wasn't it just June 1??? And suddenly it's the June 21. Man this month has been a whirlwind. It started off innocently enough. But then we had the Arthur Days Festival (complete with massive flooding). And then the CFN Family Conference (which was awesome). And then I went and spent two days with the Bill Allison fam (sans Emily, currently out of state). And during that trip, Jenn was in Missouri with fam all week. Which leads us to today... which just happens to be Kaylee's 2nd birthday. And during all of this we're trying to finish strong in our missions trips while planning a whole new missions venture. As Kaylee would say "Goodness Gracious". All I ask is for a moment to breathe, ha.
But then I was reading an email from a friend, which lead me to a website with a video. In the video there was a quote. "Perserverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." -Walter Elliot This got me thinking. I often think of life as a marathon and that's true. But no one runs a marathon with just the finish line in mind. I've run distance races before (not a marathon, I'm not into self-torture, lol) and I've never run with just the finish in mind. I always break it down into parts, both to keep it simpler and to keep the task not so daunting. "If I can make it just to that turn" "ok, just five more reps" "ok, that's good, now just another lap" stuff like that. And I'm one to do that in life too, just never thought of it in that regard. Of course, I'm in the middle of one heck of a stretch of "short races". Some days it's overwhelming and I'm just tired. But I also know that it's part of my marathon, and I want to finish strong. Plus I know that God has called Jennifer and I to this, and like I said in the last post, "My daddy sent me to do this, he must think I can handle it" and that gives me strength and faith.
Yup, I'm just rambling today, but that's what happens when I don't sleep for a week. God bless.
Yep, That is the World Series trophy.
I know... you're jealous. It's ok. Just repent of your sin and become a Cardinal fan.
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Saturday, June 21, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
And we're back...
Yes, it's been awhile. It's not been due to lack of motivation or material, but because I've been dealing with one topic for quite some time. It started from a simple email from a friend in response to a blog about a month and a half ago, and has enveloped my spirit since. I am just chomping at the bit to post it, but I need to clarify a few things in my mind before I post. Not to make sure I "know it all" but so I am not just jumping into it without giving God (and others) time to speak to me on it. I will say it has directly to do with the concept of living a life of forgiveness. Emily Allison started it, and Papa Ken (Ken Sumrall if you don't know who that is) poured gasoline on the fire with his book "Forgive and move on: a case for unconditional forgiveness". (You can get that book and any others he has written here http://www.shop.kensumrallministries.com/main.sc I strongly encourage it, or if you live close to me, just ask to borrow them) Anyway, I hope to post that blog within a week or two.
That said I did have something I wanted to share today. This past week Mom, Dad, Jennifer, Kaylee and I were at the CFN Family Conference in Peachtree City, GA. CFN stands for Church Foundational Network, and it is the group of ministries that we at Cornerstone Fellowship are a part of. If you want to know more about it, just ask me and I'll be happy to share, but for the sake of space I won't go into that now. It was a 3 day conference and was awesome as always. I could post so much about what went on, but there was one item that I wanted to share, something that really resonated with me.
Pastor Jack Hollis is one of the Apostolic Council members and he spoke at the evening session on Wednesday. He was talking about a lot of things and he just almost in passing made reference to something that hit me right in between the eyes... in a good way. In 1 Samuel 17:34-36 it says
"But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God."
Now if you've grown up in church you've heard this story, and it's a good one. But Pastor Jack made a comment about this particular situation that I'd never thought about. He said (and I'm paraphrasing, also Jack is from the south, so read this with a southern drawl, ha) "My daddy sent me to tend the sheep. Now he didn't plan on bears and lions comin at me, but he knew it was a possibility when he sent me. So he musta thought I could handle it." I loved that thought. And God is no different. He has called me to ministry. He has called me to be faithful to Him. God knows that tough stuff is gonna come, some of it by his design, some just because of the world of sin we live in. It might not be easy, but He knew it was coming when He sent me, he must think I can do it.
How encouraging is that? I'm a guy who tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve, to be swayed by how I'm feeling in the moment. Sometimes I get discouraged awfully easily and just can't seem to see the forest for the trees. But if I truly trust God, which I do believe I do, then I can trust that He won't send me into something that's more than I can handle in Him. As Jennifer and I try to figure out this thing God has called us to with missions and ministering in Arthur, it is a huge comfort to know that even though we are up against HUGE strongholds of religiousity and apathy, God knew it was here and would come against us, and he called us anyway. He must think we can do it. Sweet.
Anyway, that's my thought for the moment... there's a small chance of another post this evening... but I'm still sortin that one out. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. I pray all is well with you. God bless.
-Me
That said I did have something I wanted to share today. This past week Mom, Dad, Jennifer, Kaylee and I were at the CFN Family Conference in Peachtree City, GA. CFN stands for Church Foundational Network, and it is the group of ministries that we at Cornerstone Fellowship are a part of. If you want to know more about it, just ask me and I'll be happy to share, but for the sake of space I won't go into that now. It was a 3 day conference and was awesome as always. I could post so much about what went on, but there was one item that I wanted to share, something that really resonated with me.
Pastor Jack Hollis is one of the Apostolic Council members and he spoke at the evening session on Wednesday. He was talking about a lot of things and he just almost in passing made reference to something that hit me right in between the eyes... in a good way. In 1 Samuel 17:34-36 it says
"But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God."
Now if you've grown up in church you've heard this story, and it's a good one. But Pastor Jack made a comment about this particular situation that I'd never thought about. He said (and I'm paraphrasing, also Jack is from the south, so read this with a southern drawl, ha) "My daddy sent me to tend the sheep. Now he didn't plan on bears and lions comin at me, but he knew it was a possibility when he sent me. So he musta thought I could handle it." I loved that thought. And God is no different. He has called me to ministry. He has called me to be faithful to Him. God knows that tough stuff is gonna come, some of it by his design, some just because of the world of sin we live in. It might not be easy, but He knew it was coming when He sent me, he must think I can do it.
How encouraging is that? I'm a guy who tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve, to be swayed by how I'm feeling in the moment. Sometimes I get discouraged awfully easily and just can't seem to see the forest for the trees. But if I truly trust God, which I do believe I do, then I can trust that He won't send me into something that's more than I can handle in Him. As Jennifer and I try to figure out this thing God has called us to with missions and ministering in Arthur, it is a huge comfort to know that even though we are up against HUGE strongholds of religiousity and apathy, God knew it was here and would come against us, and he called us anyway. He must think we can do it. Sweet.
Anyway, that's my thought for the moment... there's a small chance of another post this evening... but I'm still sortin that one out. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. I pray all is well with you. God bless.
-Me
Because I know you were dying to know...
I've done one of these about a year and a half ago on myspace... but eh, why not do it again. The rules are once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird random facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose six people to be tagged, list their names and why you tagged them. (there are more rules, but I'm ignoring them for the moment... and I'll explain later.)
So here is some of the stuff you've been eager to learn about me, but never knew that you wanted to know...
1.) I have an irrational fear of snakes... any snake.
2.) I don't eat nuts, don't like them. However, it's not really because I don't like them. When I was a small child my mom didn't want me to choke on them, so she would just say "don't eat those, you don't like them" and whatta ya know, I don't like them. It's only been in the last few years that I've realized I do kinda like pecans (but only in things, not by themselves.)
3.) I was a sophomore in college for 4 years!!!! How cool am I?
4.) I have been on the radio in Chile. Three years ago I spoke on the radio (along with a friend, Tyler) at a Chilean radio station.
5.) My grandparents on my dad's side were amish... and my dad has 72 first cousins... I'm related to most of the county.
6.) I am having a serious crisis about turning 30 in august... so instead I shall be celebrating my one year anniversary of turning 29.
7.) Most people know me as very outgoing and personable and willing to do whatever is needed with no shame... but I have always struggled with serious self-esteem issues.
8.) I absolutely love the Illini... to the point that my mood can be affected by how they played on that day. I know, it's sad, but true.
9.) I have had two head injuries with memory loss in my life. Once in sixth grade and once when I was 21. Still have no direct memory of the events.
10.) My life can often be summed up by a t-shirt my brother bought for me. "Danger: Mouth operates faster than brain." And it is soooooo true....
So there ya go... now I'm supposed to "tag" six people and list them here. However, I don't have a lot of contacts on blogger yet, and the couple I do have either tagged me (melissa) or were already tagged (by melissa) so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Anyway, hope that wasn't a monumental waste of your time. I actually have a more serious post to put on later, but don't have time at the moment. God bless.
-Matt
So here is some of the stuff you've been eager to learn about me, but never knew that you wanted to know...
1.) I have an irrational fear of snakes... any snake.
2.) I don't eat nuts, don't like them. However, it's not really because I don't like them. When I was a small child my mom didn't want me to choke on them, so she would just say "don't eat those, you don't like them" and whatta ya know, I don't like them. It's only been in the last few years that I've realized I do kinda like pecans (but only in things, not by themselves.)
3.) I was a sophomore in college for 4 years!!!! How cool am I?
4.) I have been on the radio in Chile. Three years ago I spoke on the radio (along with a friend, Tyler) at a Chilean radio station.
5.) My grandparents on my dad's side were amish... and my dad has 72 first cousins... I'm related to most of the county.
6.) I am having a serious crisis about turning 30 in august... so instead I shall be celebrating my one year anniversary of turning 29.
7.) Most people know me as very outgoing and personable and willing to do whatever is needed with no shame... but I have always struggled with serious self-esteem issues.
8.) I absolutely love the Illini... to the point that my mood can be affected by how they played on that day. I know, it's sad, but true.
9.) I have had two head injuries with memory loss in my life. Once in sixth grade and once when I was 21. Still have no direct memory of the events.
10.) My life can often be summed up by a t-shirt my brother bought for me. "Danger: Mouth operates faster than brain." And it is soooooo true....
So there ya go... now I'm supposed to "tag" six people and list them here. However, I don't have a lot of contacts on blogger yet, and the couple I do have either tagged me (melissa) or were already tagged (by melissa) so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Anyway, hope that wasn't a monumental waste of your time. I actually have a more serious post to put on later, but don't have time at the moment. God bless.
-Matt
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