First off let me just say that it was really hard to concentrate on the speaker this week because I knew that we were leaving for Ireland so soon. In fact at the time of me typing this it's weird to think that I'll be in Ireland within the next day. It's pretty great though. Anyways, back to the actual point of this post, to talk about the week. So this week we had the great privilege of hearing from David Marvin who works as the young adult coordinator at Watermark Community Church. He was young (26 I believe) and a great communicator so it was really easy to stay engaged with him as he spoke. Basically the main point of his three days of speaking was missions. He tried to greatly emphasize that we are on a mission trip our whole lives and missions isn't just over seas.
1) Charles Spurgeon said, "You are either a missionary or a mission field." This is a really great quote and does a great job of pointing out the fact that our whole lives, as Christians, should be missional. It's always been a small pet peeve of mine when someone looks at missions as only a thing you go overseas or out of state for, but it is so much more than that. Going downtown in the city you live to help the poor is a mission trip, or even going next door to your neighbor and breaking bread with him is a mission trip.
2) I really liked when David made the point that we (this generation) are the stewards of the church. When we are done and gone we will have either left the church better or worse than you found it. It's a crazy thought but rings true. We have the keys in our hands, are we going to take care of the church? Or are we going to just leave it in rubbles?
3) Chuck Swindoll said, "The best thing you can do in ministry is know who you are, be who you are, and like who you are, because that's all you are." I really like this quote because it challenges me. Lot's of times it's much easier for me to point out my flaws and not my strengths, but it's important to know my own strengths and like who I am.
4) Only about 14% of the 450,000 churches in America have any plan of outreach. This is a statistic that David gave us and it really surprised me. Maybe since I've been blessed with going to my own church (Bridgeway) I haven't realized how some other churches work, but it really is sad to see this. I know my own church has an outreach plan and we have even had classes on it, but to think so many churches don't have this is really sad and, in my opinion, needs to be corrected.
5) Fives C's that are necessary for a man of God. Committed to God's Word, Committed to God's people, Creative in expressions, Committed to the uncommitted, and Contributes the time, talents, and treasures. Those are five really good things to self examine with. I know I could greatly use improvement with all these areas and I now can encourage those around me to grow in those five areas as well.
Well that is it this time folks. I apologize for the short and brief post but I'm a little bit distracted with the thought that I'll be in Ireland for a whole month...yeah, sorta a big deal. I may write a random blog post while I'm there, but no guarantees. I have a post in the works right now but I want to make sure I do a great job on it so patience. Peace out
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Thirtieth Link Year Recap 1/21-1/24
Manhood week has been finished! Basically it was a time where we all got to express our manliness by shooting and breaking stuff, tackling each other, and shooting things out of a large potato launcher. Oh, also we had some really good talks that Adam Martin, Bruce Morgan, and Adam Donyes gave us. Let me break it down a little bit better for you. Keep in mind throughout this whole week the guys and girls were separated and we did different things.
Monday we all went to a shooting range in the Ozark's and shot some skeets. That was a pretty fun morning activity. It was my first time to go shooting for a very long time, at least 9 years. Although I did shoot down about 7 or so, I can't really remember. Lunch was fantastic though, we ate steak. But not just any kind of regular ol steak, it was cooked by each person for themselves. We all gathered around a huge grill and grabbed our own raw steak, then we proceeded to put it on the grill and turn it with our hands. Using utensils was looked down on so most of us just ate the steak with our hands. On Tuesday we all got to go down to the lower fields and stand around a fire (it was freezing outside) while talking about some serious matters. Adam Martin talked about honoring God, respecting others, and respecting ourselves. In between these talks we had some great activities like take a bat and pickaxe to an old dryer. Also shooting multiple things out of a potato launcher and throwing sparkler bombs. That was fun. Explosions are usually pretty great. Wednesday we had Bruce Morgan come in and speak to the us about what a man looks like and then what a godly man looks like. He broke it down really well. Finally on Thursday, Adam Donyes brought the heat the whole time he was talking. He talked about what it looks like to be a boy versus a man. Also cultural lies about manhood. It really was a great week and I'm glad I got to experience and be invested in it. But now onto some things I learned or stood out to me.
1) Skeet shooting is fun. I know this isn't much of a "deep observation". But really, it was fun. I'll have to look into doing it more often with friends as a good hang out time. If I have the money that is, sorta an important part.
2) I can cook a steak! Seriously, this may not sound like a serious thing, but I was greatly impressed with myself. I have never been great with making food. I only recently (within the past two years or so) realized you needed sugar in cookies. Also I have burned Ramen Noodles, so yeah...this was a big accomplishment for me.
3) When Adam Martin was talking about respecting ourselves. It was really good to just sit around the fire and hear this. Looking at how I use my time and talents. Am I respecting myself? Or more importantly am I honoring God through my time management? That seems to be a big theme for me this year, learning how to use my time wisely and maximize my moments.
4) Bruce Morgan gave some practical tips Wednesday on how to put Christ in the driver's seat of our lives. Like the "Huddle" method. Pray (Praise, Repent, Another, Yourself) and fellowship are both really important to keep Christ at the center of it all. Also knowing myself well (strengths and weaknesses). Finally being able to show forgiveness and accept forgiveness.
5) Just seeing Adam Donyes write out the attributes of a boy and a man was really good and convicting. I personally saw many areas where I need to improve, but also on a more encouraging note, areas where I was lacking at the beginning of the year but have seen greatly improved up till now. So that's just a cool little thing called "sanctification". It's awesome, really. Check it out sometime. Finally something that was really good is how so many people think they'll be able to lead later on in life but will just enjoy things as they come now. Take advantage of the moment. The only problem though is this; if you can't lead yourself right now, how do you expect to lead in marriage? Just a really good thing to think on I believe.
So that is it you guys. Really great week of men and stuff, enjoyed it greatly and learned a lot. But remember this important thing you guys...
Build a man a fire and he is warm for a day. But set him on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life. Enjoy life. Peace.
Monday we all went to a shooting range in the Ozark's and shot some skeets. That was a pretty fun morning activity. It was my first time to go shooting for a very long time, at least 9 years. Although I did shoot down about 7 or so, I can't really remember. Lunch was fantastic though, we ate steak. But not just any kind of regular ol steak, it was cooked by each person for themselves. We all gathered around a huge grill and grabbed our own raw steak, then we proceeded to put it on the grill and turn it with our hands. Using utensils was looked down on so most of us just ate the steak with our hands. On Tuesday we all got to go down to the lower fields and stand around a fire (it was freezing outside) while talking about some serious matters. Adam Martin talked about honoring God, respecting others, and respecting ourselves. In between these talks we had some great activities like take a bat and pickaxe to an old dryer. Also shooting multiple things out of a potato launcher and throwing sparkler bombs. That was fun. Explosions are usually pretty great. Wednesday we had Bruce Morgan come in and speak to the us about what a man looks like and then what a godly man looks like. He broke it down really well. Finally on Thursday, Adam Donyes brought the heat the whole time he was talking. He talked about what it looks like to be a boy versus a man. Also cultural lies about manhood. It really was a great week and I'm glad I got to experience and be invested in it. But now onto some things I learned or stood out to me.
1) Skeet shooting is fun. I know this isn't much of a "deep observation". But really, it was fun. I'll have to look into doing it more often with friends as a good hang out time. If I have the money that is, sorta an important part.
2) I can cook a steak! Seriously, this may not sound like a serious thing, but I was greatly impressed with myself. I have never been great with making food. I only recently (within the past two years or so) realized you needed sugar in cookies. Also I have burned Ramen Noodles, so yeah...this was a big accomplishment for me.
3) When Adam Martin was talking about respecting ourselves. It was really good to just sit around the fire and hear this. Looking at how I use my time and talents. Am I respecting myself? Or more importantly am I honoring God through my time management? That seems to be a big theme for me this year, learning how to use my time wisely and maximize my moments.
4) Bruce Morgan gave some practical tips Wednesday on how to put Christ in the driver's seat of our lives. Like the "Huddle" method. Pray (Praise, Repent, Another, Yourself) and fellowship are both really important to keep Christ at the center of it all. Also knowing myself well (strengths and weaknesses). Finally being able to show forgiveness and accept forgiveness.
5) Just seeing Adam Donyes write out the attributes of a boy and a man was really good and convicting. I personally saw many areas where I need to improve, but also on a more encouraging note, areas where I was lacking at the beginning of the year but have seen greatly improved up till now. So that's just a cool little thing called "sanctification". It's awesome, really. Check it out sometime. Finally something that was really good is how so many people think they'll be able to lead later on in life but will just enjoy things as they come now. Take advantage of the moment. The only problem though is this; if you can't lead yourself right now, how do you expect to lead in marriage? Just a really good thing to think on I believe.
So that is it you guys. Really great week of men and stuff, enjoyed it greatly and learned a lot. But remember this important thing you guys...
Build a man a fire and he is warm for a day. But set him on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life. Enjoy life. Peace.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Twelfth Link Year Recap 1/15-1/17
Peeps! I am back at it once again. After a great Christmas break I have returned to Link Year. I have to say, I was pretty pumped to be back, missed things and people here. So yeah, it was a great week of learning with class being taught by Ted Cunningham. Some of you may not know who Ted is, for you people just google his name. It shouldn't be terribly hard, just type in, "Ted Cunningham" into google search. For those too lazy to do this just go follow this link... www.startmarriageright.com/author/ted-cunningham/. There, now you know who he is. Onward we go.
For the most part Ted was pretty great. I mean I disagreed with him on some minor points, but on the major overarching theme he was saying I agreed completely. Mainly what he talked about was marriage, relationships (basically dating), and a little about parenting. More specifically on Tuesday he talked about symptoms of a stuck marriage and the solution to each symptom. Wednesday he talked about different kinds of trophy parents, the unnecessary delays of marriage, and also about how adolescence is being delayed more and more these days, especially for this generation. Finally, on Thursday he talked about six levels of communication/intimacy, how to get to level six, and the positive and negative effects of social media. There is your brief description of the week, but let's get into those famous five things I learned or that stood out to me this week.
1) This was a little bit of a funny quote thingy that he said, but it was this..."Everyone falls in love with the front of the puppy, but every puppy has a back side." While slightly humorous, this quote rings true. So many times we just want to look at the front side, that cute little face and everything. But to every good person there is some junk that has got to be dealt with.
2) I became very thankful throughout this whole week, but especially on Wednesday. This is when Ted talked about the "Seven Kinds of Trophy Parents". To help you understand and save me time here are the "kinds".
For the most part Ted was pretty great. I mean I disagreed with him on some minor points, but on the major overarching theme he was saying I agreed completely. Mainly what he talked about was marriage, relationships (basically dating), and a little about parenting. More specifically on Tuesday he talked about symptoms of a stuck marriage and the solution to each symptom. Wednesday he talked about different kinds of trophy parents, the unnecessary delays of marriage, and also about how adolescence is being delayed more and more these days, especially for this generation. Finally, on Thursday he talked about six levels of communication/intimacy, how to get to level six, and the positive and negative effects of social media. There is your brief description of the week, but let's get into those famous five things I learned or that stood out to me this week.
1) This was a little bit of a funny quote thingy that he said, but it was this..."Everyone falls in love with the front of the puppy, but every puppy has a back side." While slightly humorous, this quote rings true. So many times we just want to look at the front side, that cute little face and everything. But to every good person there is some junk that has got to be dealt with.
2) I became very thankful throughout this whole week, but especially on Wednesday. This is when Ted talked about the "Seven Kinds of Trophy Parents". To help you understand and save me time here are the "kinds".
1. Vanity Parenting - Trying to use your kids accomplishments to others. Try to show their kids off.
2. Perfection Parenting - Raises the bar constantly for their kids. Want them to be successful in every
area.
3. Competitive Parenting - Constantly comparing the strengths of one child to the other child.
4. R.O.I (Returned on Investment) - What you put into your kid is what you expect out of it. Example
of kid just quitting something. Changed with different seasons.
5. Rescue Parenting - Swooping in and saving the kids from consequences.
6. Gifted Parenting - Live with the idea that God did something special with their kid and not with
others. Usually with infertility or adoption.
7. Companion Parenting - Elevates the child to spouse or comes down to the level of sibling to the
child.
Now these are kinda sort because I basically copied and pasted my notes right there, so if you have any questions and wish me to expand feel free to ask. Really my point is I am super thankful my parents didn't fall into any of these categories and makes me feel more blessed the more I learn. Shout out to madre and padre basically.
3) He talked about what he called, "The Four C's of Dating/Marriage". They were character, chemistry, competency, and calling. He said the only non-negotiable is character which I agree with, but also think at different times calling should be thought of, but that's just me. I digress.
4) He talked a lot about how rarely is the issue actually the real issue. This was a good thing to hear because usually when talking to people they latch onto something and pretend it's the actual problem when really there is something much deeper to look at.
5) LUV talk. Which is basically listen, understand, and validate. It was a clever lil acronym and a good way to remember how to actually get to the deep part of a relationship. This tied into the whole six levels of communication and intimacy. Good stuff to learn, have down in my computer, and apply in life.
Well everybody, that is it for this week. Sorry for the lack of creative material this week, just trying to get back into the flow of things.
And remember people...saying, "I'm sorry" and "I apologize" are the exact same thing, except at a funeral. Think about it.
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