What do most kids do when they aren’t moved by their parents, leave their room a mess or clean it up? My kids are no different. They don’t really enjoy messing things up, and are usually keep things pretty clean. But after a few hours of no accountability a clean person is bound to let things get a little messy. I haven’t met a person yet who keeps things clean every second of every day. Every single one of us has been in the moment where guests are getting ready to come over and we fly around the house and at least find a few things that aren’t quite the way we’d want them.

We might not really enjoy hearing it (I know I don’t), but people are messy. Each of us looks like the man in this picture every now and then. The real issue is that we have to be willing to move through life knowing that we’re a mess. Life is meant to be lived in community, and sometimes we have to be fine with hanging out with people when they are a mess. Or admitting that we are the mess, and letting the Spirit clean us up. Wash the mud off, spray us down, and send us back on our way. Through a few clean moments and back into another mud puddle.

A few mud puddles I’ve been through lately?

• Not keeping the best care of the body God has given me (finally back to running a bit now – that’s just the first step)
• Not caring enough for close friends when they are in extreme situations
• Spending moments working on the computer when I could show love to my children even more and be fine

What about you? How has your role in the communities God has put you in been put on hold because of the messes you’ve been in? Would you like us to pray over something? I know that’s what I need, and I would be grateful for your prayers!

PRAYING that I continue to return to the mess I am, and not being focused on the mess others are in first. PRAISING God that seasons exist, and that winter should be headed out of here soon!

I’ve really started reading a few more blogs since starting to blog more frequently myself. That’s been a good thing, but maybe not a healthy thing. I’ve seen quite a few bloggers who are more focused on their message. Sure, they care that people comment so they can seem like they are doing a great job at blogging. It’s tempting to just post on things that you’re really good at. If blogging’s like life, is that really what we should be doing? Not for a second. Maybe you and I should look at blogging like we do with technology. If the technologies are gone tomorrow, how would we function? If our blog or website is gone tomorrow, would we have a friendship that could go on?

Sort of like taking a walk on the beach I guess! What if you and I were taking a nice walk together. Definitely creating a memory to remember, but actually having a discussion and sharing thoughts. I’m guessing that if the walk only consisted of me talking about all of my concerns that you would probably prefer taking the next walk with someone else! It takes two to make a thing go right, isn’t that it? What this makes me realize is that I might need to unsubscribe from a few blogs. Sure, there are a handful that I’ll still read from individuals that never communicate with me. Mostly because I know God wants us each to continue to learn. But He also wants us to draw a line in the sand with how much we are consuming compared to how much we are sharing.

A few of you will probably see me actually return the favor and comment / subscribe to your blogs as a result. I apologize for not doing that in the first place. And a few of you might not hear from me as often. I’m almost certain you won’t even notice, but if so, may that be a challenge for you to stop worrying about being an expert or a social bug. My wife’s a few steps ahead of me on this adventure to build real relationships, and God’s been proven to make that work and also build her up (and humble her) at the same time. I’m going to be brief at the end of each post and share a personal request and a praise. We’ll give that a shot, hopefully letting you hear specifics from me personally without taking too much of your reading time! Definitely let me know if I can pray for you, and feel free to post your blog address in the comments so that I can open my ears and listen to you as we walk on the beach!

PRAYING for a group of friends that are joining me on the largest project I have ever undertaken. Details coming soon! PRAISING God as He continues to provide work as I serve ministries across the world with web and graphic design services.

There’s quite a bit of talk going on about the “mega-churches” or the “elite Christian leaders” of the day that has my stomach spinning. What’s really a shocker is that the ministry or style of leading is no better or more important than what every single believer is doing every day with their life. It doesn’t take a church of 800+ to have eternal impact or make a difference in a culture. That is proven. A person doesn’t have to have a Mac to succeed at design (personal shot at myself, LOL). What I do has no more value in the eyes of the Lord than even a high school student is just putting together their first website or design. God is so focused on each of us, and I think sometimes we look way past the real power that is in that love.

Who is at fault for shining the light on people like that? I think many are, including myself. I’ve interviewed people that aren’t known, and those who are a household name across the world. I’m not saying that those with a strong name are doing the wrong thing, they could very much be doing something that has great eternal value. They deserve to be where they are, and can and should speak into others’ lives based on the experiences God has given them. What I am wrestling with is that we all need to be extremely thankful for today’s work that God has for us to do. And those that “review” what is going on need to realize that those stories have just as much potential at adding one more to the kingdom of God as any other does. There was an excellent article written on this the past week over at one of my favorite blogs at Collide Magazine. I challenged the editor of the magazine to actually take the step with me and lead more of a focus on people that are putting their heart into glorifying God as those we have rallied around before.

Praise God for you! Praise Him for the eternal impact your personal walk has had on His kingdom. Each thought that had to be wrestled with, prayers that were sent up around you, lesson you shared with your children or people in your youth group or class, moments spent with a friend as you encouraged them through something. My spotlight today is shining on those moments of your life. I thank you for choosing to glorify our great God. Why do I shine the spotlight on you? Because God doesn’t carry small flashlights and huge spotlights around. His light is shining on you, and that is all that will matter. Go blog, go pray, go speak, go read, go sing, go laugh, and beat the snot of the devil while you’re doing it. As Brian Regan would say, “Go my favorite sports team GO, beat the other team, SOUNDLY in the skirmish!”

Many of the victories I have had in life have resulted in letting go of something. We’ve all heard the phrase before….”Let go and let God”. That’s the way it was with me and all of the time I spent playing video games. I let go and God moved in miraculous ways. The large amount of time that I spent was transformed into moments where I could proclaim God and more clearly glorify Him. There are groups that take this to the extreme and end up appearing creepy or getting called names. But is that their fault, or ours for thinking of them like that? This is an extremely touchy subject, as I saw from the comments in the recent post here about the video game addiction.

How far do you take it? Do you get rid of everything that pleases you? I don’t think that’s what God would want. He intends for us to enjoy this life. One thing I am struggling with right now is television. Watching Virginia Tech football or NASCAR (I know – tech guy and redneck do not usually go together) are the only two things that I care to watch. I don’t watch anything else. Sometimes I get more thrilled about the days those sports are on than I do about spending time with the Lord that day. Or taking time to encourage someone in their walk. There’s nothing questionable about my ethics while watching sports. It’s good, clean fun! But then scripture like this one always come to mind.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as his own life, he can’t be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

God didn’t just make a mistake and let that slip into the Bible, did He? Not a chance. Hate your own family, if that’s what it takes? Are you serious? And I’m struggling with football and racing on the tube. That’s when I start to re-think things. I’m just beginning the journey with this one. The racing season starts in two weeks. Are there things like this that you’ve seen be stepping stones in your walk with the Lord? Do you regret something you’ve given up in an effort to have your focus on what He wants with your life?

Our previous church planted Vista Community Church two years ago this week. At first we didn’t give much thought to attending, mostly because it would add a few more minutes to our drive. What an insane thought, now looking back on it. God had other plans. Back in the beginning of 2008 the staff at Vista approached me about assisting them in their efforts with web and graphic design. To be honest, the church we were at wasn’t too focused on that at the moment and I was eager to get involved. I began working with Vista a bit, helping a group design their site and meeting with the staff to help project what God might have us do in the future.

We decided that if I was going to be so involved with this new church that we should pray over actually starting to attend there. A prayer that was answered within weeks. We’ve now been attending since May of 2008. The church has also been growing these first two years, from 100 during the launch to around 400 now. This church has been the first that I’ve been EXCITED to go to, and to be a part of throughout the week. The staff decided to bring me on part-time for 5 hours per week a while back, and have just asked me to bump that up to 10. This is something I’ve always hoped to be doing, and am honored that God would make it possible. I’m anticipating the upcoming re-design of the site. The first is functional, but the design isn’t something I’m too thrilled about. There are so many other talented people in the areas that I am involved in, and it thrills me to see what is going on at this moment.

Are you excited about being a part of the church body God has placed you in? Have there been things that have gotten you down that might be good to know as we grow together? If you’re anywhere near Columbus, OH (Dublin / northwest Columbus area), we’d love to have you come join us! Check out this video by my friend Josh Fronduti that was played during our celebration today!