Tuesday, October 13, 2009
MORE CRAZY STUFF BABY!
Colin and I prayed today on the phone that the owner of our office building would allow us out of our lease at the end of this year. (Our lease is through June '10) 4 MINUTES LATER...DID YOU CATCH THAT?!?!?!?!...4 MINUTES LATER I received a call from the office building's management saying that the owner would release us from the lease at the end of the year! THANKS GOD!!!! WHOO-HOO!
CRAZY STUFF BABY!
I have been searching for a new location for our church for a loooooooooooooooooooong time...searching and searching and searching...CRYING OUT TO GOD...BEGGING GOD to show us the right place for us. We need to be out of the theater in January due to the amount of $$ it costs to be there.
So over the past few months I have looked at over 30 locations...I'll confess I WAS SICK OF IT! One night at Prayer Encounter I SLAMMED my Bible down and just PLEADED with God to show me the right spot for us. THE NEXT DAY I decided to go prayer driving around our target area...as I drove there was a building that I had never seen before...AND IT WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE MOVIE THEATER...I made the call and we started to look at the place. LOVED THE LOCATION! LOVED THE BUILDING! COULD GOD REALLY GET US THIS SPOT?!
It didn't look good...we negotiated with the owner and were off by about $9000...I called one Monday and asked him what he was thinking...One of the guys who had seen it had told someone that we probably wouldn't get the location...that we were too far off...BUT GOD CAME THROUGH AND HE DROPPED OFF $6000 MORE $ and we saw how we could make it work! CRAZY STUFF!!
This is a location that we would want whether or not there were financial issues!! GOD IS SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! I have said for a long time that we would know when the right spot came along and BAM! Here it is!
THANK YOU JESUS! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE PEOPLE GIVING THEIR LIVES TO JESUS IN THIS BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAN'T WAIT!
So over the past few months I have looked at over 30 locations...I'll confess I WAS SICK OF IT! One night at Prayer Encounter I SLAMMED my Bible down and just PLEADED with God to show me the right spot for us. THE NEXT DAY I decided to go prayer driving around our target area...as I drove there was a building that I had never seen before...AND IT WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE MOVIE THEATER...I made the call and we started to look at the place. LOVED THE LOCATION! LOVED THE BUILDING! COULD GOD REALLY GET US THIS SPOT?!
It didn't look good...we negotiated with the owner and were off by about $9000...I called one Monday and asked him what he was thinking...One of the guys who had seen it had told someone that we probably wouldn't get the location...that we were too far off...BUT GOD CAME THROUGH AND HE DROPPED OFF $6000 MORE $ and we saw how we could make it work! CRAZY STUFF!!
This is a location that we would want whether or not there were financial issues!! GOD IS SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! I have said for a long time that we would know when the right spot came along and BAM! Here it is!
THANK YOU JESUS! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE PEOPLE GIVING THEIR LIVES TO JESUS IN THIS BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAN'T WAIT!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Our inconvenience...God's opportunity Part 2
If you didn't read my post "Our inconvenience...God's opportunity" from last week, scroll down and take a look. BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN! Here we are...11 guys traveling back from Maryland in our church van...We even got out of camp early, so we were looking to be home between 10-11 p.m. WE WERE EXCITED...then...as we are going up the FIRST mountain, the van is dieing...the gauges are going HOT...the van is slowing down...we pull into a rest area and the van is done! We don't have a way home...OH BUT DID WE PRAY!!!! Groups of guys standing around seeking what God wants...
So, we call a couple of people traveling with us and THANK OUR GOD...they went the wrong way and were still behind us! They pulled up and had a mechanic with them...BUT he was unable to fix it...(not really a lot of tools at a rest stop!)...BUT the 2 vans that came up had 6 seats available AND THEN Pastor Jim's friend Mike (we stayed on his property for our retreat) gave us his Explorer for the week!! We ALL got home, although it was 2:40 a.m. when I walked in the house...GOD put the pieces together to take care of us!!
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL...Jim made the statement before we left that "God has put all of you in a vehicle for a reason." WELL, we get 5 minutes away from our camping spot and God shuffles the deck! He puts guys in different vehicles and we had UNBELIEVABLE conversation in the Explorer of 5 guys for HOURS! AMAZING...LIFE CHANGING AND CHALLENGING conversation...So, once again...Our Inconvenience is God's opportunity!!
"Thanks God."
So, we call a couple of people traveling with us and THANK OUR GOD...they went the wrong way and were still behind us! They pulled up and had a mechanic with them...BUT he was unable to fix it...(not really a lot of tools at a rest stop!)...BUT the 2 vans that came up had 6 seats available AND THEN Pastor Jim's friend Mike (we stayed on his property for our retreat) gave us his Explorer for the week!! We ALL got home, although it was 2:40 a.m. when I walked in the house...GOD put the pieces together to take care of us!!
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL...Jim made the statement before we left that "God has put all of you in a vehicle for a reason." WELL, we get 5 minutes away from our camping spot and God shuffles the deck! He puts guys in different vehicles and we had UNBELIEVABLE conversation in the Explorer of 5 guys for HOURS! AMAZING...LIFE CHANGING AND CHALLENGING conversation...So, once again...Our Inconvenience is God's opportunity!!
"Thanks God."
Wild At Heart
GREAT Wild at Heart this year...Unbelievable...God worked in guys lives...guys were brutally honest...I long to see how God is going to use these men. What an honor to be with them this past weekend...the competetions...the conversations...the food...GOD MOVED in very real ways! AWESOME!
I was excited to get back to my spot from last year...my dried up creekbed...when I was all dried up personally and spiritually...then to say..."THANK YOU GOD FOR RE-FUELING MY HEART!" couldn't find the spot, but I thanked God anyway!
Had a friend bring a steak for me...OH WAS IT GOOD! Steak cooked on the open fire...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!
"God...thanks for showing up in men's lives...may we be back there next year with EVERY MAN not just "making it" but THRIVING in their relationship with you!"
I was excited to get back to my spot from last year...my dried up creekbed...when I was all dried up personally and spiritually...then to say..."THANK YOU GOD FOR RE-FUELING MY HEART!" couldn't find the spot, but I thanked God anyway!
Had a friend bring a steak for me...OH WAS IT GOOD! Steak cooked on the open fire...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!
"God...thanks for showing up in men's lives...may we be back there next year with EVERY MAN not just "making it" but THRIVING in their relationship with you!"
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
GRACE LANCERS vs. INDIANA HOOSIERS!
No that is NOT a misprint...I couldn't believe it either!!! I got an email from the Grace Alumni and didn't believe what I was reading so I went to the IU b-ball page for proof...AND THERE IT WAS!
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
"LET'S GO LANCERS!" (Clap-Clap-Clap Clap Clap)
Our inconvience...God's opportunity
I had a tire that was going flat yesterday...I didn't have time to take it to Discount Tire, but I don't have time to go to the hospital either when it makes me wreck!! So, I took it in yesterday after I taught school...The tire shop is only a few blocks from my house, so I decided to walk home...As I was walking I noticed a friend's dog running around his yard...So being the nice friend that I am I called him and made some smart-comment about getting his dog back in the house...ended up he was the one home...So I ran across the 4 lanes of traffic and we had a chance to talk...After some small-talk for a few minutes he shared with me some stuff happening in his life that needed prayer...RIGHT AWAY I realized that God has a plan for EVERYTHING...think about it...I had a flat-tire...there were a TON of people in line, so I had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get my car back, so I decided to walk home and work from home...AND THEN I saw my friend's dog and had a chance to talk with him and pray with him...GOD KNEW that my friend needed encouragement, so my tire went flat and BAM! God put me in the right place at the right time!
OUR INCONVENIENCE is GOD'S OPPORTUNITY!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monday Refections!
We had 2 people during our service yesterday put Jesus in charge of their lives! THAT DOES NOT GET OLD!!!! PRAISE GOD! It was an amazing and challenging service...Challenging in the fact the we MUST, MUST show grace to people...we must not hold things over them...this doesn't mean that we ignore sin...it means that we show TRUE love to people...that we forgive...that we accept people back the way the father did the prodical son! We must not beat people up for their mistakes...
This Crazy Stuff series has been amazing...Seeing how God has worked and seeing how he is working VERY COOL!
This Crazy Stuff series has been amazing...Seeing how God has worked and seeing how he is working VERY COOL!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Puzzle Pieces...
Life sure feels like a HUGE puzzle sometimes...a puzzle that only God see the whole finished picture...BUT when God starts to put the pieces together, and we get to see more of HIS picture...WOW! Sometimes we are just living...without a CLUE as to what God has in store...we pray...we plead...we seek...but we just don't see it yet...THEN comes the time when things start to come together...RIGHT NOW is one of those times for me and for Grace...God is putting some BIG puzzle pieces together and it is VERY COOL to see him work...
Want details?? Soon...very soon!
Want details?? Soon...very soon!
Friday, October 2, 2009
"Today is a battle, not a game"
I wish I could claim this quote as my own...I was on the phone today with a good friend, Miah, one of the worship guys at our Goshen campus when he said those words. He was talking about life and the spiritual battles we fight. POWERFUL WORDS!
Too often we don't treat life as a battle...we just let things go...or ignore warning signs in people and ourselves...caution flags that should tip us off that something is wrong...that something needs to change...but we are too busy "just livin' " and we miss it...we waste our days...Let's get in the battle for each other...I spent time praying for people today...battling for God's work in their lives...for their encouragement.lives and don't work to walk closer to God and encourage others. LIFE IS A BATTLE GROUND...let's fight for each other!
Too often we don't treat life as a battle...we just let things go...or ignore warning signs in people and ourselves...caution flags that should tip us off that something is wrong...that something needs to change...but we are too busy "just livin' " and we miss it...we waste our days...Let's get in the battle for each other...I spent time praying for people today...battling for God's work in their lives...for their encouragement.lives and don't work to walk closer to God and encourage others. LIFE IS A BATTLE GROUND...let's fight for each other!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The church of today...Prayer Encounter on the move...Teachable Moments
Alright, so I couldn't figure out how to title this post...Tonight we did our Prayer Encounter a little differently...we were mobile...we started at Movies 14 where we have our services then went to a potential new location down the street...It was very cool to pray ON LOCATION...another cool part was that 4 kids were with us...all boys! When I say "kids" I mean 4 boys...1 is 8...2 are 6 and one is 4...Here is what was cool to me...we all knelt down in the building where we may start leasing and prayed...kids too...then we went up into the room where the kids would have their spot and 3 of the boys prayed...IT WAS AWESOME! You think that didn't get God's attention?!?!?! WOW!
Kids are the church of TODAY...If they are followers of Jesus God listens to their prayer in the SAME WAY that he listens to adults...GOD LONGS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM, so why not have them right there with us...Think about those boys tonight...if God continues to move and we end up there, they will be part of the first group of people to do battle in the spiritual realm in our building...HOW COOL IS THAT MEMORY FOR THEM...What a moment for the dads too!!
Kids are the church of TODAY...If they are followers of Jesus God listens to their prayer in the SAME WAY that he listens to adults...GOD LONGS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM, so why not have them right there with us...Think about those boys tonight...if God continues to move and we end up there, they will be part of the first group of people to do battle in the spiritual realm in our building...HOW COOL IS THAT MEMORY FOR THEM...What a moment for the dads too!!
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