Posts Tagged ‘Inspirational’

JESUS PAID IT ALL

Posted: August 9, 2011 in Faith, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
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Performed at NORTHchurch on Sunday, August 7, 2011.

KEVIN DURANT & HIS BIBLE

Posted: April 22, 2011 in Culture, Faith, Inspirational, Life, People, Spirituality, Sports, The Bible
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Kevin Durant walked into his postgame news conference following the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Game 1 victory over Denver and climbed to his seat atop a podium with three things in hand.

His cellphone, a pair of headphones and a Bible.

The first two, Durant has always carried. The third item was included only recently.

For the past 44 days, Durant, the Thunder’s two-time All-Star and reigning two-time scoring champ, has become a Bible-toting ballplayer. Since March 8, Durant has read passages each day from the black leather Bible he carries with his name engraved on the front cover.

Durant has been spotted digesting passages at his locker before games, which is not uncommon inside NBA locker rooms. Teammate Serge Ibaka has done the same since he entered the league. The sight of Durant thumbing through the Good Book, though, represents just another reason why many observers have labeled Durant a special kind of superstar.

“I just want to grow spiritually with the Lord,” Durant said. “It’s something I always talked about, but I never really got into it.”

Durant finally decided to commit himself to a covenant of daily worship on March 7. The Thunder was in Memphis for a game against the Grizzlies. During a trip to pregame chapel, which more than half of the Thunder’s roster attends regularly before each game, Durant found his final source of inspiration.

The team chaplain for the Grizzlies, like Durant a Maryland native, stressed what a difference daily reading can make. The minister told the young man that even a scripture a day can change his life.

The next day, Durant began his devotion.

“I’m keeping strong at it, just trying to make my walk with faith a little better,” Durant said. “That’s making me a better person, opening my eyes to things and I’m also maturing as a person. I’m just trying to grow.”

(From NewsOK - http://www.newsok.com/article/3560862)

15 KEYS FOR YOUR FULL POTENTIAL

Posted: April 20, 2011 in Books, Culture, Inspirational, Life, People
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15 KEYS FOR YOUR FULL POTENTIAL…

  1. Be positive. Your mind is more powerful than you think.
  2. Build high expectations into others.
  3. What is down in the well comes up in the bucket. Fill yourself with positive things.
  4. Your education matters. Don’t cut corners – you’ll only cheat yourself if you don’t learn the material.
  5. Sports are great…as a complement to academics.
  6. Find employment that excites you for reasons beyond the salary.
  7. Make conservative decisions with debt.
  8. Don’t take hassles from work home with you.
  9. Goals are important, but make sure they are worthy goals – you just might reach them!
  10. Don’t fear risk – life is an adventure, not a dress rehearsal.
  11. Make the best decisions you can after deliberation and prayer, but don’t second-guess yourself. You did the best you could.
  12. Be careful with mind-altering substances, even legal ones. Addiction can sneak up and destroy your life.
  13. Don’t be afraid to be different.
  14. You will fail. Remember that, but don’t fear it.
  15. True toughness is how you respond to adversity.
(From “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy)

7 KEYS TO LIFTING YOUR FRIENDS AND OTHERS

Posted: March 21, 2011 in Books, Inspirational, Life, People
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  1. Choose friends for the sake of friendship, based on values.
  2. Listen to the voices of those you trust, not the voices of the crowd.
  3. Be open to taking advice from people whose judgment you trust.
  4. Conflict can be positive. Don’t fear it.
  5. When conflict occurs, attack the issue, not the person.
  6. Be yourself. Others may need your example, whether you realize it or not.
  7. Be intentional about helping others. Give back as you move through life.

(From “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy)

15 KEYS FOR REACHING YOUR FULL POTENTIAL

Posted: March 15, 2011 in Books, Culture, Faith, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, Sports
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  1. Be positive. Your mind is more powerful than you think.
  2. Build high expectations into others.
  3. What is down in the well comes up in the bucket. Fill yourself with positive things.
  4. Your education matters. Don’t cut corners – you’ll only cheat yourself if you don’t learn the material.
  5. Sports are great…as a complement to academics.
  6. Find employment that excites you for reasons beyond the salary.
  7. Make conservative decisions with debt.
  8. Don’t take hassles from work home with you.
  9. Goals are important, but make sure they are worthy goals – you just might reach them!
  10. Don’t fear risk – life is an adventure, not a dress rehearsal.
  11. Make the best decisions you can after deliberation and prayer, but don’t second-guess yourself. You did the best you could.
  12. Be careful with mind-altering substances, even legal ones. Addictions can sneak up and destroy your life.
  13. Don’t be afraid to be different.
  14. You will fail. Remember that, but don’t fear it.
  15. True toughness is how you respond to adversity.

(From “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy)

11 KEYS FOR LOVING YOUR FAMILY

Posted: March 6, 2011 in Books, Culture, Faith, Family, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
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  1. Be a leader around your home, but lead for the benefit of your wife and children, not for your own benefit.
  2. Give your wife breaks from her daily responsibilities.
  3. Make memories.
  4. Keep your (marriage) vows sacred. Sometimes better comes after worse.
  5. If you are not married, be careful in selecting a spouse. It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
  6. Be present with your family – emotionally and physically.
  7. Be careful what you say and do.
  8. Write notes to your children.
  9. Honor those in authority over you.
  10. Be careful with the authority and influence that you’ve been entrusted with.
  11. If you can’t come to grips with your parents and your past, find a professional to walk with you through it.

(From “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy)

13 KEYS FOR DEVELOPING YOUR CORE

Posted: March 4, 2011 in Books, Faith, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
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  1. Remember that what you do when no one is watching matters.
  2. The means matter as much as the ends, if not more.
  3. Hang in there. Character is revealed through adversity.
  4. Often we grow as much through the little things as we do through the big ones.
  5. Truth is critical. Being truthful is too.
  6. Don’t rationalize your way around honesty.
  7. Don’t blow your own horn.
  8. Don’t be falsely modest; you have amazing gifts. Just recognize that others do too.
  9. You are important, but not indispensable. The same goes for others. See yourself as a significant part of the process.
  10. Be careful what you do with your resources, gifts, time, and talents. You’ve been entrusted with them.
  11. Some of the most rewarding times in life are when you have to stand alone, even if you are uncomfortable doing so.
  12. Life is hard. Courage is essential.
  13. Never give up. Never.

(From “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy)

20 BILLION HOURS

Posted: January 25, 2011 in Books, Culture, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People
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Recently I read a sentence that grabbed my heart and I have not been able to shake it.

“IN A GIVEN YEAR IT’S ESTIMATED THAT AMERICAN ADULTS VOLUNTEER ROUGHLY 20 BILLION HOURS OF THEIR TIME.” (from Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels)

20 billion hours! That’s 20,000,000,000 hours!

My only response to this unbelievable sentence is…

Thank you.

To all the people that so selflessly give their time to churches, hospitals, ministry programs, nonprofit groups, schools, charities, and all other volunteer positions – THANK YOU. The world is better because of what you do. You are appreciated.

Thank you.

ONE OF THE BEST EMAILS I’VE GOTTEN IN A LONG TIME

Posted: January 24, 2011 in Faith, Family, Friends, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
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On September 13, 2008 I wrote a post asking you to pray for my good friends, Ryan & Keeley White.

Ryan and Keeley learned in April 2008 that they were going to have twins. After checkups and doctor visits, they have found that one of their twin sons has a a congenital heart defect called “Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome” or HLHS. They learned about this condition after doctors realized that one twin had an underdeveloped left side of his heart. HLHS is a complicated condition that will require three stages of surgery all before their son turns three years old.

On Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Braden and Reed White entered this world.

That day Ryan and Keeley found out that Reed needed a heart transplant.

More than two months later on January 19, 2009, Reed got his new heart after successful heart transplant surgery.

Exactly two years later on January 19, 2011, I received this email from Ryan White (Reed’s dad). It was seriously one of the best emails I’ve gotten in a long time.

Here’s the email…

Friends,

Two years ago today, my life, and the life of Reed was changed forever.  Reed was 69 days old, and had never been outside the walls of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.  Looking back, those 69 days seemed like a life time.  Reed would not live w/out a new heart.  He was born with a heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).  Around this time 2 years ago, we got a call from the hospital saying Reed was going to receive a new heart!  To this day, I don’t think I’ve had a better moment.  69 days of wondering if my child would live or die was so difficult…wondering why he was having to deal with this…why after losing Kyle, our family had so see Reed suffer, and deal with possibly losing him.  Today is a proud day for my family.  We are thankful to the Lord, we are thankful to the family who decided to donate their child’s organs so Reed and others could live.

I’ve learned a lot the past 2 years and 69 days.  The thing that stands out the most is a simple thought : “It could always be worse”!  The 69 days of waiting were the hardest, and most challenging days of my life. It was in those days my Faith was revealed.  It was in those times GOD revealed himself as Creator and Lord.  It’s was in those times I learned how much I’m loved.  It  was in those times I saw GOD was good, not because of STUFF, but because you know He has suffered too.  I am blessed not because Reed was given a heart, but because God sacrificed Jesus.   God sent Jesus knowing he would die.  God sent Jesus knowing he would suffer.  God sent Jesus knowing I would sin against Him.  God sent Jesus because he has a Love that words can’t describe.  God sent Jesus despite you & me.  It’s the sacrifice that makes God so good!  It’s the sacrifice that gives us Life!

In closing, I ask you to consider being an Organ Donor.  This is a way we can give Life to someone who needs it.  This is way we can be a miracle to someone like Reed.  For more information check out: http://www.donatelife.net/index.php

God is good!

Ryan White

Our God is the God who hears the cries of his people. He is the God who listens. He is the God who heals. He is the God who saves. He is the God who provides.

Thank you for praying and caring for this family over the years.

 

BEST MARRIAGE ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED

Posted: January 18, 2011 in Culture, Family, Inspirational, Life, People
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What is the best marriage advice you ever received?

This question has been running through my brain over the past few weeks. Over the holidays, two of my favorite people on the planet got engaged to their significant other. These are two people who I love deeply, pray for often, and consider family.

For both of these individuals, I feel very big brother-ish. Being a good big brother, I wanted to give them my best marriage advice. However, I did not want to sound too wordy or pastor-ish. (Think fortune cookie marriage advice rather than book on having a healthy marriage.)

After thinking long and hard, here is what I shared with them (which happens to be the best marriage advice I ever received)…

“PREPARE FOR YOUR MARRIAGE MORE THAN YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR WEDDING.”

If you google “average time spent planning a wedding”, you will find that the average person spends anywhere between 120-200 hours planning their wedding. That is 120-200 hours being intentional that things go smoothly during something that should last at max 1 hour.

If the average person puts that much time preparing for a wedding, how much time does the average person prepare for a wedding? How much time is spent in premarital counseling, reading books on how to maintain a healthy marriage, or being mentored by a couple that has a track record of healthy marriage? I am betting that even the best, most intentional on preparing marriage couples don’t even come close to 120-200 hours.

With 50% divorce rates, we all need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask if we’re preparing way more for the dream wedding than the dream marriage.

________________________

Agree or disagree?

What is the best marriage advice you ever received?

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