G Notes

The difference between an athlete and a winner is ambition. The difference isn't talent level, particularly the higher the level of competition (i.e. professional sports). At the pro level there's not much difference between athletes in terms of physical skill and talent. The difference is simply a matter of "who wants it more." The thing that sets one apart from another is ambition. What sets Michael Jordan apart? Ambition. What sets Tom Brady apart? Ambition. What sets Bobby Boucher apart? Ambition. Ambition is passion. It's obsession. It's doing whatever it takes to be the best, to be #1, to beat your opponent. Ambition is that thing inside a competitor that compels them to sacrifice in order to accomplish their goal. Ambition is what leads an athlete to put in the time in the weightroom in the off-season. It's what motivates them to be the first one in the gym and the last one to leave. It's what drives them to watch their diet and watch the...

We are aggressively working toward potty-training Edie. To help expedite our efforts and increase Edie's learning curve we are bribing our two year old with stickers. Each time she goes potty on the potty she gets a new sticker on her potty chart which now gloriously decorates our refrigerator. I like to call these stinker stickers. I find it amazingly curious, on the verge of disturbingly confusing, that we are rewarding Edie for bowel movements. We are giving her stickers in exchange for stinkers. Quite frankly, this is messing with my highly refined and sophisticated Harnett County sensibilities. Does it make any sense that Edie should be rewarded for nothing more than depositing her shiznit in a toilet? Isaiah 64:6 says, " For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment ."  Much of what the Bible teaches is offensive and messes with our human sensibilities. We like to make much of ourselves and place an in...

"Ambition" means "to seek after earnestly." It's possessing such a deep desire for something that you willingly and urgently strive toward attaining it. So what is it that you earnestly seek after? What is your ambition? If you're not sure how to answer those questions, then take a moment to honestly reflect on these: What is it that motivates you? What do you daydream about? What is it that thrills your heart and fills your thoughts with imagination? What do you spend your time and money on? If you could do one thing, what would it be? If you had one wish, what would you wish for? We all have ambition. We all have the capacity to seek earnestly after something. If you doubt this, lose your keys. You will destroy your house in order to find your keys. Why? It's because you need your keys. You can't lock and unlock doors without them. You can't start the car without them. Understanding how dependent you are on your keys, you willin...

"Ambition" is one of the main traits which characterizes the milennials (generation born between 1978 and 2000).  Unfortunately, this ambitious generation is also characterized with being directionless and clueless in regards to execution. In other words, they really want to get somewhere but don't know how to get there. They value success, but they just don't know how to achieve it. There are few things more frustrating than being filled with ambition and not knowing how to apply it. There are few things as discouraging as desiring success and not knowing how to achieve it. I guess that helps explain one of the other main traits characterizing milennials: highly stressed. Christians should be characterized by an ambition which achieves success. The truth is that there is such a thing as Christian success; but for that success to be achieved ambition must be rightly directed. The problem is that many of us are clueless. We don't know what Christian success look...

Edie recently celebrated her 2nd birthday, and her big gift was a playhouse. The look on her face was priceless when she saw her gift. With childlike exuberance, she took off toward the playhouse. But then something unexpected happened..she stopped, turned around, and came running back... As she ran back she started yelling, "Lita," short for "abuelita," which is Spanish for "grandmother." Filled with excitement she not only yelled for Lita but she ran toward Lita, grabbed her by the hand and led her to her playhouse.  Edie was so overjoyed with her gift that she had to share it. She wanted for others to enjoy it along with her. It was as if it didn't occur to her to keep the gift to herself. If you're a Christian, then you have received the greatest gift imaginable. It's the gift of eternal and abundant life. It's a gift freely and generously given by God for simply believing in His Son. It's an amazing gift received through faith ...

I'm a rocker. I get the "Led" out. I'm an "atomic punk" riding the "crazy train." I'm a "voodoo child," making my way down "mean street." I'm a "youth gone wild" that's "livin' on a prayer." When I'm out on the "gypsy road," "I can't drive 55." And "right now," "for those about to rock" I salute you. The rocker in me hopes that heaven is filled with face melting guitar shredding, gut bustin' drum solos, and high octane, power vocals. My hope is that amps will be turned up to "11." I'm hoping for an eternal, facedown, head bangers' ball. But I have a nagging fear that heaven will not thunder with high voltage rock. My suspicion is that heaven will be filled with the 1-3 beat of disco. Allow me to explain. Genesis 1:27-28 says: God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created...

I was wrestling with Edie when out of nowhere she bit me on the chest. This would not have been a problem had it been a little love gnaw but she applied a bite force of about 1500 psi (equivalent to a pitbull). The only bright side was that she missed the nipple. I'm not sure I would have ever recovered from the physical and emotional scarring had she not missed. Unfortunately, the bite was not a one time incident. Edie has shown herself to be an unpredictable and ferocious biting force, one moment playing nicely and the next launching her incisors at a helpless victim. Jamie and I now live in fear that at any moment we may be on the receiving end of an Edie bite attack. We've begun the arduous process of correcting Edie's animalistic behavior. Each time she bites we hold her firmly, put our face close up to hers (not so close she can bite it), and say, "No biting." Honestly, I'm so afraid of Edie's biting that there have been a few mornings when instead...

There is one word that captures what Christianity is all about. There is one word that embodies the Christian life. There is one word that is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. And that word is worfadience . Not familiar with the term? Check it out... In Genesis 12:1-3 God spoke to Abram and called him to a unique and privileged role in the history of redemption: Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you . And I will make you a great nation , and I will bless you and make your name great , so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you , and him who dishonors your I will curse , and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."   God called Abram to radical faith. Abram didn't simply have to believe in God but he had to trust in God. He had to have overwhelming confidence in who God was so that he could have complete assurance that God could ...

The following is a very frank and formal academic investigation on the nature of vampirism and how it is affected by the eschatological ramifications of divine decree as exposed in the pages of the plenary inspired writ of holy canon. May you find this study an edifying enterprise. Enjoy! 1) Dermatological Considerations : Based on our well-informed knowledge about vampires, we know that they suffer from a severe melanin disorder. Their skin is fully devoid of any skin melanin. Melanin is a photoprotectant. It absorbs UV radiation and converts the energy into harmless heat. Without melanin, a vampire lacks protection from UV radiation. Thus, exposure to sunlight results in the vampire's body becoming a small thermo-nuclear device. This is why they explode when they come into contact with sunlight. In heaven there will be light, but it won't be sunlight. In fact, the light in heaven will be way more intense than sunlight. The light in heaven is going to be God's glory. Wel...

There's a word which hands-down gets the most use in my home. I wish I could say it's "love," or "thanks," or "please," but apparently my home isn't that positive of an environment. Without question the most popular word at the casa de Gutierrez is "no." It's not even close. Whatever word ranks 2nd in use in my home, I'm certain that it's surpassed by "no" by a factor of 10. All day long the house is filled with "no." It comes in all sorts of forms. Sometimes it's a very matter of fact "no." Sometimes it's a firm but tempered "no." Sometimes it's an emotionally charged "no." Sometimes it's a shocked and horrified "no." Every night I go to bed with the echoes of the day's no s ringing in my ears. All of the no s come from one of two sources: 1) Edie, or 2) Edie's parents. Edie's no s sound like this. Edie, eat some chicken. "No!...

Over time words can take on a meaning which is completely different than their original intent. As culture and society change so does the language. Words evolve and their semantic ranges shift. Most of the time this is a non-issue. However, there are occasions in which a word must be rescued from improper use and returned to its proper meaning. Some words matter too much! Some words so perfectly capture an idea that to allow their meaning to meander is to allow the significance of that idea to be destroyed. Among Christians there's a word which has radically departed from its original and intended meaning. This word has evolved into something less biblically accurate. Christians are misusing and misapplying this word, and in so doing the word is being stripped of the idea it once perfectly captured. It's time to recover this word and to rescue it from its meandering. So with that, I set out on a potentially dangerous quest: to redeem the word "sacrifice." It...

Most of us in the U.S. don't have to go out and split wood. During the winter months, our homes are maintained at a comfortable 74 degrees fahrenheit by either a gas or electric heater. Many homes still have wood burning fireplaces but they are more of a novelty. They are more part of the homes decor rather than a functional heater. At best, wood burning fireplaces are simply nice to have if ever the mood strikes the homeowner.  What is interesting is that most of us genuinely enjoy a good wood burning fire. There's something about the smell of a wood fire, the sound of the cracking and popping, the sight of the flickering flames. But more than that, there's something especially warming about a wood fire. It not only warms our skin but somehow the warmth reaches down into us. Yet, we are quick to forgo the soothing pleasantries of a fireplace. We are quick to exchange the smells, sounds, sights, and warmth of a fire for the convenience of a heat pump. We are quick to set...

My 22 month old daughter is a total carbo-loader. And her carb of choice is bread, particularly toasted bagel. Edie loves her some bread (pardon my southernism). It's astonishingly amazing how much she craves bread. I guess she needs the carbs to fuel her daily naps, her diva tantrums, and her very demanding potty training regimen. But something drastically changed recently. Plain toasted bagel is suddenly not adequate. The problem is that Edie has discovered the joy of butter. (I suspect this was the doing of a grandparent, though I've been unable to prove it. That's a topic for a different post - " How to confront your baby's daddy's daddy "). So now, not only does Edie demand bread but she demands bread with butter (pronounced "bowda"). Given her new found obsession with butter, an ample amount of that savory, fatty goodness must be liberally spread onto her toasted bagel. But here's where it gets tricky. The bagel must pass the butter t...

“…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” ~ Philippians 4:11-12 The use of antidepressant drugs in the U.S. doubled between 1996 and 2005 ( WebMD Health News - August 3, 2009, Kathleen Doheny ). "According to a government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. They're prescribed more than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches" ( CDC: Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S. - July 09, 2007|By Elizabeth Cohen CNN]. Dr. Ronald Dworkin, an anesthesiologist and senior fellow at Washington's Hudson Institute wrote in his book "Artificial Unhappiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class" that "doctors are now medicating unhappiness." Dr. Dworkin adds: "Too many p...

It’s Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem. The crowd shouts: “Hosanna in the highest.” The people celebrate. The long awaited Messiah arrives. This is the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. But before the end of the week Jesus will be executed. In just a few days, He will be nailed to a cross. Yet, this is the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. What is the Triumph? In Exodus 19:5-6 God said, “ Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation .” God makes a conditional agreement with the people: IF you faithfully obey all of My commands all of the time, THEN you will be saved. In other words, salvation is completely dependent upon perfect obedience. Sounds like a terrible deal doesn’t it? Well, it is a terrible deal! Simply read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and examine how well you obey just those ten requirements. I...

This past Saturday my house came awfully close to being dismantled and destroyed by a tornado. I was in my living room with my wife and my two daughters as a storm approached, but my home was never in danger. Lightning began striking all around my house, but my home was never in danger. Thunder shook my house, but my home was never in danger. The wind grew furious, but my home was never in danger. Siding ripped off the house, but my home was never in danger. A wall caved into the attic, but my home was never in danger. A terrible storm roared, but my home was never in danger. You see, my home is not in Holly Springs, NC. My home is in heaven in the presence of Jesus. My earthly house may have been threatened by the roar of an earthly storm, but my eternal home has been secured by an eternal roar. My home in heaven has been secured by the roar of Easter. It is the roar of my sin being placed on the perfect and sinless Son of God. It is the roar of divine wrath being poured out ...