1/17/12
1/10/12
1/5/12
New Year's Resolutions!
2012 is here! Confetti flies, the ball drops, we sing a song... But what next? This time of year is often filled with people looking back at the previous year and pledging to be a much better person, or to do the things that they didn't or couldn't do the year previous.
I, like most of you, am one of those people! I looked back on 2011 and saw many great things that God allowed me to do and be successful at. But I also saw many things that I either didn't do, or don't like about myself!!!
So what do we do? Sit down and write out our "New Year's Resolutions". While most of us don't intend to break them later that week, many of us fall into that very pitfall. We get all emotional and maybe even convicted, or "kicked in the butt" from God and we desire to change. Then, when things get tough, or the fact that it isn't a habit yet - we break them.
Look back on your life. How many resolutions did you break? How long did it take you to break them?
We then end up with even MORE disappointment because not only did we end up doing what we've always done, now we just broke a NEW commitment!!! And even more hurtful for us Christians is when we fall back into a certain sin. We then feel like we've betrayed God and that we are a failure.
So other than that, this is a pretty up beat post! So what do we do? How do we change and break the cycle of unfulfilled New Year's Resolutions? Here's a couple of ideas.
1. Is this resolution from God?
If God is speaking to us and encouraging, or commanding that we change something - it has a much higher probability of being successful. A resolution without God's backing and power is just a sentence on a piece of paper. We need his help and strength!!!
1 Timothy 4:13 says, "I can do EVERYTHING through HIM who gives me strength". Why do resolutions fail? Because most people try to do them on their own strength. This well known passage reminds us where our strength comes from and what we can do when we allow God to work through us.
John 15 talks about the Vine and the Branches. When we remain "plugged in" to God, we are fruitful. When we disconnect, we will not be fruitful. It even goes so far as to say that those branches that aren't connected to the vine are picked up and thrown into the fire! Why? Because they are DEAD!!! The beautiful promise in this passage is that God WANTS to bless us! It's to His glory that we are fruitful. Stay plugged in to Him.
2. Will this resolution glorify God?
What? All my resolutions need to glorify God? Let me explain. Let's take the goal of losing weight, or working out. We should take care of ourselves, eating right and exercising so that we will be able to live long enough and be effective in our ministry. But a goal that looks great on the outside can really be ugly on the inside. You might want to work out so that you can get a "hot bod" and get attention drawn to yourself. You might even work out so much that other areas in your life would suffer. So make sure when you are setting these goals that God is honored by them and that the pendulum doesn't swing so far to the other side that it adversely affects other areas of your life.
1 Timothy 4:8 says: For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
If our goals line up with God's Will, they will be beneficial both here on earth and for eternity in Heaven!
3. Find someone to keep you accountable to your goals
If all you do is write down your goals and never tell anyone about it, where is the accountability in that? By getting someone on board to help you on your new journey, your likelihood of success goes way up.
If the parents get the kids to help them stay committed to their new goal, every time they start to go astray - the kids will definitely let you know that you are going off track!!!
If you are struggling with a sin that is a "private" one. One that is not visible, the temptation will sneak back in there over time. By opening up to a trusted friend, you can stay on top of it.
In Proverbs 27:17 it says: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
This video from Matthew West is so encouraging! Because the simple truth is that we AREN'T strong enough to do anything!!! Our strength to keep resolutions, or any other commitment comes from Christ. Keep that in mind as we move into 2012. Remain plugged into the vine, understand that God wants to allow you to bear fruit, and that we can to EVERYTHING through Christ!!!
God bless you this new year!
11/16/11
9/5/11
Mission Impossible!
Here is the promo video that I put together for our rally this weekend. It is by far one of our most attended rallies. I really appreciate the prayers for this event. We are able to instill Biblical truths with a VERY popular game. We have a worship band lined up and I will be giving the message. The event is this Saturday from 7-9:30 PM.
8/9/11
8/8/11
Joplin Recap
So I fell behind on updating my blog after the first couple of days! We were busy from 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. every day, so it made it hard to carve time out to update things. I apologize for the length of this post, but there are so many things that I need to share that happened - things that God allowed us to experience!
I was unsure of what to expect going into this trip. I knew that we would experience devastation, people rebuilding their lives, and despair. I was not prepared for how MUCH God would use us and how much He would bless one person in particular through our efforts!
Our first curveball came when one of the parents that was signed up to join us on this trip called me as we were on our way. Her daughter caught the flu bug the night before and was unable to attend, so the mom stayed behind as well.
Moving forward, I was excited about the diversity that we had on our trip. Four adults and seven teens. Six from Rhinelander, one from Tomahawk, one from Merrill, two from Hudson WI, and one from Farmington MN.
As I said before, I was unsure what we would experience on this trip. The information coming from the church that we were working with was at best muddy! So we walked in day one not knowing where we would work, or what we would be doing.
We went over to the Ellis home on Monday. Their house was one of the many that was destroyed in the tornado. They purchased a fixer-upper just outside of town.
We were able to help them out in a big way! We did some framing and then sheetrock and mudding. Part of our group jumped in and assembled and installed some cabinets for their kitchen. The teens jumped in and painted three different rooms. It was a full day and they were very appreciative of what we were able to do for them.
Each evening we had a Bible study on the book of James. It was a great time for the teens to recap the day's events and see how to apply Biblical truth in their lives.
Tuesday was a day that we will all remember! We were tasked with the house of a lady named Jan. Jan's house was not affected by the tornado, but her life was turned upside down. She lost her husband in the Tornado. He was shopping at Wal-mart while the tornado ripped through Joplin. Wal-mart was one of many businesses that was in the direct path of the F5 tornado, and his life was taken from him. As I wrote in my last post, God pre-ordained our visit to Jan's house. Because on this trip we had a Carpenter, a Woodsman, and an ex Insulator - just the very type of people that she needed at her house!!!
We walked in and saw immediately what the problem was with her garage. Lines of water stains that were turning into mold indicated a severe lack of insulation and HVAC issues. We started ripping down her ceiling and had to battle both the 114 degree weather and a TON of ants! I was shocked to see the lack of insulation in the ceiling. Very poor forethought proved to be the downfall in this area. We were able to rip out the old sheetrock and insulation.
I can still remember meeting Jan at Lowe's that day! I had talked to her on the phone and she was extremely excited that we were there and able to help her. When she walked up to me, she gave me a huge bear hug!
The rest of our week consisted of working on the garage and one other project - cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. There were so many trees down in her backyard! Taking three and a half days of work to clear, we were able to cut, split and stack all the wood that was down in her back yard!
As we came back everyday, we got to know Jan, her son Bobby, and her daughter better. It turns out that she not only lost her husband in the tornado - she lost her first husband to a massive heart attack as well. It was so sad to listen to her tell of her heartache - two times over. It was amazing to me to see her strength as she told us the story of how her husband died and how she found out about it. It was priceless for the teens to hear from her how this has STRENGTHENED her faith in God, not diminish it! How she ran to God instead of running away from Him!
An emotional time was had when Jan came out for a picture and carried her husband's picture with her. It was then that the teens really understood the gravity of the situation that we were in. How great the loss she suffered.
This trip went exceedingly well, and everyone was in awe of how God used us. The church in Joplin has committed to helping out for three years. As soon as we heard that, and their invitation to come down again - we all knew what we would be doing next summer! A big part of our hearts are left in Joplin. My heart ached we we had to leave, knowing all the work that still had to be done. All the hurting people that were still there. All the rebuilding that still needs to be done as well. I pray that you will join me next summer as we go back down to Joplin to help share God's love and hope to the people of Joplin. As we help rebuild their homes and community, that He would rebuild their hearts as well. That they would experience a radical encounter with Him that would be even more life changing than this tornado was!
Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement! They were both needed and appreciated! I can't wait for next year!!!
 |
| Our Group before we left |
Our first curveball came when one of the parents that was signed up to join us on this trip called me as we were on our way. Her daughter caught the flu bug the night before and was unable to attend, so the mom stayed behind as well.
Moving forward, I was excited about the diversity that we had on our trip. Four adults and seven teens. Six from Rhinelander, one from Tomahawk, one from Merrill, two from Hudson WI, and one from Farmington MN.
As I said before, I was unsure what we would experience on this trip. The information coming from the church that we were working with was at best muddy! So we walked in day one not knowing where we would work, or what we would be doing.
We went over to the Ellis home on Monday. Their house was one of the many that was destroyed in the tornado. They purchased a fixer-upper just outside of town.
We were able to help them out in a big way! We did some framing and then sheetrock and mudding. Part of our group jumped in and assembled and installed some cabinets for their kitchen. The teens jumped in and painted three different rooms. It was a full day and they were very appreciative of what we were able to do for them.
Each evening we had a Bible study on the book of James. It was a great time for the teens to recap the day's events and see how to apply Biblical truth in their lives.
Tuesday was a day that we will all remember! We were tasked with the house of a lady named Jan. Jan's house was not affected by the tornado, but her life was turned upside down. She lost her husband in the Tornado. He was shopping at Wal-mart while the tornado ripped through Joplin. Wal-mart was one of many businesses that was in the direct path of the F5 tornado, and his life was taken from him. As I wrote in my last post, God pre-ordained our visit to Jan's house. Because on this trip we had a Carpenter, a Woodsman, and an ex Insulator - just the very type of people that she needed at her house!!!
We walked in and saw immediately what the problem was with her garage. Lines of water stains that were turning into mold indicated a severe lack of insulation and HVAC issues. We started ripping down her ceiling and had to battle both the 114 degree weather and a TON of ants! I was shocked to see the lack of insulation in the ceiling. Very poor forethought proved to be the downfall in this area. We were able to rip out the old sheetrock and insulation. I can still remember meeting Jan at Lowe's that day! I had talked to her on the phone and she was extremely excited that we were there and able to help her. When she walked up to me, she gave me a huge bear hug!
The rest of our week consisted of working on the garage and one other project - cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. There were so many trees down in her backyard! Taking three and a half days of work to clear, we were able to cut, split and stack all the wood that was down in her back yard!
An emotional time was had when Jan came out for a picture and carried her husband's picture with her. It was then that the teens really understood the gravity of the situation that we were in. How great the loss she suffered.
This trip went exceedingly well, and everyone was in awe of how God used us. The church in Joplin has committed to helping out for three years. As soon as we heard that, and their invitation to come down again - we all knew what we would be doing next summer! A big part of our hearts are left in Joplin. My heart ached we we had to leave, knowing all the work that still had to be done. All the hurting people that were still there. All the rebuilding that still needs to be done as well. I pray that you will join me next summer as we go back down to Joplin to help share God's love and hope to the people of Joplin. As we help rebuild their homes and community, that He would rebuild their hearts as well. That they would experience a radical encounter with Him that would be even more life changing than this tornado was!
Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement! They were both needed and appreciated! I can't wait for next year!!!
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