It has been awhile since I have written. A long while actually. Two weekends ago we experienced snow here. Not just a little snow...
...but quite a bit of snow. I don't own a shovel. I didn't even know what to do with myself. Our dog couldn't figure out with the ground was covered in ice cubes, that he tries so hard to get any other day. He was in heaven, and it really was a beautiful thing. It is amazing the silence that comes after a snow...it is also amazing how long a dog will search for a ball, despite never finding it because the snow is to deep. True story.
What if today was the day that you meet your creator? What if today were the day that you finally stand before the throne of God? I mean you might not even finish reading this blog; you could go right now. Interesting thought isn't it? Now if this instantly turned you away from reading the blog, just hold with me for a few moments. I have recently been going through the book "Crazy Love" with my life group, which is all about loving our creator with the same love that He shows us. Frederick Buechner writes:
"Intellectually we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge actually becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives would go on forever."
We all say things, like, "Well, I know I am not guaranteed tomorrow", but how many of us actually live that way? Truth is, we live as if we are invincible. The reason I mention this is because on a daily basis, we tend to put our own circumstances above God. We tend to say, "Well my day is so busy and cluttered with other things, that I really don't have much time for God." But in reality, how do you not have time for him? How can you afford to not spend time with Him? Because when it comes down to it, this might be the day that you see God.
Colossians 1:16 says:
"I was made by God, but I was also made for God."
And the key word here is "for". Are you actually living your life FOR God? Or are you saving it for the weekend worship service...your prayer time...your Bible devotional? Don't be forgetful of our God. It doesn't really matter where you are at right now, what you are doing, who you are with or where you are going. You are called to bring God glory in all you are doing, living FOR Him.
The point of your life is to point to Him.
It is that easy. And the only reason why I bring this up is because I fail to see this truth daily. Why? Because I am a sinner. We are all sinners. That is the nature of our very being, but in all this, Christ still died for you...he died for me...and we have the opportunity to have a relationship with our creator. A.W. Tozer states:
"A man by His sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God. This is a man's greatest tragedy and God's heaviest grief."
My prayer is that we would continue to live a life that is fully saturated in the love of Christ that we can't help but think of Him, every second, of every minute, of every hour of every day. It may seem like a stretch but the fact is that He thinks about you every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day. Rejoice in Him and find satisfaction in His abounding Grace. It truly will make all the difference in the world.
I promise.
A couple of weekends ago, I got to go on a sweet camping trip. But this wasn't any normal trip...this was a camping trip during -1 degree weather. Granted, I signed up for it, but I honestly don't think I would ever do it again. I think that it was the most cold I have ever actually slept in.
We made this sweet tee-pee like the indians do.
And then in the middle of it we built a fire...close to a five star hotel. The hike in was beautiful as well.
This was such an awesome trip and being able to have biblical community with a bunch of awesome men was one of the greatest things that I could of ever asked for. It's not everyday that you get to go camping with about 20 men, cook burgoo on an open fire...
...and talk about some of the deeper things within. You know as men, it is not often that you get a chance to talk about some of the things that you are dealing with. Better yet, you probably don't even want to...but that is what society tells us to do. You can't be weak...you can't have issues because you are a man. You are called to be strong, a leader, and have it all figured out.
False.
I have issues. A lot of them, and I am thankful that I have men like this in my life that can challenge me, help me grow, pour into me, and teach me things that I have not yet learned. More importantly, these 20 men are a group of Christ like individuals that pursue God in every aspect of their life and I am so grateful that I have guys like this to look up to.
And one of the most important things this trip taught me was to...
I don't do this enough, but I really wish I did. God made some beautiful things and I am to blind to see past my 4x1 inch iPhone screen, that I miss a whole lot of it. Don't forget to smell the roses.
But, there was one man missing from our trip. One man that admire deeply, and I know he won't read this blog, but he has been a huge inspiration to me as a Kingdom worker, family man, father, and friend. His name is Dave Rizer...
This is Dave with his wife Jen. They have two sons, Noah and Benaiah. Every few weeks, the Rizer's invite us over to their house to play games (which we always play Monopoly Deal. Very addicting, and fun, to say the least). Usually, they have some baked good that we can chow down on, Dave makes some coffee or a glass a milk, and we play. Last night, there kids got to stay up past their bed time and hang out a bit, and they are awesome. Benaiah loves football, especially the Patriots, and he carried his Rob Gronkowski card around with him everywhere. Cool little dude. And Noah seemed to have as many favorite players as there were football cards and once that chocolate brownie was in him, there was no stopping his wild side.
Back to Dave. We carpool to work every Tuesday, and I can tell you that I have learned more in our one and a half hour car rides per week, then I have in a long time. We discuss books, all sorts...leadership, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Navy Seals, and Christian Theology. You know when I think about being a man of Christ for my family and living a life worthy of God's calling, I look to this man. Loves God...loves his family...loves the Kingdom...loves life. Just wanted to say thank you for who you are to me as a mentor and friend. Thankful God crossed out paths and I look forward to more one and a half hour convos. Only down side to Dave is his coffee is to manly for me and I can't handle it yet...someday.
Dave is part of a much bigger family then listed above. He is a part of this family...
This was at the baby shower that the folks here in Kentucky for us. The guy on the right, Joe, is a hoot and makes every person that walks through our doors feel at home.
One of the hardest things about moving away from AZ was the idea of leaving "family". My wife and I had both in AZ our entire life and we couldn't imagine leaving everyone that we had been brought up with. The first few months were rough. We didn't talk to many people...stayed hunkered down in our home on weekends and hung out with each other. Not bad, just lonely. My wife cried a lot, I felt bad for dragging her away from home, and Satan was attacking us with more strength then he ever had before.
But as the months went on, things got better. We started to get close to people. We started to meet people and our roots finally started to grow into this place called Danville. We couldn't believe it, but people were inviting us over for dinner...we were going out to eat with others. Things began to unfold and before we knew it, we had created the very thing we left in AZ; a "family".
What is a family? Webster dictionary defines family as a group of people who are related to each other. You might be asking yourself, "Those people are not related to you, so how can they be family?" I am glad you asked. Jesus says in Matthew 12:
"But He replied to the man that told him, 'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?' And stretching out His hands toward the disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Jesus was saying that family does not end at the bloodline...it doesn't end with genetic connection. His family are those willing to follow Him and pursue Him.
So who is my "family"? These people in the picture above do the work of Christ. They do the work of their Father in Heaven and I still can not believe that I get to serve alongside such a loving, caring, joyful and humble group of people. But this is my family. My family does not stop at the borders of AZ, but extends through the nations to every brother and sister in Christ, willing to do Kingdom work. And I can honestly say that this group of picture is no different then the family I left back in AZ. As far as I am concerned, I have 50 brothers and sisters above, standing side by side with me as I walk this incredible journey that Christ has called me to be a part of.
To everyone who has welcomed my wife, my child, and myself into this community, thank you. I can not tell you how much we love you all and we are forever grateful for the providence God has shown us in being a part of this community. And I can not wait to raise my daughter around a family that will show her how to love Christ and love people. Yes, we left some family in AZ, but God has provided a family that is just as great. Thank you.
Last thing I would like to say is that Fenway could come any day now. Mercedes is over 39 weeks, and we are just waiting to meet her. If she is stubborn, like her father, she may be in there a few more weeks...but lets hope not. Anyways, pray for my wife. Pray that she will remain healthy and that things would go as planned in the delivery room. Pray that she would be strong. More importantly, pray for baby Fenway. Not for safe exiting, or health, although that is important, but more importantly pray that her love for Jesus would start to develop even as she awaits her departure from the womb. We want our daughter to intimately know the Lord. We want her to long for him, and deeply pursue Him. This is most important to us. She is going to be a child of God and a light to His Kingdom and we can not wait to watch her grow into the beautiful young woman that God designed her to be.
One more thing. This picture sums it up. For all of you who said I was weird growing up, and even now say I am weird.
Normal sucks. Be different. Be weird. Be yourself.
Until next time,
-JTD-
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