Felt so good to slip on my very first pair of TOMS shoes.  They actually felt good on my feet.  Even though it feels to me a bit like wearing slippers, I love them because I know that my purchase not only bought me a  pair of shoes but also a child who didn’t have shoes a pair.

TOMS Shoes is one of the most innovative companies out there who found a way to both establish a business while at the same time doing some good in Jesus name.  You can read their story here.  And while you are there, pick yourself up a pair.  A child somewhere  in the world will thank you.

It’s a great model when you think about it.  I’m going to buy shoes anyway.  Why not buy from a company that is doing good?

I’m going to buy coffee anyway, why not buy from Land of a Thousand Hills that gives back to the communities they buy the beans from?

It’s not the end all of our service, certainly, but it can be significant.  We make our normal purchases into opportunities for good.

It was a gorgeous morning for a bike ride.  I love being able to take in God’s creation as the sun rises.

I managed to snap a shot of a deer I almost missed.  Unfortunately the camera (or user) wasn’t good enough to actually show the deer very well.  If you get close enough to the screen and you squint, you might be able to make it out in the center of the photo.

And then when I got home I saw this…

It’s a tough life, but someone has to live it.

Anyone who has been around me recently and heard me talk about what I’m reading has certainly heard me talk about Seth Godin.  I think this guy is one of the best and smartest author’s on marketing, getting your message out and in general being a change agent.  So many applications for what he talks about.

In his latest book Linchpin he tackles what it takes for you to be indispensable in your “world.”  If I may, here’s my two bullet point summary of what he says:

• • • • • Get really good at something you love;
        • Offer it as a gift to those around you.

I absolutely loved this book and encourage anyone wanting to make a difference in their world to devour it.  It’s not about pursuing an income.  It’s about offering what you have to the world.  And often only after you have done this can you make an income from that.  But first you have to offer yourself.

He writes that you were not born to be average.  You were brainwashed into believing that being average is how you are supposed to be to get by.  Not so in the world we live in today.  Being remarkable is how you must live.

I’ll let his words be the conclusion to this post.

“We need original thinkers, provocateurs, and people who care.  We need marketers who can lead, salespeople able to risk making a human connection, passionate change makers willing to be shunned if it is necessary for them to make a point.  Every organization needs a linchpin, the one person who can bring it together and make a difference.”

Go read it.

I recently read this fabulous book that basically addresses how to overcome the blocks and obstacles to creating.  Here’s my take on what it says:

There is something inside each of us, what Steven Pressfield calls “The Resistance,” that does not want you to be creative.  It’s that inner voice that says you can always work on that project tomorrow.  It’s anything that gets you to stop or delay creating.  And by creating I mean any creative endeavor: writing, art, starting a business, starting a new project, etc.

The best thing he said about overcoming The Resistance:  create on a schedule.  Sit down every day, every other day, whatever you decide and don’t let anything stop you from working on what you know you need to work on.

I know, it’s common sense, but he is so right that there does seem to be this resistance in each of us to doing creating anything.

In this creating time, it doesn’t matter if what you create is good or will ever be used.  The point is to create.  There is something inherently good in the creative process that feeds your creative capacity.

So to start sampling this I have carved out 2 4 hour blocks to do nothing other than write/work on planning for the “big” projects.  They are at the exact same times each week so I know I can count on them.  The amazing thing is that I am finding myself with more time than I anticipated.

In this time I really try not to worry about quality.  I just write what I need to write and evaluate its uses later.

What works for you in your creative endeavors?

I’m a huge fan of Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.  I love their coffee and I love their partnership to help the people of Rwanda.  April 6th is a dayof celebration.

… A day to celebrate the incredible stories of reconciliation and forgiveness Rwanda is becoming known for.

… A day for us to make known the incredible work that Christ is doing in the hearts of millions of Rwandans.

It is also the date that marks the 16th anniversary of the 100 day genocide, a dark period ns modern day history that left 1,000,000 dead in 100 Days.

The “100 Days / 100 Ways” campaign is an opportunity for us all to embrace/share the true story of Rwanda! An opportunity to tangibly engage in the redemption taking place in Rwanda and help transform 100 Days of horror into 100 days of light.

Would you take 2 minutes and read this document that has the first 5 of 100 ways you can educate yourself and help others understand how the horrific memory of the Rwandan genocide is being transformed into a shining example of God’s grace.

And while you are at it, buy some coffee!

No one likes to talk about it.  Very few like to do it.  Yet in Scripture, especially in Genesis, God looks at work as a high and holy calling.  I don’t typically like to post material that you can readily find elsewhere, but in a recent podcast from Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church I thought he  had a very profound yet simple way of looking at work.  Here is a guide for how we should decide the kind of work we will put our hands to:

1. Look in – “How has God made me?”  What skills and resources do I inherently have?
2. Look out – “How can I make a difference?”  Don’t just work for yourself, make a difference in other people’s lives.
3. Look up – “What is God calling me to?”

Admittedly the last is the hardest, but I’m convinced if we do the first two, the third will eventually come if we are listening.

I actually thought this was so good I’m applying it to how we decide where to serve.  It’s the same basic principles.

“This place is death”

These words were uttered by the character “Charlotte” in the 5^th season of Lost.  Now I love the show but I understand you may not, so hang with me just for a minute.

As I reflect on the death of Jesus today, traditionally called “Good Friday” I can’t help but ponder death.  Not physical death necessarily but the kind of death Jesus went through AND the kind of death he asks us to follow him into.

When Charlotte uttered those words she was dying.  Many others had died on that island and so it is understandable why she would think that.

I think I could make a case that this planet is death.  Think about it.  The very instant you are conceived a timer is set on your life.  We don’t know when we will die, but we know our life on this earth has an end.  That’s a sure thing.

And yet because of what Jesus did on the Cross we don’t have to experience death as final.  We can have new life beyond the grave.

And because of what Jesus did on the Cross we don’t have to experience life on planet earth as “death.”  I’m speaking of the experience we have when we take things like  money, power, success, a career, a relationships, etc and turn them into ultimate things.  Things that are good, but were never intended to be ultimate.  They ultimately are just dead ends.  They don’t actually deliver on the life they promised.

But when we choose to die to ourselves in following Jesus, we experience a resurrection of life that is found nowhere else but in Jesus.

This place may very well be death, but because of Jesus it can also be LIFE!

Have a great resurrection weekend.

One of the things I’ve learned since we went multi-site 18 months ago is that relationships are the glue that holds everything together.  Job descriptions and org charts are nice and helpful, but having a good relationship with other staff who we share staff with is essential.

Like a guitar string perfectly tightened, relationships in a multi-site environment have to be perfectly tightened to the right tension point.  If the relationship is too slack, then nothing will ever really get done.

• Neither person will speak honestly and openly.
• Neither person will really care about the others’ ministry.
• And both ministries will suffer long term.

If however the relationship is wound too tight it will be in constant unhealthy tension.

• There won’t be a spirit of trust;
• Each person will only look out for their own ministry;
• And still both ministry areas will suffer.

I won’t lie and say it has been easy.  But nothing that is worth the long term gain really is easy.  And that is what we have with our church, a mission that is too valuable to give up on.

I was reminded of this point just this week as the campus pastors sat down with Debby, our new Children’s Director to talk about the tension points.  And as we talked our conversations all came back to the quality of the relationship that we were establishing with her.

I’m most excited that we haven’t got stuck in any of the tension points and we are moving forward for the mission.  I’m excited that our two new campuses can learn from our experience of launching Hobart.  And because of it all people will find Jesus.

I’ve heard two thoughts on how to change something in your life.

1.  Baby steps

Perhaps made infamous in What about Bob? the idea is simple.  You make small incremental changes towards the bigger change you want.

2.  Shock the system

This idea was introduced through an article in Fast Company to me years ago when Greg passed it out to staff.  If I ever find it I will link to it.  It was a great article on how “baby steps” are  not the most effective.  The most effective way to change is by “shocking the system” with big changes.

Recently I’ve experienced the fruit of “shocking the system.”  We entered a biggest loser competition as a staff at Suncrest and I decided that it was time to really make some changes.  I had experienced the weight “yo-yo” throughout my life and knew that a diet was not going to work.  What I needed was a true change of eating habits and exercise.

So in one decision I:

• stopped drinking diet soda;
• started counting calories and keeping mine around 1200;
• started exercising every day;
• stopped eating sugar everyday and reserve that for once a week or so;
• started eating 5 or 6 smaller meals each day (with the weekly cheat meal);
• started creating a meal plan for myself each week ;
• and stopped eating out 3-5 times per week (in particular cheeseburgers!).

And so far it has worked!  I’ve lost 19lbs in 4 weeks and feel better than I have ever felt in my life.

Of course, none of the things I’ve done are rocket science.  And I’ve only been doing this for 4 weeks.

But I’m doing it with my wife for accountability and encouragement.  And our mindset is that this is not a diet but we will eat and exercise this way the rest of our lives.  And we love it.  It doesn’t feel restrictive because we eat every 2-3 hours.  And we love results so we are motivated.

I readily recognize 4 weeks is not a lifetime so I’m counting on you, whoever is reading this, to keep me accountable.  You have complete freedom if you see me scarfing down a Big Mac to ask, “So was that in your meal plan for the day?”

I love the story of Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water because it is a story that inspires me and reminds us all that God can use anyone,anytime to make a difference.  Since I keep telling people about this guy I thought it would be worth putting some more info about him.  Below is an excerpt from an article on his story in the NY times as well as a link to the full article.  You can also click the photo on the right to read more of his story in his own words.  Amazing God story!

Five years ago, Mr. Harrison was a nightclub promoter in Manhattan who spent his nights surrounded by friends in a blur of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. He lived in a luxurious apartment and drove a BMW — but then on a vacation in South America he underwent a spiritual crisis.

“I realized I was the most selfish, sycophantic and miserable human being,” he recalled. “I was the worst person I knew.”

Mr. Harrison, now 33, found an aid organization that would accept him as a volunteer photographer — if he paid $500 a month to cover expenses. And so he did. The organization was Mercy Ships, a Christian aid group that performs surgeries in poor countries with volunteer doctors.

“The first person I photographed was a 14-year-old boy named Alfred, choking on a four-pound benign tumor in his mouth, filling up his whole mouth,” Mr. Harrison recalled. “He was suffocating on his own face. I just went into the corner and sobbed.”

A few weeks later, Mr. Harrison took Alfred — with the tumor now removed — back to his village in the West African country of Benin. “I saw everybody celebrating, because a few doctors had given up their vacation time,” he said.

Mercy Ships transformed Mr. Harrison as much as it did Alfred. Mr. Harrison returned to New York two years later with a plan: he would form a charity to provide clean water to save lives in poor countries. But by then, he was broke and sleeping on a friend’s couch.

Armed with nothing but a natural gift for promotion, and for wheedling donations from people, Mr. Harrison started his group, called charity: water — and it has been stunningly successful. In three years, he says, his group has raised $10 million (most of that last year alone) from 50,000 individual donors, providing clean water to nearly one million people in Africa and Asia.”

What the article may not reveal as much is that he also returned with a newfound faith in God that he had lost along the journey of his life.

Full article here.