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JESUS: More Than Enough

Mar 8

Posted by matt in Praise the Lord, ministry | No Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of Jesus being “more than enough.” I know Tomlin’s popular “Enough” which talks about God being more than enough for us…but I’ve still been thinking about the concept. Definitely one of those “I know it’s true, but it’s such a crazy big concept, I want to sit inside it for a bit” moments.

I was drawn to John 6 – The Feeding of the 5,000 and how the disciples started with no food to feed all these people. Then a kid shows up with a few little buns and fish scraps and the disciples are thinking that could barely feed them let alone everybody else…but. Jesus says, it will be enough and then starts getting the food passed out.

How many times in our lives do we do that to ourselves? Look at the time to complete a task…”No way that’s enough.” Or maybe the strength to climb the big mountain in front of us “Don’t have enough.” Well, first reaction is usually right, at this is no different. You don’t have enough time, strength, money or whatever else it is you need. You think if Peter was like, “Okay everybody, I got some food here, everyone just take a small nibble as pass it along” hoping that at least he could feed a few dozen people and explain the shortage when the time came..?

Nope.

They were all like, “It’s not enough Jesus!” And what did Jesus say…It’s MORE than enough.

I’m not saying to leave late to work or go look for huge mountains to climb…but what I am saying is this. WHATEVER your facing. Lost keys, Lost job, Lost joy…He’s MORE than enough.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Posted in Praise the Lord, ministry | No Comments »

Balloon FAIL!

Mar 3

Posted by matt in Laughing, Videos | 1 Comment

I don’t even know what to say to this.  Thanks to THIS GUY (my on retainer silly video finder)

Popularity: 14% [?]

Posted in Laughing, Videos | 1 Comment »

Life is Busy

Mar 2

Posted by matt in Learning, Praise the Lord, RandR, family, life lessons | 1 Comment

The more days/months/years I get under my belt…the more I realize 2 things.

1) I know nothing. It funny how as you get older you realize not only how little you know, but how foolish you were. I had lunch a few weeks back with a good friend, and we talked about that exact thing…how “in our youth” we often count ourselves so much more highly than we ought AND take for granted the wealth of knowledge from those around us.

2) Life is getting busier. I remember years past when the most challenging thing on my “post-work agenda” was whether to play Madden or rock the DVR…not so today. Between growing responsabilies and work and @ home…life is definitely NOT slowing down.

So. Why do I write this? Well the first inclination might be that I haven’t blogged for 20 days, and unlike blogging rockstars like THIS GUY I have…well…left something to be desired…

But more than that…I find myself circling the wagons a little lately. I had a LONG conversation last night with a guy in my small group about the calling of a man to 1st be a good disciple 2nd be a good husband/father and 3rd be a good worker/employee/etc. God doesn’t need your 41st hour @ work. He doesn’t need the 3rd garage in your house or the new surround-sound speaker system…you know what though….He does ASK you to give ALL that you have and follow Him.

As life gets busier…compromising gets easier. Prayer for PS3…Devotions for David Letterman…it’s not that far a jump. Within a matter of days a slip becomes routine and then your “down and out.” One of the disciplines I’ve been pursuing lately is substituting good things for GODLY things. T.V isn’t bad…neither is PS3…but you know what is more that “not bad”….JESUS CHRIST. I want to love Him, live for Him, serve Him, follow Him and Lead people to Him whenever I can…and unfortunately…”busy” is in the way.

So why do I write this? I clearly DON’T have it figured out…

Well, that’s the point. No one does. I’m just a dude trying to live for the only thing worth living for. I get in my own way sometimes, but the Lord is gracious and leads me back to where I know I ought to be.

Thank-you Jesus.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Posted in Learning, Praise the Lord, RandR, family, life lessons | 1 Comment »

I Want to Work @ Google

Feb 14

Posted by matt in Business, Very Cool!, Videos, are you kidding me?, tech-stuff | No Comments

…a resume EVERY 25 SECONDS!

I want to work @ Google.

Hey Google Recruiters..DM Me!

Popularity: 31% [?]

Posted in Business, Very Cool!, Videos, are you kidding me?, tech-stuff | No Comments »

How to Suffer Well…

Feb 3

Posted by matt in Praise the Lord, family, life lessons | 1 Comment

Suffering is a topic that is seldom discussed but always talked about. Meaning: Lots of people talk about suffering…give verses on suffering…tell you how sorry they are about suffering…BUT rarely do we hear from people IN suffering ABOUT their suffering.
IMG_0125For those of you that know me well, you know that my Grandma (or Nana as I call her) has ALS or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” My Nana is an amazing woman.

<==Here is a picture of her holding Stella right after she was born. Go check out her blog HERE. God continues to be glorified in and through her and although she cannot talk, her heart speaks volumes to the grace and faithfulness of the Lord. Last week I had the opportunity to visit with her and I continue to be amazed at how she “suffers well.”

I read an article about the recent happenings in the life of Matt Chandler and his family.  Matt is the Teaching Pastor @ The Village Church, and is definitely a well-known teacher and leader within the Evangelical Church.  Check out this quote from the article…

“Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.”

It makes me truly wonder how anyone…apart from God can “suffer well.” The overwhelming peace it Matt’s responses…the unexplainable joy in the face of my Nana…it comes from Jesus…nothing else. The craziest and most convicting part for me is this:

When I’m having a crappy day. When someone yells at me. When I’m feeling “off.” Praising God is not easy. How much MORE difficult is it to praise him when my life is REALLY off the tracks. The token question that naysayer’s always go to is “Why do bad things happen to good people..?” I understand now more than ever before. It’s not as much about God letting the bad things happen, but rather what He does in and through the “good people.”

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Whether it’s the depravity in Haiti, a terminal illness, or just a bad say…STILL I will praise the Lord. God remind me of that truth when I forget.

Popularity: 54% [?]

Posted in Praise the Lord, family, life lessons | 1 Comment »

My Favourite Sister.

Jan 31

Posted by matt in Uncategorized | No Comments

22477_216467752046_515212046_3603117_4966100_nOkay…so I only have one, so that doesn’t count..but she is pretty cool (just don’t tell her I said so).

Today she got baptized. I’m very proud of her…Firstly it’s a step of obedience as a public declaration of her love for Jesus and secondly…(see firstly).

Some people say that she’s like a female version of me…I guess two things come to mind when I hear that.

1) Yikes. Not sure that’s a compliment to her as I barely look good as a dude…let alone a girl
2) Sweet. Cuz if I’m like her it means that I have lots of friends, am super fun to be around and am one of the most unpredictable people in the world!

Must be number one, because I have no friends and am as dull as the knife in my kitchen drawer.

Anyway, back to baptism. Emma inspires me to live out who God has called me to be, and I am SURE that I’m not the only one. This day has been a long time coming and is a declaration and commitment to live out who God has called HER to be…So Emma…keep it up.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Popularity: 46% [?]

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Sushi Night

Jan 30

Posted by matt in family, friends, fun times, hailey, just for fun | No Comments

sushi11Tonight my brother-in-law Jordan and his girlfriend came over. We made homemade sushi. I’m definitely a FAKE sushi-lover. I like California Roll and stuff that FOR SURE isn’t really sushi…I haven’t made anything ridiculous like “hamburger sushi” but I walk the line with teriyaki chicken sushi…

Anyway, it’s cool to step-outside of the casserole box and eat something cool @ home.

Here’s hoping I don’t wake up in the night with food poisoning…

Popularity: 49% [?]

Posted in family, friends, fun times, hailey, just for fun | No Comments »

Snuggie…For Geeks?

Jan 26

Posted by matt in are you kidding me?, bazinga!, just for fun | 4 Comments

The Snuggie for Geeks…If you didn’t hate it before…you will now.
snuggie-10snuggie-5snuggie-2

Popularity: 60% [?]

Posted in are you kidding me?, bazinga!, just for fun | 4 Comments »

Conan O’Brien…A Class Act

Jan 23

Posted by matt in Very Cool!, Videos | No Comments


I have always loved Conan O’Brien. I believe he is one of the only “Late Night Guys” that isn’t crass and perverted. “Don’t Be Cynical”…something we could all apply to some degree!

So Conan…I’ll see you in September on FOX. In the meantime, enjoy the $32M NBC gave you as hush money ;)

Popularity: 57% [?]

Posted in Very Cool!, Videos | No Comments »

Seth Godin…”It’s NOT going to be O-K”

Jan 22

Posted by matt in Business, Hands on Education | No Comments

speegle_ok500_artworkimage-thumb-500x341I read a post today by Seth Godin on his blog. I own pretty much every book he’s written, and believe, as an author he does a great job of mixing whit and humor with solid business principles.

In post discuss’ how things (inspite of what we try to tell ourselves) don’t always end up “okay.” The line “change, by definition, changes things” for sure resounded with me, especially in the context of working through a job change and such. The fact is, I/we try to tell ourselves that change is okay..change is good..and although both those things are true, the fact that change is difficult and/or sometimes makes you feel like crap gets tossed to the sidelines.

While I’m on the “Seth Godin Topic,” I found his take on the concept of invention/medium evolution to be very interesting. Although not original, the phrasing sheds new light on an aged old concept. Here’s how Seth said it:

1. Technicians who invented it, run it
2. Technicians with taste, leverage it
3. Artists take over from the technicians
4. MBAs take over from the artists
5. Bureaucrats drive the medium to banality

I’ve heard the “early innovators rarely get paid” before, but to stage-out the process of business/concept evolution like this helped me in framing the illustration and ideas of the concept itself.

Popularity: 58% [?]

Posted in Business, Hands on Education | No Comments »

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