Time

timflowers — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:59:12 +0000

It’s all a matter of perspective. I am not talking about “the glass is half full” kind of perspective. I am referring to the perspective of a believer, of a disciple. This is the persecutive that allows us to see who we are in the light of all of God’s holiness. We don’t deserve anything, yet we have grown to expect only the best. I have been reading David Platt’s bestseller “Radical.” It serves as a great reminder that to be a Christ follower is not to be in a “hedge of protection” (besides, when have you ever seen a bush protect anybody). To be a disciple means you WILL suffer. Jesus tells us to “take up our cross.” As Platt says, “pick up an instrument of torture and follow me.” This is so contrary to what our churches teach today and it shouldn’t be. Our culture would rather pray the prayer of Jabez than obey the words of Jesus.

When you remove yourself from the busyness of your daily life and routine it allows you to really think. Em and I have been in a little hospital room for over a week now and we could potentially be here for many more weeks. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t thrilled at first at the possibility of living in a hospital for several weeks. I even started complaining to God about it at first. But time has a funny way of changing things and time has not been in short supply during our stay in Pensacola. I have grown to see our stay in Folsom…I mean Sacred Heart as a blessing. My perspective has changed… I have had the privilege of spending quality time with my wife, to read some great books, to catch up with old friends, and to rethink methods and designs of ministry. I am called to follow not to be healthy, happy, or blessed. I think Em has a great perspective on this… check out her blog at TimEmAndJulia.

Be Still

timflowers — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:40:15 +0000

The last week has been unexpected. For someone who likes to have everything planned, life in all its glory can be frustrating. After we got married, Em and I had great plans laid out for how we wanted things to go. There were a few surprises but for the most part live was going according to plan.

A plus sign changes everything. We had talked about having children but always in the future tense. The day we found out that 1 “plus” 1 equals three was life altering math. However, even in the unexpected I attempted to plan. The plan was Sept. 10th and my calendar reflected just that. Last Wed. night we lead worship for the youth and started preparing for our busy weekend. Late Wed. night Em woke me having serious back pains. There are several pregnant women that we have talked to lately that get up in the middle of the night having contractions and spend the night in the ER just to be sent home. In my mind it was just our turn to go through that process.

Her back pain soon turns into contractions. Her contractions soon become 8 minutes apart. At 1:30 we arrive in the labor and delivery room at the hospital. We are told we have to wait until morning for the Dr. to do the rounds for a final decision. At 8 a.m. our Dr. comes in and does a small check up. She seems very calm so I expect “everything is fine, go home.” But what we get is “your going to Pensacola.” I had a tuff time finding that one on my calendar.

When arrived in Pensacola they stop labor… for now. Em is dilated 6 cm and is holding. We have been truly blessed for Julia to still be holding on and to be in a great hospital. For the past week we have been sitting in a 10 x 10 room just waiting. It gives you a lot of time to think, time that would other wise be swallowed up by a busy day. Em and I have realized that we have a lot of people that genuinely care for us. We have been blessed with a great family and amazing friends. As bad as I want to see her now, Julia is right where she needs to be for now. God has a way of not answering your prayers sometimes but instead He just changes your perspective. It is amazing what can happen when you “be still and know that He is God.”

A Word on Worship

timflowers — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 23:43:17 +0000

It is easy to worship when everything is going well. To praise God when He is blessing you is one thing. But to praise God when He is silent, when He seems distant, that is when we must act of faith. I’ve always said that you have to praise God and then worship will eventually happen. When you don’t feel like it, offer God praise… eventually you wont feel like doing anything else.

Dealing With Criticism

timflowers — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:02:01 +0000

Criticism is something that I just haven’t gotten used to yet. “Constructive” or not it is hard to swallow most of the time. I am a Worship Leader, so I’m on stage every week. This has brought about unforeseen repercussions. I had this inflated, picturesque idea of what it would be like to be a Worship Leader. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and would not trade it for anything. But the reality that I’m not perfect and neither is any one else around me has this tendency to crush the ideal view of “how it should be.”

Every time you hit the stage all eyes are on you… I have also learned that all opinions are on you as well. These opinions are on the style of music that “should” be played, the songs that “should” have been played, etc… When you put your heart into what you are doing, it is difficult to receive criticism. Reality Check: Criticism is coming… like it or not.

Here are a few of the lessons I’m struggling through now:

1. Listening to the right voices.

2. Listening (period) – when a negative criticism comes my way I have the tendency to tune out.

3. Analyze the criticism – 1. Consider the source 2. Consider the circumstance 3. Is there any truth in it I can use to improve myself?

4. This is the hard one — I have to get over myself. I am not perfect. I can always learn from others, even if they give the criticism in a wrong or negative way.

How do you deal with criticism? I would like to hear from you…

“There are three things that are extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” - Benjamin Franklin

“If one person calls you a horse’s rear, ignore it. If two people call you a horse’s rear, look in the mirror. If three people call you a horse’s rear, buy a saddle.”

For more insight on this Read Chapter 4 of Leadership Gold by John Maxwell.

Lessons in Laundry…

timflowers — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:41:00 +0000

Have you ever had one of those times when you just tried to do something nice for someone and it just didn’t turn out… “nice?”

Saturday morning Em went to go visit her Grandfather. While she was gone I planned on doing the laundry for her and mow the lawn. (this is the part where we all go “1.. 2.. 3.. AWWWW.”) So I get one load done washing and throw it into the dryer, then I go out side to mow the yard. At this point I’m feeling pretty good about myself. This feeling of self-accomplishment is short lived. She arrives home to find 2 loads of wet laundry and a broken dryer.

The day that I had planned for her, which was a day of rest and relaxation was as busted as the dryer. She then has to take the two wet loads of laundry, plus the other two loads to her mom and dad’s house to finish. The next 7 hours she spends doing laundry, while I dive deep into the internet and the dryer trying to figure out how to fix it. Again, I am very satisfied with myself when I find a forum for repairmen that has a troubleshooting list for my specific dryer. I then proceed to take the entire dryer apart. You must understand that I am not exaggerating. every part came out, all cables unplugged.

So you have to picture this. I have the entire washing machine in pieces on the kitchen floor… about that time Em returns home, after her 7 hour tour, to find now her kitchen is taken over by dirty dryer parts. Somewhere in the middle of my frustration that I couldn’t get anything right, it hits me. I hurry to put the dryer back together and run outside with a flash light. The Breaker on the outside of the house had tripped. There was NOTHING wrong with the dryer.

Lessons to Learn:

1. Try the easy stuff first.

2. Stay away from the laundry. – We either have to end up buying new clothes or (in this cases) we almost went to go buy a new dryer.

3. Never think to highly of yourself.

4. Never stick a screwdriver in to a socket to test if you have power – I got lucky this time.

5. Flowers are a much safer surprise than anything else I have found.

Lessons in Leadership

timflowers — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:48:22 +0000

So I just finished reading John Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” again. I read it about 8 years ago and I have to say that time has given me new insight. I have been so challenged by the book that I have also started reading “Leadership Gold” and “25 Ways to Win with People” by John Maxwell. What I have had to realize is that no matter were I am in my journey, I can alway improve… I can always grow.

There is an example for us to follow. I believe that Jesus was great at building relationships (i.e. – the disciples) and he was also an amazing leader. If I want to follow him, follow his example, then in turn I must strive to be better with people and be a better leader.

“Leadership is relational as much as it is positional. An individual who takes a relational approach will never be lonely.” - John Maxwell

At this year’s leadership summit Bill Hybels issued a challenge to all the leaders in attendance to read just 30 minutes a day. Read some for personnel growth or spiritual development. This is outside of you daily quiet time. This is time set aside to learn, to grow, and to lead the hardest person to lead… yourself.

Top 5 Favorite Worship Songs Right Now

timflowers — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:30:10 +0000

These are some great songs that are out now for corporate worship.

1. At the Cross – by Hillsong

2. Glory to God Forever – by Steve Fee

3. Revelation Song – by Jennie Lee Riddle – Preformed by Kari Jobe

4. Rememberance (Communion song) by Matt Redman

5. How He Love – by John Mark McMillan - Preformed by The Glorious Unseen.

Also if you are looking for some great music to put in your car, check out NeedtoBreathe’s new album “The Outsiders”

Humble Pie

timflowers — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:32:42 +0000

So since I got married, exercise has been… well, non-existent. So I let a friend of mine, Josh Robinson, talk me into playing tennis with him. We probably got a little too excited about it because by the end of the conversation we had decided to join a tennis league. In high school I played on the tennis team, so I thought it couldn’t be that hard to get back into it. I was wrong.

I stand 6 foot 6 and Josh in 6 foot 1 and we are both athletic. My expectation was to walk out on the court and … well, win. The expectation of victory grew further when we were paired against a man in his forties with a gimp leg and a 12 year old boy that tripped over himself 3 times just walking to the court. Let’s just say that tennis is not “like riding a bike.” We got beat so badly that the 12 year old left saying “I got a real match to play.” About that time I was wishing tennis was a full contact sport.

Humility is sometimes an embarrassing lesson to learn.