Behind the Curtain: Week 5

Cedarcrest Church

Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Consistency (Week 5)

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You will never stumble into godliness.
Godliness requires effort and consistency.

Consistent faith is the beginning of a godly life.

v5 Diligence leads to moral excellence.

v5 Moral Excellence leads to the respect of others.
1 Peter 2:12
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

If people are going to be critical of you, let them mock your excellent behavior.
Am I living a life that is worthy of respect?

Ephesians 1:18
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

v5 Knowledge that God is unchanging.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Recognizing that God is unchanging, proves that He is in control.
Knowledge without changed behavior is useless.
2 Peter 2:20-21
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

v6 Self-control comes from the belief that God is in control.

Parents: Children will mimic what is consistently modeled.
Deuteronomy 11:19
You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

v6 Perseverance: consistency in any circumstance.
not swayed by the situation
Faith is not faith when it is easy and everything is going our way.

v7 Godliness: my life points to Christ

v7 Brotherly Kindness serves others
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

v7 Love is the defining characteristic of a consistent faith
1 Corinthians 13:7-8
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

A consistent godly life is impossible without Christ’s divine power
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

God will not compete with you for the place of power in your life.

A consistent godly life requires my effort
2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

I don’t put in effort to earn God’s love. I put in effort because of God’s love.
This effort must be driven by grace.

Behind the Curtain: Week 4

Cedarcrest Church

Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Gossip (Week 4)

Gossip-Talking about others to edify myself.
Gossip is always poisonous and divisive.
It always damages relationships.
Gossip goes against the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:29-30
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

What kind of words are coming out of your mouth?

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
Our words reveal what is in our heart.

A Person Who Gossips:
Should be avoided.
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Cannot be trusted.
Proverbs 20:19
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

If someone gossips to you about others, they will gossip to others about you.

Reveals their own insecurity.
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

How to Handle Gossip:
Ask for forgiveness.
Matthew 5:22-23
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus is calling us to deal with this.

Guard your words.
James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
James 1:26
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
Go to the source.
Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

This is not a license to be the sin police.

Galatians 6:1
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

The purpose of confrontation should always be restoration.

John 17:22-23
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Am I an answer to this prayer of Jesus Christ?

Book Review: Ordering Your Private World

This summer I had a chance to read 34 books that included a variety of topics ranging from spiritual growth to leadership to educational innovation and even a couple of fiction books just for fun.  I can honestly say that the book that has impacted me the most was Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald.  This book addresses your relationship with the Lord, with your family, and in other areas including work and play.

I know that I can very easily get things out of balance and neglect my relationship with the Lord or with my family.  Gordon MacDonald did a great job with this book helping the reader see why you must stay on top of this battle all the time or risk losing ground very quickly.

I believe that I will reread this book each summer in an effort to reevaluate where I stand on the “boulders” in my life.  I have posted some notes below that I highlighted as I read this book.  I would encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself and also one for someone you love.

• Now, there is a busyness that reflects a plan of activity, a pattern of priorities, and a sense of purposefulness. It is a good and satisfying busyness through which one grows and increases competence.
  But there is also a busyness (a destructive busyness, actually) that reflects a chaotic way of life-a way of doing in which one is simply responding to the next thing in the day. The next thing! It makes no difference whether or not it has significance; it’s just the next thing, and one does it because it’s there to do.
• The order of my private world is an inside-out matter, not an outside-in matter. We are all too tempted to buy gadgets (organizer programs for our computers, PalmPilots, cell phones, and BlackBerries, to name a few) with the hopes that they will bring tidiness of life. But it doesn’t work that way. Forget the gadgets and start with the interior, the private world.
• The order we seek begins with a thorough scouring of the inside of life. With tough questions that it may take others to help us answer. With a confronting of beliefs and principles that are toxic and destructive. With a listening to the voice of God who has better things for us.
• I believe that one of the great battlegrounds of our age is the private world of the individual. There is a contest that must be fought particularly by those who call themselves practicing or observant Christians. Among them are those who work hard, shouldering massive responsibilities at home, at work, and at church. They are good people, but they are very, very tired! And thus they too often live on the verge of a sinkhole-like collapse. Why? Because although their worthwhile actions are very unlike those of Wilde, like him they become too public-world-oriented, ignoring the private side until it is almost too late.
• Wayne Muller writes:The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, to be unable to find time for the sunset (or even to know that the sun has set at all), to whiz through our obligations without time for a single mindful breath, this has become the model of a successful life.’
• Fred Mitchell, a leader in world missions, used to keep a motto on his desk that read, “Beware of the Barrenness of a Busy Life.” He too understood the potential collapse that follows when the inner world is ignored.
• One writer of Proverbs put the principle of the inner world in these words: “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23).
• In the New Testament, Paul made the same sort of observation when he challenged Christians to “not be conformed to this [outer] world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). He’s talking heart here. I’ve always preferred J. B. Phillip’s version of this verse: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.”
• There must be a quiet place where all is in order, a place from which comes the energy that overcomes turbulence and is not intimidated by it.
• How did we get to a day when stress and fatigue are almost a badge of success?
• We have work to do in our private worlds. For an inner life fraught with unresolved drives will not be able to hear clearly the voice of Christ when He calls. The noise and pain of stress will be too great.
• Unfortunately, our society abounds with Sauls, men and women caught in golden cages, driven to accumulate, to be recognized, or to achieve. Our churches, unfortunately, abound with these driven people as well. Many churches are fountains gone dry. Rather than being springs of life-giving energy that cause people to grow and to delight in God’s way, they become sources of stress. The driven man’s private world is disordered. His cage may be lavishly golden. But it’s a trap; inside there is nothing that lasts.
• As the twelve disciples discovered, an audience with Jesus over a period of time exposes all the roots and expressions of drivenness.
• To deal with drivenness, one must begin to ruthlessly appraise one’s own motives and values, just as Peter was forced to do in his periodic confrontations with Jesus. The person seeking relief from drivenness will find it wise to listen to mentors and critics who speak Christ’s words to us today.
• It is this quality-the quality of an inner-directed person-for which we seek when we compare driven persons and called persons. Driven people often project a bravado of confidence as they forge ahead with their achievement-oriented life plan. But often, at the moment when it is least expected, adversities and obstructions conspire, and there can be personal collapse. Called people, on the other hand, possess strength from within, a quality of perseverance and power that are impervious to the blows from without.
• Called People Understand Stewardship
• St. Paul offered a valuable precedent when he wrote to Timothy and recited his call from Judaism to Christian faith and apostleship: “I was the worst of sinners, he wrote; I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man … the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly” (1 Tim. 1:13-14). A man with a memory like that, regularly freshened, is not likely to think of himself more highly than he ought.
• Called People Possess an Unwavering Sense of Purpose
• Called People Practice Unswerving Commitment
• Somewhere in my library is a book in which the story is told of an English headmaster who was appointed when he was forty-five years of age. His first act was to write himself a letter to be opened on his sixty-fifth birthday. In it he wrote (and I paraphrase), “Today you are sixty-five, and it is time to give the task of being headmaster over to a younger person. You will tell yourself that there is no one who can replace you; that the school cannot do without you. But don’t believe this self-aggrandizing propaganda.”
• What makes you tick? Why are you doing all of that? What do you hope to gain as a result? And what would be your reaction if it were all taken away?
• When I look into the Bible, I am deeply impressed with the practical lessons on organization that one can learn from the life and work of Jesus Christ. All four Gospel writers present to us a picture of Jesus under constant pressure, as He was pursued by friend and enemy alike. His every word was monitored, every action was analyzed, every gesture was commented upon. Essentially, Jesus had no private life to speak of.
• The first thing that impresses me is that Jesus clearly understood His mission. He had an overarching task to perform, and He measured His use of time against that sense of mission.
• A second insight into Jesus’ personal organization of time is that He understood His own limits.
• Jesus knew His limits well. Strange as it may seem, He knew what we conveniently forget: that time must be properly budgeted for the gathering of inner strength and resolve in order to compensate for one’s weaknesses when spiritual warfare begins. Such private moments were a fixed item on Jesus’ time budget because He knew His limits. And it was very hard even for those closest to Him to fully appreciate this.
• I think Jesus included a third important element in His strategy of time budgeting, for He set time aside for the training of the Twelve. With a world of millions to reach, Jesus budgeted the majority of His time to be with just a few simple men.
• Law #1: Unmanaged Time Flows Toward My Weaknesses
• Law #2: Unmanaged Time Comes Under the Influence of Dominant People in My World
• Law #3: Unmanaged Time Surrenders to the Demands of All Emergencies
• Charles Hummel writing years ago in a small and classic booklet said it best: We are governed by the tyranny of the urgent. Those of us with any sort of responsibility for leadership in vocation, in the home, or in our faith will find ourselves continually surrounded by events that cry out for immediate attention.
• Law #4: Unmanaged Time Gets Invested in Things That Gain Public Acclamation
• I Must Know My Rhythms of Maximum Effectiveness
• A careful study of my work habits has revealed to me an important insight. There are various tasks I accomplish best at certain times and under certain conditions.
• I Must Have Thoughtful Criteria for Choosing How to Use My Time
• I Manage Time and Command It Best When I Budget It Far in Advance
• People whose minds are not strengthened for endurance are by no means always unintelligent. They simply have never stopped to think that the use of the mind for the purpose of growth is a necessary part of a God-pleasing lifestyle. It is easy to fall into the trap of allowing the mind to grow flaccid, especially when there are many dominant people all around who would just as soon do our thinking for us.
• The mind must be trained to think, to analyze, to innovate. People fully organized in their private worlds work at being thinkers. Their minds are alert and alive, taking on fresh amounts of information every day, regularly producing new discoveries and conclusions. They commit themselves to the daily exercise of the mind.
• The person who does not know how to think will be relentlessly shaped and influenced by the dominant culture around him or her. But the transformed person (presumably transformed by the Spirit of Christ) will be busy thinking, reflecting, and making independent conclusions about the meaning of life and reality.
• Thinking is the amazing capacity God has given the human being to discover and observe the stuff of creation, to compare and contrast each of its parts, and when possible, to use them properly so as to reflect the glory of the Creator. Thinkers see old things in new ways; they analyze hypotheses, separating out the true from the false. Thinkers sometimes describe old truths in new words and forms; they help others to see how applications to life can be made. Thinkers make bold decisions, help us see new visions, and overcome obstacles in previously unseen ways.
• Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, / But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
• The Mind Must Be Disciplined to Think Christianly
• The Mind Must Be Taught to Observe and Appreciate the Messages God Has Written in Creation
• The Mind Must Be Trained to Pursue Information, Ideas, and Insights for the Purpose of Serving the People of the Public World
• Our first step in spiritual discipline is finding solitude and silence; the second step is learning to listen to God. The third step, the pushing of the “enter” key, is done through reflection and meditation.
• Worship and intercession are far more the business of aligning myself with God’s purposes than asking Him to align with mine.
• Henri Nouwen said it best when he once wrote:Prayer is a radical conversion of all our mental processes because in prayer we move away from ourselves, our worries, preoccupation, and self-gratification-and direct all that we recognize as ours to God in the simple trust that through his love all will be made new.’

NCCS Fall Retreat Updates

NCCS FALL RETREAT UPDATES
Fall Retreat updates can be found on our NCCS Student Life blog here.  Fall Retreat pictures will be available on our NCCS Student Life Google picture album here.  Please keep in mind that internet access will be limited as our goal is to spend time building relationships with our students and staff.  We look forward to keeping you updated at least once a day.  Thank you for praying for us this week!

“Follow me, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

Retreat Week

Around North Cobb Christian School, next week is lovingly referred to by our staff, students, and families as Retreat Week.  This will be our 5th year in a row of taking all of our middle and upper school students on a retreat.  We will leave here early on Monday morning with all of our 9-12th graders headed up to The Woodlands until Wednesday.  On Wednesday, the 9-11th graders will head back to NCCS late in the afternoon.  On Wednesday morning, the 6-8th graders will head to camp.  The 6th graders are going to Camp Glisson and the 7-8th graders are headed up to The Woodlands.  The seniors will stay for the 2nd half of the week to serve as leaders on both of the middle school retreats.  The 6-8th graders and seniors will return on Friday.

I love this model of retreat because it allows all of our students and faculty/staff to get away for a few days and focus on discipleship and worship.  The purpose of our retreats always goes right along with our theme verse.  This year’s theme verse is from 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”  We have shortened that a little to challenge our crew to think about what it means when we say “Follow Me”.

Next week will be hectic.  It will be awesomely chaotic and full of opportunities to be flexible and compassionate.  We probably won’t get a ton of sleep and I feel quite certain that there will be a meal here and there that isn’t a favorite, or an activity that requires us to step out of our comfort zones.  However, we have been praying, preparing, and planning for this for several months and we truly believe that God has incredible things in store for all of us.  We are begging God to reveal Himself to us in new and exciting ways and preparing our hearts to worship Him and glorify Him for that.

Would you be willing to commit to pray for 30 minutes a day for us next week while we are gone?  Maybe you could use your commute next week to pray for the NCCS Fall Retreats.  How about that time while you are grocery shopping or out for a walk in your neighborhood?  Perhaps you could pray for us while you are cooking dinner or in place of Facebooking.  Whatever fits your rhythm of life the best would be a tremendous gift offering on your part to stand in the gap for what we believe is going to be an incredible week in the history of NCCS and more importantly, in His story for each of us.

We will be posting pictures and blog updates as we can so that you can follow along from home.  Thank you again for your willingness to intercede for us as we run hard after Christ!

Emma 21 months

Emma is growing up too fast!  Just this afternoon she and I had a conversation that required her to do some reasoning.  She had been coloring and drinking milk in her highchair.  She wanted to get down and keep the crayons.  I told her that she would have to choose if she wanted to get down or if she would rather stay in the highchair and keep coloring.  At first she handed me the crayons as if to indicate that she wanted to get down.  I thought we had achieved a major victory!  Then, when I started to get her down, she decided she wanted to stay in the chair.  However, she didn’t want to color.  That left me confused…I think Emma won that round!

Emma is talking all the time and it is nice to be able to have short meaningful conversations with her. I thought we really had a spiritual breakthrough the other night.  I was pretty excited about that since she isn’t two years old.  I figured she might be the most Christlike toddler or something.  Emma loves to bring books to Clint and I and she will hand it to you and say “book”.  This time she brought me her children’s Bible and said “Bible”.  I was pretty fired up that she already knew the difference and was ready to send her into strict training for the next round of Awana Olympics.  While I was putting together my plan for her scripture memorization and theological preschool education, she walked up to me with “Elmo rides the Bus” and proclaimed…”Bible”.  I think we still have a little work to do on this!

In the past month our family bought a boat.  It is a pontoon boat that is great for our curious little passenger.  Emma seems to love being out on the boat, swimming in the lake, and entertaining all the friends and family that have joined us out on the lake so far.

We also joined a new church this month, Cedarcrest Church in Acworth.  Emma really loves her new teachers and the kids in her class.  There are a lot of NCCS families at Cedarcrest and it is cool to know that some of Emma’s church buddies will also be her school buddies.

This summer has been a blast for our family.  We are enjoying watching Emma try a lot of new things.  She is quick to pick things up and also quick to celebrate when something works like she wants.  It is such a blessing to see our little girl so happy and healthy.  We are very grateful that God has blessed us with our sweet Emma!

Here are some pictures of the last month…

Behind the Curtain: Week 3

Cedarcrest Church
Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Pride (Week 3)

Pride- Living for our glory instead of God’s glory

Pride is finding my joy in the praise of men rather than in the glory of God.

The Origin of Pride
Isaiah 14:13-15
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

The defining characteristic of the enemy of God
The roots of pride are rebellion and insecurity
Rebellion says my life is better lived without authority
Pride always causes us to walk away from God
The goal of the devil is to rob God of His glory

Pride on full display
Genesis 11:1-9
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

v4 Living for the glory of ourselves

v5 Man’s self exaltation will never match God’s glory

v7 Pride always leads to destruction
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

v8 The proud are opposed by God
James 4:6
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Those who are willing to acknowledge their need for a Savior will receive a Savior

v9 Prophecy of the final judgement
Revelation 18:10
10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

Foreshadowing what is to come for Babylon

God’s Glory on Display
Philippians 2:8-11
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Question:

Will I choose to bow to Christ in worship?
or
Will I be forced to bow to Christ in judgement?

Senior Leadership

We have a tradition at North Cobb Christian School of taking our Senior Class on a Rafting trip a few days before school starts.  This has quickly become a much-anticipated rite of passage in the upper school.  The NCCS Class of 2011 loaded up early on Saturday, August 7 to head up for a day of rafting and leadership training at the Ocoee River in Cleveland, TN.  This year we were privileged to take 62 seniors and 7 adults, our biggest group ever!

Once we arrived at the rafting outpost, a game of beach volleyball commenced immediately.  We have some terrific athletes in this class and the level of competition is high no matter if it is sports, grades, or checkers.  There is also a great spirit of fellowship in this class as there was a lot of cheering and good-natured ribbing throughout.

After some time to relax from our long bus ride, we gathered under the pavilion to talk about expectations for the year ahead as well as to decide what this class wants to be known for.  The discussion centered on our theme verse found in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

I asked the seniors to choose some words that they wanted to be known for as they set an example for the rest of our students.  They want to be known for things like: humility, faithfulness, unity, love, service, respect, reliability, Christlikeness, and spirited.  We had a great time talking through these things and it is obvious to see that this class recognizes the mantle of leadership that has been placed upon them.

We ate lunch together and then spent some time hanging out by the river at the outpost.  From there we loaded up in the bus and headed to the put in spot for our rafting adventure.  It was obvious that a few of our crew were a little nervous, but they all hung in there!  We enjoyed rafting for about two and a half hours down the Ocoee River through rapids such as Double Trouble, Table Saw, Broken Nose, and Powerhouse.  Fortunately everyone navigated all of the rapids and we all returned safely and with some hilarious stories to share!

As we made our way back to the outpost, the conversations quickly turned back to school that was coming on Monday and the retreats that were only two weeks away.  We spent some time relaxing at the outpost and then began our journey home.  We stopped for dinner on the way back.  It was a blast to stop at a fast food restaurant with 70 people!

We returned home around 9pm, thirteen hours after we had departed.    The crew had some aches and pains, some sunburns, and all of them were exhausted.  However, their spirits were high as they stepped off the bus prepared to start school on Monday by walking under the banner that says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

Book Review: The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family

Is your family busy?  Have you ever wondered if there is anything at all you can do about it?  Patrick Lencioni addresses those common questions of frazzled parents all over in his book The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family.  This book is a great tool for families that are seeking to reclaim their family from the busyness of life.

The questions are basic and the process is somewhat simple, but the biggest step is being willing to sit down as a family and decide what matters the most.  Lencioni makes tons of great resources and tools available on his Table Group website.

Here are the 3 big questions…

1. What makes your family unique?
2. What is your top priority - rallying cry - right now?
3. How do you talk about and use the answers to these questions?

Ellipticizing

The start of a brand new school year at North Cobb Christian School causes me to once again reexamine my morning routine.  I have always enjoyed getting up early in the mornings and getting to school before all of the craziness hits.  Even as a high school student, I would get to school super early just to have a chance to get myself organized before the day started.  I dropped my brother and sister off at their school on my way each day…I don’t think they fully appreciated my early morning habit.  They regularly had to hope the janitor heard them banging on the door and let them in so they wouldn’t have to stand outside.  We laugh about that now, but fortunately my mom realized that it might be better for her to drop them off closer to a normal arrival time!

We bought an elliptical last December.  Clint and I were both very excited about the opportunity to exercise at home on a more regular basis.  We put the elliptical right in the middle of our closet so that we would be more apt to use it every day.  Over the past several months, we have both had bursts of using the elliptical followed by long periods of walking around it and pretending it is not there.

Last week was in-service at school and I decided it was time to step up my game in the mornings.  I always do my personal devotional time at my desk at school, but it used to be followed by catching up on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.  All of this was still before work hours, but I always felt that there had to be a better way to do that.  Enter…the elliptical.

I get up at 5am each morning and have started spending around 20-25 minutes on the elliptical.  I have decided that while I am “ellipticizing”…a word made up for this occasion…I would use that time to catch up on FB, Twitter, and blogs.  I also usually read the headline news stories.  This allows me to get the exercise that I want to get on a regular basis, as well as stay on top of things that I think I need to be aware of.  Oddly enough…I am actually finding myself getting to the office earlier than I used to.  However, it is now with the added energy of exercising each morning and having some of the superfluous reading out of the way.  I don’t know if this routine would work for everyone, but it seems to be working for me.

I believe that one of the biggest challenges facing leaders today is the call to be a good steward of your time.  This is one way that I am trying to be a better steward of my time.  Do you have a morning routine that you think is beneficial that you’d like to share?