Urgency is something I'm learning!

Well, my thought of a daily blog has now pretty much become a once a week or so deal..but hey, LIFE HAPPENS!!!

This evening we got plugged in with a great group of people that are seeking after God and trying to figure this thing out that we all call LIFE! The lifegroup was awesome to say the least and as we were driving there, it dawned on me that this was something that we hadn't done before. Since the summer of 2006, I've been a part of the inner workings of every church that we have been a part of either through being on staff or being a "high capacity volunteer," and Sara has been with me the entire time! I realized that this was the first time we had ever went into a small group/lifegroup without being the ones leading it or without knowing someone already...we were finally the ones looking in from the outside. It was definitely a different experience, but was a great time.

Another thing that I realized is how blessed we've been to have been exposed to the life that God is desiring for us to live. I see that we were shown so much over that past two years that I walk away from conversations desiring so much more for people and their relationship with God. There was a moment tonight where I saw a glimpse of the comfort in Christianity that Sara and moved because of back 2 years ago, and it fired me up because I don't want to see complacent Christianity!!! Now you've got to understand that I'm not judging these people because they are trying to do everything they know how to live a more Christian life, but I left feeling like there is so much more and my prayer is that they won't fall into the same comfort that we were in back in 2008. I don't know if you will even understand what I'm trying to say or if you even know what I'm talking about, but there is SO MUCH MORE!!!

Two years ago, we could have walked into any church and just slid right in and done the "Christian" life, but we had a feeling there was something more and when we moved our prayer was "God...put us into the middle of something HUGE!", and that is exactly what He did! Now that we've returned, you've seen some of our recent prayers and this is what we felt like God was telling us to do, follow your heart, and our hearts are here in NWA. So with all that said our major prayer has been and always will be the same, something HUGE, and complacency has no room when it comes to HUGE! I've never seen a move of God that wasn't something HUGE, trust me, when the first thing you see at a church is a Helicopter dropping what they thought was a ton of plastic eggs onto a football field(10,000 eggs to be exact) and actually 10,000 people show up when it was thought that maybe 3-4,000 would come, that's HUGE! God doesn't do little, when God moves its HUGE....even if it seems insignificant or small or just plain backwards like losing a job and having no idea what is next...God is in the business of HUGE so get ready and go with it and see what God is teaching you. Get it yet or do I need to keep saying it? What does this mean? I have no idea, but I do know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that the people around me are given the opportunity to understand what we've been a part of and what it means to be a life-giving church. God has called us all to SOMETHING MORE, and that is HUGE!!! Please don't put our AMAZING GOD in a box and ask Him for only the small things or the quick fixes, ask God to do something HUGE, then get ready and don't just stand there because you might miss it. Get out of the Lazyboy, be on your toes ready to get into the game, and be a part of what God is doing around you! I'm so ready for whatever that may be for us here in NWA, and after an amazing night like tonight, I can hardly sit still I'm so jacked up!...do you sense some urgency?

Ok...Done with my rant or randomness or whatever that was, goodnight all, I'm exhausted!

Life Just Got Interesting!

Our prayers as of late have been:
-Give me a job
-Let Sara start moving towards not having to work so much so that she can focus on her writing and other passions
-Let us find a Life-Giving Church
-Show us why we are here, why we moved back
-Grow us closer together
-Put us in a position to lead others/inspire others

Now, while we are waiting on some of our prayers to still be answered, we have been given a partial glimpse to some of the answers.
-Got a job as an Assistant Manager In Training at the Buckle.(Full-time, benefits, I'd say answered prayer)
-Me getting a job opens it up for Sara to start pulling out of some of the temporary work she has picked up when we moved.
-After next week Sara will no longer be working 65 hrs a week!!! PRAISE GOD
-Started attending Keypoint Church
-Pastor Casey has an amazing heart for the people of this area
-Looking forward to getting plugged into their ministry to NWA and see what God has in store for us through Keypoint
-Sara went to their recent women's SPA NIGHT with Kimberly and had a great time, not to mention a free Back Massage
-Oh yeah, and the morning of the day I got my job at the Buckle, we found out that Sara is Pregnant
-WAIT.......What? God, really? OK, we are stoked!

SO...within one week, I got a job, Sara gets to quit a job, we got to hang out with the pastor of an amazing church, and we found out that we are going to have a little one running around here come May or June 2011...WOW...I've been a bit busy so its been a week or so for the blog, but I asked for God to do some big things and guess what, HE DID! Don't ask for it unless you want him to show up! God is still in the process of doing something cool...and I don't think He's done!

I'm absolutely JACKED UP about what's going on right now, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us as we get more invested into Keypoint Church, more invested into NWA, and prep for a little one!

Love you all, read the first couple chapters of Hebrews and see what God shows you. Comment below with what He shows you and maybe it could help someone else or even me! It rocked me pretty good and I'll share more on that hopefully tomorrow!

Wake UP!

This morning wasn't unlike any other morning, I wake up to light creeping into the window and a small high pitch whimper coming from one of the back bedrooms(which by the way, I get to finish painting as soon as I get done with this)! Every morning our little Sib pup Siqa wakes us up to tell us that she is ready to go outside and do her business! I put her back in her kennel and crawl back into bed hoping that the alarm is a couple hours from going off and just as I'm finally getting settle back in and half asleep...the alarm goes off and so does Siqa! Now she knows its time for breakfast...and sadly enough if one beggar isn't bad enough, I've got our bipolar cat Nehlah screaming in the other ear by the time I get into the kitchen!

Now, why am I talking about this...well, because I started out typing this with a quite boring teaching type blog that I thought I wouldn't even want to read no matter how Godly it is! So for your enjoyment, there you go...but I do have a tie in here...just hold with me. The dog and cat wake up every morning knowing who to look to for what they need and exactly how to get it(in our case whimpering and meowing(LOUDLY I might add)...Now this isn't some amazing revelation, but I realized that if I'm not willing to live my life with that type of faith in God, then I'm relying on myself and myself alone! God may be a part of it somewhere, but that's not what he wants. God wants me to wake up and be crying out to Him daily, asking him for what I need, from the time I open my eyes, its all His!

I decided to study the sermon from this past weekend that Pastor Casey gave over at Keypoint Church and the series is called Confidence. Now, as always, I took my own little spin on this one after studying further but if you want to get messed up by scripture, go read Hebrews 10:19-39 and pay special attention when it gets good in verse 26, not to say it isn't all good! With all that has been going on in my crazy head lately, that scripture just blasted me with a bit of reality that what I'm doing is right! I need to refocus every bit of me and not forget what it was like when my life was forever changed on Dec. 20th, 2000 on a ski trip in Colorado. So, take some time, read it and see what it is that God may be wanting to tell you through that scripture!

Something's Up!!!

So...I think today may be the day that will go down as one of the most vital days of my life. God has been absolutely tearing my head and my heart up for the past several weeks and the only thing that I've got to show for it is confusion. Sara and I just moved back to NWA about 5 weeks ago and I can honestly say that this has been HARD! Not that we weren't supposed to move back, because I'm sure of that, but every other question you can think of has been racing through my head...one because I feel like we were called back to this area for a HUGE reason, and two, I haven't found a job yet which means I'm just sitting around filling out applications, sending off resumes and pretty much doing nothing else other than house work while my wife is working her tail off until I can find something. As I sit here and type I'm reminded of someone I'm supposed to send my resume to...so, now that that's done, I can continue!

Well, to keep from boring you with the details, here is the short of it...I've been challenged here recently to really seek after God, not just be a Christian, but pursue God with all I've got. I've toyed with the thought and I think God is disappointed with my effort so far, but honestly, it scares me...I think that may be healthy. I've been reading and watching videos of great leaders here recently that has done nothing but challenge me to stop being scared of what God may be able to do in me, and start seeking after God and do whatever he lays on my heart. This freaks me out because its what you call becoming completely vulnerable and open. Now to some, you may ask me what I'm really talking about because you know me, but this is real, raw, faith...not just something you accomplish by going to church on Sunday. I recently heard someone challenge Christians by saying that if you are not going to the bible to seek after God, but you have other intentions...such as only going to the bible for answers or for something to teach on, then you don't get it. This is a key in my life that has been tearing me up since I heard it. I've always had a reason to pick up the bible, but rather than having something I'm needing to get out of it, I realized that I don't spend time in God's word enough just to be with God and let HIM SPEAK to me. This week, I'm going to dive into the love of God through His word, and rather than looking for something to teach, needing an answer, or asking for something, I just want to learn and listen to His guidance. God's word is vital, but how can I stand behind some of the things I tell people, if I'm not willing to let God leading me through His word. So...here we go, if you want to join, call me or shoot me a message. This may even make no sense to you and if not, that's cool...but God has something in store for me and I'm jacked up about it, but also freaked out at what He may ask me to do...but you know, if I don't listen, then all of this is pointless and I'm living in and of myself.

I'm going to be posting as close to daily as I can during this process and who knows what will come of it. I don't have a 30 day plan, or a reading plan, I don't have a date I'm shooting for or anything like that. Only expectation I have is to have my world rocked and become what God is calling me to be RIGHT NOW! So no more procrastination of Faith, it's on. Pray for me and as I said, join me if you want...I'll be praying for you all! God's about to rock my world and I would love to have you along with me for this journey but only if God is calling you to it!

I'll let you know tonight or tomorrow what God has revealed to me as my first steps in this process for me. All I can say is SEEK GOD, then do whatever it takes to do what he says!