Living With Purpose

The 3 Best Words Of Advice I Have To Give

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

FullSizeRender-8The other day a friend asked me for the best piece of advice I could give someone going into youth ministry.

Her daughter was about to begin an internship with a ministry program so she reached out to an expert in the field. Haha just kidding she asked me.

Seriously though – I was honored she thought to ask me such a question. So I racked my brain for something profound and insightful and deeply spiritual to write back to her. Everything I typed up sounded recycled from someone smarter than myself.

Finally, I just shot off the 3 best words I could think of:

Keep showing up. Continue reading →

A House Is A Home

/ Alex Doriot / 3 Comments

FullSizeRender-35 years ago next month I bought my first home. And starting on Friday I’ll have my first renter in that home.

Becoming a homeowner has been a strange journey, one I never could have (or would have) scripted the way it played out.

In the fall of 2009 I had just gone on full time as the Director Of Student Ministries at The Hill Baptist Church. I was back living at home after moving out for a bit in college.

With a freshly printed degree, a full-time salary and a wide-eyed optimism I was eager to move away from home. Originally I wanted to rent a small house in town.

At the time, though, the government was giving an $8,000 tax credit to first time homeowners. My parents and I decided this was a deal I couldn’t pass up.

So I found a 2 bedroom townhome a few minutes away from work and decided to pull the trigger on the American dream of becoming a homeowner.

It wasn’t long after that the dream started feeling like a nightmare.  Continue reading →

How To Overcome Stage Fright

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Robin-Williams.-006You may not consider yourself an actor. But in this life you are a performer. 

I’m not saying God created us just to put on a show for Him.

I do think He created each of us to perform a unique role in His story.

Being called on to perform is incredibly scary. As you stand backstage waiting for the curtain to rise in your life, the weight of your burden can become suffocating.

As you run through the lines you’ve rehearsed in your head, you wonder about everything that could possibly go wrong.

It’s called Stage Fright. It’s a feeling every performer understands. It’s a force every performer must overcome each night.

Just when you’re about to make a break for the exit, the curtain finally rises.

When it’s time for you to hit the stage, you do your best to stick to the script you’ve seen so many other performers before you follow.

The problem is God didn’t create you to stick to a script. Instead we are called on to improvise. Continue reading →

Feed My Sheep

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

I wish The Bible wasn’t so specific. 

A lot of people may not agree with me on that one. They’d rather The Bible go ahead and spell out everything about God and life and the afterlife.

You see, I’m ok with a little mystery. And I’d be ok if there was a little wiggle room as well on some of these commandments we’re supposed to live out.

But sometimes Jesus spells things out for us so there can’t be any misinterpretation.

Take this verse for example: Continue reading →

The Dangers Of A Driverless Car

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment
autoguide.com

autoguide.com

Google recently announced a plan to test 100 driverless cars in California. There is no steering wheel. No controls. Nothing to worry about.

These cars are for Google Maps, but we may see a future one day where we never have to step behind the steering wheel again.

I would miss being able to drive my own car. Few things clear my mind like hopping in my truck with my dog, rolling the windows down, putting on some good music, and driving aimlessly down the highway.

If you think about it, the act of driving itself is not so carefree. It’s actually quite the complicated process.

Think of all the things you do in the driver’s seat to keep your car on the road:

You have to keep your foot on the gas. Check your rearview mirror. Glance over to your side mirrors. Stay within the speed limit. Check you fuel gauge. Keep your hands on the wheel. Tap the brake. Watch for stop signs and traffic lights. Signal when turning or changing lanes. All pretty much simultaneously.

That’s not to mention dealing with the windows, wiper blades, A/C, radio, auxiliary port, and whatever or whomever may be riding along with you.

Our walk with Christ is similar. You don’t just go along for the ride with Jesus. Continue reading →

Is God Funny?

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

It’s funny the things you remember.

I have this vivid memory of playing at a park with a friend in elementary school. His father sat on a bench reading and keeping an eye on us as we pretended to be Power Rangers.

At one point I looked over and saw him laughing. As I walked by him later I asked him what he had read that had been so funny.

He told me it was The Bible. The Bible had made him laugh.

This startled me. How could someone laugh at The Bible?  Continue reading →

How To Change Someone’s Life 35 Years From Now

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

Here’s the weirdest headline you’ll see today:

photo-2

Yep. That’s international recording star Lorde and baseball Hall of Famer George Brett. Of all the people in the world to meet yesterday, they did too.

Here’s where it gets really weird. Apparently Lorde was inspired to write her smash hit song “Royals” because she saw a picture of George Brett in his Kansas City Royals uniform signing autographs to kids. So she wrote her song about fame and success and culled the idea of Royals from Brett’s jersey.

I’m not kidding. Apparently this is all true. 

There is no possible way George Brett could have known back in 1979 the just by doing his day job of playing baseball that he would one day inspire a 17-year-old from New Zealand to write the hit song that would make her famous. But it happened.

Here’s the lesson: Continue reading →

6 Words To Remember When Nothing Make Sense

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Millais_Boyhood_of_RaleighI listen to a lot of podcasts. Sometimes with athletes, sometimes authors, sometimes celebrities. (And yes, sometimes professional wrestlers.)

I just love hearing people share their stories. The various paths to success and unexpected detours people face along the way that lead them to their current lot in life fascinate me.

As I listen to more and more of these interviews, there’s one phrase I hear repeated over and over again by the people telling their story- 6 words that I think more of us should remember when life throws us a curveball: Continue reading →

4 Words That Will Heal Your Relationships

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

persons-0030_largePeople.

Ugh.

They are the worst sometimes.

They let us down. They break our hearts. Most of all, they pretty much just get on our nerves.

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of guy that sometimes wants to just crawl in a hole and get away from everyone. Sometimes all I want is a little peace and quiet away from everyone who’s making me mad.

Lately though I’ve found a new trick for how to heal my relationships with people. It’s a simple sentence I read in a book I keep going back to called The Road To Daybreak by Henri Nouwen.

Nouwen says that when people let us down, make us angry, or just frustrate us in general we should remember these four words: Continue reading →

Who Do You Work For?

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo-15I get asked one question almost everyday:

“Excuse me sir. Do you work here?”

Who me? The guy with the headset and walkie talkie on, the guy with the nametag and lanyard with the store name on it, the guy who’s putting all the shoes back on the shelf? Why yes, in fact I do work here!

I just don’t get it. To me, it should be obvious to customers that I’m an employee. I can’t quite figure out how some people can’t quite figure it out.

Apparently though, there’s something more I should be doing. My labor is not bearing fruit in their eyes.

Maybe there are other things I should be focusing on. I’m sure I could be talking to customers more, engaging with them instead of doing all the daily tasks of the shoe department. Maybe then people would recognize who I work for.

The whole thing makes me think of that age-old guilt producing Sunday School question: “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to find you guilty?” Continue reading →