We are back on the air...

It has been a few weeks since I have last posted and many things have happened. So much so that I probably could write for days and still not list all the exciting things going on. Let me start by working backwards in this timeline and finish with a great praise.

This weekend shaped up to be a weekend like any other, but something happened that I/We were not prepared for: The worst ice storm I have every faced. This year we had two ice storms, with a possible third coming tomorrow, but the latter was much worse than the earlier one. We had tree branches cracking and falling everywhere. Most of Galesburg lost their power. We were one of the fortunate ones to keep their power, which was a great answer to prayer. About 12:00 on Saturday, I went in to our Boys room and told them, “Boys, I don’t want you to be afraid or even worried, but this storm is looking to be a pretty big one. I want you to start praying now that we don’t lose power. If we do we will be fine, but let’s pray that we don’t.” So we started praying, all of us, and we lost no power. What a tremendous answer to prayer as well as a great way to show our boys how much prayer really works. Some may say it is a coincidence, but I say it is a great God answer the prayers of our family!

A few weeks before this, we sat down with our Pastor and shared our heart for the ministry. I have no doubt in my mind that I will Pastor a Church one day, but God has not set that passion in my heart…not yet. I still have a strong passion for our young people today more specifically teens. After sharing this with our Pastor and my wife pretty much echoing the same he asked if we would consider accepting the position as youth pastor of our Church. What an answer to prayer. We did not anticipate this happening, but we do praise God for the opportunity to serve him again, but what we did know is that we have a strong desire to minister to the teenagers of the Galesburg area. We may have lost our previous job, but never lost our passion and now God is allowing us the opportunity to see that Passion visualized.

As I write this, I think of what we will be training our teens in and the thought weeks ago came to my mind. I remember the phrase growing up that was used so often to tell a person to stop acting fake and be sincere. It was a simple phrase, two words actually, just simply stated, “Get Real!” Then the thought hit me…this is what our Churches need, a sense of reality. Most Churches are ritualized, not sincere. Most go through the motions but have not thought as to the heart. With that thought in mind, I want to help our teens “Get Real” but more specifically become “Real Teens.” I will give more on my thoughts on this later, but for now, I think it is time to “Get Real.” We have real problems, we live in the real world, but we have a real God who solves real problems in the real world. It is time to get to know him more and see what he has in store for us. Let’s get real!

It's so cold the penguins need a jacket!!!

Okay...I have had the opportunity to experience cold outside, but yesterday and today…oh my! It is so cold outside I think the snowmen need a jacket! Okay, bad jokes aside, it is cold! I took my kids to Wal-mart with me this weekend to pick up some paint for our kitchen makeover project, and Jacob go so cold he started crying. It is cold. We went to Lowes next and I dropped them off at the door so they wouldn’t freeze which turned out to be great since there is a heater right by the entryway. Dylan asked if we could stay there and warm up before we went inside. It is cold. As I sit here and type this in my warm office, I realize there are men and women working out there in the elements and my heart goes out to them. But then a thought comes across my mind…

I stopped to think of the cold and the pains that come with the exposure to it and think am I unique in this experience. Well of course not, but think this through with me. It is not unique to you or me, but it is not unique to Jesus Christ either. We think so often of the wonderful miracles of Christ, the great speaking of Christ, the hunger, the agony on the Cross of Calvary, but do you ever stop to think about the day-to-day experiences my Lord faced as well? God loved you and me so much to face the list above, even more, but think for a minute about the cold. Ever stop to think of Jesus Christ got cold?

One of the greatest things about our Saviour is the fact that he came from perfection, Heaven, and faced the imperfections of this world so that we might be free from our Sin. He knew the hungers he would face, he knew the pains he would experience, he knew there would be days where he was going to be cold. You ever go to sleep when it is cold only to sleep miserable and wake up the next day feeling miserable and then not really wanting to “act” or maybe “live” like a Christian? Ever think God did? He faced the same cold pains we faced and still woke up in the morning and continued to be what he was…not only the Christ, but the example for our lives. What a great thing to think, my God loved us so much to face all these things so I can live with him in that perfect place when he calls me home. Praise the Lord!