Do you have time?

How would your day be different if the first thing you did when you got to work in the morning was to spend 5 minutes in prayer and review of your personal mission statement?

How would your day be different if you scheduled 20 minutes of devotional time and meditation while at work?

How would your day be different if you split that 20 minutes in half and set aside 10 minutes before lunch and 10 minutes in the afternoon for personal time?

How would your day be different if you devoted 25 minutes a day disconnecting from your tasks and connecting with yourself and God?

How would your day be different for your team if they saw that you were focused, refreshed and excited?

Would you serve better? Produce more? Be happier?

Do you have 25 minutes per day to devote to this?

No?

How much time do you spend per day on Facebook (social media sites) or reading non-productive emails or "news"?

Can you spare 25 minutes for yourself and your Creator?

Am I saying, don't ammuse yourself for a few minutes at work?  No.  I think it is important to detach every few hours and say hello to an old friend or read a funny email or amusing "news" article.  However, I think it is essential that a couple detachments be set aside for you and God to connect.

Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

Ecclesiastes 8:5

Lance Cashion
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Faith: Making Plans without God

I came across this passage when working through a problem at my organization. It brought up some interesting questions. Where are we seeking our advice? Who are we allowing to advise us on our course? Where is God in this process? I've found that Jesus Christ must be right in the middle of it. Here you go…

Woe to the Obstinate Nation – Isaiah 30:1-3
 ¹ "Woe to the obstinate children,"
       declares the LORD,
       "to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
       forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
       heaping sin upon sin;
 ² who go down to Egypt
       without consulting me;
       who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,
       to Egypt's shade for refuge.

 ³ But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame,
       Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace.

 Who and what are you letting direct your steps?

Take care!
Lance Cashion
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TRUTH: Subject to Change without Notice by Ken Miller

Forward thoughts by Lance Cashion:
Ken Miller serves as the Grow Pastor and Minister to Men at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He has written a fantastic article on "Truth" and Religious Lies. I have reread this article at least a dozen times and shared with my prayer group at my office. I think Ken demonstrates what we know to be truth and how lies are mixed with pieces of truth to deceive people into believing anything. This mixture is toxic to the mind, spirit and society. If you do not know "Truth", how can you possibly measure a misrepresentation of the truth or a flat out lie? 1 part Truth and 2 parts lie still equals a lie. I applaud Ken for his insight and cutting presentation of evidence that shine a light on the reality around us. You can visit Ken Miller here….

TRUTH: Subject to Change without Notice by Ken Miller
It seems there are fewer and fewer things you can really count on in life. Nothing – from cars and electronics to even our relationships – seems built to last anymore. Obsolescence is painfully inevitable. There just doesn’t seem to be much you can bank on these days, including the banks. Athletes let us down. Politicians disappoint us. Ministers fall from grace. Corporate America takes advantage of us. Friends and loved ones desert us. Our 401(k) plans fail to provide for us.

The one thing we could always depend on amid the instability of life was the truth. But if the truth be known, even truth seems to be standing on shaky ground lately. The postmodern mindset has deemed truth, like so much else in our world today, subject to change without notice. In other words, truth is considered subjective and changing, a flighty, fickle creature of our own making that is no more reliable than the stock market.

Nobody’s Right If Everybody’s Wrong
All this change demands our flexibility. (Or our tolerance, as the politically correct in our society like to refer to it.) We live in a world where about the only thing that isn’t tolerated is a lack of tolerance. Everyone is free to come up with their own version of the truth as long as they don’t try to promote it as the truth. This is a dilemma for us as Christians. After all, we claim to know the truth (1 John 1:21). Jesus Christ Himself professed to be the truth (John 14:6). We believe our version of truth has the power to set us free (John 8:32). This truth resides in us (John 16:13; 2 John 1:2). The Bible is the ultimate source of all truth (John 17:17). And we are called to live according to the truth it reveals (3 John 1:4).

But if we have the truth, what about everybody else? The answer lies in the lyrics to “For What It’s Worth,” an old Buffalo Springfield song from the ‘60s:

There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

The battle lines are being drawn. Some say there is no objective truth, but even that is an objective truth statement. It’s either true or it’s a lie. It’s either right or it’s wrong. And nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong. But the truth is that the truth is right. God’s truth. The truth as revealed in His written Word and demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6 NASB). If this is true, then every other brand or version of truth that does not line up with this statement is wrong. It’s a lie.

Religious Lies
And the lies are abundant. Many are hidden in the respectable guise of religion. Concealed by a thin veneer of truth, these subtle, almost subliminal lies appear to be trustworthy and true. That’s what makes them so dangerously deceptive. They appeal to our common sense. They resonate with our rational minds. They give us plausible alternatives to the truth that are far more acceptable and a lot less threatening to our self-centered little kingdoms of one. Over the centuries, countless lies have been perpetrated in the name of religion. Lies about God. Lies about heaven and how to get there. Lies about hell and its existence. Lies about the Bible and its believability and reliability. Lies about the sinfulness of man and what to do about it. And finally, lies about Jesus and His claims about who He was.

The Father of Lies
Where do all these lies come from? Who is behind all these attempts at deception and deceit? According to Jesus, it’s none other than Satan himself: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 NASB). Satan is a liar and a deceiver. He is the consummate con man. A smoothtalking shyster and a four-flushing fraud who wants to confuse and conceal the real truth with his own virulent variation of it. His modus operandi from the beginning has been to blend a toxic cocktail made up of one-part truth and two-parts falsehood. It’s exactly what he did in the garden and he’s been doing it ever since.

And Satan’s favorite targets are the religious. He doesn’t waste time trying to get us to deny God’s existence. He simply convinces us that God is detached, demanding, unknowable and too big and too impersonal for man to have any kind of relationship with Him. This is the god of most of the religions of the world: a divine, distant deity who’s more of a force or a disembodied power than a real being who longs to have a relationship with man. And the truth is, some of us as Christians struggle with knowing God. We have a hard time talking to Him. We don’t feel like He listens to us. In essence, He seems unapproachable.

Another favorite lie of the enemy has to do with the Bible and its reliability. “It’s just another religious book,” he persuasively pleads. “Sure, it’s got some great tips for living and some timeless wisdom, but it was written by men, not God. It’s full of errors and man’s opinions and is way too out of touch to be of much use in today’s more complex society.” While most religions of the world admire the Bible, they don’t view it as the inspired Word of God. But the same could be said about countless Christian denominations today. They reject the notion that the Bible is inspired and without error. They question both its accuracy and veracity.

Then there’s the topic of sin and man’s depravity. Satan has this one down. He appeals to our intelligence, convincing us that the very concept of sin is both illogical and irrational. Even some of the world’s leading religions reject the idea of original sin or man’s moral depravity. Some refer to it as negative karma or the unenlightened state. Even those that refer to it as sin only believe that it’s an act done against the will of God, but not a state of being. They have bought Satan’s lie that man is inherently good and sin is nothing more than the consequences of a bad environment, poor education or inequality of opportunity.

What about heaven? Satan isn’t really interested in getting you to doubt its existence, but he does try to confuse the means by which you get there. This is probably the most common lie among all the world’s religions. Christianity is the only religion not based on man somehow earning his way into heaven. They all feature some form of rules-based, god-appeasing system by which man reaches heaven, Brahman, Nirvana or whatever state of enlightenment he’s trying to attain. Self-effort rules the day. Good works and good intentions are the standard of measurement. There’s no need for a savior, because you can save yourself. And this lie has taken on an even more subtle form for many Christ followers today. We confess that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone, but then we spend our entire lives trying to keep God pleased by our good works.

Of course, Satan’s least favorite topic and the one where he spends the greatest amount of his effort at deception is hell. He knows the existence of hell is a tremendous motivator to mankind. So he spends a great deal of time trying to convince us it doesn’t really exist. He even appeals to our belief in a loving God as evidence against the existence of a place of eternal torment. How could a good and loving God create a place like that? But the enemy’s greatest efforts are reserved for denigrating the deity of Jesus and denying His role as the Savior of mankind. In reality, the first five lies culminate in this final one.

If God is unapproachable, He wouldn’t have bothered sending His Son. If the Bible is unreliable, then everything it tells us about Jesus being the Son of God is a fabrication of someone’s fertile imagination. If sin is irrational and man is inherently good, then no one needs a Savior. If heaven is attainable through my own good works, then I don’t need what Christ did for me on the Cross. If hell is inconceivable and everyone goes to heaven, then Jesus becomes nonessential. Now while most of us as Christians would never embrace this lie knowingly, we may struggle believing in the virgin birth, the stories of His miracles or the historical reality of His resurrection. There are Christian churches in this city that downplay all three. But without them, you end up with a nonessential Jesus. A good man, but not the Good News of God’s grace and mercy.

Truth of Consequences
We live in a day when truth is in short supply. We are surrounded by falsehood and constantly bombarded by the lies of the enemy. But Jesus told His followers “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NLT). We don’t have to believe the lies,religious or otherwise. We can know the truth and we can live in the freedom it brings. Freedom that comes from knowing our God is approachable and longs to have a relationship with us. Freedom that comes from knowing our sinfulness is real, but so is our Savior. Freedom that comes from realizing that heaven is attainable, not based on our own feeble human efforts, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Freedom that comes from knowing hell is a real place, but that we have been saved from it. Freedom that comes from knowing the Bible can be trusted because it is the Word of God. And the Word of God that reveals the truth of God is not subject to change without notice.
-Ken Miller (Oct 2009)

Refections & Notes from Dave Ramsey Entreleadership- Cancun

Photos by Lance Cashion

It was been nearly 3 weeks since Kat and I returned from our week-long adventured to Cancun for Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership conference. I will not go into detail about the structure and the daily sessions. I will say that I regret not keeping a journal. However, I was so mentally drained each day that I doubt I could manage stringing even the simplest coherent sentences together.

I knew that this experience would be unique when Hurricane Ida was working her way up the Yucatan Peninsula and thereby delaying our departure from DFW. Leaving our 6month old son was trying enough, but if I did not deliver sun, sand and paradise to Kat.... It was going to be a LONG week. By the grace of God, Hurricane Ida cleared out of town before we arrived.

Prior to embarking on this journey with Dave and his team, I had been struggling in my own organization. I knew that I needed to take a bigger leadership role in our family business but I did not possess the tools or the mindset to make that move. Basically, I was highly motivated but frustrated that I did not know "how" to proceed in my organization. My wheels were spinning but I was getting no traction and in a rut mentally and leadership-wise. Therefore, I had become stagnant, which is dangerous. This was spilling over into my family life. And like anyone who has worked in a family business knows, the dynamics and tensions are completely different b/c they are emotional and personal. You DON'T just leave work behind at 5:30 or 6pm and go home. You carry the weight of triumph and disaster on your shoulders at all times. When you feel this way, fear, doubt and frustration can seep into your life. "Fear is not a fruit of the spirit". "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2Tim 1:7


I had never been to a "conference" like this before. I don't buy 99% of the "self-help" crap out there. I BELIEVE that the Bible, particularly the New Testament, Proverbs and Psalms are the best "self-help" books available to man. That being said, Kat and I have been listening to Dave Ramsey for several years and we've been working his Financial Peace (Debt Free) program as well. It has transformed our lives. B/c we never knew what was obvious to our grandparents... Don't buy something you can't afford, don't borrow money! We know through personal experience that Dave's principles work. Let me remind you, Dave does not take credit for the ideas he espouses. They come straight from the Bible. I decided that Entreleadership was EXACTLY what I needed. How much I would actually get out of it was an unknown, so my expectations were skewed down and to the right (low).

My mind set changed when we arrived in Cancun late (6 hour flight delay) and one of Dave's Vice Presidents (and right hand) and video directors were there to greet us as we exited Mexican Customs. We were blasted in the face with 100% humidity leaving the terminal. Let me preface this, that I did not know who these people were at the time. They did not wear their "positions" on their sleeve. I figured they were just kindly gofers for Dave. It was not until our first dinner that I understood that Dave Ramsey had sent his equivalent of Dick Cheney to retrieve us from the airport. I must say, once these kindly, engaging gentlemen offered two weary travelers a cold Cervesas as we waited to board the van to the resort, I felt better about my standing with my wife and the experience in general. The rain had cleared and Dave's folks informed us that the weather forecast was nothing short of awesome. (I let out a sigh of relief and marriage saved) LOL!

After Dave's first lesson and dinner, Kat and I were ready for some rest. Awakened at 4am by a racing mind, I came to the realization that this experience was not going to be anything like I expected. It became clear that I was here for a reason and my life would never be the same. And, for me, there would be some growing pains this week and some tough choices to make. BTW, I will gladly share my personal Testimony if you are interested via email or private message. I drifted off to sleep.... Having taken this leap of Faith, searching for what I am designed by God to be.

The daily sessions were engaging and insightful. I never really had a mentor. I have people I have looked up to, but no one had shown me how to be a good Christian leader and follower. I took away so much information during the sessions that I found myself doing homework. If you don't know me, I hated homework and school for the most part... But, I have an affinity and thirst for knowledge and practical approaches to problems. I am an empiricalist and a bit skeptical. So, Dave's way of teaching worked for me. Not to mention, I have the attention span of a 6 year-old boy who's had entirely too much candy on Halloween (btw, I was born on Halloween).

Dave Ramsey opened up his playbook on building and growing a successful business doing "work that matters". I will say this, I thought that this "work that matters" line was just that, a line, a sales pitch before arriving in Cancun. (No offense Dave). I knew his type of work (getting people out of debt) mattered. But, how did MY work "matter"??? Little did I know, THIS was the reason why I was in Cancun. From the ground up and from 30,000 feet in the air, Dave took us on a journey through an organization that makes a difference in the world. He shared stories of triumph and disaster.The daily sessions were just a small aspect of this experience. Dave created an environment where his team was accessible and jumped at a chance to interact with you. They made us feel like old friends from the moment we arrived in Cancun (notice, I did not say family... family is loving but stressful). We had the opportunity to visit, laugh, share and gain insight from everyone on Dave's team. Fact: I made it a point to visit with everyone on Dave's team and I took something valuable away from every personal I spoke with. Not only that, but until the day we departed, we were constantly asked "is there was anything we could do for you? You let me (us) know."

Another facet is meeting and making friends with other participants. There were some amazing people on this trip who had their own struggles and questions. I know some who went home and left their places of work to live by a vision of their own. These were family people. Good Americans... the life blood of this country and they were investing their time and resources to become better versions of themselves for their teams, families and communities. I am honored and humbled to have been able to meet such great people who may be your neighbors. Believe me, these are the kind of people you want living around you.

Finally, there was the time spent alone and with Kat. We had conversations about life and work and family that we have never had before. I found that Kat was not someone I needed to protect from the stresses of my career and decision making. She was to become my most trusted advisor and directly engage work with me. I found that she had been providing me with valuable insight for years but like a normal guy, I had not really listened to what she was telling me. For this I am sorry. In the mornings, I would let Kat sleep and head for coffee and a walk. A moving meditation as I walked along the shore as the sun broke through the clouds. I would take my Bible and camera on these morning excursions. At one point, I was basically alone on a huge beach listening to God speak through nature. It reminded me of the morning before our wedding in Maui. I had woken up before dawn and walked down to the beach alone... completely alone... well, with God. I slipped into the water and turned to the shore and watched at the Creator painted a mighty picture on the canvas of the sky. A one of a kind piece of cosmic art that would never appear in exactly the same way again.. Ever. I had that same feeling return will watching the sun greet the Mexican landscape. This was more than I had envisioned.

I was learning and growing. After a long walk on the beach with my wife. I knew that life was different now, I knew what I needed to come home and do. I had the tools to make my vision a reality. I knew how to make my life and work a mission. I know how to share my vision and surround myself with people who share my vision. I know the DNA of my organization and how to improve and change things in a way that improves the lives of my team but overflow into the lives of our families and anyone who we come in contact with. Making an impact like the one that was made on me when I arrived in Cancun.

I visited with Dave after breakfast on the last day. I thanked him and told him that he has an awesome team. Before dinner, I told Sharon (his wife) that Dave is awesome. It's important to sincerely say "thank you" in private and in the presence of people they love. Gratitude brings peace to life and to the lives of those who you are grateful to. I thank God for giving me this opportunity and my family for supporting it.

Thanks Dave and Lampo Group for helping me become a better version of myself. I assure you that your efforts with me will bear fruit.

"Fear has left the building"
(Dave Ramsey-Friday Nov. 13, 2009 Cancun, Mex)

Over and out.
Lance Cashion

Little noises

We have a 7 month old son. Between 6-7am we begin to hear stirring and little noises emanating from the tiny human who invaded our home in April. The little noises are amplified by a baby monitor and sent via radio waves to the receiver in our bedroom. These little noises move me to slow action as I drag, sometimes stumble down the dim corridor to the entrance to his room. It is still dark outside but I can see the sun casting pink and deep purple light on the lower sky as I pass the large windows facing our backyard.

The little noises cease when the tiny human hears the wooden floor creak outside the door. His room is dark and I make my way to the crib. I can't quite make out which way he has turned in the night, but I see his figure squirming in his crib. As my eyes adjust and the fog lifts I see a tiny human staring back at me, he looks like me.... He freezes, then he smiles at me. I do not possess the lexicon to describe the feeling of joy that this moment in my day brings me. I reach for him and the tiny human responds by preparing for fatherly liftoff from the small patch of earth he has been dreaming on for the last 10 hours. I embrace him and he rolls his head down on my shoulder and rubs the sleep from his tiny eyes. He has been silent for a few moments as if to let God speak to us in the morning hush.

As I walk him from his room to greet mommy and our dog, the little noises resume. I take a mental picture and suspend the moment as long as I can. I burn it into my memory and realize that this is just a tiny glimpse of a heavenly eternity filled with unsurpassed joy and peace.

Good morning my son :)

Lance Cashion