Marvel. What did you picture when you read that word? It is a powerful word. One that we do not tend to use lightly. As a verb, its definition is “to be filled with wonder or astonishment”. What have you been “marveled” by in your life? I, personally, can only think of a handful of things and/or times in my life when I have stood truly marveled. There is a place in the Bible that uses this term where seems almost out of place and we find it in the book of Luke. Shortly after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph bring him to the Temple and we read in the second chapter of Luke that Simeon, who was told he would see Christ before his death spoke over the baby. Then in verse 33: And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which we spoken of Him. Think about that …
Tag: Focus
Once! Only one time have I posted in this blog this year. Shame on me. Something I set out to be diligent about and here we are concluding 2016 and I have simply 1 post. I am looking back and this year and am truly confused on how it went so fast! The end of any year is always a great time to take stock of things and begin to plan out the path for the upcoming year; and for me, this year is no different. It is hard for me to sum up 2016 in a word much less a sentence. Heck, I don’t think I could write a book explaining this year. From difficult closures of one season to the new beginnings of another 2016 has been scattered with so many different experiences. When you sum them all up together, this has been one crazy year. One thing that …
Don’t blink. You will miss it. Honestly, that is how I feel right now. Time has a sneaky way of moving so fast that it is not until you pause to look back that you realize just how much of it has passed. Looking back could be filled with regret over lost time, or filled with excitement over what has been accomplished. Today it is hitting me differently. Today we celebrate my first born’s 3rd Birthday, but four years ago…he was simply a prayer (and quite frankly, a prayer that we felt was never going to be answered). Four years ago, we were finalizing our final round of torture (otherwise known as fertility treatments) and we had began our shift to adoption. Just a few months later…but God… Then, I blinked and here we are celebrating this little man’s 3rd Birthday with a little 7 month old brother at his side. …
There is nothing I love more than being a father. The journey has been amazing. What continues to baffle me, however, is the amount of lessons my little toddler has taught me during his not even two years on this Earth. He can barely speak a sentence, yet some things he has shown me have forever impacted my way of living. Quite often he teaches me these “lessons” when I am trying to instill something in him – it seems to always work both ways. For example, my wife read about this particular concept in a book. Essentially, when my son gets overwhelmed, frustrated or if it seems that a tantrum might ensue we simply tell him to “fold your hands and get some self control.” Much to my surprise – this method works like magic! Each and every time he quickly stops what he is doing, folds his hand …
Each year on December 31st, people from every corner of the Earth gather together to watch the clock strike midnight as we roll into a new year. We awake the next morning with freshly made goals, vows and promises. We are determined and we are resolute. We resolve to lose weight, get organized, get on a budget and on and on and on. There is nothing wrong with this. I believe it is all well and good to make resolutions. Nothing bad comes from outlining your goals in life. In fact, a recent study at University of Scranton showed that people who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions. If you are easily discouraged, don’t read too much into their study, because you will also see that they found only 8% of people are successful in reaching their …
Thanksgiving has come and gone. All that remains are the leftovers sitting in the fridge (and the added weight from all the desserts). I am sure that many of you spent time reflecting over the weekend about what you are thankful for. My list is extensive. I am thankful for my amazing family. I am thankful for my wife who constantly supports and encourages me. I am thankful for our beautiful Son – a proof that God does do miracles! And, I am particularly grateful for all of the hard seasons in my life that have led me to where I am. That last statement might sound absurd to some. Why on earth would I be thankful for hardships? Simply put, they have developed my faith and strengthened my resolve allowing me to constantly focus on the fact that God is in control – my life, after all, is His story, …
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV) The Christmas story is so simple, yet so completely divine. Our salvation and our redemption enters the world not with pomp and circumstance but as a helpless baby, born in a barn and surrounded by livestock. You could look at this from the outside and ponder the reasoning for such an entrance. After all, He is the King, the creator of Heaven and Earth, He existed before time began and His entrance to Earth is lacking showmanship. It is in that beautiful simple story that we see the true intentions of our God. He did not come to “rule” or “dominate” over us, but rather to be with us and form relationship with us. Jesus …
This past week we took our first out of state trip (which included a 3+ hour plane ride) with our almost 3-month old. As we approached our trip, I spent countless hours canvasing through blog after blog digesting the wisdom of brave parents who have traveled before with an infant. I will admit, I had some fear about this task (ok veteran parents, now is your time to laugh at me for dreading travel with just 1 baby). Needless to say, everything went even smoother than I could hope for. It was on this trip that a concept my wife discussed with me weeks ago came to light. On this trip we submitted our little one to numerous new encounters; planes, hotels, car rides, museums, and the worst of them all, a carnival midway. And along the way, it never mattered to him where he was – but rather, who …
There always seems to be a million things going on in our lives. We are always being pulled in so many directions with so many distractions. It simply becomes hard to maintain focus. And worse yet, when we feel the call to take a step of action or step of faith, it seems that all logic and reason comes against our plan. Take a look at Ecclesiastes 11:4: He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. The Bible spends a lot of time discussing the idea of sowing and reaping. You definitely do not need to be a farmer to understand the analogy and the foundational truth that if you never plant anything, you will never receive anything. With that in mind, I think this verse speaks to the idea that there will always be an excuse of “why not” to …
A few months ago I wrote a post entitled “Preparing From Where You Are” and in it we spoke about the idea of seeing your season as a time of preparation. I briefly mentioned Joseph in there, but this week I spoke to a group specifically about his story and the items we can take from it. Sometimes it is easy to brush over this familiar story, but I believe there are four very important truths that we can pull from it. Today, I will share the first two and I will post the other two on Sunday. The story starts in Genesis 37 where we see Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers following his proclamation of the dream he had. No one can disagree, this is not an ideal place to be. However, immediately we see the first truth come to life: 1. It does not matter where you …
2012 is now something of the past and 2013 is already in full gear. There is something refreshing about a new beginning, a clean start and that is exactly what the New Year represents. A time to re-chart the course. For me, 2012 started with obstacles and challenges and finished with victory and breakthrough. For my wife and me, I know our single most amazing breakthrough of the year is that we are finally expecting our first baby! Our son will be arriving in a few short months and the journey that God brought us through to arrive at this point is nothing short of miraculous. I know I wrote briefly in a previous post about our struggle, and I will write the full testimony shortly and post it here – but the years of trying, the struggles and the sadness are now behind us and God has truly shown …
