Who's In Your Circle?

The Alltel Phone Company asks an important question...who's in your circle? Of course there are referring to their promotional campaign where you can call five people that you often call for free any time you want. Those five may include someone you call regularly because of work or some other necessity.

But when I think of a circle I think of the people who have your back. They will stand with you when others let you down. They will pray for you and wonder how you are if they have not heard from you in a few days. They love you unconditionally and are committed to your relationship.

You probably have someone like that in your life. But how many people like that do you have in your life? In a conference I attended a few years ago a speaker asked this question, "If you suddenly had to leave the country and only had a few minutes, how many people would you have to call?" He went on to say, if you have 3 or fewer calls to make you are probably not healthy. The people around us, who are committed to us, and in our circle determine much of how we handle life. They determine how healthy we are and the more people we have at that level the healthier we are.

That is one thing I love about The Crossing...we are committed to helping you build your circle. Through our small groups which we will launch again this fall and through other ministries of The Crossing you can build relationships to strengthen your life. A trite statement says, it’s not what you know it’s who you know. When it comes to really having life that statement is even truer. So...who's in your circle? Sign up for small groups this fall and I believe your circle will grow.

Summer Slumps and Mountain Dreams

So much for posting more often. Man, I am sorry for not getting back on here more often. I was away for a while in the mountains with no computer for a week with my sons (Shelli did not have enough vacation and am just now getting back to you. In addition I have had a lot going and really too much to think about to have anything to say.

It has been an eventful Summer without much rest (thankfully I had some relaxation in the mountains with the guys.) When we made the change with Adam it did create a lot of stress and work for me. I do not do that kind of thing easily or casually. But I still know I did the right thing and that helps me not worry about it too much...God will help everyone involved when you do the right thing. I think it will eventually be the best thing for Adam and Gretchen too. Continue to pray for them and us.

And usually churches experience what is known as a summer slump as attendance, morale, and giving drops with vacations and absences. Now don't get me wrong...we aren't breaking any records but we have had a very good summer. Thank you for your faithfulness in giving and attending. And the presence of God has been so powerful in the worship and the messages the last several weeks. We have experienced some spiritual peaks this summer that make me dream of even greater mountaintops this fall.

Speaking of mountains...I love the mountains! I love log cabins, mountain streams, lush valleys, bears, rhododendrons, fresh air, Dollywood (that was weird), hikes, hiking gear, go karts, Cades Cove, historic buildings, walking around Gatlinburg, etc. The Pigeon Forge area is awesome. While we were at Cades Cove (historic mountain community with trails and wild animals) we saw a mother bear and two cubs from about 20 feet away. The cubs were as playful and cute (can you say that in a guy's blog?) as any animal could be. When we saw the bears we were talking about how cool it would be to have a cabin in the mountains. I now have a dream of having a cabin up there some time. I even know what I will call it: Three Bears Lodge in honor of the three bears we saw (and I guess of the three bears who were doing the dreaming too!)

There is nothing wrong with having a dream...in fact God often inspires them. He does so I believe because a dream for the future gives you power in the present. It gets you up in the morning and focuses your energy and creativity giving you passion. You might say that Christ dreamed a dream for us...who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross.

I think it would be cool to ask God to give you a dream. Not necessarily for something personal like a cabin but for God and his work. God, give me a dream for my ministry, or for my neighborhood, or for my co-workers, or for your family? Ask God to inspire you to dream a dream for him and for that dream to grip you and motivate you to act. What could he do in your world if you took the lid off and trusted him for something big and dream-like? Maybe we are living way below where we could be simply because we are not dreaming for what only God can do? And what are we left with? Only what we can do.

Let's dream some mountain sized dreams!