The Ultimate Journey, Phase 3

Last week I started the final phase of The Ultimate Journey/Christ-Life Solution. This phase is called "Embracing Self-Surrender." I'm excited, but nervous.

I know that God is in control of my life, and during phase three I'm going to learn what it means to abide in Christ and experience the blessings of a life surrendered to Him. During this phase of The Ultimate Journey, I will be allowing the Lord's life to be revealed in and through me.

Here we go!

Prepare for battle

To the men out there -- and the women who love them -- I highly recommend the book "A Rattling of Sabers:  Preparing Your Heart for Life's Battles."

This book, which was released this summer, is by Dr. Greg Bourgond, the creator of the Heart of a Warrior program. I went through his Heart of a Warrior and Focus of a Warrior studies. They were excellent programs designed to align one's heart with God's heart and to find out what we are supposed to do in life.

If there is anyone that I know who wants to see men succeed, it's Dr. Bourgond.

Social media for ministry

Pastors and church staff generally have too much on their plates, so how are they supposed to harness the power of social media to spread God's Word?

Well, they can learn a bit on October 23, when a cool event will be happening in Des Moines, Iowa. It's called the BeDeviant Summit. The mission of the summit is to create a network of social web-savvy ministry professionals and inspire them to use social media in their specific contexts.

There will be several presenters, including Justin Wise, the summit's organizer. Here's how to register.

Follow-up to TV moratorium

Here's an update on how my family's TV moratorium went in August.

It was very challenging, especially for my wife (who likes to watch TV) and my son (who loves to play video games). There were constant cries of "I'm bored" coming from my son. We did spend more quality time together, although since it was summer and my son could go outside, he spent a lot of time with his friends.

We didn't really play any board games, although we did talk and get to know each other better. During the exercise, I did not really hear God more or get closer to Him.

Unemployment has drawn me very close to Him, though.

Sage Series

John Eldredge has outlined the six stages of a man's life, of which the last stage is the "Sage" stage. After leading a group of fathers of sons through "Raising a Modern-Day Knight," I will be co-leading a group in meetings called the "Sage Series."

The series, which starts September 28 with Pastor Scott Peterson of Living Waters Church, will feature sages sharing their insights on how to raise sons.

We're still looking for sages (who are fathers of sons themselves) in the Twin Cities area to speak to our small group. If you have any suggestions, contact me.

Understanding spiritual warfare

Cindy Trimm

I am convinced that spiritual warfare exists. Every time that I get closer to advancing the Kingdom, the devil steps it up to discourage my efforts.

But how does one handle the battle?

Charisma magazine is hosting a conference call with Cindy Trimm, author of "The Art of War for Spiritual Battle," on Tuesday night. On the call, Trimm will be sharing key tactics and strategies for spiritual warfare.

Unemployed. . .(sigh)

I have written before on this blog how God has guided my career (see this post and this post).

Well, due to staffing adjustments, I was laid off from my employer on Aug. 31 (my son's ninth birthday). I can only assume that God is continuing to guide my career. I remember when I was in college how scared I was, thinking that there might not be a job for me when I graduated. (My dad was let go from his job the summer before I started college, so I believe my fear was directly related to that.)

I was terrified of getting laid off at some point in my career, and now it has happened. My only choice is to live by faith, to see what God has in store for me.