Christians often refer to God as our “Heavenly Father,” but do we really view Him as a father? A (good) father delights in the affection and efforts of his children. A (good) father is willing to give up everything in order to lift up his children. A (good) father’s number one reason for existence is to provide and to protect his children. Do we view God in this way? Do we view Him as a Father who sacrificed everything in order that we may find eternal life? Do we view God as our Father who desires and deserves our love and devotion?

You may be asking what this all has to do with the title of this post, and I promise I will get there, but first, imagine this picture. A man is at his workbench building a birdhouse when his child comes up and offers to help. Would a good father turn down his child’s offer even if it would be easier for him to do it all himself? I have thought long and hard about what we as children of God can give to our Heavenly Father, and I have come up with one answer – empty hands. With empty hands (and a willing spirit), God would be more than delighted to include us in His handiwork. Why do we feel the need to make it more complicated than this?

I believe this is part of what Jesus meant when He said we should be more like children. We should be running to our Heavenly Father begging Him to include us in what He is doing. We should be so desperate for His affection that we can’t take our eyes off Him because of our wonder and awe of who He is. I know I don’t always look at God that way, but imagine for a second what the Church would look like if we all did. This is my challenge to myself and to anyone reading this – let us each grow to become obedient and devoted children of the Almighty God.

After His death, the followers of Christ took up the symbol of His death as their own.  This was not done out of some sort of misplaced pride or simple memorialization, but out of pure reverence.  They took up the cross as a symbol of themselves dying daily to the things of this world.  When Jesus said that we are to be in the world rather than of the world, He meant it.  We are to take up our personal cross each and every day so that our worldly desires can be crucified with Christ.  The life of a Christian is to be markedly different from those who are living for themselves, but that is not what I see when I look at the Church in America today.

The arts of self-denial and self-discipline seem to have been lost in a culture that is all about individual gain and material possession.  I have also witnessed a growing number of local churches that are struggling to find enough volunteers to make ministry happen.  Jesus knew this would be the case when He said the “the harvest is great, but the workers are few.”  Why is this?  Why do we cheapen the sacrifice of our Savior by playing games with our faith?  Don’t get me wrong; I am asking these questions of myself as well.   Am I as devoted as I should be?  Does the way I spend my time and my resources reflect the faith I claim to have?  What does the cross really mean to me?  These are questions that I want to challenge every Believer to ask themselves each and every day.

I believe a revival is coming.

Is the Church ready for a harvest?

Are you?

Am I?

God is.

2011 was a year of challenges and lots of low valleys that I had to walk through.  Support came and went via relationships new and old, and I truly am thankful for those people.  God always put the right person at my side at the right times when I needed it the most.  He is always faithful.  Eventually, God led me to where I am sitting today, living in the dorms of an international boarding school where I get to live with and work with dozens of high school students everyday.

CLAY is also growing – even despite my best efforts, God has always blessed CLAY.  This is where my new chapter begins, this is my new mountain to climb.  2012 has long been targeted as the year to take CLAY to new communities and into new sports, but the vision doesn’t stop there.  2012 is set to be the culmination of everything we have been working on for the past 8 years.  This road will be tough, and it will likely hurt, but if this is God’s will, then it will be done.  Please pray for focus and diligence as I try to balance everything the God has laid on my heart.  CLAY Team Sports was first, CLAY Connect was second, and…

…you’ll just have to stay tuned for what’s coming next…

His commitment to innovation and excellence in customer experience have made him a legend in some eyes and an arrogant enemy in others, but even his staunchest critics cannot doubt the influence he has had on my generation.  Thanks to Apple’s visionary leadership, my generation grew up using Macs in school everyday to access the vast knowledge base of the World Wide Web.  And now, because of that same visionary leadership, we can now browse the internet from anywhere we are with our smartphones and tablets.

Apple may not have always been the first at embracing new technologies, but they almost always not only offered the best product but also the best customer experience.  Jobs knew how to take care of his customers, and yet he was never afraid to go against the crowd when it came to predicting the future needs of Apple’s consumers.  However, after a seven year battle with cancer, his mortality has been realized, and my generation should stop and reflect on how we are living our lives.

The innovations of Steve Jobs have opened up many doors to previously unimaginable technologies and tools that we all too often reduce to simple entertainment devices.  Sure, Apple has made tons of money in the market of consumption, but the real legacy here is the power of production that my generation has that no other generation in history could even dream of.

I am a member of the last generation that can remember life before the family computer.  We grew up alongside personal computing, and we are now jumping on board with the new movement of mobile computing.  The limits of this world continue to shrink the stronger our connection to each other becomes through the internet.  However, this comes with extreme risk as it also becomes easier and easier to satisfy our perceived need for instant gratification.  Stop and reflect on what the world was like before Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube…  That task becomes harder with every passing moment, doesn’t it?  A little temperance and self-control can go a long way to making sure we do not become slaves to technology.

Anyway, the purpose of this reflection is not to preach but to reflect.  Steve Jobs would have likely never reached the heights he did had he not been fired from his own company back in 1985.  He needed that experience much like I believe I needed the experience of RCTI Business Resources failing – if that is what you want to call it.  The spirit of RCTI lives on in the renewed vision of Right Choice Today, Inc. – to reach, connect, transform, and inspire – and in the new CLAY Connect Network.  However, the strain of a failed business plan goes far beyond the pocketbook, and this past year has been a time of real soul searching for me.

I have learned an awful lot about life, love, and leadership through my recent trials and am extremely excited to see what God has in store for the next chapter of my life.  I remain committed to growing CLAY Team Sports Ministry and Right Choice Today, Inc. – the best days for both are most certainly yet to come.  Much more is coming soon, so please stay tuned to the official CLAY blog as we get ready to make some very exciting announcements about our vision for 2012.  Thank you all and God bless.

Many of the insights of this book can be applied directly to our lives today. We live in a culture where everything is broken down into “old sayings” and anonymous proverbs. We think we know everything, but we have forgotten far more than we know. The beauty of Christianity is that its truths have been true for thousands of years and have crossed all political, ethnic, racial, social, etc. boundaries that we have built up. There is much to learn from the great cloud of witnesses that have gone on before us. This life is not about living comfortably; it is about sowing the seeds of Christ in our culture by first allowing the seeds in us to be nurtured and harvested by the Holy Spirit. We must learn from the past in order to grow in the future; we must humble ourselves in order to lift up those who need the hope that can only be found in the cross. This was a refreshing read for me personally because it shows a true devotion and true humility that is lacking in the American church today. We need to get back to the essence of our faith; we must learn what it means to truly be set free from this world by the King of Kings, the Alpha and Omega, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

You just gotta get up and go,
Something’s not right, that you know,
So hard to live against the flow,
You’re not alone, He’s there also.

CHORUS
No matter what your point of view,
There’s one thing that’s always true,
Remember that God loves you,
Let Him in and light your flame anew.

All around you, it’s dark as night,
It’s such a fight just to live right,
Decide to reflect His light,
It shines so bright, a beautiful sight.

CHORUS x2

(Copyright: 2008 Dustin Craig)

For this Christmas season
There is a good reason
It needs some believin’
He came to save, no teasin’

‘Tis a time of great joy
No, I don’t mean the toys
Not just the girls and boys
Joy to all, rich and poor

Just think about that night
Must’ve been quite the sight
The coming of the Light
Sent to make all things right

(Copyright: 2007 Dustin Craig)

Hard to concentrate,
Just can’t get your head on straight;
Watching from the sidelines,
While everyone continues to climb.

REFRAIN x2
When nothing seems alright,
Forgot the cause for which you fight;
When it is all just a blur,
Can only hope for a cure.

Always feel lost in the crowd,
Only peace when the noise is down;
Rather sit in the darkness,
Than venture into the fullness.

REPEAT V3

REFRAIN

CHORUS
Just gotta stop over thinking,
Learn to let go and just be you;
Stop watching and comparing,
And just go out and live life.

CHORUS

TAG
Live life

(Copyright: 2007 Dustin Craig, Created… Music Project)

CHORUS
Isn’t life blurred with broken glasses,
Wasting life with cheap romances;
Life’s a club full of dirty dances,
Choices, right and wrong, life’s nuances.

An affinity for the obscene,
Religion, what’s that mean;
Forgotten the feeling of clean,
In the midst, searching for something.

CHORUS

REFRAIN
Vision is blurred, your words are slurred;
Bridges are burned, lessons are learned.
Vision is blurred, your words are slurred;
Bridges are burned, lessons are learned.

How do you expect to see the truth,
Gonna miss out, you’re gonna lose;
What ya gonna do to find the road,
There’s someone who will share the load.

CHORUS

REFRAIN

Lessons are learned.

(Copyright: 2007 Dustin Craig)

Tell me what’s right and what is wrong,
Buildin’ your personal Babylon,
Or in the trenches for Zion;
Which paradigm will you jump on?

CHORUS
And we’re takin’ back the rainbow,
Take back the cross, take back the Church,
Take back the schools, take back the streets;
We’re takin’ it all back with love.

Don’t be afraid to keep fightin’,
Angels are near, God’s all knowin’;
We can take this world back for Christ,
Gotta pray, Satan don’t play nice.

CHORUS

REFRAIN
You bled for me, You died for me;
Through faith in You, now I can see;
And because of Your sacrifice,
I’m gonna stand up and fight.

CHORUS

(Copyright: 2007 Dustin Craig & Tony Craig / Created… Music Project)