"Dust Mites" or "Dragons"?

Are you and I facing dust mites or dragons?

What in the heck am I talking about? Here it is, all through life we face stuff, those things than knock us off track. All too often the issues are not really what we think they are. At times we minimize things that are really bigger than we want to accept. Other times we make things much bigger than they really are. But what is the difference? Perspective...

"Dust Mites" - Ominous, ugly, nuisance creatures that look as if they can devour us. They are found when we focus way too hard on something that doesn't deserve it. But when we step back we realize we can't even see them.

"Dragons" - Creatures that we all too often minimize as not even being real. In reality, the dragon has come to steal (our joy), kill (our spirit) and destroy (our life).

This leaves us with one question left...how can we tell the difference? Ask. Ask God to show us the reality. Ask others who we trust to help get a proper perspective.

How can I pray for you today...

Do we call those on our mind and ask how we can pray for them? I am realizing that it is clearly the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling me to call and ask.

Today I am asking you...how can I pray for you today? Post a comment with your prayer request and I will pray specifically for you and your request.

Slow Fade...

Are you tired of seeing families crumble around you? Are you tired of seeing lives crumble...I am! With every life that crumbles, there are compromises along the way. They may not be cheating on a spouse, as this song is talking about, but they are cheating on themselves. Slowly cheating with time, money, people, power, cheating on people, cheating on God, cheating on self. Helping to protect ourselves from from stupid decisions, stupid mistakes, this is why we need a group of accountability partners. Friends who have the right to ask the tough questions, a fellowship to help sharpen our life...and only if we could turn back the clock when we do find we have drifted too far.

Casting Crowns has written and sings one of the most powerful songs on this topic. You can find this song and others on their most recent release The Altar and the Door. Here are the lyrics...followed by the music video.

Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

The Difference a Fellowship would make...

What am I talking about..."a fellowship"? At the core of this is a group of men who intentionally share life together. They spur one another to grow and face life's challenges. They hold accountability to and for one another. They face the inner most battles of life together. They share the masculine journey which has been forgotten or beat down by our modern day, fast paced society.

Proverbs 27:17 (New International Version) "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

All to often we find ourselves running through life "just making due" the best we can, as we face the battles of life. Some carry a box cutter, others a Swiss Army knife, some have their old Boy Scout knife still. Others have the privilege of carrying the knife given to them by their father or grandfather. Maybe is the Husky knife we saw in the checkout lane at Home Depot, and we thought to our self, "I might need that and I always wanted a cool knife", so that is what we carry. Very few have have a dirk, dagger, katana, hunting knife,ranger sword or a battle sword. My point is two fold, first, the knife is simply a symbol of what we use to face the battles of life. And no matter what we have, we just face the battles of life head on and use that knife over and over and over again to cut through the entangling snares we face. The knife may work great at first and for a time, but at some point we realize it's getting dull and doesn't protect us or work as well as it did in the past. This leads to the second issue, we never take time to sharpen that knife. The battles of life are hurled at us by the enemy so fast that we just keep pulling what we have and wearing the blade down making it more dull each time...soon its nearly useless. How often have we felt dull and useless, we just don't make a difference any more. (Another lie from the Accuser!) We need to on purpose schedule time to stop and sharpen our blade. During that time we may even learn how to use a larger and more effective blade from another man.

Okay, you understand the analogy, which one of us doesn't want to be worthy of a battle sword...but we find we are simply carrying a folding pocket knife?

What sane person goes to battle alone? Even the military elite enter missions in teams...AFTER an immense amount of training and conditioning! The gist is this, how much different (BETTER) would our families, churches, communities and businesses be if we had fellowships of men who were intentional and committed to sharing life together? Committed to sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron? Committed to helping young boys journey into manhood? How much stronger would we be to fight the spiritual battles in life? I know that I need it and desire it.

What a difference a fellowship would make...

Ever feel like a lost sheep wandering...

Paul Alan - To Bring You Back
From the album Drive It Home

Are you thirsty
Standing in the rain?
Not sure where you are
Or how you lost your way?
Are you drowning
In some bar outside of town?
Searching for something given not found?
A crowd of people
But totally alone?
At the front door
But worlds away from home?

Light up the nights last regret and
Burn your only safety net
Step to the edge
It's such a long way down

Chorus:
I left the ninety-nine to find the one
And you're the one
I walked a thousand miles
In this desert sun
Only to bring you back
Only to bring you back

Are you tired
Of chasing the wind under water?
Do you aspire to breath again?
Are you dying?
Is that the best that you can do?
Cause you can't find your place
In a world that wasn't meant for you?

I left the ninety-nine to find the one
And you're the one
I walked a thousand miles
In this desert sun
Only to bring you back
Only to bring you back

Hello it's Me
I couldn't sleep
I was just counting sheep
And I'm missing you,
Hello it's Me
I couldn't sleep
I was just counting sheep.

I left the ninety-nine to find the one
And you're the one
I walked a thousand miles
In this desert sun
Only to bring you back
Only to bring you back

True Love

What is true love? This is one of the most written, talked about and sought after topics of all history. Google will quickly verify this point because if you were to Google Search the term "True Love" you would return nearly 59 MILLION results on the web. Everything from Discover Health and Christian Answers to thousands of blog posts on the same topic. There are songs, movies and books all chasing "the true love".

Let me stop here and make it clear that I am in no way an expert on this subject. But what follow is simply my observation in life. I read about it in the Bible but it never clicked until I read a book by Gary Smalley and John Trent.

Love is a decision...

Stop and think about it, read everything you can find, look at the life of Christ, look at every relationship you admire and think is an example of true love. You will find at the core...Love Is A Decision!