geoffandheather.net

Good morning!

You can read my Auburn blog entries at http://blog.al.com/tigerscorner

John Piper is smart. I am reading ‘A Godward Life’ and so a lot of my devotional time in the next few weeks and months will likely begin there.

If my (fill in the blank) betrayed that God had not even met my own needs, I would be fraudulent.

I begin serving as a faith trainer for children at my church tomorrow. If through that, I showed that God had not met my own needs, I would be a fake to them. I’d only help them grow in rebellion.

If my family could see an underlying bitterness, I would show that God is no better to me than anything else that anyone uses to feel better. No better than drugs, or alcohol, or material things.

At work… if I talk about my faith, and then show that I’m only happy tearing others down and having my own way, I show them that Christ is only my version of 1000 different versions of how we all cope. And this one is tough.

It’s our only duty to enjoy our Father. I love to get presents. But as I grow, I realize that getting a present isn’t just about getting something. It’s about celebrating the one who gave the present. Celebrating that they thought enough of me to give me something.

The key is to be satisfied in God, for him being God, creator and sustainer of all things. Not because you got the job, or the husband or wife, or even something amazing like a fruitful ministry. To care more about the gifts is about the same as receiving a dozen roses from your significant other, and ignoring the significant other as you walk around flaunting the roses… even as they wilt and shrivel and die.

God is the eternal giver and we embrace Him as our Father and King, and enjoy Him. I pray today that as I start tomorrow, as I disciple friends, as I work and live that I will know that everything in my life flows from the satisfaction I have in God who created me, and sustains me, and wants me to know Him, and not just the effects of His being present…. but His Presence!

So I am training again. How about that?

I am signed up for the Columbus Marathon on October 18. I haven’t run one since December, and I didn’t plan on running one this year. But we make plans, and God laughs. :)

Anyway, training is going well. I am out of shape compared to how you might have seen me run before, but I am making progress. I seem to be getting a little better each week.

One thing I am loving right now is music. I never have run with music much, but I have been lately, and it’s been a big help. So I thought I’d update you all on my progress, and throw out a few of the albums I keep on shuffle right now in my MP3 player..

So here we go..

1. Silversun Pickups – Swoon – I like this album because it’s loud, has good beats, and sounds urgent. That always helps me run I think, makes everything feel a little more urgent and dangerous.

2. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Dancy Rock! This is just a fun CD. Great for long runs!

3. David Crowder Band – Remedy – I think David Crowder may be my favorite Praise and Worship artist. He’s just weird enough for me, and then can belt out a straight up praise song that my church would sing. Super talented. Some of the songs are dancier and I love that..

4. Bell X1 – Blue Lights on the Runway – I am the Defector!!! Ha Ha.. good album, one song in particular I just love and I immediately start running faster. :)

5. Lecrae – Rebel – What can I say? Lecrae rapping about Christ, it’s a runner’s dream. I used this album during my last 5K race, and it has been on the MP3 player for probably 8 months, and I don’t see it going away.

So there you have it. I will try to keep you all updated on my progress, and pray that I will be able to find my previous form with running!

A few weeks ago, I posted a couple of Auburn football related blogs. They weren’t just random blogs I was writing. I was actually submitting them (well, one of them) to al.com as part of trying to become an Auburn Football blogger for the site.

It was a little wait, but I’m excited to say that I have been chosen to be one of the bloggers!

I’m really excited. This will be the largest audience that has ever read anything I have written. I am really pumped to get started!

As soon as I know more about when I will be able to start writing, I will let you know. Thank You to those who read me, and who have been watching and waiting patiently to hear more from me. Believe me, I have a lot more to write, about Auburn and about what God has been doing in my life in 2009. It’s all amazingly big and awesome and I can’t wait to share!

Waaaaaaaaaarrrrr Eagle!!

I had an experience with someone close to me this weekend that definitely got me thinking. Then as I reread the story of Cain and Abel, I definitely saw the root of this particular behavior and thought I would share.

Do you just ever HAVE to be right? Relationships, repentance, God, shoved aside in that moment as you attempt to exert your will, and prove that you are right. Been there…

Genesis 4… You have Cain and Abel. Both bring a sacrifice to God. Abel’s is the best he has to offer. Abel believes God, and walks with God, and so his sacrifice (of course based on the heart behind the sacrifice) is accepted.

I can see Cain now in the field. ‘Guess I better put some stuff together for the sacrifice..’ Picking whatever he comes across.. I say that because I have been there. And his sacrifice is junk because his heart is junk.

And God tells him so. ‘”Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”’

And Cain is faced with a crisis of faith. God is real. God is in charge. And the heart behind Cain’s sacrifice is off… and he’s opened himself up to sin that crouches like a lion and desires to have him.

I can imagine the pride welling up. I can imagine Cain looking around, and seeing Abel there worshiping, or whatever… and saying to himself ‘Look at smug Abel over there, That jerk made me look bad. This is all Abel’s fault..’ Justifying himself. Getting angrier and angrier.

Until he invited his brother into the field and killed him.

And then, in verse 9, Cain looks at God himself, and even tries to shoulder responsibility off on Him..

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

I saw this weekend how easy it is to justify yourself out of pride. To do something completely ridiculous and then to look around for the first person to blame to take the weight off of you. Even God if you must.

Go back 1 chapter. Eve eats the apple, and gives some to Adam, who never makes a sound. God comes and asks Adam what happened. His response??

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

In one sentence, 7 words, the first man, places blame everywhere (Eve and God) except on himself. And we’ve been doing this ever since.

So pray with me that as the people of God, we will Dress for action like men; I will question you, and you make it known to me.–Job 38:3.

Because in our relationships with each other, and with those we love and witness to, this kind of stuff will not stand. You are under authority. I am under authority. To God, and by the blood of Christ, to those around us. Lord, help our unbelief and help us to overcome the pride that was at the heart of the first sin and still lives in our core today…

Lord you are always right. Me, not so much. I thank you that this is true and trustworthy..

Alfie was a bug
A cute, green little bug
He found himself in a great big office
Full of plants and white noise
And men and women in suits
Yes Alfie had the good life…
But he missed his home in the trees

He ended up at a young man’s desk
Micah was his name
And Micah found a ruler
And placed it under Alfie’s little feet
For him to stand on

And because Micah had somewhere to be
He brought Alfie to me
And Alfie crawled back and forth
Looking for a tree

But there was not one to be found

So I along with all my office friends
Decided that Alfie should go back home

You should have seen his excitement!

As I carried the ruler downstairs
Through the parking deck
And down to the floor
Then suddenly, there was a swoooosh!
And Alfie used his wings to fly away
And was with us no more

Yes Alfie we will remember you fondly
How for one brief moment you stopped an entire office
With your cool little green wings
And burned us all a memory
Of more important things

That our lives are meant for so much more
Than office chairs and suits and ties
And that we will all get to fly away
Into freedom in the sky

1. Offense – Won’t it be nice to have an offense where it seems like all 11 guys know what to do? On Auburn’s 2008 5-7 team, the early games under Franklin were a mess offensively and the later games under Ensminger were so limited that a few high school teams might have been able to figure them out and stop them. I don’t think that disaster will repeat itself this year. Look for Auburn’s offense to progress and improve as the season goes along.

2. Defense – Remember how solid Auburn’s defense was early last season? Many of the key players remain, and if the offense does play better, then the defense should be right behind. The implosion of the defense last year had a lot to do with Auburn’s offense putting them in hole after hole, week after week, until they simply cracked.

3. Schedule – Auburn has eight home games this year, including two of their three toughest games. Four of the five most difficult games are also late in the season, meaning they have some time to find an identity on both sides of the ball. Auburn could be a much improved team by the time they play LSU on October 24.

4. Talent – The media has a way of shaping opinions. By all accounts, Auburn’s cupboard is bare this year. There’s just no talent. The problem is that the core of this team is the same core picked by many to play for the SEC Championship last year. By all accounts their offseason strength and agility training has been solid, and they will come into fall practice with a massive chip on their shoulder. Auburn is thin at some key spots, but they have playmakers on both sides of the ball, especially if the freshman wide receivers come through for them. Don’t underestimate the level of talent at Auburn, even if it’s thinner than normal.

5. Underdog Factor – Doesn’t Auburn always play better as an underdog? I remember 2003 and all of the hype, and then the season fell flat on it’s face. And then in 2004, the team went under the radar and talked on the field, reeling off 13 wins and an SEC Championship. Auburn will be a legitimate underdog in seven of its twelve games this season. This is a proud program with proud kids that came here to win, and the coaching staff’s enthusiasm will have them flying high. Auburn will surprise some teams and win games they aren’t expected to. Maybe even that last one at home against a team who has already been declared state champion on July 10th?

We will soon find out. But nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to Auburn Football.. War Eagle!

The arms race is now fully underway. It began with Urban Meyer and the resurgence of Florida. Close behind was Alabama with Nick Saban. Then other schools began to react. Now Lane Kiffen is anointed at Tennessee, while Meyer’s protege Dan Mullen is being touted to turn around Mississippi State, and our own Gene Chizik tries to find his way on the Auburn sidelines.

Even Steve Spurrier tends to be forgotten in the coaching hotbed that is the SEC.

Yes, it’s a ‘new SEC’ today. The coaches are obsessed with winning. The recruiting landscape is like nothing we’ve ever seen. The television dollars are flowing like wine. There is no longer a margin for error or patience with losing. Everybody wants the prize. And the prize is not the SEC Championship, but the National Championship, which an SEC team has claimed each of the last three years.

This new environment provides a challenge for the Auburn Tigers. Gene Chizik arrived on campus with one of the biggest disadvantages in college football history. He landed at the airport in the midst of controversy, with many media members crying racism over his hiring, and even more complaining about his record at Iowa State.

In addition, Chizik arrived at the height of recruiting power for Alabama, Florida, LSU and Georgia. Each ranked in ESPN’s Top 6 in 2009 recruiting rankings. Each school is taking care of it’s territory. And since Auburn’s territory has historically overlapped these schools, that means potential trouble for the Tigers’ recruiting efforts.

It seems Chizik is set up for failure. But an interesting thing has happened on the Plains. Gene Chizik has won over many loyal Auburn fans. While many fans hid their faces in shame, Chizik assembled what most analysts have praised as a solid coaching staff. Then the coaches got creative, and that’s where the excitement begins.

There is hope for today and hope for tomorrow. The hope for today rests in the abilities of the new coaching staff to get more out of the current Auburn players than Tommy Tuberville’s staff could last year. Gus Malzahn and Ted Roof both have a track record that leaves fans optimistic that better days are on the horizon on both sides of the ball.

The hope for the future rests in recruiting, where Chizik’s staff, led by Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor, has come up with creative ways to make Auburn relevant in a difficult recruiting environment. Big Cat Weekend, and the Tiger Prowl tour, were both large in terms of media hype, but larger for Auburn in terms of building the important relationships you must have with coaches and players to succeed consistently at recruiting. And Auburn is challenging seriously for top recruits, something that has not happened much in the last five years.

It will take another level of creativity, and a lot of hard work, for Auburn to stay competitive in the new landscape of the SEC. Auburn’s challenge will be to continue to find innovative ways to carve out a recruiting base that brings a solid flow of good players. We will also soon discover if Chizik and his staff are as impressive on the field as they have been off of it.

Because as we discovered with Tommy Tuberville and Phillip Fulmer, in today’s SEC, not moving up means moving out. And ultimately the truth on Gene Chizik will be made clear on Saturday afternoons.

Most of us are cautiously optimistic.

Just wanted to share a little with you guys about my trip. I won’t make it long, I know we all have stuff to do. But part of the going is the sharing and so I thought I would.

I traveled through Tucson to Sells, AZ to work on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. We did most of our ministry in small villages, playing with kids and teaching them about Jesus. And playing some mad kickball too!

Most people haven’t heard of the TO people. I had not. But going there, you definitely feel for them. There’s very little industry, very few fathers… lots of alcoholism, violence, gangs, hopelessness, and sadness. The teachings of Christ, that he will not let us down, and that his promises are good, were a direct contrast to the way the TO relate to us and to each other. Everyone has let them down, including themselves..

I got to experience the way Christians are supposed to live with each other. In harmony, together. Sharing meals. Concentrating on things that are important, instead of all the stuff that distracts us and sidetracks us in our lives here. I think it was a very small slice of what heaven will be like.

It’s so easy for us to look at the TO people, and feel sorry for them, and in some way I do. And to think it’s really nice for a bunch of people to go and help them.

But the truth is that’s way too easy to do that without looking in the mirror, and without looking at eternal things that should matter to us. We get one life. Our culture today is far too good at assisting us in wasting it on empty pursuits. I kinda felt more sorry for myself than for the TO…

There’s a story in the gospels where there’s a man who fills his silos with grain. When he has filled them up, he then decides the only thing that will make him happy is to tear down the silos and build bigger silos. We live in this culture of ‘just a little more’. And that very night, in the parable, God demanded his life. And what becomes of his grain, and what becomes of all our stuff and pursuits?

So I would ask you to pray with me for the TO people. I have a lot of new friends and letters to write, and that’s exciting! But also share with me in looking in the mirror to what’s truly important in our lives!!

Thanks guys for listening. I attached a picture of me and my new friend Marley. He lives about half a mile from the Mexican border. He’s 6 and he told he his dad is a drunk. Everything points toward him following that same path. But God is the healer and I pray he will work through me to show my friend things can be different!!

- From my quiet time this morning… If you don’t believe God can do anything extraordinary through you, it says more about your belief in God than anything about yourself…

Wow that stung.. But yet so true. We read the Bible, we see how God used ordinary people to accomplish amazing God sized things, because of His strength and power. But we don’t believe we are capable of doing anything like that. Or anything outside of ourselves.

We disguise it as a lack of confidence, just like Moses did. But the authors are right. We don’t need to have confidence in ourselves anyway. Only in God.. All that confidence in ourselves is good for is for us to say that we did something, in the name of this God we have read about. God doesn’t want or care for us to go out by ourselves and do something in His name. He is present to do it through us…

The example of Moses is God working through a humble heart in real time. Yeah it was easier for Moses to see, the sea parting as he is walking toward it and the Israelites walking through on dry ground. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see just as well the things God accomplishes through you.

Where are you not believing in what God is capable of in and through you?