Last night I posed a random question to some friends while we ate dinner. I jokingly told them that this question was a gauge of the depth of their spiritual life:

“Did you cry when you watched “The Passion of the Christ” for the first time?”

There were 3 women and 2 men (including me) in the conversation, and I was the only one to say that I didn’t cry.

I remember sitting in the crowd at the movie theater and realizing that I might be the only one not crying. There was a symphony of sniffing and snorting going on, but not in my seat. I loved the movie, and felt a deep appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ, but I didn’t want to cry! Maybe it was because I knew how the story would end.

What a spiritual zero, right?! It probably didn’t help when I laughed/snorted a little after seeing Jim Caviezel’s butt in the final scene. No, YOU grow up.

I don’t cry much, but it happens:

• I’ll get choked up while preaching sometimes… especially with my students.
• THIS EPISODE of “16 and Pregnant” got me to cry. Not as much as my wife who was sitting next to me, but it broke me down. Yep, an MTV show got me to cry but not The Passion of the Christ. *Disclaimer: I love Jesus more than MTV. I don’t even have cable any more.
• I remember crying in one of the Star Wars movies when I was a kid… I think it was when the Ewoks had to leave, or one of them died… either way I remember my older brother catching me crying and making me feel like a little sister. *Disclaimer: I don’t have baggage that effects my ability to cry.
• I cried like a big girl when my wife was walking down the aisle at our wedding.

So… did YOU cry at The Passion of the Christ?

If not, what gets you choked up?

A number of years ago our son was invited to his friend’s 4th birthday party. Bursting with anticipation, he was most excited about finding his friend a birthday present. Finally the great day arrived. We drove our son over to the little boy’s house, took him to the door, met the hosts and then said goodbye. We arrived back a few hours later and quickly saw a much less enthusiastic boy get into the car. We could tell right away that something was up. We asked,

“How was the party son?”

“Oh, alright… I guess.”

“Why? What’s the matter? Didn’t you have a good time?”

“Yes… but I didn’t get any presents!”

“But… um, son, it wasn’t your party.”

Unconvinced and unconsoled, he sat for the rest of the ride home generally depressed by the seeming injustice of it all.

That story comes to life every week in some churches when people’s hopes aren’t met. Tens of thousands of people with thousands of different “worship preferences” attend church every Sunday all over the world. How many of them walk away with the same attitude as that little boy when they say things like, “I didn’t get anything out of it…”.

That story reminds me that worship isn’t an experience for me, it’s a gift for God, on Sundays or any other day. It’s not ultimately about me, it’s about Jesus. I’ve been invited to the party, but it’s not my party. My focus should be on God- not my feelings, likes, dislikes, preferences, emotions or opinions. God should be at the center, not me. I should adjust my preferences to accommodate his feelings, likes, dislikes, preferences, emotions and opinions. If anyone should receive anything on Sundays, it’s Jesus.

Preferences are fine, and it’s OK to like or dislike certain things. We’re human; that’s normal. But our worship should be God-centered, not man-centered. The difference is huge.

Please pray for us while we are gone. Pray that God would open our eyes and hearts, that He would stretch us, use us, and be glorified through everything that happens. Pray that our team would be united as one! We have a very diverse group of students and staff going with us, which is a good thing

I called my cable company and told them I wanted an Internet-only option. They tried to offer me all sorts of discount to keep my cable and phone, but I was persistent and talked them down to $55 a month for high-speed Internet. That’s $116 less per month than I was paying!

The Roku has channels that provide us with plenty to watch. We have a Netflix account and a Hulu Plus account, so we’re able to see all of the shows that we watched (just a day later when they’re online).

I’ll miss live sports, but I’ll use ESPN3.com for some of that. I’ll probably buy the NBA Game Time feature and get 40+ live games a week.

I’ll miss CNN, but I can always use their website too.

I’ve got Pandora playing right now, which is a nice break from the TV.

My router died today, after about 8 years of use, so I went and bought a new Netgear router that’s even faster than my last one.

So I’m done with cable, and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. I can think of 500 better things to do with $116 every month, and I don’t feel like I’m missing much.

You can find some more great info about making the switch away from cable HERE and HERE.

I work in a cubicle.

I don’t love cubicles, but the cube doesn’t mean anything to me.

I love my job, so I don’t even think about the cubicle. If I hated my job I would probably hate my cubicle, and I’d probably be tempted to spray paint on walls. I wonder if he felt better after spraying that…

It’s Monday morning and thousands of people are in their cars right now on their way to their cubes.

I almost always ask someone what they do when I first meet them. My next question is usually, “Do you enjoy it?”. I meet a lot of people who say the same thing:

“It pays the bills… I don’t love it, but it’s a job.”

Now, if you’re a rat in a rat race then I have no advice for you. Keep chasing the cheese…

But if you’re a Christian, the bible calls you an ambassador of Christ, a “minister of reconciliation”, and a light to the world. We’re called to do WHATEVER we do for the glory of God! Can you hate your job if you’re doing it for the glory of God? Maybe. You tell me!

Can you do YOUR job for the glory of God? I say YES.

Unclogging toilets? Yep. Data entry? Yep. School crossing guard? Yep. Stay-at-home mom? Yep. Secretary? Yep. You name it… yep.

Call me crazy, but I think God has an incredible plan for plumbers, data typers, crossing guards, kids who cross at crosswalks, moms, dads, secretaries and everyone else they’re surrounded by.

This isn’t a revolutionary thought that I’m sharing, but it’s one that is easily forgotten.

I was up at 6am today. I felt stirred out of bed by God. He just wouldn’t let me fall back asleep.

I couldn’t wait to get to work today. I can’t wait for Mondays… I LOVE Mondays! Why? I’m passionate about what I do. I see purpose and meaning in what I do. Don’t get me wrong, I love my days off as much as the next guy, but I don’t live for the weekend.

If you don’t share my perspective, or if you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, there’s a good chance you say things like “It pays the bills” when people ask you about what you do.

My recommendation to you: Ask God to show you how to do what you do for His glory, not a paycheck. There’s joy in that. If he doesn’t answer that question… you might need to make some changes.

Go find something you’re passionate about, make sure it aligns with his purpose, and DO IT!

Maybe you’ll make less money- move into an apartment.

Maybe you have 4 kids, 3 cars, and 2 dogs- move into a big apartment.

Maybe you wish you were in ministry like me- you ARE.

Maybe you don’t feel “called” to ministry- the phone has been ringing for a long time.

• In September of 2001 I became a believer and follower of Jesus. That was pretty cool.
• In January of 2002 I started working at Cornerstone as an intern in the High School Ministry and a Children’s Ministry Coordinator. They might have been a bit hasty laying hands on me that soon, but God was good, I was passionate, and it all worked out nicely.
• Later that year I because the “Interim Junior High Director”. A few months later I was asked to be the permanent Director.
• Three years later I was leading the High School Ministry. What?!
• Got married in 2007! Our marriage started out rocky, but we’re kicking butt now.
• Three years later I was fired from that church where it all started. It was a bummer how it all went down, but again, God worked it all out.
• Moved to California for one year to be the High School Pastor at a great church, but one that wasn’t a good fit for us long term.
• Moved back to Arizona to work at the church I had wanted to work at for years. They hire me as the High School Pastor, and ask me to oversee the Student Ministries Department. I was fired from one church, then a year later promoted at another. Amazing.
• Now I’m in my dream job, with amazing staff, students, and volunteers, and I’m given the opportunity to speak in the main service almost once a month. What is going on?
• We adopted Griffin last November. He’s better than all of the bullet points I just listed.

The thing that gets me excited about this next decade is that I’ve seen a little bit of what God can do when someone surrenders their plans to Him. I don’t get nervous about the next decade, I get excited. I’m 32, I’ve got so much to learn, and I’m exactly where I want to be. I hope this next decade makes the last one look boring!

I hope you’re ask excited about these next 10 years as I am, regardless of your bullet points.

I was excited to hear what he had to say about storytelling. I had my pen ready, my notebook out, and he approached the stage for his 45-minute presentation. He was scheduled to do a 2nd session later that week on that same stage.

Two minutes later he walked off the stage and we never saw him again. He got the worst case of stage fright I’ve ever seen.

He couldn’t finish a sentence. He couldn’t find his thoughts. He couldn’t make sense of his notes. He literally froze.

He’s sold more than 5 million books, but on that day he couldn’t make it 5 minutes on stage.

It made me think about what it’s like for some pastors. We’re expected to be good at everything! Speaking, leading, administration, planning, coaching… you name it. I had no idea what I was doing for my first few years of ministry, but I could speak, so I was in charge! I wasn’t the best leader available, but I was the best talker, so I was the man in command.

It makes me think that some people should just teach, and not lead. Some people should just lead, and not teach.

But when do you suck it up and try again? Should Ted give public speaking another shot? Maybe he already has. Should I try to learn to dance even though that has always ended horribly (in public and in private)? Should I face my fears and my weaknesses, or find my strengths and improve on those?

I’ve got an autographed copy of Shauna Niequist’s amazing book Cold Tangerines. I got it in the mail the other day, but I have no idea who sent it to me! I already have a copy (two other copies, actually) so I figured I’d give this one away! She’s an amazing writer. I really enjoyed this book, and I think you will too!

If you want to win you have two options, and you can do both for two entries:

1. Leave a comment right here with your name and email address.

2. Tweet this: I’m trying to win a copy of COLD TANGERINES by Shauna Niequist on @ryanguard’s blog! He forced me to tweet this: http://tinyurl.com/65vw7rw

I’ll pick a winner at random tomorrow. If you win I’ll get your mailing address and send it your way!

Imagine you’re looking for a book that covers the topic of ANXIETY. You look at your shelf and you see a copy of Brennan Manning’s “RUTHLESS TRUST“. The “Contents” page doesn’t have any titles that are obvious enough, and there isn’t an index of topics in the back, so here’s what you can do.

Go to Amazon.com and search for the book.

Once you have found the book and have opened the page, look at see if it has the “LOOK INSIDE” feature.

If it does, you can either click on the picture of the book, or hover over it and you’ll see a search bar. Type in your keyword.

All you have to do is click on those blue links and Amazon will take you right to the page where you can find it. You can do this even with books you don’t own, because Amazon will let you read a good amount of the book right there using the SEARCH feature.

I hope this helps!

In a recent sermon at Wine Before Breakfast, Joe AC, pastoral director of Parkdale Neighbourhood Church in Toronto concluded with these modern day Beatitudes from the perspective of our contemporary, self-satisfied church culture. by Joe Abbey-Colborne Blessed are the well off and those …with ready answers for every spiritual question; …they have it all. Blessed are the comfortable; …they shall avoid grief. Blessed are the self-sufficient; … Read More