Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10
How are you and I honoring God with our wealth this week?
Today, I’m hooking up with The Sunday Community. Hop on over here to see what I’m talking about.
Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
This week’s question comes from a desire I have to make a difference in the world. I’m excited to hear your answers as it provides more ideas for making a difference. Many of us are involved in great organizations that are focused on helping others. Today’s Ice Breaker is a chance to share about those organizations and to brainstorm about how we can all make a difference.
Question: If you were to focus your energy and resources to a charity, what would the charity be? And why would you select that charity?
My Answer: There are so many great organizations out there that deserve support. And to be honest, I would still select the local church as the place to focus my attention. I believe that there is such power to change the world through the combining of efforts through the local church. I’ve seen it in action at my own church.
Having said that, I still have a heart for other charities. It amazes me to see the creativity and the resourcefulness of organizations who are committed to doing something positive in this world to make a difference. For example, our family works with The Seeing Eye to provide guide dogs and freedom to people who are visually impaired. This summer, I had the opportunity to work with Casas por Cristo who helps to provide reasonable housing for families in Mexico and Guatemala. And locally, Philabundance helps to provide food to the needy in the Greater Philadelphia community.
All these are great, and picking one is pretty tough (I guess that’s why the local church is still the best option). But if I’m forced to pick one, I would go with Habitat for Humanity. I was introduced to Habitat and it’s founder, Millard Fuller, at a fairly young age. As a teenager and college student, I worked on several Habitat projects helping to build affordable housing for those in need. I found such satisfaction in using my hands to help create a home for someone. I also enjoyed working with other people towards a common purpose. I haven’t worked with Habitat for Humanity for several years, but this post is a reminder to check them out again.
There you have it – my answer. Now, it’s your turn. Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response!
I am out of town on business this week. This is a post from earlier this year that deserves a repost especially at this election decision time. So many of us put our faith in politicians and other leaders. Today’s post challenges readers to think about who they worship and how they worship. What does worship look like for you? I’d love to get your feedback!
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Psalm 95:6-7
When you hear the word worship, what comes to mind?
I think of going to church and singing. I think this is the answer that is drilled into our heads from an early age – not necessarily on purpose but by tradition. I don’t think that answer is wrong, but I think it short sells worship – big time!
Yesterday, I had the privilege to be a part of a leader/facilitators meeting for a foundations class that is being rolled out at our church. As we were discussing the leaders role in transformation, the following verse from Romans came up for discussion:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
Typically when I read these verses, I read about sacrifice and about transformation. And I skip right over “this is your true and proper worship”. If I’m reading this from a leaders perspective, I worship God when I give of myself sacrificially to serve and to lead others. This didn’t say anything about going to church and singing.
So what is worship?
Of course, worship happens at church, but I think there’s so much more.
Worship is the way I live my life. I worship God when I put Him first in everything I do. I can worship God in my parenting, in my marriage, in my friendships, in my exercise, in my job, and even in my writing.
Our worship can be misdirected. We easily get caught up in this culture of consumerism and celebrity. We put movie stars and sports stars on pedestals. We watch TV shows like American Idol (I like that show), Dancing With The Stars, and Celebrity Apprentice. We are consumed with thoughts of greed – “I have to have this” or “I have to have that.” This is all misdirected worship.
God says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:2-6
We have a choice to make. We can allow the distractions of this world to hijack our attention – our worship. Or we can choose today to worship God – at home, at church, at work, and throughout our lives. What’s your choice?
What does worship look like for you today? How do you worship God?
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Psalm 118:24
Today is a brand new day. I am away on business, and I have pre-scheduled this post. I have absolutely no idea what the election results are. Perhaps, the verdict isn’t even decided. The polls on Monday night seemed to indicate that Barack Obama might be ahead ever so slightly, but it also appeared that the race may be too close to call.
From all the polls, the latest news, and the buzz on social media, half of the people in our country will be unhappy with the results. And half of the people will be happy or at least in agreement with the outcome of last nights election.
I’m not so sure that God arranged the outcome of yesterday’s election. After all, God gave us minds and free will to make our own decisions. But I do think that God has given us a new day today. This is the day the Lord has made. Let’s rejoice and be glad in it!
You may or may not be excited about the policies and ideas of our president and the leadership in our country. But you have a choice to make today. How will you treat today? Will you rejoice in the day that God has made? Or will you pout, stamp your feet, and cross your arms in dismay?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
I’m speaking to myself as I write these words and ideas. I want to be known as a positive, respectful, and thankful person. You and I have a choice to make. How will you proceed from here?
What do you see in your world today? How will you choose to rejoice today?
Today is Election Day. I already voted. It’s the first time I’ve used the absentee ballot method to cast my vote. I won’t tell you who I voted for, and I’d rather not know who received your vote. In fact, I try to keep The Stretched Blog out of the political scene.
So why am I writing about politics then? Good question. I still think we have a responsibility to be involved and to be respectful. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a guest post for TC Avey’s blog, Wisdom of a Fool. I wanted to share the introduction to the post with the hope that you’ll head over there to read my thoughts on how to be a politically active Christian.
I’ve always had an interest in politics. We are so blessed to live in a country where we can take part in the selection process for our local, state, and national leaders. Voting is a right, a privilege and a responsibility.
Free speech is also one of the rights that we have in this country. Free speech gives us permission to defend our position on an issue or on a candidate. I’m thankful for this right. But I sometimes wonder if this right has gotten our country into trouble.
With the creation and rise of social media, everyone has a say. People’s thoughts and opinions are out there for everyone to read. Once it’s on Facebook or Twitter or once it’s published on a blog, it’s a permanent record for all to read. And it seems like everyone has something to say.
Maybe I’m forgetful of past election cycles, but it seems to be that more and more people are posting personal character attacks on Facebook and other social media outlets. Photo-shopped photos of candidates with disrespectful comments dominate my Facebook news feed. To be honest with you, it’s wearing me out. I wasn’t comfortable when friends and family attacked former president George W. Bush, and I’m not comfortable with the attacks on current president Barack Obama.
Head over to Wisdom of a Fool to read the rest of the post. Then come back and answer this question:
What other suggestions do you have for Christians to participate responsibly and respectfully in the political process? Are you being respectful or are you adding to the clutter? How will you respond TODAY and TOMORROW?
“Love isn’t a feeling but an action, an action by which leaders and entire organizations can experience almost unimaginable success and personal fulfillment.”
Joel Manby – Love Works
Love Works by Joel Manby is a must read for leaders.
In Love Works, Manby offers “seven timeless principles for effective leaders.” These tips are primarily based on I Corinthians 13 and are the same principles Manby uses to lead Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) where he is the President and CEO. Last year, Joel and HFE were featured on Undercover Boss. That week, it was the second most watched show in America (led only by American Idol), and the response was amazing. Americans wanted to be a part of a company with the type of culture and leadership that was represented at HFE – a culture and leadership based on love. Based on the response of the show, Manby decided to write Love Works as a way to get these principles in the hands of leaders around the country.
In Love Works, Manby explains that agape love is the key to leading effectively. Throughout the book, he interweaves in stories from his own experience at HFE, at Saab, at Saturn, and at home with seven lessons designed to help leaders. Each story builds on one another to give the reader a picture of a leadership based on love – a leadership that is patient, kind, trusting, unselfish, truthful, forgiving, and dedicated.
I found myself underlining words, phrases, and sentences on most pages as I digested what Manby shared. I will keep a copy of Love Works on my desk as a reference and reminder, and I will definitely recommend Love Works to aspiring leaders. If you are a leader at work, in church, at home or in other arenas of life, consider picking up a copy of Love Works for yourself!
How have you experienced love at work? How would things be different for you if your leadership was based on love or if you were led out of love?
“The ninety and nine are with dreams, content but the hope of the world made new, is the hundredth man who is grimly bent on making those dreams come true.”
Edgar Allan Poe
‘We should fear the Lord our God,
who gives us autumn and spring rains in their seasons,
who makes sure we have the harvest at the right time.’
Jeremiah 5:24
How did you see God working this week?
Today, I’m hooking up with The Sunday Community. Hop on over here to see what I’m talking about.
