Mixed Messages

Gandhi said, "My life is my message."

Think about the message you want your life to convey: your priorities, the type of person you are, what you value, the image of how you perceive yourself.

Now think about what message you send in how you live your life?

Do they match up?

Probably not. Don't take that as a scathing criticism; mine doesn't either.

The important question is, "Now what are you going to do about it?!"

To read more, visit today's post on Zen Habits entitled Life is Poetry.

Perspective Leads to Gratefulness

Recently I read a quote by pastor and author, Craig Groeschel, that really resonated with me.

Some moms choose what to feed their children. Some moms have to choose which children to feed.

It's impossible to be grateful and angry at the same time. And often times, gratefulness depends on our perspective. Do we whine because we HAVE to go to work or are we grateful we have a job? Do we complain about paying our bills, or are we grateful to have the money to pay them? Are we upset because we have to take care of the kids or we are grateful we have children to care for? Are we angry we are getting older and less able to do things or are we grateful for all we can do in our good health? Do we mourn our gray hair and wrinkles or are we grateful for the wisdom we've earned over the years? Are we irritated by traffic or are we grateful for a vehicle.

Do we see our lives in terms of what we HAVE to do or do we see our lives in terms of what we GET to do or CHOOSE to do?

Popular Lies told in Church

Years ago I learned one of the most important spiritual lessons of my life. The title of the message was something along the line of “The Biggest Lies Told in the Church”. The debunked lie that stuck with me was, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” LIE! God routinely gives you more than you can handle. In fact, the Bible is replete with stories of God giving men and women more than they can handle. Why?! So they (and you and I) have to rely on God! Duh. The message was so simple, logical and obvious. And yet, I had told that spiritual lie in trying to “encourage” people. Instead of encouraging someone going through something God-sized, in fact, I was belittling them for not handling it and encouraging them to handle it themselves rather than rely on God. After all, if God said it’s not more than you can handle, you should be able to handle it all on your own, right?! Dumb. Lie.

Larry Osborne debunks ten more spiritual myths in his book, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. This is an excellent book every believer should read. I guarantee there’s at least one of the ten that you’ve been taught, believed and told others to their detriment. You owe it to your yourself and other believers to get a copy of this book and read it so you can stop the spread of well intentioned spiritual garbage.

You can purchase this book from your favorite bookseller including: www.Amazon.com, www.ChristianBook.com, and www.FamilyChristian.com

I have two copies of Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe to give away. To enter the random drawing, just send your name and mailing address to me at seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

Also, remember I’m giving away one copy of Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate. The winner for that book will be announced Friday, April 24, 2009. You can enter one or both drawings, just please let me know which drawing(s) you would like to enter.

Good luck!

Below is the publisher's summary for Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe:

Summary:

Just Because “Everyone Believes It” Doesn’t Make It True

People don’t set out to build their faith upon myths and spiritual urban legends. But somehow such falsehoods keep showing up in the way that many Christians think about life and God. These goofy ideas and beliefs are assumed by millions to be rock-solid truth . . . until life proves they’re not. The sad result is often a spiritual disaster—confusion, feelings of betrayal, a distrust of Scripture, loss of faith, anger toward both the church and God.

But it doesn’t have to be so. In this delightfully personal and practical book, respected Bible teacher Larry Osborne confronts ten widely held beliefs that are both dumb and dangerous. Beliefs like these:

• Faith can fix anything

• Christians shouldn’t judge

• Forgiving means forgetting

• Everything happens for a reason

• A godly home guarantees good kids

…and more.

The Best Example . . . for Everything!

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott is a great book. Imagine reading a self-help book, one of those books that teach you how to better manage your time, focus on your priorities, cultivate friends, make more money, be fulfilled in your career, have an enviable marriage, be a better parent, etc., etc. Now imagine being told you can do all of the above if you just follow the example of one man: Jesus. This is that book.

Steven K. Scott manages to make complex subjects easy to understand and apply, while not dumbing down his message. This is a rare talent – one I greatly appreciate. We all know we are supposed to be followers of the Master, but this book shows us how to do that in practical terms.

I have TWO copies of this book to give away to my readers, free! To enter the random drawing for The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott, just e-mail your name and address to me at http://seewhykinsman@gmail.com. Winners will be drawn on Friday, March 27, 2009. Good luck!

If you don’t win, you can purchase this book at numerous booksellers. Click the link below to find out where:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385526005&ref=externallink_wbm_thegreatestwordseverspoken_kef_0220_01

Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:
In The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott guides readers in a step-by-step application of the life-changing principles, skills, and methods that Jesus used throughout his earthly life. Although believers may spend a lifetime learning from Jesus’ teachings, it’s easy to overlook the powerful lessons demonstrated in His life. But when these incomparable lessons are learned and put to use, they enable ordinary people to achieve extraordinary success and happiness.

From Jesus’ earthly life readers will learn:

How to break through the barriers that prevent them from achieving extraordinary success at work and relational success at home.

How to experience a level of happiness and fulfillment that nothing the world offers can duplicate.

How to use adversity and opposition as a springboard for greater success.

How to love others in a way that increases their love as well.

No matter what a person’s area of expertise and in what setting a person influences others, living by the principles of Jesus’ life on earth produces extraordinary success, unprecedented achievements, personal fulfillment, and blessings for others.

Author Bio:
Steven K. Scott is the best-selling author of The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, The Greatest Words Ever Spoken, and Mentored by a Millionaire. After failing in nine jobs, he started reading a chapter of Proverbs every day—and the wisdom of Scripture changed his life. Scott and his business partners have built more than a dozen multimillion-dollar companies from scratch, achieving billions of dollars in sales. He is the co-founder of Max International, Total Gym Fitness, and The American Telecast Corporation. He is a popular international speaker on the subjects of personal and professional achievement and the application of biblical wisdom to every area of life.