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What I Learned From My New Washing Machine

March 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

My family recently moved into a new home. And with a new home come a lot of new things. New furniture. New drive time to work. New challenges with an older home with more land. All sorts of new things, some we expected and some we didn’t see coming! New is sometimes challenging and sometimes rewarding all at the same time. One of the new things that happened in this new to us home was an unexpected new washer and dryer. 

Ok so the backstory here is that our washer and dryer worked fine. They were about 7 years old but still functioned well enough. They washed clothing and dried them sufficiently. The washer wasn’t something my wife ever really loved, but you can’t just replace something that works perfectly fine. It didn’t give her the impression that the clothing was super clean. She would regularly comment that the clothes were sometimes soaking wet coming out even after the spin cycle was completed while other times it felt as if they hadn’t been wet at all. 

Fast forward to the new home, where the space the washer and dryer were supposed to occupy was not sized appropriately. The opening was a little over an inch too narrow. Normally I would do some form of rehab work to widen the gap and make the things fit, but it just wasn’t going to be economical for us to do that this time. Between a load bearing wall and a cabinet with built-in sink, there wasn’t a real option to easily make this work. So we decided to sell the old set and get a new pair that would fit in the allotted space. 

When the new set arrived, we did all the hook ups and leveling and ran a “test” load to ensure the spin cycle wouldn’t shake the house off its foundation. All was good. So we loaded up some sheets and towels for the first official load in the new washing machine. 

Much to our amazement, this washer was legit washing our clothing. I know it might not mean much to anyone else but the front door is a window and we could see the water coming in and the clothing sloshing around in the water at the bottom of the drum. The towels and sheets would slowly spin through the water soaking up little bits with each passing spin. 

Life as a follower of Jesus is sometimes like that old washing machine of ours. We go through life and don’t really show any signs of being soaked by Jesus. We’re not saturated by the truths of the gospel. It’s almost as if we just dip our toes in the waters of baptism and think that’s enough. This is one of the great benefits of the imagery associated with a full immersion kind of baptism. Now before some of you get all weirded out by that statement, yes I’m a Lutheran pastor and yes we baptize infants and no we don’t normally have immersion type baptisms. I just said I like the imagery associated with the full body soaking in an immersion scenario. Even though I’m not opposed to immersion by any stretch of imagination.

But water alone isn’t the point. It’s not like sprinkling someone with water or soaking them in a pool is really going to change much for anyone. The truth of the matter is it’s the gospel that makes the difference. We need to be soaked in the waters of the gospel truth. We need to be totally immersed in the life of Jesus. A program here and there won’t do anything for us. As much as I love the whole idea of church planting and missional communities, they are not a golden ticket to a more Jesus filled church. They are tools for growing the kingdom, but the real meat and potatoes of the meal of kingdom growth is found in gospel saturation. Lives totally immersed in the life giving truths of Jesus. 

So the long and short of this whole story is that a new washing machine helped me realize that perhaps we might need to change the way we spin through the waters. That’s the key difference between the old and new washing machine. The old was a top load while the new is a front load. A simple shift in how we approach matters of faith might yield a massive difference in how saturated we become with the grace of God. 

Today I encourage you to spin through your time with God a little differently. Don’t take for granted the simple things. Maybe it’s where you sit while you read. Or what bible you use for your daily reading. Maybe listen to it read while going for a walk. Or play the daily reading while you’re driving to work. Let God change the direction of your spin through His word and watch what a life saturated by the gospel can do for your outlook on life.

A Fork In The Road

March 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I’m not sure where the imagery actually came from. I don’t know who thought of likening a point in life where you have two compelling roads a fork in a road. It just gives me the image of a literal fork in a literal road. I feel like a kid watching the road runner cartoons when I think of this. The road is always colorful and windy and the fork is a huge metal fork that has plunged deep into the road obstructing the traffic flow.

How do you handle hard decisions?

In life we all have decisions. Actually we make decisions on the daily. What clothes do I wear? Which way do I go to get to work today? Freeway or back roads? I’m a backroads all the way kind of guy! Poptart or oatmeal for breakfast? Shower at night or in the morning? Hair up or hair down for those of you with enough hard to have to decide that one. The list goes on forever! Those are seemingly no brainer decisions. We make those decisions often without much thought at all.

But what about big choices? Life altering choices?

Take for instance, you have a job you enjoy. You love the work you do and the people with whom you work. You feel like this is a good fit. You’ve learned the ins and the outs of the position and things are getting done! Higher than average profit margins are being experienced. The business is growing in ways you couldn’t even imagine. But then out of nowhere you get word that another company is seeking your skills, talents and abilities. What do you do?

This is a pretty common thing these days. As a matter of fact, a friend just went through this same situation no too long ago. Both positions are good options. Both are in your wheelhouse. Both are places where you can make an impact. Both are jobs you can do well. Both are things you can see yourself doing. So…what do you do?

I’ll be honest, I am probably one the last people to give any advice on discernment. I typically have two approaches to big decisions, and they don’t go together at all. Sometimes when I have a decision to make I just jump right in. I make a move that feels most right and don’t often look back. I move into something with the confidence that either I made the right decision or that God will fix what I messed up. The other method is to second guess every step in the process. I play the “what if” game and wonder if God is in the current place or if God is in the new place.

So how do you decide? How do you know which way to go? How do you decide if you’re supposed to stay or if you’re supposed to go?

First of all pray. I know that sounds a tad cliche and we all say we’re going to pray but I mean really pray. You don’t have to get down on your hands and knees and close your eyes to pray either. You can pray while you’re at the coffee shop. You can pray at Home Depot while you’re walking around shopping. You can pray while you’re driving to or from work. You can pray while you’re pumping gas, and not just because prices are so high either! The point is to pray that God would guide your path and how you which way to go.

Second talk to people who you respect. Ask people their opinion. Ask them to share their honest feedback with you. But if you ask, you can’t disagree with them. You don’t have to take their advice but you can’t openly disagree with them. Ask them what they see in the situation. Ask them what they think you should do. Ask them to pray for you as well.

Included in this is talking to your family. Talk to your spouse, children, parents, siblings whoever is in your close inner circle – you need to talk to those people. God put them there for a reason, so use that relationship to help guide you.

And to make this simple, we’ll end with step three. Finally, just move. Realize that you can’t mess up God’s plan. You’re just not that good. You’re not strong enough, smart enough, powerful enough to be able to mess up what God has planned for you. Make your move with confidence and watch how God makes provision for you as you move. This move doesn’t have to be the day you get the job offer. It won’t happen right away, but eventually you have to move. Sooner rather than later you’ll have to move for your own sanity and others! And the benefits of the move won’t present themselves right away. Sometimes those blessings are months, even years in the future. But God will be in the change because you didn’t blindside him with your decision.

So there’s a fork in your road, what are you going to do with it?

Pray For Ukraine

February 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments
May be an image of one or more people and text

It seems like the right thing to do right now to jump on the bandwagon of the #prayforukraine craze. Don’t get me wrong by any means, we do need to pray for Ukraine. The people of Ukraine are enduring horrible circumstances. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through right now. Having a son in the US Army, I have been watching this scenario unfold continuously and am heartbroken by what these families are going through.

But why stop with Ukraine?

Look around the world for a minute and you’ll see that Ukraine isn’t the only corner of the world that needs prayer. Sure they’re the hotspot for war and fear but there are locations all over the world that have people living in fear. There are people groups near and far who are worried about their lives, livelihoods, families, and homes. Why does it take a war or a natural disaster to move us to create a hashtag to pray for a specific people group? Why do we need devastation to hit us for the church to fall on her knees in prayer?

And why stop with just the tormented innocent? Why not pray for those doing the aggressive acts of violence? If we’re going to do the Jesus thing and pray, then why not pray the Jesus way? Jesus prayed for the hurting and those dispossed from their homes but he didn’t stop there. He prayed for those we call enemies and even for those who persecuted him.

Sure the people of Ukraine need prayers for peace and stability and safety to be certain! But the people of Russia need prayer that God would soften their hearts and call them back to him. The church needs to pray for the hurting to find help but also for those doing the hurting. We pray that they would see God. We pray that they would soften their hearts and come around to see the devastation they are causing.

Unfortunately, what we’re seeing isn’t anything new. And it won’t be the last time a world leader brings devastation on another country for personal gain. This is part of the fallen world in which we live. It doesn’t make it ok or lessen the hurt but it also should help us realize that these things should not surprise us.

Today I encourage you to pray. I encourage you to pray for the hurting and homeless in Ukraine. I encourage you to pray for healing and well being for those displaced during the bombing raids. But I also encourage you to pray for world leaders that they might submit to God’s will. I encourage you to pray for Russia to humbly cease and desist the bombing. With man these things are impossible but with God all things are possible. Pray with boldness. Pray with confidence. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This is the Jesus way.

You’ll Know It When You Find It

February 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments

This phrase is one of the most obscure sayings we have in our language. You’ll know it when you find it. Really? What if I don’t know what I’m really even looking for? How will I know it when I find it then? How big is it? Can you at least give me some kind of idea where I can find it? And for crying out loud, what is it anyway?

When we’re looking for our forever home or our next car or even the job of our dreams, it’s likely that we’ll know it when we find it. It’s likely that in those cases, there could be just one thing that’s the right thing for us in that moment. But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about here.

As a follower of Jesus, I sometimes get caught up in the trap of wondering what the will of God is for my life. I don’t know about you but that’s a challenge for me at times. Some call it discernment. Others call it seeking good or wise counsel. Others call it wisdom. And often we’re told that we’ll know it when we find it. That sure sounds like there is only one thing that is right and the rest are not exactly God’s will for us.

The more I read the Bible and look back at my life, the more I start to realize that God’s will for my life isn’t the one thing kind of moments. It’s the everything kind of moments. This whole you know it when you find it mentality isn’t really even Biblical. It assumes that there is only one thing we can do to bring glory and honor to God. It assumes that we can make the wrong choice, a choice God wasn’t expecting and that he isn’t able to work through. That’s not a God I want to follow by any means!

But over and over in the Bible we read that God is with us. He’ll never leave us. We even read in a few places that whatever we do we should be doing it for the Lord and his glory. That means the what we’re looking for isn’t a what at all. It’s a why!

It’s not what job you have or what house you live in or even what you do on your day off that brings glory to God. It’s the attitude and heart you have when you’re doing it. It’s the why that God’s after. We get so caught up in the what’s of life that we all too easily forget the why’s.

We can attend worship because we our parents make us attend worship and that’s not really a God glorifying experience. But we can walk in the park or go to a ball game or give it everything at work so that God can be glorified and to do good for those around us and that is God glorifying. You see the point isn’t did I make the right decision or is this the right job for me. The point is how can this action, job, decision, friend group, or television show bring honor and glory to God? If we can’t see God getting honor and glory through the things we’re doing, then we better stop doing them! And in a hurry!

You may never know it when you find it because you may never find it at all. But you can still know that it, whatever it is, can bring glory to God if it’s done for that purpose and doesn’t go against the truth of His word. So run after life. Grab hold of the promises that He has given you. Rest in the truth of God’s word and presence. And when you, you’ll find it.

Are You A Ship In Harbor?

February 11, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I was reading an article recently and there was a quote from John Shedd that really stood out to me. The quote stood out because I think in life we can all relate in some way or another to doing exactly what this quote says. The quote said A ship in harbor is safe but that’s not why ships are built.

Some times in life we find the comforts of the harbor to be so compelling that we just don’t want to leave. I mean think about it. While in the harbor there is a whole crew right there at our disposal to tend to our needs. The deck can be washed with ease. The crew remains well rested. Little wear and tear occurs to the ship. It’s actually a very safe place. Rarely will the ship sink while in harbor. Passengers don’t get seasick while the ship remains anchored at the shore. But is that why a ship exists?

The short answer is a resounding no. We all know that a ship wasn’t designed to stay in the harbor. Your goods would never get delivered if the ship never left port. Your cruise would be pretty boring if you never left the harbor. New lands would have never been discovered if the ship would have remained safely anchored on shore.

I think in life, many people tend to gravitate to the places where there is little chance of being tossed and tormented by the raging seas. We all know that life is rough and in certain seasons life is more challenging than others! But staying in the harbor all the time robs the ship of the chance to see uncharted waters and experience unknown new lands.

As a pastor, this is one of the things I see so often that it scares me. As I talk to pastors and leaders of churches, I’m seeing an increasingly growing number of churches that are like ships anchored in harbor. We’re living a life we were never made to live. We’re safe. We’re protected. But there is a world of open sea out there that we were meant to navigate that remains uncharted.

I’m reminded of something Jesus said in Luke 19. I came to seek and save the lost. When a ship remains safely in the harbor, we certainly are not doing much seeking. We like to seek those who’ve already found us. And I hate to break it to you friends but that’s not seeking! That’s being found. The old build it and they will come business just isn’t effective. It’s not what the church was created to look like! The church was created to be a ship in the open waters. At one point Jesus even told his disciples to push out into deeper water. That means away from the shore and out of the harbor. When we remain in the harbor we find only a set grouping of people. Only those people who are living in close proximity to the harbor. But not everyone lives in the harbor. Jesus knew that. And if we’re being honest, we know it too!

A ship will never experience the purpose for which it was created if it remains anchored in the harbor. We’ll never know the feeling of the rising swells of water. We’ll never feel the ocean breezes on our face. The church was established to sail the open seas. Look at the design of some of the oldest churches out there. From an aerial view many of these churches even look like boats. Jesus told us to let down our nets and he would make us fishers of men. All of the imagery in the Bible is about the church, when it functions properly, being a boat in open waters.

Take a moment and honestly look at your situation. If you’re stuck in the harbor, then find someone to help you see life from a different perspective. Find someone who can help you get out of the harbor and into the exciting waters of life that are right in front of you.

5 Natural Trends We Need To Navigate

February 10, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Life has a way of acting kind of like the ocean. Some times the tide is high and crashing in while other times the tide is so far out we can easily manage life on the shore without even getting wet. And honestly like the tides there are some predictable patterns or trends we can see coming before they actually come crashing into the shore. But unlike the patterns of high and low tides, the patterns of life can be shortened or lengthened by how we react and prepare.

There are several things about life that we all know. Life can be a struggle. It can be fun. It can feel like things are spiraling out of control. We can feel like we’re in our sweetspot when things are going well. It can be monotonous and drone on and on. And things can start to crash all in seemingly a very small span of time. So what do we do? How do we manage all this change and shifting of tides in life?

There are two basic operating principles we need to take to heart before we can navigate these trends. The first thing we need to do is acknowledge that these shifts are coming sooner or later. We can’t stop all of the change from happening around us, no matter how hard we try. The second is that we all start in a point of struggle. It’s pretty much that simple. Everything from birth to starting a business to planting a new church to starting a new job, it all starts from a point of struggle. The rest of the trends or stages will flow out of that original struggle. It’s how we react to the struggle that determines how long we’re in struggle mode.

Party Time!

Generally speaking, when we navigate out of our time of struggle, we’ll settle into a new routine and we’ll see some pretty good things happen fairly quickly. In an organization of just about any kind, this is when pretty fast growth happens. People are happy and things are generally fun in this stage.

Think of a child in the younger years when they really don’t have a much of a care in the world. Life is pretty easy for them. We feed them. Clean up after them. Rock them. They just eat, sleep and make messes that they don’t have to do anything about! It’s like party time all the time.

Storm Season

When we progress through our season of parties and fun and all the excitement of the new beginnings, we undoubtedly will have to learn to navigate through a season of storms and devastation. This season of life unfortunately doesn’t happen just once. It’s repeated off and on. This season comes when the honeymoon phase of a new thing has ended. We settle into our routines. We start to question those around us and sometimes it causes us to question ourselves. The storms can be awful. And for many of us, we quit in the middle of one of these storms, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

This phase is like those teenage years when we argue with our parents incessantly. Our parents are morons. We are awkward. Our friends are butts. Our siblings are annoying. Life is just terrible, at least in our minds anyway.

The Groove

After the season of storm we will hit the pinnacle season of life where things just seem to go well. It’s like we settle into the groove and life goes unexpectedly well. This is the phase of life that everyone wants to be in but rarely do we stay here for long periods of time. We all too often don’t recognize this phase for what it is, so we fall backward into the stormy season or slide forward into the monotonous moments to come.

This is that season of life that typically brings us through graduation and into our first job. We’re making real money and enjoying the challenges and opportunities that life provides. This season can last for a long time if it’s nurtured properly, but most of the time we overlook the blessings that this season brings.

Monotonous Moments

If we don’t challenge the status quo while in the groove, we will easily and quite quickly slip forward into a season of monotony and boredom. It’s like driving through the plains states when you’re tired. Everything looks the same and you quickly fail to see the beauty of the moments around you. The time of monotony happens when the routine becomes the rule and there’s nothing exciting in front of us.

This phase of life is kind of like what happens when we realize the dream job we fell into after graduation doesn’t have all we thought it did. It’s what happens when fail to challenge ourselves or the systems around us. Life gets boring. We fall asleep at the wheel of life. And quitting is becoming more and more appealing.

The Crash

Unfortunately, if we don’t address the challenges of monotony we’ll end up in a head on collision with this final season. It’s when we crash and burn. We can’t see any light around us. We can’t see a way out. We isolate ourselves from those who care for us. We quit the thing with which we’ve grown bored. Instead of constantly looking for new opportunities, we look for a clear and easy way out. We give up on progress, happiness and success. We simply throw in the towel. Left unchecked this season can lead to some very serious personal issues with depression.

There are probably more seasons of life than just these few but in my experience these are some key markers to look out for in life. The point in sharing this is to make us aware of what’s going on. I find that when I know what to look out for I’m less likely to fall into it. Like a pothole on the road that I will swirve to miss, these seasons are some that I can be better prepared to maneuver through and around.

A Gift From My Children

February 7, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Every year, as they were growing up, my children would give me something just from them for Christmas or my birthday. These gifts ranged from socks to ties to little things to put on my desk in my office or even a tool they wanted to learn how to use. Each of them were uniquely special gifts, but each of those gifts had something in common.

When I opened these gifts in front of them, my children smiled with anticipation as they eagerly awaited my reaction. To them it was the perfect gift. To them it was something special and reminded them of me and hopefully would remind me of them. I actually still have most of the things they’ve given me through the years.

But each of those gifts were purchased the same way. Until my children were old enough to have a job and earn their own money, those gifts were purchased with my money! I know that some of these gifts were my children’s idea, but many of them were actually something my wife told them I would like. She took them to the store. She told them that daddy would like this item. She put our bank card in the card reader. She purchased them with money that we made from our jobs.

My kids then took those gifts and gave them to me as if they bought them! The audacity. The guts. How could they possibly claim that these gifts are from them when it’s obvious they didn’t buy them or even really pick them out?

Ok so I’m not really upset about this. Just using it as an illustration. It’s kind of like C.S. Lewis in his work Mere Christianity where he describes our lives in Christ. We approach God often times giving him a gift of some sort and claiming it’s from us. I mean we do this with our time and talents and even our finances. We come into worship or volunteerism and think in our minds that somehow we’re giving him something great. We put our offering in the basket thing on a Sunday and act as if we just did God a favor.

It’s like my kids giving me a gift that was purchased with my own money! Everything we have in life is a gift from God. Our time is already His. Our possessions wouldn’t be in our possession if He didn’t give them to us in some fashion. Our abilities that we use to serve others aren’t really ours. He gave us those abilities when He knit us together in our mother’s womb.

You see I love each and every one of those gifts from my kids. Not because they bought it with their own money because they didn’t. I love those gifts because of the excitement I saw in their eyes when they gave. I love those gifts because they represent my children’s love for me. The same is true with our lives given back to God. The amount isn’t the point. The style or type of gift isn’t the point. It’s the joy in our hearts and the excitement over the giving that’s the meaningful part of giving.

So give the gifts. Do it with joy. Don’t hold back. Even if you’re giving with someone else’s money. It’s more about the heart and why you’re giving than how much you give (and this isn’t just about material things either, it’s also about your time and energy and even how you invest in relationships).

Are You Beating Yourself?

February 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I think there are times in life when we actually do ourselves more harm than good. I mean we have great intentions but when we really look at it we haven’t done much good at all. As a matter of fact, the good we thought we were doing was actually undone by the negative things caused by our actions. Ok that’s ambiguous so let’s dive in a little more.

The thoughts that follow are my observations from my own life and ministry. These are my failures. They are things I’ve had to work through on a variety of levels. And they are things that I still monitor closely to make sure I don’t fall back into some of these same bad habits and destructive ideas again.

You are not God.

Now that goes without saying but the issue is that we don’t live like this. Ok so admittedly we don’t necessarily go through life thinking we’re God, but we often make decisions and plans acting as if we are the most important person in the world. We pursue things that are all about personal happiness and individual success. We seek attention and put ourselves on a pedestal as if we’re the most important person in the room or universe. Believe me, I know a few of those too.

Friend it’s not about you. If you’re a leader of a team, parent, spouse or even friend to someone – you are not the point. A good friend, teammate, employer, parent or spouse will make decisions and go in directions that put the other person first. If we want to set ourselves and those around us up for the greatest success, start putting their needs before your own and watch how not only do their needs get met but yours will also!

The more you work, the less you get done.

This one sounds a bit like an oxymoron but it’s also very true. It’s kind of like that line they say on airplanes about the oxygen masks. If you’re traveling with small children, please secure the oxygen mask to yourself before placing it on your child. For the longest time I found this to be wildly insensitive and a horribly wrong practice! I mean who in the world is going to watch their child suffocate while they get the good air?! So I asked one of those friendly Southwest flight attendants why in the world this was the rule. They were patient with my stupidity and didn’t make me feel like too much of an idiot in their answer. She simply told me that if I couldn’t breathe, how could I make sure my child was breathing? Wow. Then it all started to click. Side note: I wasn’t even traveling with children which made my question that much more strange.

Back to over working. So the whole put the mask on the child thing is like taking a needed rest in order to be more productive. It doesn’t make sense until you ask a few questions. Then step back and realize that like a parent with no oxygen can’t help their child, so also a person who’s overworked and exhausted can’t focus on the job at hand and will likely not be productive nor effective. Getting the rest you need and stepping away from the task at hand for a minute is often the most powerful way to get more done.

Give yourself traveling time.

I have a tendency to stack appointments in my calendar pretty tight. I know how long it takes me to get from one place to another under normal conditions. And when I have to be somewhere I generally like to arrive on time, which for me is about 5-7 minutes early. But there are those times when we stack so many things so tightly in our calendar that we just can’t get it all done. We have no time to get from point A to point B.

This is also true with general calendaring without travel. The premise is that we tend to stack our appointments or tasks so tightly that there’s no breathing room at all. We move from task to task without giving our brains a chance to change gears. We run from one project to a totally unrelated project and wonder why our mind feels like mush at the end of the day.

There’s nothing wrong with stepping away for even as little as 3 minutes to use the bathroom, walk down the hallway, listen to music, close your eyes or just stare off into space. These are simple techniques that can clear your mind and let your brain get the space it needs to restart in a different gear.


Diversify your diet.

Now this one might be a tad misleading, so let me explain. I am not talking about your food diet, although that’s very important as well. I’m referring to the diet of information that you feed yourself. If you continually feed your brain with the same content over and over without any variation, you’re going to be mentally malnourished to say the least. It’s like eating crackers all the time with no protein or vegetables. You just won’t perform at your peak.

The same is true for what we put into our minds. I tend to read or listen to a variety of books. Some of these are books related to my field as a pastor. Others are leadership books. Others are on finance or parenting or how to understand what’s going on in my preteen daughter’s mind (ok so there’s really nothing that will help with that one but it’s worth a shot). The point is to try to look at the world around you through the many lenses at your disposal. Consuming content from a variety of sources helps you see not only your thought process more clearly, but also helps you appreciate where others are coming from and have more intelligent conversations about topics on which you disagree.

These are just a few of the many things I’ve had to learn the hard way in life. I hope they are somewhat helpful to you and provide you with a shortcut of sorts to not stay stagnant.

Self Care Is NOT Selfish

February 3, 2022 / / 0 Comments
77 Self-Care Quotes to Remind You to Take Care of Yourself

So it’s no secret the season of life we’re in currently isn’t the easiest thing we’ve dealt with as leaders. If you’re in charge of any group of people or in a management role or guiding people to a preferred future then you’re a leader. Parents are leaders. Business people are leaders. Often in every friend group there’s a leader. We are all leaders in some area of our lives. The question isn’t if we’re leaders but whom are we leading? You don’t have to like the idea of leadership but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a leader. So how can leaders take care of themselves to be better at the task in front of them?

When leadership gets challenging there are a few things that we need to do to make sure we’re leading appropriately and most effectively. We’ll call it self care. And no matter what you think of when you hear the term self-care, it’s not about being selfish at all. Self care is all about making sure you’re best qualified and prepared to handle whatever problems arise.

Always on is quickly off.

Leadership isn’t a task we can do in an hour. It’s something that weighs on us constantly. We climb into bed and just want to fall asleep peacefully, but the nagging issues of leadership start picking off the sheep we’re trying to count. We live in a culture where technology is making us so easily accessible that we quite literally can’t ever step away. We can be called day or night. Even a trip to a sunny beach somewhere isn’t safe, because email still works there too!

Being always on and always within reach will quickly lead to burn out, fatigue and poor decision making. The weight and burdens of leadership are constantly on our shoulders. You need to find someone in whom you can confide to help you carry those burdens. Keep a journal of sorts to write down the things causing anxiety. Make lists in written or electronic form that you can come back to so you’re not obsessing over little tasks needing completed.

Get some real rest.

I know that many people don’t get the sleep they need to function properly, and I’m one of those people. I’ve made the excuse that I can run on less sleep than many and for the most part that is true. But we all need sleep and we need to listen to our bodies, stress levels, and family members who can see things in us that we can’t see in ourselves.

I’m not going to preach at you to get 8 hours of sleep since I don’t do that myself. But find regular rhythms of rest in your life. Learn the habits of stopping to just breathe throughout your day. There are days when I just sit at my desk and close my eyes to empty my mind for 3 minutes. It makes a world of difference!

But more than just getting a good night of sleep or pausing for a quick power up, we also need regular down time. Some call them days off. Others call them a sabbatical. Others call it vacation. Whatever it is you need to find a way to step away from the pressures of leading and recharge. Take a day every week and if possible at least a week every year to learn how to refocus. Real rest leads to real results. Really!

Keep your priorities straight.

When we have a lot of responsibility at work, it’s easy to let that kind of bleed into every other area of our lives. It’s all too easy to bring our work home or worse yet live like we’re married to our job. There is a pretty clear line of priority that we need to follow. And if we get this ordering out of whack it will yield some pretty nasty results.

Here’s the short version: faith first, family second, self health third, job last. If you’re living in a pattern of life that has your priorities in any other ordering then you’re setting yourself up for some signifiant harm. Getting this wrong will destroy your marriage, abandon your family, effect your health, and break the trust you’ve established in your relationships/friendships. I cannot stress this one enough. Your work does not own you so don’t live like it does.

Diet and exercise aren’t just for weight loss.

The final thing we need to look at when it comes to self care for those in any leadership role is the area of physical health. Leading is stressful whether you’re leading your kids, your family, your business, your friends, or any other place you find yourself. Leadership is stressful at times and having a healthy outlet for that stress is critical. This means we need to manage our food intake properly. And we need to manage our energy output appropriately.

Having a regular food check and exercise regimen is pretty important. Stress often leads to eating poorly and all sorts of other bodily issues like muscle tension and blood pressure issues to name just two. When we keep our eating right and we take time to do some form of exercise, even if it’s just a walk around the block or at the mall, we’ll see noticeable changes in how we handle stress. And our overall health will be positively impacted.

Getting help is not weak.

Finally we need to realize that we’re not superheroes. We cannot do it all. And leaders need help. Do you have someone you can confide in? Do you have a therapist or a counselor or someone with whom you can speak about personal matters that weigh on your heart? Just know there is nothing wrong with getting help. There’s nothing weak about admitting you can’t do something. There’s no shame in getting some form of therapy or counseling to help you balance what’s going on in your mind and heart.

So there you have it. Not an exhaustive list by any means but a few things leaders can do to manage the challenges of life and take a little time for self care, because self care is not selfish it’s actually selfless if done right.

Grace Upon Grace

February 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Bear One Another's Burdens - Verse Meaning Explained

I get to see all sorts of things in my line of work. Many people joke around about me only working an hour on a Sunday and the rest of the week goof off with video games or who knows what. To be totally honest, there are things that come across my desk as a pastor that I really wish I didn’t have to manage. But there are other parts of my day that make me just pause and realize how amazing some of the people who surround me truly are.

The situations that blindside us and pretty much throw us into a tailspin are the things no one wants to deal with. We run from them. We fight to get out of them. We try to make our way through them. But really we just want these unknown and unsolicited crappy days to just go away. Whether they are relationship meltdowns, financial crises, disturbing health news or family drama, we will have to come to grips with some level of all of these things throughout our lives. How we make it through some of these truly life changing moments often is determined by who we let into our circle.

One of the most blessed parts of my job is to be someone who is trusted to be part of someone’s circle. I get the honor of being the person who’s there when good times happen. I get to hear the good news of a baby born or a guy “popping the question.” I get to see the smiles and endless grins on the faces of those who are filled with the joy of living.

But I’m also honored to be invited into some of the darkest and scariest moments of people’s lives. I am called on when a loved one is ill, hospitalized or tragically dies. I’m there when a child needs medical attention. I’m invited into the circle when families are in turmoil and trust within friendships becomes broken. I get to be present when tears flow and hearts are broken and fear overwhelms.

I write these things not to pat myself on the back but to remind you that you are vastly important to me. No matter what level of connection I’ve had in your life, believe me when I say that walking with you through good or bad times is an absolute honor. It’s something I do not take lightly.

As I write this some of you are filled with joy while others are barely able to breathe under the pressures of life. No matter which end of that spectrum you may be on, know that I or someone like me is just a call away. We do have limitations and boundaries but in general we are here.

It is in these moments, entering someone’s story especially a story of crisis that I witness some of the most amazing displays of grace that one could ever imagine. It is in the moments when life is unraveling at a pace that is dizzying, that we get to witness someone’s true character. It’s not when life is easy that the real person shines forward. It’s when they are stressed beyond belief, broken seemingly beyond repair, weak beyond imagination that someone reveals who they truly are at their core.

I have recently come to realize that the strongest people in the world are not necessarily in a uniform, at the gym or wearing a cape. They are simple, ordinary people who put their feet on the floor in the morning when they’d rather stay in bed. They move forward when it would be way easier to fall backward. They stand when the world says to sit down. They remain silent when every ounce of their anger says to speak. They’re the people who demonstrate grace in ways that I didn’t know were humanly possible.

To the many people who’ve been a part of why circle and invited me to be a part of your story over the past several decades, thank you for showing me what grace looks like in so many ways. Thank you for being the evidence of grace upon grace in even the least graceful of circumstances. Thank you for the trust you’ve shown. Thank you for showing me what the love of Jesus looks like today.

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