Here It Comes...

It is hard for me to believe, but the new semester starts in about 2 weeks. Can you believe it? I am always amazed at just how fast the Summer goes by. With the start of the new the semester, I am excited about the possibilities of the new school year and I believe that the Lord desires to work in us and through us.
I pray that we will listen to God more rather than all of the other noise around us.
I pray that God will give us an opportunity to serve others more intentionally.
I pray that we will thoughtfully consider what it means to live by faith daily.
I pray that we will be led as a ministry by the Spirit as we seek to minister on the Georgia Southern Campus and the Statesboro community.

Let us pray that God will draw us close to His side and give us the wisdom to effectively represent Him on our campus.

The Hard Work of Trust

Brennan Manning offers a story in his book, Ruthless Trust, about Mother Theresa. A man goes to her and asks her to pray that he will have clarity. Mother Theresa tells him, "No I will not do that. Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of. " The man insisted that she had the clarity that he longed for. It is said that she laughed and said, "I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you will have trust." pg. 5 Ruthless Trust
I need to ask myself this question daily:
Do I long for clarity in my life or do I truly long to trust Jesus? How about you?

Spiritually Speaking

So I have been reading this book and it has been very challenging. The books title is, Ordering Your Private World, by Gordon MacDonald. It is a classic that has been re-released. Early in the book MacDonald asks the question, "How are you doing spiritually?", which stopped me dead on the page. I needed that question. It is a pointed question and very helpful, because I could not get around it and I had to deal with the state of my hidden world. I have been doing well, but this put a new twist on it. Gordon says that our lives are spiritual and just merely logging in a "quite time" is not going to cut it. We must allow God to order our private world in a way that completely renovates our hearts. I am still reading the book and have been significantly challenged by each page. I encourage you to grab one from Amazon.com and begin the process now.
It is so easy to be defined by our outer props. We are known too often by what we do or how active we are. It seems that in my life I have easily allowed myself to be defined by the multiple hats that I wear. How about you? Are you known for you job? Do you consider yourself successful or a failure because of the outer crutches you have?
In your spiritual life, if all the "stuff" was taken away, what would be there to sustain you. I have to ask myself this question and remember that it is the Lord that sustains my life. Habakkuk 3:17-19 reminds me that all of life is not 5th Avenue.

"How are you doing spiritually?" Gordon MacDonald

Back Home

It is good to be back in the Boro. I can hardly believe that I have only been gone two and half weeks. I feel like I have been out for about six months.
It is fun to travel, but there seems to be nothing quite like home. It is always good to see my wife ans other familiarities. It is interesting how distance really does make the heart grow fonder. I wonder why this is. Do we become so used to something that we have to be away in order to actually appreciate it? I am not sure, but this does seem to be the case. This is a sad reality to me...
I looking forward to the beginning of the Fall Semester. I am praying for the Freshmen as they move to town. The year will be a challenge for us all, but it is especially hard when you are just learning the ropes and testing the college water.
I pray that we will be available to God to use us in ways that will impact the others for Christ. May we stay in step with the Spirit.

The Lessons of Life

I have so enjoyed my time here in the San Francisco area. The time here has been so refreshing. I really cannot believe that I have just about finished my second year in school. I am so thankful for the work that I have been able to do. I have been pushed and challenged. At 35 i must say that i really am a different person. I have found life and vigor once again. I cannot believe all that Jesus has shown me over the last 18 months of my life. I am so blessed and so grateful for all that the Lord is doing in my life. I find it hard to believe that I am at this place today. Just about a year and a half ago a friend of mine told me about the program here at Golden Gate and I thought, yeah I think that would be something that would be good. Little did I know that in the process of earning a degree, the Lord would completely change my life.
Over the next few days I will journal about what God has shown me. First, I am too driven. I need to slow way down and let the Spirit speak to my soul. I need to listen for the words from the Savior who loves me. I need to know that I am valued, because at times I feel useless. I need to know that my God gives grace to the downcast, because I am often ashamed of my actions. I need to know the discipline of God, because too often I just want to hear the easy words from Him. I am thankful for the relationship that I have with Jesus, for he has changed my life. I am a new person. I want to love more fully and embrace life with the strength that he affords me to take each day as a gift from His hands.
"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6