Encouraging word

Romans 12:9-19 (The Message)
Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.

17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."

Jellyland Update 10.27.08

1. The overnighter went well. The service was amazing! Teens really coming to grips that God LOVES them! One of the best memories I've had at Shiloh for sure.

2. We went to Lazer X in Ft. Wayne and I came in 2nd out of 37 ppl the first game and 1st of out 37 the second game! It is a blast...

3. Sarah and I went to Ft. Wayne on Thursday for a birthday haircut and dinner with the Peggster. It was good...I got an Italian leather wallet for my b -day from Peggy...she just got back from Italy...

4. October is almost over and that means November is here and November is my favorite month...hands down. My birthday, anniversary, vacation...IU basketball starts...Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas season!

5. I restrung my guitar for the first time last week...I was worried I'd mess something up but it was good.

6. Basketball started on Tuesday night at Plymouth Wesleyan Church. I'm so thankful that they let me come and play...they also just built a new gym with maple hardwood floors! It is nice

7. I'm either tied or in first place in all four of my fantasy football leagues after this past weekend! I know...I'm a geek...deal with it

8. A couple of kids from the youth group have started playing along with me during worship. one is playing the drums and doing a great job! The other is learning guitar and he is coming along really well. It is fun to be able to play music with other people.

9. I stink at Rock Band. I cannot drum to save my life! I'm ok at the singing but I felt stupid doing it...

10. Last but most importantly....God loves us. He LOVES us! Oh how He LOVES us... don't you ever forget that!

LSU vs. USC referee

Updates

Here is an update on the Jellison's of the North:


1. Sarah started the meds for her thyroid problem! That is a big praise!

2. My hand is fully functional...finally.

3. We have an overnighter coming up this Friday. Should be a blast! I am using a lot of ! today...

4. We leave for vacation in 17 days...we are going to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a whole lot of nothingness.

5. The leaves are amazing...especially down my favorite road here

6. There are some youth that are starting to play worship with me on Sunday nights...it is cool to see this finally happening!

7. IU had it's first practice last Friday night...granted they might be bad this year...still I will watch every game to the end and root the same as if they were the best team in the country...because they are (in my book)! lol

8. Tri-Way Theatre is closed for the season. We love this place...


9. I'm loving the song that I posted a few days ago, "How He Loves". It has this great line that says that "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us"! Wow...

10. Sarah's birthday is thursday....Happy Birthday....I love you so much

The Presidential election

I have to say, I hate politics. I rarely listen to anything that has to do with elections. However, this year has been different. There are so many different things going on and with our country where it is, this election seems to loom larger than others. So...I am not going to be a homer but I just want to say this and be done with it:


I think a lot of people are going to vote for Obama not because of what he stands for or against but because he is different. Some say a lot of people are voting for him because he is black and that sparked something in my mind. Mind you, I am not an authority on Martin Luther King , and I really don't know where he'd stand on a lot of today's issues. However I do know this: He wouldn't want people voting for Barack Obama because he is black. He said so himself.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

If you don't think people are voting for Obama because of who he is and not what he stands for check out the stevansheets.com blog about a clip from the Howard Stern Show (of all places!).

It goes both ways. If we are judging charcater by what you stand for or stand against, then Barack Obama shouldn't be allowed to represent our country. A country who was founded on Biblical principles and whose currency says in God we trust. As a Christian we aren't defined by whatever color we are...we should be defined by who we are in Christ.

He is radical in his voting, his beliefs and if he wins this election those things will be seen.

Still I know this, whoever wins in a few weeks won't change the fact that my God still reigns. He is still in control and come November 5th that won't change. (I'm off my soapbox now)

How He Loves Us - Kim Walker / Jesus Culture

all I can say is wow...

Happy Fall!

It's finally getting colder and the leaves are turning...I hope things are good for you! I love this pic...so creative!

SPED time

I am getting ready to head to Anderson to spend some time with the SPEDS. I miss them a lot. It is hard when you don't have many friends where you live and in your everyday life. So for those of you that DO have friends that are close...cherish them.

Weekly update

Hey there... not a ton going on right now but here's is what is:


1. Sarah didn't get the charge nurse position. Oh well...it wasn't mean to be.

2. Sarah went to the Dr. last Wednesday and the Dr. said that she would treat her thyroid! Talk about light at the end of the tunnel...

3. October is Pastor Appreciation month...we had a good time last Sunday night at the Moore's house. I had to drive the vans because we don't have a van driver though...

4. My hand is doing good. I played some football Sunday night and didn't even notice it.

5. I am looking forward to going to Marion/Anderson this Friday and spending some quality time with my mom and then the SPEDS.

6. Things are good overall with us. No big changes...no big problems...just small ones nagging away!

7. Sarah's mom, Peggy, is going to Italy! I am kinda jealous...I say kinda because I don't want to fly over the Ocean, I'd much rather crash on land.

8. Vacation is in 29 days! Yay!

9. Sarah got us tickets for the IU vs Gonzaga game at Lucas Oil Stadium for my birthday!

10. I cannot believe that the Colts won! I'm still amazed that they came back and won that game! wow...

Have a great Wednesday!

Rewind

10 years ago (1998):
1. I was a Sophomore at Jay County High School.
2. I was living with my Dad.
3. I was working at McDonalds.
4. I had just been cut from the basketball team.

5 things on today’s “to do” list:
1. Work on the youth group newsletter
2. Meet with our insurance agent to save some $$$
3. Spend time with Sarah
4. Practice my song for the special this Sunday morning
5. Drink some Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Buffalo Pretzel Chip thingys
2. Funyuns
3. Carmel Apples
4. Cookies and Creme Hershey Bar
5. Those peanut butter kiss things that only come around during Halloween

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off my stupid student loans
2. Buy a scooter
3. Go to Europe
4. Let Sarah stay at home or open up a coffee shop
5. Buy my mom a flippin' sweet car

5 places I have lived:
1. Portland, IN: lived there until I was 8 or 9 then again when I was 14 for a year!
2. Anderson, IN: I loved and still love this place...most of my lifelong friends live there
3. Elwood, IN: Interesting place to live...you usually have to go out of town to "do" something
4. Marion, IN: IWU, oh those years were fun and I miss them somedays
5. Plymouth, IN: Present stomping ground lots of cows and corn!

5 jobs I have had:
1. Youth Pastor

2. McDonalds- I loved it...
3. Family Dollar- Assistant Manager at age 17!

4. Paper boy...hated it!
5. Wal-Mart- third shift stocker during my Sophomore and Junior years at IWU...you want to see some interesting people go to Wal-mart after 11pm!

How Deep the Fathers Love For Us

I am singing this song for the special this Sunday and I thought I'd share the words on here. What a powerful song and the line that gets me is "That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure". How deep is the Fathers love? Deeper than we'll ever know.


How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast inJ esus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

This made my day!

I had to put this on here...its from simplyyouthminstry.com's website... signs from above! :)

Weekly reflections 9.22-28

Hey....here's an update


1. Sarah hasn't heard about the new position yet. Hopefully soon. However...

2. My Mom got a new job that is going to be great for her with all of the benefits and fewer responsibilities. It's time for her to start slowing down. Congrats momma!

3. My hand is pretty much 100%... it is nice having it back!

4. Shiloh has a multi-purpose building that is used 90% of the time for youth services called the Oasis. Well, we recently got the floor cleaned (the first time it has been professionally done since I've been here and that is four plus years). I have had 6 or 7 people come talk to me about that stupid floor and to make sure that we aren't sliding the furniture around on the floor because...

5. This Sunday is Shiloh's 140th Anniversary. There is a service in the Oasis following our carry-in. Should be a good day...

6. I have been getting out of the office/church and coming to the Library for the past few weeks and I am loving being able to come here and change the pace.

7. Our van driver resigned Wednesday night. He is in his 80's and has done a great job of showing people in our church what it means to serve. Thanks Don! However...

8. That means we need a van driver! We have not had people knocking down the doors to volunteer for anything...so please throw up a prayer that God will move and bring someone along to help with our Van ministry.

9. October is almost here...which means cooler weather and that makes me happy

10. I love watching other church services on-line! Some that I like to watch are NewSpring Church (Anderson, South Carolina) and Granger Community Church (Granger, Indiana). It really refreshes me...and makes me want to be more creative!

Have a great weekend

Worries vs Faith

I was reading something the other day and it said "worry is the opposite of faith". It got me thinking about the difference and where I stand. Do I worry about more things rather than having faith about things? The transparent answer is definitely. I'm working on trusting God more everyday with everything. However, its hard. When things keep building up and don't get addressed, when issues keep popping up without answers, when things continue to go in the opposite direction of where you want to go it is frustrating. I would say that I'm an 80% worrier. 8 out of 10 things I tend to be ,as a definition of worries states, in a state of "persistent mental uneasiness". Often we think the worst about something when in reality, it is smaller or easier or really not an issue. In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus talks about this very thing. Still, we struggle with it.

So I guess it comes down to a choice. When we are faced with something in our life that causes us to pause we have to make a choice: worry about it or trust in God that He will do what He said He will do. Psalm 46:1 says that "God is our refuge and strength, a VERY present help in troubles".

Worry vs Faith: Which one will win today?

"It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him".
- Hebrews 11:6

Bluffton Street Fair 08 and moving my gparents

Hey...Hope your weekend went well. Mine was good. We got to see family and go to the Bluffton Street Fair all in one weekend. Fantastic! Also, here are some pics from our youth group Fall Kickoff.

Moving and Street Fair

Hey...

This weekend Sarah and I are going to Ohio to help my Grandpa and Grandma Christian move and then on to Bluffton the (in Andy's best movie announcer voice) "World Famous BLUFFTON STREET FAIR"! Pictures will follow. Also...I'll add some from last weekends Fall Kickoff. Fun times. Hope you have a super weekend. I'll be playing the Mouse Game...yep the mouse game where you put a quarter on a set of numbers you think the real mouse will go into. Sounds wierd and dirty...and it is but it is tons of fun.

I've lost something

I guess being in ministry we are whipped into submission to be in the now. We try to get kids to come this week. We try and plan activities this week. Sometimes we plan ahead...plan for events, trips etc. You come into ministry thinking amazing things. Or I believe at least you should. Then, it all seems to get knocked out of you. You get criticized for this...a little knocked out. You get told that you aren't doing enough....more knocked out. You see the same people not respond to anything you feel that God is telling you...and even more gets knocked out. I want to dream big. I want to be a part of something that could only happen if God were a part of it. Something that no man could take credit for, only God. I want to dream big but more importantly, I just need to start dreaming again. I need to be more creative. Think outside of the "now" box. Think outside of my circumstances. I have become a now man...and I've let being more and dreaming for something like Paul was talking about in Eph. 3:20 slip my mind. That is what kind of follower of Christ I want to become. I want to affect change rather than be effected by the apathy of those around me. I believe that God can do anything that He wants whenever, wherever He wants. Still, those people must allow Him to do so. I have let people effect me rather than God.

May God help us to dream big. Dream things that touch God's heart. To want things that God wants. To be chasing after one thing: to know Christ and to bring others into that same knowledge. May you find that surrender is freedom in Christ. May we not be caged by the insecurities of generations past. Let us not hold onto or be tied down by their apparent love affair with the now and the comfortable. May God open our eyes to be able to dream things that only He could accomplish instead of planning things that we know we can.

Eph. 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

Vacation!!!!

Hey...after some searching, Sarah and I will be going on vacation November 7-14 to celebrate our "birthdays and anniversary". We will going to the Orange Lake Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It is a much needed vacation before the holidays and the start of a new year. We can't wait. It is about an hour and half north of Chicago and we are about an hour and a half from Chicago so it will be a good distance to just be able to get away. Thanks Uncle Harold! You don't know how much we need this.

Monday morning reflections...

Hey...I was supposed to have a meeting today but it got cancelled and good thing. We had our kickoff last night and then I had to take some of the kids home because we were running really late. So...

1. I took a vacation day today! I am doing as little as possible.

2. Last night the kick-off went well. There were some really good parts and other things that just make me want to spit nails.

3. I am sad today because one of my best friends is moving out of the district to take another job in Michigan. Ben and Amanda Capshaw are moving in October to Faith Church in Lansing, Michigan to be the Children's Pastor. I am happy for them because its a great opportunity, but insanely sad at the fact that we will not be seeing each other very frequently.

4. I got my smelly cast off! It was NASTY! Dead skin, sour smell...but boy am I glad.

5. We are trying to find somewhere to go on vacation to. My Uncle Harold is letting us buy a week off of him. What a relief it has been this week just to know that we are going to get this time away.

6. It is getting cold and you know what that means?! Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate!

7. Did you know that Ray Boltz came out of the closet?! Thanks to Stevansheets.com I read this and couldn't believe it! What a blow to many of the fans of this man.

8. The Colts won yesterday after being down 15-0...man I was getting mad. Then everything in the universe was all good.

9. I started playing my guitar again after the cast. I sang Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus yesterday for the special and then after church a younger lady comes up to me and tells me that I should put out a CD! LOL...that made me chuckle.

10. Finally, during a devotional time last week I came across Psalm 127. For some of you it might mean very little. But I thought it might help others...

Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

How to fit in at almost any church