Saturday, April 12, 2008

I've been tagged

I’ve been "tagged" by a friend, Jenetta, from church. I need to answer the following questions:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Wow, that seems like a decade ago. Fairly new to San Diego we had three kids 7 years old and under. We were still struggling to let go of our oldest son for a full day of school and over sending our daughter to kindergarten … excited about being in a new facility at church … discovering Padres baseball and planning a trip to Hawaii for the first time ever.

Things on my to-do list now: (OK, these are more like my values)

1. Seek to live as a channel of God's GRACE -- lavishly receiving it and lavishly expressing it.

2. Seek to live in the PRESENT tense -- enjoying all God has for me in the moment, and redeeming the time with others.

3. Seek to live by FAITH -- seeing the unseen God in my circumstances and trusting His sovereign control.

4. Seek to live in the SPIRIT -- relying on His power, direction, and joy.

5. Seek to put others before myself -- knowing that as I LOVE them I am loving myself and God.


Things on my to-do list for my lifetime: (in no particular order)

1.Travel to Europe with my whole family (scheduled this summer)
2. Celebrate 50 years of a great marriage (2037)
3. Own a VW bus again
4. Have croissants and strong coffee in a Paris sidewalk cafe (I don’t even like coffee)
5.Swim with dolphins
6.Visit Israel again
7.Successfully spend my whole career as a lead pastor at the same church
8.Have a role in one of my great grandchildren's weddings (that puts me at about 95 years old)
9. Coach a team for one of my grandkids
10. Own a vacation home
11. Continue to take our kids to Disneyland often even when they are adults
12. Continue to go to Yosemite at least once every year for the rest of my life
13. Celebrate 25 years of marriage with Cindy at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite
14. See a game at every professional baseball park in California, Washington, and Arizona. Also visit Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Wrigley Field
15. Have a bit part in a stage play that people pay money to see and have it run for at least a month
16. Retire where I can hear the ocean waves crash at night
17. Put the SHAPE Seminar online and have an international impact
18. When I retire, hand off a thriving, healthy, influential local church to a pastor to take it into the next season

Bad Habits:

1. Worry
2. People pleasing
3. Watching too much Padres baseball on TV

Places I've lived: (All time favorites in bold)

1. Lancaster, CA
2. Nottingham, ENGLAND
3. Milwaukee, WI
4. Sherman Oaks, CA
5. Lynwood, CA
6. Fountain Valley, CA
7. Santa Barbara, CA
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Pasadena, CA
10. London, ENGLAND
11. Laguna Beach, CA
12. Mission Viejo, CA
13. San Diego, CA

Things most people probably don't know about me:

1. I’ve never eaten a Churro
2. I love loose leaf tea
3. I am a big Jesus Christ Superstar the Rock Opera fan
4. I have a doctorate in Christian ministry and leadership
5. I can toss a pizza from a batch of homemade dough

Ok- so I need to tag some people now. Check their blogs in a few days to see if they did it :)

Jon
Daveed
Deyl
Paige
Ted
Josh
Ryan & Melissa
Kevin & Didi

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Making news

Check out the article about our recent Kingdom Assiggnments at by clicking here.


Thanks, Lisa Ligouri

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Guilt Spoon

Honestly we didn't mean to do it. A few years ago we rented a mountain cabin for a few days. When we got home we discovered that we had inadvertently taken one of their spoons from its kitchen. To this day we keep it in our silverware drawer at home in case we ever go back to that cabin.

Our youngest son has nicknamed that spoon. He calls it the guilt spoon. Every time we see it, it reminds us of our unintentional theft.

A lot of people carry around a guilt spoon – something that triggers a reminder of failures, weakness, and sin. And deep down we know that God is so holy that even a teaspoon of sin is enough to separate us from Him.

And that is what makes Romans 8:1 is so revolutionary. It says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."

The Bible does not say that there is nothing in us that deserves condemnation, because there is. Nor does it say that God has just randomly decided to overlook it, because He has not. What it says is that, because Jesus Christ took God’s condemnation for sin upon himself, we are no longer guilty.

So you know what I’m going to do with that guilt spoon from now on? Eat ice cream! I’m turning my guilt spoon into a grace spoon.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The Curse of Comparison

“Why do I have to go through this and they don’t?”
“Why are they immune; while I am not?”
“Why do they get all the breaks?
“What did I do so wrong … or they do so right?”


It is the curse of comparison. Has anyone ever been there? Peter was. In the Bible, Jesus predicted that there would be some difficult days ahead for Peter. And Peter’s response is so relatable. He motioned to John, who seemed to always coast through life, and asked, "Lord, what about him?" (John 21:21).

Have you been there? Maybe you're there now? A little ticked at God? As if He plays favorites? Especially when we face difficult things, it is easy to compare ourselves with those with whom life has blazed an easier path. It’s the curse of comparison.

Jesus’ answer to Peter is amazing. He offers Peter the only way to break the curse.

Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (John 21:22) Basically Jesus says, “Peter, what I do with John is My business. My plan. But you, Peter, you, follow me.”

God has a unique plan for you that has been choreographed to the script of your life, and it is different from all others. And the liberating truth is that you don’t need to compare yourself with anyone else. You have a God given assignment and it has very little, if anything, to do with the assignments He gives other people. Therefore, it is a waste of time comparing ourselves to others, or wondering why we didn't get their part in the play. All we have to worry about is following Jesus call for us.