The Suprise in the Corner

In our home we have a rather large, beautiful print of a painting hanging on our living room wall.
It's a Mediterranean scene, from a house high on a cliff you look down to the bright blue sea below.
Just thinking about it now makes me happy.
My wife and I love it.
Despite what happened some time ago.
We decided to stop at a McDonald's for some health food.
Uh... I mean comfort food.
As the family sat down, we said our prayer of thanks and began eating.
That's when I noticed the artwork on the walls.
And then I almost choked on my salad.
Uh.. I mean Big Mac.
There on the wall was... OUR PAINTING!
OUR PRECIOUS ARTWORK!
Not as nicely framed.
Not even in a prime spot.
Over there.
In the corner.
By the restrooms.
My wife couldn't believe it either.
I put down my juice.
Uh.. I mean Coke.
How do you react when a prized piece of artwork that hangs in your home.. as well as your heart... ends up in a place so unexpected?
You smile.
And you thank God that sometimes beauty can be found in the most average of places.
God is the artist.
He's painting a masterpiece with your life, Christian.
Are you content with wherever he chooses to "hang" you?

Are You Willing To Be Unpopular?

Happy Monday!
I realize that "Happy" and "Monday" aren't used in the same sentence very often.
But every now and then you have to "mix it up" a bit, don't you think?
For my family, this weekend was filled with church and tasks and time with friends.
And also I had a chance to read some more from the book I mentioned on Friday's blog entry.

It's called "Stand"(Crossway).

John Piper and Justin Taylor are the editors.

A few folks we've had on Total Impact over the years have written some powerful chapters.

Former guests like John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges & Randy Alcorn.

It's a small book that packs quite a punch.

It's a call to "keep on keeping on" when it comes to our Christian faith.

It's real, and super Biblical.

One quote from Randy Alcorn knocked my socks off:

"If you insist on being respected and praised, in society or in the church, you will walk away not only from the cause but from your Lord.

Jesus said in John 15:20:

"No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."

"Who are we to expect the world to treat us better than it treated Jesus?
One of the greatest enemies of staying strong in our faith is the desire to be popular, whether with the world or with the church.
If your eyes are on anyone but Jesus you're not going to have the stamina to put up with criticism.
Live for the approval of others and you will not live for Christ's approval, and therefore you will not endure"

Let's live for Jesus.

The Audence of One.

I hope this encourages you if you're in a season of being misunderstood as you do you best to remain faithful to Christ.

Following Christ Day By Day

One step forward.

Two steps back.

Isn't that how it is for those of us who follow Christ?

At least that's the way it seems to be for me.

But even on my best days, I know I fall short.

But God knows I long to follow Him because of my great love for Him.

And knowing I need the blood of Jesus to forgive my sins every single day makes His sacrifice on the cross all the more meaningful.

Every day I thank Him for taking my punishment.

And for giving me His righteousness.

But wait... there's more!

Author Jerry Bridges talks about dealing with anxiety in his life.

In Matthew chapter 8 He was reading about Jesus and the disciples caught in a bad storm on the Sea of Galilee.

The disciples were terrified.

Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat.

And Jerry thought... Jesus was asleep for me.

This is what Jerry writes in the book "Stand"(Crossway):

"All that Jesus did in both His sinless life and sin-bearing death was all on my behalf.

In contrast to my anxiety, Jesus was never anxious.

In far more desperate circumstances than I faced Jesus fully trusted His Heavenly Father.

And I get the credit for it.

I knew my sin was forgiven and instead I had been credited with perfect obedience (in this case, the perfect trust) of Jesus. So I went out into my day not only encouraged but determined that by His grace I would fight against my anxiety".

Our trust in the Lord is something we have to renew daily.

We can't live live today on yesterday's commitment.

"I Want To Play A Glockenspiel"

Not long ago I asked my third grader Nicolas if he would like to learn how to play a musical instrument. "Sure" he said.

And so I threw out the obvious possibilities.

Guitar?

"Nope."

Piano?

"Not really".

Drums? (secretly I cringe)

"No."

Well... what do you have in mind?

"A glockenspiel."

A what????

"A glockenspiel."

Don't you love those moments when kids take you by surprise?

Not even knowing what a glockenspiel is.. of course I go to Wikipedia:

The glockenspiel (German, "set of bells" or "play-bells", also known as orchestra bells and, in its portable form, bell lira or bell lyre) is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It is similar to the xylophone, in that it has tuned bars laid out in a fashion resembling a piano keyboard. The xylophone's bars are wooden, while the glockenspiel's are metal, thus making it a metallophone.

Where did he hear about this contraption?

Turns out they have one in his music class.

I wanted to check it out during his open house but the music room was locked up by the time we made it to the back of the school building.

Rats!

I was so there.

With bells on.

My wife and I haven't decided how to handle this unexpected turn of events.

Maybe it's just a passing phase.

Maybe the glockenspiel is the next big thing.

"Guitar Hero" watch out.

"Glockenspiel Hero" could be the hottest selling interactive game ever.

Remember: you heard the whole spiel from me first.

A Well Within

Have you ever been super thirsty, but no matter how much you drank your thirst wasn't quenched?

If not spend a summer here in the desert.

Play a little tennis at about 3pm in late July.

You'll know!

My problem is that instead of water I want to drink a Coke.

Or maybe fruit juice.

Anything but water.

Bottom line: I'm not drinking the right thing.

And the result is that I'm thirsty again within minutes.

Maybe even seconds!

What a parallel this is to life.

I want to quench my spiritual thirst with:

*Relationships

*Money

*Busyness

*Pleasure

*Material things

*Popularity

*Worldly Success

But the principal is the same: I'm still thirsty.

I don't think it was a coincidence that Jesus talked about this spiritual thirst.

First, take a look at what He said in a casual encounter with a woman at the town well:

John 4:13-14 (ESV) 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

And later in John's Gospel....

John 7:37-38(ESV): 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' "

These verses are for those who have accepted Christ as Savior.

The spiritual thirst is quenched by a never ending supply of the forgiveness and love of God.

It's the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

So as we go through life we may face the toughest challenges imaginable:

*The loss of a loved one

*Illnesses

*Financial Problems

*Relationship problems

*Work related problems

The non-believer who has been pursuing the things that can't quench his thirst has no power to cope.

The believer has the power but may have his "well" plugged by trying to quench his thirst in the wrong ways too.

Unplug the pipeline.

Jesus alone is enough.

Believe it and begin to live it.

Then... no matter what is going on around you... you'll always have a never ending supply of pure living water that can't be contaminated by the stuff of life.

Joy, satisfaction, and power flow from the well within.

The Truth Project

Stunning Statistic: Only 9 percent of professing Christians have a Biblical worldview.

That's from a study out of the Barna Research Group.

In fact, when I interviewed George Barna some time ago he told me this was an obvious trend.

Bottom line: Today's believers are living like non-believers.

We have stopped being salt and light.

Standing up for God's truth has always been important.

In America today, it's crucial.

That's why I'm so excited about The Truth Project from Focus On The Family.

This Saturday more than 300 churches across the nation will be simulcasting a Truth Project Training Conference. Here in Las Vegas it's from 8:30am to 3pm at The Champion Center of Las Vegas, 3900 E. Bonanza Road.

The event will focus on all aspects of life: theology, science, work, relationships, community impact, etc. All from a Biblical perspective.

If you attend you'll also receive the entire Truth Project curriculum on DVD.

That way you can share it with your family and friends.

It would also be great for kids who are home schooled as well as small groups.

To find a church near you that will be simulcasting the event click on this link:

http://www.thetruthproject.org/

Again tonight on Total Impact we'll have the Las Vegas Coordinators for the event describing what you can expect.

That's 6:10pm Pacific time.

Unrelated thoughts:Happy Birthday Aleq/Boost Your Paycheck

I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

On Saturday we celebrated my older son's birthday!

Aleq is now 17.

I had to use bold type because I can't believe he's 17.

Where has time gone?

I told him I was going to post some classic moments from his life on the blog.

Like some of those old videos.

For instance.. the one when he was about 4......!

Just kidding Aleq!

Maybe another day.

Translation: Be nice to your Dad or else.

What an intimidating guy I am.

I ran across something today I though might be helpful for you in these challenging economic times. It has to do with keeping more money in your pocket.

Specifically, it has to do with the W-4 form we all have to fill out.

For people who regard this form as mysterious I'm with you.

Make a mistake on this one and you'll be in for a shock about April 15.

Been there. Done that.

Won't do it again!

Check out this info.

It's from Kiplinger's.

I hope it helps:

Boost Your Paycheck

If you typically get a tax refund each spring, adjust your withholding to put more money in your pocket.
Use the easy withholding calculator at to find out how many exemptions you are entitled to claim. That will determine how much tax is withheld from your paycheck.

File a new Form W-4 with your employer to increase the number of exemptions.
Revise your W-4 anytime you experience a major life change that can affect the amount of taxes you pay -- marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, or a home purchase.

Smile on payday.