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My Treasure & My Heart

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:21

Where is my treasure?

Where is my heart?

I have lots of interests. I spend my time on lots of things. I work. I read. I blog. I run. I watch television. I eat. I sleep – some.

Do I devote the same amount of time, energy, and attention to the people and the things that mean the most to me? This is the question that stretches me. My God, my wife, and my kids deserve my focus.

This doesn’t mean that I can’t have interests and hobbies. But I must always keep these things in check.

Stretch on…!

How about you? Do you know where your priorities should be? How do they match up with reality?

(Please add your comment, and remember to come back tomorrow for a great guest post by Jonathan Pearson!)

December 17th, 2011 Week In Review…

Another week has come and gone. It was a busy week in real life and here on the Stretched Blog. The blog is trending towards similar traffic patterns to last week – maybe even stronger this week. This week saw the second best day ever on The Stretched Blog. And I’m excited about what’s coming up in the week ahead. Here’s a recap of the week.

Monday, I kicked off the week with a post which indicated that the Stretched Blog was visiting The Handwritten. If you haven’t read it yet, please head over to Michael Perkin’s blog to read my guest post titled Stop & Start. On Tuesday, I shared about my surprise party and I threw out a question about the cake. We learned some interesting things about some of those in The Stretched Community. Wednesday, The Stretched Blog paid a visit to Deuceology for a guest post titled I’m Dreaming Of A Stretched Christmas. Larry “The Deuce” Carter mentioned that the post has been running strong over on his blog. Please head over and check it out, and read the other stuff that Larry’s writing about. My Thursday post was an introspective post about what it means and looks like to be on fire with our faith. I’m still wrestling through this one, and I appreciated the comments that contributed to the conversation and my thought process. And finally on Friday, we finished the week off with another fun holiday Ice Breaker where we learned about what gift everyone would like to receive on the 13th day of Christmas. You should check it out if you’re trying to figure out what to get The Stretched Blogger for Christmas!

I am so thankful for your contribution to the blog through comments. Your comments are what makes this Stretched Community! Please remember to take the time to Subscribe to the blog, so you can have Stretched delivered daily to your e-mail inbox. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page. Become a fan to keep up with some additional Stretched stuff. Thanks!

A few of my favorite posts from the rest of the blogging community this week:

Even Nice Labels Lie by Tony J. Alicea on The People of the Second Chance
When You Need Help Writing Do This… by Jeff Goins on Jeff Goins Writer
How to Lead Yourself Everyday! by Dave Ferguson

I’m really excited about this upcoming week as I’ll be sharing a guest post by Jonathan Pearson along with some other great ideas brewing as we head into the Christmas weekend. I can’t wait!

How about you? How was your week? If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week? Did you read any great blog posts this week? Share with the rest of us!

The Stretched Blog Visits Deuceology

Today, I have the honor of guest posting over at Deuceology. Deuceology is a blog by my friend Larry “The Deuce” Carter. Larry is a Christian, blogger, husband, dad, and a huge Tennessee Vols fan. Everyday, Larry posts his thoughts and struggles as he seeks to spur others and himself closer to God. I love his honesty and openness which leaves me challenged on a daily basis. Please check out his blog and my guest post which is titled I’m Dreaming of A Stretched Christmas. Then do me a favor and leave a comment. Thanks!

Larry "The Deuce" Carter from Deuceology

Regarding guest posting, I love opportunities to guest post as it provides another opportunity to “stretch” me, so contact me through the comments if this is something that interests you. And I love to share others stretch stories and guest posts, so let me know if that’s something that interests you as well.)

The Stretched Blog Visits The Handwritten

Today, I have the honor of guest posting over at The Handwritten. The Handwritten is a blog by my friend Michael Perkins. Michael is a creative pastor, blogger, husband, and dad. Everyday, Michael posts a handwritten thought. I love his creativity and honesty, and I consistently am challenged by these thoughts. Please check out his blog and my guest post which is titled Stop & Start. Then do me a favor and leave a comment. Thanks!

Michael Perkins from The Handwritten

(Regarding guest posting, I love opportunities to guest post as it provides another opportunity to “stretch” me, so contact me through the comments if this is something that interests you. And I love to share others stretch stories and guest posts, so let me know if that’s something that interests you as well.)

December 10th, 2011 Week In Review…

These weeks keep blowing by at a rapid pace. This week was a milestone week. I turned 40 on Thursday, and the Stretched blog is having one of the best weeks ever. Here’s a recap of the week.

Monday, I kicked off the week with a post about my reading list for 2012. Thanks to all of you who gave me ideas to add to my list of consideration. If you missed it, please stop by and add your recommendations. On Tuesday, I shared about our families Christmas ornament tradition. I really appreciated hearing about your favorite family ornaments and Christmas tree traditions. Wednesday’s post paid tribute to my Grandpa and his legacy. Thursday was my birthday. I appreciated all the birthday greetings through the comments and on Facebook. Finally, we finished the week off on Friday with another holiday Ice Breaker where we learned about everyone’s favorite Christmas songs and carols. As always, I’m thankful for all of you who stopped by and left a comment or just checked things out.

A few of my favorite posts from the rest of the blogging community this week:

I’m really excited about this upcoming week as I’ll be guest posting on a couple of blogs. It should be a blast!

How about you? How was your week? If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week? Did you read any great blog posts this week? Share with the rest of us!

Field of Changed Dreams?

Blogging continues to be a huge place for community. I am blown away by the friends I’ve met through Jon Stolpe Stretched and other blogs. One of my blogging friends is Arny Sanchez. Arny writes a blog called The Analogous Truth where he relates current culture to life and faith. I’ve enjoyed following Arny as he’s related things like Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings to my world. Today, I have the honor and privilege of sharing Arny with you as he related my favorite movie to a real life challenge.

Oh and by the way, today marks the 500th post at Jon Stolpe Stretched. What a great way to celebrate!

(If you’re interested in becoming a guest blogger at Jon Stolpe Stretched, drop me a line in the comment section. I’m always looking for opportunities to share.)

One of the best sports movies of all time has to be Field of Dreams – Jon’s favorite movie of all time as a matter of fact.

There is just something special about a guy chasing a dream that everyone thinks he is crazy for, and he is willing to sacrifice it all.

But, what if you had to give up that dream, or change it drastically? For the sake of another.

One of my favorite characters from the movie is The Mysterious Ghost of Dr. “Moonlight” Graham…

The scene:

Graham played baseball when he was young but only got to play one game in the Major League and never batted. Ray, (Kevin Costner) finds out Graham had passed away and never pursued his true dream again. Even the ghost of Graham tells Ray that he is too old to be chasing young dreams.

Well, on the ride back, Ray picks up a hitchhiker with a bag with baseball gear in it….he looks like a really young kid. They ask him his name and he says, “Graham, Archie Graham”. So cool, right?!

The next day, the team is out playing a round of baseball on the field of dreams. After teasing him a little, he hits the ball and gets out, but hits an RBI (runs batted in).

He looks so happy. He is living his dream. He is playing with the best Major Leaguers. Nothing could go wrong. But,

Moments later, Ray’s daughter gets caught in a commotion and falls off the bleachers. She is not breathing and turning blue fast.

Ray turns to the field, and he sees Graham getting closer to the side lines.

Without hesitation, Graham walks past the side line, and BAM! He turns into the old man, the Dr! He quickly comes and sees that she is choking to death. He pops her back a few times and out pops a piece of hot dog.

Living to Serve

Given the opportunity to grasp our dream one day, would we be hesitant to let it go or change it, for the sake of another?

Maybe Peter and the other disciples were living their dream of owning a fishing business.
Maybe Paul was close to his dream of being the most educated Jewish lawyer.
Maybe the people of the church in Macedonia had individual dreams of their own to pursuit.

But these dreams were interrupted by a man who showed them a different dream.

People.

Serving People.
Helping People.
Feeding People.
Healing People.
Crazy People.
Strange People.
Hostile People.
Sinful People.
Bad People.
Good People.
Big, Small, Young, Old, Black, White, Yellow, Green, Orange People.

Do You have a Dream that involves People?

Crossing Lines Across The Blog World

I have gotten away from posting on the weekend. I’ve learned to cherish this time as a time to spend with my family and a time to take a break. I thought I’d interrupt that break – just briefly – to give a quick shout out to a blogging friend of mine, Pastor Matt. Today, Matt featured my blog in his weekend highlights post. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me. Shout outs like this give our blogging communities a chance to expand and to grow not just in numbers but in depth as new readers begin to contribute to the conversations that go on daily thanks to so many great bloggers. So as I say thank you to Pastor Matt, go check out his blog. He has some great stuff to share.

Thanks, Matt!

What blogs to you regularly read that deserve a shout out?

Limitless

Today, I am blessed to share a guest post from Tara Watson. Tara is a wife, mom, friend, and fellow blogger. This year, she started blogging about her weight loss journey, but I think it’s turned into so much more. I would highly encourage you to check out her blog (Chewing The Fat On Skinny) and become one of her readers. Today, Tara shares about changing her view from CANNOT to CAN DO! I love what she writes below. Check it out, and let me know what you think by sending me a comment.

(I’m always looking for guest bloggers to share on Jon Stolpe Stretched. Let me know if you’re interested in writing a guest post. Thanks!)

When Jon asked me to be a guest blogger I thought, that’s like Picasso saying ‘Tara, come on over and we’ll sketch for a while’, because I consider Jon a fantastic writer. And then I thought “why not?”

When I was pondering about what was stretching me, plenty of things came to mind, but one thing came to the top of my mind. I’m reading this (fiction) book about an overachieving working mother of three whose life is turned upside-down after she sustains a traumatic brain injury (uplifting eh?). This (truly inspiring) book follows her journey before, during and after the injury. At one point during the book, she is in the hospital doing her physical therapy, feeling sorry for herself, and on the road to Doomsville as she calls it. Then she has an a-ha! moment. She realizes that she has been focusing on what she can’t do instead of what she CAN do. And this really changes how she approaches not only her recovery but her life.

This story, for many reasons, really resonates with me. I am an overachieving working mother of two who happens to have a neurological illness. I was diagnosed with this illness in 2002, and it has gotten worse over the past few years. It’s called trigeminal neuralgia/atypical facial pain (isn’t that a mouthful). It causes me to experience a variety of pains in the right hand side of my head from pinching and pulling, to feeling like someone is driving nails in my head, to stop you in your tracks lightning bolts of pain. I am now on a (mostly) successful treatment program that has helped reduce the frequency and intensity of the attacks, but it still very much impacts how I can live my life.

Some of my pain triggers are cold weather, hot weather, stress, noise, surprise, crying, laughing, going to the dentist…pretty much every day living. 😉 This impacts what kind of job I can hold, what I can do with my kids, and what kind of volunteer work I help with. It limits the time I can enjoy being outside doing hobbies, going to concerts, and doing adventurous things. Truth be told, if I sat down and made a list of what I can’t do because of this illness I’d most likely need some tissues and chocolate.

Instead, just like the character in the book, I am choosing to focus on what I CAN do. I can be a loving Mom, a compassionate wife, a giving family member, a kind friend and a helpful co-worker. I can hug, love, laugh, cry, jump, run, see and feel. I can dance, exercise, read, do my job well, and be crafty and funny. I CAN do soooo many more things than I cannot. Another thing I can do is to look at myself through God’s eyes.

You see, God doesn’t look at what we can’t do because he knows what we CAN do. He knows the very essence of who we are. He doesn’t see our limits, He sees us as limitless. He doesn’t see handicaps or illness, skin color or gender. He sees our beauty, talent and our untapped potential. God knows our faults and flaws, and He loves us anyway. And He has great plans for us, if only we would believe.

When I think about God’s great love for me and what He sees in me, the idea of cannot is erased. If God believes in me, I need to believe in me too. I need to love me like God loves me and accept that what I cannot do does not limit me, it defines me. You see, life’s pain and troubles refine me into exactly who God wants me to be.

This week, I ask you to take stock in how you are living your life. Are you focusing on what you cannot do? Chasing after things that you cannot have?

Or are you living in the can-do? Remove the self-imposed limits you put on your life, focus on the little and big things that you CAN do, and realize that with God by your side and in your heart, you are limitless!

Heart Broken – Guest Post at Big B

Today, I have the privilege of presenting my first guest blog post over at Big B. Big B is the blog for an incredible young man named Brandon who is passionate about music, leadership, and God. I’ve connected with him on-line over the past couple of months, and I have been inspired by words. Please check out my post and please support Brandon by adding his blog to your regular reading.

Here’s an excerpt from my post:

It can be easy to fall into the trap of tunnel vision. We can all become so caught up in ourselves that we miss out on what’s happening to those around us. In many cases, we don’t even see those we walk by on the street or sit next to on the train. We live and operate in a world of me, me, me.

A recent family vacation to Canada took my family into Montreal for a day. There’s nothing like a vacation and a trip into a city to jolt one out of their routine and snap one to attention to things that matter. We had a wonderful time touring around Montreal. We saw many of the famous tourist sites including the market at Jean-Talon, the view of the city from the top of Mont Royal, Old Montreal, and the port. All these places were new and interesting, but I will always remember a brief encounter with a young man in a park near the home of the Montreal Canadians. Here’s how I remembered the encounter in my journal…

(If you’re interested in becoming a guest blogger on my blog, please leave me a comment. I’d love to connect with you. Also, I would certainly welcome other opportunities to be a guest blogger on your blog, so you can leave me a comment on that as well.)

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