July Wilderness Trekking Video (Episode 2)

Episode two of the Wilderness Trekking Video Series will be available on my Youtube channel about mid-July. Our focus is a married couple this time who will share an amazing story.

I wish I could tell you the question given to them to answer on our video. I can tell you that we will be hiking the Mingus Mountains.

The Wilderness Trekking Video series, if you are new here, is a series of videos about 2-6 minutes in length that features the trail and the story of the individual we take hiking.

Again, we don’t care if you wish to share the video with your friends privately or share the video in front of a church or a group. We create so we can give freely and generously.

Of course, we wouldn’t be able to create without the generosity of a community of artists who create the music we add to it. Check out Free Music Archive!

Volunteers Needed #Missions #Mentors #Writers

TRC Magazine:

You told her many times that you aren’t a writer. She heard your testimony many times and so have others. You can’t put two sentences together. TRC Magazine is looking for writers who will give a voice to the people God is working through that can’t write. We are looking for writers to show us all aspects of the Christian life. We are a very diverse crowd. Provided the story follows the usual statement of faith and won’t lead anyone astray, you are welcome to apply here.

Cataclysm Missions Intl LLC:

Many volunteer positions exist here. Can you mentor someone online? Can you help a church or ministry do online work better? Can you write once per month on the blog and help others evangelize online and face-to-face? Check out this ministry here.

Social Media Tip: #FathersDay

Father’s Day is this today. In a time when we like to re-define the word father as meaning anything and anyone, I hold to the traditional definition. A father, whether single or married, who adopted or whose child is biologically theirs, that showed up every day, worked hard to provide for his family to the best of his ability; yes, that is the father we celebrate today. If you are a mother, you have your own day. Today, let’s put aside our anger towards the ones that let us down, and honor the ones who showed up.

You can even stay off social media if Fathers Day is unpleasant for you or celebrate with others that good fathers do exist. Try to keep it positive today.

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Confessions of a (Sort Of) Reformed Passive Aggressive

social media

Has Social Media Crashed Your Relationships?

What we put on social media reflects our hearts and makes us focus on those things which weigh heavily on our emotions. No matter how vague we think we are being on social media, the pain spills out and becomes a manuscript for others to read of what is going on inside of our heads.

As a Social Media Missionary, I wrestle constantly with myself to decide what my motive is behind publishing. It’s so tempting to have a targeted audience and it is such a fine line. How do we express the grief, anger, and pain in responsible ways so others can minister to us or so we can minister to them?

 Several faces do come to mind as I write this piece. It’s unavoidable. No one is completely un-passive aggressive. Our lives reflect what we see and experience, and this translates onto social media. Social Media is no different than face-to-face. We share stories with our friends on and offline. Gossip is a constant threat because friends can also share those stories publicly even when done in face-to-face situations. The copy and paste feature is the only difference between Social Media and face-to-face communities. How do we use social media responsibly as we battle the temptations of the tongue and wrestle with our pain?
I have some suggestions:
  • Ask yourself why you want to post something. Before you hit publish, search out your heart. Read some Bible verses that address this area. Read the context. It matters less what inspired the post as it does why you are posting it.
  • Where’s God’s lessons in the post? Will it irreparably harm a relationship? Will it cause dissension? Will it harm someone else’s relationship? If you insist on posting the post, treat it separately from yourself. Change names, dates, and even make it out to be a “friend.” Change details so it is so far removed from the actual event that God’s lesson comes out while keeping the relationship secure.
  • Passive aggressive behavior doesn’t change people.  When my passive aggressive behavior was out of control, relationships were harmed. This is actually a symptom of a need to control other people from a place of fear. Trust God to handle people and pray for them. As Sheila Walsh said in one of her books: The prayer might feel insincere at first, but eventually God will work on your heart and the prayers you say for them become authentic. These days I pray that God will change me even if the other person won’t change their behavior.
  • Set healthy boundaries on your friends and relationships. This is important. People can be great in face-to-face, but toxic online. Or maybe a lot of drama is happening in that person’s life and you need a break from it? First, “Unfollow” the friend. On Facebook, unfollowing isn’t unfriending. It keeps their feeds from showing up on your newsfeeds, but you still have access to their profiles so you can minister to them or be a friend. If the drama continues to impair your ability to be a friend, “unfriend” them only as a last resort. On Twitter and Google Plus it is less confrontational to unfollow or take them out of your circle. People take it too personally on Facebook. As this article states, many reasons exist for people unfriending others. Taking everything personally will make you a very lonely person.
  • Set up a Facebook group (set to secret) or Google Community (set to private) for people you trust so you can let them minster to you or you to them. A Calvary Church Facebook group has approximately 14,000 people on it and it is set to public. This means it is not an ideal place to share confidential prayer requests or problems. Setting up a group of your most trusted friends is a better idea. You are allowing people to share your burden without gossiping, being passive aggressive, or harming relationships.
Meanwhile, don’t be afraid of online community. It can be beneficial especially if you live in a place where you are having a difficult time connecting. Engage people. Talk to them about what they shared. Be a part of their lives as much as they are a part of your virtual life. You can’t live as if everyone will break your trust and heart. Trust God to make your heart whole again and live your life pouring into others lives even if they let you down.

When a Brother Strays

We all struggle with sin. If we treat the cross as an excuse to sin, Jesus’ sacrifice was pointless.

On that thought, I’d like to share a video from Solid Rock Christian Fellowship on what to do when a brother (or sister) strays.

Ideas That Percolate

The only sound is the ticking of the clock in the stretch of the long afternoon. My mind is busy, churning like it does, while I do these other tasks. Some ideas get written down for later when I am full time. Others are implemented now. It’s always a tug of war between balancing work, family, and ministry (not necessarily in that order).

Right now I am working on two new services for my websites. I am agonizing over catchy names, vision, and wording. Will people worry that I am taking on too much and invalidate the work I am doing? People always worry. The thing to remember in all of this is how God didn’t make a porcelain doll when He knit me in my mother’s womb.

He made a warrior.

I am an adult. I know how to say no and when to put something aside for later. Like my social media profile on RenRen; it takes far longer to operate than my other social media platforms. So it was put aside for when I am full time. I stepped down from my third job to make room for what God has set before me.

My mind races and it doesn’t see obstacles. It sees only possibilities. Today I have lots of small things to do, like letters to write, websites to update, and tomorrow I hope to get some of the even more tedious things, like updating spreadsheets, done. I can’t be creative all of the time. Every creative project always has the tedious, mundane things that are necessary.

Hopefully tonight I can get some research done.

Lifting the Heavy Weights

Some Days Look Like This...

I am happy to report that I have finally passed the 50% mark in my Kindle of the required reading from WorldVenture called, Intercultural Communication For Christian Ministry.

Between working a full-time job and working full-time ministry, reading is challenging. Added to this, it’s not your Hallmark easy reading book, but heavy, like lifting weights at the gym; only it’s working the muscles in the brain.

Something that I would like to share with you is this quote:

“Since people of any one cultural group do not think in one style alone, but rather in a variety of styles, it can be useful to construct a profile of styles for a people and use this as a guide for communicating with them.”  (51%, Kindle version).

Communication styles are necessary if you want your message understood. As a blogger and a writer, I get it. I find this book completely fascinating. Still, I cannot wait til I am done with it and I can check one more thing off my task list as an appointee.

Many thanks though to Pastor Dave Droste for helping me get through Wayne A. Grudem’s book, Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know: Christian Beliefs. Only a few chapters left to run through of this task! I am learning a lot, but not just from the book, but from him.

David Platt and The Refugee Crisis

David Platt Challenges Us

Tony says, it’s because I am growing as a believer.

I am a different today than I was ten years ago. Different than the person who turned 30. My heart ached for the child laying face down in the wet sand with the ocean lapping around him. Syrians had a country. They had jobs. What started as a protest became a civil war. Don’t they deserve to know Jesus, too?

Sure, there are terrorists now being identified as hiding among them, but when, in the history of Christianity, was it ever safe to speak the name of Jesus? I agree with common sense security and we should clean up the red tape that exists for people wanting to come here legally. If you are called to serve the refugees, please look deeper into technology. Listen to the webinar by Mobile Ministry Forum here. Some are already in the United States. The harvest is in our backyard.

It’s a long video, but please, take the time to listen to David Platt. Feel free to share your thoughts, but remember to keep it discussional. I’m interested in solutions. The harvest is at hand.

Watch Here

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