my life…in text format

It’s a little chilly outside. (For whatever reason, I got hungry for chili when I wrote that…weird). But the sun is shining and it’s staying lighter longer and it’s simply a beautiful thing!

Today, we closed the safehouse for some spring cleaning and it NEEDED it! There was dirt on top the dirt. It was nasty. But, the team I have stepped up, tore into and within a few hours, the place was clean, clean, clean. It’s been a great day.

I’ve been in cleaning mood lately. I started to clean my car yesterday, I cleaned my office today, I will probably clean my room later and before you know it, there’ll be nothing left to clean.

Until Tuesday, when the safehouse opens again and teenagers come piling through the doors. Then it’ll be time to clean all over again. Which is a great problem. I’d never want to clean the safehouse and never worry about it again since that means nobody is using it.

Overall, I’m not the BIGGEST fan of cleaning, but it’s something needs done. And the fact that it needs done means that something more important is happening. The safehouse is being used.

What other things can you think of that you don’t like to do, but the fact that you have to do them means something more important is happening?

Perhaps, having to relocate to a bigger facility because so many people are coming in, for example?

Let’s get some comments on this here blog!

I’m sitting, looking at a blank page waiting for me to write something down. I’ve just written something down, it’s not blank anymore, it now has the words I continue to type and I just keep typing hoping to find a good transition into the reason of this post. This post does have a reason, this post is important to me because it has to do with some of my favorite things.

God.

Jesus.

Leadership.

I have the incredible privilege to work in environments that allow me to exercise gifts and talents that God has given me and there are moments when I sit back or breath an exhale of amazement that I actually get paid to do what I do.

Whenever I can experience something that allows me to grow, learn, live and lead better, I get excited because I can literally feel how I am getting closer and closer to God with each baby step I take. Some may call that wishful thinking, I simply call it the faithfulness of a Father that loves unconditionally.

Recently, God has decided to remind me of something that I had lost sight of. It’s a simple phrase with profound meaning and packed full of life changing power that has really caused me to evaluate how I do things.

It’s a principle that I’ve known for almost all of my life and certainly for the majority of my leadership life. Seven words. One sentence. Spoken by one of the first New Testament preachers ever.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

I don’t know why that has been echoing in my head so loudly over the past few days.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The word that really stands out to me is that word, “must.”

I just feel such an urgency when I read that. Like it’s so absolutely necessary for me to decrease and God to increase, that’s insane to consider the possibility of it being any other way.

It’s almost like both things need to happen in order for it to work right…

Is it possible for God to increase and you NOT to decrease?

Is there room for both you and God, or does one automatically become smaller as the other one takes precedent. I can easily use the excuse that if I follow God and I increase, than more people will see that I follow God and may come to God, so maybe I can increase and than, by default God will increase because I am getting bigger.

That’s a lie.

It’s simply not true. That phrase, “He must increase, but I must decrease” comes from the New International Version and it has the second “must” in italics which just adds to the urgency.

It’s like, “He really needs to increase, but if anything is really going to happen, you just have to all-out, without-a-doubt, can’t be any other way, HAVE TO decrease.”

It’s almost like the focus isn’t even on God at that point, but more on what WE need to do. Which makes me think that God, just by being God, will fill the gap left as we get smaller and smaller.

We don’t need to worry about God being big, He’s already big. I have to remember that I have the ability to miniaturize God by allowing myself to be big.

I love the idea that as I get smaller, God automatically gets made bigger, because there is no pressure on me to do anything. I don’t have to worry about being successful, I don’t have to worry about what other people think, the only thing I have to really concern myself with when entering into any situation is simply, “How can I allow God to be increase in this situation?”

God has given human beings an amazing amount of responsibility. And what are we to do with that responsibility?

Well, the responsible thing to do is to give it right back to Him.

I’ve met a lot of people who never consider their own soul when they make a choice and it breaks my heart to see so many people with broken souls in need of a healer, a miracle, a Savior. I get in there with what I may consider good advice or wise counsel when in reality, I absolutely must decrease, so that He can increase.

There’s too much at risk for me to worry about being big.

I want to be small.

Very small.

I like being little.

iamnot. He is I AM.

There are always moments in my life where I am given a glimpse of what God might see when He looks down at me. Here on this little ball of dirt we humans call Earth, in the midst of a solar system housed in a galaxy that we will probably never fully understand, we live our lives and go through our days and never really stop to consider what God might see when He looks at us.

I am a very visual person, if I see it I can comprehend it better. I can understand something that is shown to me much more quickly than if it were explained. Just two nights ago, I was sitting in a living room with two wonderful friends of mine just chatting, laughing, talking, about nothing and everything at the same.

You ever that experience? Where you aren’t working, you aren’t trying to do anything really, just engaging in the company of another human being. Laughing, living. Doing life…together. It’s a beautiful thing.

At one point, a guitar was brought out and my friend starting playing a song she had written. I’ve heard the song several times before on a recording and when she started to play it there in the kitchen, somehow it was new. I was sitting there, having just finished my microwavable buffalo hot wings (which, by the way, are actually way more delicious than I anticipated) and she started playing and singing this song that she had written and it was like the first time I had heard the song. That may sound cheesy and a little dramatic, but as I’ve written in previous posts, there is something about music that speaks a language no other art form can speak. So I have no problem saying that when she started singing, I was blown away.

Later on that same night, she still had the guitar, and the conversation between myself and the other person in the room had faded into a steady, quite comfortable silence. I think it was comfortable because as our voices faded, the sounds of guitar strings being picked took precedence over all other sound in the room. We both looked at our guitar playing friend and I noticed something small yet exciting. Her eyes were closed.

Which could mean one of two things…she was either too exhausted to keep them open, or she was so engaged in the music that she closed her eyes to engage even further. It could’ve been that plus exhaustion, but either way…the point is the two of us in the room stopped and looked at her and listened.

What do you think God does when you say His name?

What do you think happens when you whisper a cry out to God when you’re in need?

Or a word of thanks or worship when you are reminded of His character?

What do you think happens when you even attempt to communicate with God?

I think it’s a lot like what happened just two nights ago sitting in a living room.

He notices. He listens. He looks.

He is proud.

There are a lot of things I’ve done in the past that, if given the chance, I would not do again. Because it was so wrong, so sinful, so selfish that I don’t even like to think about it. But when I think about what happens when I cry out to God and when I seek after God….

I can’t help but close my eyes and concentrate on HIS music. The story of my soul.

Over the past month or so, I’ve met some absolutely amazing people and have made some lifelong friends in the process and I can’t help but think that this is just a glimpse of God. Just another thing that He’s allowed me to experience to point ultimately to His unfailing love and amazing sacrifice on my behalf.

It’s Easter time. We celebrate the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Celebrate loud.

Celebrate well.

Celebrate with friends.

Shake the walls of hell with your celebration.

We have a lamppost on our street that looks kinda like the lamppost featured at the entrance to the magical land of Narnia and with how much it was snowing today, I seriously wonder if we entered into that land.

I’m waiting on a half man, faun creature to walk through my backyard and invite me to his underground home for tea and music that puts me to sleep.

In case I don’t post anything for a while, find a wardrobe and send a search party.

If you live anywhere where the sun is shining, could you send some our way please?

I’ve lived in Ohio all my life and this weather is starting to make even me think Spring will never get here.

I was at Target today and the cashier said, “I think we should find Punxsutawney Phil, shoot him and eat him.”

Apparently she is tired of this weather too.

Don’t worry fair groundhog, Aslan will save you.

I got a haircut today.

I know you’re excited…calm down. It’s late. I’m bored. I don’t have the brain power to attempt to write anything profound right now. But I wanted to post something. So, I posted a picture of my hair.

I know I know…it’s lame and my forehead looks oddly large. But you also get a great look at my sliding glass door, so don’t complain please.

If you can do me a favor…if you read this blog, drop me a comment. I’d love to know who you are. I have a goal in this year of 2008 to become more than just another blogger, but have a site that people enjoy coming to and reading. So please, drop me a line, leave a comment.

And while you’re at it, tell me how nice you think my hair looks

Love.

Andy ::

Today is one of those days when I woke up, I rolled over, and was so happy to be alive. I know that’s a little cheesy sounding. But it’s true nonetheless. I have a stack of books in my room and in that stack of books is a book by John Maxwell called Today Matters. In it, John (I like to think we’re on a first name basis) talks about how we over-exaggerate yesterday, calling it “the good ‘ol days” and we over-estimate tomorrow, thinking that something will happen later to take us where we want to go, and that we under-estimate today, not realizing the potential we have at this very moment to do something great.

It’s a great read, very practical, easily one of those change your life without even realizing it kind of books.

I don’t want to waste today. I’m so happy to be alive. God is so amazing in my life. I’ve had the distinct and amazing privilege of meeting some truly wonderful people over the last few weeks and I’ve had the opportunity to begin sharing my life with them, telling stories, laughing, experiencing life and one thing keeps coming back to my mind.

God has truly given me a great life.

I certainly don’t deserve it and I want nothing more than to honor Him and thank Him every minute of everyday by living this life today, for Him.

We’ve all heard this before, it’s a very “Christian” thing to say. But to be honest, I’m saying it as true as I can.

This life is not my own. If I were to paint a picture of my life as laid out by MY plans, the painting would be horrific compared to the masterpiece that is God’s brush strokes on the canvas of my life.

Enjoy your day today, everybody. Really.

I know I will.