The above image is one my favorites that I have made. There are several reasons. First and foremost, that is how I composed it. This was not a full length shot of Chris (the Dad) and his daughter Lola which I then cropped. I purposely went in for that look because Lola at the time was fascinated with the little of sand and rocks she had on her hand. It just so happened that both of them started to take a step at the same time when I shot this frame. So his left foot and her right foot have a little bit of motion blur which I love.

Before I go further, please know that Chris is a firefighter here in Palm Coast. Right now there are wildfires in the area that are being fought day and night by guys like Chris. Please keep him and the other firefighters in your prayers.

Another reason I love this image is because to me, it represents what our relationship with God should be like. Notice that Lola isn’t concerned with her surroundings. She is confident in what she is doing because she is holding Chris’s hand. That’s what it should be like with us and the Lord. There are a bunch of different things going on in my life right now that I can’t talk about (but I will at some point) and my wife asked me about a situation and asked, “What is keeping us from doing that?” and I immediately answered, “Fear.”

But we shouldn’t have to be fearful. We should all be like Lola in that photo. Confident that our heavenly Father is watching over us and guiding us.

Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

This is a video I put together quickly with some clips I captured at random. Just some quick thoughts.

This is often something I hear Christians say or I see Christians write:

“I am waiting for God to reveal His will for my life.”

I remember I used to say this myself at times. Unfortunately it’s not something we should be saying or writing. God doesn’t sit there with a sign hidden behind His back that says, “My will for Jay’s life”, waiting for the perfect moment to “reveal” it to me. He doesn’t show it from time to time and then quickly hide it declaring, “Made you look!”

God’s will for our lives is shining as bright as the sun for us to see. If we’re not seeing it, it’s because of us, not Him.

When we say we’re waiting for God to reveal His will for my life, we’re really fooling ourselves. What’s really going on is something self-centered. We’re waiting for what we want to come along. In the meantime, we’re ignoring all of the doors opening around us.

Tunnel vision leaves us oblivious to God’s will for our lives.

Thankfully, the solution is easy. I learned it from Andy Stanley in a small group study ‘Discovering God’s Will.’ Obviously, the study goes into more depth, but it boils down to this:

1. Accept God’s providential will – God’s providential will are things that will happen no matter what we do. We cannot control these things nor even understand them. Some we know about already. We accept that one day Christ is going to to return. That is part of God’s providential will.

2. Follow God’s moral will for our lives – This boils down to doing what God has already told us to do. It doesn’t mean we won’t stumble and fall at times but we still clearly know His moral will for our lives.

3. When we follow the first two steps, we will know God’s will for our life. – Andy Stanley put it so succinctly when he said:

It is surrender to the known will of God that paves the way to discovery of the unknown will of God.”

Have you ever said, “I am waiting for God to reveal His will for my life?” and does this affect your attitude about that or not?

What a weekend! It started last Thursday when I started the long drive to Nashville with a pit stop in Atlanta. While I was waiting around for dinner, I had a chance to go to Land of 1000 Hills coffee shop in Roswell, GA. What a great place. It’s house that has been converted into a coffee house. Much to my surprise, you don’t order cups of coffee. All of their coffee is made in a French press. They have 3 different sizes and when your coffee is ready, they bring the entire press out to you with a cup. I’m definitely going back there when I am in town again.

Later on that night was dinner with friends, several of whom I was meeting for the first time. Tami & Adam Shields, Austin and Courtney Lee, Tom and Meghan McFarlin and Eryn and Jared Erickson all dined at PF Changs for dinner. It was a great time. I was meeting Tami, Courtney and Austin for the first time. Ironically, it was the first time Austin was meeting Tom and Jared. I’ve hung out more with those guys and I don’t even live in that state! Get with it people.

Eryn (go check out her music) and Jared were kind enough to let me crash at their place before leaving the following day for Nashville.

By the way….all of these friends? First connected with them via Twitter. This tool presents the opportunity to really build up a community of people. So if you’re a Twitter naysayer because “Nobody wants to read about what I am doing all day” then you don’t get it.

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Dream Year.

I had the privilege of attending this event and getting to meet Ben Arment. I think the word “passion” is often thrown around too loosely these days. Kind of like the word “relevant.” It’s used often because it’s used often. But Ben is the real deal. He’s passionate not only about what he does, but passionate about wanting to see others succeed as well.

I learned a lot in the amount of time I was there. The thing Ben said that I remember distinctly is this

“Entrepreneurship is no longer about the idea. It’s about the idea model.”

That kind of blew me away. And it has given me a lot to think about. Ben is having another one of these weekends in June in Washington, DC. If you were considering going to the event in Nashville, then I would highly suggest going for it in DC. It’s an experience that is worth every penny. But hurry. Unlike the event in Nashville, the one in DC is limited to 75 people.

What I probably enjoyed more than anything else was connecting with people I knew only from Twitter and also meeting people I had never met in any way prior to this. Some of the people:

Greg Darley
Dana Byers
Jamie Beran
JC Wert
Lindsey Appiah
Susan Dillingham
Bryan Allain
Lindsey Hartz
Alece Ronzino
Stephen Brewster

I know I probably left some people out. Sorry!

I also got to hang with Kyle Reed who is an awesome guy. This young man truly has a servants heart and I am blessed to call him a friend.

In addition, as somebody that just turned 40, what I loved seeing as well were people my age and older than me at Dream Year. I think we have a tendency sometimes to assume such ‘dreams’ are meant only for those who are 30 and younger but that is not the case and it was encouraging. At the same time, there were many younger people there and I am thrilled there are people 10-15 years younger than me whose lives are filled with such purpose. It’s a great thing.

Are you discouraged or encouraged when others are successful?

Successful is a subjective term so the way I am using it here doesn’t correspond necessarily to success in a financial sense but you may look at it that way. So does one’s success in ministry or employment or success with a skill set (such as photography or music) bother you or does it inspire you?

image via Thomas Hawk

I love Christmas. The entire season of that holiday. It is without a doubt, my favorite time of the year. The music, the food, the lights, the presents, the atmosphere and of course, the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

It is also a time for giving (well, any time is a time for giving but particularly at this time). We’re in a crap economy. Unemployment is still high. Gas prices have once again climbed over $3.00 a gallon for regular. Oil prices are higher which means people are going to be paying more to heat their homes.

These difficulties often make it hard for people who have a giving nature to be able to give. But often, I think people set their sights too high. They feel they cannot help somebody because they hear about people spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on helping somebody during Christmas that they $5 or $10 they may have won’t make a difference in somebody’s life.

That’s wrong. Remember the widow’s offering from the book of Luke?

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. “All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

The amount does not matter.

For a mere $10, you can help somebody get clean water.

For as little as $3, you can help somebody keep their electricity on or fend off eviction.

A $5 or $10 donation to Cancer Care can cover travel costs for somebody to visit a doctor.

There are always local charities that could use donations of any kind. Even if you cannot donate money, take older clothes and bring them to a local Salvation Army. Call local churches and see if they would accept clothing as well.

It is never too little.

So if you have been hesitant because you think your small donation will not help, think again. Your small contribution can mean something huge to somebody else.

If somebody were to ask me 20 years ago what I saw myself doing 20 years into the future, it probably would not have been anything like the scenario from last night.

When it gets below 30 degrees in Florida it is cold. But despite the cold, my wife and two kids decided to brave the cold elements to head up to St. Augustine. In the area known as ‘Old Town’ they have something called ‘The Festival of Lights’ where the entire area is lit up. Sylvia grabbed the image above. It’s really nice. There is park where lights are strung up amongst the trees and there is a huge Christmas tree with fake presents around it for people to take photos.

So we were there for about 30 minutes and then on the way home we stopped off at Barnes & Noble. I bought Michael a skateboarding magazine and Ally wanted one of those big notebooks you find in the clearance area for $6. We grabbed hot chocolate on the way out and headed home. All in all the trip took about 2 hours.

Simple.

But it is hard for me to imagine it being any better.

I’ve worked at the same company for over 13 years. It pays well and there’s security there. Unemployment is nearly 10% and some people have been collecting unemployment insurance for nearly 2 years. The economy is so unpredictable right now so the question has to be asked:

Am I crazy for leaving this job to work on my own?

Some people might think so. I don’t. Far crazier things have happened in our history. My leaving a full time job to go out on my own is mere drop in the bucket of things that people have done. But it is what I am doing.

On January 3rd, I begin a new chapter in my life when I join the ranks of the self-employed and go to work doing IT consulting and photography. Many of you know that photography is truly what I love to do. But it’s not time for that just yet.

How Staying Home From Church Affected What I Am Doing

One weekend it just one of those times when we didn’t go to church. Nobody in the house was motivated and before we realized, it was nearly 10:00 and nobody had showered or gotten ready and the decision was made to “skip” church. North Point Community Church was in the middle of a series called “Game Plan” so instead of going to church, I watched Andy Stanley preach online. Amazingly, that weekend he was doing a part in the series on employment.

My goal originally was to do photography full time, but I had to admit I was nervous about that because of the lack of a strong client base. One of the things that came away from Andy’s sermon was this. He said:

“Current opportunities can lead to other opportunities.”

It hit me like a freight train because a friend of mine had suggested that instead of just outright leaving my firm, that I should look for an opportunity to perhaps work for them on a consulting basis. I also realized that I could put the 13 years of experience I have in IT and project management to use for small businesses, churches, non-profits and other outlets looking for assistance with social media, infrastructure and other related issues. This would also provide me more time to work on my photography.

So that is what I am going to do. I talked with my boss, told him my plans and he was eager to keep me on as a consultant to do much of what I still do, but I’ll be able to work from home and do other things as well. It’s really an exciting time for me.

A Tough Year, But An Uplifting One

2010 didn’t start off well for me. On January 26th, my mother Christine died after a battle with cancer. She was only 60 years old. A week after her death, our beloved family dog Casey died. Almost 3 months to the day after my mother died, my father died. My wife and I made some very poor financial decisions and it has led to near financial ruin. And now I am leaving my full time job in the midst of one of the most volatile economic times we have seen in decades.

At the same time however, in the midst of all the sorrow, pain and uncertainty, there has been an incredible peace as well. That may not make sense to many people but it’s true. I have fostered some new relationships, cultivated new friendships and I have seen a marked improvement in my photographic work. Also, my wife and I are sensing that God has big plans for us. We’re not sure yet what that is, but we’re excited all the same. There have been trials, consequences and blessings all this year. I’ve learned quite a lot and I am really looking forward to what God has in store for us.

That’s it in a nutshell folks. But let me throw out some thanks to specific people:

My wife Sylvia – She’s my life partner. I love her more every day. I’m the big dreamer. She helps to keep me grounded from time to time when necessary. I wouldn’t have done this without her support.

Pastor Greg Peters – Not many people have the privilege of being close friends with their church pastor. I do. And that is a tremendous blessing. Greg assists me with the spiritual and I always assist him with the technical. For two guys born literally one day apart, it makes for good teamwork.

Rick Siboni – Rick is one of our church elders, a fellow drummer in the praise team, a mentor and a friend. He’s been a big help in this journey.

John Grow – It’s hard these days finding guys several years older than me that enjoy The Lord of The Rings, video games and geek stuff but John is one of them. John is a friend and successful businessman and I’ll probably annoy him to no end with questions from here on out.

The 8Bit Guys – John, Tom, Chris and Jared specifically. These guys are not just Twitter friends but have become real friends. They’re all awesome (their wives are even more awesome) and have been real supportive. Amazing too that they’re anywhere from 7-15 years YOUNGER than me. Our country is in good hands as long as people like this are around.

I know there are more out there I am forgetting right now. I’ll get to everybody.

The adventure begins…….

The original title contained “big decision” as opposed to what it is now. Unfortunately, some people consider what restaurant they’re going to eat at a “big decision” so I decided to up the ante.

Life changing decisions are inevitable for most of us at some point. Choice of college, marriage proposals, changing jobs, moving, planting churches, starting a business etc. Often, such decisions are made on the fly and the results are often disastrous.

Recently, I had to make one of those life changing decisions. I cannot share at this time what it was (I promise you’ll find out soon enough), but I made sure there were certain steps I took to be comfortable the decision I was making was the right one. Here are the steps I took:

1. Prayer – James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” This is an important step for a number of reasons. We want to be sure we’re adhering to God’s will with the decision we are contemplating. Remember, God hears all of our prayers.

2. Get Family Support – A life changing decision is most likely also going to impact your family. Discuss it with them. Explain your reasons for wanting to make this decision. If the timing is right (for the decision, not for when you tell them!) then I have no doubt your family will be supportive.

3. Seek Counsel – When I say to seek counsel, I don’t mean going to friends who are going to be “Yes” men who will give the thumbs up regardless of what it is. Seek out people in your life who won’t be afraid to say, “I don’t think this is a wise decision at this point.” I sought out the advice and leadership of four different people all with different life experiences and points of view and got their thoughts before I made that final decision.

What about you? What other advice would you offer?

That’s Virgil of Salon Blondie (the name does sound odd. Half of the place is your classic barber shop with the other half being the more modern style hair salon). I was in downtown Deland early Saturday morning doing some location scouting and I happened to walk by this barber shop. Virgil asked me if I wanted a haircut, but I opted for an old school shave instead. It’s the kind of shave where you sit back, have a hot towel wrapped around your face and the barber uses a straight razor to do the work. It was quite the experience though I will say that Virgil needs to sharpen that blade of his. At times it got rough. Here’s a story with Virgil giving a trim to Rick Scott, who could be Florida’s next Governor.

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The elections are tomorrow. The GOP is expected to make big gains across the country. They would be wise not to see this as some kind of rising up of popular support for their policies. This has everything to do with voter anger and not party preference. If they forget this, they’ll find themselves in the minority again very fast.

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The San Francisco Giants are poised to win their first World Series title since 1954. Wow. It’s going to be very hard for the Texas Rangers to win 3 straight games. Also, if the Giants win, everybody who whines about the supposed lack of “parity” in baseball needs to shut up. Whoever wins, it will be the NINTH different champion since 2000 with only the Yankees and Red Sox winning multiple titles (2 each).

The NBA? 5 different champions in the same time frame. The Lakers have won 5 championships and the San Antonio Spurs, 3. The others were the Pistons, Heat and Celtics.

The NFL? Better than the NBA, but not MLB. 7 different champions with New England winning 3 and the Steelers winning 2.

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Our church had a ‘Trunk or Treat’ event last night. Due to road construction, it had been 2 years since we did it last. It was huge. There were about 45 cars that were decorated and loaded up. The event went from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Candy started running out at 7:30 and that was with giving each of the kids 1 piece each. There were thousands of people there. Lots of great costumes, but this young boy had the greatest costume of the night (I’m a big Star Wars fan and R2-D2 is just totally awesome. Who wouldn’t love a sarcastic droid?):

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Our Life Group is doing the Francis Chan ‘Crazy Love’ study and although I have read this book before, reading it again is kicking my butt. If there is any chapter that will have you thinking and praying about your own spiritual life, it’s chapter 4 which has to do with lukewarm Christianity. There’s two things that stood out to me.

1. Chan writes, “Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe. They are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.

Some big changes are coming up for me in the next few months. Huge. And I have a confident facade, but inside I am a nervous wreck. I keep telling myself that at the age of 40, I shouldn’t consider doing such things. I should just be content with what I have right?

2. Chan also writes the lives of lukewarm people “…wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.”

Ouch. How do you deal with that? Ask yourself: If you suddenly stopped believing in God tomorrow, would those around you even notice?

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The Dallas Cowboys are 1-6. I LOVE IT.