One clear and peaceful Autumn morning on my way to work I stopped at the final red light before turning into the parking lot. Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel I looked at the car beside me as my scattered thoughts swirled around in my head sorting out the velocity of life. Then out of the corner of my eye I catch the scene of falling leaves. I watched one by one as each leaf swirled to the ground as life happened in the backdrop. I tell you, I got caught up and lost in this scene…unplugging from the business of life for a moment.

I then hear this thought whispered to me…”I see all those details.”

God sees these details, imagine that? ….but so often we miss them, the details of life become a blur in the velocity of life. I want to be more intentional about not missing these details, how about you?

God doesn’t miss a thing — he’s alert to good and evil alike. -Proverbs 15:3 (MSG)

So, what did I learn from a falling leaf? …that God sees the details! It is so important to know that God sees us, that He thinks about us, and that our heavenly Father is concerned over even the smallest details in our lives, so live in the moment with Him.

Living life is not about being focused in the past or even on a future. It’s about being in every moment with God and to be ready for whatever God has prescribed for that moment to be.

• First, in my relationship with Him

• Second, as a Father

• Third to God’s people and in accountability to the gifts He has given me to use on this earth

When I can pause long enough to soak this up, its so clear that I need God to do these three things!

What moments in life are you missing out on?

What do you need to be more intentional about?

Do you need God?

Remember, it’s about the journey and the journey is the destination!

The trees were proudly parading their vivid colors that warm and inviting autumn day in October of 2003 as I headed out to Orange, Massachusetts, to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Upon my arrival to the jump school, an employee with a detached personality and a large Mohawk haircut handed me a phonebook-size bundle of paperwork so I could begin the long process of signing my life away; so I wouldn’t hold the jump school responsible if I ended up a human pancake.

If that wasn’t enough, the whole family decided to show up to see if I would really follow through with this incredibly crazy stunt, which meant there was no way I could chicken out. You know, we men have our pride.

Anyway, I at least had enough sense to do a tandem jump, which meant that a professional jump instructor would be physically harnessed to my back for the exciting trip down. I spent the remainder of the day learning how to summon the courage to jump out of the plane and waiting for what seemed an eternity for my trip up to 13,500 feet.

My name was finally called and as I looked back at my family, possibly for the last time, I was led to the equipment area where the jump school staff helped me put on my jumpsuit, harness and a crazy-looking helmet that resembled something out of the 1940s football era. So there I was, fully geared up, standing with a silent numbness as my brain worked overtime to convince me not to do this, when out comes my assigned jump instructor.

You know—the professional.

This guy had a military-style crew cut, was half my size, was wearing no shoes, and was downing a can of Red Bull. His first words of encouragement to me were, “Dude, we are going to drop like a rock!” If that wasn’t enough, to further convince me that I was doing the right thing, out comes the videographer and his nickname was Slick. I was jumping out of a plane with Dude and Slick!

We finished gearing up and began what seemed like an endless walk to the aircraft that sat motionless as it idled on the safety of the tarmac. The scene then slipped into slow motion as I watched my family waving to me while I walked toward the aircraft with a veiled confidence, knowing that I would need a change of underwear real soon. The trip up to altitude was the loudest, longest twenty minutes of my life, and that the jump instructor and videographer found amusement in ribbing me the entire ride didn’t help.

The alarm sounds.

Altitude is 13,500 feet.

The door opens.

The wind comes roaring in.

Panic begins to overtake me.

Changed my underwear. (Just kidding.)

My test of courage had finally come as I began to inch my way toward the open door of my destiny moment. I stood at the threshold of all I knew to be safe, and without any rational thought, we leaped out of the plane, heading toward the ground at over 150 mph.
(Excerpt from Heartstone Copyright © 2009 by Tim Young. All rights reserved.)

Ok, so here is the rub. I placed my trust in a plane I’ve never been in, I placed my trust in an organization I was just introduced to, I placed my trust in a skydiver I just met and I placed my trust in a parachute I didn’t see packed. Really? So why was I struggling with trusting God?

I imagined a conversation between the Lord and me to go something like this: “Tim, help Me understand something here. You have no fear jumping out of an airplane with a complete stranger strapped to your back that you just met, half your size with a buzz cut, no shoes, and drinks Red Bull…but you won’t let go of your fear and jump into your destiny that I have created you for? Tim jump for Me, and I will make you fearless!”

Because of our limited view, we focus on our circumstances while He focuses on using our circumstances to accomplish a deeper work in us. It’s a trust issue. Can I trust God to shield me from the full onslaught of the enemy? Can I trust God when He allows suffering in my life? Can I trust God when He takes things away from me? Can I trust God with my kids? Can I trust God if I loose my job? Can I trust God [fill in the blank]?

Can I trust Him?

Do you struggle with trusting God?

Why?

Would You Sing For Gas?

Some of the content here on Heartstone Journey deals with some of the tougher stuff in life. Sometimes it’s good to share some of the lighter moments in life. Check out this this YouTube video of a couple at gas pump convinced to sing on live TV for free gas.

Would you do this?

Enjoy and hopefully this puts a smile on your face for the rest of your day

Lets go back to the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11 where the people of the town were going to stone her. This is one of the coolest stories in the New Testament. Jesus responds to the situation by saying “He who is without sin cast the first stone.” This is brilliant!

The people begin to put down their stones and walk away and the scene is left with this woman and Jesus alone in the town square. She is wrapped in nothing but a bed sheet and her shame. Jesus says “did they not condemn you?” “No, none of them Lord,” she said. Then Jesus says, “Neither do I and go and sin no more!”

Wait a minute, what?

Right next to this incredible tenderness, kindness, love and grace…in the next breath, Jesus says stop it!

We see the same thing in this story in John 5:1-15. In this story we find the paraplegic man at of the pool of Bethesda who had been hanging around at the pool as a beggar for 30+ years. This guy is living a horrible life.

He is hoping to get healed and Jesus approached him and asks him if he wants to get well…and heals this man right on the spot. Jesus tells him to get up, pick up his mat and go. The man does this and immediately causes a stir because it was against the law and the religious police jump all over his case.

Later Jesus finds him in the temple and says to him “you look wonderful, now stop sinning or something worse will happen to you!”

Wait a minute, what?

It’s almost like this story is pure Jesus up until the last sentence. Kindess, grace, mercy, intervention and help. Jesus does something really importnat here…He confronts the deeper issue!

The deeper issue here is not just about getting your body back…its about getting your soul back! Its about salvation!

This is vintage Jesus!

Ok, Jesus is incredible grace, love mercy kindness and at the same time an unwavering posture to the design and standards that God put forth. They are both Jesus and He wouldn’t be the same Jesus if you removed either side.

Not sure you’ve seen this played out, but I have noticed people usually camp out in one of two spots. One camp is the fierce doctrinal “right” and other camp is fierce compassion, sympathy with big hearts and big heads. One side confronts the sin without love and grace and the other side gives out plenty of love and grace but completely ignores the sin. Does Jesus play both ends against the middle here? Yup!

Do you know someone in one of these camps? Which one?

The deeper issue is sin and its destroying you! Some of this stuff is tough to let go. Remember Gollum in the Lord of the Rings? He was obsessed with the ring (sin) and would not let it go. Over the years it transformed him alright…it completely consumed him and disfigured him. No matter what you have done, come to Jesus. He is extending His hand of grace but He doesn’t want to leave you where you’re at, He wants to confront the deeper issue. If our deeper issue is not confronted it will ultimately destroy us…remember what happened to Gollum at the end of the story!

Are you going to hold onto your sin [fill in the blank] and punt or let Jesus deal with the deeper issue?

Are You Ready To Pick Yourself?

Wanted to share this powerful video with author Seth Godin as he talks about picking yourself (40 minutes, but worth it). Shout out to my good friend and colleague Tony Marino for sharing!

We all want to get picked for something, it’s in our DNA to be accepted. Right?

I am waiting for this to come or this to happen…and we wait and we wait and we don’t do anything at all. What if the “gate keepers” have all of a sudden lost their power to pick and choose? What if we could as Seth Godin suggests, “pick yourself?”

You want to write a book, pick yourself! You want to make a record, do it on iTunes! You want to [fill in the blank], do it!

Seth shares that it’s available because communication now is so easy. What is stopping you? For me and you (most likely), its the fear of the fear of failure! We want to play it safe.

What is it that you have to do, to pick yourself?