Waring with the King

Well, after revealing to everyone at church what I have been through in my short life time, I found that there are people who don't look at you weird after sharing deep hurtful things in your life. The coolest image came to me as I was sitting waiting to climb onto the stool up front. That I was getting ready to run head first into the Orc army with my sword drawn knowing that I could be going to my social death. I grab my sword and charge the stage and there on the very battle field that so many have fought with everything they have for lost souls, I sit and pour out the evil that has cut so deeply into my life. And there I see the faces of lost and hurting people and I know what my battle is, it is the battle for the heart. "For the thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest". John 10:10

I love that image I got. It was the perfect thing for me on that day. To see me running to war, not from it. Run head long into the battle with sword drawn. Sunday I learned something about myself, or rather I learned something about God. He goes with us into the battle. I'm not talking about reading this in the bible and feeling all worm and fuzzy. No, God goes with His people into the battle, into the war. Sunday, I was not only fighting along side a good friend (Ed), but I got to fight along side Jesus Christ, the Lord of the army. I fought along side the King and together we are victorious. All hail the King.

LIFE ON A THREAD

Wow. It sure has been a while since I've written a blog. My wife and I have been going through some really hard times lately. Sure there are glimpses of great things, like a job promotion, or a pay raise, but health is much more important than all those things. Renee has been having trouble walking and it has thrown us for a huge emotional loop. She has been having constant pain in her right leg. The pain is so bad that the doctor put her on Valium and vicadin, and they still don't touch the pain. We have tried numerous times to get an appointment with a specialist, but they keep telling us that we have to wait until all the test results from the last MRI come back. We are so tired of waiting, we want answers, but we're not getting then. I was so mad at the doctors, that last night I was praying and told God that, "they were not very nice" ( just not in so many words). See, I'm not one to keep my feelings from God. If He makes me angry, He can be sure, He's gonna hear about it. But, something that I did not do was curse God for making us go through these hard times. I don't blame God for what is happening, it is just the way life is. Life is not so pleasant right now, but nonetheless, it is life. God is in control, He may have let this thing come on Renee for a specific purpose that we don't know about. The doctors may find that this hip thing is only a symptom of a bigger problem. So live life, even when your sick and you feel like you have no life to live at all, give it to God, and live in His provision and grace.

It's Launch Time

WHOOOO! Today is the baby. This is what we've been waiting for the past year. This day more than any other day. God's people coming together to bring new life into the kingdom. The one thing we have been longing for. It's no longer a dream, SALVATION IS HERE!

The Time Has Come

The church that I have been helping with for a year is finally ready to open tomarrow. It's so awesome to know that God is with us all the way. We had our final building inspecton this morning and we passed. However, last night we had to work for a while to get it up to code. A few awesome guys from our partnering church "Impact" came out and helped get everything done. I love being apart of a community that comes together and helps one another in times of need.

Sunday is the big day, the grand opening shall we say of the "Epicenter". We are so excited to see God's dream relized through us. We are hoping to be totally pack out. Standing room only. That would be so awesome. Letting people know the good news of Jesus Christ is awesome. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in and through us. As one of our team members put it "we're really for lift off". T-24hrs. and counting. Alright soldiers- rise up-take your place in the battle. Today is not like any other day- today we fight. And today we shall be more alive than any other day in the history of our lives. TODAY WE STAND! TODAY WE FIGHT! TODAY WE DIE TO OURSELVES! AND TODAY OTHERS SHALL LIVE!

A new hope, an even newer freedom

New hope. Why do we need it. If we what new hope doesn't that mean that we already have hope? But there are good reasons for wanting new hope. You lost your job, or your wife has cancer. There are a million different reasons for new hope or should I say renewed hope. God is the giver of life and he wants every single one of us to have it to the fullest. God is life, and He is lives in ultimate freedom. That's why He wants us to have life because He has it and He wants us to be just like Him. Free in every way.
When I was just a little kid, maybe seven or eight years old, my brother and sister and I would go out into this woods. Armed with butter knives and rope we would strike out on an adventure. This was a hunt. Our goal was to find a dear, kill the dear, and make a meal out of him. We set out marching to the woods laughing and all telling what we thought was going to happen when we found the dear. Well, needless to say, we never found a dear, but we were not going to be denied. We marched back home and went into the garden. There playing in the dirt, having all kinds of fun we found it. The biggest and greenest tomato worm you have ever seen. Armed with our butter knives we began the hunt. Well, it was more like a, lets stab it kind of a thing, but you get the idea.
That day we were the explorers of a new world, great Indian hunters, soldiers in the army, we were free. Free to live life to the fullest and to love every gooey green moment of it. Freedom is what God wants for all of us. Freedom from your past, freedom from the hurts in your life, freedom from sin and shame. The nagging emptiness in your gut screams for freedom. And as William Wallis said in the movie Brave Heart, "All men die, few ever truly live". Freedom is life.
So, are you free?