She was lamenting college costs for one of her children and stressing over the amount she might have to pony up for her daughter’s fall semester: $3,000.

To some this might seem a small amount. To a lot of us, this is a huge, put the whole garage up on eBay, proposition.

Since I’m a typical American who likes to bring the conversation back to himself, I wondered what I’m going to do regarding my kids’ collegiate futures. I’ve started a very modest 529 account for one of the three (don’t tell the twins), and my parents were kind enough to plant seed money in similar accounts for all of the grandchildren. I can guarantee at the rate I’m going they’ll have to spend some hours working at the Chick-Fil-A.

College Might (not be) Awesome

The tagline of this blog is ‘Living from the Why‘, so let’s question the ‘why’ of going to college.

First, the college experience can be a defining time of growth, maturity, independence, and relationship building. As a matter of fact, leaving the house and learning independence might be the most compelling reason to go to school.

It also might be a reason to wait: Are you really ready to grow and mature, or will it be a time where the independence will eat your ever-living lunch? Then again, maybe having your lunch eaten is what’s needed to grow the heck up.

Second, having a college degree shows, at the very least, that you can start and finish something. This should result in some kind of employment somewhere. You won’t love your job, but chances are you’ll find one.

It also might give you a false feeling of confidence. While most learning is positive, it doesn’t grant you the right to a job. More and more, I believe that college students should be required to find productive, for profit or non-profit work–or at least learn how to set goals. It wasn’t until I was 37 that I learned the value of setting goals and creating a plan. At least I read a lot of Victorian literature in college.

Third, you have to have a football team to cheer for, and it’s always better to have gone to the school. If you didn’t, you’re a ridiculed Wal-Mart fan (you know–that dude who never went to the school but owns every piece of University of Tennessee gear ever manufactured?).

Of course, you can always save $60,000 and just be a Wal-Mart fan. Cheer for who you want to. We’ve been doing it in the southeast forever. Even I love the Georgia Bulldogs but went to Washington & Lee University in Virginia. As awesome as the Generals are, Division III football just isn’t the same as the SEC. If you want water polo, field hockey, or lacrosse, then W&L has something for you.

The SEC Wal-Mart Fan

College is great, but it’s not a right and it’s not always helpful

College has all kinds of benefits. I know I’m giving it short shrift here, but it seems that going to college has become a ‘right’. How else can you explain all those kiddos expecting the government to forgive their school loans?

And after college, having a decent job and getting all kinds of health and other benefits is a ‘right’. Then, buying a house with granite countertops, hardwood floors, and stainless appliances is a ‘right’.  If you don’t believe me, watch a House Hunters marathon. It’s always twenty-something couples with a $150,000 budget who expect every high-end feature in their first freaking house. But I digress.

The thing is that while getting a great education can be huge in building a career, it isn’t a guarantee. It can even be a hindrance, especially if it’s considered a right and not a privilege. I fear maybe I looked at it more as a badge of honor (sorry Dad), than an incredible blessing and opportunity to start building a life of purpose.

Back to the Famous Hair stylist….

I hope that her daughter appreciates it if her stylist mom raises $3,000 for her this summer. I was blessed with parents who helped out (also known as pretty much paid my way) for college. I’m thinking that maybe the daughter would appreciate it more if she picked up some shifts and figured out the $3,000 on her own.*

*Stylist’s story used for illustration purposes only. The daughter might be working 80 hours a week at three jobs and the math comes out to $3,000 short for tuition. In that case, bust your butt mom ’cause that girl is bleeding for that education!

The cancer had spread.

Parents should never get calls from doctors saying that cancer has spread in their children. But parents get those calls all the time.

I’ve made the parental mistake of following links from child to child in CaringBridge. It’s hard not to insert your own child’s face in those stories and wonder how you’d handle similar circumstances. The strength and struggle all mixed throughout that site both inspire me and bring me to my knees. The families seem to have some extra level of fortitude that must have a supernatural component.

But if it were me, I’d ask that supernatural component to forget my strength and heal my kid–or at least let us trade places. In the end, I believe in a gracious God. I just wish I could peek behind the curtain and understand things better.

Over the last couple of years or so, I’ve been watching from afar as this family experiences the journey of a child with cancer.  I’ve been amazed by them and have fallen in love with their boy (I’ll withhold their name unless I am instructed differently later), and pray daily for them.

It’s tempting to move into all the cliched platitudes about how we should be thankful for healthy children (although we should). I’m not going to admonish you to go hug your kids (although not a bad idea). I’m not going to berate you about whining about your suburban ‘problems’ while there are families going through real trials (all of our stuff is real and important–but there’s a chance we could whine less).

Obviously, I just did all the things I said I wouldn’t do.

Visit www.braintumor.org

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month

I think it’s more productive to think about being aware.

There are a lot of ‘awareness’ months.  And I fully understand that it’s hard to be aware of all things all the time, especially if you’re on Twitter or Facebook.

I was listening to Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast. He said that a leader has to watch out for spreading herself too thin. His organization has a principle:

“Do for one what you’d love to do for everyone.”

That’s a wonderful principle for “Awareness.”  You might not have the time, talent, treasure, and energy to be pour yourself into every cause. But you can pick a cause, and do for that cause what you’d like to do for every other cause that seems worthy.

Do for the one cause, what you’d love to do for every cause.

To my shame, I still need to pick something, whether Brain Tumor Awareness or Human Tafficking or Clean Water.

My suggestions:

1. Allow Yourself to Be Affected: Let others’ experiences move you. Our problems might be real, but we also need to get out of ourselves and serve, hope, and give on behalf of others.
2. Pick Something: You might have friends or family affected. Or you might become a ball of tears whenever you hear about a certain injustice. Pick that thing that nails you every time or is near to your experience. If you don’t have a thing, maybe start with Brain Tumor Awareness.
3. Focus Your Energy: We must keep all areas of life in perspective, but do for what we pick what we’d love to do for all the other causes that touch us.
4. Help Out Wherever You Can:  The wonderful thing about social media is that even if we pick one thing, we can always help spread the word. If we hear of news worth spreading or a cause worth sharing with our network, we can do it. We don’t have to adopt it, but we can send notice to those who might want to.

Regardless of what I finally pick (guilty as anyone), I’ll continue to pray for the C family, for strength, healing, joy and peace and support in the middle of it all. I’m thankful for what seems to be an amazing support of family and friends and co-journeyers through Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program.

And I pray most for little A!

He is mighty indeed. And freaking adorable.

I dug deep into my bookshelves and found Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster. Most popular for Celebration of Discipline, his treatment of Christian spiritual disciplines, Foster focuses here on teaching us how to respond to God’s invitation to know Him through prayer.

Unedited Prayer

My prayer life has been less than stellar as of late. I wasn’t thinking about that when I pulled the book off the shelf, but somewhere deep down, I must have realized I needed a refresher.

Foster starts with what is apparently a category of prayer: Simple Prayer. This type of prayer that doesn’t try to ‘unravel the good from the bad,’ that mass of contradictory thoughts, emotions, and actions that inhabits most of us to some degree.

I needed to read this first chapter because I’m that guy who struggles to come to the altar only with perfect words and perfect theology and perfect faith. The perfection is seldom present.

Instead, I come broken.  I might be joyful, but I also might be in a mire of personal mediocrity. I might pray selflessly for someone who is more of an enemy while I also ask God to help supply my need when my need was the result of my own poor decisions.

Simple prayer doesn’t stop to sift through all of these mixed motives and warring selfless and selfish factions in my heart.

Simple prayer just walks up to the throne and pours all of it out. That’s when change can actually happen.

I love Foster’s words:

“We will never have pure enough motives, or be good enough, or know enough in order to pray rightly. We simply must set all these things aside and begin praying. In fact, it is in the very act of prayer itself–the intimate, ongoing interaction with God–that these matters are cared for in due time.”

Simply Pray

Isn’t everything worth doing similar?

It’s well and good to plan, but sometimes we need to start first, plan later.

If I sense the need to exercise, I shouldn’t spend three weeks researching gyms. I should go take a walk.

If I feel like I want to be a writer, I shouldn’t fret about when I morph from a guy who writes to a writer. I should just write and let things take care of themselves.*

If I want to make a sale, I shouldn’t sit around and think and research for months on my ideal prospect. I should pick up the phone and call.

And if I want to know God through prayer, I shouldn’t try to perfect myself and my presentation to make sure I hit all the high points of orthodox theology. I should simply start talking to God.

I’ve read a lot of the Bible. If those crazy cats can talk to God, then I for sure can.

*I just started reading Jeff Goins’ book You are a Writer. His message about writing is similar to Foster’s about praying: Just be a writer and write. Don’t stress about proving you are a writer. Put pen to paper every day.

But the ministry didn’t start all of the sudden when the papers were filed. It started years before–even before she was in full-time ministry as an urban missions coordinator for SafeHouse Outreach. Even before she was a youth pastor at Mountain West Church of God.

I tend to believe that it started in her some time back when she was a kid in Bradenton, FL. I promised to tell her story. I’ll get to that some time.

It started way before she even knew it started. It also started in my Dad before he even knew it started. He probably sees himself as only business/admin guy. The people who know him and know Aaron and Andrew Ministries realize that Bob Cohrs is much more than a numbers guy.

My guess is that God was also preparing him some time back when he was a kid in Clearwater, FL.

Ministries aren’t born on the day that they are incorporated. They are born over years of life experience. They are born over years of character building. They are born over years of wisdom development. They are born over years of gentle, yet sometimes painful, preparation by the very hand of God.

And they grow by the same things. They also grow by persistence, teachable hearts, and participants willing to grow, give to each other, and give to their community.

I don’t have any metrics. I don’t know the numbers of individuals who’ve been touched by Aaron and Andrew Ministries in some way over the past 10 years.

Most every week for 10 years there’s been two services in apartments in downtown Atlanta. Grady Homes. Martin Street Apartments. To my shame, I can’t tell you exactly where the meetings are now, but I know one is near Little Five Points. And one of the attendees moved to Fort Valley and now leads a group at her apartment complex there.

Every year either school supplies, Thanksgiving boxes, or Christmas stockings  were given out. Lessons were taught. Funerals and weddings officiated. Needs that very few people knew about were met.

Individuals have been growing in their understanding of God and in their realization that each and every one of them can be used to minister in some way to others.

Chances are you’ve not heard of Aaron and Andrew Ministries if you just happened upon this blog post. That’s the power of the ministry: It’s one of many pockets of light dotted throughout Atlanta, Georgia, US, and the World that seek to serve God by simple consistent obedience.

So today we celebrate what God has done through my Mom and Dad and every individual who has consistently participated in Aaron and Andrew Ministries. May God continue to bless the good work that He started more than 10 years ago.

Congratulations Pastor Mom for a job well done. And congratulations to you, Dad, also, for being a committed servant.

Depending on who reads this, I know that some of you can hardly believe your eyes. You know me. You know I’m not this angelic dad flitting about his home tending to his lady love and his brood. I got more warts than I’d like you to tell on me about.

I can be as big an idiot as the next guy.

Cases in point:

1. The Gas Station Drive Away: Thursday morning, I prepaid for some gasoline. I then got in my car and drove off… you know, minus the putting of the gas into the car. This happened right after I told the cashier that I’d done the very same though a couple months ago. Yes, I’ve done it twice.

It was 5:45. I’d not yet had coffee and wasn’t sufficiently caffeinated.

2. I Turned the Water Off: Did you know it’s frowned upon to turn the water off for your 3 1/2 year old twin boys? Yes. If they are washing their hands, they must turn the water off. I won’t tell you what happens if you try to step in out of fear of a high water bill. It’s not worth it. They simply prefer to do it themselves.

3. Kid Art Disposal: Never, ever, ever throw a coloring page out… and leave it near the top of the trash can. Always bury it. You cannot imagine the personal offense I’ve caused my daughter over the last couple years if she sees one of her (1000s) of Disney princess coloring pages sitting on top of orange peel and coffee grounds.

You should practice GARBOFLAGE v:To hide kids artwork under other trash in wastebasket so u don’t get caught chucking it-(see Eric Ruhalter’s site for more fun words like ‘moistration’).

4. Leaving Pre-Good-Bye: I’ve learned that my wife will get 15 minutes of sadness if I leave without saying good-bye or allowing them to stand at the garage door repeating ‘bye-bye-bye-bye-bye. I’ve done this a couple times recently. I either leave before they wake up or line them up myself so they can properly send me off.

I’m sure there are more, but that’ll do for now.  It’s unattractive to be too self-deprecating.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

If you have a moment, leave a comment about some of the things at your place that causes things to get a little out of whack.

(Upper right hand corner is a place to sign up for email updates. Feel free to drop your email there.)

It’s been said by a few folks that there really aren’t sick days for stay-at-home-parents. If the spouse has to be at the office, then the SAHMorD has to just push on through and figure it out. There’s also no ‘PTO’.

I realized that days off are important, so when I planned my year, I included one day per quarter where we’d make sure that Tina got a full free day.

Wednesday, April 4 was the first of those days (5 days too late). While it’s not uncommon for me to run point on a weekend, a weekday is just different.

I’ve always known that being a stay-at-home parent has a noble, yet stressful job. These days remind me of that fact.

My day….

The Morning

The day started like one of my typical Saturday mornings. I made pancakes. I got everybody dressed. I got them in the car (which went remarkably and surprisingly smooth. Usually there is resistance of some sort).

Task 1: Get Haircuts for the Boys

As you can see, the twins are currently sporting 1981 hairstyles. I had a day to kill, so I started at Snip-Its. Sam went in saying he didn’t want to get his haircut, but Jake was cool with it. I figured Sam would come around.

Jake jumped up in the chair, but when the cape came out, Jake went into lockdown mode. Hands clinched over ears, chin into chest, “I don’t want that on me.” Out came the bubbles, the Lightning McQueen keychain with fun noises, the lollipops, the video monitor with cartoons, the dad begging, pleading.

He would have none of it.

We just went for it. The stylist got two passes of the clippers up the back of Jake’s head before the wheels came off. Let’s just say that we were ‘that family’, if you know what I mean. We tried Sam, but he was spooked.

I just gathered the chicks, looked down (Spring Break, apparently, is the time to get haircuts in the north Atlanta suburbs. The joint was hopping) and speed-walked out.

The trauma made getting in the car difficult. I had to do the whole ‘key in ignition, start the car, and pretend to leave’ thing. It worked. Then there was the issue of prickly shorn hair inside the shirt. Jake went topless back home to get a quick bath.

At least I still have the $60 I would have paid at the specialty shop.

Lunch

My office was having an Easter lunch, complete with Easter Egg Hunt. We missed the hunt. That was probably a good thing as all the adults at the office were involved. Trampling could have taken place.

We made it in time for me to fill their plates with drumsticks, mac-n-cheese, a biscuit, and nacho chips. I decided to stick to the cream-to-yellow food group. You would have too.

They ate their biscuits and two pieces of watermelon (which I discovered later). They even dissed the banana pudding.

TMI Alert–Two Boys and a Bathroom

The good news is that they remained relatively calm and slowly opened up to all of my coworkers who tried to have fun with them.

The other good news is that they are nearly fully potty-learned (as the pros call it these days). The bad news is that they decided my office restroom was the perfect place to practice.

Luckily, I was able to pawn my daughter off on Nita who just so happened to have an Angry Birds equipped Kindle Fire.

I went in with the boys for what I thought was a double Number 1.  I got the Double Deuce. I called Nita from the restroom and told her that she would have Maggie for a bit.

The boys loved the fact they could lock the doors from the inside, informing me they wanted their privacy. 10-15 minutes later (what felt like an hour), we were finally done. My internal editor is working, so I’m sparing you what I thought were the funnier moments. The internet is permanent.

The lunch ended with a free-for-all sprint around the square corridor that lines the offices on my floor. This was definitely cat-herding time.

Afternoon & Evening

The kids fell asleep as I pulled into my neighborhood, so I did the obligatory 2-3 laps to let them sleep. The only bump in the road in the afternoon was the fact that I woke them up when they were entering their first REM cycle.

Consequently, they were cranky. But we busted through that mess, watched The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and went outside and enjoyed some fresh air.

Eventually I corralled them inside for ham and cheese sandwiches (the ham was frozen, so I had Sam sit on the package for a bit to thaw it out. Don’t judge.).

Bath, then bed, now I’m writing. I should be vacuuming, cleaning dishes, and generally straightening up. I might get to that. My wife’s out with her friends, one in town from Europe and another that she rarely gets to see. I should have plenty of time.

I should make the house presentable for her. I’ll be out by 6am in the morning, and she should start back to work in the morning with a clean slate.

My Point

I shared this story not because I think I’m a funny guy. Honestly, when I write it out, it doesn’t actually sound as stressful as it seemed to me when I was living through it.

I’ve not done a ‘Thankful Thursday’ in a while. Today, I feel extra thankful for my wife. While most of the day was relatively smooth, it was dotted with repetitive demands, mini-meltdowns, ‘daddy-I-wants’, and ‘daddy he or she did this or thats’.

There is a continual demand to be a comforter, a disciplinarian, a judge, an arbitrator, a counselor, a punching bag, an activities coordinator, a nutritionist, and an advocate. The skills required to parent are innumerable.

I’m so thankful that my wife does it and does it well. And I learned when I spoke with her about the Snip-Its fiasco that if she calls me to vent, the best thing I can do is listen. All I wanted from her was her to say something empathetic. I didn’t want her to feel bad or come bail me out. I just wanted an ear.

So… this, my longest post ever, is dedicated to my wife (and by extension all parents who stay at home every day with kids under 5 or 6). I love you and am so thankful that you spend your heart taking care of these little ones that God has entrusted to us.

This blanket has accompanied her to bed every night since then.

I told her I’d go try to find it for her, but then she uttered words that hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Daddy, I don’t have to have it.”

This blanket was the only one she allowed to cover her for nearly 2 1/2 years in her crib. It’s the only allowed first layer, under the sheet and comforter, in her current Ikea toddler bed. It’s almost ritualistic the way she climbs in, pulls her knees to her chest, and waits for me to lay it perfectly over her.

'Cold Blanket'

She still walks downstairs with it in the morning and cuddles up on the couch to drink her Ovaltine and eat her pre-breakfast cup of dry Cheerios.

I’ve been happy to perform an emergency laundering of the blanket to make sure it is available for her sleep. You know kids, if nothing else, they like things exactly the way they should be. Disruption in the routine can be meltdown inducing.

But this night, about two weeks before today–her fifth birthday–she didn’t need it.

As a matter of fact, she looked at me, head cocked a little to the side, patted my shoulder and said, “Daddy, I don’t have to have it.”

It’s as if she knew that it would bug me a little. She was willing to sleep without her ‘cold blanket’ as she calls it (named affectionately for the satin side, which is the only side allowed directly over her). This is the first time she’s done so without a fight.

The moment wasn’t accompanied with the dramatic cries like the time around her third birthday when we sent her pacifier to the farm (if you know what I mean).

But the pacifier thing was her parents’ decision. This little ‘I don’t need it’ was all her. As young as she still is, this type of acceptance–the kind that says I don’t need that thing I’ve been depending on so much–has “I’m growing up” written all over it.

Don’t get me wrong. She’s not about to go off to college or even elementary school. And many, many times she reminds us that pre-schooler and toddler aren’t that far away from each other, but this tiny bit of letting go meant volumes to me.

She’s doing what she’s supposed to be doing–she’s growing up. It’s as it should be.

So today, Maggie, on your fifth birthday, I celebrate you and the sweet, strong little girl you’re becoming. I pray that you always try new things and that you are always as unabashedly friendly as you are right now.

Happy Birthday!

Your mom and I love you more than you know and learn from you every single day.

Happy Birthday! I hope this new year brings so much joy and fun to you!

Since I’m now in property and casualty insurance sales, I’ve had to develop my business acumen. I’ve had to develop productivity and time management skills. When I was wearing flip-flops in the quad reading Victorian literature, time meant nothing… neither did understanding client needs. I just wanted to sound smart.

Now, while sounding smart is helpful, it’s more important that I know how to efficiently handle my business, understand what my clients need, and how to deliver consistent value.

I’ve had to take matters in my own hands and search out resources to help out.

I only wish I’d discovered these ideas earlier. Leadership, business and sales skills, and productivity would have been huge in helping me focus when I was in the ministry and when I studied literature.

While my last list featured podcasts that help me focus on what’s important, this list offers ideas and tools for work. I don’t care if you’re a homemaker, salesperson, or IT consultant, these podcasts are chock full of applicable ideas:

1. The Accidental Creative Podcast with Todd Henry: I found this podcast after reading Henry’s book The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice. He writes about how to think creatively and be able to produce creative solutions in a sustainable way. If that doesn’t make sense to you, read the book or listen to the podcast.
2. Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership Podcast: This podcast is more Chris Locurto, less Dave Ramsey. There’s always a short excerpt from one of Dave’s talks, but the meat of the podcast is the interview. Great guests and great small business basics.
3. Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast: Stanley on leadership is amazing. He’s a church leader, but he makes me want to hang a shingle on my office door and start implementing his suggestions.
4. Great Work Interviews Podcast with Michael Bungay Stanier: This is a new addition to my list. He also features interviews from creative business thinkers, with the focus of helping people do less Good Work, and more Great Work.
5. Inspiring Words of Encouragement (w/ Zig Ziglar): This is the only podcast to make both lists. Zig’s that good. His stuff is just plain good.
6. Internet Marketing for Smart People by Copyblogger: This podcast is all about content marketing on the internet. Whether you blog or run a small business, this one is full of ideas that will help you develop a site that becomes an informational asset to your clients or readers.
7. The Sales Playbook with Paul Castain: This irreverent sales trainer dispenses wisdom in 3 minute to 30 minute segments. He likes guitar riffs.  He is pure nuts and bolts and covers everything from starting your day with a little gratitude to building rapport.
8. The Smart Passive Income Podcast by Pat Flynn: This guy has made an art of developing streams of passive income through his online efforts. His gross revenues exceeded $400,000 last year. While you definitely get some tips if you want to give the old interweb a shot, I’ve learned more from his overall approach to his business.  Passive by no means lazy. I practically fill a mini-notebook every time I listen to an episode.
9. This is Your Life by Michael Hyatt: I almost didn’t include this one since it’s so new, but it is a quality extension of his blog on intentional leadership. His focus is on leadership, productivity, social media best practices, among other related topics.

I had been listening to sports talk, but that wore on me too. How much can you listen to Joey Bag O’ Donuts crack on pro athletes? I understand that we spend our money and expect excellence, but I’d love to send Matt Ryan to Joey’s office and pick apart his performance.

So I decided to get a library card and check out books on tape. Since I’m in sales, I started with productivity, business, and sales books. I sprinkled in Anne Lamott’s Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith and Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. Then I tossed in a bit of old sermon CDs from Louie Giglio, the early years (pre-2000 Passion OneDay).

Finally, about a year into this, I got a cheap iPhone and discovered the glory and abundance that is the iTunes store, Podcast edition.

There I discovered some speakers I listened to back in the 90s. I found interviews of top achievers. I uncovered young dynamic preachers. I downloaded innovative, little known (in the regular world) internet entrepreneurs.

Now I put my iPhone on double speed (yes, you can listen to a podcast in half the time) and go to school nearly every day during my drives to and from work.  Right now I’m majoring in becoming more centered in my faith, more creative at work, and more equipped for leading.

Here are some inspiring faith-based podcasts that recalibrate me on my way to work every morning:

1. Catalyst Leadership Podcast: This actually was my first non-sermon podcast. It got me hooked. I’d listen if only for the winsome banter of hosts Brad Lomenick and Ken Coleman. Beyond that, they have some amazing interviews with Christian and business leaders. This podcast is why I got a mini-notebook for my car.
2. Denton Bible Church with Tommy Nelson: This is the first preacher I listened to on a regular basis. His Song of Solomon, to me, is still the gold standard sermon series on love, dating, sex, and marriage. He’s an expository madman (his Romans series went for over a year. Jump in wherever he is and you’ll get good old-fashioned Calvinism at its Texas finest.
3. Inspiring Words of Encouragement (w/ Zig Ziglar): I always wondered where certain quotes came from. Now I know. These little 10 minute podcasts are a perfect jolt to the day.
4. LifeChurch.tv: Craig Groeschel: I just started listening to Mr. Groeschel. He doesn’t sound like a preacher, yet he is one. I recommend starting at his ‘Be Better’ series 1/9/12.
5. Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram:  The former Walk Thru the Bible head teaches back in California at Venture Christian Church. His series are simple, straightforward, and practical.
6. Mars Hill Church Podcast with Mark Driscoll: He does not shy away from controversy. He’s what I’d call ‘prophetic.’ He’s not telling the future, but he speaks pointed truth. He’s also heavily into leadership development.
7. North Point Community Church: That link points you to all three Andy Stanley podcast options. All are worthwhile. If I were to recommend a Christian speaker to someone who has no interest in church, this is the one I’d recommend. His extremely accessible sermons are deceptively theologically rich.
8. Passion City Church Podcast with Louie Giglio:  You have to listen to him at least once in your life. Period. He’s the first non-Pentecostal speaker that I called a ‘preachah’.
9. The Village Church Podcast with Matt Chandler:  A friend in my Bible study turned me on to Matt Chandler. His church is also in Denton, TX, and he reminds me of a young Tom Nelson. He’s also a cancer survivor. Not all cancer survivors are great speakers, but somehow when Matt talks about life/death matters, his story makes me lean in and listen a bit closer.

Question

What podcast(s) would you recommend?

What takes up your morning commute?

The plan chronologically walks through the week leading up to the crucifixion, starting with Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume. The start of the week is mostly narrative before Jesus takes over with some of the toughest–and then some of the most comforting–words of his earthly ministry.

The question:  How does Jesus’ week start and what does that say about how I should be approaching Lent?

Perfume

The week starts off with a passionate act of worship. Mary pours expensive perfume all over the feet of Jesus and wipes it with her hair. I’m not sure the equivalent today. Most people don’t have expensive, fragrant ‘nard’ hanging around the house.

We do know that it would have made enough money to benefit the poor. It wasn’t a $20 bill that Mary gave Jesus, but a treasure, something that is saved for extremely special occasions–a wedding maybe, more likely the burial of someone special.

While Judas rankled at the act of love, spouting on about giving the money to the poor when in fact, he simply wished it was his money.

Lent, then, is about lavish worship. It’s not about giving a tenth of what we have or who we are, but pouring it out at His feet.

A Donkey

Soon Jesus would be on a donkey, riding into Jerusalem to shouts of ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Similar voices shortly would be shouting, “Crucify Him!”

The people are fickle. I can be fickle. I can praise Him one day and then dishonor him by what I say or how I act the next day. I can recognize this strange Man riding a donkey as Lord over all and then later pretend as if he’s completely irrelevant.

Lent is about realizing that this humble leader is King, and confessing that while He’s gentle, He’s also mighty and worthy of more than occasional glory.

A Gnat

Then Jesus gets to talking and takes aim at the pharisees.  The one-liner that nailed me: “You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel” (Mt 23:24)

I confess that I worry so often about appearances. I  measure gnats. I weigh gnats. I count gnats. I compare my gnats to your gnats. My gnats are always under control.

I fail to see that big old smelly camel. I might not be using the metaphor correctly, but when I read this verse, it always confronts me with how carried away I get with sin control or patting my back regarding my good deeds. I fake myself out into believing I only need a spiritual fly-swatter to handle my issues.

Seeing the camel is simply being honest that we don’t need a tune-up. We need an overhaul.

The Lessons

To me, so far, these 40+ days aren’t about some Christian version of New Year’s resolutions. They are about 3 things (so far):

• Worshiping the King
• Recognizing the King
• Realizing our need for the King