This last weekend we did something a little different.

God gives us so much that we never realize is available, but just because we don't realize these things are available doesn't mean that they aren't there.

Peace, Rest, Strength, Wisdom. These are the things I have needed that God offers. However, I have never taken the time to really receive them. Sure I have asked for them, but asking implies that they were never given to begin with.

It more of a taking. I have been given access to the Peace of the Lord, to Rest in His spirit, to Strength in His presence. And the wisdom of God is available, but I never have thought about the fact that I ask for these things as if they weren't there all along.

There was an exercise that Tim put together for us to do this Sunday morning where we had a glass jar and went around the room filling up the jar with different colors of sand to represent what we needed. But we were reminded that these things are already available, so to take them knowing we will have them.

The jar will stand as a reminder of the things God offers to us, because when we go else where to find them (Peace, Rest, Strength, Wisdom) we will get shadows of what is really available to us.

God is Good

I have been thinking a lot lately about where it is that God calls us to be and when and how we are to listen.

There doesn't seem to be a blanket, "Yeah, thats how God will tell you" kind of way to listen. But one thing I have noticed with God is that when He tells you, you know its Him.

Lately Gods been telling me to get some stuff together in my life, its been exciting. Not easy by any stretch of the imagination, no, its been rather difficult to acknowledge my short coming and to seek God to help me resolve some of them. But without a doubt its been exciting. I have felt like through all the transitions in my life God has drawn me so close to Him and the result has been a heightened passion for His will, a desire to be closer to Him, and a greater love for the people He has put in my life.

The changes are evident, every day for the last two-three weeks I've had people tell me that God is moving in my life and in me, and its been encouraging, but i see it as confirmation that I am following Gods will for my life. This last week in worship we lead a song titled "Your Love Never Fails" and I shared about the bridge saying that God works all things for my good. And its good to recognize that God does all things for the good of His will, which when I stay close to Him, is for my good as well.

God is good, and I want to be near Him cause its the best I can get from this life. There is nothing better.

Recent Thoughts on Ministry

Recently i have been reading through Eugene Peterson's book 'The Pastor"

I have read books like this before but, in typical fashion God chooses to reveal things to each of us when we are prepared to handle it, and this time i read through these words it struck me in a new way.

He said that when he was growing up, a pastor was simply someone who would get up in front of everyone and tell amazing stories about what God was doing, somewhere else, with different people.

My mind went directly to Acts 2 where it says that these people had all things in common and I thought to all the times i had thought this just meant that they shared their possessions and that they talked amongst each other working towards the same missiononal goal.

This time i read it and understood, they would meet together and talk about what God has and was doing in their lives. They rejoiced in the common good that God had created through and in them. They would talk about everything that they were going through spiritually since no one else around them at this time had any idea what the body and kingdom of God was really like.

The body of Christ, The church. Its meant to share these things. We are meant to share with one another what God is doing in our lives, not the cool stories of other people. We all have these moments and they increase as we grow closer to God.

I know i am going to try harder to be more open and share more of what the spirit of God is doing in and through my life.

I encourage you to do the same

This is still favorite

I just laugh so much when I see this! You do too!
The IT crowd

I have reawakened my passion for switchfoot

Today I was listening to a lot of old switchfoot songs. They have pretty amazing advice too if you listen to the words well enough

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jxlv384GZM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Dr Who

You see it's like this. Life gets interestingly complicated but I know I can always count on one thing. When things get difficult I always have British sci-fi. Dr who with Matt Smith is awesome


as it was with David Tennant.


British tv I have come to realize might be better than American... But I haven't decided for sure yet.

Today Is A New Day

Welp, this is how it goes, life keeps bringing different things. Work is work and always will be. But the blessings are new every day. Its cool how i can always have something new come up to deal with and the key to not getting completely worked over by this world is perspective. Last few months car and financial issues. Today health and financial issues, tomorrow... something new to worry about. The perspective comes in because i know all to well that i have little to no hand in the good or the bad that comes my way. God gives and takes and will always watch out for what i need. what i don't have, i don't need. And those things that i have that i don't need, those are gifts i suppose. But all i know is that God is good to me.

other than that, i was thinking about posting more on this thing. figure it would be good for me. but i don't exactly know, should it be a bunch of thoughts about life? or a completely worship focused blog?