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Repost: Ideas for Your Walk with God

By caryschmidt | January 18, 2012

Does your devotional walk every become routine? Mechanical? Do you ever find yourself going through the motions, but rushing and not really enjoying personal fellowship with the Lord?

Each of us is responsible for developing our personal walk with God, and in doing so, I challenge you to keep it personal (be transparent before Him, He already knows you), keep it consistent (daily or close to it), and keep it fresh (do whatever you must do to keep from losing interest or falling into a boring routine.)

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Posted in christian life | 1 Comment

He’s Never Even Dropped a Pizza!

By caryschmidt | January 7, 2012

Earlier this week I was drying my hands in an airport restroom when I overheard a conversation between a father and his two-year-old son. Dad was handling diaper duty and he had placed his son on one of those flimsy, plastic changing tables that fold down in public restrooms. The boy, being at the size limit for one of those tables, was nervously feeling the inherent instability of this device—which was producing some crying and anxiety.

Through moans of uncertainty and nervousness the boy hesitatingly said, “Ohhhhh… me not like this…” his tones were long and drawn, and then he continued, “I gonna fall…”

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Posted in christian life, family | 7 Comments

Introducing—Higher Call Student Summits

By caryschmidt | January 3, 2012

If you are a student ministry leader or worker, we invite you to participate in the Higher Call Student Summits in 2012!

Beginning in February, Bryan Samms and I have the privilege of partnering with four churches in four regions of the country for the Higher Call Student Summits. These meetings are two-day events hosted by a church in conjunction with West Coast Baptist College. They will feature Bible preaching and teaching for students, as well as practical training and encouragement for leaders.

These events are free for your youth groups, and take place on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. You can find out more specific details about dates, locations, schedule, etc. if you visit www.wcbc.edu/highercall.

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Posted in leadership, student ministry | 2 Comments

Become More Rooted in Christ This Year

By caryschmidt | January 1, 2012

Are you desiring to walk more faithfully and personally in the new year? This small idea might help…

Our theme at Lancaster Baptist this year is “Rooted in Christ.” One of the resources that we’re praying God will use to help families and friends is our daily devotional website and email. For the last couple of months we’ve planned a redesign and relaunch of this resource on January 1.

The Rooted in Christ daily devotional contains a short devotion from Pastor Paul Chappell, followed by an Old Testament scripture reading, a New Testament scripture reading, and a chapter of Proverbs each day. The scriptures are IN the email, so you could read through the entire Bible this year by simply reading the email!

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Posted in christian life | 2 Comments

My Christmas Day Train Wreck

By caryschmidt | December 25, 2011

I have recurring Saturday evening nightmares. I think it’s a part of being a song leader or church service director. But today topped them all! First some background:

At least once a month, and some times more frequently, I pillow my head on Saturday evening only to be tormented all night by some nightmare experience unfolding in a church service in my head. For a long time, that nightmare was that everyone showed up for church except for the choir. In the dream, I would turn around to lead the opener only to find NO ONE standing in the choir loft. I would then panic, freeze, and panic some more as the church service came unraveled before it even began.

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Posted in humor, media & tech | 16 Comments

Repost: Christmas From a 4-Year-Old

By caryschmidt | December 25, 2011

A friend of mine who serves the Lord at the BBN Radio Network sent me this link to the Christmas story told by a four-year-old little girl. It blessed our family. It will captivate you from the first word! Merry Christmas!

This was recorded and is available on CD from Jeff Apthorp, Sound Amazing Studios. The little girl is Valerie Apthorp, Jeff’s daughter. She was four at the time and is now 18, preparing to be a missionary. Much thanks to Tim Young for sending this!

Posted in christian life, family | 1 Comment

Tebow On Mic During the Chicago Game

By caryschmidt | December 16, 2011

This past Sunday evening, I watched in awe as ESPN commentators literally fell speechless. Then they resorted to words like “magical” and phrases like, “something much bigger at play here” to try to describe what happened in the Denver game vs. Chicago. The Broncos came back to win a game that anyone would have called unwin-able.

Now, I don’t believe that God really cares who wins an NFL football game. But I do believe that God honors those that honor Him—and this video reveals that Tim Tebow really does have a real relationship with Christ and a genuine compassion for others. There’s no doubt in my mind that God has given Tebow a platform to exalt Christ—and He’s only enlarging that platform for His own glory.

This clip is a collection of clips of Tebow on mic during the game. It’s amazing, convicting, and well worth watching. It’s a life-lesson on Christlikeness, leadership, and many other scriptural character traits. If every Christian had this kind of personal relationship with Christ—the world would be radically different.

Enjoy the clip!

Posted in christian life | 4 Comments

Thoughts On Blogging…

By caryschmidt | December 5, 2011

I’ll never forget the first time I heard the word “blog.” It sounded like my friend burped. And the concept sounded about as stupid. That was years ago, and—well, it is self-evident that the concept caught on, not only for me but for millions of others. We live in a day when everybody and their brother has a blog. And like every other form of media or communication—blogging has its positives and negatives in contributing to daily life on earth.

Some people blog for business reasons. Some blog for family. Some blog for gossip and criticism. Some blog for platform or personal “branding.” For better or worse, blogging is here. And here’s why and how I jumped in:

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Posted in leadership, ministry & outreach | Tagged biblical living, communication, teaching, technology | 3 Comments

A Collection of Posts on New Year Planning

By caryschmidt | December 1, 2011

This is a repost of reposts—how’s that for loser blogging!? Over the past few years, I’ve written a number of articles about creating an annual planner for life and ministry and about personal productivity. I thought it might be helpful to re-post these (AGAIN!) with titles, summaries, and links to the original articles. The planner articles also offer a sample planner, which I will be happy to email you. Just shoot me an email and let me know you would like to have a copy. So, read on if you are looking for ideas about planning your new year!

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Posted in productivity | Leave a comment

Whose Campaign is This?

By caryschmidt | November 28, 2011

In an interview recently, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich made a statement that absolutely grabbed me. The statement requires a bit of background, so bear with me. (And the point of this post is not political—this is all leading to a more important point.)

Early in his bid for the Republical nomination, the Gingrich campaign seemed to hit bottom. News media reported that key players of his campaign staff were jumping ship quickly. Most people wrote him off. And yet, over the months, Gingrich stayed in the race and (as of this writing) continues to climb in the polls and to be considered a legitimate contender.

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Posted in christian life, leadership | Leave a comment

Lord, Thank you…

By caryschmidt | November 24, 2011

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love and for my salvation in Christ. My life and destiny would be utter, hopeless despair were it not for the cross of Jesus and your amazing grace! I thank you for redeeming me by the precious blood of Christ. Thank you for making me your child.

Thank you for your Word. It is the foundation of truth for everything that is blessed and good in my life. I have never regretted obeying it, but I have regretted not knowing it better. There is nothing better in life than opening its pages and hearing from you.

Thank you for my family. Not only did you allow me to grow up with godly and loving influences, you then blessed me with a wife and children who mean more to me than life. They convict me to become more like Jesus. Dana reminds me Jesus in her caring and loving servant’s heart. Lance reminds me of Jesus in his tenderness toward people and joyful nature. Larry reminds me of Jesus in his humor and his diligent, quiet intensity about things that are important. Haylee reminds me of Jesus in her kindness, sincerity, and desire for understanding. Thank you for allowing me to share life with them.

Thank you for my church and pastor. Thank you for a loving, growing church family led by a faithful, godly man who loves your truth and loves people. It is an awesome joy and privilege to be a part of Lancaster Baptist Church.

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Posted in christian life, family | 3 Comments

Christmas is a Gift—Dr. Chappell’s New Book

By caryschmidt | November 16, 2011

This week, Striving Together Publications introduced a new, hardback, full-color, mini-book from Dr. Paul Chappell. Christmas is a Gift—Unwrap the Significance of the Season is just over 130 pages, and is filled with encouraging insights from the Christmas story, as well as a clear salvation message. It makes a perfect gift for a Christian friend or a tool for sharing the gospel with someone that is lost. The book is available now, and significant quantity discounts are available.

To find out more about Christmas is a Gift, or to order a copy today, visit www.strivingtogether.com!

We pray that this resource will help you encourage others and share the gospel this Christmas!

Posted in books and resources | Tagged biblical living, book review, books, striving together | Leave a comment

When We’re Too Busy

By caryschmidt | November 14, 2011

Life is busy. Honestly, in a given week or day, there is more stuff flowing at us (in the form of information and opportunities) than we can possibly comprehend, much less accept. Doing the right things in life means saying “no” to a lot more than you could ever say “yes” to. The challenge of the 21st century is saying “yes” to the right things, and accepting the built in limitations of the human condition. We just can’t do it all—though we often wish we could.

I’ve noticed something. Busyness is like a snowball. It’s size and magnitude grows simply by the motion of life, and it sort of sneaks up on you. We don’t realize we’re TOO busy until something starts to breakdown—and even then, we don’t always connect the symptoms with the real cause. For instance, fractured and stressed relationships sometimes have nothing to do with the heart or intent of the individuals, and everything to do with their schedules or level of fatigue.

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Posted in christian life, leadership, productivity | Tagged biblical living, danger, family, leadership, productivity | 4 Comments

Repost: Why Leaders Need Communication

By caryschmidt | November 11, 2011

communicationcups

WARNING: Failure to communicate frequently and effectively will bring distrust, tension, and grief in any valuable relationship.

A large percentage of our problems in work, family, and ministry could be attributed to communication failures—either miscommunication or a lack of communication. Everybody has people in their lives with whom they should work at communicating more effectively and more frequently. If only the people in our lives could automatically “just know” all the things they need to hear from us! How much easier would life be—right?

If you’re somewhere in the middle of the organizational flow chart, then you have the responsibility to regularly communicate “up the chain”—to someone responsible for your workflow or your projects. A failure to communicate will bring grief into your world and will cause trust, dependability, and connectedness to suffer. This responsibility to communicate falls to you (and me).

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Posted in leadership | Tagged church staff, leadership | Leave a comment

If You Leave Your Family…

By caryschmidt | November 6, 2011

If you leave your family, you rebel…

You rebel against and shame the name of your great God.

You rebel against God’s Word and clear commands.

You rebel against God’s design for marriage and family.

You rebel against “who God has called you to be in Christ.”

Read More »

Posted in counseling, family | 3 Comments
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