Regret

If you don't deal with your regrets from your past in the present, they will always come back to haunt you in the future.


I've got some regrets in my life.  So do you.  Let's deal with them now, and move on.

My Personality Traits

Took a little personality test, and here are the results.




Conscientious
You feel it's important to work according to a plan and finish every task, to do things correctly and thoroughly. You are not the kind of person who abandons a project before finishing it, or slacks off when you've lost interest.

Passionate
You are in touch with your emotions, and sometimes you react before you think. The good news: you don't tamp down your feelings. The bad news: you sometimes say or do things that you later wish you could take back.
You do not live your life on an even keel; you do not go for long periods without experiencing some mood swings.

Aesthetic
You appreciate art, beauty, and design; you know that they are not superficial but absolutely crucial to living the good life. You have good taste, and you're proud of it. Those with a high score on the "aesthetic" trait are often employed in literary or artistic professions, enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about the arts, reading, and travel.
You don't think it's pretentious to be moved by art and beauty. You're not one of those who believe it doesn't matter what something looks like as long as it does its job.

Assertive
You behave in a confident and forceful manner, take charge of the situation, raise your hand in class, stand up for what you think is right, and lead others. Among those who have a high score on the "assertive" trait, many have jobs in which they are valued for their organizational skills as well as their talent for supervising others.
You are not interested in fading into the woodwork, leaving everything to fate, taking more time than necessary to accomplish a task, or avoiding confrontation.

Cautious
You very rarely make a move without first considering the pros and cons and, therefore, rarely do anything foolish or extravagant.
You are not rash; you almost never act before you think and, therefore, rarely end up doing things you later regret.

Organized
You like to think a task through before you embark on it. If it's the slightest bit complicated, you make a list (even if it's only in your mind) and methodically work your way through it. When you have a goal in mind, you're not satisfied until you reach it.
You are not one of those people who ignore the details, and you don't understand how anyone can get anything accomplished without thoughtful planning ahead of time.

Curious
You like to get to the bottom of things. You're not content knowing what someone did; you want to know why they did it.
You don't simply take things as they are and move on; you're not content skimming along on the surface; you don't feel you're wasting time by digging for the meaning of things.

Optimistic
You are a "glass half-full" kind of person, always on the lookout for the silver lining. Your happiness is contagious, which is why others like to be around you.
You do not feel that the world is an intrinsically depressing place; you are not the kind of "realist" who thinks that only fools find joy in life.

Creative
You are good at solving problems, coming up with original ideas, and seeing connections between things, connections that most other people miss. People with a high score on the "creative" trait often are employed in such fields as finance and scientific research, and enjoy avant garde and classical music as well as literary fiction and scholarly non-fiction.
You do not shun abstractions and concepts in favor of the concrete and tangible.

Efficient
You are very well organized, even a bit anal. You like to stick to your plans and finish on deadline, wasting as little time as possible in the process.
You are not comfortable when things do not go according to plan, nor are you a procrastinator. You don't waste time when you can be getting down to business.

I Will Vs. I Can

There is a big difference between I can and I will. In my world, I hear a lot of I can, and not a lot of I will. With I can, there is a chance to back out, and not live up to your word, but I will says commitment. I'm reminded the words I speak and the commitments I make matter.

Ecclesiastes 5

1 Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Some fools go there to offer sacrifices, even though they haven’t sinned. But it’s best just to listen when you go to worship. 2 Don’t talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don’t talk too much. 3 If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.

4 God doesn’t like fools. So don’t be slow to keep your promises to God. 5 It’s better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. 6 Don’t let your mouth get you in trouble!

Based on Experience

So last week, Steve came to me and asked me if I would preach on Sunday night. I told him I would love too and was really excited to do so. In 7 or 8 years of ministry, I've been fortunate enough to speak hundreds of times, so this shouldn't have been any big deal for me to get ready for. I realized shortly after saying yes, that wasn't the case. As I did a lot of wrestling with the text that week, I found out there was a lot of emotion wrapped up in this for me and self imposed pressure to perform.

(Many of you who know me well, know this is one of the things I obsess about in my life. I've spent more time watching & listening to guys that I'm willing to admit.

Yeah, it's probably a little weird to you, and at times, weird to me to)

The reasons I thought I had to perform:

1. We've got the best in the business around here when it comes to communicating.
2. It had been over 2 1/2 years since I was asked to speak to a mainly adult audience.

When those are at the forefront of your brain, you automatically think you've got to rise up to the challenge...

Saying all that.... well... It wasn't the best sermon I've ever preached. I mean, it was probably a 6.5 I struggled through a lot of it, had a hard time balancing my time, struggled into transitioning on to the next point, and really left with out a strong conclusion.

Putting all that pressure on yourself and then not performing, you might imagine how disappointed I was.

However this was the best thing that could have ever happen to me because of all the stuff I learned / relearned.

Here's what I Learned:

1. Know your audience. Just because you are successful with one audience doesn't mean that will carry over.

2. Allow the people in the audience who you trust to be honest with you.

3. Allow the experts to critique you, and make you better. I sat down with Steve and Brent and listened intently as they poured so much into me.

4. Don't think you are to good to learn from everyone. If you can't learn from people, than you've got a heart issue.

5. Realize that everyone won't think you are Billy Graham.

6. It's in these moments that God renews your passion to refine the gifts God has given you.

7. Let it go, trust God, and get ready for the next week.

Dave Rants

Golf W/The Fellas

Can Your PC Do This?

As you all know I am a Mac Only kinda guy.

Here's one example. Can Your PC do this? (That's a Macbook Pro incase you are wondering.)