I released control when the plane rumbled down the runway and gave itself away to the blue. I released control when the roller coaster barreled down the track and danced on one edge around the first curve. And I released control to my dentist while squirming in her cold and uncomfortable chair. But I did NOT release control to God.    That was early in my faith walk when I released NOTHING...

We spent a good part of December 2020 casting a vision for our faith walk in 2021. We built a CHANGE RAMP to the new year. We took inventory and identified our most important “Learning Takeaway” from 2020. And we committed to make sure our CHANGE RAMP to 2021 is SO BIG that it defies human logic because the ONLY way it can be reached is if it is of God.    With that work done, we started...

We know not to fixate on the past, right? We know to leave life’s pain behind (and 2020 had plenty of that). We know that God wants us to move FORWARD stronger than we were before. We know all of that. But there is one more step in the process—reflecting on the road we’re coming off before jumping on the next one. Think of it like an EXIT INTERVIEW.    ex·it in·ter·view a meeting between...

You have a brush in your hand. You have a blank canvas. And God is wondering what picture you will paint for 2021. Leaving it blank is an option. Another option is hurriedly flicking your brush toward the canvas to “get it over with.” And partnering with God to create NEW ART for a NEW YEAR is also an option. The difficult, but best option.    We have been building a CHANGE RAMP to 2021...

YES…this is another blog for Christians on WORRYING and its negative consequences. NO…it should not be dismissed just because we “know the dangers for Christians who worry.” Of course we know God tells us in no uncertain terms not to WORRY (Philippians 4:6). And we know how quickly WORRYING can cut in front of us as we stand in the line of life.    But here’s my question for you today:...

This arduous and painful year we will forever associate with its ominous epitaph–COVID PANDEMIC 2020–is about to introduce 2021 and then crawl off the stage. But before it leaves town, all of us are considering: 1) The impacts and consequences of 2020; and 2) The new “way-of-life” for 2021 that it leaves in its wake.    That’s what we’ve been doing together all month—December’s...

I’m watching 2020 begin its final march into the sunset with a burning desire to make 2021 more significant than the year it nudges off the horizon. More significant in understanding my life purpose. And more significant in serving others who need God’s love and hope.    How about YOU?    Are YOU going to make 2021 more SIGNIFICANT than 2020? If you’re in…let’s keep going.    Making...

Earlier this month I introduced the need to build a CHANGE RAMP to the new year and challenged you to give it a try for 2021. I argued that doing this work in December forces us to work with God on a vision for the new year that can easily be turned into an action plan when January arrives.    We then took the first step of identifying how living in 2020’s QUARANTINE CULTURE impacted our...

We all have our favorite Christmas TRADITIONS–the people, meals, songs, and lights…and especially the VIBE that reverberates around them. AND THAT’S FANTASTIC! It creates a wondrous backdrop and fertile environment to celebrate the birth of Christ. But as you can already feel by now, a CAUTION is coming.    Before addressing that caution, let’s establish the primary goals of every...

To be used as fuel, CRUDE OIL must be refined through four stages—Separation; Distillation; Testing; and Distribution. Similarly, Christians must approach their faith walk in the same way. That’s why every December I make studying these similarities part of my annual process of building a CHANGE RAMP to the new year. It starts with reviewing the four refining stages of CRUDE OIL:    SEPARATE...