Bringing the word.....

I am always excited to have the change to share the word of God with people. I will have that pleasure this Friday at skate night while JD is out of town talking with Pro Skaters and other people about skate ministry. My greatest passion in my life is God and his written word. I am not sure what I am going to talk on. I am used to teaching in sequence from one verse to the next. I have never just taught on a topical level before. I only have one night to teach so that is what I am left with. I'm not big on night after night of salvation messages. I believe the word should be taught as it is written. That way the people listening get to digest Gods word fully.

Don't get me wrong salvation messages are great but you can't sustain a health Christian walk off of them. You need to get down to the meat of biblical teachings in order to do that. Salvation messages are like reading the overview of a book that you find on the inside of the covers of books. You get an idea about what the book is about. However you don't get the full story. In order to understand God and his word. You have to read it from begining to end. I believe that is how it should be taught as well.

So I am praying that God will give me the words to speak this Friday. It is a humbling experience when you are in front of 80 - 100 people and they are listening to your every word. Distraction can take its toll when speaking and you can loose your pace and then your whole message looses steam it seems. I hope that some day soon there will be more time for me to bring the word more often. Right now I am just going at a pace that the Lord has given me that is good for ministry as well as family.

New Blog Layout (Old School)

I forgot about this layout I had created for my blog. I decided to go back to it because it is one of my favorites. Don't get me wrong I love the Homer Simpson layout but this one is more my style. I like creating things on photo shop. Blogger layouts take a lot of tweaking and quite a bit of time so I don't do them often. I doubt I will attempt a new one anytime soon. Well I am off to bed I'll blog at you all later!

I just want to sleep.

I just want to sleep. (The shortest blog entry ever!)

Thanksgiving......

This year we spent Thanksgiving with our good friends Seth and Jill from Church. We ate a ton of food and played board games and then hit the Wii. Overall it was an awesome night. I really enjoy spending time with them and the kids do as well. They have children around the same age and they are constantly working up plans to spend the night before asking us parents. They already have the nights planned and how they are going to establish a ride to and from houses. It is really cool that the kids enjoy each others company as much as the adults do. That is a rare thing to come by and I feel totally blessed by it.

Seth and I are talking of going shooting here soon. We talked about that a bit last night. I just have to pick up some ammo for my pistol and it is a go! Stacey and Jill want to go as well so that would be a fun double date! Flowers, shooting guns and then dinner! Sounds like a Montana double date to me! Tonight we are heading to skate night with a brand new case of bibles. Sabriand was kind enough to donate them to our cause. What a blessing it is to see kids receive their first bible! They are so excited and it is totally awesome to see them that way about God! Sabriand stated he was going to stop in tonight, so I am super stoked to introduce him to the kids!

Josh my little brother is going to attend as well to see the kids skate. The kids are going to love showing off for their uncle. I think he is going to be surprised at what they can do. I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving!

Also at Chruch the other night they did a video asking the Children what they were thankful for. Being that our Church is an old movie theater they played it on the big screen. I was so proud to hear my two boy proclaim they were Thnakful for Jesus. It shows that they are getting what they have been learning not only from us but also from the Church and skate ministry. Here is the video....Kids are so cute and funny!


Untitled from Fresh Life Church on Vimeo.

God Answers All Prayers

My pastor once stated in a message. God answers all prayers all of the time. However he doesn't always say yes. He also says no in wisdom. I have always known that but for some reason it never really clicked until I heard it put that way. So many times I have prayed and it seemed an answer would never come. However in reality it did come in the form of a no. So prayers that seem to go unanswered don't really if you look at it through the light of God answers no in wisdom.

When I was in seventh grade I had a girlfriend named Stacey. Like a kid with a crush I would pray to God that one day I would marry Stacey and have three kids with her. Two boys and one girl. After about two weeks and a fight breaking someones nose defending her honor and giving her roses. She dumped me and I was crushed and realized my prayers would never be answered. This illustrates how God says no in wisdom. She was not the one for me and I wasn't the one for her and God knew this.

This also shows that God has a sense of humor. Little did I know that a Girl I went to grade school with and never knew, who played in the same school band that I did would end up being my wife. Not to mention her name is Stacey and we have two boys and one girl. God says no in wisdom so that we live as he knows is best for us. My family is my life that is a gift straight from God. So next time you think God isn't listening. Know that you are wrong in assuming that. He hears and See's all and makes all things possible.

God isn't a genie in a lamp and he doesn't grant wishes, however he blesses us in all prayers even if the blessing isn't visible. What would have happened if he answered that prayer I prayed in seventh grade the way I wanted him to? Would I be happy with that answer. My guess is no, and I know God had this life planned for me already. He wanted to show me that even though he said no to the original prayer. He said yes at the same time and let it be with my beautiful wife. Yesterday it has been 12 year to the day that we became boyfriend and girlfriend.

She still loves me even though I have lost my hair and gained a love handle. She puts up with my faults and still loves to cuddle me even though I hog the bed. I have been blessed to have such a wonderful wife and family. Together we endure much and help each other through the trials of this world. God is good and I know his plan is the best one.

Written by request.......

My sister pointed out to me that I wasn't blogging as much as I used to. She stated that I had got her addicted to reading it and that I wasn't keeping up with her addiction demands. So thus I am blogging right now while watching peoples court. Sis this blogs for you! So you can't say I didn't deliver. As for life situations that I usually blog about. Stacey and I have decided to take a step back from the Skate ministry.

Meaning we won't be running the Saturday skate nights anymore. It was something we prayed over for a few weeks. However I will bring the word on occasion because it is my passion to teach the word. I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. I love to teach kids what I never learned when I was their age! In fact you can't shut me up if we get on the topic of the bible. I live it and breath it, and I love it with all my being.

Off topic and completely out of nowhere. My wife just stated that if I weren't married with kids. I'd be a dork with a room full of mint condition comic books that were wrapped in plastic and stored in boxes. I replied that I wouldn't be that way however I would have a room full of Lord Of The Rings sword collection and I'd live in a hobbit hole. I hope that this fulfills your blogging addiction sis!

Crazy times.

I have to look at things and evaluate where I am in my walk with God, and where my family life is. As of now it seems we have no time to rest and we are constantly on the move. Always doing something but not allowing enough time for family bonding. We love ministering to kids and that takes a lot of time out of the week. Between work, school functions, Church activities and the skate ministry that is growing. There is little if no time for us as a family. I have to really look through a lense of clarity in order to make decisions at this point in time. I know we need to cut some things out, however all the things we are doing mean a lot to us.

I have been praying about this for a long time now. I know what we must do because it is clear. The sacrafice will be great but an unhealthy family life is something I can not live with. Stresses are mounting and we have been working through them with the help of God. If we didn't have full time Jobs we could do all we are doing now and still have time for it all. However realistically that is not reality for us. So things must be put aside and family time must be gained. The wife an I are taking the Marriage classes at Church and they are awesome. That is a step in the right direction.

In the practical application of what I read today in Lasting Love by Alistair Begg. God comes first, then family, Church and Church works, Work, then leisure. I know this to be true and we have been putting our works before family. It's time to re-organize so that all is managable. Some hard decisions have been made with a lot of prayer. Pray for us now in our time of transition.

Update.....

Sorry I haven't been blogging as much. In order to keep my blog up to date I figured I'd give you all a little blog since I haven't blogged in a while. The wife and I have started attending a marriage ministry at our Church. It is a place where we as Christians can gather with other Christian couples and talk about how to strengthen our marriages, Spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially. Couples there are in various stages of their marriages. Some are newlyweds others are old pros at the husband wife thing. We are reading a really good book called, Lasting Love by Alistair Begg. I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of getting married or already have tied the knot. So far it seems that Stacey and I have grown even closer then before and we have only attended two meetings thus far. It gives us both an opportunity to grow our relationship even more so.

Not too sure on how these marriage ministries worked, I was kind of fearful of having all of my faults pointed out to me by my wife. However there was a great point brought out in one of the meetings. The point was that we should take what we learned in our studies and conversations and apply them to ourselves rather then point out all the flaws in our spouses character. So I don't have to fear that my wife is going to start pointing things out that drive her crazy, and I will do the same in return. The worst thing one can do is point the finger toward the spouse who is there for the same reasons you are. You are there to grow and pointing the finger will most likely alienate your spouse.

In a sense not pointing the finger will make both be willing to open up without the friction of accusation or defense. I have found it opens up conversation in a positive light were it would have lead into argument otherwise. I can't wait to get more into this to see how much more my relationship with my wife grows. I am in it till the end and all my hair falls out(That could be very soon). I want to be married till death do us part. This is an awesome ministry our Church has provided us. If you ever have the opportunity to do one of these marriage ministries I would highly recommend it!

Last Saturday In Our Garage.

This Saturday will be the last Saturday we will be holding our Skate Nights in the Garage. We are moving to a new location on Airport Rd. The building is 7000 square feet and will be decked out with skate ramps, rails, and boxes! There will be skate sessions Friday 6-10pm and Saturday 1-5PM. The details are in the works and much needs to be worked out, but that is roughly our situation as of now. It seems like things are happening very fast and my mind can barely keep up with all that is happening. I'm trying to think on what this transition is going to require of us. I've been doing a lot of praying on this today.

Skate night tonight will be the last at the Boys and Girls Club as well. We will attend that tonight so we can witness the reaction of all the kids when they hear the good news! God is truly awesome to have provided everything including office space to the ministry. I am in awe and have a hard time believing it. The cost of everything will be covered meaning ramps and food! It will be a huge skate indoor skate park where kids can go and be safe. Not only that they will learn the word of God! How awesome is that!!!! This is far greater then I had expected previously getting into this.

If the wife and I have enough time I'd still like to get some ramps for our garage and do a small skate night here at home for the neighbor hood kids. I hope we can still do that and have time for it. In the end it is about kids knowing God through something they love to do. Having fun and learning the bible is a great way for kids to learn. It gives them passion for the word of God and a purpose in life. It keeps them out of trouble and helps them build confidence. I love seeing the sense of achievement they have when they pull off a sick trick or drop in for the first time. They always check to see if you saw it.

There is no greater reward then to see kids with low self esteem grow into kids with confidence not only in themselves but also in the Lord. I LOVE IT!!!!! I love God and have been so blessed by this ministry he has lead my whole family to. Well dinner is cooking and I need to spend some time with the wife. Talk at you all later!

Skate Ministry Change......

I was just informed today that we will be moving our skate ministry from our small garage into a 7000 Sq.Ft. building. Cost and ramp building materials will be provided for. We have dinner every skate night and the food will be provided as well. I fear however most of the kids in our small garage ministry will not be able to attend due to the new location. This is something I am struggling with. The kids need what we have been offering to them. Most live close by and will not have rides to get to the new location.

I am praying that the Lord would present a solution to this. In our new location we will reach more kids and have a ton of room so that we can combine the East side as well as the west side ministries. I am going to miss holding skate night in our garage. Maybe tax season the wife and I will purchase some ramps and continue doing it from our garage on an alternate night. I know the Lord will show us what we can do. I have faith in that! If you would pray that we follow Gods plan for us, and that we would not be distracted from what he has laid out before us. I just want to do what is good in the Lords eyes.

Election blues

We must be very careful not to pass judgement on our newly elected President. I am guilty of this through this election. I may not see eye to eye with him on things. However I must give him a chance before I completely write him off. I was very upset today at the outcome of the election. I am not racist in fact I am thrilled that a black man has taken the Presidency. However I worry much about policy and political views he may or may not hold. I personally am tired of racial jokes when it comes to Obama. Lets not get low and dirty. Are we still so shallow that we only see the color of a mans skin? Don't attack a mans skin color because you disagree with his policy.


I fear my rights will disappear under this administration. However that could be unwarranted. I believe in freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms. I believe every life should be cherished and not put to death because a mother doesn't choose to want the baby in her womb. However we must give him a chance in order to make a call on how things will go under this presidency. His actions as President will speak louder then his words. Let us not make judgements out of fear but let us make choices out of wisdom. If he does something you disagree with then complain and take a stand. Be fair in your assessment of him. I have chosen to give him a chance until he does something that goes against what I believe. When that happens we can make our voices heard through political processes. By writing representatives and government officials and voting.

We must not blow things out of proportion. It is hard when passion gets in the way but we must remain level headed and not let fear dictate our actions. As Christians we must not pass judgement on others. However we must stand up for our belief in God. Have faith in God no matter what. Obama is elected and really we have no choice but to give him a chance. Don't worry because all is in Gods hands. Don't put yourself in a position that may make you look foolish in the future. Look at all the people who freaked over Y2K. Do you think they may have over reacted out of fear? In a world full of rumors and conspiracy theories we must be very careful in what we believe to be true. Do not let political view cloud your Christian walk.

This is it!

We made it to election day! It should be interesting to see what crazyness goes on in the next few weeks. I hope things go smoothly but something tells me it will be just like the Florida thing when Bush was elected but worse. I hope I am wrong but I doubt it the way things are these days. GO VOTE!!!!

Boy In The Plastic Bubble.

Do any of you remember that movie with John Travolta as The Boy In The Plastic Bubble? I can't remember exactly what his medical condition was in the movie. However I remember he couldn't be out in open air. His room was sealed off by a huge plastic bubble. He also wore a plastic bubble suit when going out away from home. This I have decided is what I am going to do. My family has been pummeled over and over again with colds and stomach flu!

Recycling germs causes us to be sick for weeks on end. I dislike flu season with a passion. Next year I am going to build a plastic bubble so that I can just stay in it until the flu season is over. Stocked with T.V. dinners and Haagen Dazs ice cream pints. I should be able to last through the flu season. I will have to buy an plastic suit with breathing apparatus off of ebay rather the by my IMac but I think it is worth the cost. Next year when you see an astronaut walking down Main Street. Know that it is not a crazy person but me avoiding the flu season.

This is what I will do to pass time in my plastic bubble...

Really cool robot!!!

You have to see this to believe it!

Scary Stuff!

Check out this Glen Beck interview....