Is it in you? Is it coming out of you?

Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

You are surrounded with opportunities to share the love of Christ. Let me be the first to say that I have not done it every time Christ has asked me to, but I try my best. Whether it is good news or bad news (I would like to think it is all good news), Christ has given you a message to share. The question is this: is it in you? If that burning message is in you, then here is the next question: is it coming out of you? We were made to share the good news of Jesus Christ. He was alive here on the earth. He died so that we could be save. Now, he lives in us, THE CHURCH!!!

We are free. We are free to live a great life. That's the message that makes me burn.

A friend once told me that they, the lost, may not want to catch fire, but they will come to see you burn. So, get it out of you and sit back as people watch in amazement. They will want what you have.

IS IT IN YOU? IS IT COMING OUT OF YOU?

You are your own leader.

I have never been the type of person to specifically talk about leadership. I actually think there are plenty of persons who discus it enough. If you want to hear about leadership, you can simply go to iTunes, type in  leadership, and find hundreds of results.

My wife is taking a human resources course, and one of the course assignments is a 20 page paper. The reading associated with this paper is full of self-assessments. Some of these assessments have to do with leadership, listening, communicating, and other things associated with human relations, and professional relationships. After reading her paper (not the book... keep this in mind) I found some generalized information that scared me.

I think there is a notion, that is becoming a trend, fad, and movement, that says, "leaders look like_________. If you want to be a leader, you need to be ________." The word "Leader" has a definition that is "a person who leads," which comes from Merriam Webster's online dictionary. While this is not the most comprehensive definition of leadership, I honestly think we need to leave it at that. I know there are traits that can assist in leadership, but DO NOT CHANGE YOURSELF TO FIT A MOLD.

God crafted you in a specific way to do a specific thing, be a specific person, and lead a specific way. To change yourself to fit another person's opinionated mold, I fear, would almost be telling God that HE got it wrong and you, the person leader, can do it better.

So, whether you are a loud leader, a screaming leader, a silent leader, a Type A leader, or a Type B leader, JUST LEAD. Lets keep it simple and lets fit the mold that God has set for us individually. He has made us complex as it is.

MIX TAPE PLAYA!!!

Do you remember when cassette tapes were huge?
Do you remember when you could record radio music onto your cassette tape?
What did you do?

I'll tell you what you did.

You would put the tape into the cassette player right before you went to sleep, you would hit record, then you would go to sleep. In the morning you would listen to the entire tape, a couple of hours worth of music. As you listened, you would hope that your song, or your jam, would be on that tape. Sometimes it would work. Sometimes you would have to start all over. (but it was okay because you could record over all of that crappy music from before) If you were lucky your song would be found in the middle of all of that other music.


Isn't that how God works sometimes. We constantly reach for him. We plug ourselves into him, and at the right moment we arrive and hear exactly what we need and want to hear. In the middle of all of that, we don't ignore the music that is around us. We hear some great jams along the way, but God will always lead us to our jam!!!

5 stages of grief

Have you ever heard of the five stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance?

Those who are soon to meet their last breath usually have these symptoms, or expressions of emotion, before they get there. At the same time, it is not uncommon for loved ones of the soon departed to go through these emotions as well.

I have a thought.

I have had a particular dream for several years, since I started college in 2003. In recent history, I came to the realization that this dream was about to take it's last breath, and I wen through these same symptoms. Truly, I went through all of these. You can ask my wife.

So, my thought is this: I think the grief of a dying idea can manifest itself in these same symptoms. Once again, you can ask my wife. I know, in my life, I can trace each one of these symptoms as my idea has approached its last breath.

I accept now that this particular dream may never happen. Upon reaching acceptance, on the other hand, I can now move on to the thing that is next for me.

...My "Sun Stand Still" prayer.

Jesus, in Matthew 7:29 I see that you are one who spoke with authority. I see in Acts 2:41 that, because of your message, thousands grew to have a relationship with you. Christ, help me to speak with authority and reach thousands IN YOUR NAME. I pray that I decrease so YOU may increase!!! There are people who need to know the love of Christ. 

Empower me, like you did with Moses, to lead people closer to you.

Thanksgiving Festivities

I was talking with my wife today and I asked, "I wonder where the tradition of the early, Thanksgiving dinner started." She didn't really know and I didn't know. We gave our guesses, but they were only guesses.

We were shopping that day, and as we were walking in the store, I asked the same question to the occasional grocery store shopper. Wouldn't you know it?!? Every person I asked had no answer. So, I guess we reduce this timeless tradition to, "That's how we've always done it."

My wife and I have decided to break the curse. You can do it too... if you want. We, on the other hand, have decided that DINNERS ARE MEANT FOR DINNER, and it's the same with everything else. Just because it worked in the past does not mean that it will work in the future. This simple fact penetrates ever aspect of life, which includes church, business, traditions, and the like. Venture to be different. The best business and church I know of have done things differently. When everyone else decided to do things the way they have always been done, some pioneer companies decided to do things differently... and it payed off. 

Think about it: Apple, Krispy Kreme, Coach, Self Checkout lines, quibids, Craigslist, Lifechurch.tv, and many more have decided to do it a little different, and everyone thanks them for setting a pioneering example.

Do it different!

My hope... Krispy Kreme = Church

Let me start by saying the following:

The Spirit of Christ can do more than any human can fathom.
The Spirit of Christ does do much more than I can fathom.

My fear is this, on the other hand; there are many who are turned off to the possibility of a relationship with Christ because their childhood, church experience was terrible. I remember growing up in Church, crawling under seats. The truth is that many have a poor church experience, and they say no to that. Because they have said "no" to the church, they end up saying "no" to Christ.

So, this is my hope: I want my church to be like Krispy Kreme. Think about it. Krispy Kreme took the time to make and excellent product, one that some have driven hours for. They then sell that product to the public.

Once again, let me say that church is not something to be sold. It is not a big business. It is something that deserves excellence. Let's make a remarkable church and give that to people. Let's let people find Christ in the excellence of what we do. There are so many churches that settle for a mediocre product. Let's bury that notion, and let's do the AMAZING thing that Christ has called us to do.

We need not to stop dreaming big. God is capable. Believe that!!! 

being safe is RISKY!!!

2 Kings 7:3-5
Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates.

“Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”

So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there!

Here is the truth. Most of us are too scared to reach out and take a chance on our dream because we know what we have right now. THE GREAT TRUTH is that we can abandon the good that we have right now and live in the "great" that Christ has for us with our dream in the future!!!

think about it

i wear sexy underwear!!!

First, let me say that I'm not going to get too graphic. I know some of you may be disappointed. The fact remains, that I like to put on the occasional sexy undergarment, and I have a reason.

I don't want you to read too much into this, but I had an old friend that said, "If you look good, you feel good, and you play good." That last part, he was talking about football. Trust me the sexy panties and football are unrelated. Still, there are times that I need an ego boost; so, I slip on something that I know noone else will see. For some reason, that lifts my spirits, and I feel better. I project better, and I know others notice it, but they do now know why I am at the top of my game. HA HA HA.... there's a reason.

I think there are times that we need to do something serious or something stupid to pick ourselves up. We have two choices; we can be sad, or we can get happy.

Why not get happy?

Prove them wrong.

When someone tells you your faults, there are several things that you can do.

1.) Accept it as criticism, and learn from it.
2.) Ignore it.
3.) Accept it as criticism, and prove the person wrong.
4.) Simply, prove the person wrong.

Take things in stride. If a particular bit of information hurts, you may want to develop thicker skin. I do recognize that some things cut too deep. I have experienced those things myself; still, there are words that hurt that you can use to build you up. At the same time, there are words that are said in anger that are only used to tear you down. An important piece of advice is to learn to distinguish between the two.

.... but it is always fun to prove someone wrong!

I need help

Today, I was looking at church histories.

When I say church histories, I mean this: I want to know how a particular church started.

Now, I need your help. Really, I need you advice. If you are out there, if you are a regular reader, or if you accidentally found this blog, then I am talking to you. I recently read a quote which said, "never give up on the vision He (Christ) has placed in your heart!"

So, I ask the question, what do you do when you can't follow that vision?

It's Complicated

I have a complicated theory for you that I will say with the following simple thought. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

I was talking with a college roommate several years ago, and we were discussing this very complicated theory. Eventually, we ended thinking the same thing. If a breath that you release is used to praise God, then you and that breath have fulfilled your purpose. If the step that you take is a step closer to Christ, then that step rejoices that it can do something that is God ordained. You see, everything that we have and everything that we DO is designed to be in line with what God has for us. Therefore, when you sing, the breath that you use to sing and the vocal chords that vibrate are honored to serve the Lord.

Scripture says that our body is a temple. The truth is, that is exactly right. Even as I type these words, the keys on my keyboard are thankful that they are serving the purposes of God.

It's a simple phrase. It's a complicated theory.

husbands, invest in your wives.

Today, I cleaned the house. I made the made. I laid roses on the bed.

On top of the roses, I laid a present that I purchased for her. It's not her birthday. It's not an anniversary. There is no special occasion attached to this day. I simply got her a present because I wanted to get her a present. Now, I am bragging about it. That, on the other hand, is not the point. Husband, invest in your wife. God paired you with someone that he picked out just for you. Enjoy that.

I don't want anything in return; I just want her to know that I love her. She may never read this, because she doesn't really read my blogs, but I want the whole world to know how much she means to me. Crystal, I love you. I got you a present, because you deserve a present.

Learn to teach

A friend of mine told me that she liked reading my blogs; so, it gave me the strength to write another one.

I helped my brother-n-law learn to ride a motorcycle, and it got me thinking. An old science teacher once told me that you learn approximately 95 percent of what you teach. So, as I was teaching him, I was learning in an even greater way.

Now stop. I don't want you to think that you teach only to learn.

You teach, because you want to pass information on to another generation, another group of people who is in need of knowledge.

I think about it now.

I used to work at a school, and I can honestly say that I learned more as a teacher than any other time in my life. So, keep teaching, and keep learning.

Recently, I posted some of my goals. Once again, I think it is important to set goals. I listed a number of business goals that I would like to achieve. They are all possible, might I add.

What I forgot to mention are some of my most important goals.

1.) I want to do exactly what God asks of me. I want the world to know, and I want every blogger to read that I am a passionate follower of Christ.

2.) I want to be married to the same wonderful woman my entire life. Marriages have ended too quickly in recent times. I believe that I have found someone special, and I will do everything I can to hold on to that person for the rest of my life. I make mistakes; we disagree. Still, I would rather be miserable with her, than happy with someone that God has not crafted to be my wife.

3.) I want to have Godly children, and I want to adopt. I want to spread my seed and the Eastman name; plus, I want to give a child the chance to have a great future grounded in Christ.

4.) I want to start a church that reaches the world. One of my greatest dreams is to inspire others to share the love of Christ.

The list can go on and on, but I encourage you to make your own list. These are just a few. I have plans as to how I am going to get there. My generation, please build upon the things that we know and the things that we have learned. We are a special, gifted, talented generation, full of hope and potential. Let's do it! Let's do something that makes others stand back and say "WOW!"

mentor and be mentored

I have been attending church at lifechurch.tv, a great church is anyone is looking for one. Craig, the pastor of the church, has a been preaching a message series titled "I Believe in You." Think about it. From a personal standpoint, it's nice to remember that Christ believes in us. After he gave His life on the cross and ascended into heaven, he gave us the mission on of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and showing people the power of Christ. Plus, he calls us to raise up a generation to do the same. Moses had a person that he mentored, Joshua. Joshua, on the other hand, made the mistake of not being a mentor to anyone. So, when he dies, the first things you find is that the people of God forget all of the great things that the Lord and Joshua have brought them through, and the separate themselves from God.

Therefore, think. It is important to have a mentor, but it is equally important to mentor someone. Think about the Joseph, who saved the nation of Egypt from a serious famine. You read in the next book of the Bible that, "A new king came to power that knew nothing of the works of Joseph." From that point, because there were so many Israelites, Pharaoh grew concerned and oppressed them. The nation that was saved by a group of people forgot the things that the group of people had done and made them their slaves.

Really, when we choose to ignore our responsibility of mentor-ship, we set up the next generation to become slaves. In both Biblical instances, Judges and Exodus, the Israelite nation found themselves in constant bondage.

That all sounds a little serious. Just take this with you. It is one of the greatest things in this world to mentor the next generation. Fathers, mentor your children. Be great fathers. Mothers, mentor your children. be great mothers. Someone poured themselves into you. Do the same for someone else. They'll appreciate you for it.

Set Some Goals

I would not consider myself to be a goal setter. In the past couple of weeks, however, I felt it important to set some goals. You see, I am currently working at an apartment complex as an assistant manager. At the property that I work at, they hire assistant managers with the sole purpose of making them management. There is no "maybe." I will definitely become a manager. All I have to do is stick with it, and I will make it there.

That said, the manager is training me to become a manager. So, I have set some goals for myself. This is what they are:

1.) Get the managers to 0-0: That means, every apartment must be filled, (the easy part) and all of the maintenance must be done for the month (surprisingly the hard part)

2.) Remember things that the manager might forget about: I want to exceed his expectations. I want to do things that he hasn't thought of doing to better the company and the property.

3.) Help get our managers to become managers of the year: There are a number of criteria for them to get this. It's difficult.

4.) Get to management: That's the reason I am at this company. I want to manage my own property.

5.) Leave no vacancies. I want every apartment to be full.

6.) Get 0-0: No vacancies. No incomplete maintenance.

7.) Become manager of the year.

8.) Receive manager of the year on a consistent basis.

9.) Regularly train new managers.

10.) Become Supervisor.

What goals have you set for yourself?
I encourage you to make some.
These are just business goals that I have for myself. I would eventually like to adopt, start a church, have my own child, and a number of other things that come along with family. Still, think about your goals. Write them down. Stretch yourself.

Passionate???

I know everyone remembers the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I'm sure we have all heard that question. Truth be told, I don't remember when I was asked that question. Still, there was a time in my life that I had made up my mind that I wanted to be a meteorologist. I didn't like weather, tornadoes, or storms, but I loved the fact that I could potentially be on TV. That was all that I needed. I wanted to make my mark on the airwaves.

After I got some things figured out, I decided to go into ministry. First, I wanted to be a youth pastor, but I'm really bad with that group of individuals. I can plan events. I can hang out, but there is a disconnect.

I'm really not good with that group of persons.

I am good with mid-age adults. I am good with young children. So, it would make sense that I would pursue one of those two areas. Right now, I am an assistant apartment manager, and I am working towards management.

Are you surprised?

I have heard this said, "just because you have made a wrong turn doesn't mean you have lost your way." I fully believe I will not be a meteorologist. I know I will not be a fire fighter. But, there is a dream that God has put in my heart. He told me, "this is what you will be when you grow up." I am going to hang on to that. For whatever reason, I have made a wrong turn, but I have not lost my way. There is a goal that I am heading towards.

Maybe you look at your life and you think you have "missed it." Maybe there was a business that you wanted to start, and it didn't happen. Maybe there was a song you were going to write, but you never learned how to play guitar.

Make today be the day that you get up and head towards your goal. You may think it is too late. I don't think so. You may have to reevaluate how things may get done, but there is a goal that you were meant to reach. There is a thing you are supposed to do. You are still going to be something when you grow up. GET IT DONE. figure out how to do it, and make it happen. Ray Charles was blind, and he still made music. GET IT DONE!!!

Quran Burning???

First, let me say that I have only heard about the article. I have not seen it or have had time to read it; so, I might be way off base in even talking about this. I have heard, on the other hand, that there is a pastor that plans on burning a copy of the Quran as his sort of support of the Christian faith... Oh the things that have been done for the sake of Christianity... In this article, I have heard that our president disagrees with this action. If that is the case, then good for him. I don't agree with it either. I have a friend that says that an action like this, burning the Muslim Holy book, would only spur a greater hatred of Americans, and it would further encourage Muslims to engage in extremists actions.

What ever happened to loving our neighbor? I know this may be the "Stupid Christian Answer," but we complain about illegal Mexicans stealing our jobs. We can help but look down at every olive skinned individual. In this country we have stereotyped Christianity, in most part, to being a Bible-thumping, staunch republican. Then, we look away from anything else that doesn't fit this mold. When is this all going stop? I'm sure few will read this, if any at all, but something has to change in the Christian culture. We are the examples of the love, compassion, and the grace of Christ. Sometimes, I don't think it shows. We are becoming more and more about ourselves and less and less about other people, it seems.

We complain about and avoid people that are different than us and we don't reach out with the love of Christ. Great...

Why not freakin' help someone.

There is a girl that works for Crystal and I that has just moved into her first place and has just landed her first full-time job. I was doing maintenance at her apartment today, and I saw that she had nothing. Well, let me take that back. She had a blow up mattress and a TV that my wife and I gave her.


She isn't asking for help. But why not help her? Do we have to wait.

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." ACTS 4

Our possessions have a purpose. They are to please the Lord. This is the funny thing. I'm going to post this on Facebook and noone will give a crap, but I post something stupid like, "I'm heading to the mall," people will jump all over that. Sometimes, Christians come through in a big way. Other times, Christians suck.

The "F" Bomb

My wife and I used to live and work at a church in Victoria Texas. The people out there are good people, and the church was a good church. Although, it was not the church for me. We didn't fit well together. I would have to say to all of the future ministers, take your time in picking a church, and pick one that makes sense. That, on the other hand, can wait for another post.

After a while, this church started to treat my wife and I poorly, and it became a very toxic situation. God is good, though, and I got fired from that job.

I really do praise God for that.

All of it really burned in my heart, but after a while, I put it at the back of my mind.

Recently, on the other hand, I saw a picture of the pastor of that church on facebook, and all of the hurt came flooding back. It was at that moment that God spoke to me, and he told me something that I always knew. God said, "You're going to have to give them the 'F Bomb.'" So, I did. I didn't curse at them. I forgave them. "holding on to the hurt and the anger doesn't do anything to them. It does everything to you." God was right. Pastor J is completely unaffected by the hurt that I have inside. Me on the other hand, my chest tightened, and I started to get light headed.

The truth is this: harboring unforgiveness doesn't do anything to the other person. You can get angry. You can cry. You can get red in the face. The other person is going to keep living his or her life. You forgive them, because you need to forgive them. Unforgiveness will make you physically ill. Plus, we are all screw ups who, at one point, were forgiven. Christ forgave us, and we didn't even ask for it.

... all your eggs in the church building basket?

There is a church southwest of where I live that has planned to build a multi-million dollar facility, and they have not had an actual service. They are starting their internet push, and I started asking myself questions.

Is this what Jesus had in mind when he gave his life on the cross?

Now that you have heard my question, I want to tell you something. I don't have anything against large thriving churches. I attend Lifechurch.tv, and it is the largest church in Oklahoma. Still, the question remains. Why would we spend so much on something that is so materialistic? Why can't we simply reach out with our hands, rather than pull in with a lifeless building. It is the people who are going to make the difference in reaching lives; then, it will be Christ that makes the difference in changing lives. As a matter of fact, we would not be able to reach if it weren't for the grace and life-giving power of Christ.

So, what are we building for. There are some churches that have made it their strategy to build closer to the lost. Lifechurch.tv is that way, and I think it is an excellent idea. Although, it only works because the people of the church are being the church, and they are reaching out with their hands. I occasionally attend a church that just bought an old movie theater, for cheap, and made it their church.

Why can't that happen? Why do we have to spend millions of dollars on a building that will pass away? Why can't we spend our money on people or strategies to reach people. Come on!!! There are hungry children in Africa, but we have to build the biggest stained glass window. Let's get our head in the game. Let's stop putting all of our eggs in the church building basket. There are better uses for the money, I think.

Love

"Through timeless words and priceless pictures, we'll fly like birds out of this earth. And times, they turn; and, hearts disfigure. But, that's no concern when we're wounded together. And, we tore our dresses and stained our shirts, but it's nice today. Oh, the wait was so worth it."

I think life gives you a bad hand at times. It's actually something we are promised. Words were spoken that said, "In this world, you will have trouble," and the truth is that you know what I'm talking about. It could be a dead car battery or the loss of a loved one. 

In the end, people are put in our paths to help us cope. When you are down and out, they will get in the gutter, get dirty with you, and help get you out. 

Me, I am so glad my wife is so strong, because she has met me in the gutter many times. She has pulled me out. Now, we are strong and life is good. More trouble will come. I might as well embrace that. I can also embrace the fact that "my paradise" will be there to get dirty with me. I rather have a crappy day with her by my side than a million good days with anyone else.

Long work week

Today, I will have been working 9 straight days, and it gets to you. I understand why God made a day of rest. Man is not supposed to work so much and so long. Even still, I have to work tomorrow, Wednesday. Then, I have Thursday off, only to work again on Friday. Friday will begin 8 straight days of work.

I'm tired.

Enjoy your rest when you have it.

I love new things

I love meeting new people. I love going to new places and finding the diamonds in the rough. I don't know if you are like me, at all, but I enjoy the newness of life. An old college roommate of mine looked me up on facebook, and I saw that he had a blog. I thought, what a great new way for me to dialogue my thoughts. I don't know or care if you choose to read them, but I thought it was something new and fresh that I could try. I know blogs have been around for years, but it's new to me; so, shut up.

It may become a little dangerous, my love of new things, because things don't stay new forever. Relationships don't stay new. People don't stay new and young. Possessions don't stay new. I think, on the other hand, that our perception of things, people, and situations can refresh itself. "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." What is inherent in that scripture is that everyday is new. Every new day is one that we are given and is one that we can enjoy. The people in my life are new to me everyday, even though I may have known them for years. The possessions I have are full of life, even though I have had them for a while. The experiences that I have day in day out are not repetitive, but they capable of being something special every time I see them.

I love new things, and with the right perception even the same, older things can seem new to me every day.