7holycrap Life Lessons, Uncategorized

What I learned from my Free Ski Lesson

I had a great day skiing at Copper Mountain yesterday and thought I would write a little blog about what I learned from a free ski lesson I got from a guy I met on the hill.

I would classify myself as a great non-mogul skier.  I am not afraid to go down anything but it just may take me a little longer than some.  I can ski anything very well as long as it doesn’t include trees or those little white devils known as moguls.  I was trying to ski a Black Diamond at Copper (actually, I was more “surviving the run” and not really skiing it) when I came up behind a guy and struck up a conversation about how great the day was the condition of the snow.  He noticed I was doing my “survival routine” and asked if I wanted any pointers.
Lesson number one learned: I had the option to be prideful and tell him “no, I’ve got this” when I knew in my mind and the obvious show of my lack of mogul skiing, that I needed all the pointers I could get.  I said, “definitely” and he proceeded to help me for about four hours teaching me some of the fundamentals about skiing bumps as well as jump turning and skiing in the trees.  Pride is THE #1 obstacle to growth in life.  When we think we have it all figured out or don’t want to admit to being insufficient in something, no matter what it is, we have just put a limit on our learning and stunted our growth in life.
The second thing I learned from my ski lesson was that I could hear the instructions being told but if I didn’t apply what was being said to my actions it was pretty much useless information.  The same is true with a follower of Christ and the Bible.  I can read the Bible, see and even believe what it says but if I don’t apply what it is telling me I am never going to get “better” with my walk with God.  Always remember that our walk with God is organic and is either growing or dying.  That is an important element of life that we sometimes forget and really is the foundation of  a mediocre walk with God.  The third thing I learned was that the more comfortable I got with how I was skiing the more adventurous I was willing to be.  The same is true with knowing and following Christ.  I have heard people say that they think a life following Christ sounds like a bunch of boring rules.  Skiing a groomed run and skiing moguls have some “rules” you need to follow but once you learn them the sky is the limit!  When I read in the Bible about what the boundaries are for my life and live by those rules set out for me, my relationship with Jesus takes on a whole new level and I can enjoy listening to God and doing what he says.  I feel even after a one day lesson that I want to go back up to the hill to practice what I learned so I can get even better and enjoy myself even more on the hill and skiing even more terrain.  A life with Christ can be the same thing.  A hunger to know God even more so I can go out in the “terrain” of the world and “tear it up” for Christ!
I know my meeting Howard was not a coincidence and I have a new ski buddy and a foundation to hopefully lead him to Christ someday which is super cool and as an added bonus, I feel more confident than ever about my skiing ability and can enjoy my days off when I hit the slopes which is a great feeling as well!

7holycrap Jesus thoughts, Life Lessons, Orphanage Trips

Last Nepal Post! Time to come home

Well, we have had a great time in Nepal and its time to come home! We went around town for a final day of personal shopping finding shoes for the kids for school and buying one more game that is a large board that is played like pool but with small plastic disks. I really feel a connection with the kids here now more than ever. I definitely believe more than ever that us being here consistently will help with making a connection with the kids. We were able to pray over them and then all the guys gave me a big group hug which was awesome. Yolanda tried to hug the girls but they are so painfully shy that only a few wanted to hug her. It feels so good to know that you are making a difference in the lives of children on the other side of the world. I am already exicted to come back in May!! Denver, we will see you in about 31 hours 🙂

7holycrap Jesus thoughts, Life Lessons, Orphanage Trips

Nepal Update day 2

Our second full day in Nepal was all about spending the money we brought on games and food supplies for the picnic we are doing tomorrow. We were so blessed to have people give us supplies as well as money before we left to be able to buy some things for the kids. They are so rough on everything! We bought them a soccer ball in February when we were here and it had all of the leather disks off of it! This is why we are always open to people donating things including money so we can help improve their level of daily living. With them being out of school right now they don’t have bikes or a city park to go play in. They have to stay inside the compound pretty much everyday which can get monotonous.
Also, we apparently had 2 earthquakes last night while we were asleep! Yolanda and I slept right through them but our waiter this am said he felt them last night. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing that we didn’t feel them. 🙂
So for today, I wanted to share something I read in my devotional when we first got here and I have been thinking about it ever since. The city just finished a Hindu holy week and I was listening to our orphanage manager tell us about how confusing it is to be Hindu and the rules that are a part of that religion. Then I read in my Watchman Nee book an interesting concept; God gave man the law in the Bible as an order to live by, but did it with the full knowledge that we would break it! If the law was able to be kept in our own power (or now days, that we would be able to follow Christ if we could just “do the right things”) then we wouldn’t need Christ. This just blew my mind! My success as a Christian doesn’t come from just doing the things that make me a Christian. It comes from me totally surrendering my life to Christ and asking Him what to do next. It is simple from the standpoint of surrender to God but difficult in calming my mind to think like Christ and have my actions be an overflow or reflection of the change that has happened in my heart. So today, think of what motivates your actions? I want Christ to be the light in my life and for my life to be the mirror that reflects his love and power to lost, dark and hurt world. See you tomorrow!!

7holycrap Jesus thoughts, Orphanage Trips

Monday in Nepal

Its so great to be back in Nepal to see our kids at the orphanage. It was a total of 23 hours of just flight time and 2 days total of travel with layovers but worth every moment to see the kids. We had 18 kids when we were here in February and the orphanage took in 3 more kids since then so they now have a total of 21. Its interesting that the things with the greatest impact for me when I come here is the little things. Like seeing the kids faces when we brought in a few footballs, popcorn, 3 movies and vitamins. In America we would have been like “woopdie doo” but those kids were so excited and I thought about how grateful I am for all the things I have back home. I was thinking in the back of my mind how it was inconvenient to not have a computer at the hotel where we are but I am typing this blog on my Blackberry from work and if I got bored with this phone I have my iphone I could use as well. I also called my sister and my parents yesterday over the internet on my blackberry for free. I guess I don’t have it so bad after all. I mentioned on my facebook about a girl from America who was complaining about everything at lunch yesterday and I wanted to walk over and tell her that she was embarassing herself, first of all, and then invite her to the orphanage to see just how good she really had it. The pace of life for me is the greatest deterrence to keeping a healthy perspective about the way I am blessed. Yolanda and I have planned trips back here at least once a year for the foreseeable future and have also had some people say they want to come with us when we come in May of 2011. So, for today, take a step back from whatever you are doing to appreciate the little things in life and don’t let your desire for convenience get in the way of your understanding of gratefulness.

7holycrap Life Lessons

Going Through Pain is not enough to bring Glory to God

I have had two people I know who were followers of Christ in the past few weeks go home to heaven.  I was considering their lives and the immense testimonies they each were to the people around them in the face of imminent death.  I was thinking about how everyone, at some point in their life, will go through pain.  It really isn’t a question of “if” as much as it is a question of “when” because we live in a world where things don’t seem fair at times.  When I went through my eye challenges a couple of years ago I thought that because I went through the “pains of life” that I brought glory to God just for going through them but I don’t think that is true now that I look back.  I can remember sitting at home when I was out of work and instead of asking God for strength and to use my situation for HIS good I was wondering what it would be like to go blind and considering all the life adjustments I was going to have to make. (I would actually take showers with my eyes closed to see if I could function without being able to see.  That’s how far I had come from faith in God taking care of me.  Not good)  I had a perfect opportunity to give God glory and instead I complained about the condition of my flesh.

Think about it; if everyone goes through hard times and you are just another person who made it through, how is that a reflection of God’s glory in your life?  Maybe you just got lucky and barely survived like everyone else.  The only thing that would set you apart is that your attitude lined up with God’s word and example of focusing on His greatness and not your life’s goofiness.  There were definitely times where I was giving the example of a selfish person who was only thinking of myself and how the pain I was dealing with was affecting me and not thinking of my wife, my parents, my sister and the other people around me who love me and didn’t want to see me sick. 

Appreciating pain leads to being thankful for pain. In other words; if I can appreciate, or value, what God is allowing to happen to me I may not be pleased about it but I can learn to be thankful for it.  The degree that I appreciate pain is the degree that God can use pain for my good and not for destruction.  The key comes from developing that trust relationship with God so that when pain comes I don’t see it as punishment but an opportunity to let Him shine through me and through the circumstances of life.  Pain in life where we don’t see the healing we are expecting are perfect situations for people to watch our lives and see how we deal with pain and be encouraged by it.

So here is the reason for the blog post today: if you are going through pain now in life congratulations! You have the perfect opportunity to give God glory that you could never give him if everything was going well.  If you are not going through something in life right now, you have the chance to develop your relationship and trust in Christ to a point that when your day of testing comes you will have a chance to lead others to Christ by a Godly attitude in middle of your storm.  This stuff is never easy, but that’s why, as a man of God, I want to learn how to deal with pain so that even in the bad times I can give God glory in my life.

7holycrap Life Lessons, Uncategorized

The Day Brian Morris Grew Up

I was wrestling all day whether or not I should write this blog but I feel like it could encourage someone else in their journey with God so I decided it was necessary.

It was my birthday this past Monday and I was blessed to receive money that I was steadily spending in my mind as the checks came in.  I have a craigslist app on my phone that was telling me about all the iPads that were for sale.  I started getting a picture and idea of how much I wanted to spend on it.  I deposited a couple of checks that I had received but had one come in on Friday and wanted everything to be deposited so I could get my money out as soon as possible which was keeping with normal immature Brian fashion.  Yolanda was going to make a deposit for me on Saturday so I could have the check processed right away.  I called her Saturday and asked if she had made the deposit but she said she hadn’t.  I snapped at her and told her I was unhappy about the fact that she didn’t make the deposit.  I stayed kind of upset because Brian needed his iPad in a hurry because it was his post-birthday week and he had cash to spend!!

Last night and today God was speaking to me and I was not in the mood to listen.  I was thinking about a need the Orphanage in Nepal had of a solar panel that helps give power to the house they are in when the rolling blackouts happen every single day in Kathmandu.  They sometimes have twenty two hours with no electricity which stuck in my head when I was there.  When we visited in February I thought it would be so awesome if I could afford to pay for that item, but as always humanly happens, when I got home and back in the “race of life” I had forgot about the need.  So fast forward to this weekend.  I REALLY felt God pulling on my heart to give my birthday money to the orphans and buy this solar panel.  I did what any good Christian would do; I questioned whether it was God and tried to make “deals” with Him.  I was like, “let me just get my ipad and give the rest to the orphans.”  As I tried to do the deal, I felt an even greater pit in my stomach to give away my money.  Immature Brian needed to fill a techno need that only an Apple iPad would fill.  The funny thing is that I was not trying to sell anything or try and talk Yolanda into giving me money to get something that was beyond our budget.  I had the money.  I had the resources to get what I wanted, but I didn’t have a peace in my heart and mind.  So tomorrow, I am going to have Yolanda write the check from my birthday money for the solar panel.  I stepped back and thought, “I want another gadget to add to my current collection when there are orphans on the other side of the world who don’t even have the ability to turn on a light switch to light a room when the town is having blackouts.”

I am not telling you this to feel sorry for me or for you to think I am bragging about what I’m doing.  I just wanted people who know me to know that I feel like today I grew up and made a difficult, adult and obedient decision that will be a blessing to someone else.
It’s funny, but I really feel like my decision started being about money but it really ended up being about obedience and that God set me up to see if I would do what He wanted and give me enough money to bless the orphans in a way I would normally not be able to.

My word to you is that if you have an opportunity to bless someone else and you call Jesus the Lord of your life, then please ask the question whether or not you need to do something.  Before today, I could say these things as a pastor telling others what to do, but now I can say these things as a man of God who had to ask that question and actually act on it. 🙂  I am not saying that I have arrived as the man God wants me to be, but I sure feel like today I am a little bit closer to who God needs me to be to touch a hurt and dying world around me.

7holycrap Life Lessons

Some things I learned from my current Techno Time-Out

I have been on a 30 day fast of my iphone, music and PS3.  People have asked me why take away these three things and you are still on Twitter, Facebook, read your Kindle etc.  I felt that these were the three biggest distractions from me listening to God.  I had one of those “if you want something to change in your life then do something different” moments so I decided to do something drastic for me.
I think the hardest thing for me to be without has been my music.  I love listening to all kinds of music and at all volumes (although, loud in my truck is my favorite)  Music, I have learned, also gets my mind focused when I am doing graphics on my Mac.  It wasn’t until I was without my music these past weeks that I realized this fact.  l also recognized how much time I was spending on my phone.  I have 7 pages of apps and lots of games and distractions but need to curtail these things to a reasonable level and not always have to be checking my Facebook, Twitter or the condition of my Zombie Farm!
This blog was actually motivated out of a breakthrough I felt I had in my fast this morning.  I was praying and reading my Bible and God told me that the reason why I, Brian, need “techno time-outs” is that I can get so wrapped up in what I am doing with the gadgets in my life that I forget to just simply sit back and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me.  I am not saying that any of the gadgets I have are evil in themselves, but I do think they have the potential to steal my time and mess up the priority of Christ in my life.  I also had God share with me that it was important for my future that I learn to listen to God in the midst of life.  I am a pastor so I am bombarded with the issues of people almost on a daily basis but this was much deeper and broader than just ministry.  I am not sure completely what it means but I got the message loud and clear.    I preached in DC last week that if I was only known as a funny guy, the iphone/Tech geek, etc. and people didn’t know that Christ was number one to me, then I failed.  I don’t want to fail in this life so I will do what I need to do to make sure I am tuned in to the best of my abilities to the Holy Spirit and what he says to me

7holycrap Uncategorized

This weekend is not about a Fluffy Rabbit

Well there is no time like the present to get my blog going again. Its Easter weekend and I am struck by the importance of this weekend more than ever in my relationship with Jesus. What an amazing time to reflect on the sacrifice and total power over death with the celebration of Easter. I want to encourage you to really take some time this weekend and seek God for what He has for you. This is not to “give him a list of things you need from him” but to ask Him what he has for you for the rest of 2010. As a pastor I am always inundated with people seeking to get as much as they can from God and give as little as necessary. I have talked about this before but I really believe that when we seek God for what he wants to give us instead of what we can get from him it will change our perspective on life. When Jesus died on a cross, which is the celebration of Good Friday, and came back from the dead on Easter Sunday he gave us everything we need in eternity and in this life. He gave us a reason for getting up in the morning and living a life that can change the world around us. I want to honor the sacrifice he made with living a life that people will want to emulate. None of us are perfect but we have the ability to have the perfection of Christ operating inside of us if we will only ask to be in control of our lives. Have a great Easter weekend and never forget that this weekend is not about a fluffy hopping easter bunny or candy or lunch after a religious time together on Sunday. Its about the sacrifice Christ made for all of us and the example that we need to follow which is to die to self and let Christ shine BRIGHT through us.

7holycrap Uncategorized

Update from Nepal – Day 3

I really think I will be a different person after this trip to Nepal. Its like I have been immersed in a world of sights and sounds that are challenging me and what I have always known. I have only been out of the country 4 times in my life and nothing even close to what I am experiencing here. I know that there are things I am learning about selflessness and thinking about people who are not only less fortunate that I am but who have challenges beyond my comprehension. We drive the streets of Kathmandu and I see row after row of people just standing around with nothing to do. No hope, no drive to make a positive difference in the world around them because of so much spiritual oppression but also possibly a lack of a will to change the situation. At the orphanage, we see such hope in eyes and a desire to move past the lifestyles of the other people around them and a chance to escape the trappings of living in a third world country. I have such a great burden in my heart for these people and know that I must do everything I can to see these orphans and this orphanage be a useful tool to getting kids off of the streets and becoming constructive members of society. I talk with Emmanuel and Hannah (the couple running the orphanage) and realize all the things they have given up to answer the call to come and help these kids from probably dying on the streets. I don’t feel like I have time to feel sorry for them or to beat myself mentally because of the many things I have back in the states. I only have time to provide as much prayer and emotional as well as financial support that I can to make a difference in their lives that will last long after I return home the end of this week. Please continue to pray for wisdom and direction for me and Yolanda as we are here and I am changing my perspective on life from the inside out.

7holycrap Uncategorized

We saw the orphans today

Today we got to see the orphans and it was great. We toured the orphanage today and talked about some of the immediate needs including a solar panel so they will have power during the power outages. The said in a couple of weeks they are going to be without power for up to 20 HOURS a day! Dang we have it easy in the states. Our dollar goes so far here too. $1 is worth 75 rupies here and we are really praying about how to help them. I will be helping people be able to connect to CTN (my father in laws TV ministry) to be able to give and support the work they are doing here. I know that I am getting a better perspective on money and the comforts of living in the USA and Yolanda and I will be increasing the amount we give each month to support the orphanage. Please continue to pray for us on the trip. So much to do and so little amount of time.