Archive - July, 2009

Relationships – It Starts In The Mirror

July 23, 2009 in Relationships with 4 Comments

Man In The Mirror by benisntfunny

Man In The Mirror by benisntfunny

While pondering this series of posts on relationships, I kept wondering where I should start. Should I talk about intentions first, or maybe wise council is where people should focus. Then again maybe we should spend time defining our boundaries or even coming up with the qualities we should be seeking.

I honestly had no clue where to put down the first stone. What topic would set the tone and the overall path we would journey down. So I took it to God and spent my days talking to Him. Most mornings, I wake up and talk to God as I get ready for my day. This is typically a very vocal conversation (meaning I talk out loud) and I’m sure my cats often wonder who I’m talking with. On this particular morning I was talking to Him about this series and as I transitioned from my closet to the sink, I realized where it all really begins.

I stopped mid-step and stared at myself in the mirror and realized I needed to write about starting at a point where most of us finish. Continue Reading…

Compassion, Mocha And Justice

July 17, 2009 in Life with 5 Comments

About a year ago, when I was first getting involved with Buckhead Church, a bunch of us would gather at the local StarBucks before church. It was a time for us to catch up on everyone’s week, talk about life etc and generally just prepare for church that day.

International Justice Day - Mocha Club

International Justice Day - Mocha Club

Over time our group grew larger and larger and finally got to a point where we felt like it would be cool to do something “different”. So my buddy Aubrey came up with the fantastic idea to raise money for the Mocha Club. So we set up a Facebook group and called ourselves the StarBuckHeads. We got all our friends on the group and then sent them a tantalizing message to show up early this coming Sunday.

We had a huge response to our little campaign and we were able to raise about $250! Which isn’t bad for a bunch of 20 & 30 something’s at the last minute. Aubrey even built us a little web site to make taking donations easier and I like to think it really started something long term for some of those people.

Well time has passed and while some of us still gather on Sundays many of us have moved onto other service times, other locations around the world or just other endeavors. But this little act of kindness still sticks with me.

In fact it’s kind of haunted me to do more. Continue Reading…

Let’s Talk Relationships….

July 15, 2009 in Relationships with 8 Comments

It began as a beautiful relationship by Steve took it

It began as a beautiful relationship by Steve took it

There are a lot of things I want to say about what went down with all the recent high profile relationship disasters. Just to recap in the recent months we’ve seen the following go down:

  • Jon & Kate begin the Divorce process
  • South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford caught in a relationship with a woman from Argentina
  • Chris Brown & Rhianna have domestic problems
  • Billy Joel filed for Divorce
  • Usher filed for Divorce
  • Mel Gibson filed for divorce
  • and many many more….

Out of all this it’s not a surprise to see the divorce rate in America climbing. As a divorced man I have a lot of emotions, feelings and of course opinions about a lot of those people listed above. I also have my fair share of thoughts for those non celebrity divorces occurring without the headlines and media presence. Continue Reading…

Baptism, Is It Required?

July 13, 2009 in Life with 11 Comments

Iraq: Baptism by slagheap

Iraq: Baptism by slagheap

On my old blog I ran this post and got a great comment from an anonymous visitor. My anonymous visitor has some great thoughts and questions in the comments and we’ve talked via my comment system from time to time.

About a week or so ago I got this comment on that same post:

“Hey – it’s me “Anonymous” again. I had bookmarked this in my favorites and again was doing some research about Christianity and wanted to get your thoughts or recommendations about where I can get some more insight. I’m having trouble with the “Christian” belief that only Christians are saved and going to heaven. I also am trying to learn more about baptism and being saved. I’ve read many places that you don’t have to be baptized to be saved, but if this is the case, why are some Christians forcing it on me? I don’t feel comfortable doing it because I don’t think I need to do it if it’s going to cause so many problems for my family. I also believe I already have a relationship with God, and that he loves me. Exactly the way I am. Baptized or not. He knows me inside and out and understands everything I am going through when no one else seems to. I also disagree with the belief that only those who are Christian will get to heaven, because it imples that the majority of the people in my life are going to hell. While they do believe in God, and are good people, they grew up with different religions and choose to have a relationship with God that way.”

What’s great about this comment is that I struggled with all of these same thoughts and emotions leading up to my Baptism on June 22nd 2008. Continue Reading…