• /
    • Archives / February 2012

Archives For February 2012

Where I Belong – Worship Wednesday

February 28, 2012 — Leave a comment

Worship Wednesday is a regular feature on Leveraging Life where I share with you a song and a video. This may be something familiar to you or something entirely new. When possible I will provide the story behind the song so you learn more about the message and what the inspiration was behind the creation of the song. I hope you enjoy this selection and don’t forget you can view all the previous Worship Wednesday selections by clicking here.

Where is God Now?

A common question we all face at various times in our lives. There are times when it can be tough to find God in the midst of so much pain and suffering in this world. When faced with personal trails and challenges in our lives or those we love there is a tendency to allow our faith to waiver.  Continue Reading…

In Worship Wednesday
 permalink

Trust In Jesus – Worship Wednesday

February 21, 2012 — Leave a comment

Worship Wednesday is a regular feature on Leveraging Life where I share with you a song and a video. This may be something familiar to you or something entirely new. When possible I will provide the story behind the song so you learn more about the message and what the inspiration was behind the creation of the song. I hope you enjoy this selection and don’t forget you can view all the previous Worship Wednesday selections by clicking here.

Trust In Jesus

Third Day

I need to set the stage for this post by describing the place I find myself tonight. A few hours ago I attended a memorial service at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta for the families of patients who passed away while being treated there. The Chaplain’s staff did a nice job creating a memorial service which honored those who had died and expressed hope for those who had experienced a loss.

As I was driving home I reflected on the service and the degrees of emotions that were present in St. Joseph’s chapel. What was clearly evident was a sense of loss. For some there was peace in that loss and for others the peace had yet to overcome the loss. As I wrestled with those thoughts my mind drifted to how my life could, would, and should impact those I loved. While immersed in this train of thoughts a song came on the radio which spoke to how a loved one who is living in the Spirit afford peace to loved ones who are left behind. Continue Reading…

In Life Lessons, Worship Wednesday
 permalink

Friday Favorites – Dan’s Coffee Run

February 16, 2012 — 1 Comment

Most Fridays I feature a website, blog, book, or video that for me has become a favorite. It may be a favorite resource, a source of inspiration, or just something I found interesting. Please feel free to comment, and I hope you might share a favorite or two of your own in the comment section. Who knows, maybe I will feature something you shared as a future Friday Favorite.

Dan’s Coffee Run

If you’ve ordered a cup coffee recently at Starbucks, you’ve noticed the traditional green and white cups have gone by the wayside for the red and white “Every Love” cups. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Starbucks invited their employees and customers to share their stories and celebrate the relationships which have touched our lives.  Continue Reading…

In Friday Favorites
 permalink

ONE WORD 365 – Growth

February 9, 2012 — Leave a comment

iStockphoto © sefaoncul

My One Word for 2011 was pause. 

There would have been no way to tell how this one word could have altered my line of thinking through the most challenging and rewarding year of my life.

~2011 was a year where my dream of being a husband and a father became reality with one single “I Do.”

~2011 was a year where I faced cancer for a third time and battled to the best of my ability through five months of chemo and trusted God period for what I could not control.

~2011 was a year, had I not slowed down and paused through in the midst of every challenge and in every blessing I would have missed seeing God’s handiwork in my life and the lives of those who joined me in this journey.

My One Word for 2012…hmmm? My One Word focus for next 365 days err…325 days?

After much thought and deliberation it has to be Growth, a word that is so appropriate to focus on after the year I had in 2011. I want to take all the life lessons learned…the good, the not-so-good, and the awesome and grow from them. I want to share them with the hope they may help and influence others in a way that they too can grow from my experience.

For me I’m talking about total…across the board growth, both personally and professionally. Growth in the five areas which I feel encompasses a full and complete life. Continue Reading…

In Growth
 permalink

Al Cielo – Part Two – Our Review

February 5, 2012 — 4 Comments

Last Friday I featured the Al Cielo Beachfront Hotel as a my Friday Favorite. Shari and I stayed at Al Cielo for a week in January as we were celebrating our honeymoon, something which had to be delayed last March while being treated for cancer. You can read part one of this post, how we came to decide on Al Cielo here, plus our review of this amazing place is listed below. 

Our Review of Al Cielo

Rarely in life does the hype and excitement of what you hope to experience actually exceed all your expectations on every level. In most cases you end up with some type of a trade-off.  The beach was great but the service was so-so, or the service was great but the food was average. That certainly was not the case at Al Cielo, as our stay there was absolutely and unequivocally amazing! 

Continue Reading…

In Friday Favorites
 permalink

Friday Favorite – Al Cielo – Part One

February 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

Most Fridays I feature a website, blog, book, or video that for me has become a favorite. It may be a favorite resource, a source of inspiration, or just something I found interesting. Please feel free to comment, and I hope you might share a favorite or two of your own in the comment section. Who knows, maybe I will feature something you shared as a future Friday Favorite.

 

Al Cielo

As promised in my last post, this week’s Friday Favorite feature is the beachfront resort Al Cielo. Al Cielo is located on Mexico’s Carribean Coast, sitting on Xpu-Ha Beach in the Riviera Maya region just north of Tulum and south of Playa del Carmen.

Shari and I booked our trip in August as my 8th cycle of chemo was beginning. We figured that even if I was still in treatment, we would both be in need a break by then. And I don’t know about you, but there is always something special about traveling someplace warm during winter, so January seemed like the perfect time for our postponed tropical honeymoon. Fortunately for us, shortly after the trip was booked, my chemo was finished and despite having another surgery on the horizon, our countdown began.

Why Al Cielo?

Continue Reading…

In Friday Favorites
 permalink