As I write these words, Pandora is tuned to my “Henry Mancini” channel, and I’m listening to The Cowboy Medley from “Highlights From a Portrait of America”. I am now in the mood to go outside, gaze at the landscape, and ride a horse into the sunset… (Oooh, there’s the theme from “The Lone Ranger”!)

A coworker of mine was recently on a high trying hard to get back in the swing of things. He and his family just returned from their first trip to Disney World, and he was completely taken by it all. Skeptical as he was going in, he admitted that he felt like they had been transported into a magical world.

Our mind is an amazing gift from God – it truly can put us in a different place. No matter what our circumstances, no matter what our surroundings, no matter what the weather, no matter what our mood… No. Matter. What.

The question is: Do we choose to cause our minds to dwell in a good place – or a bad place?

Can I just tell you, there is so much GOOD going on right now in my church community!! I am so encouraged by it all. Details would take too much real estate here, but let me mention just a couple: heart-warming comments, leadership development across multiple ministries, intense prayer requests, great conversations, new volunteers, “aha” light-bulb moments, people taking care of people, and more.

It has also been one of the toughest seasons I’ve had as a leader. I couldn’t get to sleep one night my heart was so heavy. Trust me, that was not normal for me. I can almost always set an issue aside and pick it up the next day. This one I could not. Yes, the bad stuff is out there, too.

If I allow my mind to dwell in the good place, I can be a productive blessing to those around me. I can even more effectively deal with the tough stuff when I approach from this mindset. But if I allow my mind to dwell in the bad place, I am crippled. Nothing gets done well, if at all, and people around me get irritated. Worse, God’s sovereignty is challenged because I’m not trusting that he is ultimately in control.

These words from Philippians 4 get to the heart of the matter:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

As we continue to press on toward fulfilling God’s will in our own lives, we should work hard to put these words into practice; cause our heart & mind to dwell on the GOOD God has placed all around us. We’ll deal with the other in time.

If we can do what Paul is saying here, there will be no room for the things that so often get in the way of us, as individuals or as a church, fulfilling our mission. Doing so will, by God’s grace and wisdom, free us up to reach our full redemptive potential.

Believe it or not, my family loves to watch “The Lawrence Welk Show” – yes, even my 10 year-old daughter. It was on in the background the other day when my attention was caught by a brief conversation between The Big Guy (LW) and one of his guitarists.

A well-dressed gentleman had just finished a vocal/guitar solo piece when LW, in his unique, inimitable voice, went on and on lauding the performance. He told of how much he admired the man’s skill with the guitar and seemed to be gushing at the “heavenly” quality of his singing voice.

LW noted that the soloist had been featured only a handful of times (less than 10) in his years on the show. Right then and there LW proclaimed to his audience that this man was 1) going to be featured much more often – maybe even weekly, and 2) was going to be given a pay raise. It was neat to watch this dialog happen right in front of the whole wide world (or at least the world of LW).

How long do you think this man had served on the Lawrence Welk Show? In the course of the conversation it came out that this amazingly skilled craftsman had been working for LW for nineteen years. Nineteen. Years.

That’s an incredibly long time – nineteen years in the background and just now getting some serious recognition! What amazing devotion this guy had to both his craft and his leader. I’m tempted to think this mindset is all but lost in today’s world of instant gratification and expected reward.

I’m not down on microwaves, fast food, or prompt customer service, believe me. But the idea of someone humbly serving year after year with nary a visible sign of selfish ambition intrigued me – you could see a palpable spirit of contentment in the man.

Are you and I willing to live like that? I know today’s professional world admires and rewards the assertive among us – to argue against that is not my point. But, day in and day out, are we willing and able to live our lives in fully devoted service to God and others, even if our reward doesn’t come on this side of heaven? At what point would you start to get antsy? And when the inevitable happens and you recognize the discontentment rising up within you, what do you do with those emotions?

If you have time today, take a moment to reflect on Philippians 2:1-16. May God bless your time in his Word.

4:30a alarm…ugh.

As I walked around my kitchen early this morning, I noticed how cautious I was to not wake the others in the house – being very aware of any potential light and sound exposure. If I woke anyone, it would likely startle them, and they don’t need to be up for another four hours. The scenario made me think – nobody wants to be woken up too abruptly or without purpose. It puts them in a really bad mood.

I’m new to this blogging thing, but it has changed the way I view even ho-hum morning routines…

How do you like to be awakened from a slumber? Are you a snooze alarm kinda person? Do you set the alarm ringer on your phone to “foghorn” or “harp”? Here’s a wild guess – I bet you don’t ask your kids to throw ice water on your face every morning. I would put money down that your spouse doesn’t pull out the air horn and blow it in your ear every day at 6:00a.

But why not? That would work, wouldn’t it? That would wake you up, right? Ahh, but what kind of “special place” would be reserved for the receiver of your morning-breath wrath?

The story changes a little if there’s a good enough reason. If there’s a fire in the building…if someone is hurt…if the police are at the door – do whatever it takes to get me “alert and oriented times four”! Purpose changes things.

This is a dilemma for the church. You see, we recognize the purpose. To be literal, we see the “fire”. So the temptation is to sound the alarm, throw cold water, and, in a sense, shock people to their senses. Ultimately, we could justify that approach. John the Baptist did it. The disciples did it. Even Jesus did it once in awhile.

But what I think some people miss is that it wasn’t his default MO. And if it becomes our default – if all we know how to do is run up to people and yell “FIRE” – then all we’re really accomplishing is becoming experts at ticking people off.

Jesus calls us to proclaim the good news of his salvation. He prompts us to listen to the still, small voice. He cries out for us to love our neighbor day-in and day-out in a way most people cannot comprehend. He never did shy away from Truth, but his compassion for the lives and hearts of the people was beyond measure.

There is surely a time and a place to boldly proclaim the reality of man’s future without God. But, as we work, play, and live daily among our neighbors and friends, I am learning that God is more often calling me to use my “inside voice” – to stir people’s hearts in a way that causes them to want to seek him because of what they see in me.

The life I live in Christ could not be more amazing. It is my prayer that this reality will not only shine through to others, but that it will stir those slumbering around me as if it were sunlight gently lighting the room on the first full day of a beach vacation. Wake up, sleepyhead! A glorious day is dawning before you.

If you were building a house and noticed a critical flaw in the foundation soon after starting, would you do what it took to fix the problem? Can you appreciate how much harder it would be to fix the problem later, after the house was completed? It’s one of those things that makes you not want to look too closely.

That very thing happened to us when we built our home in 1997. As the first level was sheeted, I noticed a lift in the floor right around the basement stairwell. I pointed it out to the builder, and he assured me that “the weight of the house will push it down and make it all level.” I really should have known better. It wasn’t that the entire foundation was bad, but the primary supporting wall at the stairwell was not installed correctly. And by the time I came around, it was too late.

It was easier to cut a brand new door on the second floor to allow it to swing without rubbing the carpet than to fix the foundation wall. To do the latter could have cracked drywall throughout the house, messed with windows, and cost a LOT of money. It was easier to look the other way.

It was a mistake of 1) inexperience, and 2) over-reliance on a single perspective – my builder’s.

What about our faith?

If you have “grown up in the faith” – been around God and Christ’s Church through your formative years – you have built a foundation upon which all your future learning will be based. For me it was my college and young adult years when my schedule allowed for more intensive study and learning.

What no one bothered to tell me, though, was that there would likely be some flaws in my foundation. It was inevitable. I was 1) inexperienced, and 2) overly reliant on a select few teachers. It wasn’t all bad – the majority was GREAT! And for that, I am eternally grateful. But a few inevitable flaws continue to show themselves as I mature.

Please hear me. I’m not talking about the Rock, the Cornerstone, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. I’m talking about me and my “stinkin’ thinkin’” – thought processes and faulty lines of logic that can be traced all the way back as far as I can remember.

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to accept the fact that I was (and sometimes continue to be) a rookie – that I probably didn’t get it right the first, second, or _____ time – that I’m not perfect. In fact, I embrace it. This acknowledgement allows me to live in a Proverbs 3:5-8 mindset.

What about you?

I’m not at all suggesting you should doubt everything you have come to know and love about your faith. But, I would ask you to be open to the fact that we don’t have it all figured out, that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

I would ask you to be willing, if need be, to let the drywall break and the windows skew and the dust fly.

It might be hard. It might be scary. It might come with great cost. But as you grow, don’t be afraid to look for flaws in your foundation. And when you find them, be willing to do what it takes to root them out and correct them in the light of scripture, God’s leading, and, yes, maybe even some fresh teaching.

To do anything less would make us no different than the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament. And that, my friend, would not be cool. Not cool at all.

The secretary of the Continental Congress called out the final vote on the resolution that changed history beyond what anyone present could fully comprehend. 12 yes, 1 (respectfully) abstain, and 0 no votes. The resolution proposing a Declaration of Independence had passed…and you could hear a pin drop.

Imagine yourself being there. Even those that lobbied heavily for just this result were speechless – in awe of what had just happened. In a relatively simple roll call vote, the United States of America came into being. Our founding fathers knew that the road would be treacherous, that more blood would have to be shed, that “The Crown” would come down hard on them, and that life from that moment on would never be the same. Sobering thoughts that at that very moment became reality.

At the same time, it was cause for amazing celebration – a new country was born! Even to this day we celebrate our incredible freedoms bought by the blood of so many that had the courage to stand up and fight for them.

But “rockets red glare” and “bombs bursting in air” were not set to music for the ooh and aah enjoyment of the masses. They were real rockets and real bombs killing real people and destroying real property in the cause of war. And we, amazingly, are the heirs of the heroic stance so many have taken in our stead. Should we honor them with reverent silence or intense celebration?

The Church faces a similar dilemma. Jesus the Christ is the single-most influential person that has ever walked the face of this earth. The impact of his 33 years is practically incomprehensible. And the hope found in his life, death, burial, and resurrection is beyond measure. Acts 2:36 says, “…God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

How am I to respond to that? My sin put our savior on the cross. He suffered greatly for me. He died by the worst form of execution for me. He rose again…for me. I am in absolute awe of the depth and breadth of God’s love for me. And at the same time, I am absolutely giddy with the delight and pure joy that comes with this knowledge.

Do I bow in humility, silence, and unending gratitude before the King, or do I dance like nobody’s watching and shout from the rooftops what God has done for me – and for you?

For both these sets of either/or questions, I think I’ll go with, “Yes.”