Quickies

Please God help my Heels win it all.

Excited about going to the Final Four next weekend.

Holly is God's gift to me.

Do it yourself

Give it time and let it breathe.

Relax, they're younger than you remember sometimes.

Honest people can have my time.

Liars are a waste of time.

Enjoy every step without looking to the next one too much

Imitation is the best sign of influence

Influence, Influence, Influence

I can always do better, humility always wins

Real humility

I forget the wrong things and remember the wrong things...stop it.

Jesus didn't just say "Follow me" he said "Be like me" as well.

I'm not who I was.

He Told Me To

Today is the 3rd Sunday I have had off this year. Other than for vacation time I have not had 3 Sundays of in what seems like 2 years. This is awesome. I get more time with my family on Sundays than on any other day of the week. So the thought has started to repeatedly occur to me..."Why would I give this day up for the rest of my life?"

The only answer there is, happens to be "Because He told me to".

Simple obedience. Wish I were more heroic than that, but I am not. I have no other option but to obey, but man, I really like having Sundays off. "You'll have all of eternity for that."

Criticism

There's something in life that I have absolutely no respect (or tolerance) for...it is criticism with no commitment. Do you realize how easy it is to be negative? Very easy. It is even easier to criticize with absolutely no equity in what you are criticizing. We criticize things we have no stake of equity in all the time...commercials, lousy products, bad meals, friends' churches, each other.

Here's what I have learned while at Gateway over the last 9 years...people will criticize something God is miraculously doing. There will never be a time where everything you do makes every single person happy. As a leader, you need to be okay with that.

Here's what I used to do...someone would criticize what I was doing and I would completely change what I was doing for them, whether it was the Lord or not. You know what you call that? People pleasing. What's really great is when you change what they wanted hoping it will appease them and they are still not happy with you. Save yourself the trouble...hear God's instruction more than you hear man's deconstruction.

Hear my heart on this, I am not saying that all criticism is bad. I have received some great criticism from even oh, say, a spiritual father, that has completely changed the way I do ministry for the better. Criticism can be a powerful tool for growth...when it comes from someone committed to you.

Here's how I would sum this up in a one-liner...

Spend more time listening to "family members" with a different perspective or opinion than you do listening to non-committed critics.

For those being criticized, don't tune out your critics...they might be right once in a while.

For those that make a habit of non-committed criticism, be careful what and who you criticize because if they're wise, they'll ask you what you are doing about it. :)

Quick Hits

Seven was off the hook last night.

Get the podcast if you missed it...lots of one-liners

P90X is a great addition to our lives.

Fantasy Basketball playoffs start in a week and a half and I dominated the regular season.

Taking Tyler to the ER was not nearly as bad as I thought...thanks to Tyler!

Be careful with your words.

Just because you're having a bad day doesn't mean I should join in on the fun.

Family is a gift from God.

Serotonin is your friend.

Yoga is not at all what I expected...gotta be strong to pull it off.

I'm tired of hearing about bailouts with my money.

My outlook on life changes when I work out...much more healthy.

This may be the most generous phase of my life to this point...it seems like all I want to do is give right now...to anyone or any organization God tells me to give to.

I want to make a great employee, but an even better son.

If every message were like last night's I would want to preach everyday...ok, maybe not.

Sure hope my Tarheels are at the Final Four with me.