sports weekend...whew!

what a weekend we just had! it was all day sports day on saturday....
noah and nate both had opening day baseball games...nate's team the owlz played first...then opening day ceremonies....a quick lunch....then noah's team the bats played....with team and individual pictures mixed in as well....nothing a like a nice spring morning and early afternoon at the ballpark. i'm so proud of noah and nate both....the both played the pitcher fielding spot for their respective teams and both were the leadoff batters in the lineup. Both played exceptionally well. with all the excitement there was a little sadness...another "last first"....it was nate's first baseball game...i realized as he was playing that I would not have another first baseball game with one of my sons....they are growing up so quickly.
and speaking of growing up...luke is now 13 years old...i can't believe it....he is on the aau basketball team i'm coaching....we played in our second tournament this weekend....so after two baseball games that morning we were involved with 3 basketball games that late afternoon and evening....what a day! the team did really well and luke played great! we were 4-1 on the weekend with all four wins over 20 points each....we lost in the championship to a team that finished 5th in the nation last year....now we know what kind of work we have to do....i'm really enjoying working with these 13-14 year old boys....watching God work on them little by little is amazing and rewarding.
whew!

what is sustaining?

only one thing....Jesus!

in John 15:5 Jesus says the He is the vine and we are the branches...and that by staying connected to Him we would produce a lot of fruit....just as a branches is sustained by the vine it is connected to so are we sustained when we are hooked up with Him!

we try to find strength, joy, encouragement in all kinds of places....we try to find it in the people we love....we do lots of different things in search of that ultimate feeling or experience....but I'm learning through some hard things right now that Jesus is who sustains me....I can find all that I need in Him!

my prayer today: Lord, help me stay connected to you. Sustain me with all that I need from You today. Teach me not to look anywhere else, but to look to you. Amen.

refuge...

where do you go to find refuge when life gets a little uneasy? where do you find strength? it is so easy to turn to places of comfort...friends, family, food...all kinds of places to turn to for comfort and to feel safe. what do you do when the storms of life are affecting all the places you feel safe?
turn to Him....Psalm 73:26 says "...my flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever..."
i am learning more and more that everything I have is sustained by His strength....He is the strength of my heart, the strength of my peace, the strength of my joy, the strength of my understanding, the strength of my forgiveness, the strength of my love....
when i take refuge in Him i find this strength!

i make my dwelling in the shelter of the most high...therefore i sing!
i find my rest Lord in the shadows of the wings of my king!

my prayer today...
Lord, I choose today to open my heart and take refuge in You. Give me a song to sing today as I recognize and experience your strength in every area of my live! I love you Lord. Amen.

faith needs to grow ... grow up!

i had some thoughts this week about growing up in Christ....Ephesians suggests that we need to no longer remain as children but rather grow up into all things in Him! being followers of Christ requires alot but promises more! Christianity is by definition comprehensive...it envelops all of life. if our faith and understanding do not grow, we will fall into the rut of giving attention to the more appealing parts of the Christian faith and neglect all that is has to offer.
immediate interests can make our Christian walk lopsided...we may fight battles valiantly without learning to rest in Him and thus exhaust ourselves and perhaps become cynical...we may discipline ourselves to maturity but never experience grace and therefore become rigid and self-righteous...we may be healed of our problems but rarely accept the pain and sacrifice of helping others...we may climb the mountains of success (financial, spiritual, relational, etc) yet refuse to descend into the pits of defeat where the majority of people live.
imagine with me that you have just been given a new fully furnished and equipped home...choose your entrance way into the house...did you choose the front door, back door, garage, porch, a window? let's just say that your choice led you directly into the kitchen area and since you were so hungry you stopped and made yourself a giant sandwich and devoured it...then you took a nap just to wake up into to prepare for dinner...you settle into the kitchen and gradually forget about the rest of the house. or you slipped into an entrance that led you directly to the library and you find your favorite book on one of the shelves...you hibernate in the high-backed leather chair, cover up with a blanket and begin to read...soon you are so cozy that you never want to get up. maybe it is the game room or the bedroom or the office...any of the rooms can divert our attention from all that the house has to offer by demanding our concentration to that one interest...
and sadly, I feel like we stay in those rooms and fall into that trap in our following of Christ...we become attracted to one interest or ministry and our following of Him becomes only as big as that interest and our world becomes small...and the abundant life becomes lopsided....
let's grow up together...and experience all that abundant life has to offer!

acquire the fire

more memories came rushing back this week...Friday afternoon after spending the day in one of my out-of-town offices I took Luke to the Sundance hotel to meet the other young people from his youth group. they were gathering to go to Acquire the Fire...a convention that will bring together thousands of young people with the goal of igniting their passion for Jesus! I was so excited that Luke wanted to go...he was really ready and excited. the memories of youth conventions gone by rushed through my heart and mind as I dropped him off. I'm so thankful for Art and Trish Seib, our youth pastors...they made it easy for me to feel confident about leaving him so far from home. I pulled to the back of the hotel and sat in my truck and just cried for several minutes. I know God has big plans for Luke's life...it is one of my greatest joys to help steer him toward his destiny.
i love you luke!

your time is coming soon too hope, noah, and nate! God has big plans for each of you!
i love you hope! i love you noah! i love you nate!

piano brings back memories

there are many things in life that can bring back a memory from your childhood or a time in your life that you really enjoyed...this week as I listened from the distance to Hope practicing here piano it brought back a flood of memories for me to when I used to take piano lessons and play in recitals...I can remember the proud look on my mother's face when I used to play...I feel exactly the same way about Hope...she is learning so quickly and is really good. I think she'll stick with it and be an accomplished pianist one day. I heard her playing a version of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"...I remember playing that song as a young boy.
Take some time to remember the simple joys that life offers.

the last first

some of life's last firsts can be exciting and sad all at the same time...we just had one of those this week. nate (our 6 year old son) lost his first tooth...he was excited, scared, uncertain...the tooth was so loose it could have just fallen out...after pleading with him to let me get it he finally agreed...however he kept biting my fingers as I tried to get a grip on the tooth...after about 30 minutes of great effort we got the tooth out...he said it didn't even hurt and he didn't cry at all! What a big boy!
As a dad those first experiences with a child are great moments that will be remembered...but knowing this was the last time I would experience this first with one of my children made me realize even more the value of time...it passes by quickly.
remember to spend quality time with your family!