Tag: faith

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When God is Silent

When God is silent I go crazy. I’m like an ADD super-charged squirrel in my natural environment going from one thing to another and even in my sedentary state I have the turkey brain. I have a feeling that may describe you too. The world is full of us. Ritalin dependent squirrels, am I right? Anyway back to my story with a lesson.

I have been about two years out of being bi-vocational. For those that don’t know I have owned Figaro’s Pizza for 18 years and for five of those years I also was also a Spiritual Development Pastor. I resigned from the pastorate around two Easters ago and have been awaiting what is next. God has been pretty silent on the subject which I’m not thrilled about. Actually I’ve had a beef with the big guy about it. Operating one store is not enough of a challenge for this squirrel man. He has more for me than I am doing and I know it. You know the feeling, you aren’t doing what you are capable of doing but no doors have been opened. It’s frustrating and it ticks me off. I have prayed that God would just show me and there have been crickets.

What do we do in those moments where God is silent on what to do next?

As you can guess this squirrel guy just does a bunch of stuff and looks more like a squirrel dodging tires than someone called by God. Pro tip: Don’t do that.

Visionary

You and I are vision casting leaders and vison casting leaders can get stuck dreaming about the future. Vision is how businesses are started, churches planted, and movements created. God gifted us with vision and that is a good thing. However, when we get caught up in the questions about the future we are not living out a life that honors God rather we are in squirrel mode.

Called for this Moment

God is calling us to this very moment. Dream about the future but come back to today. God has stuff for us to do now. I know that isn’t earth shattering but I realized recently that most of my prayers are about the future and not about this moment. When we seek future answers I have found that most of the time God is silent, however, when I ask Him current questions He has quite a bit to show me.

When God is Silent Who Should I Love?

One of the questions I have been asking that you may want to consider is; “God who do you want me to love well today?” When we ask a question that is in the character of God, He will show us someone. God is love. God will show His followers who to love. The question is, will we listen? God will show you who HE wants you to love if you are courageous enough to ask.

God gave us the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives. He will show us who and how to love. He will show us when we should shut up and listen. Ask Him to be in your day and be active. Then trust Him with your day. It’s easy to pray for help and divine appointments and then be ticked when the day doesn’t go according to our infinite wisdom (sarcasm is intended). Ask God to direct your steps and trust that He does.

Speaking of trusting God, lets trust Him with our future. As we love well and are guided by the Holy Sprit we are going to go on the coolest adventure. However, when we are constantly obsessing over when, where, and what in the future we are squirreling it. The problem with this other than our lack of faith is that it’s fruitless.

When God is Silent Let the Ground Rest

Obsessing over the future is like a farmer who plows a field to plant seeds and then tomorrow plows the field again and again continually. Then stands there and wonders why his seeds didn’t come up. We are called to plant seeds and let the ground rest. In these moments where it looks barren God is working. He brings the seeds to harvest when we are faithful with today. Move forward in love, do what the Holy Spirit tells you to do, and let the ground rest. A harvest is coming, I can see it.

Present Day

This was written over a year ago. I’m happy to report that after letting the ground rest God is speaking more and I’m getting doors opened for me that needed time. That is the great part of our journey. We never outgrow our need to trust God with the unknown as we step down a foggy path. Through loving others and living our best in the moment He will reveal in His time. Be blessed on your journey.

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4 Keys to Navigate Change While Pursuing Your Calling

Spring is in the air. Yesterday it was in the mid-sixties in Southern Oregon and today it is dreary with a chance of snow tonight. Fall and spring are my favorite times of the year. Summer is too hot and winter is too dark. Maybe that says something about my personality; I am not really settled. Change is constant and very few things are a lifetime. Deep rooted callings and values are much more concrete, but those values play out in our vocation often differently at different stages. Change is inevitable when we chase dreams and if we aren’t ready for them, we can get caught standing still when we should move or moving when we should stand still. We need to navigate change well to reach our dreams.

My Navigating Change Story

I have been part owner and operator of a pizza restaurant for seventeen years in June. The last five years, I have served full time at a church and spent the last year and a half as the Spiritual Development Pastor. It has been a challenging, yet rewarding journey doing both. I have recently decided to resign from my pastoral position and that has not been an easy choice. In fact, I may pastor again someday, however, this is the right decision for now. Change; it’s messy and hard when you have two good choices. I have found that there is some crucial ingredients that make change a lot easier for me and I think they will help you as well.

Navigate change with these 4 tips.

Trusted Circle

We need a trusted circle of friends. I’m not talking about all of your friends, rather a group that you are 100 with and they are the same with you. This group is needed for counsel, encouragement, or to smack you in the back of the head when you’re being an idiot. We are all idiots sometimes. If you have not spent the time to build trusted friendships, it’s not too late to start now. Who can you take a chance in trusting? In the end that’s what it’s going to take, faith. If someone breaks your trust, forgive them and try someone else. Building a circle of friends is not easy, however, it is a must to navigating change in the best way possible. Open yourself up to the possibility that you don’t have all of the answers and others could be helpful.

Prayer Helps Navigate Change Well

Pray a lot to navigate change the way God intended you to. Not stupid fake prayers, rather real, raw ones that are honest. There are going to be times that you are angry with God. Tell Him. There are going to be times that you are overcome with gratitude. Tell Him. Your thoughts are not hidden from Him. Let the good and the bad ones always drive you to the feet of Jesus and He will restore you. Change will not be easy when you have put your heart and soul into something and you will need Him to guide you through and protect your heart from offense and pride. Pray to your Father in Heaven to navigate change with grace.

Surrender to Navigate Change

When you are running a marathon there is a saying that says, “Let the hill come to you.” It’s tempting to zoom up the hill and run out of energy or walk because it’s hard. Letting the hill come to you means that you maintain a steady stride and don’t force anything. When you are making a change, it will be easy to want to procrastinate to avoid the pain or to quit suddenly and speed up that hill. Surrender to God and the process and let the change come to you. Change is a gradual turn in the corner, not a jerky motion that scares your family and leaves you depleted. Surrender to the uncomfortable time frame to navigate change in a healthy way.

Talk and Listen to Navigate Change Well

I’m a verbal processor so no one needs to tell me to talk. Maybe you’re not and I want you to know that the people close to you can’t hear your thoughts. No one feels the same about change. I embrace change and my wife hates it. We have talked a lot about that and how our lives will look. Unity happens the more we share with each other and then compromise. If you are compromising without sharing where you stand, stop it. Talk about the uncomfortable things before they become a fight. Talk and listen to have healthy relationships as you navigate change.

Change is challenging and change is exciting. Embrace the sun and the dreariness on the way to the life that you envision. One thing I know for sure is that change is on your horizon and it’s up to you to make that change a beautiful thing or one that you hate. Stay curious about what God has for you next and be blessed on your journey.

What helps you to navigate change?

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5 Keys to Overcoming Rejection to Reach Your Dreams

Rejection feels like the end of a dream. It feels like someone’s disapproval of our art is everyone’s disapproval. I feel foolish when I am rejected. I wonder why I am not enough in the moment. It feels isolating even though all of us have come face to face with rejection. We are all at one time or another not chosen or told what we love doesn’t matter. In those moments when you feel rejection deep in your soul I don’t want you to quit, heck I don’t want to quit. I want you to overcome rejection.

When rejection comes everything in you is going to scream that the pain is not worth continuing. It feels personal, I know it does, but rejection says more about the rejector than you. Man that’s a lot easier to type than believe. It sounds like a famous break up line, “It’s not you, it’s me.” It sounds cheesy, but it is true.

Life is a mix of art and science. There is rock solid truth and a bunch of art. Art is in the eye of the beholder. I love the country. It’s why I live in a town of under 1,000 people. You may live and love the city. Two different points of view. I mean I’m right and your wrong. 😉

Rise and fight for your dreams by doing these five things.

Identity in Christ Helps us Overcome Rejection

Our identity comes from God, the one who created us. He names us and the name He stamped us with is Royalty. When we surrendered our lives to Him, we were given His identity. We can take rejection as who we are, however, we are royal priests and not less than in some way. When you are feeling the pain of rejection remember whose you are to rise from the ashes.

Stillness

I tend to try to prove people wrong when I get rejected. This is terrible fuel. I want to move on quick, but we need to still our hearts so we don’t run on that junk fuel. Sitting with Jesus in silence helps me to hear Him. In our sitting with the Spirit of God, we can hear Him whisper to us our true identity. We can feel His love towards us and He will cause us to dream dreams again. Sit with Jesus and rise in His strength to overcome rejection.

Worship

Sometimes, when I’m rejected I get a little ticked at God. I know I’m a smart guy. I don’t know if you do that, however, I do it because I’m ticked that He made me in a certain way. Not logical, but it’s where I go. When we worship God at points when everything in us doesn’t want to, our hearts turn to Him in adoration. When I worship God I stop looking at my circumstances and I’m reminded of why I run after dreams. I run after dreams because I’m running after HIM. Worship Jesus and get the power to run again.

Dust Off

I was reading in the gospel of Luke and was reminded of when Jesus sent out the disciples to heal and cast out demons. Jesus gave them instructions and told them if they are rejected to dust themselves off and go to the next town. You aren’t going to be received by everyone. You aren’t going to be understood by most. We should dust ourselves off and move forward. If we don’t we end up sitting in our state and miss out on what God has for us ahead in the next “town.” Dust off and serve the next one.

Focus on Legacy to Overcome Rejection

I have three wonderful kids, okay they are wonderful most of the time. I want them to shoot for the stars and they are bound to have some pain leaving the atmosphere for those stars. One thing that gets me to grind toward dreams is that I’m not doing it for me. I’m sowing seeds into the next generation. Your kids watch you. They are little sponges soaking up what we do more than what we say we will do. We want to raise kids that are overcomers and fighters, not ones that bend to someone’s opinion of something they have done.

Rejection especially in the early stages of chasing after a dream feels bigger than it really is. I know it hurts and honestly rejection I faced in my childhood still hurts when I think about it today. Rejection only defines you when you allow it to. Remember whose you are and rise from rejection to work towards those dreams. Rise and get a reward from it instead of wallowing in it. Rise and move forward into the brighter future stronger for it.

What helps you rise from rejection?

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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?