The Stretched Blog Visits Living Better Stories

Today is an exciting day here on The Stretched Blog.  I have the privilege of guest posting over at Jeremy Statton’s blog (Living Better Stories) today.  My post titled Rediscovering My Dreams shares some of my journey and thoughts regarding overseas missions.  Here’s an excerpt to get you started:

It was almost two years ago that my wife and I were making final preparations for the missions trip of a lifetime to Nairobi, Kenya.

A Painful Death

As we finalized our packing list and visited the doctors for our final immunizations, the wheels began to fall off our plans. My wife was starting to deal with significant anxiety issues and her health began to deteriorate. We wrestled with a decision we dreaded.

Should we go on this trip and risk health problems in an unfamiliar country? Or should we cancel the trip and miss out on this adventure?

[To read the rest, click here.]

Please head over to read the rest of the post.  Also, check out the rest of Jeremy’s blog, and sign-up to become one of his regular readers.

As I mentioned earlier, Kevin Haggerty is guest posting here today.  Check out his post titled Learning To Count To Five by clicking here.

The Stretched Blog Visits Expect The Exceptional

Happy Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you). If you’re looking for this week’s Stretched Ice Breaker, you’ll have to go back to yesterday’s post. Today, I have the honor of guest posting over at Tony Alicea‘s blog, Expect the Exceptional. Head over there to check out my post titled Dreaming Big Again. While you’re there check out the rest of Tony’s writing, and sign up to become one of his regular readers.

How are you celebrating Star Wars Day?

(I love guest posting and I love guest bloggers!  If you have an idea for a “stretched” post that you’d like to share, please contact me so we can connect.  Also, if you think I could help out at your blog with a guest post, let me know as well.)

Sleepwalking

Last night, I had a strange thing happen to me.  I walked in my sleep.  I haven’t done this since I was a kid (as far as I know).  It’s an odd feeling to wake up in front of a window.  I must have been struggling to open the window in my sleep.  When I woke up, I had just opened the window.  I don’t remember walking over to the window.  I’m not even sure how I got over there.  I just know I was standing there when I woke up.  The whole thing was kind of weird!

Did you know that sleepwalking is mentioned in the Bible?

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul talks about sleepwalking:

You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. I Thessalonians 5:5-6 (NIV)

But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.  I Thessalonians 5:4-8 (The Message)

What’s Paul saying here?  He’s encouraging Christ followers to be awake – to be alert.  He’s teaching us not to coast through life asleep or even drunk.  It can be easy to go with the flow.  We need to live with intention.  We need to live like it makes a difference.  We need to stop walking in our sleep.

I’m not sure why I walked in my sleep last night (other than I was pretty tired), but I know it was good to be reminded of Paul’s teaching.  It’s time to wake up!

Have you ever walked in your sleep?  Share your sleepwalking story with the rest of us.

Ice Breaker – I Have A Dream

It’s that time of the week again…time for an ice breaker question!  This week we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  We’ve all heard his famous “I Have A Dream” speech where King dreams out loud about a day when black men and white men will live together in harmony.  In keeping with this theme, today’s question deals with dreams.  For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak.  I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think.  So for today, I’m excited to throw out another simple ice breaker question.  I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn.  Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy.  Thanks!

Question:  What’s your dream?  (You can take this in many different directions!)

My Answer:  Here you go….

As a child and teenager, I had many dreams.  I dreamed of writing plays and becoming an actor.  I dreamed of becoming a firefighter, a pharmacist, and a baseball player.  I dreamed of building a new Mt. Holly, NJ (my hometown growing up) where people got along and things worked more efficiently.  I dreamed of building my own house.  I dreamed of marrying a wonderful Christian woman.  Some of my dreams came true (like marrying a wonderful Christian woman), and many of my dreams never came to fruition.  As I’ve grown and my responsibilities have increased through marriage, parenting, and work, I honestly haven’t dreamed as much.  This question is definitely STRETCHING for me.

Last Sunday, I shared that I’ve been thinking about doing something bigger with my blog.  I truly believe that God can use The Stretched Blog for a much greater purpose.  I’m not sure exactly what that is yet, but I dream that The Stretched Blog and The Stretched Community would be able to build something that outlives us and that ultimately brings glory to God.  When this dream becomes clear, you can be sure that I’ll share it here.

So there you have it, my answer to the question.  Now it’s your turn….I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say!

Don’t forget to sign-up for the NEW Stretched Community.  Subscribe to the blog today!