The New "Victory" Sign In Iraq!



Elections lead to greater freedom, and greater freedom leads to peace. It will be exciting to see how this bold election event yesterday plays out with the Iraqi people. As Neil Armstrong said as he placed his boot on the dust of the moon: "This is one small step for man, one giant step for mankind." This election step in Iraq is a small one, but will lead to many more steps, which in turn leads to a giant step for the mideast and the hope for freedom and peace everywhere.

DOM

Pray For Our Troops...Pray For Iraq's Election...


This weekend all Iraqi's (even the insurgents!) have the wonderful freedom and opportunity to elect their leader for the first time in who knows how long. This is a real milestone! However, this first election will no doubt be a bit messy thanks to those who are trying to do whatever they can to hold on to whatever little power they have. It will be important for the free world to keep everything in perspective as Iraqi's take a major step in self-governance. It won't be perfect, and at first blush it really won't seem like anything has changed. Still, in the end, it's the very freedom that the Iraqi people will value far more than what they've been enduring for the past 30 years - a life of servitude and fear.

The media will report the negative side of this great moment in history, and it will almost seem as if they want everything to fall apart like some big house of cards. There are many people who seem to be doing their level best to encourage the enemy, and discourage the Iraqi people and coalition forces. I cannot understand how these people can demonize those who are desiring and fighting for freedom, while showing unrestrained compassion for those who are intentionally and continually taking innocent life. What's up with that?

Pray for the troops - American, Coalition, and Iraqi. Pray for the people of Iraq, and finally pray for insurgents and terrorists.

DOM

What is Worship?



I came across a thought provoking segment today, which was taken from an article written by Louie Giglio in Current Thoughts and Trends. Here it is. I'd love to hear your thoughts and reaction to it.

"I think all music - not just Christian music, but all music - is worship music, because every song is amplifying the value of something. There's a trail - of our time, our affections, our allegiance, our devotion, our money - that leads to a throne, and whatever's on that throne is what we worship. We're all doing a great job of it because God has created us to be worshipers. The problem is that a lot of us have really bad gods."

Webster says worship is "Intense devotion to or esteem for a person or thing.

"Take me in to the holy of holies. Take me in by the blood of the Lamb. Take me in to the holy of holies. Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am..."
DOM

WINTER In Full Force!


There's a certain beauty about 12" of fresh white snow on the ground, especially on a day with clear blue skies and a bright sun. There's little like a crisp winter day, complete with the "crunching" sound as I walk down the driveway.

Piles of snow, wind blown drifts, a shovel in my hand...it doesn't get better than this! How many days until spring??

"A man's success lies not in what cards he is dealt, but in whether he bothers to pick them up and play them." Ben Ortlip

Will someone let me know what's wild?
DOM

What Gets You Out of Bed in the Morning??

At 6:00am this past Thursday, we started a new men's small group. Eight guys showed up, which was cool. We're going to work through a study that is based on the letters to Timothy and Titus. I'm anxious to rip into the truths of these great books of instruction which are directed toward servant leadership in the church - men and women. I'm hoping that "ripping" and early morning go together. I'll soon find out.

When we wrapped up our first meeting at 7:30, I challenged the guys to bring a friend next time we met. This is a challenge I seem to be giving often! In fact, I feel like a nagger.

Why do most men hesitate to invite another man to a startup bible study or men's small group? I believe it's directly related to our desire as men, to be free enough to bail in the first few weeks. An invited friend could likely shortcircuit an early exit from such a group...especially if he was enjoying it and wanted to stay. Bringing a friend to a study or small group would end up holding the inviter accountable.

Accountability, therefore, can be defined as a perceived lack of freedom.

I'm finishing reading a couple of books right now. They are:
+Louder Than Words - The Power of Uncompromised Living by Andy Stanley
+Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper
+Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning

I'm hoping to get started Mark Waltz's new book entitled: First Impressions - Creating Wow experiences in Your Church. Mark is on staff at Granger Community Church in the area of First Impressions with a team of volunteers, 450 strong. Another book I'm looking forward to reading is Desert Solitaire - A Season in the Wilderness. My nephew from New Mexico passed this one on to me, so I'm anxious to get into that one as well.

I'm dying to get a hold of a copy of Dave Drury's new book: Living a Fruit-filled Life.

DOM

Can You Hear Me Now?

Last week I called our Hoosier daughter, while I stood in an antique store in Bisbee, Arizona. My awesome wife had come across some old advertisements of cars that appeared in mags like LIFE and Saturday Evening Post. Our daughter wanted them for the room of our 3 month old grandson. You can imagine how excited I was when we came across a full size advertisement for the Hudson Hornet automobile. Wow! This was way too good to be true, since our grandson's name is Hudson Hornet (just kidding on the Hornet).

I was really pleased and excited about our find and wanted to call our daughter right away and let her know about our/her good fortune. I dialed her number and waited patiently for her to answer. It was obvious after a sentence or two of conversation, that my cell connection was not a good one. I could hear her repeat over and over: "I can't hear you." I, naturally, responded: "Can you hear me now?" as I moved around the store, almost as if there was magical spot that would create a clear connection. My daughter finally got sick of playing this game and said: "Dad, I'm going to hang up on you right now", and she did. I was crushed.

A few minutes later, I found that I could get a stronger cell signal if I stood outside of the store, and in the middle of the street, which I did. I was then able to share my excitement about "the find". My daughter and I have had some great laughs about this incident. It was one of those moments that you can't create...they just happen.

As I reminisce about this funny experience, I thought about how I sometimes do something similar when God is speaking to me, or even at times when I'm speaking to Him.

When He's speaking to me and I'm not into the message, it's easy for me to think or say: "I can't hear you...we must have a poor connection...I'm going to hang up on you...We'll talk later." Sound familiar? Is God often saying to you: "Can you hear Me now?" Or, are you wandering around, very content with a poor signal? Maybe it's time step out in faith and obedience and listen to what God has to say.

Or, how about when you're communicating with God in prayer, and sharing your heart, but you don't seem to get a response - you don't really sense His presence in your life. Is He listening...does He care? Do you find yourself asking God: "Can You hear me now?" Why does it seem, at times, God is so silent? Is He really silent, or am I just not wanting to hear what He's saying?

How many bars are displayed in your prayer life?

Moving around for a full seven bar signal,
DOM

A Week In Arizona
We've returned home after spending a week in Arizona, with stops in Phoenix, Goodyear, Tucson, and Sierra Vista. We had a great time hanging out with Dan and Mary Anne and Lisa and Eric for the weekend before heading south to Sierra Vista.

It was great spending time with Eric and Lisa in their new apartment in Sierra Vista and seeing what southern Arizona living was like. We were quite impressed. The mountains are majestic and beautiful and change colors with the sun. The desert has a stark beauty to it. The towns in the vicinity are unique - Tombstone and Bisbee -have a very interesting history. Both towns are fun places to hang out in, with friendly people - especially the waitress at Big Nose Kate's in Tombstone. I hope she can find her ink pen soon :)

We bring home special memories of connecting with Dan and Mary Anne and just hanging out with Eric and Lisa. We are blessed!
DOM

A good friend of mine and creative guru- Josh, aka Hosh, aka Hosherbijan, aka Hosheesh, has recently complained about his position in my list of links or hook-ups. What a great feeling for an elderly emerging crotchety dude to receive a compliment like that...and to top it all, it's coming from a young emerger! I've arrived!

Thanks for the compliment Hosh. I'll be moving you up the ladder very soon.
Why not check out Hosh's blog and give him a "thumb's up" comment!

I've been trying to stay away from national news during the past 4 days and it feels good. I hope to continue this "fast" for a few more days as I attempt to purge myself from the doom and gloom I expose myself to when I allow the news media to define what's important for me to hear and see.

Will there ever be true balance in reporting? Is it too much to ask our media folks to report some good stuff along with the bad? Will people still buy newspapers and watch news programs if the good stuff becomes more prevalent?

As I ponder these questions, I wonder why I experience similar imbalance when I get into God's Word. I love to hear about the good things that await me as a result of holy living. At the same time, I dislike hearing about the consequences of unconfessed sin. I often realize that I'm strumming the same string on my guitar - the string of God's grace -while totally disregarding the string of God's justice. What kind of tune is that?

I can't really experience the extent and power of God's grace until I experience the reality of His righteousness and justice.
DOM

"Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be His holy name...He gives and takes away. He gives and takes away...blessed be His name." These are the lyrics of a song that have been pulled directly out of the book of Job. Much easier to say when life is on cruise control everythings going my way - "zippity do dah, zippity yea..."

These very same words somehow get stuck in my throat and lost in my tears when circumstances and events in life go wrong, and when bad things happen and I just don't understand why.

It's seems so effortless to bless the name of the Lord, as long as He gives. How am I, and how are you doing on the "blessing the Lord" front when He has taken away?

My response to that question is directly related to my maturity as a follower of Christ, and my journey of faith and trust in God.

Blessed be the name of the Lord...no matter what.
DOM

I'm working on getting a group of men together for a weekly, early morning, discipleship group. We're planning on meeting on Thursdays from 6am - 7:30am. The time may separate the men from the boys, or should I say USC from OU? We're going to go through Gene Getz's material The Making of a Man - Attributes of a Godly Man.
I'm hoping for a broad age mix, but heavier on the emergent side, if you know what I mean.

It's difficult getting men out for a study in the evenings and weekends. I'm looking forward to seeing if 6am is the motherlode.

If you know of any good resources that you have found helpful and effective, please let me know. Thanks!

Christian or Churchin?
DOM

Yesterday, I traveled to Chicago with 7 Ukrainian pastors and a couple of friends. Each of the pastors was engaged in church planting and they ranged in age from 22-32 years of age. Their mission and their passion is to reach the next generation and they are very effective in doing so.

What makes them so effective in their ministry? After spending a day with them, asking them questions, and discussing how they do ministry, I was impressed by the following:
+They're focused on reaching people for Christ and raising up and training believers to minister (their expectation is that everyone is involved in ministry).
+They dream big dreams and rely on prayer and the Holy Spirit's power, and they're not surprised when God "shows up".
+They look for ways to meet practical needs and then minister to people as they meet those needs.
+They are humble men but bold in their witness.
+They understand that if the traditional church keeps doing what they've always been doing, they will get the same results. Those results are not acceptable. Therefore, they are doing "church" differently.
+They have little (in the way of resources), but expect alot (in the way of God's power being unleashed).

After spending a day with these young men, I feel blessed. I am anxious to visit some of their churches in Ukraine sometime soon!

"If you really want to understand what a man believes, don't listen to what he says, but watch what he does." Maurice Blondel

Slava Bogu!
DOM

It's a wrap.
The Detroit Lions wrapped up still another sub-stellar year, losing 24-19. This year's final record: 6-10. We're making progress...
The Lions have been "my team" since 1957. That's right, they won the NFL championship that year! Of course they were worthy of becoming "my team".

The coach in '57 was George Wilson. He was followed by the following great football minds:
Harry Gilmer, Joe Schmidt, Don McCafferty, Rick Forzano, Tommy Hudspeth, Monte Clark, Daryl Rogers, Wayne Fontes, Bobby Ross, Gary Moeller, Marty Mornhinweg, and now Steve Mariucci. What's interesting here, is that when these coaches were fired or when they threw up their hands and quit, not one of them moved on to a headcoaching job in the NFL after that. The jury is still out on Mariucci.

I long for the days of Bobby Layne (see photo at top), Dick "Night Train" Lane, James David, Charlie Ane, Jim Gibbons, and Yale Lary.
These guys played smash face football without a helmet mask, in fact, Bobby Layne refused to wear a facemask even when the rest of the NFL was converting all equipment. What a stud!

We've come along way from Bobby Layne to Joey Harrington (see photo below). Each had a first name that ended in "y". That's as far as the similarities go...

Progress? I don't think so.

Happy New Year!!!!

It's a new year, new beginnings, draw the line in the sand, pound the stake in the ground, make the changes now....

Here's a few of my resolutions:
-This year, I will be kinder, gentler, and more fun (I'm really not certain if that's possible, but I'll try).
-This year, I will smile at people when I respond to them, especially when I'm ready to take their head off.
-This year, I will read one book every week.
-This year, I will work out at the health club 6 days a week for 52 weeks
-This year, I will give my children more opportunities to tell me what they appreciate about me, before I tell them what they're doing wrong.
-This year, I will value my wife (this one is easy).
-This year, I will not watch junk on TV (no more Fox News? Oh-oh).
-This year, I will lose an average of 1 ounce a day.
-This year, I will blog like no one has ever blogged before (not sure how I'll measure this one).

Am I setting myself up for failure? Of course! But that's what resolutions are for!

This is going to be a great year! I'm stoked! Happy New Year!
DOM