Taking it to the Streets

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19, NIV.

When I think of amazing evangelists, people gifted in witnessing to others about the saving reality of Jesus Christ, I don’t think of the biggies like Billy Graham. He is too far up in the stratosphere of superpower evangelism. I think of people closer to my bit of earth, whose love for God is so pure, so radical they exude it. I don’t come close to their level, but I want to keep them close, because being around them is infectious, convicting, and compelling.

Rev. Cherry is a person I just met. He is 78 years old and has been a pastor for over four decades. He parks his car as far from his church as he can on Sundays so he has opportunity to run into people as he walks toward the building, asking them if they know Jesus, inviting them to church. My friend James says he met Rev. Cherry at a barbershop recently, and the pastor was busy making on impact on all the young men in the place.

Susan works tirelessly to love on her section of the city—she and others created a flower garden at a corner that once held weeds and garbage; she and her crew renovated a section of the library, created a beautiful children’s section and began a story time; her block association holds a bike rally and a block party every spring and summer. She also knows the drug dealers in her neighborhood. Susan is slight in build, a harpist, and yet walks right up to these dealers, letting them know she knows what’s happening. They move on.

Michael and Julia are also pastors, but they don’t work for a church. They and their team mentor neglected and disadvantaged city children from the age of 6 and work to get them through high school and then hopefully into college. Every one of the kids they have mentored have graduated from high school. That is an amazing statistic, given the dropout rate in Rochester is abysmally high (in 2011, the graduation rate was 46.1%).

All of these dear people are evangelists and they each do it differently. They live out the scripture from James 1:19 (above)--they listen to God, listen to people, then act. They check the pulse of a hurting community and respond. Behind their ministry is a rock solid faith in the God they serve and they want to touch others with God’s love and the message of salvation. I can’t hold a candle to them: they have poured out their lives very much so like the prophet declares in Micah 6:8, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I only hope that as I evangelize in my own distinct way—which includes loving, listening and writing—that I will do so in a way that honors God and honors the people he brings across my path.   

God provides the ability...all we can supply is our very best effort.

I'm pretty sure most of the awards and trophies I earned playing sports growing up are still in my parent's basement. Maybe someday... I will pull them out of the storage box and relive a few memories with my girls, although I'm not really big on that stuff. Just this week, as a matter of fact, my oldest daughter learned I was a competitive power lifter in college. I'm not even sure how the subject matter came up because I think it's an extremely irrelevant issue that almost 30 years ago I could lift a lot of heavy stuff and had a hard time finding clothes that fit.

In that collection of trophies and plaques, the range of recognitions run from team MVP to just participating in a given sport. I believe, however, the accolades I will be most proud to share with my daughters are those recognizing the fact that when I played...I always, always hustled. The sports cliche of leaving it all on the field was my standard approach to games, as well as, practices. Rarely was I the most talented athlete on the playing field. But where I often came up short when it came to natural abilities, I made up for by working hard in my preparation, situational knowledge and just shear effort toward the task at hand.

That very attitude still burns within me to this day.

God hasn't called me (to this point anyway) to be his next Billy Graham, Chris Tomlin or Francis Chan. What He has called me to do is share His love with as many people as I possibly can, and there are a number of ways He has provided me an avenue to do so.

God has allowed me to be the husband to a pious, virtuous wife. I work hard at being the best husband I can be for His glory. He has blessed me with three beautiful daughters, and while I can't but help think some of that is a little consolation for my wild younger days, my focus is always on being the best father with His guidance that I can possibly be.

God has blessed me with a Sunday School class of college-aged young adults to challenge and strengthen in their spiritual walk and help prepare them for the task of stepping into life on their own...and to warn them of the lurking dangers and threats to their faith that are just ahead. He knows the struggles and darkness I personally journeyed through, by my own choices, when I was at their current stage in life. God charges me to share the lessons as raw and real as each lesson was during that journey to hopefully help them steer clear of those same trappings.

God blessed me with an ability to make music, and nothing fills me more with His blessings than using that talent to worship Him. As I write these very words, I joyfully acknowledge that God has given me the ability to also share His love through my writings. Such a gift comes with tremendous responsibility with the understanding that each word becomes a living testimony lingering within the place we call cyberspace for anyone and everyone to read and closely examine.

I am perfectly at peace knowing that I'm not at the same famously recognized status of a Graham, Tomlin or Chan.  The local Rotary Club will most probably never recognize me as Husband of the Year nor Father of the Year. I don't see a music contract or book publishing deal in my future.

What I do hope and pray is that when all is said and done, and I humbly stand before my Creator, He smiles upon me and declares, "Well here's Mr. Hustle...well done My son. Come and rest."

Of course I won't...there's an eternity of worship for Him to get started! Let's go people! Where's that drumset?

Sorry Tanya Tucker...Texas is definitely not as close as I've been to Heaven.

 One thing I made sure of during my time in the Marine Corps, I went to every available speciality school I could get an officer's slot to attend. With that being said, there aren't a lot of  'adventerous' type items on my personal bucket list.

Sure...I'd love to leave the back of a helicopter for a low-level jump just one more time or dive in deep, open waters alone to prove my mustard at underwater navigation, but I'm smart enough to realize those are the games of the young and a major part of the reason for the aches and pains I feel while getting out of bed each morning.

So, what's on my bucket list? The top five?

While my ambitions may be far less physical in nature this days, there are still no doubt a great deal of  challenges:


1.  Publish a novel. Note, I didn't say write a book. That's the easy part for some people. Being a published author is a peer group I've longed to join.

2.  Speak a foreign language effectively. Like a lot of folks, I know my fair share of phrases in Spanish, Italian and Russian. Could I go to a country where one of those is the primary language and effectively communicate? Don't think so. (No cracks about living in a country where Spanish is the primary language already either)

3.  Go to China on a missions trip...or two. Why China? I'm still asking God that question myself in a Jonah-like manner.

#2 and #3 probably go hand-in-hand too. Seeing that I work with a gentleman from China....yeah...I know. God's obviously doing His part to make these two happen. Good thing I don't live by a large body of water.

4.  Finish my graduate degree. Hearing Joyce address the challenges of finishing a doctorate, I'm not sure why this one is on my list, maybe I want a reason for my kids to address me as 'The Doc.'

5.  Take my whole family to Hawaii.  I've lived there. My wife and I honeymooned there. But, I'd like to take the whole crew for a two week stay in my second favorite place to live in the world and renew my wedding vows with my beautiful love.  Maybe that's what I'll do with the proceeds from my book sales...Lord willing.

God bless and have a great weekend everyone!!

To know him is to…really want to write a book or two.

I’ve not read any of the post here this week for a reason because you see, we’re roasting my good friend David Johndrow on Kingdom Bloggers this week, and I didn’t want to taint what I have to say…

And I have a lot to say!

I met David in the blogosphere in 2009. He first commented on my personal blog at Tony C Today on January 8th of 2009 on a post about the futility of atheism. Apparently, it was part of some kind of New Years Resolution he’d made about attracting more readers to his own blog at Fire and Grace. He must have read an article or book or something…anyway it worked, and we started a relationship of mutual snarky comment remarks that's lasted to this very day.

Now he’s taking a God-led hiatus, and quite honestly, I have mixed feelings. Paul talks a lot about this in his Epistles. Exactly now where do I go with my sarcastic comments motivated by the flesh?! Don’t get me wrong…I absolutely love Joyce, Tracy and Andrea, but my southern heritage along with my former officer and a gentleman indoctrination via the USMC (oorah!) practically forbid me make snarky comments on their blog post. Hey…call it sexist if you like…but you just can’t make a coconut cream pie with apples!

So I don’t know where I’ll sarcastically remark now that you’re quitting David. Guess I’ll go unload on Appling over at the Church of No People and get lost in 700 or so remarks he generates with each post. My apologies for the Comment envy Matt…

Anyway, mutual comments lead to a Facebook friendship which lead to telephone calls and text messages which lead to praying together and for each other…and before you know it…there’s virtual holy kisses of greetings going on all over the place! Thanks to DJ, I clearly understand that’s scriptural now.  I believe you’re onto something Joyce with your doctorate dissertation hypothesis about social media connections.

David and I are very much kindred souls despite the Mason/Dixon line that separates us. We’re both married WAY up, love Jesus first and foremost, both have three daughters and look or have looked like a Hollywood celebrity. Come on! Look how much Johndrow looks like James Woods! They’re practically twins!



So what celebrity do I look like? Depends on where we are in my timeline…



Or…



You can stop laughing now…

Seriously, I love my friend David Johndrow who has helped me be a better light for Jesus. Through his words of encouragement, dissection and analysis of the Word, and love he shares with so many others, David is following in the very footprints left by our greatest teacher and Savior. I know in my heart that he is following where being lead…and that too is yet another lesson to be noted by all of us.

God bless your mission in His name my friend. Mwah!

You truly can love people you've never met...thanks to Jesus!

This weeks subject matter took on a little different feel than I originally intended...but I don't ever want to stand in the way of the Holy Spirit working.

First, I've been really encouraged by the number of readers this blog is drawing each week. Thank you. Comments are always welcome and help make the dialogue even better, but just the fact that you read each week is very uplifting to each of us. To God goes all the glory and honor!

As you've seen this week, your Kingdom Bloggers are an assorted bunch. I take great comfort in that fact too. God has opened my eyes to many sanctimonious misconceptions I carried around for years about my faith by using this particular time in my life and this group of writers to accomplish just that. If I had to pick a single lesson that stands above all the rest I've learned in the past few years, it would undoubtedly be...

 ¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1, 2

That's right. The sins of the whole world. We have a tendency to often live our lives in a microcosmic sense which creates a seriously skewed vision about how God works. Been there...done (maybe even still doing) that! It's just a sinful by-product of living in such a narcissistic world environment. Instead of becoming more aware and more concerned about God's entire earthly creation as information borders and boundaries opened up globally for our information hungry society thanks in large part to technology,  we have withdrawn back into our shells seemingly afraid to venture out in His name.

I'm not talking about just missionary work to foreign lands either. We are called to reach other in His name, but I personally don't have to board a plane or boat to accomplish that...I just need to walk out of my office and into a number of any other offices at my workplace. That, however, is a completely different post.

In my opinion, people living in the Bible Belt having a particularly distorted view of God's world. It's almost arrogantly ignorant enough to self-proclaim to have become the new Children of God, or Confederate Jews if you will. Don't laugh...take it from someone who lives here every day. If I succumb to this narrow way of thinking, it might look something like this:

 How could someone from the Northeast part of the country (David J) know God better than me? I grew up going to Sunday School and church every single Sunday of my life! I know the Bible!
...my brother David J's biblical knowledge far exceeds my own and rivals anyone I personal know. He is my dear friend and confidant thanks to a loving God who knows and cares about what I need to better serve Him.   

California (Tracy)?! Are there actually Christians in that pagan, liberal state?
...my sister Tracy reflects the very heart of Jesus in everything she writes in a clarity like none other. Her light for Jesus shines brightly for the whole world to see.

Women should be...nuns or something. Not pastors (Joyce)!
...soon to be Dr. Joyce Lighari is equipped educationally and through life experiences better than any pastor I know to lead a flock for Christ. If she were closer, I'd love to be one of her sheep! 

Head-bangers (Dave T) don't really worship. God doesn't like hearing that loud garbage!
...an original member of Kingdom Bloggers, Dave Tevet's worship can be seen in his daily walk with Jesus. He has been blessed with a talent for sharing the Word in a manner anyone can understand.


Our God works in a great big, complex world that He created. His Spirit works just as diligently in the South Pacific as the Southeastern United States. God's love extends to the Buddhist as well as the Baptist. The Mormon as well as the Methodist. The Pakistani Muslim and well as the Pentecostal.

All of humankind is His creation and have been called to accept and share. Through my bond with a few passionate people for Jesus on Kingdom Bloggers, I have a better understanding that it's not just my mission, my church's mission, my denominations mission...it's every one's mission to serve the Kingdom...and we need each other to accomplish this.

Last Sunday, a profound message fell on my ears courtesy of Pastor Derek Bell- Our physical bodies need rest, but our souls don't. Satan never takes a vacation.

With my brothers and sisters in Christ close at hand, I never have to worry about falling down spiritually due to exhaustion. Doesn't God think of everything?

Hallelujah!

Thank you Lord for the privilege to serve You with this special group of people. You have blessed me with their friendship and educated me with their spiritual knowledge. May we never fail to give all honor. praise and glory to your Holy name. In the name and with the love of Jesus, Amen.

Can I tell you what God has done in my life?

Have you had this moment? I have...and it hurt really bad.

Disobedience to God by nature is sin. Defiance is blasphemous. I've made no secret about the fact during my time on Kingdom Bloggers that I'm unfortunately guilty of both in my past.

Only by the grace of an almighty God through an absolutely free  pardon of those past sins can I peacefully rest at nights. But, it is only through the realization that this fact has everything to do with God and nothing about what I've done can I even write about it.

Giving my testimony was very counter-intuitive for me right after I stopped running from my Father. Most of that stemmed from the massive burden of guilt I carried around with me all the time, and the epiphany that God was under no obligation to take me back into His fold. Only after hours upon hours of Bible study and re-examining the lessons I had been taught from God's word while growing up did I truly and fundamentally understand that God's grace had been extended to far worse transgressors than me...from a worldly point of view.

Sin is sin to God as I understand things. David listed a pretty heavy line-up in his post Monday that included murderers, thieves, adulterers, and blasphemers. All saved by God's grace and used for His purpose. How do we so often overlook the complete story of David...or Paul? Word didn't travel in the first century at the blinding speed it does today. Can you imagine one of the first churches Paul visits to counsel? Wouldn't there be a degree of uneasiness and distrust initially toward a man noted to persecute and kill Christians? Could changing just the first letter of his name have that profound of an effect?

No...but God sure did.

Talking about past sins is uncomfortable business for most folks. Me included. But, I think that stems, to a degree, because our flesh seeks after acceptance from our peers. Cliche as it may be, we are also creators of habit, and habits die hard. Hiding sin is a common habit we all share.

¹⁹ Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.  1 Chronicles 22:19a (NIV)

That's David instructing the leaders of Israel to prepare to help Solomon build the temple. The same David that had committed atrocious acts of selfishness. Acts that hurt a great number of people and even resulted in death. The same David that only with his faith in God had single handily defeated the undefeat-able and saved his people, yet somehow managed to forget that fact later in life. A man God never gave up on and not only placed on an earthly throne of rule... but set in place for him to became the direct ancestor of His greatest gift of all.

That's how big God's grace can be. All I need to do is follow the wisdom of David's advise in Chronicles and let God do the rest. Not so hard when you think about it. After all...I'm already His child.

Happy First Year Kingdom Bloggers...for His name and for His glory.

There was a time not so long ago I had the feeling of being overwhelmed come over me.

But then...haven't we all?

I spent a few days in prayer looking for guidance, maybe even relief from God. I sat down on that Friday morning to meet yet another weekly obligation and write my KB post that was already late.

For a reason I may never know this side of Glory, I felt lead early that week to do a storyboard video using the song The Change by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song had come on the radio while I drove to work one morning and stuck with me. I didn't even have it on my iPod.

Video production isn't anywhere close to a developed skill for me. I laugh even thinking about that statement. But the feeling to do was there in my gut, so I plowed forward. Over the course of several days, I worked on the project when I could, and instead of frustration from the process...I was blanketed with a feeling of peace. The song wouldn't leave my head after continuously listen to it over and over for days, but I never grew tired of the melody, the lyrics...the message.

When I finished, the video was posted to YouTube where to date it has amassed a little over 340 views. A far cry from the almost 15,000 views of the Bugs Bunny clip I posted where he's being chased by the Mad Scientist in the episode Water, Water Every Hare, but that is far from being relevant to this story.

So there I sat on Friday searching for words to type as the clock continued to tick. With many things to do before the day's end, I began to feel a stress. Like the proverbial light bulb going off overhead, I remember the video. Now I had spent way more time on the video than probably all of my post on KB combined, but that wasn't the point...was it?

A few clicks and my first video KB post is complete. Each work day at some point, I close my door and spend a few moments in prayer. On this day...I spent that time in praise and tears. No obligation is more important in life than those we have to God. In a way, I believe I was softly taken behind the woodshed for letting my priorities get out of sorts.

Is writing for Kingdom Bloggers that important?

I'm not qualified to answer that question. God will use all things for His purpose, and He has blessed me beyond all measure in my association with this blog and my fellow KB bloggers. He has proven to me that His people can be brought together from anywhere in the world using the internet, and that His love can equally shine for the world using the same tool.

I will never again allow myself to feel bogged down doing His work. Be it writing, practicing/playing drums for worship, preparing for a Sunday School lesson or spending time with a friend in need of His love...it all makes an eternal difference. What a privilege to be able to offer back even a very small contribution to such a grand plan! Thank you God for using me and my brothers and sisters on Kingdom Bloggers. We will never fail to give you the honor and glory for all we do in Your name.

Also, thank you so much for the change You made in me...

We can do this My way or My way...you chose.

It's always hard to pinpoint that moment when inspiration becomes action for me...

I've always been one to jump in both hands and both feet. When I wanted to learn more about business, I bought one to see how things really work. That's why I'm convinced I'd be an awful Texas Hold 'Em poker player. First hand I had a good feeling about...all in! People usually don't last long in the game doing that when I watch tournaments on ESPN.

From many previous post, it should be obvious I have a heart for ministering to that group of Christian young people just leaving the nest of mommy and daddy's home. Statistically speaking, many move away from their faith during this time. Since I was once in that statistical group, it was easy for me to empathize with this particular path.

God called me to get busy, and in typical Tony C fashion, I immediately connected the demographic I would be ministering to with the internet. Wouldn't young people always online doing young people stuff? So I set out to create a website for all the fledgling Christian youth to flock to and experience revival...

Not so fast.

After coming up with a site name of stickwithjesus.com, registering, building, mapping the site, writing content and spending countless hours promoting it...I was lucky to get a dozen hits a day. Then came MySpace (here) and email promotions. There was a point when I would stay up every night and engage people on Yahoo Answers to promote the site until the early morning hours. Still, a good day was 20 hits.

Effort wasn't the problem. I was just trying to reach too wide an audience right out of the gate. I knew this was what God was calling me to do, but I hadn't waited on the answer on exactly how He wanted me to go about this ministry. After spending considerable time and resources, I pulled the plug on stickwithjesus.com at the beginning of 2008 and took a step back to retool. What was I doing wrong? Why wasn't this working if God was in it?

Well obviously, the problem wasn't God...it was Tony.

I didn't know how to build a website. I had to teach myself. I didn't know how to market a website. I learned through trial and error (mostly error). I was an amateur writer at best. Let me twist a very popular cliche and state- There's no I in God. Only God in me...and the body of Believers. My efforts would require God's timing and as much help as possible from other Christian brothers and sisters; therefore, I wouldn't be the Moses of a modern internet exodus by young people back to God.

In September 2008, my blogging experience began after a prayerful night of asking His direction. This felt right. Soon I was connecting with more and more Christians online through email, blogging and Facebook. Contact with other Christians became consistent then routine. People at church started reading my blog post and offering encouragement. Again, it all felt right. The moment of God's endorsement, in my mind, came at the beginning of this year when a friend and blog reader ask me to consider taking over as teacher for his Sunday School class...the college-aged class!

This is where I wanted you.

Now I regularly remind said class that patience is a Heavenly virtue...just trust me on that one.

If you truly love someone...keep them close instead of letting them go.

"I just love you and care about you candidate and want to see you get the most out of life!"

I want to get real for a moment...

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I completely believe in the power of prayer. But, I've not always been a regular user of that privilege. Last week I wrote about what I feel God has called me to do, and that's minister to that group of young people who statistics tell us are the group most straying from the faith. The proverbial shoe fits because it truly was on the other foot (mine) at one time.

I've worked in the youth ministry at church for several years and was constantly interacting with the young people at church, but last year God put an opportunity in front of me that has been both challenging and rewarding on all new levels. The head deacon at church, Keith S, was teaching the college-aged Sunday School class and doing a phenomenal job. How phenomenal you say? My wife, Candice, was attending a series on Genesis and was so inspired by what she learned, our daughter due next month will be given the name Eden. That's pretty influential stuff!

But God had a different plan for Keith in our church (which is a completely different blog to His glory once again), so he ask if I would take the class. Sorry to quote a beer commercial on a Christian blog, but...here we go! God was challenging me to put actions to my professed passion. I prayed knowing the answer already but throwing out the fleece in a delaying tactic...as if that works with God.

Yada, yada, yada...I'm teaching the class now since the first of the year. Wow! It has truly changed my life. Not a day goes by that God doesn't put one of them on my heart or I get a message through text or Facebook asking for prayer. Many of them are away at schools not near here, so I try to maintain regular contact with them to let them know they are gone, but not forgotten. Some have drifted, many have hurt from a number of reason. Through it all, I try to be there to reassure them that God is real and loves them more than anyone else ever could.

But I get it...I truly get it. My passionate pleas to our Heavenly Father on their behalf are an echo from years past in a time if I had only fallen on my knees and cried out for forgiveness and repented, so much hurt would have been avoided. I love each and every one of them as if they are my own children, and as I sit here typing this with tears welling in my eyes and my heart breaking for the trials and tribulations they will each endure...I know it is a path which each must journey to better serve our Savior and His Kingdom. James says it so clearly in his letter to early Christians:

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)

God continues to mold and shape me for His benefit, but He loves me and answers so many prayers on behalf of those He has charged me to love and minister to also. I've seen a few stray and return to His fold, a few broken at bad choices and mended by His love, and one deny Him only to regret and repent. What a blessing and privilege to be used in even the most minuscule way for His glory. I am most thankful for the opportunity to serve our almighty God, and for the challenging path He placed directly in front of me to passionately follow.

What's God put in your spirit?

I really appreciate what David and Joyce have said this week about how God has a different plan for each of us.

God saved David from Alcoholism. God took a high school drop out, welfare mom, and made her not only a college graduate and successful mother of 8 children, but now Joyce is completing her PhD. God took Tony through his own conflicts and questions when he was in college, and now he's getting to reach out to college age young people (2 Corinthians 1:4).

So what's my story?

All I can think to tell you is that the area where I've always been the most passionate, and seen God use me the most, is through my work.

From the time I graduated from high school my heart has always been for those people in our society who're on the fringes, the different ones. It's not always been the same people group, but it's always felt "right" to work with people who are outcasts. While I worked my way though college it was as a care giver in places like group homes with intensely acting out teenagers, or cottages for developmentally disabled, or secured psychiatric hospitals. When I graduated from college I began taking management positions in these types of settings.

I've tended to be shy and certainly not what others would call a go-getter in my personal life. But in my career God has worked though me in a way beyond my natural personality. I've seen God give me the ability to confront when needed, to teach large groups, to share with outsiders about our mission, to interact with top level executives, and to find new revenue sources - all of these are not things that come naturally to me - but God has continually given me the ability to do what I need to do to pursue my passion. Through the years that passion has changed to be more for the care givers of those outcasts than for the actual clients. I've found myself driven to work toward training, empowering, and generally making the workplace better for care givers.

There's a line in a song by an old Christian singer named Carman that I've always remembered:

"The desire is the confirmation that the destination is there,
God wouldn't have put it in your spirit if it wasn't going nowhere".

What's God put in your spirit? Where's your passion?

Stepping out of my comfort zone into God's blessing

Last week I shared about how something that my son Daniel had talked about this past January caused me to re-evaluate if I'm using the gitfs and opportunities God's giving me to the fullest. I'd been inspired at that time to step out of my comfort zone and into some opportunities that God kept bringing my way.

If you know me at all, two adjectives that could well describe me are "shy" and "reserved". That's just me. I'm not a person who likes getting up in front of others and being the center of attention. It's a total turn on for me to get to work behind the scenes and bless people when they don't even know about me. I'm one of those people that is sometimes practically invisible, while I notice a lot about others.

A couple of years ago the woman in charge of women's ministries at our church approached me and asked that I be on the women's ministry core leadership team. After praying about it, I accepted. I adore women and enjoy getting to do things to reach out to them both in the church and community. A big part of the team is to pray and receive the vision/direction for what God wants to do for, and through, the women in our local church for the coming year. Then take that vision and plan out the calendar and "events", and do all the stuff required to make these things happen. Planning and administrative type activities come naturally for me. Plus I get to do lots of work that no one ever knows about but that blesses people - just my thing.

But several times, for more than a two year time period, I kept being asked to lead one of the large women's Bible studies that meet at our church. While there are few things that I enjoy more than studying the Word with other women, the idea of being the person who was in front of, or leading a large group, sounded totally unappealing to me. I kept thinking about how anxious I tend to feel in social settings, how tongue tied I get, how I don't at all perceive myself to be a particularly likable, charismatic, or popular type person. So I kept refusing.

But then God used what Daniel shared to make me think about the fact that God obviously doesn't expect me to be a super star (trust me, I have NO super star qualities), but He does want me to be faithful. He also kept bringing the apostle Paul's words from 2 Corinthians 12:10 about how when Paul was weak, then God could be strong, to my mind. It seemed to me that God was speaking to my heart that He wanted to use weak, shy, reserved, me and that because of my weakness it would make me rely more on Him and that way it would be a God-thing instead of a me-thing. So I finally agreed to lead one of the large women's Bible studies at our church.

And you know what? I absolutely loved it!

I know that lots of women from both our church and our community came faithfully. The study was set up so that there was a workbook with homework during the week prior to our meeting. We had a discussion time when we broke into small groups and shared, and I heard women tell about how God was working through His Word and His spirit in their lives during the time between our meetings. God was using the curriculum, His Word, relationships, and circumstances to cause change and growth, and produce faithfulness, in their lives. I never cease to be excited about God working in the lives of women!

A woman who was new to our church made sure to tell me later how comfortable, welcome, included, and accepted she felt. Another woman went out of her way to let me know that she really liked the atmosphere; that she appreciated that we had an agenda and (by the grace of God) didn't constantly go off on "rabbit trails", but at the same time were open to God's work, leading, and ministry to specific women in their lives. She felt like the agenda was never more important than herself of any other woman in the room.

I noticed that between or before meetings, that if I thought about me facilitating the event, I felt that sick oh-I-don't-want-to-be-visually-obviously-up-frontedly-in charge feeling. But if I kept my focus on the individual women in the group,that God kept giving me an intense love for each woman there. I'd find myself thinking about them, praying for them, seeing exciting things that God had in store for them. I got to write them notes during the week, or pray for specific things for them as the Holy Spirit prompted. Then we'd meet and I'd find out why God had me pray, and what He was doing. God was working in their lives, God was ministering to them, God was blessing them - and He let me be part of it!

There's a new women's large group Bible study starting in the end of September, and this time I didn't have to think twice before I agreed to facilitate one of the two times it will be offered. I'm looking forward to what God's gonna do.

What about you, can you think of a time when God seemed to be prompting you to serve in a way that was totally not you, that was outside of your comfort zone? What happened?

I love you anyway...that's just one word too many.

I overheard the toddler telling the teenager just the other day, 'Clean your room. You've got a lot of stuff in the floor, and Jesus wants you to clean your room!'

Now I know I've told the teenager to clean her room at least once daily since way before the toddler came to realize she had feet...much less know anything about Jesus...but what struck me as odd was her choice to use Jesus instead of me as the authoritative figure to challenge her sister.

Don't get me wrong. That's exactly the way it should be. We should worry about keeping our Savior happy with our thoughts and actions far before anyone else. What struck me as odd was she had both seen and been victim to the consequences of not listening at my hand, not that of Jesus. Granted, the two sisters are disciplined in much different manners when the situation dictates, but she still knew that her sister keeping her room clean was akin to her keeping her toys picked up when not playing with them...or not jumping on the furniture...or not messing with the different devices in the entertainment center...or not, oh...you get the point! When she messes up, mommy and daddy aren't happy, so Jesus must not be happy too.

I hold my kids to high expectations and subscribe to the 'Do Hard Things' philosophy in life. Good grades are expected just as good manners are too. God must come first in every situation. Attitude and effort are not things you sell short. The end doesn't justify the means because there are always a number of right and wrong ways to get to the end. Compromise and morals are very dangerous words to use together in a sentence much less in practice.

Both of my girls (and I'm sure number 3) are strong willed almost to the point of stubbornness. I would say it drives me absolutely nuts, but my wife is often there to remind me exactly where the trait comes from in them...with a mirror. That fact causes me a lot of anxiety because I know the trials and troubles caused in my own life by it. So I pray...

Prayer has been woven throughout our blogs this week and was mentioned in each post. Important? More like essential if you expect to succeed as a parent. Our relationships at home are based on a model of the most holy order. Inevitably, you are going to be heart broken if you have children. Deal with it. God graciously loves us in spite.

Now let me get all James Lehman on you. Consistency is the key when dealing with your kids at whatever age. We have the ultimate example of that fact in our Heavenly Father who gave us life, gave us His expectations in a written Word, gave us promises He will fulfill, and set us on our way to serve His Kingdom.

That my friends hasn't changed since life was first breathed into dust.

Love your kids with all your heart by showing them the ways of the Lord...He comes first, then your spouse, and they are firmly next through thick and thin. Always give honor to your own parents, so they see your example. I believe God intends family to be an eternal thing because He dedicates so much of His word to the subject matter. You won't find a specific doctrine or Scripture that confirms my belief, but I must not be alone in feeling that way...

...because Satan sure spends a lot of effort on evil ways to break our families apart.

May God bless you and your family this weekend. I encourage you to spend time with your family this weekend in a House of the Lord and lift your praises up to Him together. Nothing could do more to draw you closer to one another.

Ephesians 6:1-4

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." ⁴Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Lead, follow or get out...the serving dishes?

The church could sure benefit from following the United States Marine Corps example when it comes to leadership...

Let's face it. Jesus was an awesome leader while He walked the Earth. As a matter of fact, He was the ultimate example, the perfect template for what leadership is all about. Of course, the same can be said about any number of other categories as well.

But that's not fair! Jesus is God! Omnipotent and omnipresent.

As Christians, we really struggle to follow the example of Jesus on practically everything. We try...some of us really, really hard...but keep coming up short time and time again. Get over it! You and I will never be Jesus. Not now, not later and not when we're called Home. There's only One...and we aren't Him.

While following the example of Christ might be too lofty an expectation for us, the altruistic nature of Jesus is most worthy of an admirable effort to mimic, plus maybe...just maybe...God gave the church a more obtainable example in 1775 called the Corps. That's right.

The United States Marine Corps. Keepers of the peace and protectors of all that is right and good on this third chunk of rock from the Sun.

Sure. I'm a little biased on the subject matter, but you go with what you know. I know in the USMC...leadership reigns supreme. It's embedded in all that you do. From the moment you step off that bus at a Recruit Depot, recruits are being sized up on leadership abilities. It goes without saying that officer candidates live, breath, eat and dream on matters of leadership. The Marines don't hold to the politically correct philosophy that leaders are made and not born. Are you kidding me! If you're not cut out to be a leader, you will not make it. Period. Trust me, the Corps has develop a number of innovative ways to find out if you've got it or not too.

So how can the church adopt some of the principles used by the Corps to develop and groom present day church leadership? For the sake of David Johndrow who apparently comprehends best with bullet-style presentation, I give you three examples (a la Matt at The Church of No People) the church should follow:

1. Lessons from history are important. As a green Second Lieutenant freshly commissioned right out of college, experience was something I seriously lacked when I first donned the uniform. So the Corps sent me to Quantico , VA for six months to study tactics, strategies and lessons from battles as far back as biblical days. Pilots, lawyers, engineers, electronic warfare special and any other non-infantry related career field are all there along with the future infantry officers. Doesn't matter what you will ultimately do in the Corps, you will always first and foremost be an infantry leader of combat Marines, so you study history, take in the lessons of what has worked and what hasn't in the heat of battle. Knowledge is power, and power builds confidence. Leaders must be confident if nothing else..
   
   As Christians, we have the greatest source of human history at our disposal each and every day. The Holy Bible. All we need is right in there...the history of God's plan to grow His Kingdom and bring us Home when He so wills. You don't even have to sleep in the freezing cold, live in the wet and mud, or be away from you family to learn from leaders of the past. No, you can share the Bible's history with your family right in your own living room and help them be better leaders in the Kingdom too.
   
   
2. Leadership is a responsibility of everyone. Since combat is an ever-changing and fluid environment, a Marine never knows when he might be called upon to exercise his leadership in a given situation. Pay grades E-1 (Private) to O-9 (General)...every Marine fills a position in the chain of command. Someone sits atop that pyramid and ultimately answers to the President, or Commander in Chief, a civilian. However, Generals don't fight door-to-door in the urban trenches where life and death are played out from moment to moment, day after day. At every step up and down the chain of command, decisions are being made constantly...important decisions....and in each case leadership is being exercised. Generals exercise big picture leadership, while Lieutenants are up close and personal with the Marines they are charged with leading. How do Privates demonstrate leadership? Quite simply...by following their orders to the best of their ability. The Marine Corps learned along time ago, if you can't follow orders..chance are you aren't going to be very good giving orders.
   
   The church is a complex dynamic comprised of many different parts...ergo the body metaphor commonly used. Yet each part that makes up that dynamic plays an important role. Hopefully that's the role so desired by God. When the time comes, each part will be called upon to execute their function, and thus by nature, assume a leadership role. Some parts are involved daily in decisions making and planning while others may only be called upon in a very specific manner...but you lead to be ready. Executing your role in the body to the very best of your ability is in fact...leadership.
   
   
3. Leadership is most about serving others. Being in charge doesn't necessarily make someone a leader. To get others to follow you (especially in situations that could get them killed), first you must demonstrate a commitment to something greater than self. The unit, the command, the Corps, and the country's needs must be put ahead of your own. Marines will follow a good leader straight into the face of an enemy trying to desperately kill if they know that leader is willing to die right along side them. You can't effectively lead from the rear. Also, good leaders always put their Marines first. They make sure their Marines eat, rest, get mail or just about anything thing else before they do. Sure, rank has privileges...but that doesn't mean you have to use them. Service to God, country and Corps is an unofficial motto of every Marine. There's not a motto for service to self.
   
   It's not about me, it's about God. Those words flow easily from our lips as Christians, but what do our actions actually demonstrate? Being a part of the church...a part of the Kingdom...means dying to self daily according to Paul. That means as Christians, we must humble our self and accept that self-service is no good...then turn our self over to serving the Spirit as we are lead. If God truly comes first in the heart, the church would be filled with great leaders who understand their role and are ready to step up when called upon by the Spirit or by someone else lead by the Spirit. Great leadership is forged through a commitment to serve others above self, and never was there a better example of that than Jesus Christ.
   

I stand by the Corps' philosophy that leaders are born and not made, but with one slight modification. In the grandest scale of God's infinity...leaders in the Kingdom are made by being born...born again that is...and then following the example left by a risen Savior.

By the way, semper fidelis is Latin for always faithful...but that's another blog for another time.

Be quite and let Me do the talking...

I've recounted a number of incidents on Kingdom Bloggers where I know God was near me...in my personal testimony, during my daily commute, and even when I lived in Hawaii. Both of my last two post were also examples of my being aware God was present.

Isn't that really the point though? God is always near even if we don't acknowledge His presence.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV)
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

I heard a wonderful sermon preached on this passage a few weeks back that oddly reminded me of an anecdote I read in college years ago:

A pointed fable is told about a young lion and a cougar. Both thirsty, the animals arrived at their usual water hole at the same time. They immediately began to argue about who should satisfy their thirst first. The argument became heated, and each decided he would rather die than give up the privilege of being first to quench his thirst. As they stubbornly confronted each other, their emotions turned to rage. Their cruel attacks on each other were suddenly interrupted. They both looked up. Circling overhead was a flock of vultures waiting for the loser to fall. Quietly, the two beasts turned and walked away. The thought of being devoured was all they needed to end their quarrel.

As Christians, we know God is always near because His word tells us, yet we lose sight of His presence as we become wrapped up and overtaken by narcissistic thoughts and actions. But God is still with us...we are often still His temple. All living creatures need water to survive,
and Christ is the Living Water (John 7:37-38) necessary for our eternal survival. The world circles overhead waiting to swoop down and devour our being if we neglect the Living Water by not talking to Him, spending time in His word, focusing on others with love and not rage in our hearts, and following His commandments. We are temples of God reborn and set in motion to do all things for His Kingdom.

He makes it so easy if we can just remember He is always near.

I had a completely different post written out for today that became garbled on a thumb drive beyond recovery...or did it? That's one of the greatest things about God always being near...He always has something to say if I just shut up and let Him do the talking.

Ox

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

I work in a satellite warehouse and some days I make deliveries to the main facility. It is there where I see a Brutha in Christ and we try to get caught up on each others lives in a few quick moments depending upon how pressing the work is. We will dialogue about the kids, wives and Jesus. Steve and I used to get together and pray after work, so we will also take prayer requests from each other. Depending upon how urgent the prayer is, we may pray right there.

Mind you, Steve is a pretty laid back guy, very humble and a great worker. I tend to be a little bit more vocal and more willing to chat than he will be. I am the one who will start up the prayers and afterwards say goodbye with a "Love you, Bro!” and a slap on the shoulder.

Steve is also a great servant. I wanna gloss the Brutha as "Ox" because I have known very few others that are as great of example of a servant as Steve. But Steve just doesn't look like an "Ox" and I think it would embarrass him being called "Ox" knowing how I intended it. (For those that know the Steve I am talking about, can you tell I wanna get the nickname 'Ox' to stick, so help me out here and holler 'Ox' when you see Steve.)

When my family and I moved to CR, Steve loaned me his lawn mower because by the time we moved in (which Steve helped with) the grass was way too tall for me to cut down with my manual lawn mower. As I was nearing the end of the hay baling, the arm on his mower snapped near the deck. I told Steve about it when he came by to pick it up, because that is just the type of guy he is, I told him I could fix it and he refused saying he would take care of it.

The next summer my wife was having a yard sale and she made it very clear that the straggly weeds that withstood the onslaught of my furious manual lawn mowing needed to be cut down. So, of course I hit up the guy whose lawn mower I had previously borrowed and broken. I stopped by his house after work to pick up the mower, this time refusing his offer to bring it to me. Not only did he loan the mower to me, he filled it up with gas.

Steve is an awesome dude who is willing to help anyone. I could tell about the time his work day ended with a jerk coworker dumping on him and on his way home he helped out a stranded motorist on a cold, rainy day by running person to the other side of town, only to get to his driveway when his wife called his celly and asked him to run to the grocery store. And he did all of this without complaining. I could also tell about the time, he and his wife babysat my youngest son on a couple of hours notice so I could accept the dare from another Brutha to get a tattoo on my tongue. Or the times he...I guess I could continue to give examples of Steve's generosity and willingness.

I didn't write this to just hype up a great friend and a great man of Jesus, I wrote this because of what I realized about Steve today. For months now, when I have seen Steve while making a delivery, I have seen in my mind's eye Psalm 20:4 written across his chest. "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." I have told Steve this and encouraged him to pray even bigger. I have encouraged Steve pray for relationships restored, kids and grandkids serving the Kingdom and anything else he could think of every time I would see in the Spirit Psalm 20:4 stamped across his heart.

It was today that I understood why I kept seeing this. See, Steve is such a servant, so unselfish that he is a reflection of Jesus. And because Steve is like Jesus in his willingness to esteem others better than himself  that also he prays like Jesus. Steve prays for the things that are eternal, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Because Steve gives up his time, convenience and comfort to help others, he mirrors what Jesus did by giving up the His place in heaven to become flesh and serve all of humanity by dying for our sins. And just like with Christ's service in which people take for granted what He did, I believe there are people who have taken for granted what Steve does. And similar to Jesus, Steve just keeps serving and loving people has Holy Spirit gives opportunity.

Please don't misunderstand me, Steve ain't Jesus! He can't pay the price for his own sins let alone anyone else’s. Steve is far from perfect and I have heard him tell me that many times. Not out of a false sense of humility or insecurity, but out of a desire to be better.

I believe it is because Steve truly has the heart of a servant that God will give him the desires of his heart and make Steve's plans succeed. Steve isn't praying from the mind but praying from his heart, a faithful heart that is submitted to serving Jesus by serving others. This is the reason God will answer Steve's prayers and it will be the reason "We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God." It is also the reason why I say to Steve, "May the LORD grant all your requests." Psalm 20:5

I Do What Makes Me Happy

Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Psalm 100.2

 I do have bigger aspirations than just blogging for the Kingdom or ministering to those around me, but I am content, I am happy doing what I do. Holy Spirit will burden me to do small things that bring joy to others that might not get the Love of Jesus any other way. I get to see the look on people's faces when I tell them that 'Jesus told me to do this for you'. I get the joy of knowing that what I did was an exact answer to a prayer cried out in distress. In some circumstances, serving God is a way my wife and I teach our kids Galatians 6.2, Galatians 6.10 and James 2.15-17.  There have been times  when I have done things anonymously and I still get to 'rewarded' with a 'praise report'.

 Early in my walk I could get caught up in wanting to change the world and reach millions but I ignored the changes I could make in the lives of those around me. I overlooked the people that God had directed me into their lives to be a reflection of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5.13-14

 I began to see the poor are all around me. The poor in Spirit, the poor in strength, the poor in stature and the poor in wealth were everywhere. As Holy Spirit led I would find someone in need and help them.

Proverbs 19.17

I stopped asking God what He can do for me, I began asking God what I could do for Him. I asked God what I could do for someone else! I began giving the person in need my money, my prayers and my time. Even when need was greater than what I could meet, I did my best to give them Jesus. I am still looking forward to the time when all I can give someone is Jesus.

Acts 3.6

Will I meet every need that I come across? Probably not. But I can definitely pray for those needs and I can act upon what Holy Spirit leads me to do. I have to remember to not judge the situation or the person and to just be obedient to what Jesus wants me to do. I can be Grace of Jesus, I can be the Love of Christ by simply acting upon what God is leading me to do.

Philippians 2.3-4

Some of the ways I have served God include:

• Not just telling someone to 'call anytime', but making the time to call them anytime.
• Not just saying I will pray for you, but praying for them at that moment.
• Not just making plans to 'get together', but actually scheduling a time to call or meet in person.
• Not just calling to talk, but calling with the intent to listen. (This is one I need a lot of work at doing!)

Simply put, I try to offer those in need my time, my convenience and my personal comfort. I try to be the friend that I want and be like the friends that I have been blessed with. By doing so, I serve God and I do what makes me happy.

It Costs How Much?

Talk about a serve ball! I think it would be good to hit that ball by responding about Norway. What a trip that was! I am Norwegian and had a lifelong dream to visit the land of my father. I am an ordained minister but more importantly a radical follower of Jesus Christ. To combine these two was golden. Along with all the things David mentioned yesterday, I was able to visit the church that was the mother church of Norwegian Pentecostalism. I had my picture taken in this church with my sort of spiritual grandparents. I did a short video presentation for class last summer tracing my personal spiritual history back to the Azusa Street Revival via Norway. You can see it here. I can do that on my mother’s side as well – but honestly, who cares?  What is important is that I know Jesus now, not what my parents or ancestors knew. Nonetheless, I am very thankful for my unique and strong spiritual heritage.

Me in Filadelphia church by the relief of Thomas Ball Barratt and his wife Laura

As much as I want to talk about Norway, I think God has sent me another ball to hit for this blog today about serving. Where I learned the most about serving and death to self (they do go hand in hand you know) was when I owned my own coffee shop. I had taken courses in “total quality management” as a municipal administrator, so I knew the concepts of customer service. I knew that it was always about “serving your customer” whoever that was or how it looked. However, when you own your own business, it is different.

I had this dream (now I wonder if it wasn’t a nightmare) of owning a bookstore. I think 95% of my friends have had that same dream. I wanted a coffee bar inside my bookstore – you know, a mini-Barnes & Nobles. Of course, I wanted to sell Christian books and be a witness for the Lord. My dream first came in Connecticut.

My husband thought he was fulfilling my dream, but it wasn’t what I thought it would be.  Are they ever fulfilled like you think they will be? I got the coffee part of the dream. I started out with great equipment for drip coffee and went through several household espresso machines. We had bought a commercial one on ebay but it never worked except for the steamer. It was a $1500 steamer and nothing more.

I never had any books in the shop other than some books for people to read while they were there. We did play Christian music and I did often stop what I was doing and pray for people. It was a Christian business.

Serving people is hard. Anyone who works with the “public” knows that. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. to go and make coffee, make the gravy and the biscuits, bake some cookies, and all the other early morning tasks. I felt at times like I was on autopilot as I scurried across the cement floor. I was alone most mornings. We never could afford to hire help. Our help was my daughter who did an amazing job but was also pregnant or caring for her infant daughter most of the time we owned the shop.

I learned that serving is hard work. I learned that serving is sacrificial. Everything I desired for myself was put on hold so that the customer could be pleased and taken care of. I had no boss other than myself. I was worse to myself than any boss I ever had before.

I also learned that serving requires everything you have, all your resources, all your energy, all your time – ALL, EVERYTHING, TOTAL! Perhaps that is why when we talk about serving the Lord and serving His body, the church (not the building, the people) we want to run the other way.

I worked my tail off and then some. I ruined my knees forever scurrying around on that concrete floor. We lost a lot of money. We didn’t lose everything, but it took a huge toll on everything in our life.  Serving is hard. And yet, during this Holy Week I wonder, how is your serve? Are you willing to take up your cross and follow? It cost Jesus everything. He said if we want to be great we must be the servant of all. ALL? Does that mean all of you? What do you think?

My Serve is Not So Good, and My Norwegian is Worse

When Mary Anne and I were dating, we used to enjoy playing tennis with my older girls who were 12 and 15 at the time. I suppose that we might have called it "chase the ball," but we had fun. Let's just say we were bad at it. Even so, my oldest didn't really like the ball coming at her too fast. When I was serving, as soon as she heard the twang of racket strings meeting the rubber ball, she would just lay down on the court as the lime green ball zipped somewhere overhead. We still laugh about it today.

This week your Kingdom Bloggers are going to talk about a time they had the privileged to serving God. In the midst of doing something for the Kingdom, God often increases our compassion, our faith and brings us closer to Him. You can be certain that serving is not about thanks, or getting your name in the bulletin, it is an extension of who God has made you.

In the fall of 2001, Mary Anne and I had just returned from a conference in Connecticut. During the service it was announced that they were taking a short-term mission team to Norway. It sounded nice and we talked to the pastor in the hallway about it. He made a personal invitation to both of us.

Early that year, I had met a woman with a prophetic gift at a conference in Florida. We kept in touch via an occasional email. In 2002 she sent me a message about a dream which she felt was for me. She had seen a map and began to list the names of countries that she felt I was supposed to visit. The dream was intriguing and I had a "witness" to it. The list was not totally unfamiliar, as I had already Davi. I had also spoken to a couple of pastors about going to a number of other locations. The email read:

David, I saw a map of the world, and on it there were certain countries that were highlighted. South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, a couple of countries in the British Isles and one way up near the Arctic Circle, I think Norway, the one that reaches farthest North.

A word like that will get you thinking - especially if you have another one that says "I see you flying here and there." I decided to look into the Norway trip. I was pretty expensive, and the training classes 170 miles away. It would have to be God.

What I love about the Kingdom is that when we work to hear God's voice, and we listen to Him, things do happen. It is a process that is filled with faith, doubt and some real excitement. Hearing from God requires obedience, and I personally don't find that easy when whatever it is, seems too far out of reach.

As a Christian I find two things a little unnerving: 1) hearing God, and 2) not hearing God. If you are like me, you want to know what God would like for you to do. However; when I get the message, and the confirmations, I still doubt it.

I went through the checklist for the trip. Desire to Go; check, Passport; check, Money, no check, Ability to figure this out on my own; no check. I started t pray. I even talked it over with a pastor and he said that I probably should not go. He sort of made is sound like he thought that is what God was saying.

I had to weigh my desire to go against the counsel of a friend who cared about me. Maybe it wasn't time. I had a pretty tough couple of years with the divorce, losing my mother and things like that. But in my heart, I still felt like I should go. An unexpected check showed up for enough to make the 1/3 deposit on the trip. I prayed over it for about 7 seconds and sent in my deposit. The rest of the money came in from the offerings of friends and family - some not even Christians!

I arrived in Oslo May 22, 2002. Norway was wonderful and the Lord moved powerfully. It would be hard to report every experience because there were so many God-moments. (Some of those will be in my book.) Basically we spent a day on the street inviting people to the conference, Friends of The Bridegroom; which ran four sessions over 2 days. We attended Sunday services in various locations, had a bunch of team meetings, a trip or 2 to Oslo along with a day of prayer walking various sites throughout the region. Then there was the traveling, flights, airports and buses. Oh yes, we even got some sleep.

Eight years later, I still savor the things that God did: chasing a demon out of my room, multiplying paper invitations in my pocket, and the opportunity to work with a team of about 50 Americans and Norwegians. (Joyce Lighari was one of them.) We prayed where the Nazi's had murdered Norwegian Jews, walked where the kings walked, and took communion in the oldest church in Norway.

I think that serving God is fascinating, how about you?