just between us...

i'm actually not going to do a christmas post. i see it more as an obligation right now - and to be honest, i don't have anything to say about christmas. wait. i will say that christmas eve at newpointe is going to be off the chain! unbelieveable! strong! just plain awesome! that's all i have to say about that...

it's all about your motives. did you get that? ALL about your motives.

so many things you can say.
so many things you can do.
so many talents you can show.
so many ways you can act.

but, at the end of the day it's all about your motives. someone said to me this week that at the end of they day they have to be able to live with themselves and sleep easy at night. wow.

it's all about your motives.

adjusting and aligning your motives is an act, not something that just happens. it seems to me that when you don't take an active approach to your motives you usually don't have good intentions. think about it - if you are not deliberately doing something for the right reasons then why do it?

just thinking out loud - let's keep this just between us...

got some of the more "professional" pictures from leeann today. there are some cool shots. best has to be kevin getting his head powdered...

this morning i was able to do something very, very cool. i had the opportunity (scottish emphasis for dave) to be on a local cable tv show. it's true. i filmed a segment for amish country living, hosted by my friend leeann miller. she asked me and kevin west to come on and do a show that will air the week before the superbowl. so, we decided to have a "dip-off." i made some spicy buffalo wing dip and kevin made his personal version of guacamole. so cool.

leeann has a great production team who come in early and literally turn her kitchen into a tv set. she has great people working on it. look for it on http://www.amishcountryliving.com/.































after my segment was done...































kevin - getting his makeup done by jenny bunn. kevin was the first guest in the history of the show to have his head powdered! whoop!

my buddy dave has inspired me to be more frequent and less "deep" in my posts. now, don't get me wrong - i love the deep, but the frequent is important. i don't have a ton to say right now, so i'll just give you some snippets...

-chicken wings are the real deal...especially at Hog Heaven. now, i know there are differing opinions about the best wings in T-County, but so far Hog Heaven is my pick.
-dave's new hat reminds me of gavin degraw, not someone in the navy. ha.
-being who you are is better than trying to be something that you're not. always. (that was verging on deep, but i'll spare you.)
-twitter is fun. i mean, how else would i know if dave mast was here all night working on the exchange server (whatever that is) and what kevin west ate for lunch today (baked potato and chili)?
-getting ready to go to aqua (our college age experience). gotta love the aqua peeps.

so, there's a little peek into what's going on in my world, but let's keep this just between us...k?

man, god has been rocking my face off with the topic of love. i don't know why this has become such a big theme over the past couple of weeks, but i guess you never really reach the "arrival" state of loving people around you.

two big thoughts on love for you today...

1. my good friend leeann shared a thought with me the other day that was really profound. have you read the story of the good samaritan? (luke 10:25-37) if you haven't read it you should. seriously, one of my top stories - right up there with the prodigal son.

i am really trying to grow my love for people. i mean, true love. not some expressive, distanced, safe love - but true, messy, up close and personal love. when we are in true community and true love with others we get to see their stuff and they ours. it's pretty ugly. often, we try to rate and judge people based on their baggage to see if they are worthy of our love, but god calls us to something so much bigger and deeper than that.

look at the story of the good samaritan. if you haven't read it in awhile - take a moment right now to look up luke 10:25-37. now, think about this. there was this man laying in a ditch. all the religious people passed by his beaten, bloody body. they didn't get close - in fact they didn't even get close enough to know what happened. instead, they just walked by.
along came the good samaritan (the hero). he looked at the man, had love for him, and helped him.

he didn't ask questions about his past.
didn't question how he got there.
didn't wonder if he was making right decisions.
wasn't worried about being taken advantage of.

he just loved.

the good samaritan knew that god's calling for him was to love. period.

so, he picked up the man, took him to an inn, and paid for him to recover.

the end.

2. 7

the average dating time in america is 7 months. now, i got this from wikipedia, so i don't know how credible it is, but it will help my point so i'm going to use it.

7 months. 7 months is fun. when you think about it 7 months is just enough time to get to know someone's likes and dislikes, their interests, their basic personality. but, after 7 months you know. you know most of the surface things about a person after 7 months. you start seeing flaws and having to work through relational conflicts. it gets rough. so, the temptation is to break it off. it's old, stale and boring. i've heard people say, "it's just not fun anymore..." or "it's just too much work."

true love and true community lasts longer than 7 months. at 7 months the "excitement" is gone. you know how people will react. you know basic knowledge about them. the temptation is to move on when the going gets tough.

it is easier to start a new relationship than work on the one in front of you...

isn't it true? it's easier to find new friends - more exciting.
it's easier to have an affair and get remarried again - more intrigue.

so what? here's what i'm thinking...keep working on the relationships god has put in your life - they are there for a reason. don't give up.

work on your marriage.
work on your friendships.
work on your relationships.

don't let 7 months become a relational pattern for you. if you do - you'll find yourself lonely and unknown by those closest around yu.