Jesus and .38 Special

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” --Pericles

The American dream is to own a piece of land to call home and build a life around it, raising a family and acquiring possessions. Nothing wrong with that.

And yet...

when we consider how Jesus lived, His stability was not found in possessions or a house with His name on the mailbox. It was not even found in an untarnished reputation.

It was found in relationships with the ones that He led and ultimately the One that He followed. That is pretty simple.

Things get complicated when we rely on the lives we build for ourselves to fill the void. Equity and assets are very nice but we must remind ourselves to hold on loosely (thank you, .38 Special!). And disappointment is inevitable when we depend on the absence of change to maintain our peace of mind. Some equate stability with unchanging circumstances when really stability comes from unchanging commitment to relationships, first to God and then to those people He puts in our lives.

Starting over, bottoming out and reaching dead ends are not nearly as daunting when we can see and embrace the bittersweet truth of James 4:14, "You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." With that in mind we can focus on our nearness to God and the deposit we make in the lives of others and let everything else fade into the periphery. Where it belongs.

I want to live life like Jesus did...holding on loosely with open arms and an open life.

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If You've Never Failed...

You've Never Lived!

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You’re Soaking In It!

Life as I know it has returned to a state of "normal".  I will make no attempts to define "normal", although I usually do enjoy defining the completely subjective because it helps me to bring order to my already cluttered mind.  I am attempting instead to experience moments of life rather than always trying to define them.  As founder and president of the Think Things To Death Society, this is nothing short of miraculous.  Now, where was I?  Oh, yes...
Normal.  We have moved to another state, put most of our worldly possessions in storage and are currently living in someone’s guest home for a loosely determined length of time while we catch our proverbial breath and wait on God to show us what is next.  I'm sorry, did I say normal?  I meant utterly ridiculous but utterly ridiculous is the new normal and so here we are, living on a gorgeous spread of land, complete with horses in surrounding pastures,  swimming pool,  tennis court,  basketball court, workout room, and a beautiful home with every creature comfort possible.  The sheets with the incredibly high thread count are, in my opinion, just the cherry on top.  And if there is a down side to all of this it would only be that there are around a dozen deer and elk heads hanging on the walls in the great room and I swear they stare at me when I play pool in my pajamas.
Oswald Chambers talks about being "put into soak before God".  The innermost life is where the real action is, after all, and there are times when God pulls us away from the shop window, where most church leaders live, to receive, transform, and soften in the quiet solitude of soaking.  I am just amazed at where He has us now and so I will be here, soaking and hopefully transforming.  Softening...like in that Palmolive commercial from the 70's.  It is a good day when you can combine serious spiritual content with nostalgic television commercials.  That's why I am here, people.  That's why I'm here.

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In The Stillness

Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness.
Meister Eckhart

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."
When I consider what it means to be still and to know Him as God, I think of the mysteries of the cocoon and the resulting transformation that takes place after a season of isolation, of darkness and of stillness. And none of this "cocooning" takes place quickly but over the course of time. To the casual observer it would seem that nothing is happening. Some may regard being still as idle, unproductive and wasteful, but nothing could be further from the truth. To be still before God is to silence the myriad distractions that life has to offer and to focus on the extravagance of simply enjoying His presence. It is possible in this unhurried exchange that our pressing questions might be answered, our deepest hurts healed and our priorities become realigned, but more often than not, those things just fade into the background and the nearness of God becomes all that we see.

I believe we must be intentional in setting aside seasons to seal ourselves into a "cocoon" where we are forced into stillness and away from distraction. This doesn't have to happen in an isolated retreat setting. It can simply mean cutting out so much of the "excess" activity in our lives for a season. The sole purpose is to spend longer quantities of unhurried time with God, soaking in His Presence and becoming preoccupied with Him and Him alone. This is such a time for me. For the month of August I will not be spending time on Facebook and I will not be posting anything on my blog. I sincerely hope this won't kill my blog traffic and that you will all be here when I return in September, but regardless, this is what I need to do. I am really looking forward to the stillness and when I return, I hope to have some tasty things to share with you all.

Happy August!

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The Seeing

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

I have written many posts on this blog about taking risks, exploring unknown places and launching the proverbial boat towards deep waters. And I have meant every word I have written as I feel passionately about not settling for status quo. That being said, I have been thinking a great deal about air travel and the altitudes at which different aircraft fly. And I want to share some thoughts that I have about this in relation to the topic of risk-taking.

Different aircraft are assigned particular altitudes based on a number of factors; direction, distance being flown, and the size of the plane. The ideal altitude for each craft is the one that has them flying most efficiently and thus using less fuel. Passenger jets typically fly between 31,000 and 37,000 feet. Smaller business jets operate up to 45,000 feet. And the Concorde has flown as high as 51,000 impressive feet, a height at which one can often see the curvature of the earth. Air traffic controllers determine when, where, and how high planes will fly based on all of these factors with the goal of getting people where they need to be safely, efficiently and without hurting others in the process.

My point here is that risk for the sake of risk is a life of madness. Risk for the sake of obedience to God is life at it's very best. And risk looks different for each individual. Some will be required, in the tradition of Star Trek, "to boldly go where no man has gone before", to hit the heights of the Concorde. For some, the greatest risk will be to stay the course, cruising at a normal altitude, when running off impulsively is easier. No one can define what is risk for another. Some will see risk and call it irresponsible while others will view a sound decision and say it lacks the vitality of adventure. Only the person taking the next step, in harmony with the heart of God, is capable of making that call. One thing is most certain...we were all created for high adventure, for ardent, technicolor living, and for, as Mark Batterson calls it, "refusing to allow your human responsibilities to get in the way of pursuing the passions God puts in your heart." Technicolor living is the full embrace of your own life, wrapping one arm securely around whatever risks He calls you to take and wrapping the other arm tightly around the beautiful mundaneness of the everyday. The ability to see the heaven and the fire that is right in front of you only happens when you are seeing your life through His eyes. The key is in the seeing.

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What Is Wrong With The Church: Some Simple Thoughts

Churches, like individuals, come in all shapes and sizes with varying personalities, purposes and visions. Some are full of life and draw you in, beckoning you to become a part of its' vitality. Others are cold, arid and devoid of life, causing you to want to run for the door like one might hurry to leave a mausoleum. The living won't linger among the dead. And many, many are somewhere in between, unremarkable, uninspiring and largely unattended.

Yesterday morning I attended a service at a church that is full to bursting with the life of God and I came away encouraged, challenged, and hungry for more. More of God and more of healthy body life. And just for the record, that is how I believe church should be. It seems that everyone has their own idea of what church should or should not look like and some believe that their way is the only way. But, if I might make a bold assertion, I don't believe God is the least bit offended by diversity. The last thing He is going to be crammed into is a man-sized box designed to formularize the God of the universe and the "building of His church", which is His job-not ours. (Matt 16:18)

What does offend Him is pride, which, oddly enough, is at the root of every problem that is encountered in the church. Pride elevates self over God and this is, quite simply, what threatens the furthering of the Gospel and the very life of the church. It would seem to me that if we stopped trying to do His job (building the church) and merely cooperated with Him by disregarding self, adoring Him, and loving others.....the church would explode in such a way that our finite minds never imagined. I don't pretend to have all of the answers and I don't even know what such cooperation with Him should necessarily look like. I suspect it will look gloriously different in different places. But always is will be devoid of pride. Always His children would refuse to focus on what they find disagreeable in the church and choose to focus on all that is good and right in His Face. Simplistic, I know, but I am foolish enough to believe that the Gospel was intended to be just that.

Your thoughts?

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Desert Places

When all of your writing comes from the deep places in your heart, but your heart is aching, dry and arid, it is difficult to string together words that will bring life to others.

Why write at such times?

It seems that many who write songs do their best work in the dark hour.

Some of the writing that has spoken to me the most has come from people who were transparent when hiding would have been easier, and watching them move forward even when broken has somehow brought life to me.

Hiding is easy and avoiding banal platitudes that are oddly suffocating is far more appealing.

Yet somehow people worth following are the ones who smell like the desert. They have known hunger and thirst and barrenness and can be trusted to bring food and water and life to someone else.

Can you really be an oasis if you have never known the aching need for one?

"All of my servants on their way to the High Places have had to make this detour through the desert...I bring my people into Egypt that they, too, may be threshed and ground into the finest powder and may become bread corn for the use of others."
--Hinds' Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard

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Life's Great Mysteries--# 572

How is it that I carry a camera around with me at all times and yet when given the opportunity to spend a tremendous week of ministry with some of my very favorite people on the planet, I took NO PICTURES? Nix. Nil. Nada. You get the point.

It is a great mystery. I am a great mystery. Okay, really I am not, I am just totally and completely forgetful. But I want to enjoy life as I am living it rather than just take pictures of it. I do try, really I do. This was supposed to be a fascinating post on the power of team and how a motley group of crazy, love-sick Christian leaders get together and pull off a camp for hundreds of children every summer. I was going to tell you what incredible people I am privileged to work with as we plan this camp throughout the year and how no one is prideful and self-promoting but rather everyone lays their lives down, surrenders their gifts and talents, and the lives of children are forever changed. I was going to comment on the fact that the many children's pastors I work with are of the highest caliber. How they are not known nationwide is yet another of life's great mysteries. Napoleon once said that "A leader is a dealer in hope." And these leaders offer hope in immeasurable abundance to the children of this generation. I love the power of "we" and how together we attain what alone we could only dream. These are the things I wanted to tell you.

And I was going to post a picture of these amazing leaders that I call friends but, as I mentioned earlier, my camera never made it out of my bag. And that is mystery # 572.

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Unlikely Warriors

"Some of the most brilliant battles have been fought by the most unlikely warriors."
-A Wrinkle In Time (movie)




I had the privilege of speaking to more than seven hundred kids and adult leaders at Kids Aflame Camp this past week. I am amazed each year to see children run to the altars and surrender their hurts, their hopes and their very lives to the living God. He knows all too well what hellish pain many of them have endured and He is always faithful to heal, to fill and to make new the lives of some of the tiniest of His warriors.

Children are not merely the hope of tomorrow. They are the unlikely warriors of today and my desire is to see the church make room for them, for their gifts and callings. Now. Today. Oh, how we need them!

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Chips and Axes: Are You In Possession?

Wednesday I wrote a post about the danger of allowing your passions to carry you along in leadership without first submitting to the Divine process of "proofing." The logical question to ask then is "do I have a chip on my shoulder and an axe to grind and how do I recognize them?"

It is painfully simple to see if you know what you are looking for. A man or woman who has been through this Divine process is willing to lay aside the passion in their heart if God asks. She is more fascinated with being with her Father than she is with working for Him. He is willing to cooperate with whatever authority is in his life even if it appears his passion will not take top priority. But when your pet passion, be it ending poverty, caring for the elderly, pastoring a megachurch or foreign missions, is the driving force in your life, you had better check your shoulder and your hands because you are most likely armed and dangerous and of precious little use to God. He chooses yielded vessels. He chooses vessels that do NOT dictate to Him the what and the how but instead are willing to completely die to the very passion that He instilled in them.

For me, it was eighteen years before He gave me permission to publically speak and write about the passion of my heart. And I thank God for the Divine process for it is that alone that makes the leader ready for the heat that inevitably accompanies leadership and the living out of the Holy discontent that keeps you awake at night. Leader, check your shoulder, check your hands and embrace the process.

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Chips and Axes: Weapons of Mass Destruction

It is a scary thing to work with a leader who has an axe to grind and a chip on his or her shoulder. And yet such leaders are everywhere, even in the church. Chips and axes are passions that have not been yielded to the tempering that comes from the Divine process. Unyielded passions will always become chips and axes and these will most assuredly become weapons that hurt those to whom you desire to minister.

My passion, my holy discontent as Bill Hybels calls it, is seeing women free in the church to lead in any capacity God desires and not be held back due to misuse of Scripture. For almost twenty years I wrestled with my passion and God put me through a process, a Divine process, that was necessary for me to be trustworthy with this message God placed within me. It is a proofing just like bread dough must go through before it is ready for the heat of the oven. The dough must be worked and kneaded and then put aside for the yeast to do it's job of making it ready to bake. Usually the dough is then "punched down" and set aside a second time for it to rise and become ready for the heat. And so it has been in my life. God has put me through rigorous circumstances and then put me aside while His deposit has done it's work within me. And then came the punching down (it is agony, friends) and more time sitting alone, waiting. All the while He was at work in the interior, making the woman ready before I could be trusted with His message.

There must be this season of proofing so that your passions do not become a chip or an axe. And if a leader is placed into the "heat of leadership" before the process is complete, what results is hard and incapable of being nourishment to others. How do you know if you do have a chip on your shoulder and an axe to grind? Head on back here Friday and I will tell you...

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Are You Willing To Risk It?

I found this video of a dance tribe forming on Seth's blog this past week. This is a pretty typical group dynamic...once more than a few people join in something, people come in droves to do the very same. But as I watched the first strange man dancing all alone, and in a most bizarre way, I couldn't help but admire his freedom. The truth is, when you act in a way that is different from the norm, people will gawk and laugh and point. Many will feel very uncomfortable with your freedom and your willingness to express it. Others will feel contempt and usually that is because they secretly wish they had that kind of nerve and rather than be challenged by it, they will judge it instead and usually loud enough for others to hear.

Obeying God is just like this video. At times, you are going to look crazy and unstable in all of your ways. It could be that your actions start a revolution and, in time, others will be running to do what you had to work up the nerve to do. But sometimes you will dance alone. It is a risk of obedience. Are you willing to risk it?

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Two Things a Leader MUST Have

My mind is a circus of thoughts today. I read of the recent moral failure of a prominent church planter/pastor/blogger, Gary Lamb, today. His five-year-old church plant, Revolution Church, is in Canton, Georgia in the Atlanta area and you can read about his recent resignation here. Why am I bringing attention to yet another blight on the American church? I am glad you asked.

Next to nurturing an intimate relationship with God, my greatest desire as a minister of the Gospel is to live a life of integrity. This desire is not so that I will be shiny and and stainless and admired, but so that my life will garner little attention and He will get it all. I have no doubt that Gary Lamb had similar desires when he set out to plant Revolution Church. The reality is that not one person on the planet is above the temptation of sexual sin or the sin of pride or any other sin for that matter. We will all fight temptation until we draw our last breath. And those who do think they are immune to such things are in the greatest danger. The only difference between a leader who falls and a leader who does not are boundaries and accountability.

Leader, if you remember nothing else I have written here these past two years, please remember this: you are only as safe from sin as the boundaries you set for yourself and the accountability that keeps you within them. To give you an example, I will share with you some of the boundaries that my husband and I have set for ourselves.

-We never, under any circumstances, allow ourselves to be alone with anyone of the opposite sex. Period.

-If anyone of the opposite sex behaves inappropriately with either of us, we quickly alert the other of the situation and handle it immediately.

-We never counsel someone of the opposite sex alone. We always have someone else sit in or we counsel that person together.

-We are very vocal about our marriage relationship and we publicly affirm that relationship so others see that we are knitted together and will not be an easy target.

-We nurture intimate relationships with close friends and mentors who know where we are in our walks with God...not just our ministry. Many leaders in the church talk freely about their ministries and say very little about their intimacy with Jesus. Open doors and open hearts are much safer.

-When we are struggling with anything, we get help. You cannot wrestle temptation alone. Run, don't walk, to your mentors or co-laborers and get help.

-We prioritize our lives. Ministry responsibilities MUST come after your marriage and then your family time. If you win your entire city for Christ but your children are neglected and hurting and your spouse is a stranger to you, you are a dismal failure.

Please let me clarify. I am writing this NOT to judge a fallen minister, but rather to expose the desperate need in the body of Christ for boundaries and accountability. I do not write these things because I am immune to sin, but rather because I know that I am wretched flesh and, if left to my own devices, I will sin . And so will you. Examine your life and ministry. Shore up the integrity of your own life and ministry by putting careful boundaries in place and then insure these boundaries with faithful people who will love you enough to correct you.

Your life depends on it. And if you lead, so do the lives of so many others.

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The Glory of Being Alone

"Silence is the way to make solitude a reality"
~Henry Nouwen

When I was a girl, I spent many hours with my grandmother on her front porch watching the rain. Sometimes we would talk but more often than not words were unimportant and instead we would both get lost in the beautiful conversation between the wind and the raindrops. I did not understand in those days how she was schooling me in the art of solitude. All of the mornings I would find her in her breakfast room, sipping coffee and listening to the serenade of the blue jays and cardinals outside of her opened back door, she was teaching me the importance of what Wordsworth called "a wise passiveness."

I have known people who find themselves anything but companionable and I feel so sad for them as I have nearly always enjoyed my own company. This is not because I am anything special, but rather that I was taught at an early age to appreciate, even relish silence and solitude and to seek it out regularly as one might seek time with a dear friend. Sadly, this is a lost art in our current time and with an ever increasing number of distractions and ways to connect with others, this generation has forgotten how to connect with self, which ironically leaves us with much less to offer all the other people with whom we work so hard to connect.

Paul Tillich said that "Language has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone, and the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone." I long for my own children to know the glory of being alone for it is in that place where we become acquainted with our true selves and can then see the transformation from who we are to who we can become. God's transforming grace can meet us in the contemplative silence with an overwhelming clarity that is unknown in the hustle and bustle of busy living and it is a meeting of unparalleled importance. It is what elevates the leader from good to great, the Christian from shallow to deep and the person who is alone from pain to glory.

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Deadline? What Deadline??

So, I spent the entire day yesterday finishing my preparations for a speaking gig I have in a little less than two weeks. I am privileged to be speaking to five or six hundred kids at Kids Aflame Camp in Bradenton, Florida. Sadly, due to my recent two week bout with lung sludge, I was a little late getting all my stuff into the media gurus that make everything flow flawlessly for a solid week of camp. I got it all done, though, and I was even able to make a few sage observations as I was wrapping up my work late last night.

Observation one: I suck at power point.

Observation two: My husband ROCKS at power point and he is my hero.

Observation three: I couldn't get all of my work done, take care of my three kids and write a decent post for today.

Observation four: I could not possibly skip a post and I would rather just let you get a peek into my life, chaotic though it is at times, than not show up at all. That would just be rude.

Observation five: I HATE to be late on a project deadline when other people are counting on me.

No, I don't have issues. Why do you ask?

The thing is, life happens, sometimes you get sick, and you just have to do the best you can with what you have to work with. My wise grandmother used to tell me to "just play your best with the hand you are dealt." Words to live by. What about you? Have you skidded into home plate just in the nick of time on any deadlines lately?

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A Simple Truth

I have recently been feeding on a truth that I once learned in a 1994 Henry Blackaby Bible Study called "Experiencing God." One of Blackaby's key points is to "watch to see where God is working and join Him." It seems a simple truth but one that many people fail to remember. We are by nature self-centered so it is only natural to ask, "What is God's will for my life?" The better question to ask Him is "How can my life fit into Your will?" God has a grand scheme, a plan for His Kingdom, that is so much greater than our singular existence and yet it is difficult for most of us to ask the bigger question when all we can see is the one path we walk, forgetting that our one path is just a dot on the grand tapestry of human existence. For many, the weight of the question centers on "my life" when, if that part of the question is eliminated, what is left is "What is God's will?" And this was a truth that Jesus well understood.

No one on Earth has had the level of intimacy with the Father that Jesus enjoyed. And with Christ as our model, we, too, are taught to pursue an intimate, personal relationship with the God of the universe. In doing that, it becomes easy to forget that my ministry, my church, my hopes and dreams are not to be considered as the central theme. Jesus understood this. He was here to ONLY do the Father's will. He pulled away frequently to get His Father's perspective and direction and His existence revolved around that and that alone. It is His great plan and His ministry and His work that are the center and it is our role as daughters and sons to stay close to His heart and thus hear Him when He calls for us to "go here" or "stay there" or "do this" or (and this is the hardest) "wait." Still, so many labor in their fields of ministry, asking God to bless their efforts, and never even notice when God has moved on and is no longer at work among them.

It is better to think of life like a mobile that hangs over a child's crib. God is at the center and we are to be positioned by Him wherever He sees fit to place us for His Kingdom purpose and then revolve around His great purpose and just enjoy the nearness of our God, doing only what He asks us to do. If we are to change our placement, that is His doing and He has every right to put us wherever He wishes in order to accomplish His will. It always goes back to His will, His plan and His purposes. What is at the center of your existence? Is it your life or His? Is it your ministry or His? Remember it is never too late for a mid-course correction.

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Are You A Family On Purpose?

I have spent the past week on my couch watching movies and trying to get well. I cuddled up with my youngest son yesterday and we watched "National Treasure 2-Book of Secrets." The second "National Treasure" flick was about finding another enormous treasure but it was also about clearing the Gates family name after false accusations threatened to ruin it. I love both of these movies because of the rich history and the love of country. And I also love Ben Gates' determination to preserve the good reputation of his family's name.

In my family, we have taught our three sons that wherever they go and whatever they do, they do not just represent themselves. They also represent the Taylor family, and our God whose name we all wear. One way we have made that concept more tangible is by developing a family purpose statement which we have posted on the wall in our family room. It is crucial to establish a family identity while your children are young so that as they grow up and other people become increasingly more influential in their lives, they have something to fall back on. A strong family identity gives kids a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves and also a sense of stability. If we are going to have a purpose statement in our business plans, in our governments, and for our churches, how much more important is clearly laying out who you are as a family and why you exist as a unit? What about your family? Who are you and what do you stand for? If we don't give our kids a sense of purpose, someone else will.

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How Do You Measure?

How do you measure the worth of what you do for God?

Do you count the number of souls you have won?

Do you count the number of trips you have made to the nursing home or the prisons?

Do you measure it by the growth you see in the life of the one you are mentoring?

Do you measure it by the positive feedback you receive from those to whom you minister?

Is it measured by the amount of your private giving and secret service to others?

Is it measured by how you feel about what you do to serve God?

Oswald Chambers had this to say about it:
"The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private, profound communion we have with Him." (emphasis mine)

I have to agree with him. And I cannot get away from this verse that I have quoted so many times.

"I don't want your sacrifices, I want your love. I don't want your offerings, I want you to know Me." Hosea 6:6

And so I ask myself, "Am I giving Him what He wants?"

Are you?

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Grab Hold of Your Jackass and Don't Let Go

Two of the Gospel accounts have Jesus coming into Jerusalem for His triumphal entry riding a donkey and the other two have Him riding a colt. Choose your gospel account and choose your beast of burden, the lesson to be learned from His vehicle of choice is complete and utter humility.

Matt 20:28 "...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

This verse displays the very essence of who Jesus was and is and who we, in turn, should strive to be. Servant. Plain and simple. Sadly, many men and women come into places of leadership in the church and then completely forget this verse of Scripture. I have observed a strange culture that has insidiously crept into the church, one that places the leaders in the church on high and exalted pedestals. These pedestals take on the appearance of preferred parking spots, attention to every personal need in a diva-like fashion, and regular verbal accolades from followers that can only serve to envelope the leader in a dense cloud of pride and arrogance. God, help Your church, Your bride!

Church leader, you MUST cast off this "rock star" mindset of leadership that looks NOTHING like the model of servant-leadership clearly demonstrated in every breath Jesus Christ took on this earth. Leaders in the church must model lifestyles of humility and servanthood if we ever expect to see such behavior in the church as a whole. You teach what you know but you reproduce who you are.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." It is a naked truth. Give a human being power, position or applause, and you will see what he or she is made of. Unless the glory is thrown back at the feet of Jesus, we will wrap ourselves up in it and marvel at how soft and comfortable it feels to the touch. But garments of glory were never intended for human flesh and it is our responsibility to refuse them.

Purpose to live in humility. Crucify your flesh every time it rears its' ugly head. Grab hold of selflessness, with your gaze locked on His face, and refuse to live any other way. It is the key to intimacy with the Father and thus, the key to true, Biblical leadership. Grab hold of your jackass and don't let go!

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A Wake of Grace

Eph 4:29 "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Do the words that you often speak extend grace to those around you?

Do the people that live with you find themselves set free by the grace your words bring or are they constantly imprisoned by the chains of negativity and unmet expectations that flow freely from your mouth?

Are you even aware of the steady flow from your lips and what your words mean in the life of those around you?

These are questions I am asking myself these days.

I deeply desire my words to leave a wake of life, hope and grace that can bring beauty and freedom to the people that surround me.

Our words should lift people up on the wake they leave behind and move them to a higher place rather than causing them to capsize.

Have you checked the wake of your words lately?

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