way, Way...WAY More!

Sarah and I are very excited to be joining an awesome group that has launched out from Bethel Christian Fellowship in St. Paul to start a church in Minneapolis. We are currently commuting from Breckenridge on the weekends. The whole thing of launching out from this place of safety to start a church goes back to a clear impression I had of God calling us to step out of the boat, our place of safety, and take a step into the unknown where we would have to keep our eyes focused on Him. In the last several months leading up to this there have been several verses that God has used to strengthen and encourage me for the task ahead.

2 Peter 1:3 HIS divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

God's power has given us EVERYTHING we need to live for Him! Everything we need for the move. Everything we need to start a church. EVERYTHING we need for what He has called us to do!!!
One of the other passages is Ephesians 3:16-21 that says,

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do Immeasurably More than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

• Immeasurably More = exceeding abundantly above = way, Way...WAY More!

Our God is Powerful...He is Awesome! If you're facing something that seems like more than you can do in your own strength, remember that it is in our weakness that we see Him move in power! In Him we have EVERYTHING we need for life! We have been allowed to participate in God's divine Presence, Power and Purpose! We need to make sure we are tapping into His power that He has for us. I know I can get distracted easily, but these verses inspire me to pursue Him passionately!!!
He wants to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine IN and THROUGH our lives!

Last Day

Today was my last day at Valley Christian Church. I've been on staff here for over 6 years! Wow, time flies when you're having fun! It was a privilege to serve at this church and with these students! I will miss everyone very much...Don't hesitate to come visit us!
Tonight Stephen Bjorlin, who will be leading the Student and Worship Ministries for the summer, opened up the mic and let students share after I had said my final words of encouragement to the group. It was a great time, sad, but nice to go out this way then the other ways Stephen mentioned he has seen happen. I was also surprised to see that Stephen had taken some group shots from over the years and framed them for Sarah and I. Then they went beyone that and the students wrote notes on a poster for us as well. I even got an awesome cookie gift from Tiffany and her mom (the cross and the Bible one in the pic)! It was a good way to say goodbye. Stephen mentioned closure, but hopefully no one gets so much closure that they don't come help us load up the truck when we find a house! :-D

Mixed Feelings

There have been lots of changes in the last several weeks and with those changes come mixed emotions. We've announced that we are moving to Minneapolis to lead a church planting team sent out from one of our sister churches. There's sadness and then anticipation as I think about leaving here (sadness) and I think about moving to Minneapolis (anticipation). In the weeks since the announcement we've looked at houses and have found really good deals only to find out they had been sold and the system wasn't updated right away. So there's anticipation and then sadness.
Here's another one for you, this week we dropped off my favorite dog in the world (Mocha) with some friends of ours. They're checking her out for a week and if they like her they will get to keep her. They're a great family and I know they will take care of her and she'll even have a buddy named Moses to play with, but the mixed emotions come into play when I am sad that she won't be a part of our lives, yet I'm happy that she will have a good family to be a part of.
Wouldn't it be easier if things were just good or just bad? :-) I know that all of that is part of the the experience that we call life, but I thought I would share what's going on in my head at 12:50 in the morning: I have sadness as I begin the process of saying goodbye to what has been our life for the last 6 years, but I also look forward with anticipation to what God "has prepared for those who love Him!"

Life

This Resurrection Sunday Dean shared about the facts that support the resurrection and the difference that the Resurrected Jesus can make in our lives. One phrase that jumped out at me as Dean was talking about the crucifixion, he said that "Death makes us think about life." It really stuck with me because it has been the loss of our three children that have really changed my perspective on life. Death became very real to me after that and it has transformed how I approach life now. Viewing their deaths, and my own mortality, in light of the the resurrection of Jesus brings me hope and joy for this life and for eternity!

The Road Goes Ever On And On...

“The Road goes ever on and on - Down from the door where it began - Now far ahead the Road has gone - And I must follow, if I can - Pursuing it with eager feet - Until it joins some larger way - Where many paths and errands meet - And whither then? I cannot say.”
– Bilbo Baggins –

Over the past several months God has been showing Sarah and I that our time at Valley Christian Church was coming to an end. It has been an awesome several years here since I came as an Intern in the Winter of 2003. This year's graduation will be the 7^th one that I attend here...that's a lot of cake and mints! We have been blessed to see kids in our church and community become teenagers and teenagers become adults. We have poured all we've had into this community and have been blessed to see lives touched during our time here. We have been blessed to serve alongside awesome ministry teams and leaders. Hopefully we never forget the many lessons that we've learned while serving here!

Sarah and I weren't looking to leave when the call came to join a church planting team in Minneapolis. Our first reaction was that we were honored, but weren't really looking to leave, we liked it here...it was comfortable. At that point God began to make it clear that he actually thought we were a little too comfortable and we needed to take a step towards trusting Him more deeply. He was, in effect, asking us to "Step Out of the Boat." As Sarah and I prayed about it we realized that, even if we didn't understand how everything would fit together, it was the right time for us to take a step towards church planting that we had always wanted to do "some day."

This Sunday we took the final push off the edge of the boat and announced that we would be moving to Minneapolis this Summer to join a church planting team out of our sister church Bethel Christian Fellowship in St. Paul. We were sad to be saying goodbye, but we had a peace in our hearts and a still small voice that reassured us "this is the way, keep walking in it."

In the coming years we look forward to being a part of the lives of the students we have worked with...thanks in a great part to Facebook! We also look forward to working with the ONE24 team of leaders to see the doors open this Summer!

I believe that God is doing great things in Breck-Wahp and that He is also doing great things in Minneapolis! I am blessed to be able to participate with God in advancing His Kingdom here and now and there in the future!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Tasty Fundraiser!

I'm very excited to team up with Schwan's to help raise the money need to open ONE24. It doesn't matter where you live...YOU can help with this fundraiser AND enjoy delicious food!
Click on the image to read the details of how you can order to benefit ONE24!

I Hate Bacon

I love breakfast. It's my favorite meal. It's also the only meal of the day I know how to cook different types of food for, I think I could make pretty much any typical breakfast meal, except for bacon...I despise it! Don't get me wrong, I love eating it. It's just that I can never cook it right! It's either dried out or burnt! This morning I was making eggs and bacon for myself and managed to fill the house with smoke with the first batch of bacon...so cleaned up the mess and started over...then I dropped an egg on the floor, so Mocha was volunteering to clean it up, but I got to it before her. By the time I cleaned up my mess and made my breakfast it had taken me like 40 minutes! Cereal is soo much easier :-)