John Wooden

The other morning I was listening to Mike & Mike on ESPN radio.  They were talking about the Legacy that John Wooden (legendary coach from UCLA, won 10 national titles and impacted many people by his example and character) left when he died this past weekend at the age of 99.   They ended up interviewing several former players and coaches and asked for the thing they would remember about Coach Wooden.   All the answers were great, thoughtful and heart felt.  One stuck out in my mind, Bill Walton.

Bill Walton is one of my least favorite analysts on ESPN, that being said his gratitude and love for Coach Wooden I will never forget!   He got choked up when talking about his former coach & friend.  He told Mike & Mike that without John Wooden in his life he would have given up years ago.   "He made such a huge impact on my life, he encouraged me when no one else was there, he coached me through my darkest days," (roughly what Walton said).  Walton was at the end of his rope, he was ready to call it quits when the man who has always been there for him made another huge impact and showed love & compassion to Bill. 

The power words have on someones life is immeasurable.  You don't have to be a legendary Coach to have an impact on someones life.  You don't have to have written books or have catchy quotes to speak truth to someone down in the dumps.  What you do have to be is willing!  Willing to step out and help, willing to show love, willing to sacrifice time in order to make a difference.  Bill Walton was forever changed by his coach, mentor, friend.

love me some facebook

Oh how we love facebook... we probably love it because its all about ME... and stalking others who you barely know!   If you can nod your head yes to more than 75% of these points then you are officially on facebook to much! :)

1. your status starts and ends the day the same... "bored..."
2. you "like" more than 25 comments a day
3. facebook is the only way you correspond with your family...  in the next room
4. you respond to someones status within 1 minute of them posting it
5. Your profile pic changes more than 3 times a day with pictures you took of yourself in your bathroom using your own camera and a mirror with the same pose every time with different outfits...
6. You use facebook as a platform to argue with everyone who doesnt see things as you see them...
7. the only time you talk with your significant other is on facebook chat
8.  you use the relationship status to break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend
9. You get depressed enough to take meds when no one sends you specialty animals in "Farmville"
10.  You consider someone your best friend after you read over their Info on facebook and not from hanging out or talking...

Love me some Facebook!

American Idol...

Really??  American Idol in its 9th or 10th season has hit the plateau of reality TV.   They have been the Juggernaut for some time but lets be honest... its getting old!

Only a few winners have been outstanding... Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, just to name a few!   Most have been disappointing, most have benefited from poor competition or a nice smile!

Its time for Fox to go back to the drawing board and get creative again!   Has the show been entertaining, yes.   Has American Idol been one of the most successful shows ever, yes.  Has Fox made unbelievable amounts of money from it, yes.  Now, with almost all of its original judges gone and Fox scrambling to add life to the panel with Ellen; it may be time to hang it up!

Some people really love it, I get that.  Some people really liked "My big fat obnoxious fiance" as well...

Lets look to the future, say good-bye to Simon, Paula and the gang!  Thanks for everything American Idol... you will be missed... sort of!

Intern

We have a new intern here at Crossfire student ministries!! Hooray!!

Lets give it up for Britton Asbell

You can find him on Twitter & Facebook... get to know him!! He'll be here for the next 7 months!

Junior High vs. Senior High

two groups... do different sets of needs... or is there??

recently I have been kicking around the idea of splitting my middle school students and high school students up. The reason being to give them what there age group needs and is looking for, amongst a number of other reasons!

Is it really essential?? Are those groups so different that they cant thrive in an environment together??

Unity is crucial... not looking to give that up!!

Middle School Students = activities and relationships
High School Students = relationships and content

can those both be accomplished on the same night??

Love

How difficult is LOVE,wow! Its more and more clear to me as I get older how difficult it is to LOVE everyone I meet! God calls us to LOVE our enemies & neighbors; there was no asterisk by those verses giving you an out if they have wronged you in any way or treated someone you LOVED badly.

How hard is it to LOVE people even though they struggle with things and have their own shortcomings... but in spite of it all, LOVE them!

WOW... chew on that for a little bit. LOVE the person who act one way at church and a different way outside those walls, LOVE the person who is mean and sarcastic with everyone at work, LOVE the person who mows their yard and sprays their grass clippings into your yard, LOVE the person who wants to be around you all the time because they want to be just like you but annoys you to no end, LOVE the person that struggles with things that make you uncomfortable!

LOVE your neighbors, LOVE your enemies, LOVE people who are like you and those who arent at all like you!

Remember that you are a person that people are trying to LOVE as well...

What If

What if...

Ive been thinking about this for the last couple weeks. All the "What If's" we use in life, give use this false sense that we are in pursuit of something more but we really aren't. We use "What If" to dream, we use "What If" to get ourselves to do something different or change, we say "What If" to get people to take notice, we use "What If" to raise issues, we use "What If" to threaten, we use "What If" to give hope...

The more I think about "What If" the more I hate it!

"What If" means nothing. "What If" is this magical saying that we use sometimes to make ourselves feel good. Most of the time we know that we say it with good intentions but nothing will ever come of it. "What If" is a crutch!

Without Purpose/Action/Follow Through "What If's" DIE!

You want to make your "What If" happen?? Be convicted about it, let God move your heart so much that you have no choice but to do something about it.

I listen to people all the time that say this... "I just told myself I wasn't going to do that again..." or this "I made up my mind that this time it would be different..." Intentions are fine... but without your heart changing your mind isn't enough to bring about a change of course!

Without your heart involved your "What If's" will never happen. If your heart was where it needed to be already then you wouldn't need to say "What If", it would already be done!

Purpose + Conviction + Action = dead "What Ifs" & a heart that is ready to make a difference!

If you are a Christ Follower then you have a purpose in this life... to reach out to others and share with them about the unconditional love that God has for them. You have a deep seeded passion to make a difference, a conviction unlike anything youve ever felt. Faith without works is dead... go and do... no more "What Ifs."

Do you have "What If's" in your life? How can you turn those into something tangible? How can you start working towards making your "What If's" happen?