The Joy of Fishing

Hey all,

So I finally got out on my boat Saturday for a little bit of crappie fishing here in the great state of South Carolina.  I have not made time as of late for doing one of the things that makes me come alive so I was really looking forward to getting out on the water.  More importantly, I was really hoping I could finally catch some fish on this lake that I had yet to figure out.

After much aggravation and much longer than I was hoping it would take to get out on the water that morning......I finally made it out.  As I started my day...it quickly went from optimism to more of the same aggravation that I had experienced many times before.  Besides the wind and rain that was threatening......it had been 1-1/2 hours and I had yet to land one single fish.  Defeat was setting in and I was beginning to think I may never figure this place out. 

Then it changed.  But not how I thought it would. 

As I went to a new spot on the lake to try my luck, I had an encounter with two of the nicest men I believe I have ever met.  While floating into a cove, I came upon two older gentlemen who were fishing and absolutely having a blast.  They were laughing, joking, and ribbing each other (like fishermen do).  They each had a couple of poles in the water and catching fish.  Their attitude as infectious.  I was drawn to them.  As I floated nearby they promptly asked how I was doing?  "Not so well", I disclosed.  I told them I was hoping to catch a few but had not yet figured it out.  We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes and as we did, they proceeded to catch several fish!  All of which from the area that I had just floated through and caught nothing.  They laughed and joked the entire time.  I could not help but feel their joy.  Even though I wasn't catching any, I started to feel better. 

While the man in the front of the boat was reeling yet another fish in, he began giving me pointers on what to do. 

"Go into the wind he said. That way.  Move slowly.  Fish about 10-15' deep.  You will get one.  Keep going along that line.  That's it.  There you go.  You'll get one.  Slowly now." 

And then....boom.  Fish on.  Then another. And another.  All the while, he is cheering me on.  "That a way, you are figuring it out now, way to go."  After fish number five and six, then the ribbing came.....like we were old friends...... "your starting to get something figured out over there aren't you?....maybe you need to tell me the secrets....are you holding out on me?"   It was so great.  We were bantering like old buddies, yet we had only met 20 minutes before. 

These two men not only had the joy of fishing, but they had joy in their hearts and it was real.  Real joy.  The kind that you can see, feel, and are drawn to.  We ended up fishing close to one another for the next hour and we had a blast.  Later, my other friends came by in their boat and the men gave them the same lessons as well.  Told them everything they knew and encouraged us all.    They would agree....it was really cool.

I cannot recall meeting men who were so nice.  So real.  So joyful. I want to be like that.

Don't you?

We never even had to tell each other our names.

Strength and Honor,

-S

A Meaningful Impact

Hey all,

What does it look like to have a "meaningful impact on someones life?" 

I think deep down, we all want to have an impact on others lives....but what really makes it "meaningful?"  Have you ever thought about that?  We all certainly have an ability to impact each other in some way, but are we trying to have an impact on them that is "meaningful"?   

Having a meaningful impact on others does take effort.  We have to be deliberate.  It has to be a goal.  If we just go about our day and take the interactions we have with others as just another part of our day.....then we are missing it.  We are just going through the motions.  Each relationship we have is just another transaction in our day.  Part of the routine of life.  We are completely missing the significance of our moments.  This can be at home, work, socially, etc..

But it doesn't have to be that way.  Check this out.

If we set out to have a "meaningful impact" on someone else's life, then we are more than just a participant in a transaction.  We are a catalyst.   We are aware of our moments, circumstances, relationships, etc..  In becoming aware, we become focused on others instead of ourselves.  We want to bring others our best each day.  We put our self behind and others first.  We engage.  We  become selfless.  The Lord loves it when we are selfless and we put others first.  We can do this by acting out of God's love for us.  When we act out of HIS love for us, HE can (and will) use us for HIS glory.  And guess what......others are impacted in a meaningful way.  Through us, not by us.  By HIM.  But we have to show up for that to happen.

When we make ourselves available and trust in God to put others ahead of our own agenda and desires.......then watch out.........God is gonna use us.  Big time!  HE will use us as a conduit to impact others.  To impact other people in a truly "meaningful way".  Again, we just have to allow HIM to love us, then "show up" and let HIM use us.

Challenge yourself this week when you are interacting with others by asking....."I am really available and bringing my best (what God has given me) to this person?"

I bet your day might become alot more meaningful to you and others.

Strength and Honor,

-S 

Frog in the Kettle

Hey all,

I read a story recently that describes the culture in America today.  It went like this. 

There was a frog that jumped into a kettle of cool water not knowing the heat had been turned on. Gradually, the heat began to build and the frog adjusted to the warmer temperature of the water. However, when the heat became very hot, the frog did not notice until it was too late. It was already cooked and it died.  It never saw if coming.

We are often like the frog in this story.  We have been dropped into the water (which represents the world and the culture) and it slowly is heated up. But we don't realize it is warming.  We adjust to the heat.  We settle into the temperature (routine).  It sometimes even feels good to us.  But then, we realize it is starting to boil.  It doesn't feel good anymore.  Too hot.  It feels wrong.  We want out.  But it is too late. We are already cooked.  We are dead.  We have no life.

This is what the world can do to us.  The culture in society (i.e. the World...which is ruled by the enemy) wants to pull us into the water (the matrix) and slowly warm us up to the point that we are numb. When we are numb, we have no life.  It is a very gradual process and if we are not alert, we may not even know it is happening. 

The good news is that we can get out of the kettle whenever we choose.  We just have to recognize that we are in it.  When we do, then we can come against it and replace it with the truth.  More life.

And we will get out of the kettle.

Strength and Honor.

-S

Deserve.

Hey all,

I had an interesting visit with a friend this weekend.  He has been away since July and it was the first time that I have seen him since he left.  It was nice to finally catch up.

We had a great dialogue about his new location and the environment.  He summed up his perspective on the place as......"it is all about what people here deserve or don't deserve". 

I asked him to elaborate.

He told me that....."everything that everyone feels here is grounded in what they deserve or don't deserve. They process everything from that perspective.  If they did something then they deserve something in return.  If something bad happened to them, they feel like they don't deserve the circumstance or situation.  Everyone either deserves something or is a victim.  There are two camps here and most are in either one or the other.  You either feel you are entitled to something or you are the victim."

He went on to say...."what I have realized but most everyone else fails to realize is that both of these camps are wrong.  We have to come to a place in our faith where we realize that we don't ever "deserve" anything.  We deserve nothing.   Nothing that we do should be based on what we are going to get for doing it or not doing it.  We cannot live our lives feeling like it owes us something or that we deserve something.  Conversely, we cannot be trapped as the victim for what we "didn't deserve".  Our life cannot be all about how we are the victim of something that we didn't deserve. 

What we need to believe and put our faith in is that our Father, still loves us even though we don't deserve it.  HE loves us anyway. HE forgives us anyway.  We deserve nothing, yet HE loves us anyway.  This is called grace.  When we come to that place of belief, then we are set free of the selfishness that keeps us from being free.  We are free of feeling entitled to things we think we deserve and free of being the victim for stuff that happened to us that we didn't deserve".  

By the way......my friend is in Prison.

I think he in on to something here.

Strength and Honor,

-S