I fill several roles in my life. I am a husband, father, son, brother, friend, colleague, pastor, mentor, coach, neighbor. The list could continue, but you get the point. More times than I care to admit two or more of those roles conflict with each other. Adding to the complexity, conflicting roles can change by the day; the hour, even.

Maybe you experience the same thing from time to time. How do we decide which role takes precedent? Which of our roles is more important than the others? The answer lies in what Sociologists call self-awareness.

[Tweet “Having a healthy and God-defined self-awareness helps us navigate through conflicting demands.”]

Self-awareness is an individual’s understanding of their personality and individuality. (Miriam-Webster Online) Having a healthy and God-defined self-awareness helps us navigate through the conflicting demands others often place on us.

Developing a God-Centered Self-Awareness

Here are four things you need to know to develop a healthy self-awareness.

Read More

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. – Galatians 6:10

I want to do something a little different with today’s blog. In a post earlier this week, I lamented the absence of basic civility in our world. In today’s blog, I want to share a personal example of the opposite. Recently my mom and I encountered some human angels.

Yesterday, I accompanied my mother to a regular scheduled follow-up visit with her cardiologist. My mother is in declining health, and this day she was having a particularly difficult time with mobility. From the parking lot to the office involved a slow and, for her, uncomfortable journey.

After the visit, we went to the elevator to begin the arduous journey back to the car. In the hallway, we met a nurse from another office named Nancy who had already hailed the elevator. It soon became apparent that the elevators were out of order.

Human Angels in Action

This is when we experienced Galatians 6:10 in action. Nurse Nancy and everyone in the office at Cardiopulmonary Associates of Macon went beyond the call of duty. They made several phone calls to building maintenance personnel to try and get the elevators operational again. The office staff gave great attention to make sure my mom remained comfortable.

Dr. Malhotra and the entire staff at Cardiopulmonary Associates are tops. He is a great doctor and the staff is one of the most helpful and friendly you will encounter. They really know how to care for their patients, even in unusual circumstances.

Nurse Nancy does not work for them, and we have never met her before. We are not even sure why she was in the building. However, she was on her phone calling for help and doing all she could to help with the situation.

When the elevators began working again she rode down with us to make sure we made it safely to the first floor. At the first floor, she asked if she could sit with my mom while I went retrieved the car. She stayed with us until I get mom in the car and we started on our way home. Remember, she does not work for one of our doctors and we did not know her before this happened.

How Can We Be Human Angels?

Today we experienced more than just civility. We experienced good people going beyond the responsibilities of their jobs to help people. They had the opportunity, and the did good to us – Galatians 6:10 in action.

My point today is do good when you can to whomever you can. You never know whom you may bless by your simple acts of help and kindness. May we strive to follow the example of Nurse Nancy and the staff at Cardiopulmonary Associates.

On March 10, 2011, an earthquake off the coast of Japan set off a series of disastrous events. When the earthquake occurred, Tokyo Electric Power Company shut down the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Three days later, flooding caused by a tsunami spawned by the earthquake knocked out power to the plant. Without power to cool the reactors, they melted and spilled their toxic contents. Radioactive particles contaminated the region’s water supply and atmosphere.

While no immediate fatalities occurred due to the radiation spill, only time will reveal the accident’s long-term health impact. Toxic matter has a way of slowly and quietly inflicting damage.

[Tweet “Toxic people seldom see the positive in anyone or any situation.”]

What Do Toxic People Look Like?

I’ve noticed the same toxic effect from some people. Over the course of time, they inflict damage to individuals, churches, and other teams and organizations. How can we identify these toxic people?

Read More

I’ve wondered lately how life will be different when the next generation is in charge. My main concern is that we have prepared them for the challenges that lie ahead.

Have we adequately taught them to live with a Biblical worldview? Have we taught them to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints”? (Jude 3) Have we modeled what it means to have a daily dynamic walk with the Lord?

If we are not diligent, we will find ourselves living in “post-Joshua” times. Joshua and Caleb were the only two of their generation to enter the Promised Land. The generation who subdued the land, however, eventually died out, and their succeeding generation is the one I call post-Joshua.

 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel. – Judges 2:10

Will the generation that follows us no little or nothing about the Lord or what He has done for us? I wrote in an earlier blog of my conviction about the need to pass the baton of the faith to others in the next generation. We must intentionally invest in the next generation or they will become a post-Joshua generation.

What Does a Post-Joshua Generation Look Like?

Read More

A recent daily reading from the classic Oswald Chamber devotion, My Utmost for His Highest, include the following statement.

A ready person never needs to get ready – he is ready.

Many professions on which we depend require a constant state of readiness for their agents.  Police officers make split second decisions in life or death situations.  Firefighters awaken from sleep during the night to risk their lives battling a threatening blaze.  EMTs have mere seconds to attend to a person whose life hangs in the balance.  Many others occupy jobs and callings that require them to be ready to engage a circumstance instantaneously.

[Tweet “Opportunities seldom happen with advance notice…we need to be ready.”]

The average Jesus-follower doesn’t deal with physical life or death situations on a regular basis.  We do, however, have the opportunity to affect the eternal pathway of those around us.  Those opportunities seldom happen with advance notice, and therefore, we need to be ready.

Ready for Opportunities

The Bible indicates at least four opportunities for which we need constant readiness.

Read More

Trust. That is a touchy subject. Allstate® used to advertise “you’re in good hands with Allstate.”

But most of us  find it difficult to trust based on past experiences. Life in the 21^st Century has become a jaded existence. Is there really anyone we can trust?

Read More

How could four BIG RED CAPITAL LETTERS stamped in the center of a yellow legal-sized document bring so much joy? How could one small word bring so much relief?  The document was a loan contract sporting the word “PAID.”

In the fall of 1990, I bought my first car – my money, my responsibility, my payments, my car. It was a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier.  But you would have thought it was a Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, or some other exotic sports car.

I paid it off in four years even though I added the cost of an engagement ring to the note. This meant I had my car and my sweetie all tied up in one tidy little bank note. I still have the sweetie, but I got rid of the car years ago. Oh, I drove the wheels off of it – almost 200,000 miles over 12 years. We finally gave it to a charity. They came and got the car, give us a donation credit, then fixed it up  and resold it.

When I had made the final payment, the bank sent me their copy of the contract with PAID stamped on it. This signified that they released me from my debt, I had me my obligation.  And to signify that I now owned the car, they also sent the titled signed over to me. I enjoyed the car so much more after I satisfied the loan obligation.

A Bigger Debt Payment

Read More

Have you ever just had a bad day?

You know what I mean. You misjudged someone.  Maybe you said (or did) something you wish you hadn’t. Possibly you upset someone before you realized you had. Or maybe your bad day consisted of one colossal mistake. Or it could be a collection of smaller ones. As a result, you just wish someone would cut you some slack.

Have you ever been on the other side of someone else’s bad day?

Maybe they misjudged you. Perhaps they said (or did) something they wished they hadn’t. Maybe they really upset you before they realized what they had done. Or maybe their bad day consisted of one colossal mistake. Or was it a collection of smaller ones that affected you in a negative way. What they really need is grace. Yes, grace from you!

Consider what Paul has to say about how we should treat each other:

Read More