So Chad Bledsoe and I were talking at lunch. We were both commenting on how it is so true that when God does amazing things hard times follow. We reflected on the how the Israelites are moving into the promised land, but blowing it all the time.
We laughed when we thought of the Red Sea miracle. The Israelites are looking at God's miracle of the parting of the red sea. Is it possible as they traversed the dry land between the seas there was some complaining? Do I ever in the midst of God doing some amazing things, notice the little issues in life. Just as we have heard in the series that Pastor Rich is doing, Grace is sufficient and it surrounds us. Do we notice? Or do we stop and notice the hole in the sandal.
The mountain top experiences are seemingly always followed by Monday morning issues. Jesus knew and lived that out. When we experience the hardships, like Christ did, we need to learn to receive His grace - because He understands.
Just thinking that as human beings we get a lot of opportunities to grow. Let' grow.
J
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Let Hope Rise
Hello everyone
It has been a few weeks since my last blog. So much has happened. Some good, some bad. I know that many of you can relate. I must confess I have had a hard time staying up. It weighs on me to talk to so many that are hurting and going through difficult times. Especially true when they are people that are close to us.
Last week the family dog, Thurston, was hit by a car. He had been staying with my parents in Florida. They are heart broken to lose such a dear pet that was truly a friend to the family. I will never forget bringing him home to meet the kids about 5 years ago. It is tough to see him go.
As I look around I can see that Spring is trying. March came in like a lion, and frankly outside of a few days, stayed pretty cold. In fact today - April 3- it is sleeting outside. Neverthless the cherry blossoms have blossomed and I even wore shorts just a few days ago. Spring is coming. Let Hope Rise folks. We are here for each other. Let's pray and continue to journey together.
On that note - Horizons provided 728.7 lbs of food for the Serve organization. This was amazing, and the director was just flabbergasted at the amount our church brought in. Great job everybody and thanks for all your contributions to the Kingdom of God.
Let Hope Rise, His Grace is enough for all of us. I think Pastor Rich's message this Sunday will be very timely. Grace to stand. That is so true, but sometimes hard to do. Stand. His Grace will provide hope to carry on. Let's keep going folks God is awesome.
Keep watching our land, some exciting stuff is going to be happening in just a few days.
Shalom
Jay
It has been a few weeks since my last blog. So much has happened. Some good, some bad. I know that many of you can relate. I must confess I have had a hard time staying up. It weighs on me to talk to so many that are hurting and going through difficult times. Especially true when they are people that are close to us.
Last week the family dog, Thurston, was hit by a car. He had been staying with my parents in Florida. They are heart broken to lose such a dear pet that was truly a friend to the family. I will never forget bringing him home to meet the kids about 5 years ago. It is tough to see him go.
As I look around I can see that Spring is trying. March came in like a lion, and frankly outside of a few days, stayed pretty cold. In fact today - April 3- it is sleeting outside. Neverthless the cherry blossoms have blossomed and I even wore shorts just a few days ago. Spring is coming. Let Hope Rise folks. We are here for each other. Let's pray and continue to journey together.
On that note - Horizons provided 728.7 lbs of food for the Serve organization. This was amazing, and the director was just flabbergasted at the amount our church brought in. Great job everybody and thanks for all your contributions to the Kingdom of God.
Let Hope Rise, His Grace is enough for all of us. I think Pastor Rich's message this Sunday will be very timely. Grace to stand. That is so true, but sometimes hard to do. Stand. His Grace will provide hope to carry on. Let's keep going folks God is awesome.
Keep watching our land, some exciting stuff is going to be happening in just a few days.
Shalom
Jay
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Not already
With disbelief in staff meeting this week we discussed the tragic "Spring Forward" daylight savings time is for this weekend. I can say that not a single person has been joyful or excited about this Saturday's moving time forward. Yes friends, this weekend, a very early March 8th is that weekend to set your clock ahead one hour.
Makes me think how valuable is that hour to each of us. For most it means a loss of sleep. For others it means know SNL for Saturday night. One hour can be very meaningful in prayer. It can be wonderful for communication and relationships. One hour is something that we often waste, so think about your preparation for this weekend.
I personally will find it hard to get up on Sunday morning, and especially one hour earlier. Let's remember to pray for all of our team that is there first thing on Sunday's, they do a great job.
I am very shocked that we are in March. 2008 is rolling right along. Christa and I are making plans for the spring and summer. Trying to find a little time to get with family and have some fun. It can be hard to come by.
I am a Disney fanatic. Recently on the Travel Channel they had a full day of Disney, visiting parks, ranking rides, showing new attractions. It was awesome, wall to wall Disneyworld. My family just watched, staring in silence. Chloe would occasionally let us know that she would like to ride this and ride that. My research tells me that if we can make it there this year, she will be tall enough to do all the rides except two - Rock and Roller Coaster, and Expedition Everest. There is a small debate on if we should expose her to the Tower of Terror. Feel free to let me know what you think her. It could be fantastic or traumatic, and probably both.
Blessing to all - Here comes Spring.
J
Makes me think how valuable is that hour to each of us. For most it means a loss of sleep. For others it means know SNL for Saturday night. One hour can be very meaningful in prayer. It can be wonderful for communication and relationships. One hour is something that we often waste, so think about your preparation for this weekend.
I personally will find it hard to get up on Sunday morning, and especially one hour earlier. Let's remember to pray for all of our team that is there first thing on Sunday's, they do a great job.
I am very shocked that we are in March. 2008 is rolling right along. Christa and I are making plans for the spring and summer. Trying to find a little time to get with family and have some fun. It can be hard to come by.
I am a Disney fanatic. Recently on the Travel Channel they had a full day of Disney, visiting parks, ranking rides, showing new attractions. It was awesome, wall to wall Disneyworld. My family just watched, staring in silence. Chloe would occasionally let us know that she would like to ride this and ride that. My research tells me that if we can make it there this year, she will be tall enough to do all the rides except two - Rock and Roller Coaster, and Expedition Everest. There is a small debate on if we should expose her to the Tower of Terror. Feel free to let me know what you think her. It could be fantastic or traumatic, and probably both.
Blessing to all - Here comes Spring.
J
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Seasonal depression anyone?
Wow, I have heard a lot of comments lately on being down, depressed, tired, and other such words. Yes it could be one of many things. One thing I did not know until the other day was that vitamin D is important to our well being. Obviously we need vitamins, but do we know how to get specific ones? I did not, but I am learning. Vitamin D is manufactured by our bodies from the sun. No sun, no vitamin D. So if you are feeling blue, a simple solution might be adding a vitamin D supplement to your diet.
Now let us pause and see if their is any other significance to this time of discouragement.
Personally I have been fighting the 'blues' for the past few weeks. I am overcoming, by praying, by choosing to smile, and by trying to offload some of my stress through fitness and family. I don't know why, but this time of year is very tough. I love the fall seaon and the holidays, but once we turn the calendar it gets tough. I/We start to get a little cabin fever and want to get outside. We ache for summer, swimming, golf, and late sunsets.
Here is the good news, Spring Break is just four weeks away. The weather as crazy as it is, has been warmer over the last few weeks and it looks like an early spring (writing this we have a forecast for snow and ice in the next 24 hours). In the meantime, choose happiness, smile, spend some time with family, and remember as a follower of Christ we have the one who sticks closer than a brother. Let's go to Him to receive a fresh blessing.
How about some new music- I am really loving a new song called "Moving Forward". You will hear it soon at Horizons. Let's keep moving and believing for God to use us to change the world.
Shalom
Jay
Now let us pause and see if their is any other significance to this time of discouragement.
Personally I have been fighting the 'blues' for the past few weeks. I am overcoming, by praying, by choosing to smile, and by trying to offload some of my stress through fitness and family. I don't know why, but this time of year is very tough. I love the fall seaon and the holidays, but once we turn the calendar it gets tough. I/We start to get a little cabin fever and want to get outside. We ache for summer, swimming, golf, and late sunsets.
Here is the good news, Spring Break is just four weeks away. The weather as crazy as it is, has been warmer over the last few weeks and it looks like an early spring (writing this we have a forecast for snow and ice in the next 24 hours). In the meantime, choose happiness, smile, spend some time with family, and remember as a follower of Christ we have the one who sticks closer than a brother. Let's go to Him to receive a fresh blessing.
How about some new music- I am really loving a new song called "Moving Forward". You will hear it soon at Horizons. Let's keep moving and believing for God to use us to change the world.
Shalom
Jay
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Oops
I guess you could say that I stuck my foot in my mouth this past Sunday. In the 11am service, while talking about the tongue, I made mention that my beautiful wife was holding up well for her age. Yes, I know, it just came out. I had several people comment to me afterward. You know that I did my best to explain it away, but only dug deeper. I am paying for it this week. I make this promise to make it up to her as we go into Valentines day.
The funny thing is that I just had made a point to tell the truth with tact. The quote I used was that "everything that is said must be true, but not everything true must be said." I guess you could say I should listen to my own advice. It really is tough to be caught in your own words. The scripture is very true that the tongue is full of life and death, so be careful out there.
Speaking of Christa though, my wife looks great. She is doing much better than I am. I look at pictures of Christa and I from just a few years ago, and think what happened to me. The hair thing is what it is. Everything else I do have control over. I have renew my commitment to health. I want to get better. I know how to, now the hard part, doing it. The doing is hard for all of us, but the payoff it great.
I am learning and growing. Keep on keeping on.
J
The funny thing is that I just had made a point to tell the truth with tact. The quote I used was that "everything that is said must be true, but not everything true must be said." I guess you could say I should listen to my own advice. It really is tough to be caught in your own words. The scripture is very true that the tongue is full of life and death, so be careful out there.
Speaking of Christa though, my wife looks great. She is doing much better than I am. I look at pictures of Christa and I from just a few years ago, and think what happened to me. The hair thing is what it is. Everything else I do have control over. I have renew my commitment to health. I want to get better. I know how to, now the hard part, doing it. The doing is hard for all of us, but the payoff it great.
I am learning and growing. Keep on keeping on.
J
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Kids do say strange things
Christa and I have been having a lot of fun lately - watching our 4 yr old. Maybe we should say hearing our 4 yr old. She can make my day - with just a few words. I just love that kind of innocence.
We are spending some time at Great Wolf Lodge a few weeks ago. As we sat pool side Chloe walked up to a lady as her family was interacting with Landon. They were from Pennsylvania and were followers of Christ, as Landon had discovered. Chloe seeing the conversation, went over to her and said "You are so pretty". The lady nearly fell into the pool. She beamed ear to ear. The next day as we were loading our car the father commented that this was a trip to celebrate a benchmark birthday (I can only speculate age). Chloe's remark had made the trip for them. Boom - a simple random kind comment and it made a huge impact on someone.
Chloe is awesome and says some great stuff, that I just wish I could bottle. Of course all my children have, and I would suppose yours to. It just once again reminds me the power of kind words. When is the last time we said with sincerity something kind to a co-worker, much less a stranger. Let me just say, that I am going to be alert to my world, and to its need for kindness that should be characteristic of Christians.
If you have young kids, treasure their words. It can change your day, and maybe somebody's world.
I saw Cloverfield, thumbs up. American Idol, nothing new. For those of you that have HD TV, I am now an addict to Sunrise Earth. Yes I am that sappy.
Blessing to all -
Jay
We are spending some time at Great Wolf Lodge a few weeks ago. As we sat pool side Chloe walked up to a lady as her family was interacting with Landon. They were from Pennsylvania and were followers of Christ, as Landon had discovered. Chloe seeing the conversation, went over to her and said "You are so pretty". The lady nearly fell into the pool. She beamed ear to ear. The next day as we were loading our car the father commented that this was a trip to celebrate a benchmark birthday (I can only speculate age). Chloe's remark had made the trip for them. Boom - a simple random kind comment and it made a huge impact on someone.
Chloe is awesome and says some great stuff, that I just wish I could bottle. Of course all my children have, and I would suppose yours to. It just once again reminds me the power of kind words. When is the last time we said with sincerity something kind to a co-worker, much less a stranger. Let me just say, that I am going to be alert to my world, and to its need for kindness that should be characteristic of Christians.
If you have young kids, treasure their words. It can change your day, and maybe somebody's world.
I saw Cloverfield, thumbs up. American Idol, nothing new. For those of you that have HD TV, I am now an addict to Sunrise Earth. Yes I am that sappy.
Blessing to all -
Jay
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Rain came
I just finished reading an article that says water restrictions in the area are being lifted and that our own county reservoirs are increasing. That is great news. It happened by watching and conserving our usage, and of course rain.
I am smacked in the face with this metaphor - We have to do something, but it is God that will bring it to be. This is so applicable for the believer. Dig in, study the bible, fellowship, learn, seek God, do the spiritual disciplines - but God will bring the increase.
In my own life - I am recognizing my duty, my responsibility to be a good steward of all that I have - but it is the Lord who will bless, guide, keep, sustain, anoint, provide, and protect me. Here we are looking at what our church is about to embrace - two services. It is daunting, it is intimidating, it is exciting. I have planned, and prepared, and I have found out that I need the Lord to help me through this weekend, and every other one for that matter. God will get the glory; because He loves to use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
Well friends - do all that you can in life, grow. Then trust the Lord with all your heart and see that there is even more than you could ever imagine.
Happy New Year to all - only 355 days left in this one.
Jay
I am smacked in the face with this metaphor - We have to do something, but it is God that will bring it to be. This is so applicable for the believer. Dig in, study the bible, fellowship, learn, seek God, do the spiritual disciplines - but God will bring the increase.
In my own life - I am recognizing my duty, my responsibility to be a good steward of all that I have - but it is the Lord who will bless, guide, keep, sustain, anoint, provide, and protect me. Here we are looking at what our church is about to embrace - two services. It is daunting, it is intimidating, it is exciting. I have planned, and prepared, and I have found out that I need the Lord to help me through this weekend, and every other one for that matter. God will get the glory; because He loves to use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
Well friends - do all that you can in life, grow. Then trust the Lord with all your heart and see that there is even more than you could ever imagine.
Happy New Year to all - only 355 days left in this one.
Jay
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