The difference Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups can make

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Parenting is a learning experience. There is no book that can teach you how to parent to perfection. There is so much to learn, and this includes whom you learn from. One of the most interesting things about being a parent is how much you can learn from your own kids. I learn a lot from my kids. My kids are awesome and through the good and the bad, we learn.

My own son Ty has taught me so much in regards to sharing. A couple of weeks ago we had a home swim meet that I was officiating at. Once the race starts, I need to be in my position and ready to pay attention to only the kids in the pool swimming. Ty came up to me during this time and tugged at my shirt. I told him to hang on for a second and when I had a free time I turned around. Ty gave me Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. Ty brought his own money to the swim pool and went out to the concession to get me this snack. Ty has always taught me so much about sharing. Even at a young age. When we would divide breadsticks among the kids, Ty always broke his in thirds and would give part of it to Nevaeh and Connor. Ty is so thoughtful and great when it comes to sharing.

Ty is a perfect example to me of Philippians 2:3-4…

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Life would be different if we all modeled this. This whole section of scripture is so powerful and if you want to read what this is all based off continuing reading verses 6-11. Another way the above scripture is put, “Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”

Ty has taught me so much and he is only six. Every moment in life can be a teachable moment and it also can be a time to learn. I need to continue to improve to put others before myself and will work on this today. What can you do to help others today?

Have a great day.

The LONGEST losing streak

A lifetime ago, I worked as a part time sports writer. I enjoyed my first career choice immensely. Being at the low end of the totem pole required me to take the worst stories that nobody wanted. We all have to start somewhere. I covered things I could care less about, bowling, fishing and hunting to be exact. One of my assignments was covering a team with a long losing streak.

I got the job of covering the Farwell basketball team. Farwell started the season on a 56 game losing streak. My job was to be there at game 56 till they broke the streak. I was apart of every agonizing loss making about $7 an hour covering this team. I went to areas in Michigan I didn’t know existed. I got lost a couple of times, ended up stranded in a blizzard with another sports writer (Matt Mowery, an amazing sports writer for the Oakland Press, check out his stuff it’s amazing) as loss after loss came long. If you want to see one of the stories…

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=20030218&id=UGYiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xawFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6159,3956118&hl=en

I covered the team until game 75 when they tied the unofficial state record. It was crushing, after the game trying to get interviews from the players was brutal, nobody wanted to talk and that includes me. $7 an hour is not worth writing about devastations on kid’s faces. Yet sometimes it takes being the lowest of lows to have the greatest of highs.

Paul shares with us a chunk of his life in Ephesians 3:7-8…

“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.”

Paul was willing to become less. Paul was willing to do the lowest of lows to share Jesus with people. Paul states he was not great and lower then all of the Lord’s people, but he did what he felt God calling him to do. Paul was humble, not thinking of himself as better then others but as less. How often in life do we think (Even subconsciously) that we are better then others? In order to share his mission of sharing Jesus with everyone, Paul knew he had to be humbled.

Sometimes it takes us realizing we don’t have all the answers to see the wonderful world. We need to be humbled. I felt bad for Farwell as every game was humbling for them, but we can cherish when one succeeds. Game 76, Farwell won. I was gone on my honeymoon and still called the paper to find out the results. I wish I could have been there to write the celebration story, but overall I am just glad they won.

We have to be willing to become the least to become great. I would not be where I am at today and the person I am today without humbling moments as covering Farwell during that time. When you look at your life, do you need to be humble? Do you need to look at the people around you and try to serve them better? Do you need to start looking at other people as greater then you? Imagine how the world would look if we did like Paul did and thought of ourselves as the lowest of lows? When we put value on others above ourselves life can change for us and for the ones around us for the better.

Have a great day.

I didn't think someone could be so cocky

Confidence is great, arrogance not so much. There are people that think they know all. Cockiness flows from them like sweat on a hot day. There was a guy I used to play hockey with, we will call him Troy. Troy was a guy who grew up playing hockey and thought he was going to be drafted and destined for the NHL. He was a very good player, made me look like a fool a couple of times in net. Every time we stepped on the ice, there was only one speed, fast.

It didn’t matter if it was a pickup game or a playoff game, he went all out. My brother Zach and I were playing drop in hockey and Troy was playing like a jerk. In drop in there are people of all different skills yet most people are laid back. Troy was not one of them. Zach and I were just getting into ice hockey more that summer and this was about the fifth time Zach ever played ice hockey. So early in the session Troy came up to Zach with the puck did a sweet move and went right by him. It was a great move.

What Troy didn’t know was Zach was a little bit of a natural, it never looked like he only skated five times. So a little later Zach with natural ability did the same move to Troy and blew past. Troy was ticked and tried to slash Zach all the way down the ice. A little bit of info, Zach was 6-2ish 200 pounds, Troy was 5-9, 155-160 pounds. Zach didn’t put up with crap though and after getting hooked all the way down the ice, he took him into the boards. Needless to say, Zach laughed, Troy was ticked and as he tried to get up to get in Zach’s face twisted his knee and fell to the ice. Troy then hobbled to the bench. Zach didn’t want to be a complete jerk and went to the bench to check on him. Troy responded, “Get out of my face before I blast you.” Zach tried to be nice, but upon Troy being a jerk to him Zach said, “Man, this is my fifth time playing ice hockey and I went by you like nothing, try harder next time.”

We can all be nice or be jerks. Romans 12:3…

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

We live life the way we want. We can be humble, respecting others or we can live like jerks. There is something about humble people that I just love. People who don’t think of themselves as all powerful. Paul shares with us the point of humbleness. We shouldn’t value ourselves above others. When we look at what we do compared to what God has done we are a bug on a windshield, we can’t compare.

Yet even in our small statue, we can still think highly of ourselves. We are not called to be conceited or big-headed but rather modest and simple.

What are ways you can be humble today? Who can you show that you are respectful? Can you put yourself in their place and show more respect? There is beauty in humbleness.

Have a great day.

Laying in a hospital bed over winter break

Laid up in a hospital bed is not how I like to start my winter break. Several years ago, this was the case, stomach pains sent me to be admitted. I shared a room with someone I have never seen before. His name doesn’t ring a bell, but he is a guy I will never forget. Having intense stomach pains I was admitted to the hospital where I found out I had a roommate, over the next couple of days I got to know him better.

He was a guy from the Lansing area I would have never run across. There was something that was off about him but I could never figure out what was wrong with him. He was a nice guy, had a great personality, he cracked me up and seemed to be loved by his visitors. I found out this guy got wrapped into stuff he shouldn’t have been in. Now he was living in a tent behind a store in the Michigan winter.

This is what put him in the hospital. He didn’t notice it at the time but from living out of a tent in the middle of the winter he ended up with some form of frostbite and lost a couple of his toes. Now he sat here in the hospital waiting on what they were going to do. The doctor came in and told him all his toes would be removed from his foot they would be replace with synthetic (I vaguely remember). They were doing other things to help with the infection and improve that.

This guy had a great attitude and desire for life, with his remaining toes on his right foot he would often say, “Hey look, the peace symbol!” He cracked me up. Soon it wasn’t as funny.

He didn’t have insurance and would be sent away. What was going to be a couple of days of procedures and recovery was changed to some antibiotics and a boot out the door. For the life of me I could figure out why this guy couldn’t get insurance at all. It ends up he was heavily into drugs and even his visitors were family that tried to help him out from time to time but he never improved. The help he needed wasn’t from medical hospital but from a rehab place.

This guy’s life was wrecked because of drugs and his ability not to get help. What’s different between us and him? Not much. We are in the same boat, we are sinners and full of mistakes. Yet God gives us another chance, Romans 3:23-24…

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

This guy fell short of the glory of God and so do we. We are not mistakes but we make a ton of mistakes. God values each and every life and values your life so much. God loves you and you are free because Jesus gave us grace. Through all our sins Jesus washed them all away. Laying in the hospital bed next to my roommate, we came from different paths, had different struggles and yet we were in the hospital both seeking help.

We all need help from time to time. Whether it’s our marriages, our family, our friends, a physical problem or a bad habit like drugs or alcohol, help can be there for us. Don’t be afraid to seek help with issues going on in your life. If you had a broken leg, you go to a doctor, if something was wrong with your head mentality, you would go to a doctor too.

We serve a God that is loving and just. He wants us to be able to conquer those issues going on in our lives. I think about my former roommate from time to time and pray that he was able to get the help needed and kick the bad habit. God is love and is forgiving to those who seek forgiveness. If you need help, please seek someone to help you.

Have a great day.

Are mission trips pointless?

I was recently asked to share my thoughts on going to Haiti for a mission trip.  This is some of the thoughts that came up in no particular order…

·         I had reserves about going on an overseas mission trip, I heard and mostly agreed that they were beneficial for the person going but not the community they were going too.  I often heard that Americans would go over, build things and spend a ton of money on airfare to get there.  A mission organization figured out that if they just shipped the money they would have spent on going and gave it to the people 10-15,000 would be sent in money alone.  This would allow the people to hire local people to do the jobs and help the economy out.  As a result of hiring people locally this allowed the churches over there to minister to the people and help them by giving them jobs.  This was a thought I had before going on this trip.  Should we as Americans go on mission trips or raise and give money? I tried to keep an opening mind as I went on the trip.

·         Food – I was really worried about eating the food over there for the simple fact, if it’s not a burger it’s questionable to me.  The food was more than adequate and in fact I had some amazing food over there including the best pineapple upside-down cake.  We were treated very well in the food department and I tried some different food.  I tried goat for the first time, not bad but would not have again.

·         People – What I enjoyed the most was meeting the people down there.  Matthieu (Our mission leader) took us through the cities in order to meet with some people from the Church.  I cherished this time, we got to meet and see families from the Church and were able to offer money to the people that really needed it.  It was so nice to meet with other Christians and fellowship even when you didn’t understand all of the words they said.  The people were amazing and faithful.  We met a family where the husband died and they literally had no way of bring in money.  Unlike here there isn’t a job market, people do what they have to do to make money and survive.  We were able to start supporting this family and help in that way.

·         Worship – This was one of a kind.  We got to hear and see people that truly worshipped God everyday.  We witnessed a middle through college age retreat in which the people literally camped on concrete grounds and had the spirit of God with them.  They praised God to the best of their abilities and it was amazing worshipping in Church for upwards of 4 hours and feeling like you were there maybe an hour.  Simeon (one of the worship leaders) was able to create a worship song for the retreat in a week and it was very well done.  I was amazed by the worship.  There was even a group of 15-20 women that got together every morning at 5 to sing and pray for the Church.  I was in awe of this.  They were so dedicated in their faith, loved it.

·         Teaching – I was able to share in the word of God with the people and honestly didn’t feel at home, these people went through struggles I never had in my faith and it was very humbling to say the least.  Matthieu even told me I was a much better teacher then a preacher, I didn’t know if this was a complement or not but it was funny.

·         Conclusion – I really enjoyed my mission experience and overall came to my own conclusion that it’s great for us to go over there.  Matthieu mentioned multiple times he loves when groups are able to come over because you get a firsthand experience that sending money does not do.  I will never forget my time over there and truly enjoyed worshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ over there.  It is a trip I think every Christian would benefit for and will gain a great perspective of the kingdom of God.  We were able to see one of the Churches had a wall falling apart and if the government saw it, they would close the building and as a result close the school in this community.  So rather then going on a mission trip next year we are going to raise money as a Church to help pay for a new school over there.  It’s amazing what we can do to help another Church out.

Have a great day.

Stuck in denial and were not talking about the river

My mind wonders back to Finding Nemo.

A moment pops in my head when Dorie and Marvin find themselves with the sharks.

It seemed like the sharks are about to eat them when they find out they are at a no fish eating meeting.

It’s Marvin’s turn to talk and he said he doesn’t have a problem with eating fish.

The Sharks push him to talk and say “Denial.”

Denial is so easy and so hard sometimes.

Peter denied that he knew Christ one time.

John 18:25 he denies him again.

Then one more time in verse 26…

“One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.”

Peter was with Jesus and denied knowing him three times.

Jesus predicted this and Peter didn’t believe it was the case.

Do we have a habit of living in denial?

We do this with…

·         Our faith
·         Our health
·         Our families and other loved ones

It’s like we can believe we can fix things on our own.

My back was hurting for a long time before I would ever step into a doctor’s office, I figured it would get better on my own.

Peter denied Christ, he could have let this consume him.

Peter does not.

It’s like fighting through our own problems.

Sometimes we can do this on our own and sometimes we need to get help from others.

It takes a lot to seek help from other people, but that can be the best decision you could ever make.

Do you need to seek help in an area of your life or live continue denial?

Today could be the day your life could change and improve.

Be humble and realize when you need help.

Have a great day.

No faults, just like most politicians

Some people see no fault sin themselves.

Maybe you know someone like this or have seen someone like this.

It can remind me of a political campaign.

Whether political party or candidate, they try to paint themselves as an amazing person with no faults.

Maybe some of them are, but most are not.

Why?

They are human.

We make mistakes, we try to judge different situations.

We are not perfect.

Jesus was in the middle of calling out the Pharisees in the previous section of scripture when he healed a blind man and they were mad because he didn’t keep to the Sabbath.

He was in the process of saying something like I have come to judge so the blind will see and those that see will be blind.

This confused the Pharisees, they asked this and he responded in John 9:40-41 (This comes from The Message Bible)…

“Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?

Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”

In a weird paraphrase Jesus is basically saying you think you are all that and a bag of potato chips but you are not.

We get wrapped into this.

Thinking I see everything through our eyes and we are right.

The Pharisees thought this.

They thought they understood what faith in God was all about, but when Jesus came along it changed.

He showed them a different way to believe and have faith, they couldn’t take it.

We all know that some politicians are great great people, but some have multiple failures.

This is why I put my trust in God and Jesus rather than claiming some person on earth is a saint.

Sometimes I need to keep myself in check with my thoughts and motives.

We are held accountable for our thoughts and failures.

How are you doing?

Do you think of yourselves as better than others?

Do you not see any room for improvement in yourself?

What do you think?

Have a great day.

Nevaeh trying to buy jewelry online

Children are amazing.

They can surprise you in ways you never thought possible.

Over a year ago, Hailee’s birthday was approaching.

Nevaeh wanted to get her something nice.

Nevaeh is very thoughtful and puts effort into her gifts.

For my birthday she made me a beautiful card and put $10 (Almost all of her money of savings in it).

It was so sweet.

Last year for Hailee’s birthday, Nevaeh wanted to get something for her mom.

Once every while Nevaeh gets on our computer to PBS kids website.

Nevaeh asked to play and later called me over because she wanted to show me what she wanted to get Hailee for her birthday.

I went over expecting to see a card or pointing at some item.

Instead she had a jewelry store website up and said, “I think Mom would love this.”

“Nevaeh, how did you know how to work the internet and what site to get to?”

She pointed to a jewelry magazine and said, “The website was right here Dad, all you have to do is type www. And the rest of this and it will take you to the site.”

My daughter was teaching me to use the internet.

It was priceless.

She is so thoughtful and wants to make other people happy.

There is something pure about kids at a young age.

People were bringing kids as young as babies to Jesus.

They wanted him to touch them for a blessing.

The disciples thought the people were wasting Jesus time and told Jesus such.

Jesus responded with this in Luke 18:16-17…

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

There is something about kids that is pure.

Kids are also dependent on someone else completely.

The younger the kid, the more dependent they are on other people to survive.

As the Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “Children come with expectation and excitement. They come realizing that they are not sufficient in themselves they depend totally on others.”

Here is the point, if we don’t have the same humbleness as these children (As adults) we will not enter the kingdom of God.

We like to think we have all the answers, but we don’t.

Faith steps in at some point, and we have to choose to have this or not.

We have to be humble and go to God on our own in humility in order to go to heaven.

Nevaeh is such a sweetheart, pure and realizes she doesn’t have all the answers.

She is a child and dependent on us to help her grow into an adult.

Just like she depends on us, we need to depend on God.

What or who do you depend on?

Have a great day.

Were not worthy, were not worthy

Why am I here?

Ever feel like you’re in a spot you shouldn’t be?

A couple of years back Hailee and I had won a ticket package in a silent auction.

This allowed our friends Jeremy, Cindy and us to sit in the fourth row at a Pistons game.

It was amazing.

We were running behind so we decided to fork over money to eat at the game.

We weren’t that excited about it, but forth row tickets, we dealt with paying outrageous prices.

We got to the stadium and saw there was a restaurant type place inside.

It had a name on the outside and we tried to go in.

They told us it was a private club and only members were allowed in.

Weak.

Hailee then looked at our tickets again because they had a logo on the bottom.

She asked the same guy that wouldn’t allow us in and said does this mean anything?

The guy told him our restaurant was around the corner on the second level.

We got up there and were treated to a free dinner.

It was a gourmet buffet.

Before, during and after the game we were allowed to come there and eat.

At the end of the game rather than dealing with traffic, we went back up for more food and watch as all the cars left, and we got to go home with no traffic.

Multiple times throughout the night, I felt I shouldn’t be here.

I am a part time youth minister, live in a small house, going to school full time and this was unreal.

I didn’t feel worthy and felt out of place.

It was a great night, yet I didn’t feel I deserved this.

What do we deserve?

Jesus tells us the story about a Pharisee and a tax collector going to pray.

The Pharisee went up to the temple thanked God for he was not like sinful men (Adulterers, evildoers, robbers, even this tax collector) and he fast twice a week and gives a tenth of all he got.

The tax collector, stood a distance away, he wouldn’t even look up and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Jesus said this about the men in Luke 18:14…

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus can tell who is sincere and who is not.

None of us our worthy enough for Jesus, yet he shows us grace and compassion.

The Pharisee in the story didn’t get this.

He thought faith was about what you did rather than who you are.

The tax collector was real.

He was humbled.

I didn’t feel worthy to be at that basketball game, yet I was and had a great time.

We are not worthy to go to heaven, yet when we have faith and humble hearts to Jesus, we are allowed to be there.

Even when we don’t feel worthy.

Be respectful and earn the right to be worthy before God.

How can you do this today?

Have a great day.