…and not expect to learn a lesson or two! That’s what happened to me tonight. Just so happens that the three women are my daughters (Marla’s away for 4 1/2 days). It’s Friday night, and most of Columbus is out on the town. Now that the girls are old enough, we’re not going to opt for just chilling at home. Tonight’s not going to consist of playing on our iPods or cleaning windows you can’t see through after being covered by gads of Crayola Window Crayons. So we hit the streets, blazing a party trail in our white mini-van!

I remembered hearing about a “dollar theater” maybe twenty minutes away. Just so happens to turn into a “two dollar theater” on the weekend. The $8 was well worth The Princess and the Frog, holding our 4 year-old on my lap the entire movie so she could see, and learning a big lesson. Like most other adults, I really do believe silence is golden. Loudness usually annoys me, unless I’m at a Skillet, Red, or TFK concert.

But you don’t have a choice when you’re walking into a theater full of dozens of young children. You’ll be lucky to observe an entire minute of the movie without noise. The phrase “oh – to be young again” sometimes really does make lots of sense. What’s with us adults? All up-tight and self-centered. Expecting not to have to deal with the rest of the world when we enter a few hours of leisure after a long week? Blind to the fact that places like theaters are public and not by invitation only, LOL. Another Captain Me Planet lesson I guess! After a few minutes I realized the evening was going to be much more enjoyable if I thanked God for giving me a few hours to spend with my three little princesses.

Apparently God doesn’t stop with these $8 lessons until we get the hint? Have you found one that costs $7? If so, I’m there!

The Captain is back – oh great! We all can probably agree that finding faults in our own lives isn’t the most enjoyable thing in the world. But I know it’s necessary, and publicly admitting your weaknesses can be good medicine. If you’re not familiar with “Captain Me Planet”, you can catch up by reading this previous post from back in January.

I don’t give God credit for everything. More clearly, I probably don’t give God close to enough credit for what goes on in life. That’s about as blunt as I can be. I glorify and thank Him for the necessities like food, health and weather. Those things that most Christians pray over every time. But what goes on beyond that? What else needs to be pointed back to Him? 1 Corinthians 10:31 is a verse I’ve known for quite a while, but making it stick is seeming to take way too long.

I see God at work every day. Providing new clients who need websites or blogs designed just in the nick of time. Twisting up my schedule just enough to make it chaotic, yet possible. Not knowing when the next payment is going to arrive from a client in another state or country. New friends that enter our lives when we couldn’t have needed them more. Sometimes how He lets go of things is just as amazing. Family members that don’t really offer much love distance themselves before too much verbal or emotional damage is done. Showing us that something we own is taking up too much time, and God makes it almost too simple to get rid of it.

How have you learned to give God credit, and not believe the lie that you made it happen? This Captain Me Planet sure has.

PRAYING that I do a better job at letting our children see just how involved God is in our every move. PRAISING Him for providing and guiding when it seems like we need it most and least.

There are a few things that are weighing down on me regarding technology these days. One of them is the comparison and approval that is taking place online. People are quick to offer criticism or advice for every single thing under the sun. Including technology and creativity, and everything that goes into them. What seems to be the core issue (after failing myself many times) is that we accomplish something, feel good about it, then go on with life trying to push everyone else into the comfortable box we’re sitting in. Maybe without ever realizing they don’t belong there!

1 Corinthians 12 speaks to the fact that we are all made uniquely and with our own unique purpose. So why do we try to suggest that other people should use Twitter, blog, design, write, photograph, or do anything else online just like we do? Sure, it’s great that we find tools that help us best manage our time or be most productive with it. But many Christians on the web throw out advice that seems to suggest that everyone should be doing it all the way they are.

If we want to truly be like Christ online we must put the person over the practice. How we interact with them is much more important than which technology we used to do it with. Why would someone want to hang out with you if they had to always meet you at the park or at church to do so? We have an American mentality of them coming to us, rather than us going to them. It really does annoy the heck out of me when I see Christians holding tightly to their megaphones, shouting advice and not just wanting to be heard, but wanting to be copied / duplicated. Let’s put the megaphone down and be in community with others. I’m guessing the less we’re shouting, the more we’ll actually engage! Does this kind of thing annoy you as well?

PRAYING for those of us that practice this without realizing it. PRAISING God for giving us so much freedom. Freedom that always brings us back to needing to hear from Him.

He’s back, and better than ever! Oh wait, Captain Me Planet is about how I screw up, not how I am here and am saving the world from its problems. Usually these posts let you in on a downer. Something I’ve done recently that is either prideful or has some sort of “me first” mentality. It’s been good for me to not just share my successes with you. I’m going to ease into doing that a bit more, but a dose of humility is always needed. We’re all “Captain Me Planets” (coined by Brian Regan) if we dare to admit it.

The Captain wanted to spice it up a bit today. He read yesterday’s post about our community of messy people (yes, you included), and wants to take it a step further. Here’s the dialogue I’ve had with him the past few days. He’s a tough guy. Not sure where he gets his energy.

• ME: How are things going in YOUR world Captain?
• CAPT: Apparently, as I’m sure you can tell, I have many new fans. Could life get any better?
• ME: Have you engaged with your fans this week? Do your fans know who you really are, or do they just applaud as you fly in, save the day, and fly out?
• CAPT: Why would I want to engage with them? After I am gone I will have left the world a better place!
• ME: You might be doing great things, even things other haven’t done. Wouldn’t it be great to encourage someone else. Maybe even train them to be able to do what you do. You know, so the world could continue to improve after you are no longer around?
• CAPT: You know, I never thought about it that way. Someone helped me get to where I am. I’m sure I could do the same!
• ME: Well, Captain. I think you and I should take this with us this week. It’s always reliable. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.” Philippians 2:3

What kind of situations put you in a position of being a Captain Me Planet? A few of mine would be posting blogs or message on the web, talking to people about technology when I know they might be be as “proficient”, not stopping what I am doing when someone needs my attention, praying sometimes more about what I might want than what others might need.

PRAYING for you as you consider transplanting the amazing work God has done in your life into the life of another. PRAISING God for giving us such challenging words that last through generations.

I’m anticipating sharing an awesome (and large) project with you in the near future. The biggest undertaking of my life, with the most opportunity to make an impact for the kingdom of God. I’ve learned a few things while getting started with it. When I started working on it it was mostly about how I could make it happen…..and a “little” bit of what God could do. I prayed about it at times, but wasn’t really relying on God to work things out. I wouldn’t say I was anticipating his next move. I was anticipating what I was going to have to do to get the ball rolling.

Two weeks ago God turned a light on. I didn’t realize I was in the dark. I thought I (Captain Me Planet) was doing just fine. Looking back on where the project was headed now I just have to smile at what God had in store. The details of this project keep clearing up as God allows me to join with others in preparation. Just today I was hanging out with my friend Kary Obebrunner, and God used him to bring up a couple of thoughts that only He could. I look forward to becoming less of a Captain Me Planet and let God’s timing and plan override mine. Have you either stepped into a project too quickly and wished you wouldn’t have? Or have there been moments where you’ve seen things come together in a way only God could have allowed and that was near impossible for yourself?

PRAYING for a high school friend of mine that was in a bad accident this past week. PRAISING God for a wife that always lets Him bring her out of discouraging moments in life.