randallsantiago.com

1. What are the 2-3 themes that personally defined 2011 for me?

2. What people, books, accomplishments, or special moments created highlights in 2011?

3. Give yourself a grade from 1-10 in the following areas of focus for 2011: vocationally, spiritually, family, relationally, emotionally, financially, physically, recreationally.

4. What am i working on that is BIG for 2012 and beyond?

5. As I move into 2012, is a majority of my energy being spent on things that drain me or things that energize me?

6. How am I preparing for 10 years from now? 20 years from now?

7. What 2-3 things have I been putting off that I need to execute on before the end of the year?

8. Is my family closer at the end of this year? Am I a better friend at the end of this year? If not, what needs to change immediately?

I asked the question on Facebook, responses were:

Grease 2

Skyline

Mac & Me

Message in a Bottle

Ishtar

Here’s My Ten Worse Movies Of All Time…I’m sure there’s worse, but I’m only rating the one I’ve seen!

#10-Jaws the Revenge.  Shark doesn’t look believable and neither does Michael Caine.

#9 – Max Payne – I like Mark Wahlberg but you’ll see him twice on this list, not good!

#8 – Epic Movie – Just awful!

#7 – Vanilla Sky – Still showing on TV, worst Tom Cruise movie EVER!

#6 – The Happening – the plot revolves around a mysterious neurotoxin from plants.  In “the happening” nothing actually happens.

#5 – The Pink Panther 2 – The thing about resurrecting a classic is you’re measured against the orginal.  Steve Martin is just not funny in this one.

#4 – Norbit – did anyone actually think it was going to be good? Murphy hasn’t had a winner in a while, this one clearly was not one!

#3 – Year One – Saw this one with Pastor Tom…if there was a movie that could keep me awake, this one wasn’t it!

#2 – Batman & Robin – This is the one with George Clooney as Batman…just bad! Catwoman was real close to making this list too!

#1 – Battlefield Earth – Stars John Travolta.  The Washington Post said:  “A million monkeys with a million crayons would be hard pressed in a million years to create anything as cretinous as this movie.”

Michael Buble “Christmas” – Hope to attend a concert someday, love him.

Toby Keith “Clancy’s Tavern” – Like Toby, but this was not his best work.

Boyz II Men – “Twenty” – Brings back some memories

Bruce Hornsby “Greatest Radio Hits” – Love piano driven music, love this album, bought this album.

Joe Nichols “It’s All Good” – Nice country album

Sting “The Best of 25 Years” – Not an album of the BEST!

I asked the question on Facebook and here’s some of the responses:

Avatar
Inception
Sound of Music (Really)
Titanic
To Kill a Mockingbird
Martian Child (What?)
Lord of the Rings
Anna and the King (Come on Pastor Chris)
Passion of the Christ
Notebook
The Godfather (I like how you think Brent)
Pay it Forward
Tin Cup
Gone with the Wind
Anything with Liam Neeson (Thanks Ashleigh)
Ferris Buelers Day Off

Some nice choices…Now here’s my top 10:

#10. Outlaw Josie Wales – There’s not a bad Clint Eastwood movie…all the Dirty Harry movies but this one is my favorite.

#9. Saving Private Ryan (Heard more weeping in the theater thanany other movie)

#8. Braveheart – Simply awesome….FREEDOM!

#7. Forrest Gump – Name a movie that captured the attention of the entire world more than this one?

#6. Groundhog Day – watch it again & again & again!

#5. Shawshank Redemption – “so he disappeared like a fart in the wind?”  A classic!

#4. Pulp Fiction – John Travolta is awesome on the dance floor!

#3. Rocky – “I aint no bum” and this movie isn’t

#2. Bourne Trilogy  – yes there’s 3 but I love them all.

#1. Tombstone – some of the greatest lines in any movie.

A few things that drive me crazy:

#1. Slow drivers in the left hand lane. Seriously, get over.

#2. Laziness. Get up and get going!

#3. Excuses and always blaming others. Childish.

#4. Gossip. Especially in the Church and Christian community. And yes, it’s a sin!

#5. The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). Bureaucracy at it’s best. Doesn’t matter what state or city… always one of the most depressing places on earth.

#6. Settling for Average. God deserves our very best.

#7. Arrogance. You’re not as good as you think.

#8. Babies crying in service – Drive me bonkers.

#9.  Current political climate. We need to get things done, not argue.

#10. Banks. They seem to feel that they’re untouchable and indispensable. Fees & penalties have gone to far.

Personal growth questions you should be asking on a frequent basis:

#1 – Am I reading my Bible for information or transformation? (James 1:22-25)

#2 – Am I allowing people or circumstances to steal the joy that Jesus promised to me? (John 10:10)

#3 – Is there anything in my life that God is consistently dealing with that I am trying to ignore? (Ezekiel 14:1-5)

#4 – Who are the people in my life that God has placed around me for the purpose of me sharing Christ with them and/or inviting them to church? (II Corinthians 5:16-21)

#5 – Is there anyone I need to apologize to? (Ephesians 4:25:27)

#6 – Is there anyone I need to forgive? (Ephesians 4:32)

#7 – Is there a sin I need to confess to others and ask for help? (James 5:16)

#8 – Am I fully utilizing the gifts and abilities that God has blessed me with…or am I simply choosing to waste my life? (I Peter 4:10)

#9 – Do I know more lines from the movies that I love than verse from the Bible that I read? (Psalm 119:11)

#10 – Is there anything going on in my life privately that, if it became public, would cause me and/or the body of Christ to be embarrassed? (I John 1:9, James 5:16)

At Starbucks and I just finished reading Lost + Found: Finding Myself By Getting Lost In An Affair by David Trotter.

This is NOT a Christian book. If you are looking for 4 steps on how to “affair-proof” your marriage, this isn’t the book for you. If you are looking for an uncensored, no-holds barred, almost uncomfortable look at the life of a pastor of a growing church who burns out and loses it all, this is it. I pride myself on being an open book but I’ve never read a book where someone is this open. David leaves NOTHING out about his fall. He goes into great detail of what lead to the affair, he goes into depth about what he was feeling, about how he felt about the lady he was leaving everything for, about the thrill of the sin, about his true feelings for his wife, etc. Nothing is left out.

Again, this book is NOT for everyone. Many will be offended by the F-bombs and the honesty, but if you’re looking for straight up reality, this book will cause you to reflect, run (flee) and remove anything that will cause you to stumble in your marriage.  If you’ve been entertaining thoughts of adultery, or you’ve already committed the act, there’s help in Jesus.

Most of all I’m reminded of this: if it weren’t for the grace of God, there go I.

Family Force 5 III – Pretty Funky…enough said!

Mark Harris “Stronger in the Broken Places” – Really nice album…really like Mark’s voice! Hard to stop listening to.

Martina McBride – Grabs you from the opening…nice album.

Casting Crowns “Come to the Well” – Not a Casting Crowns fan, but this is really one of their better albums, very diverse.

Lauren Alaina – Thought she should have won, but the album doesn’t reflect it. Thought Scotty’s album was better…will try again to see if it grows on me.

Revolution Worship (Live) – reminds me a little bit of Israel. Love it!

George Benson “Guitar Man” – Yeah, listened to him last week…what can I say, LOVE Benson jazz.

I think the most disturbing thing to me when communicating with people who have messed up is the fact that they think they can no longer be used by God. It’s probably what they hear from people around them both at church and in the world. But here’s the truth: You might have screwed up but God has great plans for your life. Everyone around you might have given up on you but God has not.

Remember today that you are in great company. God has a history of using screwed up people to do great things! I came across a friend’s blog today and was reading some old entries and he had the following written and it just reminded me that God is not done with screwed up people.

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old to be used

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

Zaccheus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer.

AND Lazarus was dead!

Don’t use your sin as a license but also don’t let your screw up keep you from doing what God has called you to do.

“The story is told of a man who went to the medical center and met a mean spirited, pit bull of a nurse. He said, “Maam, I’ve got this mole here on my chin I’d like the Dr. to look at.” She barked, “Down the hall, first door on the right, take off all your clothes.” A little surprised, he countered, “I don’t think that will be necessary, the mole is right here on my chin…” She ordered, “Down the hall, first door on the right, take off all your clothes.” He protested, “Maam, it’s just a mole here on my…” “Down the hall, first door on the right, take off all your clothes.” He gave in and walked down the hall, first door on the right, but there seated on a stool in his boxer shorts was a perfect stranger, shivering. He tried to break the awkwardness of the moment and said, “Wow, that nurse is kind of mean isn’t she?” The other guy said, “Tell me about it! I’m just the UPS driver!”

We’ve all met people like that, and at times we’ve been mistaken for the mean nurse. PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LAUGH!

I Believe the Lord Jesus, has a different picture for our personality. When the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives we are going to be fun people to live with. Our personalities are gradually, even today, being transformed into His image. Joy is a personality quality God’s Holy Spirit is developing in our lives through circumstances and events on a daily basis. Spirit filled people are people of Joy.

So how do you regain your laugh?

• We regain it through the Holy Spirit – Receive from the Holy Spirit the joy of your salvation. Ask Him to fill you with joy.

• We regain it by what we think about – James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy.” James says in the midst of trials, tribulations, temptations we are to decide or choose what we think about.

• We regain it through people – Hebrews says for us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves, but to spur one another in love and good deeds. Your life has so much value and importance, you bring joy to another person’s life.

• We regain it through acts of faith – get over yourself and start thinking about others. Acts of faith and generosity brings the joy of the Lord.

• We regain it through praise – Joy is a form of rejoicing. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.

• We regain it by sharing Jesus – Luke 10:20 – rejoice over 1 sinner who has repented.

Christ followers should be the most joyous people in the world!