Storms Are Coming?

Even during very difficult and confusing times we have Jesus in our corner… and hopefully really good friends too that will support and pray for us to continue to press into every single thing the Lord is wanting us to press into.

1) The battle of Fear VS Power, Love, and Self-discipline

2 Timothy 1:7 >> "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

· Where there is fear, God is not
· Timidity is defined as "fear of the unknown" or "unfamiliar or fear of making decisions"
· Power = influence or authority in the name of Jesus
· Love = warm affection or devotion for the ways of the kingdom and for His people
· Self-discipline = Doing the things Jesus is calling us to do and likewise NOT doing the things we should not do.

2) Don’t Loose Heart:

"Sometimes when we are in our darkest hour, all we can see is the dark. We can not see God at work, shining His light into our darkness" - Author Unknown

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 >> “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 >> "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

Ephesians 6:12 >> "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

3) Even after “X,Y, & Z” ... we will be confident in Jesus:

Psalm 27:1-3 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, [a] when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

4) Encourage One Another & Carry Each Other’s Burdens:

1 Thessalonians 5:11 >> “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Galatians 6:2 >> “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Final Thoughts:
When things are hard, discouraging, confusing, or even frustrating we CAN have things turn around when we focus on what really matters.

1) Cast out all Fear and walk in Power, Love, and Self-discipline
2) Fix our eyes on Jesus and battle spiritually… not focus on the storm around us.
3) Be confident in His plans for our lives, regardless of circumstances
4) Real relationships are cyclical in their encouraging, building up, and carrying burdens

Honoring Our "Elders"

I love movies like "The Patriot" that are full of honor, sacrifice, courage, love, and grace for the sake of others, however in today's society it seems that everyone has been disqualified from something, for some reason, by somebody. Our society has become more and more judgmental and elitist to the point that we seem determined to do the opposite of honor, sacrifice, courage, love, and grace by excluding people, cutting them down, and ultimately disqualifying them.

I believe one of the "elitist" areas of our society has to do with age. It seems we have over glorified people in their 20's and everyone else is either too young too understand anything or are too old and therefore are obsolete and too old to understand anything...

Although we shouldn't overlook the Timothys, the Davids, the Solomons... in this blog I want to focus on the lost art of listening to the wisdom of those who have a lot of wisdom because they have run the race well over the long haul... grey hair and age alone is not a qualification to be an "elder"... because frankly there are many unwise people both young and old!

Below is a portion of an email I sent to some "Elders" in my church:

-------------------------------------

I want to encourage you, I want to speak directly to your hearts and hopefully you will hear mine as well. I need you in my life! I need your council, wisdom, insights, love, experiences, & humor... OK well maybe not your humor :) , but the rest of it I DO need in my life.

As most of you know my mother committed suicide when I was in 8th grade, my Grandfather passed away a few year after that, and my Dad passed away a few years ago... this has left a void in my life because I can no longer call my Dad and ask his opinion and insights on things. Yes this void has been part;y filled by other men and God, but there is room for more...

I am NOT the only younger man that has this void in their life. I need you men... "The Elders" in my life... and I have heard this more and more from many young men in our church...they are eager to hear from you, hear your stories, hear your hearts, and Godly insights. We want to honor you and hope you will hear us inviting you to become even more involved in our lives.

Here is a short video I would like to share with you:
http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=6862b0f13133736da5c0

Here is a scripture I would like to share with you:

1 Peter 5 - "To Elders and Young Men 1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness ofChrist's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to berevealed: 2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care,serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you arewilling, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager toserve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examplesto the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receivethe crown of glory that will never fade away. 5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. Allof you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."[a] 6Humble yourselves,therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in duetime. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls aroundlike a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him,standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothersthroughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory inChrist, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restoreyou and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power forever and ever. Amen."

I welcome any and all of your thoughts and feedback on this email and really hope you hear this as encouragement that "You ARE Needed and useful"!

-------------------------------------

That email has started a conversation with these men and I believe more to come!

Lastly, I want to leave off with a powerful story about a little known program called "Honor Flights for Veterans to D.C."

http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/02f3234d-80ce-0971-0092-7d07aeb7d421

Playground Friendships: Learning from a 5 year old!

My oldest daughter Kiera is 5 years old and she is truly a delight to be around...most of the time ;) ... Yes she has her moments for sure, makes bad choices, has bad attitudes, and disobeys our instructions sometimes, but the majority of the time she has such a great heart for people, has a good attitude, listens to us, wants to include others, wants to be every one's friend, prays for people who say they are sick, and is quick to pray when she sees an accident or an ambulance.

Her heart is so ready to love people that sometimes I want to warn her that not everyone will be her friend and not everyone is "friend material", but she does not seem to "grasp" that concept regardless of how many times I explain this to her. As an example there was this little girl; let's call her Suzy; in her first pre-school that always seemed to be mean to Kiera, unkind, and exclusive for no apparent reason. Kiera would come home from pre-school crying and saying "I don't know why Suzy doesn't like me or want to play with me, I just want to be her friend". We would ask some probing questions like, "what happened?" and "why do you feel that way?" and she would go on to explain that Suzy would say things to her like, "You can't play with me", "I am not your friend", "your glasses are funny", you can't be friends with them, they are my friends", etc....well needless to say Daddy had to refrain himself from going and crushing Suzy or telling Kiera "your bigger than her, push her down!" instead we tried to not spare Kiera from this experience of dealing with unkind people and tried to counsel her through it by explaining not everyone is kind, some people are mean, not everyone is "friend material", the importance of standing up for herself, and using her words to say "no thank you" when someone is unkind. We also explained it is OK to "escalate the situation" by saying "I said no thank you and if you do it again I am going to tell the teacher", and finally that it was OK to ask for help from a teacher. She ended up dealing with the situation the best she could as a 5 year old and I am very proud of her heart through it all... but let's just say Suzy never became her friend...but I am SOO glad to see that Kiera still extends herself to others, still wants to include others in her life, and still wants to be every one's friend!

Kiera is such an example to me on how to love people, include them, invite them into my life, love them unconditionally, be quick to forgive, and be quick to pray. I have felt so convicted that I have conformed to the "not everyone is friend material" philosophy because I have been wounded through various levels of rejection and hurt in my own life. I have felt the pain of not being liked, not being included, and not being befriended enough... that I have hardened my heart in self protection from those potentially hurtful situations. I extend myself less to others, avoid those who give me the "your not someone I like vibe", and therefore end up not befriending others I should because of fear.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other." John 15:9-17 (NIV)

Jesus was a "people-person", He befriended the alienated, He loved the sinner but hated the sin, He treated people as individuals of great worth, He looks at us and sees what we can become... not what we are, He holds out his hand and says, "Come, accept my friendship and be my friends." ...and he wants us to do the same to others!

Gotta love learning those life lessons from a 5 year old :)

"Gourmet" Manwich Sloppy Joe's

Our family tries to eat "somewhat holistic" at home... were not the "over board grass grazer type", but we do try to eat whole grains, fresh veggies, and limit processed foods as much as possible... well then sometimes we throw that philosophy out the window all together and eat some food we used to eat growing up...some nostalgic childhood meal...like Manwich Sloppy Joe's!

"A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal."

Hunt's introduced Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce in 1969. In the 1970s, the brand began using the slogan, "A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal." ...it is something forged deep into my long term memory for sure and remember numerous times eating this meal growing up.

So a few nights ago we decided to have some Manwich Sloppy Joe's for dinner and this time we wanted to make them a little more "Gourmet" than the ones we had growing up. Here is what we did:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp course pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 pound - deli slices of Smokey Gouda Cheese
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 4 mini baguettes

Cooking Directions:

• Brown ground beef in large skillet until no longer pink; drain.
• Stir in one 16-ounce can of Manwich (less than original recipe on purpose)
• Stir in Salt, Pepper, Garlic
• Heat mixture until slight boil
• Cut mini baguettes into half both directions and lightly toast

Serving Suggestions:

• Place desired amount of Manwich Sloppy Joe mix on your mini baguettes
• Put one deli slice of Smokey Gouda Cheese on top
• Serve with a side of oven broiled broccoli...you need something to offset Manwich ;)

Enjoy!

Paper, Paper, Paper...way too much stinking PAPER!

My wife and I are getting ready to move our family to a new rental this next month and so we have started packing up the house. This time we are trying to be even more relentless to get rid of stuff we really do not want, or need, and not just hang onto the "stuff" for the sake of having enough "stuff"...this reminded me of a comedy skit I saw when I was a teenager by George Carlin called "Stuff".

George Carlin was a pretty vulgar comedian, but I still remember seeing him on HBO performing his “stuff” routine, talking about all the "stuff" in our homes...here is a quote from his act:

"A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!" - George Carlin

So last night we... brewed some coffee, came up to the home office, had some music playing, kids were asleep, and started sorting paper/mail, packing, and getting organized for the move! ...I hate this kind of sorting, but it delights my wife's soul to no end...

We decided to get rid off all old bills, magazines, junk mail, credit card offers, papers, church bulletins...pretty much everything unless it was irreplaceable and/or sentimental. So at the end of the night we ended up with the following:

• 9 Stuffed full, legal sized file boxes for shredding


• 4 Trash bags full (tall kitchen size) for Garbage


• 1 full legal sized file box of items for keeping


• $21.75 in bills and change that we can use to go buy "More Stuff" ;)

This was a really great exercise to go through together and further enforced that we want to be a bit more organized with our home. We never want it to be a "show house" or a "Martha Stewart" house, but we do seriously want to reduce the amount of mail and paper that always seems to clog our household. We are "pretty" clean people, but we realized last night the reason our house is even a little unorganized is because of the sheer amount of paper and not knowing how to deal with it all!

Our plan from here is to follow some guidelines I found on the FTC website:

• We are both going to “opt-out” of having pre-approved credit offers sent to us for five years


• We are going to register our phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry


• We are going to opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial mail by contacting the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Service


• We are going to cancel all magazines except one we really like


• We are going to transfer dates and details from church bulletins and place them in recycle at church


• By drastically reducing our amount of mail...we believe we will be able to easily sort mail, shred items not need, file things that are...and live a more organized life because of it!
  

Here is the FTC LINK that outlines who to contact for each of the action, more information, etc

Review: Gene Cafe Drum Coffee Roaster

My wife bought me the Gene Cafe home coffee roaster for Christmas this last year. This is one of those "tool/gadgets" I have been wanting for years, but because of the larger price tag...I kept putting off buying it for myself...I was like a little kid when I opened this up for the first time.

This is my first coffee roaster, so I don't have a history with other units...but I must say I have been very happy with the machine and have had zero problems with it thus far... It does produce a lot of smoke... especially for the darker roasts, but with the oversized chaff collector and a venting tube outside... there is no problem :)

This unit has a pretty large capacity (10 oz. of unroasted green coffee), is very easy to use, and is very quiet. You can easily control both the time and temperature and therefore it is easy enough for the first timer and also complex enough for the coffee roasting guru's. This roaster produces what I would expect from a much more expensive coffee roaster...I have produced some pretty stellar Colombian Supremo "City Roast" with very little experience.

So, what are the"drawbacks" of this unit?

- Well the only thing that I don't "LOVE".. is the cleaning of the unit. It is hard to get my larger hand into the drum to scrub it clean. I fixed this by buying a drinking glass scrubber with a long handle :)

- Lots of smoke is produced during the roast. This is easy to fix as long as you have the extra large chaff collector that has the vent tube attachment.

Enough talk... I think it is time for a double Latte... Cheers!

My Tombstone

Yesterday, June 25, 2009...two major American Iconic Celebrities passed away from long term illnesses. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were both world renowned and beloved by many people. Although neither of them had produced anything new for many years, it is obvious by the outpouring of their fans that these two celebrities connected with people, are still loved, still admired, and they left a lasting impression on many people.

This got me thinking about what would be written on their tombstones and what will be remembered of them in the years to come. It got me thinking about what was the lasting impact of these two PEOPLE who are gone from this earth... after all in their last moments... they were not celebrities, but just people facing a certain end to their life!

This also got me thinking about my own life and what would be written on my own tombstone when I pass from this earth. I do not know, but I hope it says something like..."Here lies the remains of Chris Antonelli who passionately loved his wife, his daughters, family, friends, playing the piano, drinking and roasting coffee..but even more he loved Jesus, loved praising God with worship, was an encourager, and a gentle but true light to those around him... He requests you join him in heaven... at your appointed time... by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior!"

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith (Philippians 1:21-25).