Doubting Thomas!?!

I recently finished reading a book titled, "Faith and Doubt", written by John Ortberg. I can honestly say I fall into both categories throughout my daily life, which is why I decided on this book when trying to find something to quench my thirst. It appealed to me for the simple fact that at times I feel as high as the clouds with my faith and yet other times I seem to really be low in terms of trusting that things will work out. (or maybe instead of work out, maybe work in my favor is a more honest answer)

While reading this book I started to feel a sense of peace with myself. Peace because I realized that doubt, at the right levels, is okay. It is what keeps us questioning and coming back for more. It is okay to question things, to want to dig deeper and to want to know more about a certain topic. Even if it is our faith and God. It is in our human nature to be skeptical and to not trust fully. So how do we get past our trust issues? We ask questions!

Doubting is also what makes God so great! If you think about it doubt has been at the center of almost all major stories both inside of the Bible and in our own lives as well. Take a look at Abraham. I imagine there was massive doubt about being told he would become a father at the age of 100, or that he would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. It was the doubt inside Abraham that helped to provide the questions and possibly the anticipation of waiting and seeing if what God proclaimed actually would come true.

This is just a simple example from the Bible, it is filled with hundreds more people having doubts and then having those doubts turned upside down and their faith restored or even developed.

Which brings me to today.

What are your doubts? If you said you didn't have any I would disagree.

We are a world that lives on proof. We need to see it to believe it. I need to feel it, smell it and see it if it is to be a part of my life. That's just how I am. Or better yet, how I used to be.
I am working at doubting less. Very hard some days. It's not an easy task.

Things seem to pop up constantly that make me question why or what if.

Why did Isaiah have to get so sick? has been a dark doubt cloud that hung over my head for a long time. It wouldn't go away and if eventually developed into feelings of resentment and anger. However, that question was answered during a drive home from his Aunt Sissy's house last summer. Isaiah took my doubt away from that question and helped to rebuild my faith.

Another doubt, maybe your today as well...

Why do bad things keep happening to the people of Haiti?

Here they all are, these wonderful people.

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

On their way to restoring their homeland via missionaries and other aide.

Coming off of another natural disaster just a few years ago.

Trying to become an independent nation and put their horrible past behind them.

And then Wham! The ground shakes and buildings fall. As I write this they are predicting the number of casualties to reach into the hundreds of thousands. The innocence of people that were just trying to survive has been ripped away. Children are lost, left without parents. Parents are lost, left without children.

Why God, Why?

Is it because they have done something horrible and they deserve to be punished?

The doubt starts to creep in.

But then I get a message from a friend that the trip they were planning as missionaries to Haiti is still on. They will leave in two short weeks to attend to the mess and devastation. They will surely be doing a different type of work than was planned a week ago but it will all be done with the same meaning.
They will bring love, faith and God with them. That has not changed.
My doubt starts to dwindle.
I start to listen to the stories of people in my own community that are scrambling to help. Most of us do not know the people of Haiti. We have maybe heard the stories of it being a poor country, or that bad things have happened there in the past. We have treated Haiti and it's people like "the deer on the side of the road" as a friend so eloquently put it the other night.

We drive right past without giving it a second look.

Now, today, God has decided enough is enough. We need to stop our cars, get out and look at the deer! We may not be able to save the "deer on the side of the road", but we if we stop, Right Now, we can bring good news to all of the other "deer".

Our nation and our brothers and sisters are preparing a major clean up of sorts in Haiti. Both physically and spiritually. A clean up that is asking us to pray for the people of Haiti and those that are traveling to do God's work.

I don't know what God has planned next for the people of Haiti but I have a feeling that it is going to be something awesome. In my mind I doubt that they will be able to fully recover from this mess, given their starting point a few days ago.
But in my heart my doubts are wiped away and I can see and feel the flood gates of love and support opening up and pouring into the people there.

It is not always easy to admit that we have doubts but in reality we do. It's a real thing. It's in all of us. It has to be. It is what keeps us coming back for more.

You see, as John Ortberg says Doubt leads to faith.
There is a sort of "leap of faith" if you will. Briefly consider this analogy.

Your life is a trapeze act. You are the person that begins the swing. What you choose to do next is up to you. Most trapeze artists choose to let go of their swing at this point. This is where the doubt comes in. Yes, there is trust the other person will be there to catch them, but really, can they guarantee that this person will be there. Or that the other will reach out and grab them. No. But they put their trust in that person. And who better to be the "catcher" than the main man, God.

Have your doubts, that's fine.

Truly I believe it is.

However, always know that the Catcher will catch you. And just like Ortberg says, "this catcher never has sweaty hands".

Chance Encounters

Sometimes while we are busy cruising through our lives we have those special moments that just happen. It's something someone does or says that totally changes how we look at things or how we feel about something. I'm sure if you really sit and think about this, you can dig up a few times in your life when something totally remarkable has happened. If you're like me you can also remember the time, place and faces that were involved. It can be a pretty wild thing, and sometimes you just have to share them.

Here is mine; correct that, here is OURS!

This past fall while attending LifeLight 2009, my wife and I were busy cruising through the vendor tent chasing Isaiah and his little friend Anna. While also fighting the crowd and deciding if we really "needed" to buy anything, Anne picked several things. Isaiah and Anna ended buying flashlights for themselves and Anna's sister. We kept on moving and as we passed a table at the very end of the tent we were both drawn in to the hats they were selling. They had a selection of hats that were a modern day way for people to spread His "Word" while wearing a very fashionable hat. The brand was called SpiritDomes. They had 8 hats to choose from and each one told a story. The coolest thing about the hat was it was created to define a specific Bible verse that was printed underneath the visor. Can you think of a better way to get young people today excited about showing their faith than on a hat!

I debated and tried to convince myself I had enough hats, which I probably do! However, Anne had other ideas. She marched up to the man working Craig as we know him now, and asked about the hats. She also asked if there happened to be a hat with the verse Isaiah 40:31 on it. This being our son's verse, she thought that would be pretty special. He said that there wasn't a hat with that verse but they are open to suggestions for future initiatives. He gave us his card and said to email him and they would consider that verse at some point. As we turned to walk awaywith me carrying my new SpiritDome in hand; Craig called us back.

He noticed that we were all wearing the same Isaiah 40:31 shirt from Isaiah's fundraiser. He wanted to know why we had the shirts on and why the verse was so important. We introduced him to my son Isaiah and explained why the verse was so important to us. We briefly mentioned Isaiah's story and also how we had recently learned of Isaiah's visits with Jesus while in the hospital. Craig was in awe and said he wanted me to contact him after LifeLight. He said he felt compelled to create a hat for Isaiah.

A few days after the festival I found Craig's card and decided to take a shot to see if anything would materialize. Not really knowing if anything would come out of it, I sent a message saying who we were and that we had talked to Craig at the festival. I promptly got a message back from the founder of the SpiritDomes brand, Tom Demitry, requesting that I call him so we could chat.

Tom wanted to hear about Isaiah's story and wanted to know about our family. He asked about where we were with our faith. While talking with Tom, I got to hear his story as well. This spun us into realizing a whole list of things that brought us together---God Things, if you will!

We talked for 45 minutes that first time, and have been in constant contact ever since. Tom and his partners decided that they wanted to create a hat in honor of Isaiah and his story. They took the verse Isaiah 40:31 and Craig created the front of the hat to resemble what he had envisioned when he thought of that verse. It looked Amazing!

Next, he took it one step further and used Isaiah's visit with Jesus to put a picture on the back of the hat. It looked Incredible!

Tom and Craig with SpiritDomes have been an amazing group of people to work with. They have created something that completely embodies the story of Isaiah's life and it only gets better.

They have decided that they will give a portion of the proceeds to the charity of our choice. And what better way than to say thanks to the place that has allowed Isaiah's story to be told. We will be donating the funds to the Children's Hospital of Minneapolis. The very place of which we were able to walk out of the door with Isaiah in tote and able to share his miraculous story with you all.

Obviously this is an exciting thing for us! Isaiah thinks it is pretty cool to have a SpiritDome with his name attached to it. Someday he will fully understand what has really transpired and how awesome a story he has to tell. For now, we are ecstatic to be able to share with you the Isaiah 40:31 SpiritDome and hope that you would consider supporting this ministry effort in helping us say thank you to the Children's Hospital of Minneapolis.

You can check out the featured Isaiah 40:31 hat here at: http://www.spiritdomes.com/ or contact Anne or myself to purchase oneto help support a worthy cause. The SpiritDomes team has made a huge leap of faith in trying to get the "Word" out to the younger generation and I feel that this is an amazing way to accomplish that goal. SpiritDomes are also quite stylish for people of all ages!

Please check out SpiritDomes today and help us disciple for Him while spreading His good Word to the world!

Pass the Salt!!

What does this statement mean to you?

"Pass the Salt"

For some it may remind them of a very catchy Jimmy Buffett song.

Others might think of a simple request from someone sitting on the other side of the dinner table.

While others still just might see it at a deeper level.

Let me elaborate a little.

I am going to take you back in a time for a just a minute...

In Biblical times salt was a very important substance. It was used to preserve food as well as to flavor food that was bland. The power that salt had was extremely valuable to most.

At the same time salt was also used in other ways. It was used by the "Great One" to describe people. People were called to be "Salty". What that means we will get to in a minute.

Let's talk about salt as a substance first. "In Jesus' day salt was obtained from evaporation from the Dead Sea, but it was far from pure. It was often mixed with greater or lesser concentrations of other salts. It is possible for all of the Sodium Chloride to be leached out of a mixture of salts so that all that is left is stale and useless." (quote)

I know what you are thinking right now. Who cares?

What is the big deal with salt? We put it on food and it makes things taste better.

Exactly!

It makes things "taste better".

So now for the question of the day.

Are you "Salty"?

No, I don't mean do you taste like salt. What I am driving at is do you "taste better than you look?".

We just read about how salt can look the part but at the same time not have the taste or zing it is expected to.

Are you that kind of salt?

Do you have the look of a Christian, but lack the taste or zing of one.

We can sit in the front pew, never miss a Sunday service and wear our "Church Clothes". But are we truly Salty?

If someone could look inside your heart, mind and soul, would they really find a believer. It is easy to look like salt but it is much more work to taste like it.
So how do you taste?

Or do you just look like salt?

I want to you leave you with a question that you may have heard in the past but it might help to decide just how salty you are...

If you were on trial for being a Christian, Would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Now, Pass the Salt!!

Have you said the words?

I started a post a few weeks ago. I never finished. I don't know if I ever will. It is one of those things that we have the best of intentions to finish but now it has lost its luster and my excitement for those particular words has gone.

I thought.

As I logged on today to check on other bloggers I noticed that one that was unfinished. Why had I started? Something made me start, something also made me not finish.
I quickly read through the little bit that I had managed to complete and realized why I hadn't finished. I wasn't ready. It wouldn't have been enough at the time. It was all timing.

So, here I am, almost a month later ready to finish. Rather, start over.

Here goes my second shot.

A month ago I attended the Lifelight Festival with my family and as some have come to call it, Framily. It was a great experience. One that took an entirely different meaning this year for me. The past Lifelights that I had attended were 95% for the music, 3% for the great food and maybe the other 2% for the worship and fellowship.

This year was different. I am not going to give percentages, but I feel if you know me you can probably do the math. Might I also add that I didn't have any boughten food this year.

Also, if you look at the picture posted with this blog you can see the main reason this year took on a whole new meaning.

LOVE!

We heard about it all weekend. Story after story of how love can conquer so many things. Last year for more than a month I posted on a different format daily. Almost every time it was ended with "Love to all". I meant it!

It's not a word that in the past I have used very freely. More reserved for those within my very tight circle and even then used very sparingly. Even my own step-father wasn't privileged enough to hear those words for many years. I felt that if I told him I loved him that it would take something away from my dad, Larry. How wrong I was.

"Standing" at Lifelight this year, thinking back one year and looking around me got me thinking. Real Hard.

What is Love? Why have I been so tight with the word?

Today is the fifth birthday of the little man that truly taught me what the word LOVE is all about and why it shouldn't be kept in. It needs to be shared and it needs to be heard.

It's a word that in the past 13 months has come from my mouth, and more so from my heart, more than ever.

It has also been truly felt by me.

It is not always easy to tell someone you have only known for a short time that you Love them but it sure feels good. For that matter it isn't easy to tell someone you have known for a lifetime that you Love them, but it sure feels great.

It can be a little intimidating to look at 475 pound man and say those words, but when the giant says them back it can make your day.

The words might not come as easy as one would want them to, or they might not feel as comfortable the first few times they appear.

But it is worth it.

Look at the picture above again. It was the Love I saw and felt when I looked right next to me at Lifelight. That is the love of a mom holding a son that means the world to her. The love in that picture is indescribable.

Can you see the LOVE?!?

Have you told the people you need to that you Love them?

Please do so!

Stop holding onto the words that can change someones life!

Shoes!

The challenge was thrown down. A line drawn in the sand. Who amongst us was strong enough to rise to the occasion?

More than 35 people sat in the small room. Grouped into "families" and not knowing what each hour was going to bring. Surprise after surprise left some overwhelmed, others feeling excited and yet there were a few that were still a little confused.

Myself, I was among the latter. It had been three days with people that had quickly become my family and knew me like only brothers could. My story was their story, and their lives mirrored mine. It was as if we were put together after an intensive background check. However, no paperwork had been filed to provide that type of information. We were grouped in ways that no one could have imagined and the similarities within our circle could have only been known by One.

The weekend had been amazing up until the line was drawn for me. Although there was no sand I could see the line clearly. Well, maybe not clearly. It may have been blurred a little through the river of tears flowing from my eyes.

As the speaker wrapped up his talk he spoke of John 13, if my mind serves me right. He spoke of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples and receiving Jesus into their hearts. It was a very intense and touching moment and there were many tears while he talked.

Then the challenge came. "Who among you will take off your shoes today, stand, and allow Jesus into your heart?" was the question that was posed next. I am not sure who, how many or when people stood. I didn't need to know that.

I was still sitting. My shoes were still on. I don't need to stand up. I have Jesus in my heart. I do good things. I don't need to do this thing he is asking us to do. I'm a teacher. I go to church. I have been baptized, confirmed and married in the church. I am good to go!

Right?

Then the man spoke, Again.

"I ask you again", came the voice, "Who among you will take off your shoes, stand and take Jesus in your heart?" An older gentleman next to me removed his shoes and stood. Immediately he was surrounded by others who wanted to help him with this amazing moment.

I am not sure what happened next, or why.

I guess I probably do know why.

But my size 9.5 Nike Shox were now lying next to my feet. And all of a sudden I was standing. Right there in the middle of the room. I was standing, with shoes off, in the middle of a group of people I had met only 3 days prior.

Tears pouring down my face as person after person slowly walked over, placed their hands on my shoulders and prayed. Prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of a release and prayers of a weight lifted off of my shoulders.

I couldn't tell you how long I stood there. It felt like an eternity. But it felt Good. For the first time in a long time, a sense of peace consumed my body. Peace that only comes when a person realizes that their way is not the only way. A peace that comes when you turn everything over to God and let him in. I let him in.

I did just that!

I took my shoes off!

I stood up!

Seeing Jesus is REAL!!

Have you seen Jesus?

I can't say I have.

But I know someone who has!

His name is Isaiah. He is my son.

And he is only four!

Let me give you a really quick refresher before I go into the juicy details.

Last August Isaiah was admitted to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis with HUS, a complication associated with E Coli. He was intibated for six days and had a total stay in the hospital of 30 days. Thankfully we were fortunate enough to be able to take Isaiah home with us and today he is an average four year old with energy to burn. We knew he was a sick little boy, but apparently never realized how close we were to....JESUS!!

So, today, Isaiah and his mom and brother went swimming at his aunt Sissy's house. A fun filled day of swimming in the pool and running around the yard on a 90 degree day. The day was just like any other. And the hospital stay 10 months ago was the furthest thing from any one's mind.

Well, on the way home from Sissy's house Isaiah asked Anne, his mom, if the Easter Bunny was real.

She replied, "of course the Easter Bunny is real, why?"
He proceeded that at T-ball last night some of the other kids had told him the Easter Bunny was not real and that he still thought it was. Anne agreed and his beliefs were confirmed.

Then came the deepest question you can imagine a four year old to ask.

"Mom, do you think Jesus is real?"
To which Anne replied, "Of course he real? What do you think?"

The rest of this story is unbelievable. 100% true and amazing!

When posed with the question that was shot right back at him Isaiah didn't even hesitate.
He simply said, "Yes, Jesus is real. He was on my bed when I was in Minneapolis. He told me that I was safe and that he would always be around me."
Wow, was all Anne could think. Speechless at this point she managed to squeak out, "Did he tell you anything else?"
"Yes, He told me that I needed to go play with my friends some more!"
What can you possibly say to that?
Is there anything that proves that Jesus was right there with my little man more than that?
How can you argue the reality of Jesus being with us while we were in that hospital?
Isaiah is a pretty creative little four year old but would not be able to imagine a scenario like this.
Unbelievable.
I believe his story 100%.

However, it gives me chills to know that Jesus was really there talking to him and telling him to go play some more.

What does that mean?

Were we really that close to losing him? Was his body telling him that it couldn't fight anymore but something greater came and said "Yes, Go be a kid, you have so much more to do!"
The thought of it scares me. It brings me to my knees. It gives goosebumps all over my body.
It is a true story.
It is from the mouth of a four year old.
It is Jesus at his finest.
Thank you Jesus for the gift of allowing my son to play with his friends for a while longer. For allowing him to come back to his family and bring joy to all of us again. For allowing me and his mother the opportunity to watch him grow and help him become a faithful follower of your word. Thank you Jesus!!
Seeing Jesus is REAL!!!

Behind the Walls of Gladiator Camp

Are you ready to stand up and fight?

Don't Wimp Out!

Why are you here?

How are you going to respond?

These are just a few of the questions/statements that were posed at "Gladiator Camp" this past weekend. What is this "Gladiator Camp"? In short, it's a nickname given to the prison that twenty-some men and myself spent four jam packed days of "reality" in. The nickname was given to the prison due to the amount of fights and altercations between the offenders behind the walls. The average age inside the facility is around 24, so there are a lot of egos that need to be stroked, and to these young men fighting seems to be the best way to do just that.

Enough about the name though. Let's get to reality.

The purpose of the visit was to bring a program called, Brothers In Blue (BIB), into the system. BIB brings offenders and brothers from the outside world together to spend time worshiping Jesus and hopefully answering some questions and steering others in the right direction. It is a totally voluntary event for the offenders and a privilege for the brothers from the outside.

Starting on Thursday, our days began by entering the facility at 7am and walking out of the doors around 8pm. The time in between there was spent witnessing some of the greatest things my eyes have ever seen. Which was hard because I think my eyes were filled with tears for over half of the weekend.
I can't tell you what touched me the most or what stands out as the biggest event of the weekend. There were so many awesome things that happened to all of the men inside that gymnasium turned chapel. Inside the gym the offenders and outsiders were put into small groups. Within my group there were drug dealers, addicts, burglars and some that never even mentioned their crime. I didn't care. I didn't need to know. They knew that. They understood that I wasn't there to judge them. And in turn they weren't there to judge me. Inside that gymnasium we were on an even playing field.

I entered the weekend knowing as little about what would happen as they did. We were one in the same. By the end of the weekend we were even more of the same.

We cried together as my brother-in-law poured out his heart and talked about his likelihood of losing his vision. We cried even more as he was anointed for healing by one of the pastors on hand.

We hugged and sang our hearts out as we sang a popular Hispanic song worshiping Jesus.

We sat in awe as outsider after outsider dropped life lesson after life lesson on us. Some of the most unreal stories that left everyone in shock and tears.

We danced, and did little kid actions, to a song raising Jesus' name. This is probably one of the most memorable moments of the weekend for me. As this song played, thirty some of the most hardened men I have ever met danced and sang like school kids doing a performance for their families. They yelled, laughed, hugged and danced. All this as prisoners passing by the gym looked in the window with confused looks. INCREDIBLE!!

We witnessed a first ever baptism for the BIB at Gladiator Camp.

We were privileged to share the experience of asking Jesus into the lives of at least 5 offenders. WOW!!

We sat in disbelief as an offender ended the weekend with his testimony. He left the room speechless as he emptied his heart out and was then embraced by the men that he once hated. Amazing!!

You might notice that I started a lot of sentences with "WE". That is because it was a WE WEekend. My new brothers and I experienced all of God's glory together. And it was wild.

I can't begin to tell you how amazing it was, maybe you got a sense of it. But I have not even come close to doing it justice. I would love to share it all but it would be impossible and writing it here would diminish its power.

Behind those bars is a brotherhood that gets forgotten by most. WE drive past them and most give them no thought. I was apprehensive, scared, nervous and very leery when I entered those walls. I didn't know what to expect or who I could trust. I no longer care about any of that. I met some of the most amazing people I have ever known. I met kids that have never grown up and don't know how. I met men that are in search of something bigger and better than themselves. And some of them found HIM!!

I do have one confession to make though. As one pastor was giving a talk, my mind wandered. I couldn't pay attention. I had something weighing on me. I needed to write something down. So while he gave his 3o minute talk, I wrote. The following is what happened on paper.

Before I share that though I would like you to consider a few things:

Are you going to Wimp Out?

Why are you here?
How are you going to respond?

Are you ready to stand up and fight?

Brothers In Blue

Because you chose to be here

Right here in this place

Only you can make the decision

To feel God's Holy Grace

How much he really loves you

Even though it may not feel so

Really good things are all around you

So let the blessings flow

In life we have our obstacles,

and those things that hold us down

Now is your chance to stand up

and leave Jesus with your crown

Bring HIS message with you

Love, and what is Good

Unto you has been given a family

Enjoy your new brotherhood. (BIB, 2009)

Peace and Love.