Rated R

We just finished our 5 part series at Radiate (our Wednesday night student ministry)

(Thanks to friends from DC Metro for the graphic!)

We established that Relationships are very important to God and He is very interested in a friendship with us and cares deeply about how we relate to those around us (1 John 4:11)...He actually wants us to have GOOD relationships! (go figure!)

1st we talked about MAKING friends and how you need to ACCEPT others (Romans 15:7)...you can do that because "God accepts...it doesn't matter if other people reject you!" So go out there and accept other people, even if they're different then you!

• Clint Eastwood showed us how to REJECT People
• A smelly lesson in the power of ACCEPTING others.

On the 2nd week we talked about MAINTAINING Relationships and how one of the biggest reasons people lose relationships is because of selfishness, so the solution is to be SELFLESS, you can do this by choosing to SERVE others (Philippians 2:3-5)!

The 3rd week we talked about MENDING Relationships. What can you do to mend a relationship that has been hurt? We talked about the common problem is that we never address the issue and instead we end the friendship and tell everyone else about it. A starting place for Mending relationships is to FORGIVE the other person (we can forgive because Christ forgave us!)...and if you are the one that did something wrong, go seek THEIR forgiveness by apologizing sincerely. Once you have Forgiven you are more able to go to the other person and talk out the problem instead of telling everyone else about it (Ephesians 4:25-32).

• Spiderman gave us 2 lessons about how bitterness will consume you and how revenge is in our hearts and messes up our lives if we leave it there.

Our 4th week was perfectly timed to coincide with Valentines day :-) and we talked about finding a Matching Relationship. The truth is that God has an awesome plan for your life and he cares deeply about who you end up with (Jeremiah 29:11-13). That is the 2nd most important decision you will make in your life!!! I think He'll make sure you know when it's the right time and right person! The key here is to TRUST that in fact He does have a good plan for you and that His ways are better then yours (Proverbs 3:5-6)! When looking for that "Matchless Match" you want to make sure you stay aligned with God's standards (some of which would be purity and unity in belief, values, and direction).

• We got to watch the CLASSIC clip from Fiddler on the Roof, "Matchmaker"
• The Skit Guys helped us remember not to lower our standards with their hilarious video called "Need Harmony"

Finally, tonight we talked about Maturing Relationships...By continuing to practice the principles from before with those in our lives (Accepting, Serving, Forgiving, and Trusting God) and then BUILDING OTHERS UP. We took some time along to look at these verses and what they say about Growing Up in our relationships to others (you can click on the link to read the verses for yourself)

James 4:11-12 – Don't speak evil. James 5:9 – Don't grumble against each other. 1 Peter 1:22 – Show sincere love and love each other deeply from the heart. 1 Peter 3:8 – Be of like mind, sympathize with one another. Be humble. Tenderhearted. Love like family. 1 Peter 4:9-10 Be hospitable (food and housing). Use gifts we have to serve others. 1 Peter 5:5 Serve others. Submit to elders. James 5:16 Confess to each other. Pray for each other. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 Love others abundantly. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Encourage and build each other up. Hebrews 10:24 Help motivate others to love and good works. Hebrews 10:25 Meet together and encourage others to come. 1 John 3:11, 3:23, 4:7, 4:11-12 Love one another! 2 John 1:5-6 Love one another! Galatians 5:13 Use your freedom to serve others. Galatians 5:26 Don't be conceited, provoking, or jealous. Galatians 6:2 Help others with their life's burdens. Philippians 2:3-4 DON'T be selfish or try to impress others. DO: humbly think of others and their needs. Romans 12:10 Make it a point to honor each other. Romans 12:15 Be sympathetic with what others are going through! Romans 12:16 Don't be proud: accept others, even if they're different! Romans 13:8 Don't be in debt to your friends! Show them love instead! Romans 14:13 Don't condemn others! Watch how you walk so you don't cause them to fall! Romans 14:19 Aim for harmony! Try to build each other up! Romans 15:5 Ask God for help in living in harmony with each other! Romans 15:7 Accept each other as Christ accepts you! Ephesians 4:2-3 Be humble, gentle, patient. Make EVERY effort to remain united through peace! Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another. Colossians 3:9-10 Don't lie! Become like Christ! Colossians 3:12-13 Be merciful, kind, forgiving, patient, gentle, and humble. Colossians 3:15-16 Live in peace. Be thankful. Teach and counsel each other with God's wisdom!

Thank You ALL for a great series and for the ways you help make Wednesday and Sundays possible!

I'm looking forward to learning more with y'all as we take this year to GROW in wisdom, stature and in favor with God and all people (Luke 2:52)!

New Baby = Shifts

As you may already know, it's hard to get some sleep when there's a newborn in the house. I find myself looking up and realizing the day is already gone! I guess that's how the infant stage is: trying to keep up with all that's going on. Which kind of reminds me that it's that way at anything you start or launch, you spend that first stage filled with joy and adrenaline that carries you through the long days and nights involved in launching a new stage of life, work, or ministry.

In order to remain sane a few natural shifts emerged. So far I've taken every first part of the night, like 9 or 10 until 1:30 or 3...hopefully sooner tonight, I'm exhausted! Then if Abigail woke up Bonnie Jean would watch her for the rest of the night. And during the day Jerry and the rest of us would watch her as needed.

Night Shift

Day Shift

Guy Shift

(Playing Wii Mario Kart AND keeping Abby asleep at the same time! We sure can multi-task!)

It's such a joy to have Abby in our lives!!! We've waited so long for this...even for the late nights! :-) The Lord Hears! Even as God miraculously brought us this child in answer to prayer and in alignment with His desires, I believe that God is about to "birth" other areas of ministry that have been several years in preparation for this time of our lives which will lead to more shifts in the way we live life! The Lord Hears.

First Family Portrait!

Happy Parents!

"What are YOU lookin' at?!"

AWESOME DAY!

Well, it's been a long several days...longer for Sarah then for me though...but it's been an AWESOME day! Today at 2:53 PM Sarah and I became parents of a beautiful little girl that weighed in at 8 lbs and 13 oz. named Abigail Hope. We've just met her and already she has brought joy and a fulfillment of hope to our lives. Thank you God! Words can't express the gratitude in my heart!

Sarah did amazing during the whole thing (she's my hero!) putting up with 72 hours of regular contractions and no sleep and finally having to go through a C-Section to get the baby out (she was looking up instead of down so she would never have made it out!) and now we have a precious baby girl that God has given to us. The Bible says that He who promised is faithful and He will do what He promises! There's an awesome story behind that, but you'll have to wait to hear it later on here and on Sarah's blog...speaking of which, you can also go there to see some pictures of Abigail Hope Snyder and more: www.samandsarahsnyder.blogspot.com

CompassionArt

Now we're talking! "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

Thank you Stew Carson for the link to this video.

Sleepless

Tonight I am staying up as late as I can so that tomorrow I can sleep in as late as possible because at 3 p.m. we are taking a van load of students across the state of MN to Duluth for a 12 hour Blitz with about 300 others students. There will be a rally, bowling, snow tubing, movies, basketball, and an indoor rock climbing wall! Then at 7 a.m. we will turn around and drive back. Fortunately Pastor Dean will be helping us drive back after spending the night in his warm and comfy bed. I sure hope I can make it through Saturday with whatever sleep I get in the passenger seat!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Tonight we were able to celebrate the conclusion of 2008 with some friends. Tomorrow we will be celebrating the New Year with my Grandparents, Dean, and some out of town friends that are stopping by in the afternoon.

As I look back over 2008 I see some pretty amazing things where God has shown his miraculous provision and faithfulness. Here are some of the things that come to mind right away:

• We are expecting a child!
• We were able to visit all of our family members this year!
• We had awesome experiences with Radiate Student Ministries and have seen lives changed by God and that makes it all worth it.
• I was blessed to help speak or lead worship at a variety of events.
• I was able to work with many awesome people who have been doing construction on ONE24 and we continue to get closer...It looks nothing like it did at this time last year!
  
• Together with Justin, I was able to share the vision of unified ministry (ONE Alliance Developments) with multiple churches in our community (every time I was either preaching or leading worship the same Sunday at my church too so tag-team preaching worked very well for us!)
  
• Our church sadly saw our Pastor of 9 years move on to help with a church plant...there was joy in seeing them go do what God has called them to do, but sadness in their moving 3 hours away. But God places His people in His Church as HE sees fit and HE knows what He's building.
• I was the only pastor at our church for 4 months (and survived juggling school, summer camps, and all of my other church and para-church responsibilities only by the Grace of God!)
• Our church successfully navigated a healthy pastoral transition! We are looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2009.
• Ate at Qdoba & Chipotle more times than any other year (praise God!) :-)
• Shot 2 hole-in-ones playing frisbee golf (2 different courses...real significat and life-changing, I know :-)
• Helped shingle a roof with my Dad, Mom, and Sister...that was a VERY crazy week!
• Had a wonderful weekend hanging out on the North Shore with my wife.
• I lost all of the data from my laptop right after I had organized all of my files just the way I wanted them and was a couple days from backing everything up on DVDs...which caused me to buy an external harddrive to make complete backups easier so I would do them regularly...great choice!
• Was diagnosed as having "the lungs of a 70 year old"...I guess that explains the wheezing! That was followed by much prayer and medication. I feel as though I'm breathing easier now then I ever have in my life!
• Helped Sarah with decorating ideas for our baby ?????'s room (don't try to figure out the name based on the characters, it was random). Lots of sanding on my part and a lot MORE painting from Sarah.
  
• Tried for the first time in 2008: played cribbage, Trivial Pursuit, and Wii Mario Kart (and loved it). Bought a motorcycle (good times) and an Ebow (still learning to use it). Saw Toby Mac in concert (AMAZING), met the great Tom Netherton of Lawrence Welk fame, and went to an amazing Whintley Phipps concert with my wife and grandparents. I went ice skating, and survived! Finally, I attempted to lead some worship songs while playing the guitar, bass drum, snare drum, and singing (that was fun, but definitely "interesting"...I probably would say that leading from the bass is still harder than that though),
  

Looking Ahead: I believe that 2009 will be a year of INCREASE! I'm expecting a great year...maybe a year of Multiplication? Or maybe the word is growth or fruitfulness? I don't know...maybe that's just because we're having a baby :-) I'll be working on some resolutions that I feel God might set as challenges for me, my family, and our ministries tomorrow morning. I'll update when I have some of it.