"I love it when a plan comes together"

Ok i admit it I am a child of the 80's and I watched "the Ateam", regularly.  Whew ok, now that I got that out of the way....

At the end of of the show when The Ateam was successful Hannibal Smith always said, "I love it when a plan comes together".  Don't we all?

I am a planner, I like to be as far ahead of the game as possible.  I like to have my summer retreats planned before winter and my winter retreat planned before summer.  I don't like any curve balls, surprises, or loop holes.

And this is why i have been majorly stressed for the last two weeks.

One word:  Caswell.  Our students have been going to Caswell for at least 10 years I would say.  Caswell works this way:  you fill out an application and mail it (cant be postmarked before Jan 1), then you wait.  That part tears me up.  For a month and a half, I wait.  This year they sent me a letter instead of a bill, and informed me that they where unable to provide us the weeks i had put in for.  So that sends me into a frenzy of trying to figure out now how I am going to provide a solid meaningful summer retreat for my students.  Then I am reminded:

"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purpose of his heart through all generations"  (ps. 33:11)

Caswell just wasn't in God's plans for Grassy Branch Youth This summer.

A couple of years ago I was invited to be a "guest speaker" for the week for a friend of mine's church for their summer retreat.  I came back thinking, "hey, we could do this at GBBC".  Apparently that time is now.

Sometimes even when we think we have the best plans laid out, God reminds us that His plans are better.

So I put it together:  Caswell is great, but apparently God said this year doing our own would be better.

and so then, the excitement builds for this summer because God has something bigger, better, and powerful for us.

Have a great day, Chris

You better believe it!!!

What you believe determines everything about you:
how you raise kids
how you act
how you vote
how you view people
how you treat people
how you treat your spouse
how you treat your friends
how you view death
how you view life

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and whoever believes in Him has eternal life" (John 3:16)

I believe it, I have banked my whole past, present, and future and this.

I have determined that there HAS to be more than just life.  I have determined that it's not just by chance that I am here.  I am more important than that, You are more important than that.  God created YOU for a purpose, He created YOU so that YOU may believe IN HIM, and by Believing in HIM you too can bank your past, present, and future on HIM.

Some will disagree that faith should not determine all things in your life (example politics); however I believe faith Should determine all things including how I vote.  I honestly don't think you can separate the two.

He is my HOPE, my FUTURE, and my LIFE.

You better believe it, that's who I am.

So who are you and what do YOU believe.

Chris

The meaning of life

I love this scene in the movie "City Slickers"; the character played by Billy Crystal is struggling with meaning of life.  Jack Palace tells him the meaning has to do with "one thing".

Makes you wonder, makes you ponder, What is that ONE thing?

is it Career?
Family?
Spouse?
kids?
College?
Friends?

What is the one thing that makes you get out of bed in the morning, what is the one thing that makes you smile?  What is the one thing that makes you sing?  Dance? laugh? 

"My purpose is that they...may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"  (Col. 2:2,3)

We spend alot of time and energy trying to figure out what the "meaning of life" is?  What our purpose is?  WE make it a whole lot harder than what it is:

The meaning of life is this:  To know Christ.

Through knowing Christ, He gives your life meaning, purpose, and direction.

Without Him no meaning, no purpose, no direction.

You can try that "one thing" in everything else, but your gonna come up short.

Have a great day, Chris

Somtimes its hard to be thankful

7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things he has done
(Is 63:7, NIV)

So I was reading this in my devotion this am, and I realize that I'm not always as thankful as I should be.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

Sometimes we get so busy, so down, so negative that it's hard to be thankful.

We see this pictures like above of the "Christian" that has uplifted hands and is thanking and praising the Lord.  I look at this picture and I feel bad.  Why am I not like this always....

Because "Sometimes It's hard to be thankful".

In Isaiah we are reminded that He has done so much for us; when we realize this we should "tell of the kindnesses of the Lord"  So in today's blog I shall note some things I am thankful for.

• My health, sometimes we take that for granite, but as far as i know I am healthy, and I exercise (well most the time) to stay that way
• My wife and kids, never thought that I would be a husband and father of four daughters.
• I have an amazing Job and Church
• I have a great Pastor/Mentor/Friend in Ken Sausedo
• I have so many friends that surround me (Barry, Brian Lee, Jeanne, RAchel, Andy, Sam I am, Steve, Myjenta, Charlie)
• I have so many that love me more than i deserve (you know who you are) :)
• I still have both my parents (and as far as I know they are healthy)
• I have two great sisters (one in Cali, and one in Hendersonville)
• I have the WORLDS ABSOLUTE BEST YOUTH
• I have the best to help me with these youth week after week (thank you Tiffany, Christian, Myjenta, Waquilla Ashante Shameika Lillian Kadeshia Coleslaw Jean Jervis, Stuart, Nick, Barry)
• I live in a nice home in a nice neighborhood with some great neighbors (thank you Kim and Suzie)
• I most thankful for a God that loves me, picks me up when I am down, and uses me in spite of my many shortcomings.

This is a short list but it has reminded me of how thankful I should be.  I challenge you today to make a list, It will help you to remember how thankful you should be.

Have a great weekend, Chris

i need a miracle

I can't count the number of times I have said, "Lord, I need a Miracle", How about you?

"He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!" (Matt. 12:39)

Now of course there is a huge difference between what Jesus was talking about here, and what I am asking for.  Jesus is talking about people asking for a miracle so that they might believe He is who He says He is.  Me, I already believe and I'm asking for something out of the ordinary.  See the difference.

Scott Thompson used to always say, "If we say we are going to have a time of prayer, we can't even halfway fill a church up, but if we say we gonna make a man's leg grow a foot we can fill the Asheville Civic Center".  There is a lot of truth in that. 

God performs miracles everyday around us.  The sun shining is a miracle in itself.  The air you and i breathe.  The creation all around us.  You yourself are a miracle.  The way the body is put together.  The way the brain works.  Miracle, miracle, miracle, and miracle.  The greatest miracle that God does today is when God transforms a life, when He takes someone and changes their life, their eternal destiny, and uses them for His glory.  That is a miracle.

We undermine and overuse the word "miracle",  If we pull up to the mall and find a front parking spot "it's a miracle", if we make it through a holiday without family members fighting "it's a miracle", if a quarterback goes a whole game without throwing an interception, "it's a miracle", if UNC wins a basketball game "it's a miracle" (through that in for my unc buddies, haha), when the Red Sox won the world series, "it's a miracle" (ok maybe it was), and we made a whole move called "Miracle", when the the US in 1980 won Gold in Men's Hockey.

Ed McMinn wrote, "Jesus knew that miracle don't produce faith, but rather faith produces miracles", think about it.

Have great day, Chris

dead or alive

"Faith by itself, if is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17)

Very often we are confronted with this idea, is my faith "dead or alive", is it growing or is it dying.

How do you know?

I love the book of James, if I had a favorite book, James would probably be it.  It by far is the most practical book in the New Testament (in my opinion).  James addresses this idea of our faith being "alive or dead", he simply states that Faith alone that doesn't produce anything is dead.

If this is the truth, in the Church of today, there is alot of people with "dead" faith.  Faith that is not alive, breathing, and producing.  What good does faith do us, if it is not producing.  Now don't get me wrong, faith is what we need, faith is what saves us, faith is what sustains us.  However faith should be like an organism.  Living, breathing, moving, acting, and producing.

So the question it boils down to is this:  Is your faith producing something outward in you?  Does your faith motivate you to do something for someone other than yourself?  Has your faith moved you forward?

The good news is Faith that IS "dead", can be revived.  God has the ability to make your faith "alive" and well once again.....all you have to do is ask Him.

Have a wonderful day, and I hope you are worshipping somewhere this mid-week.

love to all, Chris

My memory fails me

My memory fails me, A LOT.  Those of you that know me, know this to be a cold hard fact.  If I know I have to do something on the way home, I put a sticky note on my steering wheel in the car.  People should know by now that if they expect me to remember something, they better tell me to write it down, or they better hand it to me in writing.  Then I have to remember where I put what i wrote down, ugh, it never ends.  I wish my memory was better, I wish it was stronger.

The bad thing is I actually remember things that I DON'T WANT TO, but yet the things I want to remember I CANT.  It's so frustrating.

One of the hardest classes I had in Bible College, was one where I had to memorize scripture every week, oh my gosh, it was a struggle.

Here is my point:  If your memory is like mine it takes a lot of effort, a lot of work.

24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  (1 Co 11:24-25, NIV)

I am constantly reminded of my sin, my shortcomings, and my failures.  I am constantly having to remind myself of Christ in my life.  It is a constant battle.

I have to remind myself daily that what I do I do for HIM and not ME. 

Have a wonderful weekend, Chris.

History (should not) repeat itself

Ok so you know there is the saying that the one thing true about History is that it repeats itself, in society this statement is an absolute fact.  However as a Christian this should not be so.

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Ps 143:10, NIV)

I was reading this in my devotion today:

"Learning about anything life requires a combination of education and experience.  Education is the accumulation of facts that we call knowledge; experience is the acquisition of wisdom and discernment, which add purpose and understanding to our knowledge."

We all make mistakes, it's inevitable.  What makes us different is that through the leadership of the Holy Spirit you and I have the power and capability to not repeat our mistakes.  We have to break the chain of bad relationships, people taking advantage, drinking, smoking, cursing, verbal abuse, physical abuse, or whatever it may be that we keep repeating over and over.  You CAN do it, You CAN stop.  Allow God to teach you, Allow yourself to grow, and Allow yourself to stop making the same mistakes over and over.  Learn from it and move on.

Have a great day, Chris.