driven...

We are inspired and motivated by many things in our lives. I recently had a conversation with a friend about what we are driven to become and to do with our lives. We talked about what drives us. All of our decisions come back to some basic system of desires of what we want most in life. Our discussion was rather lengthy about what motivates us to get better and to be constantly improving in all areas of life. What motivates you to get it right when it comes to following Jesus?

here he is...

Jack Henry Byrer
Born: October 26 @ 12:14 AM
7 lbs 5 ounces 20 inches

Go Pokes!

Yesterday, trey and I went with his dad and brother and nephew to the Wyoming/Ohio University game in Athens, Ohio. What a game. Wyoming had seven turnovers and came back to win the game 34-33. It was a great afternoon to be a Cowboy!
Go Pokes!!

create...

I was reading a book recently and the author mentioned that God has left creation open for us contribute to it. I started thinking about all the things that we have a part in creating: babies, memories [both good and bad], writiings, art, songs, relationships, literature, houses, awkward situations, encouragement, and so much more. With our lives we are creating.
The question is what am I creating? Am I adding to the beauty and the order of what God created or am I multiplying the brokenness that we, the human race, are naturally bent towards? If I'm honest with myself, I know that I do both.

the human element...

Every time I see a DOW chemical commercial, they affect me; they get to that soft spot in me and I am reminded of the "human element" that so much of life consists of. Why do these commercials resonate with me?
Its because our words, actions, and expressions have far more impact on each other, the world, our own lives, the environment and decisions than we realize. The human element has tremendous potential: it enables us to connect with each other, to sympathize with each other as well as to appreciate and value each other because we are all humans. As humans we possess worth, not because of the human element it self but because of what the human element reflects. The human element is not the most important element but it reflects the most important element: God-the source of all life.

All in: the rest of the story...

This past Sunday I told a story about a domestic dispute that broke out right outside the window of the house I was staying in during the summer of my junior year in college .
I left you hanging so here is the rest of the story:

I knew that I had to do something because the boyfriend was physically assaulting his girlfriend. I ran downstairs and went out the front door and up the steps to the street. When I got there I yelled 'hey! leave her alone!'
The boyfriend replied, 'why? do you want some of this?'
In my mind I thought, "no", but my mind and my head miscommunicated and "no" came out as "Bring it; I want the whole thing." I don't know why I said that because he was huge.
He said, "Come on!" and motioned towards me, while he himself was moving away from me off down the street pushing his girlfriend in front of him.
I asked him, "Where you going? Why are you walking away?" This repeated several times and I continued to follow the couple at about 20 yards as they continued to drift down the street. We went a couple blocks and they continued to gradually ease away.

Finally, when it was apparent that the guy wasn't going to back up his talk [and we had drifted a couple blocks] I told him that I was going to call the police on him for hitting his girlfriend. He responded that she deserved it because she had forgotten where they had parked the car earlier that night before they went out to a party. I replied that she didn't and I restated that I was going to call the cops. At that point, they hurried down the street in the opposite direction.
I hurried back to the house and called the police and reported the incident, the location and also described the couple.
The police took it from there.

So for those of you wondering, I went all in.

the value of a name...

A friend of mine, Jeff, came into town last week and I had the opportunity to catch up with him. We grabbed some lunch together. As we were leaving Jeff ran into someone that he hadn't seen for three years. Jeff initiated the conversation and called the guy by his name. I watched as the guy was amazed at how Jeff had remembered his name from three years ago. The guy was so taken off guard by the fact that someone would remember his name that he really didn't say much the rest of the conversation other than how impressed he was that Jeff still knew his name.
Personally, I'm not too good with names and I think sometimes I use that as an excuses not to learn or remember names, but it is the little things that impact people the most.
Jeff, you motivated me to get better at remembering names and little details about people. Thanks for your example!

What's in your hands....

This morning I was looking at a website that one of my friends, Billy Williams recommended and I downloaded a talk by a guy named Crawford Loritts. I've never heard of this pastor but I listened and I was extremely motivated by it. Working with students one of the questions that we are always asking is what are we building into and modeling for the next generation [this generation]? What are you doing to build into those who are coming behind you and also what are you doing to honor those who have gone ahead to live in a godly way and to motivate you on your spiritual journey?

Here is the link to the vodcast: http://theresurgence.com/vodcast
The title is Passing the Torch

Enjoy

Flaming Pot

Things that you don't see everyday:

Walking through my neighborhood a couple of days ago I saw smoke coming from a front porch of a particular house. It was billowing out from under the roof. As I got closer I could see that it wasn't a bbq gone wrong;it was a flaming flower pot. I had a decision to make because it was about 5:00 in the morning. Do I risk the chance of waking up someone I don't know and warning them that their porch is on fire? I figured that was worth the risk.

What risks in life have you found are worth it?

advice...

my wife and I recently found out that we are going to be parents. Its exciting! We have been getting all types of congratulations from people. That has been awesome, but then reality hits and we don't know anything about raising kids. We are open to any advice or suggestions that parents would be willing to disclose to us. For those of you that have children what advice would you give to future parents?

april fools day....

Here are my top three April fools day jokes:

3. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest: In 1957 a new show announced the a mild winter had not killed the dreaded spaghetti weevil and so there was a surplus in the Swiss speghetti harvest that year and so you could call and get your very own Spaghetti tree. People called asked how to grow their own trees.

2. In 1998 Buger King launch the "left handed burger". The request for the new sandwhich was incredible, people even asked for it counterpart the "right handed burger" Need I say more

1. In 1985 Sport Illustrated released the news that the Mets had acquired a pitcher by the name of Sidd Finch. His fastball reached tops of 168 mph. Mets' fans bought it. Long live Sidd Finch!!

check out the top 100 hoax of April fools day at: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

The NIT

The National Invitational Tournament: It is amazing how the NIT used to be the tournament that teams wanted to get into and now it is considered the second option for teams that don't make it into the NCAA tournament. Isn't that interesting how things change over time.
I'm trying to think of some other things that over time people have changed how they view them. I'm stuck. Writer's block. I could use some help here.

Lent...

During Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, many people give up or go without something that they feel God wants them to let go of or that is distracting them from following Jesus.
I decided to give up some stuff for lent. The temptation is to just say, "if I can just get to Easter then I am good", but is it about just getting to Easter?
We live in a world that is all about the results and getting it done and sometimes we take that approach with following Jesus: results, behaviors, destinations and the end products.
Is the end produced to say that I fasted 40 days until Easter?
No, the blessing is in the journey. Jesus wants us to know that He is the only thing that we need. He wants us to rely on Him. He wants to be with us in the journey and not just in the results. I'm learning to enjoy the journey with Jesus and not just get it done; but to learn and lean on Jesus during the journey.

is that effective?

Walking through my neighborhood the other morning, I witnessed something that has bugged me to no end. I saw an individual on their back porch calling their cat with a pan and a fork [no kidding here]. They were banging the fork on the pan in an attempt to get the cat's attention. My initial thought was "that's not something that you see every day" and then I asked myself, "Is that the most effective way to communicate with a cat?" As I pondered more on the subject I wondered who is observing me try and communicate with other people and are my methods effective or just a bunch of noise? If I was the cat, I wouldn't have returned home. What are some of the ways that you have found effective when communicating with people or things that you do to make your communication better? I think we always need to be asking if we are being effective with people and especially with the gospel.

hit and run...

I parked my jeep on the road the other night instead of in the driveway. I woke up the next morning and my jeep had its front two wheels on the curb and was perdendicular to the sidewalk. My first thought was "am I that bad of a parallel parker?"
Then I realized that I had been hit during the night and the person had just left the scene and had not even bothered to contact me or even take responsibility for what they had done. My initial reaction was anger because I was going to have to pay the price for what someone else did. I was going to have to live with the damage caused by someone that I didn't know.
Then I started to think about the situation and I thought about how many times I have been the perpetrator of a hit and run incident. Not a physical one but an emotional or conversational one. How many times have a disquised a shot at someone with a joke or how many times have I made a jabbing comment and then laughed it off and let the conversation while the damage of my comment remains for them to deal with. That is just as bad as physically running into someone and then leaving the scene of the crime.
So here's to whoever hit my car; I forgive you.

you don't see this everyday [2]

Walking past my neighbor's house this morning, I noticed that they were shoveling a path to the middle of the yard. I watched for a couple of moments and then I saw it. They got to the middle of the yard and then they put down the shovel and placed the dog that they had been holding in their hand in the middle of the cleared out area. I though to myself, now that is something that you don't see everyday.

you don't see this everyday...

I was walking down my street a couple of days ago. It was a snowy morning and the roads were lightly covered with a dusting of snow. As I was walking I heard a sound of wheel sliding on ice. Just as I turned around I saw a car slide through the intersection, hop over the curb, glide across the slide walk and nail the front porch of a house. Yea, that's right I saw a car hit a house. Not something that you see everyday. What is something that you have seen recently that left you with the expression, 'now that is something that you don't see everyday!'