ARE YOU LIVING OUT YOUR FAITH THE WRONG WAY?

Ever since I was a kid I have had the idea that if I want to be the best kind of Christian, I have to be a pastor, missionary, or evangelist. And if I am not one of those, I at least need to do the kinds of things they do as often as I can in order to practice my faith the way God wants.

I talk to a lot of Christians who feel this way. For whatever reason, we think doing "spiritual" works makes us good Christians. We realize that we can't earn our salvation through works; it is by God's grace alone and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we have the hope of salvation and eternal life. Yet, we still feel we need to be spiritual in order to please God. We envision carrying our Bibles around all the time and talking to everyone we meet about Jesus. We probably will not actually do those things but still think that if we did we would be better Christians.

IS IT BETTER TO MAKE A SMALL COMPROMISE IN YOUR FAITH OR GET FIRED?

Last week I heard about a US Marine who was court-martialed for hanging a scripture verse on her computer monitor. When her supervisor told her to take the verse down, Lance Corporal Sterling refused. She was convicted and given a bad conduct discharge. Her case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Services last week. There are a lot of strong opinions on all sides of this case. But opinions aside, it got me thinking about the idea of standing up for my constitutional rights versus giving in to the desires of those around me (be they an authority, peer, or otherwise). I wondered what I would do if I were faced with the decision to compromise my faith in order to obey an authority.  

HOW DO YOU SPIRITUALLY PREPARE FOR A NEW CHAPTER IN LIFE?

Earlier this week someone asked me about what I do to prepare spiritually for a deployment. I think he was looking for a profound answer or some three step program. But as I thought about how to answer his question I realized that my response was more of a "back to basics" kind of idea. It isn't anything complex or deep but it is vital for a Christian's everyday life and for anyone going on deployment or any other kind of life adjustment.

COULD YOUR DIET BE A WAY TO MINISTER AT WORK? MINE WAS

Recently I have felt like God has been challenging me to be a better servant leader but am not always sure how to actually be one. I have one person who works under me as my assistant. This week I had one opportunity to serve her in a unique way. I found out that she was trying to get into "clean eating," something I have been doing for years. I sent her a couple recipes and encouraged her in her efforts. While this didn't really relate to our job, it was one small way to improve our relationship and gave me a chance to serve her in a way that was meaningful to her.

4 WAYS TO RIGHTALIGN YOUR "WAY TOO CRAZY" LIFE

My wife and I are busy. We have 3 little kids at home (5, 2, and 3 months), we move coast to coast at least once every 18 months (7 moves in 8 years of marriage), my work hours are not typical (active duty US Navy), my wife is an avid runner (marathons, triathlons, trail runs, etc), and we like people (church, Navy, neighbors, etc). As a result of all that, we tell ourselves almost nightly that something has to give.  But what is that something?  

WHY WHAT YOU SAY MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK

Many of my regrets in life have not been what I didn't say, but what I did say (this is especially true within my marriage). I work on a ship offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The expression "cuss like a sailor" is pretty accurate; sailors tend to say a lot of bad things. I have often been guilty of not being encouraging, uplifting, or edifying in my speech towards and around others.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T ARGUE WITH 12 YEAR OLDS

Earlier this week I hired a couple of high schoolers and their 12 year old brother to help me clean and paint part of the house I'm rehabbing. They did a great job and we made some good progress toward finishing the house so I can put it on the market.

But I also got the opportunity to "re-learn" a lesson that I thought I already knew. The 12 year old said something that I didn't think was correct and when I tried to inform him of how and why he was wrong, he simply stated that I was the one who was wrong and that he was right. I wish I could say that I let it go at that and moved on, but I kept trying to win the argument. How I got sucked into this "yes it is...no it isn't" argument with a 12 year old is beyond me.  

HAVE YOU SCHEDULED YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH GOD?

For most of my career, I had anything but a predictable work schedule. I might work day shift one day, night shift the next, and then back to day shift. Sometimes I would wake up long before the sun came up. Other days I would still be awake from the night before when the new day dawned. For too long I let my work schedule and the lack of a routine be an excuse that explained my inability to consistently spend dedicated time with God and His Word each day. "If I just had a predictable routine," I would say to myself, "THEN, I would carve out some time for God and be consistent in the Word."

SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUT MY POSSIBLE CAREER FAILURE?

Last week I spoke with my job placement officer about my career progression and potential for future advancement. He told me that the numbers are not looking good for me to be selected for my next career milestone (Department Head) when the board meets in April. Until then, I'm taking a hard look at all my options and trying to figure out what to do. 

HOW YOUR STORY CAN MOTIVATE AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS

Last week one of my Christian co-workerstold me about how God had been working in his life at work. He had a discussion about what Christmas means to him with one of the people in his class (a muslim international exchange student). The man went on to ask him to share one story from the Bible. My friend shared a short story from the New Testiment. After that, the muslim man asked my friend to share one Bible story with him every day. Since then, my friend has faithfully shared a story with him daily. The muslim man went on to get a Bible in Arabic so he could read for himself. He has not become a Christian yet but it is clear that God is working in his life. I was excited and encouraged to hear his story and thanked him for sharing it.

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR CALLING IN LIFE?

I have always wanted to have a job that I feel is my calling. Something I'm passionate about, that adds value to the lives of others and gives me a sense of fulfillment. I have spoken with a lot of people who talk about wanting to find something similar; we all want the perfect job-one that is our calling, that is God's will for our lives. The problem is, many of us don't have the perfect job and will likely never find it. 

ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP BUGGING GOD IN PRAYER

I sit at work / school with the same ten people everyday for grad school at the Air Force Command and Staff College. We are about half way through the year and have gotten to know each other pretty well. I have been thinking a lot about how to be a good ambassador of Christ to the group. Recently, I decided to start praying for each of them individually. I put each person's name on a separate notecard and try to pray over one of them daily.  

FOUR VERSES USEFUL FOR EVERYDAY MINISTRY

When I started kindergarten at a small Christian school (a long time ago), I was forced to start memorizing scripture verses. It wasn't too bad at first but by the time I was in 7th grade I was forced to memorize whole chapters. I hated it. 

Most of us don't like taking the time or effort to memorize verses. 

But as I got older, and wasn't being forced to do it anymore, I began memorizing verses that were meaningful to me on my own.   

HOW DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF?

For some time now, I have been writing about being a Christian in the workplace but have wondered about how I am supposed to apply all these things since I am in school this year (rather than a traditional work environment). One thing that I recently realized is that we are all (workers, students, family members, etc) called to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). This is more than just reacting in love or treating each other with respect. It is those things and more. It is a proactive love. It does something, not just reacts to something. It is a love that thinks ahead, that initiates. 

HOW TO GET PLUGGED INTO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

Because of my job in the navy, I have moved four times in the last four years. It has been difficult to build friendships and a sense of community when I spend so little time in any place. Fortunately, I have always been able to find social connection with other Christians.

TOO SCARED (BUT KNOW I SHOULDN'T BE) TO SHARE JESUS

Last Christmas I spoke with a girl I met about evangelism and being a Christian in the workplace. She told me that she travels a lot and doesn't feel like she has had opportunities to share her faith in Jesus with anyone at work. However, she does make it a point to share her faith when she travels. I was fascinated and challenged by what she had said. By contrast, when I fly/travel I usually make it a point to fall asleep as soon as possible and am sometimes annoyed if the person next to me wants to talk.

WHY TO MAKE YOUR TIME COUNT (EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO)

I'm a navy man, living in an Air Force town for one year where I don't have any close friendships while I am doing grad school (Air Command and Staff College-ACSC). While I will likely only be here another seven months or so, its hard not to see my time here as very temporary and therefore not worth the investment of my time and effort to build new relationships.  

HOW TO AVOID EASY, EMBRACE RESISTANCE AND SUCCEED

Recently I was reflecting on the resistance I got from some people on my ship when I tried to implement a few minor changes. I had been reading a book about management, leadership and team building when the "good idea ferry" started to go to work in my brain. I was "in charge" after all and felt responsible to make my organization better if I saw a way to do so. "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" James 4:17

I'M TIRED OF BEING AN HGTV CHRISTIAN

Several years ago I read a book about how to find, fix, and sell (FLIP) houses; shortly thereafter, I bought my first FLIP property. Though I am still very novice, I am on my third house and so far they have all been successful. Since I started doing this, it feels like everyone seems to know about FLIPing houses and everyone has advice for what to do and how to do it. When I ask if they have ever done a rehab, they often say something like "no, but I love watching it on HGTV." 

JUST DO WHAT I TELL YOU!

I have three amazing kids aged 2.5, 5 and almost 7. My wife does a great job with the little critters, but the house is constantly in some level of dissaray because everywhere they go they leave a trail of clothes, blankets, legos, army men, shoes, toy guns and snacks. If you could pull the roof off our house I imagine that it would look much like an ant hill with them constantly moving their things from one location to another without any distinguishable sense of order, rhyme or reason.