How to Be GREAT

Yesterday, we took the staff to hear some of the great leaders of our time. Condolezza Rice, Colin Powell, Microsoft's President, Zig Ziglar, athlete Michael Phelps, and others. It was inspiring to hear their tales of sacrifice, hard work, lucky breaks, dedication, and climbs to greatness.

Two common themes I heard were these: Focus and Passion. Focus yourself on the goals that really matter and then passionately pursue them. People who accomplish extraordinary results have a clear focus and a tenacity to take enthusiastic action in the direction of their dream.

I love these kind of presentations. It's in the way that I am wired. BUT I think they need to be always with the wisdom of 1 Corinthians 13 and with the words of Mother Teresa. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 reminds us that we can do great things but if we don't do them with great love then they are actually NOTHING. It's how much loving for God and for people that you put into the DOING that creates the GREATNESS of the deed.

Also I think we miss the "greatness" of our ordinary lives if we are not careful. Mother Teresa said, "There are no great acts, only small acts done with great love". And Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Anyone can be great because anyone can serve". To see Christ in the people we meet everyday and to reach out to love them as we would love Christ...this is the greatness attainable by all people.

I want to be a GREAT MAN in God's eyes. "Lord, help me to simply faithfully love with your great love today and let my greatness be determined by you!"

OUCH! Bike Wreck!

I was racing home from the gym with a front tire on my bike that was deflating faster than the U.S. dollar in a recession.

I thought I could make it and was within a block of home. As I roared around the final corner by tire slipped off the rim, launching me head first over the handlebars onto the pavement in the middle of the street. Blood was spurting everywhere...I wasn't sure my left eye was still working...I rolled over, jumped up limping, and yanked my bike to sidewalk. I laid down and placed compression pressure over my eye to stop the bleeding
(That's NOT me in the picture but I looked a little worse than that!) .

I immediately began first aid procedures..."Help me Jesus! Heal me Jesus! In the name of Jesus (repeated quickly and painfully 20 times in a row". 5 minutes later Deb came rolling up and at first thought I was laying in the grassy median leisurely waiting for her. But then she saw the blood and it was yet one more time in our 32 years that I was glad she had taken two  years of nurses training.

I hobbled home pressing a towel to my eyebrow. I had knee lacerations, a partially dislocated thumb, a three inch gash over my eye and couple of other smaller head wounds. Deb cleaned me up and upon hearing my resistance to go to urgent care, ended up butterflying my eye gash.

Of course I drew some practical and spiritual analogies from my painful experience. Practically speaking, I think helmets are a good idea. Personally I believe an angel caught me in midair. At the speed I was going my brains could have been and should have been laying in the road. I think the angel caught me and then dropped me a little to teach me, "Buy a helmet dummy".

Spiritually speaking, I thought about how people can have bad leak in the their lives, the Spirit of God leaking out of a problem they really need to deal with. But they are racing through life thinking oh it's not that bad, I can make it, there's always time to get it fixed. Then bam! A sudden blow out occurs and they are on their face needing the Great Physician to put them back together again. Don't ignore the leaks in your spiritual life.

My head hurts and so does my ego, but God gives new wisdom to the humble.

My "To Be" List

My strengths as measured by the Gallup Strengths Finder Test are clustered around "ACTION!"-
Achiever, Activator, Maximizer, Positivity, Futuristic.

I am the guy with the TO DO list. My yearly GOAL list is exhausting just to look at.

I like the way I am wired. I like shooting for the stars, even if I just hit the moon.
I would rather burn out than rust out. I often say, "I have all eternity to rest".
Jesus said, "Work for the night is coming when no man shall work"
I grew up on the farm where harvest time meant we put it into overdrive.
In the land of the gospel it's always harvest time.

But God is always calling me away from my "To Do" List and calling me to His "To Be" list.

A "To Be" list is an aspiration toward character traits that reflect Jesus. It's a reminder of the kind of man I want to become. It's cleaning the "inside of the cup" so that the "outside of the cup" is pure. It's a yearning and burning for the fruit of the Holy Spirit to be clearly manifest in my life.

My "To Be" list is more important than my "To Do" list. Why?
Because if I "DO" a bunch of stuff but DON'T have LOVE...it profits me NOTHING! 1 Cor. 13
If I DO stuff but it leads to PRIDE instead of HUMILITY then I am destroying myself through my accomplishments.
If I DO stuff but it makes me so BUSY that I do the WORK of the LORD but NEGLECT the LORD of the WORK then my BUSYNESS is leading only to BARRENNESS.

Lord, I ask that today and everyday you would set in front of me my "TO BE" list so that I more earnestly pursue YOU and your MOTIVES and your CHARACTER....THEN and ONLY then can I really get after my TO DO list!

Too Close to Home

It's strange when it happens on your block, or at an intersection you cross daily, or on your bike trail, or on the airline you fly frequently. It scares you when it happens too close to home!

A man was shot on our block. A man my age was killed crossing the street at a crosswalk I use frequently.  A young father of two had a fatal bike crash on our bike trail. An Ethiopian airplane, my African airline, crashed into the sea killing 90. Too close to where I live.

Events like these move from the newspaper into your bedroom and haunt you at night. Could have been me. I was there an hour before. I was on that flight path in the same jet. I have crossed there without looking twice before. That's my turf...too close to home.

The fears can stalk you in the night...tracking you into your plans for the future...strangling the courage out of your dreams.

I can acquiesce to the lure of supposed safety and stay close to home...or I can press forward with the bravado that flows not from the stupidity of pride but from the inspiration of faith. He shall assign his angels to supervise my adventures (Psalm 91). They will not always keep me from my own foolishness but they are more than able to deliver from the lurking evil or the perpetrated accidents that could befall me.

The safest place is the center of God's will...it is the most dangerous place as well. For Holy Spirit empowered and emboldened followers of Jesus, then RISK, DANGER, HEARTBREAK lie ahead. But He who watches us will never fall asleep at His guard post (Psalm 121:3). He's got my back!

So forward into the future, into adventure, into the land of insecurity for God is my shield.
No small mindedness...no retreat to the comfort zone of complacency...instead...forward into the world, into the mission, into the epic adventure of being a "go for it" disciple of Jesus!

I refuse to be confined or relegated to the small piece of real estate where I feel most in control! No...a thousand times no....take me to the places where God must be in control because I have such little control. I refuse to live too close to home!

The 2 American Idols

A poll by the Pew Research Center reveals that "eighty-one percent of 18- to 25-year-olds…said getting rich is their generation's most important life goal." The second most important, according to the survey: being famous." Described as the "millennial" generation, 51 percent listed being famous as the second most important life goal! 

A Gallup Panel survey of 18- to 29-year-olds found that 55 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "You dream about getting rich." 

Most telling are the results of an annual survey of college freshmen by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, in which 2005 data show that "the percentage who say it is ‘essential' or ‘very important' to be ‘very well off financially' grew from 41.9% in 1967 to 74.5% in 2005." Ironically, "developing a meaningful philosophy of life" dropped in importance from 85.8% in 1967 to 45% in 2005."


A couple of personal observations: 1. Thank God I know a lot of 18-29 year olds that are just the opposite of this. They are selling out to Jesus, living for eternal rewards, giving their lives to serve others, finding a great reason to live!


2. I am not surprised by these results. The more we saturate our society with sensuality, pleasure, "reality" shows, celebrity-ism and the more we STARVE the Spirit by decreasing the value of -the church, the objective truth of the Word, the nuclear family...the more we will see these kind of results. 


May God deliver us from "the deceitfulness of riches" and the "deception of pride"...is it any wonder that God in His love warns us so strongly of their ability to tempt us from His path of "abundant and meaningful life"? 

Praxis Wisdom

After receiving my Doctoral degree I was surprised at how much I still felt like myself. I thought I would be wearing the guru hat. I imagined I would be sitting on the mount of revelation and bestowing nuggets of wisdom to any who had the smarts to come to me with their biggest life questions. Nope. Instead it was still just me trying to figure out how to follow the living God and how to help others do the same.

But one thing I did learn...I learned how much I had to learn still. My studies combined with my world travels had opened my praxis up. Who were we as American Christians to think that because we had the best seminaries in the world, we had a corner on what church practices should look like? God was calling me into the wisdom of humility (James 3) I have started learning so much from Asian believers, Latin believers and African believers. 

We confuse "our way" with the "only way" until in the wisdom of humility we begin to learn again from those who do church differently. For example, praying. In much of the world when the church prays during a service, everyone is praying aloud.  Someone is leading them but clearly not giving a speech that they are listening to. In America we listen until the speech to God is done and then politely agree by saying "amen".
There is nothing wrong with "our way" but it may be not be the "best way". I have learned a new engagement in prayer by praying with my fellow believers from other places.

Our "ethnocentrism" can blind us to the beauty of the foreign ways of doing things. May God helps us open our minds to the different forms of "practices" that our Bible believing brothers and sisters employ.

 

Syncing My Calendar To God's

I have a Blackberry and a Google Calendar. They are supposed to sync. Usually they do. Sometimes something in the technical heavens goes crazy and I am left with a totally absurd calendar that does not reflect reality whatsoever. I am out of sync. The calendar I am receiving and the calendar that reflects reality are misaligned.

Sometimes God's calendar and my life's calendar are out of sync. I know 2 Peter 3:8 says "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." That plays into the "chronological misalignment" but there's something more to it.

What time frame do you put on the promises of God...is it a a week, a month, a year, a decade?
For example I enthusiastically and dogmatically tell people, "You can never outgive God". But do we expect the "give back" to be in a week, a year, or in eternity. Time frames matter to trustworthiness. God keeps His promises in His own time.

Now by that I don't mean to quench any zeal for believing the promises of the Word. On the contrary...God loves surprises. This year we suffered through a huge recession and many of our church attendees lost their jobs. We went as far behind as 16,000. But God shocked us by using His people to provide a MIRACLE December to end the year 60,000 in the black! Praise His Great Name!

But last year I was believing for a miracle December and we ended in the RED by a few thousand dollars. Did God NOT keep his promise in 2008 but then keep it in 2009? NOT AT ALL!

The overall promise is true that "You can't outgive God" but we must TRUST his time frames. When we are "short" do we deny the promise? When we are "surprised positively" does it mean that we don't have to keep trusting? NO! We just must "sync" our calendars to God's. His always is the MASTER CALENDAR!

Why I Trashed My Tweeter

I jumped into Twitter and posted a few times but then I stopped. Not because of any philosphical objection but because I just kept forgetting to tweet and not caring that I had tweeted. But if I had been thinking more deeply about it like SKYE did in this article, then I probably would have written something similar. I am not an anti-twitter tweeterer, nor have I decided to forever silence my tweetering. But for now read the article and you will get some of the same thoughts I was having.

Explaining why he doesn't Twitter, author and editor Skye Jethani writes:

I know I'll get grief for this, but in the 2004 film Shall We Dance?, one character had a really insightful bit of dialogue:

We need a witness to our lives. There are a billion people on the planet … I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things … all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying, "Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness."

We all want our lives to matter, and we believe they only matter if they are noticed by someone. I wonder if this desire for a witness isn't what fuels a lot of blogs, Facebook, and especially Twitter. We want someone, anyone, to take notice … to care about us … to watch us and by their attention communicate, "You matter. Your life counts."

If this is one of the hidden motivations behind Twittering, and I think it is, we're really talking about a spiritual hunger—one that I don't believe can be satisfied online. Perhaps the most significant reason I don't Twitter is because I already have a witness for my life ….

Psalm 139 says it best:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

I believe in God's economy there is not a single thought, feeling, or moment that is lost. There is nothing that is unseen or unrecorded …. God is indeed with me and witnessing every thought and reflection. My ideas are not lost, and my life really does matter—not because someone read it, heard it, saw it, or Tweeted it, but because God is my witness.

Between Decades

2009 closing. 2010 opening. Dec 29 in between.
A time to reflect in the morning darkness by the fire.
0 to 52 preparation. 52 to 100 incarnation.
I desire to be "the Word made flesh to my world".
I yearn to burn with passion for Jesus and people.
No circumstance can steal my oil - The Holy Spirit.
Only I can quench the fire that's in my belly and on my head (Acts 2)
Fill me. Spill me. Overflow.
Bless me more that I bless you and others more.
Abundance. Extravagant Grace. Life to the Full.
Adventures of living and loving.
Burn the recliner. Throw away the soft bed.
Plenty of time for playing it safe in heaven.
Reach. Stretch. Grow. Learn. Believe. Imagine.
Explore. Risk. Create. Belly laugh.
Flee sin. Follow holiness.
Prioritize friendships with only the brightest and best and the weakest and least.
Let doubts die the death of denial as they delay my daily destination.
Let blazing books and star-filled skies infuse my flame.
Let sunrises ignite me and sunsets sooth me as I invest each day as if it was my last.
Let my ineluctable destiny pull my vision upward beyond the fleeting facade of earth time.
Let the kisses of a gracefully aging wife enthrall me as if I had never tasted her lips before.
Let the variety of humanity, cultures and customs challenge my self-mindedness.
Let every person I meet fill my mind with the miracle they truly are.
Embrace moments, cherish minutes, treat hours as holy gifts, days as divine privileges.
Awaken my senses to fully taste the reality around me.
Surprise me. Startle me with your open doors and daring missions!
Alive! Singing loud! Dancing wildly! Laughing from my belly!
Celebrate! Rejoice! Cartwheels of Praise!
By your grace I live, for your glory I run the race, towards your beauty I progress.
This decade I decide to be delightfully devoted to a dangerous Savior!
May I be fully me to fully bless you!

Tiger on the Iceberg

Tiger Woods is falling faster than the thermometer in Minnesota in January. The problem is the difference between the public image and the private reality. We wanted to believe that the amazing self-control Tiger exhibited on the golf course extended to the interior of his home. Instead the public persona was a carefully crafted cover for the rampant self-indulgence that existed below the surface.

The iceberg analogy continues to be one of the most important to consider in life and leadership. Only one third of an iceberg is visible above the water line. But its the two-thirds below the water line that matters the most. What you can't see eventually determines what you can see. Thinking you can separate the two leads to a personal split that is self-destructive.

Private victories are always more satisfying and significant than public victories. You can win the Master's Tournament but if you can't Master your sexual desires, you end up a loser in life.

What I have found in life and ministry is that too often people's gifts and talents take them beyond where their character can sustain them. If the foundation is not well-formed, the building eventually tumbles, regardless how tall it is. It's not the height, it's the depth that counts.

The Majesty of My Thanksgiving

Somewhere between the Turkey and Sweet Potatoes, it struck me like a down pillow in a late-night pillow fight, "It just doesn't get any better than this!".

Envision what I was looking at...A stellar Southern California day coming to Michelangelo masterpiece sunset conclusion. A lazy ocean, like a mirror, reflecting God's artistry right on to our patio. A table decorated by Martha Stewart's twin, with autumn floral arrangements crowning the stunning Indonesian batik fabric. Candles flickering and bouncing light off the exquisite "Country Rose" china and creating diamonds of light in the Moonsplash Crystal goblets.

Ladening the table is turkey prepared with the love of my Father-in-law, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, Uncle Kenneth's amazing cranberry relish, three new heaven sent vegetable creations by Deb, Aunt Ella's delight, butternut squash soup, rolls, five tasty desserts, and sparkling apple cider bubbling with joy.

But far and away the most enriching aspect are the people. The lovely folks who scoop the delicacies into their grinning mouths. Bill - wild Bill, his first Thanksgiving in his 80s, a father-in-law who loves me. Aunt Ella, a dear old lady eating her second Thanksgiving since Tony, her husband of 52 years, has gone. Marvelous, that is actually a proper name of one little 3 year old who is experiencing her first American thanksgiving far from her Nigerian homeland. Her dad John with his mile wide smile illuminating his dark face. Sitting beside him is his wife, Joy, in her traditional Nigerian dress and then the childlike sparkle emanating from Miracle and Victory, Marvelous' 6 and 4 year old sisters.

Rudy, the fire chief of great distinction, yet wearing his continual humble quiet smile. My sister-in-law, Donna, the ageless wife of Rudy, with her dazzling green necklace shimmering next to her perfectly matched blouse.

Molly and Stephen, the seminarians, recently returned from the remote villages of Africa, where their youthful strength is being spent to lovingly serve those forgotten by the world but remembered by God. Their friendship with my daughter is a treasure to her and thus to me. Molly's three cousins provide the giggling teen element to the table.

Then there are a Dad's pride and joy... My birth daughter, Lindsey, doing what she does better than anyone I know - lighting up a room with her infectious joy. This Thanksgiving she is beaming brighter than usual with her ruggedly handsome, almost fiancee beside her. TJ is like a son, and probably will be a son-in-law soon. His solid character and deep love for God and Lindsey will be a welcome addition at many Thanksgiving's to come. The lovely olive complexion of Anjelica graces our table for the third time but it is the first time she sets there as "my daughter". How honored I feel as I watch her dark eyes dance with moments of joy as her gorgeously thick black hair falls down her back. I am sad for her first Thanksgiving without biological family but thrilled that God has given us the joy of her presence.

The Master of the Feast, the magical architect who is able to creatively build an ambiance that is beyond comprehension sits there effervescently holding all things together. Stunningly beautiful in her dark black dress, covered with a spectacular apron that declares the reality - "Queen of Everything".  Her thick blonde hair, perfectly styled, bounces on her shoulders as she efficiently orchestrates the evening like a symphony conductor coaxing other worldly music from the various elements. The fact that she is in love with me makes the awe of the moment beyond believable.

I stop and listen to the laughter, the voices of love. I feast my eyes on the scene, drinking it in and wanting to freeze the moment forever on the front page of my mind. And as I listen, I hear the Spirit say, "Son, this is only a sliver of what I have prepared for you. Wait until you sit at the ultimate Thanksgiving feast in the kingdom of heaven. It will thrill and fill your heart in ways you can't even imagine now." I lift my eyes to the bright moon and the first star that is now shimmering in the sky above. I let out a silent but loud, "A Billion Thank Yous to You Great God of LOVE!" 

52 Candles

I remember my 10th birthday. I had always been able to blow out all of the candles on my cake in ONE breath. But when I looked at all TEN of those candles I panicked. This was going to be a two breath birthday cake!!

Today is going to be tough. 52 Candles. That will probably be like 5 breaths, especially since my wife often gets the candles that come back to life. I hate those!

Someone has said that "life is not a matter of how many breaths you take but how many moments take your breath away" I have so many of those, like 2 or 3 a day, that I am often left breathless. Blowing out candles is certainly one of those breathless moments!

One of my favorite quotes is, "Live so your life demands an explanation!" I want to live that unique, daring, creative, passionate, impactful adventure that people look at and say, "Either Jesus is real or Larry is crazy!"

Today I will write down 52 things I am thankful for at the end of this blog, in small font. For the one person who will read them all...my MOM!

Today I will run on the beach, lift at the gym, spend time in the Word, write on a sermon, spend time with family, laugh, write in my journal, pray, kiss my wife, dream of this coming year, read a good book, taste some good food, dance vigorously before the Lord, and sing Alleluia.

Today I will freshly commit myself to God's purpose and call on my life. I will delight myself in HIM!

I am thankful for God's love, God's word, the Cross, the example of Jesus, the beauty of creation, the promise of heaven, the help of the Holy Spirit, my church family, the church of Jesus Christ worldwide, my wife, my birth daughter, my new daughter, TJ, mom, my brother, sister, all my in laws, my close friends, my other friends, my staff, my health, my house, my job, my place in Silver Star, my country, my freedom, my wife's healing from cancer, my education, my mentors, our non-profit LIME, our worship leaders, my friends in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Philippines, and Indonesia, my strengths, my talents, my spiritual gifts, my personality, my destiny, my neighbors, my cars, my aunts and uncles. my office, my executive assistant, my fellow pastors, my Free Methodist family, my our business partners Dwight & Shelley, the joy of the HS, the peace that passes understanding, my boat, and LIFE!

Run, Larry, Run

"Run, Forest, Run." The great line from Forest Gump has become a classic in our house. I read a original and insightful book last week called "Born to Run". A study of the Tarahumara Indians of Copper Canyon in Mexico. They are known as the "Running People". 80 year old men can go out and run 30 miles.

After loving running and running in marathons, I had not run distance in 10 years due to the absence of knee cartilage. It was biking  and elliptical machines in the gym for me. Running even a little distance would create knee and back pain.

However, the book advocated a different form of running. Small strides, landing on the ball of the foot, running barefoot or with only light shoes. Run easily, lightly, smoothly, uprightly, joyfully. The author says, "if you are working hard at running you are running too hard. Running should be natural."

This book was so inspiring to me that I began running barefoot on the beach...(handy have a beach in front of my house.) In just two weeks I am running over 2 miles, with NO back or knee pain so far. What's even more amazing my wife Deb has jumped on board and she ran 2 miles last night barefoot, without pain.

I am so excited and waiting to see if I keep running free or if I run into trouble.

BORING!

B...O...R...I...N...G!! That's just what this three year old tow head said. He was walking through a fun filled pumpkin patch with rides and games and looked up at his dad and said..."boring!"

I was thinking about his remark and about so many people in our great nation. With more entertainment than ever, with 239 channels from Direct TV, ipods, flat screens, mobile apps, cell phone, blue ray hi def, etc. we are more bored than ever. What gives? 

I believe boredom is a result of one or two realities or a combination thereof. Either you love the wrong things or you have not found enough right things to love. 

Consider the first. When you love the wrong things, you spend your energy on that which ultimately leaves you empty. Like eating lettuce, you lose more calories chewing than you gain by swallowing it. Your mind says "I ate", your body says "huh?" When you love emptiness, you end up bored.  

The second consideration is different. You love the right thing but you don't have the variety of right loves. I love reading my Bible, running, lifting, biking, journaling, reading books, writing, playing games with wife and kids, watching old movies, praying, visiting churches, drinking coffee with friends, and the list goes on and on. Now I don't always feel like doing all of those, but I almost always have a choice between at least four things I love doing and I feel like doing at that moment. People who only have a few loves are frequently bored. 

Predictability is another cause of boredom. If you always know what's next it's easy to be bored. But when you are following an unpredictable leader you never know where he's going to take you next. You don't know what's around the corner. Jesus is in many ways an inscrutable leader who always leaves you guessing about the next bend in the road. Jesus said, "No one knows where the wind is blowing to but we see it's effect". We never know where the Spirit will take us next...so each day is an adventure. 

May God deliver us from a "boring" life. We are walking with our Father through the pumpkin patch of life. What a hoot!! 

World's Greatest Athlete

I used to dream of being the "world's greatest athlete". When I dreamed, I pictured myself as a "6 foot, 4 inch, hunk of herculean steel carved into rippling muscles". What a picture I had in my mind!

I went on to be a decent athlete getting football scholarship offers to several schools. But I never came close to being the "world's greatest athlete".

I recently had dinner with the REAL "world's greatest athlete". Bryan Clay won the silver at the 2004 Olympics and the GOLD at the 2008 Olympics in the decathlon! As I met Bryan and spent the evening with him I kept thinking...he's not the picture I had in my mind.

Don't misunderstand. Bryan is sinewy, lithe, and toned. He is good looking and genuinely nice. But he is not even 6 feet tall. His muscles don't ripple largely under his clothes. I would never have looked at Bryan in a mall and said, "Hey, he might be an incredible athlete".He's not what I imagined, he's more ordinary looking than I thought.

My POINT? Amazing people are often disguised in ordinary packages. You look in the mirror and think I don' t look like a Greek God, I could never be amazing. But the truth is if you have VISION, DETERMINATION, and hours of DISCIPLINE then you could could be amazing at about anything you put your mind to. (Bryan trains about 8 hours a day).

There is a 20,000 hour principle. Take one thing, focus on it, get great coaching about, have a little natural aptitude for it, and then spend 20,000 hours on it and you will be better than 99.99% of the world in it.

That's 40 hours of practice 50 weeks a year for 10 years. If you can only practice 20 hours a week it will take you 20 years. That's just 3 hours a day. If you are 30 now, you can be one of the best in the world by the age of 50. The best lawyer, author, preacher, piano player, artist, real estate agent...whatever!

Don't let your preconceived ideas about what greatness is, stop you from being great! You can do it!
But on the flip side, you must ask if that is what God wants for you. Usually God wants you to live a BALANCED life rather than a "world record" life. By the way...Bryan is a good dad too.

Cancer Answer

The answer to Cancer is the power and people of Jesus Christ!

If you are like me you know more and more people who are facing the curse of cancer. I personally have ten friends and family members fighting cancer.

I hate cancer. It took my 82 year old grandmother and my 8 week old friend,Shamya. It doesn't care whether you are rich or poor, old or young, atheist or Christian. Often without rhyme or reason, cancer just sneaks in and starts spreading its death.

Cancer is powerful but cancer can not steal faith, hope, laughter, friendship, heaven, or love. Cancer CAN NOT!

When cancer comes it must be confronted. My wife, Deb was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. It was supposed to kill her quickly. But we launched a counter attack. We sent prayer requests around the world. We went to the best oncologist we could find. We started claiming scriptures over her day and night.
In her case God did a profound miracle so that she is now cancer free for the last four years.

Not all cancer stories go this way. My friend Steve was not healed here. He was healed there.

I often tell Christians who are attacked...God is going to walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death. You will walk through it to healing or to heaven. But you will walk through it.

So again the CANCER ANSWER is the power and people of Jesus. The power of Jesus to heal, to comfort, to strengthen, to give hope, to open our spiritual eyes, to impact our spirit's with indomitable courage. The people of Jesus to hold our hands, to lift us up, to walk beside us, to surround us with their faith, to speak hope to our hearts, to love us with God's love and theirs.

I pray for break throughs in Cancer...but until that happens I encourage any one confronting cancer...to find the answer in the power and people of Jesus.