It has been a wild roller-coaster ride over the last few years.  Since leaving “occupational ministry” I have  begun to wear several hats.  I love my life “outside” of the ministry profession.  I have been challenged, blessed, and struggled through self-worth and finding validation through my work, my loves, and my passions.

In other words… I have had my ass kicked and God has STILL been there for me and Sarah.

The website looks a little different…as I do as well.  I have been very slack about posting.  Some of that is due to some real technical issues I have been struggling with, but those have been solved (thanks Tech Support).  But mainly, I have been silent because I feel that at some point, I lost my voice.

Not being in a church leadership position made re-evaluate who I was and what my blog (and my whole live) would be focused on.  And then I realized that nothing changed about the focus…what changed was my audience.  The people who will read this are friends, family, and people I want to be closer to, but also people who are struggling with some of the same issue I have (and still are) dealing with.

For all of you, let me say this: there IS hope.  There IS a reason everything is happening to and around you.  God is ALWAYS there and wants you to be the best you can be.  Lead with all gusto and passion.  Fight the good fight and NEVER give up.

The payoff is STILL worth is and no matter what HAS happened, it’s nowhere near as good as what WILL happen if you focus on leading yourself and others as best as you can!

See you in a day or two and we’ll talk about the lessons I learned at my FIRST GUN SHOW!!  It was a blast!! (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

I spend a lot of time in the Magic Kingdom.  It’s the “Happiest Place on Earth.” And at Christmas, there is no better place to be…it truly is magical.

At Christmas, Disney goes ALL OUT and decorates every inch of the 4 parks and numerous resorts.  It’s unbelievable.  And I could spend every day of my life in that magical place…

But today is about the birth a a child, in a far away place.  Born to a poor family.  And He would be the Savior of this world.  Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God.  He would live a perfect, sinless life, giving and serving those who He came to save.  And they, in turn, would nail Him to a tree, to die a sinner’s death.

And He died to save each and every one of us.  And He went to prepare a place for us…in His kingdom.  And as AMAZING as any kingdom that Walt Disney can make…  Can you imagine what God can do you?  Merry Christmas.

I’ve come to a place in my life where I believe that I’m really over myself.

I’ve had so many conversations with people, friends, leaders, pastors, counselors, and people on the street about life and living that I’ve come to this conclusion:  I need to pull my head out of my own ass. (Apologies to all my Christian brothers and sisters)

I found this video and thought that I needed to heed it’s invitation.

So, as of today, May 1, I am Fasting from Negativity, in my words, thoughts, and my every day life.

“I am not my own, I am bought with a price, I belong to God. I choose to grow in and put on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control.” -Trevor H. Lund

SO…I’m done.  I’m done with the negative thoughts, negative words, negative actions, and the negative self-condemnation.  I’m done with it all.  I know I will stumble, but over the next 40 day, with God’s grace and strength, I will succeed in fasting from negativity.

I am asking for your prayers, your grace, and support.  This is a HUGE undertaking for me.  But I do not walk this path alone…I have the Holy Spirit to guide, Jesus to sustain, God to empower, and people to walk with me.

I WILL do this.  I have to…

One of the joys of home ownership is mowing the lawn.  We couldn’t afford a “lawn guy,” so it’s up to me and my wife to keep the grass cut.

So, this morning, when I lost my basset hound in the grass, I KNEW it was time to mow.

And as I pushed my lawnmower up and down the lawn, I started think about how much mowing the grass related to the sin in our lives.

1.  If you don’t mow often, your grass will get out of control. I live in Florida, and when it rains, like it has in the past few days, the grass grows like crazy.  If left alone, the grass will get so high, it’s easy for snakes and other bad stuff to cause problems.  Sin is the same way, when we let sin get out of control, it it can wreak havoc with our lives.  But it doesn’t just effect us. Romans 7:5

2. Mowing (or NOT mowing) always affects your neighbors. I have a neighbor next door that hasn’t cut his grass in a LONG while, and it looks like a jungle next door to my house.  It not only makes my house look bad, it makes the neighborhood look bad.  When sin gets out of control, it affects the people around you.  It makes you look bad, and usually hurts the ones you love.  Out of control sin is a lot like a jungle: it’s full of danger and death is always close by. Romans 6:23

3. You have to stay inside the lines for your yard to look right. When you mow the yard and you veer off to one side you can tell…EVERYONE can tell.  Some sins are easier to hide than others, but in the end, the truth comes out, and everyone sees your mistakes.  You HAVE to stay in God’s Will so that your sins are forgiven, and your life [lines] stays straight. 2 Chronicles 7:14

4. No matter how hard you try, my lawn is never perfect. I have a rectangular yard.  I try to mow in perfect rectangles, so my yard doesn’t look funny when I’;m done.  And no matter how hard I try, there is always one line (or more) that doesn’t look right.  Sin causes us to live lives that dishonors God and causes us to veer away from our own core beliefs.  No matter how hard we TRY to do everything right, we just can’t quite seem to get it right.  That’s the beauty of Jesus Christ, no matter how messed up our lives [lawns] are, He makes up the difference, and makes us perfect. Romans 6:10

5. Mowing the grass always leaves stains on your shoes. I have 1 pair of old sneakers I use to mow the grass, and they USED to be white.  Now, they’re green-ish.  They’ve been stained by the grass.  Sin leaves stains on our hearts and in our lives.  And the ONLY way that we can get our lives clean is to be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Matthew 26:28

6. You have to re-fuel the lawnmower when it runs out of gas. If you forgot to check before you started, your lawn mower may run out of gas. This causes everything to stop and you have to trek back into the garage (and sometimes the gas station) to get more fuel.  When we’re fighting the everyday desire to sin, we must refuel with God’s Word, prayer, and accountability.  If we run out of gas, it’s usually our own fault. Ephesians 6:17

7. The only way we can truly appreciate our lawn mowing, is when it’s finished. We’ve all looked back on our hard work of mowing the grass and felt the pride of seeing a nice, clean, well manicured lawn, and knowing that we did that.  It may not seem very much fun when you choose NOT to sin, but once the temptation has passed, and you look back and realize the HUGE mistake you just DIDN’T make, you realize that you did the right thing for the sake of Jesus Christ. Matthew 25:21

8.  It’s always hotter when you mow the grass. It may be early morning or later in the evening, but once you start mowing, it just gets hotter.  Mowing the grass is hard work, even when you use a self-propelled or riding lawnmower.  It just get hot.  Sin is a pressure cooker.  You can only hide it so long.  One day, your sins will be revealed, because you are ALWAYS living on borrowed time.  Situations always get more and more tense.  That’s why accepting Jesus, and letting go of all that sin is so refreshing. 1 Peter 1:17

9.  Your refreshment is much better. After mowing the grass in the noonday sun, I had a HUGE glass of clear, cold water.  And it was  the BEST water I had EVER had.  It was cold and truly refreshing.  Living a life free from sin is more refreshing than living a sin filled life.  You relationships are better, your life is more fulfilling, and your worship is more authentic. I John 3:6

10. People appreciate a well-maintained lawn. How many time have you driven into a neighborhood and noticed a really well kept lawn?  When we get rid of the sin in our lives, we are blessed.  God is blessed.  Our businesses and our churces are blessed.  Our spouses and familes even reap rewards as our lives reflect the true love and forgiveness of Christ. 2 Peter 3:11

Now get out there and mow the lawn!