Just a Face in the Crowd

This morning I went to Norfolk for my Friday morning coffee in Ghent. It was the first time in a little over a month. If you are not familiar with my visits to Norfolk. It is just to establish a base there for when we launch the Norfolk campus in 2010. So anyway....it has been a while. I have a tab going which to my discovery only had .48 cents left on it. So I paid my $1.95 for my medium coffee, and proceeded to find a territory that I could claim as my own. I would stake my position and set up shop. Maybe listen to a sermon, observe the locals, or just surf the Internet. Well as I was on my way to grab a seat I recognized a familiar face. Now this face wasn't familiar because I have been going to Elliot's Fairgrounds Coffee Shop in Ghent, but rather it was familiar because I had spent time with this person while stationed on the mighty USS Cape St. George the Navy's finest Cruiser. Just to be sure it was him, I asked his name and sure enough it was SK2 James Gould. Now James wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, even though owning a MA in business. Also he was kind of an idiot savant when it came to life. He was the butt of many jokes, and sad to say on the receiving end of some of mine. He was a likable guy though. Well past his prime, but serving the country nonetheless. So long story short, to stumble upon him after 5 years of not seeing him had to be a God thing.

We got to talking about life and where each of us is at. He is in the process of getting out of the Navy and moving back home to be near his mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. Also he suffers with an anxiety disorder, and if you met him you would understand why. I don't say that to disrespect him.

While talking I asked him how he remembered me. This of course was after I revealed to him of me being a Pastor. What I would hear next would sadden me but not surprise me. He went onto say that I was not one that he saw as a troublemaker or knew of as getting into trouble. He saw me as a guy who would go to the bars, have a drink, and then go on with my business while in port. He saw me as just a "face in the crowd". Now this to me was all an accurate statement. The thing that saddened me was that I was known more for what I wouldn't do than what I was about. While in the Navy I claimed to be a Christian, but I didn't live it. I told people that I was going to be a Pastor, but I didn't witness to them. I did everything to be just a "face in the crowd". This challenged me!!! But I know that reconnecting with him was no coincidence.

I have a picture of him and I in a bar in Turkey. I would often look at that picture and wish that I had been nicer to him, or that I would have stood up for him. But how could I have? I was just a face in the crowd. I had at one point wrote off that time of my life. But the kind of God we serve didn't. He kept it tucked hidden away until the moment that I would best be ready for it. Until today.

James and I talked for 2-3 hours about life. About everything from religion, politics, the economy. About each other. I was able to be that person that was able to share my love for the Lord. I was able to look at him and be accepting of him despite his eccentricities. I was able to shower him with love and compassion. I now have that part of my life back. I am more complete because of that encounter today. That is the kind of God we serve. He takes those "face in the crowd" parts of our life and transforms them into God moments. Only He can do that. Only He can restore us to where we want to be.

So if you are living in those "face in the crowd" seasons of life, have faith and know that God can bring everything full circle when He is ready. Just give it to Him and He will do it. Sometimes He needs to do more in us before He can do more through us.

Give Me Faith....

My title is the title of a sermon series from Steven Furtick at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. It is a series that addresses what I feel every Christian struggles with. Is my faith strong enough? Is my faith real? Is my faith something that can withstand the fire? For me lately, I have been in a lull where I am just going day to day and have not really had the umph that I would like in my walk. Of course it is self induced, but more importantly I have chosen to bow to the idols in my life that is brought on by the "music" surrounding me. In Daniel 3:13-30 it is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king, I'll call him King Neb, has issued a decree that when the music is heard all will bow and worship the 90ft idol that he has constructed. As the story goes on we see that the three men do not bow down and that the consequence of this is to be thrown into a firey furnace. This was a direct result of their "disobedience" to this earthly king, authority, decree, accepted way of life. And because of this their faith was tested. The scripture goes onto say with their response they stated three things: 1. They did not recognize the enemy by name. They did not give respect to the force behind this issue. 2. They did not have to defend their faith. This was not their job to put time and energy into doing so. Thier actions spoke for themselves. 3. They had an attitude about their faith that stated that even if the Lord didn't deliever them they would not bow because they had their convictions of only serving the one true God. I know for me recently that the trials of my faith have been a refining fire. I, unlike the three guys, have a little smoky flavor. But I know that I have not been consumed. This is for me to grow and for my faith to go to the next level. We need to know that EVERY trial is an opportunity for us to be refined. And just as they were delivered from the flames so too will we be, because Christ is with us in those times. "Look!! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth, looks like a son of the gods." God is always with us. We just need to know that the trials in our life aren't meant to burn us but rather refine us.

Relax (Don't Do It)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood said it best, but if you are anything like me you are just too busy. Work 9-5, Monday through Friday. You have something planned every night of the week. Whether it is business or pleasure and then when it is time to sit and relax something comes up and you have to do it. This is just the society that we live. A 24/7 mindset. 3-6-5 lifestyle. Why are we that way? Is it beneficial to us in our relationships, our own personal time, our physical health, or how about our spiritual health?
I think that the enemy has done a great job of creating distractions in our everyday lives that take away from all of this. Some would not be so bad, but once again our mindset is to have everything now and in our hands. This would explain midnight showings of the hottest new movies or if you are a video game nerd like me, the midnight releases of a new video game (I will be there at the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2; just saying). It is not just this. It is with releases of iPhones, Black Friday, Green Tuesday and whatever other color day that has a massive sale. My point is we need to not be so eager with what the world says we should have or what we should do. This is seen not just in getting stuff. It is also seen in the mindset of workaholics. As a workaholic we have to be working on the something all the time. Whether it is for a deadline, overtime, or cleaning the house. We have to always be doing something.
But the Bible says something contradictory. It is one of the ten commandments. Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Rest. Relax. Take a break. I like this quote from Rob Bell. It was actually from one of his tweets. He said: "On the Sabbath we live as if all of our work is done-even if it isn't." That is some great stuff. Even if there is a huge pile of laundry or if there is one last addition to that project we need to rest. What it says by taking rest is that you are more important than the work or the busyness. The truth is that you are. God knows this and thinks this. This also brings scripture true in your life. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Paul is talking about sexual immorality and to abstain from it, but in the scripture he says that "Everything is permissible by me, but not everything is beneficial" This can apply in the area of work. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. The end of that passage goes on to say "you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." We need to honor the Lord with our bodies and our time.
Take a break once a week. It will be hard at first, but if you make it a priority you won't be disappointed.
Exodus 20:10-"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day."

Our Ministry: Is it like Christ's?

I think about the way that I and the majority of Christians witness to people directly or indirectly, and it has brought me to a conclusion. I am 27 years old and have been witnessed TO a handful of times, maybe 4-5. Now modern day statistics say that there are approximately 224,000,000 Christians in the United States, and I have been witnessed to 4-5 times. Now I am not saying that I am doing any better. As a Pastor I get to witness through my work, but what am I doing in my plain clothes away from the church. What are all of us doing as believers?

I feel that it is because we have not accepted the new covenant that the Lord paid the ultimate price for. The more I think about it, it feels as if the majority of Christians are wandering through life like the children of Israel did. What I mean by that is there is a promise given to us (eternal life), and we are just doing everything we can just to get that promise. While instead the new covenant which fulfills the old covenant should require us to live how Jesus lived rather then how a bunch of nomadic people lived. We too many times are waiting for God to give us the next opportunity rather than make our own with God's direction. Jesus ate at sinners' homes. He hung out with hurt and sick people. Maybe we take the scripture in Romans 12:2 TOO literal and we separate ourselves from anything and everything that could possibly lead us astray. Maybe I want more for my walk. Maybe I want people to look at me and see Jesus rather than see someone that is weak and is leaving it all to God. God gives us the power to do all these things. Through Christ this power is given.

I guess what I am saying is that we need to have lives that reflect Jesus rather then a life that is aimless in wandering with a "pillar of smoke" leading us to the "promise land." I want to be a Joshua and a Caleb, who had the spirit of the Lord in them when they said that they could take the land. I don't want to be the other ten that were punished with death. Because in the end if we lived our life like that there will be a yearning or desire to have wanted to do more, and that will feel like death.

So may we look to Christ and how He DID ministry, with boldness and courage!! Let us not be fearful of man. Let us take the land the Lord has given us. Let us know that it is Him that gives us the strength to do these things and it is not of ourselves. Let our ministries be like Christ's!!

Step Into The Light

In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night or in the darkness and proceeds to tip toe around the fact that he believes in who Jesus says He is; the Son of God. Nic then goes on to ask questions of Jesus, not to trip Him up, but rather to get to the bottom of it. He basically states that He must be who he says He is by the miracles He performs, but how can he be sure that He is? Jesus then talks about being "born again" and that no one can enter heaven unless they are. "This is of water and Spirit." This is with an encounter or experience with the character and person of Christ. You can see all the miracles in the world, but unless you encounter Him you just won't know Him. So many Christians are not living as they born again because for some they have either not had that encounter with Christ, or they have reverted back into the darkness and they just cant feel it anymore. Christ also goes into other difficulties that people let get in the way. Jesus says that if He speaks to people of earthly things and they don’t believe how will they believe in heavenly things. So many people get hung up on the earthly things i.e. age of the earth, creationism vs evolution, big bang, etc; They let this consume them and prevent them from seeing the spiritual side of it all. They aren't just willing to believe which leads into the most well known scripture in the Bible: John 3:16. But I like the verses to follow; how He talks about condemnation. The way to be free from it is to just believe. But I think that "to believe" in anything is simple, it is knowing that it is true that is the difficult part. I can believe that my football team is going to win a game, but knowing that it is true is difficult for me to hold on to. This is different from believing in Christ. We can know what He says is true by the evidences in our life, IF, we are obedient to His word. IF we are in the light.

Verse 19 goes onto say that Light came into the world but men loved darkness instead of light because of their evil ways. There is almost security in the darkness. You can't really see what is going on and in turn other people can't see what you are doing. People are afraid to come into the light because of fear that their ways will be exposed.

Maybe this is why Nicodemus came at night and in the dark. Maybe he didn’t want people to see what he was doing. Getting closer to the light, having an encounter with Christ. But Jesus is so smart in the fact that Nic was where he was at. You see, Christ knows where we are all at, and as He concludes with Nic He simply says that "whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." This is a positive twist on exposing us gently to show people God's love and grace. He isn't like one of my children who tattle on the other with hopes of disgracing us, but rather as a loving parent that shows us our faults and that He loves us in spite of them. This is an encounter or experience with Him. This is the safety and comfort of the light.

So I urge you to step out of the darkness and into His light. You are able to see a lot better there.

How are you praying?

So God gave us prayer for many reasons. To thank Him, to ask of Him, but mainly just to talk to Him. He wants to know our hearts. He wants to know what's going on. Can He simply read our minds and be done with us? Sure He can, but He wants us to talk to Him. If I could read my wife's thoughts, it might be kind of cool for a little while, but I will lose the interaction that forms an important part of our relationship. If I am just sitting there absorbing her thoughts it is just a one-way form of communication. She gets nothing in return. This is how it is with God. He wants to interact with us, and in that interaction miracles happen. That is where we know that we are not alone. That is where we know Christ is alive. That is where we know that we are not living by blind faith. This ultimately is the confirmation of our faith.

But maybe you pray all the time and you feel like you don't get a response. Maybe you are praying with selfish motives. Maybe it is all about you. What if someone you loved was always asking you for things and not once asking how you are doing or what they could do for you? That is what is called a high maintenance friend. Well that is true of a lot of Christ followers. They are high maintenance Christians. God wants to be your friend where the relationship is a two way street. He wants you to come to Him for things, but He also wants to come to you for things. He wants to know that you are willing to follow where He leads. When asking for things, it needs to be in line with His Kingdom and His will.

So next time that you offer up a prayer to God, think about how you are asking it and how would you feel if you were on the receiving end. This is not to say that you can't just cry out to Him when you need Him. Like any good friend He will be there for you to listen and care. He loves you and wants you to know that. I think that He just wants to have a relationship with you like any other person. He is not as distant as we make Him. He is as close as we let Him. So I guess it is kind of like the Golden Rule: Treat God like you would want to be treated. Talk to Him and he will talk to you!!!

Is the Law your God?

In 1 Timothy 1, Paul is writing to Timothy in Ephesus. The Ephesian church was becoming a place where people were getting too hung up on false doctrine and following the law to the tee rather then lifting each other up in love. Paul addresses this especially in regards to the "fantasy stories" and "fanciful family trees that digress into silliness". This of course is referring to the church getting caught up in the twisting of the Word and the useless genealogies that caused more division than unity. The letter then transitions to what needs to be focused on, taught, and lived. And that is love. So if you take a step back here, there is a battle between the doctrine, or law, of the Ephesian church and the loving nature of Christ.

I never really thought about it before, but sometimes I get too worried about following the "law" so perfectly that I always fall short. Instead of getting hung up on this I need to have love be the purpose. God is love, a message that the apostle John used as a theme in all of his writings. Now I am not saying that the law needs to be ignored but rather used as a guideline for those already seeking the Lord. Paul goes onto say that it is designed for those that are not yet living for Christ. For us that claim to follow Christ, we need to be more concerned with our personal relationships with Him than making sure that we stay with in the lines. It is the personal versus the impersonal. Jesus wants to know us because of how much we love Him, not because how well we keep the rules. I was listening to a sermon recently on this and how impossible it is to keep the law. There is no way on earth that we as humans can keep all the rules set before us. That is why we ALWAYS fall short, and for some people this is what keeps them down. They are looking more to the law then they are to the Lord. The law was given to us to help us not rule us. The law, in a sense, is more like road signs pointing us in the right direction. Once we have arrived it is on us to maintain the relationship so that we stay there, but if we get "lost" again we need to use the road signs to get us back there.

So instead of worshipping the thing that points us to the Lord, we need to worship Lord and us utilize the law to help us get there and remain there. So when it comes down to it, who or what is your God? If it is the law are you a happy Christ follower or a miserable failure? I would guess the latter. Take a step back and adjust what leads you. May it be the Lord in heaven who loves you and cares for you. May He be your God.

Bearded Compliments

Recently I have been the recipient of several compliments. All having to do with my appearance. More specifically, all having to do with my facial hair. At first I was getting great compliments about the way that it looked. But I should have suspected something when all of them came from youth, more specifically from male youth between the ages of 15-18. If you have been following me on Twitter or are one of my friends on Facebook you might have seen that I have been growing out what I like to call a "man-beard". A man beard is simply facial hair that is grown out with little to no grooming with the hopes of being mistaken for a lumberjack. But on Father's day it would all change. Upon completion of my Father's day meal I took a pic and posted it on Twitpic, and much to my horror the beard looked grotesque and unsightly. This sparked me to shave it. Which in turn led to more "compliments", one as recent as today. Normally I would accept them with open arms basking in the radiance of people showering me with greatness. But these compliments in particular have been somewhat......how do I say it......RUDE!!!! The first one was on Saturday night while at church. This one, might I add, is more forgivable because it came from an 11 year old boy. While in conversation with the boy's father he decided to compliment me on my recent shave. "I see you shaved," said the boy. "It looks like you shaved thirty years off of your life." I didn't know how to respond to that. Did he just give me a reverse compliment? The other one was so graciously bestowed upon me by the check-in worker at the YMCA. You know the place where people go to exercise and feel better about themselves? Well before I could even begin to think better about myself the trend of "compliments" continued. As I handed my key chain for her to scan she looked at me oddly for a second and then her eyes became bright and she asked me if I had a beard the previous week. I told her that I did but that it was uncomfortable because of the heat. A lie of course. Then she said it. She said the most unexpected form of a compliment that I have ever received. Instead of saying, "You look good", or "What an amazing jaw line". She said, "Well......keep shaving." Keep shaving!?! What was that supposed to mean? Was that even meant to be nice. I had nothing to say in response. I was in shock. So I looked like a freak with my beard and now I look like Brad Pitt to you lady? What the heck!?!

From there I went. On with my day. On with my life trying to comprehend what has been going on with these people. I have come to two conclusions from this whole experience. One is that no one I know knows how to give a genuine compliment, and two I need to stop looking for compliments. I am only going to let myself down. I need to find value from God, not from others around me. If I look for it from others I will be hugely disappointed as you all have seen from this blog entry. Only God has the real view of you and it is one of love, respect, loyalty, honesty, and I could go on and on. So look to Him and you will be fine.

Be Mentioned

For sixteen verses in Romans 16, Paul gives his TRL style shout-outs to his peeps. From Pheobe, to Priscilla and Aquilla, to Adronicus to Plegon. Those last two sound like they are from the planet Zorkon of the Nebulal Quadrant (seriously they do). And while mentioning their names, he gives reasons, indirectly, why. While I never noticed this before, there are some pretty amazing people recognized. Some are known for their hospitality, their love of God, being the first follower of Christ in Asia (dang, that is sweet), two are known for sharing a jail cell while also being believers longer than Paul. The list goes on and on. But they are mentioned by name. He then goes on to mention those that are up to no good. The thing is that he doesn't waste ink on their names. He just says to avoid them and what they do. They are out for selfish reasons and to lead others astray.
I don't want to be the ones mentioned for the negativity they were known for. Their names are not even acknowledged, but I rather be named. I want to live a life that is worthy of God. I say so in the most humble of means. I want to be known for sticking my neck out there (vs 4), laboring much for the kingdom (vs. 6,12), being a fellow worker in Christ (vs. 3, 9), and being a beloved in the Lord (vs. 8). All the things mentioned were done so not for how great they made Paul feel or how great it made him look, but rather how they were living for Christ. The latter were warned against, almost black-listed. Paul wanted people to know what others were doing in the name of Christ.
I have often joked about wanting to be listed in the Bible if it were to be continually added to, but in some seriousness I do. I want to be known for a life that has been lived for God. I know that I have a long way to go, but with the Lord's help I can become what He wants me to become.

"Lord bring me to a place where I am known for loving You, loving others, and serving the world. Let it be the the light that you are shining through me. May I be an agent for the Kingdom rather than a destroyer of it. If anyone were to mention my name, let it be you." Let this be your prayer. Let this be something that defines you. Let this be why you are mentioned.

Encouraging Evangelism

Romans 15:21 says: "Those who were never told of him—they’ll see him! Those who’ve never heard of him— they’ll get the message!"

I don't think that this scripture only refers to those that have never heard the name "Jesus", but rather those who have never heard or encountered His character, His peace, His love, His grace, etc. People can know the Bible and know the name Jesus, but never trully know. There are a lot of Christians that know Him but don't trully KNOW Him. This is where they have never had a true encounter with Him. They are just going through the motions. So many people will say that they are Christians, but their lack of relationship with Jesus will play out in their actions and deeds. What is their fruit? What is my fruit? This is where we must continually be pressing into God so that we might KNOW Him. He will then use us so that others might have an encounter with Jesus. It is like when Christ calls Phillip to follow Him. He first ran and told his friend Nathaniel. At first Nathan was skeptical of Jesus, because he had not yet encountered Him. He even questioned if anything good came out of Nazareth. He did this because he just heard of the things that come from there. He had not trully investigated for himself. But when Christ revealed Himself to Nathan, an encounter happened and Nathan was transformed.

So like Phillip we must go and tell our friends, family, and coworkers about Christ and not become discouraged by the backlash but rather have them have an encounter with Christ. Then they will see and they will understand.

The Teachings of a Two Year Old

Lately it has seemed that our son's case of the terrible twos has errupted into a scene from the Exorcist movies. Not cool. But through it all God has been able to show my wife and I a lot. We have had our patience tried through a lot of bad behavior. Talking back, straight-out defiance, and a destructive spirit. Bekah and I were at our wits end at what to do or even how to parent. It came to a breaking point last night and this morning. Nathan woke up several times and wouldn't go to sleep. That was just the beginning. When we finally woke up Bekah got his breakfast, some cereal and grape juice. I was still lying in bed when she said that Nathan had thrown his cereal on the floor. This was not the climax. He then proceeded to throw his juice onto the floor. He then had the nerve to tell Bekah to clean it up. Needless to say a barage of emotions were expressed amongst the mess and exhaustion from the previous night's lack of sleep. After the dust cloud had settled and the morning turned into the afternoon God decided to used this mornings events and the past couple of weeks to speak to me.

"That is how you have been acting and treating Me." Ouch. "You have made the mess and have demanded that I clean it up." Oh my. Is this true? Is this how I have been treating my Father? Through my sins and my arrogance I have been acting like a two year old with no remorse. But God has a way of getting a hold of us. I was listening to a podcast this morning while I was running and the pastor referenced the scripture in Revelation where God will vomit us out of His mouth if we are luke-warm. As the speaker mentioned didn't say that He wants us to be 100% "on fire" for Him or the complete opposite and be cold and useless, but rather be refreshing as a ice cold drink on a hot summer's day or a hot cup of cocoa on a frigid winter's night. The point is that to be luke-warm is to be useless. The way that I have been in my spiritual walk lately has been that comfortable, complacent, content Christian.......USELESS.

God used my two year old son to show me that. Through my lacking and disregard for who God really is, He used my flesh and blood to teach me what I should know at 27 years of age. Thank you Father for my son and through humbling me and teaching me that you want me in 100% not in the middle. Make me a ice cold refreshment that is utterly consumed by flames of refinement and grace.

Get out of the way!!!

Something that struck me powerfully this morning is where I was reading in Romans 9. It first speaks of Paul's sorrow because of his people not accepting the fact that Jesus was who he said he was. It then goes into addressing the spiritual aspect of the lineage of Abraham. I never caught it before, but there has always been a "one or the other" situation with this. In verse 7 he states that the Jews will be defined with Isaac, he then goes on to talk about Jacob and Esau and how "the older will serve the younger". So here there is a clear line of who God has chosen, but it is not based on the works performed by either Isaac or Jacob but by God who called them.

So why did this stick out to me do you ask? Simply for the fact that in both these situations there are God moments and then there are man moments. With Abraham, he took it on his own to have a son with Hagar in which Ishmael is born and the Palestinians are descended. The other is the plot to have Jacob receive the birthright from Isaac. In which he did receive so deceitfully. In both these situations, man got in the way. This is much like all of us in every way. We choose to do it our way or God's way. Nine time out of ten it is our way.

In Galatians 4:21-31 Paul addresses the slave woman versus the free woman and how we are either born to the slave woman or born to the free woman. This in a sense is a warning to us that we can either choose to live in bondage because we do it our way, or we can choose to live in freedom because we do it God's way. Initially we are all in bondage to sin, but because of what Christ did for us we are now free.

So why remain in bondage? I know that there are many reasons why one would, but maybe knowing that if we do things God's way it will bring us freedom then we will choose this more often.

I would like to start living with the moniker, "It's either God's way or the highway", rather then the other well too practiced one. May God bless you and may you not get in the way so much.

Falling down and getting up.

Why does falling down hurt so much? Why does trying to get up seem so impossible? In the walk of a Christ follower the weight and burden from stumbling and trying to get back up from it seems so heavy. In all reality it is a mental/spiritual thing that the enemy has perfected. He knows that we are a people that are more critical of ourselves then anyone else could ever be. In doing so this a self inflicted prison that we keep ourselves in. It is almost a prison with no cell doors, but we just can't seem to believe that we can get free. But the Word says "he who lives in me is free indeed." Easier said than done. Or is it? The simple act of reading the Word, putting on the "armour", giving your day to Christ seems like an impossible mission. Once again, the lie of the enemy.
We have strength in Christ- 1 Timothy 1:12-
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service."
We must think about this daily. Place scriptures throughout your home. Read the Word. Talk to people about Christ. Be available to God. Just DO what you know to do. In James 4 it says if a man knows what he must do and does not do it then he sins. Let that ring out!!!
Be encouraged that God is sovereign and that He will not give you more than you can handle (1 Cor 10:13). Through your testing He will give you strength. He will also give you a way out. You just need to take it. And if you fall, He will be there to pick you up and dust you off with a look of love and compassion rather than disgust and disappointment.
Psalm 22:8-"He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." Let this be true of you, because it is true of Him.

I am back!!!

After taking a sabbatical from writing, I have returned. A lot has gone on since I last wrote. Where to begin? Well, I began working out again. Nothing too serious, unless you consider working out five times a week serious. I just got fed up with not looking model-esque anymore. Not that I ever did. I just do weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with cardio (running) all five days. My goal is to get to my fighting weight, whatever that is. I have decided to step it up though. I am going to lift weights five time a week. Low weight with high reps. I need to tone it up. I have my TEN year reunion this year. I need to go back and show them how unscrawny I am now.

Besides the workout plan, I have started up school again. Vinyeard Leadership Institute to be more exact. I am about to take my midterm for The Writings (Psalm, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon) and for Vision and Planning. Great stuff. I do feel that I have become a demi-scholar. After this semester I will be a second year student and have only three semesters left. If feels good to be getting this done. I know though that I am not done with education after this. I would like to get my bachelors still. Plus with the new policy that the Navy came out with, I get free tuition up to any state level university. God is good!!!

Oh yeah, the most important thing is that I was introduced as the new multi site campus pastor officially. We will be launching a Vineyard Community Church campus in Norfolk. I am stoked. It is going to be a great opportunity.

Well, now that I am caught up I can relax. I know that there are readers out there. I hope. If you are, then just hit me up with a comment. If not, then continue to enjoy your anonymity.

Slider out!!!

Dental Work

So yesterday I had my six month cleaning. In a weird and twisted way I enjoy going to the dentist. Some people are deathly afraid of it, but not me. So anyway, I had done my pre-visit ritual of brushing, flossing, and gargling mouthwash. Bekah pointed out to me, based on my lack of flossing, that when it comes to me and flossing I am like most non church goers: I only floss two times a year like most people only go to church for Easter and Christmas. The funny thing about it is that I haven't had a cavity since I was a little kid. She flosses everyday and she just had a cavity or two in the last couple months. Irony sure is funny.
Anyway.....back to my dental visit. So I was looking forward to it because of my success record in not having cavities. I arrive at the dentist office and wait in the waiting room, obviously. They have this cool fish tank that has a fish in it that seems to be too big for it. It is like a shark/goldfish hybrid. Very cool. They finally call my name. Now this is only the second time that I have been to a civilian dentist since I got out of the Navy so it is still a different world. Everyone is happy and glad that I am there. Quite a difference from the Navy. My dental hygienist is this perky little girl named Megan. I had her last time and wasn't fearful at all.
Things were normal as usual, but Megan was extra talkative this time. Not in an annoying way, but in a way that she required responses while my jaw was wide open. I don't know if they teach the hygienists how to understand complete incoherency in dental hygienist school, but that is all she was getting from me. A lot of uncomfortable half laughs and several unintelligible gag-like tones resonating from the back of my throat. She seemed to understand, so I didn't question it. She told me about her daughter and I tried to tell her about Abigail and Nathan as best and clearly as I could.
After the initial cleaning she got the horrid floss out and began to cut through the soft tissue that hold my teeth in my mouth. Needless to say as I rinsed and spit, flowing red liquid protruded from my mouth. A sign that I should probably floss more. After everything was said and done I was released with my free gifts of floss, travel toothpaste, and a brand new toothbrush with the dentist office's name on it. Oh joy!!! I had hit the mother load. Oh yeah, my gums were throbbing. I guess to remind me that not flossing can result in abuse at your dental cleaning.
So kids, brush your teeth daily and always remember to floss!!!

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Peeps Death

So on Easter, Peeps are a childhood favorite. I personally never enjoyed them. So this year Bekah had bought some for Abigail and Nathan. With the ones that were not eaten, Allison Virtue Drew, decided to introduce "Peep-fighting". Now I don't know if it is a felony to do this, so I claim no responsibility in the outcome of said fights. The object of "Peep-fighting" is to mercilessly poke each peep with a toothpick and then face them together (see first photo), you then proceed to stick them into the microwave facing one another. If it weren't wrong enough to empale them with toothpicks you then get enjoyment by nuking them with the intention of them "fighting" one another. As you see by the end picture there is nothing left but death and carnage. So I ask you Peep lovers of the world to unite and stop the senseless killing of the innocent marshmallow treats the children around the enjoy to............eat? Wait a minute what is the difference? Fry those suckers. Nuke em!!! Kill them Peeps!!!!

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Easter

Today is Easter and I am sitting at home with my family, both immediate and extended, and I am reflecting on what Easter really means. I had the privilege of leading the family tradition of the bitter herbs and the Lord's Supper. It was quite an honor and very moving for me. I never really thought about the Old Law and the New Covenant. To see what God had done with His people and then to send His son to fulfill what He had done with His people. But not only did He do it for His chosen people but for all of creation. I love my Father so much and to put Easter into perspective is now something that I have done and it makes me more appreciative of the sacrifice made for me. If you have read the "Father's Love" entry then that, to me, is what I feel it is like for us. Once again the mystery of God's love.

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Love of a Father

The love of a father is something that not everyone trully experiences in their life. I for instance grew up never knowing my biological dad. But this doesn't mean that I could never really know what it means to have the love of a father. I grew up a Christian and was always told about the love of God the Father, but I could never relate. It was just too hard for me. It was not until the birth of my first child Abigail that I could somewhat relate to the love the Lord has for us, but I was still missing the love towards me. In regards to the love that I have for my daughter, I was able to have a little glimpse of how it must be for God towards us. Also I had this thought that I didn't know if I wanted another child because I didn't think that I could love another child like I loved Abigail, but then Nathan came along and was amazingly surprised. It was a different type of love. Not any less or any more than Abigail. Just different. I never really thought anymore about it.

Recently I have been reading the Shack and have come to understand what the Love of the Father looks and feels like. I brought up my children and earlier for the fact that it is similar for how the Lord loves us. He doesn't love any of us more than the other. It is different and unique for each person. For me it takes the pressure off. For me it makes it more valuable. For me it makes it more special. I am not saying that I am completely at a place where I understand or even feel it all of the time, but I know it is there and I know that He loves me. The love of a father is so important, and He wants us to know that He does love us. But don't take my word for it. You must seek and find for yourself!!!

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How many blogs does it take to get to the center of a toostie roll pop?

I find that getting people to read my blog is something next to impossible. I don't know if it is because the lack of promotion or the sheer boredom created by them. I am not starting a pity party, but am making an observation as to why I always stop writing blogs. Maybe this time is different. Maybe if I approach it at a different angle and not use it as a way to get my own personal glory, but rather as an outlet of expression. It is quite therapeutic to get my thoughts out there. I just need to stay dedicated to writing and doing it more. That has always been the reason that I stopped was that I did not make a habit of it. So here is to the future of my blog. May it have a long and prosperous life!!!

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Beautiful Day!!!

It was a beautiful day today. I actually got to relax with the family and not do ANYTHING!!! We went over to Bekah's parents house for lunch and ate the largest pork chops known to man. I swear they were the size of one of my children. Very delicious (Thank you Loring)!! We then came home and tried to put the children to bed. We had success with one of them (Abigail), but lost the battle with the other one (Nathan). "You may have won the battle, but we will win the war." But after getting the babysitter, a.k.a. the television set, to get Nathan's attention we sat down and enjoyed three episodes of Heroes: Season 3 (See favorite TV shows). After the headache inducing mindless entertainment, we actually decided to enjoy the glorious day. So we packed the kids up into the jogger and hit the neighborhood. I really enjoyed looking at all of the houses and getting ideas to landscape our yard. We have more of a "dirt" than a yard, but with time and love we will transform it. Anyway....when we got back the kids wanted to play in the front "dirt", so we pulled out their bikes and they played while we sat out front and enjoyed a NICE glass of red wine. "Red, red wine goes to my head......"

As the sun set and the night air cooled, I was thankful for what God had given me at that moment; a beautiful family, home, and life. Those are the moments that really remind me of how wonderful it is to be in God's will. Sure it gets rough sometimes, but when you just slow down and enjoy the days God gives you He will always show Himself through it all.

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The problem with technology.....

The problem with technology is technology itself. It can never be as easy as "free wifi" or "plug and play". There is always some kind of communication error when trying to connect to anything. Whether it is a new software update, or even as simple as connecting to a wifi hotspot. If your system is not communicating correctly then you will have a problem.

This is true with any type of relationship. If the communication is not there, then you are going to have a connection problem. If you try to implement a new "software update" but do not communicate correctly to all the interfacing users than you are going to have a problem. Now this isn't to say that there is never "user error", but if the "user" is not properly informed of how the "system" is to work then you are most definitely going to have a crashed system.

Now this was an uber geeky way of expressing that people need to have communication in their relationships. Open, free-flowing, never-ending lines of communication. There are all too many "error messages" that pop up because the "systems" are not communicating properly. So to finish with where I began, the problem with relationships are the relationships themselves. Non Christlike relationships are destined to crash and unless godly communication is there than the users can only expect to have connectivity issues. I believe that if you devote yourselves to one another with God being your IT guy then you should rarely experience "program failure". I hope this made sense.

Slider Out!!!!!

Slider Out!!!

So I was approached about two weeks ago by one of the youth at the church and was told that every time that I ever leave a place that I should exclaim "Slider Out!!" At first it took me back to the time in my life where I was always doing something to announce my arrival or departure. Of course this was to feed the deep down necessity of being the center of attention, but as I have gotten older I no longer have that battling within side of me. Yeah right!!!!

I haven't really thought about it much since then. Until yesterday when I ended my blog with it. So now I am left with a small desire to begin doing this silly ritual. Whether it was to let the present company become aware of the soon to be emptiness that they were about to experience (most likely not), or for it just to be something that the younger crowd would think would be "cool", I now have this longing to do it. I think that I will first keep it simple and low key, and limit it to each blog post. But soon it may become something that takes the world by storm. I cannot help that I have been blessed with an amazing last name. Not like "Smith","Doe", or even "Jinglehiemerschmidt". Jon Slider just has a ring to it, so with that I shall leave you.

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So it begins.....

   The first of maybe a couple blog posts.  I never thought of myself as much of a "blogger", so we shall see how long this lasts.  This post may be like a first date from a hot and fiery place, or it may be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.  

   My first experience with blogs would be with those of my sister in law in which she used her amazing talent of writing (in which she pretty much got a degree in) to express with intricacy the matters of simplicity.  None of which I would like to divulge in this blog.  I could not do her justice and most likely go on to embarass myself. (Does this even have spellcheck?) But if you are interested check it out for yourself, here.  Since then I have read some blogs here and some blogs there, but none that have inspired me to do one for myself.  That was until yesterday, when I gazed upon the blog created by my good friend John Chappell (see blog here).  Now I am "inspired" to pour out some kind of thoughts from my head into cyber space.  Do people even call it that anymore?

   So from here till I blog again, we shall see if anyone decides to even take a gander at this compilation of words.  Maybe I can continue to expand my horizons and possibly start a vlog, but I doubt it.  It is all about baby steps. 

   Well until next time.......Slider out!!!!