The Tension is Good

This week at Catalyst has been a lot of fun! It's been great to meet new people leading some amazing ministries. It's been great to hear the stories of how God has used OPEN to change lives and impact ministries all over the globe. This is my first year at Catalyst, and it's a lot like I expected it to be... It's a great mix of leadership, passion, high flying craziness, off the wall thoughts, and life changing biblical points!

There has been SO many good points spoken from the platform that it's going to take a while to go back through to articulate exactly how I can apply them to my life. Over the next few weeks, my hope is to be able to process some of these thoughts with you.

Starting with the overall theme of Catalyst they displayed how

the tension is good.

For YOU why is tension good?

Catalyst 2010 Christine Caine

Don't just do Church. We must be the Church.

Is our heart beating for the things that Christ' heart beats for?

27 million are lost in human trafficking.

God is consumed for the lost. It's about the ONE.

Love is in the Air

It's been a while since I have actually typed out more than 140 characters... due to twitter, but I wanted to say that Valentines day can be more than just a once a year day! I am a big believer in romancing that special someone on a regular if not daily basis...

So just keep that in mind! Also if you start right right away, turn your v-day into the day after and save yourself 50% on everything!

Up down...

Have you ever had one of those days that just isn't very optimistic? When you sit and wonder why, what for, how will I ever get through this...

What if we didn't listen to God, what would our lives look like? Would we become:

• Passive
• Scared
• Bored
• Intimidated
• Fearful

Sometimes I feel like that is the world I live in... It's all around me, am I like that? I believe that the enemy wants us to live a like points above, for it to be some ingrained into who we are... My challenge for you is to reflex on your life, do you have those traits? Are you saying "YES" to God? Or are you stuck?

Clashing

The Past and The Future...

Mine seems to be clashing in my dreams. Does your past hold you back from where God wants you to go in the future? God is teaching me right now that I need to "let go" and trust in Him.

Are there things in your life that you just don't want to let go of? Can you name what those are?

My challenge is: name them, let them go, and give them to God.

Feeling not so well

Health is worth a million dollars! It's amazing how much I take for granted when I can move freely and not a thing is wrong with the human body.

For the last 4 days I have been bed ridden. AHHHH it stinks when you feel stinky!

Now it's beautiful out and tomorrow is Amelia's big 1 year party, I pray I will be on the up and up...

Having "IT"

I'm currently reading through Craig Groeschel's new book called "IT". Some things have it, some things don't. You can't put it in a bottle and drink it and then have it...

What is it... Does your church have it... I believe if a place has it, you can feel it, sense it, and see it... life change...

In Owatonna there is not a lot to get excited about, O-twon is a great place to live, it's a great place to raise a family. Owatonna has something that seems to bring the it in focus...

Right now as I'm typing there are thousands of people going to one place for many reasons... The Steele County FREE Fair... This is the one place I can think of in our tiny town where a conglomeration of all types of people come together. You have rich, poor, white, black, handicap, big, small, all types of people coming together for ONE thing.... The fair has "IT"...

What can the church do to be that place that has "IT"?

Today is a Great Day

Today is my birthday... 24 years young!

It's amazing how days can sometime feel SO long, but yet the year feels like a blink of an eye...

How are you using your time? Are your priorities in line? Pray about it... if they are out of line ask God to show you what to cut or change!

Galatians 5:13

Living in freedom, serving one another in love.

What can happen when we live free in God, what could happen if we served one another in love.

On Friday nights I go to our local prison, I see guys who know they've made wrong decisions, I get the opportunity to hear and share there pain... They are in lock down... Is there any hope?

I've found some of these men have a heart that cares, a heart that breaks for others... Ironic...

I've challenged these men to live free in God, to serve those they are around in love... What could happen to a prison where the men inside knew God, believe God's truth and served others in Love...

What could happen to your work place, your home if you served others in love...

Our Trip

Man oh Man... Oklahoma is a great place... livable = totally, real=defiantly

We meet so many new friends... The people there are amazing, their hearts are full of compassion.

If you get a chance go and visit lifechurch.tv that place will rock your world. I promise you will meet people who care and just have the love of Christ embedded in them!

Thanks to all of you who we got to spend time with, it means a lot!

Living in the Present

Sometimes in life you come to a situation where you're not always sure what to do. It's easy to beat our selfs up for past mistakes, failures or mishaps. It's easy to worry about the future, the what ifs, what am I going to do when... for me it's planning SO far out that nothing ever seems to come to pass. The stat I heard was that 80% of the stuff we worry about never happens... wow

A great friend of mine recently shared with me about living in the PRESENT. That's what Jesus did, he didn't beat him self up for past mishaps, he didn't focus on what he was going to do tomorrow. He knew his mission, he knew his values and he stuck to to them! He lived in community with the people he was with at "THAT" moment, living in the moment, living in the present.

I'm working on it, it's hard... How about you?

Time Off

Jesus rested... right? we all need to take a break every now and then. In the church world sometimes it just seems like your constantly going. Or at least that's how I feel. I'm excited for my wife and I's upcoming trips!

July 18-20 | OKC [Lifechurch.tv]
Aug. 1-3 | Somewhere up north a wedding and peaceful getaway.

How about you. Any trips, and plans for rest?

Something NEW

There has been some sweet things happening lately.

• Started a prison ministry that has been a blast
• Bethel's New Life Experience on Saturdays... Top Notch
• Amelia is standing whenever / wherever

What's new with some of you?

Are You Aligned?

It's been a while since I have made a post. Sorry about that I've been pretty busy. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too busy. I would have to say lately I have been. When you put "things" before family... it's not good.

That's been my last two weeks. I haven't taken a day off, and I am constantly on the go. I think it's time for a "break" I think it's time for a little deserved time with the family. So how about you?

Are your priorities in check?
Are you leading by example?
Are you using your time wisely?

Lately I have not... But this week is the first week in a LONG time that my priorities will be in alignment!

I hope yours will be to!

Keeping Him Involved

Yesterday I was prayed for... Like I've never experienced. Prayer is powerful. Prayer can change lives. Is it hard for you to pray about small things? Is it easy to pray when there seems to be no hope...

My challenge to you is to involve God in everything... Every aspect of your life, talk to Him like he's right there next to you... because He is!

Sometimes it may seem like your prayers are not making a difference, or it may seem like God is not answering your prayers like you think he should... But praying makes a difference! Sometimes you just don't see it the way that you expect to see it...

Now is the Time

Do your actions match up with your words? What would people on the outside say about your character, about your beliefs. Do you resemble Jesus?

How about loving others, do you know your neighbors? How about your co-workers? Do you know what is going on in the lives of your friends who are outside the church?

Do you have relationships that need attention?

There is a time to go to church... But now is the time to be the church...

I'm All In

Creating a culture of excitement can sometimes be a difficult thing. What are you passionate about? My passion is to see people become fully devoted followers of Christ. Sometimes it requires a season of hard work in my life.

I feel like right now it's that time. So I have 2 choices.

1. Ignore my calling and do nothing
2. Just do it

It's nice to have the support from a loving, caring, praying wife. It's nice to have friends who have your back (even if it's only a few).

I've realized that in your calling, you will make some people upset, you will offend some, you will make some feel uneasy. If God has called you to something, Just do it.

God has called me to go all in... Leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

How Is Your Heart?

Lately I have actually been a little more upset than usual. For some reason, I have been negative. I've been negative about relationships, I have been negative about NewLife Experiences. I've been down from the same people I call to hangout and/or come to NewLife that write me off every week...

I guess I'm negative for a couple reasons...

1. It feels like I'm not helping advance the kingdom. I'm praying, but sometimes thats hard to know it's helping because you don't always see the outcome (even though it is...)

2. That's it...

I realize that I get to choose my attitude. I'm down, but I'm not out. It's nice to know that God is with me.

God is good all the time!

Speaking Life

What kind of words do you speak to your spouse...

What kind of words do you speak to your friends?

One thing I keep finding myself falling short of, is treating those close to me with kindness and gentleness... Do I give my wife the patience she deserves... sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't.

Why is that? Why do we hurt those closet to us the most?

I want to treat everyone the way that I want to be treated. It starts today, it starts for me by thinking about "EVERYTHING" that I would say instantly, by pausing and thinking about the effects of those words before I speak them.

I want to speak LIFE into others... Who have you hurt?

For me, I need to go back and apologize to some people in grade school that I hurt... I defiantly did not speak life into them...

Your words are powerful, do you want to build up or tear down?

Take It To...

Your walk with God is important. Do you feel like you can talk to Him about anything?

Is God a safe person you can go to? When your down and out, who do you seek first? Is it your spouse, a trusted friend, a co-worker... or is it God...

Sometimes in life I find myself skipping out on the person who loves me most. If it's good news, I forgot to say thank you, if it's bad news, I forget to ask for help and seek wisdom.

My challenge for you is to take everything to God first!