Revamp and New Schedule

I have been thinking this weekend about some sort of way to keep myself on a schedule to make sense. First, I have said that this would be a personal journal of a sort, but I also want to be open to talking about my life and what has happened to me. So, I think that its only fair to give where I have been, my testimony so to speak. I think that it will both allow myself to be open but also give me time to reflect on where God has led me from.

So, in that thought, here is my new schedule:

Monday-weekend thoughts, personal study revelations
Tuesday-my personal journey from past to now (will take a few posts)
Wednesday-"Crazy Love" study thoughts
Thursday-where God is taking me this week
Friday-something lighthearted and thoughts for the weekend


That's my idea at least. Hopefully it will give me a bit more focus and hopefully give me some idea of what to type about. Thus, today I am talking about what has gone on this weekend and what I have been thinking about.

Yesterday was another great service and a great worship set. Of course, I am a bit partial due to my gorgeous wife showing her amazing voice and praising God. But, even if she hadn't been up there, I would have been blown away by the sound of God's people singing. I have talked about that before on here, but its something that always moves me. I hear a church full of people earnestly singing to God and it makes me just stand in awe. When I think about that will be a part of eternity, getting to stand in a crowd of fellow redeemed people and sing of God's glory directly in front of Him, it just floors me. I know that this is probably part of my absolute love of music. I think that it has a quality that oftentimes mere words can't illustrate.

Then last night at the men's bible study, while we were talking about Galatians, Jeff mentioned how he doesn't put anyone in a position of leadership unless he trusts them. This made me realize that I wouldn't be part of the leadership of our little small group unless I had earned Jeff's trust. I know that it seems like something that I should have noticed before, but it just never really was something that I thought about. Now, I know that Jeff's trust isn't the end all be all, but its something like what Jon Acuff spoke about on Wednesday, wanting to be good enough. We, as humans, seek that approval from others. I then started reflecting on my life and how even just a month before my wife and I started dating, I wouldn't have trusted myself to lead anyone. But, God moved quickly to make me more the man that I am now. He continues to make me the man that I need to be, but I am miles from the guy that I was before then.

So, this morning I took the time to pray for today to be God's day. I wanted to be deliberate about making today not about myself but about what He has for me. With every action, every thought, every word spoken, I prayed for God's love to be evident.

Today I focused on just verse 6-9 of Galatians 1. The wording is very blunt about the punishment to some one teaching a false doctrine. I found it interesting that Paul even goes so far to say that "even if we...should preach to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we preached to you, let him be accursed." To me, this spoke of Paul's understanding that both he was flawed and that the gospel of God is that important. Obviously this is something that we all know, but just loved the emphasis that even he would consider himself cursed if he was to start preaching a gospel contrary to the one that converted him.

Well, that's day one of a new format. Hope that it still entices you guys to check out this place from time to time. Tomorrow, the early days of my life and my being brought up in the church.

Typing once more

I am really going to try and be a little better about posting on here. Mainly because I have some thoughts that are going on and I am wanting to get them out. Most of them deal with me just struggling with feelings and thoughts, but thats ok. Its one of the areas that I wanted to be transparent in this blog. I read something on Friday that really started my brain a chuggin'. I thought I would share that here.

Occasionally, I like to laugh. I know thats shocking and all of you are all super serious. But, I read the "Best of" from Craigslist on a normal basis. Most of the times its funny "Casual Encounters", which I usually avoid, or rants about some one's pet peeves that I all too often feel myself. But on Friday there was this post. I won't repeat it. Instead you should read it, and I will go into what it made me think about. The simplicities of life are often forgotten as we live our lives. When was the last time that you were thankful for having a light switch? I was just struck by that. It something that we all use everyday and never think of how it could be a luxury. I don't say all this to be down on us for our selfishness, but more so to be captivated by the gifts that we have. I mentioned how I loved the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. One of the points that I took from it was about how we often forget how amazing God is. We pray but forget that we are praying TO some one not just saying words. We get in the routine of prayer, but not the need for communication. When I was growing up, I was told that prayer is just talking to God. But thats the thing, its not JUST talking to God. Its talking to the creator of the universe. THE most powerful being ever. Yesterday we sang a song that has this as the chorus:

You are Holy! Great and Mighty!
The Moon and the stars declare who you are
I'm so unworthy, but still you love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great you are!

I have had that song stuck in my head. Last night as I was falling asleep, I was singing it to God as my prayer. I think that sometimes that I need the wake up call to remember how great our God is.

So, thats where my mind has been the last couple days. Does those words from a former Homeless man touch you in any way? What about the song? Do you often forget how amazing God is? Am I all alone?