I hope they never grow up

My youngest two are at that really fun age right now. Isabel is 4 will be 5 in Nov. Ebeth is 2 and will be 3 in July. I have always thought I would want my children to grow up quickly and be in dependant and not need that much care. In fact I have heard that guys want there kids to grow up quicker and women don't want their kids to grow up that fast. I gotta tell you I am having a lot of fun. They are so precious and just melt my heart. Regularly they will say or do something that is just amazing or just surprising for there age. Ebeth is so articulate and wiser than her age. Isabel just continues to go against all the odds with her struggles. She is so amazing.

I have always been someone that looks ahead to tomorrow sometimes at the sacrifice of the day. I tend to wish time away all to often to get to something in the future. I pray that I continue to soak up as much as I can with these two little ones. I guess it is such a huge deal to me with Ebeth in particular because in the 5 children we do have she is the only one that we have had the chance to fully enjoy the first 3 years of her life. When Hailey Austin and Tawna came to live with us they were 3, 5, and 7. Isabel had so many struggles and surgeries it was hard to simply just enjoy the time we had. She was and continues to be regularly in casts and other things that have tended to rob her of these early moments of life. With Ebeth we get to cram all our young child enjoyment into one.

I am totally in love with all my kids. There is nothing I look forward to more at the end of a day than to come home and have them great me at the door with a "Daddy!" "Daddy's home!" Thank you Lord for all of the gifts you give big and small. Thank you for the struggles that come our way...because they force me to rely on you and cry out to you with greater passion. God I see you in my children and ask you to continue to grow them, mold them, and shape them into Godly men and women after your own heart. Thanks God! Amen... What little joys and big joys does God bring into your life? Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Prayer & Crying out to Jesus

God has really been convicting my heart lately about prayer. He has reminded me how important it is and that I don't spend enough time talking to Him. Recently Isabel and her surgeries has had me on my knees. I recall about 6-7 nights in a row I would find myself in her room at her bedside late at night just praying for her...crying out to Jesus to protect her and provide for her. I remember last week we we got news of yet another surgery just breaking into tears and crying our to Jesus. I emailed a friend and asked him to pray for me and he did. It seems lately God has put me in some positions that my only response has been to pray about it. Even though they have been difficult circumstances i have realized that God has been drawing me nearer.

I would say in the past few months I have encountered more people who are struggling with illness, surgeries, loss of jobs, loved ones, pending surgeries, legal issues, financial troubles, broken relationships, marriages that are falling apart...the list goes on and on. My only response has been prayer. Not only in suggesting it to them but also falling on my knees and crying out to Jesus for them. There have been circumstances at church that continue to be an opportunity for me to go to God because I have no control over them. In all these cases I have found God pursuing me to talk with him more...to gather people together to cry out to Him and pray. He wants us to ask Him to heal our world, our country, our communities, our church, our families, our own lives. How has God been pursuing you to talk with Him more.

Maybe for you the pain you are feeling is God asking you to turn to Him for trust and faith. Maybe your struggle or hurt is a chance to cry out to Jesus in a way that you haven't in a long time. I encourage you to take the opportunity to turn your thoughts and concerns upward and to look at your life and honestly evaluate your circumstances. It could be God trying to get your attention. God may not move in our life in a big way or in the way we need Him to or He intends to if we are not on our knees crying out to him. Let's go to Him today. Lord, I thank you for the challenges you bring into my life, for drawing me closer to you. Thank you for wanting in on my life and seeking control. Thank you for not letting me go and being wrapped up in my own little world. Thank you that you are someone I can go to who has all the power I need for living. You are an awesome and faithful God. Amen... Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

My trip to UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, LA

Just got back at 3AM this morning from a great mission trip. We went to a mission campus about 3 hrs south east of New Orleans, LA. It is called the Sager Brown center. There is a huge building on the campus called the Depot. It is basically a huge warehouse that collects the many donations from churches and groups around the nation. They gather flood buckets, health kits, and school kits all designed to go to places both in the U.S. and to other countries where there are struggling people. While we were there we filled a huge container truck full of health and school kits that was headed for the Sudan. Afterward we gathered around and prayed over the shipment. It was a humbling experience. It was overwhelming to realize that we were packing and organizing the very kits that many of our churches had been donating. What a great reality check to actually see how those things are processed and where they were actually going.

Another part of the Sager Brown mission is to help local people rehab their houses after disasters such as Hurricane Ike and many others. Many people are at poverty level and don't have the means to help themselves so we show up and help them with general repairs. I hung doors, replaced stairs, hung gutters, replaced ceiling tile, and many other odd jobs. The other half of our group drywalled and entire house! What a blessing! It was a blast and a moving experience to meet the home owner and be able to help them.

All this is good but the best part of the trip is all the relationships you develop. We went with 4 others from our church, Old Fort UMC and also met up with a group of 11 from another UM church in Ohio. We were not the only ones there however. There were groups from N.C. Illinois, Indiana, and other places. I sure got to meet some super people. I was also able to deepen some good relationships with the folk I traveled with from our church. I think it is on these trips where we really get to know someone at a deeper level and it is a special time for all those that get to go. I sense that the 5 of us from OFC built a greater bond with one another simply by walking with each other (and riding in the same vehicle for over 40hrs too) on this journey.

While there I met a man who I worked on a house with during the week. We got to talking about other mission trips we had been on and I told him about a trip I took to Belize. He lit up and quickly said he had gone there too. In a few moments we realized that he had followed my team a week later and worked on the exact same project that I had. It was amazing. I had never met him before but yet we were eternally connected. The best part of all was that he said he and his wife returned to the church we were building years later and it was finished. He has pictures of it and everything. God sure is amazing in how he works. I know this was no small coincidence but a divine appointment with God. I met some really cool people this week and will always remember them and our conversations.

I feel like I have grow and been pulled out of yet another comfort zone. I can sense God working on my heart and revealing things I wouldn't normally have seen had I not gone. I encourage anyone and everyone to take a chance to go somewhere with a group of people and help others in some way in the name of Jesus. A mission trip is definitely a growth opportunity! It is something I will always remember and will soon plan to return to.

Isabel has succesful surgery!

Just got back from the hospital. We are holding up at my moms house in Dayton for the night. All went well. Isabel had some work done on her left hand. She has pins in her thumb and another separation of one of her digits. Should look great when the cast comes off in the next month. God has answered our prayers once again. He is so faithful. I can honestly say I never doubted. Not even when the surgery went on for an extra hour and a half longer then we had expected. God is awesome. Isabel is doing well. She is a little dopey and sleeping right now.

Something amazing happened at the Children's hospital. Then again every time we are at Cincy Children's Hospital God does something miraculous. I was getting some prescriptions filled for Isabel at their pharmacy when a young lady behind me in line asked me a question. She looked at me with red eyes that had obviously been producing tears recently and said, "I know this is going to sound weird but, do you pray?" Stunned with passion in my heart I quickly responded,"absolutely yes!" She then asked, "would you pray for my husband and my daughter Isabel?" I was stunned. Not only did God place me in this situation to be there to pray for her but she also had a daughter named Isabel...WOW! I put my arm around her right there in the waiting area in the Pharmacy and told her that God was good and that I was a pastor and I too had a daughter named Isabel and that I would absolutely pray with her. I heard an A-men from someone else in line that was overhearing our conversation. It was a real God moment. I prayed for her and for her family out loud right there in front of everyone. It was awesome.

How many of us would have the courage to ask a stranger to pray for us as Megan did? How many of us would believe God to be so faithful that He would bring us exactly who we need in a moment like that and cry out to them? I can't say that I have done something like that before. How amazing is it that God put me right there in that moment, a pastor with a daughter named Isabel who was having surgery as well, so Megan could have me pray for her. It was like God was using me as His Angel, or to literally be the hands and feet and heart of Jesus in that moment for her. God is so amazing. God is so good! You will never know when God might want to use you. Keep your eyes open He is always at work! Thanks for all your prayers. Not only did Isabel do well but I was able to help someone in need. I beleive it was because my family and I were surrounded by your prayers...thanks for all your faithfullness. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

It has been some time...

Well, "I'm back!" So many things have happened since I last wrote on my blog. We celebrated an incredible Christmas, started the new year, The Buckeyes lost yet another BCS game, and the Lions actually went 0-16! The miracle season. Many people doubted they could do it by I never gave up the faith that they could have the perfect season.

Anyways...God continues to remain faithful even when I worry and waiver. He is doing so many good things in my life and at our church. He continues to love on and guide our family in our many struggles (not that mine are any worse than yours). Next week is Isabel's next surgery. It will be a pretty extensive hand surgery and I am making arrangements to be there for this one. It is just so hard to not be there when she is going through these things. I count it a blessing to be in the situation that I am in to be able to take time away to tend to these family issues. My kids and Erin are so important to me. E-Beth continues to grow and develop and is now repeating just about everything anyone says. That is both a good thing and a bad thing. She is all over the place and is becoming quite sassy and mean at times. She tells us no and shouts and yells sometimes. then again that is about the only way to communicate in our household. No one can hear you unless you yell.

Christmas was a real blessing and an extremely restful time away from it all. It was surely needed. That doesn't mean we didn't have our struggles and frustrations with family. Christmas day was far from perfect yet through it all God remained faithful. He is so good. A good friend reminded me today that it had been awhile since I had last blogged. She even told me the exact date of my last entry. I had been thinking about it from time to time and needed a "kick in the butt". I really do believe it was God speaking to get me back in the swing of things. So, no profound thoughts just some updates on what God has been doing and the various crazy adventures of a family of 7 that is often out of control. I hope this latest entry finds you well. I pray that in this new year We all grow closer to our Lord and that we become better in serving Him. Thanks Lord for all you do. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

A steady reminder to stay the course

I will always remember the moment I realized I was meant to be a pastor. As a child the pastor of our church was a good man that my family really looked up to. I often watched him preach or serve over communion and other things during worship wondering if that was something I could some day do. It's funny how simple and seemingly pleasant his job appeared to be (man was I off). I mean after all pastors only work 1 day a week right...at least that is the running joke out there amongst parishioners in churches all over the states. The further along I get in ministry the more I realize just how difficult this job really is. Something that one of my colleagues told me once, has stuck with me all these years. He told me, "John being a staff member in the local church is the one job that everyone at some point in time thinks they can do." Think about it, we don't walk into a bank and think we can be a teller. We don't get on an airplane and think we can do a better job flying the plane then the pilot. However, when it comes to church probably everyone of us has thought I could do this, or in some cases I even have a better idea of how to lead a church than the pastor.

Being a pastor is a challenge and while it is rewarding it can be a painful & lonely experience. You quickly find that everyone has an opinion on how you are doing and they have an opinion on how the church should run. And they feel free to share that opinion with anyone and everyone who will listen except for you. Sadly, 95% of those opinions only exist to represent our own personal wants and desires... while the pastor is responsible not for making individuals happy but to lead and entire Body of Christ in the way that God wants it. Throw into that mix being in a small town and you quickly realize that you are a regular source of conversation and criticism. This is why you see pastors dropping out of the ministry and pastors kids never stepping into a church the rest of their life because of the hurtful things they witness. There are times where being a greeter at Wal-Mart seems like a great job.

The struggle for any leader boils down to this...do I try and make everyone happy and be a people pleaser (which by the way is impossible). Or do I stick with being True to who Christ has called me to be and called the church to be. I bet you can guess where I fall in my convictions on this one. Still though it doesn't make all the hurtful things you hear said about you any easier. I mean pastors are human. But every once in awhile God will throw you a bone. He will give you a nugget. God will remind you why you do what you do. He will remind you why it is worth all the criticism and hard choices to stay the course and keep leading with truth and conviction. I had one of those moments today.

I was in a counseling session with a gentleman who had been attending our church off and on for the last year or so. During the conversation it was evident and apparent that God was working on his heart. He did not have much of a church background at all but God was definitely doing something in his life. He said that because of his experience in worship on Sunday God was doing something new in his life and he could sense it. To make a long story short he gave his life to Christ right there in my office! After a long conversation and prayer he left. I found myself overwhelmed with tears and sobbing uncontrollably. In that brief but powerful moment I was gently reminded by God why it is I do what I do. Why it is I take the criticism. Why it is that I stay the course even when people want to jump ship or throw others under the buss. Because people matter to God and each of us needs Jesus Christ! That's why I do what I do.

Thanks God for the reminder that all the pain, difficulty, and challenges are not for nothing. I will stay the course, and remain faithful and true to who you called me to be. I will continue to do what it is I do for your Kingdom no matter how difficult it is. Because in the end people's lives are at stake and that cause alone is worth all the criticism in the world.

When has there been a time where you have felt like bailing...where the struggle doesn't seem worth it...where the criticism is overwhelming you. Maybe God wants you to stay right where you are and trust that he is in control and has a plan for why you are doing what you are doing... for why you are going through what you are going through. A good friend shared this verse with me today that I will cherish in my heart forever. John 13:7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
I encourage you to stay the course and to endure the criticism or the struggle because Jesus is about to do a miracle through your faithfulness. May God walk with you and bless your life abundantly! Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

When fear takes over...

It was 5AM and we heard a little knock on our bedroom door. Usually that is not a good sign and involves kids sick or vomiting and such. Of course when I answered it was Austin and he had just thrown up. Now normally this wouldn't have been that big of a deal. However, we have just finished a 4 week stint where chicken pox, stomach, and kidney stones have made there way through our house. The last person got the stomach flu just last week and we thought we were done. Then Austin gets sick again.

After I cleaned up the mess, there I was laying in bed not able to fall back asleep for a few minutes before going off to church to preach the Sunday sermon. Fear of the unknown was running wild in my heart. "Who would get it next, would it run through our entire house again, will Erin get sick, will I miss work, this is the busy season at church, we can't go through this again?" On and on I laid there in fear of what was to come. The thing was I had no control whatsoever over these circumstances. I had no answer to these questions and no ability to stop this thing from spreading. All I could do was fret & worry! Then I thought to myself...give it to God. Give Jesus my fears and trust him with the results. So I prayed and talked to God. I shared with him my concern and my fear. He reminded me how trustworthy He is. I admit to you that as I write this I still have some fear and concern with the sickness stuff and also with some other things going on in life right now. this trusting God thing is hard especially when you have little or no control over the issue that concerns you.

This Christmas season I am reminded that each person that wound up at the manger the night Jesus was born started with or experienced along the way a sense of fear. The only person in that stable that night without fear was the bay, Jesus. Jesus came to answer our fears and to give us faith. It is our faith in Christ that sustains us and allows us to put our fear in a healthy place. When we fear man or this world we wind up making ourselves sick with worry and it controls us. When we give our fear over to God it turns to faith, belief, and often peace. Jesus came to be our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, Our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace. In all of these names we have received specific gifts from Him. Gifts that sustain us through life and deal with our fears. This Christmas let's take our fears to God and discover an renewed faith in our creator. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor