Felt so good to slip on my very first pair of TOMS shoes.  They actually felt good on my feet.  Even though it feels to me a bit like wearing slippers, I love them because I know that my purchase not only bought me a  pair of shoes but also a child who didn’t have shoes a pair.

TOMS Shoes is one of the most innovative companies out there who found a way to both establish a business while at the same time doing some good in Jesus name.  You can read their story here.  And while you are there, pick yourself up a pair.  A child somewhere  in the world will thank you.

It’s a great model when you think about it.  I’m going to buy shoes anyway.  Why not buy from a company that is doing good?

I’m going to buy coffee anyway, why not buy from Land of a Thousand Hills that gives back to the communities they buy the beans from?

It’s not the end all of our service, certainly, but it can be significant.  We make our normal purchases into opportunities for good.

It was a gorgeous morning for a bike ride.  I love being able to take in God’s creation as the sun rises.

I managed to snap a shot of a deer I almost missed.  Unfortunately the camera (or user) wasn’t good enough to actually show the deer very well.  If you get close enough to the screen and you squint, you might be able to make it out in the center of the photo.

And then when I got home I saw this…

It’s a tough life, but someone has to live it.

I’m a huge fan of Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.  I love their coffee and I love their partnership to help the people of Rwanda.  April 6th is a dayof celebration.

… A day to celebrate the incredible stories of reconciliation and forgiveness Rwanda is becoming known for.

… A day for us to make known the incredible work that Christ is doing in the hearts of millions of Rwandans.

It is also the date that marks the 16th anniversary of the 100 day genocide, a dark period ns modern day history that left 1,000,000 dead in 100 Days.

The “100 Days / 100 Ways” campaign is an opportunity for us all to embrace/share the true story of Rwanda! An opportunity to tangibly engage in the redemption taking place in Rwanda and help transform 100 Days of horror into 100 days of light.

Would you take 2 minutes and read this document that has the first 5 of 100 ways you can educate yourself and help others understand how the horrific memory of the Rwandan genocide is being transformed into a shining example of God’s grace.

And while you are at it, buy some coffee!

No one likes to talk about it.  Very few like to do it.  Yet in Scripture, especially in Genesis, God looks at work as a high and holy calling.  I don’t typically like to post material that you can readily find elsewhere, but in a recent podcast from Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church I thought he  had a very profound yet simple way of looking at work.  Here is a guide for how we should decide the kind of work we will put our hands to:

1. Look in – “How has God made me?”  What skills and resources do I inherently have?
2. Look out – “How can I make a difference?”  Don’t just work for yourself, make a difference in other people’s lives.
3. Look up – “What is God calling me to?”

Admittedly the last is the hardest, but I’m convinced if we do the first two, the third will eventually come if we are listening.

I actually thought this was so good I’m applying it to how we decide where to serve.  It’s the same basic principles.

“This place is death”

These words were uttered by the character “Charlotte” in the 5^th season of Lost.  Now I love the show but I understand you may not, so hang with me just for a minute.

As I reflect on the death of Jesus today, traditionally called “Good Friday” I can’t help but ponder death.  Not physical death necessarily but the kind of death Jesus went through AND the kind of death he asks us to follow him into.

When Charlotte uttered those words she was dying.  Many others had died on that island and so it is understandable why she would think that.

I think I could make a case that this planet is death.  Think about it.  The very instant you are conceived a timer is set on your life.  We don’t know when we will die, but we know our life on this earth has an end.  That’s a sure thing.

And yet because of what Jesus did on the Cross we don’t have to experience death as final.  We can have new life beyond the grave.

And because of what Jesus did on the Cross we don’t have to experience life on planet earth as “death.”  I’m speaking of the experience we have when we take things like  money, power, success, a career, a relationships, etc and turn them into ultimate things.  Things that are good, but were never intended to be ultimate.  They ultimately are just dead ends.  They don’t actually deliver on the life they promised.

But when we choose to die to ourselves in following Jesus, we experience a resurrection of life that is found nowhere else but in Jesus.

This place may very well be death, but because of Jesus it can also be LIFE!

Have a great resurrection weekend.

I love the story of Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water because it is a story that inspires me and reminds us all that God can use anyone,anytime to make a difference.  Since I keep telling people about this guy I thought it would be worth putting some more info about him.  Below is an excerpt from an article on his story in the NY times as well as a link to the full article.  You can also click the photo on the right to read more of his story in his own words.  Amazing God story!

Five years ago, Mr. Harrison was a nightclub promoter in Manhattan who spent his nights surrounded by friends in a blur of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. He lived in a luxurious apartment and drove a BMW — but then on a vacation in South America he underwent a spiritual crisis.

“I realized I was the most selfish, sycophantic and miserable human being,” he recalled. “I was the worst person I knew.”

Mr. Harrison, now 33, found an aid organization that would accept him as a volunteer photographer — if he paid $500 a month to cover expenses. And so he did. The organization was Mercy Ships, a Christian aid group that performs surgeries in poor countries with volunteer doctors.

“The first person I photographed was a 14-year-old boy named Alfred, choking on a four-pound benign tumor in his mouth, filling up his whole mouth,” Mr. Harrison recalled. “He was suffocating on his own face. I just went into the corner and sobbed.”

A few weeks later, Mr. Harrison took Alfred — with the tumor now removed — back to his village in the West African country of Benin. “I saw everybody celebrating, because a few doctors had given up their vacation time,” he said.

Mercy Ships transformed Mr. Harrison as much as it did Alfred. Mr. Harrison returned to New York two years later with a plan: he would form a charity to provide clean water to save lives in poor countries. But by then, he was broke and sleeping on a friend’s couch.

Armed with nothing but a natural gift for promotion, and for wheedling donations from people, Mr. Harrison started his group, called charity: water — and it has been stunningly successful. In three years, he says, his group has raised $10 million (most of that last year alone) from 50,000 individual donors, providing clean water to nearly one million people in Africa and Asia.”

What the article may not reveal as much is that he also returned with a newfound faith in God that he had lost along the journey of his life.

Full article here.

Even as I look at the title I think, “Well, that’s a bit over dramatic.”  But I believe little steps along the way reap huge dividends in the long run.  In short I really believe these 7 things can revolutionize your life!

1. Do something physical for 30 minutes;
2. Take 15 minutes to read Scripture and/or pray;
3. Watch something funny and laugh hard;
4. Tell someone how much you appreciate them;
5. Play with your kids/pets/friends;
6. Read a book for 15 minutes (blogs don’t count!);
7. Remind yourself who God created you to be and go be it.

That’s my list.  What’s yours?

A week and 6 days ago our staff initiated our own biggest loser competition.  NO, it’s not a competition to see who is a LOSER, but who can lose the most pounds.  This coupled with my wife’s own change of habits in eating was just the right motivation to kick me in gear.

One of the last few posts on this blog was about me running 2-3 half-marathon’s this year.  Well, my training for the Indy never quite kicked in gear…in other words I was to lazy to do the mileage on the treadmill and just plain not disciplined enough.  So I’m tweaking my plan to at least aim for the 2 in the latter part of this year.  But at least with the biggest loser comp in motion I’m back to running.

So here’s the hard part…sort of, I’m going to use this blog as a tool for accountability.

That means full honesty about where I started:  196.5….ouch!

At week 1 weigh in I weighed 191.5 and it put me in 3rd place on our staff competition.  Tomorrow is week 2 weigh in and then we begin hitting the weeks that will separate those who are serious about it and those who like cheeseburgers.

It talks about another great story from Suncrest-Hobart.  You can find it here:

http://thejesusmission.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/what-if-we-had-not-planted-the-hobart-campus/

One of my goals this year is to make it the year of the Half-Marathon.  I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2006 and loved the experience, but don’t have the time or motivation to train for a full marathon this year.  But wanting to establish a better pattern of running and ultimately health in my life I’m committing to run 3 half-marathons this year.  It won’t be all at once but hey, that’s 39.3 miles of races.  Here are the dates:

Indianaoplis Mini-Marathon – May 8th

Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon – August 1st

Tulsa’s Route 66 Half- Marathon – November 21st

Anyone want to join me in any of these?