Coach Galen

Blog

  • Your Passion, Personality, and Abilities

    The Pro-Development model is the most helpful tool I have found to give a person a heading in the right direction to living their life purposefully.

  • How is God building His Church?

    Since 1993, I have seriously observed, pondered, explored, and sought an answer to this question:

    What I have learned so far:

    • The importance of the individual is never diminished in the collective body of Christ.
    • Inclusion in the Church is guaranteed through personal connection with Jesus Christ.
    • Physical spaces are sacred places wherever His Church gathers.
    • Religious conformity to a church is a questionable sign of righteousness.
    • Godly character is the first requirement for church leadership.
    • True equality is grounded in the creative activity of the Triune God.
    • Individual value/worth is divinely assured through individual uniqueness.
    • God ordains to each person a “gift of blessing” to be both enjoyed and shared.
    • Being “fully alive” in Christ in this life is serious preparation for the life to come.
    • Being “Like Christ” is a person’s unique manifestation of the image/likeness of God.
    • Satan, the Church’s enemy, confuses “earthly pleasure,” with “good and perfect gifts.”
    • The most valued “building materials” of the Church are those that appear least desirable.

    These “Essentials” must shape the organizing and operating functions of a local church

    Does the above matter?

    It’s the most strategic cause/force at work among human beings.

    Investing in this eternal cause is a legacy worth making.

     

    How does the above inform me about my purpose?  

    Woe is me, if I do not see myself as an active part of this divine mission in the world.

  • Numbering Our Days Aright

    “Dear God, just because we can, it doesn’t mean we have the wisdom to know what we should (be or do). The choices being made by the individual human beings today are fraught with misguided motives, based on distorted information, heading toward questionable ends. In other words, as a human race, we are pretty messed up.

    And political correctness isn’t helping the situation. Seems like we’ve lost the wisdom of the ages and are foolishly writing our own rules for life, faith, and justice. O.K. I am a little pessimistic that we’ll reconcile the mess we are in as a nation, being nearly equally divided between social justice and individual responsibility.

    What does ‘numbering my days aright’ (Moses, Psalm 90:12) look like? How do I do it? How do I help my clients do it? How do I help my family and friends do it? How is it done? When I was in my youth, I was certain I’d do it (living) right. In my prime of life I gave it (life) my best shot. Now at seventy-two, I’m less sure of many things, and more sure of some things. Maybe that’s why I resonate with Psalm 90.

    I’m sure that You are the ‘ Eternal Thou’ and we are the ‘feeble now.’ That Your Word is Sacred. That death is Your final ‘no’ to our getting our own way. That Your mercy is in proportion to Your wrath. And in Jesus Christ is forgiveness, restoration, and resurrection.

    May I ‘number my days’ in light of these things I’m sure of. My ‘calling’ (my blessing) is to help individual men and women flourish in community, especially within the context of the Body of Christ, the Church. Help me count each of my remaining days as having been faithful to my ‘calling.’ And may it also be true for those whose lives I touch, especially including my clients, family, and friends. In Jesus. Amen.

    Last night I could not light the fireplace, but a simple two-wick candle created a warm glow in the darkness. Symbolically, may that be said of all of us.

  • A Perspective on Spiritual Companionship

    The following is a beautiful and insightful perspective by a Spiritual Director.

    “To be a spiritual friend one must have detachment, discretion, and discernment, with all that prepares for those gifts. Spiritual companionship is a gentle art, demanding a willingness to listen as if one had a third ear attuned to the inner self. It is neither psychotherapy nor is it the sacrament of reconciliation. Sometimes one needs to confront, but far more often the best intervention of the spiritual guide is in parabolic language, nudging the friend into a new way of seeing. The journey belongs to the other and that person’s uniqueness must always be honored.

    “The friend of the soul is an instrumental image. Such a person is not to be a “buddy,” but someone who listens, comforts, and supports. He or she is a means, not an end. It is important for me not to think too highly of myself in this relationship, but to stand in awe of what God is doing in the life of the other person. Often this requires me to get out of the way. When in ignorance I have nothing to say, I must remain silent.” –from Spirituality for Ministry by Urban T. Holmes III

  • Satisfy your Desires with Good Things

    Psalm 103;2-5 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life form the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things.”

  • Divine Presence in the Church

    The context holds less value than we think.

    Memorial halls, auditoriums, gymnasium, dorms, classrooms, and libraries are just as sacred a worship place as cathedrals, sanctuaries, worship centers, and houses of worship. Church decor, impressive architecture, or multi-use education facilities hold no special promise of divine presence . He doesn’t even need green space, quiet zones, nature parks, sanctuary places, and recreational playgrounds. He cares little about vestments, icons, order of services, performances of music and speech, religious holidays, padded seats, overhead screens, or platform furnishings. He seldom notices whether women wear makeup, dress up; or whether men wear suits or dress down.

    God’s presence is felt by the affirmation of Truth by the Holy Spirit within the soul.

    A sincere woman asked Him, “Where are we to worship God?” Jesus replied, “Believe me, woman…a time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seek. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21-24)

     

     

     

  • Standing by the Door

    “(They) crave to know where the door is,
    And all that so many ever find
    Is only the wall where a door ought to be.

    They creep along the wall like blind men,
    With outstretched, groping hands.
    Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,

    Yet they never find it…

    So I stand by the door.”

    from: Samuel Moor Shoemaker, I Stand by the Door

  • Symbol of Alligence

    “Dear God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, uphold Your people with Your mighty arm. Forgive us of our sin of unbelief, self-centered pride, and waywardness through Your Son Jesus Christ as we humble ourselves before Your throne in the presence of a watching world. Being an American citizen is not nearly as important as being a citizen of Your Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. In the coming days may we experience the full measure of both.  In Jesus. Amen.”

  • Prayer for Direction

    “Dear God, You are compassionate to the humble, to those who seek after You. You lift them up. But You bring down those who are haughty. Have mercy on the poor in spirit. Shine Your light on each one who seeks after You. Each heart is known by You. Direct us on the path You have chosen for each of us. By Your wisdom guide our steps even today. Restore our bodies. Refresh our spirits. By Your Holy Spirit bless us abundantly. So be with me and each one of us even at this moment. In Jesus. Amen.”

  • What Do I Want In Life?

    What do I want? What matters the most to me? How do I want to live the rest of my life?
     
    Part of me wants to enjoy my children and their children, longtime friends and new acquaintances, the changing of the seasons, travel to historical places and beautiful settings, and being introduced to new thoughts about old problems.
     
    Playing Chinese Checkers with beautiful Brooke (6) and Emily (8), watching base hits driven off the bats of Elliot (8) and Cole (13), sharing ice cream with Charlie (5) and Mason (10), and kissing my wonderful wife, they rank up there with the grandest things in life.
     
    I lunch with each of my sons, listening, learning, and enjoying their expanding stories about life.
     
    Randy, Terry, Monika, and other special friends mix the ingredients of life into a saga of wonder, mystery, and hope.
    Things drift further away into distant memory. Pleasures linger longer, holding onto my heart.
     
    Music is softer, the beat is slower, and the lyrics are soulful, except when the spirit bursts into song. Former days of life flash into a brilliant spectrum of blazing color, fading, but leave a lingering presence of knowing. God is my friend.
     
    He is more long-suffering than I am to myself. Every emotion He has given me I have reflected in love or thrown back in anger at Him. Enduring, patient, unfazed, He holds the sacred space of life itself. He dims the evening sky and slowly raises the morning sunlight.
     
    He breaks into my complacency with thunder and lightning. Waters noisily pound their irregular rhythm on the land. But His voice is in the calm lake waters mirroring the splendor of His mercy and grace back to me.
     
    Thanks be to God, my Creator, Maker of heaven and earth.