Just another wake up moment in my walk…

Okay, so many of you know that my wife is not Christian.  She believes in God, but not Jesus.  You know that this has been a struggle for me over the past few years.  You also may know that I have been praying for strength and support.  Saying this, I came across this article that hit me between the eyes.  This is the second time recently that this topic has been put in front of me… so I guess this is one of those moments I need to pay attention.

The following paragraph is from an article written by Anna:

“A pastor once asked my grandmother how soon after the children get there does she try to convert them to Christianity.  She looked at him straight in the eye and said, “First, I give them a safe place to live with comforts most have never known, this includes three meals a day, clean clothes, and a warm bed.  Then, I hold their hands and hug them as often as possible.  I tell them that they are beautiful, wonderful, smart, valuable children and that they are precious in the eyes of God.  I let them know that the past is the past and they are new creatures, they have a future and will be educated.  I help them learn to forgive their families and actually pray for them.  Pastor, I don’t try to make them into Christians, I just show them the love of Christ.”

 

It all comes back to love.  Why am I so set on converting her?  Why am I struggling with this so much?  Love is the answer.  Love is what Jesus asked us to share.  He didn’t expect me to convert someone to a religion. 

 

Wow… just some things to think about.  This might be the beginning of some additional post… comment if you feel the impulse.

 

 

 

One of those moments #4

Today I am reminiscing about a brief moment in my faith walk history that involves three prayer warriors.  I came across three guys while I was getting my Wednesday morning coffee at a local coffee stop.  Three powerful, unique, young guys doing some amazing things locally and globally. 

 

I am passing along this story because I know that God placed them in my life for a reason.  With that in mind, here you go.  A few months ago I stopped in at a local coffee shop for their “grab and go” cup of coffee – only a dollar you can’t beat that – although QT is a little cheaper.  This wasn’t the first time that I stopped here for coffee, but it definitely was not my regular stop.  In fact this was the first time in a long time that I actually stopped here.

 

Anyway, I saw these three guys sitting at a table reading and discussing the bible.  As I was filling my cup, the verse Revelations 2:1 – the section about Ephesus – popped in my mind.  I had read this verse recently, but I had not really studied it per se.  It was just something that I stumbled across – read it and then tucked it away in my mind for a later day. (This must have been the “later day”.)

 

Anyway, I walked by their table on the way out and just felt like I should mention this verse to them.  Me being me… well, I ignored it.  I thought – oh come on…I can’t do that…why now… what if they ask me to sit down and talk with them… what if they ask me more…. Self doubt is something that literally exploded through my mind.

 

With my self doubt controlling my actions, I walked out the door and got into my car.  I started the engine, but just sat there.  That feeling I had inside the coffee shop would not go away.  It was strong.  I felt His presence.  I was tingling.  It felt stronger than before – that urge to go in and tell them about this verse.  With that, I conceded.  I turned off my car and walked back in.  In my awkward way, I said something like, “excuse me guys, but I have this feeling I am suppose to tell you to look at Rev. 2:1.  I am not sure why, but I do know that you should not read it from a dome and gloom stand point, but from a point of hope.”  

 

Wow – talk about being out of my comfort zone.  But it was kinda cool.  I took a step in my faith journey.  I listened to Him.  I am not sure if the verse was meant to help these three prayer warriors, or whether it was meant to help me.  I do know that they were talking about Ephesus that day.  I do know that I saw them every Wednesday for several months without fail after that.  I do know that I talked to them each time.  I do know that in those conversations I shared stories, and they did the same for me.  I do know that they prayed for me and my family at a time that I really needed it most. 

 

So, with that following are the top three things that stand out even today regarding this series of meetings:

·         I listened to God, and took that first step to move beyond my comfort zone.

·         Taking a moment every week to openly talk about God in a public place can be pretty amazing.

·         The absolute passion these three guys have for their love of God was wonderful to see.

 

Those 5-10 minute conversations finally ended when they moved on from the coffee shop.  I never really found out why the quit coming, but the memory I have with these random meetings (or God planned meetings) show me how God moves in very small but impactful ways. 

 

I took a small step that day. 

 

 

So my next question is – What or who is next?

 

 

 

 

 

Another Cool God thing…

Okay, so have you ever had one of those vacations where it ends with a fun/interesting/god thing type of story?  Well here is mine.

The night before we are to leave Colorado to come home, we are driving from Frisco to Dillon (about 2 miles or so) on I-70.  As I am taking the exit ramp to Dillon (still going about 70 mph) I see what appears to be a computer bag – well at least it appeared to be some type of bag.

 

I turned to my wife and say, “I am going to get that bag…”

 

Her response, “What bag?”

 

“The one on the side of the road back there.”

 

“Oh come on… why?  No, lets’ head back to the condo…”

 

To add a bit to the story, and to set the back ground for this adventure, My wife pointed out to me (after I did this) that this particular highway runs right beside Dillon Dam Road, which was closed while we were in Dillon for fear of terrorist – this highway sits less than a quarter of a mile from that road.  It was a big thing in the paper and across the state.  Well, never did I think that this bag could have been anything other than a plain bag with something I “had to see” in it.  I was a kid again… ah the mystery… the possible treasure.  So, I pulled into a parking lot, ran up the embankment, and waited for an opportunity to run out onto the highway to grab this bag.

 

Waiting is the key word.  Cars are flying by at 70-80 mph on a constant basis, but finally there is this slow moving car – thinking about exiting… must be going only about 60 mph… hmmm…well I take this as my opportunity to run out grab the bag, run back and jump over the guardrail in one fast motion.  And, since I am typing this, you know that I made it, so no more drama can be added, but I will say it was intense. And there was a honk at the end right after I jumped over the guardrail.  

 

After hoping over the guardrail, and safely on the side of the road, I look inside and see a very nice Nikon camera.  Wow…I jump into my car, headed back to the condo, and look further.  There is nothing in the bag other than some personal items, the camera, and nothing to ID the person with.

 

What to do… what to do.  Then my daughter points to the hat that has a Christian pin attached to it… then I scroll through the pictures to see a lot of church pictures and a baptism that took place recently, there were also some high school graduation pictures, and finally some pictures of a charity ride.  

 

To shorten the story, I switched to private detective mode, and I tracked down the charity ride organizer, who tried to find the person, called Nikon to find the owner, sent another email to the ride organizer with a picture off of the camera, and we finally found the owner.  He was riding his motorcycle back home from the Frisco to get to church that evening and his saddle bag had popped open… someone pointed it out to him, but it was to late, he thought that the camera was gone for good.

 

I look back at this and think… why did I do that?  Why did I risk my life to grab a bag off the side of the road when I didn’t know what it was or who it belong to?  But, there was no question in my mind that I was going out there to grab it. After opening the bag and seeing what was in it, there was also no question I was going to find the owner.  Everything just kept rolling along.  If I hit a road block, I just kept on trying until I found the owner.

 

Why?  Well… I’m really not sure.  I do know that I have had one of those quiet moments with regard to my relation with God lately.  I can’t hear Him as plainly as I did a month or two ago.  This is a moment in my life right now where I haven’t had the time with Him I should.  I am not sure why that is.  Part of it is related to dealing with things on my own instead of allowing Him to do His thing.  Part of it is related to my wife and her difference as it relates to our faith and me trying to find some middle ground to allow her to feel comfortable, but not lose my focus, growth, and ability to be an example to her and the girls in the mean time.  

 

I will say that, in my mind, getting the camera to the owner was meant to be – but it goes further than that. Maybe this series of events was meant for my wife.   Maybe, in someway, this series of events was a way for me to show her how he works.  I mean there really wasn’t much a chance of finding the owner – yet I did (with His help).  Or, maybe it was an example for my girls to see.  Maybe it was an example for the camera owner during some challenging time in his life.  Maybe it was meant for me.  Whatever the reason, and whoever it was for, I am humbled to know that I was a piece of this series of events.

 

This is the third time in just over a year that I have felt God has used me to help someone else directly and in a unique way – and I think that is pretty cool.  

 

I am humbled once again.

 

Take care.

How God used me (take 2)

Last night was a rather humbling night.  Humbling in the context of God humbling. This is the second time in less than a year that I can point to that I was a piece of God’s plan that directly impacted someone else’s life.  Over the past year, God has put people in my life for a reason, He put in place the events that lead to me calling a friend (MM) about rejoining our Tuesday AM men’s group, to my study of the book of James, to me sharing my story about DEB and her life problems to my men’s group, to MM providing a possible answer to her problems through Focus, to me spending multiple hours talking to her about her life and where she is going, to us going to the Family and Friends night last night, to me “hearing” God tell me to crumple my raffle ticket for a free seminar, to the prayers I offered prior to the pulling of the last raffle ticket that it be DEB’s name pulled, to the prayers I offered saying if my name was pulled I will give it to her, to my name being pulled out of the box not once but twice (one raffle for free focus seminar and one raffle for 3 individual sessions), to me knowing that God had a hand in my name being pulled twice, to me knowing that God had this in mind from the start for me to let her know there are people in her life who love her, to the fact that I was meant to  give her the free seminar, to me knowing that I am meant to be there for her, to me knowing that I am meant to be a small rock in her life right now, to the “three warriors” I meet this morning who offered a prayer for her (and me) that touched my heart, to me walking away trying to wrap my head and fingers around this…and the list goes on from here.

This is reader’s digest, but pretty cool stuff.  Many will point to the above as just another series of life events.  I am past that now in my life. Things happen for a reason – God’s reason. 

In terms of last night, Focus seems right for DEB.  She is ready and is making the plans.  She knows that this will be rough on her, but she also knows this is something she should not walk away from. Baby steps to big steps.

Again, wow… My name drawn out of a box two out of four times. 

 

A Series of Events – How God Used me…

This is a bit long, but this is a recap of a series of events where I really felt God’s hand.

This is just a recap of what happened in my life June 8, 2007 through June 10, 2007.  It is funny how God will touch a person and use him to make a difference in someone else’s life.  Funny may not be the right word, but in any event, here is my story.

It all started on the evening of June 8, 2007 (actually long before, since the invites were sent long ago).  My family and I were invited to a weekend of activities related to my wife’s former boss, Curt.  On Friday night, we had a surprise birthday party for him.  Saturday was a tour of his new office and labs, followed by picnic at a nearby park, and then dinner at a hotel on the Plaza. Sunday was a quick brunch.  This was the plan.  This was how I thought the weekend would progress.  But, this is what happened.

On Friday night my family and I did make it to the surprise birthday party for Curt.  At some point in the evening, Sean, a friend of mine and someone I met through my wife, went upstairs and talked about our fund raising efforts for Sunflowers to Roses.  (Sunflower to Roses is a local non-profit benefiting KU Cancer Center, Cancer Action, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation where Sean is the co-founder and I am now a board member.)  Then, as the evening started to wind down, Sean asked if I would like to go to his Saturday morning men’s group at his church (this was the start of this wonderful trip).  He recently went to Kenya on a mission trip and was going to talk about the trip to those attending on Saturday.  Afterward he thought that we could head out for a bike ride with his son Ryan. ”Sure, why not,” I thought.  It sounds like fun.

Saturday morning, I headed over to Sean’s church and listened to his story and how he was impacted by the trip and also what he missed spiritually (more on this later).  He explained to the group he was worried about leaving his family for such a long time, but how God worked through another couple on a plane trip to Texas to help him realize that he was meant to bring his 13 year old son along.  Then when he phoned his wife, Lisa, to tell her the news, she said she already knew her son was going – she knew after a bible study class she attended two days prior. Sean talked about someone in Kenya stealing his blackberry right out of the car he was riding in and how upset he was (he is addicted to constant communication on his blackberry device). Then as he thought about it, he realized that this was a good thing.  He could concentrate on the purpose of his mission trip rather than being tethered to his job and emails.  There are so many more details about the morning, but I don’t want this to turn into a book so I will move along.

Fast forward, Sean, Ryan and I head out on a bike ride prior to going to the afternoon picnic noted above.  We finish around 11:15, and the picnic was at 11:30.  I have an injured knee from a previous accident, and it began to stiffen up (more on this later).  I call my wife to check on things, and she tells me that she was thinking about not going to the picnic.  Instead, she wanted all of us to just go to the evening event.  With that in mind, we went out for lunch.  On the way back from the restaurant, we pick up our van from the shop (brake job), and I got a haircut (all of this is not relevant to the story really, but adds the personal touch – now me smiling).  Back to the story at hand, on my way home from my haircut, I stopped by and visited with a neighbor and friend of mine, Ted.  As I talked to him about my weekend and what I had heard that morning regarding Sean’s Kenya trip, Ted told me that I am the answer to one of his prayers.  He has been thinking about going on a mission trip to Kenya.  A friend of his has a trip planned for July, but he has been praying for a trip in September.  This September is the second trip that Sean’s church’s has planned to go back to Kenya.  (Wow…)  And then Ted and I talked about how Sean felt cheated in a way because Kenya is already primarily a Christian country – Sean thought the trip was going to be more of a witness to people who did not know God – who did not know Jesus.  Ted suggested that I tell Sean to read 2 Timothy chapter 2.  Many more things were discussed, including an upcoming concert, church, and just life in general, but wow.

Fast forward through to Saturday evening.  Sean reminds me about the 8:00 am ride on Sunday.  This ride is to check out the route for the Sunflowers to Roses ride coming up August 19th.  I said I will be there most likely but my knee is hurting even after our short ride today.  Privately I am thinking I really am not sure I can make it, but plan to give it a whirl. 

Fast forward to Sunday morning.  Rain…rain… rain.  Pain…pain…pain.  I realize that with my knee throbbing, and rain coming down, I need to forgo the bike ride.  Instead I head off to church with my daughters.  (We have been looking for a new church lately, but always seem to be drawn to the same church, Westside Family Church in Lenexa, Kansas.)  While we are waiting for the service to begin, I tell my girls about the series of events that had happen – God’s series of events.  This ranged from Sean’s presentation on his mission trip to Kenya, to the series of events that lead me to talk with Ted.  My younger daughter kept saying, “Stop, you are freaking me out!”  But, she was seeing first hand the way God can use one person to relay a message to another.  The way a series of simple, ordinary events can lead to something truly amazing.  As I was telling them the story, my whole body was tingling.  To top off the story, there was even a slide appearing on the PowerPoint screens in our church talking about mission trips.  Then as a way to put a cap on the weekend, the service was titled “Shorts. Life-changing stories from Jesus.”  The basic point – how God uses us to help others.  My daughters’ response, “Wow!” My response, “Thank you!”

I honestly would have gone up front that day, if I were asked, to tell this story.  To tell everyone present how God does work through people.  What I thought originally was a series of random events turned out to be much more:

 I saw Sean Friday evening for a reason.

• I heard about his mission trip on Saturday morning.
• I rode my bike with Sean and his son Saturday morning, and inflamed my knee.
• I didn’t go to the picnic Saturday afternoon; rather I ended up talking with Ted instead.
• It rained Sunday morning, and my knee was still hurting from the previous day’s ride, so I went to Church.
• While sitting in church waiting for the start of our services, I told my daughters about the last 2 days and how I thought that God used me to communicate for someone else’s need and to help fulfill someone else’s desire.
• The sermon was a way to reaffirm to my daughters (and me) how this can actually happen to anyone.

Now to finish the story (or start it).  Regarding Sean’s blackberry story – Ted asked me this weekend if I was going on a mission trip.  I told him that I need to lose MY “blackberry” first before I am ready.  For me, my “blackberry” is a couple of things that I feel I must do before I go.  If I don’t do these, I will be tethered to those thoughts the entire time I am on the trip and not be able to fully commit myself to the mission trip.  I need to lose my “blackberry.”  Once I do, there won’t be anything left standing in the way.

In conclusion, I can tell you that this story is actually much longer.  There are so many more connections and branches to it.  For the benefit of those who are reading this, I thought that the readers digest version was worth writing rather than the novel version (yes, this is the reader’s digest version).  I feel I have been touched this weekend in a very special way.  As I said in the beginning, I have been used, and how wonderful it is to be used.  When something like this happens, pay attention to it, absorb it, and enjoy the ride.

Michael