NYC and Eat that Frog!

Wow. It has been two weeks since I have blogged. I want to be more consistent in this but I am struggling with trying to fit it into my schedule these days. Since my last blog Katy, Kandace and I traveled up to New York city. We lived kind of a fantasy life for a few days. We went to see the Broadway play "Wicked" and ate at some delicious New York restaurants. We did things like... go to the top of the Empire State Building, hang out in Times Square, ice skate in Central Park, go for a moonlight dinner cruise on the Hudson River where we pulled right up to the Statue of Liberty. Oh, and to top it off Katy and Kandace sang in Carnegie Hall under the direction of Camp Kirkland, who, by the way, is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. It was a "once in a lifetime" trip. Because of God's goodness it was all free to us. I had literally been praying for years to be able to take Katy to New York before her high school graduation in May. (If you know Katy you know she LOVES a good show). God not only provided a trip to New York, He threw in singing at Carnegie Hall. He is so Good!!!

So we are home and back down to earth! A couple of weeks ago I added a free book to my Kindle. It was called "Eat That Frog." I am always adding free books that I hear about to read later when I am out of books to read...which is never. Anyway, I have been reading this book and I wanted to share some of its premise. I have been sharing it with Kevin and the girls too.

The book is basically about what separates the successful people from the not so successful people. Now success can be defined in many ways. I think this book can apply to any kind of success (relational success, career success, etc).

Mark Twain once said that if you eat a frog every morning the rest of the day will seem pretty easy. In other words, the first things we should do each day are the tough things. The things that we want to put off or procrastinate on. Studies show that people who are"successful" CHOOSE to do the hard things first and do not procrastinate. Also, more "successful" people tend to see the long term effects of their choices and decisions. They look out weeks, months or years to see what difference a particular choice makes. People who live in poverty or with relational difficulty do not make choices with thoughts of the long term consequences.

This principle can be applied to so many areas of life. The book covers many more facets of this basic principle but it all comes back to the idea that we must do the hard stuff first and get it done. When we make decisions we must not be short-sighted. "Eat That Frog" was not really written with the spiritual realm in mind but it is certainly Biblical. The book of Proverbs is full of little nuggets about thinking things through and getting things done. For example, it is easier and short-sighted to go light on the discipline when our children are young but the long-term effects are not good. If you sit and watch TV or play video games instead of reading books...long term you will be less intelligent. If you satisfy short term appetites whether sexual or in your stomach...there will be long term repercussions.

If you struggle with self discipline/self control or procrastination I highly recommend this book. Of course, the first thing you need to be reading is the Bible daily (start with Proverbs or John). You can overcome these traits even if they have been a part of who you are for your entire life. Do you know people who get things done? Do you admire where they are in life or what they have accomplished? They are not lucky. They do the hard things first. Maybe you don't like to read.

Well, all I can say to that is, "Eat that Frog!!"

Thoughts for a new year...

With every new year I always try to set some new goals for myself. One goal I have been aiming for each year for the past 6-7 years is to be more deliberate about the ministry of hospitality. The Bible is clear about this but if I do not set goals for myself it just never happens. That is how it is with any goal whether it is weight loss, exercise, reading the Bible, or budgeting our money. Getting back to hospitality, there are many scripture passages about it in the New Testament. "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." (1 Peter 4:8-10) is a good one or "Practice hospitality." (Romans 12:13). There are many more, just look it up. It is surprising, really.

The easiest way I know to do this minitry is to plan to invite a different person or family into our home each month. That equates to 12 per year. That may seem small or large depending on your mindset. With the busyness of families these days and the cost of food (feeding a family of six plus others is not cheap), 12 seems to be a number that is reachable for our family. I was thinking if everyone in our church had this same goal and 100 families had 12 families into their homes this year that 1200 new bonds would be formed! WOW!!! Can you imagine that?

I used to just invite people with whom I already had good relationships (friends and family). Those invites are now added to the 12 new ones because inviting new and different people really puts me outside of my comfort zone. It stretches me. God seems to ask things like that a lot of me these days.

This past year I got really slack and did not do much of this hospitality thing past about August. I just got busy and compalcent (that equates to selfish and lazy). I have vowed to get back on track with this plan. I have a LONG list of people to invite!

You may ask, "Why do you need to have people over to your house? Don't you see them at work or church or wherever?" I used to think this same way but there is something special about having someone in your home. It really blesses people when they see you care enought to have them into your "space" and want to spend time with them. (as a side note: eating at a restaurant is nice and I appreciate when folks buy us a meal but I love visiting in the home even more.)

This whole hospitality thing used to be very difficult for me because I stressed a lot about my house being clean or the food being served, but in this journey I have learned not to care so much about those things because most people do not care about my house or whether I feed them a 7 course meal. They just want the fellowship and to know that my family cares.

I am also going to try something new this year. I plan to invite people over for just snacks or desserts. I have very fond memories of my childhood when my parents used to go over to friends' homes to have cake or something after church on Sunday night. We used to have such fun and I don't ever remember what we ate but I do remember having a wonderful time.

With all of that said, we live in a day where we are busy and have so much going on that we often miss out on getting to know our brothers and sisters in Christ because we are running the "rat race" of life. People really don't care how big our homes are or how nice our furniture is. What matters is that we want to spend time together. There is an unexplainable bond that forms when you invite people into your home.

I love to visit people's homes in our church it helps me know them and relate to them so much better. I don't know why but it does. It makes me feel like those people love me and my family. I hope that is how people feel when they come to my home.

Maybe hospitality will be a new project for you this year too. You may say that it is not your "thing." I used to say it was not my "thing" too, but God's commands must be our "thing." Some things are not optional. Hopefully at the end of 2012, I will have been more obedient in the ministry of hospitality than I was in 2011. I guess that is what really matters.