Why is it easier?

Why is it so easy to inspire or lead others and so hard to do the same for yourself. I'm not bragging here..... but I have some really good ideas.... for other people. I can't come up with one for myself though. I can look externally at someone else's life and break down what they should do to improve their situation and give all kinds of good advice.... to other people. I just have a problem looking at myself the same way. It almost seems like I need to turn myself into other people.

For some reason I can't see the things in my life that need improvement and I can't really change much. Like this.... I'm driving down the street (this is gross) and I'm picking my nose, not like a real angry picking, just a mild scratching of the inside and I look over at the guy next to me and I think to myself "That's disgusting" while I'm doing the same thing.

What is that?? Oh well. I'm off to ponder this for a bit. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Email me or leave a comment if you feel the same thing or have an idea about how this effects you and how you deal with it...

So I'm thinking.......

I was watching Joel Osteen this weekend (by the way it is a lot easier to listen to him then it is to watch, he is too animated and I lose his message sometimes watching his frozen smile and constant blinking) and he was talking about expectations. He said something along the lines of 'God meets you at your expectations'. The whole idea behind this is if you expect to have a crappy day God is going to meet you there. If you expect your day to be filled with greatness God is going to meet you there instead.

If you expect God to raise the bar while your just hanging on it that isn't going to happen. You need to push the bar up with Him and once you start to push it up He will take over and help you raise the bar higher than you could imagine. (By the way, that is my analogy so if you think it sucks don't blame Joel.... but if you think it is money make sure to give credit where credit is due..... I give God all the credit I get by the way....)

So I get to thinking.... Think about all the miserable, and I mean completely miserable people in and around your life, What do they have in common? They all expect life to suck on some level. Or they are bitter and filled with anger most of the time. Or they go right to the negative answer and see the worst that can happen in most situations. These people usually have some animosity toward people that truly enjoy life. But at the end of the day they all really have a common thread, they don't really manage their own expectations. They almost look forward to bad things happening so they can say stuff like 'Knew that was coming' or 'Just my luck'. C'mon blog readers, you know who I'm talking about.

So I start to ask myself some questions that I wanted to share with you today.

• What do you expect from your days?
• Do you dwell on the negative of the day or do you see the proverbial silver lining?
• Here is a tough one... What do you think God would want for you that day?
• Here is an even tougher one... Do you expect God to do for you if you don't do for yourself?

Side note: I know a lot of you that have known me for a long time aren't really sure where all this "God talk" is coming from but for the record:

1. I was baptised as a Christian adult in 07
2. I attend church every weekend
3. I volunteer for aforementioned church every weekend
4. I am a member of the best small group (bible study group for all you Catholics) in the world
5. This is the best thing that has happened to me so far in my life and this isn't a fad or a phase and I'm not part of a cult that kills baby kittens or anything weird. God grabbed my heart one day last year and I'm on board all the way with this thing.
6. I even read the bible - true story.
7. For those of you that knew me when I was a dedicated agnostic - All I can say is not all change is bad, trust me on this.

Anyway....

Here is what I usually get out of my day. I get up, I go to work, I come home, I go to bed; you know like rinse and repeat. I have to believe that there is more than this. I can't think that this mundane living is what I'm called to do.

So here it is. NO MORE. (for my friends to the south, NO MAS) From this point forward, I expect more from my day. I expect more from myself and this is really going to suck for some of you but I expect more from you too! Don't tell me that you give all of yourself everyday.... I don't and if you can be honest you don't either. Think of the potential that can be unleashed if we thought about what our life could be and actually acted to make that thought real. What if we thought about what the day could bring instead of waiting for the day to happen? What could happen if we all pushed ourselves to not only want more but to EXPECT it? I know you can do better for yourself then 'Just my luck'. I know I can.

Begin each day as if it were on purpose. Lets just try for the next year to live our lives the best we can and expect the best for ourselves and the people we influence. Raise your expectations higher than you thought you could and God will be there waiting.....

You really need to try this.....

I just spent the night with a great group of people that I genuinely love. So what do you need to try? We sit around in a room and take turns pointing out the positive things we see in each other. It is incredibly uncomfortable at first. We are conditioned as people to accept the negative much easier than the positive. When you have people telling you what strengths they see in you and some go as far as telling you they wish they had in them what they see in you it is an amazing experience.

First, you get this feeling like, "Wow, I would really love to know this guy they are talking about". Then you go through this transformation internally that is hard to describe. You let your guard down. Now I know what your thinking, why would your guard be up if people are professing their favorite things about you? Good question..... I don't have the answer. But something happens inside where you let go of your fear of feeling good about yourself (isn't that sad) and you open up and you almost have a sense of pride come over you because people see things in you that blesses and encourages them.

If you have never experienced this little exercises, I recommend it, highly.

oh, by the way:
quan·ti·fy
1. to determine, indicate, or express the quantity of.

I'll let the pictures do the talking

You missed it!

OK, for those of you reading this that don't know, I go to the best church ever and have the best small group ever - I think that is like trying to convince one parent that your kid is the best kid in the world - But I really do so deal with it.

God has placed these people in my life and me in theirs. I'm not sure why I deserve this group but I have them. And after today's sermon I don't need to ask why for very long, only what. What can I take with me that can make me a better person. What will I learn that will impact the people around me and what can I teach that might show someone what I'm talking about. Wow.. that might have been too deep for a 2nd blog post.

I have to add a very special thank you to my wife. I'm not sure why you tolerate me but I'm glad you keep drinking the kool-aid. Love you, no really, I Love You!

Anyway, thank you to my group for being my group and thank you to our God for being our God. I'm not deserving of either.

P.S. To all my Catholics in the room..... Peace be with you!

Happy Flippin New Year

Lets face it, last year sucked, most of the time last year does. That is why it is last year. All the way back then. So long ago. History.

We always reflect on the worst that happened and the worst we were. Honestly, give me the first memory from last year that pops in your head...... Crappy wasn't it???

If you can have one New Years resolution you can stick to (good luck with that gym membership, I have extras if you need them) Don't vote REPUBLICAN. Just kidding..... Live by one simple philosophy.

Make tomorrow a better day than today.

Think of the possibilities of what is errrr... ahh... possible....... You know what I mean. Human nature is to be pesimistic. Use it against itself. If yesterday sucked.... today could be better right???

Sorry, I'm rambling and I think someone might have pee'd in my jello shooter - or these are urine flavored..... Either way, I've had to many to care.

Happy new year! I'm hoping this year is better for you than last year! (couldn't hurt to try)

Love ya, Mean it!

Laff