Crazy Stuff Report

CRAZY STUFF just happened officially today! Here is the background...In June the elders and I started to look VERY seriously at our current financial position at church...Although we had seen growth (30% in 2 months) we were not hitting our budget...The bottom line: I was going to need to get a part-time job...So, at the beginning of July I sent this email to South Bend Schools...

"Hey Mary Jo…I would like to chat about some possibilities for this coming school year. I’ll explain more when we talk…

Thanks and I look forward to talking with you…
tim"

When we talked I told her that I need 1/3 of a contract...the bad news was that there was nothing like that open...UNTIL NOW! That sounds exciting, but I will admit that this process has been hard...faith stretching...it has been quite a bumpy road...ups and downs...opportunities that should have been there then fell through or just never materialized...

BUT THEN IT HAPPENED! You know...the thing that God has planned all along...the thing that make you say..."That's CRAZY STUFF...it had to be God!" Several teachers were using their plan periods to teach disabled children music, art and P.E. at one of the schools. The position was covered by 1 person last year, but she took a full time teaching job...So, rather than fill the position they just tried to cover it...THEN FOR SOME REASON (GOD!) they decided not to "just cover it" and hire someone...AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME FOR ME TO APPLY! I probably wouldn't have looked at it a month ago, because of some of the other options out there...BUT now it is actually a better fit all the way around for me...I started on Monday and found out officially today that the position is 1/3 of a contract...THE VERY AMOUNT I WAS PRAYING FOR 3 MONTHS AGO! THANK YOU JESUS! THAT is crazy stuff!

I do want to say a public THANK YOU to Mary Jo Kaser...she is the Fine Arts Curriculum Facilitator for South Bend Schools (THAT is a long title!)...she has been AMAZING at seeing options for me...spent a GREAT DEAL OF TIME connecting with people...throwing ideas my way...She has been a gift from God actually...I love how God uses all kind of people to make his CRAZY STUFF happen! Hey...she has now helped me get hired with the schools 2x's now!!

Monday Reflections

Thoughts on the weekend and this morning...

-Hog Roast was AWESOME! A LOT of people there...great time...Rusty and Kari did a fantastic job
-Had a KILLER headache Saturday night...my 2nd one in a week and several in the past month
-Usually only get headaches like that 1 or 2x's a year...
-Time to go to the eye doctor...I think my eyes are the problem!
-SUNDAY MORNING WAS INCREDIBLE...I'm still moved by what God did yesterday! (read my post from yesterday for more info!)
-Started teaching at Dickenson Fine Arts Magnent in South Bend today...
-THOSE KIDS ARE REALLY COOL! Neat hearts...great smiles!
-Had lunch with Colin and Andre...talk about a couple of guys that God is working in and through!!
-Moving forward with talks on a location...GOD IS MOVING! More later...
-Interesting schedule today...about to head to my 3rd job of the day...interesting times
-Yep...South Bend still has not told me what my contract looks like...interesting way to do business
-I LOVE my kids...
-Chloe is maturing before my eyes...she is beautiful...smart...LOVES Jesus
-LOVED having my parents here this weekend...
-I apologized to my dad Saturday night for how I used to talk to him...God says "honor your father and mother..." MAN...I didn't honor him back then...Appreciated his response!
-Sat through the end of the message yesterday next to my dad...he was tearing up as Jim spoke on forgiveness and had his arm around me and mom...GUYS...THAT IS CRAZY STUFF...GOD HAS RADICALLY CHANGED HIS LIFE.
-Have I mentioned how grateful that I am that God changed my dad's life before it was too late. "Thanks Jesus."
-I honestly believe that I have the BEST wife in the world...she loves me...supports me...is willing to sacrifice for the sake of what God wants for us...I SURE LOVE HER!
-Oh...did I mention that my wife is GORGEOUS?!?!?!?!?! I still melt when she looks and smiles at me!
-Hey...I'm going to get going and head over to Perley School and teach some piano!

"God...thanks for the way you work in our lives...KEEP IT UP!"

WOW!

This morning was...................that is it...it was...it was our overall best service ever...our intro...our greeting time...Jerimae leading us to write out our prayers and bringing them up to the offering buckets up front...the video on worship........worship is about ONE thing...GOD...it's not about me...not about music...its about God...God being lifted up...doesn't matter whether or not I love the music...whether or not it is an emotional high...it is about God...and today...it was a high...it was moving...and I believe God was honored...THEN Jim brought the message on forgiveness...DEEPLY MOVING...we invited people to come to the front and pray for God to help them forgive others...The service ended and everyone just sat there...no one moved until we said: "you're dismissed." I honestly believe that people would have sat there for 5 or 10 minutes in silence...UNBELIEVABLE SERVICE...GOD SHOWED UP...CRAZY STUFF...CRAZY FORGIVENESS..CRAZY WORSHIP..."Thanks God for allowing me to experience this morning."

Hog Roast Tonight

Looking forward to our church's Hog Roast tonight...never been to one before...BUT I'm looking forward to hanging out with GREAT people...eating some GREAT food...Rusty and Kari (the people hosting it) are having a prayer walk through the woods...going to be a really fun night!

Reflection...

Feast on these verse today...They have been running in my mind for days now...

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek ame and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord and will bring you back from captivity." (Jeremiah 29: 11-14)

Tim 11 - Jazmine 0

Yep...I'm in a competetion with our neighbor cat...you bet...I'll compete with ANYTHING, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE! So, a couple of months ago I noticed our neighbors cat was hanging out in our garage...so I went to investigate and noticed some mouse "droppings" laying around. Well, I quickly set up my traps and went to work...now over the past 2 months I have caught 11 mice and Jazmine (the neighbor cat) still is waiting for her first!

Today I found one and Luke said "I want to see it dad!" So, I showed him and he wanted to pet it! How funny! Then he kept saying "aw...the mouse is dead dad...aw...aw...aw...let me see it dad...awww..." It was adorable!

I will confess though that I hope that the competetion is now over...would love to stop at 11!

Hanging out with Luke...

Today has been fun...good time with Luke! We built a road with blocks for his cars...went on a bike ride...played Wii...and went "hunting" for a frog. The funny thing was Luke said..."Dad, let's go find a frog!" And the first place we looked...there it was! THEN he caught a cricket ALL BY HIMSELF! I was so proud of him! I sure enjoy my little man...I can't wait to see what he grows up to become...Some FUN years ahead!!

Packed Weekend...

What a good weekend...I was EXHAUSTED on Sunday...feel asleep in the chair for a couple of hours! Our Blitz on Saturday was GREAT! I LOVE serving our community...it is so fun getting the chance to do something for people with no expectation of them giving something in return...we served close to 300 people breakfast on Saturday at a kid's football game. WHAT A BLAST! One cool thing for me was close to the beginning of the day...I teach a class at Perley School and one of my students came up to me...the cool part?! He ended up serving food with us for about 2 hours! Here he was...flipping pancakes...rubbing shoulders with people who love Jesus all morning! VERY COOL!

Sunday morning was good...good time of worship...Jim really hammered on us about dealing with our sin...imagine how our prayers would be answered if we cleaned our hearts before God...WOW! God make us clean!

Then Sunday afternoon the ladies in our church put on a baby shower for moms from Hope Ministries a local homeless shelter...Kelsey took our daughter Chloe with her...what a great experience for mom and daughter together!

OK...so this isn't the weekend, but yesterday I turned in a proposal for a new location for our campus. Praying for God to intervene...by all outside appearances they should reject our deal...BUT I am praying for the MIRACLE WORKING GOD to do some Crazy Stuff through this...BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN'T we KNOW that he has something in store for us!

Isn't it fun to trust God...to see how he will put the pieces of the puzzle together of our lives and our church...LOVE IT!

Blitzin' Tomorrow!

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE MORNING...I am so ready for this blitz that I am about to jump out of my skin...bounce on the ceiling! Tomorrow we are going to serve breakfast for little dude football players and their families. I CAN'T WAIT...to serve people and just share Jesus' love in a practical way...I am just ITCHING to do an outreach like this...it is just fun and a great touch to our community! WHOO-HOO!!!!

Thoughts...

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" (Ps. 139: 17)



God's thoughts...imagine that...imagine what he thinks about...imagine how he spends his time...

Then think about the fact that he wants what is best for us...I want to look at people and things that happen the way God does...I long to have thoughts that honor God...thoughts that would make God say..."How precious are your thoughts..." God...help me to think like you...to have wisdom like you...to discern things like you do...

Stuff...

-I am thankful tonight...Kels came home and said something was rattling in the van...turned out that a bolt had come loose and was GONE from the brakes...they were just banging in there...THANKFUL that Kels is o.k.
-Had a job interview yesterday...we'll see if the schedule works out...could be a good fit
-Checking out a location for our campus that is near Movies 14...PRAYING...looking for God to do some CRAZY STUFF
-Football season is rough so far...The Brown...Bucks and Irish all lost this past weekend
-GOD is moving in people's lives...VERY COOL to see
-I CANNOT WAIT FOR OUR BLITZ ON SATURDAY...cannot wait to serve some breakfast to football families...JUST WANTING TO SERVE
-I had to STOP myself in the middle of the road today...I was off to the races...mind was running...running from store to store for parts for the van...then realized...TIM...it'll get fixed...SLOW DOWN...TALK TO GOD! CHILL OUT!
-Kels is back downstairs, so I'm signing off!

Monday Morning Reflections...

Our service yesterday was unlike any other...the anticipation that Jerimae and I had going into the service was intense...we both had a week of intense prayer with God...times of confession and BATTLE for our own lives...our families, our church and other people...We just sensed that God was going to do something...Pastor Jim made a video that we showed at the beginning of the message...then Jerimae and I invited people to come to the front and pray...to confess and repent of sin...to renounce the enemies work in their lives and the lives of others...to BEG AND PLEAD with God to do something new through all of us...to reach our friends and neighbors...It was a moving service...We spent A LOT of time in prayer...BATTLING in prayer...it was good to be in God's presence with the church...very good.

Anticipation

I anticipate great games that my teams are playing...In fact there is a HUGE one this weekend with my Buckeyes and some team on the west coast. I can still remember the feeling inside of me before a big game in High School...the feelings of wanting the time to pass by faster...watching the clock...thinking about what might happen in the game...

OH...I cannot express to you how much I feel that anticipation right now about Sunday morning...We have the opportunity to ENCOUNTER God TOGETHER...to come to him...Cry out to him...CAN'T WAIT...can't wait to see how people respond...how I respond...how everything comes together...CRAZY STUFF is happening..."GOD may it happen here!"

Desire...

What happens when your focus turns 100% on Jesus Christ? What happens when your motivation is him...driven by and for him? What would that look like in your life? What would be different about you? What behaviors would change...what things would you say...or not say? How would you pray? What would need to be confessed to get you moving toward him?

"God...please change any motivation in my life that is not geared toward you."

THAT is a scary prayer...know why? Because God will answer it...he will respond...and I must be ready to follow through...Ready to confess...repent...AND change...Are you willing to pray that? If so, join me and walk with me as we move closer to our Savior...he promises to give us the strength to stand AND let's battle the enemy for our lives...the lives of our families...the lives of our church...the lives of our community...why not today? why not now? Let's not wait any longer...

Future is BRIGHT!

OK...so it has only been 2 weeks, but I am excited about the future leaders in our churches...I am teaching a class at Grace College again this fall and the students are FIRED UP. The depth of their questions and discussion...the heart...their passion...LOVE IT! I have been very impressed with the spirit of the class. I look forward to challenging them and being challenged by them this year. I learn A LOT from these students...they provide a perspective that I can learn from...I pray HARD for each of these students...that their love for Jesus GOES DEEP...that they will LIVE OUT what they believe...it's going to be a GREAT year!

Forgiveness...

What a GREAT word...I cannot express how amazing it feels when I know that God has forgiven me or someone else who I have hurt. I wonder though...when is the last time that we have really, really asked God for forgiveness...asked God to "search my heart..." AND to show me "offensive ways..." that I have hurt my relationship with him...How about today? How about setting aside time to ask the question..."God, how have I offended you? How have I hurt others? What unconfessed sin is there in my life?" And then...DEAL WITH THE SIN! Because the God who saved you IS faithful to forgive...

Monday Morning Reflections...

Well...by the time I finish typing it will be Monday morning! Overall today was a very good day...our service was fantastic...great worship...great message...then Jerimae encouraged people to come up and sing the final song with him...people came and came and came to the front...standing together...praising our God...saying together that we LONG to see CRAZY STUFF happening in our time...RIGHT NOW in fact! I already can't wait for next Sunday!

Then Chloe and I headed to a pastor party at a lake house of one of the families from the Goshen campus...Kels told me by the way to "why don't you go..." "REALLY?!?!" was my response...so Chloe and I had a BLAST hanging out with other pastors and their families...AND I had fun getting thrown...pushed (thanks Josh!)...dunked...beaten...bruised...into the water off of the spinning tube! AND YOU BET...I'd do it again in a second...memories were made today...CRAZY STUFF happened out there...stories will be shared...like 6 guys on a 4 man tube...trying to get it to spin! GREAT TIMES...

I'm looking forward to some time with the family today (after some sleep of course!)...It will be good to be home with them!

Oh Yeah...now it begins!

Ahhhhhhhhhh...the fresh smell of a football Saturday! OH MAN...I love this! The Buckeyes are on...(although I have to follow them on-line...no ESPN at the Bouchers!)...the Irish are going to be on soon...OH YES! Everyone is 0-0 and the future is bright...How about a Buck-Irish national championship?! Anything seems possible on the first week of September!

Listen

I want to ask you a favor...are you ready? When someone you respect...when a mentor or coach speaks into your life...Listen! You may not agree with everything you hear...you may not take their advice...BUT make sure you listen...seek God...THEN move forward.

How many problems that we have would be solved by listening...seeking God...THEN moving forward?!

I can't wait to get the bill...

Does that sound strange to you?! It does to me and I wrote it!! But here is the deal...Kels and I are working hard to get our finances in order...we have paid off most of our debt, except our house and we were on a GREAT path financially, especially with the changes that are happening with my job. THEN, Jaden broke his arm...and you bet there will be expenses...here is the deal though...3 different people...3 people who don't even know each other, have blessed Kelsey and me with financial gifts over the past 3 weeks...we didn't ask for it...weren't looking for it...CRAZY STUFF...I just have to wonder what Jaden's bill is going to come too...what has been given will make a GOOD dent into our bills...CRAZY STUFF!

Crazy Stuff Report

A man from our campus went to the hospital yesterday for surgery...he had a VERY bad accident earlier in the week and had broken his nose, eye socket and cheek bone...with the cheek being the worst injury...he went to the hospital and they fixed his nose and eye, BUT his cheek was fine...no break! Some may say that they just "thought it was broken"...I just wonder...that just maybe our God took his most sever injury and healed it...sounds like CRAZY STUFF to me!

I love to pray...

Tonight I had time to pray with Colin...a very good friend of mine from the church...we started praying through Habakkuk 3:2...we started with "Lord we know your fame"...we just started praying to God and thanking God for the stories of the Old Testament...IT WAS FUN! We started with creation...hit Moses and MANY stories of the Israelites...Ruth and Boaz (God cares for our relationships)...Elijah...Jonah...Noah...propheses of the Messiah to come...and MORE...

Then we cried out and even SHOUTED out to God to move today...PLEADING with him...BEGGING him...LONGING for him to move RIGHT here and RIGHT now at Grace Community Church South Bend/Mishawaka in bigger ways than ever before!

Why is praying so energizing?!?! Hebrews 4: 16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." WE GET TO APPROACH THE THRONE OF GRACE...THE THRONE OF THE LIVING MOST HOLY GOD...AND

HE LISTENS TO US!!!!

Enough said!

4-mile Bike Ride

Luke and I are hanging out today...Chloe and Jaden are at school and Kels was having lunch with a friend. I've said before that Luke is now riding without training wheels...So today he wanted to go on a bike ride...We went around the block 3 or 4 times, but he wanted more! IT WAS GREAT...we went all over the place...ended up going over 4-miles! AND he still had energy left! It was fun!!

The joy I have watching him makes me remember the first time I started riding...I wasn't 3 yrs. old like him, BUT dad took me to the High School parking lot...I can still remember gettin' it going and not knowing how to stop...I was flying across the parking lot and noticed the wire "fence" there...fence may be the wrong word...it was a thick wire that was between 2 posts! SO I ran into the wire fence and held on...HEY...I stopped! What can I say...Luke is doing much better than me!!

Thoughts...

Random thoughts...and I MEAN RANDOM...my not be profound...just what popped in my head at 8p.m. on a Tuesday

-Jay Bell ROCKED last night at the class I teach at Grace College...
-I am gaining weight, but my foot hurts too badly to start running
-I love coaching...
-I hate it that Jaden can't play soccer this fall...doctor said NO WAY today for the whole season...stressing HOW SERIOUS this break is...
-I wonder where I will be working 6 months from now...(the church of course...but where else!)
-I LOVE my wife...
-Chloe is growing up toooooooooo fast...she is turning into a young lady...GENTLEMEN BEWARE!
-Teaching kids is fun...it's been a while
-I'm tired...but it is a good tired.
-Wondering when God will show us our location for our campus...Up to over 30 places contacted!
-I love teaching the class at Grace College...those students will be WORLD changers
-What if...
-I PRAY HARD that Chloe, Jaden and Luke all come to Jesus...live for him...find GODLY spouse...PASSIONATELY live for him
-I'm glad my kids get to experience Grace Community Church.
-Even if I am part-time...I have one of the best jobs in the world.
-Hab. 3:2 is ROCKING MY WORLD
-MAN...the South Bend Community School Corp makes decisions VERY SLOWLY! (Been waiting to hear about a job for a month now...in case you didn't know...school has already started!)
-I had a great date night with Kelsey...one of the best we have had in a long time...
-Battell Park is VERY pretty
-If I wasn't in love with South Bend...didn't feel like God wanted me living here, I would move to Mishawaka or Blair Hills in A SECOND!
-I LOVE SOUTH BEND!
-I praise God for people who care about South Bend and our campus the way I do
-I treasure friends...people who encourage you
-I am blessed to be on a staff that likes each other...
-I like our pets...
-I think people who don't have pets are missing something!
-Anyone remember Band Camp???? (Where did that one come from?)
-I sure enjoy a breath of fresh air
-Teaching a percussion class today was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN!
-Teachers are so cool...they get to impact kids lives every day
-There is one job better than being a teacher...know what it is? A full time mom! I'm not kidding...a full time mom has one of the most important jobs EVER...
-I'm glad that my kids get THE BEST full time mom! (She's cute too!)
-I'm listening to Chloe's piano lesson with mommy as the teacher...wish I would have taken piano...(I would NOT have liked it back then though!)
-Jaden.........he was so disappointed about not playing tonight...my heart ached for him

Well...I'm outta here...have a meeting in a few minutes downtown...better get rolling!