The last few weeks have been eye-opening for me as we have have had candid discussions and exercises in our Wednesday classes.  We’ve heard story after story of students that feel alone, out of touch, disconnected, and isolated.  Isn’t that one of the most crippling feelings? When you feel alone. When you truly believe that you are misunderstood and disconnected.  I’ve witnessed it on many occasions in action in the lives of young people.  Their general perception is that they are different, weird, alone.  That they are the only one that is struggling, or fighting, or hurt.  This is a tactic that our enemy knows all too well.  He knows that if we become isolated, we become weak – an easy target.  Why are suicide rates so high? Why are pastors leaving the ministry at an alarming rate? ISOLATION. If you don’t believe me, take a look around at our society.  Why are social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter EXPLODING?  Facebook alone has over 500 MILLION active users.  People want to connect!!  We are desperate to connect with people, to know that we aren’t alone.  The saying is true,  ”No man is an island”. We are not created to be completely independent. Check this out:

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:24-25

See, the church is a family, not a building.  It is people that love and trust God doing life together – a community of faith!  We are to encourage and love one another.  When one hurts, we all hurt!  This is the church!!!  You are not alone in the battles you fight.  We are standing with you.  We are on your side! When we come together, we encourage, strengthen and sharpen each other.  We help bear the load of those that are weak or struggling and we celebrate the victories of those who have overcome.  We are the FAMILY of God.

I realize life can be busy, but may God give us the grace to not schedule ourselves out of community and into isolation! 

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Galatians 6:2-3

I was doing some reading and research and came across this article that I found to be excellent.  If you have teenagers in your home or work with/minister to teens this article is WELL WORTH the read!  It’s entitled “Six Ways to Build Your Teens Identity” and focuses on practical ways you can sure up the foundation of your student.

Hope you enjoy!

Click here to read more

Have you ever spoken to somebody with a much higher IQ than yours? Did they use words that you weren’t fully convinced were actual words? People with huge vocabularies seem to have the upper hand in conversation…. unless the goal is to actually deliver an idea or instruction, then the prize goes to Average Joe. He speaks like everyone else, so everyone else understands him. Amazing! And for those of you reading this who have much larger IQ’s than me, which may or may not be saying much, I’m not against educating yourself or anything like that. I merely want to illustrate something about God.

God doesn’t speak to us in a way that we could never understand. That would defeat the purpose of Him speaking in the first place. When God speaks to us, He fully intends for us to understand Him. God wants to meet you where you’re at. He won’t talk over your head because He loves you, and His whole intention in speaking in the first place is not just to be heard, but to be understood by you. So resist the pressure to “sound spiritual” when you’re praying. God isn’t fooled. He can hear you the rest of the day as well. You didn’t use big religious sounding words and phrases at the local super market or with your family, so don’t pretend to be something you’re not.

“the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”

Exodus 33:11 NLT

Talk to God with respect and love. Be yourself. Try it right now. I dare you.

Those insurance commercials have to be some of my favorite partly because they’re absolutely hilarious and partly because they illustrate a great point. I’ve been pondering lately (highly recommended…not as intense as meditating, but not as loosey-goosey as say thinking) the fact that Cassie and I are the proud parents of not just one, but TWO beautiful children (post-birth conehead excluded).  The thought that I, Brian Mullins, am a father of two blows my mind.  Mostly because I still FEEL young.

I can vividly remember high school, break dancing when it was cool the first time, and the tight-rolled jeans we all sported with great pride and confidence…I still FEEL young.  But truth be told, I’m rapidly nearing the beginning of my 4th decade of life (No, I’m not 40, I said 4th decade) and with each passing day I’m becoming more aware of how fast life moves.  James 4 says it this way ”How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” This verse sparked a question in my heart that I’ve wrestled with for some time now and I try to keep in the forefront of my consciousness - how I am spending my life?

There’s really only two things you can do with your life - waste it or invest it – the choice is ours.  The question we have to ask ourselves is are we invested or just busy?  As I mulled this over, I began to take inventory of the things in my life and their value.  Sure there were lots of things that I enjoyed and were good…like the Dallas Cowboys (God’s favorite team ).  However, I quickly came to the conclusion that the things that are most important – Relationship with God, Family, the ministry God has entrusted to me, and people – were the things I wanted to invest myself in.  I don’t want to miss one opportunity to invest in that only things that are eternal.  When I make time time to pray/study, I’m investing in my eternity.  When I choose to date my, I’m investing in our covenant.  When I take time to hear a silly story from my children, wrestle on the floor when I’m dog tired, or mow the freshly-cut grass just because they love to ride the tractor, I’m investing not only in their self-worth, but into a legacy of Godliness and character.  When I listen to the student who keeps making the same mistake over and over, or the guy that needs a friend to talk to, or a heart-broken mom, I’m investing into their eternal soul.  The only things that truly matter are those things which are eternal.  These are worthy investments.
Life is the only currency that can’t be exchanged…it must be spent. INVEST WISELY!!