Some of God's Promises

“You are blessed because you believe God will do what He said.”

That was a verse from the book of Luke that I read this morning in the Bible. It struck me with a question, “How often do I really believe God will do what He says, what He promises?”

Often times, God’s promises feel far away and bigger than intervening with the individual moments of everyday life, which is possibly why it’s been hard for me to focus on believe God’s promises. His promises consist of things like saving the world from sin, bringing Heaven to earth and making all things new - all very big promises. All very important and beautiful promises, but also ones that don’t feel like they can be a part of our everyday provision. It’s hard to focus on those promises. The ones like taking away our anxieties if we cast them on them, or that He will clothe us better than fields of flowers and provide for us, more so than He does the birds. Those are the promises I often times try to take on doing myself, rather than relying on Him. Maybe that’s why they are harder to remember and harder to belive.

-Cliff

-Cliff’s Note: Take all things to Him who provides all things.

Vulnerability

If you were to look at the inside of my right, upper arm, you would see the face of a polar bear, a tattoo that I got a few years ago when I was living in Tulsa.

As an endangered species, the polar bear is a symbol of vulnerability, something that is scary to me. But i got that tattoo as a constant reminder of why it’s important to be vulnerable. Sure, it can leave you exposed and in danger of being hurt, but it can also lead to being known, cared for and loved.

A part of being vulnerable that I struggle with is being unknowing. It feels like much of my life is living in a state of unknown and guesswork, but the more I experience life, the more it feels like that’s just the nature of being an adult, trying things out with uncertainty and being okay with the truth that not all things will work out.

It’s vulnerable to admit you don’t know everything. It’s vulnerable to ask for help. It’s vulnerable to be at the mercy of the unknown and someone else’s expertise. But there’s always good in that. There’s growth, learning and opportunity.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Vulnerability makes a stronger.

A Journey to Rest

This past weekend, I went to southeast Oklahoma with some guys for a bachelor party. We got a cabin in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, an area that looks nothing like the rest of the state. One might think they were in Colorado or the Pacific Northwest.

The drive down there got me thinking - How far is too far to travel to feel refreshed?

Is it 10 minutes?
Is it 1 hour?
How about 3 hours?

Even people in Denver have to trip a couple of hours to get to Rocky Mountain National Park.

This weekend’s trip was about 4 hours, but it was worth every minute to get to the fresh air, the quiet and the low hanging clouds lingering in the valleys of the mountains. It was worth it to get away into a new environment, an environment that gives rest to the soul and to the spirit.

I often forget the lesson I once learned, that adventure is right around the corner, which is important, because I believe rest can also be found right around the corner. We don’t have to take plane rides or epically long road trips for great escapes that can reset and recharge us in seasons of fatigue. Certainly, 4 hours would be too far of a drive for some, and would be considered exhausting, which is why I ask you, how far is too far for you to escape to get the much-needed rest we all need?

Sometimes, it takes a journey to escape; it can take work to rest.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: If it’s 4 hours away, take the rest.

Winners

This morning at the gym, ‘Win’ (clean) by Jay Rock was playing over the loud speakers. It’s a pretty simple song, especially the chorus, which has a line in it that just says, ‘win,’ over and over again. It’s a song that gets stuck in your head pretty quickly, and today, it was bringing to mind some winners I’ve seen in my life with each beat.

First, my wife, Sarah’s, face popped into my head. She’s been going through it lately, and over the last week some of the clouds have begun to break for her. WIN.

Next, my friend Julien is getting married this week to the love of his life. WIN.

Also, myself, i’ve continued to be consistent in writing. WIN

There’s also my friends Matt & Vanessa, Matt & Courtney, Connor & Mel and Kale & Bailey, who are all having babies soon. WIN. WIN. WIN. WIN.

There’s lots of sunshine in life right now, despite the world’s rainy days and problems seen on the news, and that puts a smile on my face. I know those examples are extremely personal to me, but I hope there’s a moment in your day today that you get to stop, breathe and see the sunshine in your own life.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: The sun has a lot of rays, and so does life. Catch a glimpse of one.

Hard Workers

Do you have anyone in your life who out works everyone around them?

That’s who I’m finding out my new co-worker, DeAndre, even to the point of wondering how he ever sleeps.

DeAndre is 25, and he's already done more in life than I may ever do; it’s impressive. Right now, he volunteers with about five different organizations, has two jobs (one of which is his own company) and is trying to start a family soon.

And i’m over here wondering, “When am I going to have time to watch the next Avengers movie?”

It blows my mind that there are people with the work ethic of DeAndre, and I truly commend them for it. They have the minds of true leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries. and I believe they’re some of the people we can learn the most from: Why they work hard, how they find the strength and what drives them.

Who’s the hard worker in your life and how do they inspire you?

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: We are all built different. What will the hard-worker see in you that is your strength and what can you teach them?

Complexly Made

This morning I woke up scared. Not from a nightmare or anything of that nature; it was just one of those mornings where I woke up feeling along and felt a bit lost as I drove to the gym.

I’m not alone. I awoke next to my wife. I had dinner with a my family, a family who loves me, the night before. I’ve been in plenty of contact with friends lately. It wasn’t a lonely feeling that any of those facts would cure.

It was almost an empty, eternal alone feeling. A feeling of being lost without purpose.

Personally, feelings and days like that are rare, but I know they’re much more common for others. When they hit me, they produce anxiety. I’m not sure what’s inside me, what I’m feeling, where I’m going, what I’m supposed to do, or how all of Life is being held together. They’re big feelings, scary ones.

So I sought refuge where I seek refuge when it feels like nothing else works: the Psalms.

Today, it was Psalm 139. It was good, and if you’re feeling like me, or if you do ever feel that way, it’s worth a moment to meditate on, whether you’re a person of Faith or not.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: The complexity of being made in humanity is a gift to be thankful for.

Circulating Thoughts

One of my favorite house plants started dying this weekend. The roots are rotting, and it’s finally showing on the surface. I’m pretty sure I watered it too much.

When a house plant dies, it’s not as serious as when a pet dies or anything like that, but it’s still sad. It’s something living that’s been by my side for at least 2 years now, and it makes it even worse that it’s my fault it’s dying. I’m sure it would have been just find without me in its natural place, but someone took it out of that, and I took it from there.

I was thinking a lot about my dying plant last night while I was laying in bed, unable to fall asleep. I was stressed it was dying and felt bad because I killed it, and that unfolded all of these other thoughts that had been buried in my mind over the past few weeks.

Like:
What’s really important in life? Is it caring for a house plant?
How can I take care of things at work when I can’t water a plant right?
Why does life come and go so quickly? Where is it all going?

Deep thoughts. The kind you don’t like keeping you up at night because their thoughts that don’t have answers. They just keep circulating. So I’m putting them here because somehow, that helps.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: It’s good to ponder the cosmos and their purpose.

Character Arcs

Over the past several weeks, my wife, Sarah, and I have watching all of Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ movies in chronological order, which is quite the task; each movie is 2+ hours long, and there are always several story lines happening within each film.

One of the most interesting characters in their cinematic universe is Tony Stark. He’s interesting for several reasons, one, of course, being that he’s Iron Man. Another because he’s essentially Marvel’s version of Batman - a wealthy person who doesn’t have super powers by nature, but rather has money to create technology that gives him a skillset. However, the biggest reason Tony Stark stands out to me is because of his character development. From his first appearance in Iron Man one to his last appearance in a film I won’t tell you the name of because of *spoilers,* his character arc grows significantly from the selfish, wealthy man we see in the beginning to the sacrificial, giving person we see in the end. It’s dramatic and true.

It makes me wonder what it would be like if we could see our own character arcs.
How dramatic would they be?
Would we change for the better or for the worse over time? Maybe both?
Where would the timeline stop?

Maybe that will be a piece of Heaven (or Hell?), getting to watch your life on a big movie screen. In Heaven maybe there’s popcorn, in Hell, there probably wouldn’t be. Either way, I can only hope my arc goes up.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Continue to learn and grow in wisdom, compassion and sacrifice.

Screen Usage

Every Sunday morning, I get a notifications on my phone and on my laptop about my screen time usage. It’s an automated notification that Apple has installed on its products to keep you aware of how much time you really are spending on your devices, and it’s a notification that I’d like to think has a good heart behind it - accountability.

Usually, the notification coming through on my phone gets me down. It always tells me me I’ve been on my phone way longer than I’d like to have been and way longer than it seems.

Typically, I sit around the 90 minutes/day mark of phone screen time. That’s hard to comprehend when I imagine myself sitting, staring at my phone for that many consecutive minutes, but I suppose when one stretches out all of the times the check their device, text people back, etc., the time adds up.

I was thinking about these notifications and my phone usage this morning when I read the final verse from John’s first letter in the Bible: “Keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

This verse got me thinking because I know if I had a ‘spiritual time usage’ notification on my person each week tracking the amount of time I read, prayed or participated in a ministry or another spiritual discipline, it wouldn’t add up to near the amount of screen usage time I have.

For a Christian, that’s convicting.

So, I’m going to work a little harder to spread out more ‘spiritual time’ throughout my day… just as I do my phone usage.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Someone should invent a spiritual time usage notification that’s not on the Bible app.

Showing Up

Do you ever have those mornings when your head feels like it’s in a complete fog, and when you look out the window, the world mirrors your mind and traps you in dense clouds where you can’t see more than a few feet in front of you? That’s today.

I tried opening the finder window to begin writing this morning, and clicked the wrong one four times.
I forgot to turn my headlights on (dangerous in the fog).
I used face wash as shampoo.
And I made hot tea this morning without putting in the teabag. So, I basically made hot water for 10 minutes.

These type of mornings aren’t the greatest. They don’t set one up for a successful work day, and everything feels difficult, but guess what?

We eventually get our finder windows open to the right one.
We find our headlight switch.
Face wash is still soap.
As long as the hot water is at least warm, you can still use it for tea.

You showed up, and that’s what counts. Even when days don’t start like we want them to or don’t finish as well as they start, showing up and trying is a win in itself.

So, if you’re having a day like me, enjoy the fog and smile in the fact that you showed up.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: A win is a win, even if it’s small.

Making Friends

Making friends has always been hard for me. The process feels like entering an ice-cold swimming pool on hot summer day. I know the water is going to feel great after I get in, but the action of actually getting into the pool takes a little while.

I always study the water at first, debating whether or not I want to dive headfirst into the deep end or take it slow, easing into knee-deep depths, and finally, after the water gets past my belly button, being able to fully submerge.

There are a lot of people who take the alternate route, as well, diving headfirst into the water without any thought at all. And sometimes, I wish that were me. It certainly looks cooler than entering a pool the same way most children under the age of five enter one.

I often wish the headfirst approach was more my style when it comes to forming friendships, too - Avoiding the awkward song and dance of debating whether or not to approach someone and introduce myself, but instead walking straight up to a stranger or group of strangers, thrusting out a sweaty right hand in confidence for a handshake and introductions. Nonetheless, I’m a slow-wader, and not only do slow-waders need time to meet people and form friendships, we need even more time to find roommates and even more time to be-friend those roommates, rather than just treating them like roommates.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Dive or don’t.

Giving

This past Sunday was an uncomfortable day for the pastor at our church. It was a day that he had to talk about giving & tithing - two things I’m sure pastors feel like they never talk about, but two things that I’m sure congregants feel like they talk about too much. It also seems to never fail that churches have more visitors on days when the sermon is about giving the church, which is uncomfortable for everyone, and with all of those facts in mind, yes, this past Sunday’s sermon was about giving.

I’ve always thought the giving can look like a lot of things, money being one of them, obviously, but also time.

One of my friends, John, is in medical school, and he has always believed in tithing his time, especially while in school and taking out loans. He has the conviction that he can’t tithe money while he doesn’t have a job and by using student loan funding, so he goes above and beyond to serve, which I have always respected.

On the other hand, I have a friend who’s a devout atheist, and he’s creating a nonprofit business based on giving back 11% of all proceeds; that’s 1% better than the 10% mark that the Church often instills as how much one should tithe. I respect that business model as well, and how he wants to put into practice the idea that one doesn’t have to go to Church to do good things in the world.

Then, there’s my wife and I, both with jobs, both going to Church and both giving back. But how much is enough? How much is not enough? Both in time and in cash. It’s a question that is different for all families and all individuals, and it’s one we talk about often, but I always wonder - will it ever feel like we’re giving enough? Just as I wonder - will it ever feel like I have enough?

Two questions. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Never clear answers.

-Cliff

-Cliff’s Note: Even though there are questions in giving, give gladly.

Things on Walls

I’m staring at the cubicle walls in my office for the first time in a long time, and I’m looking at all of the artifacts I’ve hung up over the past year.

There’s a framed, college degree, a photo of my wife, Sarah, and I, and there’s a block of wood with praying hands carved into it done by my grandfather.

On another wall, there’s a magnet from New Zealand, a Landshark bottle opener and a Harry Potter magnet that my friend sent me from a trip to Florida a few years back. It’s holding a productivity schedule.

As you swing to the other wall, computer monitors hang with matchbox drawings taped to them. Each drawing depicts a different camping scene, one with men fishing out of a canoe and the other one with a family sitting around a campfire.

I suppose I’ve hung these things up to provide an atmosphere of serenity. Something to represent me and who I am in a massive building filled with other people and things that represent each of them.

We hang things in our homes, in our cars and all around us, and all of those things say something.
They tell a story.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Take notice of the things around you and ask about the stories they tell.

Uncontrollable Words

What do we all have that is both seen and unseen, used for good and evil and that we all both have control of and lack control of?

Words.

Words have been on my mind a lot lately. Not the words on this screen, but the words that come out of my mouth, the words that seem to be on the tip of my tongue without me even knowing it.

Like yourself, I’m often unsure of where the words that I speak come from. Sometimes I say things I promise I’d never say. Sometimes I say good things that I never knew I understood. But mostly, I find myself saying things to please people, things that I wouldn’t normally say or subscribe to, but things that I know will make the person I’m talking with happy.

I was listening to an ancient piece of text the other day, and it said that all kinds of animals have been tamed by mankind, but that we have still never been able to tame our tongues. It said that our mouths are restless and have poison in them.

And I can’t help but believe that’s still true, even these thousands of years later after that text was written; we still. have trouble controlling what we say and speak.

Maybe one day we’ll get a grip. Until then, I’ll keep trying to catch the words coming out of my mouth before they come all the way out and admit I’m wrong for the ones that escape that shouldn’t.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Words are like a wine; they can be good when the time is right, good and served among friends, but they can also be bitter, toxic and spilled, ruining a moment and your shirt .

Life Chapters

Recently, i’ve been reading stories about King David from the Old Testament in the Bible - his Mighty Men, his victories and failures and his ruling kingdom. He was quite the guy, a ‘man after God’s own heart.’

And in reading all about him, I wonder if he knew that one day, 2,000+ years later, people would still be reading of him and all he’d done, the good and the bad. That has to be one of the downfalls of being a king, in my opinion - everyone reading all the details of your life, most of which lack context.

There’s also the story of David and Bathsheba, probably David’s lowest moment that’s recorded. But the funny thing is, it’s only recorded in one of the oracles of his life, not the other. In fact, it gets nearly a full chapter dedicated to it in one book, while the other book doesn’t mention it at all.

It got me to thinking about my own life and what people would read about it in old journals and hear told about it from old friends and family. Would the bad things come up, or just the good? How long before the bad is forgotten and the good remains or before the good is forgotten and all the bad, damaging things we’ve left behind are all that remain?

Much like yourself, i hope the good things remain, that I’m remembered for good. For loving, for teaching, for sacrificing, for wisdom, patience and goodness.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Each day is a chapter written. I’ll try my best to write the good, unforgettable ones.

Clouds

Clouds cover the city skyline this morning. Not fog, but thick, dark blue clouds.

It looks as if it might storm, but the sun rising in the east pushes an orange glow across the deep blue thunderheads, reflecting the light and making the sky question whether it will rain or not.

I like these types of clouds, these types of days. They’re dreary, but they’re also peaceful and carry promises.

They carry rain.
They carry rainbows.
They give us shade in the heat of summer.

All good things. All beautiful things. All counteracting the storms they also carry.

So today sits and waits for the storm that may or may not come, and today enjoys the promises that already have come: light, warmth, beauty and the hint of a rainbow tracing the tail end of the sky.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: See the clouds, smell the rain, hear the thunder, feel the electricity and taste goodness.

Forgetting Names

I’m not good with names, terrible actually.

Typically, the first time I meet someone, I’m too focused on my own, personal elevator pitch to hone in and focus on the very first thing, and most important thing, my acquaintance tells me - their name.

This past weekend at an event I was working at, I must have met 20-30 people, all who told me their name, and I could probably only tell you one of those names now. It’s not impressive, and it’s a skill I long to be better at.

Names are important. They’re part of our identity, and often the first sign I catch that someone respects me and wants to know me is when they remember my name and use it.

Of course, there are others like me, who are just bad with names and mean no disrespect when they can’t remember it, but when we can remember names, it can changes someone’s entire day and entire experience.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Take names.

Family Leadership

This morning, I was listening to a podcast that I tune into weekly. I must be nearly 200 episodes into it, if not more, so one might say I enjoy it at the least. It’s called the BEMA Podcast, and it is typically hosted by two guys - Marty Solomon and Brent Billings; however, this morning’s episode was missing Brent and featured Marty’s wife, Becky, for the first time.

This episode of the podcast turned out to be a discussion between husband and wife. It was a healthy talk that ranged from Marty and Becky’s differences to their family’s core values, and it was during their chat that I began to feel convicted - not by anything in particular they were questioning of their listenership’s marriages, but just by the way they talked about leading their family. It made me feel behind, even as Sarah and I are newly-weds, like I was being a poor leader in my own family. So I began to write down some questions.

What does leadership look like in marriage?
What are our core values?
How can I pray more?
What will I have to sacrifice?
How can I do the hard things?
How can I always be honest?
Will I lose sleep?
How can I make sure Sarah feels cared for, loved and known?
What can we build together to begin working toward family goals?

These were things I hadn’t thought of before and questions I hadn’t addressed. But now questions that I want to. Even though we’re a young family, and I’m a young husband, I don’t want to leave those things as excuses to neglect family leadership.

So this Friday, heading into the weekend, this is my reader question: When do you feel most like a leader and how can you pull that into an area of life when you feel less like one?

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Sacrifice is a requirement of leadership, and that is not easy.

The Comparison Found in Competition

Yesterday I wrote about comparison.

Today, I’m going to do the same thing. Because this month is ‘Muscle May’ at the gym my wife, Sarah, and I go to.

We go to a bootcamp style gym called ‘Intentional Fitness,’ and we absolutely love it. Not only have the workouts and culture made a big impact on our mental and physical health over the past few months, but the community there has also been extremely refreshing. We’ve made friends we never would have made before and have learned things we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn.

But, as I said, this month is ‘Muscle May,’ a challenge to see who can gain the most muscle mass over the next 4 weeks, which of course brings up the question: How do you do handle this without comparison?

How is it possible to have a fitness competition, while at the same time not trying to compare yourself to your peers? Essentially, to not compare almost removes the competition aspect of the challenge. Even when comparing your former self to your current self or visa versa.

I’m trying to figure this out, and I don’t have an answer to this question, but if you do, I would love to hear it in the comments below.

I struggle with comparison greatly, and I don’t want to get caught in its traps over the next four weeks. After all, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: How do you remove the comparison from competition?

Tape Measures & Rope

I’m looking outside the back window of our house this morning as I write. There’s a big, beautiful tree that shades most of this side of the backyard, and when it has all its leaves, the tree creates a sense of serenity. Except one part of the tree.

One part of the tree has a long, yellow rope hanging from it, falling down from way up high in the tree’s massive branches, too high to reach. There’s something about this rope that is off putting. Sure, it stands out against the rest of the tree and hangs there with no purpose other than to dangle in the wind. But it also feels like it symbolizes negativity. It resembles a noose, which I don’t love, but it also looks like a long measuring tape, showing me just how long it is and just how far from the ground it is. And it always reminds me of measuring myself. Just how far off I am from the things I want to achieve.

That’s a lot to take away from a long-forgotten rope hanging in the backyard, but it goes to show, we (humans) will take self-measurements from anywhere. From the people around us, from social media, from television and books, and apparently, even from the inanimate objects placed around us that the voices in our heads use to tell us lies.

What are you measuring, and what’s measuring you?
I hope they are true.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Measuring yourself compared to others is no way true way to measure.