Are You Rusty?

Kids tend to like to play with dad's tools or older siblings toys, but they have a tendency to forget to put them up. I can remember getting into trouble by leaving either my father's or my brother's things outside. If a metal item, like a tool or BB gun, is left long enough, it can start to rust. Rusting is an oxidation of the metal, but it also gives a bad appearance to the item.

My son, a three-year old, is no exception. He also likes to play with my tools, but has a tendency to play with them a short time, put them down to go get something else or go to a neighbor's house. This causes him to forget about the item he was playing with and sometimes it is a "rustable" item. I have found screwdrivers and pliers outside my toolbox getting rusty. This summer he decided to put some toys and my tools in our "kiddie pool." I found a pair of pliers left in there after he had cleaned it all out.

Unprotected metal mixed with moisture creates rust. The longer the moisture stays "on" the metal, the more it will continue to rust. Rust will sit there and continue to oxidize, weakening the metal. This thought brings us to this week's quote...

It is not work that kills men, it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Are you worried about something? I know I am. There are all kinds of things to be concerned about. Our car recently had some issues - so each time I drive it, especially if long distance, I am concerned. There is not a local dealer for my make of car, so I don't know if someone really can look at it effectively. That is just one of the many things that concern me. And the thing is, it sits. I may get side tracked with daily tasks, but the concerns are essentially still there.

This weakens my potential. I know that if I could just have some concerns off my plate, I would be more free to be more effective - as a person, a husband, a father, a breadwinner, and as a minister. The good news is, there are times when things are taken off your list of concerns, it is like a grinder taking off some rust off the blade. That is always a good feeling.

There are times when I give it to God and feel a lot of relief. That is the real "rust remover." Philippians 4:6-7 keeps me on check to give things to God, and peace will come as a result.

I enjoy being able to have the rust removed! I would guess you do too. Maybe one of the answers would not be to leave our tasks of life outside of God. Keep putting them back where they belong - close to God, and they will stay rust free. Just a thought...

Half Full or Half Empty?

Looking at a glass from one perspective or another has been a way of determining if someone is optimistic or pessimistic.  Because it is visual, this is determined by your outlook on the object.  How do you tend to look at the object to the right? 

I tend to look toward the pessimistic side. Maybe it is because once something goes past halfway, that means it is almost gone.  Neither of these may be the correct view of the object.  That brings us to this week's quote...

Stop asking if the glass is half full or half empty.  Instead ask, "What's in it?  How did it get there? What can I do with it?"  ~ David Kaufman

If you're like me you probably never thought about looking at it this way.  However, this doesn't judge the object but rather looks at the potential of the object and/or its contents.  


Maybe it can be a different way of viewing yourself and your potential.  What are you able to use with what you have been given?  How can you use your "contents" to make a difference in life?


May we gain a new perspective on an old saying by not looking at the determination of whether or not it is full or empty, but rather see the potential it has within it.

Power Just Waiting to Astonish

What are you capable of doing? How high are you capable of going? Do you think of those questions very often? If you are like most that drift from day to day going through the motions of life, you probably don't think of them too much. Usually we have to be prompted to think of the possibilities.

I am a softy for seeing people accomplish something. I can't help shed a tear on most situations where people have shown their potential to reach goals they never knew they could reach. These situations could be in real life or movies. It makes me want to go out and do things. When I watch a movie like this before I preach the next day, I am on fire. I am so pumped. I am more antsy to get to preach/teach than normal. It just does wonders for me. It makes me imagine what God could do with me if I put myself out there.

You may have heard that we do not use very much of our mind's potential, I think the same could be said of our talents. We probably do not use much of the potential that our body possesses throughout our lifetime. There is something inside each of us that if used to its potential, would do amazing things and the powers would be astonishing. That brings us to this week's quote...

Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action. ~Orison Swett Marden

As created beings, God gave us "powers" to serve Him. By serving, I don't simply mean actions like bringing Him breakfast in bed, if there were such a thing. I mean doing what we can to repay Him for what He's done for us. Paul, the apostle, writes "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (II Corinthians 12:9). He is describing the grace that comes from God is perfect in our weak human bodies. Paul also wrote this, "...[he] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). Both indicate that we have a certain amount of "power" given to us, as Christians, that can do more than we can even fathom. Though we are human beings, which mess up, God can do great things with mess ups.

You have dreams, ideas, and potential inside of you. Make a list of how you are going to let your weak body be great for God. How are you going to serve Him by using your talents to impact those around you for His Glory?

We all are a volcano with some type of lava just waiting to erupt!

Enjoying Erupting...

What is Hidden Within You?

When I was in eighth grade, I remember studying in science the animals with exoskeletons (animals which have a hard outside with no bones on the inside). Common examples are the ant, beetle, cockroaches, etc. You’ve all stepped on them or squeezed them together. You hear that “crunch” upon stepping on or squeezing. The idea behind the creation is to protect the animal and give the body support. It doesn’t allow things in the body, very easily.

Humans are made up with an internal skeletal system. However, we have evolved to develop a type of exoskeleton (or force field for you sci-fi people). We don’t want to let people in or ourselves out without “permission”. We try to protect ourselves from what others may send our way and don’t want our true self to be seen by many people. We are the gatekeepers of our own selves and sometimes our “exoskeleton” is locked up like Ft. Knox.

This becomes a real problem when we have so much potential to do things in life that we keep it in. That brings us to this week’s quote…

Within each of us is a hidden store of energy.
Energy we can release to compete in the marathon of life.
Within each of us is a hidden store of courage.
Courage to give us the strength to face any challenge.
Within each of us is a hidden store of determination.
Determination to keep us in the race when all seems lost. ~Roger Dawson

What is hidden within you? Do you even know? No one may know because you haven’t “let it out”. You haven’t had your “shell” broken. In my first ministry job, I brought up the idea to send out an e-mail to the congregation for encouragement. The idea was met with a suggestion to do something else. So, it never got off the ground. A few years later, I was at another job and started the idea on my own. It has blossomed to so many people looking forward to reading the writings. Even going worldwide on the internet through blogging. I don’t think that the writings are worth any prize, but the aim in encouragement is achieved.

My point is, who knows what is inside of you that is ready to help many, many people! May you just “let it out” and see what good you can do for others!

Connections Determine Future

People you are around will tend to affect you in one of two possible ways: pull you up or pull you down. These two effects will also determine your future. By your future, I mean, the moments of your life that follow. It could be a matter of seconds to years. Unfortunately, we may not even realize the effect that a particular connection is having on us.

Have you seen how this has played in your life from examining your past? What connections have made you become better? What connections have made you become worse? This thought brings us to this week's quote...

The size of the future you actually experience will 
largely be determined by one factor: the people you 
choose to connect with. When you invite people who are 
truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, 
your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited. ~ Dan Sullivan

What does your future look like based on the connections you have at this moment? Are many of them tearing you down or building you up?

How about others' connection to you...are you building them up or tearing them down?

Look for people who truly build you up and make your future big. Look for those who will help you grow - in every aspect - so that you see your potential as "unlimited".

I am looking forward to seeing how big your future is going to be (let me know from time to time).

Determining the size of my future with the connections I make...

ichthus_man@hotmail.com