What To Do When Sorrow Attends Your Life

It is barreling down the road like a Mack truck bent on destroying your dreams, your hope and your faith and grinding it into dust. It wants to plow you over and leave you gasping for air in the road side ditch. Good luck calling for help, your cell phone just got crushed as well. While you lay in the grass hemorrhaging blood and gasping for breath thoughts race through your mind. You can hardly believe you’re here, and that this happened to you. Heck you may not even know what hit you.

What is it?

Suffering and sorrow.

No matter your age, where you are from, or your station in life the dark night of the soul is coming for you. You might as well buckle your chin strap and brace for impact. It has you in its sights and you can't do anything to avoid it.

Money, position and power might insulate you from some of it, but in the end it catches up with us all.

You will be attended with grief at some point in your life.

What do you do when that day comes?

Remember truth

In the face of what you don't know or fully understand, cling to what you do know. There are at least three things to cling to when that day darkens your door.

I. God is good. God's character displays His goodness. History and His word show Him to be loving (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:7-11, John 3:16), faithful (Deut 7:6-9, 2 Timothy 2:13, Psalm 33:4) and gracious (Exodus 34:5-7, Psalm 86:5, 15, Ephesians 2:8-9, Matt 9:27).  

II. God is in control. Another way of saying this would be to state that God is sovereign. When we think about God's sovereignty we primarily think of three attributes of God. Omnipotence, all powerful and able to do as He chooses (Psalm 135:5-6, Job 42:2, Philippians 3:20-21). Omniscience, knowing all things past, present and future (Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 46:10, Hebrews 4:13). Omnipresence, always and completely present everywhere (Jeremiah 23:24, Proverbs 15:3, 1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:7-12).     

III. God is trustworthy. God can be trusted upon to keep His word, and promises (Hebrews 10:23, Titus 1:2). In light of His goodness and sovereignty we can trust Him. While we often do not understand many of the events that attend us in this life, we can entrust ourselves in to the arms of a good, loving Father who not only cares for us more deeply that we can imagine, but who is in control of the universe and has promised that nothing we here endure is without plan, purpose or design.  

When you cling to these truths found in God's word, it will buoy you in the sea of life. It will keep you afloat though the waves dash about and sink you with regularity. You will return to the surface by God's grace.

Process with others

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is each other, the church. When disaster strikes we are not left alone to figure things out. We have the amazing opportunity to half our burdens by sharing them with others. But other people can't help you if they are unaware of what is going on in your life. Open up and share honestly about your life. I know it can be a scary thing. You wonder what other people will think and what they will say. You will be pleasantly surprised at how many other people have experienced similar things and most importantly you will be deeply touched by their compassion and support as you walk through a trying season. The church is made up of crazy, mixed up people like me and you, but there is no better place to be when you're blindsided by disaster.

Here is a picture of what this looked like recently in a neighborhood not to far from here when tornados ripped through Garland and Rowlett.  

Remember things will not always be so

This world is touched by the curse. A result of our sin and rebellion. But this will not always be the case. This world is full of many sorrows and in this life we are promised trouble, but God's grace is greater than the storm and just as He calmed the one upon the sea, so also will He calm this one. You are buoyed by the words of God and His promises that no suffering you here endure is without meaning and that great promise that He will soon make right all that has gone awry because of sin.     

At the end of the day we desire to say as the saints of old that, "blessed is the name of the Lord" and "it is well with my soul."

If ever there was a man who's life had been hit the full force of the Mack truck of sorrow, it was Horatio Spafford. In the midst of difficult suffering and tragic circumstances he authored this beautiful hymn. Below is a video from Desiring God with Jimmy Needham singing "It Is Well" and John Piper telling the moving story behind it. It is my prayer that your soul would be buoyed by the truth that is found in these lyrics and that you would bookmark these truths for when your own day of trouble comes.

I'm Excited to Get After This Gigantic 2016 Reading List

2015 is coming to a close and 2016 stands just over the horizon. What kind of year will it be? How will you change, grow and mature over the course of the next 12 months? I can't wait to reach December 2016 and see all the work the Lord has done in my heart and life, especially what He will do through the reading of good books.

As I have shared before, I am absolutely obsessed with reading, learning and sharing how both are impacting my life with you. Over the past year I have read some great books and while I have shared my top 6 here, I want to spend this time sharing with you what's on my reading list for 2016.

I have planned my reading with in five primary areas, leadership / personal growth, network marketing, spiritual growth, biographies and fiction. I have selected several books for each category that interest me, come highly recommended and those I believe will help me grow.

Through out the year I plan to share the ideas, stories and principles that stick out and are positively impacting my life. While I am itching to get each of these books in my hand, I am especially excited to read the following six. 

The Art of Learning by Josh Waitskin - The title alone had me hooked but Tim Ferriss' review only increased my excitement for reading this one. If you are as crazy about learning as I am, you'll probably want to add this one to your list as well as Josh unpacks how the best performers in the world become the best.

4 Color Personalities for MLM by Tom Schreiter - If you're not in network marketing, this one remains well worth adding to your list. This little gem comes highly recommended as the resource that will help you transform how you share that which you are most passionate about with others in a way that will connect.

Anchorman by Steve Farrar - Handed to me by my father-in-law a few weeks back, I can’t wait to dig in and learn. In this handy resource Steve Farrar discusses topics related to legacy and parenting. I am looking forward to how this book will transform my thinking, challenge my preconceived notions and help me become the man in Christ that I am called to be.

J.I. Packer: An Evangelical Life by Leland Ryken - It would be hard to overstate the impact J.I. Packer has had on modern Christianity. Over the past 60 years, Packer has influenced a generation through his writings and yet remains one of the least known giants of the last half century. Having been profoundly impacted by his book Knowing God several years ago, I am most eager to learn more about one of the greatest theologians of our time.   

For Whom The Bell Tolls by Earnest Hemmingway - For some time now I have found myself interested in the life and writing of Earnest Hemmingway. He seems a larger than life personality who impacted others with his writing and I feel nearly ashamed that I am yet to read one of his books. If I read nothing else in 2016 I will read at least this one book by Hemmingway. 

How To Read A Book by Mortimer Adler - This book has been recommended to me more times that I can count, yet I've never picked it up. Which is strange given that reading is one my absolute favorite things to do. If I am going read, I want to do it well and that's something I hope this book will help me with. 

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My Gigantic 2016 Reading List

Here is my current reading list for next year. If you see something that has been of major benefit to you, has shaped your life or don't see something you feel I need to add please let me know by commenting below.

Leadership and Personal Growth

Network Marketing

Spiritual Growth

Biographies

Fiction

Merry Christmas

Today we pause to celebrate the greatest event in all history, the birth of Jesus Christ. How amazing that God Himself would put on flesh and walk among us that, "His blessings might flow as far as the curse is found." 

Wherever you are this Christmas Day, we hope that you have a happy day celebrating the great love of God in Christ.

Simple Tips To Get More Out Of Reading

The subject of reading has been on my mind a lot lately as we near the end of the year. I love to read and believe the books we read play a large role in who we become. One good book or one great sentence can change a life. As a result, I invest a great deal of time and thinking to developing my reading habits.  Today I want to offer a few reading tips you may find beneficial. I hope it will be helpful to you.

Sir Frances Bacon said that, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and few to be chewed and digested." I couldn't agree with him more. Not every book deserves the level of attention I'm going to share with you. It's reserved for that select few books worthy of chewing and digesting.

I love the feel of a physical book in my hand. There is something about the feel of the paper, the weight in your hands and the smell of the pages that makes me come alive. Although not my exclusive practice I choose to read physical copies over electronic copies most of the time.

Read with pen in hand.

We start with one of the most fundamental elements of getting the most out of a good book. Mark it up by writing in the margins, underlining or highlighting your favorite parts and returning to them often. Mark those especially important sentences, arguments or thoughts in the margin and take note of that with which you disagree. Grab the book and wrestle it until it relinquishes its secrets. This transforms your reading from that of a casual observer to an engaged participant.

Some people are shy about writing in books, but I can think of no greater compliment to the author that to deem one of their sentences worthy of underlining.  And no greater tribute to their intellect than to track their thoughts after them page by page. Work hard to understand the book and interact with the authors arguments.

Take notes.

Write down ideas, thoughts, quotes and reflections as you read. One great way to do this is to keep a running note in your favorite note app. You may also find it helpful to keep an executive summary of the book on the blank pages at the beginning and end of the book. Track important arguments and thoughts. Ask questions of the author and return to them as you find the answers. These pages are perfect for creating a summary or outline and become an archive of learning. 

How To Select Fantastic Books To Read

Hopefully you've set a specific goal for reading in 2016, but what exactly will you read? Have you picked your book catagories and put together a reading list? Many of us are stumped when it comes to deciding what to read. We know we want to increase our level of reading but we have trouble deciding exactly what books we need to read. 

 That's why I want to devote some time to helping you develop a map for your 2016 reading journey by sharing with you the process I used for picking which books to read in 2016.

Pick Some Categories

My first step was to select a few categories to read in. This helps narrow my focus from everything in the world, to just 5 specific categories of reading. No matter how much I would enjoy it, I can't read every book and therefore have to distingquish what I will read and how I will read it. Narrowing my reading to 5 major categories helps me focus my time and energies in the right directions. My five categories for 2016 are leadership / personal growth, network marketing, spiritual growth, biographies and fiction.    

Ask Yourself Questions

One of the best things you could do is spend some time creating a system for selecting books. Personally, I use a series of questions to help me block out the hype and noise and determine what books are truly worth my time.    

1. What do I want to learn in the next year?
I have an appietite for learning. I am obsessed with it and so each year begins with a hunger to grow, learn more and become more. Asking myself what I want to learn in the next year helps me create a list of books that helps me develop my mind. 

Among the things I desire to learn in the next year are how to ask good questions, develop better relationships, write well and learn more effectively. 

2. What have others suggested?
Someone is always reccomending a book we should read. Whether it is a friend over coffee, or a podcast we listen to, we have no shortage of recommended reads. And we would be silly not to take the sincere reccomendations of others into account when we are putting together our reading lists. 

I personally keep a log of book reccomendations throughout the year. If I hear it come up in a conversation or I hear it on a podcast I write it down. If the same book is mentioned by multiple sources or the title deeply resonates with me I put a star next to it. This way I always have a pipeline of books to choose from. 

3. What classics do I need to read?
There are certain books everyone simply must read, but sadly haven't gotten around to. To my own shame, my list of classics that I haven't read is just about as long as that of recommended reads.

4. What do you need to read? 
Depending on my annual goals there may be specific books I need to read. These books may be industry specific or pertain to various projects.     

5. Who do you want to be and what books will get you there? 
For every book that finds it's way into my hands there is a specific purpose in mind. Some may be for developing habits, learning new information or reaching goals but no matter the immediate goal each book has an overarching goal, to shape who I am. Character development is the primary goal of my reading. Each book plays a part in helping me become the man I am supposed to be.