A Brief Glance

This is the very last day of 2013. I wish that I had a bold, powerfully insightful statement that would
encapsulate the entire year, but I don't have it. It's not that it hasn't been 365 days full of challenges, rewards, disappointments, hard lessons, and incredible joy. The fact is that it is difficult to sum all of it up in a succinct manner without demeaning the depth of this year's experience. In lieu of a comprehensive list I will simply say this: in this past year I have come to know myself more deeply, grown with my family in great levels of love and understanding, and recognized God's movement in my life with greater awareness. In hindsight, that makes for a solid evaluation of the year by my standards. I pray that the next year holds more of the same.

Feeling Tense

Tension is often thought of in negative terms as conflict between people or extremely tough

circumstances that cause stress. While this isn't inaccurate, it also doesn't portray the positive aspects of tension. In a practical sense, we have to have some amount of tension to grow. There has to be a gap between where we are and where we want to be so that we are motivated to grow. This tension pulls us to succeed and sharpens us in the process of developing us into better people.

I look at the man that I used to be, the man that I am today, and the man that I want to be to get a complete picture of my growth & my desires for the future. It's a positive reflective practice to see how much I have grown, but looking ahead encourages me to disregard complacency and push ahead to increase my maturity. It's the tension of my present reality against the desire for my future that keeps me moving, evaluating, and growing.

Greater Than: Reflections

This past week at middle school camp provided so many poignant reminders of why I work in

ministry and how much I have enjoyed working with youth in particular. I'm still sorting through many of my thoughts (even though with an exhaustion addled brain.) I'm sure there will be other highlights to share, but here are few that stand out in brief retrospect:

• A conversation with guys in the canteen line about being careful who you follow--the same guys who were completely disengaged in chapel, but now listening intently as we just talked
• Praying for my camp staff each day & sharing with them God's challenge to not grow weary of doing good work for the harvest is coming and then experiencing that harvest over the next 24 hours
• Talking with one our young men who was overcome with emotion as he gave his life to Christ 
• Calling parents to let them know their child has decided to follow Jesus-can't call with any better news than that
• Simple, positive touches for campers each day--high fives, hugs, pats on the back, and verbal affirmation--just to let them know we care
• Watching our incredible staff dance, play, sing, laugh, and cry with campers
• Seeing 10 young people commit their lives to Christ and follow through in baptism
• The gratefulness of parents for a week of Kingdom investment..

Back in Time

What would my 41 (almost 42) year old self like to say to my 20 year old self?

• Don't spend so much time at work--go home & be with your family
• Not everybody is thinking about you--don't take everything so personally
• Develop a better exercise plan now--you'll develop a pattern of health that you can stick with instead of yo-yoing back & forth with your weight
• Credit cards are not an opportunity to spend just because they have a high credit limit and no, the minimum payment won't pay things off
• Buy stock in Apple and Disney.
• Have the hard conversations with people early in the conflict process. Waiting months (or years) won't make it better on its own--it really just makes it worse.
• Assume the best about people and not the worst--don't be stupid with your trust in others, but give them a chance.
• You don't have all the answers so stop acting like you do. Be humble enough to listen to people with different & more experience. Not everything they share with you will be "gold" but you'll gain enough to be a better person if you pay attention.
• Don't pass up opportunities to show kindness to people--those close to you & those who can't do anything for you. You'll feel better about it and so will they.
• Do the right thing as a parent when your children are young & you won't have to work so hard to correct your mistakes when they are older.
• Make room for God in your daily life & don't just keep Him for the weekends. You'll find much more satisfaction in your relationship this way.
• Don't be such a jerk when people disagree with you. It's a really unattractive quality.
• Protect your mind. You might think it doesn't matter, but it will later lead to actions you will regret if you don't.

The Week That Was

Well here we are a week later and God is continuing to do His great work in this race. Sometimes we run alongside at a good clip and other times it is a laboring run where we push through because we realize the ultimate goal.  He never told us that it would be easy, but He has promised us that it would be worth it.  The victories are still coming and yet there are greater things still to be done!

• The Arizona mission team is thumping along-we are nearing the end of our fundraising
• We are blessed by the generosity of so many people at Northridge & those elsewhere as well
• This Saturday marks one month until we leave for AZ
• The Well & Awakening are booming as we hit two months in-almost 80 total people over two nights!
• We continue to see decisions as youth & adults are baptized into Christ-it never gets old
• Great message from Mike this weekend on End Times-powerful & moving!
• The youth ministry here is blessed with incredible youth partners-wouldn't do ministry without them!
• I enjoyed our parent meeting on Saturday morning-it an intense time of seeking a godly way to raise our youth
• Had a camp planning meeting last week for Woodland-very excited about a new adventure for camp this year
• Also a bit sad as it will be my first time not doing camp with my good friend John Porterfield in 6 years
• In the middle of all this work I am blessed to be married to the love of my life and have three unique, creative & beautiful daughters

Reflections

What a week it has been.  I am overdue on my Sunday reflections, but will blame it on the lack of internet in my hotel in Miami that night.  Not sure that I can get all of my thoughts in a somewhat brief blog-some will need further fleshing out in subsequent postings-but we'll give it a whirl.

• I don't like to drive long distances-I get bored in the car-but we managed to drive from Milledgeville to Ormond, Ormond to Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce to Miami and then back in five days.
• I was excited to get to see old friends/family in Ormond Beach last week-there was a hug-fest on Thursday night that lasted for 3 1/2 hours and did our hearts so much good.  I hope it was as good for others.
• I'm not too old to sit up until 3 a.m. talking with a friend.  I might be too old to be on top of my game 4 hours later unless there is good coffee.
• Brought the whole family by Mainland High School on our way out of town-what great friends & family are there that have loved us for a long time.  I miss them always.
• Dana & I were blessed to be at the wedding of my oldest friend-Paul & I have known each other since elementary school and were roommates in college too.  He is so obviously happy and we think Lesley is an incredible woman.  They are truly a blessed couple!
• Hanging with one of my college friends & his wife the night before the wedding was a great blast! It's been too long & distance (he is in Texas) makes it hard to do often.
• I am thankful for good friends on staff here at Northridge that are talented and able to carry on so that I can get a weekend away.  Matthew Orr & Mike Waers would be a blessing to any church, but selfishly we are glad they are part of our team here!
• Monday afternoon was simple-spending some time with my mom, sister, nephew, brother & our family by the pool was a great time.  I miss them & wish we could see each other more often.
• We're back at it in Georgia, but this past week has certainly shown us how loved we are!

Sunday Reflections in the Cold

Wow! What an incredible day at Northridge! My prayer is that God continues this great work and it spreads throughout all of His churches!

• Turkey Bowl was a blast yesterday-a blast of arctic air! 18 degrees at the start!
• What an incredible blessing today as we saw 703 people in worship!
• We had 3 scheduled baptisms today, but also saw 2 more people choose to join them
• Also had another couple parter with us after Discover Northridge
• A God-focused life doesn't happen accidentally!
• No Spectators!
• Started The Well tonight-new high school worship experience for high school and saw 36 people come to start our January series, "New & Improved"
• Looking forward to "Awakening" coming this Wednesday night for middle school-praying for God to fill the room.

Sunday Reflections

• Celebrating New Year in Georgia is also a new first for us-had an awesome low country boil meal at new friends' home
• The visits of Florida friends never gets old! It was a blessing to spend some extended time with the Lather family-love & miss them very much
• We are truly digging the cold weather here-not used to this extended cool weather, but you can't beat the fire rolling in the fireplace on a regular basis
• I am truly blessed with three incredible daughters and a beautiful wife and I want to remind them every day of how much they mean to me
• The people at Northridge are truly family to us now and I am reminded each week of how much we mean to them and how important they are to us in return
• The future here in Milledgeville is so bright-we are praying hard for God to do more than we could ask or imagine this year-looking for 100 baptisms!
• Mike's challenge to serve today was tough & a blessing to hear-if you aren't willing to serve then we don't need you here!
• He also challenged believers by asking if they thought the church was a luxury liner that we got to sit on and eat fine foods while people were drowing all around us
• I am thrilled with Craig & Brandi Sheppard & Chad Phillips and their dedication to teaching middle & high school Bible study each week-what great hearts and passion for the youth!
• Can't wait for The Well next week! Starting on Sunday night from 5-7 for high school!
• Also can't wait for Awakening for middle school on Wednesday, Jan. 13th!
• Praying for Joe Putting & his family-my brother in Christ was diagnosed with leukemia this week-looking for God to do a great miracle.

Final Sunday Reflections of 2009

We are at the last Sunday of 2009 and the last blog of reflections.  There will be a blog reflecting on all that 2009 has brought to us at some point, but we'll focus on the weekend a few Christmas thoughts for now:

• Our family celebrated our very 1st Christmas Eve service this past week-what a true blessing! We have always been out of town and it was incredible to take part in this worship with Northridge
• We are surrounded by an incredibly loving group of friends & family-they amaze me with their generosity and true appreciation for our family
• It was a great Christmas for us-blending old traditions and establishing new ones for our family
• My wife put on one heck of a feast on Christmas Eve after service!
• I love to watch the joy in the faces of those receiving gifts-that is why I prefer to give instead of get!
• Christmas with cold weather is just the way I think it should be done-I love that we can have a fire rolling in our fireplace all day
• I am so blessed to work under the leadership of a godly man like Mike-he has helped to make me a better pastor and communicator
• We had a two-headed sermon in service today as Mike & I had a "Fireside Chat" style of message
• I pray the people will take seriously their commitment to feeding themselves and feeding others this coming year
• I love a good acoustic worship set-something about the simplicity of it that is a nice change of pace
• I see great things in store for Northridge in 2010-can't wait to see God blow the doors off and do more than we could possibly ask or imagine

Sunday Reflections Again

Alright-it's official.  I am a blogging slacker.  Not only have I not blogged since last week I am also a day late (again) on my Sunday reflections.  I'm not a big resolutions guy, but I do want to be better about this and will be finding a way for that to come true.  Having said that here we go:

• It seems as if we have Florida guests every week, but I can tell you that it never gets old
• We spent the bulk of Saturday talking with Richard Walker & his nephew Aaron Breeding-Aaron has been to Arizona with me two times & is a truly incredible young man & I can't say enough good things about Richard and his friendship
• We spent Saturday night talking away with the Herbruck family after they arrive-what great friends & it is so positive to see what God is doing in their lives-I miss leading worship with Sam & Jesse-what talented musicians that are gonna rock the house for God!
• This was our first year seeing the Live Nativity @ Northridge (obviously) and it was a very cool experience-I am certain it impacted the community as we saw many people coming through
• I love a church that is passionate about helping those in need-our Christmas party for Midway Elementary was a huge success-big shout-out to Tish McKenzie for pulling it all together!
• I love sharing God's Word-not because of anything that it does for me (which it does), but because it is my calling and I treasure every opportunity to steer someone to Christ
• Any time you can end (or begin) a service with a baptism it's a good day!
• I truly have a sense of peace concerning our events of the past 3 months-our God is so good to work in our circumstances-I am truly thankful that He is bigger than our intentions!
• God is starting to give me a vision of the future here at Northridge & I can't wait to see Him bring it into reality!

Sunday Reflections....on Monday

Running a day behind in my weekly reflections, so without further adieu...

• Tailgate party on Friday night was a huge success! Had about 60 people turn out for great food, fire & fun!
• Another visit from good Florida friends-Jennifer Chamberlain & Mariah Dennis-always does me good to see friends who remain friends across the miles
• The weather took a turn here in Georgia-cold and rainy and I enjoyed the change
• We were able to have a fire in our fireplace here-looking forward to more of that!
• It is an immense pleasure to worship here at Northridge each week-God is certainly moving!
• Mike's message was dead on-don't live in fear, but have joy in God!
• Who knew Mike was afraid of horses?  Go figure.
• The video clip from Matt Chandler (pastor at The Village Church) was beautiful each service-I've actually seen it at least 1/2 a dozen times & it is powerful each time.
• Being part of this team here is such a sign of God's great plan for all of our lives if we will just be obedient enough to follow
• The generosity of people here continues to blow me away-someone anonymously gave our children's director & her family a brand new oven that they have needed for over a year
• A lazy evening laying around with my wife is the perfect ending to a busy weekend-never gets old!

Sunday Reflections

Alright-I truly have to get better at blogging my thoughts throughout the week and not just relying on the Sunday tradition.  Having said that-here goes:

• Weather has turned deliciously cool here-woke to 26 degrees this morning!
• Got another visit from Florida friends-Cody Davidson & buddies stopped by on their way to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game-I'm very proud of the godly man that he has become!
• Thoroughly enjoyed the staff Christmas party at the Waers house-what a great family to be part of!
• Celebrating Advent as a church is a great reflection on some of the traditions of Christmas
• Mike flat out brought it in teaching about love this morning-way to challenge a church let go of prejudices!
• I love it when we can start or end a service with a baptism-lots of young people committing their lives to Christ
• Had our first team meeting for the Arizona mission trip-23 excited people preparing to head out in to the mission field-many of them for the very first time-I know God is going to do great things through this group
• My oldest daughter is growing up far too quickly (they all are) and finding her place here in the youth at Northridge
• I am so blessed to have an incredible wife & daughters-much better than I deserve

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!

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

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!

Sunday Reflections

Another great day ending here in Milledgeville & time for the new tradition of Sunday reflections:

• Crisp morning driving in-got to love this Georgia fall weather
• I love an early Sunday morning being the 1st one at the church-great time of prayer & coffee
• We are so blessed with a great staff here-everyone pitching in and helping out-what a team!
• Prayer with our elders each Sunday morning is a true blessing-the way that these men's hearts are broken for God is amazing
• True internal conversion doesn't happen by accident-it has to be an intentional effort
• It doesn't matter what you do on the outside if you aren't changed on the inside
• If we want to make an impact in our community we have to be transformed from the inside out first
• I'm excited about the future of youth ministry here-great parent meeting today-lots of potential!
• Good end to a Sunday with a family dinner & tucking my girls into bed-never gets old!