I haven’t been able to stop thinking about something I read earlier this week.  Just kinda chewing on it, I guess.

I like to tell people about good things though, so here…maybe you can enjoy it’s flavors too.

“Distractivity is what you’re doing when you get distracted from what you should be doing. It’s generally what you want to do, often what you need to do, and arguably, what you’ll do best.”

I found it here whilst surfing through the web.

~chris

There was a time that I stopped reading most of the blogs I was subscribed to.  It was just information overload and ended up being a waste of time because I couldn’t possibly apply all of the incredible information I was reading and discovering.

The other day I was skimming through a couple of blogs though, and found some really incredible posts that I thought I’d share with you.

1) Our Rising Sound: Is Your Primary Reason For Staying At Your Church Your Pay? - Kyle does a great job on his blog of not being afraid to ask the difficult questions when it comes to life, ministry, and God.  This post is no different.  This is a monster that I had staring me in the face, and I came out the other side alive.  I hope you do too.

2) Chuck Bomar: Putting People In Leadership – Chuck is an amazing pastor and leader.  I have had a couple conversations with them and have walked away changed from both.  His post, like the one above, puts forth a really big challenge for church leaders.  Too often we get excited about peoples potential or gifts and end up damaging them.

3) Northpoint Church Production Blog: December 20th Opener – A cool blog with an inside look at what they do at Northpoint Church.  Everything they do, they do with utter excellence.  This video they posted looks like the most incredibly awesome nightmare ever, if that makes sense.  A nightmare to pull off, but really cool none-the-less.

4) Osocio: Nominees For The Osocio’s Best Campaign of 2009 – I actually just stumbled across this website this morning, and this post is fantastic.  Some of the ideas that were brought to fruition in these campaigns are both incredibly moving and really original.

Well, hopefully you find something that tickles your fancy here.  I figured that you would appreciate it if I just posted a blog instead of sending 4 tweets in a row with links.

~chris

This day in history will be remembered as the day that swans were no longer a symbol of love, but of brutal violence.

At least I hope so.

A man grabbed a live swan by the neck and used it as a weapon to attack his opponent during an altercation by the bank of a river in Munich.  Thankfully, the swan escaped unhurt.

“Thankfully, the swan escaped unhurt”?

What about the dude that got a beatdown with poultry?

The best part of this article is the picture AND the caption.

Editor: “Let’s get a picture of a swan to use for this article.  Something graceful and beautiful that will garner sympathy for the poor swan that was used as a brutal weapon.”

Photographer: “I was thinking that we could go for an artistic shot – you know, something that most people don’t really think of when they picture a swan.  Their butt.”

Editor: “I like it!”

As if that photo isn’t bad enough, this is the caption they used under it – and no, I am not making this up.

“Swan are tough birds.”

1) I’m not the smartest guy in Corona, but I do know that the plural version of swan is “swans.”
2) If they are so tough, then why are you bothered that people use them as weapons?
3) Is this really the toughest picture of a swan that you could find?  REALLY?

You can see the article, in all of its ridiculousness, here.

~c

It seems like ever since I posted my “as yourself” blogs, I have been stumbling across other blogs and articles about people doing similar things and dealing with similar convictions.

I found another one today my author/blogger Anne Jackson.  She wrote killer book called Mad Church Disease, a must read for anyone involved in ministry or anyone married to someone that is involved in ministry.

Anyhoo, it is a cool blog with some great insight into what she is doing to cut her expenses back and was real encouraging to me.  Maybe it will be to you too?

Read it here.

~c

Do you have 20 minutes?

If not, email yourself a link to this so that later on when you DO have 20 minutes you can watch this video.

Especially if you are artistic or creative in any way.

This video, while not necessarily from a Christian perspective, really impacted me in a huge way.  And I think that as Christians it’s our responsibility to understand that inspiration and encouragement comes from God.  It might come in a slew of different shapes and vessels, but I believe it’s James that says “every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Light.”

~c

I have been thinking a lot lately about the potential each of us have. Some of these thoughts culminated in a message I heard last Sunday night at Tithemi about our destiny.

It seems like so often in life when we fail to reach a goal, a relationship falls through, or plans don’t pan out like we…well…planned…it seems that all too often it’s actually our own fault.

That’s a hard pill to swallow.

Some call it “self-fulfilling prophecy” and others call it “speaking things into life” but whatever you choose to call it, it happens.

I read a story online about a whale protection research boat.  This boat was on a mission to gather some research about the endangered right whale and figure out how to better protect this species that only has about 350 remaining whales in the world.

So you can imagine the passion that these scientists and researchers had, and how much pride they had in their responsibility to find ways to make the oceans safer for these beautiful creatures.  When you are put in charge of something as noble and good as keeping something safe so it can continue living on into future generations, you pretty much have to love the whales you are protecting.  Why else would you do it?

Well, this whale protection and research boat hit a whale.

Yeah…you read that right.

The boat, full of scientists and people that had dedicated their lifes work to saving an endangered species, hit the whale.  The animal they are trying to protect from all of the surrounding world; whalers, hunters, pollution, and whatever else could put its life at risk.

Now THAT’S ironic, Alanis.

But we do the same thing with our lives.

We get so afraid that something bad is going to happen if we don’t follow “God’s calling” or that if we pursue our passions and dreams that we won’t be able to support ourselves financially, let alone a family.

We forget that as we lean into God more and more, we can step out in faith and confidence that we are actually in His will.

Proverbs 3
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Joshua 1
⁸ Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Or in our relationships we get so scared that something bad is going to happen or that we are going to do something wrong, that we end up being paranoid and afraid and end up creating something bad or smothering and frustrating the person we are in a relationship with.

We forget that fear does not exist in love.  And that God is Love.

1 John 4:16, 18
¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

And again, Joshua 1:9
⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I don’t know…I hope this is making sense.

I just hate it when I see people that are standing at the edge of awesome (yes, awesome), and as they are about to step off into that beautiful and limitless destiny, they pull their foot back and place it on solid ground.

I hate solid ground.  The only thing that solid ground does is make people afraid of flying.  It makes people afraid of stepping into anything less sure.

Think about it!  How many people do you know that get seasick or that aren’t comfortable being in the water?  And how many people do you know that are afraid of flying?

OK, now… how many people do you know that are afraid of solid ground?

I would put money on it that the number you come up with will be zero.  Solid ground is our comfort, and why would anyone want to step out of their comfort zone?  Out of safety.

We have got to start spending time living in love (God), meditating day and night on the Word of God and writing it on our hearts, and trusting in Him (not our own understanding).

We have got to stop letting fear get in the way of our destiny…of our calling.

The fear of not being in God’s will…

The fear of losing or damaging something…

The fear of stepping off of solid ground.

~c

So since we are in the market looking for a new job and church to be a part of, one of the factors that plays into that is cost of living – specifically having to do with housing.

Not that I plan on moving to any of these areas (although some of them are surprisingly tempting), but it is amazing to look at the different types of property you can buy for $150,000.

I know prices in Corona have dropped drastically, but this it’s still amazing to me how expensive Southern California is.

Check out the link below and tell me, out of these choices, where would you move? (I think I’d go with Indonesia: Lovina, Bali.)

$150,000 Real Estate

~c

A lot of people do this thing on Twitter where every Friday they will give suggestions for new people to follow and why you would be interested in following them.  It’s a pretty cool idea and a way to find out what is going on outside of your bubble.

Well, I am gonna try and start doing this with blogs.  If you look to the right and scroll down a little bit you will see a list of names.  Those names are linked to a blog.  Those are blogs that a) enjoy reading, b) am friends with the blogger, or c) feel that I will get “cool points” for listing them in my blog. (Not really with the last one, but kind of.)

Today I would like to inform you of my good friend Jolene’s blog.  Jolene’s last name is Campbell, but over the last few years some of our friends have added an ending to her last name that is slightly racially insensitive and has to do with how she is…well, the term she prefers is “frugal.”

So she is taking every Thursday, calling it “Thrifty Thursdays,” and is giving tips on how to save money, deals around town, and pretty much anything else that would be considered “thrifty.”

If there is thrifty out there, Jolene Campbell will find it.

Jolene’s Blog: JoJo-OnTheRadio.Blogspot.Com

~chris