Life Palette

(In this week’s blog, I wanted to focus on prayer. Rather than write about prayer, I’m giving you an affirmation regarding prayer. Let this sink in by reading daily for a week, and let God transform you by changing how you think about prayer.) Prayer Affirmation I speak with God during my high times and my low times. Prayer solidifies my relationship with God and increases my belief in His…

As we approach Labor Day weekend, it’s an ideal time to shift our focus toward the reason for this holiday – our labor. Work, in its many forms, is a blessing. It’s a fundamental aspect of our existence, a God-given mandate that shapes our lives and facilitates our personal growth and societal contribution. Through work, we discover our passions, challenge our potential, and make a difference in…

In the face of the tragedy of the wildfires in Hawaii, we can’t help but wonder why God allows such devastation to occur. This is a natural response, a desire to find understanding in the chaos and make sense of the senseless. And we often think that if we could comprehend a reason and purpose behind it, all the pain would somehow be easier to bear. However, this perspective, although common,…

The Power of Hope When Life Seems Impossible

Hope is a powerful thing. It may help you keep going when life seems to be impossible and you want to give up. Unfortunately, the power of hope is something we frequently overlook when we are going through difficult circumstances. What is hope? Hope is the belief that something good will happen in the future, even when things are bad right now. It’s the belief that things will get better, no…

10 Keys to a Fulfilling, Satisfying, Successful Marriage

Many couples today struggle to have a healthy and lasting marriage. This blog will explore ways to make sure your marriage has the most potential to be fulfilling, satisfying, and to have long-lasting success. If you are reading this the biggest question you should be asking yourself is “what qualifies you to write this blog?” And you should ask that! My wife Kathy and I are celebrating 38 years…

Take Back Your Future With Action Today

One of my favorite words is “action.” I admire people who live in the habit of action. They get things done, and I want to encourage you to be one of those people. Not action without thinking, planning, and processing. But knowing when to act and doing it. Truthfully, the greater problem is that most of us wait and wait and have excuses to never act. I love the saying: anything worth doing is…

Unlocking the Mystery Of Purpose: How to Find Meaning And Create The Life You Want

Many people are living their lives without purpose. They don’t know why they are here or what God has planned for them.  And yet each of us is created as God’s masterpiece. To live as the masterpiece He created you to be you need to discover your life’s purpose. This is how you live the most fulfilled life possible. Living a life of purpose is the ultimate goal of every human being, but it’s…

Healthy Relationships Start with HUMILITY?!?!

It takes two to tango! Much ado about nothing! Battle lines are drawn! Go around in Circles! Fighting likes Cats and Dogs! Blamestorming! I’m sure you can guess what these idioms are communicating!?!?! Relationships are HARD! HUMILITY is HARD!! Now I’m telling you that humility PROCEEDS healthy relationships!!?? But HOW and WHY! Humility is lived out primarily in relationships! If there were no…

The PATH to living Your FULL POTENTIAL!

Circumstances can definitely create tensions in our lives. When I get THAT job, then I’ll be satisfied! If only my wife would….then we could be happy! If my kids would just listen, life would be SO much easier! Looking at our circumstances can, at times, be overwhelming and we tend to equate what we are going thru to our success or lack thereof; these feelings can be either in our contemporary…

Influence…doesn’t just come oozing out of people. It is earned!!

Jesus taught us an incredible lesson on Influence! Shortly before his ministry on earth was completed…he did something that the disciples couldn’t believe and surely didn’t WANT to happen. One evening when they were all reclining to eat dinner together, Jesus stood up, wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed a basin. Customarily people would have their feet washed by a servant upon entering…

The Golden Rule….

I remember being told often when I was young, do to others what you want them to do to you! I never realized it was a bible verse…and always just thought it was the way for adults to strong arm kids into being nice to each other! Later in life, I came to realize the Golden Rule is ALL OVER in the bible! Jesus taught it, for lack of a better word, incessantly!! He lived it, breathed it, taught…

Purpose BIGGER than imaginable!

Do you believe this statement about yourself? Do you think that God designed you with certain gifts and talents that ONLY you can use to impact HIS kingdom? Do you think God has a VISION for your life? This weekend we talked about these very statements at Alive! I truly believe that God designed each and every one of us as a masterpiece. In fact, one of my life verses tells us just that;…

Legacy…What’s yours?

Legacy…it’s not something we think of often…but we ALL leave one, good or bad! Oftentimes the most we think about legacy is at a person’s funeral. What do we hear people say about the one they have lost? How do they sum up that person’s life and how it impacted them? That always makes me question…How will people speak of me when I go? Will they mention that I had a heart for God? For telling…

How are you KNOWN?

Steve posed a great question this past weekend…..How are you known? What defines you as a person? If someone were to try to describe you (beyond your general looks) what would they say? Maybe someone would mention the kind of work you do, or the kind of house you live in, or perhaps the people you hang out with. Would someone be able to notice you are a follower of Jesus? Would they mention that…

Living in YOUR Gifting!

So often, we as Christians, have a certain expectation of ourselves to look, act, and do certain “tasks”. Or we have set perspectives of what type of person is able to do what type of “job” when it comes to sharing Christ or serving in his church or the community. Our conversation this weekend broke down these barriers to becoming your WHOLE SELF in serving (SHINING JESUS) in your natural…

Share my faith….make disciples….serve! SUCH great habits…but how do we implement them into our actual lives! Often these attributes make me think, that’s a tall order God, not sure I’m up for the task. I was a teen when I first became a Christian and one of the way’s we evangelized was to get a list of names and walk from house to house knocking on doors. I was not excited about this activity…

Habits we do in Community?

This past weekend we talked about corporate habits. Habits that we do as a community don’t really top the list of “most thought about” concerns! Changing our diet, picking up the habit of exercising or shutting our phone/computers down at 9:00 pm…these are things WE CAN CONTROL!! But, choosing to participate in a group habit….that doesn’t sound extremely appealing. In fact, over the past year,…