I own the 20th Anniversary DVD of E.T.

It lays in a drawer, which sits directly beneath my television, alongside a collection of about fifteen or twenty film classics that I just couldn’t stomach giving away or selling.

If my next door neighbor were to knock on my door and ask to borrow this DVD, I’d say yes without hesitation.

Now if the film industry had their way, I should deny the request, tell him to shove off, and instruct him to go to the store and buy it for himself.

I don’t think that’s right.

There are a lot of reasons why SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA don’t make sense, but we don’t need to go there.

Sharing is sharing. That’s all there is to it.

Are we headed in the right direction?

[VIDEO]

Every organization has a culture. It is the way an organization expresses its values. According to Andy Stanley, “Culture shapes the personality of an organization.”

Does your organization’s culture propel your values? Does it muddle them or shut them down all together? Perhaps, you can’t even answer that question.

As a leader, you have to be willing to inspect what you expect (and model that behavior too). If you don’t, you’ll experience vision leaking and culture drifting.

I’m a big fan of Andy Stanley’s monthly leadership podcast. I was especially blown away by the truths expressed in this podcast, Five Inescapable Truths about Culture. I kept finding myself yelling, “right on!”

Here are my notes:

1. Leaders shape organizational culture whether they intend to or not.
• A leader’s personality is reflected in his/her organization.
2. Time in erodes awareness of.
• The longer you are anywhere, the less aware you are of where you are (but new people recognize it immediately).
• When we see things in our organization that we don’t like, we tend to look out the window, instead of the mirror.
• You have to build into the rhythm of an organization ways to become aware of things you have lost awareness of.
3. Healthy cultures attract and keep healthy people.
• Unhealthy people are very comfortable in unhealthy environments.
• Indications of an unhealthy work environment: drama, inward focused individuals, and sideways energy (activity without progress).
4. The culture of an organization impacts the long-term productivity of an organization.
• If productivity is important, then culture is important.
5. Unhealthy cultures are always slow to adapt to change.
• Unhealthy cultures are more concerned with what’s happening within the organization rather than focused on the marketplace.

I grew up in a church that would beat you down to get you saved.

Once you accepted salvation, they would continue to beat you down with a long list of things you couldn’t do (and an even longer list of things you could be doing better).

By the time I reached high school age, I had had enough of this warped brand of Christianity, and I decided to give up on God.

In the years following, I lived a life worthy of the best of the worst of sinners, but through it all, God never let me go.

Thanks be to God! He is true to His Word:

1. Salvation is a “Gift” from God, therefore, it is not up to us to earn it (Eph. 2:8-9)
2. What God starts, God finishes (Philippians 1:6)
3. The Believer is Sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14; 4:30) – The Greek word for “Sealed” carries at least three significant truths concerning the believer:
• A Sealed means Ownership, Security, and a Finished Transaction
• Notice how long the believer is sealed, “until the day of redemption!”
• The Holy Spirit Himself is the “Down-payment” as proof that God will complete in the believer what He has started… Salvation!
4. The believer is kept by the power of God, not his own power (1 Peter 1:5)
5. The believer is in the hands of God the Father and God the Son, and no one can pluck the believer out of the hands of the Father and Son! (John 10:28-29)
6. Believers were chosen before the foundation of the world. That means if its settled in eternity how can it be undone in time? (Romans 8:29-30)
7. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:33-39), nothing in time, nothing in eternity, nothing in heaven, nothing in hell, and no amount of trials.
8. We’ve been justified (declared righteous before the throne of God), our sins are no longer on us; they have been atoned for by Christ (Romans 5:1-11)
9. We have Jesus as our High Priest and Advocate: As our High Priest, He ever lives to make intercession for us; as our Advocate, He is our trusted “defense Attorney” to plead our case before the throne of the Father (Hebrews 10:16-22; 1 John 2:1)

It breaks my heart when I come across good people who think the preservation of their salvation is predicated on their ability to keep themselves saved.

Let me ask you: If you don’t have the ability to save yourself, then where do you get the ability to lose your salvation?

Now that we know what we have — Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God — let’s not let it slip through our fingers.

We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all —all but the sin.

So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

– Hebrews 4:14-16, The Message

On this Monday morning after, it wouldn’t be right to write about anything other than the World Series.

Our Redbirds are headed home to represent the National League in the 2011 World Series after spanking the Brewers in the NLCS.

Watching the Cards take it to Milwaukee was extra special considering the behavior of Nyjer Morgan this year.

In my view, players like him don’t deserve to make it to the World Series.

And with players like Holliday and Pujols on our side, it makes you think…

Does God play favorites?

I saw a t-shirt the other day which read, “Jesus loves you, but I’m His favorite.”

I don’t have a problem with that. But really, I’m His favorite. :)

The whole world stops when my daughter is calling via Skype.

That’s a call I have to take.

And to think, my desire to see her smiling face is nowhere near as intense as our heavenly Father’s desire to get to know us.

If I’m willing to stop everything for my daughter, how much more will God put on hold for a moment with me?

I’m confident He will stop time to speak with me.

That’s my God.

This website has housed a resume, portfolio, and a few affiliate links, here and there, for what feels like forever. Today, I’m starting over.

No doubt, this will be a challenge for me… the writing that is…

I actually enjoy writing (a lot actually), but I already spend so much time writing for business.

St Louis Internet Marketing

If you’ve stumbled onto this page from a search engine (perhaps looking for SEO advice), the first thing you have to do is learn how to enjoy writing. You have to make it fun.

This site has always ranked well for internet marketing terms. I’ve been kicking butt in the business since 1999.

How’d that happen? Link building, branding, social clout (the real kind, not the kind you can game). I’ll explain more later.

My Rededication

For now, I’m rededicating this site to my reflections on faith, family, and business.

A little something for everyone.

How’s that for an obligatory first post?