Last month I had the privilege of preaching the missions convention for one of our Fellowship’s most exciting churches, First Assembly in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Because I became distracted, getting there turned out to be somewhat costly and time-consuming.

My Saturday flight took me from Springfield to Chicago’s O’Hare International airport. Upon arriving at the gate, I checked the flight monitors and discovered there was an earlier flight leaving for Cedar Rapids. I walked quickly to gate F4 and was added to the stand-by list.

The gate agent called my name and I was on the earlier flight. Within minutes of buckling our seat belts, the gate agent came on the plane and announced that “due to weight restrictions and weather conditions” they were looking for three individuals to voluntarily deplane and take the next flight. The incentive – a free round-trip flight anywhere in the continental United States – anytime in the next twelve months!

I volunteered quicker than you could say, “Go Buckeyes!” United Airlines gave me a free round-trip voucher and a seat on the next flight, the one on which I had originally been scheduled. Great deal – free ticket and arrive at the original time!

Knowing I had ninety minutes until my flight, I went to a restaurant. The soup hit the spot, I did some computer work, returned a few calls, and found an exciting college football game to watch. Unfortunately, I lost track of time. When I checked the clock, it was fifteen minutes until the scheduled flight departure of 6:10. Walking briskly to gate F11, I arrived at exactly 6:00 p.m., only to learn that the boarding was closed. I tried my best to persuasively and kindly talk my way onto the flight, but to no avail.

Here’s the kicker – the flight I missed was the last United flight to Cedar Rapids that evening. What’s more – the earliest flight in the morning could not get me to Cedar Rapids in time to preach. And what’s more – no other airlines had seats available.

My only option – rent a car! Four hours and $200 later, I was in my hotel room. I must admit – driving from Chicago to Cedar Rapids in a rain storm and having to rent a car took a bit of the luster off of the free ticket!

It is so easy to become distracted – to lose focus! It has happened to me more often that I’d like to admit.

Since this experience, I have made a conscious decision to be more focused and less distracted. I’m practicing these five action steps:

• Make a prioritized list of what I need to do and stick with it until I’m done.
• Try to do fewer things excellently rather than more things with mediocrity.
• Stay focused on the tasks at hand — In other words, wherever I am I need to be completely there.
• Ask myself, “Do I have everything that belongs to me?” before leaving a hotel room, restaurant, or an airplane.
• Invite the Lord and my wife to remind me when they see me being distracted.

To finish strong I need to minimize distractions and maximize focus!

If you can identify with me on this, I’d like to hear from you – how are you working to overcome distractions and stay more focused?

A thankful heart doubles our blessings, enabling us to enjoy them twice – when we receive them and when we remember them. Today, the day before Thanksgiving, I remember my blessings and give thanks to God for each of them.

Here is my “top ten thanksgivings” list for this today!

#10 – I’m thankful for the members of a caring Sunday School class from Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. Yesterday they mailed 35 boxes, weighing a total of about 250 pounds, to Rob McChrystal’s army unit in Afghanistan. Filled with yummy snacks, soap, shampoo, Christmas cards, small Christmas trees made by children, and other goodies, these boxes will brighten the hearts of 117 soldiers during this holiday season.

#9 – I’m thankful for Pastor Brian and Kimberly Steller. Five years ago they became pastors of a fifty-five year old church with eleven attendees. Today, the church is alive and growing. Scores of young children, teens, and young adults are part of Calvary church in Jacksonville, Oregon. I preached there last Sunday. What an exciting church!

#8 – I’m thankful for my friend, Mark Ford. Since our Central Bible College days, Mark has been a constant source of huge encouragement to me, Mark and Jan faithfully serve the Lord in Akron, Ohio, as the Executive Director of Love Akron, a coalition of Christ-honoring churches, representing many denominations, whose mission is to help transform their community by demonstrating Christ’s love through their unity, prayer, and acts of service.

#7 – I’m thankful for my mother-in-law, Audrey Clay. Her love for life, enthusiasm, passion for Jesus, and her love for others (including her children and grandchildren), are just a few of her great qualities! I love her very much.

#6 – I’m thankful for the privilege of serving the Lord as a preacher of the gospel for over three decades. I’m so grateful that God called me to preach while in high school. What a privilege!

#5 – I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve our Fellowship in my current capacity. No one was more surprised to be elected three months ago than I. God has given me a great team to lead. I’m blessed to work with them every day. You are the best, team!

#4 – I’m thankful for my parents, John and Ruth, Palmer whose faithful lives of love, obedience, and prayer shaped the lives of my sister, Marilynn, my brother, Jim, and mine.

I am standing on their shoulders. Much of the blessing I have enjoyed in ministry I owe to their godly lives.

#3 – I’m thankful for our children, Amy (and her husband, Jeremy), Jonathan, and Bethany. Each of them loves Jesus and honors and respects their parents. I thank God every time I remember them. Debbie and I are unbelievably blessed. I love each of you.

#2 – I’m thankful for Debbie. For over thirty-five years we have walked together in ministry. She is the greatest gift, other than salvation, that I ever received from the Lord. I know I married “way over my head!” The Lord has favored me. I love you, Debbie.

#1 – I’m thankful for the Lord and all He has done in my life. Because of Christ, I have uncountable blessings here on earth and the promise of living in heaven forever. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Grateful people finish strong. Ungrateful and unhappy people stumble often. I’m committed to finishing strong. I trust you are, too.

As I walked by his shoe shine stand in the Atlanta airport last week, this middle-aged man disengaged momentarily from his book and said, “I can take care of those shoes.”

“Why not?” I figured. “I have time.”

As I would soon find out, the most important reason I went back and sat in his chair was not to get my shoes shined, but to meet this man who reminded me of some very important biblical truths.

He has been shining shoes for forty-three years, since he was thirteen years old. I asked a couple questions and learned a lot about this man who identifies himself as Levi Shoedini.

His given name is Levi – but not Shoedini. McCoy is his real name. “Back in 1986,” he recounted with a smile, “I shined this man’s shoes – he was in his ninety’s. . . After the shoeshine he gave me a $100 tip and said, ‘This is the best shine I’ve ever received. You did magic on these shoes. I’m calling you Shoedini’” (an obvious reference to the famed magician of last century, Harry Houdini).

The name has stuck!

Shoedini loves Jesus. The book he was reading when I passed his shoe shine stand last Friday was a Gideon’s New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. It was dog-eared – well worn – every page had been pored over.

He had been reading Psalm 37, and proceeded to quote many of its verses to me as he skillfully “shoedini-ed” my cordovans. He was the happiest shoe shiner I’ve met – and I’ve sat in scores of their chairs in airports across America.

Then he started telling me about how much he loved Jesus – how he was filled with the Holy Spirit and served as a deacon in his church. Pointing to the huge black chair in which I was sitting, he said boldly, “This is my ministry. . . this is where I pray for people and share Christ with them.” He’s been doing it for forty-three years and it doesn’t seem to have affected his enthusiasm and passion. He is an unashamed Christ-follower – and a mighty good shoe shiner, too!

I have a hunch – though I don’t know for sure – that Shoedini is probably doing some of his most effective ministry at his big black chair. He transformed my shoes and showed me the love of Christ – all at the same time. While my tip wasn’t $100, it was certainly bigger than normal.

I’ve talked with hundreds of people while criss-crossing our country the last fifteen months. Most of them I don’t remember. But I think I’ll always remember Levi, the shoe shine guy. And I’ll smile ever time I say, “Shoedini.”

We might call what follows – Lessons From Levi!

• Whatever we do, we should do it the best we can. People notice.
• Happily being who God has called us to be is more important than making lots of money or being known by lots of people.
• Ministry is a lot more than preaching, teaching, or singing in a church service – it is serving Christ by serving people any way we can. Ministry is any act of service by which we demonstrate the love and grace of Jesus.
• We can influence a lot of people by just being nice. Jesus was nice.
• What we do outside the church building may, in reality, be more important for the cause of Christ than what we do inside.
• The way we do our work and relate to people will affect them more than what we say.

Next time you’re in the North Terminal at the huge Atlanta airport, check out the hallway near ticket counters 16 – 30. There’ll you probably find Shoedini working his magic on someone’s shoes and shining Christ’s love into someone’s soul.

Shoedini’s finishing strong – doing what God has called him to do. I’m committed to do the same! Hope you are, too!

JMP

For as long as I can remember I have dealt with low self-esteem. While I’m not smart enough to know its origins, I am keenly aware of its damaging effects in my life.

• No matter how well I may have done in a college test (and I did very well in the classroom) or how others may have been helped by a message I preached, my negative self-talk rarely allowed me to enjoy my hard-earned accomplishments.

• For years I have played the fatal mind game – self-comparison. I lose every time.

• Low self-esteem has discouraged and demotivated me, causing me days on end of moderate levels of depression.

• I have found myself wanting to please everyone – an impossibility!

About five years ago, I asked the First Assembly (Des Moines, Iowa) Deacon Board to give me an assessment of my ministry strengths and weaknesses. They were very reticent to do so, indicating that that was not what they were called to do. However, at my insistence, they did what I asked them to do. Their assessment was thorough, gracious, and challenging. While their written and verbal report indicated many areas of strength, they also identified two areas for growth.

Following their evaluation, as I began to put my action plan together to strengthen my weak areas of ministry, I came to understand how my low self-esteem was negatively impacting my otherwise fruitful ministry. I was not seeing myself as God sees me. Being a perfectionist didn’t help either.

Today I see myself more like God sees me. By the grace of God, I am no longer at the bottom of the self-esteem valley. I give God all the praise. He showed me how to renew my mind and correct my negative self-talk.

The single biggest factor contributing to my improving self-esteem is God’s Word.

Nearly every day for several years now I say to myself what God has already said to me through His Word.

• I am a child of God.
• I am loved.
• I am gifted.
• I am forgiven.
• I am the “apple of His eye.”
• The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I am complete in Christ.
• I am joy-filled.
• I am thankful.
• God is my friend.
• God is my salvation.

God’s word has renewed my mind. I am becoming a new creation. I now look to God for His approval more than to others. While I’d like you to be happy with me, my self-esteem isn’t dependent on your view of me now.

This is no instant formula – no magical wand – just a daily applying of God’s powerful and living Word to my mind. This is a process – not an event!

I am slowly finding my way out of the deep valley of low self-esteem. By God’s grace, we all can – we can finish strong!

JMP

p.s. Anyone else out there dealing with this issue? If so, how are you doing?