Teach Us To Pray

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave us what we know as the Lord's Prayer. It is a simple, yet magnificent, example of what it means to pray. It is an affirmation in the truest sense. As Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, God already knows what you need before you ask him.

As I was trying to have some quiet time this past week, I could not clear my head of distractions. Instead, I tuned into a podcast on meditation and prayer. One comment the teacher made stuck with me more than any other. This lesson was about using anything you do as a means to prayer. I may have mentioned before, I pray while in my car. It is often the only time I am alone. While driving, I sometimes concentrate on things that I need to let go of, or I repeat simple affirmations - positive thoughts of thanks and appreciation.

Never meditate while driving. Keep your eyes open.

The comment that stuck with me was provocative - everything is prayer. As I started to think about this simple comment, a thought hit me. God knows our every thought and our heart's desire. If we dwell on something, we are lifting that thought up to God. When we have dwelled on our anger, our resentments, our thoughts of revenge - we have technically prayed for God to cause harm to others for our own satisfaction. What are we praying? I am glad that God's discernment is there to sift through our prayers.

You cannot grow spiritually if you are clinging to negative thoughts.

Some people go their entire lives bitter and resentful. Some cling to anger and loss. Some people, even those who claim to teach others about Christ, have no joy in their lives. What is the point of faith if you refuse joy?

If we are praying negative thoughts by dwelling on them or if we are not affirming our blessings daily, we are not growing. If you are angry at someone, and refuse to forgive them, you are not harming them. When you forgive someone, the forgiveness frees you. They are not bound to accept your words, but you are free from the burden of your own negative ways. Perhaps this is why Jesus tells us to pray FOR our enemies.

Blogging Vacations, Part 2

I have to admit, for someone who started off the year planning to write more, I have failed miserably (so far). As I have written before, I have a love affair with coffee. I am starting to realize that my blogging could use a shot of espresso - some caffeine to get things going. I named this post "Blogging Vacation, Part 2". The completely unrelated Part 1 is posted on the Alabama Football blog, Alabama Gameday, where I am a guest slacker - I mean blogger. So, if you are into Alabama Football, check it out as well.

Lately, I have been consumed with work and I am presently working on launching a new company — details on that are coming very very soon. I have also been spending more time with family, friends, and resting. While I am not willing to give up any of that precious time, I do plan to spend more time in the coming weeks writing.

There are many exciting things going on right now. As I mentioned, I am stoked* about the new project, I am also stepping into uncomfortable territory at church — I have volunteered to lead a small group for new believers. It may or may not happen, but actually agreeing to do it (if needed) was a step that I took into the abyss.

I heard some interesting things on the radio this week. I am going to develop them into blog articles very soon. Sorry if my blog has turned into a "blahg" lately. I will try to do better.


* This is the first, and likely last, time I have used the term "stoked". Someone, keep me accountable on this.

From the Stacks

I collect books. One of my favorite things is to stumble across a signed first edition, or an unusual book somewhere. So, I decided to take a book that I found interesting out of my stack nearby and share a bit about it with you (as if anyone is reading this).

Today, I grabbed the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx - the guitarist and main songwriter for Motley Crue. Although this book is not signed, nor is it a first edition, it is interesting. My friend Tony, who has enlisted me to write for his blog, Alabama Gameday, has given me grief in more than one conversation about paying too much attention to rock lyrics and looking for evidence of spiritual meaning in secular songs.

Granted, Motley Crue doesn't have a cover version of Kumbaya in their recorded catalog so there is really nothing to decipher lyrically. It is my association with the Celebrate Recovery program at my church that made this book enticing. I should offer a warning. This book contains a lot of profanity and graphic detail. If you are the type of person who doesn't want to have to wash your eyeballs after reading profanity, or if you have a stick up your bottom, don't read this book.

That being said, the book wraps up with two very important lessons. The first lesson is to give away as much as you can. The other is to let go and let God. Both are spiritual lessons and the writer admits that his addiction has given him a spiritual awareness he never knew existed. As he said, his addiction gave him recovery and the ability to give back.

We have a saying in Celebrate Recovery, where I lead a men's general issue small group, that says that nobody ever seeks to recover until they have found the bottom of their despair. In every life, there is a rock bottom moment. In the case of Nikki Sixx, dropping dead and being revived by a passing pizza delivery guy was probably the bottom.

In the world of music, so many stories have a tragic ending. The roster of the rock and roll dead is long and likely to get longer. This story, at least, offers a bit of hope to the regular guy that recovery is a better way of life.

Five Things for February

1. Today, we are taking the kids to feed the homeless. I am glad they want to do good things for others and I am thankful that our church supports this ministry.

2. So far, I have not done much toward accomplishing my goal of writing more this year. It is still early.

3. I am thankful for all of the old friends I have reconnected with lately.

4. A few weeks into the Obama administration, and the world hasn't ended. Also, not much of real substance has been accomplished either.

5. I am building a web design and hosting company. Contact me for more info.

Let Them Eat Cake

I watched the inauguration yesterday. Along with the good cheer and good will that comes with such pomp and circumstance, I remain proud of our great country. In much of the world, leaders enter office and leave office with a struggle, a bullet, or a revolution. Certainly, our young nation has had its fair share of struggle, and a couple of revolutions, but our typical transition of power does not come from violence but with a handshake and an embrace.

Yesterday, amidst the media evangelizing, power once again transferred hands in the usual way. There were no choirs of Angels singing from on high, no doves descending from the clouds, and no burning bushes (not even a GW Bush). There was a ceremony, a parade, and lots of celebration. Rightfully so. The Republic still stands and the methods put in place by our founding fathers for a peaceful transition of power worked yet again.

However, something struck me as I looked back over the course of the day. In a year when banks are failing and the world economy is shaking with uncertainty, when campaign slogans were filled with financial fear and doom and gloom, our government threw the biggest inauguration party in history — with some estimates as high as 170 million dollars.

After the inauguration ceremony, our nation's leaders attended a lavish lunch in Statuary Hall. In that amazing building, Senator Diane Feinstein spoke eloquently about the tradition of the inaugural lunch which dates back to a modest fellowship meal hosted by President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon in the 1950s. After the lunch, the Senator from the bankrupt state of California presented all of the politicians in attendance with gift bags filled with watches and other items to commemorate the event. History is filled with government elitists living the good life as their people prepare for revolt.

Nero, get your fiddle!

God bless President Obama. I didn't vote for him but I wish him well. He has his hands full with these people.

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that another year has moved into history. Happy New Year to everyone. I hope 2009 brings you all the good you seek.

I have to say, 2008 was a strange year for me. Every year presents challenges and every year brings new joy and new lessons. As I have said many times, you learn much more from the difficulties you face. I believe this. It is this faith, this belief in grace, that gives me peace. It helps me get out of bed in the mornings.

Looking back, I grew a lot in 2008. With growth comes growing pains.

In January, I abandoned a bid to purchase the design company I helped create in 2005. Instead, I remained attached to it as General Manager and decided to look for other investments. In April, I found an interesting new venture that turned into a real adventure for me personally and professionally. Although it has been rough — and I have sunk a lot more money, emotion, and time into it than anticipated — 2009 could see that investment turn into profit. I hope and pray that it will for everyone involved.

In my own company, I have taken on more design work and I have developed a web hosting and design business that I plan to focus on in 2009. I hope to post some exciting info on this in the coming weeks.

In February, I had the worst anxiety/panic attack I have endured since the late 80s. It was foolish on my part because I learned that I was not taking good care of myself physically or spiritually. The two are connected. I didn't write about this attack but, as I look back on it, I did learn my limits.

In August, the new owners of the company met with me to tell me that they were eliminating my salary but wanted me to continue to work for them on a contract basis. I agreed, for the time being, but I was still focused on other investments and upon growing my own company. As I stepped back from them, and I do wish them all well, I learned another thing about myself. I have always treated my clients as if they were my own company. I take an interest in their business, their products, and their lives. Many of the people I worked with over the years approached me to offer me work. It validated my work ethic, and I am thankful for that lesson. It took a few months, but God was again faithful in his promise to prosper me and not harm me. I am glad He is God instead of me.

After Thanksgiving, I took my family to Disney and we had a great time. I blogged about it earlier if you are interested. My son now shares my roller coaster addiction and I could not be more proud.

We had a great Christmas filled with fellowship and family. It was good to see everyone and I look forward to keeping up with friends and family a bit better in 2009.

I am not a big fan of new year's resolutions. I believe that every day is a resolution. When you get up in the morning, you make a choice to stay on course or wander off course. No insincere, but well intentioned, statement on January 1 means anything if the discipline is not there every other day. However, there are a few things I hope to do in 2009 that are worthy of listing here.

• I hope to show my kids more of the world and more of the good in it.
• I hope to focus on helping others more than I have.
• I hope to get in better shape physically, financially, and mentally.

So, in short, I need to pray more, laugh more, exercise more, eat better, sleep better and take a deep breath and relax now and then. That's it. No half-hearted resolutions. I do intend to write more, read more, and have more quiet time.

Don't let the world determine who you are. It doesn't matter who will be President, what the stock market thinks, or what you do to earn a living (as long as it is legal and doesn't compromise your morals). Hope and change comes from you, not from catch phrases and sound bites. Be thankful for what you have been given. Choose not to participate in a bad economy or a negative environment in your personal life. With the faith of a mustard seed, as the parable goes.

As C. S. Lewis once said: "You do not have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body." You are here to grow and learn. Savor the good times and pay attention to the bad times. In short, BE GOOD.

Another Day, Another Theology Quiz

So, I found another theology quiz while taking a break from a design job. This one is more precise than the other one. It's interesting how some of these rankings have turned around as I have grown over the last few years. Let me know how you do. Here are my results:

You Scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

79%

Emergent/Postmodern

71%

Neo orthodox

54%

Classical Liberal

54%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

50%

Modern Liberal

46%

Reformed Evangelical

46%

Roman Catholic

39%

Fundamentalist

36%

Would it Kill You?

Hey, if you read this regularly (yeah, right) or if this is your first time here, do me a favor. Click on an ad while you are here.

When I was in college, there was a local bar owner who (I've heard) would make announcements over the speakers to say things like "drink up, my kids are having to drink powdered milk" or "buy another round, I have an alimony payment due in ten minutes".

Well, things are not that bad here, but I would appreciate a click or two.

Belief-O-Matic

I took the belief-o-matic quiz over at Beliefnet.com again to see how it would judge me based on my answers to their questions. Although I find the questions a bit convoluted in the sense that there are no answers to some questions that exactly reflect my thoughts, I found the results interesting.

1. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)
2. Orthodox Quaker (96%)
3. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (88%)
4. Eastern Orthodox (77%)
5. Roman Catholic (77%)

As you can see, my top 5 results are rather mixed. The first one and the third one are overlapping for me because I do attend a very untraditional congregation in a mainline protestant church. However, my beliefs are my own and can be liberal or conservative based on the question asked.

I find the 4th and 5th results confusing but, at least, they are Christian churches — Beliefnet encompasses most world faiths. I have many Catholic friends and have been to many services at Catholic churches, however I have never considered myself a good candidate for conversion for several reasons. Perhaps that explains the wide percentage gap within my top 5.

The second one is very confusing to me. I have, for some time, tried to focus on my inner prayer life and my personal relationship with Christ. These are all major factors within Orthodox Quaker (Friends) beliefs. I was happy to see that the result was Orthodox Quaker, as some of the more liberal Quaker schools of thought lean toward Universalism.

Well, that is a short blog for today but it was something I felt like sharing. Take the quiz for yourself and post your results back to me in the comments. It would be interesting to share that with each other.

Aerosmith, A Yeti, and A Stitch

As I mentioned earlier, I spent the week after Thanksgiving in Disney and it brought back several memories from my childhood, when I last visited the Magic Kingdom. some of the rides and attractions from then are gone, some (perhaps) should be, and many new things have been added.

As I walked around with my family, nearly 30 years after my own visit, it was amazing how many things I remembered about the park. I remember the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a roller coaster for the entire family, and I smiled as both of my children wanted to ride it over and over again as I had. I was also happy they were brave enough to get on the ride, since our first ride at Disney was a terrifying free fall ride at Disney's Hollywood park. I'll talk about that another time.

My daughter did not want to go on the other coasters, but my son and I took some time together to ride the more adventurous rides. First up was Space Mountain. Disney is not known for roller coasters, and Space Mountain is very old by the standards of most parks. However, I was not able to ride it when I went to the park, so I was excited to finally get the chance. My son and I rode it 10 times in all. There are no big hills, but the darkness, fast spins, and unique setting made it fun.

Next, we rode Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. Aside from the bus station being located next to what must have been the animal toilet, this park was very nice and we enjoyed it. The Everest ride, like all Disney rides, was heavy on theme but we did not know what to expect from the ride. Again, no huge hills on this one, but it featured an exciting backward portion of the ride, a small to medium hill, some fast turns, and a Yeti. Andrew, my son, and I rode this one 8 times. I think it was his favorite.

Finally, we returned to Disney Hollywood and rode the Aerosmith roller coaster. This one was also heavy on theme, but it was nice to hear some good old rock and roll while standing in line. We did use our fast pass options until they ran out and we waited over an hour to ride it once. This one did not have any large hills, but did feature some loops, which are exciting. The most exciting/intense aspect of this coaster is the speed. The premise is that we are in a limo in a rush to get to an Aerosmith show. Once loaded into our seats, we wait until the traffic light changes and then we rocket forward from 0 to 60mph in 2.8 seconds (according to the brochures). ZOOM ZOOM!

The ride is very brief, but enjoyable, and I hope we will put it on heavy rotation when we go back in a year or two. I love old Aerosmith music, but I hope they skip over some of the later power ballads in the future. Oh well, at least it was rock and roll and not a rick roll (don't ask about that annoying phenom, just click here if you are brave enough).

Oddly, the place I remember the least was the hotel where I stayed as a child. Although we stayed in one of the newer resorts, Andrew and I had breakfast at the Polynesian Village, where I had stayed. There we ate some of the best food we had on the trip and had our pictures made with some of the Disney characters.

All in all, it was a good trip and a much appreciated break from the bizarre year I've had this year in my career. We might not have planned the trip when we did if not for a chance invitation to a reunion website from my old high school. There, I ran across the younger sister of a friend from school who works as a Disney only travel agent. She planned the whole thing. If you are thinking of going, email me. She took care of all of the plans for us.

I'm already thinking about a Disney cruise although is it really Disney without a monorail?