Fast of Self

A friend of mine told me about a fast that he was doing with a bunch of people. He said that when you think about it we all give ourselves to one of three things each day: Ourselves, Others or God. So he decided to go on a 21 day fast of himself! He said for 21 days he is going to make decisions based on what God wants and what others need.

I met him for lunch on day 4 and he was totally psyched up about it, plus - he bought my lunch! So the moral of the story is... find people who are fasting from themselves and go to lunch with them. Kidding. The truth is that I am challenged by this big time. I know that fasting of myself would be great for me and everyone around me.

I'm praying for the courage to start this fast.

Victory

A great friend of mine just came into my office with his college diploma in hand. This is a big deal because he has been working on his degree for several years. The reason why it took him so long to get his diploma has nothing to do with his work ethic or intelligence.

My friend had a problem with credit card debt. In his words, "while most men struggle with porn addictions, my addiction has been credit card debt." Several years ago he discovered that his vice was actually an addiction and he began the road to recovery and freedom from the bondage of credit card debt.

His diploma is more than monumental. It's true that it took a ton of discipline for him to pay for school while raising a family, working a job, and living in a culture that always tells you to buy the next new thing. But this is victory - because his testimony is that the grace of Christ gave him the strength to say no to his fleshly desires and yes to what he knew was right. Victory!

Robyn Mac on the News!

Robyn, Macy & Mallory's school was featured on our Dallas news station as "Hometown Heroes." Robyn is in charge of Rachel's Challenge at her school where the students are carrying on the legacy of Rachel Scott - the first student killed at Columbine High School during the shootings. Rachel was a Christian who believed that she could personally start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion to spread the love of Christ. Robyn and her students have had more than 100,000 documented actions of kindness and compassion this year and will hold a rally with more than 10,000 people on Thursday.

You can watch the story here.

I am very proud of Robyn for being such an awesome example of someone on mission for Christ and using their faith with whatever platform God gives them!

Mother's Day E Cards

Mother's Day E Cards from DaySpring starring Robyn Mac & Mallory Mac!

Follow this link and then click on the video entitled: Mom's Little Helper

Learning About Love

Let me make a bold statement: God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him.

Do you believe that God is love? How do you know? Do you think that anyone who doesn’t love others has never known God? … Ouch! What does it mean to love others?

What if I were to tell you that God showed you his love went he sent his only Son into the world to give you life? Would that answer your question about God being love? He exchanged his son for you. Sounds like he loves you, but maybe not his Son? I think our problem is that we don’t understand what real love is. We think that we can get love apart from God. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.

I think the point here is that God loved us this much - so we must love each other. And if we do love each other, then we will actually be demonstrating real love – the kind that our world is longing to see. But don’t take my word for it…

“God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.”

1 John 4:8-11

It is because of your faith that you are healed – Jesus

It is because of your faith that you are healed – Jesus

That’s the subject of an email I received from a great friend yesterday morning. His brother-in-law, Bubba, had a freak accident on Thursday night where his Father accidentally hit him with his truck while they were working on installing a basketball goal at their house. Thank God that his 3 year old son – who was standing next Bubba was unharmed. Bubba got pinned against the house by the truck and had to be care-flighted to the nearest hospital. The Doctors quickly diagnosed that Bubba was fighting for his life and was likely to lose his leg.

After a surgical procedure in the middle of the night the Doctors determined that there was a small pulse in Bubba’s foot, but that his muscle tissue was dead. They would operate on Sunday morning – the chances of survival were growing, but losing his leg was a definite.

I had my phone with my while I listened to the message at church on Sunday morning. I saw an incoming call from my friend and then a text message that simply read: “check your email.” I looked at the email and read the following:

It is because of your faith that you are healed - Jesus

The doctors were stunned this morning during surgery that the "dead" tissue was in fact ALIVE this morning!!!!! And attached to the bones! This is huge news.

My sister broke down at the news. The Doctor is trying to find a clinical reason - there is no reason!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, praise the Lord!

I showed Robin the email and I couldn’t help but start crying as I read this news. Which was kind of funny because our message was on fasting and I’m sure the people around me were wondering why I would be losing it over a message on fasting!

I love my friends response to Jesus healing his brother-in-law: Thank you, thank you, thank you, praise the Lord! My friend understands that just because we pray for God’s healing, doesn’t mean we will see it. I think that’s why his response is so precious to me – because it’s so genuine.

Miracles do happen. God is at work. Rejoice and give Him glory!

Coming Out of the Closet

It has been a long time since I have blogged because I have been going through a traumatic experience. This has really been a life long issue for me, but I have been trying to ignore it for the last few years. But the tension in my soul over the last few months has been unbearable. This will come as a shock to many, but to those who know me best I suppose you have always known. And I feel like this is the time for me to let the whole world know, because of the urgency of the matter...

I am a Detroit Lions fan

Billy Simms... Anthony Carter... Rodney Peete... Barry Sanders - these were my heroes growing up. I love the Lions! I even like the stupid teeth they just added to the logo. But it is time for me to speak my mind because tomorrow my beloved Lions may draft Matthew Stafford with the number one pick of the draft. Now Mr Stafford is indeed a fine young man, but it is my belief that drafting him will set the Lions organization back another 5 years... and put me back in the closet! So I'm hoping my drastic announcement will catch the attention of the Lions front office and cause them to do the right thing... draft the Baylor Bear!

Slugger Slugging

The Slug is Back!

I picked up my Dog Slugger today and brought him home. He had been staying with some friends since we moved out of our old house and we finally brought him home today. Thanks to Lonnie & Anita for taking such great care of Slugger. Macy & Mallory were beside themselves to see Slugger again. Needless to say, the Slugger Dog has been treated like royalty tonight.

What Do You Expect?

Is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas where you live? It’s not really looking like Christmas here in Dallas as much as it’s starting to feel like Christmas! A cold front came in yesterday sometime between arriving to the office and leaving the office and I have officially brought the winter clothes down from the attic. And I love it! Growing up in Michigan & Colorado, I can appreciate some cold air.

I absolutely love Christmas time! I love the lights, the food, the music, the time with family, but most of all I love the opportunity to share the love of Christ. On Saturday I read Luke 1 & 2 (from The VOICE) to my daughters and they were hanging on every word. We discussed how Israel had waited 400 years to hear from God and they were on the lookout for a conquering King, but God sent them a baby! We prayed together about how to show the love of Christ to others in an unexpected way. And the great thing about kids is that they don’t forget. So the last few days we have been finding unexpected ways to shares Christ’s love!

As I think about God’s love and His plans it is so obvious that (as the scripture tells us) His ways are not our ways! I encourage you to ask God to find unexpected ways to share His love. I bet you won’t expect what He shows you! And I bet that you will be as blessed as anyone by it.

Merry Christmas!

Challenge

I like challenge. Maybe that's why I like sports so much - because each game represents it's own challenge. I'm pretty sure I got this disease from my Dad. I remember him doing stuff when I was a kid like running for 200 consecutive days, or getting up earlier than everyone else in the morning, or committing to do things that others wouldn't do. I felt like sometimes my Dad would do these things because he liked the challenge. I have some of my own examples:

Diets - I love to do fad diets because of the challenge. Eat only meat and cheese for 3 weeks...sounds good to me. Have to give up all products with white flour in them... why not! No meats and sweets for 60 days... I'm in!

Card Games - I find it impossible to simply enjoy a game of cards. I need to study your play. Determine your patterns. Count your cards. And prey on your tendencies.

Pancakes - I want to be the man when it comes to making pancakes. I make them virtually every Saturday of the year (unless my current fad diet doesn't allow them). I experiment with different ingredients. I use the latest flipping techniques. I know the difference between real eggs and egg beaters. Sometimes I make 9 different flavors of pancake for one Saturday morning meal... for four people.

I've learned that one of the by products of someone who likes challenge is discipline. And this carries over to every area of my life. If I view things as a challenge - then I will form the necessary disciplines to meet the challenge.

Back

We are back from a great trip to Colorado. Mallory summed it up best last night when she said she was happy/sad that we were leaving. She was happy to come home to Texas and see all of her friends, but sad to leave Colorado because she will miss our family.

I know how you feel kid!