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Saturday Share-It’s Funky Out There

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saturday

Each Saturday I like to share a BLOG, or an article that I’ve recently read that might be of help to you as well. Today’s SATURDAY SHARE is from Jim Dennison. I enjoy reading his thought-provoking cultural writings. Please let me know what you think by clicking on the comments button below.

See you Sunday at Sugar Hill Church for another awesome Worship Gathering at 9:30a & 11:00a. As always, we will be streaming live on Facebook and online HERE.

Enjoy, AChuck

A Surprising Solution for Stressful Times
By: Jim Denison

Sales of stationery are booming. Writing pads, drawing sets, diaries, and binders are all selling at levels unseen in years. What is happening here?

Public relations entrepreneur Angela Ceberano has an explanation: “Sometimes, I just want to get rid of all the technology and sit down in a quiet space with a pen and paper.” According to scientists, she’s onto something.

Research by Princeton University and UCLA showed that the pen is indeed mightier than the keyboard. In three studies, students who took notes longhand performed better on conceptual questions than those who took notes on laptops. Another study shows that people who doodle on paper can better recall dull information.

C. S. Lewis never learned to type. Novelist Joyce Carol Oates writes all her books by longhand. Tom Wolfe used typewriters but couldn’t keep them maintained, so he wrote his last novel longhand. Danielle Steele writes all her books on a 1946 Olympia manual typewriter. P. J. O’Rourke uses a Selectric typewriter.

Creativity and simplicity are directly related. But these are not simple times.

It’s hard to read the news without angst these days. For instance, this morning’s Wall Street Journal reports that nascent peace talks in Syria are already in trouble as the government called rebels “armed terrorist groups” and the rebels refused to talk directly to the government. Today’s Los Angeles Times tells us that California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency after storms caused flooding, erosion, and highway damage.

And today’s Wall Street Journal also reports that school districts across the country are closing due to another norovirus outbreak. “We think this is the most infectious group of pathogens that have ever been described,” one health expert says. Unsurprisingly, the American Psychological Association notes that 75 percent of adults experienced moderate to high levels of stress in the past month.

There’s an antidote to the anxiety of our age, however.

David rejoiced that his Shepherd “leads me beside still waters” (Psalm 23:2). Zephaniah assured his people that their Lord would “quiet you by his love” (Zephaniah 3:17). From these texts, I draw this conclusion: if my “waters” are not “still,” I am not following my Shepherd. If my soul is not “quiet,” I am not fully experiencing his love.

Does this mean that trusting God guarantees a tranquil life? Not at all.

Remember how tumultuous David’s life was. But however chaotic his times, his soul could be “still.” Zephaniah prophesied shortly before the nation of Judah fell into Babylonian exile. Yet God’s love was so constant that it would “quiet” those who experienced it personally.

It still does.

We were made for personal relationship with our Maker. Nothing less will fill the God-shaped emptiness Pascal described. The more secular our age, the more stressed our souls. Retreating from technology helps, but peace is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), not stationery.

In Thomas Kelly’s classic A Testament of Devotion, we read: “Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself.”

Can you hear this Voice today? If not, why not?

The Summit

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time-to-rise-up

Wow! January blew by so fast. It seems like yesterday was Christmas, and yet Easter will be here in a few minutes. January 2017 will always remind me of The CLIMB and the hundreds of folks that joined me on their own climb. Thank you!

You can always access all of the Climb tools and resources by clicking HERE.

I’ve heard from so many folks that are so close to their summit, and I’ve heard from folks that have just started their climb. And then there are hundreds that are on the side of the mountain, clinging to life and in need of help from above. On this last day of January, and the Climb, I’d like to review a few things and also celebrate a for summits.

  1. To climb anything, especially your life’s climb, you must start. Simple, right? For many of us, starting is frightening and fear-filled. But like all things in life, you must take one step and allow the Divine to carry you the next forty.
  2. To successfully climb, you need help. We all need direction, guidance, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and support. Set your heart mind and soul on the Divine. He specializes in each of these needs.
  3. The climb can be weary. Find a place to refresh and rest in the Divine and His goodness, then rise up and get back on the trail.

All of those are helpful thoughts, but this last point on our climb is this…

– All things great and holy come from the Divine. (James 1:17)
– Your help comes from the Lord. (Psalm 121)
– You can truly accomplish anything as you walk with the Divine. (Philippians 4:13)
– When you reach the summit, celebrate in two ways:
1. Celebrate His great love for you and His strength that got you there.
2. Prepare yourself for the next climb – they never stop.

Make your plans to join us Sunday at Sugar Hill Church for RISE UP SUNDAY!
Get your Falcons gear on and let’s RISE UP at Sugar Hill Church.

Rise Up, AChuck

 

The Climb, 1 Thing & The Rock

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Watch Yesterday’s Sermon
Grab Resources from The Climb Resource Hub

Yesterday at Sugar Hill Church, my teaching focused on the importance of “One Thing.” The Scriptures are replete with references to this “one thing.” When asked by a wealthy and powerful young up and comer, “what must I do to have life eternal?” Jesus replied that he was missing just “one thing.” When Martha busied herself with busyness and work, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Jesus said that Martha was missing this “one thing.” Over and over, the Scriptures teach us that we are often missing the Divine and His extraordinary plan for our lives by missing just “one thing.”

What’s your “one thing?” The Divine teaches us that we all have at least “one thing.” That anything that stands between our soul and the Divine must be dealt with or we will never reach the summit of our climb. Most of us just need to deal with this “one thing,” if we are to reach the peak!

Stop and settle these three questions in your heart today:

  1. Who do you most often attempt to please more? Friends, family, self, or the Divine?
  2. What “one thing” do you need to focus on, remove, or repair to get you to your summit?
  3. Are you willing to ask the Divine for clarity on what your “one word, or one thing” might be, and then act on it

Anything we feed, fuel or fear more than the Divine must be addressed and brought into the light. We can trust the One that gave us the start of this “one thing.” And He will not withhold from you the clarity and wisdom necessary to discover your “one word,” or “one thing.” It’s as simple as asking for clarity, stopping to hear from the Divine, and acting on the Direction given.

All of that is best known as obedience to the Divine Creator and Sustainer of life and love.

The picture above is of my “rock altar,” and Jenny’s “rock alter.”
 She has identified REST as her “one thing” that she is leaning into this year.
I’ve identified COURAGE as my “one thing.” What is your “one thing?”? 

If we are to tackle this thing that is between us and the Divine, we will need to build an altar or a remembrance. These rocks are our altar…our remembrance. Stop right now and enter into a short season of meditation and ask the Divine to reveal the “one thing” that needs your attention and the Divine’s attention today. Then build a remembrance of how far the Divine has brought you. An alter of trusting the Divine for your present, and the willingness to follow Him into your future.

In Luke 5:17-39, A man crippled from birth, lowered through a roof to get to Jesus so that he might be  healed, heard these words from Christ, “get up and take your stretcher (bed) with you.”

Why take the bed home? I think that it was so he could see it every single day and
be reminded of how far Jesus had brought him.
To trust Jesus to forgive his past, strengthen his present and direct his future.

Determine your “one thing, ” and claim your “one word.” Just watch, and see what the Divine can do. He can reveal your one thing. Heal your one thing. Remove your one thing, discover your one thing and strengthen your one thing. Why? Because He is the Divine. He is the Creator of this universe and every universe. And because He loves you. You see, He is the Rock or Your Salvation. The Hope of All Mankind. The Healer of our Souls, and the Savior of the World.

Go ahead – Build your altar of remembrance so that you will see it day-by-day.

One more day of The Climb – Tomorrow!

May You Walk in Peace Today,
AChuck

 

Saturday Share-Judge Not

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Each Saturday, I share with you a BLOG that has been an encouragement to me, and will hopefully be an encouragement to you as well. My friend, Jay Strack taught me years ago, that “the best thing a friend can do is share their friends.” This BLOG is from
Carey Nieuwhof, one of the greatest guys on the planet!

Here You Go, AChuck
___________________________________________

Judged anyone lately?
Sadly, the answer for most of us (including me) is…yes.

From the guy who cut you off in traffic, to the off-beat person who’s not picking up the social cues you’re sending, to your weed-smoking neighbor…it’s so easy to judge. And judgment just gets worse from there. It’s the basis of racism, sexism and almost every other ‘ism’ you can think of.

It’s also fundamentally incompatible with authentic Christian faith.

Jesus said Christians should be known for how deeply we love. Yet studies show that in the eyes of many non-Christians, we’re known for how deeply we judge, not for how deeply we love.

The problem in many cases is not that unchurched people don’t know any Christians. The problem is that they do. And they don’t like us—for a good reason. Christians will argue: Well, who’s going to stand up for truth? Understood.

Yet in Jesus, grace and truth are perfectly fused.

Remove grace from the truth and you don’t actually have truth at all, but a cold, steely imitation. (This is the shadow side of conservatism.) The opposite is also true, of course. Remove truth from grace and you don’t have grace, but a spineless imitation. (As you’ve already figured out, this is the shadow side of liberalism.)

Fusing grace and truth is an exceptionally difficult venture and is usually only successful when you spend significant amounts of time on your knees and when the source of your attempt is actually Christ himself. I am rarely good at it, flipping from one side to the other too quickly.

But when you see grace and truth fused, it takes your breath away. Why did people travel for days on foot in extreme conditions to meet Jesus? Grace fused to truth is what our hearts most deeply long for. But in the evangelical church today (and I’m an evangelical), the hard edge of truth has crushed many. And one of the most frequent expressions of loveless truth is found in judgment.

Judgmentalism is incompatible with at least five wonderful things. Keep judging, and your church will miss all five of these Christian virtues that can advance your church’s mission.

1. Love

The presence of judgment almost always guarantees an absence of love.

Think about it through the lens of your marriage, friendship or even someone you work with: It is virtually impossible to love someone and judge someone at the same time. But wait, you ask: What if they’re making a mistake and I need to correct them?

First of all, look at your mistakes and the depth of your sin, and deal with your issues first. In the process, you’ll encounter a loving God who forgives you despite your rather egregious sin. And having been loved, you can love others. I try to remember this rule: If I’m judging someone, I’m not loving them. You can’t judge someone and love them at the same time.

2. Help

Ever notice that people who judge almost never help and people who help almost never judge?

That’s because judgment creates a line. The line is labeled “better than” or “smarter than” or “more righteous than” the person who needs help. Help knows no such line. It just knows how to help.

When Jesus taught on judgment, not only did he tell us not to judge, and to remove the massive timber from our own eye before trying to find the speck of dust in someone else’s eye first, but he then showed us the purpose of removing the speck from someone else’s eye: It’s to help them. The Christian purpose of stepping into someone else’s world is not to judge someone, but to help them.

If you’re not trying to help, don’t bother. You’ll probably only make it worse. And if you are trying to help, you’ll likely notice something else has disappeared: any sense of judgment you once carried.

3. Humility

Judgment is never grounded in humility. (As in Oh my, I’m also a mess. Let’s figure this out together.) Judgment is grounded in arrogance. That’s because a judgmental person almost always carries with them a sense of condescension (I never get into this kind of situation myself…you should be as good as I am) or a sense of pity (poor, stupid you).

Judgment always says I’m better than you, I know more than you and I’m also superior to you. No wonder people run from it.

Very few people get judged into life change. Many people get loved into it. Humility, by contrast, fosters empathy. It says, “I’m like you. I get that. Maybe we can help each other.” Many people would run to that.

4. Prayer

There’s also a connection between judgment and prayer. Judging someone and praying for someone are pretty much mutually exclusive.

You can’t pray for someone you judge because you’re actually not for them. Sure, you can pray about them, but again, your prayer won’t be grounded in humility. It might be grounded in anger, or in arrogance, or superiority, but it won’t be grounded in love.

You never truly pray for someone you judge. Conversely, if you want to stop judging someone, pray for them. It’s impossible to judge someone and truly pray for them at the same time.

5. Evangelism

If you want to kill evangelism at your church, fill your church with judgmental Christians.

People run from people who judge them. They run to people who love them. Think about it; that’s what you do: You run from people who judge you.

When grace and truth are fused, people usually run toward it because the combination of truth and grace describes a reality they’re facing and brings actual hope that things can get better.

God never asked you to judge the world. He did ask you to love it.

A Giant Hypocrite?

But wait, you say, isn’t this entire article just one big piece of judgment? You are a complete hypocrite, you say. First of all, you’re totally right. You could completely read this as a judgmental invective. And I definitely write it as someone who is part of the problem.

But when it comes to judgment, Paul makes it clear we are NOT to judge the world, but we are to practice discernment in the church. There is also a distinction (at least in my mind) between judgment and discernment.

This is a very fine line, and I don’t stand on it well at all. This article could be a complete failure in what it sets out to accomplish. One of the things I struggle with in the church today is that we rush to judge outsiders and rarely look in the mirror. That’s the exact opposite of what Paul instructed us to do.

The reality is that people’s lives are plagued by problems. There is an epic battle raging in this life, and people get taken down every day over addictions, failed relationships, misguided beliefs and things that we think will give life, but, in the end, only destroy.

We need to help outsiders because we have been helped. We need to help each other on the inside and thereby better realize our mission. True judgment is reserved for God. Discernment seeks to help.

Discernment says there is a problem, but lovingly, humbly, prayerfully, empathetically I’d love to help with that. And guess what? The person on the receiving end of the help senses it. They know when they’re being judged. And they know when they’re being loved and helped.

That’s what I hope to do. And that’s what I hope, in the end, this article does. Because I, too, am a “judger” who is seeking to become a loving helper.

And if this article still strikes you as harsh, remember that Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for arrogant, judgemental leaders inside the faith. At times, we’ve likely all been that insider. I have been anyway. Conversely, Jesus was pretty much never harsh to people outside the faith.

We’d be so much better as a church if we did the same.

From Chuck:
I trust this encourages you. That it frees you from a critical, judgmental spirit, and wells up within you (as it did me) the passionate desire to replace a haughty, critical spirit with a loving, compassionate spirit.

See you tomorrow at Sugar Hill Church for Worship Gatherings at 9:30a, 11:00a and streaming live HERE AND GUYS – Our f.irst MAN CHURCH is Sunday at 5:00p.eet me behind the church in the Underground for a Chilli/Brunswick Stew Cookoff, firepit, Dude Games and Bible Study!

Peace, Chuck

 

The Productive 4forFRIDAY CLIMB

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productivity

Thank you for the overwhelming response to “THE CLIMB.” Thank you for your feedback and affirmation of the BLOG, PODCAST, 4forFRIDAY, and the Weekend Sermons. I’m so grateful that you have joined me on The CLIMB!

Every CLIMB needs the right gear. When I finished the first stretch of the Appalachian Trail, I learned that some gear is essential, some gear is helpful, and some gear is wasteful and unnecessary. On our life’s CLIMB, we need the right gear and eliminate the wasteful, unnecessary gear. This week’s 4forFRIDAY contains more of my continued list of ESSENTIAL GEAR for The CLIMB:

A Great Read from Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens: 
“I’m not even thinking about any other team. We’re trying to be the best version of ourselves.” Stevens’s doctrine should hit home for most of us. It’s much too easy to compare ourselves to colleagues, friends, and family members — on everything from our current job title to the type of car we drive. But there are many reasons you should resist comparing yourself to others. 

A Great Tool and Tools that Compliment that Tool: 
The Pomodoro method of tackling your work, fitness, reading, or study goals is pretty awesome. This simple countdown timer reminds you to focus for 25 minutes on ONE THING. Work with great intentionality for 25 minutes straight –  with no rabbit chasing. Then take a break, a walk, a time of meditation – whatever. The Pomodoro Technique was invented in the early 90s by the developer, entrepreneur, and author Francesco Cirillo. Cirillo named the system “Pomodoro” after the tomato-shaped timer he used to track his work as a university student. The methodology is simple: When faced with any large task or series of tasks, break the work down into short, timed intervals (called “Pomodoros”) that are spaced out by short breaks. This trains your brain to focus for short periods and helps you stay on top of deadlines or constantly-refilling inboxes. With time it can even help improve your attention span and concentration. Get er done!

A Short and powerful Read Designed to Help you Become More Productive Every Day.
3 Lifehacks to Greater Productivity by Summer Sorenson. 
Taking a more balanced approach to getting things done, valuing people as equal or greater than tasks and building in fun tasks seems way more effective at moving forward in all areas, not just the chores.

A Great Tool that I use all day – every day. EVERNOTE!
This tool is an amazing way to capture all your notes, tasks, thoughts, articles, and so much more. Create a project to-do list. Jot down a reminder. Or snap a picture of a sketch. A note can be anything you want it to be. And once you make a note, it’s accessible wherever you go, forever.

Bonus Round: A restaurant we recently enjoyed: Dreamland in Duluth, GA. It’s clean, comfortable and so stinking good! This southern tradition has opened a new location in Old Town Duluth. If you like BBQ – This is your place! Here are your directions. 

Another Bonus:
A Quote that I am Pondering by Walt Disney
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The Reclaimed CLIMB

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trails

I learned more lessons on the Appalachian Trail than I can count. One of the lessons learned and not forgotten is this:

You do not want to go backward and have to reclaim the territory or trail you have already claimed! The same is true for the lessons learned in your life’s climb.

Proverbs 3:1-6 is an enormous promise from God – “My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. 2 If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. 3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. 4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

STOP! What? If we never forget the things that the Divine teaches us, to the degree that we will let them reside in our own heart, this life will be satisfying? Hold on. Set a reminder of them, so as to keep them in front of you and you’ll be solid with God and other people? And then the cherry on top of the sundae! Trust the Divine, seek His desire for your life and He will set you, and keep you on the proper path.

Why is this so stinking hard for us?

  1. We prefer to live our way, under our laws, and with our preferences. At the risk of abusive sarcasm; How’s that working out for you? Yeah, me either. ANSWER: Learn, remember, memorialize, seek, and trust = Satisfying and peace-filled life.

  2. We can’t imagine a deal being this good. If it’s too good to be true… ANSWER: Historically, spiritually, and relationally, we know deep in our soul that the Divine is so much more than faithful.

  3. We are pride-filled people, with a belief that we can handle life’s climb all on our own. I really thought that Jesus was clear on this. ANSWER: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Stop reclaiming ground that you’ve already taken. Why trudge through the same difficult lesson, time after time? When we never forget, store His commands in our heart, write them deep within our heart, trust and seek, we will steadily reach the summit of our climb and will stop having to reclaim the ground we have already claimed. 

Enjoy Your Climb Today,
AChuck

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