10 Most Fleeting Love Affairs of All-Time.

So, here we go:

1. Baseball. As Brad Pitt says in Moneyball, “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.” I agree. Growing up, little league was my life, the big leagues were my dreams, and Topps trading cards were my economy. However, my Orioles haven’t given me much reason to find romance in this affair over the last 20+ years!

2. The Baltimore Colts. I was a kid devastated on that Day of Infamy, March 29, 1984, when the moving trucks rolled out of Baltimore in the snow, carrying away the blue-and-white gear that I had on posters all over my bedroom. This love affair left me feeling used, abandoned, and taken for granted. I was only 13-years old and I had suffered my first relational breakup.

3. Drums and Metal bands. I got my first drum set for my 13th birthday. Learned to play synchronizing to ZZ-Top’s “Eliminator” album. I played obsessively in Heavy Metal bands throughout jr. high and high school, and then surrendered the MTV dreams before I turned twenty. Sometimes I miss the spandex pants and eyeliner from my 80’s hair band days… but not the long hair. It takes way too long to prep!

4. Ocean City, Maryland. As a kid growing up in Baltimore, Ocean City was like Disney World on the boardwalk. Sandcastles. Carnival rides. Boogie boarding. I loved summer visits to the OC, but then we moved to Florida and were surrounded by beaches. It lost its luster.

5. Maryland-style Chesapeake Bay steamed crabs. Mouth watering, heart melting, addiction inducing, cholesterol laden, and life-giving! At one time, you could only purchase Old Bay seasoning in Maryland. Now it’s all over the world. If you ever see a sign outside of Maryland that reads, “Maryland-Style,” don’t believe it. You can’t get the real experience unless you are at the Chesapeake Bay. This affair is long lost now that I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. But I would still love it if some of my peeps in Baltimore would ship me some during season. Wink… wink.

6. Nascar. Admittedly, I am a recovering Nascar junkie. I still struggle with this affair. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

7. Cassette tape evangelism. When I first became a Christian, I recorded over all of my Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and the likes, cassette tapes, and replaced them with Carmen, Petra, Amy Grant, and a Billy Graham altar call. Then I strategically placed them in public restaurants, restrooms, and phone booths (yes, they existed at one time), still with the original artwork from the metal bands. All so that lost sinners would come to find Jesus after thinking they got a free Ozzy tape! This affair ended when I learned there were more effective means in leading people into a personal relationship with Christ.

8. Michael Jordan and Da Bulls’ dynasty. I still have all the 90’s playoff games recorded on VHS. MJ, hands down, the greatest basketball player ever to grace this planet. If you weren’t around for that era, you missed something extraordinary and very special. The King, The Kobe, and the rest of the NBA; sorry, there will never, ever… ever… ever… ever… be another Jordan. But I am keeping an eye on this whole Lin-sanity kid. Show us whatcha got, Jeremy Lin. They might love you like they love Tim Tebow.

9. The Tony Dungy era Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Living in central Florida during this era, we witnessed a future Hall of Fame coach of unprecedented class and character, and Christ-exemplifying leadership, turn around a dismal franchise and bring it to the brink of greatness. Though Gruden got the trophy, we all know who built that team. Dungy didn’t get the “tangible” reward for the great organization his leadership shaped in Tampa, but he eventually got his championship ring. Thank you for a relatively short-lived, yet beautiful love affair in Tampa, Mr. Dungy. The Bucs have never been the same since your departure.

10. Politics. Yes, I too was once naïve in believing that if we just had the right person in the White House then the world would change. But the older I get, this one thing I am getting more confident of (if not already sure of), if we are going to take responsibility in changing our world, it will have to go beyond a voting booth. Politics is an affair that has failed people in every generation. And with this being an election year, the political swords are getting drawn once again. The hostilities are on the rise. “Choose your side!” they say. Well, yes, vote your conscious. Be a responsible citizen. Don’t be negligent. Know the issues. Know the candidates. But also know this: if this world is going to change, it won’t be because we bear the name Democrat or Republican, or even Independent; it will be because we bear the name of JESUS and are passionate about letting the world know about his radical love and timeless message. This is how an unbelieving world will come to know that we are legit (John 13:35), if we demonstrate his love toward one another. Now that’s an affair that doesn’t have to be fleeting.

In my book 13-Foot Coffins, I talked about how God has a coffin for every giant you will ever face, regardless of its size. In my lifetime, I’ve met many giants that I didn’t have the courage or power to face. And in this same lifetime, I’ve also never met a giant that God couldn’t handle or that His grace wasn’t sufficient enough to overcome.

Life is no place for the timid.

When God told Joshua to make a bold move in stepping into his destiny as a leader, He didn’t give Joshua a book of methods, strategies, or outlines on leadership. He didn’t teach him ultimate fighting techniques for taking giants down. He simply told him to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:1-9).

If Joshua could do that, God promised to take care of everything else.

Our family recently saw We Bought A Zoo (watch the trailer below), the amazing true story about a recently widowed father, Benjamin Mee, played by Matt Damon, who decides his family needs a fresh start. He still feels the pain of losing his wife to cancer. He is struggling with an insubordinate teenage son facing expulsion from school, and is desperate to rescue his family by instilling a sense of courage and adventure in his children. They are all dealing with a great loss and a huge transition in their lives, so the single father feels a sense of urgent responsibility to teach his children how to face life with audacity.

He takes a bold risk.

Benjamin quits his job as a journalist and moves his family to the most unlikely of places, buying an old dilapidated zoo, though having no experience with animals and destitute of any knowledge in zoology.

Facing enormous odds, he and his children, along with a small staff, work diligently to get the zoo re-opened and restored to its former glory. They face unspeakable challenges: an overcritical inspector, a divisive staff person, a depleted bank account, a diminishing morale, and a disengaged teenager. Yes, it’s a movie about church planting!!!

But Benjamin is a bold and courageous leader. He commits to the process despite the overwhelming odds. In an intimate conversation he has with his teenage son, Benjamin explains to Dylan how sometimes it just takes a little bit of ridiculous faith and crazy courage to accomplish your goals.

“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

It’s a defining moment for Dylan. He gets it. And it becomes a turning point in his life.

The Bible is full of moments just like this; stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things because they were overcome with about “20 seconds of insane courage.”

It takes 20 seconds of courage to:

• Go after that God-inspired dream when others don’t believe in it.
• Admit to your spouse that you were wrong.
• Forgive that person who offended you.
• Decide your past will not define you.
• Honor God with generosity… GIVE!
• Have that tough conversation with someone far from God.
• Lay down your agenda for Jesus’ agenda.

Today, whatever you are facing in life, avoid the temptation to know everything and simply seize your moment. Be strong and courageous, act on those 20 seconds of insane courage, and trust God to do the unimaginable in your life.

Life is no place for the timid. Go for it!

Evernote is a suite of software and services designed for notetaking and archiving. A “note” can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten “ink” note. Notes can also have file attachments. Notes can be sorted into folders, then tagged, annotated, edited, given comments, searched and exported as part of a notebook. Evernote offers online synchronization and backup services.

Evernote works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there. Save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see. Search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images. Find everything fast, and best of all, it’s FREE!

Michael Hyatt’s tutorials were thoroughly helpful to me in setting up the app and getting acclimated to it quickly.

Get Evernote here.

Though I have numerous goals for the new year, I really only have ONE resolution. And if I do this one thing, my life’s goals will have greater meaning, transcending value, and longevity of influence than I could ever imagine. My firm resolve for 2012 can be summed up in this life “resolution” made by a man many years ago who found his life’s greatest purpose not in what he could gain, but in what he intended to lose:

“He must increase, but I must decrease,” said John the Baptist. (John 3:30 ESV)

I know. We all want to increase in our lives. We want to add character, quality of life, sense of purpose, relational depth, organizational growth, spiritual progress, and the list goes on and on. But we don’t think as much about what needs to decrease in our lives.

Yet this is what God blesses – the life that yields itself to His life becoming more glorious in these earthly vessels we have been given a temporary lease on. I promise you that if you make this your one firm resolution, to make much of Jesus and less of you, then every other goal in your life will come into alignment with His purpose, His presence, and His power.

Perhaps 2012 is the year that everything in your life aligns itself up with His divine order, uncommon favor, and supernatural blessing, because you made this ONE thing your resolute will: that Jesus would increase and _____________ (your name) would decrease.

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV)

Questions for Introspection and Implementation

1. What are my fondest memories of 2011? Who and what made them special?

2. Was there a beautiful moment(s) in which God revealed himself more deeply to me? (a relationship, a revelation, a serve opportunity, etc.)

3. What were some of the most meaningful projects, accomplishments, or activities I engaged myself in this past year? What underlying factors made them meaningful and how can I build these factors into my core values for the new year?

4. What did I procrastinate on and fail to get done this past year? What discipline can I add to my life to eliminate procrastination in the new year?

5. Am I closer to my friends and family from my activities this past year? If so, what activities brought me closer so that I can practice them more in 2012? If not, what goals do I need to set to achieve greater relational intimacy in the new year?

6. The things that excite me most reveal much about my priorities. What did I celebrate most in 2011? What does this reveal about my priorities? Are they things that God values (such as one sinner coming to repentance or a person becoming more devoted to Christ, His Church, and His cause)?

7. How committed have I been to my local church: Christ’s primary and greatest agent for changing the world? How can I become more committed to Jesus, His Great Commission, and His Bride: the local church?

8. Who am I taking responsibility to mentor (discipleship)?

9. What happened this year that needs to be remembered, memorialized, perhaps recorded in a journal so I can return to it in the future and recall the blessing (or the rebuke) of God? Making such a record is like those monuments and altars God had the Israelites raise up when great things worth remembering had happened.

10. What have my prevailing feelings been (and what are they at the present)? What has been my dominant mood this year? Has there been a preponderance of sadness, of depression, of fear, of anger, of regret, of joy, of gratitude, of emptiness, of enthusiasm? How has that mood affected others?

11. What have been the “blessings,” those acts of grace that have come through others or—as I perceive it—directly from God himself? Can I express praise and appreciation (sometimes even written in a thank-you note or other expression of gratitude to someone)?

12. Who inspired or mentored me this year? Should I let them know how much they influenced my life?

13. Have things happened for which I need to accept responsibility, perhaps leading to repentance? Why did they happen? Were they avoidable and how can they be prevented in the future?

14. Is there a possibility that I am living in denial of certain realities? Painful criticism, sloppy work, habitual patterns that are hurting me and others?

15. Are there any resentments or ill feelings toward others that remain unaddressed, unforgiven? If I don’t deal with them appropriately, I will carry toxins into my new season in 2012. What must I do to deal with them? Do I need to release someone who has hurt me or apologize to someone I knowingly hurt?

16. Is there an overarching message God has been speaking into my life this year? Through Scripture? Through books? Through sermons? What has he been saying through those in my inner circle of relationships? Through critics? What insights swirl up and out of the deepest parts of my soul? Which of them needs to be repudiated, and which needs to be cultivated?

17. What are the things I might do and say that would make the people in my inner circle feel more loved, valued, appreciated, and even empowered going into 2012?

18. Am I mindful of the socially awkward, the poor, the suffering, the oppressed in my local world and in the larger world? Am I in tune with appropriate current events in the world and perceiving them through the lens of biblical perspective? If not, what can I put in place this new year to help me become more attuned people, community, and events.

19. Am I closer to God now than I was at the beginning of 2011? Why?

20. Now, what will be my goals and resolutions as I move forward into 2012?

Channel 12 news piece on the terminally ill man who collected and fixed up bikes to give away to kids during Breakaway’s Christmas outreach to under-served neighborhoods.

1. Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand

2. The Cause Within You – Matthew Barnett

3. Beautiful Outlaw – John Eldredge

4. The Score Takes Care of Itself – Bill Walsh

5. Keep On Pushing - Devon Harris

6. Forgotten God – Francis Chan

7. The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork – John C. Maxwell

8. A Resilient Life – Gordon MacDonald

9. Weird – Craig Groeschel

10. We Die Alone – Dave Howarth