by | Life Application
I was sitting in prison not long ago proctoring an exam and I had some free time on my hands, because cell phones and internet are prohibited and you actually have to pay attention to your surroundings. I’d had a few lines of a poem running around in my head, but hadn’t had time to sit and put them on paper.
As I waited over the next three hours, these were the words that came out. Unfortunately, there’s too much reality to this poem. I wrote it from the perspective of the bartender. If you prefer to download the poem, you can do so below.
I pray it opens the eyes and hearts of others.
I’m Just the Bartender
You’ll come in tonight and order your usual.
No need to ask, I’ll mix it up for you now.
The first sip soothes your tired soul after a long day’s work.
Now the weekend is here and the fun begins.
I notice your yes seem sad as I hand back your change.
But what am I to say? I’m just the bartender.
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
My friend got a new tree the other day – a Japanese Maple Tree to be exact. She showed me what a fully bloomed one looked like as we were driving one day and I now consider myself a trained biologist. Oh wait… that’s botanist? Anyway, the tree was beautiful and she now has a baby tree growing in her back yard.
I stopped by the other day and she was showing me that she had tied it to a post so it would grow straight up instead of bending over. She pointed out certain things she wanted to prune and I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about so she tried to explain again. As she talked, her eyes lit up with excitement and fervor. My heart was excited to see her so passionate about something. Just days before we were crying together over tragedy.
(more…)
by | Life Application
Failure is an obstacle, no doubt. It can lead us down two different roads: the road to something greater or the road to feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to make a decision ahead of time that we’re going to push through whatever stands between us and our dreams.
If you decide it’s too late for you to achieve success, you’re right.
If you decide there’s still hope for you to live your best life, you’re right.
According to Gay Hendricks, author of The Big Leap, “Each of us has an inner thermostat setting that determines how much love, success, and creativity we allow ourselves to enjoy.”
(more…)
by | Life Application
Most people don’t take the time to plan their lives, so it’s no surprise that so many people get to the end of their lives and experience regrets. They realize, often too late, they should have paid more attention to their goals, their dreams, taken more (smart) risks, spent more time investing in relationships and much less time focusing on their failures and tragedies.
Here’s an important fact: we only get one life to live; one story to tell, and if we don’t plan it well, we’re much more likely to waste this precious gift called life.
No matter what you’ve done in the past, your focus needs to be on the present and your future. Your family needs you. Your friends need you. Your coworkers need you. Your church needs you. You are needed.
(more…)
by | Life Application
My boss always says she’s the reactor and I’m the responder. If she only knew how hard Jesus and I have to work to not react. Not. Even. Kidding. And I certainly don’t get it right every single time. Just ask those closest to me. My friend Marcie didn’t nickname me Moses for nothing.
Lately, though, I’ve had to catch myself putting it into practice even more, since I’m actually teaching others in the prison system the importance of responding vs. reacting. Don’t you hate when you actually have to practice what you preach? Just me?? Ok..
As I sit with these men and women who are incarcerated for a number of different crimes and we start to unpack responding vs. reacting, it’s amazing to see the countenance on their faces change when they realize what a difference it makes. When they realize their whole life could’ve been different if they’d chose to respond to life instead of react.
But it’s even cooler to watch their countenance change when they realize it’s not too late to start. It’s not too late for them to learn new coping mechanisms for their future. I didn’t realize until these last few months just how powerful the words, “It’s not too late” really are.
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
I was planning to end my life. I dropped some cards in the mail to friends and family to remind them I loved them. I didn’t say goodbye – just reminded each of them I was grateful for having them in my life. I left one more in the door of a friend before I left for Nashville. As I headed south I wasn’t sure I was coming back alive. I’d told God He had to meet me there. He had to show me He was still in this with me or I was done. He had to save me.
It was October 2017. I was in the midst of a darkness I could hardly have words for. Sometimes I still don’t. I’d reached burnout in ministry, people I trusted betrayed me with their words and actions, and I was experiencing a level of spiritual warfare I didn’t even know existed.
(more…)
