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Supporting Sammy

November 21, 2008 in Family, God, Missions, My Family, Parenting, Religion, Videos with 45 Comments

Last week for family night we did a “Compassion” night where we let the kids help us select a child to support through Compassion International.

I can’t tell you how cool it was to partner with our kids in making a difference in the life of a child thousands of miles away.

It was a great opportunity to remind our kids just how “rich” we are compared to the rest of the world and how important it is to use what God has blessed us with to bless others.

Here’s a little video to show you how God led us to support “Sammy”.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/2303436]

If you’re interested in supporting a child through Compassion just click on the banner below.

Do you support a child? If so let us know who and where so we can pray for them today.

Embracing Beauty

November 18, 2008 in Family, God, Parenting, Religion with 23 Comments

I took my two youngest for a little hike over the weekend in Percy Warner Park. Along the way I tried to point out amazing colors and unique landscapes.

I love taking them out in nature. I feel like I get the opportunity to fulfill one of my jobs as a parent which is teaching my kids to embrace the beauty of God’s creation.

They live in a world which is full of entertaining substitutes. There’s t.v., video games, and so many other things trying to capture their attention. In the midst of all this I don’t want them to miss the beauty of creation God invites them into.

Are you teaching your kids to “embrace beauty”?

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver

I forgot my camera but got a few pics with my phone…

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Angels Among Us?

November 18, 2008 in Family, Religion with 40 Comments

I was putting Jett to bed last night and he prayed…

“Dear God, thank you for my family and friends. Please help Kellen Winslow score a touchdown tonight so I can win my fantasy game and please send an angel to protect me tonight from bad guys and monsters.”

I realized after he prayed that prayer I really don’t think about angels very often. To be honest, rarely do I think about angels. I’m not even sure I even totally understand their role.

Here’s what the Bible says:

Psalm 91: 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Here’s what others have said…

“When my time to die comes an angel will be there to comfort me. He will give me peace and joy even at that most critical hour, and usher me into the presence of God, and I will dwell with the Lord forever. Thank God for the ministry of His blessed angels.”
- Billy Graham

“An angel is a spiritual creature created by God for the service of Christendom and the church.”
- Martin Luther

So what do you think? Do you believe in angels? What do you think their role is in our world today?

**Prayer update: Jett woke up this morning without a scratch on him. No bad guys or monsters were allowed to wreak havoc in his room last night. However, Kellen Winslow didn’t do jack and he lost his fantasy game.

Becoming #1 in the #2 Business.

November 17, 2008 in Cross Point Church, God, Leadership, Religion with 36 Comments

We’ve been talking a lot about purpose in our Dream Job series which wraps up this week at our Cross Point Nashville campus.

This week we looked at one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This verse has huge implications for all of us regardless of what job you have. Many people have bought into the illusion that there is the sacred and the secular.

Many people think it’s the sacred jobs that really matter. These are the people who have been set aside by God to be pastors, missionaries, and Christian counselors.

Then there are the secular jobs. These jobs aren’t bad, but they don’t really bear any weight on the Kingdom. In essence God could almost do without these people.

We often work out of a false economy which values people and jobs differently than God values them.

Don’t fall for it.

I was recently standing behind this guy in line at a fast food restaurant. I thought he was wearing a brilliant t-shirt even though I was quite surprised that anyone would wear it.

Now get this. I believe God can be just as happy with this guy picking up pet poop as He could be with him being a pastor.

Paul makes it clear “whatever” your job…whether you have the big title or the nobody title… whether you know everybody or everybody could care less…whether you have a cubicle or the corner office…what you do matters.

You have a role in telling the story of God.

Hey, if picking up pet poop is what fires you up, then pick up pet poop. Become #1 in the #2 business! Create the most incredible pet poop pick-up business in your community and do it in such a way that you give God glory!

-Do you believe God can use you regardless of your job?

-What can you do today in your job to make sure “Whatever” you do, you do it in the name of Jesus… giving God the glory He so deserves through your life.

I’m Ashamed of Myself

November 14, 2008 in Family, Parenting, Relationships, Religion with 65 Comments

I have to admit there are some things in my life I do I’m not real proud of.

On Monday night I twittered about one of them ( CLICK HERE to follow me on twitter. Twitter is the totally random statements that make up my life).

We were in the living room hanging out when I noticed that Brewer (age 2) had a dirty diaper. When I say noticed, I mean I smelled an odor which indicated to me it was quite probable something nasty had happened in his pants.

In that moment I made a decision. I decided to ignore the odor in hopes that Brandi would notice and decide to take action.

I’m not proud of it, but I did it.

It’s confession day here at Without Wax and it’s your turn. What are you not proud of?

Needed

November 13, 2008 in Church Leadership, Cross Point Church, Leadership, Religion with 44 Comments

The elders of my church have been working with me recently to help assure I’m leading out of my strengths. Their desire is to help me be successful at what I feel God’s called me to do.

In the process of putting together this 3 year plan they interviewed 20 of the closest people I work with and do life with here at Cross Point. One of the questions they asked was,

“What does Pete need in order to be the pastor at CP for 20+ years”

I thought this was a great question for several reasons, but for me personally it was huge. It communicated to me that they “want me”. That… I’m needed…. what I do matters… my gifts and abilities are valuable to the church now and into the future.

I recently read in “Three Signs of a Miserable Job” by Patrick Lencioni,

Human beings need to be needed, and they need to be reminded of this pretty much every day. They need to know that they are helping others, not merely serving themselves. Everyone ultimately wants and needs to help others, and when they cannot, misery ensues.

Remind your team today why they are needed. From the top all the way down they need to know your team can’t reach their goals without them (and if you can they probably shouldn’t be there). They need to know what they do matters. When people lose sight of how they contribute to the mission they generally stop trying and start dieing emotionally.

Yours thoughts???
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Transitions

November 11, 2008 in Church Leadership, Religion with 69 Comments

Between the ages of 18-36 the average American will have 9.3 different jobs. That’s a lot of transitions. Most of the time when we’re in a transition, whether self-imposed or forced upon us, we ask two questions.

1) Who’s hiring

2) How much do they pay?

These might not be bad questions, but they’re not the right first questions in my opinion. I would suggest that before you ask whose hiring and how much do they pay, try looking in, looking around and looking forward.

Look In- In other words take a good look at the way God has wired you. Look at your spiritual gifts, your abilities, your passions, your personality, and your experiences. Realize you’ve been created to reveal something unique about our Creator in what you do and how you do it.

Look Around- What are the people that God has placed in your life telling you about your strengths and weaknesses. A wise person will not spend their life in a defensive mode, but will seek the input of others regarding what they’re good at, what needs improvement, and what is their giftedness.

Look Forward- What are you dreaming about? Bill Hybels once asked “If God could grant you a vocational miracle, what would it look like?” Can you answer that question? What would your dream job look like?

So just for fun…How many different jobs have you had since age 18?

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