Articles by Paul Lee at Heartlight

When I Get Big ...

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure it is to have a wise son. (Proverbs 23:24 NLT)

I've been blessed with three great kids, each one precious and unique. My son Josh is the middle kid, and he just turned 4 [this was originally written in 2002]. He's into the usual boy stuff -- Batman, cowboys, cars, you name it.

Lately he's been talking a lot about "getting big" and growing up. A few weeks ago, he said, "Do you know what I want to be when I get big?"

I said, "No, son, what do you want to be?" I was expecting fireman, cowboy, astronaut, leader of the free world -- something along those lines.

"When I get big, I'm going to be a daddy!" said my boy, with a gleam in his eye and a huge grin of excitement.

I smiled and hugged him and complemented him on his choice. I felt a glow of satisfaction and pride to think that he wanted to be what he saw in his own daddy. Since that time, he's repeated his wish over and over, and I really think he means it.

As I've thought about it, I've realized that his attitude is what we need from our boys. It's great to want to be an astronaut or a baseball player, don't get me wrong. But wouldn't it be even better if an entire generation of boys got it into their heads that the BEST thing they could do, the highest thing they were called to, and their real source of satisfaction and accomplishment was to be a daddy? Not just a biological "father," but an encouraging, supportive, challenging, teaching, loving, committed "daddy"!

Whether they were rich or poor, they would first take care of their families. Whether they are a locksmith or a blacksmith, a vice president or a vice cop, they would realize their first job is to parent their children. Reading bedtime stories would replace reading the evening paper. Storytelling and games would replace the nightly swill on television. The next generation would know nothing but involved fathers who stick out the difficulties and stand by their families no matter what.

Hey, I still want my son to grow up to play second base for the Houston Astros; but even more, I want him to get his wish. That's what I pray to God to help me do every day -- to raise up a boy who will become a man and a daddy.

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship

10 Years

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Ten Years Later!
Paul's creativity, graphics ability, dreaming, sacrifices, and programming talent have played huge roles in Heartlight's growth and success.

Ten years.

That's a lot of time.

That's a lot of articles, a lot of images, a lot of code, and a lot of late night hours.

Heartlight turned 10 years old on Monday -- April 3, 2006. I had no idea what I was getting into when we started 10 years ago. Good times and bad times. Getting hacked -- several times. Operating on the razor thin edge of finances. A tremendous conference with hundreds of people in attendance. Long nights alone working.

Since we started Heartlight, I've moved from Texas to Virginia and back. Twice. We added 3 children to our family. We've been fully funded and we've been barely scraping by. We’ve experienced the dotcom boom, and felt the pain of the dotcom bust.

What's kept us going is the conviction that we are working on something larger than ourselves. Something God-sized. Bigger than our egos, bigger than our ignorance, bigger than our fatigue, bigger than our financial limitations. That's an exhilarating place to be -- right in the middle of God moving.

So when our tiny little site started growing and people from all over the world started reading, it fed our conviction and we kept going. When we started counting page views in the millions, when tens of thousands of you signed up to read our emails, we knew God was using Heartlight in a big way.

I pray that continues. May He continue to include us in His plans. May we continue to be willing to be used.

And for you, may you find yourself in the middle of a God movement, and may you find the freedom of simply riding with Him as He sweeps something new into existence.

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship

When I Get Big ...

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0500

The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure it is to have a wise son. (Proverbs 23:24 NLT)

I've been blessed with three great kids, each one precious and unique. My son Josh is the middle kid, and he just turned 4. [Actually, at this date, Paul now has 4 children and Josh is several years older.] He's into the usual boy stuff -- Batman, cowboys, cars, you name it.

Lately he's been talking a lot about "getting big" and growing up. A few weeks ago, he said, "Do you know what I want to be when I get big?"

I said, "No, son, what do you want to be?" I was expecting fireman, cowboy, astronaut, leader of the free world -- something along those lines.

"When I get big, I'm going to be a daddy!" said my boy, with a gleam in his eye and a huge grin of excitement.

I smiled and hugged him and complemented him on his choice. I felt a glow of satisfaction and pride to think that he wanted to be what he saw in his own daddy. Since that time, he's repeated his wish over and over, and I really think he means it.

As I've thought about it, I've realized that his attitude is what we need from our boys. It's great to want to be an astronaut or a baseball player, don't get me wrong. But wouldn't it be even better if an entire generation of boys got it into their heads that the BEST thing they could do, the highest thing they were called to, and their real source of satisfaction and accomplishment was to be a daddy? Not just a biological "father," but an encouraging, supportive, challenging, teaching, loving, committed "daddy"!

Whether they were rich or poor, they would first take care of their families. Whether they are a locksmith or a blacksmith, a vice president or a vice cop, they would realize their first job is to parent their children. Reading bedtime stories would replace reading the evening paper. Storytelling and games would replace the nightly swill on television. The next generation would know nothing but involved fathers who stick out the difficulties and stand by their families no matter what.

Hey, I still want my son to grow up to play second base for the Houston Astros, but even more, I want him to get his wish. That's what I pray to God to help me do every day, to raise up a boy who will become a man and a daddy.

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship

Risky Business

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Thu, 10 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0500

There are few things more difficult than putting yourself "out there." It's risky, it's scary, and it's nerve-wracking. You sing a solo at church, or you read a friend the poem you've been working on, or you agree to assume a leadership role in a new ministry. You start a new business, or you confess a secret sin to your pastor, or you finally ask that special someone the question you've wanted to ask for months.

In various ways we're all called to open ourselves up to other people. We make ourselves vulnerable by showing a side we've hidden, or by making a public commitment. It's risky because the possibility of failure is real. It's scary because we fear the unknown. And it's nerve-wracking because outside of an amusement park no one likes risky, scary situations.

Being vulnerable has become a spiritual exercise for me. I'm not by nature a public person, nor am I an outgoing, gregarious type that thrives in the spotlight. I'm far more comfortable sitting on the sidelines. God, however, seems to place little value on my comfort. Over and over, He's put me in situations that force me to open myself up and put myself "out there." I've helped build a huge web site, I've taught Bible classes, I've spoken to large crowds, I've lead worship, and now I'm even in a Christian rock band.

In each of these situations, I've been painfully, achingly aware of my inadequacies. Part of me wants to scream out, "You have no business here! What are you thinking? You're making a fool of yourself!" And chances are, I probably have made a fool of myself a time or two. Or three.

I'm acutely aware of all I can't do, or can't do well, or haven't done well, or won't ever get to do, or messed up trying to do -- and I'm sure you could say the same about yourself. But God reminds me over and over that He can still work with me. And if I won't risk my heart, I'll never gain a thing.

Faith is risky. Life is risky. Growth is risky. Honesty requires vulnerability. Building relationships requires vulnerability. And excellence requires vulnerability.

Ephesians 1:20 has provided the confidence I've needed whenever I'm facing something new and risky:

"... How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God. That power is the same divine energy which was demonstrated in Christ when he was raised from the dead..."

That's some potent stuff! Forget "horsepower," that's real Godpower. The divine power of the resurrection is more than enough to conquer a little stagefright. The supernatural animating force that raised Jesus from the dead can certainly help me share my heart. And that same Godpower is available to help you face whatever is confronting you right now.

The ministry of Heartlight is one of those risks I'm taking. It's not easy to write articles like this one, or to create art & images that open me up to criticism. And it can be especially scary at times to put my financial needs in the hands of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Right now Heartlight stands on uncertain financial ground, and we're facing some tough decisions. But I'm fully convinced that the Lord can and does provide and protect.

Please, as you are praying for God's power to help you in your situation, please spare a prayer or two for our ministry. And if you would like to open yourself up a bit and share your prayer requests with me via email, I commit to personally praying for each and every one I receive.

We can all use some of that Godpower!

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship

Happy Birthday Heartlight!

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Sat, 03 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0600

If you'll pardon the interruption from our regular material, I believe a little celebrating is in order. Eight years ago today, Heartlight.org was launched. Frankly, I find that a little hard to believe.

It's hard to believe that God took two people as opinionated and contrary as Phil Ware and myself and put them to work together on a new ministry.

It's hard to believe that anybody ever found our tiny little site.

It's hard to believe that anybody ever came back - our earliest design was ... rough.

It's hard to believe we kept the schedules we did back in those days. Heartlight was a volunteer effort, done between 10PM and about 2:00AM usually.

It's hard to believe we grew as fast as we did with virtually no advertising. God multiplied our ministry in ways we still don't understand.

It's hard to believe that God blessed us with a string of successful decisions like sending out our devotionals via email, and creating a greeting-card program.

It's hard to believe that he kept us going, even when we made a number of boneheaded decisions like ... well, we'd rather not mention them. Hopefully you've forgotten by now.

It's hard to believe we've published tens of thousands of articles and devotionals, sent more than 1.6 million greeting cards, and had hundreds of millions of web pages viewed and emails sent.

It's hard to believe that we've had so much help along the way from so many - our amazing wives Sheri Lee and Donna Ware; plus Ben Steed, John Kirkland, Roberto Gelleni, Frank Cloutier, Jeff Rampy, Bart Crider, Rob Higginbotham, Steve Wike, Dwight Forrister, Gary Skidmore, Kregg Hood, Paul Faulkner, David Culp, Dennis Downing, Danny Sims, and the list goes on and on and on. Heartlight is much bigger than Phil Ware or Paul Lee, it's a product of dozens of people who God has put together.

It's hard to believe that when we asked for your financial support, you gave it to us! Every day we're humbled to know that your support is making this possible. If Heartlight means enough to you that you'll give to make it happen, then we better do a good job providing it for you and everyone else.

It's hard to believe that people around the world are being touched, inspired, encouraged, challenged, corrected, and saved by what they are reading on Heartlight RIGHT NOW.

And while I find all that hard to believe, I find some very important things very easy to believe. I know I believe in all-powerful Father God, and in His Son, and in His Spirit, and that He alone directs our paths and provides for our needs. The continuing theme through all eight years of Heartlight has been, "The Lord will provide." And I believe it with all my heart.

Thanks to every one of you who have been a part of Heartlight's past, and who will be a part of our future together. May God bless our future work and use it to His glory.

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship

The Leap of Faith

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Sun, 29 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Calendars have always been tricky things. Since the earth doesn't take a neat 365 days to orbit the sun, but rather a messy 365.24219 days, we've always had problems with calendars. Either we didn't take the extra 0.24219 days into account, and eventually the months drifted from their seasons, or we tried to take it into account and introduced confusion. "An extra day? Once every four years?"

Actually, Leap Day is an extra day, February 29, that we add once every four years, except century years not evenly divisible by 400. So 2000 had a Leap Day, but 2100 won't. Get it? Don't worry, it's ok to be confused.

Confusion or not, I for one am glad that Leap Day exists. I'm glad because it keeps our calendar in line, sure, but I'm much more pleased because it's my birthday. Without Leap Day, I very likely wouldn't have been born. Or I guess I might have been, but on March 1, and that's nearly the same thing.

The point is, back a long time ago, someone made an extreme amount of effort to figure out a system that would allow me to have a birthday once every four years. And I thank them for it. I'm sure it wasn't easy for them, and I'm sure they had no idea how many people they would effect. Nevertheless, they stayed the course, stuck to their guns, and forced the 29th day of February onto the calendars. The bestest day of the year, let me tell you.

Right now, I'm in Nicaragua. I'm travelling with my wife Sheri and our baby, and we're making plans to put Internet access and technical training in place at a mission in the town of Jinotega. We want to bridge the digital divide for these beautiful people, and in the process bring them the gospel message. It doesn't look like an easy task, and we're not really sure how many people we'll ultimately reach. But we firmly believe the TECHPoints project is a God-given one that He will use to bless the lives of many. So we'll stay the course and stick to our guns (figuratively, of course).

We invite you to follow along on this trip with us, in a manner of speaking, by visiting our Weblog. You can read daily postings, and eventually even see some of our photos.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. Pray for us to have God's vision for this project. Pray for us to travel safely. Pray for us to be instruments for God's work here in Nicaragua.

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship

Margin, Anyone?

paulwaylandlee@gmail.com (Paul Lee) — Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0600

We heard a sermon a few weeks ago on putting more margin into your life. So often we push everything to the edge... we have just enough money, we're always running just slightly behind, we're always returning our video rentals late, we're going right up to the deadline on every project. Wouldn't it be nice to have some margin, some room to wiggle, more time rather than less? Oh, yeah!

Sounds great, but it's not as easy as you might think.

We decided to start by working to pay off our minivan early. That would give us a lot more monthly margin with our finances. Toward that end, we decided to have a garage sale this weekend. We've turned the house upside down, we've gone through boxes and boxes of stuff. We even put off some school projects for a few days while we tore through the house. As a result, our house is a wreck, we can't find anything, and the garage sale is tomorrow and we're nowhere near ready. Margin?

PLUS, we had a family picture scheduled for today. Again not wanting to spend money, we didn't buy new outfits for the kids, we decided to put something together from what we already had. Try getting 2 adults and 4 kids to match -- talk about square pegs and round holes! Now our living room is strewn with clothes that we considered but rejected. Some were too small, others too faded, some weren't washed, some we washed at the last minute and they only got semi-dry by the time we went for the picture -- 5 minutes late. Margin?

PLUS PLUS, we've got company coming and a history fair project due; we're involved in two different singing groups at church, a small group Bible study, and a homeschool co-op. And all that is AFTER we decided to cut back and reduced our commitments!

The problem with margin is that everything is interconnected. Money margin is connected to time margin and organizational margin and on and on. It seems impossible to work on one area without negatively affecting the others.

We continue trying, however. I'm confident that one day we will realize we have achieved margin. On that wonderful day, we will stop and consider how blessed we are. We will relax, we will revel in our unrestricted time.

Until we realize that all that relaxing and revelling has made us 10 minutes late for church.

Paul Lee is the Co-Founder and former Editor of Heartlight.org. He now serves as Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at HighPoint Fellowship in Cedar Park, Texas.

Website: HighPoint Fellowship