The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 120,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 5 days for that many people to see it.
Most of the time we never know the mysterious ways God is causing all things to work together for good (Rom. 8:28). Occasionally, God will lift the veil and give us a glimpse in order to remind us that He is always up to something. Today my small group leader, Tyler Carter arranged for our class to help provide a Christmas party for a local homeless shelter. It was a joy and a privilege to practically show the Gospel to the children of those who partake in the shelter’s services.
One 12-year-old young man at our table was named, Nigei. He was very bright and articulate. He had plans to practice dentistry when he grows up. I committed to be his first patient if he opens a practice in our area. We talked about the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus and the events that surrounded the nativity. From there we talked about the death of Christ and the full meaning of the Gospel. It was a story he was quite familiar with from the ministry at the mission and the church his family had been attending.
Recounting these things and encouraging Nigie in the Gospel seemed like a worthy investment in and of themselves. But it wasn’t long until a lady from channel 31 News tapped Nigie on the shoulder and asked him if she could interview him for the evening news. He agreed as she proceeded to set up the camera.
Her first question was a simple, “Are you having fun?” Nigie smiled and replied, “yes”. Her follow-up opened an incredible door, “What is this all about?”, to which Nigie boldly replied, “This is about God sending Jesus to be born and die on the cross for our sins!”
The gravity of what he had just done did not register with Nigie. This 12-year-old boy in a homeless shelter was able to declare the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ to the entire Tennessee Valley. I could hardly choke back the tears of joy. This young man preached in a moment to more people than will gather at my church on Sunday morning.
It was as if God was allowing me to see that no conversation is insignificant. No person is unimportant. And you never know what part you will play in the grand narrative of His story unfolding all around us.
Keep the Gospel in front of people, you never know when they will be catapulted into the spotlight.
Image via Wikipedia
I have always been an early adopter. Sometime around the year 2000 I purchased my first Pocket PC which was an early version of the smart phone, complete with a pen stylus that fit securely into the antenna of the phone. It allowed me to sync up with my Outlook mail and calendar as well as access the internet. Early on my smart phone was priceless because as a traveling speaker the number of bookings I was able to confirm was often determined by how quickly I could respond to an email. If I didn’t get back to them in time they would move on to the next speaker. On the road, there were times I couldn’t check my email for days at a time. The smart phone was a God send. Over the years I have migrated to the Mac Camp and I now carry an IPhone.
Since then my life and career has changed. Now I am a Pastor and the bulk of my ministry is given to one congregation of people. The Church I serve has just over 1,000 active members that I am responsible for as their lead Pastor. Before I dumbed down my smart phone my email or text notification buzzed about every 2-5 minutes at the busiest parts of the day. On top of that I would receive several emails and texts just as I was winding down for a good night’s sleep. I found myself living in a constant state of alert and I knew that it couldn’t be healthy long-term.
The solution? I removed all email accounts from my phone except for one that I may need in an emergency and turned off all text alerts. I have found that if I can manage the bookends of my day (early morning and late evening) that I can handle whatever comes my way in the middle.
I set a time each day for correspondence and try to empty my inbox at that time. I respond to the emails that request or require a response, I file some for further thought, and I delete the junk.
Do you find that email or text messages can be an open door for stress? Others are often emailing or texting you to get something stressful off of their mind, but if you leave the door open and respond to every message your life will soon be FILLED with stress and you will live in red alert mode. Your blood pressure will go up and your nerves will be rattled every time your phone buzzes. At that point you are a slave to phone and it no longer serves you. Take my advice, dumb down your smart phone.
