Warning: Political Message inside.............I love my Governor!

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.............If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” Romans 12:2, 8 NLT (http://bible.com/116/rom.12.2,8.nlt)

It's been several months since I posted, what I believe, is a political message. I've been laying low. I want to use social media to "build up", not "tear down". Our society has turned ugly. We are posting horrendous things about people. If you kill a lion it's fair game to threaten your life. It's so ironic and ridiculous! We love to hate politicians and are down right vile if we disagree with them. So I know this post will really get the ire up on many of my Facebook friends. I don't care! 

In keeping with my commitment to purely positive posts, I want to praise my governor, the Governor of the state of Indiana. I ride by a sign every day, in my neighborhood, that says "Pence must go!" Yesterday I got to shake his hand and tell him how much I appreciate him. I was able to personally encourage him to keep fighting the good fight. We talked and I was able to observe his interaction with a group of regular Hoosiers. I am proud to have a Governor that stands for religious freedom. I'm proud to have a governor who is fiscally responsible even when it requires tough decisions. I am proud of my state. Many of my educator friends hate Governor Pence. I might not always agree with him. I'm not sure I would ever agree with every decision of any politician. I do not agree with the handKing of the State Superintendent controversy. But, I support most of his policies. He wants competition in education. Im not afraid to compete with charters or private schools. I will stack my School against anyone, we provide the best education with the best staff, anywhere. He wants teachers evaluated and paid on merit. So do I. I don't want bad teachers to get the same pay as I do and I don't want them to stay in education. I'm not afraid to be evaluated. If I need to get better, I will. If I am doing a good job, I want to be rewarded. I WANT to be paid by the quality of my teaching. He doesn't want to spend money we don't have and he wants to save money for a rainy day. He doesn't want my religion to be the focus of ridicule and persecution. To sum things up, he cares about people and that gets my vote every time.

I love that my governor is a normal, cowboy boot wearing, ride through the rain on a motorcycle, talk to a biker, then goof around with a bunch of kids, kind of guy. I love it when he can poke fun at himself and accept a compliment with genuine humility. I love it that he would shake every hand of every state police officer and praise them publicly for the job they do. This is not an evil man as teachers union leaders, liberals, gay rights activists, and special interest groups want to make him out to be. He's my governor and I like him. 

Yep, you can go ahead and start hatin right now. You can unfriend me or post your furious outrage. I choose to lift up my leaders, support them, and most importantly, pray for them every day! Praise God Indiana has been blessed with a wonderful leader. Thank you Governor Pence for your support yesterday and I pray the Holy Spirit will guide you through the rest of your life. Amen!

The encourager!

When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, (Acts of the Apostles 20:1-2 NLT)

How do you go about preaching the Gospel? So much of what we hear is gloom and doom. Society has gotten very skeptical and cynical. Even Christians feel obligated to bear the bad news. I really wish we would just emphasize the positives of life with God. Realistically we need to spend more time encouraging new believers, young followers and even stalwarts of the faith.

Life is not easy. So spreading encouragement could be exactly what people may need. It's so much easier to face trials if you hear the voice of your family and friends shouting encouragement. Life is going to be difficult at times. It is guaranteed! It may feel there is no way you can handle it. That is where you need your friends in the faith to come along side and encourage you. 

Send out an email, call someone, or go visit them. Do it specifically with the attitude to encourage them and let them know you are behind them. Bring the light of Jesus into their lives at the point where they need him the most.

Cross Country Runners!

Romans 15

 ⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I now have a granddaughter who is a Cross Country Runner. I love Cross Country. I enjoyed Coaching CC so much and now that Lauren is running it brings back fond memories. Cross Country is a tough sport. Not only in running a 5k race, but also in running every day. Workouts grow in order to  build endurance. Endurance is built by lengthening your training runs and by increasing the speed at which you can maintain that endurance. The job of the coach is to design the workouts. But, the highest priority of the Cross Country Coach is encouragement. Endurance and encouragement go hand-in-hand. You can't build endurance without receiving encouragement. You have to have encouragement from your Coach, Family, Friends, and your teammates.

As Christians, we need to have that same combination. In order for us to endure the pains and struggles of this life, we need encouragement. Our main source is God. Those who know the Lord get a great dose of encouragement through their Lord and Savior. I am not the least of these. My life's struggles have been the subject of many of these Blog Posts. Yet, through it all, God has been there to encourage me through those times. I am constantly in awe of how he speaks to me. He speaks through his word, through prayer, through the message of my pastor, through my CMA friends, through my family, and through my co-workers. Even when I am down, I have hope. That hope is in and through Jesus.

Praise God for helping me endure and encouraging me to move toward him! Praise God!

We all need Encouraged!

Romans 1

 ¹¹ I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 

I have been worn out and frustrated quite a bit over the last month. Being exhausted and frustrated are not a good combination. But, I am ENCOURAGED by my friends. When things aren't going well you can always tell who your real friends are. They encourage you and they jump in and help.  Without the encouragement of my wife, daughters, secretary, my CMA buddies, and some wonderful co-workers, I would be a wreck! 

These people have done wonderful things to make me stronger. They have pitched in to help. They have listened. They have encouraged me to move forward. As Christians this may be one of our highest callings. It is not always easy to live in a sinful world. It is not always easy to deal with people who do not share our own values and convictions. It is not easy to stand up for what is right. God has sent us fellow christians to help us through these times. He has sent us to encourage and to be encouraged. We all need to work together in this life. It's not a one sided transaction. It's mutual. We need to provide mutual encouragement. 

Lift someone up today. Pray for them. Listen to them. Offer a kind word. Thank them. Lend a hand. What ever it takes to help a fellow believer, do it!