Birthdays come and go...

Hello again!

It's been a while since I posted anything new, so here I am during another sleepless night catching up on some things... Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 38 years old. Not young, but not old by any means. But as I spent time with my family, I looked at where I was so many years ago, and what God has blessed me with up until now.

I never would have thought that I would have already spent almost 19 years married to the most special woman in my life. My very best friend and confidante. I never expected to love anyone so deeply. God is first in my life, but after that, my wife can't be beat. She is truly my greatest conquest. I won her heart, and she let's me know, even when I'm a knucklehead, that her heart will always be mine.

I have three talented and amazing children. My oldest is 17 and in a relationship with a young man who is incredibly intelligent and hard working. I really like him, and he makes my daughter happy. It's difficult for me to let my little girl go, to see her trusting in another person the way she used to only trust in me. At her age, her mother and I were contemplating marriage! She carries herself with such grace and confidence, yet still is naive in so many ways. But I have given her life to God, and I see His hand upon her life as each year passes.

My middle child, now she worries me. LOL! She is a go getter. A wild child. Her fashion sense is best described as her very own. She doesn't let the latest fads dictate what she wears. She is the trend setter! She drives with reckless abandon, but not in the bad sense. She is feeling out her freedom and maturity. Her ability to sing and worship God at only 16 gives me the chills. I watch and listen to her lead our youth group in praise and worship, not allowing her to see me so as not to embarrass her. She has such wisdom sometimes, yet still can be daddy's little girl the next moment. Her life I have also given to God, and can only imagine the things he has in store for her, as I look back at each year and see where she's been.

And last, but surely not least, is my son. A true modern miracle, a life saved only by the grace and healing touch of God. He isn't supposed to be with us today. Born with a defective heart, and not given much hope to live past 2 years old, today he is 14 and quickly becoming a man. He was given a new heart by God. Not in the transplant way, but in the miraculous, inexplainable by the doctors way. If you don't believe in God's healing power, see me sometime.

Not too many people get to know him the way I do. He is always just a little shy, but recently is coming out of his shell. He is my right-hand man in children's ministry. He gets up extra early Sunday mornings so he can go with me and get things set up for the day. From slide shows to sound checks, to setting up the stage or putting out chairs, he does so quietly and willingly. I couldn't do what I do each week without him. I hope someday you will all get to know him like I do. And like his sisters, I have given him over to God, praying that someday he meets a girl like his mother, that will sweep him off of his feet, and love and take care of him.

So it's not that I'm not grateful for the birthday cards and well wishes, the cakes and the special birthday dinners, but I believe after looking back on my life at 38 I couldn't have been given anything better than the life God has given me. It hasn't always been an easy or pleasant one, but it has never lacked for adventure and excitement either. The things of life aren't what's important. It's the journey.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Just a little something...

Hey everybody,

This is a link to a blog that someone sent to me. It's about how important pastors are. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but remind myself of what all of the pastors I have served under have gone through to be who they are today. Enjoy!

http://donmilleris.com/2010/03/31/ten-reasons-pastors-are-important/

Serving Him,

Pastor Brian

Teenagers...

Do you remember High School and all of the drama? She said this, he did that, they hate them. I lived through it all. I left high school, and all of that stuff behind me. Or so I thought. I now have three teenagers, two girls and one son. And what happens when kids become teenagers? DRAMA! I have decided that boys are stupid, girls are mean and heartbreak will take a lifetime to heal.

Times have changed, and so have human beings. For a society who is so technologically advanced to be so emotionally insensitive shouldn't be surprising, and yet it is to me. We have been given the tools to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world in seconds, but we use it to cyber-bully and tear each other down in front of the world. How many of you have seen someone on a social web site put under religion "Christian", but as you look at their page they are saying and doing things that are neither gratifying to God nor loving of our neighbors?

WHY? We have made it so easy to be impersonal and disconnected from the world around us. My kids text their friends all day long. They IM on social web sites. They send pictures to each other from their phones. But how much time do they spend face-to-face with REAL HUMANS? As far as I can tell, my kids would never have to leave their rooms to have a social life of sorts. But that is what makes it too easy to hurt each other. We are all guilty of being able to say things so easily behind someones back. But when it comes to having to tell it to them to their face, their is something inside of us that finds it hard. We stumble over our words, we get nervous and fidget, and can't seem to look them in the eye.

DRAMA IS A SIN CONDITION MADE EASIER BECAUSE OF A LACK OF HUMAN CONNECTEDNESS. We are all braver behind the walls in our houses. And you don't have to see the brokenness and tears on the face of those we tear down. They live a life of quiet despair, leading to the many recent cases of suicide from cyber-bullying. When are we ever going to learn? The Bible says this:

Galatians 5:13
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

When will we ever learn? Will it be too late?

Pondering,

Brian