Words for your journey.

This is for my Life church family. We have done life together for more than 4 years. As that comes to a close, I wanted to leave some words with you. Most of this will sound familiar. They are things that I have preached about. They are things that we've talked about in conversation...whether in my office, after service, on a trip, or over a cup of coffee.

Words for your journey...

My heart to yours. Pastor Jared.

1. Love God. Love People. Let everything else flow out of that.
2. Make the connection between real life and real faith.
3. What you do today is forecasting your tomorrow. Your choices matter.
4. Man up. The buck stops with you.
5. His grace is enough. He makes all things new.
6. Be repentant. Be humble.
7. Be obedient. Obedience produces faithfulness. Faithfulness fuels anointing. Anointing is the fire of Godly passion. Passion fuels calling. Put it all together and you have the life that blows your mind.
8. Jeremiah 29:11. Write it on your heart.
9. You’ll never feel more alive or more like Jesus that when you’re helping others.
10. Spirit vs. flesh - what you feed will win. Feed your spirit.
11. Live a life that constantly allows God to disrupt your regular lifestyle.
12. Don’t live to please people. Live to please God.
13. Don’t make other people’s issues your own. You can’t fix them. Only God can.
14. Make tithing a priority in your life.
15. Worship. Read. Pray. Repeat.
16. Praise your way through...everything...
17. Worship like no one else is around.
18. Pray scripture. Speak scripture. Memorize scripture. Live by scripture.
19. Keep scripture available. Make it digestible.
20. Pray. And stay around people that do.
21. Guard your influences. Guard your eyes and ears. Keep the Godly close.
22. Live heads up. Wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove.
23. Stay plugged in to church. You need other believers, and they need you.
24. Sowing wild oats isn’t worth it. Ever. You reap what you sow.
25. Go. Mission trips, conferences, retreats... get away, let God speak to you.
26. Be a catalyst for Godly change without becoming cynical. Keep a firm resolve while staying tenderhearted.
27. Live a life of excellence. Find mentors & learn from them.
28. Don’t settle for coffeehouse Christianity.
29. Don’t settle for anything but the best that God has for you. Don’t ever give up. It’s character building.
30. Ashley and I love you. We believe in you. Can’t wait to see what God does through you........ and when in doubt, always follow the #1 rule!

Barely Blogging Lately...

Life has been in fast forward... actually I guess I could pose the question, when is it ever not? Lately, I havent taken the time to blog - much less do the things that I want to... like sleep!... Ever feel like that? It seems that at times life gets ruled by the have to's and the need to's, and they end up trumping the want to's!

I've been keeping it to 140 characters lately (Twitter).

This fall, I've narrowed my scope in ministry in an effort to be more streamlined and effective. I'll write about that soon. Its been an incredible, strange, wonderful journey lately... and I wouldn't trade it for anything. God is doing good things.

Constant Connection...the New Disconnection...

Yesterday evening, our family was out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant grabbing a bite to eat. I noticed a cute little picture of a table next to us - it was pretty evident that it was a Grandmother and Grandson spending some quality time together eating dinner. As our meal progressed, and Ashley slipped off to the bathroom, as is usual custom to feed our 7 month old son, I began to notice the scene at the Grandmother/Grandson table in a little more detail. I noticed that they were not talking. The grandmother was eating quietly, and the grandson was... are you ready for this??? TEXTING... was I surprised? No, not at all. I've worked with teens long enough to know that texting their friends is something that comes as a no-brainer/must do for a teen with a cell phone today.

The scene that was being played out just made me a little sad though. No personal interaction. No conversation. An occasional short phrased question with a quick one to two word answer... The grandmother continued to eat in silence, and the grandson would give a brief smile and text a response between burrito bites each time his phone would sound the new message alarm.

I love technology, and use it. Texting, twittering, facebooking, etc... But seeing true personal interaction take a backseat to a cell phone really made me want to rethink my communication. It made the desire to display the details of my life on the web, and stay "connected" dry up pretty quick.

No matter how small technology makes the world, and how "connected" it makes the world... it can't replace the personal, raw emotion, and meaning of true face to face conversation. The teen at the table, it seemed, hardly knew how to act with out a phone in his hand...

What really hit home was remembering something that happened the other day when I was at home with my daughter. We were playing in her play room, and I of course, being the "connected" youth pastor that I am, had my phone with me. I received a text and continued to respond to it. That in turn became a series of texts, a quick check of email and a check of twitter updates... Ava, sat patiently, and when I was done, said "Daddy, put your phone down...play with me..." That hit hard. I don't want my daughter to feel like she has to play second fiddle to Daddy's phone because he's a "connected" youth pastor. I don't want my daughter to have to try to play with a Daddy that has his attention split between his little girl and his mobile device.

Constant connection won't be my disconnection from family, friends, and real life in general.

Just some food for thought.

Just another reason you gotta LOVE baseball...

Check out this pic link! Nothin like a little "chin music" in the
batter's box!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/gallery/day/flash.htm

To view the gallery, click the link or paste it into your browser.

Copyright 2009, USATODAY.com

Sent from my iPhone

The Marathon Season...

Every year I brace for a season of ministry I refer to as "the marathon." It usually starts in February, preparing for early spring conferences, and ends when school starts again in August... Between now and then there is little stopping... conferences, graduations, camps, retreats, summer events, leadership training, discipleship, community outreaches, mission trips, speaking engagements... sandwiched in is family time and vacation in there somewhere...

This year the marathon kicked off with our Sonfest event in Orlando. It was a great conference for the teens, and an awesome time for everyone in general. Now, the dust is settling from that event, and I am looking at a long list of what is to come. Exciting? Yes. Exhausting? Yes. Worth it? You bet. I'll catch a break in September when the world of youth ministry snuggles back into the groove of fall, school, sports, and the "regular" schedule. Until then, its time to keep pace for whats ahead this spring and summer. I find that this time of year, I can see more growth in the life of a student that at any other time. Whether it be at a youth camp, small group outing, mission trip, back to school retreat, or just hanging at the office because they have nothing better to do with the summer day... its time to capitalize on every opportunity... and rest later.

Those of you in student ministry know what I'm talkin about. Make the most of it!

A thought about communication...

Here's a thought...
When trying to communicate better with someone, it's probably best that we find out what makes them tick and what ticks them off. Knowing both will keep your communication steered in the right direction.

If you are in a leadership position working with people, this might be a good thought to keep in the back of your mind. Learning what makes people tick will enable you to motivate people, and learning what ticks them off will enable you to choose timing and approach correctly when you need to have "one of those" conversations... :)

Wednesday Night Winding Down

I'm currently winding down from tonight service. I am chilling out,
kind of half watching Late Night with Jimmy Falon, and missing Conan's
comedic timing. We had a rocking service, and I am amazed at what God
is doing. Seeing teens truly grow in their relationship with God is
an awesome thing. Teens being used in ministry, memorizing scripture,
giving testimonies, inviting friends, asking about ways they can
serve, actively involved in discipleship... It's been great to say the
least. We are seeing fruit from 3+ years of work here in Huntsville,
and I thank God for the opportunity to serve here.

Sent from my iPhone

Seriously, who carries a fake badge...kind of scary

Cops: Man late for flight claims to be air marshal

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=RVb4QrYA

Sent from my iPhone

M&M's, Beer, a Thrift Mart and Iraq

Man says veteran status should let him steal candy

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7735/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=mdwjcERF

Sent from my iPhone

My early morning view...

Up early on my day off. Camden is bright eyed and ready to roll at
5:45... Me on the other hand, not so much. No matter how tired or
early though, my little Buddy gets me smiling.

Been awhile...

Wow. Blogging has totally taken a back seat to family, life, and ministry. I guess its time for updates and such, and continuing to post - Its just one of those super busy seasons in life when you buckle down and just focus on what is MOST important. We've all been there. When pressure is on, priorities rise and take their rightful place in our lives. For Ashley and I, lately, it has been raising our 2 year old, 5 month old, and managing our ministry. Here is a run down of the past couple months:

No sleep.
Changing diapers.
Pacifiers and burp cloths.
Early mornings, late evenings.
Tivo.
Caffeine addiction increase.
Making ends meet.
Trusting God in all things.
Vision casting for ministry.
Building teens in ministry.
Budgeting in life and ministry.
Traveling and speaking.
Building momentum, then rebuilding momentum in ministry.
Trying to stay warm, trying to stay healthy.
Seeking direction.
Ear aches, runny noses, and ER visits.
Gaining perspective.
Re evaluating.
Re caffeinating.
Being shocked by how quick the calendar is moving this year.
Trying to stay a step ahead.

Can you relate to any of this?

Through it all here are the words I've held on to:

Matt 6:33-3433 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Priority first, and all else falls in line.

And over our ministry and life, this is what I've been speaking and praying:

Jer 33:33'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

I'll be the first to admit I don't know it all or have it all together. Thank God that HE does, and is ready and willing to guide us.