Trust and Don't Quit

Last week my oldest son Moses came bolting into our bedroom on Saturday afternoon with a burst of excitement.  I was trying to finish a painting project for Heather and my zeal for life at that moment was noticibly less than his.  At any rate I paused for a moment to see what he had to say.  "Dad, we beat the last level!" he yelled proudly.  He and his brother Silas had been battling evil in some type of Lego  game on the computer.  I was mildly excited for them, but as I started to go back to the work in front of me I felt prompted to ask him a question.  "What was the most important thing you learned?  What were the tools that allowed you to win?" I asked.  His response, "I don't know...trust and don't quit."  Trust and don't quit?  8 years old and this is what he picked up from his battle against the evil ninja's that afternoon!

Moses bounded down the stairs and went back to slaying dragons with his brother - I was left with his statement.  Pretty simple really. Trust and Don't Quit.Those are the keys to triumph in the last level.  So there you have it - some encouragement from God from a pair of boys, one five, one eight - just working together to beat the last level of evil foes on their computer game.  Sometimes it's not as hard as we make it.  Have a great day!

Playing the Game!

I woke up feeling a bit of discouragement  this morning which has been typical of the last six weeks - I wrestle to get up and then feel condemned for not feeling more joyful about life which leads to a creative shut down which means I don't write and I don't get fresh perspective and I don't start the day feeling like the man that I have been created to be.  So this morning felt much the same but I did pry open my laptop and start writing out my thoughts. In the midst of this I was about to jump online and find something more interesting to distract myself with when I felt a gentle nudge to go to ESPN.com - there was something there for me.  Sometimes when I feel like this I see big flashing neon sign type stuff - other times I have to dig around a bit to find the message that was meant for me.

Today it was clear and this is how it looked.  There was a huge expandable Gatorade ad banner at the top of the page that opened up when I went to the website.  This is what it said:

FUELED by his WILL TO WIN

HE ROSE ABOVE THE PAIN AND DOUBT 

resulting in ONE OF THE GUTSIEST GAMES EVER PLAYED

It was not to difficult to pick up on the message here.  The ad was inviting us to recall a  playoff game in which Michael Jordan was being blasted with the stomach flu and could hardly walk...being told repeatedly that he would be unable to play...he simply went out and did what he could to help his team win.  He took over the game in the second quarter and went on to hit the clutch shot in the fourth quarter that would propel the Bulls to victory in the game and the series leading them to yet another championship.  So, what was God wanting me to get out of this?  As I wrote it became pretty obvious.

Rise above the pain and the doubt.  Get over yourself and the things that other people have to say about what you can or can't do!  The pain of being misunderstood or misjudged - this is hardly something that is unique to you.  Move passed it and rise above the doubt that comes from the way that things have worked out before.  So you put your heart out there and put your blood and guts into something before and it didn't unfold the way that you expected?  Or maybe in unfolded exactly the way that you were afraid that it would - so what - you don't think that happens to Michael Jordan???  Rise above the pain and the doubt!  Walk as the son that I have called you to be.  Recognize that you have not only been created for this but you have already been trained and prepared for the season that is upon you.  That has already happened.  This is not just a scrimmage or a dress rehearsal - this is the big game that you have been wanting to play in - this is the show that you have wanted to be a part of this is it - the stage has been set.  Step up and do your part....PLAY!

Play with your heart and your guts - put it all on the line.  Don't hold back and wonder about what will happen if it doesn't work out - you have been prepared for this and put in place to play - not to sit on the bench because someone else doesn't think you can play and certainly not to take yourself out of a situation the God has drawn up for you to thrive in!  Walk with the heart of David today - as one who knows that he has been prepared for battle through what he has already experienced.  There are great things in store for those who will step up and play. 

At the end of the extended Gatorade add which relives Jordan's historic performance quarter by quarter is this phrase - Heart of a Champion.  This is how I want to live and how I want to play.  

So today I charge you to rise above the pain and the doubt and play the way that you have been created to play on the court that you have already been placed into because this is not a season of waiting for opportunity - it is a season of stepping into the opportunity that you have already been given.

Shooting with Sarah

Sarah, my oldest daughter is 6 - she loves to take pictures.  This year for Christmas I felt like there was some type of special gift that we were to get for her.  I wasn't sure what it was but somehow it seemed like there was something significant that we were to bless her with.  About a week before Christmas we figured it out and found a camera for her.  We took our first daddy/daughter photo walk on Christmas morning and she has been having fun with her camera ever since.  I come alive when I am outside with my camera so, it is a joy for me to watch some of the same things captivate young Sarah.  Here are some images that we captured during the last two days here at Blossom View Farm.  Sarah took the first 2 images below and I took the rest.  This is for Sarah - I love to watch you shoot!

 

Rest

Rest is such an amazing thing to me.  Over the past 11 years of my life I feel like God has taught me so much about the significance of being at rest.  In this place I am free to recognize who He is and who I am.  I can accurately see what is going on in my life and which helps put me in a position to help others.  I have taught and preached on the subject many times.  Probably more than any other.  I love to share the story of Mary and Martha and how Jesus came to the defense of the sister who was at rest while Martha freaked out.  I love it.  I love the peace and perspective that comes from being at rest.  But yesterday as I quieted myself before the Lord I felt like he was challenging me not to lose my rest.  As I looked back on my week I could see that there were many things accomplished.  Many meetings and many things worried about.  Much time spent stirring around - but very little time spent resting and receiving the perspective that I need to move forward.

Yesterday I took Moses and Sarah to Central Market.  We had a great time picking up donuts for the kids and flowers for Heather.  From there I went to breakfast with a friend.  Born in 1948, he is the same age as my father.  Like me he has a love for the land in this part of Pennsylvania, and a love for the generations and how God connects families over time.  His legacy will be the land that he watched over and the family that he leaves behind.  We sat together for two hours talking about life, listening to each others stories and encouraging each other in our dreams and our identities.  We were not in a rush and it was one of those conversations that could have easily continued from one meal into the next- it was a good feeling to be at rest while we spent time together.  As I said good-bye to Luke I was refreshed and excited to go home.

Project garage clean up was priority number one when I got home.  The kids jumped in and helped out as we tackled a project that felt months overdue.  We loaded the back of the minivan full of recycling and headed to the landfill to deposit it in the recycling center.  Silas came along for the ride.  I was so proud of him.  He watched what I was doing and jumped in to help.  Though he could barely reach the dumpster - he took load after load out of the van and found a way to get it dumped into the container.  A man who was dropping off his recycling looked on in admiration and said, "I wish I could get mine to help out."  I smiled taking great pride in watching my son and the work ethic that he has.  We finished unloading the van and went for a drive through the country stopping to look at a vintage station wagon that was for sale.  I love riding through the farmland that makes up the southwestern part of Lancaster county.  For me being on this land helps to bring me to a place of rest.  Mostly it reminds me of just being, of not having to get anywhere in a hurry and I love to share that feeling with my children.  Silas and I took the long way home and had a great time together.

We tied together a few loose ends at home and then I jumped on my bike.  My motorcycle has often been a tool of rest in my life.  It is funny because I am aware of so much motion while I am riding -but yet I come to place of rest unlike any other while I am flying through the river hills.  I love it.  As I rode yesterday God was speaking to me through the songs that filled my head.  I remembered the time that we spent in North Carolina and how worried I was that I would fail.  I am not even sure what failure would have meant at that point but, I remember God encouraging me that it would be ok.  That it was His job to be my Father and my job to be his son.  That was perhaps the high point in my day.  We had a great ride and I shot this picture with my phone when we stopped for a beer and some wings in Marietta.  I love this image because I think it captures the essence of the day.  The rest that I experienced, the camaraderie and the perspective.

For me...this is what rest looked like yesterday.  I wasn't trying to be something I wasn't.  I wasn't living my life to try to prove myself to others.  I was loving people.  I was spending time with my family.  I was enjoying life and I was at rest.  

So today, be at rest.  Know that God loves when you come to a place of rest.  From this place great things will unfold.  Because as you come to a place of rest - you remember who you are.  And from that place you will find it easy to do the things that you have been created to do and be with the people who are most important to you - and that is a beautiful thing.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Christmas Eve at Grandma's -Promised Land Farm

I remember Christmas from three years ago very clearly.  Heather was pregnant with Hope, our time in North Carolina was coming to an end and there was a lot to do before we moved.  But we made the journey back to Lancaster County to spend Christmas with our family and friends.  We had a tremendous trip, but the thing that sticks out to me most was the time that we spent with Heather's parents at Promised Land Farm.  We had lived in the tenant farmhouse on their property for the first 6 months of our marriage so it felt like we were coming home - but I was surprised by how much like home it felt.  Dan and Amy had just finished re-doing their kitchen and it just felt right to sit there and talk and congregate around food and coffee and laugh tougher.  It felt like grandma's house should feel.  We spent several days at Promised Land and returned to North Carolina refreshed.

Every year on Christmas Eve we journey to Dan and Amy's to feast and celebrate family and life together.  I was celebrating the arrival of a new camera so I took some time to capture life as it was unfolding.  These images are a tribute to Dan and Amy and the way that they open their home and set the table for family and fellowship to flow. 

Thanks guys for being who you are and making your house feel like Grandma's house - we love it,  Mark.

P.S.  These lovebirds got engaged on Christmas!  Congrats to Heather's Aunt Marcia and her new fiancé

Dennis!!!  God Bless the two of you as you head into an awesome new season of life.

I'll Be Home for Christmas...A New Season

A month or so ago my sister in law Naomi came to me with a story about our oldest son Moses.  She commented on how sharp he is at 8 years of age.  She shared of how he told her a few days ago that "my daddy is gonna start a photography business and he's not gonna work at Quality Stone any more and he's gonna take pictures and work at home more and he'll have more time to spend with us."  I was so proud of my son and the way  he unashamedly spoke out the future as he saw it.  I was proud of how free he was with my dreams - I cringed a little bit because I realized he was more free and filled with more faith for my dreams than I was at that moment:)

So, last Tuesday I went in to work and received a different Christmas bonus than the one I was expecting.  I was part of a round of lay-offs that included several long term employees.  Hmmm...not exactly the way that I had written the transition...but that season that Moses had spoken of was here none the less.  It's funny when I think about how many hours I spent praying and wondering when the transition out of Quality Stone would take place.  For a long time I have dreamed of starting more businesses of my own and spending more time on photography and developing leaders - two things in life that I am very passionate about.  So after all the worry about whether or not I would miss the next step God just kind of took me out of the decision making process.  "You are layed off effective immediately."  Ok.  New season here we come.

So in the last week I have had some precious gifts on my hands.  Time.  Time to go for long walks, time to connect with my wife, time to play with my children and time to set up the corporation that will be known as Hingework Inc.  I am so excited about this season and the freedom and passion that I feel.  I find myself getting up at 4 o'clock am to dream about the future and write about the things that are on my heart.  I find myself believing again that,  "The Glory of God is man fully alive."  I find myself meeting with men and women to encourage them to be faithful with the gifts that God has placed inside of them.  I find myself free and in touch with my heart and that is a priceless Christmas bonus.
This week I am enjoying the time that I have to spend with my friends and family around the holidays.  I have not had enough vacation days to take time off at Christmas for the last few years and I am so thankful that I do not need to rush back to work right now.  I'll be home for Christmas and I am excited about the future...

Bare Financial Services

Thirty-two years ago I was introduced to a cute little farm kid in a maroon vest in my kindergarten class.  We quickly became friends little did we know what that would mean.  Ron Bare and I played soccer together in grade school, attacked the basketball court in high school and graduated from the illustrious Goldey-Beacom College together.  We had the pleasure of serving in each others weddings and get together regularly to encourage each other as husbands and fathers.  Ron and Tina have been a great support to Heather and I over the years and I was excited when Ron recently approached me about capturing some images of the team at Bare Financial Services.  Thanks Ron for being a great friend - you've come a long way from the maroon vest in Mrs. Skiles class.  It was a fun to hang out with you and your team. To find out more about Ron and the other members of Bare Financial Services check out www.barefinancial.com.