We drove to Dundalk to buy a wireless router because the three of us were taking turns using the same wired connection. It’s hard to build websites that way.
On the way to Dundalk, we stopped to take a picture and I thought I’d try out the panorama feature on Photoshop. I think I took it too far…
We spent the rest of the day building a new website for American missionary Dana Holloman, then I got to share at her youth ministry in Drogheda.
I had a chance to shoot a quick video with her here. Enjoy!
My family and I moved to a different house a couple of weeks ago. There are very few things I really hate, but moving is definitely one of them. I hate packing up all my stuff, I hate leaving a house and neighborhood I love, I hate hauling heavy boxes and furniture, and I hate sorting through tons of boxes to find what I need to work after we’ve moved to the new house.
One question I kept asking myself during the move was, “Why do we have all this stuff?!” Don’t get me wrong, we’re not pack rats and we usually only shop out of necessity (as opposed to shopping because it’s fun or entertaining). I just kept wondering why we were lugging so much stuff every time we moved. It was really troubling to think we paid for so much stuff that was simply being stored in the basement or attic. It pretty much sickens me to think that Americans have more stuff in storage than what the rest of the world owns COMBINED.
During the move, my wife kept bringing up really good “What if?” questions. “What if God calls us to…” and “What if God asks us to give…”
What do “What if?” questions have to do with owning too much stuff? Everything! What if God calls us to overseas missions? What do we do with all of our stuff? Something tells me that Paul did not have a bunch of junk in a self-storage unit as he spread the gospel across Asia Minor.
What about the cost of all this garbage? I wish I could get my money back for every DVD I only watched once or every book I never read or every accessory and trinket I thought would make my life so much better. That money could have gone to sponsor a child or take that mission trip I said I couldn’t afford to take. An even sadder situation is when people can’t afford to give or go because they’re strapped with debt. An over-sized car payment or maxed-out credit card can seriously hinder a person from being available for God to use.
It really is a brilliant demonic strategy if you think about it. “Let people have all they want until they’re too buried by possessions to be able to go when God says go.”
I believe that God wants me and my family to be in a position to be used by Him. He wants us to be ready. I have a friend who sold his house and moved into an apartment just because God might call him overseas. That may sound extreme to some, but when God calls, he won’t have to spend a year getting rid of everything before he goes. I know some people really take issue with this kind of thinking. They’re thinking, “I worked hard. Why shouldn’t I enjoy lots of possessions? I have a standard of living to maintain!” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “We should be far more concerned with our standard of dying than our standard of living.”
So what are we going to do about it? I’m going to issue myself (and you, if you choose) a challenge. I’m calling it my “Down to One Challenge”. What does that mean? It’s simple; if I have three boxes of something, I’m going to narrow it down to one box. For instance, I have several boxes of things I’ve filed away for ministry purposes. It’s time to scale back to one. Do I really need to keep all those catalogs, old conference notes, and brochures “just in case”? I also have tons of camping gear (I’ve gone once in the last three years), collectibles, and music gear too. Some things I’ll give away like I did here. Other things I’ll sell. And some of it will go to Goodwill or in the trash.
It’s not about being anti-stuff or taking some vow of poverty. It’s about living without the trappings of too much stuff so we can be available when God calls.
So how about you? Are you in? I’ll be posting my challenges here on this blog and it would be great to hear your thoughts.
Hey friends! Remember the Messenger Bag Giveaway I did last month? (Check it out.) Well I’m giving away another one!!
I’ve been selling these bags for years to raise money for Irish missions. From time to time I like to give one away. Why? I’m really hoping that the person who uses it will be reminded to pray for God to move in Ireland.
So what do you have to do? The rules are the same as last time. Just post a comment on this post and tell me what you’d use it for. School? Work? Books? Your laptop? The other thing you’ll have to do is click that little retweet button on the left and tell your friends. That’s it! At the end of the week, my son will randomly pick a winner from the comments section and I will reveal the name of that person in a blog post with instructions on how to claim your new bag. If you’re worried that you’re going to miss the post that reveals the winner, there’s a subscription link at the bottom of this post. (Or click the RSS button at the top of the page.)
If you don’t win (and even if you do) consider buying a bag from my eBay store. All profits go to support Irish church planters. Thanks!
Here’s a picture of that awesome bag. Don’t forget to pray for Ireland!
Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to my blog by Clicking here.
Risk is… risky. How’s that for profound? We like sure things. When we invest out time, money, and energy into something we want to KNOW it’s going to succeed. It’s heartbreaking to put yourself out there, pour yourself into a project, or invest your life into something just to have it fail. I know. I’ve been there. In 1999 I sold most of what I owned, packed up my family, and moved to Ireland to plant a church. You know what happened? It was an epic failure… More on that later, but let’s take a deeper look at this thing we call risk.
Look at the great successes in our world and in scripture. Esther’s role in the deliverance of her people, Moses and the Israelites at the bank of the Red Sea, David standing up against Goliath. How about William Wilberforce against the slave trade, The Pilgrims coming to America, or any of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Today, we only read their stories from this side of their struggle. We hear about the victory. But to them, in that moment of engaging in a mission, they had no idea how things would turn out. They were risking everything with no promise of success. I’m so grateful they decided to risk it all!
I want to share a couple of things I’ve learned when it comes to risk:
If you want to do anything of significance, it’s going to require risk. From planting a church, to establishing new relationships, to reaching the lost, or helping the poor. From writing that book, to interviewing for that job, or preaching for the first time it all requires risk. There’s a chance for failure and we have to be willing to live with that because the moment we decide to stop taking risks we lose all potential for doing anything great.
All risk in God’s economy is worth taking. This one is tough, especially in a culture that worships security. We want to know that, whatever risks we take, we’ll still be able to live at the “standard of living” we are currently living at. I think, as Christians, we should be far more concerned with our standard of dying than our standard of living. We’ve been fed the gospel of success for so long that the idea of a venture not turning out as we hoped leaves us feeling disenchanted and hopeless. The truth is this: when we take a risk for the sake of Christ, whether we fail or succeed, it was totally worth taking.
1st Corinthians 15:58 says, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
NOTHING you do for the Lord is ever useless! What an amazingly comforting word! That means my failure to plant a church in Ireland was not useless. Something came out of it even if I never saw it. And truth be told, I don’t regret doing it. I risked, and I lost, but I also gained, and I’m sure there were people who were blessed along the way.
So go ahead and take that risk! Focus more on obeying God’s call and less on what-ifs. “be strong and unmovable”. Whatever the outcome, it will have been worth it!
Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to my blog by Clicking here.
Risk is… risky. How’s that for profound? We like sure things. When we invest out time, money, and energy into something we want to KNOW it’s going to succeed. It’s heartbreaking to put yourself out there, pour yourself into a project, or invest your life into something just to have it fail. I know. I’ve been there. In 1999 I sold most of what I owned, packed up my family, and moved to Ireland to plant a church. You know what happened? It was an epic failure… More on that later, but let’s take a deeper look at this thing we call risk.
