How to Love & Be Loved...

I came across this article on Donald Miller's blog.  Miller let his dog Lucy take over the blog for awhile.  She wrote a post on how to love and be loved that resonated with me.  So many lessons to learn. 

I enjoyed and needed this so much that I decided to post it here on my blog.  Enjoy!! 

HOW TO LOVE & BE LOVED
from Donald Millers Blog:  http://www.donmilleris.com/

Every so often Lucy, my dog, will take my blog for the day. It’s nice to get a break, honestly. I think she has some wise things to say. Here’s Lucy’s most recent blog: 

I pretty much like everybody. I don’t like them instantly, though, but if they show the slightest bit of niceness I like them immediately after and I like them a lot. When somebody first comes to the door I bark at them to let them know this is where we live. I set very clear boundaries. And then I get so excited to see them and be with them I just about explode. When my bladder was smaller I would just pee right there on the floor. I peed because I was very excited and also to show that I would be submissive and I wasn’t going to threaten them. Not all dogs are as trusting, but that’s another subject.

Here’s the thing about people, though. Not everybody is going to like you back. But that’s okay. You shouldn’t hardly think about that at all. A dog can only take so much love. I have more than I even know what to do with. Here’s how I got it:

1. I am genuinely excited about seeing and being with people. Seriously, if you are excited about people, you improve the chances of them being excited about you. It’s best to genuinely love them and want to be with them and enjoy their smells. One of the differences between people and dogs is that people can fake whether they want to be around somebody but dog’s cant. People like dogs because dogs are genuine. But people can be genuine too if they practice and they learn to trust and forgive.

2. I don’t get bitter when somebody doesn’t like me. If somebody doesn’t want to pet me, I could care less. I will be very nice to them and excited to see them all the same. I don’t take it personally at all. Remember, there’s plenty of love to go around. The cool thing about dogs is we really don’t care who loves us. I don’t place the value of one persons love higher or lower than another’s, except for my master. If you show partiality, you are going to have a very hard time loving and being loved and you’re going to be miserable. It’s a sad thing about humans that they want people to love them who just don’t, and they don’t accept love from the people who really do love them in the first place.

3. I know my place. I know that I am just a dog, so I don’t get all up on people too much. Okay, I do it a little too much, but not too much too much. If you liked people as much as I liked people, you’d want to stand on them while they were sitting on the couch drinking coffee too. I seriously love people. But I also know that any creature can feel like a burden if they don’t have self esteem and the ability to be okay with just themselves, laying on the dog bed, for a little while. You can still watch them from the dog bed. They are so awesome. I love them.

4. I avoid people who hurt me. If somebody is mean to me, I will remember it forever. I will associate that person with a mean time. I don’t hold it against them, but I don’t get too close to them. In fact, I’d just prefer it if they weren’t around. But I certainly don’t sit around thinking how I’d like to hurt them. When they are gone, they are gone. My life is really good in this way, and I think it’s sad that some dogs have to be with people who hurt them. It’s sad for people in that situation, too. If they can get away and to a better place, I think they should. Or maybe they should try their hardest to talk it out. But if they keep getting hurt, they need to move on.

5. I don’t hold grudges. Sometimes you meet people who don’t love you. They may even not like you at all or want to be with you. With these people, I am just as nice. If they don’t want to be with me then they walk away. That’s their thing and I don’t take it personally. And if they ever come back and want to be friends, I am all in. Like I said, I don’t take it personally. The best way to be forgiving is just to wipe the slate clean and call it even as often as you can. Actually, though, that’s a human thing, because I don’t keep score. I just like people all the time.

6. I am loyal. I will never turn on a friend. Never. I understand going into it that I am going to love them more than they love me, and they won’t always be so loving, but that doesn’t matter. I can only control me, and I really like people and will never turn on them. Some dogs will but those aren’t good dogs.

There’s probably more but I want to go outside. Do you want to go swimming? We go to the river. I want to tell you how to get along with other dogs, next. But not right now.

PCNFL

I cannot wait for the start of football season!!  Woo Hoo!!! 

This was sent to me in an email this morning.  Enjoy! 

The Politically Correct National Football League would like to announce its name changes and schedules for the coming season:

The Washington Native Americans will host the New York Very Tall People on opening day.

Other key games include the Dallas Western-Style Laborers hosting the St. Louis Uninvited Guests, and the Minnesota Plundering Norsemen taking on the Green Bay Meat Industry Workers.

In Week 2, there are several key matchups, highlighted by the showdown between the San Francisco Precious Metal Enthusiasts and the New Orleans Pretty Good People. The Atlanta Birds of Prey will play host to the Philadelphia Birds of Prey, while the Seattle Birds of Prey will visit the Phoenix Male Finches.

The Monday night game will pit the Miami Pelagic Percoid Food Fishes against the Denver Untamed Beasts of Burden. The Cincinnati Large Bangladeshi Carnivorous Mammals will travel to Tampa Bay for a clash with the West Indies Freebooters later in Week 9. And the Detroit Large Carnivorous Cats will play the Chicago Securities-Traders-in-a-Declining-Market. Week 9 also features the Indianapolis Young Male Horses at the New England Zealous Lovers of Country.

The Church of Wrigley Field...

I enjoyed two worship services on Sunday.

The first worship service took place on Sunday morning in a church building.  There were songs that were sung, greetings that were exchanged, messages that were listened to, and a fellowship of believers.

The second worship service took place on Sunday evening at an outdoor field.  There were songs that were sung, greetings that were exchanged, messages that were listened to, and a fellowship of believers.

It was almost identical in elements... except that the second worship service was a Chicago Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field.  

I'm not trying to be irreverent, but I have been thinking about this the past couple days.  

When we left the ball park I made this comment to my brother, "I feel like I've just been to a worship service."  I said this after we had sung "Go Cubs Go!" Even though I'm not a Cubs fan, when you hear several thousand people singing, it's a cool experience. 

Then I thought about what took place during the game…

I had talked with people around me. (Actually more people spoke to me at the game that night than in church that morning.) 

High fives were given to others. (Again, more high fives at the game than in church that morning.) 

I had enjoyed a meal. (We enjoyed a time of communion at church that morning.)

One major difference was that over 39,000 people found their way to Wrigley Field that night. 

I probably don't need to say that there were fewer than 39,000 at church that morning.

So many people came to the game in spite of many inconveniences that had to be faced. People came to the game even though Wrigley Field has horrible parking. We decided to park on the other end of town and take the train to the game. Plus, we had to walk several blocks in the heat after riding the train.

It wasn't cheap to go to the game. (Even though we got a great deal on the tickets.)

The seats at the game weren't comfortable. I mean, they weren't totally uncomfortable, but with the packed crowd there wasn't a lot of personal space.

Yet, in spite of these inconveniences… we went to the game.

In fact, I cannot wait until I have another opportunity to go to a Cubs game at Wrigley.

Maybe the reason church doesn't compare to a baseball game is because we aren't inconvenienced enough?

After all, Jesus did call us to come follow Him. In following Him, we are to pick up our cross. We are to surrender our life. We are to put our agenda on the backburner and focus on His will for our lives.

That's pretty inconvenient.

But what do we do at church? We try to make it as easy as possible for people. We beg and plead for people to come.

Please don't misunderstand… I'm all for making the good news of Jesus accessible to people . But for so called "Christians" to have to be pleaded with week after week to come and worship the One who died for them… it's exasperating!!

It's time to reconsider the message we are sending to people. It's time to call people to step up. It's time to be more like the church at Wrigley.

There is a cost to be paid.

There are obstacles to overcome.

But in the end… WE WIN!!!

And the song of victory we sing in Heaven will be even greater than "Go Cubs Go!"

Me & Jonathan @ Giordano's before the game

Chad & Megan at game.

Enjoying the Down Time...

I've been enjoying some down time lately.  What I mean by "down time" is a period of time where I have simply relaxed with family and friends, read books that have stretched me, and traveled to places I wanted to visit. 

Down time for me involved...

- attending a Christian convention
- attending a church that I had never been to before
- eating meals with friends
- making connections with new friends
- going to a lake for a few days

Megan's family (my sister-in-law) has a place at Lake Webster in Indiana.  I was able to join the family there this weekend to relax and have fun.  Here are some pics of our great time at the lake: 

On Monday my down time will be coming to an end.  I will be heading back to Ohio and settling down to focus on writing and speaking, as well as making plans for future ministry. 

The great thing is that I go back to Ohio refreshed and renewed.  I'm so thankful for the down time I have been blessed with.  It was very much needed.  And I'm thankful for my family and friends who have made it all possible for me. 

I am very blessed. 

DAVID ORTIZ AND THE SCIENCE OF HOME-RUNS

Thought I would share this great post from People of the Second Chance...

http://www.potsc.com/life-tips/david-ortiz-and-the-science-of-home-runs/

Enjoy!!

FOLLOW-UP TO "LIFE IS A MESS"...

After having several people check on me to see if I was ok... I decided I better write a follow-up to the "Life is a Mess" post. 

I still believe life is a mess.  Perhaps it's better to say that I believe life is messy.  I know that my life is a mess.  Not in the sense that I cannot function, but in the sense that I am a broken human being.  I feel like the Apostle Paul in the Bible who said that the good he wants to do he doesn't do; rather, he finds himself doing the things he told himself he would never do.  (See Romans 7) 

The point I wanted to make with my previous post is that until we stop pretending we are ok, we will never find true healing.  We will never have our "mess" truly straightened up. 

For too long I pretended that I was perfect.  For too long I put on a show.  I'm not saying I was a horrible person... but I was far from holy.  Yet, everything I did in my life was focused on keeping the perception alive that I was someone who always did the right thing.  That I was someone who had his act together. 

Know what happens when you pretend all the time? 

You get very tired. 

Know what happens when you get tired? 

You get sloppy. 

And when you get sloppy... the act falls apart. 

The good news is that it's when we give up the act that we can find healing. 

A friend said recently, "There are only two types of people in this world.  Sinners saved by grace and sinners who need to be saved by grace." 

Grace is only available to those who realize they need grace. 

In Luke 18 Jesus talked about two guys who went to the temple to pray.  One guy was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee prayed about himself!  He told God how good he was, rather than focus on how good God is.  The Pharisee compared himself to others. 

The tax collector, on the other hand, wouldn't even look up to Heaven, but instead he just kept saying, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." 

Jesus said that tax collector was the one who went home from the temple in a right relationship with God. 

I am a mess.  I am a sinner.  And I am so thankful that God has mercy on me.  That God showers me with His grace.  

I don't deserve it.  But He gives it anyway. 

And it is through His grace that the mess of this life can make sense. 

My prayer is that people who keep pretending they are ok would drop the act and allow God to heal them.  Allow God to begin straightening up the mess in their life. 

After all... life in this broken world is messy. 

The Real Andy...

The real Andy from Toy Story...

LIFE IS A MESS...

I've been thinking about how messed up my life is. 
Not messed up in the sense that I'm on drugs or anything like that. 
Life is just messy. 

Most of the mess in my life comes from me.  This is a painful realization... but it's true.  I hate to admit this, in fact I want to blame someone else.  But I am responsible for the mess in my life.  The decisions I've made have determined what my life looks like. 

So as I sit here and evaluate things... my life is a mess. 

I think the biggest reason my life is a mess is because I have tried to give the impression to people that my life isn't a mess. 

This is something most of us are guilty of.  Especially if you go to church.

Think about it.  In the church we have to appear as if we have our act together.  We have to pretend everything is good.  We have to "act" like we are perfect.  In fact the worst thing that could happen is to let someone know that we have failed in some area. 

My pretending not to be a mess has actually resulted in making my life more of a mess. 

The people Jesus was the harshest with in His life were the "religious" people who pretended to be something they were not.  Jesus talked about people who cleaned up the outside, but their insides were dead and rotten.  In other words... they were a mess. 

The people Jesus had the most compassion for were the "sinners" who knew their life was a mess.  Jesus loved them and was close to them.  Jesus challenged them.  In other words... Jesus was drawn to the mess. 

That's the essence of the Gospel.  It was Jeff Walling who I heard say,

"Life is a mess.  That's why we need a MESS-iah." 

Pretending we are not a mess flies in the face of the message of Jesus. 

Pretending will cost you more than you ever dreamed.  It has cost me more than I ever imagined. 

Pretending will leave you dead and empty on the inside. 


Life is a mess.  But pretending it isn't messy just makes it worse. 

Let's stop the acting.  It's only when we get real that we can be cleaned.