In a previous sales, I learned a valuable lesson…from something I happened to get right. I had a client in Florida named Mike (not his real name). Our company provided a service of printing and mailing letters for him (he owned a collection agency who worked with hospitals). He called me one day to inform me that one of his clients (a hospital, also in Florida) received a call from an irate patient who had received 42 letters from their agency. Though this patient was delinquent on all of these charges, receiving this many notices was considered harassment and against the law. So, this was a big issue for Mike and he wanted it to get resolved quickly.

I immediately went to our customer service department and after a little bit of research I was happy to report to Mike that his company had sent us the data in 42 different letters. The error was on his end, not ours. Mike was very appreciative and now had to work on some processes on his end.

One month later, Mike called me to report that the same patient had received 42 separate letters again! Once more, I went to our customer service department and we did some digging. Then, to my horror, we discovered that one of our programmers had accidentally released their file a second time…sending the same 42 individual letters to the same patient.

Immediately I called Mike to inform him of the mistake on our end. I made no excuses and I didn’t point the finger at any one person in our organization. I told him “we” made a mistake. I then asked what he wanted us to do to make it right. Did he want us to send this man a letter explaining our mistake? He laughed and said, “Jim, this guy can already wallpaper his house with all the mail we’ve sent him. We can’t send him any more letters.”

I don’t remember exactly how this got resolved, but I do remember two things, one negative and one very big positive. On the negative side: I was trying to get the statement printing and mailing business of Mike’s client in Florida. Because of our mistake, this hospital said they would never do business with us which was obviously very disappointing news to me. However, on the positive side: I later learned that Mike became our biggest fan that day. When I would attend a trade show where Mike was present, he would regularly bring prospective clients to me and tell them, “This is the guy you want to do business with. He is a stand-up guy who will tell you the truth, even if it might cost him business.”

While telling the truth cost me business in the short-term, in the end, my company and I came out way ahead simply by being honest.

Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth.
Proverbs 16:13

Recently I received a text from my daughter with the above picture of my grand-puppy, Tysen, sleeping. I had to laugh because this is so him. He can sleep in any position and on just about anything. He is the definition of laid back…when he’s sleeping (when he’s awake, that’s a different story).

This is a picture of something I’d like more of in my life. Rest. Peace. No cares in the world.

However, this is not a value that is very respected in society. When was the last time you heard of a nap being applauded? More typically, we are most impressed with those who work long hours and are diligent rather than those “slackers” who take naps.

Don’t get me wrong, hard work and diligence are not bad things. Quite the contrary, they are both great qualities that God places a high value on. However, when rest is not included, burn-out and stress abound. We are called to work hard and be diligent AND to rest.

Tysen does this very well and provides a great model for us to follow…

• When he’s awake, Tysen “works” hard by chasing things, running around and giving it his all. (Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24)
• Throughout the day, Tysen regularly takes time to rest. (In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 127:2)
• He loves being around other dogs and people and takes every opportunity to introduce himself to others. (Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25)
• When he rests, he does so really well (as evidenced in the picture above) and appears to have no worries at all. (Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7)

So my encouragement to you today is this: live like a dog!

This is Memorial Day weekend. A time to pause and remember…to get the hot dogs and hamburgers for the grill, to get the lawn manicured for our parties and to plan fun things to do on our extra day off. Well, at least that’s what it seems like Memorial Day has become about.

Take a few minutes and watch the stirring video about the true meaning of Memorial Day.

God bless you and God bless America!

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight.”

C.S. Lewis from The Screwtape Letters

In my last post, I mentioned that we should live by the motto, “En garde!”…that we have an enemy and we must be alert. As C.S. Lewis stated above, it is an error to think that we do not have an enemy. It is just as equal an error to think that our enemy is around every tree.

The fact is, our enemy, Satan, is real and he will do all he can to keep us from God and His plans for our lives. His primary plan is to steal and kill and destroy (see John 10:10).

The first half of Matthew 4 reveals the temptations Jesus faced from Satan and how He dealt with them. This turns out to be a tremendous model for us in dealing with spiritual warfare and three things stick out to me. One, because Jesus was sinless, Satan had no power over Him. Two, Jesus knew the Word of God and used it as a weapon to combat Satan (as described in Ephesians 6:17 – the Sword of the Spirit). And three, the peace that Jesus exhibited in the midst of the warfare helped to defeat His adversary. Romans 16:20a says this, The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

While spiritual warfare is absolutely real and something we should be aware of, I believe that many of us get too wrapped up in it. I once heard a very famous motivational speaker at a conference talking about the time he visited a NASCAR racetrack and was given the opportunity to drive one of the cars around the track. As he was driving at well over 100 miles per hour, he could not help but regularly glance at the wall, which seemed to be only inches away from his fender. His coach who was monitoring his position on the racetrack firmly reminded him through his headphones, “Keep your eyes straight ahead! Don’t focus on the wall!” The reason? Because each time he focused on the wall, he drifted closer and closer to it. Because of the crew chief’s experience, he knew that if this rookie driver continued to look at the wall, he would eventually crash into it.

The speaker shared that it was good that he knew there was a wall there and that it would be dangerous for him to run into it. However, he discovered that he shouldn’t focus all his attention on it or that was where he was going to end up.

The same holds true for our enemy. It is good to know that he is real and he wants to separate us from God and from the peace He provides for us. However, just like the wall, we should not focus all our attention on our enemy. Our God is much bigger than him, so we should remain focused on God.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

“En garde!” This is what my friends and I used to yell to one another when we were kids while wielding our “swords” (usually wrapping paper tubes). It is a French term which means to be on your guard. In other words, be ready.

Last Friday I was on my monthly retreat day and this phrase strangely came to my mind. I was walking along the creek that I wrote about a couple of months ago and I noticed a mallard duck paddling in the water so I stopped to check him out. While standing there I noticed some movement to my right. I turned and noticed this guy (the woodchuck pictured above) sticking his head out of his front door. As soon as he saw me, he froze and was perfectly still.

Had this woodchuck boldly raced out of his home and had I been interested in harming him, he could have been in great danger. However, he was living by—and I assume he always lives by—the motto, “En garde!” He is ready. His survival depends on it. As a result, he was able to remain still and very cautious watching me for any movement. Just after snapping his picture, I took a step toward him and he quickly retreated into the cozy and safe confines of his home.

You and I are instructed to live by the motto “En garde!” as well. Consider these words of instruction:

• Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
• And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)

Do you see the common word in these two verses? Alert. We are to be alert, or en garde! We do have an enemy who wants to keep us from our destinies. He wants to steal, kill and destroy (see John 10:10). So we, like my new groundhog friend, must be “En garde!”

Is the following statement true? Opposites attract. I think most people would agree that it is.

What about this one? Birds of a feather flock together. Again, most would say this is true, or at least that there is truth in it.

The two above statements are diametrically opposed to one another, yet they both contain truth. How can this be? As I pondered this, I was struck by how often I have known something as truth. I mean, I have had times in which I was absolutely certain about something and actually argued with others over it. How silly…especially since, in many instances, I now see it from their point of view and understand that they were also right (or that I was wrong).

It all has to do with perspective. We all have blind spots. This is why it is so important to have others around you whom you allow access to your life.  While it often can be unpleasant, we need to be challenged, we need to be held accountable and sometimes we need to be shown that we are way out of line. We also need cheerleaders in our lives to encourage us.

Jesus provided a great model for us. He hung out most often with 12 guys. And of those 12, Jesus invited three of them to walk even closer to Him (Peter, James and John). Of those three, Jesus allowed even closer access to one (John).

Who have you given permission to speak into your life? Who are your 12? Who are your three? Who is your one?

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

The other night my son and I watched a show on Discovery Channel called Frozen Planet. I have found this series fascinating and I am amazed at how the camera operators are able to capture the incredible images. On this particular segment of the program, emperor penguins were the topic. The narrator shared that in Antarctica, the emperor penguin is the only animal to spend the winter above the ice, exposed to the elements. Actually it is only the male penguin that remains above the ice to care for his mate’s egg while the females are in the water under the ice feeding.

The only reason the males can survive is that they work together. When the temperature drops, they huddle up close to one another, keeping each other warm.

On other animal documentaries, I have noticed the way animals gather together to protect each other from other dangers as well such as carnivorous threats. When a predator is hunting its prey, it almost always targets the animal that is by itself. That is because there is great strength in numbers. That is why God wired them to remain together. The same is true of humans. We are stronger in a team and weaker by ourselves. However, our natural tendency is to isolate ourselves, especially when things are not going well. However when life is going sideways, we especially need others around us.

Our enemy is roaming around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (see the verse below). Just as the lion hunts the zebra, our enemy wants us isolated so that he can have easier access to us. So be like the penguins and huddle up!

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

Recently I heard a talk about the value of living in a God-honoring family. There were some terrific points brought up that were certainly relevant to my family life and I got a lot out of that message. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about how important this is in all our relationships, especially those at work (perhaps because I have worked in several environments I considered to be less than God-honoring – in fact, the picture above resembled a boss I once had). So what does a God-honoring workplace look like?

l think a couple of verses give us a good look at what a God-honoring work environment would include:

• Ephesians 4:2 – Be completely humble and gentle; bearing with one another in love.
• Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Could you imagine working at a place that embodied these characteristics? It would be a place where the people were:

• Completely humble;
• Gentle;
• Patient, bearing with one another in love;
• Selfless servants to each other;
• Truly for one another.

To many, this probably seems like utopia…the perfect place to work. However, we more typically see the opposite…work environments where people are arrogant, rude, impatient and selfish. And when we’re in such an environment our natural tendency is to act in the same manner. After all, who wants to be gentle and kind to a jerk? But these verses are not suggesting we embody these characteristics only when others around us do. We are being told to choose to walk this way regardless of our environment. In essence we are encouraged to be atmosphere changers.

The fact that we are more likely to be kind and considerate to others when they treat us that way shows us the power we have to change atmospheres. It only takes one person to start. Why not you?

On our recent vacation, in order to get to the beach at the resort, we needed to walk along a path through beautiful wooded gardens. On one such voyage to the beach, we encountered a strange looking family of birds…what appeared to be a mother, father and baby bird. We later learned that these strange creatures have an even stranger name, Chachalacas.

As we approached them, something interesting happened. Mysteriously, the baby disappeared. Upon further investigation, we discovered that he was under the tail feathers of his mother, or father (pictured above, just as the baby was heading under the parental tail feathers). What was incredible was that he remained hidden even as they marched along. I was reminded of two things. One, our God is so creative in how He made all the animals, each with unique ways to survive. The second thing that came to my mind was that this is a very similar picture of how God promises to protect us. What an amazing promise for us all!

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:4

Yesterday morning over 700 people gathered in our community for the 23rd annual NWO (Northwest Ohio) Prayer Breakfast. This is a great event that I have had the privilege of helping to organize for the past five years. Our speaker yesterday was Kris Kirschner (pictured at left), from Atlanta, who shared an incredible story of achieving great material success; losing everything including his finances, his company and his family; discovering some painful childhood wounds that affected him deeply; and how God has been healing and restoring him. It was very powerful, to say the least and I believe those in attendance were deeply impacted. And God helped that to happen in a very unorthodox way.

Prior to the event, I picked Kris up at his hotel to drive him to the venue. When we arrived shortly after 6:00 a.m., we were greeted by a member of our committee who shared some very bad news: the sound system was not working well at all. The speakers on the left half of the room were cutting out with great regularity. And when they were working, it sounded very muffled and extremely difficult to hear…and that was in an almost empty room. I thought to myself that if we had trouble hearing now, it would be impossible to hear with 700+ people in a room with all of the accompanying background noise.

At 6:30, we realized that there was nothing we could do about the situation since the event would be starting in half an hour, so we decided to gather in a circle and pray. No one used fancy words. It didn’t seem like anything extraordinary was said. People simply shared their hearts over a five-minute period and humbly asked God to work it all out.

The event was kicked off by John Henry Livingston who does a great job each year of waking everyone up. However, when he stepped up to the mic, he could not be heard at all above the talking going on in the room. Eventually, the room quieted down enough for John to pray (and he did a wonderful job handling some great adversity), but I had a sickening feeling in my stomach that this event might be a disaster because of the sound system. More prayers went up.

After a great breakfast, we kicked off the program, and much to the delight of everyone in the room, the sound improved greatly. Everyone could hear fine. Was it perfect? Nope. But it was good enough. In fact, in hindsight, it may have been better than perfect. Because it wasn’t as clear as we were used to, I noticed around the room that people were really leaning in to hear Kris’ message. I noticed much less background noise. No clanging of silverware on plates. No coughing or clearing of throats. People were tuned in perhaps more than at any previous prayer breakfast. Incredible!

Again, I was taught a great lesson about the power of God. Had I planned it, we wouldn’t have had any sound issues. That would have been perfect to me. Yet, the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. He knew that Kris’ story was so powerful and needed to be heard, so He worked it out better than perfect. And…He got the glory for it!

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”
Matthew 6:25

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:9