Monday, June 23, 2008

Stability v. Spontaneity...

i truly believe that the ministry here at central missouri is very much in need of stability and of someone who can give it vision and direct it to really make it everything that God desires for it to be. and i want to be able to be that for the ministry....

but at the same time, my spirit craves spontaneity....it craves the ability and opportunities for cailyn and i to be able to just freely serve God in different ways and in all different parts of the world...

i am really struggling to figure out how these two states of being....stability and spontaneity....can co-exist at the same time, in the same person...

Friday, June 13, 2008

Answered Prayer...

you know, when you've been a christian for quite some time, it can become rather easy to slip into a rut (well, probably a lot of ruts) when it comes to prayer. i find it so easy to talk about prayer and even to pray and to say that i believe in prayer, but when i am honest with myself, i can see that sometimes i am just going through the motions instead of really believing that God can and will answer prayer, even and sometimes especially when it is a "big" prayer...

but without a doubt, the best remedy that i know of for a prayer rut is when God brings you one of those "Holy Whacks" where he just slaps you up side the head with an answered prayer...

and today was definitely one of those days for me...

we have been struggling somewhat financially as a ministry and we had been getting to the point where it was hard for us to pay our mortgage and payroll and were really in need of about $4000 just to get us out of the hole we were in and then some additional increase in giving to keep us from getting right back into the same hole...

and this morning, in a matter of about one hour, God took care of both...

i talked with one supporter and i shared with him our need, and he said that it was a good thing that i called when i did, because he said that he just got a call from a business partner letting him know that they had their tithe money from their business ready to distribute somewhere. and would you guess how much that check was for...well you might have guessed $4000...and you would be close...it was actually for $4400. and he said that he would get it in the mail right away and that it should be here by wednesday at the latest...

and as if that is not enough answered prayer to get you out of a rut, i also found today that we have had new monthly commitments in giving of $200. yet again, a huge answer to prayer!

God truly is good, and he truly does answer prayer!!!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A Retreat, Family, and a Random Thought...

last week cailyn and i got a chance to go to a campus ministers retreat in southern indiana and then we headed up north to spend some time with our families. it was all very good and very refreshing.

being with our families is always good, especially when it is at the lake. we are just very blessed to have the families that we have...

and the retreat....was awesome...

being the first year that we are doing ministry in a lead role, it was particularly good to be able to spend time with other ministers and to reconnect with old friends. it is always good to get back with the people that i love and have learned so much from at Purdue. we also had a chance to listen to a great speaker, don everts. he was incredibly dynamic in his speaking, but more than that, he was down to earth and real, and a great time to hang out with. basketball, disc golf, and poker....it was awesome!


on a side note, i am realizing that i am not all that good at debriefing/breaking down the conversations that i have with other, and particularly students, to figure out how i move forward in my relations with them. it is something that i hope to work on and grow in.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Sacredness of Life...

it is sobering and yet some how refocusing to realize the fragility and shortness of life...

i just got off the phone with my best friend from high school, and he told me that just a couple of days ago that his wife had given birth to their twin boys at 19 weeks of pregnancy, a baby doesn't really have a realistic chance of living until 23 weeks, and so the lived just a few short moments and then went to be with their Heavenly Father...

it is so hard to no what to say in a situation like that...to know how to love, support, and encourage someone who has just lost something like that...something that they are so excited about and have been hoping for for so long...

i am reminded about just how short life can be....i am reminded about what really matters in life, love...i am reminded about how God has a plan that is far bigger than our own and that it is something that we can't even fathom or imagine at times...

i am amazed and encouraged by dave's attitude and spiritual maturity in a time of tragedy like this. to hear him talking about God having a plan and God seeing the bigger picture and that the boys are in Heaven with God and that they will continue to try to have children and simply trust God through the process no matter what that might look like...

i pray for him and his wife as they move through this time of grieving and pain and heartache...

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