Boys and Balsa Wood Airplanes

Okay, I'm going back in time with this one, but remember balsa wood airplanes. Gliders would be a more appropriate name for them. I used to have a blast flying these planes, getting them to glide gracefully in the breeze.

I was thinking about what activity I might do with the 6 year old boy I mentor and into my head came, fly a glider. I wasn't sure if they even existed, as I haven't seen many flying around these days. Together we went to our local drug store and sure enough, there were several to choose from, yahoo!

I picked the good old fashion one, pop the wings out of the mold, slide them into place and Bingo!, we were ready to fly. We have been having a blast throwing the plane up into the breeze and watching it glide, do rolls, turns and flips in the air. I highly recommend it! Cudos to the imagination that our Creator put in us to create the airplane. Balsa wood gliders drew me back to the simplicity and wonder of flight, and yet was quite complex in the beginning for Orville and Wilbur Wright, many trials and errors.

Go out and get yourself a balsa wood glider and have some fun. I think it will bring out the little boy in you, and if you have a little boy nearby, bring him along. Hey, you might try it on a teenager too.

BOB - Time to gather

Time is growing close for men to gather together, reunite, lock arms and journey towards the essence of manhood. I have come to understand that growing in this walk with Christ happens in community, a community rooted in Grace. So... I look forward to meeting with men who lead in humility, embrace the mystery, desire authenticity and seek freedom in relationships.

Tuesday night, Sept. 15th, 6:30 p.m. at the Woodward's house is when and where we lock arms in the walk or run to knowing Him. This is an open invitation to you, please consider joining us!

Band of Brothers - BOB

Have you ever seen the Dvd series, Band of Brothers? It is an incredible series filled with the essence of being a man in many stories from the front lines during World War II. I was riveted to my T.V. set and couldn't stop watching the series when it was loaned to me by a friend. There is so much to mine from the relationships of the men involved in the story. Out of the series, one finds examples of leadership, community, companionship, trust, conflict and brotherhood. I'm feeling led to share this series with men this fall and see where the Lord leads us in this journey. Brothers in Christ, do we fully understand the meaning of brotherhood, like the men in The Band of Brothers? Stay tuned to the start-up date, the journey will begin soon. Are you called to join us?

Here is something from John Eldredge's book, Waking the Dead, that speaks of the need for banding together for discernment.

Rushing the Field
08/21/2009

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A friend of mine wanted to teach English as a second language in an Asian country, as a way of becoming a sort of undercover missionary. A beautiful dream, one that I’m sure she would have been excellent in fulfilling. But she rushed to the field unprepared in many ways. I don’t mean finances and language skills; I mean in the ways of the heart. Lurking down in her soul were some deep and unresolved issues that would set her up for a fall: among them shame and guilt from an abusive past. The team she joined was totally unfamiliar with the new heart, and they doubted its goodness; as with too many Christian ministries, shame and guilt were often used as motivators. Their old covenant theology would play right into Susan’s issues, shut down her young heart. Finally, she was unpracticed in spiritual warfare, ill-equipped for what hell would throw at her. The devil is a master at shame and guilt. She went; she got hammered; she came home, defeated. Her friends wonder if she’ll ever try it again.

The disaster could have been avoided. Wisdom was crying out: do not rush the field (Luke 14:31); train yourself to discern good and evil (Heb. 5:14); live as though your life is at stake, and the enemy is waiting to outwit you (Matt. 10:16). God has given us all sorts of counsel and direction in his written Word; thank God, we have it written down in black and white. We would do well to be familiar with it, study it with all the intensity of the men who studied the maps of the Normandy coastline before they hit the beaches on D-Day. The more that wisdom enters our hearts, the more we will be able to trust our hearts in difficult situations. Notice that wisdom is not cramming our head with principles. It is developing a discerning heart. What made Solomon such a sharp guy was his wise and discerning heart (1 Kings 3:9).

We don’t seek wisdom because it’s a good idea; we seek wisdom because we’re dead if we don’t.

(Waking the Dead , 99–100)

Boundaries and Walls

I have been thinking about boundaries and walls in the context of relationships with others. I really dislike wall building between people and have seen walls built for the silliest reasons over the years. In my observations, walls are rather quickly built through miscommunication and misunderstanding. Many times, the wounded heart will erect a wall for heart protection and that wall may never come down, even though the other party humbles themselves and seeks reconciliation. I think Jesus came to tear down the walls we build around our hearts, more on that later.

Walls are different than boundaries. When I think of a wall what comes to mind is a concrete block wall or a wood wall that separates one person's property from another for privacy. As a kid, I remember climbing over walls that separated our So. Calif. suburban yards to see who was swimming in the neighbors pool, with the hope that when they saw me they might invite me swimming. It was a major effort to scale that barrier and my efforts weren't always greeted with a warm welcome. The wall did what it was supposed to do, give the neighbors privacy and prevent me from entering their backyard world.

People put up walls in relationships in the form of a masks. Mask wearing is all too common. The essence of mask wearing is hiddeness. For many different reasons, the wounded heart fashions a mask for protection.The saddest thing to me is that mask wearers never receive love. Their masks prevent them from receiving love that penetrates the heart. When you try to love a mask wearer and attempt to go deeper in relationship; they usually run to their closet full of masks and a wall is formed.

How do you deal with this wall building in relationships? This is one of the areas where boundaries come into play.

Boundaries are different. Here is what Dr. Harold L. Arnold, Jr. says about boundaries in relationships, he is talking specifically about marriage in this case, but I think his words are applicable for most relationships.

Healthy Boundaries.

Boundaries are an imaginary and internal line where your self ends and another's self begins. There are three types of boundaries: rigid (unhealthy because they are inflexible and disinterested in the perspectives of others); enmeshed (unhealthy because they are so weak that they cannot guarantee safety); and permeable (healthy because they are strong and flexible; able to accept a learning posture while restricting influences which are unsafe for the marriage). God-centered marriages work to maintain marriages with permeable boundaries.

I love the word permeable in respect to a healthy boundary in relationships. A permeable membrane will allow certain molecules or ions to pass through by diffusion. Th at is for you science buffs. In human relationships I think trust is the key in increasing permeability thus increasing the health of the relationship.

Permeable boundaries are necessary in relationships. They help you maintain relationship and keep open the opportunity for another person to experience love, acceptance and grace.

There are other boundaries that we need in our lives. More on that next time. Your thoughts and experiences?

Men in The Great Adventure

These men, friends and co-laborers, finished The Great Adventure with me this May. This study is part three in a men's series titled, Mens Fraternity. We have been together three years on the journey, seeking God in the process of becoming men who; reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously and expect God's greater reward. 

We have grown as men, husbands, fathers and servants of the King. What a tremendous blessing to hang with these men over the years. The best is yet to come! 

An emotional butt-kicker

My wife Monique coined this description for her experience of a week ago, "this has been an emotional butt-kicker". She was referring to a car accident our girls were in with our niece Amy.

The picture to the left shows, Marti (Amy's mom) Monique, Ellie and Amy sitting in one of the E.R. rooms at UC Irvine Medical Center. They all mustered up smiles for th

e camera, but inside they were pretty torn up and wasted.

Carly couldn't conjure up a smile for the camera, as her eye was very sore, swollen shut, and needing stitches. We spent 12 hours in the ER last Saturday nig

ht waiting for Carly to be treated. Ugh! That particular night, 17 trauma cases were came via ambulance to the E.R. Wow! Unfortunately this 

meant Carly was put on the back burner and we waited a long long time for the ophthalmologist to finally stitch up her eyelid. It was quite an ordeal for all of us.

God was with us throughout this experience. He brought an ambulance to the crash scene which 

just happened to be driving by on the freeway. They stopped without ever having to be called. God's hand! God calmed Ellie's heart and prompted her to pray for her niece and sister in the midst of a somewhat chaotic scene. Carly was bleeding pretty profusely from her eye. My nephew Brian, who is currently a police academy cadet, arrived at the scene before any emergency vehicles and responded with care and wisdom. He ended up getting the girls released to him and driving them to the E.R. without need for an ambulance.  

Once admitted to the E.R., we were cared for by nurse Joy, who assessed the injuries quickly and gave attention to all our needs. She was in the midst of a wild evening with all those trauma victims coming to the hospital. Yet, she kept checking in on us and did the little things to comfort us.  

Thanks to her help and presence of mind (God's guidance again) we endured the evening/next morning. Her persistence moved Carly into an operating room setting and anesthesia, when at one point it looked like her eyelid was going to be stitched up with just local numbing anesthetics to her eye. Wow! I would have been the primary assistant had this idea continued. Scary thought! 

So...what is all this doing on the Rocket Men blog? I'm posting this here for a couple of reasons. Monique and I had just come from our Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage conference in Whittier. It went very well, many couples pressed the "Restart Button" in their marriage, asking forgiveness of each other, stepping into humility and grace. 

Laugh Your Way does a beautiful job of presenting the differences between males and females. These differences were very evident in the E.R. Monique and I needed each other and specifically how God has made us to be complete in that moment with our girls. By understanding who Monique is as woman and also according to her life passions, I was able to compliment her in a very stressful time. She was able to help me provide the proper care and comfort for the girls. It was a beautiful dance between husband and wife. 

As I write, our girls are healing and will be back to school after spring break. We are recovering from this "emotional butt-kicker" as parents. God is showing us again that life is precious and fragile. We are not in control, but thankfully He is and we can trust Him. As you turn and gaze at the Cross of Christ this week, I hope you will see beyond to the next day and LIFE! He offers you a LIFE of freedom in His grace, love, acceptance and forgiveness. 

Light and Transparency

I have been reflecting on this passage, Luke 11:35 (The Message)...

"No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they are going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is and dank cellar. Keep your eyes wide open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room."

Our men's study through Erwin McManus' book Wide Awake began Wed. March 18th and we are walking into discovering what it means to live lives fully alive, AWAKE. In the passage above, Jesus teaches us, as only He can do through metaphors and analogies, that living fully alive is like being a lamp. 

When we live our lives transparently, the light of Christ is able to bust out all over others in our circle of influence. Why do we bend towards hiddenness, tucking ourselves neatly away in the inner drawers of our hearts? Come join us on Wed. mornings at 6:00 a.m. as together we continue the process of living fully alive in the Light.

Wide Awake

I'm reading a very thought provoking book titled, Wide Awake by Erwin McManus and finding his call to living life Wide Awake is really what God calls us to as followers of Christ. In fact the Scriptures exhort us to live fully and completely human lives the way we were originally created in the garden. This is possible for all of us who follow Christ, for He is re-creating us, renewing our minds, transforming us as we dream and engage with Him in our daily lives.

The apostle Paul references this wide awake living in Ephesians 5:8-18, The Message; see below:

You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get.

In Men's Fraternity, The Great Adventure, we are rekindling our dreams as men. This has been a difficult exercise for me and for other men. Dreams, dreaming, hmmmm, I haven't done that for years. We are hearing the call to Wake Up. God wants to join us in our dreams. He wants us to dream big with Him. Have you stopped dreaming with God? Ask Him to help you dream again.

A Masked Christmas Surprise

Merry Christmas!

It has been two months since I've sat down at the computer to do some blogging. There have been several thoughts on my mind to write about but just haven't taken the time to sit down and journal on this blog. If I don't take the time, the thought goes off into space and gets lost for a time. Frustrating! Can you relate?

This remembrance though will be etched in my mind for a long time. The etching carves deeper because my emotions were seriously stirred and emotions, when linked to life events, are the tools of memory makers.

We are enjoying a White Christmas here in northwest Washington; the first one in a long time. As I write on Christmas Eve there is a sprinkling type rain falling, which is threatening the snow dusting which highlights the trees, but I suspect the white blanket of snow on the ground will stay through Christmas.

Now for the surprise; yesterday afternoon, around 4 p.m., for the first time in many many years here in Friday Harbor, Christmas carolers came to our front porch. They were very mysterious because all of them were wearing ski masks. They came with loud boisterous voices, belting out familiar carols but I could not identify the faces behind the masks. There was laughter amongst the caroling and it definitely seemed that they knew me. Who could this be?

My daughter-in-law Lindsey and son Damon, here from Arkansas, and a little boy Adolfo who we were are caring for were the only ones in the house with me. I looked and looked at each face but was completely stumped. Who are these people? I began to suspect they might be some of my son's old high school friends stopping by to say hello. But then, would they be caroling?

The carolers continued to belt out the carols with laughter and joy. At about this same time, my wife Monique and her mother came in the back door to the house. We are all stupefied by the carolers and could not figure out who was behind the masks. Daughters Ellie and Carly were off sledding with friends so we didn't have their help in figuring out the mystery.

Finally, this band of merriment began to take off their masks. Much to our surprise, the voice behind the deep HO! HO! HO! was my brother Tom and his family; wife Marti, daughter Amy and son Brian. Wow! We were all in joyous shock. Merry Christmas! they shouted and we all hugged and laughed for what seemed like hours later. What an incredible memory that has been carved in our hearts and minds.

In my next blog...I'll share what makes this masked mystery even more amazing.

A Supernatural Coke

On Thursday Oct. 30th I flew out from Seattle to Little Rock, AR with a stop in Denver. My mission is to visit son Damon and his wife for a long weekend. On the leg of the journey from Denver to Little Rock, God showed up in the effervescence of my diet Coke. Really! In Reality, God was and is all around me, but He gave me a sign that I will never forget.

Before I tell you what the sign was I must mention that for me to have a diet Coke is somewhat out of character. I don't usually drink diet Coke. I will occasionally have one with my friend Paul, who usually has quite a diet Coke stash in his refrigerator. That is about it as far as diet drinks go for me.

As the stewardess came down the isle and poured classic Coke to most folks, I was really tempted to have the "real thing." My mind tossed back and forth between diet and real, diet and real, with an occasional, "just have water" thought thrown in to mix things up. Anyway, I said, "diet Coke please" when the stewardess posed the question, "what would you like to drink sir?"

She set the plastic glass down on my tray table and as I went to pick up the glass someting incredible appeared in an ice cube. It was a perfect cross, the cross of Christ. The bubbles continued to fill the ice cracks with effervescence setting the cross a glow. It would not go away. I'd take a sip of diet Coke, set the glass down and there it was again, glowing against the backdrop of the carmel colored Coke.

In our Wednesday morning men's group we are going through John Eldredge's book, Walking with God and learning about hearing God's voice, listening for His voice. The Cross in my Coke set me in immediate listening mode this afternoon. As I'm listening He is telling me to watch Him heal, watch Him reconcile, watch Him restore, it will happen all around me if I watch. He is also telling me to "watch out" there is a theif who wants to rob and destroy these God moments from me. So I will stand firm and resists, as He instructs me and put on the full armor He has given me. It is the way of Walking with God.

What is He talking to you about today?

The Great Adventure

The Great Adventure is the third year of Men's Fraternity, a men's study designed to help men to grow in their walk with Jesus and to live out true manhood in out times today. Carly and I embarked on an adventure up this high wall during father/daughter weekend at Warm Beach Camp in September. We both stepped out and took a risk, knowing it was going to be challenging. Whew! We got a workout!

The manhood adventure includes many challenges. The questions we will be tackling this year as men are; Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? I think every man comes up against these questions at various season of life. We are created for community and answers to our questions come to us as we journey together. This is going to be an exciting year. Please feel free to join us on Tues. evenings, 6:30 pm. Call 378-8435 for directions.

A Touchpoint with Sons

One of the joys of summer for me came with a ceremony we had with sons on Jackson Beach in Friday Harbor. We gathered together as dads to affirm our sons. It was a blessed evening, God orchestrated.

One of the men in our group used his shop tools to craft a beautiful wooden sword. Men gathered around a beach fire in prayer and thanksgiving for their sons. Here, friend Dave Wolf, knights his son Brian with words of truth and affirmation. Dave created a beautiful manhood creed for his sons and they shared it together. When I think of discipleship, I will always remember this evening and the process started by these dads with their sons.

Affirmation Story continued...

I love this passage in The Message, Hebrews 10:25 - "Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching."


Psalm 10:17 - "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry." NIV


1 Corinthians 14:3 - "But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort." The Good News Bible


Affirmation and encouragement appear to be from the voice of God in good times and in bad. I think affirmations are part of God's universal love language to His people and His people need to be speaking His voice to each other continuously in these times.

A tool I have used that really helps in sharing Affirmations is one Leadership Catalyst has produced titled, Experiencing Affirmation. Go to: http://www.truefaced.com/ to purchase this fantastic tool to bless your family, small group, co-workers and friends.



The affirmation story in Friday Harbor began on the beach, with a group of men circled up around a beach fire. We were talking about our journeys in raising sons. We felt the need to affirm them and weren't sure how to go about it. This led to practicing affirmations amongst ourselves. Each guy lifted up the other, taking turns sharing words of affirmation around the fire. What an unforgetable evening! From this night, a wave of affirmations spread to men as far away as Lopez Island.

Affirmation

A funny thing happened on the way to a men's retreat. Here is the story. A few weeks ago, as I was preparing to give a message at our Lopez Island/Friday Harbor CTK men's retreat, I picked up an activity in affirming others. Monique, my wife, and I experienced affirming each other at a recent marriage conference and it was powerful. God used the time together to encourage us, pour His love into us, and give us the opportunity to love on each other, His way. The tool we used is titled, Experiencing Affirmation in Marriage and it can be purchased through the ministry of Leadership Catalyst. www.leadershipcatalyst.org They offer the same tool for affirming family members, leadership teams and small groups. I strongly encourage you to give it a try with your spouse, co-workers, friends and family.

The major theme of the retreat was unmasking, taking off the false protective layers of stuff that surround our hearts making it difficult, if not impossible, to receive love. I felt God saying to men that men, in the midst of unmasking, need to be affirmed and encouraged. There is not enough encouragement in our lives, in our culture and our God is an encourager.

Scriptures on encouragement... and the rest of the story in the next post.

Time and Space

The disciple of Jesus Christ must create "time and space" in his/her daily life. As we looked at pace of life in the previous blog entry, this creation of time and space requires discipline in the life of the disciple today, just as it did in the first century.

This discipline begins from the moment we wake in the morning to the time we lay our heads down in the evening. The fillers of time and space for the disciple are the things we saw Jesus live out for us in relationship with his Father, and now our Father. As disciples who live under the New Covenant, these practices are not complex, but simple. The difficulty lies in our discipline and self-control.

We must practice and put on the "new man". I remember during my junior year of high school, I was really struggling with my jump shot. It was a pivotal year for me. I either improved my shot or suffer the consequences, not making the varsity basketball team in my senior year. I went to a college coach for help and then applied his teaching with hours and hours of backyard shooting practice. Change did not come easy but the results in the end were phenomenal; increased range and accuracy for my shot. I became a real shooting threat from 15-18 ft.

I was disciplined, creating the time and space for something that was important to me. That was back in 1968. It is now 2008 and I am a new creation in Christ. The Lover of my soul has rescued me from darkness and now I live in the light. Out of reverence to Him, motivated by love, I want to become more like Him. He has given me The Counselor, the Holy Spirit and power to overcome my laziness. I can create time and space with His help. Jesus wants to sit with me and talk to me. He is an incredible listener too.

Pace in Discipleship

While viewing "Walking in the dust of the Rabbi", a video series that explores the depth of making disciples in the first century, a couple of us were awakened to what the pace of life must have been like when the "Rabbi" and His followers walked the byways of Israel and beyond.

We discussed the pace of life in those times and contrasted it with what we experience in our culture. I thought I'd look for a picture that portrays a life pace that many of us experience daily, if not a physical pace of coming and going, we can certainly conjure up a mental pace; the tyranny of the urgent. (see photo to the right)

It was obvious to us that we are in a battle. How can we slow down long enough to create a life pace that is conducive to making disciples? We see again that an upstream swim against the current is required for the Christ follower in a culture that has more and more distractions with each passing day. Living the LIFE requires age age old character quality modeled by the Savior; DISCIPLINE. Your thoughts?

Vulnerability and Submission

Our journey in following Jesus has been quite a ride. My wife, Monique, and I have frequently been asked, how did you get to the point when you let go and trusted God for everything, launching out into marriage ministry. We both believe the launching point was a Sunday morning at church when we were given the opportunity to share with the congregation what God had one in saving our marriage from the brink of destruction.

That morning, the Holy Spirit spoke through us to proclaim Jesus Christ and the victory He had in bringing us back together from a time of separation. We were vulnerable, open and transparent with the people who God brought to church that Sunday. We submitted to God's leading and shared our sin before God and His followers. We embraced His love, acceptance and forgiveness which results in a hope that surpasses all understanding; a living hope for all marriages.

Submission is a love word. Have you ever thought of submission in regards to being loving? Read the passage below in the language of love, submission and vulnerability, from Jesus to his Father and before others.

Matthew 26:36-44 Amplified Bible

36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, Sit down here while I go over yonder and pray.
37And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to show grief and distress of mind and was deeply depressed.
38Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me.
39And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.
40And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?
41All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done.
43And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down with sleep.
44So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same word

As we enter into a life of discipleship, we must put on the character of Christ, Christ in us, rooted in humility, submission and vulnerability. God opens doors for us to begin the disciple-making process when we take this simple step of faith. He has not given us a spirit of timidity, join with Him and connect with another person today.

Accountablilty??

"Accountability is a principle of law and it will never ever, ever, ever, ever, assist you with sinning less. Accountability is a good thing when you measure tasks, it is never the right principle when you measure behavior, because it is a principle of law. Is it really possible for Christians to put so much confidence in the work of Jesus Christ (at Calvary) that we really do believe that He has already put in us a righteousness that can love, and instead of having to show you how good I am at anything, I humbly need to learn from you how to be loved? We get that right, and an early church changed the world."

What did he say? I'm listening to the TrueFaced Grace Series, a study through Romans 3-8, which is reaffirming what I believe to be true and it is being confirmed in relationships all around me. If you would be interested in purchasing this series on CD, and I highly recommend it, go to www.leadershipcatalyst.org

I have come to believe that by in large, "the church", doesn't understand GRACE; and for the most part lives under the law. Satan loves this by the way.

I do believe that discipleship cannot occur apart from environments of grace and relationships of trust. My experience is that these two essential ingredients in discipleship produce an "iron sharpening iron" relationship that is also healing and nurturing. What do you think?

Environments of Grace and Trust

I believe the main nutrients in the soil of discipleship are grace and trust. Without these two nutrients, a real relationship, one of following Christ together will not grow. Preceding these relationship nutrients is acceptance. Here are a couple of quotes to chew on from, Beyond Your Best - authors Thrall, McNichol and McElrath, "You and I cannot give acceptance unless we have been willing to receive acceptance. I cannot receive your acceptance, no matter how much acceptance you have to give, if I fear trusting you. When both come together, acceptance and trust, there is a tangible, life-giving freedom released that spreads faster than butter on a warm cinnamon roll. When we experience grace in spite of our failures, we gain the strength to face the truth without fear. "

These nutrients are all embodied in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are available to us right now, in Him, He in us. Jesus encourages us, empowers us, strengthens us and uses us. The disciple journeys to know Him and give Him away. The disciple is living in His grace and trusting in his identity in Jesus.

Follow the Leader

This scene is not uncommon for us in the San Juan Islands at certain times of the year. Salmon swimming in formation, seemingly following a leader. One thing that strikes me is that as they follow there is order. I wish I could catch one, one of these years, but that is another story.

"Follow the Leader", was also a warm-up activity I used to do with kindergarten and first graders in my elementary physical education classes. I was always amazed at how much fun the kids had either following me around the gym, hopping, skipping, galloping and or following one of their classmates. Teachers and aides who observed us from time to time always got a chuckle out of watching as the class orderly followed the leader around the gym. The purpose of the activity went beyond just warm-up, as it involved listening, observing and imitating.

I think this is not unlike what I experience in following Jesus. As his disciple, obeying His call to "come follow me", the journey brings order to my life. Embracing His love for me leads me to discipline which is not birthed out of compliance, but out of love. His love, acceptance and forgiveness pushes me out into others lives who are waiting for the gift that He will give through me.

My heart is warmed up by the Spirit as I connect with another as Jesus did during His earthly ministry. Love, joy, peace that surpasses all understanding fills my heart as I walk, following Him, discipling another. How about you? Are you experiencing fulfillment in your life through guiding another in the life of following Jesus?