Stay Comfortable And Miss Out

Today was a tough day for me. Stepping out of my comfort zone is not something I like to do. So, you can guess what this is about. We are in the process of shifting the youth group from the epicenter to our home. You would think this would be a simple task, but no, its a lot of work. We had to call each student's parent and let them know what our plans were and why we were moving this thing to our house. To be honest, I was so scared to call these parents, whom I have never met. You see, our youth group is made up of 51% unchurched or dechurched students. So, to say that the parent's were a little sceptical would be an understatement. Our job was to call these parents (who I got to know very well over the phone) and get them to understand our purpose for moving the youth group.
I was amazed at how willing some of the parents were to listen and ask questions and really talk to us. We got some fantastic responses from some of the parents saying "my daughter comes home from w.H.y and tells me all about it", or "my kid loves coming to the youth group". It is conversations likethese that make me realize why Renee and I put so much work into what we do. Those responses make our 70 plus hours of work every week seem so worth it. God is truly moving in our hearts and in the student's hearts and we are so overwhelmed with praise and thanks to our Creator for all He has done for us. We are so pumped!!!

So anyway, back to the real subject of this whole thing. I have a fear of telephones. Ever since I was nine years old, running my lawn business. My first customer called and my mother answered the phone and handed it to me. These were my exact words, "hulle, hully, hello". I almost died, my first customer and I blow the introduction. Needless to say, I have had a fear of telephones ever since that incident. So, yeah, I was just a little out of my comfort zone, but if I would not have stepped out and made those calls, I would have never heard the wonderful things the parents said to us. God knew we needed to hear from someone other than the pastor that we were doing a good job.

All the glory and honor goes to God. Non of this ministry is our own. It is God's and we're just His managers in this thing.

The best days of life seem to be right around your twenties don't they? Newly married, you feel nothing can touch you. Your in love with your beautiful wife and she's in love with you. But, how long do these days last? How long does a person live in this place? It seems that some people live here forever, others it seems, only have a few good months of living there. Just like Adam and Eve, sin creeps in and Eden is spouled for the rest of your life. I am continuely saddened by stories of young kids, who's parents have split up over money, or an afair, the list could go on forever. The parents do seem to suffer, but in the long run it is the kids that do the suffering. Angery at everyone and everything, they stuggle in school, loose their temper, but the number one thing they loose is loving, caring parents, who for a large scale of reasons seperate. Love is about more than feeling good all the time. Love is a choice, a choice that will change your life forever. Love died on a cross to set us free. So the next time you think about seperating from your husband or your wife, remember that Jesus could have walked away from saving the world, but He chose love, over pain.

God, today I am in awe of Your presence in my life. You talk to me like a brother and love like a father. Your mercy and goodness are with me always. Whenever I have a need, You fill it. When I walk through the valleys of life, You walk with me. You are the great I am. So much can be said about You, but only one name rises above the rest, Savior. You saved me from the mud and clay that I was stuck in for so long. You pulled me out with Your strong hands. You reach down into the mud, the filth that I was in and You ripped me out of the grip of the evil one. No longer am I in darkness, but I have chosen the light. No longer will I run back to the pit, as I have done so often before, for Your love has captured me, and I am Yours'.

This morning as I was taking a shower and singing rather off key, I began to think about the past. Like, when I asked my wife to marry me or when I promised I would be hers after just six months of dating. It seems like it was just yesterday that all this stuff happened. It seems like just last year that I jumped off my parents front porch and blow out my knee, playing in a rock band that opened for Rachel Lampa, or giving my life to Christ when I was eleven. There are so many things we just simply forget as time passes. Time seems to just run away with us and we're left standing here with little more than a fading memory of what life used to be like. Why couldn't we stay young forever. I once made that commitment, to stay young forever. I didn't want to grow up, I wanted to stay as I was. I had allot of friends who thought I was pretty cool(boy did I have them fooled) and with it, but really I had nothing. I wasn't cool, I didn't have it all together. At that time in my life I made some of the worst decisions of my life. I dated a girl I didn't even really want to date, I got drunk for the first time, I lost all my friends and I quit my job of ten years. How could I be so dumb to all of these things.

The past is a good reminder isn't it. I look back now and I see that allot of good came from these bad decisions. After I broke up with the girl i never really liked in the first place, I fell in love with my wife, I stopped drinking, and gained some pretty darn good friends. I found a job at a book store where I am now a manager and the music buyer for three stores. God totally turned this life of mine in the right direction with my wrong decisions. He took what I thought was stupid and made something great out of it. My life will never be the same.

I encourage you to take a look at your past and see how far you have come. The God who made something from nothing can certainly make something out of you. It may hurt while He is building who you are, but when He is through, you will be an amazing person.

Thank You God for this morning. Thank You for the light that shows through the widows of my heart. You are the one and only God, mighty in strength. I am amazed at the beauty of You. Never shall I go back to the place from where I came, never back to those days. You are my deliverer and I will ever praise You. You delivered me out of the pit I was stuck in and lifted me to a place of solid ground. You are healing this wounded heart of mine. Your words are not harsh and Your touch as gentle as the wind. Praise to You, oh God of heaven and earth, praise to You for ever and ever.

Long time No see

Hey, sorry I haven't been writing on here lately. My youth Paster duties have been taking up much of my time. I have also been working much more at my day job. I'm the music buyer for three christian book stores and it is allot of work. So, this is a list of excuses of why I haven't been blogging lately.

You Are

You.

You are my rock.

You are my shield.

You are the light that heals.

You are the still small voice in my head.

You are the bliss that comes from seeing new life begin.

You are in me, within me, beside me, and outside me.

You are the Creator, sustainer, and imaginator, of life.

You are the word, the I Am, the Holy of Hollies.

You are my everlasting God, Father, Savior.

You are Love, Joy, Peace, and yet,

You are my every breath.

You are.

Christmas time

Wow, I haven't posted anything on here in a really long time. Its much over do. I have been so busy with work and Epic and now Epic Youth that I really have no free time. And free time is when I tend to write. Anyway, I love the things I'm involved in. There is nothing better than seing someone elses kids eating oreos off of a window, or run into chairs repeatedly, or fall down for no apparent reason (haha green Melanie). I love spending time with students on sunday nights. Its alot of fun and alot of work, but I'm starting to not mind the work. There are so many things that are going on a students lives that they just bubble over with laughter and silliness. For the next couple of weeks we're going to be talking about christmas and the story behind the story. This week we talked about the first part of the story. The part where Joseph has to walk eighty miles to bethlehem with a pregnant Mary (which I sure by the time they got there Mary was not very merry)on the back of donkey just to pay taxes. Well, of course we know the real reason was. But the crazy part is that when they got there there was no room for them. No one would take them in. So, they had Jesus in a barn (more like a leanto) and put in the very thing that animals eat out of. THis is our King, our Savior, our ticket to heaven, the one the only Messiah and He's sleeping in a manger. Do you realize the reason there was room in the inn? It was because there wass no room any where. The only place for Jesus in His day was on a cross. Jesus came looking for a way into the over crowded hearts of man, but He could not find any room. We've rejected Him, told Him theres no room in my life for you in here, go away. And so, Jesus' rejection goes on, and yet He is still searching. Thats the real Christmas Story.

I'm a Youth Pastor

That's right. I have been chosen to be the junior high youth pastor for epic. I'm loving it. We met for the first time last week and it was so fun. We played pudgy bunny. Its a game where you stick as many marsh-mellows into your mouth and still be able to say pudgy wudgy bunny. The students loved it. Colin and I took each other on, he beat me by one(number ten to be exact). It was great. God is great.

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.