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Why We Shouldn’t Interpret God’s Silence As His Absence

Why We Shouldn’t Interpret God’s Silence As His Absence

Have you ever been in a circumstance where there seems to be no solutions? Have you ever been in a circumstance where there are lots of options, but none of them are good?

All of us have a picture of what our lives are supposed to look like…and for many of us that vision is a distorted reality. We all step into a space like this at some point in our lives and we can’t see a way forward or a way out.

what’s even worse is the lives of everybody else around you magnify the tough reality of what you will never have and we slip into this “it is what it is” narrative.

Does this sound familiar?

From my own experience, in these seasons of life, we draw some really bad conclusions and we begin telling ourselves some deep lies. Like; “I will never find happiness again.” or “Nothing good can come from my circumstance.” or “I don’t see any point continuing on…I give up.”

Have you told yourself any of these things?

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November 17, 2015 Filed Under: Life Tagged With: featured, God, Jesus, life

Why Waiting On God Is Frustrating And Transforming

Why Waiting On God Is Frustrating And Transforming

In the months following Promise Keepers, the Lord moved me into a season of learning the importance of being still and waiting upon Him. This was not a time of inactivity, but a time when I was learning how to rest in Him through the circumstances that came my way. These were extremely difficult, lonely, and necessary lessons to learn for my growth. It was not my nature to be still, to wait, and to remain idle; I kept hammering at God with absolutely no answer! I continued crying out to God, waiting for Him to show up on the scene and fix things, but nothing happened, and I became more and more frustrated. Needing Him every day, I would ask Him where He had gone. It was like a scene from a long family road trip with the kids in the back of the vehicle incessantly saying, “Are we there yet?” and the parents finally uttering a simple “No.”

After some time the Lord would answer me by directing me to Psalms 46:10a, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Not particularly liking this response, I continued to grumble, so God used an e-mail from my cousin to get His point across in a different way. The e-mail had a poem called “Wait” attached to it; check it out.

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November 10, 2015 Filed Under: Journal Tagged With: crisis, faith, featured, God, life, seasons

Can One Person Make a Difference?

Can One Person Make a Difference?

Being Fall in New Hampshire, I spent most of the day in the yard blowing leaves into the woods and winterizing my summer equipment. As late afternoon approached and the daylight started retreating, I decided to call it quits and head in to grab something to eat and watch some TV. Of course I couldn’t find anything of interest to watch on my hundred channel cable listing, so decided to see what was on On-Demand.

Was all caught up on my favorite shows, so decided to check out what was on HBO. At first nothing caught my eye until I say McFarland USA and after a quick trip over to IMDb to see what this movie was about, I decided to watch it. McFarland, USA is based on a true story and an inspiring sports drama starring Kevin Costner about an unlikely group of high-school runners competing in 1987 California.

Kevin Costner plays Jim White, a high school football coach with a history of losing his temper coaching and getting fired. Because of his track record any new job opportunities become harder to get that he has no other choice to accept an assistant coaching position at a small town school in McFarland, California. Jim packs up and moves his whole family into the poor farming town of McFarland and soon regrets his decision. McFarland, which is predominantly Hispanic, was not the suburban neighborhood Jim wanted for his family, but his wife convinces him to stay and give it a go.

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November 3, 2015 Filed Under: Community Tagged With: courage, faith, featured, heart, kids, life, story

What Greatness Is Not!

What Greatness Is Not!

Well, here is where my story begins…

Like most men, I wanted to do something great with my life. Like most men, I desperately wanted to be “somebody.” Like most men, the focus was on me!

I had it all, I was addicted to winning at all cost and over time and I completely lost myself in the pursuit of greatness. My identity became to twisted and interwoven in position, prosperity and power that the man God created me to be…was barely recognizable!

The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.

—Norman Vincent Peale

I was an easy target for the narrative of the world and I exchanged “the truth of God” for a lie and destroyed myself and my family in the process of wanting greatness.

This is what greatness is not! So, what is greatness?

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October 27, 2015 Filed Under: Life Tagged With: featured, identity, Jesus, life, self

What Willy Wonka Can Teach Us About God’s Promises

What Willy Wonka Can Teach Us About God’s Promises

Whether you’re new to the Christian faith or have walked it out with Jesus for years, have you ever pounded your head against a tree trying to wrap yourself around versus such as:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13

So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. -Matthew 17:20

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. -John 14:13

We all want to believe versus like this, but many of us don’t experience the promises that these verses offer. Have you noticed that no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem do ALL things through Christ?

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October 20, 2015 Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: faith, featured, life, pride

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Freedom is the cornerstone of Christianity. -Brennan Manning

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Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. -1 Corinthians 16:13-14

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