When someone hurts you or cuts you down to your face or in front of others how do you deal with it? I see there being 3 options:

Option 1 is to ignore it and move on.

Option 2 is to deal with it and talk directly to the person who hurt you.

Option 3 is to rip that person a new one by talking about him/her to others so that you can vent your hurts and feelings out loud, but not really deal with the situation.

Sadly, have seen more people take option 3 than option 1 or 2. It is hard to take option 1, so I don’t see many people taking that, including myself. Option 2 is also hard as it is vulnerable and faces the situation head on so I don’t see many people taking that option either. Sadly option 3, although it is the cowardly way to go many people take it cause it makes them feel better and gives them room to vent.

I see option 3 as being cowardly, sinful, wimpy and in no way loving to anyone. If you have a problem with someone (and I am speaking to myself here too) talk to them about it. I get so furious when I see someone being nice to a persons face and then cutting them down as soon as they leave the room. Who has the problem here? I believe it is the coward who doesn’t have the courage or integrity to tell the person they have problems with exactly how they feel.

If you have a problem with someone just tell them, and if you are to scared to tell them then just forgive them, walk away from the situation and love them. I am a follower of Jesus. All throughout Jesus life I see him directly dealing with the people who he had problems with. Do you know why? Because He loved them and because it was the loving thing to do. He wasn’t into gossip, He was into redemption. When we talk about people behind their backs it doesn’t lead to redemption, it leads to pride and bitterness. There is no healing or love that comes out of pride and bitterness, just ugliness and hate.

My challenge to you and to me is to seek healing and redemption in your relationships by talking. Not by talking about the person who hurt you, but by talking to the person who hurt you. I can almost guarantee you that healing will happen, and if not then I will give you a dollar.

A picture of my big/little sister and I when we were kids back in Ireland. Hey sis, I love ya mucho and am praying for you lots and lots, as are many other people. Thanks for all the love for my sister everyone. Check out her story here and show some Facebook love here.

One of the main things I am excited about is getting version 2.0 of the Prayer & Action guide out by Steps of Justice, a non-profit I helped start. In the last year and a half we have sold and given away over 4600 guides to churches all over the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and NZ. The guide is a way that helps people engage with these overwhelming issues of injustice that we hear about every day. Issues of extreme poverty (1.25 billion living on less than $1.25/day), issues of slavery (30 million slaves live in our world today), or issues of preventative disease (every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria). The Prayer & Action guide give practical ways that you and I can be involved in being the change in some of these issues.

As we put out version 2.0 in the next couple of months we are needing something from you. That something is a photo. Our current issue has an amazing cover photo taken by our good friend Vanessa Hadford. We love this photo, and it will remain in the guide, but we are looking at a bit of a redesign and want to use a different cover photo. This is where you come in.

If you have a photo that you have taken or know of a friend who is a photographer and has some epic and moving pictures we would love you to submit them. We are looking for a photo that is strong. One that tells a story. One that moves you to compassion, anger and action. A photo they depicts how messed up and unjust our world is, but one that also shows there is hope.

The person whose photo the we pick will get the following:
1. 10 copies of the Prayer & Action guide
2. Credit for taking the photo
3. Links to their Flickr, Facebook and Twitter stream.

Please have your photos submitted no later than Monday January 16 at 5:pm west coast time. .
You can submit your photos to Phil at phil@stepsofjustice.org

1. Eliza, our 11 month old born on Dec. 31. She is a true gift to our lives.
2. My family. I feel closer and more connected to them now than I ever have.
3. Amy, this year I fell in love with this amazing woman again. I am seeing her like I have never seen her before, I am truly thankful for you my Amy.
4. I graduated from college this year after 21 years.
5. Friends. God has put some amazing friends in my life this year. Ones that have carried me through hard times and laughed with me though the good ones.
6. Reading through the bible, this has been great for me.
7. Steps Of Justice, I am truly humbled that we have been able to start this ministry.
8. The Justice and Worship tour. It has. Been life changing to to tour up and down the west coast with friends and my family of 5 teaching and facilitating people in justice issues.
9. Family. There have been some ups and down with my family, but I am thankful for my mom, dad sister and family.
10. My faith. This year it has grown, has been stretched, has been tested and has become this beautiful part of my life and who I am. Without my faith in Jesus the top 9 on this list would have no value.

Now for some things I want to see happen during year 40.

1. Run and finish the spring tour with Steps of Justice
2. Start a justice focused ministry that is directly working with and serving the poorest of the poor.
3. Do more and teach more.
4. Fight against normality with all my strength.
5. Mentor/disciple someone in their faith and life.
6. Read more
7. Exercise regularly, eat good food always, brew good beer and skip the decaf
8. Have regular family time with my wife and kids.
9. Date my wife.
10. Read through the bible again.

Eventually we were able to get out of our house. We put our stuff in two different storage places, gave a bunch away to others, sold some and thrift stored all the rest. It was freeing, yet a bit surreal. The night we moved over to the Sweetwater RV park to begin our time on the road I remember looking down the 31 foot hallway to the other side of the trailer and thinking “how in the H am I going to drive this thing down the road?” I was still feeling a bit insecure about driving a 1/2 ton truck, but now I had to tow my house behind it. To this day I am still surprised that we haven’t crashed or that I haven’t killed anyone in the process.

A part of me was excited for this new season of life, yet another part of me was pretty freaked out. I was excited because I had seen Jesus provide for out needs (truck, travel trailer, daily needs and tour dates) yet I was freaked out as we were venturing into something completely new. Even now I am looking back and wondering why I ever was freaked out. This tour was a gift to our family and to the Wilson family. It is an adventure and in some ways an answer to my prayer of “whats next God?”

On Tuesday October 4 we packed up our trailer, hitched er up to the truck and headed  to LA for our first event outside of San Diego County. This tour was going to be filled with travel, seing old friends, making new friends and journeying with people down the road of ‘doing justice.’ In some ways we were still trying to figure out how this was going to look, making changes all along the way. Yet within the freshness and excitement of touring there lay this unrest in my heart. A fear of something I couldn’t quite identify continuing to raise it’s head, and mostly at the most inconvenient times. A fear that I will continue to touch on during these posts, not only so that you can learn from it, but so that I can learn and grow from it too.

We are currently on a brake from a 5 month tour with Steps of Justice. Below is 1 of the 2 entries I have written, they are the basis of what God has been doing in my life.

Entry 1. Sunday October 30, 2011. Camping for the night in Lakeside Oregon on the Justice and Worship tour.

I am 3 1/2 weeks into this tour, but I am only starting to post today. That is pretty much because I am only starting to understand my thoughts. Well, for my reading enjoyment and yours when and if I decide to publish these thoughts here is my tour posts.

Im realizing that there is no where to run when you are on the road with your family and friends for 3 months and living in a 31 foot box on wheels. When I am at home I can run to work, go out with friends for a beer or coffee or go to my room and read. When I am here I can’t really do any of that. For the most part my truck is attached to my house and my house is connected to my truck, so I am basically screwed for getting away.

I am with my family on this tour more during the days than I even have been. We wake up together, do school and work together, eat all meals together, watch tv or read books together and go to sleep in the same room, separated by accordion doors. I am in no way complaining, it is just different and I am realizing it more and more every day. I have been on edge, highly emotional, insecure, confused and stressed almost since day 1 and I think it is only in the last few days that I am figuring that this is why.

It has been a crazy yet beautiful 3 1/2 weeks. In it we have had our trailer fixed twice, our truck fixed twice and have almost crashed 87 times (hehe). I also found out my sister Julie has melanoma cancer. She has it pretty bad, it has been hard for me to accept it or even take it seriously cause I am so far away and know that it will wreck me if I do. Even as I sit here typing this I am wrecked, mainly cause it is the 1st time I have put it down in writing and I am realizing that my big little sister could be dying.

Dear Jesus, please heal my sister, Im scared.

Steps Of Justice from YWAM Salem on Vimeo.

I Won’t Watch is currently in beta form, but is launching on black Friday, in 6 days. For the 1st couple of
Weeks I Won’t Watch is partnering with Steps of Justice so I would love it if you could take some time, head on over to the site on Friday and support Steps by purchasing a watch. Not only will you be supporting Steps, but you will have a watch that tells a story of Gods and your heart for Justice. Thanks a ton and please pass on the word.