Lions, and Tigers, and Monsters?

Today I wanted to talk about something that I really enjoy, christian rock music. Specifically I want to discuss the latest offering from the band Skillet which you can see beside here is called Awake. The reason I mention it today is the fact that it was released to the general public today.

I purchased this CD presale and have only had it for a few days, however I've been listening to the first two songs that were released for weeks now. those are Hero and Monster, which just happen to be the first two songs on this CD.

Now, I realize that many of you reading this won't listen to Skillet or their music, and I respect that as we have different tastes. That is why I'm going to post some lyrics here for you to read and have you think about for a minute:

The secret side of me

I never let you see

I keep it caged

But I can't control it

So stay away from me

The beast is ugly

I feel the rage

And I just can't hold it

It's scratching on the walls

In the closet, in the halls

It comes awake

And I can't control it

Hiding under the bed

In my body, in my head

Why won't somebody come and save me from this?

Make it end!

The above lyrics are from the song Monster. I think in this song they point out a great point: a lot of the reasons a person doesn't come to a relationship with Christ isn't because they don't want to have it, but instead the reason may be hidden deep inside them. It could very easily be something that you and I will never see on the outside looking in at their lives. Yet, that very reason can be very consuming for that person.

Do you see at the end of the lyrics how they are crying for help, yet throughout they haven't allowed anyone in due to it's all consuming nature? Do you now see why it's so important to get close to other people, especially those that need Him? They might not seem like they have problems, but WE ALL DO! We all have had reasons in our lives that have kept us from Him and many of those same reasons no one else around us would have ever known.

You have to get involved with other people. It's not enough to just know of someone, you have to KNOW someone. This is why we have to focus on things like mentoring and interpersonal relationships. We have to help people get past the monsters that are in the closet and under the bed, and know that the only way we can do that is by spending time with them. It's not enough to just do the work on the surface, instead you might have to get deeper. It's those deep relationships with others that will lead to them, as well as you, having a closer relationship with Jesus!

MoMentum....car style

Hello everyone. Today I’m going to tell you about something that just came up last night. This all stems from a discussion on an e-mail sent out by the head elder at Norwalk Alliance Church every week in regards to the elder of the day. Every week Larry Lepard sends out the information to all the elders and board members on any meetings we have on Sunday as well as who the EOD is, and that last part is written in some funny way that might be obvious to some, and to others maybe not. Here is this week’s clue:

“The elder who is still driving his first used car from his teen-age days is elder of the day.”

If you haven’t guessed yet, that elder would be yours truly. Now, that clue brought about some ribbing I definitely deserved (due to how much of a pain in the rear I normally am with the group) in regards to if a rolling piece of duct tape (my words not theirs) actually qualifies as a car, etc. It was all in good fun, and as I said earlier I’m sure it’s very deserved! However, it did remind me that I haven’t shared the story about my car with many people. That realization led me to this writing:

“You know I’m darn proud of my moving tin can. First off, no duct tape on it, thought there should be. I know Lep knows this and knows I’m not taking offense to anything when I point this out: The Grand Am is a great example of our faith in God and trusting in Him, along with the resilience that He’s given my family. We’ve had numerous times when we could have, maybe even should have, bought something else but our faith in Him has kept that car going. I know that His desire is for my family to get out of debt and that car allows us to not put money into something else - while continuing to focus on Him and not ourselves. The good news is that we’ll be out of debt by the end of 09 in every way minus our house and student loans, and in ’10 we can put some money aside to get something else! Woo Hoo!

So, every day I drive that car is another day that we get closer to Him, and I tell you what, it’s a beautiful thing! I’ve told Lep that our goal in this is to be able to actually have money in the monthly budget to give to people for no reason other than them have a need and feeling lead by God to do that at the time. I can’t wait to leave the $50 tip for the waiter/waitress who looks down on their luck and provided great service. I can’t wait to see a guy who I think needs fellowship with other men and pay for them to go to Men’s retreat or to play softball, etc. This is what God has laid on our hearts. That is why Traci and I both work 2 jobs, why we don’t buy much for ourselves, etc. It’s His kingdom that will be the better because of my driving that thing until the day it croaks! (Ok, I also can’t wait for the day to have heat and AC in the primary car I drive again – but overall I drive it such short distances, who cares….I’m willing to sacrifice!)

BTW – I’m taking donations of duct tape any time. I’d prefer it in red if you have it!”

Here is a picture of the car I’m driving:

My Grandma Reta gave me that car when I turned 16, and it’s been mostly a blessing ever since (It is still a car you know). In other words I’ve had it half of my life now! Traci drove it for awhile after college, but it became my primary car again after we bought the van as the family kept expanding! BTW - This is a picture of the good side of the car!

As you can see above, I'm not just writing this stuff for you guys and not living it, but instead we're fighting the good fight along side each and every one of you. We sacrifice in many ways. Traci and I hadn't been on a vacation without the kids in 10 years before last week, and even then we didn't go too far away. We didn't buy the bigger house that would have stretched us pretty far budget wise and instead bought one that was enough to meet our needs. I don't tell you this to make you feel that we're better than you, or deserve praise or pitty, etc. I do this to show you that it can be done. You have to take the leap of faith that HE WILL PROVIDE and that what he gives you is good enough. Come, walk along side of us getting close to Him each and every day.

Clearing The Way: It’s Not The End

So, for the last few blogs (about 3 more than I’d originally began with I should note) I’ve thrown a lot of stuff at you, yet that isn’t even close to the end to the barriers that are keeping us all from God. My goal has been to make you more aware of the things that have become common place in our world. I didn’t touch on everything that is out there to get in your way however. I mean, you do realize that the enemy will continue to attack you and attack you looking for anything that will reveal a weakness.

How do you keep your defenses ready at all times? There are many ways – most I have mentioned before in this blog but it does bear another reminder.

1) Prayer – Spend time with God. Ask Him to help you fight off the daily attacks that we all face in our lives. You are not alone in this fight.
2) Mentoring – Everyone should have people that mentor them as well as they should be mentoring others. People can benefit from what you have gone through and you never know what experiences you’ve had can help others. Talk to a few close friends and work in each others lives. Remember, you are stronger in those areas where two or more are gathered….
3) Reading – There is so much value (this said by a guy who hates to do this) in reading devotions and the Bible.

I wish you all good luck in clearing the way to your heart for God. I know that it has been much easier to write all of this than it is to do it. Take heart though readers, all of the above I am doing myself and know it’s not an easy road. As always I am here to discuss these or other topics at any time. Next week we just might start to delve into some marriage/relationship stuff....unless I'm led another way between then and now.

Clearing The Way: Stop Hiding Out

I’m pretty sure that almost everyone recognizes what it is above that I’m showing, right? Where’s Waldo?! Can you normally find him when you look at these (I realize this isn't the best looking image, but good enough for what I'm looking to do here)? What does Waldo have to do with the Christian life…it is what you are thinking, right?

Well, the past few weeks I’ve pointed out a few things to everyone…that you shouldn’t want everything, debt isn’t a great thing, sex is all around us, that we are taught to put ourselves in the middle and not God, and that you have to find yourself. So, now that you are all aware of that I also want you to do this: STOP HIDING.

Isn’t that what Waldo does in these pictures, he hides right? He tries to fit in with the rest of the crowd so that you can’t find him. Is that what a lot of us do in the world, hide out? Isn’t it easier if you are a Christian to hide and not let anyone know? Yet, we’re told to go and make disciples (or as Andrew Berry taught at NAC and Beulah during the Mission’s Conference – as you go, make disciples). How can we make disciples if we’re hiding in the world.

Let’s look at this in a way that many people hopefully can relate with: children’s sports. I’m pretty sure that if you have a brother or sister, kids of your own, or even yourself, you realize that there are a ton of different sports kids can play and different levels they can play. How many of you have been the head coach or assistant to a team any of the above kids have played on? If you haven’t, why not? Could it be because you weren’t an expert at the sport? How about the excuse of someone else will do it? Oh, and the whole I don’t have time excuse fits well too, right? Yet through it all didn’t the league or team call and ask because they didn’t have enough coaches – and you still said no….or were you willing to do it when they begged?

This is just a simplified example of our unwillingness to break away from the crowd. It’s so easy to just barely get your kid there in time, criticize the coaching during the game, and then leave afterwards, isn’t it? Do we do the same thing with our Christianity, we aren’t experts at the Bible (I’m not even close personally – at least with word for word references, etc.), or that we know that someone else will reach that person so we won’t even try, oh and the whole we don’t have time to be a Christian right now….right?

It’s time to stop giving ourselves excuses for not doing God’s work and instead step out from the crowd. Going back to the sports you don’t have to be the head coach, but you could help assist, couldn’t you? That is all God wants us to do. He’s the CEO of His corporation and he wants all of us to strive to move up in the company. We all start out in the lowest entry level positions but he wants all of us to strive to be more. He doesn’t “hire” us to always be at the entry level! It’s time to work our way up from that job to a supervisor or manager’s spot, people! Stop doing just enough to get by and take a step out and try to advance His Kingdom!

Clearing The Way: Finding Yourself

You know, after figuring out that you are not the center of the universe, I’m sure that it's easy to ask yourself what else there is to do. You've started to move yourself from the center and God into that space. Perhaps you have decided to look at other aspects of your life and are making some changes there as well. Yet, when you look at the road you are now on, it can be hard to figure out where you are going, as looking forward all you see is the horizon.

Today I'm going to tell you a little about my trip thus far, to give you an example of where I've been and how I got to where I am today. So here we go with the abbreviated version:

Let's start at the beginning. In elementary school I was the fat kid. I was picked on all of the time, which is pretty much where my sense of humor started. I got to the point where I started making jokes before anyone else so that I didn't get picked on, moving the attention elsewhere. In 6th grade I really began to lose the weight with the help of playing a number of sports. Yes, the sense of humor stayed.

In High School I played basketball through my Junior year and I was the first 4 year starter for PCHS soccer and captain for my Jr. and Sr. years. Senior year I put my focus into Port Clinton DECA (Business Program). This is where I gained a lot of public speaking and community service experience. DECA, along with my soccer skills, led me to being recruited to Defiance College (a D3 school - as the D1 & D2 wanted to red shirt me, and I didn't want to go to school longer than I had to!) for soccer and a new program called Service Leaders.

Long story short, I started to party a lot as I entered college. I spent most weekends enjoying the freedom of being at college and was very social trying to spend as much time at the girls’ dorm as I could. This went on for the most of my freshman and sophomore years. I was drinking a lot and wasn't even making a number of classes, almost causing me to lose my Service Leader Scholarship and lead to me not playing soccer after my freshman year.

Midway through my sophomore year I started to realize I needed to clean myself up. The very next week after I made this decision, a buddy of mine introduced me to a girl he wanted to ask out. She was on the women's soccer team and yet I'd never seen her before. If you hadn't guessed, that was Traci. I liked her from the first time I met her, but I didn't try too much since I didn't want to make my friend mad. Instead, I became good friends with her over time. Then, after some time my buddy decided he liked his new crush, which allowed me to ask Traci out. We actually went out on a date and had our first kiss that night. She actually told me at the end of the date that she wanted to be just friends as she didn't feel a spark, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship so I lied and agreed to that.but it didn't stop me.

Around 2 months later we were dating full time. A year later I took her to Europe on a trip my dad needed chaperons for (he's a French teacher at PCHS and needed adults to go along with the students). I proposed to the love of my life on top of the Eiffel Tower on June 11, 1998. Lucky for me, she said yes! Not only was she the woman for me, but she was a Christian and was opening my eyes up to things that I didn't get/understand from my Catholic upbringing. She kept teaching me while learning things herself. We were married a year and a day after getting engaged, on June 12, 1999. We were living down in Sidney, Ohio and going to church. This is when I really started to get what I used to call "The God Thing". Through Bible studies and my beautiful wife I was becoming a Christian, though at that point I hadn't made a full commitment.

After Traci had taught second grade for two years and after we had Noah, we decided that we wanted to be closer to the grandparents. So, we moved in with my parents in Port Clinton while I looked for a job closer to both of our parents. (I had taken a job at a distribution center as a manager after college.) I took some part time work at a local hotel and eventually was hired by Boy Scouts of America as an executive for Erie and Huron Counties. We had to be centrally located in the counties, so we moved to Norwalk.

After moving we began looking for a church that was like the one we went to in Sidney. The second church we made it to was NAC, a church we’d driven past many times on our trips to visit Traci’s family in New London. We felt so at home on just our first visit that we decided it was the place for us. A couple of weeks later (Oct 20, 2001) a British guy comes to the house and talks to us, and changed my life for ever. He taught me how to invite Jesus into my heart for good. He then invited us to a small group he was starting with couples just like us, and since we'd been in a small group before we jumped right in.

Since that day my life has been different. We've made it through some times that would have probably destroyed me in the past. From losing a job to a miscarriage, God has worked in my life for the good. He's been faithful and really working in my life every day. I have calmness in my life because I KNOW that God is there and that He IS working in my life. I firmly believe that He put Traci in my life at just the right time as I, even though looking to change, could have easily headed further down the slope I was on. He provided me another person to care for, to support me, and lead me back to Him! It was according to His plan that we met when we did, that we didn't connect right away, etc. I thank Him every day as I am the luckiest man in the world because I have such a caring wife / best friend and a Heavenly Father who cared enough for me to send her my way!

Now I'm an elder at NAC and attempting to be a light in the world for him each and every day. I have a mentor and am mentoring others myself. I focus myself at the start of every day by reading (and believe me this is hard as I hate reading) something that will focus me on God instead of the world or myself.

I'm not going to lie and tell you that this is easy or that it all happened right away. It took time to get here and it wasn't my timing, but God's timing that it all fell into place. I feel I was to go through everything I did to be where I am today - and that there is a reason for all of it.
So, what do you think? Do you think that being a Christian and changing your life is too hard and not worth it? Is there a reason why God has you in this place in time doing what you are right now? Maybe you work at a place that has many co-workers who are searching for something else in their life and God wants to use YOU to bring them to Him. Maybe you have gone through a foreclosure in the past and could be there to walk along side someone else going through that same thing right now. Maybe you’ve gone through a job loss before and could do the same with someone who lost theirs over the past few months.

God knows where you are in your life and why you are there right now. He has a plan for each one of us, something I think that I’ve shown above. When I left the Catholic church as a disgruntled teenager I never expected to be an elder at a church like I am today. I got really into rap and hard rock music when I was a teen, and now advocate the same types of music today to my children – just now the lyrics are focused on God and not on how horrible our lives are, sex, name calling, etc.

In conclusion I ask you this question: how has your life changed? You are never going to be perfect as you were not created to be perfect. We are here to bring others to Him. Our lives need to be an example of that in every way we can make them. It’s not going to be a fast transition for most. It’s not going to be easy for a lot of people either. What I can leave you with is that the change is worth it! If you haven’t yet take that first step towards a relationship with Jesus. I would love to discuss that with you and to some day read your testimony. If you already have started along the road be encouraged as you are not alone on your journey – He is walking right along side you as He is with me, even when I didn’t know He was there.