Who moved?

We live in a magical land of disappearing mountains…  I wish I was kidding. 

 

We are fifteen minutes, at most, from the bottom of the Sequoia’s and on a good day I can see them from my front yard; giant, glorious, snow-capped mountains.  And then there are the other 6 days of the week that I step outside and all I can see is the sky.  And by “sky” all I mean is the color blue.  Which is far less exciting.

 

I have to say unless you are from the Central Valley this concept is a bit foreign and irrational.  The only way a phenomenon like this could take place is well… in a Disney movie.  Mountains don’t just disappear.  They can’t be here one day and not the next.  They are mountains for goodness’ sake. 

 

But, there are two things I am certain of…

 

I haven’t moved.  I am in the same city, in the same house, with the same front yard. 

 

And, the mountains haven’t moved.  They didn’t wake up one day and decide to reside on some other plain until God Himself decides they should relocate, so come Hell or Noah-high water, they are there.

 

These two factors are not up for debate.  They are constant, unchangeable.  Therefore the only possible thing standing in the way of my beautiful mountain-view, is the sky. 

 

And in this case specifically, the smog in the sky.  It’s tricky and blends in with its’ surroundings.  You wouldn’t even know that it was there except for the fact that it alters the appearance of things familiar to me causing me to try my best to explain to visitors that although it may not look like it now, there are in fact mountains in our skyline.  And when I see their eyes roll a little- or their courtesy head nod- I say more boldly, “no, I promise, they are there!  It may not look like it today, or maybe even tomorrow, but they are there!”       

 

Have you ever tried to convince someone of something that you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt to be true?  

 

Or… have you yourself ever walked away from something that used to be “so clear” but has become murky and confusing?   

 

If so, I hope you can find peace in my mountains. 

 

I have been through seasons of life where I felt like God was more tangible than anything I have ever known, but I have also been through seasons when I have felt like I was completely and utterly on my own.  On the top of the mountain one day only to find myself in search of any mountain at all the next.  And in those moments I ask myself one question.  Have I moved? 

 

This question can only be answered with one of two words- yes or no… So which is it?  Are you feeling confused, uncertain, uneasy?  Have you walked away from friends, mentors, church, or even God?  Have you moved, changed, or done something to create space between when you had peace and now?  And if the answer is no, if you know that you know that you know, that you are exactly where you should be- then let me tell you something my friend.  Something that may seem confusing and absurd at first.  Something that may even be irrational… God hasn’t moved.  It may seem like it.  You may stick your head out of the window of life and be visually assured of what you believe in your heart is already true- but it’s not. 

 

He is there.  He is for you.  And He thinks the world of you.

 

Exodus 14:14 says “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” This verse has brought me more comfort in the last few months than any other...  I shall hold my peace.  The word they use in the Hebrew is “charash”- which literally means to be silent or keep quiet.   It is a verb, a deliberate action of controlling yourself from speaking and thus “holding” onto peace.   When I start to feel confused or uncertain of things I remind myself of this verse.  I remind myself to just stop… to trust God… to hold my tongue… and to grip down on the unchangeable truths found in the Word.  So be it smog, storm, cloud, or flood- whatever may be getting in the way of my beautiful peaceful view- I will plant myself on the solid rock of Jesus Christ until it passes by.  I will be immovable. Unshakeable.  Certain of what my eyes temporarily cannot see.  I will HOLD my peace until everything clears up again.  And my prayer for you, is that you will too.

 

 

 

 

Matthew 28:20

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Weird is the New Cool

When I was in the fourth grade my family moved from a small town in Central California to a city that had a grocery store just down the street, and believe me that is a notable fact especially when you once had to drive 45 minutes each way.  This move was the beginning of a lot of new things for me; a new house, a new school, new friends… and a new word that would creep into the depths of my heart and become my very identity for too long.  I wonder, just maybe, if this little word has crept into your life as well. And if it has, you are not alone.

 

* * *

 

We moved in the middle of the school year and the school I had gone to before was much further along educationally, despite our tiny town, than the one I was now seated in.  To make up for this, I was given flash cards to study while the class continued on with their daily work.  Many times during the week the teacher would ask a question and minutes would go by in complete silence until I would look up at the board, raise my hand, and give the answer only to look back down and continue on in my own little world.  I don’t say this braggingly.  In fact, it is something I wish I could forget.  I hated being that girl.  And that’s when I was first introduced to the word…  Sitting with my head down looking at my box of cards I heard a kid whisper, “she’s so weird”. 

 

Weird

 

Just seeing the word makes me want to punch something, but I digress.

 

In high school things didn’t change too much.  By my senior year I found myself eating lunch in a choir room in the back of the school, taking my own sister to my senior ball because I was the only one of my friends who hadn’t been asked.  Yes I had a few friends.  I even had great grades.  I was an intern in our youth group.  I brought ten to twenty students with me every week to church.  I was involved with marching band all four years and even made it to be a section leader.  I thought by the time my senior year rolled around I would have grown out of it but then the last school newspaper came out- the one with all of the “most likely to this” or “most that”- and I found my name…  you would think that I would have been ecstatic to have been voted for something... to have been noticed… but it wasn’t something I wanted to be known for.  “Most unique”, that is what I was voted… most unique, which I was sure was just another way of saying someone who doesn’t fit in, different, uncool, or weird.

 

Years later I still have days when I walk into a new environment and think to myself “do I fit in here?” And it is with great sadness (and joy- if that’s even possible) that I say that some days the answer will be no.  Really?  No?  Why would I be happy about that?  Why did the very word that once destroyed any ounce of self-esteem now become the thing I am most proud of?  Why wouldn’t I want to fit in?

 

Do I want to feel like I belong here?  Absolutely, we all do.  You have great purpose and BELONG just like I do.  But we shouldn’t strive to fit in.  We don’t fit.  We are square pegs trying to be shoved into tiny circle holes and being told that if we don’t conform we are weird.  (Yes, we are squares.  I said it.)  Don’t give in, don’t compromise values or your faith, don’t settle for folding in your corners to fit into a tiny space that culture will allow you to be in.  No, my friends, just no.

 

The bible says that we shouldn’t “conform to the patterns of this world, but [we should] be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2).  Conformity is for faceless, nameless, robots and you beautiful girl (or kind sir… you know just in case my husband reads this) are not that.  You are weird.  Yes I said that too.  You are a weird square.  One who I hope is still reading even after all of this name calling. 

 

I want to encourage you to embrace the things that make you different.  Culture may say it’s not cool to wear turtle necks but if you love them then you just go on rocking them anyway.  Because we aren’t here to please culture.  We are here to please God.  And I hate to point it out but that will make you a “hater” sometimes, or a “hypocrite”, or just plain “weird”.  And that’s ok.  I know it doesn’t feel good, but it’s gonna be ok. 

 

If what you are doing, saying, wearing, or thinking is pleasing to God- then just keep on doing it.  He is faithful and just as He called the Israelites out of Egypt to be “separate” to lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land, He will do the same for you.  If I could grab my 8 year old self and look her straight in the face, I would tell her it was all going to be ok.  That I made it.  That being different isn’t the worst thing that could happen.  Being the same is. 

 

So be quirky.  Crazy.  Sensational.  And for Pete's sake, be weird!

 

 

2 Corinthians 6:17

“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”

Chocolate Cake is Good!

In recent conversation I found myself saying how I would love to visit New York but never live there.  As soon as the words had escaped my mouth I thought, wait… really?  Did I mean that?  Why would I say that?  New York sounds amazing!  But the more I have thought about it the more I agree with what seems to be a somewhat wise girl trapped inside this crazy body of mine. 

 

Imagine, if you will, having a momentary lapse in commitment to your newest “diet”.  We all have them.  Our “fat” days that cause us to rethink all of our food choices until that giant piece of chocolate cake is offered to us and we decide that it would be just rude to deny taking it.  Or a friend calls and has had the worst night of her life so you tell her to come over so you can both eat your feelings in a giant bowl (or carton) of ice cream.  Guilty!

 

That dessert is worth it, and delicious… but can you imagine having that dessert every day for a year?  Not just for one meal but for all meals?  I can tell you that by the end of the first day you will not want to look at another piece of cake again for the rest of your life.  Not because it isn’t good- it is- but it isn’t special anymore, it’s expected… familiar… boring.

 

Imagine if we were to assume the same thing of our friendships, churches or even our relationships with God?  Imagine taking for granted that your friends have always been there for you and allowing something small to get in between you?  Or what if the church that you used to be so excited to bring your friends to became ordinary and even you had to fight to get yourself up out of bed on a Sunday morning to go?  Or worst of all, what if God has proven Himself over and over to be faithful in your life and slowly you stop spending time with Him until one day you question if He is even there?

 

It reminds me of Samson; an imperfect man with an incredible gift from God, his strength. Beyond that Samson had something else of the greatest importance- a relationship with God.  In reading the story recorded of Samson in Judges 16 you come across one  of the most horrific statements every recorded… (vs. 20) “when he woke up, he thought, ‘I will do as before’… but he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.”

 

When something becomes routine, even the most extraordinary of things can become ordinary.  There is no other option, if we do not realize it, other than to take it for granted. 

 

Another baptism night… another testimony… another story of deliverance…

 

“But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.” 

 

Why wouldn’t he realize?  How could he not even notice that the Lord was not with him?  More than we’d probably like to admit, we find ourselves doing the very same thing that caused Samson to wake up alone on that dreadful day… “when he woke up he thought, ‘I will do as before’…”  I will do as before.  I will do as… BEFORE.

 

I’ll just go to that one person who prayed for me.  I’ll just recite those two scriptures.  I’ll just find that one place at the altar that I felt God last.  I’ll just pat my head and rub my stomach because it worked LAST TIME.  I’ll just do as I did BEFORE.

 

God is not living in the past, and neither should our relationships with Him be.

 

My challenge today is for myself.  To look around at the relationships in my life as if it is for the first time.  To look beyond current  or past (temporary) circumstances that have been preventing me from seeing the bigger picture.  To remind myself, because we are human and we forget, how truly good God is and how blessed we really are.  To be intentional with our words and our actions.  And to not go through life flippantly expecting that things will stay the same and require no further action on our part. I will not do as I did before, but I will do something new.  Because God is chocolate cake… and chocolate cake is GOOD!

 

 

Psalm 34:8

 Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

 

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 43:18-19

 Do not [earnestly] remember the former things;

 neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing!

 

 

 

It's time we talk about suicide...

It’s time we talk about suicide.  It’s time we talk about it now instead of when it is too late.   In the next 24 hours almost 1,500 students will end their life.  I’ve put this heavy subject off for a while thinking it may scare a few readers away but it’s time.

 

Our first year as being youth pastors I was a bit young and naïve.  The youth group where we pastored was filled with students I myself had gone to school with, I being only two years their senior.  That year was full of curveballs and life lessons, each taken with a grain of salt.  I most often failed but knew that giving up would be so much worse than pressing on- so I pressed on.  During that first year, and the many to follow, we have faced a lot of intense issues dealing with students.  Death, drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, and many more but nothing hit me harder than this one little word… suicide. 

 

There was a high school literally right across the street from our church.  That first year we served as pastors a young girl at that school took her own life.  Have you ever heard news so shocking that it literally took your breath away; as if the act of breathing had somehow changed from an involuntary response to something you had to tell your body to do to keep from falling over- in and out, in and out.  This isn't something that happens to people you know or in the city you live.  This happens to people you read about in the papers or watch on the news, but not here not now.  Could I have done anything to keep this from happening?  Could I have taken the five minutes to walk across the street?  If I had, would I have even run into her?  Would I notice her withdrawn posture, the loneliness in her eyes?  Would I have offered to sit next to her and be a friend?  Would I have listened to how the hope had left from her conversation? Could I?  Would I?

 

Last week’s blog was on regret, and this my dear friends is one of the greatest regrets I have.  I know it is a little on the absurd side to think that I would have stumbled upon her and our conversation would have led to her being with us today- but that’s the thing about regret, it always exaggerates.  It keeps us captive inside our “could haves” or “should haves” until we ourselves realize that we’ve stopped moving forward with our own lives.

 

We can’t fix it, we can’t change it, but we can be better because of it. 

 

Judas was one of the twelve disciples.  When I think of this I cannot keep from thinking that he had eleven friends he had done life with for three years.  They traveled together.  Prayed together.  Experienced miracles together.  Sat at the feet of Jesus together.  So how did this man go from a friend and disciple, to betrayer and regret-ridden hopeless man that took his own life? 

 

He had made a huge mistake and his friends deserted him.  Can I just take a minute to say that we all make mistakes.  We can say all we want that sin is equal, and it is- but only in the eyes of God.  In the eyes of man, unfortunately, it is so very unequal. 

 

Judas had betrayed the very man that had brought them all together and instead of forgiving his sin and reaching out a loving hand, they forsook him and turned their backs to flee. (Matthew 26:56) Friend-less.  Judas runs to the chiefs to try and undo what he had done only to have them respond in sarcasm, “what is that to us?” (Matthew 27:4)  Hope-less.  Judas forgets the words of Jesus in the garden, that it “must happen” (Matthew 26:54) so that the “scriptures may be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56) and decides to end his life.  Purpose-less. 

 

If he had waited just a few weeks, Judas would have seen that his one act of betrayal was only the beginning of our beautiful redemption through Jesus Christ.  Just a few weeks.  But he was friendless, purposeless, and hopeless.  Friendless.  Purposeless.  Hopeless.

 

Girls, I share my stories with you and point out scriptures such as these so that by it we don’t feel the burden to fix it or change it, but be better because of it. 

 

Fight to be a friend.  A real friend doesn’t walk away when mistakes are made, fight for your friendship even if the one you are fighting against is yourself.  Were you hurt?  Betrayed? Forgive them.  It will probably change your relationship, but don’t abandon them! Knowing Judas would betray Him, Jesus still called him “Friend” (Matthew 26:50). 

 

Offer them hope.  No one needs their failures shoved in their face.  Believe me, they haven’t forgotten about them.  It is probably all they've thought about.  If you are to offer anything offer hope. 

 

Remind them of their purpose.  Over and over in the Bible we find that God has a unique purpose for us all and it is not something that gets thrown to the wayside when we sin.  We are still worthy.  Still called. 

 

If you know someone battling depression or suicide be "FOR" them-  Fight to be a friend, Offer them hope and Remind them of their purpose. 

 

And if you are someone who is struggling with it yourself, let me be your friend!  Don't give up, press through.  You have purpose and there is hope!  I know life gets hard sometimes, I know it seems all so very overwhelming but there are brighter days ahead.  I promise you, as one who has been where you are now, it gets better.  God has great things in store for you, just hold on.

 

 

 

 

 

Hebrews 6:18-19

¹⁸ So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. ¹⁹ This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

I should have helped

At the end of 2013, my husband and I had an “open house” night for students, friends, and family to say their goodbyes before we moved to Visalia, CA.   It was an emotional night to say the least but it was full of love and laughter.  When things had started to wind down, I noticed Rich had a certain look in his eye.  I hadn’t seen this look in quite a while.  It wasn’t anything you’d expect on a night like this.  It wasn’t sadness, although you can be sure that there was sadness in the room.  It wasn’t love, although there was much of that also.  No… it was the eye of someone who was planning something both great and horrific.  A particular young girl had been provoking Rich all night, all year really at the youth group, and the prankster that he had made dormant for many years was about to rear its ugly head.

 

I am not one for pranks, I feel way too bad afterward, but my husband on the other hand is the king.  He’s done some pretty extreme things in years past (nothing that was unprovoked, would harm another person and all in good fun) and that night wouldn’t disappoint.  

 

After dumping two giant cups of freezing cold water on her, a few guys had wrestled her out the front door and locked it behind her; Rich of course waiting in the front yard with a hose to spray her down.  And spray her down he did.  She was SOAKED.  It made for a lot of laughs and some great memories but the thing that caught me off guard the most did not come from my husband at all, it came from my little five year old. 

 

Hearing the commotion Michael had put on his Spiderman costume and ran into the room screaming “Super-Michael is here”.  Upon seeing the boys wrestle the girl out the door; Michael turned back and ran into my bedroom where I later found him hiding behind my bed.   When I realized that he was hiding I crouched down to see what was wrong and all he kept saying was “I should have helped her”. 

 

My heart was filled with sadness, looking into the eyes of my son who was so full of regret that he had to hide.  I never want him to feel that way again but I know that it is a part of life.

 

When I was a sophomore in high school I was invited to junior prom with a boy that had been a mutual friend of friends for many years.  It was a great night; I got dressed up, did the typical “I’ll have a salad” for dinner at the nice restaurant, and away we went to the school to take pictures and stand awkwardly to the side like most sheltered horrified introverted girls my age.  At the end of the night I faked feeling ill so he’d take me home, and I went to bed.  Super exciting I know.

 

Just one year later, this boy had become more of a friend.  We weren’t incredibly close but he was really nice and such a gentlemen.  The night of his graduation he stayed up all night and never woke up the next day.  I remember hearing the news saying to myself, “I should have asked if he knew God, I had spent enough time with him that I should have asked.”

 

For weeks I beat myself up, he was gone and I would never have another chance.

 

I share these two stories with you for a few reasons.  Often times we act like Michael did the night of our party.  We see an injustice happening, get ourselves all ready, pump ourselves up with tons of scriptures, and then seeing the magnitude of the situation- we run and hide, only to recite a list of I should have’s later on.  Even if we contribute in a small amount to the situation we never call it enough.  I should have… I should have…

 

We are human, we fail… A LOT.  Think of Judas, he walked with Jesus for 3 years and ended up betraying Him in the garden for thirty pieces of silver.  In Matthew 27 we find Judas full of remorse, bringing the pieces of silver back to the chief priests in hopes of finding some way, begging to find any way, to undo what he had done.  Can you imagine the regret that was in his heart?  The thoughts of “I should have” that plagued him?  It was so unbearable that Judas realizing he couldn’t take it back took his own life.

 

If you have walked through a situation that left you full of “I should have’s” then I have three things to say to you…

 

Can you change it? Is it possible for you to travel back in time and change what was done?  No.  It is with great sadness that we must conclude that everything that we do cannot be taken back.  We can’t change what was done.  We can’t go back and encourage instead of bully, speak up instead of keeping silent, say no instead of saying yes, go to church instead of going to the party… or even help instead of hide from the girl about to be doused in water.  I can’t go back in time and ask my friend if he knew God, ask if he had a relationship with Him.  With everything in me I wish that I could.  But we can’t.  Judas knew this all too well.

 

Can you fix it?  Is there something you can do to help bring restoration to the situation?  Maybe.   For me, there is nothing I can do because my friend is gone but for most of you there is something you can do.  You can apologize if there’s someone to apologize to, or seek help and accountability.  For you lucky few there is definitely no way to change it but there may be a way to fix it.  And if there is… DO IT!!!  But understand that some things will not and can not be fixed despite your best efforts.  It doesn’t mean that you don’t try, even if it is never enough for the other person- try anyway.  Judas tried to fix it, tried to give the silver back but it wasn’t enough to save Jesus from being beaten, mocked and crucified on the cross. 

 

Can you be better because of it?  Is there a lesson to learn that you can decide within yourself that from here on out you will be different?  YES!!! After attending my friend’s funeral I knew that I was not anyone’s Savior, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t reach out to my friend’s.  I started bringing friends to church and talking to people about God.  Not in a preachy way, where I felt the burden to see them all accept Christ.  No, I understood that I was just a vessel for God to use and I would live my life in a way that brought Him glory.  And if He did open a door for me to use words, I took it.  I knew I couldn’t change what happened, and I couldn’t fix it, but I could be better because of it. 

 

I wish that Judas could have understood this too.  If he had, he would have lived long enough to see Jesus come back from the dead and make a way for us all to live with Him in eternity.  He was so plagued by his past that he deprived himself of a future.

 

If you are reading this and you are struggling with an “I should have” of your own, I beg of you to let it go.  You can’t change it, you can try to fix it, but you can and WILL be better because of it.  Press on.  Forgive yourself and press on.  Tomorrow is a brighter day. 

 

 

Acts 2:25-26

²⁵ King David said this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. ²⁶ No wonder my heart is glad,
    and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope.

 

 

**Regret is the great thief of joy, but hope will restore it back to you.**

 

 

Resolution for Resolutions

It is already nine days into the New Year and I have yet to find a moment to sit down and write out some goals for this next year.  For me, the most time consuming part of the whole process is not thinking of things I want to accomplish.  Not even close… I have lists with their own lists of things I want to do.  No, I think we all know what we want to do, I think the hardest part of moving on and dreaming again for what could be is letting go of what has been.  I have heard it said that “you enter the next relationship how you left the last one”.  It’s true, and not just in relationships but in all things.  Life especially.  Before you can make resolutions you must find resolution. 

 

In the short 365 days of last year there were highs and lows, trials and triumphs, questions and answers, hello’s and farewell’s, goals accomplished and goals forgotten, things you never want to remember and things you never want to forget.  So much life lived and things experienced, all working in one way or another for our benefit.  But it’s time now to lay it to rest.  My friend, it’s time.  There are big things on the horizon that can only be achieved once we’ve said farewell to 2013… So here it is, my farewell…

 

This may age me a bit, but there used to be a very popular show called “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”  (Can I sidebar a moment and just say, who is saying “no” to this question?  You can help a lot of people… and buy a lot of shoes… with that kind of money!)  If you aren’t familiar with this TV show, let me help you to imagine what it was like.  Imagine taking a multiple choice test that ranged from “my little sister would know this answer” to “I must have missed this section in my pointless knowledge class”, all while under a time limit, oh yea and in front of the whole world.  No pressure.  Test anxiety, schmest anxiety.  Think Jeopardy but with only one contestant who sits in a chair with a spotlight shining down on it like during a police interrogation.  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

 

The only bright spot of the whole show were these three wonderful options in case you got stuck (which in my case would be on question 2).  There was the poll the audience option, the fifty fifty, or the phone a friend.  PHONE A FRIEND!  I don’t know about you, but I have some friends amazingly gifted in the knowledge of random-facts in my phone.  Like for instance, my sister.  She’ll pull little jewels of useless knowledge out all the time.  Like did you know that a woman who wears lipstick eats about eight pounds of it every year?  I did.  I can thank my sister for that!  This option is my favorite on the show but you can only use it once… bummer!  Once you call a friend you must continue on with the rest of the questions without their help.   

 

I am sure that if I called a friend on question 2, that I would seriously be kicking myself once I reached questions 7 or 8.  If I reached question 7 or 8, let’s be honest.  But it isn’t the fault of my friend.  It is part of the game.  I can get mad or frustrated but it will do me no good.  That question is over, they gave me the best help they could offer, and now it is time to move on.  Time to let it go.

 

And here comes the point of my taking time to describe to you a such an outdated TV show… That level (2013) is done with.  It’s time to let it go.  God brought people into your life to help you in one way or another to get through and for some reason if they didn’t make it to this New Year, be thankful for the time you shared and move on.   You are that much further in life because of them.  You have that many more funny stories to tell and memories to share with the future grandkids because of them.  You learned a few lessons and gained some wisdom because of them.  Whatever the reason this next level of life doesn’t include them; don’t get so caught up on your hurt that you forget about the good times.  Life is a journey and not everyone can stick around for the whole thing.  We are each on our own paths and sometimes we get the incredibly fortunate opportunity to share a portion of it with others, but when it’s just us it doesn’t mean that somebody “missed it” or “left us”- it just means that it’s a new level and their time with us is done now.

 

So farewell, 2013.  Thank you for all you gave me- both the laughter and the tears.  I am a better person because of it.  Thank you.  But it’s time to move on now.  2014 is calling my name and I have to let you go.  I will always appreciate you and what you were in my life, but no matter how present I wish you to be, you will always be my past.  No hard feelings.  Really.  It was a great year, I wish you the best. 

 

 

 

 

Philippians 3:12-14

¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Dear Students

Dear Students,

 

The last three and a half years (two and a half as your youth pastor) have been filled with great talks, memorable nights, and an innumerable amount of gut busting laughs- but there are still a few things I want to say.  Things I know in my heart you need to hear especially now that God is transitioning us on and I pray that you will take these words to heart.

 

You are ready.  

 

Jesus had three years with His disciples.  Three years to pour His life into them and teach them all of His ways.  Three years to laugh with them, cry with them, and do life with them.  But after those three years He was crucified and put in a grave.  I can guarantee you that for those three days the disciples talked about how they weren’t ready for Him to go.  How they didn’t understand why He had to die.  I am sure they said some of the things you have been thinking, and honestly I am so thankful for that.  It means that Pastor Rich and I have done what we are called to do.  I am certainly NOT comparing us to Jesus because we fail daily but I am wanting you to see how these twelve men handled the transitioning of someone who loved and led them.  I want you to see that you are ready for this even if you think you are not.  You are.  It is ok to have questions, to be angry, or to be sad.  It is ok.  But do not forget that you are ready, God would not be calling us to go if He didn’t believe in you, which leads me to the second thing…

 

God has not forgotten about you.  

 

Before Jesus was betrayed He spoke to the disciples about what was to come.  He talked to them about how they would grieve but how He would send them someone to comfort them.  John 16: 5-7 reads “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.  Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”  The Advocate.  (I love that word used to describe the Holy Spirit but that is another post for another day.)  Jesus told the disciples that He had to go so another could have a voice in their lives.  We believe with all of our hearts that our time with you was needed and appointed by God, but now He is calling for some new voices.  Give them a chance.  Whoever they may be.  Yes, Pastor Rich and I are moving and yes, we know in our hearts that God is the one leading us to do so, but this does not mean that He has forgotten about you.  He is bigger than that. God is calling us to go, but He is also calling others to come.  They will be the ones you need for this new season, just as we needed Jesus to go so the Holy Spirit could come and be with us as a constant voice of encouragement and conviction.  Our move may seem only for us, but it is for you too.  And lastly…

 

You will do great things

 

We all need many people to help guide us through this crazy thing called life.  Many. People.  These voices are there to encourage us because if we are honest with ourselves, life isn’t all that encouraging sometimes.  Despite what you have gone through, or maybe what you are still going through, you were designed with greatness inside of you.  The twelve disciples did AMAZING works after Jesus was crucified, came back to life and ascended to heaven.  Amazing works.  They did them because they allowed what they were taught to work as the foundation for their lives, and not merely something to leave behind as they moved on.  Remember what we’ve taught you from the Word of God.  Remember the many things God has brought you through.  Do not forget them.  Use them as your foundation to do great things. 

 

We love you.  We believe in you.  We are so thankful God chose us for this season to be a voice in your lives.  And if you find yourself in a few days, a few weeks or even a few years needing us just remember that a voice can be heard from across a room, or across the world.  So pick up a phone!   It is with a heavy heart we say goodbye.  But know that this goodbye is only for now, it is not for always.

 

You are ready, God has not forgotten about you, and you will do great things!!!

 

 

1 Corinthians 3:7

It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters

who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow.