It's a Not To Worry

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days. Today is my wonderful mother's 70th birthday. My wife and I and my three sisters along with my two brothers-in-law planned a 5 day trip to her favorite place on earth, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The incredible thing about this is that my mom knew nothing of it until we called her at 2:30 AM while we were on our way to pick her up. She was told to not ask questions, but to simply take a shower. We then arrived and presented her with a new outfit for her to wear (my sisters had done some shopping and purchased clothing for her for the trip which was already packed for her) and off we went for the airport.

She (and we) had a wonderful time and are now almost home. However, the trip to St. Thomas was very eventful with lots of stuff happening at home which had me a bit stressed. There was nothing I could do about it, yet I was stressed. My wife kept trying to encourage me with a statement that my mother used to "encourage" me when I was younger, "It's a not to worry." This is one of her axioms for life even to this day.

Well, everything ended up just fine.

Now let me tell you about our trip home which began around Noon today.

We had arranged for a local taxi driver, whom we had befriended, to take us to the airport. I had asked that we leave for the airport about two and a half hours early; however, he said we didn’t need to leave until one and a half hours before our flight. We compromised and agreed on two hours.

Well, he was late. We found ourselves departing our condo one and a half hours before our flight (I guess he was going to get his way, no matter what!). We then got stuck in traffic and I was anything but peaceful.

When we finally arrived at the airport we had a little less than an hour before our flight departed, or so we thought. When we got to the gate, we saw that our flight had been moved up by fifteen minutes, yikes! So we waited in line and I have to admit, I was a little worried. I knew I could do nothing, yet, peace was not coming to me.

When we got to the counter, they couldn’t find our reservation. After a few minutes of searching the computer, they found us. Then, we had trouble getting through customs and security (we must look like a high risk!). As I was putting my shoes back on, my shoelace broke which slowed me a little further.

When we finally got to the gate, it was five minutes past when our flight was supposed to leave. Thankfully, they held it for us which does not happen often.

I am now sitting in Newark’s airport which we are connecting through to Detroit. Our two hour layover has now turned in to a six hour layover which will put us home sometime around 3:30 or 4 AM. I then need to leave my house two and a half hours later to set up and lead a four hour meeting. Oh well, it’s a not to worry!

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:34

Leading By Example

In college, I played basketball for The University of Toledo. When I was a freshman, I was much like a scared kitten. I tried to just stay out of every one's way. I didn't have a clue about much of anything, especially leadership.

UT has a freshman on their team this year who amazes me. Jake Barnett's playing ability is not the thing that impresses me (although he is very good). It is his leadership that I marvel at.

As this article in The Toledo Blade shares, Jake was named by his teammates as a captain of the team. The first time a freshman has held that mantle in school history.

"There was a respect factor there for us as a whole group that we have for Jake," junior forward Justin Anyijong said. "That's why we did that. We don't look at him as a freshman. We look at him as one of our leaders."

Jake is the first one in the gym before practice and the last one to leave. Now I found out that after games, he goes back out on the floor to work on his shooting. Amazing. After practice, I think I was the first one in the locker room!

I was talking with one of the assistant coaches at UT and he told me that from day one, Jake has been a leader. In fact, he said that he came in and organized a Bible study for the team and has changed the entire team atmosphere. That sort of thing from a freshman is unheard of. And, it's very cool!

It's clear that Jake Barnett is not only going to have an impact out on the floor during his career at UT, but also in the lives of many!

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Shoes In Africa

I was talking with a friend of mine on Friday who lost his job a couple of months ago. He was telling me that there's really nothing out there for him in his area of expertise.

Most people who are in that situation mope around and complain. But my conversation with Pat was very encouraging for me because he was recounting all of the other opportunities that lay before him. None of them are really in the field he is experienced in, yet he is looking at this situation as very exciting, with a "I can't wait to see what you are going to do God!" attitude.

I shared with him that this reminded me of a story I heard about a shoe company who hired two salesmen to sell shoes for them in Africa. They trained them and sent them on their way with order forms in hand.

About a month later, one of the salesmen returned home with no orders written. He dejectedly told his manager, "There is no way to sell shoes in Africa. No one wears shoes over there!"

Another month went by and nobody from the company had heard from salesman #2. Then a package arrived from him. In the package was a stack of order forms and payments along with a message that said, "Please send more order forms ASAP! No one wears shoes here! The opportunities are endless!"

So what kind of attitude are you going to choose?

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Nothing to Hide

I started in my men's accountability group/bible study six years ago. I was terrified the first day. I had no idea what to expect.

I was a guy who kept everything to himself. I wanted everyone to think that everything was going great and that I had no issues. I was a walking facade.

When we began, guys began to share some pretty intimate details about their life, including their issues. My immediate thought was that this was pretty weird. But I have to admit, a part of me was saying this was really cool.

It came my turn to share. I surprised myself by revealing some things that I had been holding on to and trying to carry all by myself.

Immediately afterwards, I felt a tremendous relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I remember calling my wife after the meeting and saying, "What have I been doing all my life without this!" It provided that much relief to me.

I have now come to a place where I realize that everyone has issues. Some are bigger than others, yet we all have 'em. Even Tiger Woods.

Tiger was involved in a minor car accident a few days ago in his driveway which seems pretty strange. He has remained silent about it which has added more fuel to the fire in the media. Yesterday, however, he released an apology of sorts:

"I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart," Woods said on his Web site. "I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone."

I am sure Tiger feels a bit better after releasing this apology; however, I bet he still feels like he is in a prison of sorts because he is trying to keep whatever happened hidden.

There are now rumors of marital infidelity on Woods' part. Even if this is true, I believe Tiger would feel much more free if it was out in the open. Only when it is brought into the light can true healing take place.

I know that Tiger has a lot more at stake than I do or just about anyone else and it's real easy for me to say this, not being in his shoes. However, just because he is one of the most famous people on earth, does not mean that certain axioms don't apply to him. One such axiom that applies here is this one that a good friend of mine shared with me, "When you've got nothing to hide, you are the most free person in the world."

"For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."

Luke 8:17

Workaholic

You might be a workaholic if you ever do this...or think of doing this. Watch this 29 second video:

The Answer Is No

Do you ever feel like God's answers to your prayers seems to be "No" a lot more than "Yes"? Did you ever consider that He probably has a good reason for that?

It could be that what you are asking for doesn't line up with His will. Or it could be that He knows what is best for you (just like you do as a parent). I'll bet if you looked at some of your requests in the past, you can say, "I sure am glad He didn't give me what I was asking for then!"

No matter what, God has your best interests at heart at all times. Watch this short video for a glimpse of this.

Lord, help us to be "so be it" Christians - people who are joyful at all times - people who pray continually and people who are thankful in all circumstances!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

No Pain, No Gain

I have been having some tightness in my shoulders lately and my chiropractor, Dr. Daryl, suggested that I begin lifting weights again. You see, I do this in my basement and ever since we had the flood in the basement, I have not gotten back to my weight workouts.

It had been a couple months and I just knew that when I began, I would be very sore...so I just put it off. Well, this weekend I finally got back at it. And guess what? I am sore. But it's a good kind of sore. I know it is all for good.

We also decorated our house on Saturday for Christmas. The thought of this on Friday had my wife and I groaning. Don't get me wrong, we love Christmas. It's just that this task seems to be more overwhelming each year. But, we did it.

Not only did we get it done, we actually had a little fun doing it (I love working alongside Connie...it's one of my favorite things to do). Then she and I got to go out to dinner and have a nice evening together enjoying our newly decorated house.

Many times, in order to move forward, we will need to experience pain or at least do some things that we are not excited about. I heard it said once that pain is mandatory but suffering is optional. It's all attitude.

Workaholics Anonymous

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on all the incredible blessings God has given us. One of those incredible blessings is our families.

Many of us, especially the men, have a tendency to want to work too much, all under the guise of "providing" for our families. If we were real with ourselves, we would know that there is another reason for this drive. Success, achievement, praise or something else. Whatever it might be, one thing is almost certain. Our families would rather have us home more.

Check out this video which will drive this point home: click here to watch.