I thought I was ready but it just wasn’t time.

The service that I sat in was the first and only service that I did anything in regard to the media ministry. I am not exactly sure why things did not work out, but I think there were still some areas in my life that God still needed to work on. It was kind of weird not being involved but I think you need to learn how to receive as a Christian and walk the walk before you can minster. So that is what I did. During that time my wife and I attended a couple of small groups so we still had fellowship and got to know people in the church. We are still involved with the small groups today.

Over the last six months due to some personal circumstances I saw the need to spend more time with God personally and began to do so. During that time I read the book Caught Between A Dream and A Job and am currently reading The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? In both of these books they talk about how God has a plan for your life and how you were created for a purpose. I believe both of these things and set out to see what it is that God has to do for me here on earth.

There are a couple of ways that I am seeking God in order to find out my purpose.

The first is that I am trying to spend time with Him daily and work on the areas that He shows me to work on. The bible says that if I draw close to Him that He will draw close to me. I figure the closer that I am to Him the more likely I am going to get a glimpse of what He has created me for.

The second thing that I am doing is opening myself to be used by Him at church. Before it was difficult with the kids and having to sit through services by myself and/or have my wife be by herself. This time around the church is a little more flexible in that you can tell them when you are available to work. My wife and I chose the same schedule for availability for Wednesdays every other week. We may be working in different ministries but we will still be able to be in service together in the weeks that we are not working. That works much better for us.

I also requested information on another ministry that is outside of regular services times. I will have to see what the commitment for that one is before I can say whether I can be involved in it.

I think things are different this time around because I do not feel compelled to get involved out of habit. I am getting involved because I desire to. I want to do my part no matter how small to make my church a better place so that hopefully others can get closer to God. We will see how it goes.

The thing that got me about this video is that I knew him when he first got started and actually helped him knock down a couple of the walls that he mentioned. The other part of the video that got me is that there is actually a picture of him and I together at around the 2:29 minute mark. It is really something to remember where he and I can from and to see where we are now. 

My congratulations go out to Jason, his wife and family, and his ministry for the blessing that God has on their lives.

P.S. Jason, if you read this setup some Podcasts of your messages so I can listen to them!

Well here is a nice list of updates of what I have been doing the last 7 months:

1. I quit the Media Ministry. I went to one training session and knew it was not time to get involved.
2. I quit school. Was not the time either. I was not spending as much time with my family as I wanted. Also it was very expensive verses the return. 
3. Started making some good, steady, money from blogging which helped our cash flow.
4. In addition to the blogging I got a steady side part-time job doing web design.
5. In addition to that I have had more side web design projects then I have wanted (OK, I wanted them).
6. Prayed for the last 5 months about buying a bigger house and finally put the deposit down this past weekend on it.
7. Have been pretty steady in going to church during that time.
8. Had a “Connection” with my pastor. No, I have not met him but he said a couple of things in a service that I felt spiritually connected me to him/the church.
9. Joined a “Connection Group” from the church. Went to the first and only meeting so far. It was cool. Really nice people.
10. Feel like I am closer to God then ever. I am led more by His peace then ever before in my life. I am comfortable with not moving (if at all) until He tells me it is time to move.

That’s it. 7 months wrapped up in a 10 point list.

The last 7 months have been good and I really feel that God has been working on my character during that time. The biggest area that He has been working on me has been managing my time between being a good Christian/husband/father/son/employee/business owner. It can be challenging, some days are better then others, but I am here and still kicking.

I am not making any promises on when the next post will be or frequency of posts. I am still alive though and throw something up here when the spirit moves me.

Until then…

It is hard to get to church with 3 little ones.

Last weekend we were dressed and on our way and our daughter fell asleep during the 10 minute ride to church. It just so happens that church is right at the time of her first nap of the day.

This Sunday she did the same thing but instead we went anyway and hung out in the family room during service. A family room is a separate room from the sanctuary that has a couple of couches and a video feed of the service. It for families with little ones that are either sick or are not doing so great in classes. It is also for people like us that had one that was asleep.

Anyway, because of the room we were able to go and hear the message. It is nice that our church has thought of people like us and has made such a room.

Technorati Tags: Church, Family Room, Christianity

In last week’s service they announced the first of a few classes to become members of the church and eventually serve in a ministry within the church. Feeling good we signed up for class that was supposed to be this past Sunday.

During the week I picked up a little side job to bring in some extra cash since the wife is staying home now. I was gearing up to take on more projects on the side also. On Friday I got an e-mail from a company that wanted so refreshing of their web site and a little marketing direction.

After a 1 hour + “free” consultation on that Saturday and 4 e-mails from the company on Sunday (I did not respond to them) I was feeling pretty worn out.

We could use the extra cash coming in to make things a little more comfortable financially and that job would have been a nice chunk of change. The thing of it was that the little bit I was taking on was wearing me out to the point that I did not want to got to the first class that we had signed up for at Church.

In talking with the wife we narrowed it down to the fact that we are really used to biting off more then we can chew and then rushing around. This is really not what God wants.

We decided that we are going to give it another couple of months before we consider the whole membership/ministry track at church. Also, I am not going to pick up extra projects on the side, not right now, maybe somewhere down the road.

The thing is that we have small children that need us to be around. If we spend the time now to be there and nurture them then we and then are not going to face as many issues when they are older. We chalked this whole thing up to a “growing up” lesson.

Technorati : Christianity, Church, Family, God, Jesus, Ministry

We went to 2 Wednesday services and 1 Sunday service. We missed one Sunday services because we were convinced that the kids were falling a sleep on the way to church so we did not go. They ended up staying up until well past when service would have been over. They are going no matter what next time.

The other good thing that has happened is that my daughter is not freaking out when we leave her in class. A few weeks back the had to flash our number on the screen to go pick her up because she just did not want to be there. Well this Sunday the had to chase her to pick her up to give her to us to leave – that’s a good thing.

The other good thing that has come out of this is that we have decided to attend the first of 4 sessions to become members of the church. The first session is a dinner with the Pastors at the church as the go over the history and vision of the church. I think that it is really cool that the Pastors still do this even though the church is a few thousand people now.

My wife and I have decided that we are going to go through the process of becoming members and then volunteer in the ministries that we enjoy. Her – with the kids. Me – in the media ministry. I’ve got my eye on their web site (don’t get me wrong, it is one of the best I have seen from a church, but it is not updated regularly and could use a little polishing).

Anyway, it is nice to be in the land of the living again.

Technorati : Christianity, Church, God. Blog, Jesus, Ministry, media ministry

The first week was because we had out-of-town guests. The second was because my wife’s parents were out of town (not sure why that was a factor). This past weekend was because I was kind of tired and had got busy going some other things.

They are really weak reasons excuses but that is why we have not been there. We are not planning on going this Sunday either – more guests. Instead we are planning on hitting the mid-week service. I have been told that the mid-week service is even better then the Sunday Service so I am looking forward to that.

I have to say that I feel the difference between going to church and not going to church. I am more tired, irritated, and less excited about life in general without going to church. I look forward to going back.

Technorati : Chrisitan, Christianity, Church, Going to Church

My oldest son loves church. As soon as he pulls up he can not wait to get to class. My daughter on the other hand has not got used to it yet.

Last week when we dropped her off and she cried for most of the time. This week wasn’t that different so we took her in service with us. After about 10 minutes I decide to try and take her back to class. As soon as we got there she started crying again so I decided to go and check on my youngest son on the nursery.

There we were met by a nice woman who offered to take my daughter but of course she did not want to go with her. The lady then asked if I wanted to come in and sit with my daughter so that she would feel comfortable. I did.

While sitting there I talked with the lady and she mentioned that her and her husband and a church dinner group and that we should come. I told her that sounded nice and would consider it. After about 10 minutes I was able to leave the classroom without my daughter and go back to service.

After service I told my wife and she said that we should go to the one that they were having that evening – we went.

It was a nice casual evening where we met 3-4 other couples and just talked about whatever. Some topics were about God and church and some where not. It was a good way to get to know other people in the church. We are planning on going back again in 2 weeks.

I have to say that my wife and I had wanted to get involved in something to meet people but had not made that connection. That simple invitation was the open door that made it easier for us to meet new people.

Technorati : Christian Fellowship, Christians, Church

This past Sunday was a whole lot different then any service that I had attended in a long time. I was relaxed and having a good time worshiping God. It was really cool.

The coolest thing was that I was having a good time before the real cool stuff started to happen.

As you know this past Sunday was father’s day. The church that I attend is really cool about doing things in regards to holidays so of course they had something special planned.

The first things that they did was to give a cool little key chain pocket knife and a free cup of Starbucks coffee to each of the dads that came to service. The pocket knife wasn’t cheap and it is on my key chain as I write. I got my FREE tall cafe mocha at one of the 2 IN-HOUSE coffee shops as we where going out the door. Sweet.

The other cool thing is that our church is really into multimedia and did a little video with our Pastor riding through the fields near the church doing goofy things. At one point he is standing up with his arms raised as the camera slowly circles him the the music from Titanic playing. Funkadelic.

Anyway, it is nice to go to a modern down to earth ministry with a sense of humor. Oh, and yes, I do know what he preached on. It was about how we need to be different from the norm and stick out for God (well that’s what I got from it anyway).

It is really nice to be back in church.

Technorati : Father’s Day, Going to Church, Walking with God

With going back to church I have found that I have been listening to the Christian radio stations more also. I have to say that my perception of Christianity and church was pretty messed up there for a while, but I feel as though I am coming out.

I have to say that it is a weird feeling to sit there in church and not have to be concerned about how the audio sounds or if the usher is doing his job. I am discovering that I really have not sat in church and been a Christian for a very long time. Ever since I was about 6 months in to Christianity I have been involved in some sort of ministry. That has been 10 years.

Honestly the feeling that I had in regards to ministry and church was that I had been taken advantage of. Now I know and understand that being used by God is an honor but that is not what I am talking about. I felt taken advantage of by ministers, not by God.

It is understandable that in a small ministry that a person who is serious about God is going to be a prime candidate for working with the kids or running the sound board. Unfortunately though, a lot of times ministers are so focused on the goal on the ministry that they do not take into account the people who are doing the work.

When I came to Christ I was 20 years old. I wasn’t just growing up as a Christian, I was growing up as a person. I did not understand about priorities and balancing your life, I learned ministry, ministry, ministry.

Before I go on I just have to sidebar and say that I am speaking of my own experience with the ministries that I have been involved. I know and understand that not all ministries are the same. I now know that as an individual that we are all responsible for how we spend our time. Unfortunately I did not know that then. I figured that when you became a Christian you gave your life to God (literally) and that you just worked for Him now – He was the most important thing (ministry was attached to that).

There is a time and place for that but I think that Ministerial staff is in a very delicate position. I think that they need to be sensitive to people’s lives – outside of church and ministry – and make sure that they are balanced. Most people when they come to God are not in the best place in their life. They come to God and feel good with the way that they feel now that He lives in them. Unfortunately though a lot of times people are high on this feeling and throw their common sense out the window.

This is what I did. I was young and I did not have a good sense of common sense developed yet so I did not have that stopgap to help me stay balanced. 10 years later I am developing that but I often find myself swinging from one side to the other. On one hand I am mad because I feel like I have been used by the church. On the other hand I feel guilty for not doing my part in the church. Today, I am trying to find the happy medium between the two.

So anyway, I feel that I am in a different phase of my Christianity where I am learning what a balanced life is and how to have one. Going to church is a definite. I need and want God in my life, I need and want him in my family’s life. Church helps us to be mindful of God, who he is and who we are in Him.

I thank God that He is so loving and forgiving. He is never overbearing or bossy, he is a loving dad. I look at my oldest son and know that their is nothing that I wouldn’t do for him. I know that God feels the same for me. I know that God loves me whether I go to church or I don’t, whether I talk to Him or I don’t. But I do want to go to church and talk to Him, not because I have to, but because I want to, and that is what He wants.

Anyway, God is good, church is good, and I am learning how to be a normal Christian and my family and I are attending church.

Technorati : Backside, Backsliden, Christian, Christianity, Coming Back to God, Going to Church, Walking with God