Promises, Promises

We've all made them and we've all broken them. Sometimes, we are accused of making and then breaking promises (usually by our kids who don't always understand the difference between promise vs. possible). Unfortunately we have all been hurt by broken promises and have likely hurt others by breaking promises. That's why I was so encouraged today when reading in Joshua 23:14;

"You know that with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."

God is faithful! His promises are secure! In a world where keeping your word is less and less common, isn't it reassuring to know that there is someone we can go to that will keep their promises? We don't have to wonder which promises will be kept and when we'll be left hanging. We know without a doubt that He can be trusted. If we know that, shouldn't we trust Him?

Life Lessons from a Sandwich Shop III: Learning From Mistakes

Awhile back I did a post based off of a sign that I saw at a Jimmy John's sandwich shop and since they have so many great signs, I decided to make a series out of it. Today's post is the third post in the series based on the sign above.

The best way to gain experience (really the only way) at something is to do it. Whether it is a job, a hobby or a skill there really is no substitute for "getting your hands dirty". Unfortunately when you are just starting to gain experience in something mistakes are part of the equation. I know, some people are able to pick some things up like they have been doing it forever, but, that is more of an exception than the norm.

For most of my life, I have avoided things if I wasn't reasonably sure that I would do them well. How silly is that? How can I possibly expect to do something well the first time that I do it? As silly as it is, that has frequently been my mindset. There are at least a couple of problems with that mindset: I missed out on a lot of things that I may have really enjoyed, and I missed out on the opportunity to learn from some mistakes.

We all make mistakes! The important thing is whether we learn from our mistakes. How do you handle mistakes? Do you allow them to define you as a failure? Do you allow them to cause you to quit? Or do you use them as an opportunity to grow and to get better? Without mistakes we wouldn't have (or at least not as soon as we did) Post-it Notes, Coca Cola, Tires, the light bulb, penicillin and many more things. Mistakes are important in helping us learn and grow. I don't necessarily recommend intentionally making mistakes or continuing to make the same mistakes, but, I do encourage you to not waste your mistakes, after all, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

I Don't Like to Read

I have a bit of a problem. I like to learn but I don't really like to read. Now-a-days with all of the technology available to us, this isn't as big of a problem as it used to be. Even though I have tons of access to podcasts, vodcasts, apps, YouTube, etc. there is still something to be said for books. Which brings me back to the problem I started with; I like to learn but I don't really like to read.

That's why I was so excited a few weeks ago to hear about a website called "Study Leadership". This site offers book summaries for leadership books. In other words, they read the book and then give to their subscribers a much shorter (10-20 pages) summary of what the book said. So, instead of spending several hours over the course of several months (my typical book reading results), I can now get the main pieces of a book in only 20-30 minutes. What a great way to solve my problem.

These books aren't for everyone as they are focused on leadership and most are specific to church leadership. However if you are a manager or a leader (mom, dad, boss, coach, etc.) there are many books that I am sure you would find helpful.

If you like to learn but don't have the time to read full books, check out these summaries. And if you go to Crosswater (the church where I am one of the pastors) ask me about how you can get free access to these summaries.

"Free"

We've all seen it, "Free"; free trial, free 4 day/3 night vacation, free iPad2, the list goes on and on. Then comes the disclaimer, subscription at full price automatically starts if not canceled prior to exipration of "free" trial. Or, in order to get that "free" vacation you have to listen to a sales pitch for a timeshare or some other opportunity. In order to get the "free" iPad2 you have to complete 6 offers. All of these "free" things are suddenly no longer free.

Yesterday, my wife came to me with a "free" opportunity that she came across while running. A neighbor of ours had several stones about beside the road with a sign indicating that they were free. So, my wife literally ran home to get me and a vehicle to load up the stones. I was about to leave for the office and wasn't really in attire suitable for lifting dirty wet stones in a our vehicle. In addition, our vehicle was not ready to have dirty wet stones put into it (in other words there was no tarp or plastic or other material to keep the interior of our vehicle from getting dirty). I also knew that these "free" stones meant that some sort of project was coming and were going to need a permament location which I was sure would not be immediately agreed upon. So, to sum things up, I was instantly seeing the "disclaimer" while my wife was focused on the "free". Later, I had conversations with my wife about where these stones were to be put, saw several bags of paver base to create a suitable base for the rocks (these bags were not free) and heard about the emotional displeasure of my daughter who did not want to give up our playset as the new location for these rocks. These "free" rocks were not feeling very "free" to me.

I don't bring this up to make my wife look bad (I actually appreciate her desire to save us money), instead I bring this up as an example to show how easy it is to get enticed by something that ends up being "not all it's cracked up to be". In life we tend to settle for the quick fix, the latest and the greatest, the new fad, etc. When we do, we usually find out that these things weren't what we thought they would be. They don't satisfy, they don't fulfill. We leave feeling taken, cheated, disappointed.

Jesus offers us something different. In Galatians 5:1, Paul says to the church in Galatia; "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." The people in Galatia were trying to add to the grace of God, they were creating a disclaimer to Jesus' offer of FREE. Jesus' offer is different than the "free" offers we are accustomed to. in Jesus, we are offered true life, we are offered freedom from religion, from works, from the bondage of sin. What have you done with this offer? Have you accepted it or are you still looking for the disclaimer? Jesus wants to set you free, will you let Him?

What Do You See?

A friend of mine pointed this puzzle out to me today. What do you think when you come across a puzzle in this state of completeness? Some people see chaos and immediately get stressed out. Some people see a challenge and get excited about it. Some people are apathetic and just leave it to someone else.

Life is kind of like a puzzle. There are lots of pieces, some of which are in place, some are backwards, upside down or jammed where they don't fit. Like with a puzzle, there are many responses/feelings when we look at life. We may get overwhelmed by all that is unknown, or we may be comforted feeling that all the pieces will get put in the right spot at some point.

Whatever your response is, know that God has a plan. What may look or feel like chaos to you is known to God. He chooses to reveal where the pieces go in His time and when each piece gets placed you can look back and see how perfectly it fits. Instead of feeling stressed, overwhelmed, chaotic or even apathetic, look at the puzzle of life and know that the one who made the puzzle is putting it together.

When Passion is a Problem

If you have spent much time with me, you have probably discovered that I am a huge fan of the University of Washington. While I think it is a great university, I am really talking mostly about their football team and to a slightly lesser extent their basketball team. As a huge fan, today, February 1st, is pretty much a holiday for me. Why, because today is National Letter of Intent day. This is the day where high school seniors can officially commit to attend a school to play football. For many this is the end of what has been a year or even longer process of coaches, friends, family, strangers trying to "help" decide where to go to school. For fans of these schools it is a day of being hopeful of the future of the program or being disappointed about the direction.

In other words, I am a geek. I have been reading articles, checking tweets and looking for hints of where 18 year old kids are going to go to school. I don't know how much time I have spent doing all of this, not really a lot (depending on how you define "a lot"). But even though it hasn't been a lot, I have been increasingly convicted as today's "holiday" has come closer, about how much time, energy and passion has been expended on such a thing.

Do I have as much passion for Jesus and spending time with Him as I have for Husky football? I would honestly say that the answer is...sometimes. I don't follow Husky football because I have to. There was no requirement when I graduated that I had to take an interest in the program for the rest of my life or risk losing my degree. No, I follow Husky football because I am passionate about it. However, my passion for Jesus should be much greater. And, if it is much greater, it should my life should look like it.

What are you passionate about? Is it taking the place of Jesus in your life? If you say you are passionate about Jesus, is that apparent to those who see your life? I am really excited about the Huskies but I am in love with Jesus and want my life to look like it. I have some work to do!

Removal of a Sabbatical Beard

I must start off with an apology that I haven't had posts of a more meaningful nature lately. I will try in 2012 to have more significant posts. That being said, the post regarding my sabbatical beard has been my 3rd most viewed blog post so maybe you all just want me to do posts that make me look goofy. Well, here's another in that category...the removal of the sabbatical beard.

This is the final full beard picture before removal

Here is the beard combed out

1st partial removal picture

Pretty sweet sideburns

The goatee

Bit of a Fu-Man

Long Stache with some soul

Just the dirty stache

Not sure how much of an improvement this is but here I am with it all gone after about 10 weeks of having the "Sabbatical Beard"

Judging from the many comments that I have received, it seems the majority of people are quite glad that Aaron is back from his sabbatical and therefore my beard is gone. My face is quite a bit more cold now. Perhaps I should start a new beard....