Rethink Possible

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AT&T has been flooding the airwaves with commercials touting their positives, from broadband to national coverage (OK by me, an iPhone user). The tag-line in all of their ads is the phrase: Rethink Possible.

That resonates with me: Rethink Possible. Perhaps we ought to consider that in our relationships, leadership and creativity.

• In our relationships, we can focus on the possibilities of those we interact with, envisioning them as what they can be, rather than what they are.

• In our leadership, let's look beyond the problems and instead lead people to an attainable ultimate outcome.

• In our creativity, I suggest that we look beyond the blank canvas, empty score, or chapter one, and envision the finished product.

Rethink Possible!

Question to answer: What can you rethink that you might consider as impossible?

Anniversary: Mount St. Helens

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Thirty years ago this week, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State, killing 57 and flattening more than 200 square miles of forest. Still considered the 2nd most dangerous volcano in the U.S. (after Kìlauea in Hawaii), the volcano continues to be watched by scientests.

While flying to a youth ministry convention in Portland, Oregon in October of 1980, our pilot took us past the still smoking summit and I was able to take a few pictures through the small airplane window. I was awed by what I saw: the size of the mountain, the huge crater blown out of the cone, and the surrounding devastation still are vivid in my mind.

Today as I reflect on what I saw 30 years ago, and having just out-run (out-flown) the volcanic eruption in Iceland last month, I think about creativity.

Huh? Yes, creativity.

Consider our planet: change is always happening. Shorelines change, rivers shift their course, volcanoes erupt. It is a fact of nature that our earth is constantly changing. I believe that The Creator is continuing to change and mold the earth. He continues to create.

You may argue that because many of the changes in our planet are destructive, that a) the Lord is into destroying stuff and people, or b) the Lord isn't concerned about the earth or it's inhabitants and simply allows to happen what will happen.

Perhaps there is more to it than that. Could it be that God's ultimate purpose is to draw all men to Himself, and He will use any means necessary to accomplish that goal? The good and the bad, the positive and the negative, the creative and the destructive. (Notice that I did NOT use the words wrath or punishment.)

Maybe we will begin to look at creativity, especially the creative process of the Lord, as something that is tied to a greater purpose: turning people to God.

Question to answer: Do you think God changes the earth to draw people to Himself?

Dreams & Realities

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When was the first time you dreamed a dream for your life?

When was the first time you dreamed a dream for your life that has become a reality?

I thought about this for myself, and I remember sitting in the chorus in the 11th grade and thinking, "I could write music." The first song I wrote (that was actually singable) was when I was a 37 year old Youth Pastor. Now I have published over 60 songs, have been involved in the recording of six music projects, and own a music company.

What about you? What are you creating or doing that started as an I can do this statement? Or rather, what are you dreaming about that has yet become a reality for you?

Today my wife and I were having lunch with a younger colleague, and my wife posed this question to her: "What does your future hold for you?" (I love my wife's challenging spirit, encouraging the next generation to dream big, and to pursue their futures.) Our friend listed her dreams, and we encouraged her to pursue them - even to the point of challenging her to apply for her passport this week, to follow her dream of traveling.

Questions: What are you dreaming now that you want to see as a future reality? What are you doing about it? Share your thoughts below in comments.

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India Images

 

103 Year old man at a medical camp... in great health!

Crusade crowd.

 Traditional 1st haircut.

Medical camp inside a humble church building.

Catching the early morning train to Kazipet.

"Garlanding" and "shawling".

I could be a Papa!

Impromptu medical camp at a home.

The plague of flies at a medical camp.

Sunday morning worship at a crusade site.

Nagpur station, one of many on the two-day train journey.

Ordination of local pastors.

Photo op with the altar worker girls (I'm the tall one).

New friends at...I don't know, one of our many stops!