Pod-Of-Sequioas by Eric Ryan Jones

One thing I’m sure about in life is that we cannot do it alone. From the time we are born until the time we pass away we always need somebody.

We might need a friend to hang out with, or a contractor to fix a leaky roof, or a mentor to guide us through a season in life. We might need a woman (or a man) who can inspire us to either grow up, get over ourselves, or to just become whom we know we can become.

God gives us all kinds of examples of this need and design. We see Jesus having 12 disciples instead of just one or none. We see that each of these disciples paired up with another, when doing mission work. We even see this need for somebody in nature. You always hear about flocks, and pods, and herds and more. But what about other nature needs?

During a recent trip to the Sequoia National Forest & the Mariposa Grove near Yosemite National Forest, I started to notice something.

All the Sequoia’s were in groups.

Here we have the some of the largest trees in the world and they are grouping up like a little click in the forest. It was very rare that I saw just a solitary Sequoia standing all by its lonesome in the woods. Now granted, you could argue that pine trees and other tree’s are just like this and that they are called forests, but this is different. The Sequoia’s were in very close proximity to each other and in a lot of cases you had to look 20 – 30 feet up until you realized they were actually two or 3 trees.

Giant Sequoia’s need somebody, so why do you think you don’t?

Too many times I find myself thinking “I’ve got this”, “I can do it”, “Just give me another minute” and so many other self focused thoughts. This kind of thinking is painfully apparent in my work as I will spend hours on a problem only to have a co-worker look at it and say “You just forgot a semi-colon”. It’s also become more and more apparent in my marriage, and friendships.

Too many times I think I can do everything but end up doing nothing.

I’ve had mentors in the past, small groups in church and even weekly accountability meetings with close and dear friends. All of these activities are important and when I don’t have them I do notice a difference. The other important factor in realizing this is that it’s not just about me but it’s about them as well.

Just because you don’t think you need somebody, doesn’t mean somebody doesn’t need you.

The saddest part about this whole “I can do it  myself” mentality is that you’re not just hurting yourself, but you’re affecting others as well. Either because you’re taking too much time to resolve something, or because you’re just being selfish with your thoughts or actions. When we don’t let others in, we internalize too much and therefore make it too hard for others to feel like they are apart of our lives.

We need to step away from this “I can do it myself” attitude and take a lesson from our friends the Sequoia’s. Life is better with others around you.

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Getting Ready For A Hot Summer Day by Kuzeytac

So here we are, almost two months of 2010 gone. I purposefully skipped out on the big “Year In Review” post everyone else did. Not because 2009 was boring, or because nothing major happened but more because so much happened I had to really let it marinate a bit.

2009 was a rebuilding year. A year I continued to rebuild my relationship with my Heavenly Father. A year I continued to rebuild my confidence in who I am and what I will become. It was a year to rebuild friendships lost, damaged or just strained. It was a time for me to fully embrace the ideas God has floating around in my head and put them into action.

2010 is going to be all about action. I will and am doing stuff in 2010, while 2009 was just a lot of talk. But I can’t do it alone. I can’t just wake up, walk out the door or drive to a meeting and expect my charm, whit, smarts or words to make things happen.

I need more.

I’m someone who’s recently (since 2008) put a lot on God and His will. I’ve surrendered a lot to him and I’m in the process every day of surrendering more and more. I’ve always said I do the things I do for His Kingdom but I never realized just how much He has done for me.

As I look back on 2009, and even 2008, the words of Jeff Henderson ring in my ears…… “Only God”. This was what Jeff asked of our church during a night of worship in January. My church had just completed 21 days of various forms of fasting, all in hopes to inspire our congregation to grow closer on their dependence of God. He prayed that at the end of 2010 we would look back at 2010 and think “Wow, only God could have done that”.

What’s crazy is that I looked back on 2009 and thought about where I was, where I had been and the journey I’m on now and thought only God.

Only God could truly heal me from my divorce.
Only God could have allowed me to be born into the loving and compassionate family I have.
Only God could have taken my plea for help and surrender seriously enough to act on it.
Only God could have given me the friends and relationships I have now.
Only God could have taken what i thought were challenges in life and turned them into blessings.
Only God could have given me the passion for divorced people, relationships and communication I’m experiencing today
Only God could have turned a guy once scared to death of church into a poster child for getting involved.
Only God could have shown me how patience and trust could have lead me to a point I never saw coming.

I’m not a month and a half into 2010 and I’ve already seen God working in amazing and wonderful ways. So what can you expect for 2010? I have no idea for sure but I do know that when it all happens I’ll look back with a shout and much praise singing ….. Only God……

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Untitled by dno1967

I want to eradicate divorce from our society.

That one sentence is the biggest, scariest and most unbelievable thing which has come from my head. I came up with it while driving home from seeing Donald Miller talk at a recent Christmas event for singles. When I first thought it, it was just that a thought. Then I told myself to do it, and I even made the effort to say it out loud. I had to say it twice in order to believe it myself.

Immediately after saying it my mind started to ask the questions. How? Why? Is it possible? What all will it take? Can it be done? Who will support me? How may people will laugh in my face? How many people will walk away to laugh in private over my dream?

That’s the problem with big idea’s. As soon as we think them up, we start to knock them down to something smaller, something we can manage and maybe even accomplish. I used to think big ideas were the stuff of legends. People with a mountain of cash, political influence and more connections than any world leader. They aren’t the things ordinary, little people like me can accomplish.

I used to think this.

But really who was Martin Luther King? or Gandhi or Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa? They were all ordinary, little people who dared to dream big. They didn’t try to minimize their dreams, they expanded upon them. What if Martin Luther King only wanted to see Civil rights granted in Georgia or Mississippi? How would our world be different today if any of these people, or others like them throughout history stopped just short of a big dream?

I think this is what we do too often in our lives and to our dreams. We stop short, we keep it local and we don’t take the risk. We look at ourselves as one man, or woman, and wonder how? We focus so much on the BIG dream that we forget that our big dreams are made up of many SMALLER dreams.

Martin Luther King started with a bus boycott. A simple act, a simple small dream which grew and grew and even to this day continues to grow. So that’s what I’m gong to do. I’m going to find the small dreams which feed into my big dream.

I am going to eradicate divorce from our society.

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My Dad on the job

He’s also chose to raise a family as you can see from the photo below. That’s my dad, mom, sister and me during an event recently where my Dad was inducted into a Hall of Fame for his chosen military profession.

My Family

Growing up with a father in the military wasn’t easy. There were many nights where he was traveling or just not available for whatever reason. I never questioned it because early on it was instilled in me to have respect for those who served our country. I never had to salute my dad, or call him sir, he was just dad to me. Sure I’d call everyone else sir (and still do in many cases) and as I got older I enjoyed calling them Captain, Major, General etc as I learned their ranks. But again it was out of respect for what they do.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about my dad’s career. I’ve got to meet people who actually served with him and worked above, below and right next to him. With each encounter the respect I have for what my dad did grows and grows. I’m 33, 34 in February, so you can use that to figure out where all my dad might have served and seen. He’s done a lot in his career and continues to do, even today.

Having had the pleasure to work alongside my dad for a few years, along with other veterans, active duty personnel and friends serving, has taught me one simple thing. It’s something I wish everyone would realize, hold on to and put into action.

They aren’t just soldiers, they are people with families and friends and they made a choice to do something many  of us would never do. So today yes we should all thank them, celebrate them and give them a hug.

But we should do the same tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day….

Thanks dad for the choices you’ve made and continue to make.

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So much to see.

So much to smell.

So many to hug.

So many to help.

Watch their stories, see their loss, and hear it in their words.

Day 1 Clean Up

Day 2 Clean Up

Videos by Drew Benton a man who Lives Love and is a great friend.

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1 of 3 dumpsters for 7 houses by Eric Ryan Jones

The flood came on Monday. The water started to recede on Tuesday. Damage was assessed and dreams were crushed on Wednesday.

Thursday was the day the cleaning began.

Large dumpsters like you see at a construction site are starting to line the street and fill driveways. They are being filled with photo albums, couches, love seats, picture frames, kids dolls and toys. They are being filled with memories, hopes, dreams and history.

This is not what these dumpsters were meant for.

I’ll admit I’m all over the place on this topic. Part of me wants to talk about all the lost stuff and the other half of me wants to talk about how we don’t need all this stuff. Jesus tells a rich man he encounters in Matthew 19:21

“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell you possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When I read the above verse, the word “perfect” smacked me in the face. Like every other time God talks to me I don’t hear him right away. So I decided to jump on YouVersion.com and search for “perfect”. Only two pages of results came back so I guess God didn’t want me to spend a lot of time on this!

Three verses stuck out right away.

Matthew 5:48 – Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

2 Samuel 22:33 – It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

Can I just say WOW. Now you might read these and they won’t “speak” to you, that’s OK they spoke to me and now it really is all about me. So what am I “hearing”, glad you asked.

I am supposed to be perfect, but I know I will never be perfect so I must strive for that perfection as best as I can. It is only through striving towards this perfection that I can battle my fears and live my live fully for God. It is then, through God, where I will receive the strength I need in order to accomplish this pursuit of perfection and as long as I allow him to do this, God will make my way perfect.

So does this mean I have to sell all my possessions? No, Jesus used this example to the rich man because he knew the man valued his possessions above all things. Now this alone can be convicting enough to look around your place and think “do I really need this or that“. I’ve done it and come up with a list of stuff I don’t need but I still held on to it, just in case. By holding onto this stuff I was holding myself back from striving for perfection. Sure it was in my basement, I wasn’t hording it like gold etc but I wasn’t doing anything with it either.

I was afraid to let it go.

Since I was afraid I of course was not going to move forward. I wanted to sell it and make some of my initial cost back, which is fine but my attempts to sell it failed. So I still held onto it thinking someday I’ll sell it.

Someday came in the form of a flood.

As I cleaned my basement I reflected on every single item. I thought things like:

“Some kid out there could have really enjoyed this stuffed toy”
“My kid would have enjoyed these GI Joe’s”
“Someone would have gotten a lot of use out of this”

All these great thoughts, all acts of love but I never acted on them! I never gave the stuffed animals away and now they are ruined. I have no idea if I’ll have kids let alone boys who would enjoy GI Joe’s from 20 years ago! And yes someone probably would have got a lot of use out of the stuff I was just storing, but now the only thing it is useful for is filling in a garbage dump.

How sad that I let all this stuff go to waste. How sad that I was too afraid to act.

So now I look around and look at the stuff in my house and I think. “Do I need this?” Do I use this? Can someone else get more use out of it then me?

I think it’s that last question which is the most important because we can all answer yes to the first to. But if we can answer yes to the last one then maybe we should really evaluate why we have it.

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Flooded Street by Eric Ryan Jones

Today was a rough day. It’s been raining here in Georgia for like 8 days straight (on and off). Last night we had some of the worst storms I have ever experienced. The lightening was bright and the thunder sounded like lightning, if that makes any sense. The storm kept me up for a lot of the night and finally woke me around 6 am and wouldn’t let me go back to sleep.

I started to see twitter updates of people not going to work, schools closing and more because of the rain and storms. So I made the decision to stay and work from home to avoid the madness of Atlanta traffic.

At one point I looked out my backyard and saw a pool of water, over the next hour this pool got bigger and was something I’ve seen once or twice. I’ve got a backyard which really slopes off so I wasn’t concerned.

An hour later my backyard was under water.

Over the next 9 hours I watched the water rise more and more. It covered my backyard and came up to my basement door. Then it started to come into my basement. At first just an inch but again over time I would see it climb to 24 inches of water.

All in my basement.

I now have 2 feet of water in my basement and about 10 feet in my backyard. I spent most of the day moving stuff from my basement up to my first floor. I hoped to save stuff I had previously placed down there and considered “unimportant”.

It’s amazing what becomes important once you risk losing it.

At one point I grabbed a blue plastic tub which was floating by. It was heavy, extremely heavy. I figured it was water logged, so I popped it open and expected to dump water. Instead I was greeted with 50 or more VHS tapes. 50 VHS tapes which I was supposed to digitize into DVD’s so I could have them later. 50 VHS tapes containing my childhood, my grandfather and family members who are no longer with us. 50 VHS tapes which were now soaking in dirty flood water.

50 VHS tapes I put in my basement because at the time they were unimportant.

I constantly amaze myself with how much stuff I put up with. How much I’m willing to wait for this or that. How I’ll put something off thinking I can do it tomorrow. How I’ll let a friend destroy himself and never do anything to stop it. How I’ll pass on this or that opportunity because it’s not important or because I’m not ready.

When are we ever ready?

I was not ready for the flood waters to come into my house. I was not ready to move a small apartment worth of stuff from my basement to my first floor. I was not ready for the amount of devastation the waters would bring.

But I moved forward and did something about it.

I feel sometimes we don’t take enough risks in life. We get comfortable with our routines. We get comfortable with our stuff, our friendships, our relationships and even our church. We are so busy trying to follow the rules of life, and society and whatever club or group we are with that we miss opportunities.

We go through our life doing exactly what we know to do and watch as opportunities pass us by. Then one day a flood hits and we are forced to act. We are forced to take a new job. To ask the girl out. To stand up for an injustice.

Why do we have to wait for a flood to come before we act?

Psalm 121:7-8 The LORD will keep you from all harm– he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

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A Dark Day by Sister72

How many of us woke up this morning, got ready for work, had breakfast and went into the office, school or on to our daily activities? At what point did you realize what today is? How did you feel at that moment?

For me I woke up immediately knowing what today is and what it was. As soon as I was conscious and able to move around, I’m not a morning person, the images, feelings and thoughts all came flooding back.

I haven’t posted a blog on this day for many reason but today my heart just won’t let it pass without sharing my experience, my thoughts and my hopes.

September 11th, 2001 had me living in Crofton MD and commuting to Silver Spring MD where I worked for an ISP. The day started out like every other day and my commute was like every other commute. Lots of cars, lots of traffic and lots of frustration because yet again traffic was going to put me in the office later than I wanted to be.

The radio was playing some song, or maybe some silly skit the DJ’s made up in their vain attempt to entertain us. Then there was a break in as the DJ reported that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York. Initial news was telling me that it was a commuter plane, maybe a student pilot or something.

I remember sitting in my car at the exit for Silver Springs and thinking. How does someone crash a tiny plane into such a huge building? Must have been a student pilot who got caught in an updraft or something. I thought about how the instructors were idiots for letting a new pilot fly in and around those buildings especially so close.News kept coming in, talking about the fire and how emergency crews were being dispatched to the scene. I parked in the garage near my office and headed in to start my day.

I walked into the office and it was buzzing. I worked in the sales department so this wasn’t really anything new but today seemed different. Everyone was trying to get onto one of the major news sites for more details. Some had heard is was a large plane, that it was a 747 type plane, big and full or people. Many of us laughed this off thinking that was a crazy thought.

Next news report came in that a helicopter had landed on top of the pentagon and had exploded. We all looked at each other and one guy says, Lets go to the roof. So like idiots 6 of us bound to the elevators to the top floor and then to the roof access stairs. We come out of the dimly lit stairwell to a bright sun with clear skies. I can still hear the pebbles on the roof crackle under my feet. I feel the sun on my face and my heart still races as I remember turning the corner to face the direction of the Pentagon and see black smoke.

It was thick and very dark smoke. We were a good dozen or so miles but it was clear as day. I had my camera and snapped off some pics, which sadly I cannot find. We all sat there in awe as the reality hit us of what was happening.

This was not a coincidence.

One of the guys on the roof said it best…”oh shit”. We all replied with simple yea’s. I don’t know if it was me or someone else in the group but someone said “this isn’t right, this is an attack a terrorist thing or something”. At that we all looked at each other, some of us had fear, some had wonderment, others were just blank. We headed back downstairs to see what news we could pull off the news sites.

The office was chaos. No one could get online and most phone calls were not going out. Things were getting worse. We were “the Internet” so we knew this was bad. One guy left to go get us a TV, the rest of us kept trying to access websites, make calls to clients in the area or to family back home.

My first call was to my dad. He’s retired army and spent some time in the pentagon and still worked for the Army.

Me: Dad did you hear about the Pentagon?
Dad: Yea we’ve heard. The base is on lock down. I cannot leave and they aren’t letting anyone on. Not a lot of communication is coming in.
Me: Where did it happen? Is that “our” part of the pentagon?
Dad: Yes it was the E Wedge I think. That’s where I spent many days and we know people in that area. The good news is everyone we know is either TDY or was moved to another section because of renovations going on there.
Me: That is good news. OK I need to run and check on some clients. Let me know if you hear anything.
Dad: Will do

It was a simple conversation but having spent 15 years living in MD we had LOTS of connections.

10 min later the TV arrived. We plugged it in, found a cable outlet and started to head over to one of the major news networks. We switched to CNN and saw one of the towers smoking from the middle.

Then we saw one of the most horrific things ever. A plane, a very large plane flew straight into the second tower. We watched as it hit the building and then disappeared. I half expected it to fly out the other side like in the movies or something but nothing.

I was numb.

No one said a word. We all were in shock. Those of us who had chairs sat down, the rest of us just grabbed onto the closest object to keep us from crashing to the floor.

We watched the news. We gave up on the Internet and the phones at this point were useless. The TV was our only connection to the outside world. Some wanted to leave but we all decided it was better to stay put. We talked about what was going on. We all had our theories and not a person there thought this was a mistake. We watched the towers burning, the emergency crews rushing to the scene, the smoke and more. We heard of the PA plan crash and started to wonder when would it all end.

Then it ended.

The first tower started to come down, quickly followed by the second tower. We had just commented on how it must be bad because we could actually see people jumping from the towers in hopes to escape.

They were jumping from points above the crash and there was no hope for them.

I don’t recall much after that moment. The moment when the towers came down. I was a volunteer Fire Fighter at the time, so after work I headed to the station where we were told to do nothing, go nowhere and wait for NY to ask for help.

We were all helpless so we did what everyone else did. We just sat there and watch the news, listened to the commentary and hoped for the best.

I still hope for the best. There aren’t any big parades anymore. No speeches which we all want to hear. The flags are not as numerous. The solidarity the nation felt afterwards has weened. But I still have hope. Every year I see the country join together if nothing else but to share their story of where they were. It’s our stories which still bind us together if nothing else.

We are one nation, under God. God got us through this and He’s allowed us to move on. I just pray that over time we can come together again but by choice and not because of the horrible actions of others.

Psalm 121:1-2 – “I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

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Sea by macieklew

After being newly married to a supportive and devoted husband for several months, contentment came up in conversation. Jay asked me if I was satisfied with our life. The question hit me hard because while my first inclination was to say, “Of course!” I realized I’d never really felt satisfaction before. Honestly, I think it’s a lifestyle more than something you acquire, but still, I’d never lived satisfaction. There was always a next step that was going to make everything better, something else to strive for and work for.

I look back and realize, in so many ways, that mentality stole from me things I will never get back because I never stopped to look side to side and smile at how far the Lord had brought me. I didn’t want the trend to continue, so I scoured the Word for every verse or mention of satisfaction and came to one very un-American conclusion, which I’m sure I’ll get hate mail for.

Ambition is counter to contentment.

I can have one OR the other. Admittedly we all want the best things in life, but the climb-the-ladder, do-anything-to-reach-the-top mentality is antithetical to finding peace. If I make it, I’ll likely be lonely and if I don’t, I’ll likely be lonely.

Ecclesiastes tells me that man “takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (NIV Eccl. 5:15b).

The common denominator is that what I’m climbing for isn’t at the top; it’s at the bottom. My roots, the basics. I’m so afraid of being boring, of not achieving, that I don’t allow myself time to perfect being still, appreciating where I am.

I know this much: the simpler the moment, the more satisfied I am. Sitting in a hammock on a summer afternoon watching lightening bugs. My husband’s hand on the small of my back. Watching TV with my dogs. Sliced tomatoes with my lunch.

I need to find that quiet, uncluttered space that allows me to find contentment in the incredible ways the Lord provides, and satisfaction in the work the Lord is doing now.

Henry Thoreau wrote a great deal about simplicity. One of my favorite quotes reads, “When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and lasting existence—that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of reality,” (HDT, “What I Lived For”).

I need to slow down. I need to work hard but not work too hard. I need to make quiet moments with the Lord and with those I love a priority, and focus on finding my worth and my future in Him alone. He’ll lead me when and where He desires and my only job is to practice patience and obedience.

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days.” NIV, Psalm 90:14

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Roscoe the Pug With Ice Bag On His Head- Miserable in the Seattle Heat by zoomar

There are so many things I want to say but honestly I can’t even sort them all out myself.

I need some hammock time…
I need some patio time…
I need some Booth time…
I need some time…

So while I process everything, soak up the amazing words from Shawn McDonald. Check out the video on YouTube, or better yet go buy it. Make sure you get this acoustic version as it’s the most “real” in my opinion.

All I Need
From the album Live in Seattle
© 2005 Sparrow

As I sit here and think about all that You’ve done
About how You gave me Your one and only Son
And I’m trying to fathom all that You are, but so far, Lord
You’re so beyond me

And I fall down in reverence and I fall down in fear
And I’m asking You, Lord, won’t You please draw near
Won’t You open my eyes so that I can see
The way that You are working in me

All I need is Your love
To come and fill this heart of mine
My heart is a desert that has gone dry
And I need Your love to carry me by

All I need is Your love
To come and fill this heart of mine
My heart is a desert that has gone dry
And I need Your love to carry me by

By, by, by, by
To carry me by, by, by, by, by
To carry me by

So I lay down my life and I put it before You
All I put all that I have in Your hands
And I’m not going to question, why You’re so faithful
Why that You give me the blessing that You do

Let the glory be known, let the glory be shown
Lift You up unto the throne
You are my God, You are my King
To You I give, I give You everything

All I need is Your love
To come and fill this heart of mine
My heart is a desert that has gone dry
And I need Your love to carry me by

All I need is Your love
To come and fill this heart of mine
My heart is a desert that has gone dry
And I need Your love to carry me by

By, by, by, by
To carry me by, by, by, by, by
To carry me by

So I need Your love to carry me by
Would You come and fill this heart of mine
‘Cause I can’t do it alone
Here I stand with my, my arms open wide
Asking for You to come up inside

Won’t You come and fill my soul?
‘Cause I need Your love, I cannot do it alone, no, no
Won’t You come and fill my soul?
‘Cause all I need, all I need, all I need is You, my God

All I need is Your love
To come and fill this heart of mine
My heart is a desert that has gone dry
And I need Your love to carry me by

All I need is Your love
To come and fill this heart of mine
My heart is a desert that has gone dry
And I need Your love to carry me by

By, by, by, by
To carry me by, by, by, by, by
To carry me by

To carry me on by

© MCA MUSIC PUBLISHING

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