Genesis

Wednesday 6am Prayer!

2009-03-25T11:13:00.002-04:00

^{Psalm 5
1} O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
² Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
³ Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Every Wednesday morning at 6am we gather as a church to pray over the needs if our church, our community and our country. This is one of my favorite times of the week! It is so awesome that we have the opportunity to come together and intercede over people and our country. It is a real privilege! I feels like we are doing something to make a real difference for the kingdom of God. I've asked our staff and our small group leaders to join me and they are stepping up to the plate. Thank you! Now I would like to invite the rest of you to follow your leaders in this. I truly believe that this is what is going to impact our city more than another church on another corner. Not that another church on the corner is a bad thing but I just think that it's what is done in the prayer closet that is missing in too many churches on the corner. I'm not saying we are better than the others, I'm just saying that I've realized that for me and the team that God has given me the opportunity to coach, this is the way we are going to go.

Here is why -

1. God alone can change our generation

2. We need to get our orders from head quarters

3. Prayer is were the battles are won, on our knees we are the strongest

4. You need us to be a team that will storm the gates of hell for you and your family

5. We get to hang out with the lover of our souls - God

Hey considered your self invited to join us in changing Charleston, I double dog dare you!

My Trip to Walmart

2009-03-18T12:59:00.016-04:00

So, yesterday I went to Wal-Mart right before Genesis to get some coffee and creamers that we needed. But what was supposed to be a quick 10-15 minute trip to the store turned into quite an eventful one. When I got back to the Extension, I realized I only had 2 of the 7 bags of coffee that I had purchased. My first thought was "I am NOT driving back", but then realized that was almost $25 worth of coffee. So, I took a deep breath and made my way back to the store. As I'm walking in, I see a Hispanic man being cornered by three white guys. I could tell the guy couldn't understand what they were asking him and then realized he had stolen something and those three men were from lost prevention. They then proceded to take him into the store. While I'm waiting at the Customer Service line to be helped, I find out that he'd stolen a box of medicine worth $5 and they found $200 cash in his pockets. This really made me think why would he do that? He had the money to pay for it! Was it worth it? Now he has to pay a $1,000 fine for stealing! It just made me really sad.

Living Wide Awake

2009-03-08T18:19:00.002-04:00

For the past week or two, I have been reading an absolutely AMAZING book, Wide Awake by Erwin McManus. It has really been rocking my world and radically changing the way I view my life and the world around me. He challenges us to dream bigger than we think possible. To not be afraid to stand up and work for what matters. And to be willing to each work in our own unique ways. I was talking to Mikey last night, after many days of thought and speculation (not that those days have stopped), and it occured to me that over the past few years I have grown up a lot, but not really into the person I dreamed of and thought of becoming. I have grown up like most people do. And that's not what I used to want. I told Mikey that the biggest way I've changed is that I used to think all of my quirks, the things that make me uniquely Anna, were cute and wonderful and everyone loved them. It never occurred to me, even past the years where most pre-teens and teenagers start questioning themselves and trying to fit in, that my differences could ever be a bad thing. I speak differently than a lot of people because my family always emphasized learning and grammar. I love medicine and science. I always loved going to school, learning new things. I didn't ask myself if I was taking on too much with five Bible Studies a week, leadership in a number of clubs, school, and ballet. I just did what I could do...filled up my hours with work, and I loved it! But somewhere over the past few years, I lost that joy, or at least parts of it. I started wondering if people liked me less because of my differences. My enjoyment of school became a thing I thought I needed to downplay so I wouldn't stand out so much. I lost sight of who God created me to be in a huge way. And as Philip McCart, the youth pastor at Northwoods said this morning, quoting the great philosopher Popeye the Sailor Man, "I've had all I can stands. And I can't stands no more!" I refuse to keep taking the path my heart and mind started taking unbeknownst to me. I refuse to keeping questioning who God made me to be. I refuse to stop dreaming dreams too big for this one human being. I refuse to stop learning and growing and reaching. I refuse to not enjoy school, everything I learn, every test of skill and knowledge. I refuse to give in, to stand for what the world has told me matters. I am who God created me to be, and to my dying day, I will dream and reach farther than humanly possible because it is God who works in me to his glory!!

eHarmony

2009-02-25T13:13:00.002-05:00

WOW - What a series! I love talking about relationships! I also love being loved! Don't we all! During this series, I think that it became increasingly clear just how important God is in the equation. He completes us, restores us, leads us and He perfectly loves us. When He becomes our everything and when we experience His arms and have Him look deep into our lives with His "I'm crazy about you" eyes, we find love in its purest form! It is more addictive then "Hot-n-Now Krispy Kream donuts!" If we could ever grasp just how much He loves us and would open ourselves to Him, we would become more satisfied then we could ever have hoped for! A satisfied person is more satisfying! This was the main theme in this series! This is great news for us where ever we are in our relationship journey. If your single, engaged or married! He is the key! Start with Him and stay with Him!

We invite you join us as we enter into a new series called goBIG! Here is the question that we are going to try and answer - "What is going to take to leave a God Sized impact during our generation?" Come and join us, I dare you!

Genesis got engaged!

2009-02-16T08:56:00.003-05:00

Hey if you haven't noticed alot of our team got engaged this weekend! Congratulations guys. All of them are glowing! My daughter is actually one of the lucky girls (Go SARAH!). What a wild ride it has been! I'm very excited to see God working in the relationships of our young adults here at Genesis. I know the stories of how God has worked behind the scenes making all of this happen and I also know the choices these guys have made to put Christ first in their relationships. What a powerful combination!! I also know that there are others in Genesis that are wondering if they will ever get engaged and married. Here is my response to yall. First, fall in love with God, He alone can complete you! He is the only one who will never leave you or forsake you. Also, He has a plan for you, a great plan, a plan that will fulfill you and your wildest dreams! Maybe marriage is a part of that plan but the plan is the bigger picture! Secondly, Work on you! Hey make yourself the best you that you can be! Be the best you! What do you want in a person? You are your best bait! Work on it! How is your health? How is your fiances? What kind of a Christ follower are you? How do you respond to people? And third, you might want to check our relationship series this Tuesday night at Genesis, it seems to be working!

I love you guy!!!

He empowers us...

2009-01-19T13:34:00.004-05:00

This year has been so hectic so far, but so many awesome things are happening. There is something about a new year that gets me excited, maybe it's because It always seems like a new beginning. Small group starts today so I have been busy preparing and putting stuff together for the past couple of weeks. I am so excited though! Tonight I will meet all of the girls and talk about the group's theme and expectations. It will be fun. In general though, life has been good. It's kind of odd but God has been giving me a lot of confirmations about things and just opening so much scripture lately. I love it though because I feel like I am growing closer and closer to him every day. In fact, I was reading in Phillipians and it said this: For it is in God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. And in the book I am doing for my small group, (No Other Gods) kelly said this, "If God has asked something of you, he will enable you to do it-no matter how daunting the task-if you stay humble and close to him." After reading this I was filled with encouragement, not only for small group but for any situation I am faced with. At times there are seasons in my life and maybe yours where we are faced with something that we wouldn't expect. Or there are those times where God has asked us to do something that seems impossible. This verse tells us that we are not alone in those situations and he will empower us to do whatever he asks. We must remember the "there-ness" of God and lean on him for strength. I'm so excited about this year. And also for Genesis and another semester of small group. I want to see BIG stuff happen.....

What will 2009 hold?

2009-01-03T16:29:00.002-05:00

WOW what a thought? Over the years, God has placed certain purposes for that year. One year, I felt that God wanted Tracy and I not to lead anything but just serve others. It was the year that I learned the joy of serving. One year it was about change, that year God gave us patience to trust in His timing and His consistency. God loves to lead and He loves for us to lean into Him with all of our might! This year I'm feeling God calling us to learn. Ok, what does this mean? Well for one, it means asking some great questions from some amazing people and then listen. Also, we are being called to ask some hard questions about why we are doing everything that we are doing? Who is doing it and how are they doing it? I have no idea what we are going to learn but I'm so looking forward to it!

What theme is God leading you in this year? I would love to hear.

Love

2008-12-26T21:35:00.005-05:00

So my wonderful husband gave me the book Soul Cravings by Erwin Mcmanus for Christmas, and it is pretty amazing! So far I've read about half of the entries on Intimacy. He talks about every human being's desperation for love. It is incredible to realize the truth that we are all made for love...made to give love, to receive love, to pursue love, to live for love. And we are made by a God who IS love. Mcmanus explores the concept of unconditional love. The only love humans can really give is conditional...our best love may be close to unconditional, but we are imperfect and we love imperfect people. But God loves us without hesitation and without requirement. One of the greatest failings of religion is to assume that we must earn the love of God. God is a true lover, a perfect love-giver. He does not need a reason to love us. He pursues us because He can do no other thing, and He doesn't want to do anything else. He desires to be in relationship with us. How amazing! And the even more amazing thing is that His kind of love can explode in our lives. True love is insatiable. I believe Erwin Mcmanus says it best when he writes, "Love can never be simply between you and God. It can never be limited to that relationship. Jesus makes that clear. Love is ever expanding. Love always grows, not just deeper, but wider. Love always loves people more and always loves more people. Love calls us to community; love calls us to humanity; love calls us to each other."

So let's stop being afraid of love! Let's work together in our mutual imperfections to rid ourselves of abandonment issues and self-doubt. Let's join in community, leaving no outcasts, no person unloved, uninvited into our home. Because God is that home. And with Him, with true Love, everyone is welcome.

Consuming God

2008-12-12T11:46:00.001-05:00

With all of the business and inherent work of this time of year, it can be hard to keep working for the right reasons. So many of us become satisfied with just getting by in life. I do not mean that we do just enough to get by, although that can often be the case. I'm talking about when we work and strive for the bare necessities. We concern ourselves with food and clothes, with relationships and accomplishments, and I find at least, that sometimes I forget what life is really about. In John 6, Jesus is talking to a crowd that follows him across a river to where and he and his disciples have gone, and he tells him that they aren't really seeking Him or the Truth He offers. Instead, He says that they're following Him because He just gave them food and filled up their bellies. I believe we do that too often. We ask God to satisfy us with things that won't last, and sometimes those things are important, like food or relationships. But no matter how important some things may be, no matter how much we need them, our need for God must be greater than our necessities. He is even more vital to our life, even more essential to our happiness, even more crucially fixed to our survival! We need to stop making God the dispenser of what we need, and instead, make Him what we need! Jesus tells the people who have followed Him seeking more fulfillment, "do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (John 6:27). When our life becomes about getting by, about obtaining what we need for a comfortable life, we have lost the REAL life that Jesus offers us! What we really and truly need, what we cannot live without, what is essential to everlasting life and eternal joy in heaven, is Jesus. God Himself. Not what He offers us, but what He is. May we start seeking God instead of stuff, understanding of His will instead of what faithfulness will get us. May we stop living to consume what God gives us, and instead, consume Him and savor the True Bread of Life. The Giver of All Good Things because He is All Good, All Perfect, Righteousness, Love. He is what I need. May He be what I live for and what I seek daily.

Turkey Outreach 2008

2008-11-27T07:46:00.002-05:00

Thank you guys for making this event again this year. The heartbeat for this event has a few key goals all of which come from the story of when Christ encountered the Samaritan woman at the well.

Goal #1 - Get life filled people to pour out!

- Jesus encountered the woman in a place where people like him didn't go and instead of avoiding her, He engaged her in conversation, spoke life into her and left her convinced that He was the Messiah.

Goal# 2 - Have whole communities encounter Jesus.

The Samaritan women went back into her town and told everyone about Jesus and brought them to Him. I believe that when we as a community go out into the community we feel His heart beating inside of us. We try and reach every home in a community so that they all may encounter the love of Christ for themselves instead of just hearing about it from someone else.

Goal #3- So people can be full!

In the story, Jesus disciples were gone getting food while He stayed behind. When they returned with food, He told them He was full off of doing the will of His Father. I pray that everyone who got involved in this event this year will be full on this thanksgiving day. I also pray for those eating the food that was given to them that they will find Christ this year and never be thirsty again.

Happy Thanksgiving Guys! Tracy and I truly love all of you and are very thankful that God has given us the opportunity to pour His Life into yours!

Agape

2008-11-24T17:54:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking for the past couple of weeks about the word Agape. It's my new favorite word and to me it sounds beautiful. Rob Bell explains in his book Sex God that, "Agape is a Greek word used in the context of God's love for the people, "for God so loved the world." He goes on and explains that:
"Agape is a particular kind of love. love is often seen as a need, something we get from others. Agape is the opposite, Agape gives." 1 John 3:18 says, Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but with actions and in truth. Francis Chan explains in Crazy love, "One of the clearest ways we love "with actions and in truth", is by giving to others. Not just money, but time."

This makes me think about how I Agape( how I love). To often I am caught up in my own world. Stressing out about school, wondering what I am going to do on Saturday, or worrying about something so little and pointless. I tend to get wrapped up in me, me, me. I tend to forget about the important stuff like: the people around me who are in need of influence and love. And after thinking about Agape, this Christ-like love, I know their needs to be change in my life.
Sometimes we do things for others because we have to. Rob Bell explains that,"There is a love because, a love in order to, a love for the purpose of, and then there is a love, period. Agape doesn't need a reason." I think this is so neat. In my small group and at Genesis, or wherever I go I don't want to Agape people because I feel like I have to. There should be no reason. It's in my blood to love in such a way because I am of Christ, so this Agape love should just naturally flow in me. In all of us.
.....We just had the turkey outreach and it went amazing!! This is my second time doing it and It was awesome to see groups of people from our church so desperate to help and it was neat to see the reactions of the people who received turkeys. When I think about it now, we Agaped those people. Not because we had to, or because it was the right thing to do but because of God's love instilled in us. God's love provoked us to give in such a way, to donate in such a way, and to deliver in such a way. How cool is this? .....This only pushes me to think about the awesome things God could do with us by us first just simply loving others. So.....let's agape people! Love like Christ!

Forgiveness

2008-11-17T19:31:00.003-05:00

Forgiveness is such an incredibly beautiful thing. I visited my sister in Columbia yesterday, and her pastor really reminded me of some awesome truths. Colossians 3 tells us to forgive others as God forgave us. Not because he forgave us, although that is part of our motivation for sure! But it is more that we forgive AS He forgave us: unconditionally, always, whole-heartedly, compassionately, mercifully, gracefully. Our forgiveness so often looks totally different from that; it looks stingy and cold, stiff and often harsh, rooted in pride and a sense of our deserving better. True forgiveness is not about overlooking sins towards you; its about releasing a debt you feel is owed. Releasing it. Letting it go. Recognizing that the sin DOES deserve punishment, but Christ already took that punishment. When you forgive, you aren't being taken advantage of or giving in. You are admitting that Christ already paid that person's debt, just as he paid your debt. And that forgiveness leads to life. Compassionate, humble, gentle forgiveness helps and blesses and builds up the person you are forgiving. It lets us recognize that they are not doing anything to us that is greater than what we have done and will do to God. God forgives. He loves and cares and grows us. How beautiful. How devastating to our pride, to our sense of what we deserve, to our feelings of self-righteousness. All the good we are and can do is because of God at work in us. His grace. His love. His forgiveness. God has shown us the way; let's follow whole-heartedly after Him, living as he lived, loving as he loved, forgiving as he forgave.

Identity

2008-10-29T15:30:00.004-04:00

So, over the past week or so I have come to a realization. Now, it isn't a huge revelation, but more of a whisper that I have trouble hearing most of the time. And this realization, this message from God that has changed my life is simply this: God made me. That's it. He made me. Like the psalmist said, He knit me together in my mother's womb. By Him, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I grew up hearing this from my mother and my sunday school teachers, and I've told myself this on multiple occasions, and often truly believed it...but somehow, this week, it hit me in a brand new way. God made me, and I am His. And as David Crowder says, He makes everything glorious, and I am His...so what does that make me? Glorious, of course! And this idea of an identity of my own, but also an identity firmly established in God's identity, is beautiful and freeing and mystifying! I feel so liberated to know that it doesn't matter what I classify myself to be or who others say I am. I've had so many labels in my life, and I don't have to worry any more about keeping them or getting rid of them...I just have to be me: God's creation, beautiful and complex and simply breath-taking before God. I'm not just smart or shy or capable or efficient or conservative or liberal...I am myself, with a little bit of those things and a whole lot more, and I don't have to explain it to myself or to you or to anyone. God knows. God made me this way. And I am finally going to TRY my hardest to devote my life to Him and to being His creation, whatever that may look like. So here it goes...

Your Words

2008-10-26T21:56:00.006-04:00

For small group in a couple of weeks I'm going to be talking about God's Provision. Challenging the girls with the thought of do we believe to our core that God is going to provide for us? Take care of us? Are we giving him a chance to move in our lives? Are we scared? Is something holding us back from believing in his provision? I will be showing this video because it's so encouraging. We can't fully know God until we are fully trusting him with our lives. We can't be controlled by fear or anything else because God is love and he want to do amazing things in our lives. It's just a matter of believing that (by faith) and giving him the chance....I love Amena Brown. Her poetry is so beautiful...

Update on my thoughts.....

2008-10-22T13:35:00.001-04:00

WoW!!!! It's so amazing when the spirit of God moves in a place. Kind of weird because the spirit of God is ALWAYS moving in EVERY place. One place that he moves is our heart. I'm not talking about the organ that pumps blood to our vessels, but rather the core of our being. Last night at Genesis I truly believe that as a whole we recognized God's existence in our core. It's revolutionary when this happens because it brings us to a point where we can make life changing decisions. I'm speaking at an elementary school chapel this friday and I am trying to rap my mind around what kind of impact a large group of excited elementary school kids can make in this world. I've been thinking for about 3 hours now........ You see when we recognize Gods spirit our own possibilities become his, and our potential expands tremendously. How do stay in that moment though? How do stay in close proximity to God? I typically think about a lot of things and blow most of them off, but this one i just can't. I've got to know the answer here. Because i want it, because i need it. God is convicting me of some things and i have learned one thing about convictions over the last day or two. Our convictions give us an oppurtunity to be obediant or disobedient. I want to be obedient. I believe our obedience to God allows us to discern his spirit and his prompting in our lives. I want to be prompted by God in all that i do. I don't know these are just some random things that have been going through my head. Something about writing stuff brings me some clarity... LOL. But i hope this reaches all of you somehow. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!! Keep it cool my baby

Take Heart

2008-10-15T06:30:00.003-04:00

I have told you all of this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:35

Jesus had just finished telling the disciples about Him leaving them for a while "going to die" but that he would be back "raise from the dead". He also told them about how they would turn their backs on Him and leave Him when it got rough but that He wouldn't be alone because His Father was going to be with Him. This is what blows me away, "I have told you this so that you may have peace in me." In other words, "I know what has to happen, must happen and you are going to do what you have to do and I'm God and I understand that it's going to be the darkest moment of My life and and your going to leave Me but I'll be ok because MY Daddy is going to be with Me and I'm going to be ok and I want you to be at peace about this." What? Jesus is the man! He foreknew what was going to happen, must happen and what was going to happen to them and tells them "Relax guys, take heart, I'm in charge and I know what I'm doing!" And then He prayed for Himself and then them. He didn't pray for some escape plan for Himself or the disciples but that they would have peace while going through it and strength to not shrink back because He was in charge! I'm not sure if you'll get anything out of this but I'm finding so much peace in the fact that He knows all and is in charge even when I can't understand it or feel it! "Take Heart , I have overcome the world!" By the way He said this before He had!

My God

2008-10-14T16:16:00.004-04:00

God is my everything. He is beautiful and breath-taking. He is loving and merciful, just and upright, true and faithful, not lacking anything yet desiring my heart. My God is my mountain of strength and my fortress of peace. He is my light in dark times, my pillow when sleep is elusive. God is the hand I hold when I reach out for help, the tear that falls with mine when I cry. He is my everything. He is the sparkle in my eye when I laugh and the warmth in my heart when I smile. God is the answer to my desperation and the call to my wandering heart. He is every question I ask, every answer I seek. He is at the fork in every road I take and the path that leads me home. God is my everything. It amazes me how blessed we are to have such a kind, loving, true, holy, and redeeming God! It amazes me that He would die for us and take away the pain we've inflicted on Him! It takes my breath away that He has given us every breath to breathe. God is everything, mine and yours, all that is good.

"Answer me when I call to you,
       O my righteous God.
       Give me relief from my distress;
       be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Selah

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.

In your anger do not sin;
       when you are on your beds,
       search your hearts and be silent.
       Selah

Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety."

-Psalm 4

Romancing with God

2008-10-11T10:27:00.005-04:00

I truly believe that a woman becomes beautiful when she knows she is loved. When we are pursued we change. We become lovely, inviting, and radiant. I think a huge thing that makes us feel this way is romance. If you remember those times when you began to fall in love...the butterflies, the long phone calls, and wanting to spend every minute with that person because the way they made you feel. All in all for women we want to feel wanted. And you don't have to wait for a man to feel this way. Did you know that God wants us to feel this way? God wants to bring this in our lives. "What would it be like to experience for yourself that the truest thing about his heart towards yours is not disappointment or disapproval but deep, fiery, passionate love?"-Staci Eldridge. Think about God as lover for a second. All in all, scripture is this amazing love story about a lover that longs for us. We see the Romance between God and us not only in our hearts but all around us. Just look. That may involve asking him to open your heart to see what he is revealing to you. Jesus, how are you romancing me? "I felt a little weird in asking, for I knew the truth-- that God had already proven his love for me. He had sent his only Son, Jesus, to die for me. He had rescued me. He had paid the highest price imaginable for me. He had given me all of creation to speak of his great glory and love, and he had given me the Word of God in all its depth and beauty, and here I was, asking for more. And God loved it. God delights in revealing himself to those who will seek him with all their hearts. He is a extravagant, abundant Lover, and he loves to reveal his heart to us again and again." I think also that God wants the same thing we want and that's to be loved(John 14:21). He longs for us. It's hard because life is full of demands, pressure, temptation, struggles. There maybe those seasons in your life where one second your so close to God and the other seasons where he seems out of reach. Just fight for it. Ask him to make you hungry. Ask him to help create time and space to spend with him. And ask him to reveal himself to you. "He is worthy of our heart's devotion". He wants to romance with us. He wants us to dive into intimacy with him because only in him will our hearts find comfort and rest.

Real Truth

2008-10-07T20:28:00.003-04:00

God is Truth. Period. I think it is a sad state of the world that wisdom, knowledge, and truth are so often set up in opposition to God and to His message. When did learning and knowledge become contrary to pursuing God? When did asking questions and seeking truth become not seeking God? God is Truth. If we seek Truth, we are seeking God. If where truth leads us doesn't line up with God, then there is something we need to learn MORE or something we need to change about our concept of God. Water doesn't turn into wine, but God is miraculous...so for Him, it does. Everything comes from something, but God is eternal...so He always has been and never came from anything. If there is a disconnect, keep looking...God will be there in the middle of the truth. Wisdom can be found in Him and in His creation...I submit that we, as Christians, can learn from every area of life and people of every faith, not that we agree with all that they believe, but there is so much wisdom and truth and light that IS GOD and that we ignore because we are afraid that what we find might look too much like the real God and not enough like our story-book God who just sits in heaven, answers our prayers, and performs amazing miracles. God is MORE. God is REAL. We need to stop hiding behind this surface-level, dumbed-down, ignorant Christianity that so many Christians want to believe today! The bible tells us that we see as if through a cloudy window right now, and one day, we will see fully...but what this is saying is that we MUST keep learning! We know so little now and some of what we think we know is not Truth at all...so keep growing and learning and seeking! God calls us to pursue the Truth and to be full of wisdom, so let's start doing it! Don't be afraid that reality will deny God. Don't be afraid to face other ideas, other philosophies, other people. Don't be afraid. In true love, in God, there is no fear. LIVE! SEEK! LEARN! Let's not let our faith become stagnant, not let it wander from the Truth revealed by Christ and revealed in creation. Let's keep growing and increasing in knowledge and understanding! My God is great and glorious and almighty, and I trust and believe whole-heartedly that the only Truth I will ever find is in Him!

Glorifying Him....

2008-10-07T15:27:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since i have updated. Things have been good lately. I am leading a small group formed around the book Crazy Love written by Francis Chan. It's amazing the way a small group can change a persons heart. There is something about this group that attracts me. I think it may be the openness that we feel while we are there. It seems to be that the more i hear about these guys lives the more i care about them. I genuinely want to see these guys glorify God with there lives. I want to Glorify God with my life. This book is effecting me more than i thought it would. Honestly it's affecting me more than i wanted it to. I think sometimes we get so comfortable with our mediocre view of God. He is so big that my use of eloquent and well thought out descriptive words fall far to short to explain him. I cannot glorify God with my words but with my actions I can. What if my thoughts towards God cause me to actually change my actions. That is my thought lately. What if...... 1) i begin to live with a kingdom mindset 2) i step into god's plans rather than waiting for him to step into mine

I am realizing more and more that my possibilities are so limited without God's provision. I want to be apart of what he is doing. I want to be used in his movie. In his book Francis Chan says, "the point of my life is to point to him." He couldn't be more correct.

Lukewarm

2008-10-02T11:46:00.007-04:00

So, I've been reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and yesterday I read chapter 4 titled "Profile of the Lukewarm". Wow, talk about feeling horrible and maybe even fake. Through out the chapter Francis Chan describes the characteristics of lukewarm people and man did some of them hit home. Here is the one paragraph that really got to me and had to even read twice.

"LUKEWARM PEOPLE love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached."

So true! At least in my life. Loving those who don't love me back is definately a struggle and something that I really have to work on. Not by myself, but with God's help, love and guidance.

NIght of Worship

2008-10-01T06:51:00.002-04:00

Last night was amazing! I truly felt like God was worshiped! This is our desire every time that we worship but some times it just seems more authentic than others. I've already heard of at least 2 people that accepted God's love sacrifice found in Christ and said "I do" in response to His leading. Very cool!!!!!! Also, My heart is breaking over a few that are so trapped in things and are unable to break free from them. Tracy and I are in deep prayer over these situations and are asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in every step we take. If you don't know this, it breaks God's heart to see you struggling and it also breaks ours. God was proactive for each one of us and our crisis by sending His Son for our restoration before we even needed it. We desire for each one of you to live in that freeing restoration! God is here for you! His words, "I'll never leave you or forsake you!" That is a promise to you and for you! PLEASE DON'T LET GO OF YOUR GOD BECAUSE HE WILL NEVER LET GO OF YOU!

We love you guys and love doing life with all of you!

Rod & Tracy

Holy Ladies Update....

2008-09-29T23:59:00.003-04:00

..Ok, so here is an update of my small group Holy Ladies on Monday nights. Tonight we finally started the content of our group. And I talked about "Idols" in our lives. It went so well! I was definitely nervous but I really felt God's presence in the room and through the message. We talked about identifying "Idols" in our lives. Identifying the things that are consuming our focus and time away from God (relationships, schedules, media), also realizing the captivity(the power) they hold. And we ended by talking about deliverance from those "Idols" by first and foremost guarding our hearts. Not letting "idols" have an inch into our lives because when we are making room for God we are finally realizing the depth of God's love, grace, compassion, and mercy towards us. We ended the night by splitting up into groups of three and praying for one another. All in all it went so so good. A lot of girls said at the end that they needed that message and it was very encouraging.This whole process has just been so encouraging because I feel like every time I'm at small group I am so much closer to God and I think a big reason is because I realize that I'm not by myself in this. There are several ladies around me with the same goals and ambitions. It just feels so good to know that we are all in this together...

Naturally running....

2008-09-20T09:43:00.006-04:00

These last few days have been absolutely beautiful. No doubt about it. And I have been thinking a lot about God's beauty and love lately. And I think it's because of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. He says in the book that he loves coming home from work every day because he is greeted by his daughter running out to the driveway and jumping into his arms. He says, "My daughter's expression of love for me and her desire to be with me is the most amazing thing." This reminds me of the kids at the day-care I work at. When it gets close to the end of the day I love watching the children run to their parents with so much excitement. When they don't get excited then they must be in trouble or something. But you can just see the excitement through their faces and their fast pace. This reminds me of God's love. My love for him. Am I responding like that? Am I jumping into his arms with excitement like I should be? Francis Chan said, "...when we love God, we naturally run to him."....I just love this. I want to run so naturally to God. I want him to see my love and my desire to be with him in my reaction towards his presence...just like those kids towards their parents. His love is just so beautiful and big. Why wouldn't we respond like this?? "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:2-6

Pure Joy in Pain

2008-09-18T16:39:00.003-04:00

Change is painful, but it certainly brings results that are worth the growing pains. This idea of breaking or failing in order to grow and to attain greater things has really been sticking out to me lately. Just like a seed has to die before it can sprout and become a flower or a great tree, we have to be willing to give up ourselves to become who God created us to be. We have to study and attempt to grasp foreign and difficult concepts if we are to grow our minds. We have to push our bodies in order to become physically in shape. We have to work through problems with friends and family to truly remain a part of a relationship. And we have to be challenged in our faith in order to ascertain what we truly believe. All of these struggles are painful and can sometimes feel hopeless, but thanks be to God that we have a living hope through Christ! We can push through the hard times knowing that what lies on the other side is well worth the struggle. Though the temptation to stagnate and to keep the status quo is strong, it leads to death. Life is about change and about growth, about reaching for the lofty goals of Christ, about living more and learning more and thinking more and loving more and giving more...pushing and straining and striving forward, not looking back but remembering all that God has already brought us through...in the end, we are victorious. For now, we must run the race.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"

-James 1:2-4

Kingdom Results.......

2008-09-16T14:48:00.002-04:00

Lately i have been thinking about my life and what kind of results i am producing. Last Friday i spoke at a chapel and i urged the students to live like God wants them to produce kingdom results. How big of a thought though. If i lived like i had the responsibility to produce results outside of my realm of possibility than who's to say what my life would look like. I imagine it would be much more extreme. I would go as far to say "Dangerous." Have you ever been around a dangerous person. They're great and terrible to be around, because they realize that they have a responsibility to produce big results with there lives. Being around these kind of people make you feel better about yourself and at the same time make you want to be better than you currently are. What if we could all catch the same vision that these people have. My life is not my own. I was made FOR the king of kings and BY the king of kings. I don't know, these are just some thoughts that i have been challenged with lately and can't get out of my head.

He

2008-09-10T15:15:00.003-04:00

Ok, here it is. Lately I've been dealing with thoughts of God. I know that this may seem weird to hear me say but let me explain. I've found out that I spend a lot of time thinking about me instead of being consumed with He. He is the worthy one. He is worth thinking about. He is worth living for. He is . . . In His own words "I AM!" But I spend a lot of time thinking that I am instead of He IS. This has gotten me into a dangerous spot. I've taken His place. Who do I think that I am? GOD? What can I do better than HIM? Do I really want His Job? I am His kid and He is my Dad so why don't I act like it?

I'm in the middle of a major transformation in my thinking. I'm trying to get me out of the equation or at least in proper place. I need make BIG of HE and small of me! It should be very easy to do - the Bible says that we need to have faith like a child. So maybe I need to regress and quit making things so complicated or maybe I need to grow up and become wise enough to see that life is all about Him and not me.

I wonder if it is possible for someone to encounter me and walk away talking talking about HIM? This is the goal of my life!

WHat about this?

2008-09-08T10:41:00.000-04:00

Our God Reigns

2008-09-06T19:01:00.003-04:00

With the start of school (and a new one at that) and a new job, my life has been a whirlwind the past couple of weeks. I seem to be too busy to think, and I am trying to find the time to do EVERYTHING all the time...at least that's how it feels. But in the midst of all the craziness, God has really been pointing me to His love and His grace, to the fact that He really is ALWAYS there, and I cannot escape or outrun or overwhelm Him. No matter what gets piled on my plate or what emotions shake up my heart, God is there, and He is solid and true and loving. He is my Rock, and I will hold onto Him for dear life!! It gives me so much peace to know that it is all about Him. He is in control, and my life is in His hands.

Genesis Luau

2008-09-04T18:17:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures from the Genesis Luau!! It was so fun to just hang out with people and be crazy. And Rodney did an awesome job on the pig! lol I have to say that it was a very good turn out! Thank you so much to everyone who came out and helped!!!

We have a Great God!

2008-08-27T11:31:00.004-04:00

Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. - John 7:18

I was thinking about this verse and wondering who am I trying to glorify with my life? God or myself? Who are we trying to glorify here at Genesis? The band, the building, the coffee or our church? When people walk away from Genesis, what or who do they talk about? Here is my hope! I desire to for people to encounter me and walk away talking about God! I would love for people to walk away from a night of Genesis talking about their God encounter. I can here it now, "Wow, do you know what God said to me last night at Genesis?"

My Prayer for this year, God may I live in such a way to bring all the glory to You. May I be all about delivering your message in a way that brings glory to you and not to the messenger! I am simply the cup that You fill up with Your Spirit and pour out. Thanks for giving me this incredible privilege! I love You!

HISwill

2008-08-23T10:12:00.006-04:00

God has been wrestling with my heart, or maybe I've been wrestling with God lately. But either way, He's put a lot on my mind. It is often very scary to me when I consider the greatness to which God calls us. If God calls me to do something huge, who am I to refuse? And, yet, who am I to do it at all? Can I do it? What if I fail? As a pre-med student struggling with a desire to learn and to grow and a hunger to help people who are sick or hurt, I am often overwhelmed with God's calling for my life. What if I score terribly on my MCATs? What if no medical school wants me? And, lately, as God has been pushing me forward and up, challenging me to grow and to develop, to learn and to strive, He has also been quietly whispering to my heart that everything will be OK. And it will be alright, but not because I am smart or capable or wise. But because God is beyond all of those things, and He is the one equipping and supporting and growing me. It is about GOD, not about me. That is the KEY! At a conference I went to recently, a speaker proclaimed that if God has a plan, then it is His responsibility to see it carried out! Wow-what a relief! When I worry about my abilities, I am scared out of my mind of failure or inadequacy. But my God is never inadequate. He is never incapable or even afraid. He IS, and in Him, all things are. And through Him, His will is done. No worries; no fears; no pitfalls. He can do it. And in Him, all things are possible for me, for His calling on my life. And in Him, all things are possible for you. No matter how grand His will for your life is, it can happen!! Don't let fear or self-dependency hold you back--go! Reach! He can do it--just do your part and let Him!

God's Provision...

2008-08-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

I was reading today about God's provision and it was really encouraging. Especially since I'm in the middle of preparing for small group. Let me show you what I mean... In Genesis 22:1-19 Abraham was directed by God to take his son Issac onto the top of the mountain to be offered to God as a burnt offering. As Abraham and his son walked up the mountain Issac asked his dad where was the lamb that they were supposed to bring with him to slay. And Abraham told him that God would provide a lamb for them. As Abraham laid his son on the altar and reached up in obedience to slay his son an Angel told him to stop. He passed the test of obedience. Abraham then looked behind him and saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket. It was a replacement, and his son was saved. This is a crazy example of how God provides. I believe Abraham had so much faith from the start because in Hebrews 11:17-19, God tells Abraham that his seeds (descendants) would come through Issac. This was confusing to Abraham as God then told him to slay his son but he trusted that God would provide and that his son could even be risen from the dead if needed. Abraham had no idea what God was going to do (the process) or even why, but he had the right concept(obedience and faith) that God would provide. And he was blessed because of it!

This story and idea of provision really struck me while thinking about small group. I have no idea whats to come in the fall! I don't have everything planned out detail by detail. And that's okay! Believe me, the human side of me wants to! Just like Abraham I don't know the process of whats to come but I am trying to have faith. I'm learning that I don't need to know every detail because God's ways aren't my ways and he could do something amazing and unexpected. It's just a matter of having faith and knowing he will provide! Maybe by having faith, God will provide for me with girls to influence, awesome ideas to share, and huge growth! Who knows.....I'm trusting in him.

up with the roosters!

2008-08-20T08:06:00.003-04:00

WoW! so the church i work for has a prayer group that any of the members or staff can attend at 6:00 am Wednesday morning. My fellow staff members rag me because i struggle to make it but what they don't realize is that i am there in spirit every Wednesday morning. It's not my fault if they cannot sense me through the spirit that moves through the group. LOL. But, this morning I went to the meeting (Like actually, not just in spirit). Anybody that really knows me understands that mornings are a tough time to get me to do anything. This morning was cool though. Although I am tired and somewhat drowsy it is awesome to be up and talking to God. It's also cool because my soul intention was to wake up and encounter God. There really aren't too many other things that can get me up this early. But to be honest it was awesome. I encounter God often, but sometimes it seems like it's planned on my schedule. How often do I encounter God when he calls on me rather me calling on him? I don't know it's just some random thoughts i had during the wee hours of the morning......

being real

2008-08-12T16:50:00.004-04:00

So lately I've been thinking more and more about reflecting the character and glory of God. We are His people, His children, His bride. And Genesis 1:27 says, "so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." This thought blows me away! I am made in God's image. This is so amazing, and at the same time, it is a huge responsibility. If I am MADE to shine like God Himself that means I need to be living like Him, looking at the world and other people as He does. My body is not the only thing made in His image; my heart and my mind are made to reflect Him as well! And the most amazing thing happens when we start realizing this truth: we become REAL. And the Christian faith desperately needs real people. I truly and passionately believe that the more REAL we are, the more REAL God Himself will become to those we encounter. Christians too often live for themselves, overlooking God's plans and God's people. When we live as we were created to live, putting God first and others second, loving above all, reflecting who God REALLY is, God is glorified and we are blessed!

Manna...

2008-08-12T12:03:00.001-04:00

(Numbers 11:1-17)
Moses had just saved the Israelites and taken them out of captivity in Egypt. Women, me and children became hungry and there was little food. Even though they had manna (like coriander seed-tasted like wafers made with honey) they still complained to Moses. They were craving the food back in Egypt. This was cool because God was giving them just enough to where they would really depend upon him. He was trying to humble them and test them. I love this part Kelly Minter says, " God uses scarcity in our lives to draw us to dependency on Himself". And this is what he did with the Israelites yet they were still complaining. In Numbers 11:5 The Israelites said back in Egypt they had an abundance of food "at no cost". As we can see this isn't true because back in Egypt they were slaves for 470 years. Their babies were killed, and hard labor was ridiculous. This concept they had about food being "at no cost" was just silly. I think this story plays out in our lives. For example, when we are going through recovery from a tough situation. We are trying to get back on track with God and he is giving us just enough for strength and just enough for us to still depend upon him. Although we still have a hard time letting go. We remember those moments "at no cost" and forget about the price we paid for them(hurt, regret,sin,shame..). I liked this story because there was two points. First- sometimes God puts us in situations to depend upon him and not on ourselves. And two- God wants to take us out from captivity from the things holding us back from him. You see God wants us to rely on him, but he's not going to force it. It's up to us if we are going to demand for more from God or just stick with what he gave us. When we think about it this way, manna doesn't sound that bad. Cool thought!

48 Hours of Prayer

2008-08-12T02:14:00.007-04:00

This comes from the 24-7 prayer web site - IT IS MY HOPE FOR US!!!!

The Vision

So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this…  The vision?

The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons. They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice. They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won. They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence. They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying. What is the vision ? The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation. It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.  This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause. A million times a day its soldiers

choose to loose that they might one day win the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground The whisper of history in the making Foundations shaking Revolutionaries dreaming once again Mystery is scheming in whispers Conspiracy is breathing… This is the sound of the underground

And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Young people who beat their bodies into submission.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.  The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?  Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays

like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter! Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive

inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.  Would they surrender their image or their popularity?  They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,

they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.) Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.  Their words make demons scream in shopping centres. Don't you hear them coming?  Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon. How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

Chain Reaction

2008-08-04T10:58:00.004-04:00

What is the result of obedience?
I have been reading down the lineage of Abraham and i think i have seen the result of obedience. Because of Abraham's obedience to God his son was spared and would later be blessed out the WAZOO!!! (yea i said wazoo). And even later it goes on to bless his grand children all because his willingness to trust God with his life.

I have been thinking about this Generation effect that Abraham caused by his own obedience to God. It's kind of like a chain reaction. If i can live my life trusting God than maybe those who i influence the most will live there lives trusting God. Maybe my life will be blessed and as a result the people around me be blessed. I know it seems like a crazy thought, but really it makes since. I don't know its just something i have been thinking about lately and wanted to doodle about it a little bit...... HOLLA!!!

WOW - GOD!!!!!

2008-07-30T07:20:00.002-04:00

God is so amazing. I'm constantly being reminded of His intentional plans. I've been reading in the book of Ezra this week and it is a very cool story. God had made a way for Israel to rebuild His Temple on its original site. One king makes a decree (a law that MUST be carried out) that the Israelites can return back and rebuild the Temple and that the government and others would pay for it. SO a group of people go back and start rebuilding the foundation on its original site and finish it. Then opposition arrises, opposition always arrises, always! There was a new king and some people wrote him a letter asking for him to stop the building of the Temple or else the Israelites would stop paying taxes and start a uprising. This king not knowing the decree of the other king stopped all progress on the Temple. A few kings passed by and God sent some men (prophets - Haggai & Zechariah) to the people to tell them to start rebuilding. So they started rebuilding and you guessed it, OPPOSITION! So some of these nerds (nerd isn't found in most Bible translations) wrote the new king (Darius) a letter asking him to check and see if there ever was ever a decree for the people to rebuild the temple! HAHA I love this part! The king googled (made a search of the records, but google sounds cooler) it and found the decree. He wrote a letter back to the nerds and said "Wow, thanks for helping me discover this. This is how this is going to go down; help them rebuild it and you pay for the FULL construction cost! Don't you just love that! God is so cool! Have a huge day!

Meeting Needs

2008-07-27T08:48:00.005-04:00

If any of you were at genesis last week, you may have heard me talking a little bit about the necessity of us taking on some of the character of Christ, who, seeing the needs of the people in the world, met those needs, however great or small. In our day, we see so many more needs in our local and global worlds, and Christ calls us to strive to help those needs. I just finished a book yesterday that I've been wanting to finish for a while, Infections and Inequalities by Paul Farmer, a man I greatly admire and respect for his work with the poor. The book looks at how treatable infectious diseases remain huge global problems as they are not treated properly or at all in the poorer countries, or even parts of wealthy countries, such as the US. Farmer's main focus is in Haiti, the poorest nation in our hemisphere, with tragically high rates of TB, AIDS, and other largely or completely treatable infectious diseases. As I've read this book and others about this topic, one that God has put on my heart in a big way, I am frightened by the great degree to which I and other perfectly capable benefactors have separated ourselves from the suffering of our fellow men. Last night, I had a nightmare resulting from the numerous lives described in that book that were wracked from disease, malnutrition, and social injustice. I was in Haiti, being forced to do hard labor to stay alive, and all around me, the knowledge was there that nobody really cared if I got sick or died besides those I worked alongside. Overwhelming feelings of helplessness and desperation consumed me until I finally woke up, the sick feeling of being forgotten and left behind clinging to me. THIS is the life we allow for other human beings with needs and capabilities equal to our own. THIS is where our version of the love of Christ has left the world. How can we, who claim to reflect the love of Christ, who claim to be His very hands and feet, ignore the cries and the needs of those suffering right around us? How can love be displayed through either ignorance or inaction? Jesus was a man full of love, compassion, and action who, when he saw the needs of those around him, did not hesitate to act. Is it not our great burden and great joy to care for those suffering, those pinned down by the heavy weight of inequality? May our hearts and our lives be poured out to give aid to those who most desperately need it!!

2008-07-26T10:46:00.004-04:00

For so long...I have wondered what it means when someone says my identity is in Christ. Or Christ is our identity. I never really understood it all. What does it mean? How do you do it? And what does it look like? As I have been reading it has changed my thinking....check it out. In 1 Samuel 8:1-22 Samuel's son was given the role by his father as king over the Israelites. The Israelites did not like his son's ways and complained to Samuel. They desired a king that would lead them like the other nations. Samuel went to God and God said, "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." Samuel explained what God had said to him to his people but their minds were made up and they started forsaking God and worshiping other gods. The Israelites didn't realize that they were chosen already by God, his treasured possession. They already had an identity. As Kelly Minter says, "As they started to forsake God and follow other gods, they lost sight of what the had and, most important, who they were." Right now, at this moment,we are a part of God's royalty. We are his chosen people. We don't realize it enough but we are treasured so much by our father. Although we may ask what does this look like? To be a part of God's royalty? In Peter 2:11 Christians are described as aliens and strangers to others. "We will be like strangers and aliens because our lives will stand out as so breathtakingly good in compassion with others. As a result those around us will glorify god" (Minter, 39). People will see something so crazy and different in our lives that it will trigger something within them....change. One of my favorite quotes by Donald Miller, "If you believe something passionately, people will follow you." How awesome is this. Now the next question is how do we stay consistent with our identity? First off by keeping goodness in our lives- the fruit of obedience. Staying in his word and setting ourselves away from sinful desires. Sinful desires will ruin our goodness. It causes us to have no identity at all. I guess this has just really been on my heart lately. I want it to be to the point where our identity in Christ is so crazy and different to the lives of others that they will desire what we have. An amazing relationship with our savior!

ChristLIFE

2008-07-20T14:32:00.005-04:00

Blue skies, huge thunder storms, delicate flowers, great oak trees with dipping branches, families and friends, happy marriages...life is overflowing with God's beauty and grace towards us! All of the good things in life come from Him and point to Him, yet it seems that so many of us, myself included, constantly find ways to be disappointed. When the sun is shining, it's too hot. When it's storming, it's too wet and cold. Snow is too white. Trees are too green. We diminish the majesty of the world by lowering it to what we're comfortable with, but what's so great about comfort? I know that in my marriage I can appreciate the security and comfort my husband offers, but if that's all I had, if there weren't love and excitement and FUN, no trust or need for trust or trials to bring us together, our relationship would be stale and worth so much less! Isaiah 53 talks about the true beauty of our savior, predicting that the people of His time would react just like the people of our own time; they were blind to His beauty and greatness and opted for comfort, for the norm, over eternal salvation and joy...how tragic! I pray to God that He would rid us of our deadly obsession with comfort and that He would, instead, put in us a greater appreciation for His beauty and a deep desire for adventure and discovery! May we learn more about His glory, His love, His creation, our hope in Him daily!! May His life be birthed in us anew and give us a greater propensity for laughter and tears and dancing and falling and getting back up and growing and LIVING!

2008-07-17T11:40:00.003-04:00

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). What is overflowing out of my heart? Out of yours? Out of the lives of those our lives impact? Lately, I've been thinking a lot about potential and transformation, and I heartily believe that the ONLY way to live up to our God-given potential is to be transformed, by the Holy Spirit and by our own will. No matter how often or earnestly I proclaim to be a Christian, if my heart is not in it, then what overflows in my life will not reflect Christ. But how do we engage our hearts? Throughout the bible, it is deemed essential to follow God's commands. By listening to Him when He guides us and shows us the way, we know more of the character of God and that character is embedded in our hearts through our actions. This is so beautiful! Can you see it? By trying to really and intentionally live like Christ, our hearts and lives are transformed into reflections of Christ!! In the end of Luke 6, Christ says, "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid the foundation on a rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." If we want our lives to be well built, if we desire to be beautiful inside so that God's glory overflows out of our lives, then we must seek and follow Christ's commands! I want to walk in His footsteps, to live and to think and to act like Christ! I want to shine so brilliantly in my heart with goodness that it radiates out of me like ten thousand stars! And may we all shine brilliantly for Him, reflecting His glory for the world. May our hearts and lives be transformed so that we can live up to the potential we were created for!

Selah

2008-07-15T13:47:00.005-04:00

"Slow down and chew your food. " I remember my mom interjecting these words into my life in a moment where I would be scarfing down some food so that I could run out and go play. I didn't pay much attention back then and sometimes I find myself saying the same things to my boys as they are eating the food but not enjoying or appreciating it. In the book of Psalms in the Bible , David was saying the same thing to all of us when we are running through the scriptures. "Selah (Hey guys, slowdown chew, enjoy!)" At least thats the way that I read it. I think that we way to often run through the God's Word without even stopping to reflect and enjoy what God is saying. Example- Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah – Psalms 62:8 Man, if I was to stop and chew on this for a while and to put some belief it what is being said - it could possibly change everything; my way of thinking, my boldness, it could kill all fear, I could fell peace. I need to chew on this for a while!

OUR FRUITS!!

2008-07-07T11:20:00.003-04:00

A week ago I went to Mexico City with the youth and it was crazy. It was my first mission’s trip and I was blown away. We ministered to 7,000 people and had over 1600 salvations! It was awesome and God’s presence was so BIG! I got back and started reading in Matthew 7. Matthew 7:15-20 really stuck out. It talks about false and true teaching. And it says, “You will know them by their fruits.” And then it goes on and says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” After reading I started thinking about my fruits. And I started thinking about my time in Mexico City. We all went out as representatives of God and knew people would be watching us. And it made me think of what were the fruits we were portraying? In Galatians 5 “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Our fruits are the godly attitudes that characterize the lives of only those who belong to God. I guess what I realized is we should be consistently checking our fruits. It says that spiritual fruit is the by product of a right life. For Adam and Eve there were fruits that were desirable to make one wise and a delight to the eyes but they still weren’t good. After going to Mexico City I’ve learned that every day we are on a mission’s trip. Every day we are representing God. We are out there wherever trying to win souls. And people will see God through us by our fruits, by what we are producing!

Mexico Rocked!

2008-06-29T23:19:00.003-04:00

Over the next few days I'll try and give you guys some of the stories from our mission trip to Mexico City. God is so amazing! Tracy and I were so impressed with the 24/7 team, that let us join up with them at the last minute, the whole team did a great job. The VCH (Victorious Christian Harvesters) staff and interns made us feel special and made it easy for us to do what we felt God called us to do!

A cool fact - over 1600 people came to Christ! SHUT UP!!!!!!! This continues to blow my mind! How can that happen in just a weeks time? It was all God! He just used our availability not just our abilities. We said God use us and made some room for Him and man did He ever show up! What a concept! What a God!

Anyways, I love being home (for just a few days) and hope I get to see all of you at some point and tell you face to face about all of the great things that God did on our trip but if not I'll try and convey as much as possible on my blog along with some pictures and video!

OH MY GOSH: WE NEED COMMUNITY!!!!

2008-06-26T21:17:00.002-04:00

Wow this last week has been very interesting. The entire Genesis staff is gone to Mexico joining our youth on a mission tip to Mexico City. So, because they are gone i have been holding the fort down. Not that i have done a whole bunch but i am realizing the importance of community. This last week has shown that we our created to be involved in a community. Not only is it nice to have but it's how we thrive and our able to meet our potential. I was reading this week where Paul talks about all the members of the body being important to the whole. Basically what I am trying to say is: I want Rodney and Maria Back..............

Advocates for Jesus Christ!

2008-06-17T07:24:00.002-04:00

Advocate: to speak, plead, or argue in favor; supporter or defender of a cause. Also “one called alongside”.
1 John 2:1 ….And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
This word advocate somehow got into my head today. Don’t ask why, but I was struggling all day with the meaning, so then I finally looked up the definition. I even tried to tie it in biblically and it did! This is what I got…it’s so awesome. The word advocate means to support, to help, to be alongside one. In 1 John, as you can see, God is our advocate (especially with sin). Through our lives in every area God is alongside supporting us in need, love, and hope one-hundred percent, all the time. Eventually God calls us to support, defend, and speak on his behalf. We become like the defense attorney for God. Some of us (like me) get nervous with this task. Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” What this means is we are not just working alongside someone that just sympathizes with what we struggle with but has actually experienced the very same things we have experienced. This in itself gives us confidence in our faith. This encourages me because I know Jesus did the very same thing I am doing and that is standing up for God. He gave his life for him. How cool is this? This builds up so much excitement and anticipation inside! Maybe this week and continuously we can think about how we could become better advocates for God in our lives. God has a separate plan for all of us individually but we are called to be his advocates just as we expect him to be ours. We are called to be the supporters, defenders, and lovers of Jesus Christ!

Wise Living

2008-06-16T00:13:00.003-04:00

I was just reading in Ephesians 5 for my quiet time, and something new struck me that I'm sure I've heard but not really listened to a thousand times. In verse 15, we are told to "be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise." And again in verse 17, "don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." I've always read these verses and thought that I live a pretty good life and try to do what pleases God. But I don't think that's what God really is telling us through His Word. It struck me tonight that ignorance is no excuse and that living for God is not something that really comes naturally. To many of you, this may seem pretty intuitive, but it really surprised me when I thought about it just recently. I've always tried to just follow the rules I'm told and to do what feels right. If I feel guilty about something, I don't do it. If I feel like something needs to be done, I do it. Of course, this doesn't always work out perfectly, but you get the idea. But in Ephesians, God is telling us to start THINKING. We need to look at our lives and evaluate them and really think through our actions and thoughts and words! This is so vital because when we do this, we can really start understanding what God wants us to do. Taking the clean, easy road isn't always the best way. Jesus didn't even get along with the religious leaders of his day very well, and they followed all the rules. Seeking God is about seeking His heart and really SEARCHING and THINKING. I want to stop being a fool, led by the law only or by emotions only. I want to start seeking after the pure and beautiful heart of my Lord and Savior!! He is the whole reason I am here--He is my everything!

Random Day!!!

2008-06-11T14:00:00.001-04:00

Goodbye Kaitlyn

2008-06-10T13:41:00.003-04:00

Memento mori

2008-06-09T06:14:00.005-04:00

Memento mori is latin for"Remember you must die."

What if today was the end of my life? I know, it is a morbid thought but one worth thinking about. What if today was the last chance I had to spend time with Tracy, how would I spend the day? What if i knew that I only had one more day to insure that I had given Sarah, Brock and Cody everything that I have learned so that they could go farther in life then I had, what would I say? What if I knew that at the end of the day I was going to stand before God and give account for my time here on earth, how would that look? What if I only had one more day to change the world, what would I do?

Our clocks are ticking! Carpe diem - Seize the moment! Go for it!

Get going MAN!

My prayer for this day - God, today, help me to lead, live, love and laugh like there is no tomorrow!

Planning a Small Group..

2008-06-07T15:30:00.006-04:00

For these past couple of weeks our small group has been going over this great book called, Teaching to Change Lives by Howard Hendricks. It’s been nothing but helpful and awesome for becoming a great teacher/ leader. I love it! Right now I am in the process right now of planning for my small group next fall. I led one this past year and it went so awesome. There was so much growth with my girls. And I also have the idea of the do’s and don’ts. I am so excited and I just want everything to go right. Lately though, I’ve been struggling with where to start. I know my purpose and that is to raise up godly women and help create growth in our relationships. I want to help launch the process that Howard says, “….will ideally never end, generation after generation.” I just didn’t know what to teach. What are people thinking most about it? What needs to be taught? What does God want me to do? These questions were just swimming in my head and finally I started praying about it. And then ironically I read, “..you should spend more time questioning answers than answering questions.” I was so happy when I read this. I’m still learning what this means, but I finally realized it’s not about these random topics in my head but it’s about answering why we do what we do. Why do we serve and love God? Understanding this has made my preparation a lot easier. Personally I have realized that it’s not about how I’m teaching but what I am teaching. I love it when it says, “Your task as a communicator is not impress people, but to impact them, not to convince them, but to change them.” Although, I don’t have everything planned for my small group step by step in the fall but just praying puts me at peace. I’m praying for changed lives and huge growth!

Twins on the Outside

2008-06-05T11:23:00.009-04:00

Last week I went to California for a week for my sisters gradutation (she is my twin just in case you didn't know). I had a great time! I hadn't seen my mom in over 4 years and also got to see many family members that I hadn't seen in a while. My stay there through out the week was relaxing and fun, until the last day. The morning that I was getting ready to leave, my sister and I got into quite an argument or disagreement, what ever you want to call it. And wow, I realized how we both have changed so much in the past 4 years that we've been apart. I in one hand have gotten so much closer to God, and she has totally changed some of her beliefs. Please keep her in your prayers and me so that I can be a guide and an example in her life.

The Friendship of Christ's Body

2008-06-03T18:40:00.005-04:00

I have been reading a lot in Romans lately, and there is one point made by Paul that I have overlooked countless times. In Romans, Paul enthusiastically asserts that both the Jews and the Gentiles are now God's people. We are ALL saved by faith in Jesus Christ, who died for us all. When Paul proclaims this truth, the Jews seem upset. Like the good brother who stayed with the father in the story of the Prodigal Son, the Jews seem to be screaming, "but we are Your people, chosen by You! Aren't we special anymore? Don't you still love us, Your chosen people?" And to this outcry, Paul declares again the Truth of God that all men fall short of God's glory and are saved by grace through faith in Christ. And while we can all likely see how the Jews aren't responding appropraitely to God's grace and goodness, I can also identify with the Jews. Growing up in a Christian household as a pretty good kid who grew into a pretty good church-going, rule-following adult, I have felt that sense of pride and jealousy and fear of being forgotten by the new believers. If I have walked with God so long and so faithfully, why do those who come to know Him later and for a shorter period of time seem so much more powerfully connected to Him, so much more exciting in their devotion to Him? Why do they suddenly get to reap the benefits of salvation? These are questions I am ashamed to admit I have asked, but if I am to be truly honest, I have to admit I am the same as those Jews who were questioning God's love for them because of His love for the Gentiles. And these are questions I have struggled with for years, burning to become more passionate, more life-changingly engaged in my relationship with Christ. And so, in the end, those new believers whom I have envied have spurred me on and helped me also to grow. And this is when a realization hit me: I may have, by living for God, helped to bring these new believers into the body of Christ. Wow! It's all connected and so astoundingly beautiful that when I finally captured this truth, I couldn't stop thinking about it! And God, showing His amazing love for me, then introduced me to more discourse on the subject in C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves. In the chapter on friendship, Lewis describes how friendship is the only love that does not discriminate or deplete with increasing numbers. The more friends added to a group, the more interaction within the group, and suddenly, certain traits and gifts of one member are brought out by some new member, making the group even better as a whole!! And this is how I see our relationship with God. The more members to join the body of Christ, the more we can come to know of God. Because while I may understand more fully than you the grace of Christ, you may know more of His majesty or His compassion or His power. We all reveal more of God Himself to one another as we come to know Him more. So the growth of Christ's body is no longer a threat, but a gift, as every new believer brings more to the table about who our incomprehensible, beautiful, and great God is!!

Earnestness

2008-06-02T19:50:00.005-04:00

2 Corinthians 7:9-10

“I now rejoice not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance, for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation but the sorrow of the world produces death.” The whole idea of forgiveness has really been on my heart lately. It amazes me how God is able to still take us back after we sin. And how he has even forgiven us already for the sins we will eventually commit. It’s so awesome to think that when we repent to God there is no strings attached. For a time we feel guilty because our sin but then we know that God will forgive and restore us. Later it says, “…the sorrow of the world produces death.”. When I read this I think of people that I love in my life that are just falling, especially my family members or close friends. I look at them and see so much baggage and hurt. There sin and shame is just weighing them down and you can just see right through them. I hurt for them so much. It also says,“Human sorrow is unsanctified remorse and has no redemptive capability. It is nothing more than the wounded pride of getting caught in sin and having one’s lusts go unfilled.” Human sorrow is scary. This type of sorrow will suffocate you because your holding so much guilt and shame in. It's like your stuck in this hole and there is no way out.... As Christians, after we sin we have this initial reaction called earnestness. This is my new favorite word. It is the reaction to eagerly pursue righteousness. It is the attitude (after repenting) to forget about our sin, and then run straight to God. When I sin, right afterwards I feel guilty. It consumes me and drives me bonkers. I try turning from God because I’m so ashamed but it just makes it worse. Before I know it I have this earnestness to crawl back to him. Not that I should take advantage of it but I know he will forgive and restore me. And when I do I have this crazy, great feeling. I long for God. All of my fear and indignation is gone. I’m praying that God will reach out to the people in my life, our church, and in the world who are holding this human sorrow. Who are just wanting to reach out but their sin is holding them back. We just need to ALL continue to pray that God will just wreck life's and that people will have this earnestness to crawl back to him.

Do We Believe in God?

2008-05-28T08:26:00.006-04:00

A few questions are running through my head this morning. I've asked them before and find myself back here again for some reason. So here they are -

Do we believe that God is real? Why do I keep asking this question? Because if we believed that He was real then we would live, act and love way differently. WAY DIFFERENTLY! If we believed in Him and the fact that He is near to us or in us then that should make a huge difference! But . . . ? I do believe but to what level? Do I believe in Him like I believe in what the doctor tells me? Do I believe in His Promises? Do I trust in Him? You know what I mean by trust? The kind of trust that when I go to prayer that He is listening. The kind of trust that keeps me out of sin. The kind of trust that pushes me to go next door and tell my neighbors about His amazing love for them.

My prayer today - God help me to believe more in You and to have a spirit of expectancy that You can do more than I could ever hope for, think of or even dream of!!!

Our Gracious Father

2008-05-24T01:20:00.004-04:00

I am constantly being reminded lately of God's grace towards His people. It is so beautiful to me to think of the different forms of grace that God offers us. Most amazingly, there is His saving grace, where He forgives us of sins and gives us life when we don't deserve it at all on our own. The God of the Universe became man, dwelt among us, and died by our hands for us!! But God's grace goes even farther beyond comprehension when we consider the grace He gives us in serving Him and coming to know Him. I know nothing of God that He has not graciously revealed to me. Every glimpse of beauty, every breath I take, every song I am blessed to sing to Him, all are gifts from Him. And every good deed I do, every time I reflect His awe-inspiring beauty, I do so only by His grace, not my own merit. Even as I've been tired and working really hard to get my life in order before my upcoming wedding, God is calling me to Himself to find rest. He is graciously giving me even more abundant life, filled with blessings and opportunities, and all the good that comes out of my life and that is poured out on me is a blessing from Him: His gracious gift to me.

Running Towards God

2008-05-22T21:45:00.001-04:00

As I was running, I’d noticed that I would run then stop. Run then stop. This was constant through out my whole exercise. I definitely knew a big reason was because my lack of exercise, but I felt like there was something more. I thought about it and came to the realization that I was just simply giving up. Why is that?.......... It rang a bell. I realized that I wasn’t giving myself enough credit to run the length I planned for. In my head I had this idea that I could not make it. I wasn’t motivating myself or having any sign of hope, so I would stop. And then I thought….Don’t we do this with God? How we don’t give God the credit to do things in our lifes and we don’t give him the chance. I find myself doing this sometimes in my quiet times. I get so impatient and I get this silly idea that God is not going to show anything to me which results in me just shutting my bible. Even in our daily life’s we continue this pattern. We don’t have this mind set that God will move mountains or that he wants to pursue us, so we give up. We turn away from him, which eventually leads to sin. And we forget that God is running right there with us. He is with us the whole way, we just need to acknowledge him. In Philippians, Paul talks about pressing towards the goal, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”. What we see is that we as believers have not reached our goal of Christ likeness. We are constantly refining ourselves. And at the same time God is constantly trying to fill us, but like a runner in a race we MUST continue to pursue him. We must fix this attitude of giving up and starting giving God a chance to work in our lives. Maybe that involves a little bit of discipline and submission. Philippians 3:15 “ Let us therefore, as many as are perfect have this attitude and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; how ever let us keep living by that same standard to which we are attained. I really think God wants to reveal so much in our lifes, we just need to set this in our hearts and go for the goal. Just like Paul said, “Run in such a way that you may win”.

Are We Ever Alone?

2008-05-19T19:33:00.002-04:00

A few days ago i was leaving a meeting and getting into my car when i realized that i had to be somewhere again in 2 hours. Don't you hate when that happens. I mean i could have gone home but i would have sat there for and hour and had to leave again. Sometimes i just waste time sitting on what should be my fat butt. So instead i went out and played a few rounds of disk golf. I'm not going to lie, it was very strange. I can't remember the last time i felt so alone. As i was walking to hole 1 i realized that i had never played disk golf alone before. This makes me sound like a wimp but i was even a little scared about being alone. You see when I am around people I can fool them easily into thinking I am someone I am not. But, when I am alone and it's just me and God than i am completely vulnerable. Nothing i can say or do will make me look better than the person i really am. WOW!!! I don't know what it was about being alone that day but it just reminded me about God's grace. Here I am just playing some disk golf (by myself) and God reminds that he is in love with me. I don't know if God's grace is meant to be understood or just felt? If i could understand it than it must have an end. I look at my life and the lives of my friends and wonder how in the world can a God who deserves more than what i can offer him give me a savior to grab a hold of and make me more than i what i can become on my own. I don't understand it but i feel it. Just a weird thought i had while playing disk golf. What's not cool is that i played horrible that day because i kept thinking so much. But it's all good.

Delight?

2008-05-15T10:55:00.005-04:00

Psalm 112 "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great DELIGHT in his commands."

How often and how easy it is to forget that God's principles are something that we can delight in. God is not a limiting overseer or a dampener of good times. The idea that God is my creator is way to big for me to write about. But i can give it a shot. Because he created me he knows me. Actually he created more than just me, he created you and everything both of us see around us. CRAZY!!! I put together the desk i use at work, and because i spent (literally) 4 hours trying to put it together i know it was done right. There weren't screws left over or pieces put together wrong. Because of that i can take pride in knowing that if i want to stand on my desk i can. (It's kind of embarrassing but i often remind people when they see my desk that i built it LOL). I know everything about this desk because i am it's creator. I imagine God feels somewhat the same way about me that i do about my desk. He has created me and knows everything about me.

Why is it that sometimes we feel that God is limiting us rather than trying to advance us? Those who delight in the lord benefit from it. Sometimes i feel that people including myself have a trigger in their mind that they switch on and off when it comes to delighting in God. God wants us to rejoice with him and in him but we must make it a day to day journey to delight in him. It's difficult sometimes because we as people thrive off of instant gratification. We want what we want when we want (straight from P Fred). Patience for some reason is rarely put into practice in our lives anymore. Our impatience brings predictable satisfaction but God brings eternal and unexpected satisfaction. I want to live a life that impacts eternity!!!!

How do we follow a God who is love?

2008-05-14T17:26:00.006-04:00

So, I'm pretty new to this blog thing but very excited! God has been doing some awesome things in my life lately...I'm about to get married, making new friends, staying in touch with old friends, and getting to help out in some awesome ministries here! But besides those material blessings, God has been blessing me with more insight into who He is. I cannot presume to claim that I can ever know, in this world, the fullness and greatness of our great God who is Love itself, but I can claim to come to know that fullness and that greatness more as God draws me closer to Himself. I have been reading The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis, and it is amazing! It is all about learning what love is in order to better serve and understand a God who claims to be Love. So any wisdom I have in this area (which is likely very little) is not my own, but is borrowed and has been given to me as a gift. But back to the point...how do we serve our great and holy and loving God? How can we even begin to love like One who IS LOVE?

Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't have those answers, but I am learning, through this book, through God's Word, through prayer, and through interactions with other Christians, a little more of the character of love and of God. The first step is to recognize that God is Love, but love is not always God. There are many types and forms of love, and God, who is perfect, is love in its purest and most perfect form. Lewis points out two main categories of love: need-love and gift-love. Our relationship with God is inherently filled with our need for Him and His gift of Himself to us. But is it possible for us, people who are totally and completely in need of God, to also give Him gift-love? And can God, who desires relationships for us, pour out that love out of a kind of need for our relationship...now, certainly, God never NEEDS anyone, but does that desire translate into a need-love/gift-love type combo? It is astounding to me to even begin to think of God's awesomeness (if that's a word :)) and His greatness and humility and grace and kindness and LOVE for me!! I feel as if I will never get enough of Him, just as He satisfies every need, every desire I can throw at Him! And to think that God could have that desire for me, but greater...because God is Love! Wow! And in every manner that I can think to give to and to love Him, He beats me and gives and loves and blesses even more and even more perfectly! And so the Christian mission must be to love in return and to give in return, at the greatest and highest levels we can attain! THAT is the best lifestyle as His disciples, as followers of the Way. It is the only option.

Don't Move!

2008-05-01T12:04:00.009-04:00

This is what God has been telling me lately "Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10. Have you tried not move for at least a minute and realize that it is hard. We have to always be on the move, do a lot of things, be at different places, have a full schedule, otherwise we feel like we're not doing much or being productive. At least that's how I am. I have to constantly be doing something or at least think of what I will do next. I feel useless when I am not either thinking or doing. The past few days God has really been telling me to always trust Him and wait to see what He is about to do in my life. I know it's hard when you feel self sufficient and need to be in control of every situation. But guess what? God is control and maybe He is also telling you what He is telling me "Be still and now that He is God".

Pick up the phone!

2008-04-30T12:17:00.004-04:00

Man I think I blew a gasket last night at Genesis! If you were there then you know that I went off for a few minutes. But I have to tell you I'm not sorry! Sometimes we need to get mad about somethings. I like to call it "Righteous Anger"!

If you weren't at Genesis last night, I had rigged a Bible up so that I could fit a cell phone inside of it. The message was called God on Hold. I was talking about the Bible being the Word of God and that He was wanting to talk to us and that we have Him on hold. So during the service the Bible started to ring and it impacted me more than I thought that it would. It messed me up! "Can you believe it? God is wanting to talk to us and we have Him (God, Master of the Universe) on hold". Just thinking about it makes me type even harder! I must have some issues:) Anyways, If it was your first time there, come back I'm not always like that. To the rest of you I'm reminding you to pick up the phone!

2008-04-23T10:22:00.002-04:00

That is why the Lord says,

“Turn to me now, while there is time.

Give me your hearts.

Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,

but tear your hearts instead.”

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

He is eager to relent and not punish.

Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,

sending you a blessing instead of this curse.

- Joel 2:12-14

This morning I was studying in the book of Joel and these verses jumped out at me and here is why.

While there is time - We all think that we will make changes in our life later. Unfortunately we may not have a later, today may be it so why wait. Stop setting on the bench and get into the game.
Don't tear you clothing in grief but tear you hearts instead - God isn't impressed by our emotional games or even our spiritual games what he wants is a broken and repentant heart.
Return to the Lord for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and full of unfailing love! He is EAGER to relent and not punish! - Enough said!
Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of a curse. - This is what excited me, I always feel like the worst is going to happen when I sin. I feel like God might just be so ready to give me exactly what I deserve but I love that statement - A blessing instead of a curse. Way cool!!!!

Middle of the night

2008-04-20T05:27:00.003-04:00

Some times I wake up in the middle of the night and can not go back to sleep and it drives me crazy! My mind starts going all over the place - work, the kids, my favorite food, puppies and stick people (?). So I'll start counting sheep or anything to make my mind stop so that I can go back to sleep and most of the time it just does not work. Next I'll most likely go for the Tylenol PM and wait for it to kick in. SOMETIMES and I mean sometimes, I'll start to pray! I'll pray for everyone and everything that I can think of. I keep praying till I have peace or until O fall asleep. If I'm feeling like something is really wrong then I will wake Tracy up and have her join me in prayer until whatever is keeping me awake goes away. This can be 5 minutes or up to 2 hours. Then there is one other thing that I try when these don't work, I get quite and listen. I try to calm my brain and I say "God, this is your servant Rodney, speak I'm listening." and then I wait. Every now and then I'll turn on the light beside my bed and get out my journal and write down what I feel like what God is telling me. I have never had Him physically talk to me I but I do feel like He awakens things inside of me that are from Him and only time will tell If it was Him or not. Sometimes I feel as if He is convicting me of something and I'll repent of that. Other times, He will bring someone to my mind and I'll pray over them. I have picked up the phone and called them (which freaks them out when I tell them that God woke me up to pray and He gave me their name).

I don't know why your reading this blog but maybe it's in the middle of the night and you can't sleep and there may be a reason for it. So stop surfing the web and turn off your computer and still your mind and ask God if He just might be tying to talk to you. You never know?

Worship

2008-04-03T10:01:00.007-04:00

Worship at Genesis this past Tuesday night was amazing. I was sitting in the back doing the powerpoint and it was awesome to see how many people raised their hands and gave everything to God. For me, it was a confirmation of why we do what we do at Genesis. Bottom line is we need to bring people closer to God. It is so rewarding to see someone surrender their lives go Him with no reservations. Worship is a declaration of what we value the most and it needs to be expressed. We need to forget who is next to us or what they might think and focus on God. Praise and worship has always been one of my favorite parts of a service. You really get to see people express what they are feeling at the moment and just give everything to God.

The BIG GIVE!

2008-04-02T15:22:00.002-04:00

Oprah has a new show called the Big Give that I think is amazing! The concept is a little weird because it has contestants that are competing at seeing who can make the biggest impact by giving money and other things away. I love that the show is challenging the contestants to give big or go home! I would love to be on that show, not for winning the prize but so that I could have someone with unlimited funds backing my desire to change the lives of the underdogs. That would be a dream come true. Maybe if it didn't cost me anything to give something away I might not enjoy it as much though. I don't know?! But I love watching the contestants receiving such a rush when the make a hugh difference in peoples lives. I think that was what Jesus meant when he said it is more blessed to give then to receive.

Leadership!!!

2008-03-13T18:04:00.005-04:00

"He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is simply taking a walk."

As followers of Christ we are called to be leaders. Our ability to lead runs parallel with our ability to influence others. Influence is not something you have to earn or find. It is something we all have. Influence is the ability to obtain followers. In order to Influence the lives of people around us the way Christ wants us to we have to allow ourselves to be influenced by Christ. As Christians our life is sustained in Christ. Our survival is dependent on our closeness to Christ. God is what gives us our breath. In order for us to influence others we have to live our lives in such a way that people can see our hearts or better yet our core and see that we are constantly influenced by God. God influences us through his word. I like what Rodney says, "we need to stay in close proximity to God in order to be changed (influenced) by him." If we live what God calls us to and we live it with Passion people will follow.......

Rebuking with Encouragement

2008-03-11T10:06:00.003-04:00

Wow! I honestly didn't think that these two words could go together in a sentence. But they can, they should, and they do! Filipe recently gave a talk at the youth about this while studying the book of Titus. He said that we can rebuke, but it should be followed by encouragement. Now, this may be easier for some people (the rebuking part). Maybe because they have the authority or it's just easier for them to let people know when they are in the wrong. For me, not so much.

In the past few days, I think I've been challenged with this and I get so uncomfortable. I don't like to be put in a position where I have to tell someone what they can't do, shouldn't do, or how to do it. I think it's because I worry too much of what they'll think about me after that. But if we really care and show God's love, I think we can get the strength to be real and honest with them.

Why do old people stop growing?

2008-03-10T15:19:00.002-04:00

I'm reading Teaching to change lives by Howard Hendricks. In the book, his daughter ask him the question "Why do old people stop growing?" and the question bothered him. This question has been bothering me as well. On a personal level have I stopped growing? Physically? Spiritually? Emotionally? Man, I hope not but truthfully I know that I have. If we stop growing then we start dyeing! I'm too young to die! I'm going to have to get intentional about this. I'm going to have to be open about my growth process and get accountability in these areas. Tracy always tells me that she loves it when I read. The reason that she loves it is because when she sees me growing and then she know that I'm going to cause the family to grow as well.

So I dare you to ask yourself this question as well, "Have you stopped growing in any area of your life and what are you going to do about it?"

From the Inside Out!

2008-02-22T08:52:00.003-05:00

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. - 2 Peter 1:5-7

As of late, I've been watching too many people faltering on their life commitments (marriage, ministry and kids) and I'm confused! How could they? Why would they? I been asking these questions and listening for some understanding and so let me share with you what I've been hearing and maybe we can learn some things together.

Filipe was talking about something that he learned in Growing Kids Gods Way class that he and Mandy are attending. This was the quote, "The best thing that we can give our children is a great marriage." This got me to thinking about how so often we look at others and how to impact them and spend all of our time and energy on helping them and neglect ourselves. THE BEST THING WE CAN GIVE OTHERS IS HEALTHY US!

I'm getting ready to build a house and I'm amazed at all that it takes to make it happen. Planning, counting the cost, clearing the land, laying the foundation, building the walls . . . if I neglect just one detail I'm screwed! The same goes for my life and my life commitments. As Peter wrote in the verse above we have to be intentional in building our lives starting form the deepest parts of who we are and letting them work their ways out into the open.

The key to all of this kind of debunks the whole thing that I learned as a kid in Sunday School about the word J-O-Y. J-esus first, O-thers second and Y-ourself last. It's a cute thought but if you follow this way of thinking by placing yourself in last place you may just find yourself faltering on your life commitments. I'm not talking about being selfish. What I am talking about is making sure that you are feeding yourself spiritually, taking care of your health, keeping yourself filled with the Holy Spirit and making sure that no matter what that you are always getting poured into by someone stronger and wiser than yourself.

These are my thoughts and I'm not God just Rod!

2008! HERE WE GROW!

2008-01-03T15:15:00.000-05:00

Holy Cow Batman! Here we are in 2008! Can you believe it? What a phenomenal year 07 was. We saw God impact our generation and our community through you guys. We are already feeling God's Spirit blow all over this year. We have dedicated the 1st 21 days of this year to seeking His face and listening to His voice. I would love to invite you on this journey with us.

Some of us are fasting (doing with out something to make room for GOD - food, media, sleep) and trying to listen to what God is saying for us as individuals and corporately.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:25-34

I challenge all of you apply this principle in your life. Before you do anything, anything, STOP and seek His face and ask Him what the RIGHT thing is for you to do. He will guide you, cloth you and feed you!

I love you guys and am looking forward to growing closer to God and His plans with all of you!

Rodney

A Contrite Heart

2008-01-01T12:13:00.000-05:00

I have struggled with what to fast for the 21 days of prayer and fasting. Quietly asking God what I should do, He whispers ever so gently to me that it is not WHAT I do but HOW I can attain the goal of gaining a contrite heart and a broken spirit before Him. Suddenly it comes to me what I should do. I know what draws me closer to Him. For me it looks different than for you. What do you need to implement in your life for these 21 days and maybe even beyond
that you know will draw you closer to him? that will develop a broken spirit in you allowing you to be able to see Him reaching and calling out to you to give you what you need. He desires to be ALL for us. We have to remove blinders in our lives that keep us from seeing and receiving this ALL. God Bless, Tracy

Isaiah 65 (New Living Translation)
1 The Lord says,
“I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.
11 “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord and have forgotten his Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny, 12 now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword. All of you will bow down before the executioner. For when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes—and chose to do what you know I despise.”

Psalm 51:15-17

15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Oprah's Favorite Things

2007-12-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Just the other day I was catching up with the shows that I usually record on my DVR. One of the being the Oprah Show. Anyways, I watched the so anticipated "Oprah's Favorite Things". For those of you that might not know what this show is about (men), it is the once a year show where she gives away every single item that she has on the show. It usually happens the week before Thanksgiving.

Now, just so you know how big this is let me show you some numbers. She gave away a total of 20 items. Ranging from as low as $5 up to $3,799. Now, just think about this. Every single person in the audience got all of this, worth about $7,249. Wow, no wonder people try through out the year to find out when the show is taping so they can get tickets. This year, it was actually a secret. They decided to tape the show in the city where the show has the highest rating; Macon, Georgia. No one at the beginning of the show knew that it was the Oprah's Favorite Things show taping, and when they found out, people went crazy and I saw some ladies bawling.

Now you may be wondering where am I going with this? Well, since we are on the God's Gift series at Genesis, I really started thinking how we can get so wrapped up in fulfilling our lives and desires with material things. I now that we need them to live, but don't people need the gift God more? Usually, when I've watched the show in previous years I have thought, wow, I wish I could be there. But honestly, this time I was much more thankful to have God in my life. And couldn't stop to think about how many people need him more than things. He can fulfill us more that anything or anyone. So with that being said, I believe that the hottest ticket in town this year are all of the Christmas services that will be taking place around our city. What can be greater than the story of Jesus Christ, the son God. He is the biggest gift that we can receive, this year and forever.

We can do it!!!!!

2007-12-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

Let's face it....doing good is not always the easiest thing to do. As a matter of fact, it is RARELY the easiest thing to do. (Especially when people around us are cheating the system and ,seemingly, living happier lives than we are) Perfect Example? Read Psalm 73:

1A psalm of Asaph.
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong. ^[a]

5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity ^[b] ;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance. ^[c]

11 They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"

12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.

15 If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.

16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me

17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

I believe that many of us can identify with Asaph, in this psalm.......we do our best to have integrity and have little or nothing to show for it......while, all around us, there are people who completely shun God and are "blessed" beyond belief. However, just as Asaph realized, we need to see that our reward is much greater than anything here on this earth. Life may get hard, but don't grow tired of doing what is right.....our payoff is knowing that we are pleasing our Creator and that we will see Him in all of His glory one day.

11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

2 Thessalonians 3:11-13

Girl Time

2007-11-30T11:17:00.000-05:00

Last night was the conclusion of our Girl Time group for the semester. We ended our relationship study with bang having a nice "sex talk" together understanding God's view of sex for marriage.

This semester has been one of the most fruitful times for me in my history of leading small groups (7 years!). Since last April I've been praying, studying, and writing for this study in hopes that girls' minds would be open to what God desires for them in marriage and how they can be blessed beyond their wildest dreams if they pursue His will for their life. Looking back on this semester I'm amazed at the number of girls that participated, the friendships that were formed, and the truth that God revealed to these girls.

I've been truly blessed by all of these girls this semester and have really enjoyed getting to know all of them. In the midst of everything going on in my own life this semester (having my 2nd baby!) thursday nights were the highlight of my week. The leaders were incredible and did an amazing job leading their table groups each week. They stepped in when I went into labor (the night of small group!) and made it possible for me to be able to teach this study.

I hope and pray that this isn't just the end to a great semester, but the start of something bigger that God is doing within our community of girls at Genesis. I'm a believer that girls can come together, love one another, support one another, and encourage one another. I see it happening and it's awesome!

Thanks girls for an awesome semester...looking forward to January!

The Peace of God!

2007-11-28T22:52:00.000-05:00

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.

This is were I'm living right now. Fighting worry with prayer and experiencing God's peace. His peace overcomes my worry. For most of you that don't know yet, life is hard! Sometimes we go through hard times and I mean hard times but when we stop and pray about them God can give us His peace and then they are do-able.

P.S.D.

2007-11-27T20:43:00.000-05:00

I've been reminded lately of the type of worship that really pleases God. In my devotions I've been going through Isaiah and this past week I got to where Isaiah prophesied that there would be a day when God would say "these people honor (worship) Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me".

Wow, think about that. There is worship going on, but it's worship that does not honor God. Maybe another way to say it is the prophecy said that there would be a day when people will go to church, sing songs, speak like they belong to God, hang out with Christian friends, act like they are worshippers, BUT their worship will be a farce - fake!

Man, the worship that honors God is worship when our hearts are near to Him. If we serve Him more than we love Him, it's pointless. This reminds of the importance of what some people call P.S.D.: Personal Spiritual Disciplines. The only way to keep our hearts close to God's heart is by having the daily personal disciplines that draw us near to Him: fervent prayer, deep study of His Words, fasting, worshipping privately, silence, etc.

Let's do it. Let's be real worshippers - with our hearts near to the One we worship.

God's teachers

2007-11-27T18:54:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

I'm Tracy and I would like to share a small little moment of thought with you. I call this Post "God's teachers".

I want to paint a picture of seasons for a minute.

I am a gardener. I love flowers, color and spring and the season of planting. Spring and Summer are times that I anticipate with joy their coming. I get energy, feel full of life & fun. There is beauty and color everywhere so enjoyable to look at, breathe in and even take part in with all the summer activty. I love to get my hands on as many flowering plants as possible to decorate my yard with.

I was looking at my yard the other day and realized that I have no real desire to plant right now because the winter season is coming and most flowers won't survive. Everything looks brown, yuk, dead, dormant, cold and lifeless. The growing season is over and the cold will set in soon.

However, the weeds that I so hate in the spring and summer die at this time.

The winter seems to pull us back a little bit. We stay in more and seemingly somewhat dormant inside awaiting the next season when we can get outside and engage in lively activities again.
OK here is the "moment of thought". First, God uses everything he created to teach us about him, us and our relationship with him.

There are seasons in my life that feel like spring and summer, harvesting lots of growth. It feels like smooth sailing. I have worked hard at something and then I see the result as being very beautiful, full of life and even fun. THEN The winter sets in and the life seems to go blah. Maybe even feels a little void of that growth, fun, smooth sailing, colorful time.

I am always amazed at what God uses to teach me. He knows what He is doing! He has taught me so much through the corniest and simplest situations in my life.

Like..... it is the Winter season when God is actually killing off those hateful weeds in the ground. The ones that try to choke the life out of what is beautiful or distort what was planned in my garden. He naturally takes care of so many things in the winter that are pests in the summer. He is doing a work. Sometimes in our lives He does the same with us. Maybe we feel somewhat dormant in our spirit at times but God is still at work sometimes cutting out those weeds in our life that can distort His original plan for us. It may feel cold and lifeless for a while but - We just have to open up our eyes and see that God is in the middle of the winter. Be faithful even when it is not very exciting or pretty. Glorify him in it. Anticipate with expectation what He can do with you and for you in the dormant times.

Although God is magnificent and extraordinary - Remember he speaks to us in the simplest of ways.

Open your eyes next time you garden or engage in any other simple activity in your life - God may be speaking into you, to teach you something! Then share it with someone else!!!

Pleasing God

2007-11-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

This subject has really been in my mind this week. I have certainly struggled with it this week too. It is hard sometimes to remind myself that everything I do should please God and not others (people). I think that we can get so consumed in getting the approval of others so that they like us and think we are cool or just so that they won't criticize us.

This past week with all of the preparation for the Turkey Outreach, I kept on thinking how many people were not going to receive a meal because we were only giving out 2,000. But at the same time I had to remind myself that out of those 2,000 families many people were going to be impacted in a mighty way. I have already started to hear some stories about it and it is awesome to know that people appreciate what you do.

Turkey Outreach

2007-11-18T18:45:00.000-05:00

WOW! Holy Smoke Batman! God is so huge. Ok, here's the story. 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals were given out today!

2000 turkeys - 24,000 lbs (12 tons of bird)
2000 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing
2,625 lbs of green beans
2,625 lbs of corn
2000 cans of cranberry sauce (WHY?)
2000 boxes of cake mix
Gravy, mashed potatoes, rice, Mac n Cheese

Thank you -

GOD!
Northwood Academy for giving us 1,150 boxes of food
Northwood Assembly for buying the Turkeys and food delivery
The Lowcountry Food Bank for the food hookup
CSU for food and for helping us deliver food
GENSIS - you guys ROCK my face off - food, delivery, money, passion
SAMs club, Walmart, BI-LO
Seacoast N. Charleston for being an amazing example
MY STAFF - Filipe, Maria, Mandy & Tracy - "Adrian, Adrian, We did it!"

I'll be blogging about stories that I hear about later!

GO GOD!!!

Rodney

New Baby

2007-11-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, I just experienced another miracle - I did not pass out while my wife was giving birth to our new baby girl. I got light-headed a couple times, but I made it through. But really, the miracle was seeing LIFE come out of my wife! What an experience to see that little girl come out with all the details of her body - my own flesh and blood.

We named her Caylin Grace Santos. Caylin means "pure", so "Pure Grace" is what she'll hear every day of her life. If you want to add Santos in there, it means "Holy", so that makes it "Pure and Holy Grace". Our prayer is that she'll passionately know and spread this amazing grace everyday of her life on this earth.

After experiencing the birth of a child, I cannot understand how anyone would question that their is a loving Creator who is concerned with each detail of our lives. Think about these things:

From an egg and a sperm - a little person is formed inside the belly of a woman.
The umbilical chord - provides all the nutrients the baby needs while in the belly.
The breast milk - the first 3 days of life the baby doesn't need milk, just some other fluid that the mom just happens to provide before the milk comes in. After that, the breast milk works as food, drink, medicine, snack, sleeping aid, and everything else the baby needs!
The baby bones - are still flexible in the beggining, so that clumbsy parents that drop their babies don't brake their bones.
Preparation time - the "making babies" process was designed quite wisely. Before the baby is born, you have 9 months to prepare (thank God) for your life to change - no accident there. And for the first few months of life, they sleep 16-20 hours a day giving the parents time to prepare and learn for the toddler years.
Size - humans mature in proportion to their growth. Before they know danger, they can't crawl. Before they know fear, they can't walk. When they are learning to walk, they are still small so that if they fall, they won't get hurt as badly. It goes on...

Man I could go on forever... David was right when he wrote is Psalm 139 "you knit me together in my mother's womb". It was intentional - every detail of every person - designed for a purpose by a loving Creator. Think about that.

Sex and Marriage

2007-10-24T13:00:00.001-04:00

I was trying to figure out why I was so nervous to talk about the subject of last night's message and I think I know why. One, I know how important sex is to God - I mean, if you were there last night, hopefully you got a glimpse of the depth of meaning behind sex and marriage. But secondly, I know that this is an area where most young adults have fallen in and how do you balance speaking TRUTH within the context of God's GRACE? It is a hard balance to find, expecially when dealing with the sex issue.

Jesus was the Master at balancing those two components. John 1 says, "He (Jesus) was full of grace and truth". He will never compromise truth (or else He wouldn't be God), but He always presents it with grace and compassion. If we surrender to the Truth, He can take all of our sexual sins and wash them away with His grace. What a beautiful thing. I hope that was the message people heard last night.