Category Archives: Capturing Courage Abroad

As we travel we write about the experiences, the quirky sides, the profound moments and all manner of thoughts and lessons in between – Enjoy!

Uncomfortable Constraint

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adventure and privilegeOff to Uganda, you are reading this as I’ve arrived, been received at the airport by David and taken to he and his wife’s home. I’ve had a nights rest at their home (they’ve given me their bed to sleep in), and I am off to buy medicines in Kampala with Mildred today.

And constraint is all around.

The work of coming and traveling and ministering in Uganda is all about constraint. And in fact, on my last trip here, I made a list of all the constraints upon a person, that I might alert any who want to do a trip to really count the cost, seeing if they are really up for it.

For instance, in Canada we are used to our space around us. We are used to sitting in a vehicle with room for our legs and with room for our arms. In Uganda it is much different. The taxi service is more like that feeling of camping in a very cramped campsite.

My legs have no space in these vehicles. I am fairly long-legged and I must sit with a slight rotation to my hips and back in order to fit (and even then my knees are jammed into the seat in front of me). On either side are my traveling companions, some I know, most I do not. Regardless, we get used to our hips and legs in close quarters and the skin of our arms stuck together in the heat. And though the journeys are any number of hours in length, and there are no bathroom stops nor pauses to stretch, we give no sigh of disdain or contempt.

We have entered into another persons home and we will make no complaint.

My luggage is sparse. And I have ensured it is no heavier than I can carry myself. Constraint of time and space as well as energy and strength, ensures I don’t overdo my luggage, and in the consequence make a fool of myself.

The surest way to be ashamed in a developing nation, is to pack too much.

The roads are rutted, graveled and sometimes soggy from recent rains. And suitcases on wheels are a joke in the crowded city of Kampala. If you can’t carry it, don’t bring it. Constraint saves us.

The boda-boda rides (motorcycles) prove the same. Imagine your gear and suitcases strapped onto a boda-boda along with you and a driver. Imagine it, and you will ensure you do not overdo it. Constraint saves us.

The habits of minimalism do one well when in Africa. Well thought out planning and execution alongside frank consideration are must-haves. Last trip I took three pairs of socks, and didn’t put one pair on once. Silly. This time I’ve taken one pair, and very small and thin at that.

In service to the people there, my days are not my own. But years of child-raising has prepared me well; constraint on my person is certainly not unknown! Fact is, I am simply honored to be their guest, and at their disposal. “What shall we do today? Here are my thoughts and ideas, but really, you tell me.”

We somehow believe that when we enter into the most important works of our lives that we will be freer, that we will be with less responsibility and more expression. And while some of this is true, in actual fact, the greater the work, the greater the constraint upon ones person, time, stamina, and responsibility.

The CEO of a company does not carry less, but more. The president of an organization does not have it easier, but tougher. The Leader of a nation deals with more and therefore has less. The one who ministers to many can only do so as constraint is embraced and welcomed and given over to.

For instance, praying over fifty, one-hundred, two-hundred people as they come one by one, lined up and waiting… Is not about more. It is about less. How much are we willing to pour out? How much of ourselves will we give over.

The greatest works of our lives require constraint, and discipline and responsibility.

Another way of saying the identical thing – enter into constraint, discipline and increased responsibility, and your life will ooze of great works.

p.s.

The Bible speaks over and over again of the little that we can bring in order for much to come of it. Nowhere does God say, ‘Come to me and I will make you great’.

Rather, it is, ‘Lose your life and you will find it’.

‘The one who is last will be first’.

Leaders are those who have determined to put their lives in service to others, be it through non-profit service, business, politics, or community involvement. They walk a hard road, without complaint and without murmur, and with much constraint.

God bless our leaders.

Spiritual Constraint

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powerful constraintWant to be spiritually powerful, employ constraints.

My last post was a precursor to this one; a brief introduction to the power of using constraint and limitation. You can find it here.

What we call the spiritual disciplines are also simply constraint, yet applied to the deepest parts of our inner person.

Physically we know the power of constraint. Focus on running, pour yourself into the martial arts, spend your time devoted to hockey, (but not all), and you will become a champion in your own right, if not literally.

Relationally we employ the power of constraint and limitation all the time. It is why we marry, and why we make choices of these types of friends but not those types.

In education we create constraints. Limiting access eliminates those who want a free ride, or who are not as serious as others. Ensure there are hoops to jump through and those who really want it, will be the ones on the other side.

Spiritually speaking, constraint works the same. It is why we have the disciplines and simple good habits of, taking a day of rest for instance. Limiting our work days to six ensures we are rejuvenated and restored on a regular basis.

Fasting is a prime example of a spiritual discipline. Fasting invests in something we cannot see, asks for favor we can barely touch but know we need, and joins into a work of God and of Spirit that barely makes sense, but invest we will anyway.

Prayer also, focuses our thoughts and worries and gladness in one concentrated conversation between ourselves and God. By coming into constraint of thankfulness for instance, of limiting our focus to that which we are thankful, creates a powerful catalyst for more of the same. Sow thankfulness reap thankfulness.

Spiritual Authorities work the same way. The question might be asked like this – How big is your sword? Constraint as spiritual discipline is the work that proves one can handle spiritual authority.

For the bigger the sword, the less it is swung. The bigger the sword the stronger one must be to swing it. And the bigger the sword, the wiser one must be in the swinging.

Constraint proves this. Constraint ensures this. Constraint enters into powerful work without flippancy, without jumping ahead and without random actions. Constraint proves our character and our habits.

A person without constraint, we call a wild-card. A wild-card cannot be completely trusted. A wild-card runs ahead, then lags behind. Always out of sync with those round about, a wild-card makes a mess out of time, money, energy, integrity and choices. To name a few.

Spiritually speaking, a wild-card is someone who has authority but who runs out of sync with God.

The difference – Constraint. Constraint not employed and we have anarchy and chaos. Constraint employed, and we have well-fashioned inner persons, employing well-fashioned constraint through all parts of their life.

The spiritual disciplines hone our walk and work alongside God. Constraint fashions us into someone useful in the Kingdom of God, where we become partners in setting things right on the earth.

How might you grow your spiritual authority today? Enter into constraint.

p.s.

As you read this I am on my way to Uganda for some days of leadership development and spiritual training for rural Pastors in a village 150km west of Uganda’s capital city of Kampala.

Constraint is applied over and over again in these spiritual works. Constraint becoming a natural course of the rhythm of spiritual work. My days prior to this trip, my inner person was quieting down. Deep inside I was hunkered, waiting, preparing, garnering the energy necessary for the work to come.

And now, the reality of about 30 hours of travel is a welcome opportunity of continued investment in the constraint of a work to come. The to-do list has been completed, the preparations are finished, the backpack has been packed and packed again, and now the hours of silence and of physical stillness only adds to the work.

I am thankful, and glad you are joining me for the journey.

Constraint Right On Time

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using limitations for greater thingsThere is always a natural sense of restraint or limitation, perhaps better described as constraint, before any great work.

Imagine for instance a figure skater. Before that figure skater makes that triple twisting leap in the air, she will cease all necessary movement in order to reserve and garner the energy and focus necessary to successfully complete the spin.

While this is but one example the principle holds true across a spectrum of applications. Consider a light. In order to bring that light into a truly powerful application, stricture, restraint, limitation, constraint must be placed upon the light. And when that is done light goes from common to great. Light under constraint is a laser, a tool of great power.

The successful entrepreneur or businessman for instance, is one who has limited the scope of their work. So that even within the business the particulars of that business are narrowed down and the focus is just one area of what could be many. Those who want to be successful in business must choose against the many, and go for the one great thing they can do and be about.

A woman about to have a baby, enters into what we call the nesting phase. That period of time just prior to birth, often a few weeks to a months time, when she gathers into herself so to speak, quiets down in her own core, all in  preparation for that great work of birthing new life into the world. Constraint preparing for a great work.

Time and again, we can see that constraints are powerful forces that take ordinary and make them into extraordinary. And this is true as well of our inner persons.

Constraints take our normal emotions and create powerful places of will coming from deep within. For instance, constraint that refuses to spew anger everywhere but rather, gathers that anger up into an energy best described as willpower, creates a catalyst for change within our being and lives.

The constraint of one’s words and tongue, as another example, reveals the power of the individual in and over their own life. Spew everything that comes to mind at whomever is nearest, and you will have a life that is devoid of personal power. It is like the energy has gone everywhere in random fashion, and it all comes to no good end.

Professionalism, that place where we become a canvas so to speak, presenting the work that is ours to present, refuses to mar the message with our own stuff getting in the way. Professionalism, ie: constraint, does not demand everything have voice, in fact it is just the opposite. Professionalism is constraint chosen and used well and toward great works.

For you see, we can fight against constraint, we can ignore constraint and pretend that it doesn’t exist, or we can use this principle of constraint to better serve ourselves and others.

What great work do you want to be about? Make no mistake about it, to succeed at that work, constraint will need to be chosen. Less is more.

We tend to believe and live the lie that more is better. But what if it isn’t true? What if that quest towards more of this or that, more time for this or that, more options towards this or that, is all a figment of our corporate imaginations?

What if less truly is more. What would you be choosing. And why. And how.

As an artist, the constraint of a canvas, the focus of a theme, the limitation of a time deadline, can and often works for us.

Give a person unending time and canvas and focus and we end up with a work that was perfect some days ago, but not now.

Writing a blog post, how many words are we limiting ourselves to? Giving a speech how many minutes are you limited to? Having an important meeting, will it come to a better conclusion if you give unlimited time or if you create a time constraint?

We could go on and on, as the truth of constraint as the powerful force that it is, could be discussed for quite some length. But the point is this, embrace constraint.

Make up some constraints. Use constraint and limitation to harness your best efforts into something great.

 

Walking in Spiritual Authority – Part One – The King’s Heart

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Your particular gift set, your experiences, your story and your unique personality are perfectly matched with the needs of this day and age. Learn how to completely settle into your own life and then into how to give it away.

This course is for those who want to do more with their lives for God and for others. It is for those serious about leveraging all of who they are for The King, the Kingdom of God and for people, the great loves of The King’s heart.

Your life is currency. How might you invest it? Learn how to express it.

Part One: The King’s Heart & Understanding Authority

The entire conversation about spiritual authority must solidly reside within the context of the Kingdom of God and the work of Jesus Christ. In Module One: The King’s Heart we dig deep into the character of God and how everything about who we are can reside within the light of Christ.

  • the King’s heart | the Kingdom of God | Lex Rex | becoming indispensable | value and worth | fullness of God | process | alignment | shining | ambassador of God | sowing and reaping | judgments | intimacy | strength | influence | transparent | safe | bold

In our humanity our understanding of authority is often skewed and misrepresented. Not only have we been hurt by authority in the past, but many of us shrink from authority. In this we leave our legacy of co-regents in the Kingdom of God aside. It’s time to unpack Godly authority and take it on for ourselves.

  • overview of authority | natural authority | positional authority | specific authority | cautions about authority | church authority | spiritual authority | growth | experience | authority gone bad | transformation | anointing | assignments
 

Spiritual Authority is all about representing the King of Kings. It is about working out His will on this earth. It is about stepping up, taking the land and restoring to God’s original plan the details of our lives and our communities and this world.

Before we can know authority we must know its author. Risking to open our heart to the King of Kings, risking to have his heart opened to us we are equipped from deep inside to live authority that mirrors him and expresses him. That place where all things are made new.

 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, and Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Isaiah 40:28-29 ESV.

 

Please Note that we have this course written for a North American audience and also specifically written for our overseas indigenous colleagues.

Contact US for information about the material specific to you.

Inestimable Value

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Value in UgandaImagine if you will for a moment, that you have a person by your side of inestimable value; a person who has made themselves invaluable to you. A person who knows what is important to you, what makes you tick, how you work best and the values by which you work.

Just imagine.

There is a Pastor Edison in Uganda, overseeing a number of churches throughout the surrounding area where he lives.

The day I spoke at his church I spoke of this:

“Imagine that Pastor Edison has a helper. But not just any helper. Imagine that this helper has made it top priority to know Pastor Edison. And not to just know him but to study him. To find out what is important to him.

What does he value, how does he go about his work, what is the manner of his interactions, what are his nonnegotiables? What are his goals and dreams, and what are the priorities in the churches he oversaw?

Imagine that before this person really offers what s/he might bring to the table, the first months are spent simply studying Pastor Edison. Just imagine that this person gets it that to know Pastor Edison is the first and foremost key to being useful to Pastor Edison, and to the surrounding parish”

As I asked there I will ask here, “Would this person be of use to Pastor Edison?”

Would this person have made him or herself incredibly invaluable?

The answer of course: and with a wide grin and dancing eyes, Pastor Edison gave a hearty, “Yes!”

It is the dream (and deep need) of every leader to have such a one(s) by their side.

I had been reading the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

Daniel is a fantastic book that tells us so, so much about being promoted within a kingdom.

While many believe that promotion comes only to the lucky or the wealthy or by some off-chance, the story of Daniel in the time of the Babylonians testifies otherwise.

Promotion is never chance.

Daniel starts off as a foreigner in the land. The Israelites had been taken captive by the Babylonians, and Daniel finds himself a young man in service to the King.

We find a number of different things about Daniel and his character and service.

First off, we find that Daniel had a few of his own integrity points by which he wants to live, and he holds these close to himself, defends them and through tact and wisdom does not give them over to the oversight of anyone else.

Only a few times do we read of Daniel standing firm in his own stuff for his own stuff sake, but firm he does stand.

Daniel held to a level of personal integrity which powerfully paved the way for the rest of his incredible service to the Kings that came and went during his lifetime.

Reading further and as the stories are told, with snapshots of encounters with the Kings, we find Secondly that Daniel honors Kings.

He honored the earthly kings, and he honored the King of Heaven.

Daniel sought to know the hearts and motives and values of the Kings, and his service was always in fact a service to each King. He came to deeply love the Kings, and wanted only success and safety and prosperity for them.

Daniel was that one by the side, the one of inestimable value.

And because of this, his influence grew and grew and grew.

For you see, the King could trust him.

Daniel had proven over and over that he was there for the King,

And because the King could trust him, he entrusted him with his Kingdom.

Now, it is the same in this life, with us as people in our jobs and companies and organizations, and it is the same with the King of this Universe.

Promotions happen as we prove our trustworthiness.

It is all a test,

“Who can I trust?” is the question every leader is asking.

The entire Bible is God’s letter sharing (his) heart with us. We find God’s nonnegotiables. We find God’s passions. We find God’s values. We find God’s manner of work and priorities.

God is putting it all out there, “Here read of me, find out what makes me tick, what is important to me. I am looking for those who will serve alongside me, but first you must know me. Who will take the time to study me?”

It is the wise person who studies God, to find out how to serve and to be of inestimable value.

Like any wise person in any company or organization, the one who wants to be advanced seeking to study and learn the values and priorities and heart,

In like form, as we pour ourselves out in service to The King,

Proving that we are oriented to the King,

Taking our cues from the King,

Seeing all of life as through the eyes of The King,

We will be entrusted more and more, bit by bit, with the King’s Kingdom.

Trusted with the King’s priorities and heart and vision…

Inestimable value

Without Guile

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P1270401 compressedThere have been many precious moments as I’ve been in Uganda.

With only two days until I leave for home they are beginning to replay through my mind. And a few are standing out as the very best moments.

Being my second trip to some of the same areas I’ve been re-meeting many. And while the women whom I didn’t meet on the first trip warmly greet me, those women I met before literally throw themselves into my arms.

Forget the handshake, forget any social protocol of greeting, enthusiastic arms-around-my-waist, head on my chest, hugs have been the standard of many.

And I’ll never forget the woman whom I danced with one day, and the next saw me at a distance and ran full on and into my arms in welcome.

I cannot quite describe the feelings produced in me at such unrestrained shows of affection, other than profound humility and a wondering at the impact I am bringing.

I really only get it in part.

The men too are not shy to hug and to welcome, and as they jostle for pictures and conversation we simply enjoy each others company.

And I’ll never forget the frail elderly man whose eyes begged a dance, and so hand in hand he and I dance a jig, a slow jig to be sure, but a jig nonetheless. And with beauty and joy pouring out of his eyes, loving adoration pouring over me I simply blessed him back with the honor of a dance.

It is the least I could do, and the most I could do.

Complete satisfaction.

At one school I visited, with the choir singing for me, a few of the boys one by one made their way to the front to express their delight with the movements of traditional Ugandan dance.

I so wish I had caught it on film. The strength and risk of men shining through these small ones as they took courage to strut-their-stuff as a gift of welcome for the visitor.

Quite simply brought me to tears, if I could have stopped right there and wept I would have.

The songs composed and made just for “our dear Cyndy” caught my heart just as strongly. And I wonder at how profoundly easy it is to bless others…

Simply get on a plane and visit some people.

But I know it is more of that. I trust the real impact is that I am bringing a touch of God with me. And more than me I trust it is God in me to which others are responding.

A few of the smallest children responded in unreserved and uncharacteristic abandon.

Most of the kids shyly yet confidently (they’ve been taught well how to greet a visitor) came forward extending their hands for a shake, greeting me with a ‘Welcome’. Others hung back, eyes wide and wondering, not quite sure about this visitor and certainly not interested in risking to touch.

And then there were a few set apart, whose actions caught my breath in my chest.

One little boy seeing I was near as I sat on a neighboring bench, all of a sudden came as a bee-line to my side and pressed in against my leg.

He couldn’t get close enough.

I wrapped my free arm around him (the other had a baby) and there he stayed for a good while, some twenty minutes easily. Leaning in, drawing something to himself, blessing me with his unreserved and abandoned company. My heart caught with the wonder of it.

And just the other day the same.

While visiting a community, listening to the song of a gentleman as he played for us, out of the corner of my eye I saw a Mom with her little girl in her arms. This little one was struggling to get down and I wondered what it was about.

I soon found out, for once she succeeded in being placed on the ground, she immediately came to me and in one fluid motion as if we had known each other since her birth and visited every day, she was on my lap.

And there she settled in. Leaning back her head on my chest, snuggling in without a care in the world.

I held her for some time, as we enjoyed the music together.

While I am blown away by the love and hugs and dances with the men and the women, these validations of the children are what catch me off guard.

Without masks and without guile they are the truest gauge in all the world. Children see what we as adults can no longer see. Their perceptions are the truest, their candor the most free.

“For such is the kingdom of heaven”

Something we can all hope to be one day.

Healing

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kids 2I’ve been learning about miracles. Waiting on the Lord for miracles. Been anointed time and again for signs and wonders.

The anointing has been increasing incrementally over the last few years, and exponentially the last few months.

Having been in the business of emotional healing and heart miracles for some time now, years of inner healing and deliverance has me completely confident that when I pray/declare something freed off of a person that it happens. It is done.

Strongholds are broken. New opportunities await. Lies are released. Freedoms are found. Bonds are finished. Strength is imparted.

There is no doubt. No double-mindedness. No wavering.

But when it comes to physical healing, I am still a novice.

Still learning, still experimenting, still trying to figure it out.

Two weeks ago, praying for person after person, there came a woman who had trouble with her colon; it would come out of her body when she used the toilet.

I am really glad that no one could tell what I was saying as I with quiet dismay softly prayed out loud,

“God, I haven’t the slightest clue what I am doing.”

“Nor how you heal this kind of thing. I simply ask that you heal her.”

I then received a picture of the fibers around her colon being stitched back together, so I declared this, spoke what I saw and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I don’t what happened for her, if anything. But the picture I received gives me hope that perhaps something healed for her that day.

A dozen or more people down the line, came a boy of about 12 who was deaf in his left ear. Again, in dismay and softly out loud, this was my prayer that time,

“God, I am afraid of having you pour through me. I feel as though you will consume me if you pour through. But today, I give you permission to destroy me if that is what it will take to heal this boy. I am okay with your destruction of me if it will heal him.”

And the boy was healed.

My hand was over his ear as I was praying that rather unorthodox prayer. I felt nothing, but upon testing he could hear.

We smiled, and those in line who had witnessed clapped.

And I wasn’t consumed, and I wasn’t destroyed, I’m here to tell about it.

What I am learning is that healing comes when ones heart is moved by God’s heart for another. This in turn moves God’s heart, and with two hearts in tandem for someone else, healings are the result.

But I am still afraid.

Afraid to pray individually over person after person for hours on end.

Afraid of exhaustion. Afraid of being consumed. Afraid of being poured out. Literally.

Simply afraid.

The day I prayed strongholds off of an entire area I was exhausted afterward. And with fifty children and twenty adults then pressing in for handshakes and hugs and well wishes, I was simply relieved that Moses had fired up the motorcycle and all I had to do was make a run for it and we were gone.

There are a lot of growing pains to go through in the months and years to come. I am glad I don’t have to learn it all at once.

And I am glad that God is big enough for my fear, and I am glad that God will wait on me as I adapt and grow into this calling.

And I am glad to know that what was hard years back is now easy today, and therefore, what is hard today, will simply be easy in the future.

That day of healings, as I was leaving there was a boy of about 7 years of age. His right hand was lame. It hung limp and useless. I touched his hand, spoke some words while I massaged it, willing healing to come.

I encouraged him to flex his fingers, to open and close his hand. The other children all around helped to tell him what I was wanting, and he began to move his hand, flexing his fingers in and out.

I don’t know if his hand has been healed or not.

But I realize that healing is the same muscle as being healed. We must flex it, and test it, and want it bad enough to risk it not happening, and to keep on asking anyway.

Small

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P1270042 compressedHaving come back from a lovely afternoon, I’m feeling a touch low as I write this today.

Met another group of fabulous folk, spoke a good word that the Lord had laid on my heart, prayed release of burdens, shook many hands, received warm accolades.

The same as every day.

Everywhere I go I receive, “We love you so much”

Women hugging me, running to me, children shaking my hands till I am almost buried under them, men deeply appreciative, warm handshakes all around

With a number every single day declaring, “I am changed today because of what you shared, Thank-you.”

With those who are with me, affirming and confirming all I am doing; amazed and inspired and changed themselves.

Testifying to what God is bringing through me, that we are seeing miracles of heart, mind and body.

So why am I feeling low today.

Because, as nice as validation and praise is, there is something as hollow in praise as there is in anything.

Regardless of our work, we come home at the end of the day and we are human; common, ordinary folk with ordinary problems.

Even when the work is not common, nor ordinary, we remain so,

And a vast dichotomy comes into existence.

You see, this dichotomy either drives us to our knees, or we must quit the work.

Whenever we enter into work far bigger than ourselves, we must be okay with profound humility.

That feeling of being very small.

The sense that one could be, is being, overwhelmed at any moment.

It is a vulnerable place. It is a fragile in the midst of great strength place.

And I think it is one of the reasons that we intuitively avoid great work.

Why we shy away from that which is bigger than us.

For we will find ourselves so much smaller than we ever imagined ourselves to be.

It is a misnomer (for the most part) that those in positions of great authority and power are arrogant.

My own experience is that it is the small and weak that rely on arrogance.

The government leaders, police chief leader, mayor and such that I met this trip, have been some of the most humble men I’ve met.

Men who stated, we cannot do this job on our own. We need help.

They know their frailty in the face of great responsibility. And that isn’t a place of pride, but of humility.

Coming face to face with all we are not, is one of the scariest things on earth.

And those stretching into something bigger than themselves, are the ones entering that place.

So, lets toss aside the false humility, that says we cannot do something great because “Who are we?”

That kind of thinking… is pride,

Humility on the other hand, enters into where one might be consumed and lost,

Pride protects self,

While humility gives self away.

Pride ensures we are up to the task,

While humility knows we are not,

And gets on with it anyway.

So I am simply feeling small today,

Something I’d better get used to,

As I’ve a feeling there is great work to do

100 Percent

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P1260776 compressedI am amazed at the audacity of some. Actually, the audacity of one.

The audacity that believes oneself the gatekeeper, the manager, the owner of another’s calling or dream or vision.

This picture that I’ve now embarked upon, of preaching and praying in Africa, was given to me some 30 years ago.

The preparation time: … 30 years

And I find myself in Africa with a particular individual, whom I’ve only known for four months, believing he is the boss, the manager of this gifting, the gatekeeper so to speak.

He is making (or trying to make) the decisions, calling the shots, and somehow all of a sudden I am on HIS team. Wow, how did that happen?!

What is so astounding, is he has no clue how ignorant he is being. Not the slightest clue.

I find this absolutely shocking. An arrogance of incredible proportions, I am stunned and without words.

Except, that along the way and during the latter half of my preparation years. There were those at home who imagined themselves the same.

The same arrogance, just slightly more refined and professional, and hidden.

It is an incredible evil.

Something must be said about this kind of thing. Not because I’ve found it in Africa, but because it is symptomatic around the world.

There is always someone who supposes him or herself the ultimate boss. Setting themselves up as the gatekeeper, the one to go through, the one to approve or not.

And we, like sheep, give them the say. We turn over the authority of our lives to the arrogant and ill-informed and puffed up.

We can  always spot them. They are the ones who ask no questions. Who do not seek to understand the bigger picture of our lives. They simply dictate, from their own best knowledge.

The one at home I invited time and again to check out what I was doing. Come to hear me at this place. Send another to find out when I am hosting this or that. Find out what you want, check it out, check me out.

It NEVER happened. Not once.

But still pronouncements of doom were given. Great threats and stories of bogey-men.

Arrogance – profound arrogance.

Not a stitch of those predictions have come true, not a one.

Bottom line is this: When we give our lives over to the opinions and ‘advice’ of those who fancy themselves the gatekeepers, we participate in the undoing of our lives.

We become party to the problem.

I’ll never forget years back now, speaking to a gentleman who worked at the Dream Center in L.A. about his work feeding the homeless, and of callings of the Lord.

He said this, “Your dream is yours, the vision given to you is yours to carry. It does not belong to any other, and no one else will carry it for you.”

True, succinct, profound.

We must carry the weight and responsibility and authority of the visions and callings given to us. Or quite simply we are not worthy of stepping into that very thing.

Whatever your vision or dream or calling, that thing in the back of your mind you’ve always thought of doing,

Protect it,

Nurture it,

Invest in it,

Cooperate with it,

And never, never, ever give it away.

It is yours 100%

Work that Satisfies

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P1260740 compressedIf my last trip to Uganda was called ‘Experiencing’ this trip is called ‘Learning’.

It’s as though all the previous dozen years of visions and prophecy and wisdom is coming together into one dynamic whole.

All of what I am to be about, and what I am not to be about, is getting washed through in the mix of these days.

Like panning for gold, all the superfluous matter is being washed away.

I can’t tell you how good this feels.

To have a vision fine-tuned down to the very work, to the very core, means there is so much not to be done, that simplicity is all that is left.

But it’s not been without it’s challenges. There are those who would like to take what I am bringing to the table and organize it and plan for it and around it and into the future with it.

But of course… none of that is going to happen.

We’ve entered a new era in time. It’s not just through what I am doing and how God is leading me, but it is showing up across the globe and in almost every sector of society.

It’s the ability to move with agility and to remain nimble. To move with clear purpose but without a plan that is unwieldy or locks any one of us into place.

It is the era of the artist.

No matter your work or aspirations, your gifts or callings, the work of an artist is that which flows out of the core of our beings. Artists best work comes in the flow of our days and out of the depths of our hearts.

The guiding mantra of the artist are not clocks and time-frames, calendars or others expectations, but work that exemplifies care and expertise, work of masters and skilled craftsmen,

Work delivered right on time

In the words of Frederick Buechner, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the worlds deep hunger meet.”

It is the work of an artist.

The way of 9-5 and you are guaranteed a paycheck have passed. (In case you didn’t know it).

The work that pays the most these days are the works that come out of our very guts. Out of our souls and spirits.

But it is exactly the kind of work we shy away from,

For it is work that requires we give of ourselves, in great risk and with great passion.

This is the kind of work, the only kind of work, that meets the worlds deep hunger.

And it is the only kind of work that will ever satisfy. And the world is ready and waiting for this work. For the very work that will spring from your core is desperately needed somewhere.

It’s why every time a baby’s birth is announced I write, “Welcome to the world little one, the world has been waiting for you.”

Because it’s true.

Every single one of us have something unique to bring to the world, and each one of us have been uniquely positioned to bring that something, whether we know it or not, whether we will go after it or not,

It is there, waiting to be released, waiting to bless and be blessed

Every one of us has something that others are desperate for. Every one of us has something that others have been praying for. Every one of us has a touch of God that will change lives,

If we just take the time to touch, to reach, to stretch out past our comfort zones.

It is an exhilarating ride to say the least, scary as heck, uncertain as anything ever was, but oh so stunning in the process,

The world truly is waiting for you

Aligned Just Right

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P1260728 flipped compressedI’ve had time today to reassess all the opportunities, invitations and open doors before us, knowing full-well that the most important job that a leader does is think.

Leaders are responsible for the steering of the ship, and whether that ship stays on due course or not.

I’ve spent my day thinking. Making sure that the ship I am steering will stay on due course.

And into the conversation with myself and the Lord has been this issue of doing the work or preparing the work.

Let me give you an example of what I mean:

I worked in the hospitality industry for a time. We served a lot of weddings and other such large banquets.

And when setting tables for say 300 people there are two styles of doing the job.

The First Style:

Count out eight plates and carry those plates to the table. Count out eight glasses and carry those glasses to the table. Count out eight forks, knives, spoons, spoon again, and carry those to the table. Count out eight napkins and carry those to the table.

Do this 37 times.

Make note that the tables are not yet set. In order to set the table, one must move the piles around and back and forth as the setting is finally made complete.

The Second Style:

Take a stack of plates in one arm, walk around the tables putting each plate in its proper place, continuing from table to table until the stack is gone. Go get another stack and repeat. Take a large handful of (in turn) knives, forks, spoons and spoons again, and walk around the tables placing the silverware at each place setting. Repeat until all tables have cutlery.

Take a bin of glasses on your hip and walk around…

You get the point.

Let me ask you, which style is preparing the work, and which style is doing the work?

I’ve got to say, in case you can’t tell, that the first style is merely preparing the work. The work is not to get piles of stuff to each table, the work is to set the table.

(Reminds me of a conversation with my daughter a few weeks back. She was mopping but left some spots on the kitchen floor to which I called her back saying, “The job is not to mash the mop over the floor, the job is to clean the floor” She could only chuckle in response as she went over the floor again.)

But getting back to setting the tables:

Which way of setting the tables takes more time?

I actually walked off a shift that insisted we do it the first way. There was no way $11 an hour was worth that much insanity and frustration. Actually, you couldn’t pay me $50 an hour to do a job that way.

And I’ve never lost the lesson.

Thank goodness. Just this evening I was asked by a gentleman what my strategy was for moving forward. I told him the strategy. It is simple and elegant, but not unwieldy nor over-planned. It is sustainable, but I must admit, it doesn’t look like much on paper.

But I am determined to do the work, and not over-plan the work, for only then am I am freed to be doing more work.

There has been suggestions of showcasing individuals on the website. A great idea at first glance. Why not? Well, I or someone else would be spending all their time at the computer. And we are not called to computer work.

Thoughts of planning curriculum (which I could do, wrote a book about how to do that for homeschoolers), but again, that is not the work I am to be doing. I could plan ad-nauseum and never actually get to what was planned. Don’t we do that all the time?!

We could build a building for training, or build a home base in Africa.

There has been talk of both these things from a few different folks.

The problem is, while we could say, “We have a base in Uganda” or “We have a school in Uganda” and sound very important and official and grand… I wouldn’t be actually doing the work I am called to do.

And all of a sudden we would be maintaining that building, caring for the building, improving the building, administrating the building… it wouldn’t end.

Caring for the school, administrating the school… you get the picture. The school is not the point, education is the point. And that we can accomplish much simpler through routes already established.

The same holds true of so many things, so many types of jobs. Where we spend our time planning and preparing and ensuring everything is set to go, and then planning and preparing and ensuring everything is set to go.

Meanwhile, the actual work is not done,

but boy do we ever feel great! (busy-work is a false placebo)

It can be quite a lot of balderdash.

All that to say, we must be about the work, the real work, the actual thing that is the job.

We do not shrink back from the real work, rather we engage, pour ourselves into the real work, risk for the work, fail and get back up again for the work…

There is no risk putting piles of dishes and cutlery on the table,

But setting that table, perfectly and aligned just right,

Now that take some guts and some willingness to engage