Daring to Dream

I hope they never grow up

2009-03-07T21:26:00.003-05:00

My youngest two are at that really fun age right now. Isabel is 4 will be 5 in Nov. Ebeth is 2 and will be 3 in July. I have always thought I would want my children to grow up quickly and be in dependant and not need that much care. In fact I have heard that guys want there kids to grow up quicker and women don't want their kids to grow up that fast. I gotta tell you I am having a lot of fun. They are so precious and just melt my heart. Regularly they will say or do something that is just amazing or just surprising for there age. Ebeth is so articulate and wiser than her age. Isabel just continues to go against all the odds with her struggles. She is so amazing.

I have always been someone that looks ahead to tomorrow sometimes at the sacrifice of the day. I tend to wish time away all to often to get to something in the future. I pray that I continue to soak up as much as I can with these two little ones. I guess it is such a huge deal to me with Ebeth in particular because in the 5 children we do have she is the only one that we have had the chance to fully enjoy the first 3 years of her life. When Hailey Austin and Tawna came to live with us they were 3, 5, and 7. Isabel had so many struggles and surgeries it was hard to simply just enjoy the time we had. She was and continues to be regularly in casts and other things that have tended to rob her of these early moments of life. With Ebeth we get to cram all our young child enjoyment into one.

I am totally in love with all my kids. There is nothing I look forward to more at the end of a day than to come home and have them great me at the door with a "Daddy!" "Daddy's home!" Thank you Lord for all of the gifts you give big and small. Thank you for the struggles that come our way...because they force me to rely on you and cry out to you with greater passion. God I see you in my children and ask you to continue to grow them, mold them, and shape them into Godly men and women after your own heart. Thanks God! Amen... What little joys and big joys does God bring into your life? Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Prayer & Crying out to Jesus

2009-03-05T22:14:00.003-05:00

God has really been convicting my heart lately about prayer. He has reminded me how important it is and that I don't spend enough time talking to Him. Recently Isabel and her surgeries has had me on my knees. I recall about 6-7 nights in a row I would find myself in her room at her bedside late at night just praying for her...crying out to Jesus to protect her and provide for her. I remember last week we we got news of yet another surgery just breaking into tears and crying our to Jesus. I emailed a friend and asked him to pray for me and he did. It seems lately God has put me in some positions that my only response has been to pray about it. Even though they have been difficult circumstances i have realized that God has been drawing me nearer.

I would say in the past few months I have encountered more people who are struggling with illness, surgeries, loss of jobs, loved ones, pending surgeries, legal issues, financial troubles, broken relationships, marriages that are falling apart...the list goes on and on. My only response has been prayer. Not only in suggesting it to them but also falling on my knees and crying out to Jesus for them. There have been circumstances at church that continue to be an opportunity for me to go to God because I have no control over them. In all these cases I have found God pursuing me to talk with him more...to gather people together to cry out to Him and pray. He wants us to ask Him to heal our world, our country, our communities, our church, our families, our own lives. How has God been pursuing you to talk with Him more.

Maybe for you the pain you are feeling is God asking you to turn to Him for trust and faith. Maybe your struggle or hurt is a chance to cry out to Jesus in a way that you haven't in a long time. I encourage you to take the opportunity to turn your thoughts and concerns upward and to look at your life and honestly evaluate your circumstances. It could be God trying to get your attention. God may not move in our life in a big way or in the way we need Him to or He intends to if we are not on our knees crying out to him. Let's go to Him today. Lord, I thank you for the challenges you bring into my life, for drawing me closer to you. Thank you for wanting in on my life and seeking control. Thank you for not letting me go and being wrapped up in my own little world. Thank you that you are someone I can go to who has all the power I need for living. You are an awesome and faithful God. Amen... Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

My trip to UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, LA

2009-02-21T21:17:00.002-05:00

Just got back at 3AM this morning from a great mission trip. We went to a mission campus about 3 hrs south east of New Orleans, LA. It is called the Sager Brown center. There is a huge building on the campus called the Depot. It is basically a huge warehouse that collects the many donations from churches and groups around the nation. They gather flood buckets, health kits, and school kits all designed to go to places both in the U.S. and to other countries where there are struggling people. While we were there we filled a huge container truck full of health and school kits that was headed for the Sudan. Afterward we gathered around and prayed over the shipment. It was a humbling experience. It was overwhelming to realize that we were packing and organizing the very kits that many of our churches had been donating. What a great reality check to actually see how those things are processed and where they were actually going.

Another part of the Sager Brown mission is to help local people rehab their houses after disasters such as Hurricane Ike and many others. Many people are at poverty level and don't have the means to help themselves so we show up and help them with general repairs. I hung doors, replaced stairs, hung gutters, replaced ceiling tile, and many other odd jobs. The other half of our group drywalled and entire house! What a blessing! It was a blast and a moving experience to meet the home owner and be able to help them.

All this is good but the best part of the trip is all the relationships you develop. We went with 4 others from our church, Old Fort UMC and also met up with a group of 11 from another UM church in Ohio. We were not the only ones there however. There were groups from N.C. Illinois, Indiana, and other places. I sure got to meet some super people. I was also able to deepen some good relationships with the folk I traveled with from our church. I think it is on these trips where we really get to know someone at a deeper level and it is a special time for all those that get to go. I sense that the 5 of us from OFC built a greater bond with one another simply by walking with each other (and riding in the same vehicle for over 40hrs too) on this journey.

While there I met a man who I worked on a house with during the week. We got to talking about other mission trips we had been on and I told him about a trip I took to Belize. He lit up and quickly said he had gone there too. In a few moments we realized that he had followed my team a week later and worked on the exact same project that I had. It was amazing. I had never met him before but yet we were eternally connected. The best part of all was that he said he and his wife returned to the church we were building years later and it was finished. He has pictures of it and everything. God sure is amazing in how he works. I know this was no small coincidence but a divine appointment with God. I met some really cool people this week and will always remember them and our conversations.

I feel like I have grow and been pulled out of yet another comfort zone. I can sense God working on my heart and revealing things I wouldn't normally have seen had I not gone. I encourage anyone and everyone to take a chance to go somewhere with a group of people and help others in some way in the name of Jesus. A mission trip is definitely a growth opportunity! It is something I will always remember and will soon plan to return to.

Isabel has succesful surgery!

2009-01-21T22:09:00.002-05:00

Just got back from the hospital. We are holding up at my moms house in Dayton for the night. All went well. Isabel had some work done on her left hand. She has pins in her thumb and another separation of one of her digits. Should look great when the cast comes off in the next month. God has answered our prayers once again. He is so faithful. I can honestly say I never doubted. Not even when the surgery went on for an extra hour and a half longer then we had expected. God is awesome. Isabel is doing well. She is a little dopey and sleeping right now.

Something amazing happened at the Children's hospital. Then again every time we are at Cincy Children's Hospital God does something miraculous. I was getting some prescriptions filled for Isabel at their pharmacy when a young lady behind me in line asked me a question. She looked at me with red eyes that had obviously been producing tears recently and said, "I know this is going to sound weird but, do you pray?" Stunned with passion in my heart I quickly responded,"absolutely yes!" She then asked, "would you pray for my husband and my daughter Isabel?" I was stunned. Not only did God place me in this situation to be there to pray for her but she also had a daughter named Isabel...WOW! I put my arm around her right there in the waiting area in the Pharmacy and told her that God was good and that I was a pastor and I too had a daughter named Isabel and that I would absolutely pray with her. I heard an A-men from someone else in line that was overhearing our conversation. It was a real God moment. I prayed for her and for her family out loud right there in front of everyone. It was awesome.

How many of us would have the courage to ask a stranger to pray for us as Megan did? How many of us would believe God to be so faithful that He would bring us exactly who we need in a moment like that and cry out to them? I can't say that I have done something like that before. How amazing is it that God put me right there in that moment, a pastor with a daughter named Isabel who was having surgery as well, so Megan could have me pray for her. It was like God was using me as His Angel, or to literally be the hands and feet and heart of Jesus in that moment for her. God is so amazing. God is so good! You will never know when God might want to use you. Keep your eyes open He is always at work! Thanks for all your prayers. Not only did Isabel do well but I was able to help someone in need. I beleive it was because my family and I were surrounded by your prayers...thanks for all your faithfullness. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

It has been some time...

2009-01-14T19:00:00.004-05:00

Well, "I'm back!" So many things have happened since I last wrote on my blog. We celebrated an incredible Christmas, started the new year, The Buckeyes lost yet another BCS game, and the Lions actually went 0-16! The miracle season. Many people doubted they could do it by I never gave up the faith that they could have the perfect season.

Anyways...God continues to remain faithful even when I worry and waiver. He is doing so many good things in my life and at our church. He continues to love on and guide our family in our many struggles (not that mine are any worse than yours). Next week is Isabel's next surgery. It will be a pretty extensive hand surgery and I am making arrangements to be there for this one. It is just so hard to not be there when she is going through these things. I count it a blessing to be in the situation that I am in to be able to take time away to tend to these family issues. My kids and Erin are so important to me. E-Beth continues to grow and develop and is now repeating just about everything anyone says. That is both a good thing and a bad thing. She is all over the place and is becoming quite sassy and mean at times. She tells us no and shouts and yells sometimes. then again that is about the only way to communicate in our household. No one can hear you unless you yell.

Christmas was a real blessing and an extremely restful time away from it all. It was surely needed. That doesn't mean we didn't have our struggles and frustrations with family. Christmas day was far from perfect yet through it all God remained faithful. He is so good. A good friend reminded me today that it had been awhile since I had last blogged. She even told me the exact date of my last entry. I had been thinking about it from time to time and needed a "kick in the butt". I really do believe it was God speaking to get me back in the swing of things. So, no profound thoughts just some updates on what God has been doing and the various crazy adventures of a family of 7 that is often out of control. I hope this latest entry finds you well. I pray that in this new year We all grow closer to our Lord and that we become better in serving Him. Thanks Lord for all you do. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

A steady reminder to stay the course

2008-12-11T20:07:00.003-05:00

I will always remember the moment I realized I was meant to be a pastor. As a child the pastor of our church was a good man that my family really looked up to. I often watched him preach or serve over communion and other things during worship wondering if that was something I could some day do. It's funny how simple and seemingly pleasant his job appeared to be (man was I off). I mean after all pastors only work 1 day a week right...at least that is the running joke out there amongst parishioners in churches all over the states. The further along I get in ministry the more I realize just how difficult this job really is. Something that one of my colleagues told me once, has stuck with me all these years. He told me, "John being a staff member in the local church is the one job that everyone at some point in time thinks they can do." Think about it, we don't walk into a bank and think we can be a teller. We don't get on an airplane and think we can do a better job flying the plane then the pilot. However, when it comes to church probably everyone of us has thought I could do this, or in some cases I even have a better idea of how to lead a church than the pastor.

Being a pastor is a challenge and while it is rewarding it can be a painful & lonely experience. You quickly find that everyone has an opinion on how you are doing and they have an opinion on how the church should run. And they feel free to share that opinion with anyone and everyone who will listen except for you. Sadly, 95% of those opinions only exist to represent our own personal wants and desires... while the pastor is responsible not for making individuals happy but to lead and entire Body of Christ in the way that God wants it. Throw into that mix being in a small town and you quickly realize that you are a regular source of conversation and criticism. This is why you see pastors dropping out of the ministry and pastors kids never stepping into a church the rest of their life because of the hurtful things they witness. There are times where being a greeter at Wal-Mart seems like a great job.

The struggle for any leader boils down to this...do I try and make everyone happy and be a people pleaser (which by the way is impossible). Or do I stick with being True to who Christ has called me to be and called the church to be. I bet you can guess where I fall in my convictions on this one. Still though it doesn't make all the hurtful things you hear said about you any easier. I mean pastors are human. But every once in awhile God will throw you a bone. He will give you a nugget. God will remind you why you do what you do. He will remind you why it is worth all the criticism and hard choices to stay the course and keep leading with truth and conviction. I had one of those moments today.

I was in a counseling session with a gentleman who had been attending our church off and on for the last year or so. During the conversation it was evident and apparent that God was working on his heart. He did not have much of a church background at all but God was definitely doing something in his life. He said that because of his experience in worship on Sunday God was doing something new in his life and he could sense it. To make a long story short he gave his life to Christ right there in my office! After a long conversation and prayer he left. I found myself overwhelmed with tears and sobbing uncontrollably. In that brief but powerful moment I was gently reminded by God why it is I do what I do. Why it is I take the criticism. Why it is that I stay the course even when people want to jump ship or throw others under the buss. Because people matter to God and each of us needs Jesus Christ! That's why I do what I do.

Thanks God for the reminder that all the pain, difficulty, and challenges are not for nothing. I will stay the course, and remain faithful and true to who you called me to be. I will continue to do what it is I do for your Kingdom no matter how difficult it is. Because in the end people's lives are at stake and that cause alone is worth all the criticism in the world.

When has there been a time where you have felt like bailing...where the struggle doesn't seem worth it...where the criticism is overwhelming you. Maybe God wants you to stay right where you are and trust that he is in control and has a plan for why you are doing what you are doing... for why you are going through what you are going through. A good friend shared this verse with me today that I will cherish in my heart forever. John 13:7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
I encourage you to stay the course and to endure the criticism or the struggle because Jesus is about to do a miracle through your faithfulness. May God walk with you and bless your life abundantly! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

When fear takes over...

2008-11-30T15:43:00.002-05:00

It was 5AM and we heard a little knock on our bedroom door. Usually that is not a good sign and involves kids sick or vomiting and such. Of course when I answered it was Austin and he had just thrown up. Now normally this wouldn't have been that big of a deal. However, we have just finished a 4 week stint where chicken pox, stomach, and kidney stones have made there way through our house. The last person got the stomach flu just last week and we thought we were done. Then Austin gets sick again.

After I cleaned up the mess, there I was laying in bed not able to fall back asleep for a few minutes before going off to church to preach the Sunday sermon. Fear of the unknown was running wild in my heart. "Who would get it next, would it run through our entire house again, will Erin get sick, will I miss work, this is the busy season at church, we can't go through this again?" On and on I laid there in fear of what was to come. The thing was I had no control whatsoever over these circumstances. I had no answer to these questions and no ability to stop this thing from spreading. All I could do was fret & worry! Then I thought to myself...give it to God. Give Jesus my fears and trust him with the results. So I prayed and talked to God. I shared with him my concern and my fear. He reminded me how trustworthy He is. I admit to you that as I write this I still have some fear and concern with the sickness stuff and also with some other things going on in life right now. this trusting God thing is hard especially when you have little or no control over the issue that concerns you.

This Christmas season I am reminded that each person that wound up at the manger the night Jesus was born started with or experienced along the way a sense of fear. The only person in that stable that night without fear was the bay, Jesus. Jesus came to answer our fears and to give us faith. It is our faith in Christ that sustains us and allows us to put our fear in a healthy place. When we fear man or this world we wind up making ourselves sick with worry and it controls us. When we give our fear over to God it turns to faith, belief, and often peace. Jesus came to be our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, Our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace. In all of these names we have received specific gifts from Him. Gifts that sustain us through life and deal with our fears. This Christmas let's take our fears to God and discover an renewed faith in our creator. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Thanksgiving & remembering RMH

2008-11-18T21:21:00.002-05:00

Well, my favorite Holiday of the year is coming in a little over a week. I love Thanksgiving and the 3 F's. Food, football, and family... & not necessarily in that order. I just really love the whole focus of being thankful and looking back over my life in the previous year to see all that God has done. No matter how difficult things have been or how bad the struggles are I always find myself with an outpouring of thanksgiving for God's providential nature. He is my great provider and sustainer.

Today I was working on a sermon and just thinking back through the years and how God has been so good to our family and it reminded me of Thanksgiving 4 years ago. Isabel was about 2 weeks old and was just out of her first skull surgery to release the pressure on her brain. She was at the Children's Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH. A we all gathered very briefly at my folks house in Dayton that day to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was especially hard...but I think my heart was more thankful then it had ever been before. God had provided a refuge for us during this difficult and trying time at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital. It was such a blessing and a surprise. We had no idea how we were going to live from day to day while Isabel stayed at the hospital and the RMH provided our every need with food, shelter, friendship. They gave our family free passes to the zoo and to the Aquarium.

I will never forget the kindness of people as they came in to serve lunch and dinners to us. It was such a refreshing thing to get a hot meal and have it not cost us a thing. From time to time in the past few years we have returned to serve meals and what a blessing it is to help those families that are now struggling as we once were. I found myself today thinking about the possibility to taking my family down there on Wednesday before Thanksgiving to serve a meal. We will already be down there that morning because Isabel has a follow up appointment with her hand surgeon. I called and left a message there...chances are good that another group has already signed up to serve a meal that day but I am hoping that if needed we can be there as a family to serve those in need.

I will always remember one lunch in particular. Out of all the groups that served us there were usually a lot of people helping to serve. This particular time there was just a husband wife and some older children. I asked them what group they were with and thanked them for feeding us. They told us they were not from a group but in fact years ago were residents at the RMH receiving help themselves. They pointed to one of their sons who was helping to serve and told us his story and his struggles. He looked at me and told me something I will never forget. He said, "years ago we were served...today it is our turn to serve." In that moment I longed for the day I would be able to return with my family and realize "our time to serve."

Since then we have been down there with church when we lived in Dayton and served...I am still looking forward to the chance for just my family to go and return the favor and give those that are hurting some inspiration as we get a chance to tell Isabel's story. God thank you for all the times you have provided for us over the years. Thank you for the trials, struggles, and tears. You have made yourself entirely visible to me and those memories sustain me even today whenever doubt/fear/concern in life tries to creep in. You are truly an awesome God and worthy of my utter thanks and gratitude.

What are you thankful for? In what way shape or form is it, "your turn to serve?" Keep your eyes open. You never know what God is up to in your life and in those lives around you. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Just a wild season of life

2008-11-14T07:57:00.003-05:00

Man I sure have neglected this Blog thing...but then again the past month has just been nutty. We have dealt with three different cases of Chicken Pox and still have two in our house left who have not had them yet. The presidential election threw many of us off for a few days. Last week I discovered that I had another kidney stone...(this is starting to get a little ridiculous). I had one several year ago and then another back in May. Can you believe that MAY! And here I have another one. So I would up in the hospital again and this time elected for surgery to have it removed. Thankfully it was successful and today all is well. I still can't shake this cold that I've had for over a week now. We still have not finished our 40 Days of Community small group yet because every other week we are sick or others can't make it. To top it all off some of the strangest things and conversations have been taking place at church. I can't explain it other than to say that God is always good and I feel blessed more than ever.

Funny though even as I write this Erin has been up all night getting sick and more than likely we will not be able to have Isabel's B-day party on Saturday as we had planned...what a bummer! Things haven't gotten any better with Hailey either as her issues continue to show them self more frequently and escalate more quickly. There are some important decisions coming in the near future for her and for our family. I know though, that God is good and that we are blessed. I am standing here this morning in the middle of all this funk swirling around me and all of a sudden I just felt blessed. It was as if God was reaching through the fog of life just to place his hand on my shoulder as a reminder that he is there and still in control. During all of these things I know he has never once taken his hand off of us or turned his back to us. On the contrary I have sensed his presence even more as I have today. I am thankful for the circumstances that God uses to make us more away of his love but I gotta tell you I look forward to more of a "normal" life here very quickly. Sounds funny to even use that word. After all what is "normal" for us. Oh well I thought I would finally check in and give a shout to everyone out there. Keep up your prayers for our family. We certainly covet them. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Politics as usual?

2008-11-06T10:59:00.003-05:00

As you know I try to avoid politics from the pulpit and try not to delve into it on my blog. However, when you elect a new president that tends to be a pretty big deal. It would seem that a large majority of the nation is celebrating today with the land slide that was for Obama. And then there are those who woke up on Wednesday morning with shock. I admit that I would be in the latter group rather than in the former. I will say this however, I really didn't feel that excited about either candidate. I just voted for the one I personally thought would do less harm. It's kind of like watching your two little children play with scissors. While its not a good thing for either one you hope that the one capable of doing less harm winds up with them. Not sure if that made sense? Anyways there are many out there that do not share my views and that is OK. That's why I don't feel there is much room for politics in the local church, because all it does is tend to polarize people that otherwise could come together in perfect unity to serve Jesus Christ.

What will be interesting to watch over the next four years is what will happen with our government now that there is a majority in the House, the Senate, and the president... all democratic. I know all of us are looking at the financial crisis and the pending meltdown and wonder how a new government will respond. I am as well. Though I regularly support the Republican ticket I readily admit that I am not pleased at all with the way Bush handled things. Sure there are others to blame but he turned his back too many times when he should have faced the music. There are a laundry list of things I don't like about Obama, but if he can get the nation back on its feet than I will have to concede my appreciation to him in the coming years. Keep in mind it has taken me several days to be ready to even talk about this topic but I am hoping my thoughts are starting to settle.

One other thing I am reminded of...it really didn't matter if it was McCain or Obama in charge of our nation. The truth is God is still the head cheese around these parts...at least that is how I have experienced him. God hasn't fallen off his throne and ultimately no matter who is president they still have to answer to him. No matter who governs us ultimately God is still our one true King. So I am not going to do a Barbara Streisand on you like she did when Bush was elected. (You remember she vowed to leave the US and find a deserted Island somewhere to live on)... many are still willing to take her up on the offer. lol lol... What I will do is offer Obama and our government my prayers as I always have before and wish their leadership well into the next four years and trust as I always have that God is still ultimately in control. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

What a great party!

2008-10-27T21:29:00.003-04:00

Sunday we had our 3rd annual harvest party after the Old Fort Halloween parade. Basically we set up a bunch of cool games, free food, bonfires, and hayrides for the community and everyone comes out and has a blast! So many lives were touched and so many people walked away feeling blessed. I had a chance to meet so many new families and faces. Several folks were new in our church that morning and came out that afternoon. One lady in particular told me that she was not sure when the last time was that she had been in church...her family was gathered around her at the fire and they all joked that they were shocked that she came. God is so good.

I praise him for Kerry W. and all the hard work she put into this party. I thank him for all of the faithful volunteers that show up anytime we need some help with anything at the church. I was so excited to see several new faces serving people. There were folk who have started attending on a regular basis stepping right up and serving. In fact one of my friends who hasn't attended in some time at OFC even came out and he spent the entire day helping people out. At the end of the day he thanked me for asking him to help serve. Imagine that someone thanking me for putting him to work all day long...for free!!! Only Jesus Christ can have that kind of impact. Only Jesus can cause people to display the kindness they did with their servant hood and with their sacrifices of time and money. So many people came up to me and others and asked if they could help. You could feel the love of Christ in the air...it was palpable!

I pray that at OFC our love for each other grows...I pray that our love grows so much that we can do nothing else but let it spill out into the community and all those around us like it did on Sunday. After all that is what church is all about....sharing the love of Christ and having a blast doing it. I am praying tonight for the people of Old Fort Church. I am praying for their commitment and passion to continue to grow for Jesus Christ, for reaching people for him, and for putting forth vital ministry projects that change lives.

I am so encouraged at people's generosity and a renewed passion to step up and serve others. Our teens are stepping up and creating their own outreach projects in the community. Small groups are starting ministries to college students. College students are getting deeper involved in the life of our church. Small groups are praying over ministries to nursing homes and revitalizing our pastoral care ministry. A group of people are partnering with Old Fort Elementary school to put together an after school program. We are going to Baldwin, LA to the Sager Brown center in February on a week long stateside mission project and we are praying that 10 people will go with Bret Fry and I. God is so good. How is he touching your heart? How is he changing your life? How is he causing you to grow more in love with Him, with others, and with those who do not know Jesus. God is moving at OFC and I am so thankful for being a part of it! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

In Christ, death always leads to life

2008-10-22T14:25:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we all said goodbye to a dear friend and a father to the faith. Jim Ritter for many of us was a spiritual father. His life challenged all of us to consider the gift and the responsibilities of following Jesus Christ as our savior and lord. What an incredible time this celebration service was. That's right, we did not have a funeral service...we had a celebration of life. The interesting thing is that it turned out to be more about Jesus' life than it did Ritter's. But then again, if we live our life right then everything we do ought to point others to focus on Jesus and not ourselves. It was quite simple yesterday we simply couldn't talk about Jim without talking about his best friend Jesus. God glorified Himself yesterday for all to see and Jim made that possible.

Don't get me wrong we have rightfully shed some tears...I readily admit that I have, as have many of you. But our tears are quickly replaced with the joy we had of knowing Jim and that challenge that his life has given to our own. I know Jim and if he was here he would want his death to help us once again find life in Christ. After all when you know Jesus, death is always followed by resurrection...death is always followed by new life. It's no wonder that I find myself a day later, after the celebration, experiencing something new in my heart. I feel closer to God. I sense a greater desire and commitment in my heart. My passion for reaching people for Jesus has grown. My life today is a witness to the fact that Jim did not die in vain, without impact, without making a difference. Ritter's life and death has shaped me and molded me even a day after we said goodbye and I know I am not the only one.

Just last night our washing machine repair man showed up to fix our washer (it was a miracle in and of itself and a story for another time). Before he left he had made a comment that led me to believe he was struggling in his life. I was fresh from the celebration that day and found my heart spurred on to ask this guy about his life. Something was telling me to pass the love of Christ onto this man...(I think Jim was nudging me even from heaven). Anyway I asked if he was married and all of a sudden the flood gates opened and "Tom" and I spent the next 40 some minutes talking in my kitchen about his life and his struggles. By the end of the night I had prayed for him and for his wife and let him know that he mattered to me and mattered to God. I am not sure what will come of it, if anything atall, but I do know he experienced the love of Christ from me.

I believe people spur us on, in their life and in their death. Ritter did that for me. I am thankful that his life didn't end in death but that he is living forever in eternity. I am thankful that in his death I continue to find new life. I pray and hope that you too can find the same. Thanks Ritter for who you were, who you are, and who you will continue to be in all of our hearts!
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Money series at OFC in November

2008-10-15T12:05:00.002-04:00

Who is your banker? This is a question that when asked most of us would respond with an answer like: Fifth 3rd, Key, UM Credit Union, Old Fort banking, etc... While this might be true we easily forget that our ultimate banker is Jesus. Within the last few months we have all been witnesses to a scary dose of reality that our “Trust” cannot merely be in humans and our financial security and investments cannot rest merely on the ideas of the world. We need something greater than ourselves to love us, guide us, and be in control of our fiscal lives. When it comes to our finances we assume we are in control on our own. Because of this attitude things have gotten out of control with remarkable results…

∙We are a society drowning in debt.
∙We are mired in relationships that are broken over finances.
∙We have FEAR of our financial future that influences our fiscal decisions.
∙We are lost, lonely, and losing the personal financial battle.

We are desperate for answers, we want a change, and we long for abundance. In November we are going to find the answers, we are going to seek change, and we will discover an abundance that is beyond our imagination. For 4 weeks on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings we are going to look at God’s principals for our fiscal lives.
You will learn how generosity leads to prosperity…

“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper and those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” -Proverbs 11:24-25

You will learn how our control gets in the way, and ultimately how we can change from deficient thinking to abundance thinking…

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” -Malachi 3:10

You will hear first hand accounts of how people learned to trust God with their fiscal lives and the blessings and freedom that followed. I invite you to discover with me, The Road to Financial Freedom. Here is your part in this.

1. Don’t miss a single sermon in this series Nov. 2- Nov. 23rd. You can hear them
online or pick up the CD if you miss.

2. Attend the 4 week Wednesday night study with Pastor John starting Nov. 5th at
6:15PM.

3. Set aside your attitudes that the church shouldn’t talk about money. Almost half
of Jesus teachings were on money & possessions. If Jesus thought it was an
important topic than your pastor should think it is too, and so should you.

4. Pray for me as I prepare the messages, pray for people’s hearts to be open, and
pray for the courage to make important decisions.

5. Lastly, your friends and family desperately need financial hope and freedom in
their life. Invite them to come with you and be a part of changing their lives.

When it is all said and done, when someone asks you who you bank with. You can say, “my banker is Jesus Christ. My trust, my investments, my finances are in his hands.” This sounds freeing to me, how about you? I am looking forward to what God will do in the month of November.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

The power to kill

2008-10-13T09:21:00.003-04:00

It doesn't take a loaded gun, knife, rope, or our fists. The power to kill can simply come from our words to others. In one brief moment we can destroy someones life with the words we can use. We can tare down, destroy, and leave a wake of carnage that no amount of explosive can provide. Words are deadly weapons that we think about more after we let them fly than we do before we open our mouths. I have learned this truth several times, the hard way, over the years. But our words don't have to be these things.

The opposite is true as well. Our words can actually be a bit of heaven here on earth for people. They can lift people up, give confidence, and provide a sense of value and self worth like nothing else. We can build someone up like a mason adding the next layer of brick to a building. We can strengthen someones life like the steel worker adding another brace for support. Each of us has the ability to grow people by affirming their value and worth. With the simple concept of appreciation we can raise a persons value. When we celebrate them and give thanks for them, when we point out the good things we see them doing, all these things add value to their life.

Let's commit to encouragement. Too often, at least in my own life, it is so easy to point out people's faults and weaknesses. Instead, what would it look like if we decided that we were going to look for the best in people and point it out when we see them doing good, or making a difference, or helping someone grow? It is a decision and a choice on our part. It takes a lot of work and strong focus. Mainly though, it takes a heart for people and a belief that in God's eyes and our own, that all people matter. Do you value other people as much as you should? If you are like me it is not that we intentionally look past others we are just simply too caught up in our own lives to notice others. When we grow in Christ that means we are also growing in the things that Christ is interested in. You will discover that people, and their value and worth are at the center of what Jesus focuses on. He desires that we have that same focus. Let's be encourager's together. In community with you, Your Dreaming Pastor

Have you won lately?

2008-10-09T08:17:00.003-04:00

...you know what I am talking about. That moment when you know you are right and that you are carrying the proper and healthy perspective in this whole thing. Knowing that the person you are about to talk to doesn't have the right idea and needs some of your wisdom. So you engage them in conversation and the entire time your working your strategy to WIN the conversation, the argument, the disagreement, or whatever it is.

I was struck by the first line of my morning devotion from Rick Warren. He said, "stop trying to win arguments." Wow! that hit me right between the eyes. This is one of those things that I don't recognize that I am necessarily doing but now look back and wonder how many times has this been my motivation? Another phrase quickly kicked into my mind after reading this line. "You can win an argument and still wind up losing." "You can be right right in the end but still be wrong in the long run." This is never more true than in marriage. I can't tell you how many times I have "won" a conversation or argument with Erin...or proved that I was right and in the end I still lose and lose big time. Guys, you know what I am talking about.

The point here is the goal of a conversation isn't to win, or even to make sure we got our point across....but it is to add value and love to the other persons life. If we live with a Godly perspective this is our major motive, and a pure one at that. All other motivations are self serving and can even be manipulative to try and get a favorable outcome for us. Without love and God's direction our conversations can sound more like the Presidential debate than a healthy exchange of God's love and grace. God knows, we don't need another one of those debates. I am really taking a look at my life, my conversational style, and evaluating my motives when I engage in conversation. Too often my goal is to get my point across, to try and steer that person in a direction I want them to go rather than just listening and lovingly responding to their concerns and needs. What a smack in the head...Lord forgive me.

In the long run I sense that the major fix here is to do more listening than talking when it comes to these moments. When we give others the freedom and create the environment for them to share without having to give our thoughts/perspective/ or fix-all solutions we are more hospitable and less hostile. I am learning everyday how helpful and how hurtful my communication can be. Our words, our tone, our nonverbal communication all create a package that either gives people the freedom to be who they are. Or it suggests that we are in a competition with them to try and win at all costs the conversation and argument that lays before us. The Bible tells us to, "let there be real harmony" between us in our lives and conversations. The problem isn't usually with them but with me. How abut you?
In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

R. E. S. P. E. C. T. just a little bit...

2008-10-07T08:14:00.002-04:00

How well do we show respect to others? Great question. Let me start by asking another question. Is showing respect to others, another way to share our love with them? Ultimately yes because as Rick Warren puts it in our daily devotional, it is a way to see people through God's eyes. When we see people in that way we look beyond our own irritable, judging, self focused eyes. So often we demand so much from others in attitude and behavior that we ourselves don't even expect from our own life. We are quick to judge others when we hope others will not judge us. We are slow to have patience with others when we hope they will have patience with us. We lack the energy of understanding others only to hope that someone will understand us. When we respect people we open our hearts to the grace of God and see others in the light of God. We see others and can have compassion not matter what they are doing or saying.

One statement I read today really hit home with me...the most difficult relationships to offer respect to are those that are closest to us. How true this is in my life and family. I look at our household and we say and act in ways towards one another that we would never do with anyone else out in the real world. I get so irritated and frustrated with my kids. I display it openly and in some cases go way over the top with my frustrations. With anyone else I would take a deep breathe sit down and talk peacefully with them or in some cases just get past it on my own. My kids act and speak to us in ways that I have never seen them act towards anyone else. We often ask our kids why they don't say this or do that in front of other adults. There is so much truth to this. Why is it so hard to act with respect toward those that we are closest to? Maybe its because we see these people everyday. Maybe I can have patience once or twice with someone and forget about it, but if I am with someone all week it just gets to be too much and I just let loose.

I was on a two week mission trip to Belize one year...I traveled with a group from our church that at the time I was serving as minister of outreach and mission. I got along great with the folk we traveled with and never had gotten frustrated with any of them before. About a week into our trip some of us were getting a little chippy towards each other until at one point we were visibly and verbally annoyed with one another. It was a reminder to me that this love thing...this respect thing is easy when you only have to show it a few times. But when you are confronted with the need to respond this way several times a day for a period of several days it really wears on you. I would attribute this to the fact of our human nature. This is why everyday we have an obligation to continue to become more and more like Christ. To take on His character and Holiness and to shed our sinful habits.

I am praying that God will continue to mold and shape me....that He will create a greater awareness of when I am tripping up with my family in the area of respect. I pray and ask Him to help me with my patience and expectations of people and others. I hope and desire for His love to continue to grow in my heart so that my capacity to love others beyond myself will grow as well. How about you...what are you praying about?
In Community with You,
Your Dreaming Pastor

How is our commitment?

2008-10-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

I was reminded in my devotional this morning that our commitment to Jesus means being committed to others. I wonder how many of us have a deep commitment to some folk outside of our immediate family. Some of us are in a small group and some are not. These small groups at first glance look like a huge commitment to something else on our calendar...but it is much bigger than that. Our participation is a commitment to others and to deeper relationships. Now we can be in a group and not have any deep commitments. So, this means taking the chance and the risk of going deeper in our commitment with a few folk in our groups. Building and nurturing relationships of love and accountability.

This is why our participation in these groups is so important. Just by being there we are making a statement that we are committed to the people of God and to several individuals. We are saying that this group of people matter's more than all the other busy things on our schedules. Setting aside time for small group means setting aside time to nurture relationships. In the long run we grow closer to God and closer to others and together become changed for the better in Jesus Christ. Where are your significant relationships? Where is your commitment to a small group? Maybe it is time to take that first step and get in a group. Maybe it is time to take that second step and reach across the Isle to someone in your group and go deeper with them in commitment. God has brought these people into your life for a reason and a purpose. To change you and for you to change them. Awesome!
In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

I walked out of church today!

2008-10-05T21:12:00.002-04:00

Well this weekend my dad, my son, and I took our annual trip up north to take in a Lions game. What a great time we have doing this...it is so good to spend this time with my dad and I know Austin will have memories to last a lifetime. Our pattern over the last few years is to head up on Saturday and goof around Michigan for a few hours and then head to the hotel just south of Detroit for the night. Then we get up early Sunday morning and head into downtown Detroit and find a place to park. We walk around a little bit and Austin and I toss a football. Then we head to church at a United Methodist church right next to the ballpark for worship. The service starts at 10AM and is over in time for us to head to the game.

Last year we had an OK experience at this church. It has a very traditional downtown church facade. It is extremely old and the congregation sadly has dwindled over the years to around 60 people. The service itself was very traditional and was OK at best. This year however it was quit and interesting experience. The person leading the liturgy was slow and deliberate...it was kind of awkward. They took 20 minutes just for announcements and made all first time visitors stand up while everyone else claps. During the prayer time the pastor proceeded to tell us all we should get out and vote...and then it came...he stood there and basically told us who to vote for and how this was the most important election in history. He told us that we should talk to our "white" friends and let them know that it is OK for them to vote for a "black man" for president. I think I felt my jaw hitting the floor. I leaned over and asked my dad if I heard him correctly because I was so shocked. My dad confirmed it and I was really upset. So upset I leaned over to my dad and Austin and said we are leaving. We walked out and stood there for awhile on the street corner and talked.

I can't tell you how distasteful it is to me that a pastor would use the God given gift of the pulpit and a congregation that He's entrusted them with for political purposes. I was reminded of Jeremiah Wright and his political slant when he teaches. I mean, in these cases does the pastor believe that everyone in their congregation is of the same political persuasion? It is my personal experience especially today that partisanship from the pulpit is inflammatory at best, and takes the focus from Jesus at its worst. Secondly, my dad looked at me and asked if I thought this guy was suggesting that if a "white" person didn't vote for and African American president that they were racist? I told him that I hadn't thought of it before like that...but part of what he said rang true. It just disgusted me...For me I realize that politics is such a fiery issue that when it comes up most people are so passionate that all other focus is lost. Especially on what matters most and that is Christ. That is why I never bring it up from the pulpit on Sunday's because we have both Democrats and Republicans coming to our church and I don't what people to lose there focus, Jesus. I also want people to feel welcome no matter what their political views are. Safe to say I didn't feel welcome at that church.

However, God spoke to my heart to go back in and worship Him. After all as I looked at my dad as we figured out what to do I said, "I just want to worship this morning." So, that is exactly what we did. We went back inside and sat through the rest of the service. Then it got even more interesting. The pastor's sermon was all about how much their church and other churches in Detroit had been dying...how Detroit had been dying and changing for the worse. The pastor talked about a revitalization committee who was created to figure out how to grow the church. Their big idea is to have a "bring a friend" Sunday in November to build their church. His sermon was awful and slow....very little reference to scripture and never really mentioned God or Jesus but once or twice. Part of his commentary was once again against a political party and by the time he was done he and his church had clearly answered why they were dying. Everything that they were and everything that they were doing was the reason they were dying and yet they couldn't see it. It was really, really sad. A bipartisan church, with a bipartisan pastor who sounded like he prepared his sermon that morning...(at one moment during his sermon he joked that he did!) They wanted to grow but yet couldn't see that the reason they weren't, was staring them right in the face.

I feel sorry for them and am praying for them. This moment did a couple of things for me. First and foremost it reminded me that no matter what church it is...how bad it is...and how off center it is from Jesus I can still worship God. Worshiping God has little to do with the pastor, church, or service and everything to do with our heart. I learned a great lesson going back in that church and had a great lesson to teach Austin. No matter how bad it is we should always give God our worship and love. I am so glad I did and even though the experience was ridiculous I still felt connected to God and refreshed in a new way. This moment also reminded me of my duties as a pastor and how not to carry out those duties. God challenged me to stick with the things he has placed on my heart for the local church...the continued need for change and evaluation that is crucial not only for a churches survival but so that it thrives into he future. I pray that God continues to place me into circumstances where my comfort zones are challenges so that in the end I come out better and more certain of His plans for my life and the local churches he places me in as pastor. I was also reminded of the great responsibility I have been given in my preaching. It would be so easy to use the pulpit for my own purposes, as I witnessed this day. I know that every Sunday I need to take very seriously what I say and be certain that my words are not mine but God's. God is good... despite our attempts to mess everything up. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Do I have any Friends?

2008-10-02T09:08:00.003-04:00

We live in a relationally starved culture today. Most of us are just skimming through the relational jungle never really landing in deep and intimate conversations that matter in the long run. We stay on the surface and just breeze right past the real needs, hurts, and issues that many of us are carrying and facing. How many of us have true friendships? The running joke in our house is that I don't really have any friends. We always laugh about that because I give Erin a hard time for talking on the phone countless times to the same person or visiting someone two or three times a week, all day. She simply remarks, "just because I have friends and you don't, don't give me a hard time." That always brings a laugh from both of us. I just think I am not as invested as much in my friends as Erin is. Just don't make time for it.

It got me to thinking though. How many friends do I have that do not have a church home or are far from God? After all God wants to use our relationships and those people that he has brought into our life to help them grow closer to him. If I don't know anyone that doesn't know God how will I ever be able to help people who are far from God find him? I think that this is one of the reasons I love coaching my kids teams so much. Not only does it give me a chance to spend time with my kids but it gives me an avenue to build relationships with folk I normally wouldn't know. It gives me an "in" into peoples lives. Coaching tears down walls and barriers and builds instant relationship. For an introverted guy like me that is huge! I just hope and pray that these families see the love that I have for Jesus in the way I love their kids and them.

Everyday there are chances and opportunities for me to love and build relationships with folk who don't know God. I am asking myself today how often I take the opportunity to do just that. As you walk through your day today take a moment with everyone you come across to plant a seed of love. You never know what God will do to water it and how it might just grow in their life. In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

How well do we accept others?

2008-10-01T13:58:00.002-04:00

I have been reminded that Christ has accepted me despite my flaws, selfishness, and desire to do my own thing. In so many ways throughout my life I have gone away from what Christ would want from me yet he accepts me and loves me despite those flaws. That is Good News! However the bad news is that I don't necessarily treat others the way that Christ has treated me. I am not always as openly accepting of others. I tend to be somewhat judgemental and opinionated when it comes to others. For most of us this is true to some degree. We do this both with folk that are inside the church and especially with those who are outside the church.

The sad thing is that acceptance of others is one way that we show the love of Christ and the love that we want to have for them. I need to do a better job of learning to love people no matter who they are and what it is they do. I am not loving their actions or in actions. I am simply choosing to love them as part of god's creation. After all, every person who has walked this earth is part of God's creation. When I have hatred or show ill feelings toward anyone, I am basically telling god that He messed up and I don't love what he made. I would assume God is offended by such activity.

This 40 day journey of community that we are on has taught me one huge thing. I have a long way to go in learning to fully love people. There is a lot of work God wants to do in me show His love to all people. What am I doing today, this week, this month to show and share the love of Christ with others? One of the ways is to learn to be more accepting and to save my judgements for myself. God is bringing people into my life everyday so that I might be the conduit of His love. Am I living up to His purpose for me...are you? In Community with you, Your Dreaming Pastor

Financial Fear or a chance for Faith...

2008-09-30T08:42:00.002-04:00

Wow...what a couple of years it has been in the financial market. We have experienced record high gas prices, reduced home values, diminishing mutual fund markets, and now what seems to be total financial turmoil in the market. I would say the word "fear" could describe where many Americans are today. Yesterday my dad called us to give us some advice that he and my mother have taken themselves. He recommended that we withdraw a sum of money form the bank and keep some cash on hand just as a precautionary measure. That conversation really got me to thinking. What if... ?

I think Satan uses that stuff all the time to get us distracted from God's purposes, plan, and ultimate care for our life. Sometimes in these moments I find myself in mental panic mode as I desperately try to fix the problem by dwelling on it and worrying about it... as if that actually accomplishes something. As my dad and I continued to discus the financial state of the economy and what kind of effects that it might have on us he said something profound. My dad said, "Jesus is my real banker so there is no use worrying about this." That really struck me hard. I found myself immediately agreeing with that statement. That in the end if I have faithfully turned my life over to God including my finances than Jesus would faithful and deal with this mess for me. What do I really have to worry about? I have the God of the universe who died on the cross for me and lives in me. Will He fall off His throne during the nations financial crisis? Absolutely not! Why would I even think that? Well, because that is what Satan wants.

Now keep in mind Erin and I are paying attention to our personal finances...God expects us to. We are eliminating all spending on "extras" right now. We have somewhat of a spending freeze in our house. However one thing that we will not stop is our tithing. Erin and I have been able to work towards, with God's help, giving well over a tithe. We have learned to stay faithful and now in a time of crisis is when our faith is needed more than ever. I want to ask you a question...who is your banker? Let that set in for a moment. Is your ultimate banker Jesus Christ. Have you given over everything in your life to Him? Do you trust Him with your whole life including your finances? If you have and you learn to be faithful with what you have then no matter what, God will be faithful to you. That doesn't mean you won't struggle or even go through financial hardship. What it does mean is that you have Jesus who will walk with you through the struggles and lift you up in your time of need.

In these moments I am learning to lean even further into God and my relationship with Christ. In the end my banker is not 5th 3rd or the United Methodist Credit Union. It is Christ. So in the end I have nothing to fear, rather I have every reason to have faith. How about you?
In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

How much do I really care?

2008-09-29T08:48:00.002-04:00

Last week on Tuesday night we held a Prayer/Praise service at church. It was a powerful night filled withe presence of the Holy Spirit. We prayed about several things. We lifted up our church, community, nation, and world. However in each case the subject matter was similar. We prayed for God's presence and opportunity in each of those places. What would it look like if we prayed for God's opportunity in our friends, family, and community? ...A prayer that asks God to soften hearts, open souls, and prepare people to be receptive to the love of Christ. I started thinking about that in my own life and evaluating it for our church body. Then Rick Warren in my devotional today hit me between the eyes.

Before we ever have this kind of prayer life we have to ask our selves this. Do I really care? Do I really care about others lives and where they will spend eternity. Or am I mostly consumed with myself, my family, my issues, my work, my struggles. Love is the key that unlocks these kinds of prayers. Do I really love others, does my heart long to see people make decisions for Jesus? Each of us needs to examine our own hearts and seek God's forgiveness bu then very quickly start praying for and loving on others. God will create a "burden" in your heart for others if you let Him. that just means that you begin to care for others and the direction their life is taking. God will use you but you have to decide to love...you have to decide to care...you have to decide to ask God to "Use you".

It all really boils down to love. Do we have love that goes beyond feelings and good intentions for others. Or do we have real authentic love that we are giving people a part of ourselves. Are we interested in pouring our lives out, sacrificing our lives so that others might live? That is after all what Jesus did for us. If we ask God to change people's life and we make ourselves available to be His agents of change than God will move and do a new thing. What does your prayer life look like? Do you really care? If so what are you willing to do about it? These are questions I am wrestling with and I challenge you to do the same. In community with you, Your Dreaming Pastor

Maybe Sister Sledge got it right???

2008-09-25T08:31:00.004-04:00

"We are family...all brothers, sisters, and me!" Family is an amazing thing. There is such an unwavering commitment to those in our families. We would do almost any thing to see our family members succeed in life. Take for example recently my fathers commitment to me. I needed his help with a major decision I was going to make. Only this decision was in Loudonville, OH. It was just under a 2 hour drive for me and a 3 hour drive for my dad. He was not going to benefit one bit from helping me out. He was getting nothing out of this for himself and he even was going to have to pay for his own gas and rearrange his schedule that day. He did all of that. What a commitment on his part. That wasn't the half of it though...

I arrived to the spot in Loudonville well before my dad got there. I assessed the situation and realized that I had made a huge mistake and error in judgement. What I was looking for was not what I saw when I got there. I had to call my dad on the phone and tell him not to bother coming the rest of the way. However he was already in the neighborhood. He had driven three hours for nothing...and now had to drive back home for three hours for nothing. I felt terrible and sick to my stomach that my dad did all this for nothing. However he was very gracious and told me not to worry about it a hundred times. The truth is that he didn't do all that for nothing that day...he did it for his son.

The truth is when you are family no request or need is out of reach. Family always tends to rally around one another in times of need. Sadly though many people did not grow up in this kind of family atmosphere as I have. Some of you have lived through broken models with broken relationships, and ultimately broken hearts. The Goodnews however is that God wants to provide you with a Spiritual family in Christian community. Being in a small group is less about studying good things and getting lots of knowledge then it is about building deep relationships and creating a spiritual family that has one another's back.

We all need a spiritual family...that's what the local church is. A community of believers that want to be our family. However it is not just enough to attend worship on Sunday's. We need to get to know a smaller group of people and learn to love one another. These then are the people that we will grow in family love with and go to bat for each other. These are the people we might drive 6 hours for, wait in a hospital waiting room with, help them clean up in their home after a disaster strikes. They are your family. Do you have a spiritual family? If not, you only have your self to blame. All you have to do is try a small group. It's up to you. Your family awaits...and maybe you too can sing, "We are family...all my brothers, sisters, and me."
In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

I'm all out of love

2008-09-24T09:15:00.002-04:00

I think that too often Air Supply has gotten it right. Aren't there times where we think we have reached our capacity to love. Maybe someone did something to us or we have tried and tried to show love to another and it just doesn't seem to get the right response. There are times where I feel like I may not be able to love any more than I am loving, or worse I may not want to love anymore. Love is one of those things that doesn't come naturally. It is a decision of the heart that takes a lot of work and focus on a regular basis. In fact God commands us to love and to respond in love in all moments with all people. That in and of it self seems overwhelming.

I was confronted with a truth today that I have thought of before but not necessarily in these terms. Did you know that God will increase our capacity to love just by His presence? All we have to do is ask Him to, and lean into His guidance and instruction. The Bible clearly states this in
2 Peter 1:3
Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.

In other words when you invite Jesus into your life you have opened your heart to a power source that goes well beyond your own personal capacity. You have been given the love of Christ and therefor will never run out of love for others. In fact a sign that you have given your life over to Christ is that your love for other believers is growing, along with your love for anyone for that matter. For some of us that means we need to ask if we have ever invited Christ into our life and turned the reigns over to Him. For people like me it is a sobering reminder that I have not loved fully in the way that I am capable of loving. Today my prayer is that I would realize the capacity God has given me to love. I am asking God to fully open up the valves of love in me that I have spent most of my life ignoring or closing off. To often I walk past opportunities to love others in the church, at home, out in day to day life. I want to share God's Good news and I can simply do that my loving others more. What would it look like if everyone decided to love out of their capacity in Christ more? It would be radical!
In community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

How do you show that you love God?

2008-09-23T12:26:00.005-04:00

I was reminded of something today while in my daily devotional from 40 Days of Community. We show our love for God by loving others. This doesn't mean just having positive feelings for them or how much we do for others but hinges on how much we give of ourselves to others. This really hit me right between the eyes. How much of myself do I really give to others? Everyday I am surrounded by people that God has placed in my path for me to love them...give them some of me and ultimately then, some of God. How often do I take the opportunity to do that? Instead I usually look at people as objects or tools to have my needs met whether it is the postal worker, shop owner, customer service person on the other end of the phone. I want to open my eyes more to the opportunities God sends my way.

You might think well you are a pastor and leading this 40 days thing so you should be feeling that way. That's not the reason. I really, really want to learn how to love people more. Each and everyone of us can do this. Who are the 5-10 people in our life right now that we know who we don't necessarily have a close relationship with but see each other in passing (work, store, school, ECA's). What would it look like if we started to take opportunities to give them part of our lives? We could love them more! What am I waiting for? What are you waiting for?

I think we can easily make the mistake of claiming we know and love God but in our actions we have nothing to prove this. It is not possible to love God and not have a willingness to love his creation. You can't claim to love one and not the other. Look at what the scripture says in Ephesians 5:2
Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins.

I am asking myself and all who read this today...how can we be more of a vehicle of God's love. If we are willing to be stretched, God will use us to change the world and we will do it together. God is doing new things in my heart this 40 Days. I pray he is for you as well!
In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

On your mark get set go!!! 40 Days of community

2008-09-22T09:06:00.002-04:00

Well here we go...we are off and running in our 40 days campaign. Yesterday in worship we started off with a strong reminder that we need each other and that we are not meant to live life alone. God hates loneliness. I have realized that just because you are in a relationship or constantly around other people doesn't mean we are not lonely. The only cure for loneliness is true authentic community with others who are tapping into the power of Jesus Christ.

As I read the first two days devotional readings (Yes, the readings started yesterday with Day 1 in the book) and have been strongly reminded of why loneliness tends to set in for most people. At least for me I get stuck on focusing on my issues, downfalls, needs, wants, desires rather than looking to others. In true community we discover how awesome it is to really love others and when we love others we look beyond ourselves. When we look beyond ourselves and have others to love in healthy ways that's when the loneliness is filled with love, God's real love, the love from a community! You and I were created with the capacity to love but I am discovering as rick Warren points it our that it is not usually my first response. I have to choose to love and live beyond the false pretenses that love is a feeling and an emotion. Love is actually a choice! Just like joy love is something that I can choose to do. We get confused that love is this sweet feeling that conjures up from our heart when we have a good experience with someone or something. The problem with that is what happens when people to act positively towards us, then what. Usually our feelings aren't good and then we fail to love. When you look at love as a choice then we have the capacity to respond in love to anyone in all circumstances...wow that's pretty wild isn't it?

By ourselves we have a limited capacity to love but there is a promise in the Bible that I love from our devotional reading. In Galatians 2:20 it reads, "It is no longer just I who loves, but Christ who loves in me." Did you see that? Isn't that awesome! When we invite Christ into our life our capacity to love actually grows...we now are able to love as Christ and God have loved us. Not only that be we have the ability in Christ to love people with His power. WOW! This was a huge discovery for me in today's devotional. Let's take it one step further. Not only do we have the capacity to love people at a Christlike lever but God actually expects us to. We are to love others and for lasting deep relationships in community. You and I have a love expectation. My prayer today is that God would increase my awareness of my need to choose love more often. I pray that I lean into the love He has put into my heart. I ask God to help me look past my own issues and self absorbed feelings and learn to look to others needs in genuine Christian love. May He do the say in you!
In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

40 Days of Community

2008-09-17T14:54:00.002-04:00

Please be praying for our upcoming 40 Days of Community that starts this Sunday. We are believing God to do a great and huge thing. Many people are signing up for small groups. There are many people buying the devotional and study guides that go with it. Pray that God works on people's hearts to come to church and hear his Word. Pray that people sign up for a small group and commit themselves to one another like never before. Pray that there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a way that unifies our church and brings people closer to God. I sense the Spirit of God wanting to do something new through this time.

We all really do need each other. We were designed for significant relationships with others to walk with us. I pray that new relationships will be formed and old ones will be rekindled. This is a chance for us all to come together in a great way. Small group leaders be inviting people to your group. Consider welcoming new people into your existing group and see what God can do. I pray that people are challenged by the service project and that it brings us closer to our communities. God I invite you to do a new thing at OFC and for your Spirit to sweep through all of us in a fresha nd new way so that all of us feel your presence. God change lives and bring people into your Kingdom. We dedicate and devote our lives and this campaign to you! God you are our everything and deserve our praise, our love, and our unity behind you. We give you 40 Days of Community! A-Men. Be praying with me. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Because Mike wanted me to Blog

2008-09-16T13:14:00.002-04:00

Well yes as you have noticed I have been quite the delinquent with my blogging lately. I have all the excuses in the world and none of them are worth telling you about. I preach all the time that life is about priorities and if we are too busy for church and God...well then we are just too busy. Anyway God has sure been doing some really cool things lately in my life and ministry. In the past several weeks we have had some baptisms. I have had a chance to lead someone to Christ. We have had people join the church. And last night I had the privilege of teaching at the Heidelberg Campus Fellowship meeting. What a powerful time with about 60 college students who are hungry for a relationship with God. God is so good!

There has still been more going on in my family. Isabel came back from getting her cast removed and her latest hand surgery just looks great. Both fingers that were worked on function even better now. It is awesome! This past week Erin and I did some important work on our relationship and saw God's victory in that. He is so good and I am so blessed with a super awesome wife. I thank God for her everyday and her patience and perseverance with me. To top it all off I am getting older here in the near future. To tell you the truth I actually haven't given it much thought at all. I have even forgotten about it until someone at Campus Fellowship last night reminded me of it. Life has been good! The church is a blessing. Our relationships there continue to grow. My family continues with many of its challenges but yet I sense that we are all growing and adjusting as needed. Life is good and I give it all to Jesus. He is the reason and my first love. So there it is. My first blog entry in I don't know how long. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Delving into a little politics

2008-09-04T10:59:00.003-04:00

Normally I am not all that public with my political viewpoints. I am not certain that those things are helpful coming from a pastor especially from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. Jeremiah Wright might have a different opinion on that I am sure. If you would ask me and most of you by now have figured this out that I am a Republican. With that being the case however I never spend too much time paying attention to the media or for the candidates for that matter. Especially this year when it felt like neither the Democrats nor the Republicans were going to offer a candidate worth voting for. Quite frankly I have been disgusted by the whole process and totally disenfranchised by it. Until Friday...

Friday it was announced that Sarah Palin would be running for VP alongside John McCain. That got me interested...very, very interested. As my dad and several others shared with me who she was and what she stood for I felt my heart warmed at the realization that God has given me someone to vote for... that he had truly delivered.

Then came the attacks. For the last week we have seen an all out assault on Palin, her family, and her children. It has been disgusting at best. I have never witnessed such inappropriate behavior by people who call themselves journalists and reporters. It has been cruel and unusual with the nature of these attacks. However my sense of all this negativity is that it is going to, and already has in some cases backfire for those who seek to destroy her. I believe it has unified a republican party and for people like me (on the fringes) has draw me to her. To a woman who is guided and directed by her faith in God as I am, who loves her special needs child as I do my Isabel. This is a women who has 5 kids and works a full time job where she is responsible for many many lives. I can relate to that. Bye the way I am a full time pastor and I have 5 kids and nobody is accusing me of being a lousy dad because I choose to work. It is down right silly that for years women have been starving for equal rights. Now there is a woman who represents most of what they have been fighting for and she is being criticized by these same women for working while she has 5 kids. Just ridiculous and shameful. This is a candidate who chose to keep her child even after finding out he had Downs Syndrome. Amazing!

She has a child who is pregnant by her soon to be husband. Does this negate Sarah from being our VP? Or does it make her human...dealing with difficult circumstances of which you have no control over and having the resolve to handle it the best way possible. In my estimation this trial in her family will only serve to make her stronger. Who among us have raised the perfect child. I sure have not...does this disqualify me from being some one's pastor? Certainly not! It actually makes me human and easier to relate to. We all have struggles and difficulties. So does Sarah Palin and that draws me to her.

My interest has been so renewed and excited that I actually watched the RNC last night. I sense and feel a new hope that maybe we are going to actually get there as a nation. At the same time I have been shocked and surprised at how vicious the criticism has been. Then again when people feel desperate and cornered is usually when they get ugly. I am sensing today that Sarah Palin has awakened many people and given a shot in the arm for some. I know she has done that for me and I thank God for her.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Isabel's surgery

2008-09-02T09:52:00.003-04:00

Well tomorrow is yet another surgery for Isabel. She is having work done on her left hand (further seperating her fingers and turning her thumb more inward.) I think this will make number thirteen.? This one is particularly hard because I will not be able to go. It has been several years since her last major surgery, the last one being when we still lived in Dayton, OH. From there Cincinnati Children's Hospital was only about an hour drive. I was able to go and only miss a day of work and also have my folks take care of the kids. Up here that is a little more difficult. I am staying behind to be with the other 4 kids and my mom is coming up to help.

It doesn't get any easier when your child has major surgery like Isabel. I know in the end she is in God's hands and that he is in control but it still makes my heart ache to have to see her go through this painful and uncomfortable time. I think it makes it all the harder because she is has such a sweet and strong spirit. She never complains and she never worries about it. She doesn't ever think any less of herself and doesn't get bothered when other little kids ask her about her hands and her head and why she looks different. She is a warrior. Now my little warrior is going to go through yet another trial in this battle of Aperts.

As I think about it there will never really be an end to her struggles. Even though this surgery will soon be over and she will have recovered, there will be many other trials to deal with. Sometimes if I think about that long enough is when I get a little overwhelmed and wonder if we Can handle it. When I start feeling like that all I have to do is look at her and watch her and experience her strength, courage, and power...to be filled with inspiration. She is awesome. Erin and I covet all of your prayers and will keep everyone posted on how she does. Her surgery is tomorrow morning at 9AM.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

What an idiot

2008-08-27T09:09:00.002-04:00

You ever just have those moments where you realize what a butt-head you are. Well I have had a couple of those in the last two days. Last night Hailey was making her sandwich for her school lunch today. Erin purchased new lunch boxes for the kids that have a little plastic container for their sandwiches. Anyway Hailey was constructing her sandwich inside the container and I started worrying that if she did that she was going to make a big mess. So I instructed her to not make her sandwich in the box but to make the sandwich first and then put in in the container. This frustrated her and she and I got in a big argument where I didn't want to hear anything she had to say and just told her to do what I said.

After the crying and yelling subsided Erin came out and I explained to her the situation. She then asked me where Hailey was supposed to make her sandwich. Erin reminded me that in the past we have told them not to make them directly on the counter and we haven't wanted to dirty extra dishes in the process, so where was she supposed to make it? Last year they put their sandwiches in little baggies and used to make them on the bag first, so now what? I suddenly realized what a horses petute I was. I apologized and wondered to myself why I get so picky like that. I am continuing to work on giving the kids some breathing room and not being on their case about everything. Also I am learning that I actually do have to let my kids explain things and listen to their reasoning because they just might be right about some things.

Take for instance this morning. I saw a stack of burgers in the sink that had thawed overnight. They were warm to the touch and I was concerned that they had been forgotten about. I had remembered bringing them in the day before and so I thought I should throw them out. I tried reaching Erin on her phone to ask her but couldn't. I decided to go out and get another frozen bag of burgers and let them thaw for tonight's dinner and throw away the ones in the sink. As I was doing that Austin asked what I was doing. I told him not to worry about it and to mind his own business. He told me that he brought those burgers in for mom last night and that they were for today. I told him he had no idea what he was talking about and told him to leave me alone.

After I had put them in the garbage and taken them outside Erin calls me back and I told her what had happened. She related to me that in fact Austin did bring in those burgers just last night and that I had actually brought in a bag two nights before. She assured me that those burgers were perfectly fine and once again I felt like a real idiot. Man...what is wrong with me?! My son was right and I didn't want to listen to him, in fact I got frustrated with him. I tossed away some perfectly good food because I thought I new what I was talking about but didn't. I am suddenly realizing that I am going to have to start giving my kids a lot more credit and listen to what they are saying instead of just assuming they have no idea what they are talking about.

Make no mistake about it...there has been someone in our house that has no clue the past two days and surprisingly enough it isn't one of our kids. It is me. This has certainly been a humbling experience and a frustrating one. I know that God is going to use it to grow me and to grow my relationship with my kids. I plan on apologizing to them when we get home tonight and trust that I have not done too much damage. I am so thankful for God's grace in my life and am learning to give a little more of it myself, especially to my family. It has been hard realizing that I actually don't know everything...lol, lol.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Back to School

2008-08-26T08:11:00.003-04:00

Is summer really over?!? Wow what a great and fast summer it was. God did so much with my family and in my own personal walk with him. I will Cherish all of the memories he gave us with our trip to Gatlinburg with the family and our time at Lakeside with the WO annual conference. Then there were the smaller moments like our picnic at Meadowbrook park...my date with Erin to see the Whose Line is it Anyway guys. It was a great summer with my family. What kind of memories did God create for you this summer that can be building blocks for you?

God did some really cool things at OFC as well. We had an incredible VBS experience with our largest Sunday morning attendance since I have been here. We have seen new people coming to the church and lives being changed. Our youth ministry took it to the next level and our July sermon series was an incredible experience as God touched our lives. Way to go God and way to go church!

For me personally I saw God do a new thing as I realized much needed work in my life around prayer and joy. I set forth on a project of joy during much of the month of July. I have made a more conscious effort to invite God's joy more fully into my life. I have reconciled that joy is a choice and that I am the only one that can choose it for myself. I don't have to feel lousy. I don't have to be angry and frustrated...all those are choices. Choosing more of God's joy has been an awesome revelation for me and a wonderful experience for my family.

I think one final special moment for me was the time we got to spend with my folks. We were together for Lakeside, Gatlinburg, and a week ago we were in Dayton for a week with them at their home. It was such a rich time as we shared in common interests and just hung out together. My dad and I did some great work in an area that he is very passionate about and it brought us closer together. I so much enjoy being with them and sharing life together with them and our children. I cherish every moment now with them as in the past I used to take our time together for granted. They are very special people to me and an extremely important part of my life. God is so good and I want to give Him the glory for a great summer. Thanks God.

With every ending there is a new beginning. I am looking forward to all this school year brings. I look forward to coaching and awesome things at our church. I am excited to see our kids continue to grow up and mature. I have another chance to trust God for something huge as Isabel has yet another surgery in the coming weeks. It will be a full year for sure and I trust that God will show up as He has always faithfully done. I pray today that you can see the blessings God has brought into your life and take the chance to both reflect on what He has brought you and look ahead to what He is going to faithfully do in you.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Joy out the window

2008-08-11T08:34:00.002-04:00

Wow my family would tell you it has been a hard week at our house. Due to lack of sleep and a low amount of patience I haven't been in the best of moods. In fact I have been a downright terror. Man I have sure blown it in this joy thing. It amazes me how quickly Satan can find a weakness in us and then exploit it over and over again. For some reasons joy was out the window these past few days. I was irritable and angry with the kids too many times. The smallest things would set me off. I was hollering and yelling way too much and I am certain my family had a miserable week because of my attitude.

I try to pinpoint why I feel the way I do...it has to be multiple things but mainly because I have made an agreement. That the day is not going to get better, that I am not going to experience joy today, that my kids have no clue about anything in life, that I'm just going to be in a rotten mood because that's what I feel like doing. All those things are agreements I have made. I don't have to because I can choose what I am going to do and how I will respond. I can choose how I am going to look at my day and whether or not I want joy to be a part of it. I guess if I had to pinpoint it, it all boils down to distractions. I have been distracted from God over the past week. I haven't keep up with my reading everyday, haven't been inviting him into everything as I had been concentrating on doing for the past month. I really slipped in my commitments to Him. Because of that I opened the door for Satan and he wreaked havoc.

I am praying against these choices right now...God in the name of Jesus I want you to fill my life with my commitments to you. Close the doors in my life where I have allowed Satan to creep in. God give me the strength to turn away from the agreements I have made about life and my family. Thank you for your grace and loving kindness and for your forgiveness when you have not held first place in my life. I want to seek your face, to be made whole and Holy, and ultimately live in your joy everyday of my life. God I am starting anew with you today and my quest for your joy. A-men. Even while I was praying this prayer I heard Him tell me to apologize to my family. To seek there forgiveness by acknowledging how miserable I have been to them this past week. This means sitting down with them and sharing this. It means calling Hailey and Austin in Dayton on the phone because they are at my folks house. It would be easy to skip this step and just talk to them at the end of the week (that would be another agreement) I need to call them and I am going to.

This joy thing sure is hard but I am determined in Christ to make it a regular part of my life. I do not like who I am when I am not living in God's joy and I have only myself to blame. I do know one thing. God is so good and I feel so blessed with all that he has done in my life. I am not down or discouraged but convicted to keep growing in Him.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

A new season of life in the Alice household

2008-08-07T08:08:00.002-04:00

When we look back on life we are always able to see where one chapter began and another chapter ended. Life is like that, at least for me it is. Our lives are filled with different seasons good and bad. There are seasons where we are in school as a college student. There are seasons where we deal with an illness or struggle or tragedy. There are seasons where we have a certain decision that guides our lifestyle and then inevitably changes are soon to follow. The page turns and we are on to the next chapter.

Growing up my family were always campers. In fact my folks still own a trailer and keep it in Myrtle Beach, SC. However, I didn't marry a camper in Erin and to tell you the truth for the season of our life (first 12 yrs) that really didn't bother me. Most vacations for us consist of visiting her folks or mine for w weekend or a week. Then usually once a year we would take a week long family vacation and rent a chalet or a cabin or some type of house. We just returned from Gatlinburg, Tn in July and had a blast. Our first love has always been Myrtle Beach but until now the babies have just been too small for that far of a trip. That's when we decided we were ready for the next chapter in our life. With the two youngest getting older and it becoming more and more expensive to rent houses for week we have decided to do the camping thing. It was kind of funny all Erin had to do is look at me and say she was ready to do the camping thing and I hit the ground running. I have been waiting for years for that moment.

It makes so much sense for us. We want to be able to get away more often both locally and going to places like Myrtle beach and out West but can't afford to stay in hotels and houses every time we do this. Also we have 5 kids and keeping them entertained is a chore in and of itself. Camping affords us all these opportunities and more. The kids will have plenty to do anywhere we go and will have to get creative in enjoying the outdoors. Camping is relatively inexpensive once you get over your initial expenses of purchasing whatever means you are be using for camping. Plus we will be able to do it more often that just a week out or the year. I believe this will be a good thing for our family especially with all of the struggles we have with our children. It will allow for us to devote more time to each other and in the end I sense God is going to do something special.

Needless to say this has caused us to have to make some significant changes in our approach to life. We have decided that a Travel trailer is the best way for us to enjoy camping. (just don't think we are tent people, if you know what I mean!!) This has meant that we also need to acquire a vehicle that can both carry all 7 of our family and at the same time have a significant towing capacity. In the end my white trunk was the sacrificial lamb. Here is the great news. With the economy the way it is and gas prices the way they are we were able to pick up exactly what we needed for our new camping and family lifestyle and relatively the same value that my truck was worth when trading it in. God's timing is always perfect! Now we are in the market for a used Travel Trailer that can sleep 8-10 people. Keep your eyes open if you see anything give me a holler. God is so good and I am looking forward to our new season of life as campers. I am nervously anticipating what God is going to do for us. Anytime you step into a new place where there are unknowns and things we haven't done before one always gets a little nervous curiosity. But, I know God is going to meet us there and am so excited for this opportunity.

Lastly, this has been a good lesson for my children. We have included them in on this decision from the very beginning. I have been able to share with them how blessed we are that we as a family can make theses kinds of choices. I was able to share with Austin that because his mom and I have made a lot of healthy choices in our life that we have the freedom to be able to do these things. If you work hard and trust God somehow he always meets our hearts desires. Thanks God for making this dream and new chapter in our lives come true! I am expecting God to bring a lot of additional joy into our life because of this blessing. Thanks God.
Blessings,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Worth Fighting for!

2008-07-30T12:44:00.003-04:00

John E. in his book Walking with God talks about fighting for the things in our life that God is wanting us to experience. In other words how often have our schedules gotten busy and hectic and we think about or start dropping things from it that don't seem possible but yet would bring joy into our life, or better yet be what God wants us to do? It is so easy to get wrapped up in life that we let go of the very things God wants us to be a part of.

There have been countless times in life where things got busy and life seemed overwhelming and I just started dumping cargo overboard in a desperate attempt to lighten the load instead of fighting for it. Like when I skipped my graduation ceremony at OSU because life was feeling just a little chaotic, or when I decided not to go on a Chrysalis walk in college because I was feeling overwhelmed at school. I know in both of those cases God had some joy for me and a blessing for me and I missed it. I missed it because I was trying to fill in the blanks on my own. I was relying on myself to make the best decision. We all do this in life when faced with tough choices...but trying to make these choices on our own is not walking with God. We simply can't see all the things that God can see. So I find myself trusting Him more, therefor I am seeking His council more frequently on things that in the past I would have just decided to do because that was what I decided to do.

It is uncanny that this was the reading for the day in John E's book. I have been in prayer with someone in our church this very day that is facing a busy hectic crazy life. They are facing some really tough decisions and it is so easy to just start dumping things overboard. I am praying that they continue to seek God's council as they walk with him. That is a different posture than making choices that just seem "right" to us. God knows more than we do so I am praying that I lean on Him more. I pray that all of us lean on Him more for the choices in our life. Who knows what we might be missing if we don't fight for something we know He wants to do. What in your life is worth fighting for? What is God trying to do in you and through you that might result in joy or changed lives? Consider fighting for it, instead of just dumping it overboard.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Good grief...here we go again!

2008-07-29T14:30:00.003-04:00

Man how many times have I let Satan get a foothold in my life. Particularly around the issue of guilt and shame. Every time I mess up in life Satan is right there to tell me what a lousy person I am or that I have blown it. The biggest area of weakness for me right now is with parenting. There are times where I scream and holler and blow my stack and the feelings that come from that later are just horrible. I feel guilt, shame, and conviction. There are voices that tell me I am a lousy dad and it will never get any better so why even try. Then there are other voices that tell me that I have made a mistake and to pick myself up off the ground and try again. This voice I sense believes in me...is not condemning me but challenging me to be better.

It is so hard to sometimes separate God's genuine conviction in our life from the lies Satan wants to plant in us. I can relate to John E. in his book Walking With God. So often I get confused between what is my fault and what am I responsible for and what actually is Satan just trying to guilt me away from God or shame me into doing something or believing something stupid. This is one of the hardest spiritual battles I feel like I face on a regular basis. I do more often than I'd like wonder if God still forgives me. I often think there are moments where I have blown it and God is far from me and wants nothing to do with me. Man those are lies and I hate those thoughts!!! I am working on bringing the work of Jesus into those moments to discern what is actually something I need to work on or what is it that I just need to ignore because it will only pollute my heart more. Satan is such a big fat liar!

I really think this book has helped me greatly. I love truth that it gave me about my life and my life with God. If I really wanted to be evil and turn my back from God than why does it distress me so to think that? If I really wanted to live a life of sin than why is there so much conviction and hurt that wells up out of my heart when I entertain those thoughts. In other words I am not inherently evil. I have not blown it. Sin doesn't have a strangle hold on my life. To the contrary the bible promises something entirely different. Because of the power of Christ Scripture says that I am, "dead to sin". Sin no longer has control of me because I am Christ's. What reassurance!!! This chapter was huge for me. It gave me some new truths bout how God sees me and how I can trust His feelings about me. Thanks Lord for believing in me when I don't believe in myself. You are an awesome God!
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Reawakening desire & back on JOY!

2008-07-28T08:18:00.003-04:00

I wonder how many of us at some point in time have shut our hearts down to things? There is a life we always planned on living, goals and dreams we have never fully reached or accomplished. How often to we stuff our desires deep down into our hearts only to be ignored because it is too risky or it might mean a lot of work and hardship at first. John E. reminds us in his book that the more we stuff things down into our heart the more it cries out for attention. That's the point and the moment where addiction tends to show up. We start looking for some intimacy here or there. the crying heart can't be ignored. I wonder what you have stuffed deep inside you.

I remember in 1996 I started working for a business in Springboro, OH. Erin was finishing up school and we were to be married a few months later in May. I continued this job for 1 year. I was miserable, I hated going to work and spent the whole week looking forward to the weekend. I was quickly realizing the damage I was doing to my heart by ignoring desire. God had put a desire for full-time ministry into my heart years before and I ignored it. I stuffed deep inside of me but it kept popping up. Finally one day Erin and I decided it was time and we packed our bags for Seminary in Louisville, KY. My heart was leaping out of my chest. It was risky and I was a little scared. It was going to be a change and a lot of work, but we went for it and never looked back. I have never regretted following the desire God gave me.

We do have to be careful though. All too often we are following our own personal hearts desire. these are many times desires not from God but ones we have concocted to ease our pain or to numb our loneliness or unhappiness. This is where prayer comes in. We ask God what this longing is our heart is about. Why is it there God? We ask. God is this where you are leading me? Then we can discover if God is indeed reawakening desire in us.

Back to the joy thing for a moment. I have sensed God doing a new and amazing thing in my life since my 9 day Project of Joy while on vacation several weeks ago. Ever since that week I have keep my eyes open more fully for chances to experience His joy. I have learned to listen more to His voice and to set aside my frustrations and impatience for things. I am finding that I am accepting disappointment better and keeping my eyes open for the beautiful thing He is trying to do in and around me and my family. Thursday last week we would have normally had small group at our house. However, several families were not able to make it and the one remaining family was thinking about going to the fair. We decided to go to Meadow Brook Park in Bascum for a picnic that evening and play time with the kids. We have done this before however we have taken cold sandwiches and things...never cooked right there.

I have always wanted to go to the park with the family and kind of set up shop for several hours while the kids played I would cook and prepare lunch or dinner on the open flame. I new that this was a gift God was going to give us and I wasn't going to let the idea go until we had done it. This night was our night. We packed everything we needed for hamburgers and hot dogs. We packed baseball mitts, soccer balls, and a football, along with some folding chairs. The weather was picture perfect! May have been the best evening of the season so far. I lit up the barbecue and while I was working the grill I played catch with Austin and then kicked the soccer ball with Hailey. Erin played on the play ground with the babies and Tawna and we just hung out for a few hours. It was just a great experience. No large sum of money spent. We didn't really go that far from home. Set up and clean up was minimal. It was a good, rich time to spend with the family. God gave us something beautiful that night and I will always cherish the images and time we had there. What joy He brought to my heart that evening. It was a desire He placed in me a year or so ago and I didn't let it go. I listened and we followed. It was a reminder that He is in the simple things if we invite Him to join us there. I pray that joy continues to abound in your heart. I pray that God is doing a new thing in you. I know He is working in my life.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Do I love my life?

2008-07-24T08:36:00.002-04:00

How many of you struggle in your life with the moment? I know there are times where I feel like I am reaching for something. I don't necessarily know what it is that I am reaching for, which makes it all the more concerning. All I know is that there is a dissatisfaction with the moment. Something inside my heart just isn't right and the sense of fulfillment feels like was once there but is no longer available. I think we all fall into these moments when what is happening in our life isn't really enough. We conjure up some thought of what we might want, or where we might want to be that would make everything better. When the truth is we get those things and we are no better off. Then the question lingers out there that nobody wants to answer. Sadly though it is the question that if able to answer yes to will open up the flood gates of joy. The question is this..."Do I love my life?" I think if we are brave enough to actually ask that question we very quickly follow it up with this question..."Do I really even want to know the answer to that question?"

I do find myself day dreaming a lot. taking my mind away from where I am at to place I think I would rather be. Or I find myself thinking about something that I don't have and then thinking about what it would be like to have it. For me it is a basic realization that my heart needs something. It is crying out. For some reason it is not filled or fulfilled. Jesus reminds us that the only thing that will truly fill our heart to satisfaction is a relationship with him...an intimate, personal companionship. Without that our hearts will cry out, they will ache for something more. And it will unsettle us deeply!

This whole idea brings us back to whole and holiness. Christ goal for our life is that His joy would be complete in us, His love would be complete in us, His peace would be complete in us. I could go on and on here but you get the point. You see the more whole we are in Christ (complete) the more of His Holiness we will be able to take in. That is what I long for. Jesus I turn to you this morning and ask you to fill and fulfill me. Take away the longing of my heart for stuff, places, and people that are not here now and love the moment in life you have given me. Fill me with your satisfaction and contentedness. Thank you for understanding me and still loving me. Amen
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

I've blown it again...or have I

2008-07-23T09:09:00.003-04:00

Boy how many times in my life have I blown it. Where I know I have messed up and gone a different direction then where God is going. It is so easy in these times to let Satan's little subtle agreements to creep in at these times. Satan will mess with my concience and convince me that it is all my fault and that I am know God. That God is going to leave me behind and that this one was the straw that broke the camels back. He paints picutres in my mind of God utterly dissapointed with me and angry at me. Yeah you've really blwn it this time John! Why do I think like this? Why is it so easy to get down on ourselves. How come I am so quick to listen to and buy into what Satan in trying to do in me?

Yesterday Hailey spent the morning with me at the office. When she first arrived by being dropped off by her mother she was in another one of her foul moods. Howver this time isstead of responding in frustration and agner like I normally do. I went the opposite direction. I welcomed her in to my office. I had her sit on my lap. And I had this overwhelming sense from God that I was just to let her know in how many ways I love her and am proud of her. We did this for some time and it was rich. However Satan was creeping in again. He was telling me what lousy father I am and how much I had blown it with Hailey and the rest of the kids. He was trying to convince me that it was never goign to get better and there was nothing I could do about. I was definately expereiince some warfare. Satan was trying to steal the joy of the moment sitting there with Hailey.

As we were sitting there and all these lousy thoughts started creeping in. I suddenly heard from God. I heard, "there is something you can do." Spend more time with her...take her to lunch." Wow suddenly this peace came over me and I was filled with hope for my relationship with her and my parenting skills. I obeyed and took her to lunch. Funny though, the rest of the morning all these things popped up tht tried to convince me that we couldn't go, but I shrigged them off because I was certain this is what God wanted. We went to lunch and ate together and didn't really say very much. Once lunch was over we could have left but I wanted to stay. I sensed God wasn't done with this moment. I decided to just hang out with her for awhile and just talk...I asked her what here favorite part of the summer was and she started talking and never stopped. She asked me questions and I talked and we just shared what we liked about vacation and Lakeside. We talked aobut our family. It was a rich time. A great connection with my daughter.

Then it hit me. How necessary was this. How important it was for me to spend time with Hailey and invest in her and just listen to her share about her life and her day. It opened doors...specificaly the door of convcition for me. No longer was this guilt and shame that I had first had in the day. Now there was this powerful presence of God filling me with loving gracefull correction, redirection, and conviction. God was using this moment to not beat me over the head but to love me and give me a beautiful picture of what my relatinship with my kids could look like. I had made the agreement along time ago that with all the kids we had that I was never going to be able to have the patience of the pleasure of nurturing these kinds of relationships. Now God was challenging me to let go of those agreements. He was giving me a chance to change. How awesome is He!

As a result of God's work in my life in this area I have already made some speciffic and necessary changes and adjustments. This is always the hard part isn't it. It's one thing to have God speak to us and show us something. It is altogether harder to make changes to adjust to it. I was much more attentive to my kids all day yesterday and even this morning than I normally would be. It has been good. Thank you God for revealing to me in your loving way the new work you want to do in me. Thank you for not just letting me settle for a mediocre life but a life of righteousness with You. God continue to mold me and shape me into the father, the husband, the pastor, and the man you want me to be.

May today be a great day for you to connect with what God wants to do in you. Live beyond the garbage that Satan wants to pollute our minds with and grasp onto the truth of God's voic in your life. Blessings!
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

God stays with us

2008-07-22T08:22:00.003-04:00

I have noiced regularly over the years in my walk with God that if there is something He is trying to show me or do in me He will stay with me on it. There is a persistance in our God when He knows what we need and we are either not ready for it or we are ignoring it. After all we do this with our kids. If there is a character quality or issue that need to be developed in them we will hone in on it and stick with it. We will do everthing in our power to help them with the issue until they finally get it or take ownership of it.

God is a lot like us as parents. He will do everything in His power to help us to the place He wants us to go. Before I left for vacation God impressed upon my heart that I needed to live more fully into His joy. I heard from Him to take ownership of the verse, "the joy of the Lord is my strength". And so I did...well as best I could. Now I am home from vacation and I am still impressed with the fact that I have a long way to go with this joy thing. God isn't done with me there. He is persistant and insistant that His joy be a larger part of my life. So every day this week I am reminded of His joy. I am begin challenged to discover His joy in all things. I readily admit that my heart this week has been distracted from this. I find myself thinking of my family and my parents in Myrtle Beach. I find myself reflecting on our family vacation a week ago and missing that time that we had together. However it is giving me a new appreciation for Erin, my children, and my parents.

This weeks sermon is on...you guessed it, JOY. What else would it be on. I mean isn't it uncanny how God works in us. I am going to be preaching on a topic that is a project for me personally right now. There is a persistance and an insistance from God to make sure we live into the work He wants to do. He isn't just going to go away if there is something we need to work on. He will be right there waiting for us when we are ready to come back to that thing and that work he is doing in us. God will stay with us. Praise Him for that! God thanks for impressing on me the need for greater joy. Stay with me and lead me and guide me.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Satan is an opportunist!

2008-07-21T09:21:00.002-04:00

I readily confess that I am dealing with a little post vacation hang over the past few days. We had such a good time in Gatlinburg with our kids and also with my parents. It has been hard for me to let this go. My emotions and feelings have been all out of whack and I have had a hard time putting a finger on it. I was reading in John E's book this morning and was reminded that Satan is an opportunist. He is going to look for any chick in our armor any crack in our wall and he is going to try and sneak in there and mess with our hearts/soul/spirit.

I think one of the things that gets me in trouble is I spend so much time thinking about the upcoming vacation and I put so much thought into planning it and looking forward to it that once it is over there is this empty moment in my life. I sense that I am grasping to look forward to the next big thing that's coming down the pipe in life and its not there. As I was reading this morning I began to pray against this feeling and this emptiness in my heart. I found myself bringing the power of Jesus against it in order to find out what is at the bottom of it. In times like this I often experience a distance from God, yet in these moments is when I need His presence the most. So I prayed for His presence to become greater in my life. I prayed that He would help me identify my thoughts and feelings and to rid my heart of anything polluting my spirit. I believe this to be a prayer I will keep with me for some time and I seek to follow where God is working and live beyond my own concepts and ideas of life.

I find it kind of humerous that I am dealing with this and the fact that I am preaching on joy this Sunday. I do feel like something is attempting to rob my joy. This is one of those funks that even when something great happens the feeling only lifts for a moment and then it comes back again and settles right there in my heart. I am trusting God to walk me through this time...but I am also trusting Him that I will learn from this and develop a better mindset towards upcoming events in my life, while balancing that with the real life week to week responsibilities I have been entrusted with in family, church, and life. Jesus I pray that you would be my all in all and that your joy would be my strength. God you are so good to me and you have blessed me so. May my life continuw to be a blessing to you and to others. May your Spirit fill me and cleans me of anything that would bring me down and may your joy riegn in my heart. A-men
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Praying during tragedy

2008-07-20T16:38:00.003-04:00

I love this line from John E.'s book Walking with God, "hearing God requires surrender, giving all things over into his hands. Not abandoning your desires, but yielding them to God." He shares this thought with us while trying to deal with whether or not to put his dog to sleep. It is a heart wrenching decision and he knows what his heart wants but he is trying to be open to what God wants. He quickly realizes that it is time to let "Scout" go. Though his heart wants one thing he yields to where God is. So he lets scout go and doesn't pray for him to be healed. He heard from God to let him go.

I think so many of us have been in a situation where a loved one is suffering or possibly on their death bed. Our hearts so much want to pray for a miracle but is that always the right thing? Is it possible that God is doing something different, and if we don't pray for a miracle every time, does this mean that we lack faith? What a great question...Our faith is based on God's promises and God does not always deliver when we pray to save or rescue our loved ones. Therefor what would it look like to ask God how we should be praying for these folk? This means yielding our desires for them to what God is doing. Wow this is a fresh concept for me and a challenging one at that. How do you feel about this? Is there ever a time where we shouldn't pray for someone to get well or recover? I would dare say that I have not often asked God's opinion on how I should pray for someone...I have just gone ahead and prayed for them. I am going to think on this one and try this on in the future when praying for someone to get better. I hope this challenges you as well. I hope God continues to do a new work in your heart as he is doing in mine.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

New Pics in my Blog

2008-07-19T20:38:00.002-04:00

Check out the new pictures that I have uploaded from our family vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. We had a blast with Grandpa & Grandma Alice! Just scroll down through my Blog and they will appear on the right hand side. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Helping others and back to joy

2008-07-19T09:01:00.003-04:00

Couple 0f thoughts on John E.'s reading of today. I have been really challenged by parts of this book in places that I have not personally delved into before. I like his piece on praying for others to hear God and helping them in these prayers name the walls and barriers they are facing and praying against them. I also thought the part about watching who you are helping and being careful that their struggles do not latch on to you was interesting. Honestly I have never really thought of it like that before. It however does make sense. There are several stories in scriptures where Satan was working in one persons live and then he began to work on someone else in their vicinity. I do sense that he moves from one person to the next. Have you ever experienced gossip? One person starts in on someone else and then everyone else in the room chimes in even though several know it is wrong. Or someone is in a lousy mood while everyone else is in the room is in a good mood. Suddenly, guess what happens? The persons bad mood seep sin to everyone else. It influences them. Are these just emotions or is there a stronger power at work here? Remember who is the one person who would want to steal your joy? Satan! I think this is something new for me to think about. How about you?

On this joy thing in my life. I am sitting here this morning at home in front of the computer reflecting on our family vacation that we arrived home from yesterday. As I think about my favorite moments the ones where God's joy really shined in my life I find myself thinking of my parents. Getting to spend a week with my mom and dad brought such simple and real joy in my life. I never realized how much I missed them until we spent this week together. They left us yesterday and headed down to Myrtle Beach. My heart so much wanted to go with them. It was so hard to go in the opposite direction yesterday. I can picture them pulling into their camping site this morning right on the Ocean. God thanks...you are so good to me. Please bless my parents and give them great rest. They will need it after spending the week my my 7 member family! lol

One other memory stands out that sums up this new joy God has in my heart. Yesterday we stopped at a Pilot gas station North of Lexington, KY to fill up. As I was filling up Erin took all the kids to the bathroom. I will never forget the scene. My 5 kids lined up on either side of Erin holding each others hands as they walked in. They didn't see me but I saw them. At that moment I knew how blessed my life is. This unexplainable joy filled my heart. I knew at that moment it would be a picture I would never forget. One of those things I would take with me forever in my soul. Normally I would be in one of my maniacacle moods (not sure that is a word) trying to get the family home from vacation going a hundred miles per hour. I also would usually be a little depressed (which I was) that the vacation was over. Instead God gave me the highlight, however small it was, of the entire trip right there at Pilot! I wonder if I saw this because maybe God has been working on my heart, and in that moment I chose to include him in on something as simple as getting gas at a filling station. Because I did this I believe he provided me something beautiful...I was open and he delivered...AWESOME!

Thanks God for all you do in my life. Thank you that you are working in my heart and growing me everyday. Thank you for filling my life with renewed joy and a simple strong Spirit. God is good and I hope you experience that today. Are you open to his joy, walking with him everyday in everything you do? If you are you are in for something special. I have experienced in small doses and it is awesome!
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Time to come home...

2008-07-17T21:44:00.002-04:00

Well vacations are always awesome and for how long it seems like it takes for them to come they are over that much more quickly. Tonight is our last night and early tomorrow morning we will be hitting the road to come home. Seems like we have been gone for much more than a week. It will be good to get back and hit the ground running. As I wrap up this Project of Joy while on vacation I realize how hard it is to have joy in all I do. I admit it to be painfully difficult to include God in on everything, all my decisions. Though I have sensed I have taken significant steps in my faith and my walk with God while here in Gatlinburg. Something I can honestly say hasn't happened on vacation that much before.

I do sense that I have a greater awareness of His work in my life. I fee like I am able to hear him more and sense where he is heading. However I still have much work to do with my patience with my children and family. I look forward to allowing God further into everything in my life and seeking Him more fully in as many decisions as I can. I do believe that though I have not reached all my goals that it is intended that I celebrate the ones God did work in me. I blame nobody else but myself, but also know that in God's eyes I am not a failure but his child who is dearly loved and who has access to the fullness of his joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength.
Walking together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Never been unloved

2008-07-16T21:34:00.002-04:00

I do find it difficult sometimes to fathom how deep God's love for me goes. Often I wonder how God could love me based on what I've done, or am thinking. It is our human nature that tends to deny us the ability to know God's love for our hearts and this creates a barrier when it comes to hearing Him. Our ability to hear from God as I have noticed in my life thrives in my ability to believe and know God's love for me. When I know God's love then I know that whatever he is telling me comes out of that love. Therefor my trust and faith in Him becomes more fluid. I am praying today that I would know His love more in my life. As I know his love more and live into it His joy will not be far behind. What greater joy is there than to know the God of the universe loves you unconditionally? I pray you know His love and expereince his joy.
Walking together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

I love Jesus, don't I get a nice "normal" little life?

2008-07-15T21:09:00.003-04:00

I love the statement John E. makes. If your a Christian you don't get a nice "normal" little life. When don't get to do what we want to do when we want to do it. In all things God wants to be included in our life. So many times I don't want to pray for things. I don't want God messing with my perfect little life. I don't really want to hear from God because if I ask I am going to have to deal with and go with the answer. What if I don't like the answer? What if it means more work or sacrifice? Actually I sometimes just don't want to take the time to pray because it is inconvenient. I would just rather buy the car than ask Him. I would rather just go to Gatlinburg than ask Him. How about you? Do you find it challenging to let God in on EVERYTHING? I do.

Today while we were swimming in the pool we met a really neat couple who had a little girl named Addison. It turns out that Addison has a very similar syndrome to what Isabel has. However she is much worse physically and mentally. We chatted for awhile with the family. It turns out that Isabel has a Chromosome 10 deficiency and Addison has a Chromosome 9 deficiency. Some of the characteristics, stories, and surgeries were eerily similar. What a reminder for me that just because we know Jesus doesn't mean life is going to be normal or easy. Challenges will always exist. The question is can I still find God's joy in these challenges. Today I can honesty say I take great joy in Isabel. I don't even think about her struggles with Apert's. In fact i find myself knowing that I wouldn't want her any other way. She is just perfect.

I asked Addison's mom if they have a church home where they are from. She quickly said they attended a Catholic Church. I then followed up with the question, "does that proved strength for you"? Her response was interesting. She told me that she and her husband kind of do their own thing. In other words I heard from her that her faith is not really a part of her life nor does it give her a lot of support. It was funny when I first met them before I even knew them I sensed that they were very lonely in their challenges. Without God's love, presence, and joy we are truly alone. I said a prayer for them tonight and for Addison. i hope to see them again on Thurs. when we return to the pool. In the mean time I will be reminded of how blessed we are with Isabel, how blessed we are in the fact that we have God in our life leading us and wanting in on everything in our life, especially the challenges. Thank you God for your joy!
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Bewareof agreements!

2008-07-14T21:14:00.003-04:00

Looking forward to hearing jimmy's sermon on this topic. It is so cool that all the way down here in Gatlinburg, TN I will be able to download the sermon off of our website at oldfortchurch.com. Agreements according to john E. are these subtle decisions that we allow our hearts to make that actually block our ability to hear from God. They are biases, personal thoughts, and usually powerless thinking that circumvent the real faithful work God wants to do in us. What agreements have you made in your heart?

One agreement that I struggle with at times is that tomorrow is going to be better than today. In other words I find myself not living in the moment but looking ahead to "better" days. Even while on vacation i find myself having trouble enjoying the moment and wishing for something in the future to be here. part of my agreement I sense is to be able to find satisfaction and joy in the moment. This vacation has helped me to become aware of some of the work God still wants to do in my heart. Today we drove up into the Smokey Mountain national fores on a scenic loop that you drive in your car. This look is in the middle of nowhere and there are no business or anything like that. Just a one way narrow road that twists and turns through the mountains. It is beautiful and one of my favorite spots in the Smokey's. Well today as we entered this trail I discovered that I only had a qr. tank of gas left. Not the best of situations. In the middle of nowhere...no chance to get gas...and I am running low. I was starting to let the worry bother my experience and our families experience. I started to worry and hope this moment away to the time I was in front of a gas pump with a full tank. I was missing the beauty of the moment.

At one point we pulled over near a waterfall where the kids were going to play in the water for awhile. I was still worrying about the gas when the kids spotted a swarm of butterflies on the ground in front of us. For the next few minuted the kids interacted with them and were able to touch them and hold them. Erin got pictures of this...it was simple amazing! God provided and suddenly I found myself realizing how foolish I was to wish this stuff away. moments later all the kids and my folks were wading through the mountain stream and just having a blast. the babies loved it and i started jumping from boulder to boulder trying to cross the stream. I felt like a kid myself. I had all but forgotten about my worries and God reminded me that the moment was what he created for us. I experienced another valuable lesson today and in the process was filled with another joyful moment. God's joy for my life is my goal this week and I am feeling a new source of strength in this. After all scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is my strength. What a joyful day! thanks God. How about you? What great moments are you wishing away and not even realizing what beautiful things god is giving you. Don't buy into the agreements, don't live in the assumptions of your heart but live in to the guarantee of god's love and joy.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Do you find it hard to be loved?

2008-07-13T22:02:00.003-04:00

It is so tough being in need, being in a place where we cannot take care of everything in our life on our own. That means we have some kind of dependence on someone or something else. John E. shares his story of being laid up in a hospital and how hard that was. He relates it to his relationship with God and how Dependant he is on Him. I remember being in the hospital a few months ago with kidney stones and how utterly helpless I felt. I couldn't figure out what God was doing in my life. I wanted understanding. However, I new very quickly that it wasn't for me to figure out why but to figure out for what purpose.

John E. makes a good point in his book when he says, "you can either have understanding or you can have god but you usually can't have both." There is so much that happens in our life that only God will fully know why. In fact if we have God in our life we don't always need to know why. My kids remind me of this. I tell them to go to bed and their first question is, why. I ask them to clean there room and the first question is, why. I ask them to clean up and come inside and they ask...you guessed it, why. I always respond in the same way, "because I said so." Not all of life is meant to be understood but all of our life we are to follow God's lead not matter how confusing and painful it might be. Having a life of joy means to choose how we are going to act in any given situation. We get to choose our mood. Joy comes when we lean into God and trust Him. When we doe this joy is almost always the outcome.

Today was a rich day. We started with worship at First UMC in Pigeon Forge, TN. It was a traditional service which wouldn't always be my first choice. However God met me there and I worship Him with great joy. It reminds me that worship is up to us, not the pastor, musicians, music. It doesn't matter the style or how good someone is. It is up to our hearts being open for God to work. I was open for anything this morning and God blessed me. It was so good just to go to worship on a Sunday without having to prepare for or do anything at all. Letting someone else preach was awesome. I was soaking up every word I was given and praised God. I challenge each of you to worship every Sunday this summer no matter where you go. Find a house of worship and watch God bless you with his joy.

It rained today...normally this would have bummed me out. However this is not a normal week for me. This is my project of joy. So I chose to roll with it and see what God would do. It was a great and relaxing day at the chalet. I watched a little Cubs game, played some pool, soaked in the hot tub with the kids and my dad, grilled out on the deck (it is covered) and just generally had a great day. God's joy was present in my heart even though it was gloomy outside.
Don't get me wrong it wasn't a perfect day. I blew up at the kids a couple of times and got frustrated here and there, but I do sense God doing a new thing in me. Whenever we have been doing something for a long time it takes awhile to break those habits or to start new ones. I feel everyday I am taking baby steps towards greater joy. I has been great! Have a great day of joy in the name of Jesus!
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

It's not about what God isn't giving us!

2008-07-12T20:42:00.006-04:00

Man how many times have I been guilty of what John E. talks about today. Those moments where I am really asking God hard for something or for coming through in a big way only to not have that prayer answered. I sure get disappointed in those moments and wonder if God really does still speak. I wonder however, how many times in these moments that God is actually giving us something else that is beautiful only we can't see it because we are so locked into what we don't have. Man John E. hit me right between the eyes. It's not about what I want or what I think will be best for my desires but it is about what God is actually doing in me and around me. There lies the rel treats of life. The beautiful moments He is creating just for me. John E. shares a story where he is hoping for an Antler shed from an Elk on one of his hikes. He becomes disappointed when he doesn't find one. He thought for sure god was going to answer this prayer. However, in the middle of these frustrating feelings god gives him a hawk. A beautiful display of majestic flight right before his eyes. What a gift! Now how many of us would have missed that if we were in his shoes...would have kept sulking while god is doing something else amazing right in front of us...and missed the hawk?

As you may know I am on day 2 of my project of joy. What a great day it was. I had plans set forth in my heart that didn't come out exactly as I was hoping for or praying for. However, God came through in a bigger way than I could have ever dreamed. It was something as simple this morning as trying to decide whether to go to the grocery before the Craft Circle or after. As we were approaching the store Erin suggested that we go first and get it over with. I wanted to go on to the Craft Circle and start our adventure and stop to get groceries later. However as we got closer I heard "go to the store". So we went to the grocery and started out a little later than I had planned.

Now in the craft circle is a soda fountain we try to hit whenever we come to Gatlinburg. Long story short we wound up making it to Glades Soda Fountain just as it opened. Had we not gone to the grocery store first we would have gotten to the soda shop well before it opened and would have missed it. The entire family order an assortment of ice cream floats while he actually mixed up the soda in front of us. It's one of those old fashion soda fountain deals. He actually made my Cherry vanilla Coke before he added the vanilla ice cream. WOW what a treat! The family had a blast. the kids all order Black Cows. (Chocolate ice cream with home made Root beer poured over it). At the end our entire family including my mom and dad gathered inside the shop on the bar stools and the man working there took our picture. I was a moment I will not forget. A memory I will always take with me. A great family moment and oh yeah...awesome ice cream floats. God provided a great moment of joy there! If we had followed my plan we would have missed this. But God had something more beautiful for us.

The second moment of unmistakable joy was later this evening when Erin and I got to go out without the kids. That's automatic joy right there, a break. Basically we held off on dinner until later and went shopping first. It started to get late so we went and got some good barbecue. Now that was joyful also but not the moment I am referring to. It happened on our way back tot he Chalet after our meal. We drove by Krispy Kreme donuts. Now if you have ever bee to one of these places you what it means when they have there neon red sing on that says, NOW BAKING. It means when you order your donuts they come right out of the oven. I have never ever made it to one of these when the light was on. Now was our chance. Erin and I went in we got our donuts and left. In the car we dove in and had the most mouthwatering experience of our lives. Pure joy! Thanks Lord. What makes this amazing is when we passed Krispy Kreme the first time the light was not on. By going to the outlet mall first and eating on the way home which seemed to be God's idea and not mine he gave us something unexpected and beautiful, warm Krispy Kreme donuts. Thanks Lord. It has been a wonderful beautiful joyful day. God you are so good in so many simple ways.

I pray that you move beyond the disappointments of life and see and experience the simple and beautiful things God has waiting for you. I pray you have your soda fountain moment. I pray you have your Krispy Kreme moment. May God richly bless you.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Project of Joy day 1

2008-07-11T20:30:00.002-04:00

Earlier I shared with you something that God had placed on my heart through my reading of John E.'s book "Walking with God." I have been convicted that I have spent too much time in my life just trying to get by, or just trying to go go go all the time. I have asked myself to I really enjoy all of my life? Do I really love the life God has given me and do i discover joy in it every dingle day. Sadly enough I have had to answer no to this. Too often I get short with my kids or Erin. I am grumpy or irritable. there are times where I just want to get through the moment and on to something that I am looking forward to while forsaking the moment that God has given me. All of these things Satan has used to rob the one thing that my life has been designed for. The joy of the Lord!!! I want the joy of the Lord to fill my life in all of its fullness. I want it as the Bible tells us to become complete in me. I am realizing that joy in my life isn't dependent on others, my circumstances, everything going well. Joy is up to me. Joy is a choice, (one I want to choose more often) a decision. If happiness and joy aren't a part of your life you only have one place to look...the mirror. I am the only one making myself miserable in my tough times. Satan finds a weak spot...a crack in my wall and in the path of least resistant he does his best imitation of my attitude and then penetrates my heart.

So today I have begun my project of joy as I continue to learn to hear God's voice in my life. During my entire vacation which started today I am going to focus on joy in my life no matter my circumstance. I am going to learn to respond to everything by resting in and basking in the joy of the Lord. Today it has gone surprisingly well. It hasn't been perfect, i have had my moments with my kids. But there has been a certain peace that has filled my heart. I have found myself content in certain moments that before would have messed with me. I have accepted struggle and not got all bent out of shape. i have put others before myself and it all has been kind of refreshing. I has chosen happiness and joy over frustration, anger, and annoyance. Life has been much more pleasant as i have been to those around me and i find myself happier. Now don't get me wrong this is not some self help gimmick. This is not some inner strength where I am relying on myself. The big change is that i am camping on one single statement. The Joy of the Lord is my strength! When I feel Satan trying to rob me of my life and take me down a path i don't like going I simply claim God's joy by saying that statement over and over in my heart and mind...even out loud if i have to.

At one point I was in the car driving and got cut off in traffic. Normally that would have been a small step toward ruining my mood for about 30 miles. However with my dad sitting next to me reminding me to not get bent out of shape I found myself reciting that scripture out loud. The joy of the Lord is My Strength! My dad and i just chuckled. maybe because it was humorous. Or maybe because it actually worked. God settled my heart and made the moment just that. I moment, not a mood. Thank you Lord fro a great day and a great start to project of Joy. How about you. Where could you use a little bit more joy. Where have you been blaming others for your lack of it? When have you looked at your circumstance and justified your rotten mood. Joy is a choice. Make it your choice. Seek God's word and His council for help and remember that the source of strength for your life is His Joy. Don't ever believe anything different. I am sure there are trials headed my way. But I am already a little stronger because of the work god has done today. God thank you for today. It has been a great joy!
Walking with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Just having a bad day or is there something more...

2008-07-10T08:27:00.002-04:00

I can really connect with John E.'s writting today on Spiritual Warfare. He makes the claim that most of us don't really recognize the "oppressive stuff" that we are living under daily. We just chalk it up to being in a bad mood, having an off morning, some kind of distraction. In other words we can make an agreemtn to the crud that is going on in our life. We can agree in our hearts that it is noting more than indigestion and a headache... or we can ask Jesus if there is anything else at work here. We already established yesterday that there are other forces in this world at work in our life and they want nohting other than to rob our joy and steal our days. That power is Satan.

So here is the question. How often do we honeslty ask Jesus "where is this CRUD I am expriencing in my life coming from?" Do we honestly choose to seek God to point a finger to what is going on or are we too bussy to do so, or we think He doesn't have the time for this, or maybe we don't really want to hear the answer to this? I have to tell you when I am having a bad day, morning, evening or all fo the above I very seldom go to God with it. I usually blaim it on some external circumstance, someone else, or something else. At times I will blaim it on some stupid choice or decision I made and now I am paying for it. However it could just be that Satan has found a foothold in my life and he is making some headway. Scary to think about, but is altogether a reality!!! It does happen, and if we try to wage war against him on our own then he has won, becuase we don't have the power to do it. I am really open this morning to seeking god's counsel in the crumby days. Maybe for one reason and one reason alone. A selfish reason...I want more JOY in my life. I don't want to be cranky irritable, and hard to life with. My family can attest to this fact. I want the fullness of God's joy in my life. I don't want to be ruled by the devils footholds in my life. He will do anything in his power to rob joy from me and lately he has been winning all to often. Today I take a new stand.

In our Bible study group last night at MY Place I told the group of a project I am undertaking for the 9 days we will be on vacation. It is called my project of Joy. For 9 days I am going to choose God's joy to be my strength. I am going to choose to respond to my children and family with joy. I am going to seek joy in all circumstances in my life no matter what comes. Though I confess that I am a little concened about this project. I know that in order for God to teach me joy He is going to give me circumstances that I am going to have to choose His joy and that gives me a little fear of what might be coming. On the other hand I have a peace because whatever does come my way I beleive I will be stronger to deal with it. Because the joy of the Lord is my strength.

I really believe God is going to do a new work in me on vacation. Not the typical experience that I go away have fun get rest and say hello to God when I get back. I beleive there is a new connection waiting for me in the mountains of Gatlinburg. A connection that I have been needing for sometime. It is time for Joy to reign in my life. Please be praying for me as I am believing God for this new work in me. I pray that God helps you see the enemy for who he really is. A liar, a cheat, and someone who hates your guts!!! No worry's though...if we go to God for His council He will free us from this oppression and replace it with his joy. Time for the project to begin, God...help me, A-men.
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

What if I can't hear God?

2008-07-09T08:11:00.002-04:00

I think we have all been here before. We pray to God, open our heart to Him, attentively listen for the answer and then we hear...nothing! We start to question and wonder if God is really there. We start asking does He still speak or what have I done to not hear Him today. Maybe I have fallen from His grace and am not going to be able to hear Him anymore. John E. in his book WWG reminds us that our position in Christ is not a result of being able to hear God speak on any given day. We are secure in Christ because of His grace and nothing else. Our ability to hear God speak then becomes a natural outflow of our relationship with Him. Any relationship will take time. It takes time to grow into this with God and it takes time to learn and be familiar with his voice. Think about it...if we haven't been investing in our relationship with God regularly how could we expect the hear from Him regularly. The two go hand in hand. Today our challenge is to ask ourselves honestly, how much have we invested in spending time with God. How close have we walked with him through our days in all the "in between" stuff the simple things. As we answer this we will have answer to how we can hear God more.

We are also reminded that there is something else out there that would desire to keep us from hearing God's voice. He is as real as God. There are three important revelations to life. the first one is that God exists and in real. The second is that we have to deal with His existence in a personal way. The third is a little less popular with folk...Satan is real and is powerful. Satan does try to work in our life. He tries blocking our connection to God. Quietly and cunningly sneaking his way into our hearts. He works overtime to steal our joy and to rob us of our connection to God. We have to be aware that in times we can't her God's voice maybe it is because Satan has worked His way into our life somehow. I liken him to running water. Water has this incredible ability to work its way through the path of least resistance. There can be a solid concrete barrier but if there is even a hint of a crack anywhere the water will eventually find it and seep in. Satan is similar He will work and work and find the path of least resistance in us. he will look for the crack in our fortress or the chink in our armor and come in.

John E. reminds us to keep watch for His activity and to bring Christ's power against when we feel week. Some of us are not comfortable talking about Satan but the truth is whether we acknowledge him or not He is real and working in this world. And he hopes to be working in us. I pray today that we all take stock of our life, our current posture and look for places where Satan might want to creep in. Open you eyes and your heart to God this day and realize that He is yours and you are His and that nothing can separate His love for you.
Walking together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

What should I read today?

2008-07-08T10:23:00.002-04:00

I think for most of us we want to read the Bible more and we have good intentions of picking it up and looking in to some of it. But when it really comes down to actually doing it we get lost or discouraged or don't even know where to start or what to read. I love days reading from John Eldridge's book "Walking with God".when he suggests asking God what we should read. Again something simple that we may never have taken the time to do. We just have in the past picked it up without even thinking or turning it over to God and just stated reading. What if we invited God into our Bible reading by seeking his direction?

Here's the funny thing about scripture that I have discovered over the years. You can read it have no Spiritual experience whatsoever. If you wanted you could read through it like any other "good" book and look at it simply from an intellectual perspective. Truthfully many people have done this. Bible does nothing for them even though they have read it from cover to cover. Then there are those like myself that when we read it, the pages become this life transforming experience where God's presence is felt and know. If I was really honest with you I have lived in and experienced both while reading scripture. The times when it has done nothing for me however are the times I have not invited God into the reading. There is something about God's Word that actually requires His spiritual presence in order to have our lives impacted. Makes a lot of sense doesn't it?

The next time you pick up the Bible invited God into it. Ask Jesus what you should read and while reading it invite God into the moment with simple questions like...God what are you trying to say to me in this passage? God what would you have me do as a result of what I am reading? God what change, or what do I need to do differently based on what I am reading? You will find that the more you engage God while in His word the more rich and life transformational the experience will be.

In this chapter John also reminds us that we are to not just be believers of Christ but to be followers of Him. That Jesus goes out ahead of us and actually blazes a trail for our day that we can choose to follow or not. Are we following Jesus daily or are we off doing our own thing? Are we following in the in between times, the simple small tasks and things? Or are we just engaging God when there is a huge issue that we need help with. John reminds us that someone who believes is God and has invited Christ into their heart but doesn't really follow Him through all the day to day stuff is bordering on Deism. YIKES, that is scary! That means we think there is a God up there in heaven but really have no interest in letting Him lead us. Sadly however that is where many of us are. What does that say about what we really believe? What does that say about where our life is really going? Something to ponder throughout today. May God richly bless you today and all this week as you open up His Word and dive right into His presence. May he change your life as you read and interact with Him. And may you learn how to follow Him a little bit more today. These are my prayers for us this day.
Walking together,
Your Dreaming Pastor

Well here goes on Whole, Holiness, and Joy

2008-07-07T08:11:00.002-04:00

Some of you may not know this but our church for the month of July is going through the book by John Eldridge called, "Walking with God". There is a reading calendar set up so that one can read the entire book in the month of July with readings for everyday of the month. It is my goal to offer some reflection and life challenging questions everyday based upon the particular reading for the day.

I began this quest in order to enrich the lives of those in our congregation to help them unpack what they are reading daily and I believe that it will for those who choose to throw themselves at this study and my blog. However, I find myself doing this project for an entirely unexpected benefit...my own! I am sensing I need to do this for me. God wants me to not only be faithfully in His Word everyday, reading this book everyday, but he wants me to journal and reflect on it everyday. Since I am preaching on prayer and follow Christ's lead when we hear His voice I better do the same. Then I thought, what better place do do this than in my blog where everyone can share in on the stuff God is doing in me through this book and my quiet times.

I know I have missed the first week but I am going to pick with with July 7th's reading which is today and from this point forward commit to blogging everyday. I believe God is going to do something new in my life as a result of this commitment. I pray that He does something similar in you as you interact with these thoughts from a sinner saved by God's grace. Enjoy

Today John E. reminded all of us about the drive in our life. The constant doing striving and going everyday the same thing. Then he popped this question for me. What part of my life haven't I given to Jesus? Is there a part of me that just keeps going w/out any involvement from God. God strives to give us wholeness. In other words to completely fill our entire life. However, he can only do that if I have given Him everything. What is it in you that you are holding back? This is significant because God wants us to share in His Holiness. WOW imagine that...how awesome that God wants to share that with us. He DOES! Now the only way to grow in God's Holiness is to have Wholeness of our life in God. Meditate on that this day.

Because, when we work towards wholeness and live more fully in God's Holiness then comes joy. I loved John E.'s question about joy. Do you really experience joy? Can you honestly claim that your life is filled with joy? What do yo think you need to have more joy? The truth is only a whole relationship with God in His Holiness will lead to lasting joy in our life. Thus our quest for the month of July...to become more whole in Christ, to share more fully in His Holiness, and to experience the abundant joy he has set forth for us. Walking with you, Your Dreaming Pastor

How's the walking with God thing?

2008-07-03T09:16:00.002-04:00

Hey gang I wanted to check in with you and see how your reading is going with "Walking with God". This book has been a rich experience for me and I pray it has been for you already. For those of you who haven't purchased it you can get it at the church info table for $15. For those of you who have I encourage yo to get started on the reading schedule that was included with the book.

By now some of you have discovered that yes God in fact does still speak to us. And why wouldn't he. The Bible is filled with examples of God talking to his people and you are one of those people. Why else would he have given us His Word and not have that be a part of our life as well. I like the verse in James that says "The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and affective" or something like that. Do you honestly believe in your heart that you CAN hear from God? Believe it and practice it! This month of July is going to be a new experience for many of us. I have found Eldridge's book to be extremely challenging and at times uncomfortable. But it does have promise to lift us out of our comfort zones and our paralyzed prayer lives. I am already sensing He is working in some of your hearts and challenging you to live powerful lives in God and not wimpy weak lives. We have the power of prayer and I pray that we all grow in it.

Don't get discouraged. Hearing from God doesn't just happen overnight. It happens and comes to us out of a relationship. the more we work at our relationship and the more familiar we are with the person in the relationship the better able we are to hear their voice. If you are having trouble discerning god's voice or feeling like your prayers are not effective than this is the book for you. Open your hearts to what God wants to do. Invest yourself in this study and the sermons in July and watch what God can do. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Old Fort UMC News Letter article

2008-06-25T09:47:00.001-04:00

Dear Sisters & Brothers, Let’s take a walk together

Friends I want to invite you on a journey with me during the month of July. Our focus will be to discover a closer walk with God by learning how to talk to Him and to better hear His voice in our lives…really! This journey will be guided by a brand new book by John Eldridge entitled, Walking with God. In this book we will get to ride in the front seat with him for one year of his life as he talks to, listens to, and follows the voice of God. You will experience first hand his victories and his struggles. And as I have already discovered while reading his book, you will find yourself with a closer walk with God.

I believe that all of us are in a place where we long to know God more. We are all thirsty to hear from Him more clearly and would jump at anything that would help us do that. If that is you then walk with me, walk with John Eldridge, and in the process walk more closely with God. His book is available in the lobby at OFC for $15. With the book will be a bookmark with a reading scheduled planned out for you to complete the book during the month of July. On Sunday July 6th we will begin our four week message series based off of this book called, Let’s take a walk. Here is the good news. If you miss a week because of vacation you can take your book with you and keep up with everyone else. You can listen to the sermons online anywhere in the world. Or you can pick up a copy of the sermon on CD when you get back. What a great way to stay connected!

Alongside of the book and message series I will be leading a brief 4 week study that will take our discoveries a little bit deeper. This will be on Wednesday nights at My Place starting July 9th. A Potluck meal will start at 6PM wrapping up everything by 7:30PM. There will also be something for Teens and for Children during this time. On Wed. July 23rd in place of the study we will be having a Prayer & Praise Service that starts at 6:30PM right after we eat. Many of you are thirsty for an extended time of worship and prayer. Bring your prayer requests with you so we can be in prayer together.

Lastly I want each of us to analyze our personal commitments. What steps are we taking right now to grow our walk with God? What are we doing right now to hear Him more? What are we doing right now to give more of our day to day lives over to Him? Don’t let summer be a vacation from God for you. This is the perfect opportunity for you to grow. It is also a perfect opportunity for your friends, family, or coworkers to grow. In whom have you been Investing and Inviting? Bring someone with you to the message series. Get a book for a friend and commit to reading together. Tell them you will go to My Place on Wednesday’s with them. I believe God is going to do a new thing in us this summer. I believe this will be a July for all of us to remember. You will experience more joy, more confidence, and ultimately a greater intimacy with God. So, let’s take a walk… Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

VBS wow what a blast

2008-06-22T15:47:00.002-04:00

Well we just wrapped up a week of Vacation Bible School here at Old Fort Church. What a blessing it was. We had kids and servants all over the place ever day this week. It was just a great and awesome experience. In total we had over 140 kids during the 5 days and we had just over 30 different servant volunteers. Our youth and older children got involved as well as they served the younger children and served as great role models. The children collected cans to turn in for money to start a children's outreach project for the future that is ongoing. Some of the money will go to pay for school supplies for children who cannot afford them for this fall. What a week!

It didn't end there because we had the children sing in worship today and invited all the families to come. We had over 310 in worship this morning. WOW! Let me put this in perspective for you. I have been here for two Easter's and have records of the last 5 years and we have never had a Sunday over 300. This may be the single largest attendance in a long long time at OFC...maybe ever??? God is so good an surely has been blessing us! I encourage you to take time to give thanks to our awesome staff team and our servant volunteers. Our children's ministry team did a fantastic job! Way to go God.

As I was looking out over the crowd this morning in worship I was thinking about how many of these folk have never been to our church or any church for that matter. Many may have not been to church yet this year or for many years. What a blessing. God is using us to make a vital and lasting impact on others. I am so thankful for His work and humbled that he is moving through our church. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

An interesting week at annual conference

2008-06-14T19:36:00.002-04:00

It certainly was an interesting week at our West Ohio Annual conference of the United Methodist Church. It basically is a gathering of over 1,000 clergy and 1,000 laity from the conference. We get together and worship, hear God's word, see what is happening in ministries around the world, and also work through legislation. The legislation portion really is the political arena of our UMC functioning. Here we debate and vote on certain issues. One of the hottest issues right now in the UMC is that of Homosexuality.

It showed up again this year on our legislation slate. We had 17 pieces of legislation to be voted on and 3 of them were on homosexuality. One was passed and the other two were tabled. The item that past was advocating that each church and pastor purchase a DVD curriculum from Cokesbury that covers the topic of Homosexuality and other sexual preference issues. It is supposed to explore the concept and inform the viewer as to the different sides of the issue. Some pretty interesting conversations happened out of this issue to say the least.

I read just last week that California has legalized same sex marriages and the court upheld this ruling and is to be voted on in Nov. However anyone is free to marry between now and then. Nothing is stopping them. Every year that goes by it seems this issues grows throughout this nation. And now it seems to be "the" issue for debate at annual conference.

Other issues that came up were two different pieces of legislation around Global Warming, one on that felt like affirmative action, and another on immigration. Think about that...7 of the 17 issues on the table felt like they were coming out of "Left" field. At times it felt more like a political national convention than it did a church meeting. It certainly does challenge me and my thoughts about modern day Christianity. One wonders why our local churches are dying and then we see what the focus of our interests are and then it is made clear. We spend more time focusing on the issues instead of focusing on Jesus. Jesus is the form and function of the church...to point people to Jesus and allow him to guide us through the murky waters of the world. Sometimes we forget this. It was another eye opener for me this week. Keep praying for our churches and our leaders. I know I am. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Greetings from Lakeside!

2008-06-09T16:54:00.003-04:00

Well still no stone produced. Yesterday I was a pain free but today I have had some pain off an on. Keep me in your prayers. I will keep you posted on my health as the week progresses. As afar as conference is concerned all is going well. It is in the middle 90's and there is no AC in the main mtg room with about 3,000 other folk. Needless to say it gets a little sticky.

The Bishop gave his address today and our theme for annual conference this year is "Love First" he used the scripture out of Matthew of the two greatest commandments Love God and Love Neighbor. I was amazed as I was sitting there at how close we are at OFC with where the bishop is this week. This is our main theme text for our June sermon series called "Won't you be my neighbor". Cool stuff huh? Chuck Stein who was sitting next to me leaned over and whispered that the Bishop was stealing our stuff. What an affirmation for us as we head into our future as a church. God sure has an uncanny way of revealing Himself to us to let us know if we are on the right track or not.

I have also been reading from John Eldridge's book "Walking with God". This is a book on prayer and learning how to hear God actually speak to us. We are going to be walking through it for our July sermon series. I am looking forward to sharing all of the nuggets that I am getting from it and I hope you are anticipating it as well. This is going to be an awesome summer at OFC!

Don't forget about our upcoming events like VBS. We are going to need all the servants we can get so if you haven't signed up please make sure to do that. Also mention it to anyone you can think of. I believe God is going to do an awesome thing! Also don't forget to bring a dish to our Block Party on the Sunday that follows VBS. We are going to celebrate with our neighbors and share God's love together in community. Well I hope this post finds you well. I think of our church and our fold daily. You all remain in my prayers as I know you are praying for me. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Home alone

2008-06-04T21:04:00.002-04:00

Well all of the family is in Dayton and have left me home alone here in OF. Actually I get re-energized when I am alone. My natural tendency with my personality is to be an introvert. You know you are an introvert if you get energized while you are by yourself. If you are an extrovert (opposite of me) you will be energized when you are with other people. I was always the guy at the party that would hang out in a corner and talk to one or two people. I have never really been fully comfortable hanging with large groups. I am more likely to spend time talking with one or two.

Some of you might be shocked that I am this way because I am a pastor. You might wonder how do I do it because my job is working with people. Truthfully when I am preaching or teaching a large crowed that actually energizes me as well. I don't really have to talk with anyone. There are no individual conversations. It is just be delivering a message and I actually love it. It is the portion before and after worship where everyone is mingling where I get a little lost and drained. I do confess that on Sunday afternoons after three services and all that comes in between I pretty much crash when I get home.

How about you? Do you know your personality type? It is so refreshing for me to know it because I don't have to get frustrated or wonder why i feel a certain way. I know that I am going to need time alone in order to get my focus and energy back. In fact when I start dragging or work starts getting to me I either shut my door or go for a walk and just find a few moments to get my baring back. It almost always works. Don't get me wrong I miss my family and look forward to being with them again soon. Be alone too much can have negative side affects as well so you have to be careful. But for me and the next few nights I look forward to recuperation. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Ouch!!!

2008-05-31T21:15:00.003-04:00

This kidney stone thing is really starting to get old. I wound up in the ER again this morning and am now on the strongest narcotic that you can take orally. I have never experienced anything quit like this week. It is such a helpless feeling realizing that there is nothing that you can really do except wait this thing out until it passes. It is also very stressful and worrisome because I never know when the next pain attack is coming. Not to mention the fact that anytime I experience the least bit of discomfort I wonder if it is going to be the next attack and how long it will last.

Erin is doing everything she can to care for the kids and all the other household stuff along with all of her church work and the possibility of preaching in my place tomorrow. She is an awesome woman. I am still trying to sort out for what purpose God has this thing in my life right now. I can tell you one thing. Drinking all this water and having to lay off pop and all the sugary drinks I down every day has actually made me less tired and has given me more energy. I don't think I have yawned once during the day this entire week and there have been nights where I get very little sleep. compared to how I have felt in the past 5 or so years...always run down, yawning regularly even though I have had a full nights sleep, never really having the physical energy I know I should. One positive out of this is a discovery of a new lifestyle and beverage habit for me. I think I will be sticking with the water for a long long time. Erin had been bugging me about it ever since I can remember and once again she is right.

Keep praying for me and what this week holds. I am meeting with the doctor on Monday or Tuesday to figure out our next step if this doesn't pass. That may or may not mean surgery. I am also leaving with my family for Lakeside and annual conference a week from tomorrow. I pray this whole ordeal is behind me well before we leave for that. I appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and prayers. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Living with a ticking time bomb

2008-05-28T21:04:00.002-04:00

Well I have a kidney stone. This is not the first time. About 6 years ago I had my first and it was a nightmare. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. That one lasted only a few days and then I passed it. However the one I am dealing with is a little more stubborn. As a matter of fact I never thought I would experience as much pain as I had 6 years ago. I was wrong this one is worse. It started on Sat. morning and intensified on Monday. In fact I was doubled over in the fetal position for 4 hours on Monday before finally going back to the ER. The doctor gave me the strongest narcotic possible and I finally got relief. I wound up staying the night in the hospital (something I had never done before) and cam home late last night on Tuesday.

It is a scary feeling knowing I am carrying this thing in my body. I can feel it there and know something just isn't right. I am not always in pain but the thought of the excruciating pain I have had in the past is always in the back of my mind. I say a prayer every time I go to the bathroom hoping to be rid of this nightmare. It reminds me that we all carry something that can get the best of us at any moment. Just when we think we have it licked it rears its ugly head and reminds us that it still has a grip on us. It usually surfaces in a hurt, habit, or hang-up and is extremely painful. Can you relate? My stone haunts me when i go to bed and it is there to say hello to me when I wake up. I goes with me to work and is there for me at home. It really is at the forefront of my life. I have tried trusting God for it and giving to Him but I fear that I am not doing a good job at that.

I do believe that in this painful process that God is trying to work something for the good in His perfect plan. I just haven't discovered it yet. It would be so easy for me to get angry with God and ask Him "why me?" Then however I realize that there are so many that are worse off than me. I start asking then why not me? Then I find myself more fully opening up to the fact that God loves me and walks with me. I am not alone in this struggle...but it still HURTS! That's OK it is part of life. I am praying for the day that it ends and I ask you to do the same for me. I must admit I have never prayed so hard before going to the bathroom as I have in the past three days. It actually has brought me to a new awareness and reliance on God. I seek His face every time the pain comes and it causes me to rely on Him more so than if the pain wasn't there. This ticking time bomb has overstayed its welcome, but I will continue to trust that God is working all things for the good even in my Kidney. Blessings, Your "in pain" Dreaming Pastor

Relaxing with family

2008-05-25T16:56:00.002-04:00

It is a good day today. Both sets of our folks are up and my brother and his family are visiting as well. Just sitting around eating food and enjoying the warm weather together. God is so good to provide this type of day. We really aren't doing very much but to be able to play with those you love and are closest to your heart adds meaning in and of itself. I pray that today finds you with good friends if not your family.

You know no matter what happens in life our family always seems to be there. They do not judge or ask to many questions but they support in any way they can. It is so refreshing to know that there is a group of people that would do whatever they could to help you succeed. Many people may not have this type of family. Or like Erin and I we live a good distance away from our folks and my brother. In those moments it is good to realize that God has the local church to be our family. How great of a realization it is to know there is a large group of folks dedicated to helping us grow in life and to become everything God created us to be. that is an encouragement. I pray you have discovered this type of family...that the local church has created a great group of friends. May you have a great Lord's day, and for some of you a great day off tomorrow. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

OFC newsletter article

2008-05-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

Will you be taking a vacation from God?

WOW! It is almost June and summer will be upon us. Soon the kids will be out of school and we will be starting our summer routines of vacations, trips, family outings, and all those fun opportunities that make summer such a special time. One of the things that always amuses me is that not only do we take a break from our normal work, school, and family routines, but sometimes we wind up taking a vacation from God. We so easily fall into the mode that all of a sudden church, small group, and service projects are now optional. In fact I have heard many churches cater to this attitude by toning things down during the summer and slowing down their ministries and Bible Studies. Because after all, one automatically assumes the people will have better things to do than to come to church.

I have never bought into this notion. How does it make sense that just because it gets warm outside that God takes a backseat in our life? In fact in my experience it is just the opposite. Summer is an awesome time to connect with God. In fact there are many folk that are searching for new churches, and checking out places of worship so they can be settled in by the time fall and school starts. This is a time where our senses are far stronger and our souls are more energetic with the warm weather and family activities in the air. What a great time to discover God or hear Him all over again.

I invite you to get excited about what God is going to do at OFC this summer. Rather than following conventional church wisdom we are going to ramp things up. In June we have VBS where it is all hands on deck for servant volunteers. On the 27th there will be a performance called The Ladies of Harmony created by one of our very own. In July we will have a sermon series created around the new book by John Eldridge Walking with God. This month long series will be geared towards learning how to actually hear God speak to us and to discover a closer walk with Him. In August we will learn how to run for the prize as we gear up for a sermons series based on the Olympic Games. We will wrap up the summer with a Back to School Bash that will involve the entire community. Throughout the summer there will be activities and studies at My Place for adults. There will be awesome opportunities for children and youth and for the entire family. I challenge you to throw yourself at these opportunities and see if God ramps things up in your life.

One more thing…I challenge you to not let Sunday mornings be an option. Here is a rule my family lives by. If we are in town and healthy there is nothing that will keep us from worship. Many of you will not be in town every Sunday this summer, that’s fine. You should still be in church. There are thousands of other churches out there and chances are there will be several to choose from no matter where you are. My family will be in Gatlinburg, TN for vacation and we will go to church. We will be in Dayton and we will go to church. We will go on picnics but first we will go to church. He is our #1 priority.

If you are out of town listen to the sermons online or grab the CD of it the following week. Take the John Eldredge’s book with you and read it on your trip. Get creative in keeping God #1. In the book of Matthew Jesus makes it very simple…
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (6:33 NIV)

Many of us are desperate for God to “add” to our life. He can’t do that if we aren’t seeking Him as our first and #1 priority throughout the whole year. I pray that God adds to your life this summer…that God does a new thing in you. I pray you are able to step up and help OFC reach all those new people that will be coming in our doors. Most of all, I pray that God and church continue to be a year long destination for your family. May He fill our souls and add to our life! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

A boost of energy

2008-05-17T19:14:00.004-04:00

It's amazing how much energy there is when you add a new face to your team. This past week our youth intern Jimmy started working with our staff team. Just his presence alone has brought a whole new dynamic to the work we do at OFC. Our staff seems to be more energized and inspired. Its almost as if we can remember the time when we started out in ministry just like Jimmy has started this week. His presence has helped me evaluate what it is I do and excited me all the more about where we are going as OFC and our future.

I think it is so easy for us to settle into our routines no matter who we are and no matter what we do. We then begin to just kind of coast through our day to day responsibilities at times inspired and at other times just kind of doing stuff. When you bring someone new into the mix or make a change I believe it causes everyone to kind of get a shot in the arm and focus once again on the passion behind what it is we do. As you know it is my prayer and expectation that we will keep doing what it is we do! I liken it to a professional sports team that signs a high profile free agent or brings in that top rookie. All of a sudden everyone is inspired, everyone steps up their game, everyone gets excited again.

We are so happy and so blessed to have Jimmy join our staff. I ask you to be praying for him as he leaps into this new adventure head first. Even now while I am writing this he is at the church hanging out with out teens playing games and having a good time with them. Please keep praying for the opportunities that lay ahead for us at OFC. I know and envision God using our church to reach hundreds of teens and young people in the community that surrounds us. For now we have a light that God is shining on us once again as he has done so often. A light that is shining on this small town church in the middle of nowhere doing huge things and blowing peoples minds for Jesus. He has great expectations for us and quit frankly so do I. I hope this energizes you as it has me. Let's give God a big Woooo Whoooo! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

We are going to do what we do...

2008-05-13T21:26:00.002-04:00

I was reminded in Tony Dungy's book Quiet Strength that one of the most important things in life is to stay the course. No matter what happens, no matter what adversity or trouble we come across we need to continue doing what we do. What does that mean exactly, you ask? Every single one of us have convictions about life. Principles that guide us in our decisions. Maybe you might think of them as core values that are always there to give you direction on the way you should go or a decision you should make. For me it is a calling from God that I know he as given me as a leader of his local church. More specifically there are principles that guide me in my leadership at Old Fort church.

It is so easy when the going gets tough or things don't work out the way we had thought to deviate from the plan. It is hard to keep faith in what has gotten us here and to keep trusting God when things get tough. I know in my heart that I need to lead with integrity and keep people accountable. I know God has placed it on my heart to lead with conviction and to challenge people to rise above mediocrity. I have always sensed that God wants me to lead through innovation and dreaming big. He impresses upon my heart regularly that we need to be taking risks and trying things that might not be liked by all people all of the time. I believe these are all things that summarizes where our church is at right now. It is an awesome thing.

I guess Tony reminds me that it will not always be easy. There will be times where we want to let go and give in. There will be moments where it will seem like we should abandon these principles and do something different. But he reminds me that we are going to keep doing what we do. We will stay the course. I believe God is doing a good thing and He will continue to bless us as we honor Him with our trust to live out the plan and to practice the principles He has placed on our hearts.

Where in your life do you feel like wavering? When have you felt like compromising from what you believe in? What issue are you facing right now that would have you try something different from what it is you are called to do? Let me encourage you to stay the course and to do what it is you do in the name of Christ. Don't give in...don't give up. What God has called you to is too important for you to do that. I invite you to stay the course as I will be. We will do what it is we do and will glorify God in the process. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Quiet Strength (Tony Dungy)

2008-05-11T16:44:00.002-04:00

Alright some of you may want to put a seat belt on or sit down in a chair because I have some pretty amazing news for you. I am actually reading a book on my own for pleasure. Yes I understand your amazement and many of you are picking yourselves up off of the floor right now so I will pause and let you regain your composure..............now let's move on.

This book by Tony Dungy is really amazing. He is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, a father, and a strong believer in Jesus Christ. The book is about leadership in the struggles of the NFL, while maintaining a strong presence in his family, and letting God be the visible Lord of his life. It really is amazing to read about this man and how his life is dominated by his relationships with God despite all of his successes in life. His Christian witness has challenged many football players, coaches, and fans over the years. He believes that his coaching gives him a great "platform" to share his faith and he takes full advantage of it.

His life has also had its full share of tragedy like being fired from a job, enduring losing seasons, and losing his son to suicide. Through it all he challenges me to remember that God is in control and as long as we give God our everything in the small things and the big things he will do amazing work in our life and to all those around us. He believes that everything he does on and off the field is a chance to influence people in a positive way. He goes against the grain of what is expected of most NFL coaches and stands up for family values, integrity, and most of all Jesus Christ. It has challenged and inspired me to consider what it is I do with my life day to day. I am challenged to consider how I do in the small things as well as the big things. Most of all through all of the struggles of life God is always there to be our quiet strength. I encourage you to pick up this book and let it challenge you as well. Ladies if you have a man in your life that struggles with giving his life to God this book will change his life.

One other thing. I am praying that somehow God allows us to pass out a copy of this book to every father at OFC on fathers day. The only problem is that they run about $18 a piece and I would imagine we would be handing out around 100 of these. That is about $1800 our church does not have. But as Tony Dungy would say...I just need to trust God that He will provide if it is to be. Please be praying for God to provide a way for this awesome outreach opportunity. Blessings your Dreaming Pastor

Moms

2008-05-11T16:20:00.002-04:00

There is no way I could do the things my wife Erin does with the kids. She puts countless hours in with them during the day and in the middle of the night. She always seems to be there to help with homework, to offer correction, do the laundry, and cook a meal often all at the same time. She is amazing. Juggling the needs of 5 children and a husband that sometimes acts like a child, has to be a struggle. Erin really does deal with a lot...working with the kids behavioral issues while trying to accomplish all the other tasks that require her focus and participation. Often her days are filled with running the children to various counseling, doctors, and school appointments only to have to rush home to meet the rest of the kids after they get off of the bus.

It gets me to wonder how many of us do the thankless things that always seem to be behind the scenes where nobody can see them? This is probably what amazes me the most. Erin is lucky to get a thank you from me about once or twice a week. I am working on sharing my appreciation more with her and letting her know how good a job she does with everything in her life. Not only does she do well with the kids but she really supports me and all the work we do at the church. Her involvement in the past year has really been incredible as God is using her to change lives at OFC. What a partner I have in life. I thank God for her everyday.

I often think of all that my mom did for me and how she raised me in the name of Jesus Christ. She worked hard to instill values in me and guided me towards making healthy choices. She held me to a high standard that I had to strive to live up to. It stretched me and made me the man I am today. When I was looking for my future wife a lot of the characteristics my mother had were ones I was looking for. I was looking for someone with confidence, who believed in me and my pursuits. I was looking for someone who was caring yet was able to challenge and put me in my place. One more thing. I was looking for someone who would be a great mother to my children as my mom had been to me. Erin has been all of those things and so much more. She is this family's biggest supporter and cheerleader and spurs everyone one. I am thankful.

Don't get me wrong we have our struggles and disagreements. There are times where we get on each others nerves, but God has really done a special thing bringing us together. I am thankful for her and I am thankful for all the women God has brought in my life...my mom, daughters, Grandmothers, and especially Erin. I pray that today gives you a great perspective on just how important the ladies in your life are. Men let's not forget what they mean to us and to many others. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

The power of encouragement

2008-05-07T21:08:00.003-04:00

Man it sure is uplifting to have people encourage you. I have had several instances in the past few days where people have said a positive word to me about something they saw me doing well. I have had people come to me for prayer wanting to lift me up and my family. Something like that just makes my entire day. My worries leave me, blood pressure goes down, and my outlook on life improves all because of someone's kind words. What a difference it makes in our life.

It always amazes me how much we thirst for a positive word from someone. We are all desperate for someone to say something kind or to affirm us in what we are doing. Those things are so vital to who we are and our confidence in moving forward. The funny thing is realizing how much we appreciate it, we very seldom think of giving it. Think about it for a moment. If we long for these kinds of words so much, then wouldn't we be spending much of our day lifting people up with our positive words. It would seem that way but sadly we do not take many opportunities to do this. We all have good intentions but seldom do we make a habit of positive encouragement. What if everyone did? What would that do for a community or even a church? I am certain it would change lives.

I think in my own experience it is always easier to find something wrong with a situation or to be able to quickly point out another's faults. Those things seem to come naturally to us. We are able to easily nit pick and notice someone's flaws in an instance. But, when it comes to positive affirmation we have to work at it...and so often we just don't bother. How about you? When was the last time you just decided that you are going to spend an entire day finding something positive to say to everyone you encounter? I challenge you to do this.

Maybe the hardest thing to do is to find something positive to say to someone you struggle to get along with. What kind of impact do you think it would have if you chose to compliment an enemy or a person you do not get along with well? You might just blow there socks off! Let me encourage you to live with Ephesians 4:29. I will let you look that up. I believe in you. I know you can do it and I believe God wants to use you to change lives. Lets give people our positive words and affirmation and in the process change the world together. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Welcoming children into our churches

2008-05-05T11:33:00.001-04:00

We don’t really want kids in our church, do we?

Wow what a kick off to our new parenting series, The Parent Trap on Sunday at OFC! I have been reminded how important our job is as a church to nurture children. I bet if I took a show of hands in our church almost everyone would agree with me. However, what if in that same moment I asked you to keep your hands raised if you have served in the nursery in the last 6 months, taught a children’s class, pitched in on Wed. nights, or even helped at one of our children’s events? Sadly there wouldn’t be very many hands raised. Doesn’t this bother you?

Our words say one thing and our actions say another. We are filled with good excuses. Trust me I have heard them all. Pastor John, ”I have my own kids and they wear me out. I would rather not spend more time with kids.” Pastor, “my kids are out of the house. I’ve done my “time” at church serving children.” Pastor, “our Sunday morning routine is already crazy enough, we just don’t have the time or energy.” Pastor, ”I am already serving somewhere else in the church.” Pastor, “children’s ministry seems to be in Chaos and the leadership is struggling.” Did I miss any?

Every single one of us is responsible to the children at OFC and have a part to play. Let me help you live beyond the excuses. We offer 3 worship services on Sunday mornings. Attend one and serve at another. Realize everyone is busy, tired and many have children of their own too. We have 5 kids and Erin is able to manage serving at 9:45 in Kid Mo. Just because you are serving elsewhere or are not “gifted” to work with kids doesn’t mean you can’t serve in the nursery once every eight weeks. Should there ever be a time where we become old enough that we think it is OK to not serve others? Moses was well over 100 years old and still leading the Children of Israel and I know we don’t have anyone of that age in our church.

I am well aware of the struggles of children’s ministry. There is new leadership in place and a new team to come alongside Kerry. Things are turning around. Though there will always be struggles when there aren’t enough people willing to serve. It is so easy for us to point fingers, complain about things, and criticize. Instead, let’s offer solutions. Let’s offer to help our leadership and serve rather than criticize them from a distance. It amazes me how we are critical, we want children coming to our church, but yet don’t want to be a part of a good solution. Let me ask you, what are you personally going to do about the following verse…
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." –Mathew 19:14 NIV
Jesus was a busy man with many other commitments. Yet found time to make children a priority. He names two types of people in the local church. There are those that welcome little children with their actions and those that hinder little children with their inactions. Which one are you? There is no in between. If you have been at OFC for over a year there is no good excuse. Let’s all step it up and welcome children into this place. God is doing many good things at OFC and there is so much more that He wants to do through us. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

You are not alone!

2008-04-30T08:36:00.003-04:00

That was a message I gave to someone in my office recenlty and it brought them to tears to know they were not alone in their struggles. Today I was the one in tears as God reminded me of the same thing.

If you have been reading my blog at all you know that our family struggles are well documented. This has been even a tougher week as we prepare for our sermon series on parenting. I have been challenged from every direction. This morning I was talking to God and just having a particularly difficult morning and week for that matter. I was lifting up my family, my kids, and my marriage. I was just really really sad and heartbroken. I felt so lonely and I just asked God for his presence. I was just feeling like I needed someone to pray with me. After that prayer time I read some scripture and began my work for the day.

Not 30 minutes later Kathy Oliver comes walking in the door of my office and told me that God placed it on her heart that she wanted to pray for me. Guess what...without my prompting she prayed for me, my children, my wife. She prayed for my parenting and my marriage. WOW! All I could do was listen to her prayer and shed tears. All that was running through my mind at that moment was how good God is and that we are not alone in our struggles. That God will let us know He is there and present ever-working in our life. He reminded me that all we have to do is ask and we shall receive. I sensed nothing other than the presence and work of God as we prayed together. It is amazing how God shows Himself to us when we aren't even expecting it. My God is a personal loving God. He cares about my day to day stuff. He longs for me to share what is on my heart with Him and He works to surround me with the people and relationships I need to make it through everyday living. He is an awesome God!

I ask that each of you keep praying for me. I have felt so inadequate preparing for this sermon series. I have failed in so many ways as a parent and as a husband. At times I have gotten it all wrong. But by the grace of God there are times where we have gotten it right and have trusted God's work in our family. It is so easy to let the voices of Satan and our Giants overwhelm us. We start to believe that we are no good, that we can't make a difference, that we can't teach on this stuff because we have struggles with it and aren't perfect. I have been spending this week chasing away those voices of negativity and learning to trust God's presence and to recognize His voice. His voice tells me to keep going and that He is going to show up big in this series if I only trust Him to. Today He showed up big-time and reminded me He is the one with the power not Satan, not my Giant sized struggles, not even me. He is the King of Glory! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Constantly challenged and growing...

2008-04-28T15:32:00.004-04:00

You ever met someone who kind of thought they had arrived? You could kind of sense that this person figures they just don't have any more growing to do. How about you. Are you always open to getting better, taking on new challenges, willing to hear how you can grow? It is this very quality that allows God to still have an effective voice in our life. Without it we are destined to live our own definition of life and at best it will be mediocre.

One of the things I appreciate most about me (sounds kind of conceited...but go with me on this) is that I feel like I am always learning and listening. One of my greatest passions in life is to always get better at who I am and what I do. Now being a pastor this kind of comes easy to me because I spend my life and lively hood challenging people to live a better life walking closer to God everyday. The hard part is making sure that my life lines up as best I can with the life I call others to live. Recently I have been working on this parenting series and I am already working on the second message. I should however rephrase that. The message are actually working on me. I have come to not like myself several times in the last week as a parent. This series (and I haven't even preached a single message yet) has made me a little uncomfortable with my own attitudes and actions in the parenting realm.

I know that in many cases that I often...too often lack patience with my kids. I yell way to much and get frustrated at too may small things. I have become very selfish with my time lately and could be giving more of it to my kids. God is doing a real work on my heart and I am asking Him in these last few weeks to make me a better parent. It's one of those nagging things in my life right now that I just can't let go of. God is constantly there challenging me in this area not letting me go. I am taking some real steps in a better direction. I hopefully have calmed down a little lately. I haven't yelled as much. I have purposely found ways to compliment my kids and praise them when they do well. I have seen a difference in me already but mainly I have sensed a difference in them as well. Tawna and I haven't been getting on each others nerves as much and we have had some really good conversations. Last night she and I sat down and played UNO together and had a great time. Normally I would be off goofing on the computer or watching TV.

Yesterday we had our Dad and Hailey vs. Tawna and Austin baseball game in our backyard. We had a decent time together. This was one of the first times I didn't have to walk off in disgust because of the way the kids were acting or have to really yell at any of them. It was refreshing.
Tonight is Austin's Bear badge ceremony for cub scouts and i am really looking forward to it. Not to say int he past I wouldn't but honestly sometimes I would go to these things out of duty and not desire. So glad I am letting God change me. How about you. Is God changing you in any way. Are you the same person you were last year or the year before? How would your family answer that question about you? Are you still growing in your relationship with God? Are you getting better? Let's all be open to God doing a new thing in our life. I pray he does in mine and in yours as well. I know I have blogged on this topic a few times already but I ask you to continue to pray for me as we embark on this new series together. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Taking Risks

2008-04-27T14:12:00.002-04:00

We are starting a new series next week on parenting called "The Parent Trap." We have promoted it rather well in the last week in local schools and the news paper. I know there are a lot of parents out there that are dealing with huge struggles with their children in many different areas. I feel like God has brought so many challenges into my family's life so that we might be able to help others with their struggles. Our struggles as parents are well documented. I have written about it often in my blog and preached about it on Sunday morning. I have been very open and honest as Erin and I journey through the jungle of parenting. We don't always get it right and we feel like we have more questions than answers.

It is risky for us to start this series. It is risky anytime you open up your life and share what is really going on behind closed doors. Especially the things you aren't proud of. I beleive God is going to use this risk as a step of faith. I hope and pray that it helps someone struggling...that it gives hope or even just a sense that others are not alone when it comes to parenting challenges. I ask you to pray for me and for my family. I have no doubt that these next few weeks are going to escalate issues in our household. I know anytime I am preaching on something that area becomes a test and I feel pushed more than ever there. Please keep our family in your prayers for protection, patience, and provision in the coming month as we take the risk of leading this parenting series.

This is also risky in other ways. Our church has never really done a series like this before. We have had a single sermon on parenting before but never an entire series. There are people in our congregation that are not currently parents or have older children that are out of the house. I know for them this will be a stretch. However, You will never change unless you try something new. That's what we are doing in this series. Trying something new that we think will reach new people with a different topic than many churches will usually deal with. I pray that people from all over the area will hear about it and come check things out. I pray that our people at OFC will invest and invite new people to the church so that their lives may be blessed.

Make no mistake about it this series is risky in so many ways. Then again I feel alive and excited that we are doing this. It feels good to know we are living out on the edge. There is a certain faithfulness attached when you feel like you are sticking your neck out for Jesus. I pray that in some way shape or form you are trying something new from the routine of life in order to see God work in a new way. I pray you have a great week. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Getting a fresh perspective

2008-04-22T20:48:00.000-04:00

Today we took our staff to another prevailing church in the area to meet up with their staff. We didn't really have an agenda other then to spend some time with people who do the same typed of work in a different church. This church was about twice our size. So in many ways they are where we want to be. Each of our staff members shadowed their counterpart for an hour or so to just talk about ministry.

It was so refreshing to hear from someone else that can relate to the struggles and challenges we have. So often one can feel so lonely in ministry. Today was a chance for all of us to be encouraged and challenged as well. We realized we are not alone in our struggles but we were also able to hear things and experience things in a different way. This automatically forces us to think differently than we normally do. I am a firm believer that if you stare at a problem or an issue long enough pretty soon you don't see it as that anymore. You just kind of ignore it or think that it is normal. When you hear from someone else however it sheds new light on the things you do. It causes you to ask more questions about how you do things. It forces you to evaluate how you are doing. Basically a fresh perspective is something that is good for all of us.

To often we are afraid to venture out of our normal routine and let outsiders evaluate us. This is because we are easily intimidated or don't really want to have a light shine on our issues. We would rather just stay in the dark and keep doing the same thing never questioning what it is we are doing. If we do we might not like what we see. At least we have the comfort or our routine. However, I am glad for today. It was great to gain insight on what we are doing and to ask why we are doing it. The only way we will ever grow is to let others help us point out the steps we can't see for ourselves. I challenge all of us to seek other people's insights and trust the fresh perspectives we gain from those moments. We will all be better because of it. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Blessings come when you give it away

2008-04-20T20:42:00.003-04:00

Saturday I joined several others at some local gas stations to was windshields for free. It was an amazing time together. When people pulled up to fill their tanks we would approach them and ask them if we could wash their windshields for free as we handed them our card that shares what we are about. I always love the look on people's faces when we ask them this. They just can't believe it is for free. They are thinking there has to be a catch. We always tell them there is no catch. We even have people offer us money as a donation and we will not take it.

Once we start washing their windows the inevitable question always comes, "why are you doing this...what group are you with?" What an open door to share our story. I always simply respond that, "we are a local church just wanting to share God's love in a practical way believing that life is better when it is given away." Some of the conversations that come out of this are amazing. One lady flat out told me that we has humans don't do enough for one another. She them proceeded to tell me that my serving her was inspiring her to pay it forward to someone else. All this because we showed up to wash people's windshields! How amazing is that? What would happen if we all made it a point in our life to serve others every chance we get no matter who they are? It would change the world.

So many of us wonder how on earth we can approach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do we make it make sense for people? Well serving them and blessing their socks off is a great way to start. Remember I had people asking me what I was about. What an opportunity! As you walk through your week let me encourage you to seek out chances to serve others and watch God work through you. You may be the only Jesus someone meets. Once you have served them don't be surprised if they ask you your story. May God bless you and may you be a blessings to others. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Living outside of our comfort zone

2008-04-16T21:54:00.002-04:00

Tonight we started a six week confirmation group with our teens at OFC. We had 13 youth come out to this...WOW! Praise God. This class has been on my mind for sometime now and I have been looking forward to its start with nervous anticipation. You see I am comfortable speaking to 200, 400, 600 people on a Sunday as i give a sermon. I am comfortable leading small group Bible studies and teaching large group class. When it comes to working with youth and children I feel like I am out of my element. I feel stretched and a little nervous.

I have experinced these moments to be a good thing. These feelings keep me on my toes and pull me out of my normal comfortable routine. I have always discovered God's voice to be clearer when I am out of my comfort zone because I think I am more focused on relying on His help and provision. It is so easy to regularly choose to live in our routines. We find it more desirable to stick with what is familiar to us. However God's plan is to disrupt that routine from time to time in order to do a new thing in us. Think about it for a moment. If you are wanting God to be fresh in your life and constantly doing new things that how can that happen if we constantly focus on keeping our life familiar and our routines routine?

Often times we turn down these chances or turn away from an opportunity to engage in a new thing. We then are missing out possibly on the very moment that God is bringing into our life that could help us take our next step forward. Don't get me wrong. Routines are a good thing. God knows I have plenty of them. But most of us would admit that they dominate the landscape of our lives more so than our willingness to step out on a limb and risk it. Honestly I feel more alive after our class tonight. I feel as though I had to reach into my heart and soul in a different way. I had to craft my words differently and focus my thinking in new directions. It was actually a growing experience for me. The teens in this group are so awesome and they have so many honest questions. There is a raw believe about them and their life. They are not timid or shy but really focused on things. I have grown more already.

Moments like these make me a better more well rounded leader. They draw me closer to God and help me build better relationships with groups of people I don't normally hang out with all that much. How about you? When was the last time you risked it? When have you tried something out of the routine and hung out with or lead a group of people that were far different than you are used to? God wants to do a new thing in your life. He wants to grow you and stretch you. Let's not fight opportunities to step out on the limb of life. Let's risk it for Jesus Christ and see what He will do to grow our life, enlarge our touch, and expand our territory. It will only happen if we cease experiences like these. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Feelin' like Rip Van Winkle

2008-04-15T14:48:00.003-04:00

I woke up Monday morning to a terrible stomach ache at about 2:30 AM. (about the time our worship leader here at OFC goes to bed). It was one of those things that wasn't going to let me go back to sleep. About 7AM after just sitting there on the couch for 5hrs I found out I had a temperature too. Needless to say I spent the entire day on the couch in the basement.

I woke up this morning feeling slightly better. Well enough to head into the office at least. Man I felt like I was on a nother planet... and I just missed a day. It was amazing to me how out of it I was after just missing a day. My whole routine was off and I felt like everyone's life went on while mine stood still. Well of course that's how I felt because that's what happened. It was just kind of weird thats all. I've spent today trying to get back into the groove of things...trying to play catch up with all we have going on at the church. It's been interesting. Oh well that's what is on my mind right now. Trying to get better and get back in the groove of things.

I am sure you have had those days where everyone else seems ahead of the game while you have been away for whatever reason. I mean I woke up and was heading to take the trash out this morning only to have Erin tell me that the kids already had done that. WOW! It is a good feeling to know that life can go on and that the church can go on when I am not here. However, I know that for Erin the sooner I can get back to normal the better to help out with our gaggle of children. Sometimes I feel like I am running a bed and breakfast. I pray that you have been able to stay healthy and I also pray that you have people around you that can pick up the slack Like I have at home and at work. May God heal you and help you this week. I know He is still healing me! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

A letter to the OFC family and anyone else for that matter...

2008-04-11T09:30:00.002-04:00

Every year there will be opportunities for our church that will allow us to see where we are in buying into our mission, vision, and direction. There are times where we will be able to evaluate just how serious we are about reaching “those yet to come” for Jesus Christ. We will be able to answer the questions, “do we live with a consumer mind set or a Kingdom mindset?” Are we willing to make sacrifices with our own wants, needs and desires in order to change lives in our surrounding communities? Do we want to continue to see young families with children pouring through our doors creating an energizing presence and building blocks for our future?

Old Fort Church decided 13 years ago when we started new styles of worship that we didn’t want to die. We began the belief system that if we were going to not only survive but thrive that we would have to embrace innovation. We could no longer make decisions based on the 7 words of the dying church “we’ve never done it that way before.” So we revitalized our children’s ministries and developed programming to reach out and encourage younger families. We created worship celebrations that spoke the language of the culture. As a result, we have seen an outpouring and steady flow of new families with children flocking to the church over the years.

In May we are going to continue this trend with a new sermon series called The Parent Trap. It will be a five week series that engages many of the issues, difficulties, and struggles that parents deal with today. It will cover varying topics that have been a major part of my families journey and heart ache as parents, such as; infertility, adoption, challenging children, getting more than we bargained for, and daring to discipline. We will be able to distribute our sermon series fliers to the children and families of Old Fort Schools, to our preschool, and to our friends and families that we know who would jump at an opportunity like this. This is an extremely relevant topic that so many families and parents are starving for. Parents are looking for guidance, searching for hope, and desperate for encouragement. It is a topic that most people wouldn’t expect the local church to spend a 5 week series on and that is exactly why we are going to do it.

I know what you’re thinking. But pastor, I am a college student. I am retired and my kids no longer live with us. I am single or married and don’t have any children. What about me? Every single one of us has been parented at some point in time. We have all been impacted by parents. We are all currently connected to friends and family that are parenting children. Some of us will be parents in the future. Let’s not forget the fact that we have a God who is our spiritual parent. God will and can challenge everyone through this series no matter where you are in life. If you walk into this series with the belief that God will bless you through it, then He will do just that. If you walk into this series with the mindset that it is not for you and that you’re not going to get anything out of it, then guess what, you won’t and you will be miserable.

I encourage all of us to do the opposite of looking at our own feelings and what “I” am going to get out of this. Let us continue the passion for growing our church, meeting the needs of others, and designing worship experiences not only for us, but for “those yet to come.” Let us continue to reach out into our future and believe as I do that this series will change lives and reach people for Jesus Christ. God wants to use you to impact others lives. Who do you know that has children or grandchildren that are struggling with the issues of parenting? Who have you been investing in that you can invite to this sermon series? How can all of us get excited about this and the impact it will have for years to come as God continues to shape our church.

I am proud of you. I am proud of Old Fort Church. While so many other churches are dying you have made consistent decisions over the years to innovate and change so that we can continue into a healthy and fruitful future for the Kingdom of God. Let’s continue that trend together in May and get excited for what God will do. Let’s pass this new test and give God a big Wooo Whooo! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

How many places can you be at once?

2008-04-08T08:20:00.003-04:00

I know everyone of us can relate to those nights or weekends where we have to go in six different directions. My Monday nights are like that. I drive to Tiffin to take Tawna to baton practice. They i come back to Ft. Seneca to take Ausitn to cub Scouts. After that I go to church for my meeting and then leave the mtg a little early to go back and pick Austin up. Then we go home. Whew! Remind you of one of your evenings recently. I remember the days of being a college student or even when Erin and I were first married without children. How calm those evenings and weekends were. Very little chaos and everything was laid out before us with plenty of time to get things done. No life is almost a blur sometimes. I those few hours of running around i am not sure that I even have a clear thought sometimes. How about you?

I have a Saturday coming up where I am committed as the assistant coach of Austin's b-ball team for practice from 9-11AM. Then Austin has a cub scout commitment from 8-12 AM. Meanwhile our church has an awesome outreach project in Tiffin from 10-12AM. I am not sure if you have figured this out but I have. Unless I clone myself and Austin... or if I cut my body into three pieces, I will not be able to make all of these things. So now I am left with the game of "which thing do we do, and which thing do we not do?" I know you have been in situations like this as well. I know in the end all will work itself out and we will be where we are supposed to be. Sometimes just looking ahead at things like these makes my head spin. It gets kind of overwhelming. We have always had this rule that our kids can only sign up for one thing at a time. Well I think we have broken that rule with Austin. For the most part it has worked out well but we will have to see how that Saturday will work itself out.

Life can seem so busy and hectic. There are so many times where I think my productivity and business is what I was made and meant for. then at the end of the day I wonder sometimes...for what purpose did I do all of this? For what purpose did I speed around today or put together this thing or produce this item? I pray that all of us consider our business and make choices that produces the most fruit. I know I am working on that in my life. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Hangin' with the group is great!

2008-04-03T17:47:00.003-04:00

Erin and I are in a small group bible Study on Thursday nights at our house. We get together with four other couples and we see what scripture has to say about the life issues we are dealing with. Our first study we talked about marriage and challenged each other to work on our relationships. Now we are in a series on parenting and it has been so good just to have a group of people to share life with. It's funny but every Thursday I look forward to this time together. I get so much out of the relationships... and I am an introvert. Usually for me something like this can be so draining for me. However, I have found it to be a huge encouragement and I feel more healthy with my relationship with God because of it. It makes me feel more connected to Him.

It gets me to thinking about all those people who do not have a group of people they can hang with, that they can discuss God's Word with, that will pray for them and accept them for who they are. I don't know how those people make it through life, let alone grow in their relationship with God. Maybe you are one of those people. You know you need some significant people in your life but you don't want to take the time to do it. Or you don't want to risk building relationships with others in an authentic way. For whatever reason...and none of them are good ones...you are not in a group. Everything we know about God and how He created us points to the fact that we were designed to live in community with others. Nobody is designed to be able to go it alone. We need each other to grow Spiritually. If you think differently you are only kidding yourself and you see things differently than God does.

I couldn't imagine my life without a small group. Well that is not true, there have been times where I haven't been in a group and I look back on those times and realize how little I was connecting with God and others. It has always been when I have been in a group that my growth in Christ accelerates. This has been without exception. What is keeping you from getting in a group with other believers? Stop making excuses, bite the bullet, take the risk, change your priorities and just do it. If your too busy for a regular gathering with others in the name of Jesus than you are too busy. I pray that God touches your heart and connects you with great friends as He has done for me. You know... I have never talked to a person that feels disconnected from God or the church who is actively involved in a small group. There is a reason for that...because God designed us for them. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Everyone has a kryptonite in their life

2008-04-01T08:04:00.005-04:00

No matter how well someone looks, no matter how happy they seem, no matter how put together someone seems everyone has a weak point in their life. We all have one issue that when it comes it steamrolls us right over. It's like the rest of our life is manageable but there is that one thing, or for some certain things, that just get the best of them. Being a pastor makes me no different. Yeah I read my Bible, I do my best to give my life to God. Yes I spend my life encouraging others to do the same...but I still have a Kryptonite. For me it is my daughter Hailey.

Many of you who know our family know that we have some behavioral issues that go way beyond normal with two of our children. We are in the process of regular counseling and prescription medication to help them and to help us. No matter what we do, no matter how much medication and counseling...there are days where Hailey's behavior sends a sickening feeling throughout our entire household. Life feels like we are in the middle of a hurricane or tornado where everything is just spinning around us and our family is left in pieces. She is my Kryptonite. There are so many days where after our episodes with her I feel like the worst parent in the world. Nothing goes right and my frustrations go beyond the boiling point. I know she has to be miserable inside because most of her life is spent being punished, grounded, or stuck in her room. When that isn't going on she is screaming, crying, or being just plain nasty. So many nights wind up with Erin or I putting her in the hold because she is so out of control and refuses to listen to anything we say or do. Many of her friends are able to go and do special things but we can't let her go because we can't subject others to her venomous outbursts. Or so many times she is grounded or in the middle of punishment and can't go and do those things.

I would be easy to say that because of this situation that our family is in crisis but I think that would be understated. It is like living with a stick of dynamite with a fuse that you never know when it is going to get lit and go off and leave everything in its wake in ruin. Don't be mistaken by me or my family. We are seemingly normal and we have a great life. God is good and we are extremely blessed. But make no mistake about it we have a Kryptonite in our life. We have that one thing that no matter how well we are put together we seemingly stubble every time. We hope and pray that things are getting better with her but there are days like today that we wonder if she will ever get better. There are days like today where our hope is only a distant pipe dream in the face of yet another horrendous outburst. I don't like who I am in those moments...I don't like who I am soon after those moments. It is a challenge that I don't have enough power strength or energy to deal with. So I am relying on God. God, I seek your forgiveness for all the ways I have failed Hailey and have failed as a parent. I know I am not perfect and I ask for your forgiveness. I come to you now in this moment as I have done so many times before to ask for you loving kindness and power for living to fill my life and my families life. I can't do this on my own and I need you. God I trust you to continue to do a new thing in my life and to mold me, make me, and shape me. God I pray that your son Jesus would be the continuing antidote to my Kryptonite. A-men. What is your weakness that tends to get the best of you? Have you given it to God? Jesus can be your antidote. It won't always be easy, but I do know one thing... Having Jesus present in my life and in my family's life is sometimes the only thing that keeps me sane. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Creative time with the kids

2008-03-31T11:52:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite times of the year is here. Austin's baseball season starts this Saturday with his first practice. I get to be the assistant coach on the team again as well. What a great way for Ausitn and I to get to spend some times together away from the rest of the kids in the family. It is tough for me to get one on one time when there is 5 kids. Coaching is a great way for me to do that with him. The truth is I would be at the ballpark for his practices and games anyways why not coach? I am really excited.

For me it is also something that is really fun to do...I really enjoy it. I get to be with Austin and work with other boys his age. Who knows maybe they will learn something from me that will help them in their growth and development. I also enjoy it because I get to watch Austin develop and grow right before my eyes...and that is cool. For me though it is a good escape from the normal routines of life. I am able to get away from the church while still being a witness to other coaches and the players yet not have to deal with "church stuff". It also gets me away from the routine of the house and all of the chaos there. I guess you could call this coaching thing a hobby for. Just an all around good thing!

I know Austin and my other children will always remember that there dad was there to coach their teams. This will be a foundational moment for them. I don't want to be one of the parents that later in life they tell there friends that "I was never there or never around for them." Coaching is a creative outlet for me to build a great bond with my kids and it creates healthy memories that will never be taken away. How do you creatively invest time into your kids. What outlets do you have in your life and how can you include your kids in on them? I pray that God continues to grow you and all your relationships with your children. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

If only it could have lasted a little longer

2008-03-26T12:39:00.005-04:00

Well Erin and I will be saying goodbye to our minivan and saying hello to a new used minivan. This one was a hard pill to swallow. We had every intention of holding onto our 99 Chrysler T&C for several more years. It only had 118,000 miles on it and things were going fine with it. We only have one car payment right now and we will pay that off in under two years. The plan was to be able to keep the van long enough to have our other car paid off. Well as you know some of the best laid plans never come to fruition. Neither did this one. We had discovered and issue with our van recently that would force us to sink major $ into it to be repaired, or trade it in for a van that is newer with a lot less miles. We chose the latter rather than the former option.

It made me sick to think that we wouldn't be able to hold onto it. It has been such a good van to us. This was the van that we had for many of our foster kids. I remember picking up Hailey, Austin, and Tawna for the first time in that van and driving them to the park and Bob Evans for dinner. I remember taking all of the family vacations in it to Myrtle Beach and to Gatlingurg. God has blessed us with that van and I thank Him for always providing through it. Not once did it break down on us on the road. There were never any major issues with it until now. Now it is time to say goodbye. It has served us well and we thank God. So much so that I think my family will say a prayer of thanks giving over our old van before we let it go. God is good.

Now it is time to place our trust in a new vehicle. It feels a little uneasy because we don't know what to expect from this new van. We knew our old one...we were comfortable with it and trusted it. Now we have to build that trust all over again. Anytime you buy a new car no matter how many miles there are on it you are taking a risk. You never really know what kind of car it will turn out to be. So we will also be saying a prayer over our new van that God will provide many years of safe transportation and memories through this one as He did with the last one.

I am also thankful for the choices Erin and I have been making for the past 11 years financially. It really set us up to be prepared for an unexpected expense like this one. You never really know when things are going to happen in your life that require a huge expense. You have to be prepared for those things. I would say this time we were as prepared as we could be. Thank you Lord. How about you? Are you prepared for a future emergency no matter what it might be? There are so many twists and turns in life that it kind of gets your head swirling. If you had told me several months ago that I would be spending spring break with my family van shopping I would have told you, that you were crazy. None the less my family thanks you God for providing in a time of crisis. I pray that God has you making healthy choices today for those moments that will not go according to plan in the future. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

So much pain it has to be good!

2008-03-22T15:30:00.004-04:00

I have always believed that the more stresses and issues that face my life and family the more work God is about to do. Evidently God is about to do something awesome on Easter Sunday. This has been a week filled with extraordinary stresses in our life. It all started on Monday when I spent the whole day wondering if our basement was going to flood again. I don't know if you have ever had a flood-prone basement before but it really ways on your heart and mind every time in rains. In this case they were predicting as much as 2 inches of rain in a few days time. Needless to say I fretted about it for two straight days and didn't sleep for two nights. I must have checked the basement about 10 times each day during the rain. It turns out the basement didn't flood.

All was good...that is until we discovered that our van has some major issues that might cause us to have to get rid of it more than 3 years earlier than we had planned. That is enough to make you sick to your stomach when you have your financial plans working for you and all of a sudden you are unexpectedly looking at having to buy another vehicle. That was weighing heavily on my mind yesterday when we discovered some possible health related issues with someone in our family. I stewed on that until late evening last night. However all is well with that issue too. Then I wake up this morning to 4-6 inches of snow on the ground the day before one of the biggest Sundays 0f the year at church...Easter.

This has been a very stress filled and distracting week. I have felt Satan's tug all week long. He has been trying to pull me off of my game and I believe God is wanting to do something big, really big. I have once again learned a lot about how God provides for us and how my stress and worry does nothing for me. It gets me all worked up and in the end it doesn't do anything. All it does is distract me from the good things God wants to do in me, through me, and around me. How often do we render ourselves ineffective because we are so caught up in our worries and concerns? I believe and experience these testing moments and trials as a chance for my faith to grow in God. Let's face it, without struggles, temptations, stresses, and problems in our life there would be no reason to rely on God. In these moments we really find out what our faith is made of and hopefully in most cases find it growing in the face of adversity.

It was an amazing moment for me when I was struggle with one particular issue this week that would have normally gotten me all worked up. Instead I chose to focus on some recent issues that God had already taken care of. It was this moment of remembering God's prior acts of faithfulness that allowed me in this instance to trust him even more. I figured in my mind that if he showed up last week in my life why wouldn't he show up today. In the end He did and He prevailed as He always does. I am so easily stresses in the presence of a perfect living powerful God. Lord, forgive me for those times I do not trust and thank you for your might power that provides for my every need. Every time the going gets stressful I am looking for something huge from Him. I believe tomorrow morning is one of those powerful moments. I pray you all have an awesome Easter and may God bless your life. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

That could never happen to me

2008-03-17T10:01:00.003-04:00

How many times have we seen disaster or tragedy on the television and feel like we are distanced from those things. That those terrible things could never happen to our family, or enter our church, or come into our schools. My family has recently had one of these moments happen to us. A moment where we were seemingly feeling far removed, protected, and safe from situations that could never happen to us.

Austin had a little boy produce a knife to him on the school bus a few weeks back. It seems that he just wanted to show it to Austin as he had done with several other kids that day. Needless to say Austin was not comfortable with that situation at all. So much so that he told Erin as soon as he got off the bus. Erin called the school immediately and the school called the boys mother and she found it in his bag. It turns out it wasn't even this boys knife. He had gotten it off of another boy that morning at school, who was also showing it to others kids. You can imagine the things that started running through our hearts and our minds. You never think things like this would happen around here, especially not to your kids.

It turns out that both of these boys are good kids who just got caught up in the excitement of showing this knife off to their friends. It does not sound like they had it there at school that day to harm anyone. More than likely the boy just forgot to take it out of his book bag before he went to school that day, a very innocent thing. However, both of the boys have been suspended from school for 2 weeks and have an expulsion hearing tomorrow, in accordance with what I have been told that the law demands. Over the years as we have watched school tragedies play out before our very eyes on TV, we have become less tolerant of children carrying these types of things on their person to school. That is probably a good thing...how can we take these things lightly with the experiences this nation has had in the last ten years in schools? Sadly though, with as concerned as Erin and I are for Austin's safety we would never wish for these boys to be expelled. What a difficult thing for our school administrators to have to deal with. They have handled this whole thing very well and I know it has affected them deeply. Our prayers go with the families of these two boys as I am certain these are tough times. My prayer is that God would guide these leaders in making the best possible decisions.

This whole experience reminds me that knowing God doesn't mean that harm won't come to our life. It doesn't mean we will be pain free, nor does it mean that we are safe from tragedy and difficulty. What we do have with God is someone greater than us that we can lean on for help, and provision through these difficult times. This has been a very stressful time and trial in our lives. I believe it has affected all three of our older kids and has possibly given them a flashback to what they dealt with before they came to live with us through adoption. Through it all we have learned to just place our trust in God because these events are out of our control. We are powerless to do anything. However, God is all powerful and we will lean on Him and I pray that all that are involved in this situation will lean on Him as well. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Using the pulpit to make political statements

2008-03-15T17:29:00.002-04:00

Wow! I have to confess I was shocked when confronted with the statements Rev. Wright (Barack Obama's Pastor) has been making over his 30 years of leadership in a Southside Church in Chicago. It always amazes me how vastly different pastor's political views, moral views, and social views are. Even pastors in the same denomination carry vast differences of opinion of belief in the spiritual and political arena. As a pastor I tell you that the statements made by Rev. Wright are deplorable at best. Those statements do not represent the greater majority of clergy in this world who are God fearing and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

I am not sure what disgusts me more the statements themselves or the fact that he uses the pulpit to spew these hateful words. How sad it is when a pastor uses their authority to sway someone politically. Many of you have heard my sermons and experienced my teachings and politics is one area and item that I do not touch. It isn't fair to do so. It isn't even helpful. All those conversations do in the church is serve to divide a people. Can you be a Republican and be a Christian? Yes! Can you be a Democrat and be a Christian? Yes! Are both sides of the political fence welcome at Old Fort Church. You bet they are! That is why you will never hear me discuss politics from the pulpit. My heart feels saddened today for all the work and belief that pastors all over the world put into their sermons that lead and transform so many peoples lives, only to have a pastor destroy the very integrity of the pulpit with which they have been trusted.

This blog entry is not a statement for or against Barack Obama but is targeted at people who call themselves pastors and use their authority to serve their own personal agenda and not the agenda of Jesus. As a pastor I have the distinct responsibility to make sure that everything I say and all that I am leads people closer to Christ and not closer to me. For every moment that I have let myself shine before people Lord instead of letting you shine I ask for your forgiveness. I humbly admit that I have not always served you with a pure heart. I admit to you Father that my motives at times have been my own. Please forgive me for the times I have put myself and my agenda first. I have made mistakes before...but you will never catch me making the mistake of leading an unhealthy political commentary from the pulpit, because it is not my pulpit. It is God's! These past few days have been a reminder of how important and how persuasive a pastor can be. I pray that I persuade people to that which honors God and in the process find myself a humble follower of the very person I lead people to. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

He cares for even the smallest things

2008-03-15T17:14:00.002-04:00

Many of you know, if you have been reading my blog, that I was disappointed that I would be missing Tawna's dance competition this morning. We had our major Easter egg outreach at the church and of course I couldn't be in two places at once. Last week I found out that she was going to have two other competitions in April and in May. That was great news and I felt like God answered my prayers.

However, today our outreach event was winding down and Erin had told me over the phone that Tawna's group hadn't performed yet. I hopped in the car with Austin and Hailey and took the 50 min drive to Toledo and as it turns out they didn't perform until 11:30AM. I was able to see both performances. God you are so good! How amazing is it that God even cares about the smallest desires in our life. I really believe that Tawna's team went later in the morning just so I could be there to see it. Thank you so much for caring for every part of my life God. You are awesome!

Everyday is a reminder to me that there is nothing left up to chance. Our lives are not lived based coincidences. There are no such things as accidents when it comes to Christ's work in us. I experience a Savior that cares for every part of my life; the good and the bad, the hard times and the easy times. He wants what is best for us even if that means helping us with things that may not be life changing but are meaningful to us in our small little ways. Then again maybe me being there for Tawna wasn't a small thing. When I showed up and Tawna saw me she said that all of her nerves left her. It meant so much to her for me to bet there. I am certain, because of God's work, that she will never forget this day that her dad showed up to her competition and cheered her on. Maybe it is a metaphor for how God does what he needs to, to always be there for the important things in our life. Then again everything in our life is important to God. I pray today that God's presence is an encouragement to you. I pray you discover Him in the big things in your life and I pray you see Him in the smaller "less important" instances of your life. His presence in the smaller things is greater proof to me that He does love me. Thanks God for today...you are truly awesome! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor Oh by the way...Tawna's team took 2nd place!

The hardest part of being a pastor

2008-03-13T14:48:00.003-04:00

This has been a very difficult week. Many of you know the Kizer family. Bill passed away on Monday and services are tomorrow. I have performed many funerals over the years but most of the time I do not know the person that well or have not gotten all that close with their family. This time it is different. I had gotten to know Bill quite well over the past fews years and his family and ours have connected regularly. Jenna his daughter has pretty much become a fixture around here on Thursdays as she hangs out with our kids and watches them during our small group. I guess that's what makes this so difficult.

As a pastor you are always supposed to be the strong one. The one with the level head. The person who doesn't struggle. For me I have never been able to live up to those lofty standards...but those perceptions are out there none the less. I feel I have thrived with the Old Fort Church congregation because I have been real with them and opened my heart to them. This time it is no different. I will be presiding over a funeral that I would still attend had I not been his pastor. That makes it hard when you are one of those that are mourning and at the same time have to be the one guiding the whole process. I know it will be a powerful time for all as we celebrate Bill's life and as we celebrate that Jesus has conquered death and that Bill is in a better place. However my heart aches for the family and my heart aches for me. I am going to miss Bill. I will miss him lumbering around the church with is oxygen tank in tow. I will miss his deep theological questions that nobody can answer including the pastor. I will miss his stubborn ornery nature and all the conversations we had about the Buckeyes. Most of all I will miss how he cared for my family and the compassion he had for my daughter Isabel. He is one of many people who have lifted her up and believes she is destined for great things. That always meant so much to me. He always had a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his face when we talked about her

I am so glad that I am a pastor. I am so glad that I get to be a significant part of peoples lives. I am glad for being able to spend the day with the family in prayer as Bill passed away. However it never gets any easier when helping people work through the loss of their loved one. It makes it even harder when you yourself loved them too. God, I ask that you be with the Kizer family. Continue to provide for their need and give them the strength and courage they need in this difficult time. God be with us all tomorrow at the celebration of life service for Bill Kizer. A-men. Bill you are already missed. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

There is a first time for everything

2008-03-09T15:40:00.003-04:00

Well I have vowed in the 8 plus years that I have been a lead pastor that I would never cancel worship. Well today was the first. The decision was actually made a little easier by the fact that we had a level 3 snow emergency until morning and also knowing there would be additional drifting and that the snow plows were not going to be running very much. I also felt better calling off church early Saturday evening rather than having to do it early Sunday morning. That way in the future no one will question whether or not we are going to have church when they wake up...hopefully.

It was difficult and awkward waking up and not being able to go to church this morning. I can't tell you that last time I missed worship on a Sunday including when on vacation. It has to be several years. Therefor this morning in our house it was Sunday morning and we were going to find a way to worship. So we sang some familiar songs as a family together. We talked about what God was doing in our lives. I read from the book of Matthew and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We talked about what Jesus sacrifice meant for us and at the same time explained to Hailey my 7 year old how she could personally invite Jesus to be her Lord and Savior and she reminded us that she had done this. So we will be baptizing her very soon.

Let me ask you a question...does your desire to go to worship on Sunday morning burn in you so much that you couldn't think of missing it whether on vacation or not? Did you find a way to have personal worship or family worship this morning. I am sure it was so easy for us to kind of just go about our day like it was any other day. I do pray that some of us were able to spend some time reflecting on God's work. You never know what He is going to do or where He is going to do it. My families time this morning is evidence of that for me. However your day has been I pray that God has filled it with His presence in a way that you have not been able to ignore. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Answered Prayer

2008-03-09T15:29:00.002-04:00

Just an update on a blog entry I made a week or so ago. I was trying to figure out how I was going to make my daughters baton performance and also be at our Easter outreach event. Well God answers prayer and I am thankful for that. It turns out that Tawna has several other competitions in April and in May. So I will not be missing her only performance as I thought I might have. I still will regret not being able to make this one but at least there will be others I can go to. It is my experience that God answers even the smallest prayers if we give them up to Him. I thank Him and praise Him and have not forgotten what He has done.

I think for many of us it is easy to forget that we have prayed for something when things actually pan out. Instead of giving God the glory and recognizing Him for His work we just kind of go on life as usual. How many times are we able to truly identify and lift up those moments where we acknowledge that God did in fact answer us and care for us. I want to encourage us all to keep a better eye out for God's answered work in our lives. I know I am going to keep my eyes open more often. I pray you do the same and have God's loving activity in your life revealed more and more each day. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Another day off of school

2008-03-05T08:57:00.002-05:00

Wow this is getting just down right crazy with all of the weather we have had this year. The kids are home yet again today with a level 3 snow emergency going on outside. They already have 2 days to make up in the summer and who is to say there will not be more. These days really try Erin' patience when all the kids are stuck in doors with nothing to do. It doesn't help that Austin has decided to get a little nutty the past two nights and he is now grounded from basically everything and until Jesus comes back. Then Hailey this morning starts in with her attitude. Let me just say these are the moments that parents get paid the big bucks for. Oh, wait...we don't get paid do we. Well we get a payoff in love and nurture with them and that is a great thing.

These moments remind me that life is never a smooth straight line and is rarely predictable. There are so many twists and turns and curve balls out there. Days like these throw our entire schedules out the door and everyone is a little bit more on edge. I guess we just feel blindsided by our kids emotions and attitudes. One minute they are fine and the next minute they are in an all out rage because they have to go to bed 5 minutes early. It is just crazy and kooky at times. Like this weeks weather. One day it is 60 degrees and sunny then it rains, then it snows, then it ices over and now we have a level 3 snow emergency. Well we had a level 3 parenting emergency last night. It is all I can do as a parent to not lose it sometimes and even then it is a losing effort. I pray for and ask God everyday for patience, and humility, and a better way to respond to my kids. I am seeing victory lately but there are still those moments where my buttons get pushed and things get hairy. We are facing some behavioral issues with two of our children that have escalated to the need for counseling and medication. Those things have helped and it has gotten better, but we still have our moments. So pray for the Alice household as we are yet again locked int the house with everyone with no place to go. By the way...you don't have to travel to Toledo to go to the zoo. Just come over to our house and you can have the same experience for free! I pray that God continues to work in your life. I pray that you continually turn your deficiencies over to Him like I am working on doing. Have a great day. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Scary work in our life

2008-03-02T18:30:00.005-05:00

Today after our 8:30 AM worship service a gentleman approached me to say thanks for the message and that He knew God was working in his life. I remember him telling me that he felt that for some uncanny reason that God had him here today for a reason and that He was working many things in his life together for the good. This man told me that it was kind of scary how God had him here for this particular message today considering all that was going on in his life. He had been struggling at work with a difficult relationship and was changing jobs and he related that it was a difficult transition. It was evident to him that with today's sermon and the real life issues that were going on that God was working a plan. I kept hearing him say how scary it was that God was bringing everything together the way he did for him. Amazing!

I have always believed that we are all here for a reason and a purpose. That God is working a plan in our life. None of us are perfect, none of us have arrived yet there are times where we can tangibly sense God's immediate presence and work in us. Those moments are a little scary to really stand face to face with an all powerful God who is making a personal touch in our life. Those are moments we never forget and quickly become the foundation for a growing faith...a faith that believes that we are not accidents, that we don't go through life by chance, but that there is a greater power out there looking out for our best interests. When we lean into this and live for Him there is no telling what miracles God might work in our life. When was the last time God's work was so evident in your life that it was scary to you how purposefully He connected the events, circumstances, and words of life? Keep your eyes open because our God is alive, He is risen from the dead, and He is by no mistake at work in this world. I pray that you have a scary experience this week with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Reconnecting with old faces on Facebook

2008-02-28T10:32:00.004-05:00

I recently opened a profile on facebook.com. WOW it has been amazing to discover all those people I sometimes think about but haven't seen for many years. In some cases I have connected with people I haven't talked to in over 12 years. It is always interesting to see what people are doing nowadays...where they live, what they do, if they have a family now, and so forth. I also think we forget that there are people out there thinking about us that we didn't even realize. Think about it. There are people from our past that we think about that may not remember us that well. Then there are people out there that are wondering what is going on in our life and we don't really think about them that much at all. That's confusing isn't it. The value for me is to realize that we all impact people differently. What we say or do is going to be more meaningful for some and less meaningful for others. Some people are going to feel more important to us then we do to them. It has been an interesting experience. One thing I do recognize is that when you share Jesus Christ with others you always stay connected. There is a bond there that can't be broken no matter how long it has been.

It has been a real encouragement for me to reconnect with so many people. One thing it does for me is to really think about where I am at and how I got here. When 12 years passes we forget so much of what God has done. We are often quick to wonder where God is or wonder what he has done when the truth is He has moved mountains in our life. In the last few days I have grown a new appreciation for the journey that has been my life. I am discovering more and more of the things I have taken for granted and I have spent a lot of time in pray thanking God for that work. I wonder...what has God done in your life in the last 12 years? When was the last time you sat down and thought about it like that? I would encourage you to take an inventory and see where He has been working. Trust me, it will give you a whole new appreciation for where you are at now.

So if you are on facebook and haven't connected with me yet, just do a search for me and send me a poke and we will let the good-times role. Or maybe you should check it out. Setting up a profile is free and it is a great way to connect with people you haven't seen for years. Anyway...see you out there in cyberspace somewhere! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Gotcha SEC!!!

2008-02-26T08:09:00.006-05:00

Well the hunt is over...the baiting...the chasing...the loud shrills from the women in my family...SEC has been killed. He has been put out to pasture. Wow what an adventure! You might be wondering what the heck I am talking about?!?

Well it all started on a calm cool evening much like the one today. I was minding my own business down in the basement playing MotorStorm on the PS3 when all of a sudden the floor next to me seemingly moved. For an instant I thought I saw a little brown flash dart across the floor and then it was gone. Only moments later I saw a small brown object running along the edge of the floor and in behind my TV set. I saw the cords move and then this little brown nose pop out and just sat there. It was like he was watching me or something...it was a mouse.

A few days later I heard a scream from down in the basement (which is not too uncommon when my kids are down there). It was Tawna. The mouse had just run between her feet and then under the door. In that instance I knew it was time to move into action. So I found an old trap left over from hunts long ago. I loaded it up with peanut butter and I set it. Oh yeah it was on!!! The following day I went to check the trap and to my amazement the peanut butter was gone and the trap had not even been triggered. Round one to the mouse. At this moment I new I had a tough opponent. It was a terrible defeat on my part. It was an embarrassing loss, so I named him SEC.

I scooped up my trap and I went upstairs with my head bowed in shame unsure if how I would respond to such humiliation. But I went to the refrigerator to see what I could find, and there it was, a slice of sharp cheddar. This time I took it and I crammed it into all of the pours of the trap. Making sure he would defeat me again. SEC was about to go down! I set the trap and waited. This morning I woke up put my Buckeye shirt on and I moved to the basement with hesitation not wanting to lose to SEC again. I gabbed the flashlight and there he was. Caught in the jaws of my trap. SEC had been defeated!!! He may have won the first time. But I learned I adapted and in the end victory was mine. He is now in my garage awaiting his final resting place...the garbage! I only wish Jim Tressel was able to do what I had done. Make the necessary adjustments to not lose to SEC twice in a row. But alas catching mice is not as complicated as running a football program. Not sure there is any value to this post. Just was on my mind and gives you a glimpse into the silliness that is the Alice household. Blessings, Your Weird Dreaming Pastor

Just another surgery for Isabel

2008-02-25T14:52:00.003-05:00

Many of you know that my daughter Isabel was born with a rare genetic disorder called Apert's Syndrome. She has many issues resulting from this...Mainly with her skull, hands, & feet. Wanted to keep you updated on her so that you can continue praying for her.

The first Tuesday in April she will be having double hand surgery. The purpose of this is to reposition her thumbs so she can have a better grip. This means they will be inserting two pins. She will also have the wells deepened between her other fingers. (She was born with her fingers fused). She will be in casts on both arms that go all the way up to her arm pits. It amazing how routine and normal this feels to us because she has been through so much.

She has always been a warrior and has never once complained about her difficulties. She is such a source of strength for our entire household. I hope if you have difficulty in your life or in one of your loved ones lives that she can serve as an inspiration for you. Keep our family in your prayers, especially Isabel. May God Bless you today, Your Dreaming Pastor

Those long winter months

2008-02-24T14:25:00.002-05:00

What a crazy winter it has been weather wise. One day it is 10 degrees and snowing the next day it is 50 degrees and raining. We have experienced ice, sleet, slush, and freezing rain all in a few months. For me I tend to get a little cabin fever and the walls feel like they are coming in on me. Our family really thrives outdoors and there are times where we get to feeling a little stir crazy this time of year. It is really difficult on the kids because there is so much for them to do outside and it also doesn't really ever give Erin and I a break because we can't say, "hey go outside and play". If we didn't have a basement for them to go play in I am not sure we could keep our sanity.

I have heard studies that the gloominess of winter is a real phenomenon in our lives. With all of these dark gray days, with the lousy weather, and low temperatures it can wear on a persons soul. Depression is a bigger issue in the winter months just because of the climate. I have to confess there are times where I just feel dreary and blah because I haven't seen the sun in a few weeks. I also think it is this time of year in late February where it feels like the lousy weather is never going to end. Very soon however it will start warming up, the farmers will hit the fields, and everything will be in bloom. I don't know about you but I am looking forward to those days.

It reminds me how much we relay on our feelings. That our feelings tend to dictate our attitudes, our actions, and even our inactions. It is so hard for us to make sure we continue to do those things in life that are important and a priority even when we don't feel like it. What I am learning is sometimes I have to act my way into a feeling. In other words if I wait to do something that I feel like doing it may never get done. However if I take right action even if I don't' feel like it eventually the awkwardness wears off and the feelings come. These days it's so easy to allow the blah or dreariness of the day affect our life actions. We may not always feel like it and then again there are times where we just need to act it and the feelings come. So for now I am going to watch some TV while the kids play in the basement and Erin rests (until I feel like doing something else...hah, hah). I pray that you are making it through these trying months and that God continues to shed light on your soul even on these gray days. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Torn between two loves...

2008-02-19T15:25:00.003-05:00

I have two major loves in my life right now. One is my devotion to my family and the other is my commitment to the local church that I serve. One of the greatest struggles in my life is how to handle situations when those two things collide. There are often times where my family is going in one direction with a commitment or activity and my responsibilities at the church are going in another direction. For instance last summer we had this awesome sermon series called "Facing the Giants". Well the Friday night that we had movie night my son Austin was playing in his first tournament game with his baseball team. I was the assistant coach. I missed that game and probably will always regret it. But what should a person do. I know for a fact that if I missed our movie night here at OFC and gone to the game I would have regretted missing that event as well. I always heard it described by other pastors like this..."when I'm at home I feel like I should be at church and when I am at church I feel like I should be at home." I can certainly relate to that. Life is filled with choices and commitments. How do we decide in these tough circumstances. I always try to put myself in my kids shoes in these cases. When I was a child at least one of my parents made it to every one of my basketball games, awards ceremonies, concerts, or banquets. In fact through my basketball career I never once remember my parents not being there even at some of our far away road games. When I think of that it brings me back to today and my commitment to my kids and my family. How can I make sure I create those memories for them?

Like for instance my dilemma with my daughter Tawna and her Baton/twirling team. Their major competition for the year just happens to be the same morning of one of our biggest events of the year at OFC, our Easter outreach to the community. My entire family will be going to see Tawna's performance, even my folks are coming up from Dayton to go see her. This is one of the only competitions she will participate in all year. How could I miss that? Tawna will remember that day for the rest of her life and I won't be there.

But then again we are putting on a major ministry outreach here at the church. I will be asking and recruiting people to come and to serve. I will be expecting our leaders to show up and do a great job as they put on an excellent party for the community. How could I miss that? People will want to know, well where is the pastor? How could he miss such an important event? These moments for me are some of the most difficult times when it comes to being a parent and a pastor. I can handle the crisis, the back biting, people's frustration, the ugly parts of being in the ministry. But when it comes to things like this I feel lost and lonely. You might think that it isn't that big of a deal but for me I just get torn. I show up to one place while my heart is somewhere else. I am sure all of you can relate to these circumstances.

It's kind of funny... I'm the one always throwing advice out to you guys. Now I need a little encouragement from you. How do you handle and deal with these kinds of circumstances? I would love to hear any of your feedback on this one. I know you can't decide for me and I don't expect you to. Just looking for any insights you might have or what you might do. Look forward to your comments. Blessings, Your Dreaming & Torn Pastor

Skating with the fam

2008-02-16T17:37:00.002-05:00

Today we had an Ice skating event with our church. Our whole family went and everyone except E-Beth and Erin went out on the ice. It is kind of an odd feeling for me being on skates. We skated once last year and before that it hadn't been since I was a teen in youth group since I had last gone skating. Once my skates hit the ice I felt really wobbly and off balance. It is a very awkward experience. However, very quickly I would gain my confidence and I go faster and faster and faster until by the end of our time I was as confident as I can be. It just amazes me that after all these years it just takes a few minutes to remember all over again how to ice skate.

I think life is lot like what I experienced today. It takes us time in certain things to gain our balance and our confidence with what we are doing or for that matter with what God is doing in us. So we gingerly move forward trusting at some moment we are going to get it. Sometimes we stumble sometimes we fall but in the end after time goes by and many struggles later there we are skating through life with God guiding the way. I think the point is it is so easy to get discouraged when things feel unfamiliar or awkward. Anything new or that we haven't tried in a long time will seem awkward at first. But the reward of working through those moments far outweighs our stumbles along the way in getting there. I can picture God coaxing us out onto the ice of life, to trust Him as we grow with Him, that things will become familiar.

Like when Isabel joined me out on the ice and she couldn't even stand on her own. I propped her up and held her and once she looked comfortable I started letting go more and more. Until for a few seconds I wasn't holding her at all I was just there to support her and guide her. If we can look at our faith like that we would better understand how God is there for us through our life development. There are times where His grip on us is tighter than at other times. There are times where we are moving forward and he is there to make sure we are all right. There are times where He has to pick us up after we fall. The point is he never leaves our side no matter how well it is going. There are just different levels of our development with Him. I pray that you have the courage to be out on the ice of life with God and are trusting him through the stumbling and bumbling moments...believing that he will be there to guide you along the way and that eventually you will get it, feel confident, and be moving along. Another thing. maybe it ahs been awhile since you tried skating out on the ice with God in life. Don't worry as soon as you step out there and try it again you will pick it up as quickly as I did. You can never be to far away from God to try and pick up your relationship with Him. Hey let's go skating together...see you out on the ice! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Its been a long year already

2008-02-13T14:13:00.002-05:00

I can't beleive it is only the middle of February. Our family sure has had a crazy year so far. I think we have been fully healthy for a total of 1 week so far. We have had upper chest infections, ear infections, strep throat, stomach viruses, procedures, colds, you name it we have had it. Isabel and Erin went to Cincy Children's Hospital for her latest check up on how she is doing and they determined that she will be having double hand suregery in April. Last week we got water in our basement...again. Two weeks ago Erin and I got away for a few days in Columbus. The kids have had 2 hr delays it seems almost every morning for school. Three of our girls have already finished an entire session of ice skating and will be starting another this weekend. It has just been nutty. At the church we have had countless people in the hospital with their own struggles with surgeies, emergenices, and other illnesses. We had to cancel My Place last week & cancelled our lead team last night all because of weather. It has been quit a year.

Do you ever just have those seasons of life that are so hectic and chaotic? You wonder how you have made it through them? Or in some cases it is so crazy that it just seems to be a blur...you feel like you have been doing nothing but catching up or just keeping your head afloat. That is what this year has felt like. I am sure some of you can relate to this and some of you have had even crazier years. I am always amazed that no matter how wild our seasons of life are that God never changes. He stays constant and true in His character and His qualities. I wish I could say the same for me during these times. Sometimes I just seem to be (or at least feel like I am) out of balance. I get irritable, more selfish and self-focused. It is easy to lose touch when life is going a million miles an hour. I am sure things will slow down here pretty soon...yeah right. Does life ever slow down? Well maybe sometimes but it is not a guarentee. How do you cope with a crazy life full of the expected and the unexpected? It's not easy but that is life isn't it. I pray that I continue to take on the characteristics and qualities of Jesus as I walk through life with Him together. I pray that you do the same as well. Blessings,