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If you have sent anytime by the ocean you may have seen this phenomenon, lots of 1 legged seagulls.    When you first notice it can be disconcerting…what could cause all of these poor seagulls to be “1 legged”….mutation, predators, ?????.

Before you jump to any conclusions, watch closely…hang around for a while…and you will notice the magical appearance of the missing leg!  Seagulls it seem have taken to tucking a leg up into their bodies as a way of resting that leg (if you ask me standing on one leg was never restful, but then again I am not a seagull!) . The result is the uncanny appearence of being “1 legged”.  It seems…things are not always as they seem.

When we talk about how our lives are “marked”,  things are not always as they seem either. We have a tendency to rush to blame the sorrowful stuff  in our lives on the obvious culprits…but take a closer look  and a different story appears.   Lifes “marks” seem to come in 3 varieties…I call them Birthmarks, Scars, and Tattoo’s. Birthmarks are the things we are born into, Scars are the things others have done to us, and Tattoo’s are the things we have done to ourselves. Knowing the true culprit is the beginning to overcoming in Christ.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

To watch the whole message (Story of Birthmarks, Scars, & Tattoos) Check here…

One newspaper headline declared of the destruction in Haiti “Biblical Proportions” and from the images and reports that description seems apt.  All of this gives the Christians community to respond in “Biblical Proportion” as well!

We are doing that in concert with our Missionary Partners (Lanes and Franklins) who are serving on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic). One of the great blessings of a robust missions programs such as the BBFI has is the chance to respond quickly and personally to need and then to continue that relief with lasting spiritual assistance – long after others have left.

Read more about how you can help with relief through “Bucket of Hope”

http://capecodchurch.com/haiti-relief

To continue with some thoughts on excellence this is a needful reminder…

Excellence is not $

There is a common mis-perception that excellence is the equivalent of expense, that the only way to display excellence is to spend the big bucks!  Truth is – this is  cop out!

Sure there is the reality of money and cost in any endeavor – but too often our lack of excellence is pinned on a lack of loot ($$$). The reality is that excellence is the product of effort not expense.

When someone cares about a product, a program, a message, or a business, they invest effort and whatever resources they have available and the result is often excellence.

Take the simple example of the “Front lawn”… a while back while in the car with a couple of my oldest children we passed a perfectly manicured lawn. My kids commented – “Dad look at their lawn, how come our lawn doesn’t look like that?  I responded “They have people that do their lawn” (Landscapers $$$)!

Truth is – that was a convenient excuse that ignored the reality of plenty of people with “excellent lawns” whose primary expenditure is “effort” (because they care!).  No matter the size of your endeavor, ministry, or work, excellence is within reach if you are willing to spend EFFORT!

If what we are doing is really for the Lord….can we justify anything less. So take a look around at the “lawn” you are growing at work in ministry, at home….is it excellent!?