Sunday Reflections-Thankgiving Style

Been a busy week with Thanksgiving so I'll cheat a little bit and throw some of that in there too:

• Traveled to Nashville, TN to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws-first time we were close enough to do that
• The trip to Nashville is only about 5 hours from our house, but with traffic took 6 1/2.  'Nuff said.
• My mom & stepfather made it up for their first visit on Saturday-long drive from Fort Pierce for the
• With my family in town we had our 2nd Thanksgiving dinner-this time at our place-I seriously have to lose some weight
• Set up our Christmas tree today-made my wife & children very happy!
• It is always an honor to speak God's Word whether it is for the adult worship services or for youth-today was no exception
• We are celebrating Advent as a church & also as a family-it is a tradition we have observed as a family for several years now
• The message of hope from Isaiah 9 is one that I need to be reminded of daily & I pray that people at Northridge heard that from God today
• What a great worship set this morning-we have truly gifted worship leaders able to adjust on the fly!
• It is always an incredible blessing to start a service with a baptism-especially one of our youth stepping forward to commit her life to Christ!
• God is doing an incredible work here in Milledgeville-praying that we don't do anything to disrupt what He is doing!

Thankful

Not my normal nature to be cliche, but here is the list of things I am thankful for:

• A God that loves me in spite of my many faults & wants me to be with Him
• My best friend & wife-my life wouldn't be the same without her beside me
• Three incredibly beautiful & gifted daughters-my heart fills with love every time I think of them
• A family (mom, step-father, sisters, brothers, in-laws) who simply love me for me
• Northridge Christian Church accepting us so quickly and pushing forward together as a team to reach the lost in Milledgeville
• Friends from Florida that still love us across the miles & regardless of recent circumstances
• A beautiful home to help ease the transition to a new life
• Fond memories of family that are no longer with us-grandparents & parents that have helped to shape me into who I am today
• A God that promises not to waste any hurts that we have experienced, but to instead turn it into something powerful for Him
• Good food to celebrate a day of thanks

Another Sunday edition of reflections from Milledgeville, Georgia

• Very chilly & rainy day here--good for blankets & chilling at the end of the weekend
• Middle school bonfire last night was a blast
• Middle school girls showing up to help decorate a tree for Angel Tree blesses me-the youth ministry here is gonna blow up!
• Unique service today-songs of praise with prayer, communion & thanksgiving throughout
• Michelle poured her heart out for families & being thankful-great stuff!
• Matthew brought a phenomenal focus on communion & salvation as part of worship
• We are blessed to have Mike leading us-the church is heading in the right direction!
• God is doing incredible things through Northridge-it is humbling to be a very small part of it!
• Excitement for the Arizona spring break high school mission trip is ramping up-several deposits paid today & more people signing up this week!
• Today has reminded me of the many things that I am thankful for-it has been a tough 3 months, but God is still good

The Man I Want to Be

I think quite a bit about the man that I want to be.  Not that I am totally dissatisfied with who I am, but I also know that there is great room for improvement.  I think it is important for me to have that personal vision so that I know what I am working towards.  For accountability and clarification sake I have a short (albeit incomplete) list, in no particular order:

• Financially wise
• Giving & generous
• Even tempered
• Prayerful
• Loving & faithful husband
• Loving father
• Disciplined
• Healthy habits
• Visionary
• Confident in God
• Compassionate

I'm sure that some people could add things to my list, but it is more important to have your own.  It's difficult to go on a journey of discovery and growth if you don't know where you are headed.  So many people flounder in life (both physically & spiritually) because they don't have a clear vision for where they are going.  I see youth and adults continually make bad decisions that cause pain and anguish because they don't have a concept of who they want to become and more importantly, who God desires them to be.

Spending the time to prayerfully consider the person you want to be might seem discouraging when compared to your present state, but I find that it motivates you down the path that God truly wants you to travel.

Sunday Reflections

God just keeps doing it and it is amazing to be a part of something that is so powerful!

• Three baptisms to open up the 2nd service today-three young people leading the way with their commitment to Christ!
• Intense message on true worship from Revelation 4 & 5-the Holy Spirit was teaching through Mike this morning
• It blesses me every week to see people coming forward being impacted by God's power-I pray that He continues to draw people to Him every week-let us be broken and see our need for the King!
• The worship songs today were amazing and the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the worship team was palpable in the room-definitely one of the most powerful times of song since we have moved here
• We wrapped up the New Testament Challenge this week as a church-people are already clamoring for something else-Advent is on the way
• It continues to do my heart good to see friends from Florida come to visit-thrilled that they were able to share in worship today
• If you haven't eaten at Grits yet-you gotta.  Good southern cooking.
• We are so blessed with our house-sitting on the back porch with the love of my life and enjoying the simplicity of a book and the sounds of God's creation wrap a Sunday up perfectly.

Healing

I managed to push through all of our recent history maintaining a strength and focus that was certainly beyond me.  We dealt with the news of our departure from our Florida church and the fallout by committing our family to God and His ultimate plan for our lives.  The process was quick--within a month of the resignation we were here in Georgia and working.  There is no doubt that God orchestrated it all to lead us here and I know that the future is bright with Him leading the way.

Believing in that is one thing, but a wounded heart takes a whole lot longer to heal.  I can honestly admit that I was at peace throughout the entire turmoil and subsequent process.  I never lost my temper nor was I really tempted to do so.  Now that we are here and working I do find that I am hurt more than I wanted to admit.  Being forcibly ripped out of our lives there and the lives of people that I care about leaves gaping wounds that don't become whole overnight.  Constant reminders of what once was cause an ache in my heart and soul.  Resentment flares up and then dissipates.  The friends that have decided that our previous relationship was only pertinent due to proximity bring about heartfelt disappointment.  I liken it to the grief process-denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.  In no way does it compare to loss of life, but my heart doesn't know the difference.  It grieves for what is lost-a status, a place, a church, and relationships that will never be the same.

I know that He will make me new again-He does it every day.  The process itself is painful though and I know that I don't have the strength to do this on my own.  I will simply trust in my King and take comfort in how He is already doing His work on my heart.

If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation.  The old things have gone; everything is made new.  2 Corinthians 5:17

Sunday Reflections

Wow.  That is all that I can say (well, not all-that's a short blog otherwise.)

• It was so uplifting to see good friends from Florida this weekend-good for my heart & yet heartbreaking at the same time
• I do love me a fire on a cool night-can't get enough of them-especially with great people to share it with
• God absolutely broke me in the middle of our 9:15 service this morning.  I was so overwhelmed by the greatness of who He is & how He shows it to us. I had to stop & simply share my heart before preaching.
• There is simple beauty in the Doxology that resonates with my soul
• Preaching a sermon titled, "Trashing Tradition" makes people nervous.
• Not trashing tradition, but instead focusing on the heart behind them hopefully challenges people to live a real relationship with God.
• Your lips are movin', but your heart ain't groovin'.
• Praying for the things that people wrote down today that they want to get rid of-sins & the ill-focused traditions that keep us from a true godly relationship
• Our God is greater than we can imagine & I am grateful that His grace is enough for me.

Sunday Reflections-a day late

Sunday reflections posted on Monday are still about Sunday.  That's not necessarily deep wisdom, but it's workable enough for a Monday morning.

• Reading some A.W. Tozer for my devotional time-love me some Tozer!
• One of the big questions raised yesterday-what are you going to do with Jesus? It will be answered by all!
• No doubt that Mike was filled with the Holy Spirit yesterday-he just flat out brought it at each service-in a tough passage no less
• I am enjoying the creativity of weaving together worship experiences & praying that it is impacting people
• We are blessed with a passionate and talented worship team!
• Are you a deserter, a faker, or a follower when it comes to Christ? There will be evidence in your life that proves which one you are.
• I love it when people come for prayer & decisions at the end of the message-it shows their willingness to respond to God's leading
• Enjoyed a good southern buffet lunch yesterday with friends as we continue to adjust-and then stood around talking for almost another hour!
• A lazy Sunday afternoon with my family tops off a good day
• Can't wait to see what God has planned for this coming week!

Words from Peter

"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. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ."

2 Peter 1:3-11 (The Message)