Archive for January, 2010

What To Do When Snowed-In

Posted: January 29, 2010 in Books, Dogs, Family, Food, Life, Movies, People, Random, Technology, TV
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A big storm has been slamming the entire state of Oklahoma since yesterday afternoon. In the past 24 hours, it has been a steady flow of freezing rain, ice, sleet, and snow. There is a good chance that Heather and I will be snowed-in our house for the next two days.

With the reality of being snowed-in for 2+ days settling in, the question becomes what to do in this situation without being bored out of my mind.

Here’s my list of things to do while snowed-in…

  • Winter house cleaning – clean the entire house
  • Brush the dogs
  • Give the dogs a bath
  • Finally play my new Xbox 360
  • Watch everything saved on the DVR
  • Read a book
  • Watch LOST season 5 to prepare for next week’s season 6 premiere
  • Cut my hair
  • Creative cooking
  • Facebook & Twitter like a mad dog
  • Take a nap
  • P90X workout

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What else should I add to my list? What else is there to do when you are snowed-in?

Friendship Quotes

Posted: January 27, 2010 in Friends, Inspirational, Life, People, Spirituality
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“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”

Pastor Rodney Fouts shared these two friendship quotes with me the other day. The truth of these quotes have made me think. Who am I surrounding myself with? How important are friendships?

I know I have the best friends on the planet. Friends that follow Jesus. Friends that consistently push me and challenge me to be a better person, husband, friend, pastor, and follower of Christ.

To anybody that considers me a friend, thank you for being so incredible.

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How important are friendships?

Have you heard any good friendship quotes?

That’s So Gross, Kate!!!

Posted: January 26, 2010 in Dogs, Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The Bible
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Have you ever had an experience where something in God’s Word simply came alive? You know, those times in life where something happens that triggers one of those spiritual lightbulb moments and something in the Bible makes perfect sense?

I had one of those moments last week.

Kate (one of my awesome dogs pictured above) was having some stomach issues. Maybe she ate something that did not agree with her stomach. Maybe she was simply trying to drive me and Heather crazy. All I know is that she was throwing up all over our house.

Kate went into another room to vomit for the first round. Before we could realize what was going down, she had already started to lick up her own vomit. It was an extremely disgusting site. We sternly told her to never do that again. However, minutes later after round two, she was trying to lick up her own vomit yet again.

As I was cleaning up her vomit from our tile floor, all I could think about was Proverbs 26:11 – “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

As gross, stupid, and ridiculous as it is for my dog to lick up her own vomit, it is just as gross, stupid, and ridiculous for me to return to my life messes – my sins, my foolishness, my mistakes, etc.

Do not be like Kate. Sure, you and I probably are not going to lick up our own vomit. But we often keep returning to those sins that give us temporary satisfaction, keep making the same decisions that leads towards trouble and dissatisfaction, and keep returning to the same messes over and over again.

Let me encourage you with these words from Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerers through him who loved us.”

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Have you had any verses of the Bible come alive recently?

Have you had any spiritual lightbulb moments?

Top 10 Sports Movies of All-Time (in picture form)

Posted: January 25, 2010 in Life, Movies, People, Random, Sports
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READ THE FULL POST BELOW OR CLICK HERE TO READ THE REASONS WHY THIS IS MY LIST. THIS IS FOR ALL THE A.D.D. PEOPLE WHO WON’T READ THE FULL LIST.

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Top 10 Sports Movies of All-Time

Posted: January 25, 2010 in Life, People, Random, Sports
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Heather and I are big movie people. We really enjoy crawling up on our comfortable couch, cuddling with our awesome dogs, and watching a movie. One of our most favorite genres of movies are the inspirational sports movies. We cannot get enough of them.

There have been so many great sports movies. I felt like it was about time for another top 10 list ranking these cinematic classics. So, without further adieu. here is the top 10 sports movies of all-time (according to Brian Cromer)…

JUST MISSED THE CUT: The Mighty Ducks trilogy, Karate Kid, The Natural, White Men Can’t Jump, Happy Gilmore, Invincible, Tin Cup, Bull Durham, Talladega Nights,  Glory Road, Caddy Shack, Major League

TEN: Coach Carter. An amazing based-on-a-true-story of a coach turning around a bunch of selfish, undisciplined group of individuals into a unselfish, disciplined team. Samuel L. Jackson does a fantastic job as Coach Ken Carter. Favorite quote: “l came to coach basketball players, and you became students. l came to teach boys, and you became men.”

NINE: Jerry Maguire. This movie shows a different side of professional sports – from the perspective of the agents. Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) has a moral epiphany late one night that completely turns his world upside down. This movie is hilarious, dramatic, and very entertaining. It is peppered with famous quotes, such as “Show me the money!”, “Help me help you!”, “You complete me.”, “You had me at hello.”, “Do you know that the human head weighs 8 pounds?”

EIGHT: Field of Dreams. It is difficult for me to say that this is the only baseball movie that made the top 10. I am a huge baseball fan. But this movie is just great. I will admit, the premise is a little on the crazy side. Corn farmer Ray Kinsella starts hearing voices that leads him to build a baseball field in the middle of his corn field, travel in an old van across the United States picking up a washed up author who eventually disappears into the corn field with a bunch of dead professional baseball players, and eventually gets to play catch with his dead father. My favorite part of this movie is the undeniably pure passion for the game of baseball. So good. And who can forget this quote: “If you build it, he will come.”

SEVEN: Miracle. This true story from the 1980 Olympics is one of the greatest sports underdog stories of all-time. The 1980 USA hockey team beating the Soviet Union hockey team to advance and eventually win the gold medal is one of the biggest upsets in sports history. With being right in the middle of the Cold War, this victory had much more significance than just sports. The highlight of the clock running out and announcer Al Michaels screaming, “Do you believe in miracles?” is still frequently played today.

SIX: Million Dollar Baby. This movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2005. One of the saddest movies I have ever seen. This movie will make you cry and immediately go hug everyone you love when the credits start rolling. Clint Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, who is a hard, grizzled boxing trainer who reluctantly starts training a female boxer (played by Hilary Swank – who won a Oscar for Best Actress). This movie has a crazy twist that I never saw coming.

FIVE: Rudy. If you look up “inspirational sports movie” in the dictionary, there will be a description of this movie. This classic tells a story of a passionate young man who’s dream was to play college football at the University of Notre Dame and would not take no for an answer. Rudy shows what having heart is all about in sports. After watching this movie, I always want to go run a marathon or try to make it to the NBA or do something huge. Listen. Can you hear the roar of the crowd? What are they chanting? Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!

FOUR: Cinderella Man. There is something about boxing movies that are so incredible. This movie tells the awe-inspiring true story of James J. Braddock (played by Russell Crow). While struggling financially to support his family during the Great Depression, this supposedly washed up boxer gets a second chance to rejuvenate his career. Without a shadow of a doubt, my favorite line from this movie is when Braddock gets asked at a press conference before a title fight, “What are you fighting for?” and he responds, “Milk.”

THREE: Hoosiers. This movie is full of qualities that makes a good sports movie. It is an underdog story – the coach with the bad reputation, the farm boy, small town players playing the big boys from the big city. It has a sound track that will be in your head for days. This movie will undeniably make you cry every time you watch it. ESPN’s list of greatest sports movies accurately says, “While Rocky shows what one individual can do in the face of overwhelming odds, Hoosiers is the ultimate parable for the underdog ‘team.’” Also, Jimmy Chitwood is a baller who has one of the prettiest jumpshots in the history of basketball. Finally, this movie may have been the inventor of the inspirational slow clap that builds up speed and intensity to a faster, more energetic clap.

TWO: Remember the Titans. Another true story. This movie is so high on my list because my college roommate and I watched the VHS of this movie every night for an entire semester. We got to know it so well that we could literally almost quote the entire movie. It definitely holds a high sentimental value in my heart. Coach Boone and Coach Yost could be my coach any day of the week. This movie has one of the best inspirational coach speeches when Coach Yost yells, “Defense, on me. All right, now, I don’t want them to gain another yard! You blitz… all… night! If they cross the line of scrimmage, I’m gonna take every last one of you out! You make sure they remember, forever, the night they played the Titans!”

ONE: Rocky. Was their any doubt what was going to be number one on my list? Do not forget, Rocky Balboa was also my number one fictional character of all-time as well. The true underdog, rag-to-riches story where a no name boxer comes out of nowhere to be the heavy weight champion of the world. The Italian Stallion is known for training hard, being able to take multiple punches to the face without going down, and never quitting. He is a sensitive, caring guy who is also a romantic. He loves his friends and family deeply and wears his heart on his sleeve. Hey, any movie that has a fictitious character that has a real statue in a major US city has to be one of the top sports movies of all-time. Won 1976 Oscar for Best Picture. Favorite Rocky quote, “Was ya ever punched in the face 500 times a night? It stings after a while, ya know.”

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There you go. That’s my list. What did I miss? What’s your top 10 sports movies of all-time list?

Eric’s Story (Part 3 of 3)

Posted: January 20, 2010 in Faith, Friends, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
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Eric Seguin is one of my best friends on this planet. He is currently living and teaching English in Isla Baru, Columbia – a community of about 5000 people who are all classification 0 or 1 (out of 6) poverty level (super poor). I asked him to share his journey with the REVOLUTION students. What he wrote absolutely blew me away.

Here is Eric’s story in his own words…

READ PART 1 HERE

READ PART 2 HERE

PART 3 OF 3:

Seeking Him each day and begging for His to carry this cry to action, God first revealed the true need in this world. According to the a few Joshua Project statistics: 1/3 of the planet’s population has never heard the Gospel! I have seen reports from the International Mission Board that the number is closer to 4 billion people! And of this number, 50,000+ die each day never hearing the Gospel message.

Next, the commands of Christ began to pierce my heart in a way that was amazing. From orphan care to potent words of the great commission, the Holy Spirit began to ask me if I truly believed them and if I did, to put all my chips in and commit! That “C” word was the hardest part, but for once in my life, I was given “the peace that transcends all understanding.”

Understanding how awful the devil is, I asked my family and close friends to constantly lift me up in prayer and to keep my accountable.

Through prayer and guidance from loved ones, I enrolled in Seminary while still maintaining my job. My tentative plan was to commit to graduate studies for the next several years and then to enter full-time mission work once I completed my Masters of Divinity. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!

As I started classes, I learned of an amazing opportunity that would have me teaching English within an underserved population in Isla Baru, Colombia with Harvard University. While this was a secular organization, I knew that the acquisition of the language and the opportunities to work with an International Mission Board team in Cartagena on the weekends was a divine opportunity! Pretty cool what God gives us when we search Him with all our hearts!

Fortunately, I was accepted to this program and I am now writing you from Cartagena, Colombia! My life has come full circle and in a couple hours I am going to one of the poorest barrios here, Nelson Mandela, to participate in an awesome ministry here that uses sports and chronological bible stories to reach the lost children here. They have also started a few home churches that have seen many Colombians come to know Jesus!

As my Spanish improves (adopted from Colombia- didn’t grow up here), I hope to become a more effective communicator of the Truth that is His Word! The reality is that while these people have absolutely nothing, they could have everything through Jesus Christ!

So please keep me in your prayers as I want nothing more than to become utterly dependant on Him and to be used in every capacity He would have for me here! Please keep Kendall and the International Mission Board team here in your prayers as they work very hard to reach the lost in Colombia! These are the real missionaries who have dropped everything they know and have for the Cross! These people are on the front lines and if you understood how fierce the spiritual warfare is for them, we would all drop to our knees right now.

Please pray for the families and children here in Colombia who live in oppression and fear! May they come to see and believe in the amazing creator God we know and love!

Lastly, I ask that you pray for one another and what God would have with your life. What does the great commission mean to you? What cry has he placed on your heart? While I miss my family, friends, and beloved dog Ellie, I know that the joy of being used by Him trumps everything! When the cards are all on the table for Him, we will always “clean house.”

In Christ,

Eric Seguin

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Powerful, huh? What stuck out to you? How did God speak to you through this letter? What can you learn from Eric’s letter and life experience?

Eric’s Story (Part 2 of 3)

Posted: January 19, 2010 in Faith, Friends, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The Bible
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WARNING: THIS IS A STORY. THIS WILL BE A LONGER POST THAN NORMAL, BUT IT WILL BE WELL WORTH YOUR TIME. TRUST ME, I WOULDN’T PUT IT ON MY BLOG IF IT WASN’T. I AM NOT IN TO WASTING TIME.

Eric Seguin is one of my best friends on this planet. He is currently living and teaching English in Isla Baru, Columbia – a community of about 5000 people who are all classification 0 or 1 (out of 6) poverty level (super poor). I asked him to share his journey with the REVOLUTION students. What he wrote absolutely blew me away.

Here is Eric’s story in his own words…

READ PART 1 HERE

PART 2 OF 3:

I went to Lipscomb and through my love for basketball met Brian and a bunch of amazing people who have truly helped me see firsthand what God can do to us when we give everything to Him. I participated in homeless ministries and a youth mentoring program that began to show me I had a heart for relationships and those less fortunate.

I graduated college and began work in the realm of Childhood Obesity where I learned so many professional and intrapersonal skills that I know will be used for His glory today. However, like many college graduates here in the states, I began to feel the pressure that is corporate America. What can I do to advance my career? Should I work for this organization or go to graduate school?

I also remember feeling utterly broken when my best friend left to do overseas missions. She was someone so important to me and such an encouragement. But what began to hurt the most was the pure fact that my true identity was in everything but Him!

I remember a tough conversation with your youth minister where God used him to reveal all of this to me! Even though I was faithful follower of Christ, each day I woke up I walked my own path on my own strength and desire. I remember the moment that Brian broke down what being “refined by fire” truly means and how much it can hurt. And in that moment, I began to seek the true heart of God and began to let the Holy Spirit “burn up” all the impurities that were present in my life as I knew it.

What does impurity mean to you? Through Gods amazing grace and redeeming power, we are made clean. I love how Paul says in Colossians 1:21 that we were once “alienated from God” but in verse 22 by belief in Jesus we are reconciled and now viewed as “without blemish” and “free from accusation.” Yet, the verse continues when Paul says “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.”

I say this not for you to think we live by “works” or that God’s love is conditional, but for you to remember that the devil does everything he can to steer us away from all that God wants to give us.

My impurities were many, ranging from sexual sins to prideful worldly ideals. For many years, though I felt such a calling, my past and current struggles were something the devil hung over my head so that I might feel “disqualified” and “unfit” for such a service as missions. While the devils attacks are just as prevalent and even more creative today than before, I know if I rest in Him, that the Lord can and will deliver me each and every time!

So as I began to drop these desires to “control” my own life, by His power, I began to see things in a different light. My very rewarding job that was improving the well being of children through community initiative and clinical interventions was now leaving an empty place in my heart. God began to press on me that these overweight children needed Jesus more than anything else I was asked to provide them in the way of lifestyle modification!

Another moment where God began to reveal this calling to me was through a trip to Guatemala. As I walked through this immensely poor community in San Juan del Obispo, I saw some kids playing soccer. In a moment that I have had a few times before, God reminded me of where I came from, how much He blessed me through my upbringing in the States, and my responsibility to be His hands in feet to these people!

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Check out briancromer.com later to read part 3 of this incredible story.

Eric’s Story (Part 1 of 3)

Posted: January 18, 2010 in Books, Culture, Faith, Friends, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The Bible
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WARNING: THIS IS A STORY. THIS WILL BE A LONGER POST THAN NORMAL, BUT IT WILL BE WELL WORTH YOUR TIME. TRUST ME, I WOULDN’T PUT IT ON MY BLOG IF IT WASN’T. I AM NOT IN TO WASTING TIME.

Eric Seguin is one of my best friends on this planet. He is currently living and teaching English in Isla Baru, Columbia – a community of about 5000 people who are all classification 0 or 1 (out of 6) poverty level (super poor). I asked him to share his journey with the REVOLUTION students. What he wrote absolutely blew me away.

Here is Eric’s story in his own words…

PART 1 OF 3:

The great commission is more than handing out Christian literature. It’s about becoming intimately involved in people’s lives and being prepared and willing to let the Lord open doors to share His redeeming story.

I love how Missionary Steve Saint (son of martyred Nate Saint) paraphrased the core concepts of the Great Commission from all the Gospels in his book The Great Omission. He wrote…

God, my Father, sent me (John 20:21) to represent His interests on earth and gave me His authority in Heaven as well as here on earth to get the job done (Matthew 28:18). With His authority, I am sending you (Luke 10:3) as my representative. Every people group on earth should be told so that they fully understand about repentance for forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47). So, go into the entire world and teach everyone everywhere. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved! Be sure to explain carefully that anyone who doesn’t believe is going to be condemned (Mark 16:16). Then train those who have decided to follow me- men and women and girls and boys from all over the world. Teach them how to do it themselves (Matthew 28:20).

I believe that not everyone is called to do international missions. However, over these last few years I come to the conviction that everyone must be involved in missions on some capacity and also that I have been given a cry that has driven me to go personally.

My personal story begins from the moment I was brought into this world. One day after I was born, my biological mother gave up her rights to me and I was handed over to a caring but poor orphanage in Bogota, Colombia. Growing up an orphan in the 1980’s and 1990’s in conflict ravished Colombia was something no one would like to do. Fortunately for me, God has another plan for my life. Only a few months after I was born, my amazing parents from Concord, New Hampshire boarded a plane to come adopt me and take me as their own!

I went from poverty to riches and opportunity in a matter of a 5 hour flight!

With my father who is a solid 6’7” and my little Italian mother, the Sesame Street song that “One of these is different than the other” hit home for me in a personal way. Yet, I loved my parents and from an early age God began to place on my heart a feeling of blessing that is indescribable.

My parents would tell you that when I was really young, that in my nightly prayers I would thank God for everything and also for “my parents who saved me from becoming a drug lord in Colombia!” However, like many people who feel called to be His light in other countries, I did not have this conviction from an early age.

Having accepted Christ at the age of 15, I will honestly admit that I did fully understand what that meant until my Father and I traveled to Honduras my senior year of high school. Our 3-week mission trip was something that connected a few dots for me. The poverty and oppression was tremendous. I began to see firsthand how fortunate I was to have been adopted from such a similar situation.

Yet, like most people who go on short term missions, I returned to the States convicted and fired up to be His hands and feet among these people. But as many know, this is when Satan works overtime to put out such flames by using doubt, inadequacy, and fear just to name a few. My amazing experience was no exception as I lost focus on the apparent need and the cry He had placed on my heart.

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Check out briancromer.com later to read part 2 of this incredible story.

You will start to look like…

Posted: January 17, 2010 in Faith, Family, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
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…whoever you follow,

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If you could have asked me when I was a little kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would not have said that I wanted to a youth pastor (believe it or not). I would not have wanted to be a policeman. I would not have wanted to be an astronaut. I would  not have wanted to be a baseball player.

I wanted to be my dad.

Whatever my dad was doing, I wanted to do. Where ever my dad was going, I wanted to be there. Whatever my dad was wearing, I wanted to wear. You name it – if my dad was involved, I wanted to be involved.

Growing up, there was one specific thing my dad did that I wanted to do so bad – shaving. I remember watching my dad shave and thinking that it was so cool. I have cherished memories of my dad putting me up on the bathroom counter, lathering me up with shaving cream, and shaving my face with the back (razor-less) side of his razor.

During those moments, I was on top of the world. I thought I was such a big boy. I was a pre-kindergarten shaver. I was being like my dad. Because I was following my dad, I started looking like him and started doing the things he did.

A son’s desire to be like his dad brings up a universal truth – YOU WILL START TO LOOK LIKE WHOEVER YOU FOLLOW.

If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, this truth should make you think long and hard about what you look like. The simply truth is that if you say that you are a follower of Jesus, then you should start to look more and more like him. I am afraid there are too many Christians who say they follow Jesus but look nothing like him.

Let me encourage you to take an honest look at your life. Are you following Jesus? Are you starting to look like him more and more everyday? Are you desiring to live your life in a way that mirrors Jesus?

Make today the day where you embrace Jesus’ call to “follow me” and you will start (like I did with my dad) to look more and more like him.

American Idol & March Madness

Posted: January 14, 2010 in Culture, Funny, Life, People, Random, Sports, TV
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Yes, I was one of the 29.8 million people who watched this week’s debut of American Idol on FOX.

My DVR had 3 and 1/2 hours of American Idol goodness on it this week and I enjoyed every second. I laughed. Heather cried (because it was reality television). I cried from laughing so hard at the terrible singers. Heather hid under a blanket in embarrassment for the terrible singers. It was great. In my humble opinion, there is not much better television than the first few episodes every season of American Idol during the opening auditions.

I see a lot of similarity between American Idol and March Madness (the NCAA men’s basketball championship tournament). They both possess a quality that is very unique…THE BEST PART OF BOTH ARE THE BEGINNING.

Think about it.

The best part of March Madness is the opening round. Making last minute changes on your bracket. 64 teams all playing in do-or-die games. 12 hour a day college basketball coverage. Buzzer beaters. Small schools that you have never heard of upsetting a major basketball powerhouse. The opening round is way better than the Final Four.

Tell me another sport where the opening round of the playoffs is better than the championship.

Is the opening round of the NBA playoffs better than the Finals? No.

Is the the divisional round of the MLB playoffs better than the World Series? Nope.

Is the the wild card round of the NFL playoffs better than the Super Bowl? No way.

Is the first round of the NCAA college football playoffs better than the BCS Championship? Wait a second…a computer decides that one. Good call, college football. Maybe next year you can let a facebook poll determine who plays in the championship game. (Sorry…that is a conversation/rant for another day.)

Like March Madness, the best part of American Idol is the first few episodes. The opening auditions are much better than the finale. The laughter. The stories that tug on the heart strings. The people who sincerely think they are great because their mom tells them everyday but are really terrible. The obnoxious people. This guy…

Once the opening auditions are over, the show goes downhill. It goes from laughing on my couch to pressuring me to text my vote. Everybody is talented after the first round and the show changes from a comedy to a drama.

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This quality is definitely unique.

Can you think of anything else in culture that the best part is at the beginning?

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