Today following a great service we read that Zac was healed! The world might say that he lost his battle with cancer and went home to be with the Lord. Yes, he did in fact go home to be with the Lord but I don’t know if that is the best way to put it. You see Zac’s story has not only touched the lives of his family and friends, it didn’t only impact those who worked for him or the people in his church. Zac’s story has touched countless people in numbers that neither he nor his family could ever imagine. His statement “God is still God & God is still good” has become a mantra of our family and we will be forever different because of it. So to say he lost a battle with anything may not be the best way to put it. Yes his wife lost a husband, and his children lost a father & please don’t get me wrong, I feel for his wife and children, my heart goes out to those in his family. But, Heaven gained a man with a faith I dream of having. When we read the news this afternoon our whole family shed some tears as we prayed for them! Our prayer is that God would comfort them and bring peace, but also that this story of faith would continue to touch people all over the world. God give me that kind of faith! The kind of faith that can say with boldness that no matter what “God is still God and God is still good”

It’s funny how sometimes it’s the subtle things in life that carry the most weight. Unfortunately they are also often the most overlooked. I have a hard time believing that God is ever really silent, I believe he is constantly shouting his affections for us from the balconies of heaven and that they really would echo through the halls of our lives if we would take the time to slow down and listen. Like I said earlier, I’m learning it’s the subtle things that seem to carry the most weight.

I’m one of the coaches on my oldest son Tre’s team. The other night we found ourselves in a position where we were up 8-7 in a rain soaked, cold game with only two innings left. Our starting pitcher had reached the 75 pitch limit and with no other pitchers available the head coach looked to Tre and asked him to bring it home. My heart sank, he’s never pitched before, in fact he’s never even thrown from the mound. He nervously accepted the challenge, wiped the rain from his hat and took the lonely walk to the mound where he proceeded to blow not only this dad away, but pretty much everyone else. He struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced and got the save. Everyone was shouting and ran out and greeted him at the mound when it was over. It was an amazing moment for not only him, but for me as his dad. I can honestly say that it was one of the proudest moments I’ve ever had watching the team give him the game ball. He left that night and fell asleep with the biggest smile on his face. Last night we were back out on the field and Tre was tabbed as the starting pitcher against the best team in the league. To say he was nervous would be an understatement & I even more so, lets just say it didn’t end in the same fashion. He did great, but his nerves got to him a little. We lost 9-2, & he blamed himself. No matter what I said that look of disappointment didn’t disappear & there wasn’t a smile this time as he fell asleep.

Normally when we get to his school in the morning he is excited to get out and see his friends yelling I love you as the door slams shut. Today, he didn’t even open the door. I looked back and he apologized to me for his performance on the mound. Talk about ripping your heart out. I did my best to lift this little guy up and assure him of how proud I was of not only his baseball prowess but the man he is becoming. The hardest part was that my words didn’t seem to be penetrating the weight of emotion he was carrying. I got to the office and proceeded to edit some of the pics taken from last night when I saw this…

There I was forced to stare at the look of disappointment again. I began to pray for him, I prayed that he would know just how proud I was and that no matter what happens that nothing would change how I feel about him. That he was my son and that would never change. When I then could hear that subtle voice saying that no matter what I do the Father loves me and that I’m his son and that that would never change. It’s funny in that moment staring at that very picture above, the overwhelming feeling of love that I have towards my son, my God has for me. I began to think of all the times where I’ve felt disappointed and discouraged in myself, feeling the walls of life closing in only now to see that there was the love of a cross holding those walls back. Thank God for subtle lessons.

Then I stumbled on this video…

All I can say, & I know I’m not alone in this. This kid is amazing! There is no doubt about it. Not only is he only 5 & rocking the Ukulele, he’s also doing it to one amazing song.

Yesterday was not just another day, well at least not for me. I suppose you could say that it started out that way. I mean I got up and turned on the stove, prepped the beans and got the french press ready for deployment. Turned on some music opened my bible and dove in. Got to church and had a great time getting things ready and praying with the staff. Church was good and so was life. So I suppose one could say things were pretty normal. And then it happened and I left absolutely wrecked. Pastor Dan gave the altar call and so I came up with the prayer team to pray for those responding. I found myself standing in front of a man with his son holding tightly to his dad’s side.  I prayed for them, I earnestly prayed for this man and his son. I looked around to see who else was still waiting to receive prayer when I felt the need to ask them a question. I looked at this man and his obviously distraught son and asked if there was anything specific I could pray for. He informed me that his whole world had fallen apart. He told me that his wife who was about 10 feet behind him had just been diagnosed with cancer and they didn’t know what they were going to do. They didn’t know how they were gonna pay for treatment. Then he said holding his son and teenage daughter “How am I gonna do this…” as to refer to life without her. I was stunned all the wind had now left my sail. Here I stood with a beautiful healthy family living a dream with a good home and great friends. While in front of me lies a family who’s life seems to be in ruins. I grabbed as many as I could to pray for this family. Not that other people didn’t need prayer or have needs but for me something was happening on the inside, something that I just couldn’t shake. I believe with all my heart that God can heal this woman. I believe with all my heart that God can give this family peace and we prayed for these things. But I found myself wanting nothing more than to try to give this family a little hope. Even if all that meant was knowing for a few minutes they were not alone. Don’t get me wrong we presented Christ, we explained healing, we offered the hope of knowing who He is. The results, who knows. We’ll continue to follow with this family and be there as much as we can.

You see lately I’ve found myself really stirred by this passage in Romans:

Romans 15 (AMP)

¹³May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.

I keep reading this passage and desperately want to see this transpire in my own life. I love how the amplified translation says that through the experience of our faith our God will fill us with all joy and that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound and be overflowing or bubbling over with hope. I read this and dream of a life that literally overflows and bubbles over with hope. Where hope just leaks out of our pores. I looked up the definition of hope and was blown away by one in particular:

Hope
a person or thing in which expectations are centered:

Think about it like this, we can overflow with hope (the person in which all expectations are centered). In fact we’re called to. What would it look like if we all lived with Jesus our hope, bubbling out of our lives. What would the lives of those that we come into contact with look like if  He literally spilled out of us on to the hopeless. So like I said I’ve been wrecked…

“…The book is really about a couple of guys who introduce themselves to me. They were film makers and they wanted to make a movie about a book I’d written called “Blue Like Jazz” which is a memoir. But in the process of creating that screenplay, they had to edit and change so much of my actual life, basically they had to make a bunch of stuff up to make my life more meaningful and exciting for the screen. So i studied the principles of stories that screenwriters use to make a story more meaningful and i began to apply those actual principles to my real life to make my real life more meaningful… I talk about those principles, i talk about the adventures i went on as i began to apply them to my life and what it takes to make a story beautiful when the credits roll at the end of it you feel fulfilled. And that can happen in our lives to not just in movies…”

For me once again one of the best parts of this book is the author’s ability to keep you as the reader completely captivated in the story. Tugging on all of your emotions from laughing to holding back tears as you join him in his pursuit of living a meaningful life. You then find yourself wondering what your life will look like as the curtains close and the credits roll.

“…the stories we often tell ourselves are very different than the stories we tell the world…”

“…The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” – Donald Miller, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years

I actually was kind of sad when I closed the book. I was so caught up in the pursuit that I didn’t want it to be over. And then I realized now I get to better write my own.

If you had the chance to change your life for the better, would you? All it takes is a decision.

Trapped by harmful habits, behaviors, and attitudes, we struggle to become the person God has created and called us to be. Saddleback Church teaching pastor Doug Fields says it’s never too late to get a fresh start. With personal stories and youthful writing, Doug challenges readers to recognize that they may say they want God in their lives, but they really don’t want to change. They are stuck. He says, “It’s not about trying harder, it’s about plugging into God’s transforming power and submitting your entire life to Christ. Age doesn’t matter; fresh starts are for everyone.” Topics include:

• Dealing with pride
• Defining success
• Living with guilt
• Struggling with conflicts
• Finding true friendships
• Overcoming discouragement
• Facing rejection
• Attacking Anger

Unlike Doug Fields other works, I did find “Fresh Start” a little difficult to dive into. Although the book provides some pretty good content, I found myself wanting to skip ahead to different areas of the book that might prove to be more beneficial. I do believe this book would be beneficial for newer believers while also working as a great group guide for these people. The author has a way of just scratching the surface of some of very difficult issues that  people find themselves dealing with but would definitely lead to some healthier discussions and conversations in a group setting.

(This book was provided for free by Thomas Nelson)

Our generation needs a reformation.
But a single person won’t lead it.
A single event won’t define it.
Our reformation will be a movement of reformers living creatively, compassionately, courageously for the cause of Christ.

This reformation will not be born of a new discovery.  It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient.

Something primal.

What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest faith possible? You would have more, not less. You would have the beginning of a new reformation—in your generation, your church, your own soul. You would have primal Christianity.

This book is an invitation to become part of a reformation movement. It is an invitation to rediscover the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that turned the world upside down two thousand years ago. It is an invitation to be astonished again.

—Mark Batterson, Primal

Already being a fan of Mark Batterson’s previous Books In a pit with a lion on a snowy day & Wild Goose Chase, I was excited to receive an advanced copy of Primal – A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity to review. That excitement only continued with each page as I was led back to a primal place in my own life. Just as Mark described in the opening pages with his journey down the catacombs of an ancient church building in Rome, you to are taken back to the ancient places of loving God in your own heart. Although not completely lost, I found myself accepting his invitation to find again that primal faith and love that once had me.

Broken down into four sections “The Heart of Christianity”, “The Sould of Christianity”, “The Mind of Christianity” and “The Strength of Christianity” you as the reader find yourself not just flipping pages, but digging deeper into your own heart and life with God by experiencing something that a lot of books fail to bring. This book isn’t just full of information and an author’s opinion but rather instruction and a challenge to resurrect what was intended from the beginning, to live fully for the great commandment.

In concluding the book, Batterson poses an invitation. An invitation to “…Be apart of something that is bigger than you, more important than you, and longer lasting than you.”. Go get the book and accept the invitation, I did!

I’ve placed the transcript below which is also available here on the original post from John Piper at the Desiring God Blog.

It’s a magnificent thing: The only newly-originating life in the universe that comes in the image of God is Man. The only newly-originating life in the universe that lasts forever is Man.

This is an awesome thing.

And, as everyone knows, that reverence is not shared by our new President, over whom we have rejoiced.

He is trapped and blind in a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he released this statement,

We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.

To which I say:

* No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women; you are authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year.
* No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for one million little human beings every year.
* No, Mr. President, killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. You may say it is a private family matter over and over and over, and still they are dead. And we killed them. And you, would have it remain legal.

Mr. President, some of us wept for joy at your inauguration. And we pledge that we will pray for you.

We have hope in our sovereign God.

(From the sermon: “The Baby in My Womb Leaped for Joy.”)

For some reason Elisha really likes to strike a pose flexing but if you talk about just how large those “Muscles” are he gets rather upset and grunts loudly! It’s scary just how much of myself I’m seeing in this little guy it’s scary and amazing all at the same time.

I think helping Coach little league might be one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I absolutely love the fact that I’m getting to spend more time with Tre. (playing 3rd base in this pic) It’s had it’s moments that we’ll leave alone for now, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Tre’s turning into a pretty good ball player and definitely makes the game more interesting.

I took this pic on Saturday which turned out to be one of the funnest days I think I’ve ever shared with my wife or anyone for that matter. Man I love this lady!