Great iPhone App for Toddlers

One of my Bible study students downloaded a sound effects application to his iPhone. I thought it was clever so I put it on my iPhone, but rarely use it. The other night I used it. My 2-year old niece came around the corner all excited to see where that noise was coming from. She has spent about 20 minutes hitting the different sounds. If you have a kid or are around one, download this free app to keep 'em occupied. Just be sure you hold onto the iPhone so it doesn't wind up in the toilet or some other place toddlers tend to put things.

Writer's Symposium - Donald Miller

Because I'm reading one of his books, I've grown curious to learn more about Donald Miller. To my surprise, I found a 1-hour video of him participating in a writer's symposium at my alma mater, Point Loma Nazarene University.

In this video, Miller reads a portion of his book To Own A Dragon then is interviewed by my former writing professor, Dean Nelson. While watching this interview, I felt like I got to know the author. However, as a writer myself, I also learned some valuable perspective on the mechanics of his writing... which it turns out includes a little superstition and finding a lucky coffee shop.

Here's a link to the You Tube video. It's worth a little bit of your time. There's a lot of humor, wisdom and genius involved. You'll have spent your time well and had a good laugh in the process.

Click Here to see the video.

Blue Like Jazz

I've read 7 chapters in Blue Like Jazz so far. I find myself many times thinking, "Finally somebody else is writing what goes through my head from time to time." I'm not crazy after all.

This book pushes the image of being a Christian aside and gets at the reality of the Christian life: ups, downs, grace and self-reliance. It takes the impossible (being a Christian by will-power) and exchanges it for the impossible (God creating the only way to reconciliation between us and Himself).

I still have several chapters to go. I don't re-read many books. I have a feeling this one will get traveled through several times before I get wheeled into the mortuary.

Tools of the Trade: Using the Coffee House as an Office

I got this tip from another blogger. I can't remember who, but it's a great idea.

Since I spend so much time using the local coffee house as an office, I went out today and bought two important tools of the trade (see the picture above).

1. A 3-plug outlet extender. If the outlet is all take up, you can unplug a person's laptop and plug it back into the outlet extender and then have room for your own, too.
2. An outlet converter. If the outlet is a 2-prong outlet, you'll want an outlet converter to be able to plug your 3-prong cord into it.

Here's to endless hours @ the coffee house and unlimited free WiFi!

Blue Like Jazz favorite quote

I've started reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. It's a great book about his journey of faith. We have a connection in that are a year apart in age and both grew up in the Houston area and had deadbeat dads. I feel like we've gone down the same road both in life circumstances and spiritually. I'm only on chapter 3, so that may change the further I get into this book.

I love his writing style as much as his content. As my friend Doug Fields would say, "This guy really knows how to turn a phrase." His style is as brilliant as his message.

So far, my favorite quote from this book is, "I believe the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. That us why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If be can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God."

Helpful Gmail Gadget Called Gmail Notifier

I discovered Gmail Notifier today while searching for a way to get my computer to play a sound when I get a new e-mail in my Gmail account. I like this little program they made just for that purpose. It also has another nice feature. See below for what I like and don't like about what this little gem can do.

Here are the two things I like about it:

1. It alerts me with a sound and a message in the lower right side of the screen when I have a new email in my Gmail account. This is something I've wanted for a long time.
2. I can set it so that when I click on a link to send an e-mail it opens a new Gmail e-mail instead of trying to open Outlook or Outlook Express (which I don't use anymore).

What it lacks:

1. It only checks for new e-mail once every two minutes. While I can still see if I have new e-mail if my Gmail is open in a tab, I'd prefer for the gadget to play a sound instantaneously when I get a new e-mail. But then again, it's free so I really can't complain.

Click here to download Gmail Notifier

Saving Money on Electronics

Word has it Circuit City is about to go under. They're already closing some stores. They, however, have saved me a lot of money over the last few years on electronics.

I've bought a couple of big ticket items from them because I know they have a 110% price match guarantee. I know I can usually find the item cheaper someplace else. When I do, I take the advertisement to them and get a lower price than I would have if I bought the item at the sale price at the other store.

Last week I bought a sweet new laptop at Circuit City for $729.00. This week it was advertised on the front page of Office Max's circular for $569.00. After taxes, I got a refund from Circuit City for 110% of the difference which came to $189.64. I was so happy. I knew I'd find the laptop cheaper, but didn't expect to find it that much cheaper.

I used some of my refund to purchase a TV tuner card and can now enjoy and record TV on my new computer. By the way... still looking for a better deal on the TV tuner. Wish me luck!

Free Airline Tickets by Getting Bumped

This is a follow-up to a blog post I wrote the other day. It was about getting my flight to Paris, France and Dusseldorf, Germany for under $200. I used airline vouchers I got for getting bumped off of flights.

Today I did a search on Google to see if there is a list of commonly overbooked flights. I found this article with tips on getting bumped and extra perks you may be able to get as a result. There is also a link to a page about flights that may be overbooked.

Click here to read the article.

Happy travels!

Dennis

After Thanksgiving Day Sales

Here's a link to sales that will happen after Thanksgiving. What's funny is that some of them have already started. Many of the stores will even be open on Thanksgiving day! Crazy!!! Click here to go to the web page.

OC Register Article About My Niece's Foster Mom

The OC Register ran an article about my niece's foster mom. I thought this was pretty cool. They put a blurb about the article on the front page of the November 25th edition about the article. They also dedicated a lot of copy space in the Life section to the article.

Click here to see the article.

Here's an excerpt:

A foster mom takes a big next step
TRUE LIFE: Lauri Burns grew up in struggle. She's launching a nonprofit to help the toughest, loneliest kids.
By LAURI BURNS
Special to the Register
Comments 0 | Recommend 1

I was born in New York and grew up in a middle class Jewish home in Long Island. Although my family looked normal on the outside, there was abuse from as far back as I could remember. My understanding of God as a small child was that he was punishing me for something I did in a past life.

Germany and France for under $200

This story starts with an Alaskan cruise with friends in August of 2006. I met my friends in Seattle the night before the cruise departed and stayed a couple of days in Seattle after the cruise was over. Because I'm my own boss, I wasn't in a hurry going or coming. When the Delta agents asked for volunteers to get bumped off the flight, I jumped at the change... a total of 3 times at $400 each.

I've used most of the money already. Now I'm at the point of having a little over $500 in flight vouchers that will expire if I don't use them. Today I booked a flight to see friends in Germany. I only had to cough up $200 for the difference between the voucher amount and the cost of the flight plus trip insurance. I figured why not spend $40 on trip insurance since the trip itself was so cheap.

I chose a flight that has a 5-hour layover in Paris. I've never been there so I decided to stretch my legs by seeing what I could in that small amount of time. While selecting my seats on the flight, I noticed that all of the seats from Paris to Germany were taken. I'm hoping that means I'll get bumped off that flight and have some money toward a future flight.

I paid $1200 for the cruise, got $1200 in flight vouchers by getting bumped. The greed setting in has me wondering how many times I can get bumped on this next trip. Who knows, maybe I'll get to go to Australia next. Either way, I'm happy with what I have. It's made a great story. Thanks Delta for overbooking your flights!

Halloween Fun

Last night I pulled up next to this guy at a stoplight. I've never seen anybody decorate their car like this for Halloween. He had jack-o-lantern lights and a fog machine blowing on top of his car and Halloween music playing. Super crazy and cool.



My mom saw this costume idea in a magazine and wanted to use it this year. This was my project for yesterday. Pretty clever idea. It's a sandwich board she'll wear. Both sides are the same. She can change the prices on the sign throughout the night.

Trophy Case

From time to time I get great letters or comments from students about how they've been impacted by my ministry or how they are doing ministry to others. I've decided to make a trophy case of these on my volunteer youth ministry blog. My hope is that these will be a source of encouragement not only to me, but new youth workers, discouraged volunteers, or anybody anxiously wondering if ministry will ever become natural, fulfilling, or rewarding.

These trophies are for your encouragement as much as they are for me. I hope you'll save your trophies, too, as they come in (and they will if you commit to last).

There's one trophy there now with more on the way... Click Here

Finding A Good Coffee House To Use As An Office

I frequently find myself in coffee houses around town filling time between appointments. That's where I'm at now. Killing time before my 5:30 appointment. Walking from my car to the front door, I started going through a checklist of things I needed to consider before making my purchase. I've discovered there's some things need to check before committing myself to any location. Here it is. Maybe somebody else can benefit from it.

1. Check for free WiFi (Wireless Internet). Most coffee houses have this posted on the window next to the door. I haven't tested this, but I understand if you register a Starbuck's giftcard online, they offer free WiFi. I prefer It's a Grind and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf because you get free WiFi without having to jump through hoops. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Peet's Coffee are also great. At Peet's Coffee, just ask the cashier for an Internet code. At The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, look for the number on the logo on the TV screen to get the code.

2. Check for outlets. I hate ordering my drink then trying to find a table next to a power outlet to plug my laptop into. For a lot of people this won't be an issue. However, my laptop battery lasts about 2 nanoseconds on a good day. I typically will find a table and set up my laptop before ordering.

3. Look for distractions. I've learned to pay attention to the surroundings when I walk through the door. Is the music too loud or unusual? Is there a parent trying to homeschool two unruly children? (that was the case yesterday) Are the employees having an in depth conversation about stuff you'd rather not know? When I don't look for what can be a distraction, I sometimes get comfy and start working then realize I can't get anything done because of the atmosphere.

I hope this helps my fellow coffee-shop-as-an-office users out there. Bottom's up!

Bonus: If you go to It's A Grind, sometimes you should skip the coffee and opt for a warmed up chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. Ohhh... it's so incredibly good! They're super rich so you won't want to do it very often, but they're worth every calorie... and I'm kind of a health nut.

Volunteer Youth Ministry

I put two new posts on my blog for volunteer youth workers today.

Cutting Up My Lesson Plans - click here

This is a creative approach I take a couple of times a year to get the students more invested in their time at small group.

Using My Graduates - click here

This is a post about the incredible resource that graduates from my ministry each year. I've decided not to let the miles that separate us during the school year rob my students of what they have to offer.

14 Year Old Girl Abandoned Under Safe Haven Law

As a youth worker, this breaks my heart. Under the circumstances, this may be the best thing for the girl. Hopefully she'll find a place in a loving Christian home.

Click here to read the article

Traditions

I just wrote a blog post about the importance of traditions on my youth ministry blog for volunteers. Check it out at http://dbeckner.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/traditions/

My Birthday

I had my birthday today. It was awesome. Dinner w/great family and friends and then saw the movie Eagle Eye afterward. I turned 38. In a couple of years I should have my mid-life crisis. I might want to start planning that now.

Fun facts from the news:
1. When I got home tonight, there was breaking news that O.J. Simpson was found guilty on all counts of his kidnapping trial.
2. He was acquitted of murder charges on my 25th birthday.
3. The Berlin wall came down on my birthday.

#1 on Google

I just found out tonight that my youth ministry volunteer blog (http://dbeckner.wordpress.com) is the first website that comes up on Google when people type "youth ministry volunteer" in the search field. That's so cool!

I discovered this when I saw somebody got to my site from Google when using that search phrase. I tried it and saw that I was #1. Sweet!

Two New Youth Ministry Blog Posts

I started a blog for volunteer youth workers a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I put two more posts on it:

1. Consistency is King - about the importance of being consistent
Click Here

2. Behavior - Deal With It - analyzing behavior and tips to deal with it - you may be surprised at the approach
Click Here

Keeping the Cold Away

Back to school means back to cold season. School's only been back in session a little while and suddenly everywhere I go students are sniffling, sneezing and coughing up germs that pass the gift along to us healthy people.

Several years I decided to be a little proactive to stave off the infectious bullets shot with every sneeze, cough or even turn of a doorknob with an unwashed, germ-coated hand.

Here's what's been a big help to me. I hope you'll do it, too, so there will be even less germ zombies out to rob the health of the living.

At the first sign of people getting sick, twice every day I'll:
- Wipe my ears out with a Q-Tip dipped in alcohol
- Rinse my mouth with listerine (must have alcohol in it). I let a little bit go down my throat to get any germs that may be lingering around

When I do get a cold, I:
- Do the things listed above
- Take Sudafed for congestion - it's non-drowsey and is the best decongestant available
- Wipe Blistix Medicated Lip Balm under my nose to prevent it from getting chapped

Also, I don't try to make people believe my cold is allergies. I hate when people do this. Just face it, do your best to not spread it and do what you can to get rid of it.

Here's to good health!

My iPhone Has Almost Replaced My Computer

I can go for days without turning on my computer. This is the first time in about 3 days that I have turned my computer on for work. I did turn it on once to put some files onto my iPhone. Other than that, my computer stays off. Not sure that's made my life better or worse. However, it is surprising to me that it's been so useful.

Busting Through The Awkwardness

Preface: If you're an extrovert, you may want to skip this... unless you are surrounded by introvert youth volunteers who need help connecting with students.

Unless you're a flaming extrovert, you probably have noticed that painful awkwardness when trying to connect with new students. I've listed 5 techniques that have made that initial conversation a springboard for great relational youth ministry.

1. New students of the same gender

Guys are my target when greeting students. I try to let the female leaders meet the female students. I always focus on the guys.

I don't ask for his name, school or grade right away. I know that will come through the natural course of the conversation.

I do look for signs of easy connections I can make.

• Do I know students he's with? I can talk to them and ask them (in front of him) to introduce me - that builds instant rapport by using them as my "Trojan Horse" to get passed any walls he may normally have up when talking to a dorky adult at church
• Is he wearing clues to his identity (athletic jersey, high school team sweatshirt, class ring, etc.) - Students love to talk about themselves (actually this is true of all age groups). If they're wearing anything that indicates their interests or involvement, that's my Trojan Horse
• Does his demeanor give him away - is he sad, apparently lonely, excited, feeling awkward (wall flower), angry - use that to get inside - I use that as the conversation starter

2. New students of the opposite gender

I don't have long conversations with them unless others are in on it.

I do talk long enough to get some basic rapport going. I use that information to introduce her to a female volunteer who would be a good match to what I learned about her.

3. New students who are brought by their parents

I don't assume the student wants to be there.

I don't overload them with every program and calendar activity we have to offer. I give all of that to the parents (or introduce them to somebody who will and I'll take the student a different direction. Some students won't open up until their parents are gone - especially if they're forced to be there. If you "rescue" them from their "embarrassing" parents (sorry parents), they'll instantly be appreciative (many times)).

I do find out his story. I'll ask him what brought him there and how he feels about it. I love when the student came as a result of a move because I can briefly share my story about moving as a teenager and how it felt. That's a story of pain we can share that's incredibly useful in building a connection.

I ALWAYS apply #5 below to students who are accompanied by their parents.

4. Non-responsive students

I'm never offended by their non-responsiveness or apparent mood (anger, depression, disinterest - more of an action than a mood)

I do greet them every time they show up and try to strike up a conversation by using the steps in #5 below. I know that eventually they'll warm up to a consistent, non-judgmental adult who is always friendly

5. All students (even the ones I know)

Like I mentioned above, I don't ask a person's name, school or grade right away. Those are the questions they expect to get asked. You probably won't remember the answers until you really get to know the student, anyway. Through the course of getting to know the student, you'll learn that information.

I do ask insider questions. Insider questions are like Trojan Horses (as I mentioned above). They help you get passed the walls students normally put up until they feel comfortable with you. These are questions that get to the heart of a person's feelings and responses to life.

A poor example of this type of question is, "Do you have any pets?" It's random and if he says, "No," the conversation just hit a roadblock.

However, one of my favorite insider question is, "You must love your dog. What kind do you have?" On the surface, that's not an insider question. However, the fact that this stranger's dark-colored shirt is covered with light-colored animal hair makes it an insider question because I used information readily available to move into something I know he must care deeply about.

The idea behind the insider question is that the student responds with a story instead of a one-word answer. The result of insider questions is a meaningful conversation that pulls students in, creates a memorable experience and paves the way for deeper ministry to happen.

My Thoughts on the Saddleback Civil Forum with Obama and McCain

I was fortunate enough to be in the live audience for this monumental event. Hearing the candidates talk about their own views without being interrupted was enlightening and a nice break from what usually happens at these kinds of events. Having each candidate answer questions for an hour was a stroke of genius; especially since they both answered the same questions.

The discussion that followed afterward at dinner and later while watching political commentary on the new networks was the best I've seen to date. Both the liberal and conservative media had very similar comments to make about what happened. The shame of it is that we'll be back to politics and media biased reporting soon. For the moment, however, I'm enjoying the break.

My opinion is in line with most of what I've heard. Obama was talking more in theory while McCain gave direct and decisive answers. Obama's answers came across as he was forming his opinions as he spoke. I don't fault him for this in an age where every word is pulled apart for months in the media. Anybody remember flip-flop at the John Kerry rallies.

The problem for Obama in this scenario is that his style worked against him. When McCain answered the same questions, the answer was quick and decisive, then was fleshed out by commentary or a story. Obama was just the opposite. He would start by commentary or a story and eventually get to an answer. I think that killed him and gave McCain what he needed to ratchet up his support among voters.

Another thing that I think hurt Obama among evangelicals was the tentative nature of his answers about his faith. He did a great job answering these questions, but threw in a few words that took the punch out of his message. For instance, when mentioning being forgiven for his sins, he tacked on the words "I hope" after his comment. Christians know they're forgiven. What I'm afraid will happen is that those who argue that Obama is Muslim will use that against him. Last week I listened to a former Muslim speak on this specific issue. Muslims, according to this speaker, don't believe they will know whether or not they get to heaven until after they die. When Obama tacked on the words "I hope" in reference to the forgiveness of his sins, I think that may have hurt him when considering his audience.

On another hand, McCain had his $5,000,000 moment that the media was having a good time with today. That figure was obviously his attempt to make a point. However, it will undoubtedly become fuel for more political ads. When Rick Warren was asked about that today, he had a great response. He said that everybody, including him, says stupid things they don't mean and wish they could take them back. I believe Rick had one of his own during that same interview. He was pressed on the issue of McCain being in a cone of silence during Obama's portion of the interview. It turns out that McCain didn't arrive to the venue until much of Obama's interview was over. Warren was being pressed about McCain not being in a "cone of silence" when he said he was. I fully believe Warren's answer that he didn't know McCain wasn't there yet, but his answer didn't come off as a sure statement of fact. It left room for doubt about the truth of Warren's comment.

The forum was what it set out to be; an opportunity to bring civility back to the political process. The format used is the only way that could have happened; the same questions posed to each candidate one-on-one and one at a time.

Now that the forum is over, I would love to see the video edited in a way that each of the responses by the candidates can be placed back-to-back. For instance, the video would show Warren asking Obama question #1 and then Obama's answer followed immediately by Warren asking McCain question #1 and then McCain's answer. That would be very fun to see. If anybody finds a video of that, please leave a comment and I will post the link on my blog.

Blogging From Your Phone

This is kind of cool. Just discovered it today. You can send in pics and messages to be posted on your blog by text message. Here's a link for more information: Click here

The sweet thing is that if you're a Twitter you can smash two tiny little innocent birds with one blunt sledge hammer by sending your messages both to Twitter and to your blog. That may be overkill, but you could. My motto is "just because you can doesn't mean you should", that's just my motto. Do whatever you want on that one.

My New iPhone

I absolutely love it! It delivers way more than I expected. Ever so often it will do something I didn't expect. That's what got me to write this post. I was writing a blog entry about the Civil Forum with McCain and Obama last night. My phone rang and I answered it. After I hung up, the blog page came back up, but all of my text was gone. One small glitch in an otherwise awesome heaven-sent piece of technology. Apple is amazing to deliver such a sweet all-in-one device that simplifies my life and makes it more fun at the same time.

Batman in IMAX

I saw Batman in IMAX tonight at the Irvine Spectrum. 1st of all, I need to have a screen like that in my home someday. That thing was awesomely amazingly huge! I guess I'd need to have a pretty big house. I was sitting about 25 - 30 feet away from it and had to look around to see the entire screen because the whole thing couldn't fit into my line of site all at one time.

About the quality of IMAX... it was like watching the story happen on location. It was funny to hear the crowd respond to the opening scene as the camera moves high over the skyline of Gotham. It really felt like we were hovering high above the streets below. It was a little scary.

This post has nothing to do with the content of the movie... it's just about the sweetness of the IMAX experience. The tickets to get in were $15. The money was well-spent. This was my 2nd time to see the movie so I saw it on a regular screen and in IMAX. I was glad I saw it in the other format first so I could know just how much better it was.

New Internet 30X Faster

Click here for news story

This could be awesome. They hope to start building this in 5 years. Word has it that this will allow enough bandwidth for users to download 30 full length movies at one time to a computer. Of course nobody would want to do that, but it's pretty cool.

Saddleback Civil Forum - McCain Obama, August 16, 2008

Ticket information from http://www.SaddlebackCivilForum.com

Click here for the official news release

Thank you Josh Griffin for the link to this information.

Ticket information available, Monday August 4th at the web address listed above.

At the candidates’ request, this two-hour event will be held in a non-debate format, and will be open to all media. Both candidates also requested that questions be posed exclusively by Warren rather than by a panel or members of the audience. Each candidate will converse separately with Warren for approximately an hour, beginning with Sen. Obama, as determined by a coin toss.

This historic forum will be the only joint event for the two, and the last public appearance for either candidate prior to the two-week hiatus during each party’s national convention.

Due to Secret Service mandate, tickets will be required for the event in the main auditorium, but the program will be broadcast live in multiple venues on the Saddleback campus, as well as on several national broadcast networks and online. It will also be streamed live on www.SaddlebackCivilForum.com.

For basic information call (949) 609-8778

Had to Back Out of a Commitment Today

As a volunteer youth worker, I do my best to make and keep commitments with students. However, sometimes I have to back out. I hate that because I do my absolute best to model the importance of keeping commitments even when it comes at a personal sacrifice.

Tomorrow I was supposed to spend a few hours with a student who is helping with our Vacation Bible School at church. He lives pretty far from the church and relies on his family to take him back and forth to church events. I was hoping to alleviate their driving tomorrow by keeping him around until the youth event tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, an appointment came up for tomorrow that I couldn't afford to turn down. That's where my internal conflict comes in. In my heart, I would turn down the appointment without thinking twice because my passion and commitment is to serving Christ by serving students. However, my bills still need to be paid.

I am very fortunate to be in the business I'm in. I have more free time than anybody should be allowed to have, but still make enough to live on. I can typically take time off when I need to for vacation or taking the students to summer camp. It's a good deal.

Times like this, however, are a real struggle for me. I wish there was a way to have my cake and eat it too; make commitments to students and still be able to do all of the appointments that come my way.

The good news is that I've earned a few credits with this student. We've built up a good rapport and he knows my heart has his best interest in mind. I'm taking next Monday off to go with him and Kyle Cleveland to Magic Mountain. If, however, I flake out on that or other events, I'll begin burning up my credits with this student and be just another adult who makes promises that he doesn't intend to keep. Proverbs refers to this as a raincloud that produces no rain.

My point to all of this is more on a personal level. If you get anything out of it, that's a bonus. I'm writing this blog post more as a way of writing myself a reminder about the importance of making commitments sparingly unless I am certain I can follow through. I also need to actively build credibility with those under my care by being a consistent source of predictable support in their lives.

The reward, as well as the consequence, will be placed on the head of the student more than it will on me. The worst thing that can happen to me is that I lose the trust and respect of the student. The worst thing that can happen to the student is that he can lose his ability to trust others and become cynical. The best thing that can happen to him is that he will be so blessed by my ministry to him that he ministers to others, bearing the fruit of my ministry investment in his life. That's a reward both of us get to enjoy as well as the people he ministers to.

Earthquake in Los Angeles

I'm in Tustin and felt the earthquake very strongly. Apparently it was centered near Chino Hills. This was a lot longer and stronger than other earthquakes I've felt.

I happened to be at my mom's house when it occurred. She was about to get in her car which is a Toyota Corolla. We stood there and watched it shake back and forth for a while after the ground stopped shaking. It was kind of crazy.

When it happened, I was on the phone with my sister who lives in Lake Elsinore. A few seconds after I started feeling it, she started feeling it out there. She said it made her dizzy and had to go lay down.

Right before I started writing this post I felt a little tremor which I'm sure was an aftershock.

They originally said it was a 5.6, but have since said it's probably a 5.8. The latest reading is 5.4.

HSM Weekend in Review: Volume 13

Message Title: Flooded (featuring Josh Pease)

Sermon in a Sentence: We're sunk when we try to live on our own power because God wants us to do our good works through him instead of for him.

Key Verse: "Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.'" Mark 10:27

Weekend Scale of Difficulty: 4 out of 10. Pretty simple weekend, very few elements. One glitch in starting a video, but it turned into a funny bit.

Attendance: up 4% from last weekend, up 76% from the same weekend last year, up %24 from the same weekend two years ago
Service Length: 70 minutes
Understandable Message: A Josh Pease used a story about getting his car stuck on a flooded street to illustrate how silly it is when we try to get unstuck in life on our own power while completely ignoring God's ability and willingness to help. This was a strong message that was easy to understand and apply. Josh's use of the illustration had two key attributes: it was memorable, it was immediately applicable to the student's lives.

Volunteer/Student Involvement: B/B Volunteers were actively involved at the tables and greeting students. Students led in the band, and handed out programs and pens as people entered. Still noticed that many student leaders had isolated themselves to the separate balcony. A few students, however, stepped up.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: B The video of the cameras trying to keep up with Josh Pease at the beginning was very entertaining. It could probably be tied to the theme of the service, but I'm not sure that was the point. It seemed to be just an element of fun to reinforce the point that church doesn't have to be boring; it can be fun.

Music Playlist: All I Need Is You Lord, Hosanna,
Dominik dominated this weekend. He's got great talent combined with a powerful passion for worship.

Favorite Moment: The most powerful moment of the night was near the end of Josh's message. He finished telling the story of being stuck in the flood with his car. Nobody was around to help him. He didn't want to turn to God for help because he was intentionally trying to keep God out of his life. The situation helped him realize that he can't do everything on his own and that he needs God. The story of Josh reconnecting with God was powerful. The miraculous resolution to the crisis was even secondary to Josh's telling how God had his attention and bonded with him in that moment.

Overall grade: B+

My Search For A Youth Ministry Job, Pt. 2

A few seconds ago, I withdrew my resume from a high school ministry position in Yorba Linda. After reading through the materials and thinking through this and praying about it all week, I knew it wasn't the right match.

I'm keeping my eye out for opportunities, but am not going to move too quickly on anything. Maybe God wants me to stay put, maybe he has the right opportunity waiting for me. I'll keep the updates coming as they happen.

DB

My Search For A Youth Ministry Job, Pt. 1

Seeking God's will for my life, I've started searching out youth ministry positions. I'll post blogs as I go through this process. It's only been a few days since starting this search, but I've been praying about this now for a few months.

Sunday night I responded to a few youth ministry positions posted on YouthSpecialties.com. Monday I received a request for a resume and also posted my resume on YouthSpecialties.com. Tonight I received another request from the Reno area for a resume and application package. It seems like a great opportunity, but I have some questions about the strength of their theology.

Tonight I got an e-mail from the church in Yorba Linda that requested my resume. They want to interview me on Saturday.

This seems to be a lot in such a short amount of time. It is. However, I'm definitely not in a rush. I've gone too quickly into youth ministry positions in the past and been burned pretty badly.

I'm very encouraged by the response, but will ask tough questions and do some due diligence before accepting anything.

There is another opportunity I'm working on in the background. It's not a for-sure opening, yet. This one is at the top of my list, but have to be patient for the process.

With all of this going on, one of my options is that I could keep doing what I'm doing. I love my ministry as a volunteer and feel fulfilled doing it. My only purpose in this search is to test the drive I have for youth ministry. I want to see if God is leading me to get back into full time ministry. If the answer is no, I'm happy to keep things the way they are. If it's yes, I will be so happy to be back on staff in youth ministry.

Please pray for me as I go through this process.

Thanks,

Dennis

This Could Keep You Busy For Hours

For lovers of cool random facts, this is something you'll need to see.

Click Here

PDYM Student Leader Conference

I had not planned on being a leader at this year's conference. However, my schedule was clear this week and they needed help. I think that was a God-thing. I made several great connections with students, got challenged through the messages, and renewed my passion for youth ministry.

I'd write more, and I might later, but a consequence of late nights up with students and early mornings for general sessions has this youth worker wiped out.

Have a good one,

Dennis

Better Than Cox Email

The other day I wrote a blog post about how to get your Cox e-mail on your phone. Tonight I came up with a better idea; quit using Cox for e-mail. They have great service on other things like cable and Internet. However, they drop the ball on e-mail availability from my cell phone.

Tonight I signed up for a new Gmail account. It's great because I can easily get it from my cell phone without having to do any tricks to make it happen. Cox is history!

Twitter Codes

Ever wonder about codes you can use with Twitter? Here's a link to all the information you need to know. Click here

Enjoy!

Dennis

Cool Hybrid News From Toyota

How much more green can it get?

Toyota to Add Solar Panels to Prius Hybrids
Monday, July 07, 2008

From FoxNews.com

Link to article

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to add solar panels to its popular Prius hybrid early next year to power the vehicle's air conditioning, a newspaper report said Monday.

As part of a complete design makeover, the Prius will be fitted with rooftop solar panels on its high-end models, the Nikkei economic daily reported.

"It's more of a symbolic gesture," said the unidentified source. "It's very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy."

Toyota, who declined comment on the report, would be the first major carmaker to use a solar power generation system on a mass-produced vehicle.

The automaker plans to produce 450,000 Priuses in Japan in 2009, up 60 percent from 2007, Nikkei reported.

The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car, first went on sale in Japan in late 1997. Total global sales have since topped 1 million.

Help A Friend Succeed

A friend of mine from college designed two posters that are in the top 10 finalists for a contest run by the John McCain campaign. He's asking us to vote for poster #9. Please take a moment, click this link, and help my buddy out.

Thanks,

Dennis

Getting Your Email From Cox ISP On Your Cell Phone

A frustration I've had with my Cox Internet service is that they disabled my ability to check my e-mail from my cell phone's Internet program. The other day I had a hunch that, when I checked into it, turned out to be correct. This has been helpful even though I've had mixed results.

I logged onto my Cox account online and found where I can have my e-mail forwarded by entering an e-mail address. I'm a Sprint user so I have a Sprint e-mail address attached to my phone automatically.

Since I entered that address, I now get my e-mail forwarded to my phone. The reason I say "with mixed results" is that sometimes only part of the e-mail comes through and other times I see that I got an e-mail, but can't open it.

Until the new iPhone comes out, (and until I can afford to cancel my Sprint service) this will have to do.

I hope this is somehow helpful for anybody who was burned when Cox stopped this service.

Another option I plan to do, but haven't is to change to a Gmail account. That would solve everything... especially if I end up ditching Cox.

Have a good one,

Dennis

How God Got My Attention Today

God got my attention today and reminded me of the importance of putting him before material possessions.

I'm moving out of my condo to downsize and save money. I'm leaving the place furnished for my renters. That means all the stuff I accumulated to fix this place up will soon be enjoyed by others.

I got super sad about that right before I started packing. I stayed sad for most of the day; even though I know this is the right decision. I'm excited about the freedom and leverage this is going to give me in some areas of my life where I've been stifled. However, it's still hard to leave all of my hard work and creativity behind.

Here's where God comes in. For my devos I've been reading 1 Samuel. Tonight's chapter was about the Israelites demanding a king. God told Samuel to warn the people about how a king would take advantage of them, treating many of them like slaves and taking the best of their crops for him and his military. They still demanded a king because they wanted to be like other countries.

How's that for peer pressure? I never realized that was in the Bible. Maybe this is closer to keeping up with the Jones family. Either way it's bad.

God used the prodigal, material-minded Israelites to teach me. He showed me how moving away from all of this stuff I've accumulated is his way of putting my focus wholly on him. I love this place too much. I've been focusing on what others have and doing my best to keep up. He wants me to be free from this trap and submitted to him.

So much good is going to come out of this move. I'll see the evidence in my relationship with him and in his ministering to others through me. God used my sadness today in combination with my devotional reading tonight to totally refocus my thinking. I've completely changed from a feeling of sadness to an attitude of gratefulness.

I know he's setting me on a new course. I was telling some friends that last night. This is just one of many steps in the new direction he's turning me toward. I don't have a clue where he's leading, but I see the evidence that his work is in progress.

Movie Review: Hancock

Hancock was original, fresh, very funny and action packed. I rate this movie very high. We had such a great time seeing it. It's definitely a little too violent for the little ones. We saw it pretty late at night so there weren't many people in the theater, but we were all laughing pretty hard during many of the scenes.

I give this movie a strong thumbs up. It's got some bad language, but not over the top.

The critics tore this movie apart, but don't let that stop you from seeing it. They got it wrong. Go see this movie.

Today's Funeral

Today I went to a funeral for an 86-year-old woman who I met, but never got to know well. She was the mother/grandmother of a family I've become very close to over the past few years. I have been the Bible study leader for the children in this family and we've even gone on vacation together. They've become like family to me.

Lee, the father of the family and the woman's son, gave the eulogy. He is not a man of many words. However, he had written out about 3 pages of loving memories about his mom.

Here's what got me. All I knew about this woman was what I saw; immobile, difficult to communicate with, reliant on others. The words in her eulogy showed me a side of her I wish I could have known; hospitable, art-lover, traveler.

She lived this full life that I never knew about until Lee gave her eulogy.

Funerals have a way of making us evaluate the people we are and the people we're becoming. I'm accomplishing some good goals in my life, but am I "who I want to be" as Switchfoot sings? I love to be hospitable, but am I doing it. There are a lot of things I love to do, but don't do them. I need to get passed some roadblocks that hold me back. I'm finally starting to travel. It's good to know I'm doing that right.

One of my favorite sayings is, "I want my last words to be, 'Hey guys, watch this!'"

I don't know if I really want those to be my last words, but I'd like to be known as a person who made life happen for myself and others. Was I hospitable? Did I go places? Did I let roadblocks hold me back or did I find a way around them?

I'm doing pretty good. I want to do great.

I Found Renters For My Condo

Tonight I found some renters for my condo. I'm super excited. This is going to be great on so many levels:

1. I'm going to rent a room out of a house to save money
2. That will help me reduce my debt considerably
3. I will eventually be able to put enough money aside to put down on a house
4. Ladera Ranch may become my new home. I've wanted to live there for a long time

Life is good, but it's going to get even better!

Movie Review: Wall E

Saw this movie tonight at the El Capitan in Hollywood. I'd never been there before. It was amazing. Disney bought this theater a while back and spent $10M refurbishing it. It's amazing. When we walked in, there was a guy in the middle of the stage with his back to the crowd playing a gigantic organ that lowered through the floor of the stage when he finished. Before the movie, they had a cartoon. Then they had a dance routine with several characters from various Disney animated movies. Disney made the trip to the theater as fun as the movie itself. It didn't hurt that Will Smith was outside for the premiere of his new movie. It was fun to see him, too.

Anyway, back to Wall E. The movie was fantastic. It had a lot of undertone messages that were the point of the movie, but never directly spelled out to the viewer. They just assumed you'd get the hint. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. Being a Disney/Pixar movie, you know it's going to be squeaky clean.

For storyline, I'd give this movie an A especially because of the use of script (or lack of it) to get communicate. They did an amazing job.

For animation, I'd give this movie an A+. It was so good that I was kind of distracted by how real everything looked.

Not sure how else to rate it. Overall, I give it a big thumbs up with or without children. Probably a good date movie because there is a little romance worked in throughout the movie.

Rancho Santa Margarita 2bd/2ba Condo For Rent

Approx. 1,000 sqft, 2bd/2ba available when you need it. Both bedrooms are large. One is a master with a walk-in closet. Fireplace, high ceilings, double sinks in both bathrooms, attached 1-car garage + easy parking for 2nd car, large porch, gas stove, refrigerator, microwave in spacious kitchen, dining room nook,inside full size washer/dryer, LOTS of storage, community pool and hot tub. (any appliances you don't need can be removed)

Being a Christian is Fun

Ever so often I'll get in a financial bind, or I'll see one coming up. I do get stressed about these just because it's my human nature. However, I know that God's always testing my faith a little when this happens.

This week has been one of those weeks. Business has been slow lately, but the bills are still coming due. This weekend I've spent a lot of time praying, stressing, and trusting that he has a plan.

Saturday I thought I had it all worked out. In the back of my mind I felt I was settling for something less than what God had in store, but at least it was a solution. (That's what Abraham did, too). Sure enough, that plan fell apart. In my mind I had such a peace about it and knew that God had another solution.

Right now it seems again like maybe I see the answer. This one is an answer that I feel good about and that it might be his will. I won't know until later. I'm kind of anxious to see what happens.

Being a Christian is fun. We get to learn some sweet lessons and see God's hand in the way things work out. The more we go through these times, the more we can relax and rely on God's faithfulness. The quicker we learn that God is faithful, the sooner we'll enjoy times like this.

It is amazing to know something is about to happen, but not have a clue what it is. And then see God pull it all together at the last minute. He seems to usually do it in a way that can be explained in no other way than that he had the solution all along and was waiting for the right time to pull it all together. That's how I feel about this situation. I'm starting to see the pieces come together.

Saddleback Refinery - Free Lunch Fridays Started Today

Today from 12:00 - 3:00 Saddleback Church's Refinery (Student Ministries building) was open to students for free lunch and games. What I loved about this event was the lack of programming. The program was to feed students, let them play the games and let staff and volunteers get to know them.

I met some incoming 9th graders, some older students who are totally tied in but I hadn't met before, and several students playing pool and shuffle board. It's so incredibly easy to meet and talk with students in this setting.

The highlight of my day was talking to a former small group student of mine who graduated a couple of years ago. He's had a little bit of trouble in his life and it was good to see that he's on the right path now. We caught up on life and recaptured some of the closeness we felt back in the day. It was awesome.

Free lunch Fridays happens every Friday until the end of July from 12:00 - 3:00. It's a great event for volunteers and students alike.

Dennis Beckner
My web page
My Twitter

HIllary and Obama Unity Event Happening Right Now

I'm watching the event right now on Fox News. It's amazing what can happen in the course of a campaign. Hillary is endorsing Obama. He's sitting behind her approving of her words. Two months ago I would never have thought this would happen. If anything, I would have thought it would be the other way around. Just goes to show that you never know what's going to happen.

Dennis Beckner
Southern California Mobile Notary Public
Specializing in Loan Document Signings
BecknerMobileNotary.com
(949) 842-7682

Quote Of The Night

"The older you get, the more you read the Bible. You're cramming for the finals." - Some guy on David Letterman

I think it was funnier when I heard it on TV, but there it is for your enjoyment, too.

Great Video Clips

I just checked out this blog entry on MoreThanDodgeball.com that you need to check out. It's a bunch of short video clips that spoof the "The More You Know" commercials. Check it out by clicking here.

Launched A New Web Page

Just a quick announcement that I launched a new web page for my notary business the other day. There's not much to it. It's just a simple page to drum up notary business. It's at BecknerMobileNotary.com.

Pictures of Saddleback Church Refinery

Here are a few pictures I took of the Saddleback Church Refinery the other night. There's so much more to see. The food area is still being completed. I'll get pictures of that when it comes closer to completion.

This is the gymnasium (AKA Wildside (Jr High) room)
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This is a blurry picture of Kyle setting up the marque for open house. This will normally have the name of our current high school series. This is the entrance to the theater where the high school ministry meets. Pictures will come later of the inside.

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This is the 1/2 court basketball court.
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This is one of the many ministry-related walls in the Refinery. This particular wall currently is dedicated to the Global Soles Ministry. Students collected over 30,000 pairs of shoes to be distributed around the world. The goal is to collect 50,000. They're well on their way. There are several ministries highlighted throughout the Refinery. More pics to come later.
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This is another ministry-related wall. One of our recently-graduated students competes in the X-Games and has won many awards. He and some of his fellow competitors have formed a ministry called Riders For Christ. They travel around doing motorcycle stunts and sharing the gospel. They're having an amazing impact.
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This incredibly dark picture is of the ping pong table in the game area.
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This is obviously one of our pool tables. What is not so obvious is that the student on the right is playing his pool cue like a guitar. We're still trying to help him understand how this game is played.

You'll notice the clocks in the background on the wall. That is another one of the ministry walls dedicated to missions. Under each clock is a picture of students in a different part of the world for mission projects. The clocks are set to the local time of each country the pictures represent.
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This is a gigantic fan that hangs above the Refinery's game area. It's a super cool design element that adds to the feel they were going for.
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This is a bike I saw sitting behind the Refinery Sunday night. I thought it was kind of funny so I took a picture of it. You may be able to see some red writing in the bottom picture. It reads, "Jesus loves me... more than he loves you." I laughed when I saw it.
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This is one of the waterfalls in front of the building. There are a couple more smaller ones off to the right of where this picture is taken.
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This is the baptistery which is situated beside the waterfall in the picture above. The first baptism took place last Sunday night after the open house was over. It was amazing. Next weekend we will have our first baptism open to the student ministry.

Movie Reiview: Get Smart

Tonight I saw this movie with some friends who are way too young to have watched the TV show. They loved every minute of the movie. It was great from start to finish.

This was certainly my kind of flick. I love comedies and I grew up on a steady diet of the Get Smart TV show. It was like watching a new extended episode. My attention was glued to the screen the whole time. The story line made sense and had some good action and a lot of comedy. There were also several one political one-liners that you would have to enjoy regardless of your party affiliation. Both Democrats and Republicans got slammed a little. It was kind of subtle at times. You kind of have to know they were doing it.

The language and activity in this movie was reasonably clean; especially for a PG-13 movie. There were a couple of innuendos and foul words. However, by today's standards, this could have easily been rated PG.

I give this film a strong thumbs up. I'm already anxiously hoping for a sequel. The cast was terrific. I hope everybody comes back for another installment.

Thanks for reading,

Dennis

I Love Youth Ministry, Part 2

Tonight the Refinery at Saddleback Church opened for the first services. The Refinery is the new building on campus for the Wildside (Jr High) and High School Ministry. It will also be used on Thursday nights for CRAVE (College Ministry).

I attended both High School Ministry services. The first one had a good number of students. The second service was a full house. It was amazing. The staff did not disappoint. They had some good stuff going on during the service. It was the first week for the incoming freshmen so they had some fun welcoming them. Doug Fields knocked it out of the park with his message.

My favorite part of being in the Refinery tonight was being in the game area. It was super easy to connect with students. I started a game of pool with a one guy. As more people came to hang out, I turned it into a 2-on-2 game. Then another came to watch so I had him take my place while I stood there watching and talking to them while they played. They were all horrible at pool so we got to talk until the service started. They never did finish the game.

Something else I love about this building is how easy it is to spot kids who are alone. Now that we have the games going on, it's easy to get them involved or for them to feel involved by watching what's going on instead of sitting by themselves waiting for the service to start. The effectiveness of our ministry just jumped exponentially with this new facility.

This building was designed for ministry to be done in many ways. Lives will be eternally impacted for generations to come because of the vision of Saddleback Church and the generosity of its members. I'm honored to play a part in it.

Dennis Beckner

I Love Youth Ministry

Tonight I caught the last couple of hours at an event called Freshman Frenzy. It's where we bring all of the incoming freshmen on a bunch of fun events like laser tag, bowling, kill ball, etc. All we do is play and connect with them. At the end of the night we give out our summer calendar of events and some sign up forms. It a way of welcoming them into high school ministry.

Tonight during the games I sat on the sidelines and talked to students. I had some great conversations. This is one of my favorite events of the year because:

1. I get to help students feel like they made a good connection with the High School Ministry so they'll feel more welcomed when they come to other events and services
2. Freshmen are my favorite age group because they're entering a whole new part of life and welcome some direction. This event can serve as a launching pad for relationships which allow that to happen.
3. They're loud and out of control. I'd much rather ask a freshman to calm down than pry a sentence out of a senior. It's so fun to talk to these kids.
4. Seeing them all together oozes potential. I know many of them will not be in church anymore by their senior year. However, some of them will be leading our ministry by that time. I love seeing a group with so much potential and to start building bridges that will help them become leaders.

We had a lot of fun and I think we'll see some great leaders come out of this group.

Dennis

Refinery Grand Opening

Got to the tail end of the Refinery opening tonight. It was so much fun to see the building all cleaned up and full of people who weren't all sweaty and working on projects. I'm anxious to see it full of students on Saturday night.

My Students Who Graduated

Tonight 4 of my small group Bible study students graduated high school. One of them, Tyler Runge, gave an amazing speech. He happened to win just about every honor and award they had to offer. Scott Anderson was 3rd in his class for GPA. Drew Duvall and Scott Johnson were the other two. All of them will be missed. I love to see them move on with life, but hate to see them leave my small group.


Tyler Runge and me


Drew Duvall, Scott Anderson and me


Scott Johnson and me

The Refinery (Saddleback Church's Student Ministry Building)

Worked there again today helping get it ready for the big opening weekend. Today I saw the fancy Starbucks-style coffee machine being wheeled in. Woo-hoo!!! This place is going to be amazing. Yesterday after I left they mounted these amazing murals on the walls highlighting different student-led ministries.

That's such a great way to:
1. Promote ministries
2. Show that students can do anything they set their minds to
3. Build up the students who step out to do something

The only bad part is that one of the murals has a typo. Yikes! That's gotta hurt a little.

Get Smart... The Movie!

I am so incredibly anxious for this movie to come out. The only downside is that there is a lot going on this week. Everything else is an upside. This could be the funniest thing to hit theaters since sliced bread. It doesn't make sense... just go with it.

BecknerMobileNotary.com

My brother bought this URL a while back and never did anything with it. Tonight I spent a little time to get "something" up. It will have to do for now. I'm just glad to have a web page to point people to. BecknerMobileNotary.com

Took The Day Off

I actually may take a few days off this week. The Student Ministry staff is working 12-hour days trying to get the Refinery ready to open this weekend. It's super exciting and there is a TON of work to do between now and Saturday. They also served a great lunch from Peppino's. If they keep doing that, I may just quit working all together and hang out around the office every day waiting for lunch.

The bonus to helping out is that I'm doing enough exercise by helping that I can skip the gym. Sweeeeeeeet! I love a little variety.

- Dennis

For Father's Day

Every year I buy something for myself for Father's Day. This year it was a milk shake mixer. The kind like Ruby's would use... metal cup that sits on a mixer stand... just not as powerful, I'm sure.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Someday I'll be one, too. 'Til then I guess I'll have to keep buying a little something for myself every year. After all, the money's got to be used on something, right?

- Dennis

Eagle Scout Ceremony Today

Today I gave the opening and closing prayers at an Eagle Scout ceremony for one of my students. I don't even think I knew he was in the boy scouts until he asked me to participate in the ceremony a couple of weeks ago. However, during the ceremony I realized that this was a major part of his life. His dad and brother are also eagle scouts. This was a big deal.

He didn't come to small group very often because he always had lacrosse practice on Wednesday nights. The few times he was at Bible study, however, he was very involved. I just didn't get to know him very well because he was rarely there.

One of the things I need to work on is getting into the lives of my students... even the absent ones.

Since I'm working on evaluating my life, I'll add this to the list.

Adding Twitter To Your Blog

I saw this on another blog and was super excited. If you have a Twitter account (http://twitter.com) ... and you SHOULD have a (free) Twitter account... you can use this link to add it to your blog http://twitter.com/badges/blogger. When you choose how many tweets you want to include, just click the blogger logo and Twitter will add it to your blog for you. It's amazing. Of course you can then go in and customize the location of your tweets on your blog after it's done.

Thanks for reading,

Dennis

Tracking Your Visitors

A friend was asking how to add a counter to a blog. That got me curious. Blogger has a few to choose from. However, I just used the one I've been using for years and it worked great and gave very simple, easy to follow instructions.

Go to http://www.statcounter.com for more information

Thanks for reading,

Dennis

Spiritual Goals: What Paths Do I Need To Clear?

Some thoughts I journaled tonight at Starbucks about goals for my spiritual life. This is stuff I'm going to evaluate over the next few days/weeks/months:

• Hebrews 12:1 "...Let us strip off every weight that slows us down..."

1. --What is distracting me from my calling?
2. --What is using my resources that should be used for God?
3. --What am I doing that can be enhanced by adding a ministry element to it?

• "...especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress..."

1. Where am I missing the mark (standard) God has set for me?
2. What are my sins of omission?
3. What are my sins of commission?

• "...and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us."

1. Am I on a detour from God's calling on my life?

--Spiritually?
--Relationally?
--Ethically?
--Ministerially?
--Financially?

(The answer to this question will clarify the path I need to mark out - Hebrews 12:13)

(The bullet point above is where I'll spend a lot of time in the days to come)

• Hebrews 12:2 "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish..."

A thought I've had a few times recently is that I am completely incapable of being like Christ on my own. It's kind of like water is incapable of having color on its own. It, exactly like us, is either contaminated or enhanced by what it contains.

Keeping my eyes on Jesus, truly investing my life in his, will allow him to display his qualities (fruit of the Spirit) in and through me. Likewise, keeping my eyes on Jesus will reveal the path he wants me to mark out and then walk down. Realistically, Jesus is clearing the path through me in the form of discipline.

• "...He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven."

I have to think that he also found joy on the cross knowing that he was paving the way for our salvation. We, however, refuse to die a death to pride when we won't help others find that salvation. He mastered his cross, to many of us apologize for ours or keep it hidden so as not to offend or appear intolerant.

Spiritual Goals: Where do I need spiritual development?

Context: I'm on the warpath right now... trying to do some self-evaluation spiritually.

The problem with this exercise (evaluating my spiritual life) is that, by the fact that I'm evaluating my spiritual life, I feel like I must be doing pretty well. However, I know that's not necessarily true. I need to know where God wants to change, challenge and correct me. Today, however, seeing where I needed some attention came a little easier than I would have liked.

This morning I felt uncomfortably corrected by God. Today was bill-paying day. As I wrote the check for the last bill, a guilt-laden realization descended over me. It was almost like an invisible blanket I could feel snuggly wrapped all around me.

A little explanation... I don't get paid like most people. My income comes in small increments of $150 or $200 checks. Some days I don't get any checks, other days I can get several. It all depends on when they arrive. They're like time bombs with no display for the minutes... but in a good way.

Because of my unusual situation, I keep a list of how much I owe in tithe. When the amount gets high enough, I schedule a payment to my church through my online banking. It's a good system that works well for me.

Here's why the guilt... After I wrote the check for my last bill and my bank account was almost depleted, I remembered that I had not paid my tithe. I had to move money from one account to another so I could even afford to pay God. He was getting my leftovers... and I was lucky there were leftovers to give. I hadn't given him my first and best.

Lesson learned... I'm not a bad guy. I have a great relationship with my Creator... maybe that's why I felt so guilty about giving him crumbs. I love him and serve him faithfully. However, today he reminded me that he comes first; before my bills, before other priorities, before myself.

That's his deal with me - "Remain in me and I will remain in you", "Apart from me, you can do nothing", "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you", "God disciplines those he loves", "God's proves his love through discipline" - that last one was the title of Hebrews chapter 2 which is where I've been reading the past couple of days.

Bottom line... My tithe wasn't the issue today. Tithe ALWAYS gets paid. That's non-negotiable for me. The source of today's celestial rebuke was that my priorities were out of order and God got the leftovers. His check is in my wallet and will be in the offering basket instead of paid online. That way he'll get his before my other bills clear the bank. God comes first.

Marking Out A Straight Path - Spiritual Direction

Tonight I was reading Hebrews chapter 12.

Verses 12-13 were very inspiring,

"So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong."

Most people I know (including me lately) don't mark out a straight path for their feet spiritually. They try to live the Christian life, but don't have a long-term plan of where they want to go or how they want to develop.

These verses have inspired me to evaluate my spiritual life and consider where I'm at, where I'm heading, and how I may need to adjust my direction.

Thanks for reading,

Dennis