You might die trying

The world is always changing. We can’t stop change but we can initiate it. We are people that can change the world with what we do and our actions. What can you do to change the world?

There is a great song from Dave Matthews Band, You Might Die Trying. The link to the song is here.

Strong lyrics and some of my favorite, “To change the world start with one step. However small, first step is hardest of all… If you give, you begin to live, if you give, you get the world.”

Giving is living. What if we tried to make the world a better place then we found it? Selfless giving is awesome, Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7…

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

There is amazing power behind giving. Paul tells us you get what you give. If you don’t give, don’t expect to get. If you give just to expect something in return, you are giving for the wrong reasons. You can’t buy love.  You can’t give out of guilt, there isn’t a guilt offering anymore. God loves when people give out of the goodness of their hearts. When you look at your own life, how do you give? Would you say you’re a taker more then a giver?

You can be a blessing to someone else. Have you thought about that? What you do with your time or money or abilities can be a gift to someone else. I once attended a church in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan in which there were several haircutters. They said they wanted to do something for the church. They weren’t wealthy but they had a skill and wanted to give. So they came up with a plan to cut hair for a donation on a Saturday. All the money they raised went to the church.

They could have made money but instead decided to give their time and abilities. Just like in the DMB song, it starts with one step. I have a great man at my church Dan. Dan is thoughtful and caring towards ministers and has fixed multiple things on my vehicles all for the cost of the parts. Dan has saved me easily over $1,000 dollars and given up a day off to spend the day working on my vehicle. I told him I would pay him but he won’t accept a dime, so I told him we owe him a nice steak dinner. He accepted.

You can make this world a better place. “It starts with one step. However small, first step is hardest of all. “– DMB

Make this world a better place, have a great day.

10 years with the ball and chain

Ready for the good ole ball and chain.

I feel bad for whoever described being married to the analogy the ball and chain.

That would just suck.

Seeing marriages struggle is never an easy thing.

As a minister and coming from a multiple divorce family, I have seen where marriage can be like a prison and struggle.

Where selfish desires can take over and people just think of themselves over the other or the family.

I am proud to say I am on the other side of the spectrum.

No matter the fact that someone once told Hailee and I to our faces our marriage would only last 3 months, I am here 10 years later to say I love my marriage and my wife even more than I did 10 years ago.

I didn’t think that was possible.

Marriage is not always easy.

It takes love and sacrifice beyond just saying I love you.

Love is not a word it’s an action.

You show you love someone with what you do with your life for that other person.

A good marriage is about sacrifice for a greater cause.

Yet I am a screw up.

I have messed up plenty of times in my marriage.

I am not perfect.

Yet I have a loving wife who is graceful and forgiving.

She honestly has made me a better person and I cherish her for that.

As I sit here writing this from a dorm room at CIY with my wife 100 miles away, I can honestly say I miss her and wish I were there but there is a greater purpose then just our marriage.

When Hailee and I got married, we said God would be first in our relationship.

He has been.

Part of the reason Hailee and I can move forward together has been our ability to forgive one another.

I wouldn’t have that forgiveness without knowing that no matter what Christ forgave us and we need to forgive each other.

I am gone taking students on an amazing trip where they grow closer to God.

It has been a great week watching these amazing individuals grow closer to God and that takes precedence over my own selfish desires.

I look forward to tonight when I get to spend time with my wife.

Hailee is the most amazing women I have even met (Sorry mom).

She is beautiful on the inside and the outside.

She has always made me laugh.

There was a Facebook post about marriage and be like having a sleep over every night with your best friend, I can honestly say that is correct.

Hailee is my best friend.

My Jason’s are a close second, but Hailee trumps them.

She knows my insecurities and strengthens me rather than tearing me apart.

She lifts me up when I am down.

She is smoking hot!

She has given me three wonderful children and a soon to be fourth.

She has dealt with where I felt I was called.

“I married a sports writer not a minister, I didn’t sign up for this,” she would say while joking.

Hailee never stood in my way.

She always wanted me to pursue my goals and help me accomplish them.

I don’t know if I would have a college degree more or less a master’s degree without Hailee.

She is truly my better half and I believe that everyday.

I have done many stupid things and Hailee has put up with me.

Before we were dating Hailee was dating someone else and we were just friends.

She broke up with him and I tried to take our friendship to the next level.

Soon she invited me to dinner.

At this dinner she was going to tell me that she was going to get back with her ex.

We were talking and having a good conversation but soon she told me her plan.

People, I have never done this before and still can’t believe I said this then…

I said that’s ok, because I think we are meant to be together and I know it’s not going to workout out between you guys.

Then sticking my foot into my mouth further…

I said, “I think God wants us to be together and I will wait for your relationship to end because I know we are supposed to be together.”

I couldn’t believe the words that just came from my mouth.

I knew I found my wife, she thought I was crazy (Little did she know I was crazy J).

Weeks later, we start dating.

We started dating on Super Bowl Sunday.

Three weeks later in the most romantic way, I asked Hailee to marry me while watching a commercial to Ally McBeal.

She said yes and we haven’t been apart since.

Hailee is the most amazing person I have met.

I cherish all our time together through the good and the bad, til death do us part, I still to love you with every piece of my heart (God bless you All 4 One for coming up with the song I Swear).

I thank God for him putting you in my life and can’t wait to see my wife later on today!

Have a great day (I know I will!)

The Bloomin Onion burger = eating over a full dozen of glazed dounts….NO WAY

Something so good could be so bad.

I am a fan of Outback steakhouse.

They are a little on the pricey side so we can’t go there all the time, but if Hailee and I were going on a hot date and money wasn’t an issue, most likely we could end up at Outback.

About 1-2 years ago they added a burger to their menu.

The Bloomin Onion burger.

It’s the Bloomin Onion appetizer on top of a cheeseburger.

It is amazing!

My second favorite burger next to the bonzi burger from Red Robin.

It is amazing.

On top of that I have them make the fries into outback cheese fries.

This is an amazing meal.

I love the taste and I enjoy every bite.

Until I see the health content….

1,221 Calories

77g fat
30g of saturated fat
249 mg cholesterol
2831 mg sodium
76g carbs

BUT

There are 7g of fiber and 56g of protein so I have that going for me.

Take it I do switch mustard with the bloomin onion sauce, so I think that lowers everything about 50 percent right?

Then the killer is the cheese fries.

The cheese fries at outback are amazing.

We usually order them and I eat about 75 percent of them.

Health content for cheese fries with ranch (We eat without ranch)…

2,900 calories182g fat and 240g carbs

Wow.

On top of it all, Men’s Health listed the cheese fries at outback the Number 1 worst food to eat in America.

How do I live when I eat this meal?

How could something that taste so good, be so bad for you?

This can happen so many times in life.

Something we enjoy especially for a quick fix can be so bad for us.

Sometimes its food, sometimes it’s something we get caught up in and other times it could be people.

Could something that is good for us, we hate?

A lot of people could say vegetables in here, but what about people?

Listen to how they describe Stephen and what opposition he faced in Acts 6:8-10…

“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.  Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) – Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia.  These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.”

Stephen was known for doing amazing things and yet people didn’t like him.

How could someone known for doing amazing things, be a bad person to the people?

Sometimes we are very hard on other people.

I have seen this happen in schools a lot where the people that are really nice and respectful are treated like dirt by other people.

Why is this?

What makes us be bad to good people?

Stephen was a great man and yet people didn’t like him.

They tried to speak against him but he was wise beyond them.

Stephen was a great person.

Some things like that burger are very bad even though they taste very good.

People treated Stephen very bad even though he was very good.

Bad vs. Good.

How does this happen?

Why do we sometimes treat good people so bad?

Think about one person you are not nice too.

Why are you mad at that person?

Could the relationship be saved?

Things can change in life.

Attitudes can change.

We don’t have to make the same mistakes and can repair relationships.

We don’t have to treat other people bad when they honestly could be very nice people.

How can you be nice to someone you have been mean to today?

Have a great day!

Last to be picked in kickball

Someone always had to be last.

Growing up and going to Maplewood Elementary I always remember recess and playing kickball among other games.

We would always choose captains and pick teams from there.

I hardly remember being the last one picked but someone always was.

It was never fun to be the last one, but at least they still picked everyone.

There is something about being picked or chosen for a job or a task.

Whether it’s when we apply for a job, a school or an event, it’s great to know you got chosen.

There is a sense of accomplishment when you get chosen.

I think that happen during the kickball games just as well as today.

It feels good to be chosen.

Sometimes for a task that is well respect.

In chapter 6 of the book of Acts, some widows were being missed when it came to distribution of food.

The apostles found out about this and decided to have some people be represented to make sure food was getting disturbed correctly.

They told the general group of people this in Acts 6:3-4…

“Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

It later said this proposal please the entire group.

They choose seven people and it said the word of God spread and a large number of people and priests became obedient to the faith.

It’s amazing what choosing the right people can do not only for the group but for the entire gospel message.

How do you know if you were the right person for the job?

What qualifications did you have?

It can be pretty impressive what happens when the right person is chosen for the job or a task at hand.

A group can grow better when the right person is chosen for a task at hand.

I have seen this happen at jobs when the right person was chosen and the work dynamics improved, I have also seen the negative aspects were thing got worse when the person was chosen.

How can you make sure you chose the right person?

The disciples said the person had to be full of wisdom and full of the Spirit and chosen by the people.

Are you someone that people respect because of wisdom?

What about full of Spirit?

Do people like you and would they chose you as a leader?

If not, what can you change and work on to become a better person?

Even if you are chosen last or not chosen at all, that means there is plenty of room for improvement, what can you improve at?

Have a great day.