We're too excited to sleep...

A couple of years ago Disney produced a commercial about a family getting ready to depart on their family vacation. The two little children were in their room late at night whispering and giggling. Were their parents came in to quiet them, the little boy exclaimed..."We're too excited to sleep!"

And now here I am, a 32 year old man, finding myself in the same position. In 10 days I will board a plane in Kansas City and disembark in one of Americas most Magical places. Walt Disney World.

At this point I feel like 10 days is an eternity. I am so excited that it is tangible. In the pit of my insides I can feel the butterflies. The anticipation is overwhelming. You know it sure is hard to focus on the everyday details of life with a mouse and his buddies dancing around in my mind. My brain is a swarm with Mickey shaped ice creams and anamtronic pirates...with light parades and 3D shows...with main street USA and dropping elevator shafts...with fireworks and princesses. You can see why I am all riled up.

10 days...240 hours...14400 minutes...864000 seconds. Man I'm getting close.

If God be for you...

Whenever you do something big it's good to have all the help you can get. Many hands make light work. I love to be a part of a team. Solo stuff is ok, but when you are accomplishing something of consequence it sure is nice to have people around you to share in the trial and success. But above that nothing is better than having God working with you. It sure beats working against Him.

We have set forth on a pretty big step of faith by ressurrecting the Christmas Lights at Cornerstone Church. This is no small project. It will invole great expense and many man hours. There is also a fair amount of pressure and stress involved in it. To do it on our own would most likely not be possible. I am so pleased to say that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is making this happen for us.

We have seen God do some major things, to which I would even call miracles in this endeavor. We have seen signifigant favor with influential people. Soon after I post this I will be meeting with the head of City Utilities, who could very easily relieve some of the financial burden of this project. We have already been contacted by two different departments of the city who have provided help. 1. The downtown organization has asked to collaberate with us and allowed us to advertise on the city square and also display lights. 2. The Dept. of Transportation has delayed the start of a street widening project until the end of our lights as to not interfere with our display. Favor!

For years we have done this for the community and have amassed a large amount of lights and displays. Many were damaged or destroyed with the Ice Storms. But this year as we have unpacked things we are discovering that most of them are in great working order. Miracle!

Much of the underground power was damaged in the Ice Storm. But through a few individuals we are able to replace it and do it even better than before. One man has already given $5000.00 dollars to help with the repairs. A local electric company is providing all of the labor and engineering as well. Big Miracle!

Sunday we will be casting the vision of this project to the Church. I have set a lofty goal of 100% participation from our congregation. I truly believe together, with the help of God, we can do this.

If God be for us, then who can be against us?

Thats my 2 for the day.

Long Journey Home

It's funny how the urgent always seems to push itself in front of the important. You know how life is just filled with busy things. Busy but not productive. Well long story short, I have allowed the business of life to keep me from dropping my thoughts on here. I shall do my best to remedy that.

I love journeys. I love to exlpore. To discover things, that to me are previously unknown. To boldly go where no...uh I guess where I have not been before. But I also love to return home. There is nothing like crossing the threshold of what is known to you. To return to the smells and sounds of familiarity. I have returned to my cyber home and hopefully will have much to report of my time away.

Journeys. I get excited thinking of it. What a huge world. Filled with beauty and wonder. So many things these eyes haven't seen. Every new experience feeds the addiction. In 30 days I will embark on my next trip. Off to Walt Disney World we go. 5 Cochrans, 4 suitcases, 9 days of exploration.

Even though we haven't even left yet, I already have my eyes set on whats next. Hopefully Israel in February. And I am burning to head to the rain forest of Costa Rica. I believ in some way we are the sum of our experiences. The things we expose ourselves to better us. They teach us things about ourselves and about God. Tunnel vision is so easy to fall prey to. We lock in to our daily lives and the same old same old. We can't be victim to the limitations that would stop us from the internal itch to explore. Money...whoever has enough of that. What could I skip from my everyday life to fund something incredible. $2 a day can buy an adventure of a life time. Time, if you figure out how to reproduce this you'll never have to worry about money. The world would beat down your door to buy that from you. But somewhere somehow we need to etch out a few minutes to expand our horizons. But the biggest limitation, FEAR. Our comfort zone is infectious. It breeds comfort. It produces average satisfaction. Shake off the staleness of what you know and attack the unknown. Voyage.

Start with a step.

Thats my 2 cents.

Right Field

Do you remember that movie, "A league of Their Own"? Its about a group of women who play baseball during WWII. While all of the men were off fighting the war, the ladies stepped up to the plate (pun intended). Ok, so there is a scene where the main character wants to quit the league. Her coach tries to reason with her, but her response is, "It just got too hard." To which the coach responded, "It's supposed to be hard, if it wasn't hard everyone would do it."

Those are some serious words of wisdom. Doing what is right can be just as hard. And if it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. I'm telling you, sometimes its just plain hard to do what is right. One thought I had is this. The opposite of right isn't wrong, its easy. Taking the easy route usually ends up being the wrong route. Matthew 7:13 and 14 say, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Taking the wide and easy road often leads to a place you don't want to be.

True leadership is about being able to make the tough calls. Its about doing right, especially when its hard. Any one can be a leader when the decisions are easy or if there are minor consequences on the line. But when its time to make the tough calls, that's when leadership is tested. That's when its proven.

And as a result of taking the hard road you experience life. The full passionate unbelievable life that I want and that I want our church to live.

So no matter how hard it is. No matter what the consequences. Do right. Lester Sumrall once said, "It's always right to do right, and it's always wrong to do wrong."

That's my two cents.

Why

I am not ashamed to admit, that I was probably a pretty annoying kid. I was the kind of youngster that couldn't accept something for what it was. I can hear, echoing in my memory, the infamous words of my parents, "Because I said so." I had prompted that comment on numerous occasions...daily, because of my repeated questioning of why.

Why?

This is a short little sentence which I am very familiar with. Why do I have to go to bed? Why do I have to do my homework? Why do I have to go to school? Why do I have to do what I am told. (Ok so I know you're praying for my parents about now.)

I like to know why things are. Once we had an old Electrolux vacuum that my Dad sold door to door. After a couple of years it quit working...and I wanted to know why. Long story short, my parents were the proud owners of a box of Electrolux parts. (and I still don't know why it quit working)

Why didn't leave me as I got older. In fact, I probably ask why even more as an adult. But things are a little different now.

I don't know if its a natural part of who I am. I don't know if it is something I picked up from one of my influences. I believe it is something God put inside of me. Wherever it came from, it has become a very valuable piece of my life.

I don't ask why to be a rebellious little kid (anymore). Instead, I ask to make things better. I want to know why things work the way they do so that I may better operate those things. I want to know why people are they way they are so that I may have better relationships with them. I want to know why God does things the way He does so that I may better understand Him.

I thrive on knowing why.

I see people everyday who are contaminated with a posture that says, life just is how it is. To this I say why?

Why does life just have to be?

Why cant you have the life you've always wanted? Why cant you be what you want to be? Or do what you want to do? Why?

I know there are many answers, or can I say excuses, to those questions. But success in life is not about the answers you have but the questions you ask.

We have to be willing to ask ourselves why. Why am I here? Why am I, where I am? Why am I still here? Why don't I pick myself up, dust myself off and go where I really want to go?

Why?

I have heard it said, He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

So now I ask one last question. Knowing the immensity of God, and that all things are possible with Him.

Why do we doubt?

That's my 2 cents.

Get Real

I love to hear what God is speaking to others. Here's a little piece of Pat Maxwell's mind.

It is time for us as Believers, to get REAL! Get real about being the true lights that Jesus told us to be.It is time to get real about religion! It is not religion that saves us it is the price that Jesus paid on the cross. Romans 10:9 tells me that "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." I don't care how many celebrities stand up and say that there are million ways to get to heaven. Jesus did not say that. He said that there is only one way to get to the father through me. It is time to stop being "Church people" Or "Religious Folk!"It's time to get real about the hypocrisy in our churches. The Bible tells to not judge least we be judged (Matt 7:1-5), but we act as though non-believers are the enemy. When the religious powers of the time questioned Jesus about eating and fellowshipping with tax collectors he said, (Matt 9:11-13), When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."It's time to get real about who we worship with. During the work week most of our work environments are very diversified. We possibly work with many different races. On Sunday however, we go to black churches, white churches or whatever ethnic group you are a part of. If we are all brothers in Christ there should not be that big of a separation on Sundays. When we get to heaven there is not going to be a black section, a white section or a Hispanic section. The Rock (Peter) had a vision in Acts 10, "he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat!" But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean." Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." If God saved us, there is no difference between us!It's time to get real about tolerance. Tolerance is defined as "a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own." To tolerate something does not mean to subscribe to it. We as believers must learn is to be tolerant, but not to compromise our standards. Approach the person as Jesus did when he saved the woman caught in adultery. (John 8:3-11) The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." Finally it is time to get real about our message. You can change the approach never the message. Our kids are being bombarded with Evolution, the Big Bang Theory, and whatever new religion springs up. Teach our kids Creatism or Intelligent Design. We have a maker; we are not just spontaneously here. We did not start as one species and add time and presto we became human. Teach our kids the truth. Jesus died for our sins. There is a heaven and a hell. You do have choice. We need to change our approach in order to reach today's generation, but tell them the truth about God, Jesus, & and the Holy Spirit. We cannot afford to lose any generation to the enemy.To God Be the Glory!

Cut Me Mick

A lot of people know one of my favorite movies is Rocky. There is this one scene where Rocky is towards the end of his fight with Apollo Creed, and he has taken a beating. His face is bruised and swollen. The world is shocked that this no name is still in the fight. As he sits in his corner with Mick, his trainer, he complains about not being able to see out of his eye, which is swollen shut. Mick wants to throw in the towel but Rocky wont allow it. Instead he orders Mick to cut open the swollen area of his eye. So gross and so cool.

As I write this, I have just begun some cutting of my own. I spent my day off landscaping my front yard. I am ashamed to admit that the weeds had taken over. It was looking pretty shabby. So I set out with some shears, a shovel, and a rake. A day later, 12 bags of mulch, and a bunch of sweat and I think it's looking pretty good.

Both Rocky, and my yard needed some cutting to reach their true potential. You and I are the same. If we are to grow to what God has planned us to be, we need to be pruned. Pruning is vital to reaching our rightful stature.

Sometimes we collect things in our life that weigh is down. Sometimes those things are even good. But I believe that good is the enemy of best. God wants only the best for us. We have to be willing to let go of good to embrace best. So when we are willing God will prune us. He will cut out bitterness, negative attitudes, doubt, and disbelief. When those weights are removed we are free to grow uninhibited.

The Bible says, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

So yeah, it stings, even hurts. We don't like it. We would rather hang at the altar of the immediate. But if, and this is is a big if, we want to be all that we can possibly be, then bring on the pruning. In other words, cut me Mick.

That's my two cents.

Venti Living

Yumm Starbucks.

For some it has become a daily ritual (and a multiple times a day habit for others). Mochas, lattes, Frappachinos, and my favorite the carmel macchiato. All delicious, all ridiculously overpriced. The only thing better than one of these sweet delights, is a venti version of it.

For those unversed in the world of the Barista, Starbucks coffees come in three sizes. Tall, Grande, and Venti. Sure you could get your fix with a tall (small) cup of Joe. I know there are many who are happy with that little jolt of caff. I'm just happy that they get to experience the pride of Seattle.

As for me, give me the big boy. The Venti (cue the hallelujah chorus). I have always been an extremist. Maybe even to the point it becomes a weakness. If I am going to experience something, I want to experience all of it that I can. Whether it is coffee or life, I have lived by the motto, go big or don't go at all. For the most part, it's just what I do. Just a side note, the Word cautions us to do all things in moderation. Whatever you do, it's smart to temper it with wisdom.

So what am I saying? At best, a big cup of java is going to last 30 minutes. What level of impact does that have on our lives? I would venture to say, not much. But what if we approached life in the same way that we hit the drive through. When it comes time to order up dreams out of that deep well of your heart, don't go small...go Venti.

If I know anything about God, it's that He is BIG. I'm talking an omni-everything, no limits kinda creator. Think of the biggest thing you can fathom and then multiply that by infinity. That's the kind of God that I know exists. Genesis teaches that when He made us, He created us in His own image. That tells me, that we have the potential to be...well I'll just say big.

So dream Venti, live Venti, be Venti.

Here's a bit of truth, you cannot achieve Venti levels in your own abilities. The only way is to allow Jesus to have Venti status in your life. The more of God you have, and the more of you that God has is directly proportional to the size of life you will live.

Order big. Live Venti!

That's my two cents.

The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria

I feel a little like Christopher Columbus. Over 500 years ago he loaded up in a few borrowed ships and set out in discovery of a new world. What a journey. I feel like I am on a similar pilgrimage. However instead of setting out across a physical sea, I shoving off into a digital ocean. I recently read that if you were born before 1991, then you are referred to as a digital immigrant. This is the first time in history where children are teaching parents about the world we live in. These new digital natives have a natural bent towards this new digital world. They speak its language fluently. They have a passion for all of its in and outs. They are vital to the church.

If we are going to marry this new generation to the church, I feel it is imperative to learn their culture. We've got to speak their language. Lets face it, the world has changed. It's different now. Currently I am somewhat functional in this digital world, but far from fluent. And so I am beginning my journey to the new world in my three borrowed ships, Blogger, Myspace, and Twitter.

Now for my 2 cents. I think the key to this process is to not create an environment of "us and them". I don't want to be some alien in their culture and world. I am striving to emigrate to this new land. I want to be a citizen.

Finally, to you natives who may read this; Be patient with us. Teach us to speak your language. Help us embrace your new world.

I am planning on blogging once a week on any and everything going on in the world of Cornerstone Church. I'd love to hear your feedback and perspective. Give me your two cents.