Conformed or Transformed?

I continue to be amazed at how God reveals himself to me.  I have been studying the book of Revelation and when you look at how he addresses the seven churches, they each needed to see a different aspect of God.  When God addresses them, He reminds them of the very thing they need to remember about Him. The past few weeks have been extremely overwhelming and difficult, but I am continually amazed how God puts the right verse, the right song and the right people to encourage me. The Holy Spirit has led people to pray for me.  My heart is full, being reminded of how much God values me. God values you.  He loves you so much.  If you question what's going on around you, look to Scripture.  Does He have a lesson for you?  Is He growing you in a deeper way?  Does He need you to share the hope that you have in Him with someone else?  Stay strong.  Stay in the Word!  And most of all...keep your eyes on Jesus.  The world will tell...

I am overwhelmed with the fact that God CHOOSES to use ME.  I have let Him down. I have broken His heart. I have turned my back on Him and done my own thing. I have worried. I have put other things before Him. I have ignored Him. Yet...HE LOVES ME.  In spite of ME, HE LOVES ME....and WANTS a relationship with me.  I have just become the Pastor of 37 North Church in Southgate, MI.  I am humbled.  I am overwhelmed.  I am excited.  I am scared.  I am blessed.  I am keeping my eyes on Jesus.  I can't do this on my own.  I can't love God's people the way they need to be loved on my own.  It's a good place to be.  A child...totally dependent on the Creator and Sustainer....that's where I find myself. 

Psalm 27:4  My heart says of You, "Seek His face!"  Your face, Lord, I will seek.  This year I have been reading the daily devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  I love the title of this book!  Jesus Calls us every day to seek His face.  This book is about putting yourself in Jesus' presence on a daily basis.  When we do this, we experience His peace, His guidance, His comfort, His shelter, and so much more!  I have found that there are many days when I am struggling to trust God's plan and I am feeling down.  These kind of days are hard to remember that God is still on the throne and that nothing is catching Him by surprise.  He sees tomorrow and we have no reason to fear or worry.  I find great encouragement in seeking His face, because when we seek Him, He WILL be found! I got a new Bible and have been highlighting the verses that Sarah Young suggests we read.  After almost a year of highlighting, I have a Bible fu...

Last night I had the awesome privilege of leading a young man to Christ.  Sometimes you wonder if the teens ever really hear what you are saying.  They sometimes act like they don't care and nothing matters, yet somehow it sinks in and God works!  I am praying for my young friend, as his Mother was not as thrilled for him as he was to tell her about it.  I forget sometimes how hard it is for teens these days to stand up for truth.  I rejoice in God's word that He says "My salvation will last forever.  My righteousness will never fail." (Isaiah 51:6b)  No one can take that salvation away.  I am  praying for continued faith for this young man and for his Mother to be drawn to Jesus as well.    This is why I do what I do......salvation is near.......

It has been an incredible journey these past couple years. I have been at my lowest and have come to know Christ in a deeper way. I am incredibly blessed to have gone through the "junk" to be where I am today.....deeper in love with my Savior and learning to keep my eyes focused on Him. This world can hand us some pretty icky stuff and the ONLY way to get through it is to realize who God is. God has been my strength, given me a song to sing when I didn't feel like it, provided for me in ways I couldn't even fathom, healed my heart, protected me in the storm, given me victory that I couldn't have attained on my own, and been the Cornerstone of my life. He has been faithful and true. He has sustained me and given me a new sense of purpose. I could go on and on. My Redeemer Lives! Today I just want to say....Jesus, I love you! Thank you for believing in me when I felt so alone. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for reviving me. Thank you for...

The following is a post from my former Pastor and friend. It touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you and pray it speaks to you as well. I went to my cousin's memorial service this week. You would've loved Ed, he was a great pastor and a fun guy. I find myself sitting next to some of you in the stadium of questions. You know the place - it's the crowded arena that holds all of us who have had an experience that doesn't seem to fit in the game of life. I hugged Ed's wife, who now is without a husband, a father for their kids, a pastor, and even a church. I stood in the stadium next to her and felt a fraction of her pain. We cried. I walked and talked with my other cousin who is now without his younger brother and himself racked with pain from cancer - we talked about God, about questions, about hanging on. The stadium is often quite full. As I work my way out of the stadium I'm looking back making some observations. 1. The stadium of questions rarely h...

I have found myself saying "That's just not fair!" this week. I have experienced frustrating situations that I would allow to consume me. I have let my mind wander and have experience a cluster of destructive emotions. I had valid reasons to be angry; valid reasons to fight; valid reasons to quit. So, if that is the case, why would I say "it's not fair" and out of the same mouth "God is up to something great"? Perspective. It comes down to perspective. In all of our situations, whether or not we can see it, God is up to something great! Through our situations, we may find ourselves saying: • How could God let this happen? • This isn't fair! • If God cares about me, why is he allowing ____________ to happen? Our life is a short little speck in light of eternity. God has seen all of the past thousands of years and he already sees the next thousand years. He knows everything we have ever done and will ever do. He knows what will happe...

A friend asked me the origin of the term "Easter" this week. I looked it up on Christiananswers.net (http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html) and here's what I found: Where did “Easter” get its name? Where did the concept of an Easter egg and bunny originate? The name “Easter” has its roots in ancient polytheistic religions (paganism). On this, all scholars agree. This name is never used in the original Scriptures, nor is it ever associated biblically with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For these reasons, we prefer to use the term “Resurrection Sunday” rather than “Easter” when referring to the annual Christian remembrance of Christ's resurrection. Ancient origin Most reference books say that the name “Easter” derived from the Eastre, the Teutonic goddess of Spring. Although this relationship exists, in reality, the origin of the name and the goddess are far more ancient - going all the way back to the Tower of Babel. The origin begins not ...

It has been a long while since I have posted. So what have I been doing? Church. Fresh Start Community Church is a new church in Interlochen, Michigan, just outside of Traverse City. It has been an amazing journey! We started services in December and held our official launch on March 7th. It has been a whirlwind of a trip but I am so excited to see what God has in store for this new church. We held a carnival on Saturday, March 6th and we had over 400 people in attendance. It was well received and we pray to see some of those people walk through our church doors in the coming weeks. Thank You, Lord for allowing me to be a part of this awesome opportunity that is so much bigger than I am. You know the plans you have for Interlochen. Plans to prosper and not to harm. Plans to give a hope and a future. Guide us and direct us in Your way. I want to see YOU!!! Fresh Start meets on Sunday mornings at 11am in the Interlochen Library's Fellowship Hall.

I want to share a quote from a friend that she posted on her facebook this week. It has totally encouraged me in my faith. "To know that God watches my back is so wonderful. I say I trust Him to take care of me only to find that when it comes down to the wire, He outlasts my faith. Just when I wonder how I am going to make things work, He reminds me that it is His timing, not mine and comes through the Victor at the final bell. I am humbled." I am in the process of starting a church in Interlochen, Michigan. It's an exciting time, but we have not been able to get into a building. There is NO question in my mind that this is what we are supposed to do, but why hasn't God opened up the doors to the right place for us? We have one option, but I am just not at peace about that quite yet. God's timing is NEVER late. I trust in that and reading her quote reminded me once again, that He WILL come through and I just need to keep my eyes on the Savior and not look in...

Psalm 62:5-8 says Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people;pour out your hearts to him,for God is our refuge. My soul finds rest in You My fortress and my rock My hope for life my hiding place My refuge and my God In You I've found my home My shelter from the storm And I'll pour out my heart to You And lean upon Your throne I will put my trust in You I will put my hope there, too I will stand upon Your word And I will not be shaken I will let my praises show Holding on to what I know Because I know You're always there And I will not be shaken I will not be shaken (Repeat) I will not be moved I'm leaning on the throne Because You died for me And called me to Your own And even when the strongest winds begin to blow I will stand my ground I will not be moved I will not...

Our merciful Father, may Thy church be stripped of all that weakens and be clothed with all that strengthens. Cleanse us from a worldly mind-a mind that reaches eagerly for the things that perish and discerns but dimly, the values that are deathless- and purge from our souls the pettiness that quarrels over trifles, the pride that makes an idol out of titles and offices, the narrowness that has no understanding eye for churches and nations and races other than our own. Drive from our hearts the complacency, the prayerlessness, the heedlessness that form always so deadly a drag on our discipleship and witness. We ask, amid the difficulties and vexations of these times, for a holy and heartening remembrance of the pioneers who have blazed the long trails by which the gospel has been carried to strange lands and distant peoples. May the mantle of their dauntless courage and their passionate love for the souls of men fall upon us. Revive Thy church everywhere. Give us reality to our worshi...

It's been a while since my last post. It seems life has been pretty crazy. Olivia was in the hospital for a few days with a kidney infection. Brian was out of town and some friends of ours were out of town and we were watching their 3 girls. I wasn't sure how I was going to take her in to the hospital at 9pm and manage to get kids off to school and such in the morning. I am so blessed to have good neighbors. Andrew was ok to spend the night here and "hold the fort down" and my neighbor took the girls and my brother was able to take the big kids to the highschool. A big hearty THANK YOU to all who helped make things easier. I couldn't have done it without you. Olivia has been on antibiotics since the visit and is doing well. It took us a week to get back in the groove of things, but praise God she is back on her feet! How quickly we can take our physical health for granted. I have a friend who has to go to the hospital all the time for her three children...

Last night I finally took that sliver out of my foot. Because it was so small, I had to dig a bit to get it out and now today, my foot really hurts. It hurts worse than when I had the sliver in there. Every step I feel the cut. I thought about that for a bit, as it pertains to my post from yesterday. When we confess our sin and finally get it out of our lives, the pain of the consequences of our sin linger. Sometimes the consequences of our sin are worse than the pain of having the sin in our life. The good news is...that pain may feel worse at first, but it goes away and you become stronger and wiser for having gone through that process. Key for today: Cut out the slivers in your life and rejoice in God's grace and healing power in your life.

Somehow when I was in the basement yesterday, I got a sliver from the floor in my foot. I didn't notice it much, but every once in a while I got a little poke in the bottom of my foot that kinda bothered me. It wasn't that big of a deal, so I left it. I figured it would work its way out since it was such a small sliver. It wasn't worth all the digging and cutting. Last night every time I took a step it really kinda bothered me, but today, it's almost as if I've gotten used to the occassional little pick I get. It's not like I am running a marathon that I need to keep my feet in good condition. So...the sliver is still there. In Hebrews 12:1 it says "Therefore, since we surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." The phrase that stands out to me is "sin that so easily entangles". Why and how d...