Everybody has a Story

 You have a story to tell.

If you're a Christ-follower, you have an amazing story about how you came to know Jesus Christ personally. How many people know your story?

As a pastor, I do a lot of funerals. Very often if I don't know the person I will ask their family about their loved one's faith story. Far too often they don't know or there are vague references to "going to church when they were younger" or something. Either the person didn't really have a vital relationship with God, or they never shared their story.

Write down your story and share it with your loved ones. Now. Don't wait until someday when you're gone and they have to try to guess. You will bless them in ways you can't imagine.

And if you don't have a story about meeting Jesus, maybe this will encourage you to start investigating seriously and be the beginning of the greatest story of your life!

Devotions Done Right

I'm not a big fan of most devotionals. I suppose it's because the vast majority I've seen are simplistic or trite and misuse scripture by taking it out of context. It's really hard to take a few verses of Scripture, explain them and make application in a few paragraphs. (Some pastors struggle to do it in a 30 minute sermon!) That's why I was excited to come across a great daily devotional from the Psalms by Tim Keller and his wife, Kathy.

If you know anything about Tim Keller you will know that he has great respect for God's Word and a wonderful pastoral heart combined with a razor-sharp intellect. This all shows up in this great book. You read a few verses from a Psalm and then the commentary on them and end with a prayer.

This is a wonderful book that I have been using for just a couple of weeks now but fully intend to use for the next year. It's one you could come back to time and time again (although I think they are coming out with one on Proverbs later this year. Have to put that on my list after this one's done).

Do you have a devotional you really enjoy? Share in the comments below.

App Recommendation: Runkeeper

It's free app Friday! (I don't know if that's really going to be a thing on my blog or not, but it's Friday and a free app, so there you have it.)

I started running recently and have tried out a number of apps that track my endeavors. So far my favorite is one called Runkeeper. I asked a number of my friends on Facebook who are runners for their recommendations and everyone had a different one to suggest, but so far Runkeeper is the one I keep returning to.

Most of the functions in Runkeeper are free but you can pay to upgrade to more detailed comparisons of how you've been doing, live updating of runs so your friends can follow your progress (say on a 5K event) and so on. There's a 7-day free trial of the upgrades I may try next month when I run my first 5K (Mora Half Marathon and 5K) so may family can see the live updates. But the basic program is more than capable for all my needs. Plus it synchronizes with a bunch of other fitness equipment and apps, so that's nice.

One of my favorite parts of this app are the different audio stats voices you can select from which give you status updates throughout your run. My favorite voice is "Your Conscience" which is hysterically funny. Hopefully they'll keep adding different options. ("Drill Instructor" is good for a change once or twice, but got old pretty quick for me.)

All that being said, I'm also going to experiment with another app called Strava. It seems to be for more serious athletes and not beginners like me, but we'll see. I'll update this if I end up changing. Nevertheless, I'd still recommend Runkeeper.

Do you have a preferred fitness app? Let me know in the comments.

Don't run? Got nothing for you. You can head back to camp.

Facebook Vs. Blogging

Why a blog and not just post on Facebook?

Facebook is okay (I guess) for the occasional update or personal anecdotes, but it not very good for recording things you want to keep and look back on. (Although their Memories function which shows old posts is entertaining, it's not all that useful.) Plus with all of the advertising and junk that gets shared it's nearly impossible to sort through the important from the ethereal.

With a blog you can record ideas in a more coherent and lasting manner. It's also easier to search and doesn't have all of the clutter that Facebook has become overwhelmed with. Plus it's accessible to everyone - even those without a Facebook account. (There are those out there. I've heard stories of sightings...)

Seth Godin has a great quote about this:

"If you know you have to write a blog post tomorrow, something in writing, something that will be around 6 months from now, about something in the world, you will start looking for something in the world to to write about. You will seek to notice something interesting and to say something creative about it. Well, isn’t that all we’re looking for? The best practice of generously sharing what you notice about the world is exactly the antidote for your fear."

Do you have ideas that you want to share? Maybe look into starting a blog. Let me know in the comments below and I'll link to it (as long as it's not just cat pictures...).

I Am the Candyman

Spent a couple hours today looking for places to purchase candy wholesale for our new store, Spahr Mercantile. In addition to fabric (which is our primary product), we're going to feature Old Fashioned Candy Sticks and will start with 18 different flavors available. I'm also getting some bacon toffee and maple bacon candy on a stick, plus bacon maple chocolate candy to sell as well because... bacon! And since I'm doing the ordering, I get to choose.

What's your favorite candy? Anything suggestions on candy we should carry?

Habit and Crisis

Heard a great interview today on the EntreLeadership Podcast with author Charles Duhigg who wrote The Power of Habit. He talked about keystone habits - like exercise - which impact more than one area of life. (Ironically(?) I was listening to the podcast on my morning run...) One key takeaway: the belief that you have the ability to change your habits is vital.

One quote in particular stuck out: Crisis is not just an opportunity to respond, crisis is an opportunity to change.

What keystone habits do you have in your life?

What crisis are you facing and what opportunities does that give you (or your business or your organization)?

Special Guest Speaker

What a privilege to be able to sit and listen to my son, Jordan, teach yesterday. He was the guest speaker at our church for Sunday morning worship and he did a terrific job. I am so proud of him!

Jordan will be starting his fourth year at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, this fall where he majors in Sports Management with minors in coaching and Bible. If you want to listen to his message, it will be posted tomorrow on our church's web site - firstprespinecity.org.

Where Do You Go to Grow?

I love going to the Global Leadership Summit every year and am looking forward to going again this year. This event is simulcast every year from Willow Creek Community Church. I'm planning on attending the satellite site (probably at New Hope Church in New Hope, MN) on August 10-11 and will be taking some of my senior high students with me. It's really targeted at adults, but I love taking senior highers to help challenge and envision them for what God is doing in the world and might want to do in their lives.

This is a great event for everyone and anyone who wants to grow in their leadership. I always find it inspiring to listen to the world-class faculty they bring in. This year's lineup includes Bill Hybels, Marcus Buckingham, Gary Haugen, Andy Stanley, and a bunch more - including Michael Jr.! Highly recommended. If you get a chance, be sure to attend. It is well worth the investment.

What has been most helpful or inspiring to you as a leader? (Maybe you think you're not a leader, but everyone leads something. Leadership at it's most basic is just influence, and you have influence with some people in your life.)

Pursuing Your Dream

We're spending the day celebrating the Grand Opening of Rosalie's new business venture: Spahr Mercantile. She's spend the last 8 months planning and preparing for this day, including several months renovating our pole barn and turning it into an old fashioned mercantile-style store. In addition to selling fabric, she will also be featuring handmade goods that she's created and some for other local artisans.

Before

After

You can see more pictures and follow along on the Mercantile's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Spahr.Mercantile/

I'm so excited to see her dream become a reality and I'm really proud of her for pursuing it.

So what's your dream? What's keeping you from pursing it?

Introducing Spahr Tracks 2.0

Seth Godin told me to blog. Every day.

He said so right here: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/seth-godin-explains-why-you-should-blog-daily 

So... Introducing Spahr Tracks 2.0

I'm revitalizing the blog I started years ago but haven't updated in the last 3 years.

Some days I'll write a lot - some days a little. I'll post on things I find interesting that I think may interest you or make you think. If this helps you - glad I could help. If not... these are not the droids you're looking for. Move along. Move along.

I'll try not to ramble and I'll endeavor to keep it interesting and humorous.

And short.

See you tomorrow.