Turns out there was something almost as satisfying Monday night as watching Eddie Lacy, A. J. McCarron and company put looks of futility and bewilderment on yet another BCS opponent – a game, by the way, I have waited since 1966 to witness.
It was a commercial. For Dr. Pepper, of all things. Now as long as I’ve known anything about Dr. Pepper and commercials, they have always had some kind of big song and dance production. And this commercial was no exception.
What was exceptional was the song in the commercial. It sort of stopped me in my tracks. I actually hit rewind to see the thing again. (If you know anything about me and commercials, you will know this rarely happens.) If you’d like to see the commercial, it’s already on YouTube, and you can watch it here.
I didn’t run out and buy Dr. Pepper. But I did hurry to iTunes and found the song. I just discovered it was released on iTunes on January 7, the day the commercial ran.
The song is by the Nashville group Vinyl Hearts, and it’s called, “I Am.” You can hear it in its entirety by clicking below. Please, hear the song in its entirety. [click to continue…]
On this cold December night, when life, relationships and future hope seem more complicated than ever, I pray that that the Father of lights would give you the joy of His presence and the gift of simple happiness throughout the coming year, with the light of every new sunrise.
I pray that he would remind you often of how deeply you are loved, unforgettably engraved in the palm of His hand, steadfastly held by His grace day and night.
I pray that in an age where nothing seems to last, that the One who promised us a home with Him forever would keep the language and love of forever dancing in your heart and mine as long as you and I have breath. [click to continue…]
One of the most famous child self-introductions in history took place in Cincinnati when Martha Taft was asked to introduce herself to her classmates. She stood and said, “My name is Martha Bowers Taft. My great-grandfather was President of the United States. My grandfather was a United States senator. My daddy is ambassador to Ireland. And I am a Brownie.”
Love it, love it, love it! What Martha may or may not have known at the time was that she was demonstrating leadership in the making. With a simple statement she was saying, “I know who I am and where I came from.” She was wonderfully free to be herself. And that’s part of the stuff of ongoing leadership.
Nothing to prove. Nothing to hide. No one to manipulate. No one to pretend to be, other than yourself.
Compare that to another group of so-called leaders who were anything-but. They never lowered themselves to lift one finger to help somebody in need. Everything they did was for attention. They basked in the attention of being “all-that” at public functions. They insisted on being called by their respectful titles in public.
Important? Yes… every time they looked in a mirror.
Leaders? Hardly.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, [click to continue…]
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things… (Hebrews 1:2, ESV)
Jesus Christ has been appointed the heir of all things.
That includes you.
When the Father bequeathed His treasures to the Son, He named you in that inheritance.
That says something about your value and worth to God. [click to continue…]
How many times have you heard or said something like this:
- “This place feels dead.”
- “We have some unresolved issues.”
- “This relationship just isn’t working.”
- “I can forgive, but I just can’t forget.”
- “I don’t feel like I belong – I just don’t feel any connection with them.”
- “It’s just going to take some time before I can trust him again – if I ever do.”
These and many more are expressions of a strained or dysfunctional fellowship. And if you’ve ever been part of the church scene or had any experience with Christ followers for any length of time, more than likely you’ve landed there. Which reminds me…
Somebody once asked, “Pray for me. I’m surrounded by non-believers every day at work.”
My reply: “Pray for me – I’m surrounded by Christians every day!”
Is it any wonder that Jesus’ one explicit prayer request for this generation was that we would be one, so that the world would believe in Him (John 17:20-21)? So, Phil, how’s that workin’ out for ya’? [click to continue…]
Just in case you somehow thought that God was irrelevant and grace is for people who never really needed it…
Twelve times He said it. Twelve times he peeled back the veil and revealed very early something of His heart, passion, and grace.
And twelve times, I daresay, we have missed it.
In a gesture that can only be described as Covenant Love, the Creator of the Universe – the Holy Lord of Heaven – entered into a covenant relationship with three men we refer to today as Patriarchs. And in a stunning act of clarity and focus, the Lord changed their names – and His.
He gave them His name (Abram inserted the Hebrew name for God and became Abraham).
But He also took theirs. Thereafter He would refer to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We all know what that means, right? He’s the God of three old guys whose pictures we put up on flannel boards in Sunday School. Three cardboard cutouts who never had to change their oil, replace a hard drive, or tweet their followers.
And yet, Jesus used this phrase – The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to make the point that He is the Lord of the living, not the dead.
I’m thinking we may have missed something. [click to continue…]
If your paychecks came from Ford Motor Company in the 1970s, you lived in an ugly time. Morale was low. Sales were taking a beating. Quality was “job none.” And the company operated from an entrenched system of rules and regulations. Into that demoralized environment, Donald Peterson became Ford’s CEO in 1980.
Peterson showed up tossing words around like “teamwork” and “upward communication.” But words mean nothing to entrenched bureaucracies. So Peterson tried something radical – he left his office. He would walk into the offices of designers and ask simple questions like:
- Do you like these cars?
- Do you feel proud of them?
- Would you park one in your driveway?
I think you can guess the answer he received.
Your job, Peterson said, is to come up with the cars you think will sell – cars you can be proud of. The results were stunning and quick, by auto industry standards. The first significant product was the 1983 Thunderbird, followed quickly by the wildly successful Taurus, which became the best-selling midsized car in America.
That was just for starters. During the 1980s, Ford reversed its dismal previous performance to record then-record-breaking profits. Peterson was chosen by his fellow CEOs as the nation’s most effective leader, surpassing even Lee Iacocca.
What made the difference? Donald Peterson was a Side-by-Side Leader. In the words of Robert Richardson and Katherine Thayer, “Peterson didn’t accomplish all this by sitting behind a desk and telling people what he wanted done. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and jumped in. He provided a direction and goal and then participated in making them reality.”
Your Worst Skydiving Fear
Imagine you are an inexperienced skydiver. You’ve been on a few jumps, but still think of yourself as a rookie. It’s a beautiful day for flying and jumping out of airplanes, so up you go. You reach the point where it’s time to pull the ripcord, and it malfunctions. To your horror, so does the backup chute.
Suddenly it’s not such a good day for jumping out of airplanes. [click to continue…]
Pssst.
Hey.
Yes, you.
We need to talk. Really I need to talk and you need to just shut up and listen. I don’t mean to be mean. But the most elite fighting force in heaven or on earth is spread all around you. Their shields are up, and nothing can penetrate them. Their swords are drawn, and no force in hell or on earth can resist them. And they’re on your side.
And they’re doing absolutely nothing.
Just watching you get your brains beat out by an enemy that is smarter, craftier, and more powerful than you are. [click to continue…]
Somewhere in the places where sighs give way to hope and promises sing to aching hearts, your soul waits for something different. More than the pleasure of a passing moment or those 15 minutes of look-at-me, you were created with a craving soul. “He has planted eternity in the human heart,” Solomon said, “but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
One day – sooner rather than later – that craving will be satisfied. And not by what the pavement is made of or what the real estate market is like past the pearly gates. Not by something that resembles Sunday morning at the church house, Monday noon at the White House, or Friday night at the penthouse. Craving souls are smarter and deeper than that.
One day – nearer rather than farther – tired hearts, stale relationships and flyblown religion will give way to a new dawn. And at long last your soul will taste satisfaction. Ashes will give way to beauty. You’ll trade your mourning in for the oil of joy. You’ll wear a garment of praise – complete with dancing shoes – instead of a spirit of heaviness. In the satisfaction of the soul… [click to continue…]
