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Recently I sent an email to a mentor of mine worried about where my life was going. I would characterize it as a quarter-life crisis. A lot of that stems
from what’s known as your “calling”
I’m not going to discuss “how to find your calling” on here, or anything like that.
Instead, I want to share why “calling” should be something that frees you.
Ezekiel 2:4-7The Message (MSG)
3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.
Calling, faithfulness, whatever, is about being faithful in whatever situation you’re in. Ask yourself the question “How can God use me where I am, right now?” The success of your calling isn’t based on results…it’s based on obedience.
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Refugee: A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
The Syrian refugee crisis has long since faded from the incessant 24/7 news cycle, but that doesn’t mean the crisis is over. Whenever I read the news, I try to interact with it not as a Republican or Democrat, but as a Christian (yes, you can be a Christian and be either one).
So what does the Bible say about refugees? how should that impact our national policy? Thankfully, you’ve got 38 news channels that can cover both of those questions. Instead, for us, I wanted to share a little bit about someone who we don’t traditionally think of as a refugee.
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Manglende episoder?
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I never thought that I would actually become hurt by the church. In fact, I preferred the term “disenfranchised.”
But what I discovered was that there was more to “church” than I realized.
I realized that:
Being hurt by the church is a very real possibility…because of “who” the church isThere are many stories of people who were hurt by the church and left the faith. I’m going to share a story of someone who had every right to leave the faith, but continued onMy commitment to Christ is much more than personalThanks for journeying with me during this episode.
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If you’ve listened to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that I am passionate about marriage. That’s why I’m excited to share a conversation I had with a good friend of mine — a blogger, fellow homeschooler, dedicated husband and father, and now, published author!
During this conversation, we discuss two of the seven rings (the Wedding RING stage and the RestoRING stage). I know you’ll find this valuable, and it’s exciting to be able to share this with you.
Click here to find out more about Jackie, and pre-order his new book, The 7 Rings of Marriage
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There has been a lot of discussion about what makes a man a man. On one side, there’s the camp that says a real man can change car tire, grow a beard, and chop down a tree. There’s another camp on the other end of a spectrum that says a real man is something someone identifies as. And of course there are people all along the spectrum.
With this list, let me inject some fun and (what I think) common sense. Because if there’s one thing for certain, a real man operates out of love and respect.
But you’ll need to listen to this episode to find out more.
Which item on the list cause you to pause? Because that item is one to focus on intentionally improving.
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"Barriers to entry." That's a term that I first heard in a business class during my freshman year of college.
[IMAGE]
But this term applies to more than just business; it applies to our faith as well. In this episode, I explore what the barriers to entry are to a relationship with Christ, both man made, and God ordained.
Question: What barriers to entry do you see to a relationship with Christ?
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It’s 2016, and a season of resolutions, goals, and new beginnings. I’ve got plenty of my own goals, but what I want to share with you is not something for 2016, because I think a quick review of this past year will help all of us have a good 2016, including:
The one constant I experienced in 2015…and hope to experience in 2016.What I stopped, and what we started.How my training in the Marine Corps helped get me through 2015, and how that translates to my faith today.Live Life Better is back, and I’m grateful for your continued support during my hiatus the past few months. I’m doing this in a much more sustainable fashion, which allows for many other things…but more on that later; I think Loretta will have fun weighing in on all of that!
Take care,
Philip
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As someone who is crazy about my family but also enjoys working hard to make a living, it’s easy to let work come before family.
I’ve touched on the topic of work/life balance before and provided tools and strategies to achieve the elusive goal of a balance between work and life.
But here's the kicker:Tools and strategies are useless, unless you know what to look for. You can’t repair a flat tire if you don’t know where the leak is. In the same way, you can’t perform any corrective action regarding your work life balance if you don’t know what the baseline indicators are.
Thankfully, if you’re married and with kids like I am, there are 3 Indicators of a healthy family life…and they’re all built in to the family deal.
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We’re only 5 months into 2015, but I’ve had more than my fair share of changes…
I could fill this entire post with all of the changes, but just to clue you in…I’ve just recently switched jobs, my wife is 5 months pregnant, and my grandfather died.
Lots of changes, to be sure. And a lot of the time, it creates problems in our relationships.
But I’ve found two constants during this period of changes and transitions. What are they? Listen on to find out.
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A recent Pew Research Center poll found that the Christian population in the United States has dropped down to 70%.
What does that mean for us a Christians? And what does that mean about how we do “church”?
There are a myriad of reasons why the church may be getting smaller (in the US at least), and what we can do about it. No doubt, by the time you read this, there will be plenty of people voicing their opinions and providing what they deem to be the best answers.
My goal with what I’m going to share with you isn’t to provide a new “model” so that the old one can quickly fade into memory. Instead, I hope you can hear my heart behind the thought; that you can understand we’re all working on the same goal: to share the love of Christ everyone one we meet.
The more barriers we can remove to that, the better. Even if it means the barrier is the church.
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Death has a funny way of putting things into perspective
When you attend the funeral of an elderly loved one, there are certain things missing:
There aren’t any familiar eyes to look into
No frail hands to hold
And no old stories to reminisce about.
If you’ve every lost someone you love, this episode is for you. You’ll dwell on the memory of the past, but be encouraged in the hope of the future.
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The conversation was not what I expected.
A good friend of mine met me for coffee, and as far as I knew, he had everything going for him.
You know, things like:A good job, with solid benefits. His wife and daughter had just moved into a new house, and things were going really well. Which is why is threw me off when he told me he almost lost his job.
As he listed off all the things he almost lost, he left off one thing. But what he did about that is even better.
I thought he had everything going before we had coffee. But now I know he’s on the right track, regardless of what happens at his job.
What did he leave off? Listen to find out, but I hope you would be able to leave it off of the list of things you would lose if you found yourself in the same situation.
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Over the past few weeks I’ve discussed hot button issues.
My confession about the CIA torture report, Sean Palmer’s insights on race, culture, and the church, and last week’s candid discussion about sexual identity and faith all shared one thing in common.
Easy to talk about, harder to receive.When grace is extended, there are two parts to it:
Receiving it (we have the option to reject it), andAccepting it (we have the option to keep from internalizing the grace).This episode is for you if you’ve ever felt awkward, indebted, and grateful when someone you’ve hurt has extended grace to you.
So, what’s the hardest thing to accept about grace? Click play to find out.
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It all started at a dinner party.
We had just spent that past few minutes talking about each other's background, and really seemed to connect. I had already introduced him to my wife, Loretta, and we were already thinking about having dinner with them sometime.
But then I was caught off guard.
We talked about kids and all sorts of things...and then he introduced me to his partner.
Maybe that caught you off guard...or maybe it didn't
As society has an on-going discussion about homosexuality and sexual identity, rarely is the church silent. But when she speaks, she's lacking grace, gentleness, and respect.
In this episode, I talk about where we've gone wrong, as a church, but how we can do right, as individuals. You'll discover that the body of Christ is beautiful and varied, and that we can enage culture graciously, gentlty, and respectfully.
The new sexual revolution isn't going away, and you as an individual should know why you stand where you stand, and how to translate that into every day life.
It doesn't matter if you're as liberal as Rachel Held Evans (who has written some good stuff), or as conservative as the Southern Baptist Convention: When you put a face to an "issue", it quickly becomes personal:
About as personal as a savior who accepted me as I was, instead of waiting for me to change.About as personal as a savior who gave his life for me, on the prospect that I would choose to become one of the "whosoever believes in him."Listen to this episode with your walls down, and your hearts open.
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The best part is that they’re all free.
That hard part is that you couldn’t purchase these resources, even if you tried. This isn’t just a list of books or conferences you should attend to improve your marriage and rock your relationship with your wife.
No, it’s more than that!
Photo credit: Andre FreitasThese are three resources that are available to everyone; but only a few take full advantage of them all.
Don’t let fate determine the outcome of your marriage. You have the power to make a difference with your wife, starting today.
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I love taking drives with my family.
The radio is playing, the munchkins are looking out the window, and the next thing I know I hear two small voices coming from the backseat singing worship songs: “Our God is awesome, he can move mountains, keep me in the valley, hide me from rain…”
“Our God is Awesome!”
Photo credit: Morgan SessionsThat’s not something our family will learn on their own. As husbands and fathers, one of our primary responsibilities is to lead our family in faith.
But that doesn’t just happen on accident.
It requires being intentional.
It requires consistently modeling our faith.
In this episode, I share three ways to practice your faith with your family. They’re easy, fun, and will give you one more reason to spend time together.
But here is the kicker.After you listen, don’t just say, “That was good!” and leave it at that. Take action, immediately, and give your family the opportunity to grow in their faith.
Click here to listen.How do you practice your faith with your family?
P.s. Here are two of my family’s favorite worship songs…enjoy!
BJ Putnam – Our Father
Charles Jenkins – Our God Is Awesome
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I know…we husbands don’t have any.
Or at least, we generally don’t talk about them, especially in public. So in honor of all the husbands who struggle with what I’m about to share, here we go!
“I’m stressed out.”During this time of year, I’ve got all sorts of celebrations on my plate:
Valentines Day,My wife’s birthdayOur wedding anniversaryMother’s dayGetting gifts or planning celebrations has never been my forte.
In fact, it’s been a pain point for me, because of my insecurities.
In this episode, we’ll share a few birthday “fails,” along with some significant celebration “wins.”
It turns out, my insecurities come more from me than anything else, and I finally learn (and hopefully enlighten all the husbands out there) why all of these celebrations are so important to my wife.
Here’s what you can do.As a husband, take the lead in your relationship and share how you feel with your wife. It may take a few conversations, and possibly open up the door to clear things up that have been brewing beneath the surface.Know that your insecurities have as much to do with you as they do with your wife. For me, it was from false expectations I set for myself.Agree to creating lasting memories for celebrations, instead of big gifts where the novelty fades after time.What insecurities do you deal with as a husband?
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Have you ever stopped in your tracks?
I mean come across a picture, a new thought, a quote, that stopped you in your tracks?
“The way we treat our children directly impacts what they believe about themselves” – Ariadne Brill
But it wasn’t the quote itself that caused me to pause. Rather, it was the questions that came out of it:
How do I treat my kids?
The one question every parent needs to ask…
What am I telling them about themselves?There are so many questions that come to mind as a parent, but questions that address our influence on our children are the most important.
What do I want my children to believe about themselves?
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It can’t just be me.
I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve been doing a terrible job of balancing work and family…you know, the “work/life balance” thing.
I’m not putting my phone down when I come home for the day.I’m thinking about other projects while I’m at dinner with my family.I’m consistently staying late at work, even though there’s always one more thing to do.So here is what I did…I asked people I trusted; people who were further along in their journey than me, whose families were intact, and careers were going well.
The answer wasn’t anything I was expecting. I was hoping for a silver bullet, or an easy three step plan to implement…but that’s not what they gave me.
It sounds so simple, but you can’t do it on your own.Listen to this episode, and you’ll figure it out (I promise).
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How do you handle this?
The past few months have been challenging to say the least:
The police shootings in St. Louis and New York have reignited heated discussions about race.The CIA released a report that detailed their torture of terror suspects, which caused me to pause and evaluate my faith.And just a few days ago, ISIS executed 21 Egyptian Christians.We have to talk about it.And as Christians, we need to be able to talk about it intelligently. The problem is that if our Christian leaders (pastors, ministers, etc.,) don’t address these issues, then media pundits will determine the narrative.
I believe the Bible has something to say about every one of those issues, and that’s what we discuss this episode.
My guest is…I’ve read Sean Palmer’s blog for over a year now, and I’m thrilled to bring him on the show!
He shares how to address difficult cultural issues in a way that stays true to the Gospel without alienating either side.
Seriously…reading his blog will reveal your leanings (political or otherwise) and call you back to the Gospel.
- Vis mere
