Remind Me (Again)

As I get older I find it increasingly difficult to remember pert near anything. 
My prayer is that my wife never loses her memory, because I'll be absolutely screwed if she does. 

She reminds me of family events that I fail to recall, she helps me find my keys, wallet and everything else that I'm prone to lose.  She knows me, knows how I think (and how often I don't think), and is willing to stand in the gap for me. 

Losing stuff isn't the only form of memory loss I demonstrate from day-to-day. 
I'm gifted in the forgetting of names, most everything I ever learned in grade school, and most forms of advanced math.

Truth be told, I even tend to forget who I am pretty consistently. 
Don't worry, I know I'm Pete, but I don't always remember who I am in God's eyes. 
It escapes me quickly and often.

I heard this song on the radio yesterday that hit me in the heart. 
It's highly repetitive.  Which kind of makes the guy's (Jason Gray) point. 

I'm sure I'll get sick of it soon enough, but, for now, I can't get enough of it. 
Give it a listen, even if you've heard it before, and let it soak in.

   "Tell me, once again, who I am to You
   Who I am to You

   Tell me, lest I forget, who I am to You
   That I belong to You
   To You"


I'm thankful that Trish will help me find my gloves when I lose 'em, and I'm thankful that my Heavenly Father is willing to remind me (again) of who I am in His eyes. 

Hope you find it to be an encouraging reminder as well.  Later gators.  pba.

Quite the Coinkeedink

As I get older, the world gets smaller, & God seems like He's getting more creative. 

I know that He's constant and I'm not, but I'm just sayin'...

Bear with this one... it's a little long, but it's got a fun ending.

All of this Storyline and Love Does stuff has started a trend of saying "yes" to virtually anything that means I'll meet new people from God's larger Story. 

So last week when a friend from work said, "Hey - you should talk to my friend from church about this new church he wants to start in Milwaukee", I said "Sure - why not?" (I could have easily responded "no thanks - don't see the purpose" and just left it at that.)

We had some fun Facebook Messaging banter and set up a time for the two of us to yap about this church he wants to start in 2014 or 2015.  I flippantly said something about looking at my pottery page (not even sure why I brought it up).

Being the polite guy that I am, I forgot we were supposed to talk and his call rolled to voicemail.  I was distracted when I picked up the voicemail, but I thought I heard him say something about how he looked at my pottery and that he and his wife have one of my pieces.  

(I thought... "this dude must be quite the salesman - there's no way he's got a piece of mine - I really haven't sold that much work - the odds are smaaaall - lying about owning pottery to raise money for a church?  niiiiiice...")

When he called back later I recognized the number and picked up.  We yapped about the church, set up a time to have lunch, and, just before hanging up, he indicated again that he had one of my pieces.  I pretty much called him a liar.

After several crazy turns in the conversation, we figured out that I had briefly worked with his now Mother-In-Law over 7 years ago and that she had purchased the piece from me at that time and given it to her daughter and new Son-In-Law as a wedding present.

Whoa.  Crazy small world.  

(I told him I didn't think he was a liar anymore)

If the story stopped there, it would be a cool connection.

But it became clear that the pot's current owner hadn't read the pot for quite some time. (if ever... you almost need a decoder ring to figure out what it says)

Just so happens I wrote a blog about that piece back in 2005 that shared what it says.

(you should probably read it real quick)

In short, the contents of the piece hit the couple straight in the heart as they contemplate moving a family of 5 to an urban environment away from home to start a church that intends to reach out to the socio-economic extremes.  

7 years I ago, I was transitioning from consulting to a new job.  

I didn't know what it was yet, and I was scared.

I was confident that God was there, but I was still wettin' myself.  

So I made a piece of pottery to process my feelings and state my heart's desire.

I didn't make it for someone else, I made it for me.

The fact that I got paid for it and someone gave it as a gift was just a bonus prize.

The receiver probably thought it was a "unique" (spoken in Minnesota nice) gift.

7 years later it's a gift that God is using to speak His love into 2 folks that need it.

Validating that their decision to step out in faith is the right one.

I still don't know why I'm talking to this guy about a church in Milwaukee.

But I'm glad I said yes.

Quite the coinkeedink. 

Unless you believe in an extremely creative God. 

A God that loves you and wants you to experience your Heart's desires.

Do me a favor and follow the Son-In-Law on Twitter and read his Blog.

I have a feeling he's going to write a killer story.  pba.

Some Tweets Are More Important Than Others

Storyline is all about writing great stories with our lives.  

Writing a great story almost always involves supporting the stories other folks are writing.

Meet Steve Moakler - he's a musician and the co-founder of Free the Birds - http://helpfreethebirds.com/ - an organization that funds freedom and restoration for women and children who have been exploited by human sex trafficking.  

He's selling t-shirts & bird houses that he calls "Freedom Houses" (backstory on the concept here), and accepting donations as he tours  to raise money for the cause. 

I recently had the privilege of sharing my current story (and the Storyline process) with the congregation at Northridge Fellowship, and I used Steve as an example of the practical kind of steps we can take to start writing a better story with our lives.  

I couldn't get one of Steve's birdhouses in time for the service (What!?!  you can't send me a birdhouse within 24 hours?  Sheesh ;), so I made one of my own and asked for spare change from folks at NRF.  They stepped up and donated $267 in support of the story that Steve is trying to write (we passed the money along to Love146.org - one of the partner organizations that Steve supports).  A whole bunch of people coming together to do a little bit for folks they don't know.  The stuff of good story! 

Go take action to support stories that inspire you in 2013!

You'll help write another chapter in their story while improving your own.  

(p.s. go buy a t-shirt from Steve.  they're comfy.)

Happy New Year!  pba. 

Walls Are Made for Climbing

Wall.

Our first couple of Storyline teams are wrapping up soon.  (Next week)

Six guys (myself included) have documented their ambitions, practical ways to achieve them, and the climactic scenes they're pursuing. 

We also documented the anticipated obstacles and conflict that we'll experience along the way: the walls. 

This last week I felt like I ran flat into one of those brickish boogers by: 

• getting lazy after achieving my weight loss goal
• missing a couple of self-imposed deadlines
• internalizing some judgy feedback
• choosing slumber over action
• talkin' smack to myself
• essentially... being passive and listening to lies

So last night I shook it off and followed thru on a commitment that my wife doesn't even know I've made to her.  That one step to move through fear and push back toward the story I want to write is the equivalent of hopping the wall.  I knew the wall was coming, it showed up, and I climbed it.

I see other walls ahead, and I know the men I'm walking with are unconsciously building some of their own as I type. Thankfully, our Creator gave us The example of perseverance in the form of His Son.  He taught us how to climb. 

Sometimes we'll need a push in the keester from a climbing buddy. And sometimes we'll have to have faith that He'll help us take the next step when we think we can't do it anymore.

But, at the end of the day, there is no drama necessary. 

Just need to grab with a hand, press a foot on a ledge, and do the work. He has shown time and time again that He'll honor the climb.

My hope for you is that you understand where you want to go, that the vision of your destination/impact will make the climb worth the effort, and that you will find Joy in the journey.    

You have great stories inside of you.  Greater stories than you believe you're capable of writing.

Go write 'em.  


p.s.  If you'd like to learn more about Storyline, please let me know.  Trish and I recently purchased a case of the books and will be happy to share them with anyone that is serious about experiencing the process.    
 

Pots for Piggies

I am the producer of unnecessary drama.  

I make stuff more complicated than it needs to be.  

I talk a lot.  About me. 

I want to DO more.  For others.

So here's the goal for the next year: make pots and give the proceeds away. 

Heifer International supplies animals and the skills to raise 'em to folks that could use some help.  

A pig costs $120.  And can produce up to 16 more pigs within a year.

That right there is hope.  For a small business or for the health of a family. 

I'd love to integrate your story, or that of a loved one, into a piece of clay. 

Or to create a full installation of pieces that tell a story together.

Or to just sell you an ice cream bowl. 

Both of our stories will benefit. 

I wanna give away 50 pigs in 2013.  

Let me know if you're up for helping me do it.  Oink Oink.   

pba.  

  

  

Redeeming the Negative, and Filling the Hole

 

The Storyline journey continues!  

 

As a follow-up to the last post, here are a few examples of negative turns redeemed:

• Parent's Divorce: demonstrated my Mother's desire to take care of us and keep us safe
• Parent's Divorce: showed the powerful impact of infidelity and lack of maturity within the marriage context
• Parent's Divorce: reinforces that we are all broken and that we are all in need of God's grace
• Moves: stuff is temporary, friendship is work, and people genuinely care
• Summary of Several Turns: sex, booze, and material possessions don't fill the hole (and that's a good thing)
• Going Out of Business: God answers prayer (and He provides)
• Relational Stuff: my wife and I have loved each other through some tough stuff
• Relational Stuff: her stuff is her stuff, my stuff is my stuff, yet we've been thoughtfully paired and are uniquely capable of supporting each other in ways others simply can't.  We're fortunate.

The process of walking thru these learnings with multiple guys was a powerful one!  Almost without exception, the men in our group took action to clarify events with others, seek forgiveness from others, or offer up forgiveness to others. 

 

In short, we all got a little bit of healing.  And then we all started looking forward. 

 

The next step in the process focuses on the roles we play in day-to-day life as well as the ambitions we have that are associated with those roles.  My 5 are:  Husband, Father, Leader, Friend, and Artist. 

 

My ambitions within these roles are wide-ranging, but the themes include:

• Say "Yes" more often than "No" or "I'll Think About It"
• Operate out of Excitement not Fear
• Live a Life of Adventure
• Impact Many Lives
• Be willing to Fail Miserably (with joy)
• General Observation: Almost none of my Positive Turns have been centered on possessions.

Over the next week we'll start documenting some of the tactical ways we want to achieve these ambitions role-by-role. 

 

Some of the tactics will be small, and some will be very large pipe dreams.  I'm excited about some of the things that God is laying on my heart, as well as the things yet unheard that are resting in the hearts of the men I'm walking with. 

 

Inciting Incident #1 = Sign Up for a Missions Trip to Russia.
Still love the bad-ass stare.  So tough.  ;)

 

I look forward to sharing the plans, as well as the outcomes, soon!  pba. 

 

p.s.  Don't fall asleep on the couch after a weird day at work.  You'll end up wide awake typing a blog entry at 2:00 a.m.

 

 

 

Redeeming the Negative Turn

Donald Miller’s Storyline process consists of a few basic parts:

1. Documenting your Back-story. (The big positive & negative events or “turns” you’ve been thru)
2. Redeeming Negative Turns. (What did you gain/what positive resulted from the hard stuff?)
3. Roles & Ambitions. (What roles do you play and what do you want to accomplish?)
4. Inciting Incidents. (How are you gonna make it happen?)
5. Conflict. (Expect it and embrace it. It’s the stuff of Good Story)
6. Climactic Scenes / MySubPlot.com. (What does the Story’s conclusion look like?)

I’m on Step 2.

In short, I have to find “the positives” within a divorce, multiple untimely moves during my K-12 years, pushing off my Faith for stuff that felt a lot more fun after college, multiple employers going under, and my wife and I both using entirely dysfunctional and destructive methods to manage our day-to-day fears.

I know that I’m still ticked about a lot of stuff, but I’m far enough away from most of it to actually find the silver linings that are there to be had: a positive perspective on a mother’s love, knowledge that my God is with me every step of the way, increased understanding of folks that have gone thru similar experiences, and a deep connection between husband & wife.

Without acknowledging these positives I will remain closed, selfish, and unable to forgive. And, without that forgiveness, I will be hard-pressed to know what love really looks like because I’ll continue spending my time protecting my innards from more pain.

I obviously have very little “figured out”, but I’m thankful to be on Step 2 and am proactively moving thru it to get to Step 3. 

And that’s the beauty of it. 

The process illustrates, by its very structure, that the past is somewhere to visit and acknowledge, but it’s not a place to live. Where are you livin’?