I just completed reading Os Hillman’s book, The Upside of Adversity. This fantastic book really spoke to me and I believe it will speak to anyone who is going through, or has gone through, difficulty in their lives. Perhaps one of the most important keys to overcoming adversity is perseverance. Here is what my friend Os shared about that:

Perseverance is the key to every great accomplishment because nothing of lasting value has ever been achieved without adversity. Industrialist Henry Ford is one of the great success stories of American history, but he failed in business five times before he succeeded. A Ford Motor Company employee once asked his boss the secret of success, and Henry Ford replied, “When you start a thing, don’t quit until you finish it.”

The path ahead of you is strewn with obstacles. People will oppose you. There will be financial setbacks, time pressured, illnesses and misfortunes. Some of the biggest obstacles will be inside of you: self-doubt, insecurity, procrastination, worry.

Perseverance, Paul says, is the virtue God uses to build our character in times of adversity: “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom. 5:2-4). When we persevere through adversity, we win the approval of our Lord Jesus Christ, who told the suffering church at Ephesus, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Rev. 2:2-3). That I’m sure, is the same commendation Joseph received from God when he passed the Perseverance Test.

Perseverance is a refusal to quit. It’s falling down 100 times and getting back up 100 times. We need to remember that perseverance is not a matter of forcing doors to open; it’s standing in front of the doors as long as it takes before God chooses to open them.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrews 10:36

Have you ever felt really small and inconsequential? I know I have at times. How about feeling like you are so far away from what you believe God made you to be…like you have SO far to go? Yep, me too.

I have to tell you that I can be very impatient with myself. When I find something that needs to be changed, I want it done now. I want to be the person I was meant to be immediately. I don’t want to go through a process to get there—that usually means work and effort and patience. I want to skip all that and just get there now. Unfortunately, this isn’t the way it works. The same is true with most things. Consider a tree. How does a tree become a tree? At one time, that tree was nothing but a seed and it went through a long, difficult process to be the tree it is today.

If you’re feeling small or far away from who God made you to be, consider this: Inside every acorn resides the DNA of a mighty Oak. Isn’t that great? Inside every acorn resides the DNA of a mighty Oak.

This could describe you and me as well. We were made for greatness. We are sons and daughters of God. We have His DNA, the DNA of royalty! It’s true about each of us. We must remember this for those times we’re feeling unimportant. It is also important to remember that, just like the acorn, we must go through a process (and sometimes a very long and difficult one) to become the “mighty oaks” we were made to be.

In order for an acorn to grow, it must persevere through difficult weather conditions: droughts, floods and storms. And, it must be patient and let the growing process take place. However, before any of that happens, that acorn must die. Jesus said this in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

We must do the same: die to ourselves, persevere and be patient. Actually this isn’t something we have to do. Jesus is really telling us that we have a choice in the matter. We can choose between remaining an acorn or dying to ourselves in order to become the mighty Oak He desires us to be. Dying to ourselves obviously isn’t fun. But look on the bright side. If we can truly get this, the perseverance and patience part will be much easier.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a  freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor’s class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. “How many push-ups can you do?” Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.” “200? That’s pretty good, Steve,” Dr. Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?”

Steve replied, “I don’t know…. I’ve never done 300 at a time.” “Do you think you could?” again asked Dr. Christianson. “Well, I can try,” said Steve.

“Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,” said the professor. Steve said, “Well… I think I can…yeah, I can do it.”

Dr. Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson’s class. Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?” Cynthia said, “Yes.”

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”

“Sure!” Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, “Joe, do you want a donut?”

Joe said, “Yes.” Dr. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?”

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, “Scott do you want a donut?” Scott’s reply was, “Well, can I do my own push-ups?” Dr. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.”

Then Scott said, “Well, I don’t want one then.” Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?”

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn’t want one!”

Dr. Christianson said, “Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.” And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?” Sternly, Jenny said, “No.”

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?” Steve did ten. Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, “No!” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr. Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?”

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they’re your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.” And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, “NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!”

Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.”

Professor Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?” Steve said, “Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.”

Dr. Christianson said, “Okay, Steve, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. “Yes,” he said, “give me a donut.”

“Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?” Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a doughnut?” Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Professor Christianson quietly asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?”

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut?”

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. “Dr. Christianson, why can’t I help him?”

Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.”

“Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?” As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, “And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, ‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

“Well done, good and faithful servant,” said the professor, adding, “Not all sermons are preached in words.”

Turning to his class, the professor said, “My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.”

Wouldn’t you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?

Happy Easter!

I was listening to a teaching on CD today in which the speaker mentioned that encouragement is literally “pouring courage” into someone. I really like that picture.

I have been wrestling through quite a few things lately in which I need to make some decisions. One in particular has felt very heavy to me. Recently I’ve been feeling as if God wants me to go in a way that could prove to be very unpopular with a certain group of people. Though I feel strongly He is leading me in this direction, I have been a bit apprehensive about it.

This morning I received a call from a good friend who, while driving, said that he felt led to call me. He continued to tell me some very specific things that confirmed what I had been hearing (really, it was incredible!). Then he began to speak some very encouraging words to me. I literally felt as if I had courage poured into me and I now have much more confidence in going down the path I am being led. I thanked him for his obedience and told him that he has no idea how much of an impact his simple phone call had on me. After hanging up, I thanked God for my friend and for our conversation and for Him caring enough about me to orchestrate that call.

When was the last time you were prompted to “pour courage” into someone? Did you follow through? The next time you feel that urge, encourage someone, it could make their day!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

My friend Bob Tamasy recently wrote an interesting perspective on life and death. With this being Holy Week, I thought it would be appropriate to share it here. I hope you are blessed by this as much as I was:

Suspend your disbelief for a moment and suppose you could communicate with a baby in the womb, days or even moments before its birth. You attempt to explain the wonderful, incredible world it’s about to enter, trying to convey some of the sights and sensations it will experience.

When your effusive description is over, the baby responds, “No thanks. I’m good. I have everything I need here. It’s cozy. I’m close to Mommy. I want to stay here.”

Of course we can’t communicate cognitively with babies in utero. And they can’t choose to remain in the womb when time comes for them to enter the outside world. Parents are excitedly waiting to welcome the new addition to the family, to set eyes on the little one for the first time. With wide smiles and arms poised for embrace, they’re ready to nurture the infant, and share in the wonderment of their new life.

This image helps me to understand one of the strangest verses in the Bible. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Reading this passage for first time I thought, “Really? Is God some kind of sadist? What’s ‘precious’ about death?”

But pondering these questions, the human birth analogy came to mind. Life on earth, with its physical and temporal limitations, is our “womb.” Despite pain and hardships, it’s all we know. So we cling to it. Death is the enemy. Even in the throes of dread diseases, we desire healing.

What if, however, on “the other side of eternity,” death looks more like birth – merely leaving one environment and entering a new, wondrous one we could never have imagined?

In fact, the Bible promises this: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) Just as an unborn infant can’t fathom the world that awaits it, the Scriptures assert the same is true of the life after death.

And just as proud parents have lovingly arranged a nursery for little Jake or Jill, our Lord is as eager to show what He’s prepared for us. Jesus said as much in John 14:2: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” In essence, He’s saying, “Wait until you see what I have for you!”

This week another dear friend was called home by the Lord. Her passing is difficult for the family, without question. From the beginning, God built us for relationships; when they’re disrupted in this life by death, the void can’t be filled, and grieving family and friends remain.

But imagine leaving this “womb” and entering a new, unending life – and receiving the embrace of your Heavenly Father, His broad smile accompanied by the words, “Welcome home, My child. We’ve been waiting for you!” That sounds precious to me.

Borrowing the words of the vocal group Mercyme, “I can only imagine.”

In my last post, I told you about an experience I had observing a couple of ducks on my retreat day. I also need to share with you what happened around that time of duck watching. As I was walking by the creek and through the wooded path on the property (pictured above), I believe I had a breakthrough in my relationship with God. I know that sounds strange but it’s true.

I had a lot on my mind that was weighing me down. As I walked, I simply talked out loud to Him for over an hour and a half as I would my best friend. I shared all that was on my mind and asked Him to guide me. Sometimes He gave me some answers and at other times He was silent.

While this sounds very elementary, there was something different about this time for me. I am used to talking with God, but I think this time I really was honest with Him. I shared from the depths of my heart. I know He already knows my heart, but I feel like I opened up to Him at a whole new level. I have been on a quest for more intimacy with the Creator. I believe I experienced some of that and for that I am very grateful. I have heard that intimacy can be looked at like this: in to me see. I was inviting God to see in to me and as a result I experienced a new level of peace and I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, these retreats have been invaluable to me. Yet, it is very difficult to take the time to do this in the midst of the chaos of life. To put this in the context of business, I have come to see this as an investment of time with the best Consultant on the planet.  These are some of the benefits I have seen through taking this time regularly to be with Him:

• New and fresh ideas seem to come from this place;
• I feel rested and rejuvenated;
• Everything else in my life seems to fall into place when I take this time;
• The level of joy increases in my life;
• My peace level also increases;
• I find that I am better able to handle the troubles that come at me;
• I am better able to make key decisions;
• I am more confident in my leadership.

Though there are many more benefits, I hope this gives you an idea of what this time means to me. So…I know this Consultant Who is really good. I’d like to refer Him to you. He can see you anytime!

“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10a

Last Friday, I was on my monthly retreat with God. This time has become an incredible time of rest, renewal and revelation for me over the past several years. I usually go to a local university which has a couple of hermitages, or cabins, in an amazing setting in the woods.

Part of my time there was spent walking along a creek which runs through the property. As I was doing this, I observed two Mallard ducks paddling furiously to the creek bank. I thought they were going to get out of the water but when they got close to the bank they headed upstream. Because of the recent rains, the creek was moving rapidly so they were just positioning themselves near the bank so they could paddle upstream as the current was not as fierce there.

I reflected on how busy my life seems to be and how it resembles the fast-moving currents of this creek. Though I have a long way to go, I was also pleased to notice that my retreat day was the equivalent of getting “near the creek bank” where the current was not as fierce. As a result, I was able to do some things I otherwise could not do effectively in the rapids of life; things like ponder, think, listen for God and rest.

This retreat practice for me has been very difficult. At first, I thought it was a waste of time. Then I began to see benefits; however, I still felt that I could be doing much more productive things. Now, I view this as the most productive thing I can do. Trust me when I say that many times I have been tempted to cancel this day because of the prospect of some other “important” meeting or task or because I was so busy. However, just as the ducks paddled furiously to get out of the current, I have learned that I need to do the same by being very intentional about protecting this time on my calendar. I must view this as my most important appointment of the month.

So can I challenge you in this? Coming from a task-oriented guy, I’d like to encourage you to paddle out of  the rapids of your life regularly as well. If you can do this, it will be one of the best decisions of your life and I believe you’ll find that you actually will get more stuff done, at least more of the right stuff!

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Mark 6:31

It is hard to believe, but due to the amazing weather we’ve been having, I cut my lawn for the first time yesterday. As it does every year before the inaugural mowing, this required some preparation before the actual mowing happened. I not only needed to get the mower ready, I needed to get the yard ready as well. As I was preparing the yard (mostly picking up branches and sticks that had blown down), I noticed that there were a couple of areas where grass was looking extremely healthy and was growing very rapidly, much more so than the rest of our yard. I then noticed that most of these areas were close to some rock walls (see picture above).

As I pondered this, I realized that what was happening in these areas is that the sun has been hitting the rock wall which was absorbing and reflecting the heat to the surrounding grass. Because the mornings and evenings have still been cool, this has provided more optimal growing conditions for this grass. First the wall absorbed the sun, then it reflected it.

It then occurred to me that this is a great picture of how our lives should be. Just like these rock walls, we are to absorb and reflect the Son to others. This then will help them to be more healthy and to grow just as the grass has in my yard.

For us to reflect the Son, we must be living out our faith…or practicing what we believe. As we are changed by God, we should then become atmosphere changers.  A room should change just because we walk into it. All because of the power of the One in us. But, in order for this to happen, we must absorb the Son.

In order to absorb the Son, we must be seeking God which can be done in a number of ways including reading and meditating on Scripture, talking to and listening to God (praying), going for prayer walks,worshiping, reading a devotional or talking with a friend. The key is not what we are doing, but rather our hearts. God promises that if we seek him with all our hearts, we will find Him. And when we find Him, we will be changed which can then have an impact on those around us.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 29:13-14a

In my line of work, I am continually talking about transformation. Transformation of organizations. Transformation of families. Transformation of individuals. Regardless of what is being changed, there is one thing that is certain: transformation must begin with the individual, with us.

In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul shared that we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” I must admit, prior to last week, I had always looked at renewing my mind as being a spiritual act such as praying, meditating on Scripture and thinking about good and pure things (see Philippians 4:8), etc…

However, my paradigm got rocked a bit last week. A friend of mine showed me some brain scans, some from people who are at a healthy weight and exercise regularly and some from people who did not exercise and were overweight. The difference between the scans was astounding. Those who exercised had brains which looked very healthy while those who did not had brains that had craters or pits. My friend stated that the brains of those who do not exercise actually atrophy, or shrink, and the brains of those who exercise actually grow.

This is scientific evidence that renewing our minds is more than just doing spiritual stuff. Working out can literally renew our minds…which can then lead to transformation.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2

I have something to share with you about me. I have not been a very good relaxer…at least not while I’m at home. On vacation I can “do nothing” with the best of them. But at home or in the office it has been a different story as I tend to continually find stuff that needs to be done. I am learning, however!

With that in mind, I want to share with you a couple of things that occurred last week:

• At one of our leadership roundtable groups I facilitate, we were talking about some ways we can foster an intimate relationship with God. One person mentioned that “Holy Leisure” is a way he connects to God. This really struck me…Holy Leisure. I have since been pondering this.
• On another day I was at the Greater Toledo House of Prayer and the musician who was singing began to sing that “worship was the key to breaking chains.” This caught my attention because I had been in a bit of a funk for several days due to some relational issues. I was not myself and in a way, this had me feeling like I was captive, as if I was in chains.

That night I went to one of our local metro-parks for a brisk walk and to enjoy the amazing weather we’ve been experiencing. I took my iPod with me which contains quite a few praise and worship songs. I began walking and worshiping and enjoying the scenery. It didn’t take me long to find myself in a very thankful mood which I am still in.

Amazing. Exercise + Nature + Worship produced thankfulness and a much better attitude. This is a good formula I will need to remember…a recipe for Holy Leisure!

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3