Sorry for Skipping out on you last week.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking about "What might of Been". Every once in a while I wonder what would of happened in my life, If I would of stayed in Nashville, TN instead of moving to AZ and then to Seattle. I wonder who I would of married, and what I would be doing. Would I have kids, a dog? Would my friend Jon, his wife and I, still be building Lighting Design Concepts, would we be working with Ardre Design Group or would I be workign wtih Tennessee Coffee Comapny?
Part fo thinking of what of been brings me to think of my college frieds. Espcailly the Posse. Two of my closest friends in the world (besides my wife)are found in this group of people:, Lisa, La, Marla, Steph, Duff, Brady, Kim, Dana, Crag and a few others. Dana has cool website that I need to add to my links. It's called "Think Pink" She is a cancer survior, and shares her and Craigs Story.
The one person that I have kept up with the most is Lisa. Her and I e-mail back and forth every once in a while. We were extremly close in college and we shared apartment when we lived in Seattle. If it was not for Lisa I doubt I would of ever gotten to Seattle and meet my wife Heidi. Even though she is a teacher at Private School on the other side of the country, she is still on of my closest friends. It is cool to see the changes in our realtionship through out the years. From two people doing theater together, to each others counselor, and now we live across from each other. She is a teacher in a private school in the Carolinia's and happily married, and I am a pastor in the Great North West. Over the years we have become more like brother and sister, then just friends. Someday I look forward to visiting back east and meeting her husband and friends.
Another of my closest friends in the group in La. La is just one those specail people in my life. She us funny, good humored and put up with a lot of garbage that life and I threw at her. Along with Lisa, she is one of the people that kept somewaht sane during my adventures in Nashville. I think at one point everybody expected us to be married. At think at couple of different points in out lives, if we would of started dating instead of just being great friends, we would be married, or ruined a great friendship. La is married to wonderful guy named Jon, they are living in Tennessee and have one daughter. I love Jon, and he and I were good friends during our time togethers.
I cannot be more happy ofr La and John and Lisa and her man; It's just every once in while I think "What might of been?"
Where would I be if I never left Nashville? What would of happened if I dateed Lisa or La? Honestly I most likly would be working for a stage-lighting or scene design company. I might of gotten into radio work, or something else to do with big events(concerts, theatre productions, movies, etc). I do not know if I would of even been a youth minister, or church planter and now the pastor of a great small church in the Mission Valley of MT. I know I would of not met my bride Heidi (8 years in July), and have two wonderful daughters, that run up and hug me when I get home from the office. I doubt that I would be blogging and meeting intersating people on the OOZE and CCT. I doubt that I would be able to speak the Word of God, with the freedom I now enjoy (1 hour this last Sunday). We rent pillows for our youth fund raiser. :)
Even though I loved my past working with shows, and I dearly love Lisa and La. Sometimes it is hard not to think about what might of been. I think that sometimes we are all like that. "what if" and it is at this time that I need to remember to count my blessings of WHAT IS . I can't live in the past and continue to wonder "what if" and "what might have been's", because our God has called me to live in the present, to press on to the goal, and to be used for His Kingdom; NOW!
As the Apostle Paul states " I have forgotten the past, and press on to the goal." My goal is to get to heaven, and to be used by God to preach his word, to be Holy, to write devotionals, to sing his praises, and equip his saints to walk the Narrow Road.
While I love my posse and all that they bring to enrich my life, I need to remember that they are a huge blessing from God , to show me how much I am loved by Him.
To the Posse I love you guys, and canot wait to sepnd time with you again. If I have to wait until heaven, than I better see you there. :) To everyone else I hope that while loving people from the past, will learn to count your blessing's of today, and lets' not wonder "what of been"
Monday, June 25, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
What are you about?
This is on my Sig line on two forums I enjoy:
I think there is important message to this. Jesus did not come preaching a gospel of hating your brother. In fact we are told in 1 John 2:9 (NIV)"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness."
Jesus draws us to love people. We might disagree with them, we might have different doctrines them and different faith journeys on our walk with Jesus. But that does not give us the excuse to hate others.
The church especially my movement has been earned the reputation that we do not love others. We hate other demo nations,and that we are the only ones going to heaven. To me that sounds more like hate, than love.
God loves the whole world. Jesus died for the sins of the World, not just yours, not just mines. Are doctrine important? Yes, and I believe that we need to find those doctrines from the Bible, not from what some man or woman wrote down.
However the two greatest commandments are to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... and to Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:37-40
I think we should spend more time Loving God and loving each-other, than we do ignoring God as we fight each-other.
-M
I think there is important message to this. Jesus did not come preaching a gospel of hating your brother. In fact we are told in 1 John 2:9 (NIV)"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness."
Jesus draws us to love people. We might disagree with them, we might have different doctrines them and different faith journeys on our walk with Jesus. But that does not give us the excuse to hate others.
The church especially my movement has been earned the reputation that we do not love others. We hate other demo nations,and that we are the only ones going to heaven. To me that sounds more like hate, than love.
God loves the whole world. Jesus died for the sins of the World, not just yours, not just mines. Are doctrine important? Yes, and I believe that we need to find those doctrines from the Bible, not from what some man or woman wrote down.
However the two greatest commandments are to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... and to Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:37-40
I think we should spend more time Loving God and loving each-other, than we do ignoring God as we fight each-other.
-M
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Changes
I hope that you are having a good week,
Have you ever noticed that the world is always changing? It is spring time here in God's country. On Sunday we had Temperatures in the 90's. Today it is raining and we are in the 50's-60's. This time last year I was living in Oregon in unfinished house, and unemployed. This year I am in new state, with a great church. Including myself I know about 5-10 guys that are either in new ministries this year, or not in the ministry all together. Change is happening everywhere.
My 23 month old daughter the other day came running our of her room in the morning giggling, as she did not have to wait on my wife or eye to get her out of the crib. It was the first time she slept in her bed. She now knows a since of freedom, that she never knew before. She is even trying to go potty on the potty instead of in diapers.
Change is happening all the time around us. Look at Gas prices if you don't believe me. However there is one thing stays the same. Jesus Christ. Do you know him?
There is a song by the group Tesla called "changes". It is describing how changes mess up our lives, how they re-arrange our lives. It's also a love song. I hope you enjoy it.
Changes are happen all around us. When I first heard that song, I was in the backseat of my brother's Camero. We were teenagers and did not get along then. 20 years later we get along and have no idea what happened to that old brown Camero.I drive a Sidekick,and he drives a Dodge Truck. We are both married, have families and we live in different states. Changes they are everywhere. They mess with our lives, they rearrange our lives. One of our young families from the church is moving this summer. They have lived here for over 10 years. Changes are happening everywhere.One of missionaries is coming back to the states, and it looks like they will be here for a year.
Jesus creates change in our lives. He likes to re-arrange our lives that put him as the focal point. He desires to be our lives, to be our North star, to be our compass, to be our Lighthouse and our GPS.
We are told in Colossians (mike's Paraphrase chapter 3) to put to death the following things: Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, lust, greed, anger, wrath, malice slander and obscene talk from our mouths. Instead we should put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. He desires us to change so that we look more Jesus. As we walk with the Lord, we need to die to ourselves, and change. We should look more Jesus day after day, year after year, then we do the person that sells herself on the street corner for drugs, or the man who beats his wife and kids. Shoot we should act more like Jesus than the people we are shown in the TV shows we watch. Changes, they are everywhere, just look at the weather, look at your own life. There are changes in it.
If you know my King, then you know that He wants to change you, to mold you, to make you into something more beautiful than the mountains or the sea. He wants to make you and me, like Him; He desires that when the world sees us, It sees Jesus.
We need to allow Jesus to change us, so that we can share the one thing that doesn't change: his unchanging love to the world that desperately needs it.
-M
Have you ever noticed that the world is always changing? It is spring time here in God's country. On Sunday we had Temperatures in the 90's. Today it is raining and we are in the 50's-60's. This time last year I was living in Oregon in unfinished house, and unemployed. This year I am in new state, with a great church. Including myself I know about 5-10 guys that are either in new ministries this year, or not in the ministry all together. Change is happening everywhere.
My 23 month old daughter the other day came running our of her room in the morning giggling, as she did not have to wait on my wife or eye to get her out of the crib. It was the first time she slept in her bed. She now knows a since of freedom, that she never knew before. She is even trying to go potty on the potty instead of in diapers.
Change is happening all the time around us. Look at Gas prices if you don't believe me. However there is one thing stays the same. Jesus Christ. Do you know him?
There is a song by the group Tesla called "changes". It is describing how changes mess up our lives, how they re-arrange our lives. It's also a love song. I hope you enjoy it.
Changes are happen all around us. When I first heard that song, I was in the backseat of my brother's Camero. We were teenagers and did not get along then. 20 years later we get along and have no idea what happened to that old brown Camero.I drive a Sidekick,and he drives a Dodge Truck. We are both married, have families and we live in different states. Changes they are everywhere. They mess with our lives, they rearrange our lives. One of our young families from the church is moving this summer. They have lived here for over 10 years. Changes are happening everywhere.One of missionaries is coming back to the states, and it looks like they will be here for a year.
Jesus creates change in our lives. He likes to re-arrange our lives that put him as the focal point. He desires to be our lives, to be our North star, to be our compass, to be our Lighthouse and our GPS.
We are told in Colossians (mike's Paraphrase chapter 3) to put to death the following things: Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, lust, greed, anger, wrath, malice slander and obscene talk from our mouths. Instead we should put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. He desires us to change so that we look more Jesus. As we walk with the Lord, we need to die to ourselves, and change. We should look more Jesus day after day, year after year, then we do the person that sells herself on the street corner for drugs, or the man who beats his wife and kids. Shoot we should act more like Jesus than the people we are shown in the TV shows we watch. Changes, they are everywhere, just look at the weather, look at your own life. There are changes in it.
If you know my King, then you know that He wants to change you, to mold you, to make you into something more beautiful than the mountains or the sea. He wants to make you and me, like Him; He desires that when the world sees us, It sees Jesus.
We need to allow Jesus to change us, so that we can share the one thing that doesn't change: his unchanging love to the world that desperately needs it.
-M
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
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