India is the most unique place I’ve ever been. The colors are vibrant, like the leaves of the tress in Baru, the foods require great finger dexterity, and the traffic is just this side of being considered a war-zone. We are often invited into homes as we travel around, preaching the Gospel. Well, perhaps invited is too weak of word. We are demanded. “Come to my house!” our friends say. We once, in our immaturity, let their forceful hospitality bother us, but now that we’ve grown up a bit we understand the honor in such an invitation. Now we accept, go, smile, eat, and learn. Yesterday in fact we were invited into a local hindu shop owners house. We really weren’t up for it, but we went anyway, denying our flesh its selfish demands. We arrived, were served Goat Liver (again, liver and durian are my bane – really) and wound up having a great time. Near the end of the meal the mother of the house asked us to pray for her family and her husband, who has diabetes. We did, and it was a highlight of the day. I am believing for total healing. The woman is a believer in Christ, the husband is not and refuses to let her attend church. If he believes it will change everything in that little home of four.

Afterwards we went to a village. This place is both sad and uplifting at the same time. There are idols everywhere, some as big as Nebakanezer’s golden image, and there is no church for miles and miles. The caste system is in full effect in this tiny place; some even speak different languages than the other sub-caste. Anyway, throughout this village are people who came to us and told us of being harassed by demons at night. Now listen, the west struggles with this, but out here the existence of the spiritual world is not in question. We passed one lady on the side of the road, half dressed, half undressed, rolling in the dirt, eyes almost silver, staring at us with a disgusted look. Darlene saw it and told me afterwards. How I wish we had seen and stopped. Perhaps the poor soul could be set free. After talking with a few of the people we learned that suicide is quite present in this little place. This place needs a church of praying people to push the darkness back into its box. We are working to raise the funds to plant one. Pray we succeed. There is so much good to be done in this impoverished, tormented, lost place. God loves them so much.

After we went to the inner part of the village. Kids appeared like muchkins to Dorothy. This is the uplifting part. The boys LOVE the camera, the girls run from it, but all laugh and shout and love to see a foreigner in their little village. The future of the children is important to God and to us (and should be to you). Afterwards we headed back to the city where we are staying. All the way back we talked and joked about how crazy they drive. Our indian friends LOVED it.

Later that night Darlene and I went alone to eat. In the middle of the meal she broke down, not from hopelessness, but rather compassion. “No person should have to live like that. With no hope here or for after they die,” she said. “And they shouldn’t have to as long as there is a Christian walking these streets.” And she is right. No one should. No one has to. We’ve just got to overcome selfishness — in giving, in going, in living, in praying. It only takes money, time, and a little sacrifice to see these lives change. And that’s why we are here, ya know? To let our light shine, display the good works of the love of Christ, and to let those works been seen by men so they are glorify our Father in heaven. We have the answer, in our hearts, in our wallets, in our mouths.

His name is Jesus.

Today I was browsing the Internet to get inspired to write. (It’s part of my routine. STUMBLE UPON always brings something in front of me that whips the muse back to work.) Well, I came across THIS SITE, where a guy stops people and ask them what they are listening to in their headphones. It was enlightening how different the New York and British taste were. Made me miss my British friends (I need some NYC friends too, dang it!)

The video made me start thinking how in every culture I’ve visited there is a love for music. My first thought was that it reminds us of something we can’t remember; like a faded echo of and echo. And yes, I think that is true. We recall something Adam and Eve knew before they met the serpent. But then a new thought came into my head.

Perhaps ANOTHER reason music is loved my everyone is the fact that it has two simple characters we LONG for: Rhythm and Melody.

Rhythm:
In this chaotic out of order world a reliable, consistent count of 1,2,3,4 or 1,2,3 – repeat is comforting. Everything from our economy to our politics to the stability of the world is out of order. That order is a deep longing we don’t even know we are missions.

Melody:
The reason we usually run from order is the abuse that has come from unworthy and dishonorable leaders. Usually we associate order with control, which in the end strips life of it’s beauty and melody. Melody is the beauty that sits on top of order. With one you only have counting. With the other you have chaos. Mix the two and you have music. You have art.

We long for a place where things are in order, yet beautiful. We long for a place where creativity is free, but chaos is managed. Too often we get out of balance, but a world where both or in their place would both work and play. Two things life needs to continue.

“We aspire to work hard and be creative for six days, and rest on the seventh day, hopefully with some sense of satisfaction about what we’ve done on the other six,”

I really like that. I feel that so many times my restlessness comes out of feeling like I have not accomplished enough. If we worked really hard throughout every week KNOWING that we were working towards a day where we can sit back and feel good about our accomplishments, I feel it might help us make attainable goals in the week which would then result in a sense of accomplishment. A sense of accomplishment would counteract the restlessness that comes with always feeling like there’s a million things left undone. Perhaps that would enable better rest, which would then make us more productive.

Then the cycle can start again.

God didn’t NEED rest, but he knew we would. But maybe, he also made the day to look back on the week before and determine that the things he had accomplished we’re indeed GOOD.

What do you think?

1. Be Flexible and willing to change yourself, your plans, and your views.
   If you want to get the most out of your trip you must be open to the unexpected. Deep down you are in search of either adventure or understanding. Remember this: adventure can not be planned; it is what happens when plans go crazy. And understanding only comes when we choose to look at things from different angles. When we walk in someone-else’s shoes and try to see the world from their perspective we grow. We don’t have to agree, but we grow.

   God has great things in store for those who take a pilgrimage to get to know him and understand the world He made. I say let Him teach you. Be willing to learn.

2. Be Aware of your Surroundings.
   Observation is safety in foreign lands. By watching and listening you will determine what you should and shouldn’t do, say, and where you should not go.  Besides, isn’t observing a different culture the entire reason you’re traveling in the first place? If not, prioritize. If you are going to save the world, stop. Jesus did that already. And, if your going to smoke happy in Vientiane – go home and move to Amsterdam. I’ve been the secondhand witness  to at least six instances where careless drug use and drinking sent people to the grave in a foreign country. A few were never heard from again.

   Don’t be afraid. But, be smart.

3. Listen; for goodness sake, LISTEN.
   When you visit someone-else’s home, you follow their rules. Likewise, wen you’re traveling LISTEN to the locals and your host. If that person has been there, or lives there, follow their lead. It can save your very life.I recall this one instance a team leader I know had given strong instructions to a mixed-gender group. The rule: NO ONE was to wander off on their own. We were being a witness on the streets of a Thai city, full of prostitutes, pimps, and drug dealers. There was plenty of safety in the group, but apart (especially the women) we were vulnerable. Low and behold one of the team members ignored the command. By the time we got to where the team member was the Thai speaking leader had to pacify a rowdy group of Meth’ed up drug dealers. The team member was trying to do something nice, but almost started a real problem. Later the team leader told me how serious the situation could have become.

   Listen. If the locals say no, no. The answer for you is NO, NO. Be a good guest. Don’t kick a hornet’s nest and fly away, leaving those left running for their lives.

4. If it doesn’t feel right, walk away.
   My last travel commandment (for this post at least) is to follow your gut. Have you ever wondered where your seemeris? Where is that part of you that sends the message that something isn’t right, even when all appears well? That is a good question to ponder. What part of you commands the hairs to stand up on the back of your neck?On the road, that seemer can save your life. Once, I backed out at the last minute from an outreach that not only didn’t feel right but felt WRONG. On the way to the outreach location the car crashed. Everyone was okay, but our presence in that area would have caused some serious problems. Another time I was scammed out of $200 because I didn’t follow my gut.

   The seemer is God’s way of saying: Go, Stop, or Slow Down. Always take the time to pray for guidance and protection, and then follow your heart. God isn’t a tame Lion, but he sure does know how to warn us. If only we’d learn to listen he’d show us the world.

So there you have it. These are travel tips i have learned over years of backpacking, even in not to safe areas, all around the world.

Thoughts? (Below in the comment area)

So, I’m digging into this feeling. I want to understand it more and I need your help…

What exactly is it? What is the root of it? Is it perhaps the demand to pull our weight (which I understand)? Is it guilt? Is it the desire to be significant, and if so why is that so strong? Is it just the natural response of us creatures working against the tic-tock and decay? Are we being whipped into action by the man? Is it the result of God’s first command, Be Fruitful and Multiply?

What do you think? Teach me. I have my ideas, but I want yours.

It’s terrifying.

One strong related memory came after arriving home from a fourteen month around the world missions journey when I went to this conference. The speaker at the conference was an extremely gifted young man. He brought things out of the scripture that I have never even thought about, and I was impressed. His sermons left me wanting to know God more, and to know more of His word. They left me hungry.

Well a few days before, on the way home from Europe, I had listened to a series of sermons by Kieth Moore. The sermons were on pride and I was convicted. I need and needed those sermons SO much. In the middle of one of the sessions Br. Moore said:

“Pride will never admit to not knowing something.  You will listen to a sermon that is all new to you, but never admit it, as if you knew it already.” – Paraphrased

I knew, on this day, at this conferrer, that the majority of things being taught had NEVER been heard by most everyone in the room. I watched their faces and just like mine they appeared blown away. This was my opportunity to put humility into practice. As soon as the message was over I went to the speaker and told him he had taught me so much I had never even thought of. Then, as I was talking to the other ministers I threw it out again and again.

“I had never even thought about those things. Man, he really taught me a lot,” I said. I liked how it felt, being truthful instead of prideful.

Do you know that out of the five or six preachers I said that too, only ONE responded back that they had learned anything. The one that did was a long haired biker for Jesus who later helped me drop more of my pride about wearing a suit.

Listen my dear friend, It’s OKAY to not know something. In fact, your suppose to not know some things. It’s OKAY to let people know that you don’t know everything. It’s OKAY to change something you’ve been doing for twenty years when you find out that all along you were wrong. It’s OKAY. Breath. You’re not alone. You, like us, are not God. Christ died for you too. You were saved by grace, and as an old friend told me, we also LIVE daily by that same Grace.

As I travel I find that the main thing I need to survive is flexibility. I must be first willing, and then able to stretch, change, and reprogram. As in the movie Secretariat:

“Our political views may change, but our desire to do what we believe is right must stay the same.”

When you go out into this world, put a rubber band around your wrist. Every once in a while pop yourself and remember to BE FLEXIBLE. Learn. Let God mold you, even through other people. Be MOLDY… err – you know what I mean (pliable). Humility is honesty while pride is believing the lies you tell yourself and those around you.

And, for us writers, as Mr. Strunk said:

A breezy style is often the work of an egocentric, the person who imagines that everything that pops into his head is of general interest and that uninhibited prose creates high spirits and carries the day.

Or, simply put, even the best must change. All of the greats revised. We must all sharpen our saws. It’s okay. Your one of us, and we like you.

Before you go, mediate on this scripture for a moment.

Delight yourself in the LORD ; And He will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalms 37:4

Now, click the word delight and find out what the original word meant in Hebrew. What does that tell you? Yes, we are all in need of change. ALL have sinned. All fall short of God’s standard.

So… there. Now tell me down below (in the comments below), have you ever heard that before?

Anyway, last night I posted on Facebook:

Watched White Chicks tonight. Darlene laughed until she hurt. SO funny. (not for kids).

I figured the few off color jokes could be a bit much for children, and since I don’t want parents to accidentally rent it for a kids sleepover, I warned. Well this morning I woke to a comment (which I deleted – you will never know who hah)  telling me how I shouldn’t watch something that children shouldn’t watch, and would I watch it with Jesus, and how the person had NEVER seen the movie…Really?

Okay, here comes the truth: I am working everyday to correct about fifteen hundred things wrong with Dustan. I got saved at sixteen, and since then have grown quite a lot. I went through a phase of self-righteousness, then a phase of extreme totalitarianism, then from there I fell on my face, was picked up by God, stumbled more and more. Soon after I got rid of everything three times to follow Christ to the other side of the world.

After crawling through glass  I have arrived at a startling truth: “No one is good—except God alone.” – Jesus (Luke 18:19)

Just like the rich ruler that Jesus was talking too, God does a lot in scripture and life to make people realize that they are NOT perfect.

“I’ve kept all these commandments,” we say. We stick out our chest. “I’ve never seen such a movie. I’ve never drank a beer. I never cuss.”

Then hear Jesus whisper, “Well, you still lack one thing. Get rid of everything, give away the money, and come follow me.”

What happens next? Do we begin to dismiss our master as being too zealous? Do we explain to everyone standing and watching that He didn’t mean that. He couldn’t have, right?

Wrong.

The one speaking here left heaven to become a man. He hung out with prostitutes, thieves, adulterers and hot tempered would be preachers (like me). Although he was sinless and pure, he crawled into the muddy Jordan waters and was baptized by someone less than He. He stood up for the Gentile (you) with a whip and a few table flips. He was sinless and had every right to throw a stone, yet He did not. He touched the lepers face with holy hands. And, a bit later he took your sin from you, stuck it to him, and nailed those beautiful hands to a tree.

My dear friend. Christ was perfect, but did not treat people like he was perfect. He refused to put himself equal with God, although scripture says the was the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Although he was the very nature of God, he did not think equality with God as something to cling to (Philippians 2:6). Jesus humbled himself, and although he was good and sinless, refused to call himself such, just to show a young rich guy that he wasn’t as perfect as he thought.

Remember this: The Spirit of Christ is more important that the Works of Christ. Love in action is our standard, not eating and drinking and watching. Don’t take me wrong; We must pursue holiness. We must let God clean us. We must struggle against the flesh, give the devil no foot-hold. I am FOR that, totally. But the self-righteous judgmental attitude that us Americans often call Godliness is the opposite of Jesus. That attitude is ANTI-CHRIST.

If your searching the end-times books in search of him. You’ve found him. He’s living in your mirror.

So… next time you see someone watch Harry Potter (as I will in a few days) it might be a good idea to reflect upon yourself before opening your mouth. The next time someone drinks a Guinness, shush yourself until you are sure you are indeed better than they. If they are truly hurting themselves, find out a better way to help; something effective and not something to make yourself feel better about your own flaws. And if you are unable to see any of your own flaws, do this: sell everything you own, give the money away, and come follow me to the other side of the world to preach Christ Jesus.

No? Well, that’s okay. You, just like the rest of us, are not God. It’s okay. That’s why Jesus came. It’s okay. It is impossible for us to be good apart from God because we don’t even know what good is anymore.

White Chicks was hilarious, but I am afraid just like in the movie we often spray-paint ourselves white, fake a gentle voice, and parade around as something we secretly know we are not. And guess what, everyone only ACTS like they don’t notice. We see. Oh yes, we see.

So to end this rant let me ask you a question: Are you a good person?

If your answer was yes, well, it’s very nice to meet you Ms. god.

“I don’t want to,” I said, And so I went and got a glass of ice water, plopped down on the bed, and began reading The Winter Letter. In the middle of chapter four a thought came to.

Why don’t I want to? I asked myself.

“Good question,” said I.

Actually it wasn’t only a good question, it was THE question. Why didn’t I want to do something I loved? Was it the work involved? No, writing these is easy. Was I tired? Nope. What was it then?

The reason I didn’t want to write was the same reason I was struggling in a few other areas in my life. I didn’t want to blog because I had attached it to PAIN in my mind. All the work of ‘building a  platform’ and getting followers had left a nasty motor-oil meets metal taste in my mouth. I am weary of the rat race, the hamster wheel, the chasing after the wind. Blogging is attached to this, and because it has become a duty it has lost its savor. Now it’s something in danger of being avoided; no longer love, but law. It’s DEMAND in place of desire. It’s the whip on the back of the painter.

No.

Let me say that again.

No. That is no way to live.

From your Christian walk to your blogging, if there is anything that you once loved and you now associate it with pain, stop and examine it. What happened? How did it go from fun to avoidance? What stole the love of it? Why don’t you want to? (For some reason I feel the need to interject intimacy in marriage here; Nuff said)

That is the question to ask. Why don’t I wanna ______? (Fill in the blank.)

Trust me, doing things you hate will only last for so long. We must deal with our want to before the whip steals our love for life and the things we find in it most tasty. The thief is crafty, and he uses many ways to steal the abundance away from our days. He will trick you into wearing shades to hide color.

As I sat there and pondered I realized I do wanna blog, but not to draw people in, but to speak my heart to my readers. I want to talk about my failures and lessons so that someone can identify with them and grow. That’s what I love about this. When I realized this, a sudden desire, a want to write popped up again. Right now I am also (without the red pen) reading my book. It’s reminding me why I like to write fiction; why I love stories and why I feel they are so important. The result? A desire and plot for my next book is brewing.  As I return to my first loves they are returning to me. In prayer and the word, forget the duty (not discipline) and remember when you first got saved. Try to see the bible as if you’ve never read it before. Pray like you’ve forgotten how to – simple, real.

SO, in your life, what is it that you don’t wanna do that you know you should and once loved? The question is: WHY don’t you wanna?

But lately, I haven’t partaken of it nor enjoyed it like I once did. Why? Because I got caught up in perfectionism. In the borrowed words of Bobby Boucher, “Perfectionism is the debil.” It took me a long time to realize it, but in the process of trying to get The Winter Letter ready for publication, I lost my way. I began to stress over insignificant word choices, queries, and all the other exciting at first grueling later on parts of books. Hours were spent researching agents, writing queries, re-editing that blasted first chapter, until the thing I love became a point of pain when I thought about it.

Terrible.

So yesterday I did something crazy. I decided to READ my book. Not edit. Not revise. No queries. No reworking (unless I see something REALLY wrong – in which I will mark and fix later); just READ. I took my Kindle, laid on the bed, and read the first two chapters. To be honest, I really enjoyed it, as I will tonight as well. I remembered why I first started writing. I remember what it felt like to finish my first book. I remember the things I took out and put back to stay true to myself.

Then it hit me; like an angel saying “Duh”. Writing is fun. Don’t make it hurt. Do it with all your heart, to the best of your ability, but don’t make it hurt. Stopping making dreams your goal, make life your goal. Stop writing for any other reason that to do what you love, express your heart, and give people something great to read. Enjoy it.

That goes for about fifty other things in life, from travel to missions to marriage. Enjoy it. Do the work required, but when it gets so heavy that your shoulder ache, hand it over to Christ and go have some fun. I think I wanna make a random picnic for Darlene. I can’t wait to sit around and tell missions stories with my Indian friends later this year.

Life is too short to chase a piece of cheese. Get off the hamster wheel. Drop out of the rat race. Love God, Love Others, Have a blast.

Pray hard. Work hard. Play hard.

So, in all that I decided to write books for people to enjoy and grow from because that’s what I love. But for now, I’m gonna get back to my reading. If I remember right, chapter three and four are particularly exciting.

What has lost it’s flavor in your life? What did you once love and now loathe? Perhaps it’s time to put down the perfectionist red pen for a while and go rediscover the reason why you ever started in the first place? Perhaps it’s time to return to your first love.

Busy….

Here’s the truth about busy. We ALL are. Almost everyone I talk to tells me of how BUSY they are.

“I can’t do WORK OUT, I’m too busy….”
“I can’t write, I’m too busy…”
“I can’t go to church, I’m too busy….”

(Insert offensive curse word that says ‘you are lying’ here)

I’m learning something about busy, and I’d like to share it with you.

For about a few years now I’ve followed Michael Hyatt‘s blog. Mr. Hyatt is a great guy who was once the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. Mr. Hyatt says some amazing things, in which I glean, but more than what he says I’ve observed his life and tweets. First, he is a church goer/teacher. If I understand right he helps out at his church. He was (now he has moved on) the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. He has a family. He takes vacations. He jogs. He writes so pretty dang good eBooks. He blogs multiple (3-5) times a week. He tweets regularly. He speaks as conferences. etc. etc.

When I realized this I discovered how unorganized my life really is. You see, My. Hyatt has the same amount of minutes as we do (unless in his vast spare time he also created a time freezer machine thingy). His seconds tick just like mine.

So, how does he do it?

He controls his time rather than letting it control him. He’s a scheduler. He’s disciplined. He’s tired at the end of the day.

Looking at my life, I do a lot. I mean in the last three years we’ve got a HEAP of accomplishments (two Gospel expeditions, one with a team, estanlish a base in Thailand), but I want to do more. I want to write more. I want to train more laborers. I was to finish two projects that have span years.

So how? More disciple. More organization. More…err… LESS distractions.

So that’s that. I want to use my time better so I can have more fun in between. Life is too short to disappear without a trace. Eat, drink, be merry.

How about you? How do you manage your time? Teach me.