Doug’s Foggiest Ideas

This weekend marked the beginning of the new Fantasy Football Season!  Our league is called The I.G.A.F.F.L. of America. (The International Global American Fantasy Football League of America)

We held our draft on Saturday night and I think the M.O.D drafted pretty well.  The M.O.D. (Ministers of Defense) consists of Gary, Stephen and I.  Of course it is easy to be excited before any of the games begin but for what it is worth here is our team.

This week we were dealing with the 7th commandment at Plum Creek.  During the message I shared the 10 Commandments for marriage that I wrote.  I have seen this done by others but when I wrote mine I tried to stay true to the message of each of the real 10 Commandments.

When I did my list I actually came up with 12.  You will see why.  Here they are:

1.  No other earthly relationships before BETH, including my kids.

2.  Nothing on earth more important than BETH.

3.  Never speak negatively about BETH.

4a.  Worship & pray with BETH regularly.

4b.  Honor date night with BETH & keep it holy VERY HOLY!!

5.  Treat BETH’S family as if they were mine.

6.  Do not take life from BETH with my words or actions.

7a.  Be relentlessly faithful to BETH

7b.  Have sex only with BETH, OFTEN.

8.  Do not steal time that is meant to be spent with BETH.

9.  Always tell BETH the whole truth.

10.  Don’t entertain thoughts or desires of a relationship with anyone other than BETH.

I encouraged everyone to take the time to write their 10 Commandments for marriage as well.  Love to hear what you came up with!

Spent most of the day downtown on 16th Street shooting video for this weekend.  That is always a blast.  We decided it would be fun to kick off our new series on the 10 Commandments asking people a few questions about them.

It should be a fun video.  Not really surprised how many people believe that they are still very important for our society and also for us an individuals.  Yet only one guy could name all 10.  He was the guy carrying the “Jesus Loves You” sign while cruising 16th street.

You’re not going to want to miss our new series.  We are going to be challenged and have some “PlumCreek” fun at the same time!

See you at the theater on Sunday!

Many of you know that Beth & I decided at the beginning of the year that we would read through the Bible together.  We are still on track!  We chose to use the NLT Chronological Bible.

It has been a really good habit to form.  It we stay on top of our reading it takes about 15 min. a day to stay on pace.  This week we finished up Kings and Chronicles.  This has been an interesting read.  We you read through the history of the kings of Judah and Israel it is very clear there were many more bad kings then good ones.

This proved to be tragic for the people living under their rule.  It is also clear that God wasn’t too happy about this.  So much in life rises and falls on leadership.  Coming off Father’s Day weekend here is my thought.

While reading the history of the kings you see these men followed the example of their fathers.  This is fundamentally important for all of us dads to remember.  Our kids will most likely never end up being a king of anything more than an occasional hill.  However, it is vital to constantly remember they will follow our lead.

Our prayer and goal should be that when the history of our families is written, it be recorded that our children followed our lead and served God with their lives!  I’m praying for you and trust you will be praying for me as well.

I have posted this on my Facebook as well.

What is your matrix of evaluation when you are asked this one…”How are you doing spiritually?” Love to read your thoughts!

We are continuing our new series this week that we began on Easter Sunday.  I am really excited about this series.

Every once in a while you do something that surprises you and you catch a glimpse of the person you were made to be.

• You say something inspirational at a meeting
• You help a homeless man and no one else notices
• You are patient with a rambunctious three-year-old
• You lose yourself in a piece of music
• You give and receive love
• You express compassion
• You freely make a sacrifical gift
• You forgive

When these things happen we can see there is a unique, fully alive, flourishing person that God desires for me to be.  Scriptures tell us we are God’s masterpiece and there is a “me that He wants us to be”.

As difficult as spiritual growth can be, it is obvious God is at work in us.  However, the reality is there is often a gap between the “me that I am” and the “me that I want to be”.

Only God knows your full potential & He is doing everything He can to guide you toward the best version of you!  The most important task of your life is not what you do, BUT WHO YOU BECOME!  Join us for the next several weeks as we explore what the Bible says about becoming, “The me I want to be”.

The idea for this series comes from John Ortberg’s new book, The Me I Want To Be.  If you would like to study this further here is an Amazon link where you can order the book.

Today my Cubbies take the field preparing for what all of us Cubs fans believe will be “The Year”.  I have had this same excitement every year for 40 years.  I was born a Cubs fan and will always be a Cubs fan.

(Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune / March 2, 2010)

Lou has some serious work to do this year.  There better not be any “scratchin’ of the head” after the first pitch today.  LETS GO CUBBIES!!!

This weekend at church I shared that often we loose perspective of our mortality.  No one lives forever.  I shared about a website (www.DeathClock.com) that asks you a couple of simple questions and then “predicts” the day that you will die.

Not only that, but it also initiates a countdown clock that begins ticking down how many seconds, according to their assumed death date, you have left to live.  They predict that I will die Wednesday, May 19, 2060. I left that clock on my desktop last week to remind me of the way that our “Resurrection Hope” guarantees our future.

I thank God that I can live today with purpose and know that my future is secure because of all that my incredible God has done to extend to me His forgiveness and Grace.

If you have time check out the site and let me know what they say about the day you die?  Don’t look at it in a morbid way.  Look at it in a realistic way.  We all are going to die.  Are you ready?

1.  This is Holy Week. What does that mean to you? How have you celebrated or how do you celebrate it?

2. Remembering the “racquetball illustration”, have you ever measured yourself or your ability without an accurate “benchmark”? Please share.

3.  Read Leviticus 11:45, Matthew 5:48 and Habakkuk 1:13 then consider the illustrations in your Journey Guide. When did you realize your own “goodness” fell far short of God’s standard for perfection? When did you realize how many black marks were on your “moral scorecard”?

4.  Read Romans 3:23. Share how you “overrated your goodness” (past or present) before a Holy God. How have you seen this done by others?

5.  Read Romans 6:23. Share how you “underestimated the seriousness of your sin” (past or present) before a Holy God. How have you seen this done by others?

6.  Read I Peter 2:24 and 2 Corinthians 5:21. Then discuss John Piper’s quote: If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice.

What does the truth of these verses/doctrine do in your heart or mind?

7.  Share when you “signed up” or “resigned up” with Jesus.

8.  How will your life be different, now that you know these things?

9.  Make sure to pray for people you know and love who haven’t recognized their need to be “saved from their sin”.

Spent some time last night with many of the incredible people that make up our leadership team at Plum Creek.  There is no way to really express my appreciation for all they do.

I really love each and every one of them and when I think about their lives I really am passionate that they are growing in their relationships with God, that their marriages and families are in the place of priority that they need to be and that they are fired up about being part of God’s plan to bring as many people as possible along on this journey with us.

I can’t imagine doing what we do without each of them.  God has been so good in providing people that are excited to invest their time, talents and energy with us at Plum Creek.

I’m praying for each of you!!