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Having Joy While Chasing a Dream

I’m a serial dreamer. I always have something cooking in my mind and I’m pretty sure that’s the case for every entrepreneur. It’s a blessing often to be a dreamer, but it has some challenges as well. When you are a dreamer you live in a constant state of reality, not matching the dream. Always improving and tinkering, wavering back and forth between being in a state of feeling overwhelmed or bored. It’s a big reason why I wrote Chasing Dreams in a Minivan. Early on I was failing at bringing joy along while chasing a dream.

Joy is not based on circumstances, but man it’s a lot easier when circumstances are “right.” For example,  when I reach the summit of a mountain, joy is a lot easier than when I’m struggling up a shale rock path taking two steps forward and sliding back three steps. The problem is that hiking up the mountain takes up the majority of time. So please don’t be like Eeyore, it’s kind of sad. When you need joy in the journey I’ve got a few tips that should work for you, so give them a shot.

4 Ways to Have Joy While Chasing a Dream.

Kingdom Perspective Brings Joy While Chasing a Dream

God gives us many of the dreams in our hearts and we chase after them for His glory and in His name. I have noticed though that slowly I take the dreams that He has given me and make them an idol. An idol is when we take a good thing and make it the main thing. I think in our in-between state it’s easy to obsess over a dream that has not been realized. When we notice our joy leaving us we need to remember that the dream is great when God is chased above all. In a kingdom perspective we pursue God and the dream below that. Then we have the fruit of the spirit which one of them is joy. It is really that simple, however, I must confess it’s not easy. I often need help getting there and so I added some tips below.

Stepping Away Brings Joy While Chasing a Dream

Even as adults we need a timeout. Some of us more than others. One of the things that happens in a timeout is that blood pressure lowers and perspective returns. The bigger the loss or heartache, we need to step away a little longer. Take some time in nature; go for a walk or even get away out of town and out of cell phone reception. When we get away from it all we can hear God’s voice whisper to our hearts and fan the flame of passion for a dream. In those moments we can be drawn back to a Kingdom viewpoint and have joy in the journey.

Exercise to Hear

I have been working out a few days a week and it helps my joy level. My mind is so active and sometimes I act like I can worry and stress my way out of the depression. That maybe if I think about it long enough, bam! It’s suddenly okay. When we exercise there is a certain point when oxygen is hard to come by that stress and pressure dissipate. A bonus of exercise is that creative ideas happen when our body is moving. Connect with God by exercise and watch joy make an appearance.

Surround Yourself with Your Tribe

Sometimes I just need a hug and told it’s going to be okay and I’m not a failure. In our chase to reach our dreams we can take on the identity of the dream and forget that our identity is in Christ. In these moments we need people that we trust that can speak the truth of our identity in Christ over us. When we can’t see who we are we need them to remind us of who we are. Surround yourself with people that love you and love Jesus to remind you of who and whose you are to have joy return.

We will have moments on the journey that just plan suck. Other points will make you cry and question why. The key is not to get so frustrated that you don’t see Jesus in the moment because He is there with you. Take a moment and step away, exercise to get out of your mind, and get encouragement from your tribe. God wants to do something through you but more than anything He wants to do something in you. When we commit our lives to God and focus on Him and in the end TRUST Him and His plans we will be filled with joy.

How do you bring joy to the journey?

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Overcome Failure to Reach your Dreams

“I just love failing,”said no one ever and if they did, they are an insane in the membrane. We do not like to fail, but failure is part of the dream chasing journey. If you are going to chase a dream you are going to fail. The key is not letting failure stop you so that you can overcome failure to reach your dreams. There have been times in my life that I have failed and quit and there have been times that I have pressed on and achieved what was in my heart. I’m sure the same thing can be said for you.

As I look back on my journey, I have discovered some differences in my bounce rate on failure. So how do you go from defeated to a hopeful dream chaser again? As Winston Churchill said, “Success is going from failure to failure without the losing your enthusiasm.”

These 4 things will help you overcome failure to achieve your dreams.

Autopsy a Failure

This can be hard to do, however, is critical to learning from failure. Failure is good IF we learn from the situation. Often times it’s our expectations that are off and we need to address that otherwise we will have the feeling of failure more than we are actually failing. In other instances there are key mistakes that we made. Sometimes to know if we made a mistake we need to get an outside perspective because it’s too personal. Look back and see what went right and what went wrong and how you can fix the problem in the future.

To Overcome Failure to Reach your Dream Know Your Identity

We can over identify with failure and it leads to discouragement and worse yet it can cause us to give up. You are a son or daughter of the King of the Universe. No matter if you succeed or fail at something your identity never changes. This is so important because when we over emphasize failure or success we close our eyes and our ears to things we need to hear or see. When we know that we are righteous men and women of God regardless of our production, we bounce back from failure much faster.

Do You Need to Change Your Path?

We need to ask ourselves if we are on the right path when we fail. Sometimes I have failed because I don’t have the talent or ability to do something. I don’t want to dedicate the time and energy to become better. Sometimes I don’t want it bad enough. Ask yourself if you would chase the dream regardless of “success.” If you would even if it didn’t work out wipe those tears and get back up! If you wouldn’t chase the dream wipe those tears and try to find a dream you would and try that.

To Overcome Failure to Reach your Dreams Take a Break or get Busy

Sometimes when you “fail” you just need to take a break. I took a hiatus away from writing a few months after releasing my book. You can get it here. The launch didn’t go as planned and I was tired. I needed to take a break from writing to find my voice again. On another occasion when an editor told me I didn’t have what it takes to write, I wrote ten posts in a few days and got featured in Entrepreneur Magazine. Sometimes you will need to break for a season and it’s okay. Other times you need to put the pedal to the metal and get busy. Take some time to look inward and then do what you feel called to do.

When you fail and you will remember that it’s not who you are. You can rise from the ashes and be different. Be kind to yourself in these moments. Take some time to encourage another dreamer because we all could use it. Dream big, fail small, and never lose that glimmer of dream chaser in your eye.

What causes you to overcome failure to reach your dreams?

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4 Tips to Figure out Which Dream to Follow

Often we wait for answers that we won’t ever get. We wait for one hundred percent clarity. I was reminded of this today as the fog was thick on my way to work. I could sit there, but the reality is that I won’t have any better vision of what’s ahead by sitting still. The same is true for our dreams; clarity on the direction we should go happens when we move. We will not find out which dream to follow sitting still.

The uncomfortable truth is that direction is usually better seen looking back rather than forward. It’s uncomfortable because people crave certainty and the life of a dreamer chasing God’s direction is that faith is not certainty. Actually faith requires doubt otherwise it is certain.  

For many the roadblock to chasing dreams is two good paths. The options can be overwhelming and freeze our motion and send us into a spiral downward in the mind. It’s easy to get stuck in a back and forth battle one day choosing one option and the next a different. Multiple good options can lead to decision overload.

In Acts 15:28 it states, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.” These early leaders were building foundation to modern day Christianity and they were deciding major doctrine. Their response is that they went with, “seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us.” Seemed good! If it would have been me, I would have waited until they knew it was good.

 In our search for direction, we want a path with no failure and zero setbacks. Sign me up for that one! However, the path looks a little scarier with lots of setbacks and failure. That’s a lot of why we don’t get shown the whole picture because we never would do it! Too many creepy mice and other scary things on that path. I’ll stay right here and wait on God.

When paths become available we need to do a few things to choose the “right” one.

There is NO Right Dream to Follow

The first rule is there is no RIGHT one. When we make a decision that isn’t a sin issue or an all-encompassing one, we give too much weight to the decision. Yes, I’m sure that it is important, but I don’t think that if you choose the wrong good option your world is over. If you go and it turns out to be “wrong” you can pick a new path. Maybe God wanted to teach you something on that path for a while. Most decisions are not final or fatal. Finally, if you go down the way a little bit and realize it’s not the dream you thought it was, just make a new decision. Shrink the size of the mountain to actually choose.

Ask God

Pray about it and seek God. The writer of Acts said that it seemed right to the Holy Spirit and to them. They were talking with God and did what they thought God was telling them to do. Listen more than you speak when you ask. Sometimes we ask and plead instead of asking Him and waiting for Him to speak. Asking God and doing what you think He is telling you is the only way to have joy and peace on your journey.

Get Council

There are people that have struggled with decisions and know you well. Ask them what they think and what they notice. It could be that you are actually excited about one career, but you’re scared. Your family or friends will be able to pick up on things like that. They can also tell you their stories about why they chose different jobs and what the messy middle was like before it worked out. Glean from experience and wisdom to help you make the decision.

With council, make sure that you don’t abdicate the decision to them and that you listen to God above all else.

Get Away to Figure Out What Dream to Follow

When making decisions I need time away by myself. This world is really noisy and it’s hard to get silence and solitude. However, it is super important to remove yourself from your environment to get a clear view and listening ears to hear God. The bigger the decision, the more time away from the noise I recommend. Get out of town, go for a hike, take long walks in the morning or evening, sit next to a river. There are many ways to get away; we just have to make time and space to do it. Get out of the noise to have clarity on the dream.

Shrink the size of the decision to get you moving, pray to God, ask wise people, and get alone with God. In the end, know when you are searching for certainty and when you’re using wisdom. Chase after God and you will be able to figure out what dream to follow in time. If you need more help reaching your dreams, my book goes into further detail and you can get that here.

What helps you figure out what dream to follow?

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4 Ways to Stay Connected With Your Spouse

I have now been dating and married to a few different women over the years. They happen to all be the same person, my high school sweetheart Rachel. Rachel has changed over the years and is very different then when we met. My wife and I started dating when we were seventeen years old. Seventeen years old was the height of maturity and knowledge if you would have asked us then. She was my first very awkward kiss and I was hers. No one warns you that you do not know what to do and you figure it out together. It worked out okay as she still likes to kiss me and I her. It takes focus to stay connected with your spouse.

There is a lot of physical, mental, and spiritual things to figure out as a couple. We have went through changes on an individual level, a buttload (actual measurement in case you are wondering) of changes and many of those things have brought us closer together and some of those things have been difficult. We are separate, yet one as a married couple. Yeah, I don’t get it either but it’s true.

Unity in marriage when two individuals are changing does not happen without intentionality.

These 4 things help to keep my wife and I connected in good and bad times.

Prayer

At first, I hated praying out loud with my bride. I wanted her to think as the leader of our relationship I knew what I was doing. I didn’t need to pray about it because I had all the answers. Surprisingly, I did not have a clue. Over the years we have prayed together more and more. I have realized she does not want a man that knows it all, she wants one that surrenders it all to God. We have grown together as we have prayed to the Creator together. Pray with your spouse to draw closer to God and each other.

Learning together helps keep you connected with your spouse

I just read a super impactful book for me called, Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. My first thought was concern. I read it and it impacted me greatly in areas that affects my bride. That night we talked about how she could consume the information and talk about it. She doesn’t need to come to the same conclusions as me. Discussing various topics in a healthy manner brings connection with your spouse. I believe learning together is crucial to marriage. We attend coaching, conferences, and read similar books to help keep on the similar wavelength. We are not the same, but are growing together. Learn together to grow together.

Intimacy of time helps to keep you connected with your spouse

Spend quantity and quality time together. Every Friday we have a date night. Even with COVID, we just have changed to eating dinner in the bedroom with a makeshift table and chairs. We also have end of the day mini dates where we sit on the porch and talk about our days. How can you spend one on one time where you are engaged with each other and not zoned out on phones or TV? Set aside time to share life and learn about your partner; there is always more to discover. Relationship is built with time and there is no substitute for time well spent.

Physical

I have Olivia Newton John’s song in my head, “Let’s Get Physical”! Here is the point: It matters. It’s not everything, however, it’s not nothing.  Often men in particular start physically to connect in all areas. Guys, to expect this from your wife when you are not helping in other areas and connecting to her with time, prayer, and learning together is not a smart idea. She is more than just a physical being. Get to know her. My parents modeled a five second kiss growing up. When one of them got home they would kiss for five seconds. It was enough time to actually be in the moment together. Physical is not just sex. It’s also hugging, holding hands, kissing. Physical contact helps to unite a couple. How can you overcome tiredness and come together as husband and wife?

Word of warning on all these things. Forcing your spouse to do any of these things is a sure-fire way to fight with them. Pray for them and reach out with ideas telling them how important it is to you. In the end, they still get to be their own person and decide. My bride waited patiently for me to pray with her. It took longer than I would like to admit. Pray together, learn important things together, spend time, and get physical even when you are tired. Have patience with your spouse as they walk their own journey. Do your part to love your spouse the way he or she is today!

What helps you to stay connected with your spouse?

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How Prayers of Gratitude Change our Lives

If we are going to achieve the dreams that God has for us, a prayer life that is filled with gratitude is essential. I find nothing changes my gratitude than prayers of gratitude. I was reminded of this by my ducks that are outside our kitchen door. Yes, I wrote about turkeys and being anchored and now ducks that remind me of prayer. Farm nerd alert.

The ducks are hilarious waddling around, remove slugs, and provide us with eggs for baking. A win, win. There is a couple things about ducks that I didn’t know before I got them. One is they are all kinds of messy, but that’s nothing a little wood chips can’t fix. However, there is one thing that can be really tiring that can teach us all a few things.

I wake up before sunrise and my routine is to start coffee and have some set aside time to pray, read, and study with God. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. Nevertheless that has been changed with the introduction of the ducks.

Isn’t it amazing when ducks fly way up in the sky and we can hear them quacking to each other? What a cool sight and sound when walking in nature they look like specs and are chatting away. It’s the sound of the fall and spring migration. When you put ducks twenty yards from your home it’s not such a majestic sound of the change of seasons. It sounds more like a mac truck.

Every time I move in the house these quackers go bonkers letting me know they are ready for their day’s meal. It is so noisy, I’m worried they will wake up my kids. So many mornings I wander out there in the dark to give them their meal just to shut them up. Their cuteness is keeping them off the dinner table for now.

What ticks me off is I have fed them every morning and evening. They have never went hungry or thirsty and yet won’t shut up about their “lack.”

Prayer life with gratitude matters

I can be like those ducks. I talk to God like He is going to forget to care for me and my dreams. My lack of trust shows in my lousy attitude. I have missed out on blessings in front of me because I’m too busy making sure God knows I need something. QUACK! How about you? Are you tempted to gripe and complain instead of being filled with gratitude and hope?

Prayer life that is filled with gratitude matters and not just because we are trying to avoid being roasted duck. And yes I’m thinking about cooking up the quack attack. We are not trying to annoy God less. He doesn’t view us like I view the quacken. The heart of prayers of gratitude is to see what God is doing and to open our eyes to opportunity. It is also to have vision to see others and a heart that is connected to God.

Prayers of Gratitude helps us see what God is already doing

When we come to our Father in Heaven with grumbly spirits, we are blind to the good things in our lives. Bringing our problems to God is a great thing; He wants to hear your heart. However, when all we do is complain to God, that is no longer a healthy conversation but a skewed perspective. I tend to see problems which is great for restoring, but it can lead me into a depressive mindset. Spending time in prayer telling God what I’m grateful for turns my grumble into praise. He has done so much in my life no matter how bad my circumstances have been. I’m sure the same thing is true for your life as well. Gratitude allows us to see what He is doing.

Prayers of Gratitude Opens us to opportunity

All too often we are closed off to the opportunities around us. When we grumble and complain we fixate on what we don’t have. Just like complaining and grumbling blinds us to what God is doing in our lives, it also causes us to not see where He may be leading us. When we focus on what we don’t have, we focus on scarcity instead of having a vision of abundance. Gratitude changes our gaze from what God hasn’t done (yet) to what He has done and with that perspective we will be able to see the abundant opportunity around us.

Helping others

When we have a grumbly heart we become very self-centered. Our thoughts become about nothing but our problems or in my ducks’ case, their food. Our dreams and visions are important, however, when it becomes an all consuming pout session, we miss the hurting people around us. Dreams that honor God give Him the glory and are about helping other people. Prayers of gratitude focus us on others and serving them. If you want to learn more about God honoring dreams, there is this book.

Connection with God

Prayer at it’s roots is connecting us in relationship to the Savior of the world. Gratitude connects our hearts to Him, instead of connecting to our problems. Similarly how gratitude focuses us on the people around us, gratitude also focuses on God and His goodness. Bringing our problems to God is important. When it’s all of the time though, it’s like treating God more like a genie in a bottle than our Heavenly Father. Thank God for what He is doing in your life, thank Him in advance for what He will do.

Go to God in prayer of gratitude and your circumstances will not change overnight, however, your perspective will change. Eyes of faith will be open; eyes to see what God has done and will do. When we have hearts overflowing with gratitude we focus on relationship with God and others instead of ourselves. In time, perspective change will change and our focus on relationships will change our lives.

How does prayer of gratitude change you?

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Dreams and Goals for a New Year

I had a Facebook memory pop up today from December 31, 2019. I was so excited about 2020 in that memory. The new year is awesome, not so much staying up until midnight though. This guy usually rings in the new year asleep. When a new year begins, I love dreaming about what we are going to do and accomplish as a family and for myself. I’m a goal and dream nerd and I want you to accomplish your dreams and goals too. Everything is possible, hope is palpable.

While 2020 put a beat down on a lot of my plans, how did it affect yours?

One of my favorite quotes, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Mike Tyson said that and I’m pretty sure he is the one that gave us all a right cross to the chin. As I talk to people and examine my own heart, I don’t like what that punch to the face has done to my dreaming heart. I feel and see an insidious invader enter 2020.

Passiveness

I believe we are struggling with a disillusionment hangover and its turned us into a bunch of passive disheartened zombies. Why plan for 2021? Look what happened this last year. From virus to forced shutdowns, its been a year. We can get so drawn to what has been taken away or knocked upside the head, that we wait to plan goals and dream, and most of all HOPE.

Zechariah 9:12 says, “Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.” Prisoners of hope! How can we be prisoners of hope instead of prisoners of despair?

God is bigger

A lack of hope is when I get my eyes off of the greatness of God and put my eyes on my problems and all the scary unknowns out there. I’m sure you had a lot of hard things this last year and I also know that God was not surprised by this year. I don’t know a lot of why things happened to us, but I do know the greatness and vastness of the Creator. He holds the world in the palm of His hands and sits with us in the moment. When I reach my final destination in Heaven, I’m excited to get a lot of my questions answered. In the meantime, I will choose to remind myself that He has this, He has me, and He has you in the palm of His hands no matter what it looks like.

What can I control?

I like to talk about and think about a lot of what I have no control over. It’s easier to make excuses that way. When I sit in passiveness excuses are comforting, however, I don’t want that for me and I don’t want that for you. I want us to be prisoners of hope, not prisoners of excuses. When we fixate on what we can control, we see even in 2020 most of our goals and dreams could have still been accomplished. I don’t say this to shame you or I, but to remind us that we can do more than we think. The coronavirus didn’t make me gain ten pounds, my stress eating of chips and salsa did that. What can you control? Plan and dream around those things.

Goals and Dreams Need an Eternal Perspective

We get drawn to passiveness when we look at the world or spend our days watching the news. We could be informed on world events in five minutes, yet some of us sit watching the news getting all worked up for an hour or more. Likewise, some get sucked into news on Facebook and Twitter. It gets our minds off of the eternal and onto this fallen world. God has things for you and I to do and we need to get in the business of doing them. This only happens when I remember that God has good works for me to do. It is then that I seek Him and His kingdom. Heaven is where our hope comes from, not current events.

Dreams and Goals Happen with Hope Filled Friends

I have days of struggle and I know that you do too. We need to surround ourselves with friends that remind us of Jesus and that He has things for us to do. We don’t need more friends that complain all day about a plethora of things. If you don’t have friends that remind you to have goals and dreams, maybe this could be one of your goals this year. Surround yourself with other prisoners of hope that raise your mood and expectations about what God will do.

Dare to dream today! If you want help reaching your goals and dreams, I did write a book about it which you can get here. Look to where our hope comes from, focus on what you can control, and move with hope and faith like a child. This year can be your best year yet. I believe God has great things in front of you. I believe the question is, do you? This year be chained and imprisoned to hope.

What helps you live in hope?

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How to Gain Silence and Solitude in a Busy World

I can be like an A.D.D. supercharged squirrel trying not to get hit by an oncoming car. I’m on the go and I like it that way. I kind of bounce in between boredom and an overwhelmed panic attack state. Filling up my schedule so that the yellow line heading towards overheating red is just right. I have a sinking suspicion if you live in the western world you are there too; a society of people constantly moving in a noisy world. We have no time for silence and solitude.

 I’m typing this blog post on a computer with my smart phone next to me. Oh yeah, and a Youtube worship music video on the TV. Writing on this blog is quiet down time for me and this is the amount of action I have in quietness. I’m not alone in my scurry. What is going on around you as you read this? More than we realize we have squeezed out stillness and presence with “multi-tasking” (which is scientifically impossible).

I have been studying a lot about Jesus heading to places of silence and solitude often. I have been adding more and more of these moments of oasis in a digital hypersonic world and it’s changing my inner life and my relationships.

You Benefit From Silence and Solitude

There is an inner and an outer benefit to having moments of silence and solitude and our souls long for it. When we remove stillness, we become inwardly hurried and outwardly impatient. We can struggle to hear God’s voice and in turn sit passively. We can lose our personal call and blend into the culture around us.

Quiet time is difficult to obtain even if our hearts want it because we fill our lives to the brim. I have found that I need to fight for it and you will need to fight for it as well. Here are 4 tips that you can experiment with to help you gain some moments of silence and solitude.

Wake up Early to Gain Silence and Solitude

With a young family it is hard for me to get alone time unless I get up early. Setting an alarm to gain even an extra five minutes is a great way to ensure that I start my day alone with God. My wife craves that time too. She often wakes up a little bit after me, after I have had some quiet time with God and about the same time a few of our kids are awake, so I ensure they stay occupied while she gets her time with Him too. If you are married, helping each other by someone waking up a little early is a way to help get quiet time.

Set an alarm to Gain Silence and Solitude

I have three alarms set on my phone throughout the day. They are set as a reminder for me to stop, breathe, and commune with Jesus. I have one set at 8:00 am when I start work, one at 12:00 pm for lunch, and one to end the day at 5:00 pm. These alarms are placed at transition points to help me stop and consider God and seek His voice. It also helps me to leave work at work and home at home. Set an alarm and get in the practice of stopping everything even for just a minute.

Try an app

An app can help you stop and listen to God. Giving structure to our silence can be very helpful. I enjoy the Pause App because of this. While playing soothing music, it guides me through verses, questions to ask God, and really helps me stay focused instead of allowing my mind to wander. A plus to this app is it has alarm settings as well. Try an app to help you stop and listen more often.

Set a habit

Habits will win over hustle and bustle if you set them up. The quickest way to form a habit is to form it around something that already is a habit. For example, I make coffee every morning. If I stop and have silence right then I can form the habit quicker and that’s just what I have done. It is the other reason I form these pauses around set changes like going somewhere or coming home. It set an anchor to that point. Only in forming a habit to our silence and solitude can we have consistency.

Start with a consistent small change and try it out. If you don’t have success try a new experiment. Find what works for you, just don’t give up. These are counter cultural that will help you in your relationship with God and others. Don’t squirrel through life, rather have a steady rhythm of refill with God in silence and solitude and then do the work He is calling you to.

For more tips here is a short video.

What helps you to have moments of stillness with God?

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Jesus Is The Hero Not Us

I love a good western movie. The stranger rides into town unknown to everyone and after some time the town villain usually wants him to join his gang but he refuses. Most often on some moral high ground he fights the villain and his men. Against all odds he wins the day, the girl, and then rides off into the sunset.

I use to mock my wife for watching the Hallmark channel because it’s the same plot over and over. Then I looked at my action movies I like to watch and realized they are just as predictable as a girl dumping the business man and falling for the dude that wears flannel and works with his hands in every Hallmark movie. That stings a little.

I like those movies because something in me wants to be the hero.

Writing a sentence that changes someone’s life. I want to be remembered. To be significant.

In the same breath I like to blame. If only I would have a shot, I can be just like Uncle Rico in Napoléon Dynamite, “If coach would have put me in fourth quarter things would be different.” If I would have less demands from others life would be easier. If I was made differently I would be better off. I’m an expert excuse maker if I try, it’s a super power.

I believe we all love to play hero and then are tempted to be a victim.

 There is a problem when any of us try and be the hero because it’s a role we aren’t designed to play. The real hero was a carpenter that lived a couple thousand years ago. Jesus became a better hero than any of us could ever be.

God designed things for us to do and we get to play an awesome part of living that out. Heck people will even remember your name if you are faithful to the call, but I hope and pray in what they say about us is, “Man, they really loved like Jesus.”

Jesus should be the hero of our story.

When we try and be the hero we will fail. When we fail, we blame. It’s a terrible cycle in case you’re wondering. I know this and yet I’m still tempted and try and put on my ten-gallon hat and six shooters riding that pale horse.

When we try and be a hero we overextend ourselves consciously or unconsciously because we are the answer! Life moves from the wonderful rhythm God intended to stress, pressure, and overwhelming feelings. If you feel stress, pressure, and are overwhelmed, stop and ask yourself, “Am I trying to play a part I was never meant to play?”

The Mundane Matters

The next area that hero playing can be dangerous is in the mundane. Often when I’m trying to be the hero I think that I need to do some grandiose vision. Something that would knock the socks off people, and I miss the chance to reflect on the King. I miss the very things that God may be calling me to. Often listening to someone, like really listening to their heart is a way to make Jesus the hero. Listening to my wife instead of telling her about my things that I care about. Playing catch with my son. Moments of mundane like these we could miss if we are looking to copy the Lone Ranger.

Make Jesus the hero of your story and simply model love. No one wants you to be the hero, however, everyone could use some more love. Love well in the simple things, love well when it’s inconvenient . Look for areas to pour out love to those you come in contact with by seeing them the way Jesus does and that would make a truly epic story. We live in an amazing beautiful story that began in the beginning of time and the hero is God. He lets you and I play a part of that story. The world doesn’t need another John Wayne, they need love from Jesus through you. Love consistently, love extravagantly, love graciously, and love sacrificially.

What helps you love others like Jesus?

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The Struggle to Have Joy

My definition of exhausted has reached a new all-time high. I’m experiencing a level of weariness that is new for myself.  Like the soul crushing, mentally, physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually exhausting. As a result I’m not experiencing much joy. You know the exhaustion we are all living right now. It makes the best in us come out doesn’t it? (insert sarcasm emoji here).

We are walking around easily triggered. Because there are real concerns and not a lot of middle ground. For example, some are worried about health, others that personal freedoms are being stripped away. One side calls the other uncaring, the other sheep. Americans are a divided people, and we are having such a hard time listening to each other. Having empathy and understanding seems to be the last thing on our minds and if you would just agree with me, we can be mad together.

I’m writing these words staring at a sign in our house.

JOY to the world.

It’s what the world needed 2,000 years ago. It’s what the world needs today.

Speaking of the world that’s easy to say. The world needs the joy of Jesus. Others need this joy. This kind of thinking only keeps the magnifying glass off of me.

I need Joy

I struggle with depression and disillusionment. Often I think life would be different, and easier. I’m upset at the world but in all reality, I’m upset at myself.

Joy, I need it.

Peace, I need it.

Hope, I need it.

I search out there for it, and it eludes me like the setting sun.

I have searched for joy in my environment and my soul is hurt by the sin out there and the sin in me. My soul is torn and soiled by what I and others have done.

I’m restless and sleepless when I search for something that has been given. I search too often. I try to earn identity, peace, hope, and joy. Those things have been given and are not things to obtain but walk in.

Jesus has been given. The One who holds it all together. The One that hung the stars in the sky holds everything together. I remember the designer of everything and everyone in the universe. I remember He sees it all I’m reminded that He made me and sees me.

Emanuel

God with us. He came. God came in human form. He felt what you feel. He sees US. All of us. He does not just see the parts of us that we pretend/hope are enough. Jesus brought Joy, but I fear our fear and busyness blocks out His voice all too often. He is as close as a whisper. Do you hear Him?

Joy unbridled. Joy and peace unspeakable is only found when we stop searching and start sitting with Him. Jesus came to be WITH YOU. He is as near as your Spirit surrenders and allows Him to be. We may not have answers, and when we get those answers, we may not like them. But the fruit that He offers is not from self-effort but from surrender. I surrender my plans, wishes, and dreams. I surrender my expectations, hopes, and fears. Often striving adds to the despondent feelings that are unquenchable but when I surrender, Joy, peace, and hope return to my mind and soul. This Christmas season I surrender, and I will choose to pick up JOY. Will you join me?

Choose Joy!

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Anchored to Christ in Hard Times

I have a hard time staying anchored to Christ I was reminded of this while working in the homestead. We have been expanding our little homestead and this year we decided to try raising a couple of turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When I went to order the gobblers from the hatchery, I found out that the minimum order size was 15. So our couple of turkeys escalated quickly to 15. That is kind of how my dreams work. I commit and then the task grows, but I have to do it now! You can pray for my poor wife.

I have been moving my turkeys with an electrical fence. This gives them fresh grass and to fertilize an area of steep hill I want to row plants in the Spring. The last spot they were at I left them there for too long and the hill turned into a muddy and poop smelling mess. Oops! I knew it was time to move them, so I started to pull up the fence one stake at a time while holding onto the netting of the fence.

Right after I pulled up a stake my feet began to slide down the hill. The only thing stopping me from a poop covered grave was a little stake in the ground. As I was sliding down the hill I was praying, “God please no! Help the stake to hold.” Stranded on the hillside I felt like Sylvester Stallone on Cliffhanger, however, it looked more like a guy with a dad bod and a thinning hairline pleading for his smell to remain the same. I shuffled my feet slowly away from the poo and survived the incident. It was a close one and I know that I wouldn’t have been allowed in the house to shower if that stake didn’t hold. I guess you could pretty much call me a hero.

Life is like that sometimes.

We start out with a small plan of raising a turkey, something simple and clean. The next second we are in over our heads two seconds away from filth that’s hard to bounce back from.

Often in life when the world goes sideways we either slide down to new smelly lows or we stay up high and dry. The only difference is if we have something to anchor to that holds. If we let go of the anchor we go on the world’s worst slide. If our anchor doesn’t, hold its that same lame ride. Only by holding firm and anchored to the right thing do we thrive.

The only anchor that I have found to hold no matter the circumstances is God. He never fails. I do find that the other being in the relationship is more fickle than God and that is me. I tend to get distracted and instead of being in union with God I get into the hurry of life. These 3 things help me stay in union and connected to an anchor that lasts.

Scripture Keeps us Anchored to Christ

Reading the Bible daily reminds of my creator. Heck it’s His words in there and reading them helps remind me of who He is and who I am because of what He has done. Read the Bible daily and memorize some of His words to remain anchored no matter the circumstances that you will walk through.  

Silence and Solitude Keeps us Anchored to Christ

Arranging time to stop and be still before the Lord gives space for me to hear from Him. He is always speaking but often my mind and life is moving at such a pace that I’m not listening to Him. Getting alone and still before the Lord a few times throughout the day is a way that reconnects me in union with Him.

Nature

Being in nature reconnects me to God. He made nature and its beauty points to the Creator. Sitting on my porch looking at the majestic pine trees and hearing the birds and squirrels run around calms my heart. Nature is an echo of the Creator. It is His literal artwork. One of the exercises I do is remember a time on the Deschutes River at sunset. I visualize that moment with Jesus sitting with me and it invites me into worship of Him.

Nature, scripture, and silence and solitude are things I incorporate into my life in order to be anchored to Christ. God is our firm foundation and there are too many moments like poop hill that are too big for us without Him. Make sure your anchored to Christ today.

What helps you stay connected to God?