FlowerDust.net | Anne Jackson

The Week of Hot Sex

what the?

yep.

as some of you know, i am buddies with the guys over at deadly viper, and they let me do some cool stuff over there…(like blog…) because as we know, the seven deadly assassins don’t just target guys.

so next week, we are having a very frank discussion about sex on the deadly viper blog.

and we want your questions.

nothing is off limits. at all. don’t believe me? read the post mike has up today.

feel free to post your questions here or if you’d rather keep it private, feel free to email me at anne {at} flowerdust {dot} net.

NOW…

i realize some people think we talk about stuff like this to the extreme level we do for sensationalism or to create a buzz or just to get comments.

please hear my heart when i say

THAT IS NOT IT AT ALL.

we realize that just because we are christians…it doesn’t mean we don’t struggle with things, or wonder things, and wonder what the bible says (or doesn’t say) about sex.

this will be uncomfortable. even when mike, jud and i were emailing today about next week, i was literally squirming in my seat too. i was uncomfortable. and chances are, if you were to ask me these questions face to face, i’d blush and stutter and sweat.

but hey, blogging just might allow us to be a little more vulnerable. to have time to process things and respond. and to ask and answer questions appropriately…just a little bit more easily, perhaps.

(also, feel free to comment anonymously).

i look forward to the conversation.

deadly viper post

i have a post over at deadly viper today…

just so ya know.

it starts,

I put God to the test.

A lot.

And it’s weird how often he comes through…

read more…

another announcement. this one’s deadly!

CLICK HERE…

I am VERY excited/honored/humbled/kick me in the face, chuck norris, please!

…about this!

hellooooo……naked lady

last night i was reading intensely about the life of david. how the bible says so many times that others knew god was with david, or how david himself would claim god’s power over a situation. god was so faithful to him, and then made one of the most well known and important covenants in the history of mankind.

later on, as we all know, david screwed up pretty big. he was a successful king. he was a successful warrior. kicking other nations square in the pants. during one particular spring time, when most kings went to war, he stayed back in jerusalem. he was hanging out on the roof and saw bathsheba.

hellooooo……naked lady.

i’m sure the memories of god’s faithfulness of times past flew out the window. or off the roof, as the case may be.

we all know what happened. as the deadly vipers call it, boom chicka wah wah.

bathsheba must have been beautiful. stunning in david’s eyes.

and that one beautiful distraction contributed to many, many more terrible mistakes from david. lying…murder…

beautiful distractions are all around us. and not just in naked-lady form (although there’s plenty of that). power. pride. attention. obsession. status. facebook. television. the perfect suburban life. getting marred. the internet. becoming single.

they may look good. feel good. some of them may not even hurt us immediately.

but they distract.

from what’s best.

what’s your beautiful distraction?

[aside: the original title for this post was simply "beautiful distractions." however, upon learning of the content of this post, my husband suggested my title should be "hellooooo......naked lady." i figure that would be a smart move for the googlebots, so i obliged.]

7 people who’ve influenced me in 2007

there are a kazillion people who’ve influenced me in 2007. i thought i’d point out just a couple.

7. since i start working at lifechurch.tv next week, i could suck up and say bobby and craig have influenced me. and they have. more than i could possibly write on here. but to be honest, everyone i’ve met from life has rocked my world in some way! i can’t wait to finally “meet” some of you face to face!

6. mark cuban. i’ve admired mark since i worked at groceryworks.com a long long long time ago. he also owns my life-long favorite team, the dallas mavericks. i even liked them when they sucked. sucked really badly. if you like learning from really smart people, you should read his blog.

5. terry & robin storch. i know they’re actually included in #7, but if weren’t for them to begin with, #7 would have never happened. i used to make know-it-all remarks on terry’s blog several years ago. he was gracious enough to keep in touch despite my immaturity back then! and i still remember sitting in taco diner in dallas’ west villiage with robin, thinking she was CRAZY for having a “hunch” we’d end up in OKC.

4. mike foster. i became familiar with mike and his crazy ridiculous quest for honesty and authenticity when he co-founded xxxchurch.com many moons ago. both of our lives have gone through some big changes and i’m happy we’ve connected this year. his thoughts inspire me to be a better person.

3. seth godin. who doesn’t love him, really? i had a unique opportunity earlier in the year to glean some wisdom from him and his advice has stuck with me. he has probably been the single most influential person in my professional development over the last five years.

2. you. i talk about you guys to my husband and it’s like you’re a part of our family. even our parents know several of you by name.

1. my husband. seriously. he’s hot. he’s patient. and he cooks. i could not have survived some of the hard trials this year has brought me if it weren’t for him. i love you. and he’s going to start blogging this year…keep an eye out for that!

who’s influenced you lately?

a week of deadly vipers: high & mighty

i was twenty four years old. a girl. and was getting offered the title of “director” in the southern baptist church i worked at. i would be one of the few women with that title, and by far the youngest. my salary would also increase, as would my oversight of several key teams: communications & media.

internally, i was facing a dilemma. my current position was a support staff role in student ministry. i loved working with my team - we had the most unique chemistry i’ve ever experienced. my direct supervisor was the student pastor, and it was like i could read his mind. i was truly his right hand person. the ministry had developed such momentum and i had formed some very special relationships with some of the high school girls over the couple of years i had been involved.

but…director?
but…more money?
but…more influence?

i’d have my own office. my own budgets. my own credit card.

being a list-maker, i wrote down the pros and cons of each position. reading over them now, i can see how my true intent of wanting to be the youngest female staff person in leadership tainted my decision making.

i took the director position.

and it was the worst decision i have ever made in my entire life.

three years later, i can see how much i stepped off the path of how god made me so i could pursue a sweet sounding title on a business card and a status which i thought proved my worth.

sure, i can be a leader. i can take charge. i can delegate and direct. but he has specifically designed me to be in a supporting role, and it’s in that supporting role where god uses my gifts, talents, and passions the best.

for his name.
not mine.

jud writes,

“You may have no say over the organizational chart in the business you work for, but you do have the ability to serve others each day. Every person wants to be known and loved. What would happen if you stopped to talk to three people each day and asked them about their lives? Do you know the dreams of your co-workers and friends? Do you know their frustrations? Do you know their strengths? Have you thought about how you could help them win?

These kinds of questions cripple the High and Mighty Assassin. They lead to the release of sharing power and influence instead of the hording of it. They move people from following us positionally to following us relationally. This is servant leadership at its best.”

regardless of my title, i have to ask myself “what’s my position?” am i serving god and others in the best possible way now? or do i feel like a leadership role before i can lead?

=====

(if you’ve enjoyed this series, you must get the book “deadly viper character assassins.” seriously. now.)

a week of deadly vipers: bling bling

in three years, i went from debt free to $40,000 in the hole. i was only twenty years old. i didn’t know about credit reports or collection agencies but i found out about them really quickly after i stopped paying my credit cards on time. none of that debt was school loans either - just a really pretty mustang convertible and a few credit cards on which i paid the electric bill at nordstrom.

granted, this time period is what i call my “dark years.” my head wasn’t on straight, i was making far more money than any twenty year old should make, and i had a lot of people to impress.

or so i thought.

the bling bling assassin doesn’t bother hiding in our culture. in fact, he walks down our perfectly manicured streets like he owns them, stopping by to chat with us like a friendly neighbor would. he makes shiny things shinier. he turns needs into wants.

don’t get me wrong. it’s not wrong to have nice things. but when you fear not having them or fear losing them, it shows your faith is in what’s parked in your garage or your checking account and not in the One who gave them to you.

chris and i are facing a potentially scary future. except for a couple years left on our cars, we will be entirely debt free in just a couple of months. i know if we don’t make a plan now, all of this disposable income would be completely wasted on stupid stuff that doesn’t matter. so we are in the midst of discussing how much we can give away.

we are already sponsoring one child through compassion. we hope to sponsor many more. a percentage of mad church disease profit will go to compassion, and another percentage will be invested right back into kingdom work through our church. we are trying to think of other creative ways we can give away what we don’t need.

on a side note, i think the bling bling assassin also hangs out in our church staff meetings. in the last five years, i’ve probably talked with hundreds and hundreds of pastors. so much of what is communicated in the western church culture is the keeping up with the jones’ mindset, except the jones family is that shiny new church you took your team to and drooled over their awesome lights, their “off the hook” youth center, and their amazing stainless steel accents.

i cannot tell you how many times i have heard, “if we only had what so-and-so had, we could really reach more people.”

ummmmm.

no.

no, no, no.

to close - from the book,

“So ask yourself. How satisfied are you with your income, house size, or possessions? How many times during the day do you think about what you want versus what you could give? How much personal value or self worth do you find in what you own? What percentage of your income are you giving away to help others?”

(that isn’t rhetorical. do some thinking. write down how many times a day you are lusting after that _______ you don’t have that you really really want. take a look at your bank account online. where’s that money going? for us…we eat out way too much. it’s quite sickening, really).

BONUS LINK: What Would Jesus Buy? (From Supersize Me Producer Morgan Spurlock)