Beware, this isn’t for the faint of heart, this is for mature folks who are ready to take a serious look at their life and implement some real change. This message will offend us if we aren’t open-minded enough to hear what God has to say concerning the area of personal holiness. So, yeah if we aren’t seeking God as we should, it’s gonna sound a bit ‘religious’ or ‘legalistic’ but if we understand that ritual & religion is not the goal but a fervent love & relationship with God is, then we should find it challenging and not condemning.

I’m reminded of the scripture “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” -Lamentations 3:40 NIV

Click the image below and it will take you to my Vimeo channel. So buckle up and check it out…

I’ve had the great privilege of working at Oasis Church for 6 years under Pastors Danny & Jillian Chambers serving as Youth Pastor, Twenty-somethings Pastor, and Creative Pastor. To say the least, I learned a ton about life, leadership, and my faith at the Oasis. I can’t express how much I appreciate what Pastors Danny & Jill, and the Oasis have done for my family & I. It was Pastor Danny who saw the creative gift in me and helped to pull it out and ultimately, it was that God-given gift that opened the door to more favor & opportunity than I could’ve imagined. Over 12 years ago, it was also Pastor Danny who (through the “Best of Danny Chambers” double TAPE!) taught me what it meant to be an unashamed worshiper no matter what is going on in my life. These lessons are priceless and I am forever grateful. So we transition WITH the blessing of our Pastors (take note Christian when leaving your church! Leave blessed.) knowing this next season is going to bring more to us than ever before.

One thing I have definitely learned is life is seasonal. You learn to change and adapt to the seasons of life or you get left behind in the company of those who never thrive, grow, or succeed. For our family, a new season has begun and we are embracing change and progressing towards the call of God in Christ Jesus.

More recently, I was offered an amazing position as the Graphic Designer at Victory World Church in Atlanta under the leadership of Pastors Dennis & Colleen Rouse. It is a GREAT church doing phenomenal things, and it’s surreal I actually get to work there! side note… my office is sweet lol… I feel very blessed and humbled. I’ve been working for a couple of weeks now, driving back to Nashville on the weekends to visit the family and get the house ready to lease. (If you need a place to lease in Nashville, hit me up and let’s talk!) So we need to pack up, find a place to live, get the girls into school, and basically do a lot of work to make this a successful move. Overall, the family and I are completely stoked but also a bit overwhelmed about moving.

In recap… Moving to Atlanta. Great position at a great church. Incredible opportunity.

THEN HAITI HAPPENED.

This transition was a huge deal to my family and I… until the earthquake in Haiti happened. All of a sudden, the move seems small, the stress of renting the house dissipates, and my focus is now on the island of Haiti. My hope is now expanded from my little world to the world of helping Haiti. It’s amazing how we can see just the thing in front of us instead of realizing there is an entire world out there that we can help. Moving is a big deal, it’s possibly life-changing but in light of the horrible tragedy in Haiti, it’s nothing, not even a blip on the radar.

“The greatest discoveries of science have always been those that forced us to rethink our beliefs about the universe and our place in it.”  ~Robert L. Park, The New York Times, 7 December 1999

I know it’s a ‘science quote’ but I’d add not only in science but… “the greatest discoveries of ourselves and our faith have always been those that forced us to rethink our beliefs about the universe and our place in it.” We need to continue to be forced to rethink our beliefs and expand our knowledge… but that’s another subject for another time. This quote reminded me that this universe is a big place and I am a very small part of it. It’s discouraging how I can make things so huge in my own perception but in reality… it’s nothing, not a blip on the radar.

1 Corinthians 16:13
Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping.

I have to continually remind myself that my eyes need to stay open and focused on loving without stopping. For me, this is the best way to navigate transition in light of tragedy.

It’s a reminder of a particularly rough season of my life.

It’s my new tattoo… the phrase, “Otium Sanctum”.

You can check out the earlier post to get caught up on the phrase, but as I was laying there feelin’ the burn, I remembered back to the reason I was getting this tattoo done in the first place. Once upon a time, my life was great looking on the outside but inside was a huge mess. I was burned out on ministry and life in general and my relationship with God and my family was suffering. But everything SEEMED great. I was paying the bills, work was flowing in… life SEEMED really great. Remember everything is not what it seems sometimes. The process of getting to health is never easy. It takes work, dedication to the process, and patience that everything you want in life does not have to happen right now. That’s the beauty of life… it will go on for a while so you don’t have to stress out about what you don’t have.  Hindsight now… this season definitely could have been avoided by building in margin, time, relationship, and priorities. I don’t want to go to far into the subject… there are some great resources available on this subject that go much deeper than I could in a blog post… “Mad Church Disease” and “Confessions of a Pastor” are two books that helped me and will help you no matter if you are ministry or not… both will help you get focused on the main thing… your relationship with God. Anyways, seasons of busyness will come and go but you have to take the time to get back to basics.

Of course the classic “Celebration of Discipline” is the book that really helped spur me on to the idea of ‘holy leisure’. It is the quintessential book for getting back to basics. But it doesn’t leave you there… it will take you to another level in your walk with God if you apply the information found within. So here’s the new tatt… on my left inner bicep… close to my heart, just like the phrase. Take some time to enjoy holy leisure today.

Kinda says it all about Insecurity.

“Only the insecure strive for security.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

This is such a great quote because for me it says that I am already secure. As a believer, I have security in a strong God and my need for affirmation, lasting affirmation, can only come from Him. I am overcoming insecurity step by step and am finding success by looking at how Jesus dealt with it and knowing a few basic things. Check it out…

John 13:3… Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

1. Jesus knew… The first thing I’ve found in overcoming insecurity is to know. Know who you are. Knowing who your are takes knowing who you aren’t.

2. Jesus knew who… The second thing is that Jesus not only knew who He was, but WHOSE He was! You are a child of God. You have purpose and no matter what it looks like right now or how insecure you may feel, you are God’s. 1 Cor. 7:23

3. Jesus knew where… Jesus knew where he was going… back to God! Think about that… If you have a relationship with God (if you don’t … click here for more information about doing that) but if you have a REALationship with God through Jesus Christ, you are returning to God! That right there should take a ton of pressure off. Not only are you returning to God, but He has given you something to do here on earth! God has a plan and He will help you know where to go.

I’ll say it again, insecurity sucks but you can overcome it anytime it tries to rear it’s oh-so-ugly head… by just KNOWING!

This is an excerpt from an amazing book from Richard Foster, “The Celebration of Discipline”. This is a must read for anyone who wants to get closer to God. This book for me has completely kicked my butt. It’s not a deep read, but there is just so much great stuff in there. It is a great refresher on the Spiritual Disciplines.

That one phrase has bothered me so much… actually it has impacted me and bothered me. OTIUM SANCTUM… holy leisure… balance, be at peace, rest, enjoy beauty, pace ourselves. My life has been out of balance for so long, always running, doing, attempting, creating… instead of being. Today I actually just sat outside and watched a bee gather pollen from flowers… and it made me realize that life is happening and I’ve missed a lot of it. This isn’t supposed to be a downer but hopefully will inspire you, me, us to make changes for us to just enjoy the seemingly mundane, “everyday”. Everyday is a day that was created for us to enjoy. So let’s take some holy leisure and build some balance in our lives.

BTW, there will be a sweet tatt to come in the very near future referring to Otium Sanctum… lookout for pics!

One of the unique features of FaceBook is it’s inbox. For those of you who are FB Gurus, you know that you can send a message to as many of your friends as you want… even if they don’t want you to send them a message they will still get it.

- Anybody ever receive a message in your inbox that went straight to the delete button because it was junk mail?

- Then there are those messages that have some value to them, so you keep them there to maybe to reread another time… 

- And then there are those messages that you leave marked unread even after you’ve read them because they are important to you and you want to go back and be reminded of them.

Let’s talk to you about your SPIRITUAL INBOX.

You will receive messages everyday. What will you do with them?

3 Things to Help You Keep a Clean Inbox

1. Delete the Junk Mail – This is the mail you don’t want in your inbox!

Purify Yourselves…

God will forgive you… just ask Him. But REPENTANCE means turning away, doing a 180.

For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18″I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17,18-7:1)

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

This verse shows an amazing definition of why we preach, we strive, we discipline… and we aim towards not living a sin-filled or sinful life. Because we want to please God and make Him happy because of our obedience.

2. Surround Yourself with Good Relationships – This is the mail you keep around to reread and encourage you.

Build up type people not tear down type people. Authentic people who tell you the truth in love.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV)

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22 KJV)

- Monitor your environments. – if you are an alcoholic, don’t hang out at a bar… RUN!

- Monitor your conversation. – a habit of talking crap about people, then THEN SHUT UP AND RUN!

- Monitor your triggers. – if an image or thought turns you on or leads you towards sin, THEN RUN!

Soooo CAPTIONS PLEASE!