Check the Latches(or else the bottom will fall out)

In preparing for a recent event, I was loading various equipment into my car. As I was struggling to load one particular case, low and behold, the bottom literally fell out. It didn’t start raining. The bottom of the case literally fell off.

Boy, was I excited.

Not.

I loaded the case and threw the bottom part in the car. Once I arrived to the event location, a mixture of sweating, grunting, and pain led me to put the bottom back on the extremely heavy case.

Here’s the kicker:the bottom was attached to the case with 4 small latches.

4. Small. Latches.

Once I realized this, I was slightly frustrated. A seemingly insignificant detail caused a great deal of frustration. A seemingly insignificant detail caused a case to not work properly. A seemingly insignificant detail almost caused me to lose my religion.

In the moments leading up to the 2009 SEC Championship game, commentator Gary Danielson remarked that the winner of the game wouldn’t have a bunch of big, flashy plays. The winner of the game would be the one who executed the little things well every time. Alabama did that (unfortunately), and Florida did not. Alabama won, after succeeding in completing the little things.

Many things in our lives appear to be small. We are surrounded by the seemingly insignificant minutia of life. Our nature is to overlook these things or do them half-heartedly. The reality is that our lives our defined by the culmination of the small things.

No one achieves a goal or reaches a destination without reaching small steps. Trying to lose weight? Twenty pounds don’t fall off overnight. It requires gradual change, small steps towards an ultimate goal. A small step is still a step forward, placing you one step closer to your ultimate goal.

The small steps are actually just tasks we must do and decisions we must make. The majority of our day will be made up of small tasks. If we are living with a plan, these small steps will cause us to be one step closer to the desired destination.

Today, make sure that you check the latches. The last thing you need is for the bottom to fall out.

What are some little things you do daily to help you achieve an ultimate goal?

Hey! Must be the Money!

It’s probably a safe bet to say that the majority of “New Year’s Resolutions” are lose weight and save money(or something like that). I’ve already covered the “lose weight” portion, so now it’s time to cover the “save money”.

- Tithe regularly
– Establish a beginner emergency fund(for all you Dave Ramsey fans out there, you should recognize that as baby step 1).
- Pay off all debt, including student loans
- Save towards a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
- Create a budget each month and stay strictly in the confines of it

Tithe Regularly Why? Because the Bible tells me so. The end.

- Establish a beginner emergency fund(for all you Dave Ramsey fans out there, you should recognize that as baby step 1). Dave Ramsey falls under the financial Jedi category. If you haven’t read Total Money Makeover or gone through Financial Peace University, then do it. Now. What he calls “Baby Step 1″ is to have $1,000 in the bank for emergencies. So, I plan to have at least $1,000 before the year ends.

- Pay off all debt, including student loans Baby Step 2 according to Ramsey is paying off all debt. Thankfully I didn’t have to take out an astronomical amount of loan debt, so this goal is very doable this year.

- Save towards a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited I live in Florida. Jeeps are fun. Simple.

- Create a budget each month and stay strictly in the confines of it This is really the key to all financial goals. To track spending and budgets, I currently use a program called Squirrel. There’s also an iPhone app for it, so I can enter purchases on the go, then sync them to my computer later. I may switch programs eventually, but that’s the one I’m using for now.

That’s it. This wraps up the explanations of my 2010 goals. Over the coming weeks and months I will be posting some (hopefully) helpful information on how to manage, track, and achieve goals. Send me an email if you have any questions or would like me to talk about something in particular.

What are some of your financial goals for 2010? What are some previous financial goals you have achieved?

A Mental Case

So far we’ve looked at both physical and spiritual goals for 2010. Anytime you decide to embark on a personal development plan, you must avoid having goals in one or two areas. There are several big areas in life that need equal attention. Unfortunately, our culture often neglects mental development for individuals (if you don’t believe me, look at our school scores compared to the rest of the world).

Let’s recap my own mental development goals for 2010:

- Read 2-3 books per week from any of the following categories:Christianity, History, Biography, Culture, Current Events, Business, Leadership

- Create a Word document for each book that includes a general summary of the book as well as interesting quotes from the book

- Blog 2-3 times per week on the wesgay.wordpress.com site as well as blog at least once per week in mergeblog.wordpress.com (Again, I will provide more information later, but this is a group blog done with a couple friends of mine. You will see more from that blog soon.)

- Spend no more than 30 minutes reading all of the RSS feeds of blogs and websites I follow (When I discuss the how and why of this section, I will also attach the list of sites I follow)

- Read 2-3 books per week from any of the following categories:Christianity, History, Biography, Culture, Current Events, Business, Leadership I have always enjoyed reading to some extent, but in recent years I haven’t made reading a high priority. The more I read, the more I want to read. I listed specific categories here because these are areas that I interest me the most. These are the areas that will develop me most in the long run.

- Create a Word document for each book that includes a general summary of the book as well as interesting quotes from the book Let’s face it:some books are great, some books are awful, some books are in between. I’m a reader who highlights, underlines, and makes marks in books. I want to have the ability to go back and reference these notes anywhere at any time. Putting those comments in a digital format allows me to have an abundance of resources wherever I go.

- Blog 2-3 times per week on the wesgay.wordpress.com site as well as blog at least once per week in mergeblog.wordpress.com (Again, I will provide more information later, but this is a group blog done with a couple friends of mine. You will see more from that blog soon.) I like talking. I’ve always liked talking. When I was in the 7th grade, I won an award at a Talent Pool event for “Knowing Everything and Not Being Afraid to Share It.” Hopefully I’ve gotten better than that now. I’ve realized that there are things that I want to share, and blogging is a great way to do it.

- Spend no more than 30 minutes reading all of the RSS feeds of blogs and websites I follow (When I discuss the how and why of this section, I will also attach the list of sites I follow) There’s an overwhelming amount of information available online. Blogs and other news sources are great resources for mental development. I use Google Reader to organize and group all of the blogs. I can then read them on my computer or my iPhone. You can download a PDF of the blogs I follow here.

We all need mental development. We need to make our brains work. These are just a few things that can be done. You don’t have to do exactly what I’m doing, but at least do something.

What are some ways you intentionally develop your mind?

Lets Get Physical

So far this year I have given my goals for 2010. In the last post I gave some insight as to why I listed those particular goals. The next topic in the list is the goals under physical health.

Here are my goals for my physical health:

- Reach 200 pounds by May and maintain that weight throughout the year (Currently I average between 215-220)
- Exercise 3-4 times weekly, doing cardiovascular exercise, core workouts, and strength training(for building tone, not bulk)
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night
- Maintain a diet of more fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, and avoid more sweets, breads, and sodas(minus the occasional Mountain Dew of course)

- Reach 200 pounds by May and maintain that weight throughout the year (Currently I average between 215-220) I have spent most of my life overweight. Once I entered college, I made a lot of poor choices regarding my physical health. As the year goes on, I may adjust this goal to a lower weight. For now 200 pounds is the target number.

- Exercise 3-4 times weekly, doing cardiovascular exercise, core workouts, and strength training(for building tone, not bulk) This goal actually goes along with the above goal. Getting into the habit of regular exercise is not something that excites me, but is a necessary for a healthy life.

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night I like sleep. A lot. If I’m not careful, I will oversleep every day. Getting a good amount of rest is crucial to good health, but it cannot be done in excess. Rarely is lack of sleep a problem for me. Most of the time the problem is excess sleep.

- Maintain a healthy diet of  more fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, and avoid sweets, breads, and sodas (except for the occasional Mountain Dew) Oreos, pizza, and ice cream aren’t the key ingredients to good health. This is an unfortunate reality, but a reality nonetheless. I have difficulty maintaining consistent discipline in food choices. This area is a tough one, but is key to improved health overall.

Some people have goals to run marathons, compete in Triathalons, or maybe just run a 5K. Any one of those goals may appear in my list in the future, but nowhere in the near future I can promise you.

What are some of your physical goals for this years?

Spiritual Explanations

Earlier in the week I posted all of my goals for 2010, sorted by category. I will spend a few posts breaking down each category so you can better understand my perspective.

Today we start with the spiritual goals. To recap, they are:

- Spend 20-30 minutes daily in study of Scripture
- Read 4 chapters daily of the gospels(doing this daily will cause me to read each of the gospels at the least once a month. I will explain why later.)
- Pray 15 minutes each day
- Keep a daily journal of lessons learned, reflections of the day, prayers prayed, prayers answered, etc.

This list is relatively light when it comes to spiritual goals. For many years I have had trouble maintaining consistent discipline in this area of my life. These goals beginning steps in maintaining discipline in my spiritual life.

Let’s look at each of these goals one by one:

Spend 20-30 minutes daily in study of Scripture I prefer to have a plan of what I will be studying, as opposed to opening up my Bible each morning and hoping for the best. I will go through times where I systematically study an entire book or theme, as well as spend time reading books in order to gain clarity from a big picture perspective. Some of the tools I will use include the ESV Study Bible(both hard copy and online) as well as the Logos Bible Software(which can be found online categorized under “flippin awesome”). I like information, so my study of Scripture will be a time to gather information on the passage I have set for each day.

Read 4 chapters daily of the gospels This will be done separate from my study of Scripture. Typically this takes on average about 15 minutes, which isn’t much. The reason for this goal is so that by the end of the year I will have read each of the 4 gospels at least 12 times. I once heard a gentleman speaking to a room full of youth pastors say that maybe youth ministries need to spend time going through all of the gospels. His reasoning was that if we begin to understand Jesus, then we begin to understand everything.

Pray 15 minutes each day As I said earlier, I have spent many years being content with complete mediocrity in my spiritual life. In other words, I was ok with being spiritually pathetic. Prayer is one of the weakest areas of my life, so 15 minutes is a big step for me. This is one goal that I may or may not do all at once. By the end of the year I will be able to spend at least 15 consecutive minutes in prayer, but starting out I may break it up throughout the day.

Keep a daily journal of lessons learned, reflections of the day, prayers prayed, prayers answered, etc. Newsflash:I’m a nerd. There are things I like that most people couldn’t care any less about. Case in point:journals. I am a big fan of Moleskine journals. They can be purchased at all major book stores. They are simple, and to me, kinda cool (reminder, I’m a nerd). Recently, however, I decided to switch to a Levenger Circa notebook that I purchased some time back.. This notebook allows me to have dividers, so I can keep things like sermon notes, blog ideas, meeting notes, and daily journals separate. Some people may prefer to do a journal on their computer, which is their choice. I like physically writing my journal for a few reasons: 1) Paper provides much less distraction than a computer. I can stay more focused with paper than I can my computer. 2) Paper can be taken anywhere and doesn’t need power for me to write. 3) Paper lasts much longer than a hard drive. Eventually my time on earth will be done, and I want those I leave behind to actually see my spiritual journey written out. 4) Paper allows you to easily go back and see how far you have progressed or see how prayers were answered over a period of time.

I hope this provides a little bit of clarity into the whys of my spiritual goals. We often think that we don’t need spiritual goals because these are things we will just do. The problem is that we think for some reason we will just start doing all of these things one day. But that day never comes. We must set goals in our spiritual lives, or else we will wander like Israelites in the desert.

What spiritual goals have you set this year or in the past?

Goals for the New Year

In the last post, I discussed the need for goals as opposed to resolutions. Setting goals provides a level of accountability because we write exactly what we seek to achieve and when we seek to do it. We commit to being responsible for achieving the goals before us.

I suggest you give your list of goals to someone so that you can have outside encouragement to help you reach your goals. Maybe it’s because I’m young and stupid, or maybe it’s because I think it sounds like fun, but I have decided to post my goals for 2010 below:

Spiritual

- Spend 20-30 minutes daily in study of Scripture

- Read 4 chapters daily of the gospels(doing this daily will cause me to read each of the gospels at the least once a month. I will explain why later.)

- Pray 15 minutes each day

- Keep a daily journal of lessons learned, reflections of the day, prayers prayed, prayers answered, etc.

Physical

- Reach 200 pounds by May and maintain that weight throughout the year (Currently I average between 215-220)

- Exercise 3-4 times weekly, doing cardiovascular exercise, core workouts, and strength training(for building tone, not bulk)

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night

- Maintain a diet of more fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, and avoid more sweets, breads, and sodas(minus the occasional Mountain Dew of course)

Mental

- Read 2-3 books per week from any of the following categories:Christianity, History, Biography, Culture, Current Events, Business, Leadership

- Create a Word document for each book that includes a general summary of the book as well as interesting quotes from the book

- Blog 2-3 times per week on the wesgay.wordpress.com site as well as blog at least once per week in mergeblog.wordpress.com (Again, I will provide more information later, but this is a group blog done with a couple friends of mine. You will see more from that blog soon.)

- Spend no more than 30 minutes reading all of the RSS feeds of blogs and websites I follow (When I discuss the how and why of this section, I will also attach the list of sites I follow)

Financial

- Tithe regularly

- Establish a beginner emergency fund(for all you Dave Ramsey fans out there, you should recognize that as baby step 1).

- Pay off all debt, including student loans

- Save towards a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

- Create a budget each month and stay well within it

- Begin saving a little bit each much.

Thus is my list of goals for 2010. Sounds crazy, right? You’re right, it probably is crazy. But like I said in my last post, 2011 is coming whether I like it or not, so why not do something in this year?

Come back over the following days and weeks as I explain each of the goals in the categories, as well as principles for achieving any goal.

What are some of your goals for 2010?

Let The Resolutions Begin

The time has come for everyone to make their New Year’s Resolutions. They typically include things like spending less, paying down debt, managing time better, and losing weight(I’ve always wondered how much gym memberships skyrocket in January).

But why do we even bother making such resolutions? It seems as though it has become simply a tradition we do because, well, it’s what we do at this time of year. Funny thing is that very few people ever have any follow-through on their resolutions.

There are probably several reasons why New Year’s resolutions often fail, but I think there is one main reason:our resolutions are based on our assumption that we will all of a sudden become disciplined and self-controlled when we need to be.

But (shocker) we fail.

Why? Well, if we could be disciplined or self-controlled at will like we think we will one day, then we wouldn’t need resolutions. There wouldn’t be debt to be paid off or weight to be lost if we could in fact be disciplined or self-controlled at any time.

Here is what I propose: spend some time write a list of goals. The goals should cover big areas of your life, like spiritual, physical, mental, financial, etc. Each big area should have a list of achievable goals that are definite-like saying “I will lose 15 pounds by April” as opposed to “I will lose weight in 2010″- and are given a time frame.

Achieving these goals is not as hard as you may think. In the next post, I will list all of my goals for 2010. In the days and weeks that follow, I will discuss in detail both the hows and whys of the goals that I set.

Whether you like it or not, 2011 is coming in just one year. Why not be in a better place than you are right now?

A Year of Change

The new year is almost upon us. Cue the weight loss promises and fireworks purchases. Each new year brings change, which is precisely the case for my blog. 2010 will be a year of experimentation, from content to design. The changes will be subtle so that I can be sure and provide content that is beneficial to you. The majority of my posts will be focused on various issues and their implications in a digital society. Occasionally I will write about a leadership principal, or maybe something random I find.

The bulk of my content has been focused towards Christian living. I will still be writing posts in this topic, but they will primarily appear on another project I write for called the Merge blog. That blog is one that is updated by a variety of folks, with the goal being to address a broad range of spiritual issues.

I hope that as you enter 2010, you will evaluate where you are and see where you can improve and change in your own life. Change something in 2010, even if it’s just rearranging furniture.

Dred Scott’s Revenge

This blog is done as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program. To learn more about the program, click here.

Recently I finished reading Dred Scott’s Revenge by Judge Andrew Napolitano. It is a detailed account of American racism over the past 200 years or so. Judge Napolitano, Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst, takes you through a historical perspective of racism in America, both in the North and South. The journey begins in the days of slavery, and comes all the way to our present day situation.

Being a fan of history, I already knew some of the information presented by the judge. I was familiar with some of the major court cases he presented, such as Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education, but I was unfamiliar with some of the other information he presented. For example, nowhere before this book had I read of the less than favorable view of Abraham Lincoln, or seen evidence of racism being perpetuated by the federal government in order to stay in power. Particularly members of the federal government, as Napolitano proves, avoided desegregation or promoted segregation in order to keep votes and stay in office, rather than make decisions that are in line with the Constitution(such as “all men are created equal”). The more I read the more I became angry, and the more I realized how much I didn’t know on the subject.

Judge Napolitano covers everything from the sadistic scene surrounding most public lynchings to the unbelievably harsh treatment of African-Americans. Regarding the public lynchings, those who were hanged were done so in front of an eager audience, often times families who made it a festive occasion. After death those in the lynch mob would often cut up the victim’s body into pieces and hand them out as souvenirs. Time magazine even noted that the Nazis “did not stoop to selling the souvenirs of Auschwitz.”

We are taught in history class the evils of Nazi Germany. Don’t get me wrong; the Nazis performed some of the cruelest acts even performed. The amazing thing is that most Americans don’t realize that we, yes us, were treating people just as badly in our own country, and just like the Nazis, no one in the country did anything.

Racism caused whites to hang, burn, beat, mutilate, dismember, drag behind wagons, urinate and defecate upon, rape, maime, and murder blacks. Why? For no other reason than the fact that they were black. This practice was permitted, and often encouraged, by government officials for nearly 100 years after the Civil War ended, and nobody did anything to stop it.

I must admit, this book made me absolutely furious. I was astounded to see quotes from presidents such as Lincoln and JFK that were blatantly racist, yet seemed okay in their culture. There are very few things that make me fightin’ mad quickly, and racism is one of those things. If ever I encounter white supremacists, I just may do things that put me in jail.

Seeing the atrocities of racism got me thinking:will people in the future look back to our period in time and think the same about an issue as we think about slavery and racism? The answer:yes. But what, you ask?

Simple.

Abortion.

Just as the government permitted and ignored the complete mistreatment of blacks, over the last 40 years they have legalized the murder of around 40 million people. That’s almost 7 times the amount of Jews that Hitler had murdered. Every year nearly 1 million babies are aborted all across this land, yet no one in government is willing to put a stop to it.

Judge Napolitano closes with an interesting chapter. He discussed the entrance of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball. He presents a case that private individuals, not the government, were the ones who should have taken the responsibility for integration. In this case, a baseball owner decided to take a risk and act on his beliefs that all men are created equal. When an unpopular decision is left up to the federal government, it’s either avoided or handled wrongly.

So what will it take in private industry to overturn abortion? I don’t know, but we need to figure something out soon. Otherwise abortion will become yet another black eye on the face of American history.

What are other currently acceptable things that occur that history will look at unfavorably?

Christmas Part 3

Christmas really is a great time of year. School kids love it because it means a break from school. I’m told in some parts of the U.S. the temperature actually drops, but in Alabama it stays hot and the humidity dips ever so slightly.

Most people would have to admit that Christmas is a fun season. The decorations, the music, the atmosphere is just different at this time of year.

The Christmas season should be one of unmistakable joy in the lives of believers. Christmas is the celebration of the coming of Christ to earth, which marked the beginning of a life which ended in voluntary death so that all may have the opportunity for eternal life.

It’s easy to get caught up in family Christmas plans, vacations, parties, musicals, presents, etc, and miss the whole purpose of the season. This year, let us remember that Christmas is an intricate part of the gospel:without Christ coming as a baby, he would have never grown to be a man, who would never surrender his life on the cross for our seasons.

Rejoice in the incarnation (becoming a human) of Christ. Take joy for the moment that split history, the moment when a baby came into the world as fully God and fully man, a baby who later bear upon him the sins of the world.

So sing a little louder. Give a little more. Share the joy with those around you, for we serve a Savior who was born, lived, died, rose again, and lives to this day.