Rock On!
13 Oct 2011 1 Comment
I see rocks. My son Jack sees beauty. He picks them up, handfulls of them, and puts them in his pocket. We have bags of rocks around the house. Because, at least when it comes to rocks, he has the ability to look beyond the visible to see more.
Does he see a greater reality or does he create a new reality? I think either is a great way to live.
The End is Nigh?
21 May 2011 Leave a Comment
As you’ve probably heard by now, today is supposed to be the beginning of the end. According to this group’s calculations, today the end of the world is supposed to be ushered in.
It seems that it’s easier to to believe that God will be coming than it is to believe that God is already here, now.
What happens when the end doesn’t come? Does it mean that God isn’t here?
No. God is here and has been all along. What in our lives keeps us from seeing that?
Look past the shaky predictions about the end to see that the future is now.
Stand In
11 Apr 2011 1 Comment
Jesus is here. And he is saying, “You’re going to represent me today. When people look at you, they will see me.”
Your encounter with people will profoundly shape how they view Jesus.
Does that leave you thinking, “Ugh, that means I have to do…”?
What’s in the blank?
Commit to doing that.
Why do so many great ideas come to us in the shower?
04 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Holy Spirit, inspiration, rhythm, time
Because we have time. We’re not distracted. We don’t need brain power for 5, 10, 20 minutes. We have time to be alone with our thoughts, with the Muse, the Holy Spirit. And we have time to listen, to hear what the Spirit is saying.
The trick now is to build that time into our day.
Rhythm.
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Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.” (In Steven Pressfield, The War of Art)
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Make time for inspiration.
Where Are Your Priorities?
28 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: 5, capitals, five, invest, investing, investment, kingdom, rhythm
What does getting ahead look like to you? How do you prioritize? How do you decide on what to spend resources, your money, your time, your energy?
Are you, for example, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by spending all your time and energy focused on a financial reward? Maybe it’s in a job you hate, that sucks the life from you. Is your emotional health and your physical health being negatively impacted because of it? Are your relationships being sacrificed because of it? If so, you’re not investing for a healthy return.
Let’s use a 3DM lens and look at Jesus’ investment strategy (seen in how he lived his life and illustrated in parables like these: Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25.14ff; Treasure Hidden in Field Matthew 13.44; and Pearl of Great Price Matthew 13.45).
The strategy is to invest (tend, steward) the capitals (resources, talents) we have in order to receive a return of the capitals we want. If you want to attain any one capital, you must learn to invest the other four.
It’s about priorities.
God entrusts us with resources (capitals) and urges us to steward them in such a way that we receive an increased return on God’s investments. And when I say kingdom return, I don’t mean a heavenly reward only after you die. I mean a heavenly reward in the present. God’s kingdom is breaking into ours right now!
Here are the Five Capitals (they’re kin to these).
- Spiritual • Experiencing the freedom and fullness of life, living in right relationship with God and representing him well. When people look at you, do they see Jesus?
- Relational • The ability to make withdrawals based on the deposits you’ve made. Investing in relationships. The trust others have for you. Are your relationships healthy?
- Physical • Health and well-being; Time and energy; Emotional Health; What are your physical resources? What’s your physical capacity?
- Intellectual • How much do you know? Skills.
- Financial • Your financial resources, money and assets.
Each capital is ten times more valuable than the one below it. Thus, spiritual capital is 100,000 times more valuable than financial capital.
Do you have your priorities in order? Are you investing the lower capitals in order to receive a higher return? Or, are you squandering your higher capitals in order to receive less?
