Breakfast and Mad Props Friday

BREAKFAST! It's meaning is deeper than just the first meal in the morning. It actually signifies the end of a prolonged period without eating or fasting. It literally means to break your fast. Since fasting can be abstaining from more than just food I decided early this month to fast from blogging. Today is my blog breakfast! Twisted logic I know but you get the meaning I am sure.

Mad props this week goes out to my boy Wes Schaefer.

Since high school Wes has dealt with one addiction after another. Each new addiction would eventually leave him wanting more than the drugs had to offer. After searching for a "high" bigger and better than the last one, Wes eventually found himself addicted to Meth and ultimately close to destroying his own life. With the help of his family, friends and church, Wes entered a drug rehabilitation facility and one year later stood before those same people and proclaimed God's victory in his life. You can see him in this video holding up a sign that says "Addicted to Meth" and then "Clean And Sober! & Forgiven".



His sign was ginormous and rightfully so. God had done a major work in his life. Afterwards Wes sent me a text thanking me for asking him to participate in the event and wrote "That was a better high than any drug had ever given me". Wes had experienced the life changing power of the Gospel and it was powerful to witness.

For most people this would be enough. Enough because their lives were changed by God and they were now free to go about living their lives, building their careers, raising families and going to church. This has not been the case for Wes. Wes recognizes the power of God to change his life. He understood the power of addiction that he was under was significant but that God's power was greater and as a result, he wants everyone to experience that same saving power in their own lives. Now Wes is actively sharing the power of God with others. He recently hosted an event at the church building to help raise awareness about the destructive nature of Meth addiction and is constantly on the lookout for ways to share the Gospel with people who are far from God.

So Mad Prop's to Wes. He is exhibiting the true nature of the Christ. He knows first hand the power of the Gospel and desires to share its life changing power with others. He is an inspiration to me and many others around him. I can't wait to see what God does with him next...

Everyone join me in giving Mad Prop's to Wes.

Happy New Year!

2009 is all about discipline for me personally. I am not much on the traditional new year's resolutions but I am big on setting goals. If you break a resolution you essentially let yourself (and those to whom you made your resolution) down. A goal however recognizes that its going to take some effort to achieve. I am a flawed man. The best I can do as an individual, a husband, a father and a minister is to set goals that will ultimately help me be the man God wants me to be.

Here are my goals for 2009

1. Spend more time with my Family and Friends.
This seems pretty generic but the truth is, I am a workaholic. It is not unusual for me to spend 60-70 hours per week working on worship services, rehearsals, learning music, editing video, creating graphics, designing sets, managing ministries and meeting with all of the people involved in the aforementioned list. One of my major personal goals is to cut back on the amount of hours I spend doing "church work" and increase the number of hours I spend with my family and friends. This one goal is going to require the most discipline.

2. Read through the Bible.
I haven't read through the whole Bible in a while. I am actually participating in a daily reading that will take me through the entire Bible in one year and the New Testament twice. Another needed discipline.

3. Take a big risk.
I am not sure what this means right now but I have a few ideas. God is working on me in several areas that will require huge steps of faith. When I look back at 2008 I don't see many places where I took any kind of risk. The hard part for me is that I am a risk taker. So much of my past has been about taking risks (it drives my boss and my wife crazy) and yet somewhere I stopped and began playing it safe. This year there will be some risks and they will be big.

4. Take two family vacations.
This is going to be the toughest. First of all, vacations cost money and not that we are poor but we don't make the kind of money that will allow us to take a vacation for five very often. This will require financial discipline. Secondly, we are pushing it every year to get in one family vacation. In 2008 we didn't even take one. This year I am committing to take two vacations. They may be to a hotel in OKC to visit the Zoo for three days but we will figure out a way to make it happen. See goal #1... needed discipline.

5. Complete Twelve Hours towards my degree.
I am still working towards that ever elusive college degree. I often joke that my goal is to graduate before my twelve year old son does. Little by little I am chipping away at my goal of graduating someday. This year I need twelve hours to feel good about my progress. You guessed it... discipline.

There they are. Now that it is out there, you are all invited to hold me accountable to these five goals. Of course there are other things I want to do this year but these are the priorities.

Have a great New Year!!