Failure is the fuel for growth!

Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law; (Psalm 94:12 NIV)

I am wrong! 

Those are key words in the life of any human on this planet. The ability to admit errors and to accept consequences helps us grow. I certainly know how tough this is. I struggle with admitting I am wrong, yet I am always looking for ways to get better. That is the next step. The first is to admit your error. The second is, decide what you are going to do about it.

I teach Math. Students love to see me make mistakes. Any teacher that can't admit their mistakes is a failure as a teacher. Students need to see it's ok to make mistakes. It's ok to fail. I have seen the consequences of not being comfortable admitting wrong doing. When someone can't deal with their own errors, they always resort to covering up those mistakes. Publicly admitting you are wrong is nearly impossible for some people.

God brings discipline in the midst of our errors in life. He doesn't want to punish. He wants us to grow from our failures. If there were no consequences for mistakes, what incentive would we have to change. None of us is sinless. None can claim the righteous ground. Yet, when we confess our sins, God is there to lift us up. He is there to help us endure the humiliation and the consequences. He is there to help us grow and recover stronger than before. There is a reason for our mistakes. They are the fuel for growth! Praise God!

Dear Lord forgive me for my sins. Forgive me for my arrogance and trying to act perfect. Help me to use the failures and mistakes of my life to grow closer to you. All I do is for you Lord and I know you want nothing but the best for me. I praise you for your wondeful love and grace. Amen!

No mistakes!

Psalm 25 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ¹ In you, LORD my God,
   I put my trust.
 ² I trust in you;
   do not let me be put to shame, 
   nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
   will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
   who are treacherous without cause.

The life of an Athletic Director is all about making sure no mistakes are made. I am absolutely paranoid about making mistakes. I have checklists for nearly everything. My memory it terrible. Before every basketball game I go over a checklist of about 40 items from all the workers, to ordering Chick Filet sandwiches. I rely heavily on my wonderful secretary to keep me from messing up. We are a great team. She bails me out so many times.

 I never relax for an event until the workers, teams and officials arrive.

About 4 years ago, I had a track starter not show up. I tried to call him earlier that week and even earlier the day of the meet. No answer. The meet was scheduled to start at 5pm. At 4:45, no starter. I went into panic mode. The IHSAA says you can't start a meet without a licensed starter. I started calling every starter in northern Indiana. I finally got in touch with a new starter who was on his way home from work. He said he didn't even have a starter pistol. I did. He agreed to come. He got there at about 5:30pm, in a suit and tie. He had never started a meet and had just got his license. I told him I would help him. The meet went off wonderfully. Most people had no idea about my terror!

As a Christian, I should be the same way. I should do everything possible to keep from sin. I should be so worried about the example. I, like David, should be worried about being put to shame. Instead, we take sin so lightly. We are quick to ask forgiveness and not so quick to work at preventing the sin in our lives. We certainly can't do it on our own. We need "check lists" (the Bible) to help us stay on the path. We need constant communication with our creator in order to fight the battle in our hearts. The great news.......God still loves us. He is pained by our sin, but he doesn't give up on us even when we make mistakes.

Thanks God for your patience and your grace. Amen!

You're the Message so---Don't Mess-up!

1 Thessalonians 1 (The Message)

 ^7-10Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master's Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don't even have to say anything anymore—you're the message!


I have had so many people say they read my blogs.  So, every night I sit down, look through the verses for the night and instantly feel pressure.  I feel like I just have to come up with something "valuable" to write. I don't know exactly how big the provinces of Madedonia and Achaia were. Maybe they were the size of Dekalb County or maybe northeast Indiana.  Regardless of how big they were,  I am sure Paul felt a little pressure when he was asked to share the message.  i don't want to build-up my little blog as having a bigger impact than it has. But, I do feel pressure when I think about what I write and then how I live my life every day.  I feel so exposed in that, just like Paul, I am sharing my faith. What happens if I mess up?  What happens if people discover the mistakes I have made in the past? What happens if I don't live up to my own words?  I don't want to be a hypocrite!

The message for Christians is the same across the entire planet.  People are watching you and you ARE going to mess-up! I really think that's why so many Christians don't share their faith.  It exposes them to the pressure to live up to the message of christ. When people really don't know your beliefs, it's easier to just act how every you want. When we openly talk about our faith, we open ourselves up to criticism by those who don't understand the true message of Christ. We should not feel that kind of pressure.  We need to know that we are going to sin.  We are not perfect.  We will mess up.  We shouldn't spend so much time worrying about messing up.  We should spend more time trying to figure out how to react to our mess ups.  We should be more humble, more honest, more accepting, and more open about our mess-ups.  The only way we can lead a life where we are exposed to the scrutiny of "the world", is to rely heavily on the grace of God to help us through. When we rely on our own understanding, our own will, and our own resolve we are in for a big fall and we are in danger of destroying the message we are trying to share.

God's grace is sufficient to get us through. He is the only judge we need to face. When we accept the fact that we will fail and that Gods grace wipes away those mistakes, we can live a life that is truly free!

Dear Lord, Please provide me with your wisdom.  Please provide me with your grace.  I want so much to present your pure message to the people I know.  Yet, I know I am a sinner.  Help me to be open and honest with those who see me everyday! Help them to see me as a humble servant who accepts your grace and realizes without it I have no message to share.  With your grace, I am the message! Amen!