teaches me how to be a better leader but to strive to be a better story teller to help people connect to a greater story.

• Steven Furtick Is the senior pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina. He is 31 years old, author of Sun Stand Still, husband, father, pastor, and anointed child of God. I have never met Steven, but as a young pastor myself I am inspired by Steven, his heart, his vision, his drive, his ministry, his marriage, his staff, his boldness & humility. I have heard him preach several sermons, speak at conferences and read his book. Steven is the reminder of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.12 that let know one look down on you because of your youth. Steven encourages me in  my walk because he reminds me that God is looking for those whom He can burn brightly in to show the world His love.

• Henri Nouwen was a beloved priest, author, humanitarian and man of God. He wrote over 40 books on the spiritual life. His books are short little snippets of thought all revolving around knowing God more and knowing self in order to know Him that much more. His books and thoughts are a constant refresher and place of nourishment for my soul. A constant pull of growing closer to Christ.

• Ben Mason a seminary student, interning at Hope Des Moines,  best man in my wedding, and dear friend. Ben is a constant encourage in my leadership at Faith, in my marriage to stir me on to be a better husband, and to think beyond myself and grow closer to Christ. Ben is one of those life long friends that will do anything for you. He feeds my soul with friendship and accountability, as well as my belly as an amazing cook and ‘drink’ connoisseur.

Having people to feed your soul, whether you know them in person or through the kingdom through other means is a must to keep you soul fresh and healthy. Who are the people that feed your soul and why? Maybe you should let them know…

Saturday Simple Pleasure #1

Just realized a simple pleasure that I absolutely love. Its the simple pleasure of setting your away message email notification. It is that simple realization that you are about to head out and not be in contact with the ‘every day’ that brings simple pleasure.

May you find the power of simple pleasures can move you in powerful ways!