Sandboxes

Sandboxes represent two things for me:

1. Freedom

2. Creativity

I remember as a child playing in our sandbox that our dad had built for us. I could stay in there for hours, playing with my Tonka toy trucks, bulldozers, cranes part of a huge construction project. Or playing with my army men, tanks, army trucks blowing up stuff, hiding in foxholes, shooting at the enemy. Those were great days.

I had the freedom to play whatever I wanted and create whatever scenario I wanted. Even building sandcastles was fun at times.

As we get older in life we are put into boxes (cubicles or offices) but I don’t know if it is as much fun. We still spend hours in these boxes, we don’t even have the freedom or opportunity to be creative. Is the money and sacrifice worth it?

The church is in some ways the same thing. We made this box that is supposed to fun, free, creative and at the same time have all of these rules and regulations. We even have specific times and days in which we are to experience the original purpose of the church.

I’m beginning to understand why the first century church met every day. It was dynamic, vibrant, thriving. There was no other environment like it in the world.

Very different from today, the 21st century. Its no wonder when you suggest meeting everyday like they did, majority of the people will go “whoa, cannot do that” it will infringe on my lifestyle. You can see it on their faces and feel their vibes.

The church as well as the marketplace needs to find what their sandboxes are for them. We are dealing with a generation that didn’t have the privilege of playing in their sandbox because of the one parent family and taking on adult responsibilities to help out.

I hope at least the church will be proactive for once (we are so reactive compared to the world) and create sandboxes for people to experience Freedom and be allowed to be Creative for the Kingdom.

eXpress their voice in a Raw & Uncensored way. (innovative808.com)

Get the message?

Monday Boo’s

Mondays are probably one of the worst days for Pastors or for people who don’t like to work.

I’m both of those people.  I don’t mind working, I just don’t want to work so many hours in a day.

I can do more productive things if I didn’t have to work so much, like save the world from rude people, feed the full so they don’t become hungary, make the earth a greener place by spray painting everything green, recycle foam lunch containers by washing them and using it for the next person. (I was thinking of this idea as a business)

Just a few examples of the many things I could be doing if I didn’t have to work for a living.  Someone once told me “I work to live, not live to work”.  True that!  You feelin’ me yet?  Ha!

Whatever the case, I’m thankful that I have such an awesome calling and get to do it as a career.  Regardless of the stressful times, bad days, critisisms, persecutions, and back stabbings.  It is still the best job in the world.

I’m just trying to find a way where I can work just an hour a day and make a six figure income without to much effort from my mind or hands.  If anyone out there wants to help support my cause, I can help support yours with the extra free time and finances.

Don’t get down on yourself in this economy, it will get better like all of the other times.  Laugh, Live, and Launch… a blog or rotten egg!

New to Us; But Not New to God

Have your ever noticed when you receive new information about something, a crisis you’re going through or a new situation a friend is asking you to help solve.  Starting a new job, starting at a new school, traveling to a place you never been before, entering a new relationship, taking on a new position or project in your job, class or moving into a new city.

These are just a few of the ways we can get a little anxious or worried about the end result of the situation.  Some people worry so much they end up in a panic attac or stress out!  Uncertainty is difficult to comprehend and accept.

I’ve been in many of those situations and still find myself in them til this day.  I don’t think it will ever stop, its just part of life.  Its what makes life interesting and keeps us being creative in resolving our situations to make us stronger as a person and leader if we respond the right way.

But do your know you don’t have to worry or stress out when you find yourself in a similar situation.  Whatever new endeavor you’re going through, discovering or entering in; remember this line:

“It may be new to you, but not new to God.”

In other words, God knows everything even before it happens or before its said.  The bible says He knows what you’re going to ask Him way before you decide to inquire or make your requests known.  God has all of the answers and direction preplanned and predestined for you.

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

So why do we need to ask God for anything if already knows the situation?  Two important principles right off the top, first asking breeds humility.  It is an act of humility to ask for help, ask a question, or ask for something you need.  Second, asking takes faith.  You have to believe in a different result.  You risk being denied, ridiculed, wrong, labeled weak and many other comments people may make about you.

There is nothing new that God is unprepared for or suprised by any news or situation.  God has every answer to your problems, questions, directions.  Ask Him today, trust in His answers regardless of how radical they may be. 

I mean really who are you going to trust,  someone who has been around for 2000 years or yourself, which has been around how many years????

What to Do?

What to do when your resources run out and you’re stuck in an economy like ours?  I understand there is always a possibility things could be a lot worse, its not as bad as it could be, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re in it.  What do you do when your iphone doesn’t have an app for your situation or know the cook at KFC?

Most of the time I try to have a positive outlook and perspective knowing that it always works out and usually better than you would’ve imagined.   Honestly though some days it just sucks, you wonder how you going ever get through the day without cracking up or jumping off a two-story building.  (Ha! I to chicken to go any higher).

I have the tremendous privilege of  pastoring a church in Hawaii at a cool place called Dave & Busters.  It is a restaurant, lounge, video games, pool tables and nightclub.   I want to come with a positive message every Sunday without being fake or not being real about my own situations or struggles that I’m fighting in my own life.

One thing I know for sure is that as long as I wake up each day, I need to live it the best that I can.  Philippians 4:8 tells us what to focus our thoughts on to have peace in times like these.

Thanks for reading, any advice hollah back!

Shaken But Not Stirred

We are definitely going through an economic storm where a lot of people’s foundation are being shaken.  What people thought was stable and secure in their life is now uncertain for the future.

The egg in the nest is now cracked, what do we do now?  How will we ever recover from our economic shakedown?  Recoup the losses?  Get back to the normalcy in our lives?  Not allow worry to consume us?  Some of the questions we may all be asking.  The media are saying even violence and suicides may rise because of whats happening financially.

There is hope!  It is the same kind of hope that has been around for the last 3000 years.  A hope that is real and does not disappoint.  A hope in the one and only Almighty God.  Yup! God!

Unfortunately people have a lot of misconceptions of God.  Some good, some bad, religious, and non religious.  What ever the case, we need to acknowlege God is a real person that is alive and well today wanting everyone to turn to Him so He can help us especially in times like these.  With God, there is no confusion or mystery in finding solutions to our circumstances.  His timeless, proven principles have been around for the last 3000 years and have always worked!

God’s principles are forever solid and unshakable.  Pick up a bible and start reading today,  talk to a friend who knows God and can help you understand His love for you.

Clean As You Go

You ever looked around your house, apartment, bedroom or office recently?  Have you ever wondered “Wow”, “how did I get so much stuff?”  “Where did it all come from?”  The big mysterious questions actually comes from a very obvious answer…  cause we’re humans!  Its in our nature to accumulate or collect things in our lives.

Whether it be memories, emotions, past experiences, artifacts (some worth more than others, other peoples trash is treasure to some), or just stuff.  It is a slow, subtle building up and piling up that happens day to day.  Until one day we look around and say “dang! where did all this stuff come from?” or “Man, I gotta lot of crap in my life!” (especially if you’re an infomercial junkie).  The anal-organized people like myself will say “I need to get organized” meaning,  I gotta clean up all the crap in my life or put’em on craigslist.

For some unexplained reasons we wait or procrastinate to clean up till we have a special guest or someone we want to impress is coming to see us.  But by this time it is either overwhelming or its going to take us hours to clean just to bring back some kind of normalcy.  The crazy thing is that after we clean, in a few weeks it is right back where we started.

On a physical level,  “Clean as You Go” means to throw away things you don’t need,  put things back where they belong, give away things you no longer want on a daily and weekly basis.  Monthly you can do a more thorough sorting, cleaning, and giving.  You will find that you’re not playing “catch up” everyday just to catch up!

But do you know that on an emotional level, we do the same things that we do with our stuff ?… we accumulate and let it pile up!  Some of the emotions, voices, or unpleasant memories we keep are from 20 years ago (for you younger peeps, 5 to 10 years ago).  We allow the false perceptions, lies, half-trues to clutter our minds and emotions, some even get deep into our soul.  There is a huge difference between true and truth, but because of the emotional clutter we accumulated,  we have a hard time discerning what is true or what is truth, what to believe, who to believe, what to keep, and what to toss.  It is overwhelming when change or transformation is needed.  We all need to change at some point in our lives.

If we choose to make “Clean as You Go” a habit on a emotional level, Life will become so much less complicated, stressful, and difficult.

When you apply this simple leadership principle “Clean as You Go” you can rid yourself of all the clutter that piles up in our life whether it be a physical, mental or emotional so we can truly enjoy life and the relationships around us without the extra weight or baggage, that we got so used to taking with us wherever we go.  That’s why you will notice you sometimes naturally react in a negative way in certain situations, old unpleasant emotions start to bubble up, and the very person you said you’ll “never become”, you are now that person.

We say we don’t have enough time to clean, but in reality we have time for partying, xbox, booty hunting, tv, eating or anything but clean because we don’t understand how it will hurt or bite us in the future.

You can Free Yourself today by taking a few simple steps:

1.  Take the time to cleanup and clean out all of the emotional stuff that you no longer need or want. Get rid of them!

2.  Ask someone close to you that you trust, to help you process to bring truth and a clearer perspective to some of your beliefs and life theories.

3.  Each day, “Clean as You Go” in all areas of your life so it won’t become overwhelming and a burden when the time comes when you “have to” do it.

When you have a chance check out my new in progress website:  revelation808.com

Til Next Blog if I don’t get Bogged,

PD (Daven Hee)

Going booty hunting now!

Moving Beyond Trust

Thank you to all of the people who took the time to read my last post and comment on it. I appreciate the comments, even if its not positive. At least I know people are reading it. Alright!

In my last blog I wrote about trusting God for all of our situations and circumstances especially in the area of finances. Finances is probably one of the most difficult areas in our life to manage, more for me cause I stay half pake (pronounced pah-kay, means chinese). We always worry about money!

One of the ways to be blessed in tough times is what we call “tithing”. The word tithe means “tenth”. We are challenged to give 10% of our gross income and live on the remaining 90%. One of the purposes for doing this is to honor God with the understanding that it is He who gives us the ability to produce wealth, so we give back to God 10% of what we earn.

There is also a promise attached to tithing:

Malachi 3:10-12
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty. NIV

Some questions some people may have regarding tithing:

1. Do I tithe off of my gross income or net income?

What we tell people is net tithe, net blessings. God says bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. It’s the whole, not the partial. You should tithe off of your Gross income to get the full blessings.

2. Who should tithe?

Everybody. Everyone has the opportunity to participate in the work to helping the people in our community. Whether it be faith based or community based.

1 Corinthians 16:2:

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

3. What happens with my tithe? What is it used for?

All monies collected goes into maintaining the church and its ministries like Facilities, Salaries, Materials and Supplies, Community Events, Savings, Equipment Rentals, Missionaries, Church Planting, Resources & Training, Charitable Work, Giving to the Less Fortunate, Assisting People in Crisis.

Here are some actionable steps to take to be blessed in tough times:

1. Start a real (not religious) relationship with Jesus. Ask someone you know and trust.

2. Find a local church that you’re comfortable with and start attending on a regular basis, even if its just once a month for now.

3. Make a commitment to tithe for 3 months, if it doesn’t work, go back to what you were doing.

4. Start a journal of your new journey with Jesus to track your progress. Read a passage, Pray, Write in your journal.

Your life will transform beyond your wildest imagination!

A great Psalm to read is Psalm 121

If anyone is interested in checking out any of our services during the week, feel free to email me. I will send you the information of our services. We also have journals that we can send to you as our gift to you. Inside it explains how to get started and how to use it.

Till next time, Aloha!

Tough Times Requires Tougher Trust

In tough economic times is when we need God’s blessing the most.  Unemployment is on the rise, sales are down, gas prices are up, housing prices are dropping.  Regardless of the circumstances of our economy, job or personal finances, God can bless us at any time or in any circumstance.

God is not influenced or dictated by anything.  He is Lord over everything!

This is why we need to continue to fully trust and obey God in living to His ways, not ours.  He has over 3000 years of life experience and been in every situation possible.  So who would you listen to?  Yourself or a person with 3000 years of real experiences.

Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We also need to remember what Deuteronomy 8:18 says:
18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

As you choose to trust in God and obey in doing whatever He says, even if it doesn’t make sense, I promise He will blow your mind.  I have been a Christian for over 20 years and God has never failed to come through better than I ever could imagine or dream.

If sales are down, don’t you want God’s blessing to increase your revenue?  If gas prices are up, don’t you want His blessings to help you afford to fill your tank?  If unemployment is rising, don’t you want God’s blessing to provide you with a steady income?

We as humans are very limited in our knowledge and abilities.  God is unlimited in His Power, Knowledge and Abilities to do whatever He needs to change your circumstances in whatever situation you’re in.  I always tell people to give your life to God and give Him an honest chance for 3 months.  If your situation doesn’t change,  just go back to what you were doing.

Trust in Him, You won’t be disappointed!

My next blog will give some actionable and practical steps on how to fully trust in God and watch your life transform.