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Using The Ecosystem Journals

Not too long ago, I won an Ecosystem Journal on Michael Hyatt’s website. After receiving it in the mail this week, I thought I would post a few thoughts about what I like about it so far.

Ecosystems Journals

I’ve journaled all my life, but it’s only been the past few years that I’ve stepped that habit up to a whole new level. I’ve found journaling to be a great spiritual growth tool. Here are a few of the reasons I find this discipline so important. I plan to take this list and write more fully about it in the near future, but briefly:

  1. It helps me to grow spiritually. I can track my growth over the past few years, and see where I have changed and where I have yet to change.

  2. It helps me to write more clearly. Writing everyday helps me to articulate my thoughts better and better.

  3. It leaves a legacy for my kids. One day, when I’m gone, they will be able to take my stack of journals and say, “This is who Dad was…” That’s important to me.

But about the Ecosystem Journal. So far, I really like it. I haven’t done much more than examine it a bit, but so far, I like what I see.

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Memorize The Sermon On The Mount – Week 18

Retaliation. Revenge. Getting even. Who hasn’t experienced these feelings?

We all have. We all do. And we all will again; maybe even today.

In this week’s passage, Jesus turns things on their head once again. He tells us to not retaliate. To not resist.

That’s hard to do. Turning the other cheek goes against human nature.

But that is exactly how we are called to respond.

Personally, I find this passage very hard to apply into my life. I want to be right. I want to respond when someone treats me or my family wrongly. But Jesus says that’s not the right response.

Matthew 5:38-39

Here’s a link to the passage at Bible Gateway.

Do you have trouble turning the other cheek? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Becky Tirabassi On Prayer

Not too long ago, I posted a few quotes on prayer that I find encouraging and helpful. You can find links to those quotes at the bottom of this post.

Man Meditating Beside A River

In preparing for high school summer church camp last week, I stumbled across this quote from Becky Tirabassi, in Let Prayer Change Your Life.

Prayer draws us to the Word, and the two ignite to create a spark, even a flame, for the Lord. The Word and prayer, if applied to all circumstances of our lives, are intended to change, transform, motivate, and propel us to make certain decisions, take deliberate steps, and stretch to live and walk in the Spirit. But until Bible reading and prayer become our natural reaction when faced with a dilemma or a decision, we’ll not experience the warmth described by Theophan – the spark that allows God to confirm direction or grant peace amidst turmoil. If prayer is simply a last resort “call for help” and if one only haphazardly searches the Scriptures for guidance (when all other avenues have failed), one has missed God’s true intent of how prayer and the Word are able to integrate moment by moment into a believer’s life.

I find that very encouraging. And I’ve discovered it to be very true in my life. My time in the Word boosts my prayer life, and time spent praying creates a desire for more of the Word in my life.

The two go hand in hand.

I just happened to stumble across this paragraph, highlighted in my copy of the book, while I was looking for another quote the other day. With the busy pace of my life right now, this is a very welcome reminder.

If you missed the other quotes on prayer that I find inspiring, here’s a list:

 
How do prayer and the Word work together to inspire you? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“

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Classic Bible: The Book Of Numbers

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

I’ve been reading a lot recently from the Old Testament, and most recently in the book of Numbers.

There are a lot of great stories from the book of Numbers.  Much more than most people realize.  Working with teens, I hear variations of “those books in the OT are boring…”, usually in reference to Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Numbers

Nothing could be further from the truth.

True, Numbers contains all the details of not one, but two censuses of the nation of Israel, in all its tedious glory.  Each tribe, clan and family seems to be listed, with the number of fighting men available, and so many details that it gets somewhat difficult to read.

But, mixed into all of this, and hidden in plain sight, are several great stories.  Stories that drop my jaw in wonder, and answer a lot of questions.

Here are a few of my favorites.

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8 Reasons Why I Love Summer Church Camp

Summer is here, and with it come a busy schedule of church camp!

Church camp is one of my favorite aspects of youth ministry.  It’s busy.  It’s exhausting.  It’s long.  But it’s extremely effective and incredible fun.

Rock Garden Christian Camp

One of the drawbacks to spending so much of my summer at camp is that it takes me away from my wife and kids.  That means that Heather is at home with all five kids, on her own for a while.  But she and I both realized the importance of camp and the boost it can be to youth ministry.  So it’s a sacrifice we are both willing to make.  On the plus side, our camp is only seven miles from our home, so they can come down and hang out every day if they wanted to.

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Memorize The Sermon On The Mount – Week 17

Last week, we started the passage on swearing and oaths.  This week’s passage is the second half of it.

Jesus makes things simple.  Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no”.  It really is that easy.

But it’s not always that easy to do, is it?  I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find that a simple “yes” or “no” isn’t sufficient.  It should be, but I crave more.  And it never rally adds anything.  You’d think I’d learn…

I’m working on it.

Matthew 5:36-37

Here’s a link to the passage at Bible Gateway.

Do you ever add anything to your “yes” and “no”? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Reading The Classics Together

If you haven’t noticed, I love to read.  Reading is a great way to deepen my understanding of God, life, and ministry.  And I find it extremely relaxing and enjoyable, too.

In fact, this blog started a place to post book reviews, and that’s still a large part of what I do here.  The book review side of things is called The Randleman Review.  Over the last couple of years, I’ve read and reviewed dozens of books for several different publishers.  I even made a business card for the book review side of things.

Challies.com

I recently started following Tim Challies’ blog.  And I have to say, I find it extremely interesting.  There have been some excellent resources posted there in the few short weeks I’ve been reading.  I would recommend that you check it out.