Great reminder about time

New Year
In this New Year I am already being challenged.  The first challenge came with the speaker session.  The short of it was that we need to fight for our time with God, family, and so on.  The other challenge is with my marriage.  I'm taking my wife on a little trip to take some time to just be together just her and I. But we also sat down and really to a good look at our self, marriage, and our new little family.  

Theme
That's right I am having us do a theme.  Our theme is Schedule.  I know that might seem scary or legalistic but we I am trying to do for my family and my self is to have a plan so there is freedom (sound familiar).  We are now scheduling out a great dinner meal plan, date nights, couples hang outs, financial goals, personal goals, and marriage.  I have to make that time for my self and Amanda so that we time in God's word, time together, and time with others in fellowship.  This schedule took some effort but I have already seen the pay off.

Example
I now wake up with Amanda early so I can get more time in the word and get ready for the day before the "bubba" gets up.  At night when Amanda gets home from school she plays with "bubba" then while I am getting dinner ready she put him down for a nap and then takes that time to be in the word.

It has been awesome for our family already!  I know some maybe reading this and not be married or have a family but the take way from this is Schedule, Be intentional, Purposeful or whatever you want to call it so that you might have an impact on your self and others.  

Ephesians 5:16-17 ESV 

Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Identity...its never too early

I would like to introduce my son Timothy Jace Nicholson.  He was born at 3:23pm and weighing 7lbs 10OZ and 20.5 in long on 6/6/11.  Amanda did great through the whole things and it was a smooth delivery.  Both are doing great and we are having a great time hanging out with our little man finally.  No one has known the gender of the baby but me. So I have been able to praying for him by name this whole time. Knowing he is a boy there are a few things that I have been praying over him.

The Name: Timothy Jace (he will go by Jace)
Timothy – “honoring God” I pray that my son honors God in his words and actions.
Jace – “healer” I pray that my son will be a part of healing people through mercy, grace, and leadership. More importantly pointing others to the true healer – Jesus

There are two areas that I was praying/speaking identity in to his life already. It’s never too early.

Influence as a man: I want him to be a man that is Humble and Bold.  As a man in today’s world my prayer is that he is a humble leader that speaks with a bold truth.

Influence as a follower of Christ: my biggest prayer is that God draws my son to Him quickly so that he can be on mission for God. My other prayer is that he honors God and that He uses him to be a part of healing broken people through speaking truth in mercy.  It’s a tough world that needs believers to be there for people and do it with God’s help.

This has been a huge blessing already that God has in trusted me with a boy and I thank Him for this amazing gift and I am so ready to do life with him.  It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly.  I pray for wisdom and know that God has placed some mighty men in my life that will help me be a loving husband and father

Proverbs 23:24
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him

Roots: Dig in and Stand Firm

There are times in life where things just get rough.  Christ never said it would be easy, which we all know that but don't we want it to be easy.  I have a lot of things going on this past year.  Great things in fact: we moved into a house, I changed jobs, and we found out that my wife is pregnant.  As I look back on this past season I have seen a weakness in my life.  “My tree” (me) was shaking more than I would have liked for it to.  Now I stood strong with God mercy and love but I felt as if I swayed more than should have. 

So what do I do to fix this?
Dive down for nourishment:  I had to have my roots dive down for God’s word.  I decided to get a new bible.  Why, well I felt myself living on my old notes.  I need to grow up and go deeper find new and remember the old as well.  I still look back at that bible for the Godly wisdom that might have been scribbled in that old bible but I don’t relied on it.  There is great water and nourishment the deeper I go.
New roots:  I am growing new roots.  I have had the opportunity to get in a bible study with my community group at church.  The fellowship and shared experience has been awesome! Plus we are going through a book and it has forced my wife and I to spend time reading together.  I am also in a bible study with 9 other men at 6:30am.  Maybe not early for some but for me it’s kinda new.  It has pushed me to dig deep in the word so I can in away more clearly articulate what I believe.  I have also been reading books…which I am not a reader.  This is a discipline that I am still growing in but it has given me some new roots.

As a man desiring God and wanting to be a light in dark places I need have a great root system that dives deep for great nourishment and a great root system to help me stand firm and not waiver.  For the glory of the Lord.  

Colossians 2
6) Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7) rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Spending Time

A few weeks ago I had the chance to spend time with just my wife and I.  We had a blast just being with one another and not worrying about being or doing anything.  As we were driving home on that Sunday I thought to myself, “Did I spend all the time I had with her wisely”?  Yes and No.    Here are a few things that I am starting to do that will help me not only in my marriage but in many areas. 

Become a better question asker – If you are like me I am not great at this so I need to practice. “Practices… you talking about practices”?  Yes, I am starting small and learning from my wife about how to ask questions that matter.  I have an Iphone so I am starting to put great questions into my phone.  I want what I talk about sometimes to matter. So the questions in my phone are just a starting point.  The end goal is for it to not be about me and naturally be about others.  Again, I think I am ok at this but I want to be BETTER.

Share – With my wife I don’t do a good job sharing with her with what is going on in my life and walk with Christ.  It sounds silly but she loves to be apart of my life and with her being in the know of how I feel or how crazy life is she knows how to be there for me.  The same is true for me to be there for her.  We need to do this with those who are important in our life.  Keeping each other up to date is so important but I don’t think we take the time to do it.

Encourage – This one for me is really hard.  I just assume that she knows how awesome/amazing she is.  She is confident in who God made her but as her husband I should let her know how I feel…not in a shallow way but intentionally.  I think we take for granted that God has placed remarkable people in your life that need to hear how you see Christ in them.  If they are not a believer they still need to hear encouragement as well.  

Salty,Thirsty, Tasteless

I got home the other day after a long day at work and was thirsty. All I wanted was something to drink!  I walked in the door and went straight for the fridge. I was surprised after thinking back on the day that I hadn't had a drink.  I realized that it was pretty dry day spiritually as well.  I am sure most have found themselves in the same place before.

As I read through Matthew 5 I was reminded of that thirst and thought about the verse that has been read so many times in verse 13.  Am I salty?  Not do I taste salty like but am I salty so that others are thirsting after God.  I want to be super salty that others see Christ love and hope in my life that they thirst for more of God. Sometimes I even forget that I am suppose to be that way with the great christian men and women I work with.  We should be salty everywhere with the hope that those around us desire that crisp drink from the great provider, our Heavenly Father. 

Warning: don't be tasteless. 

Matthew 5:13 (English Standard Version)

Salt and Light

 ¹³"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet

a reminder...a legacy or more

Dr. Evans spoke this weekend at our Pine Cove Men’s Conference and did a great job challenging us as men to lead our family. As a new father to be I came away thinking about my legacy as a father and husband. I started to think well it all starts now, but I look at my life and realized I have been shaping that legacy for a long time. I remember my own dad waking up in the morning rocking in his chair and reading his bible. That sound of that chair reminds me that it take every day to build that legacy with a man diving into God’s word and living it our day after day. I remember as a freshman in college taking time that I was wasting getting a older wiser man to come beside me and keep me accountable. I remember other men doing the same thing in my life, pouring into me, shaping me, and knocking off some rough edges. I have had great people around me to call me out, encourage me, and love me even when I fail. I remember…I have an amazing wife that helps me remember that it is more than a legacy. She reminds me that I am a Godly man because that is what he has called me to be.

All those reminders are just that, reminders to help me keep on track. But now what do I do? I use what God has given me and put around me and be a light in a dark place so that I can be a reminder to what Christ has done. The reminder of the God News.

Am I being me?

Story: I love being someone else on stage during a skit at camp. A dumb bad guy who always gets things wrong or a good guy that some how gets the job done and saves the day. I love to try different voices and just be someone else for a little while.

The problem: There are times through out my life that I look back and wonder what I was thinking. I would try to act cool like some other kids in my school but at the end of the day I always felt even more out of place. Even years later I would try to be like those I worked around.

Scripture: David in a way, shows us that we need to be who God has made us. In 1 Samuel 17:38 – 40 he is being outfitted to go into battle with things that were not made for him. He was being fitted into Saul’s armor. It was not made or crafted for David so he most people would have done in that situation which was to…take it off??? Wait what!!! Did he not know that he was about to battle a GIANT? I would have had every piece of armor I could have on me to protect me plus I would have gone out looking like I was a warrior.

Application: Isn’t that true of most of us? We put on things that we think we should in a figurative way wear. Whether that be the way we act around others or the way we lead or the way we want to be seen as the funnier person to be around, God wants us to be who He has made us to be. It didn’t fit David so he just didn’t wear, also had a faith that was unmatched in God. He faced the battle with courage knowing that God was calling him to be himself and face a challenge with Gods help and guidance.

Think about it: I hope that I will do the same with the battle of life. If it doesn’t fit don’t wear it. Be me and have faith that the way God has made me was on purpose to further His kingdom with the gifting and personality that God has given me.