Backyard Rockets And A Toy Train In Space

I saw the above video on Jon Accuff’s blog. It’s only a short video and one I’m sure you’ll enjoy as much as I did.

I had to share it.

Why? I hear you ask.

That’s easy.

Because it reminds me, that if we’re not careful, we can miss out on all sorts of adventures with our kids.

Here’s what I mean…

When I watched the clip it was with my son. The first thing that came out of his mouth as he began to realise what it was about was ‘cool!’. He couldn’t believe that a Dad would do that with his son.

After that he asked if he could watch it again. He’d have kept watching over and over but his Mum came in to get him for bed.

He’s only seven. To a seven year old sending something, anything in fact, into space looks like so much fun. To him anything is possible and should be attempted. To watch someones Dad send a toy train into space was inspiring. It made him want to do that with me.

As I thought about it, the only things that came to mind were reasons why not to try sending one of his toys into space. I thought of the cost, the time, the effort not to mention the legalities of it all.

Then I remembered the time we made vinegar powered rockets in our backyard.

backyard_rockets

Did the rockets make a huge mess and fire vinegar literally everywhere?

Yes.

Did I have to take some time and put in the effort to investigate how to do it?

Yes

Did it cost a little money?

Yes

Did my kids love it?

Oh Yes! They loved it so very much.

Don’t miss out on the fun!

Us adults can be to easily put off by mess. We can let things like having to gather the right equipment and perhaps spend some money get in the way of a good adventure.

But the adventures of life make memories.

These memories last a life time.

Adventure is what kids remember and will talk about for years to come.

So, just when you think you’re too grown up for rockets, or sending something into space, think again.

Maybe, just maybe, the adventure of it is just the thing to bring joy and create the kinds of memories you want your kids to have when they’re your age.

I don’t know about you but I know what I’m planning to do… and it starts with working out how to send a toy into space!

Over to you…

Ever sent one of your kids toys into space? What adventures are you not going to let your kids miss out on? You can add your comments to the section below.

Posted on October 1, 2012 In Family
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5 Compelling Reasons To Never Give Up

Sometimes you’ve had enough and you just want to give up.

Great things have happened in the past – God has always seen you through. But lately, it seems like nothing is going your way and you’re really struggling.

5 Compelling Reasons To Never Give Up

Photo courtesy of “portobeseno”

This happens to the best of us – even veterans in the faith, those who’ve seen and done it all, have their off days.

Yet they don’t give up.

They may think about how hard things are, how tough the season is, but they still keep going. Day after day after day.

They’re not super-human, and they don’t have anything out of the reach of you or I. So how do they do it?

They do it by knowing and reminding themselves of these 5 compelling reasons to never give up.

1. Never give up, because life is long, and it ain’t over!


Life isn’t the particular situation you find yourself in right now. Life is made up of all sorts of seasons. Some are easier than others and people that don’t give up know just that. They acknowledge that life is long and that eventually things will get better. They don’t be caught up in the now, but look to the future. In doing that they realise that they don’t know how or when things will change. What we do know is that eventually they will.

2. Never give up, because if it’s good enough for Jesus it’s good enough for you!


Jesus is our example for life. He went through times of huge triumph, but also times of great pain and suffering. When times are tough, Christians that never give up are those that look to Jesus and all He went through, then apply his sufferings to their own lives. They see His suffering and realise that we’re all living in a broken world. It’s on it’s way to restoration, but in the mean time, if it was good enough for Jesus to endure during hard times, then it’s good enough for us.

3. Never give up, because the world needs help!


Sometimes the things we go through are actually needed in order to benefit someone else. A life that serves Jesus will also serve other people. Serving isn’t always easy. People that never give up are tenacious even when it comes to putting others first. The world needs people like that. The world needs people that never give up independent of the personal cost in the short term.

4. Never give up, because continuing will inspire others


We don’t live in isolation. Our lives are intricately connected. When we show perseverance, it helps other people to do the same in their difficult times. Our faith builds theirs. Our strength through any and all hardship brings courage and hope to the community of faith. People that never give up, even when facing the ultimate in difficulty and sadness, lay a firm foundation for those around them. This builds up the wider body of Christ. It isn’t about ignoring hard times, rather about being honest, showing tenacity and continuing to move forward no matter what.

5. Never give up, because God is faithful.


The past provision of God shows His faithfulness. He promised to never leave nor forsake us and He is true to His word. Giving up, even against the odds, is not an option, because we’ve acknowledged our belief in this God who is faithful. As we look back on our lives we see His provision in the large and small situations of life. He’s been there before and He will come through again. His faithfulness doesn’t mean we’ll always be instantly taken out of a difficult patch. It does mean that in and through our dark days He is with us and He will walk with us through everything we experience. He is faithful and people that never give up hold this near to their hearts.

So no matter what – don’t give up! Be encouraged by these reason not to give up and as you continue in your journey, please join the discussion…

Which of these reasons have you held on to in your tough times? Which one do you plan on taking to heart from here on out? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Over to you…

Posted on September 29, 2012 In Life , , , ,
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You Are Creative!!

‘I’m not creative!’ That’s what people tell me about themselves. I’ve heard it over and over. From church leaders, business people, pastors and even musicians. I’ve heard it from all sorts of people. The problem is, it seems to me that there’s at least some creativity in us all and there’s hidden creative genius in everyone.

You Are Creative!!

Photo courtesy of “paulwatson”

Before I go too much further I should clarify what I mean. When I say we’re all creative, I’m not implying that everyone is artistic. That’s clearly not the case. If that’s what people mean when they tell me they’re not creative, then they’re probably right. But, being artistic isn’t the only form of creativity. Not by a long shot!

Creativity, at least by one definition, is simply the ability to create ideas. To put it another way, creativity is the ability to produce options.

Everyone can do that!

God has allowed us all to see one thing and come up with another way of doing it – an alternative, a different option. Granted, that one alternate idea may not be all that great, but it is an alternative all the same. Come up with enough bad ideas and eventually you come up with something memorable.

While everyone has this innate ability, not all of us realise it or utilise it to its full capacity. Sometimes we settle for what has always been, or the way things are, instead of choosing to expand our capacity and create something new. Often we do this because we don’t see ourselves as creative.

We can overcome this way of thinking and become more creative by applying the three ideas below. We can begin to rethink the everyday and start to create new and better realities for ourselves and those around us.

Three ideas for becoming more creative;

1. Expand Your Outlook


If you’re going to grow your ability to create ideas and produce options, then you’ll need to continually expand your view of the world. God has created a expansive, beautifully detailed world around us. Don’t limit yourself to the things you’ve already experienced. Instead, choose to expand your horizons and take in more of the incredible things around us.

Always be collecting thoughts, pictures and anything that captures your attention. It doesn’t matter what genre, or niche you live in, always be adding the things you collect to your expanding pool of inspiration. Over time you’ll soon discover that the things you’ve seen and experienced will become launching pads for your own new ideas. You’ll realise you’ve got options for your way forward, no matter what your life looks like, or what you need to achieve.

Note: when you’re doing this, don;t forget the Bible as a primary place for inspiration. If you’re going to be able to see the way forward in life, to know the best options for your journey, you need to be ever increasing your knowledge and understanding in this area too.

2. Discipline Your Mind


Idea generation doesn’t just happen, it takes effort. The effort is in the discipline of renewing your mind. Instead of telling yourself that you’re not creative, start to think about and study what being made in the image of the Creator means then apply this to the area of your own personal creativity. As a starting place have a read of my post called ‘The Creator Creates Creatives’.

After that begin to discipline your thinking about all the regular activities you encounter everyday. Instead of going for your usual options, choose different ones. By training yourself to create options when you don’t have to, you’ll soon find you can do it when you do need to. Write the options down. You don’t have to actually do them, it’s the discipline of the process of generating new ideas that will help you.

3. Surrender Your Time


Like any task worth doing, becoming more creative takes time. Look to any successful person and you’ll soon discover that they’ve invested a lot of time into their craft. There’s no getting away from it. If you want to develop the ability to generate ideas then you’re going to have to put time into expanding your outlook and developing discipline with your mind.

Most people want to be better at coming up with ideas. It seems that very few want to put the time in the actually develop their outlook and discipline their thinking enough to really achieve a high standard in this area.

Ideas are valuable and creating options is highly useful in building not only our own lives, but the lives of others. We need to see ourselves as creative and take seriously the need to serve God well and wisely in this and every area of our lives.

Stay tuned for more on the topic of creativity in coming posts…

Over to you…


Have you ever thought of creativity as the ability to create options? How do you come up with ideas? Click here to add your thoughts and comments.

Posted on September 26, 2012 In Creativity
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God Is.

God is

God is the topic of most of my conversations. The other day I was talking with a friend and it left me thinking. My friend was telling me about his experiences with God over the years. He was expressing His frustration at not being able to tangibly feel God. He told me about how he worshipped and even cried out to God, but felt nothing. As we chatted he was trying to express himself, but the only words he could muster to describe how he felt was; ‘God is…’ He started a few times, but never moved beyond that phrase, ‘God is.’

God is.

Within my friends inability to express himself, was a truth that goes far beyond any of our ability to articulate. His mind was ticking over with questions, fears, and even doubt, but what came out was the absolute truth. God is.

Without recognising it at the time, he said something incredibly profound. In amongst it all He simply declared that God is. Nothing could be more true.

‘In the beginning, God…’ Gen 1:1a

My daughter and I often have conversations about who God is. She’ll ask the most amazing questions. She’s far too mature for her age. One time she asked me where God came from. My immediate response was to quote Genesis 1:1; ‘In the beginning, God…’. In that moment, without really a second thought, like my friend I just described, I spoke out a truth that forms the basis of all we believe as Christians. God is.

The truth about who God is.

The truth is, God has always been, He always will be. He didn’t come from anywhere, instead everything comes from Him. He’s the source, the origin, the starting place of all things. God didn’t need to come from somewhere, or be created, He just is. We may not feel Him, we may not see Him, but everything all around us is as a result of His being. His fingerprint is found on every living creature, in the heavens above and also in the depth of the sea.

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14

When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, He chose to disclose Himself to Israel and by extension to us, by calling Himself, ‘I am’. He didn’t feel the need to justify Himself. He still doesn’t need to prove Himself. He hasn’t told us what He was doing before we were created. He doesn’t need to.

We can’t explain who God is.

From time to time we think we need to explain God. Mostly for our own sake, to help our own insecurities, we try to find evidence that He’s real, or we want to feel something. We want to know more than He has allowed us to know.

When we talk about God, often we try to defend Him. Our actions show that we think He needs defending. So we attempt to explain who He is, but if we’re honest, we come up empty handed every single time. The reality is that we simply can’t express all of who God is. We don’t have the knowledge, the understanding, or the capacity for the task. We don’t have words, or even the ability to fully describe Him. The reason being, He is God and we are not.

We can’t sum Him up. We can’t describe Him completely. We can’t express fully who He is, especially not in a way that does Him justice. And, it’s this being beyond us that is the exact quality that makes Him supreme. This is the essence of what it means for Him to be God.

To know an infinite God is awe inspiring in a very real sense. The fact that He allows us to know Him, that He made a way for us in Jesus and that He is ever present by His Holy Spirit, all bring joy, hope, and an incredible sense of peace.

In end, if we felt God’s presence in a completely tangible way all the time, or if we knew all the details of everything that’s ever happened, then God would cease to be who God is. We need God to be mysterious, awesome and beyond us in order to be safe, secure, and to be able to live with hope for a grand and glorious future.

In the end, we need God to be who God is.

Over to you…


Have you ever been frustrated by not knowing fully who God is? Have you ever thought that this is a good thing? Add your thoughts, comments, questions and responses in the section below. Thanks.

Posted on September 20, 2012 In Featured
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What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

From Mark 8:34-38

Posted on September 13, 2012 In Quotes
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