Making Up Ground

My New Year's resolution was to read one book a month. I started off well, but fell into the black hole of failed resolutions. I have a lot of excuses for Feb through May. Every month, I had a reason why I didn't read. June rolled around and I hit my stride. The past couple months, I've finished five books and started another one a couple days ago. 

LOVE & RESPECT

Our church's small group studied this book by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. It was OK but frankly, we didn't find it that helpful. He did make his point that women need love and men need respect. Unfortunately, his approach is often condescending, especially when talking to the wives. I'd recommending this book with a bunch of conditions. One being that you don't expect to much from it.

THE NAKED ANABAPTIST

Last month, I was listening to a podcast that referenced this book. It sounded interesting especially sense I hadn't ever heard of the Anabaptist. It only took me three days to read this book. Murray does a great job of describing Christendom and the roots of the Anabaptist tradition. I really liked how he shared both the positive and negative sides of the Anabaptist tradition. 

The Essence of Anabaptism

• Jesus is our example, teacher, redeemer and Lord
• Jesus is the focal point of God's revelation
• Western culture is slowly emerging from the Christendom era
• The frequent association of the church with status, wealth, and force is inappropriate for followers of Jesus and damages our witness
• Churches are called to be committed communities of discipleship and mission
• Spirituality and economics are interconnected
• Peace is at the heart of the gospel

NOT A FAN

I wasn't expecting much from this book, but was pleasantly surprised.  Here are the names of the first few chapters and will give you an idea of where Kyle Idleman is coming from.

• a decision or a commitment?
• knowledge about him or intimacy with him?
• one of many or your one and only?
• following jesus or following the rules?
• self-empowered or spirit-filled?

INTERRUPTED

Jen Hatmaker tells her story of how God interrupted her traditional Christian life and lead her toward a missional life. 
Here are a few of my favorite quotes.

"..my life resembled the basic pursuit of the American dream; it just occurred in a church setting."

"It is hard to hate a rich country that is feeding you, advocating for your orphans, building schools in your villages, championing your human rights, and empowering your leaders."

"I found the descent to be terribly painful, and confronting my own selfishness was excruciating."

"We don't get to opt out of living on mission because we might not be appreciated.


BAREFOOT CHURCH

Brandon Hatmaker titles this book after an experience he and Jen had when they visited a small church and were asked to leave their shoes at the alter. The shoes were given to the homeless the next day. Everyone left that church barefoot.

Brandon describes how they changed their views about community groups. They went from:

• Control to Accountability
• Suspicion to Permission
• Fixed to Flexible
• Majority to Priority

"Each of us has the responsibility to navigate what serving the least looks like in our life, in our context, and in our church."

"Proclamation and incarnation are inseparably linked together. A spoken word can quickly be discredited through our actions, and the in the same way our actions can quickly validate the message we speak."

Departures and Arrivals

The 3gdadnetwork is constantly evolving with guys departing and other guys arriving. 


DEPARTURES

Last year, one of the original 3gdadnetwork guys moved to Ohio. You might ask why anyone would move to OH. Well, Travis grew up in Ohio, and is now in the Marines. He had a chance to move back home, and he jumped on it. We got to know Travis while he was stationed in Monterey, CA attending the Naval Postgraduate School. 

We miss his humor and candid reflections on his strengths and weaknesses. I think Doug is still recovering from the first meeting we had back in 2013 when the three of us met for breakfast.

Travis will always be a part of the 3gdadnetwok story because it all started when Travis and I had breakfast one morning at the Toro Cafe.



ARRIVALS

Initially, the 3gdadnetwork consisted of Travis, Doug and me. We studied a book together and saw God grow us tremendously. We were so excited about the growth we saw in ourselves and wanted other guys to experience this as well. Soon thereafter, our friend Shane joined us. Shane has been a great addition because of his drive to do things well, and willingness to see things for what they are.

In 2014, we added David and Larry. These guys couldn't be more different, which makes it fun to have them around. David's passion for God is contagious and he looks for ways to add humor to any discussion.  Larry is quiet and needs a long pause before he will speak up, but when he does, you know he has been thinking a while about what he says.

Very recently, we added another Mike. Can't have too many of those. We are still getting to know Mike, but it is obvious that he desires to grow and be a part of something bigger than himself.

My 2015 New Year's Resolution

I rarely make a New Year's resolution because I know that the odds are really high that I will not keep it. This year, I decided to break that trend and do it anyhow.

My 2015 resolution is to read a book a month. I read several books a year but decided to step it up this year and do at least 12. That may not sound like a hard thing to do but when you have a wife, 3 kids and their activities, dog, house that is falling apart, 2 cars each with over 180k miles, commute 70 miles each way to work, church, lead a church small group and host a midweek middle school gathering, it can be a stretch.

As goes most New Year's resolutions, I did really well in January. I read "The Pursuit of WOW!" by Tom Peters.  Guess what? It is the 20th of May, and I just started my second book.

My goal is to read a book a month and then journal about what I learned here on the 3gdadnetwork.

Here are 10 things I found interesting in "The Pursuit of WOW!"

Tom Peters

1. "The first 99.9 percent of getting from here to there is the determination to do it and not compromise, no matter what sort of roadblocks those around you (including peers) erect." Page 2

2. "70 percent of lost customers hit the road not because of price or quality issues but because they didn't like the human side of doing business with the prior provider or the product or service." Page 4

3. "Don't forget your thank-you notes! You just read the most important piece of "advice" in this book." Page 28

4. "Appreciation, applause, approval, respect-we all love it! Page 29

5. "I was just in the field-a showstopper of an answer." "This is about logging those miles to increase your stature and credibility as the person who "talked to the real people in the field...yesterday." Page 40

6. "Amaze your peers. Take the rotten little assignment int he boondocks that no one wants. Then do it well. Do it very, very well. Innovate, create, make your mark. Page 50

7. "Take a serious daily break." Page 56

8. "Keeping customers informed may be the premier element of good service." Page 74

9. "Don't waste time making a lot of speeches. Lead by example." Page 257

10. "The three Rs...are not long enough. We must add the three Cs-computing, critical thinking and capacity for change." Page 259

Another Trip Through the Bible

Last May, I wrote about how I had spent the previous six months listening through the Bible. 

The next month, I decided to start over. It took 7 months this time but I finished it on January 30th. Again, I listed to the New Living Translation (NLT). I like how the NLT makes the text easy to read and listen to while maintaining the original meaning. 

What stood out to me
Old Testament

• God is incredibly patient. He frequently would proclaim through a prophet that was about to bring judgement. I expected it to happen right away, but often, His plan would take years or even over a hundred years.
• It isn't random. By going through the Old Testament in a short time, you see how God's plan works out over several centuries.

New Testament

• In the OT, you will hear about how the "Spirit" comes on someone and they are able to do something unordinary like prophesying. In the NT, it appears that the primary way that the Apostles knew that God was taking the Gospel to gentiles was that they also received the "Spirit" and did similar things as was seen in the OT. I'm still unpacking what this means for me today. I may share more of this journey later.

The App
And now a commercial for YouVersion, the Bible application I've used every time I've read or listened through the Bible. They have made a few updates to the application that make it easier to use. That being said, there is one update I'd like to see. The app works great if you follow your reading plan on a daily basis. But it you don't, it makes it tough. I tend to listen 4 days a week and usually listen to 2 to 3 days worth at a time.  Each day, I end up using a feature called "Catch me up", which shifts my reading plan to the current day. It makes that day the current day. I'd like to see a reading plan setting that makes the plan's current day the current day. Would save me a few clicks around the screen every day.

In case you are not familiar with the Bible, here are a few facts:

• There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament
• Much of the New Testament is made up of letters written to individuals or churches
• The majority of the books in the New Testament were written by a guy named Paul. You can read about Paul's conversion to Jesus in the book of Acts, chapter 9.

Give it a try

A couple of the other guys in the 3gdadnetwork have recently read through complete books of the Bible and really liked it. I'll let them tell their own stories.

Six Months, One Book, A New Appreciation

Six Months: October 22, 2013 to April 9, 2014 

NLT

One Book: New Living Translation (NLT) of the Christian Bible
New Appreciation: God has a plan and it has happened and will happen!

It all started at the end of 2011 when I gained a deep desire to know God. Our family had just started attending Shoreline Community Church, where they continually encourage people to read the Bible.

Many times before, I had started to read the Bible with the goal of reading the whole thing. Every time, I made it through Genesis, but stopped before finishing Numbers. This time, my motivation was different. I wasn't reading because I thought it was a good idea, I was reading because I wanted to know God. It took me eight months to read The Message version of the Bible that time. 


I read the Bible again in 2013. Both times, I read using my cell phone with the YouVersion Bible application.

This year, I switched to the NLT, but instead of reading, I listened to it with the same app. Three days a week, I commute to work, which takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours. I was able to listen to several day's worth of reading each trip.

I found that listening allowed me to think more about what was being said and ponder how it fit into the bigger picture.

In the end, I came away from the experience with a much better appreciation for the plan God has for the world, and how He has caused it to work out the way He wants. In the Old Testament, everywhere you look, you see God setting the stage for Jesus to appear. In Revelation, I was struck by how much detail is given and how God will cause it to happen no matter what we do.

Do I know God more? You bet, but I still have so much more to learn.

Recommendation: If you are considering reading through the Bible, I'd highly suggest finding a reading plan that will take you through the Bible chronologically. It will make so much more sense when read in the order it happened.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

Starting April 19, the guys of the 3gdadnetwork and a few friends, will be reading and discussing Meg Meeker's book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. 

Chapters 1 - You are most important man in her life
This chapter was hard to read because she spells out why dads are so important to a girls life.

"Be it good or painful, the hours you spend with her-or don't spend with her-change who she is."

Chapter 2 - She needs a hero
Who doesn't want to be a hero? Meg challenges dads to step up and be a hero to their daughters.

"If you don't accept the authority that is naturally yours, if you don't set high standards, if you don't live a life of moral principle, your daughter will suffer."

"Don't cave, persevere. Heroes see a battle through until the end; they never run away. So stay in the fight, stay engaged with your daughter and your family, spend as much time at home as you can, stay consistent, loving, kind and patient, and remember that you are more resilient then your daughter is."

Chapter 3 - You are her first love

"Your daughter will draw a picture in her mind of how you see her, and that's the person she'll want to be."

"Daughters with a curfew know that someone wants them home and is probably waiting for them. Daughters without curfews wonder."

"Fathers often overestimate their daughters' maturity"

"Let her know that nothing she can do, even running away, getting pregnant, tattooing her ankle, or piercing her tongue, can make you stop loving her."

"Remember that whatever she says, the very fact that you thoughtfully and consistently enforce rules of behavior makes her feel loved and valued."

"Think about the kind of dad you want to be. Sure, it will take hard work. But love isn't just about feeling good. It's about doing what you don't want to do, over and over again, if it needs to be done, for the sake of someone else. Love is really about self-sacrifice."

Chapter 4 - Teach her humility

"These days, humility is a politically incorrect virtue. But genuine humility is the starting point for every other virtue."

"Humility doesn't make sense unless it is modeled. IF you want your daughter to love reading, you must read."

"Our daughters don't need excessive praise to feel good about themselves."

"The paradox is that happiness is truly found only when it is routinely denied."

"If you teach your daughter to be good rather than simply happy, she will become both. Teaching your daughter humility is a wonderful gift. And it can be taught only by example."

Check back to see what we've learned each week.

Who Knew? Taking an early morning walk is pretty awesome

I get many things from my job. One of them is time alone in my car. I work for a software company in Silicon Valley, but I don't live there. That means I get up and drive 70 miles to work several times a week. It takes me anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours each way.

At first I didn't enjoy the drive, but a few months ago I stopped listening to the radio and started listening to podcasts that my wife suggested. They helped pass the time and I started learning. One of my favorite podcasters is Timothy Keller, who is the pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. 

In addition to listing to Keller, I started to talk with God(praying). It was great, because I had been wanting to spend more quality time with God, but with kids, etc., I was struggling.

Here comes the part about taking a walk. My work allows me to work from home a couple days a week. I found that I missed the time I naturally had with God when commuting, but I  wasn't taking any time to pray when at home.

I decided to change, and started taking a half hour walk around my neighborhood on the mornings I work from home. On my first walk a couple weeks ago I took the opportunity to notice my surroundings and realized that they were beautiful. Yes, it was overcast, but the air was crisp and the hills were awesome.

I recommend it to anyone. Both the walking and spending time with God.

Who Knew? Learning to read would come in handy

Second installment in the Who Knew series



I almost didn't learn to read. There, I said it.

That was almost 40 years ago and seems like another life. Actually, life was very different when I was in grade school. I tell my kids we had color TV, but in reality we only had one color-green.

Why do I find it interesting enough to blog about my almost tragic life? Last month, a few friends and I started blogging about what God is doing in our lives. I have to admit that I'm enjoying it. The 3gdadnetwork blog has provided me an easy way to document the events and causes that inspire me.

I was a late bloomer academically and struggled with phonics through third grade. I progressed by cheating and pretending and thought I was pretty good at it. My third grade teacher saw that I was struggling, and offered to tutor me that summer if my mom would watch her kids during that time. I don't remember her name or how often we went over to her house, but by the end of the summer, she caught me up.

I was an average student till high school, where it finally started to click. I did well and eventually received my BSBA from what was then called Central Missouri State University.

This blog post would not have happened if not for the compassion of my third grade teacher and the encouragement of my mom.

Courageously Grow

Set up at the greens keeper warehouse

As part of our Grow efforts, we held a 'meeting of the clans' (think Braveheart).  This collection of representatives from several men's groups came together to watch the movie Courageous and talk a little about our individual group accomplishments and coordinate overall efforts.
For those who have not seen the movie, it is a story about a police officer who has determined to stand up and be the man to his wife and family that God has called him to be.
The final speech in the movie is very motivational and encouraging for those struggling daily in the trenches of life and can be found at the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWZhHhuP1zo

I Manned Up and Started Loving My Wife

Our marriage started like many. We were in love and thought it would be that way forever. It wasn't long before reality hit and we settled into a pattern of disappointment and feeling sorry for ourselves. 

The first 15 years of our marriage could easily be characterized as "distracted." We spent several years dealing with infertility, then when we did have kids, they became our focus.


It started to change a couple years ago.

Back in January, our church, Shoreline Community Church did a series called Shockwaves - how our choices can send shock waves that ripple through our lives. They asked us to talk about the shift that changed our marriage. Listen to how Jackie and I describe the difference between then and now, and how I manned up and started loving my wife.

Son of God - A Movie Review

I watched Son of God this past weekend at my local theater and decided to share my thoughts. Not sure why, except I started blogging a couple weeks ago and I'm starting to like it.

Disclaimer: I'm not a movie critic, as a matter of fact, this is the first movie I've ever reviewed. Although, I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. 

Disclaimer: I'm biased and know it. Any movie that comes close to my own values will automatically get an extra star.

  4/5

Not many have rated it as high as I have. I'm OK with that, mainly because I think it's weaknesses can be a strength.

Strengths
Realistic Characters - I loved the disciples. They were gruff with shaggy beards. Some with hair and some without. I could relate to them because they seemed like normal guys.

Great Setting - It was filmed in Morocco and looked like what I expect Judea to look like in A.D. 30. I've never been to Israel and don't know what the area looks like personally, but I'm assuming it looks something like the movie depicts.

Thought Provoking - I'd love to say that I would never have reacted to Jesus the way the Pharisees did. The movie caused me to stop and ask myself how I would have reacted. The reality is that I'm part of the modern day religious system similar to how the Pharisees were in their day.  I could compare and contrast but I hope you get my point without it.

Weaknesses
Conclusion - While watching the movie, I tried to think about how someone who didn't know the story would interpret it. My first thought when leaving the theater was that they lead you to believe that 40 days after Jesus resurrected, he disappeared. Then all the original disciples died as martyrs except one.  End of story. Really. It would have only taken five more minutes to describe what God accomplished through the disciples, and show how the resurrection changed everything.

Lack of Tension - When you read the Gospels chronologically, you start to get a sense of God's plan and how the tension builds from Jesus' first miracle till he enters Jerusalem just before Passover. I have to admit that trying to recreate the last 3 years of Jesus' life in a two hour movie is nearly impossible. Personally, I was able to fill in the gaps, but again, if you didn't know the story, it might have seemed odd that Jesus was such a threat to the religious establishment.

Summary
I liked the movie, even with its weaknesses. There are many sites that describe all the inaccuracy, etc. but I didn't notice anything that warranted that much scrutiny.  I think they just create a reason to discuss the movie, and Jesus in particular.

Go see it and keep in mind that they are only presenting a very small slice of the whole story.

You can find professional opinions here:
Washington Post
Roger Ebert
Christianity Today

Sit, Stay, Heel...Come!

Nothing like a new puppy in your house to remind you of when the kids were young and that obedience needs to be taught and instilled in the little one. When the fluffy little puppy arrived, she quickly tried our patience, especially when she didn't come when her name was called. What does Jesus think when He calls and we ignore? Does He get impatient? Well, I am tired of trying His patience. It is time to listen up, hear the calling and OBEY. Don't wait to be schooled by God, the training can be brutal, obey now. My wife has been taking the pup to class and there is light at the end of the disobedience tunnel. "Brindle, come!"..."Good girl!!"

We Are Not Alone

Do you ever think to yourself that you are alone in this great big, huge, enormous, highly populated world? Ever feel like you are the only one going through your current situation? The only one to ever feel the way you feel? The only one that still has a morale compass that hasn't broke and gone haywire spinning like a top? Guess what! You are not alone! When Mike, Shane, Travis and myself started getting together weekly, checking up on each other and holding each other accountable, I thought, "this is cool, I bet there is no one else doing this". Then when we started getting real with God, our selves and our spouses, again I thought, "this is cool, I bet there is no one else doing this". Recently, when Shane started evaluating what is really important in this life and noticed that the current world view of money and possessions needed to be turned-on it's head I thought for sure that we were the only ones marching down the path of sanity. Mike found a blog that surprised me but re assured me that God is still working in the lives of many...not just mine. http://wearethatfamily.com you have got to read this, they broke it down beautifully. This is exactly what the church...no what I need to be doing. The new Matthew West song (Do-Something-lyrics-Matthew-West) lyrics sum it up best...Do something... Saw a world full of trouble now, thought, how'd we ever get so far down, how's it ever gonna turn around? "God why don't You do something?" he said, "I did, I created you". So whether you are going through pain or troubles or sickness... You are not alone, God is your friend and He loves you. If you are trying to do the right thing, the best thing, follow the heart of God and lead others to Him... You a not alone either. Keep the faith, fight the fight, run the race.

Circle Toro Park - January 2014

Back in January, Doug and I kicked off the Circle Toro Park January 2014 campaign. It was a follow-up to what we had done for a week back in November.  Our goal was to have at least one person circle Toro Park each day of January.  We did it although it meant making a quick circle at 10pm on occasion.  It was a great experience and really helped us focus on our neighborhood.  We decided not to continue in February but still talk about doing it again sometime this year.

We had over 25 different people take part and complete 126 circles.  Each circle represents a person walking, running or riding 3.3 miles and stopping to pray for the businesses and families of Toro Park.

We created a flyer and invited everyone to join us for a kick-off walk on January 1st.  Fifteen of us circled Toro Park that day.  The flyer explained why and how to circle including a map with suggested stops.  Here are the suggested stops and things to pray for.

1. Stop somewhere near the businesses and pray for the businesses, and that God would use them for His glory
2. Stop at the entrance to Toro Park at Torero Dr. and pray for the dads of Toro Park, and that God would help them be the servant-leaders He desires
3. Stop at the parking lot and pray for the moms of Toro Park, and that God would use their relationships with other women to share God’s joy and peace
4. Stop behind the Scotts’ house and pray for the middle school weekly meetings that will be starting on 1/22
5. Stop behind Toro Park School and pray for the kids of Toro Park and that the teachers’ passion for teaching would grow
6. Stop at the beginning of the street and while you look over the whole Toro Park community, pray for the families of Toro and that their hearts would be opened to God’s love

Growing Like a Weed

I am sure you have heard of parents referring to their kids when they say "they are growing like a weed" but how about people referring to the parent?  Most of the time you would instantly think of a growing waistline in an adult but not this time...I am talking about growing spiritually.  Over the last year men have been gathering and growing like weeds through honest conversations, reading books and studying the Word of God.  Sometimes the growth pains were difficult...bordering on unbearable but the pain was worth it.  Like seeing a young kid take his first steps or realizing that your daughter is taller than you, growth is exciting, natural and inspiring.  Stretch yourself, learn, GROW!!