Why She Deserves A Day

Mother's Day is approaching.  My appreciation for the art of mothering grows each year. No, actually each day.  While I have such deep appreciation for my mom and all that she did in raising both my sister and I, it is what I see each day in my wife that has caused my appreciation for moms to truly go through the roof!  Thanks babe!

Mom's deserve more than just a day.  This tells the story.




Source: http://FrugalDad.com




Call your mother! 

Prayer That Works

This last Sunday I preached a message entitled "God's Blueprint For Prayer."  If interested you may hear it here.  It was a look at the prayer model Jesus gave His disciples in Luke 11:1-4.  A prayer often times referred to as the Lord's Prayer.  What is important to note about this prayer, is that it is more about how to pray rather than what to pray.

In preparing my message I stumbled onto a piece written by an anonymous author, that sums up what I believe to be the heart of Jesus, particularly when praying in such a fashion.



I cannot say, "Father" if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.

I cannot say, "May your name be kept holy" if I am playing around with sin.

I cannot say "May your Kingdom come soon" if I am not allowing God to reign in my life.

I cannot say, "Give us each day the food we need" if I am trusting in myself instead of in God's provision.

I cannot say, "Forgive us our sins" if I am nursing a grudge or witholding forgiveness from someone else.

I cannot say, "don't let us yield to temptation" if I deliberately place myself in it's path.

As we pray, may we be remember the words of Proverbs 28:9 that "If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable."

May we be committed to not only honoring God with our lips, but with our very lives.  For when we do, we can be assured that our prayers will be heard.

Kony 2012

It was in 2006 that I first learned of the plight of the Invisible Children in Northern Uganda.  Thousands of children forced to leave their homes each night so that they might sleep without the fear of being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).  You may learn more and read my initial thoughts here.

Now six years later the movement has gained incredible momentum and has now reached a history changing moment.  I love the spirit of the movement.  I appreciate their values and their passion for seeking and fulfilling biblical justice.

As we head into what is sure to be a very volatile election season, there is one thing that I believe all sides should agree on, justice.  I stand with this movement in making Joseph Kony "famous", bringing him to justice, and stopping the crimes he is perpetrating.

Please take 30 minutes of your time to view this video and then ask yourself what your role might be.




UPDATE:  Since the release of this campaign there has been a fair amount of critique, concern, and  criticism.  I appreciate the response of Invisible Children to the concerns that have been raised.  I encourage you to read it here.

UPDATE #2:  One month after the release of the first video, Invisible Children has released this follow up video.  Well worth the watch!

This Week At Foothills

I love being a part of all that God is doing here at Foothills Community Church.  I have the privilege of having a front row seat to life change everyday.  Our purpose here at Foothills is to reach the thousands of unchurched people in our geographic area with the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and to equip them to experience His presence and demonstrate His power.  It happens everyday!

I also have the privilege of experiencing all this with a great group of people!  Love the team God has allowed me to work with!  Each week youth pastor Sam Stuckey and I put out very fun video highlighting all that God is doing around Foothills.

I give you This Week At Foothills...



Who said church announcements needs to be boring?!

Strangers

Spent some time last night talking to students about the importance and power of sharing our faith with others.  Over the course of the discussion the realization came to them, that not sharing their faith was a pretty selfish decision.  Christ has given us an amazing gift; the gift of salvation.  It is a gift not to be hoarded but rather shared.

Jesus makes it clear that we are to be engaged in sharing our faith.  The amazing part of it all is how God uses that.  We may think that our only impact is on those we spend time with, but the truth is, it goes much further than that.  That stranger sitting next to you in the coffee shop may be following Jesus, because of you!

 

Another Year Down

As 2011 comes to a close I must give pause to reflect on the amazing year it has been.   After a three year odyssey of a whole lot of change and uncertainty, 2011 has been the year in which the dust finally settled.

Each day we find our selves thanking God for the way He has provided and blessed.  He has blessed us with a new home, new relationships, and an incredible church community to name just a few.  Our hearts are full.

As is our family tradition over the past few years we have put together sort of an online Christmas greeting.  A video that looks back of the past 12 months showcasing some of the many highlights.

Here's to 2012.  I look forward to what it holds.

Christmas Blessing Ministry

Love being a part of a church that cares so much for the community.





Thank you Foothills!

Beauty Abounds

How often do you take the time to slow down and just appreciate?

Appreciate the blessings in life.

Appreciate the little things.

Appreciate the big things.

In this fast paced and oft times increasingly negative world we live in, it's much too easy to miss the beauty,  yet there is beauty all around us.

There is beauty in a smile.

There is beauty in the giggle of a child.

There is beauty in the changing seasons.

There was beauty in the ice formation I found on my windshield the other morning.



In the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."


In every passing second there is beauty.  Stop and appreciate.



Where do you find beauty?

Where I Live

I live in the state of Oregon.  Oregon is a stunningly beautiful place.  A true gem of God's creation!

Uncage The Soul Video Productions has just produced an incredible video entitled "Finding Oregon."  The video a 6 month compilation of time lapse photography captures the states unparalleled beauty.  It features the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, the Southwestern Coast, the Alvord Desert, Leslie Gulch, Blue Mountains, Crater Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Deschutes River, and more.



Read more about what it took to capture these stunning scenes here.  

Ready to visit?

Child Sponsorship

I just learned about an incredible interactive web series produced by Missions in Action, a ministry with the simple purpose of making a difference around the world.  They currently have a team traveling around the globe for the purpose of

1. Identifying a problem somewhere around the world that people are facing.
2. Highlighting the actions that individuals and/or companies are taking to help those in need.
3. Providing a way for viewers to help out through a specific call to action.

As a long time child sponsor and a blogger for Compassion International I am excited about the impact this series will have.

They currently are in the Philippians visiting children and families who live in extreme poverty in the flooded villages of Northern Manila, and showcasing the power of child sponsorship.

Watch this powerful first episode and then ask God what role He might have you play.

I have so enjoyed the relationships I have had over the years with various children.  Currently my family and I have the privilege of sponsoring  Fernando Isaac Tetlalmatzi Reyes in Mexico and so enjoy the developing relationship we have with him.  What a joy it is for my family knowing that we are blessing a young boy living in the midst of great need.

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to consider becoming a child sponsor.  You will bless a child in untold ways and you yourself will experience blessing like never before.

Persecuted

Last week I had the privilege of being at the Right Now conference in Dallas Texas.  In a question and answer session with Francis Chan, Francis was speaking about his recent experience in India.  When asked what the Church of India thought about the American Church he simply replied, they don't understand it.

He said, they couldn't understand why people would leave their church.  Why would a believer leave their church because they did not like they way their pastor preached?  Why would a follower of Jesus leave their church because they did not like the music?  Why would one leave their church because the children's ministry was not exactly to their liking?  You see for those that follow Jesus in a place like India, they put their very lives at risk to follow Him.  Faith is not something they claim with their lips but rather something they risk their lives for.

This Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  This Sunday as we head off to church with not a care in the world many thousands around the world are putting their lives in danger doing the same thing.

May this video produced by K.P. Yohannan, the founder and international director for Gospel for Asia move you like it did me.  May it remind us to not only pray for the 40,000 people that are put to death for surrendering their lives to Jesus, but also help us consider our own journey with Jesus.  May it cause us to fully surrender to the One that did likewise for us.

Big Buts

We are great at coming up with excuses.  Let's just make sure our buts are not bigger than our whys?

God calls us to a life of surrender and sacrifice.  May we not forget that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

HT: Rodney Olsen