Joel Stiff's Adventure

Having the same goal.

I work with two great guys on our staff.

We meet usually every Tuesday night to plan our work for the week.  The church has no on site offices so we all work from our homes, cars, phones and wifi hotspots.  It’s a great arrangement.  We work well together because we have the same goal in mind, reaching people for Jesus and helping them through the ministry of our church.  There are no egos.  No one is too proud to get their hands dirty.  We see the end and pitch in to help make it happen.

The same works for other organizations, churches, marriages and relationships.

When you’re going after the same thing, you are not at odds with one another, but walking in the same direction.

The service schedule after four Sundays has seen good improvement.

The Sunday morning service is up by 30%.

The Sunday night service is up by 50%.

Buss attendance has nearly doubled.

Last night gave us 170 at Night Church with 7 trusting Christ in the auditorium.

Praise the Lord.

She’s my grandmother.

She hands out full size Hershey bars on halloween.

She has it figured out.

You should be like her.

Influence is about touch.

A McDonald’s billboard

A call to AT&T customer service

A transaction at a Chase ATM

A brochure from a real estate firm

A roadside sign

A burger from Starlight

Any time a company or an individual has an interaction with someone, they have touched them.

Focusing on frequency and types of touch determine the response.

Last week, the punter for the U of M football team dropped the snap and cost them the game.

He received death threats over it.  Death threats over a football game.

Last week a couple on a motorcycle attempted to pass a vehicle.  The man driving the vehicle jerked the wheel in their direction intentionally clipping the bike and sending them to the pavement.

Planned Parenthood glibly discusses the selling of baby body parts over dinner.

If you ever wonder how a culture gets to the place of sawing off heads with machetes, it’s the devaluing of life.

And they say we are evolving.

I’ve been told you never want to tour a hot dog plant.

Here in Flint, we have the best hot dogs I’ve ever tasted, Koegel’s.  The plant is on Bristol Road just west of the airport.  They give tours.  I’ve never taken one.

They say some things are best left to the imagination.

I saw a commercial on TV for a cough medicine.  The actors were going about their daily lives and would then cough.  Any time someone coughed, a blue fog would emit from their mouths and envelop everyone around them.  The image is that your cough fills the room and infects everyone around you, so you need this cough syrup.

God could have made it so that the aftermath of our coughs and sneezes were visible to us and everyone around, but he didn’t.

There are some things we are just better off not knowing.

I would head to Dort Highway.

(If you’re from Flint, that first line is funny for different reasons.)

In Flint, there is a stretch of Dort Highway about five miles long consisting of auto salvage yards and metal recycling lots.

I would head straight there and one by one begin asking if they need a general laborer or parts puller.  I would ask if I could be paid cash on a day by day basis so that I can get the cheapest motel room for a bed and a shower.  I would work as hard as possible and do anything the boss requested without argument.  I would also do things to impress him that he wouldn’t expect.  I’d work sixteen hour days.

By thirty days in, I’d have a bank account, be receiving regular paychecks and probably have responsibility within the business.

By sixty days, I’d have an apartment and probably a car.  It wouldn’t be impressive, but it’d get me where I need to go.

By ninety days, I’ve got money in the bank, probably a better job and be back on my feet.

I think I could pull that off.

Not quite two months ago, Shannon declared she was going to lose weight.

I had heard it before.  I had declared the same before.  We all have.

But she meant it.

In just a little over six weeks, she has dropped fifty pounds.  That is no small feat.  I have done it, I know.

What’s different this time?  She’s not playing.  Nothing is going to get in her way.  She is focused and disciplined.  The pain became so great that she was ready to make a change.

She’s already a different lady.  Happier, more energetic and outgoing.

I’ve always loved this broad just as she is.

Now i’m just more proud of her than I’ve ever been.

My uncle is in town.

He’s got almost two decades on me.  He’s also a pastor.  We deal with similar challenges in life.  Challenges can get me uptight and stressed.  He seems to roll with them much better.  I’d describe him as easy going and relaxed.

It helps when I spend time with him.  He puts things into perspective and his relentless optimism rubs off on me.

You become like the people you hang around.

Hang around people that help take the pressure off.

Yesterday was the annual Michigan, Michigan State game.

I’ve always supported the Wolverines and was excited that they looked like they may have their first victory over State in several years.  With only ten seconds on the clock and a three point lead, the game was seemingly in the bag.

Then the unthinkable happened.  The coach called for a punt, the ball was snapped poorly, the kicker fumbled the ball, State recovered it and ran in for a touchdown.  Game – Michigan State.

Truly, the Wolverines played better and should have won the game….except they didn’t.

I’m not blaming the center or the kicker.  Games are won and lost several times throughout the sixty minutes.

I do want to bring out that just because you think it’s over and you’ve already won, if there is still time on the clock, it’s not over.

Don’t let up.