Reading My Bible Daily and Other Things...

Wow. 2015 is here!

I remember watching Back to the Future II and thinking that 2015, the year Marty McFly travels back in time to, seemed so far away.  So far away in fact that the flying cars, self-fitting jackets, and holographic movie marquees actually seemed plausible.

Well, all of a sudden it seems, 2015 is a reality and even though we're already 1 week in, I have yet to see one flying car, a self-fitting jacket, or a holographic movie marquee.

A few things from that movie did come to fruition though.  The video phone Marty used are a reality now, although we call it Facetime.  We know Marty's awesome television sunglasses as GoogleGlass.  And my childhood dream of hoverboarding to school is now a viable option ... because apparently hoverboards are real!

Even though self-tying shoes and capsule sized just-add-water entree dinners haven't made it here yet, it doesn't mean they never will.  I'm sure someone, somewhere is hard at work on them and sooner rather than later those things too will become our very real reality.

But as cool as those things are, they actually have no real impact on what really matters... my ongoing relationship with Jesus.

If I were to travel back in time, I would see at multiple points along my life's continuum, my past-self attempting the discipline of reading my Bible daily...  I would also see, however, after a few days my past-self giving up.  I was too busy, too tired, too forgetful, too lazy...

Fundamentally I know these things are stall tactics of the Enemy used to thwart my attempts at strengthening my relationship with Jesus.  But still, after attaching all sorts of excuses to reconcile my heart's desire with what I actually know to be happening, I invariably come out the other side feeling defeated and just give up.

Now, who does that make sense to?  Out of the two powers vying for my soul why am I giving in to the one I know has no power over me?  Why am I helplessly conceding when all I need to do is ask Jesus for help?

Regardless of the excuses and the constant starts and stops, I consistently have the strong desire to want to read my Bible everyday.  I think that's how we're designed... We were created to be in relationship with Him... We have imprinted on our hearts this inescapable desire to know God better.

So this year, I've made up my mind that it's going to be different.

And I'm starting 2015 acknowledging three things:

1.  There will be attempts to stall, stop, distract, and discourage my attempts of the daily discipline of reading my Bible.  I wouldn't expect anything less really.

2.  Sometimes those attempts may succeed.

But...

3.  Acknowledgment of these realities creates room for me to fail forward - an opportunity to faithfully press into God and His wonderful grace, allowing Him to help me know Him more and more - not just give up.

To that end, the kids in the Family and Children ministry department, the staff, and myself are starting with the book of Luke taken in bite-sized chunks.  It's a 51 day track and about 20 verses per day.

Here is a link to an easy-to-follow map of the book of Luke that we're using.

Please feel free to join us on this journey if you'd like.

And remember, if you fail to read everyday, fail forward and press into God's grace... just start again!

On this journey with you,

Pastor Beau

What Was and What Is...

I recently took one of those who-are-you tests that supposedly can figure out what makes me me by answering 50 questions.  The results?  In a nutshell, and no surprise to me, I am a guy who lives and experiences the world through my senses.

It is because of this super important aspect that a big portion of my life revolves around experiencing the world through smells, sounds, tastes, and textures... but mainly smells and sounds.

Smells and sounds to me are a time machine... with the faintest smell I can be transported to a different time and place.

The first few notes of Bon Jovi's "Shot Through The Heart" immediately transports me back to 1986; a time of new schools, summer days, and good friends.

Just the mere whiff of a pine tree is enough to waken the butterflies of Christmas morning anticipation in my stomach.

The soaring strains of the Star Wars theme song invokes such strong feelings in me that it can actually change my attitude (for the better of course!).

Or the scent of rain, or the 'ping!' of a Super Nintendo boot screen, or gingerbread, or the Ghostbusters theme song, or the smell dust burning off of a dormant heater... it's all actually quite remarkable and wonderful.

If I had to put what I experience in a word we can all understand it would be:

Nostalgia.

I love that word!  That word encapsulates the feeling of "ahhhhhh" in me.  My happy place, my mental cozy spot.

But here's the rub:  I can never be nostalgic about the future.  It is impossible.

And that is why nostalgia is also dangerous for me...  Nostalgia is always rooted in the past.  Things and places and smells and sounds that have already happened.  Moments in time that have slipped into memories.

The irony of this whole thing is the fact that nostalgia is predicated on past experiences.  There can be no nostalgia without past experiences.  At what point do past experiences become nostalgia?  Can I be nostalgic while at the same time creating nostalgia?

I've decided on this: If I spend all of my energy reliving what was,  I will therefore forfeit what is.  If I let my life be consumed by my past,  I will therefore forfeit my 'now'.

"But nostalgia gives me such a good feeling."

"I don't want to not be nostalgic."

"Especially because it's who I am and makes me me."

"But I also don't want to miss out on now... what is."

After much thinking and inner dialogue... here is where I have landed:

I don't have to choose.  I can actually live in both worlds (without splitting myself into two).

If nostalgia is rooted in the memories of the past then there must be a future counterpart.

I believe the answer to that question is expectancy.

Nostalgia + Memories = Past

Expectancy + Hope = Future

As Christmas time rolls closer the nostalgic side of me is giddy with memories of Christmases gone by, of presents opened, candy canes eaten, songs sung.

Because memories of past Christmases for me are ripe with nostalgia... it feels good and cozy to mentally live in that space... but it doesn't have to end there.

With a subtle shift in the way I categorize smells and sounds, emotions and feelings I arrive at the same base 'good feeling' I associate with nostalgia.  Only this time my focus is not on the past but on the future:  time I will spend with my family, things I will eat, presents I will give, love I will show.

I now find I am filled with the expectancy and hope of future memories that will be created in the Christmas of now which will eventually morph into the nostalgia of tomorrow, to be repeated over and over again.

Nostalgia + Expectancy = Abundant Life

This Christmas go ahead and visit the Christmases of the past, those nostalgic, cozy places.  But also choose to live in the expectancy and hope of what Christ offers us every day, a personal relationship with Him.

Pastor Beau

Family Conversation Starters...

Hello parents!

This week why not start a new time of spiritual discussion around your dinner table?  Use these conversation starters to spark God Talk at dinner time.

Try it... I think you'll like it (and be surprised at what your kids think about God!)

On this journey with you,

Pastor Beau

Trapped Item needed: mouse trap Show the mouse trap. (If you have creative kids, ask one of them to think of a story about a mouse and the trap.) A mouse is a pesky little creature that eats through packages of our food and leaves nasty droppings—yuck!   Why do we set a mouse trap? (If you do) What do we put on the trap to try to catch the mouse? (Cheese; peanut butter; etc.) The mouse wants the cheese so badly that he goes after it and is CAUGHT by the trap. How is sin like a trap? (It catches us when we give in to it; it looks good, but the end result is not good; we want what we want so we give in and we can’t stop; etc.) We need to be freed from our sin.

Choices Play the Choices game. List two choices and ask kids to move to the side of the room of the choice they like.  For example—if you like pepperoni pizza go to the left, if you like cheese pizza go to the right. (Soccer/basketball; sport teams; favorite school subjects; kinds of game systems; ice cream flavors; vacation spots; hobbies; etc.) Even though sin is a trap, we have a choice on whether we give in to sin. Jesus’ death frees us from sin’s power and we can choose to do what is right.

Asking for Help We are all tempted (it is not a sin to be tempted), but when we give in to temptation and do what is wrong, we sin. Talk about what we could do when tempted and yet not give in to sin.  You want a pack of gum at the store, but don’t have any money. You are tempted to look at a friend’s test paper when you don’t know the answer. You feel angry at your mom when she wouldn't let you go to a friend’s house. Your little brother is annoying; you want to scream at him to leave you alone. You’re supposed to clean your room; instead you want to play a game.  Remember that sin is a trap. Asking for God’s help can help us say no to temptation.

Hmmmmmm...

I seem to not be as good at this blogging thing as I had hoped :)

My goal now is to post at least once a week... just to get me going.

Until next time,

Pastor Beau

The Final Countdown!

VBS is almost here!  Watch this space for updates throughout the week!

Date: July 15th - 19th
Time: 9:00am - 12:30pm(noon), Daily
For kids entering Kindergarten - 5th grade this Fall.

Come on a 5 day journey as we discover together how God can transform our lives!

Each day we will participate in an investigation lead by two detectives who are hot on the trail of a mysterious being known as The Transformer.

Through clues The Transformer leaves behind, stories from the Bible, wild and crazy games, science experiments, and Scripture memorization we will discover the True Transformer and how He can completely transform our lives!

Music, food, games, Bible verses, contests, and more await you as we discover together how God can transform our lives.

Come join the fun! 

Register online

Pastor Beau

PACT for the Last Week of April

Two Friends and a Broken Toy   Read this week's Bible story in Matthew 18:23-35 about forgiveness and challenge kids to come up with a modern version of the story. (How about one involving a younger and older brother? Or how about two friends and a broken toy?)   Give them time to work on it and then have them act it out. If you like, videotape and then watch it.   In this story, which one is the most like God? (The 1st one who was willing to forgive a really big debt) Which one are you more like in this story?   God is generous and forgiving. When we forgive others, we are acting more like Him.       Steps to Forgiveness   Items needed: pieces of copy or construction paper, and markers/pens   Students in the upper elementary classes learned some Steps to Forgiveness. Review and illustrate the steps. Assign the steps to different kids and ask them to illustrate someone doing that. (They could even write the words in a word bubble above the character's heads.) Talk about each one.    Acknowledge that you were wronged. It's okay to feel sad and angry when someone hurts you. It's okay to admit that what they did was wrong. God is sad when we are hurt.  Communicate. Talk about it. Words such as: I felt sad when you broke my CD; I felt hurt when you made fun of me, can help others understand how they wronged us. Others may not have realized they have hurt us. Going to them privately and talking about it is what Jesus said to do in Matthew 18:15. Forgive. Come to an agreement and forgive. If you can work it out, you have gained a friend back. Ask yourself: Is what he or she has done bigger than what I have done in sinning against God? Forgiving means you are giving up your right to get them back. It means you are trusting God to take care of it. Pray. Every time the bad feelings come back, tell God you want to obey and ask for His help to forgive. Tell Him you trust HIM to handle it. Pray for the person who wronged you.   Use these steps when family members have a disagreement.      Forgiving Others   Students are memorizing Ephesians 4:32. This verse fits the song, Frere Jacques (Are You Sleeping?). Sing the song together to review the verse. Once they have memorized it well enough, try singing it in a round. Divide into two groups and the second group would begin singing at "tenderhearted."   What is the opposite of tenderhearted? (Hard hearted—not wanting to forgive, but wanting to get revenge)   Why should we forgive others? (God has forgiven us)   God's forgiveness to us is the reason we can forgive others. Others have not hurt us more than our sin hurt Jesus. Our sin against God is bigger than any sin that others have done to us. God forgives us; we can forgive others.   On the journey with you, Pastor Beau

PACT for the First Week of April

Did You Really See That? Item needed: computer   Go to the website: http://www.optics4kids.org. Look at some of the optical illusions posted there.   Did your eyes trick you?    Sometimes we are confused or can be tricked into making bad choices. Things are not always as they seem to be and we need discernment to decide between right and wrong.   What is discernment? (To recognize, to distinguish, to tell the difference between, etc.)    We need discernment to make good choices—to recognize what is the best thing to do. We can't always rely on how we feel because our feelings can trick us (just as our eyes were tricked by these optical illusions). We must make decisions based on the truth of the Bible.     Strong Foundation   Items needed: blocks or Lego's or building materials, sand, large flat rock, and a pitcher of water   Divide kids into two teams and give each team one of the two foundations: a large, flat rock and some sand. Ask each team to build a house on their foundation. Do a test to see which house will stand the longest. (You may want to do this outside.) Pour the pitcher of water over the houses to see which one stays put. (Hopefully, the one on the rock will.)   Read Matthew 7:24-27. (The man who built his house on the rock is like a wise man that follows and obeys Jesus' words; the foolish man who doesn't listen to or obey the Bible is like one building a house on sand.)   Why is the Bible a good foundation for us to build on? (It is strong; it has been proven true; it will help us know the right things to do, which will help us build a better life, etc.)   We must use the Bible as a way to discern between right and wrong, between wise and foolish choices.          Green Light. Yellow Light. Red Light.       Use the stoplight to teach kids how to make decisions.   STOP and THINK  (RED) CAUTIOUSLY Consider the Choices  (YELLOW)    GO GOD'S WAY (GREEN)   STOP and THINK—RED   Why is it a good thing to stop and think before making a choice? (Keeps you from just following the crowd, keeps you from reacting wrongly, etc.)   A wise person doesn't just follow the crowd. A wise person doesn't just do what he feels like doing. He stops and thinks before he does things. If we only stopped to think before we said or did anything, we might keep ourselves from saying or doing something wrong.   CAUTION, Consider the Choices—YELLOW   2 questions to ask:   1. Does the Bible say anything about this?   Not all choices are equal. Some are between right and wrong; some are between things that are wise and unwise. If the Bible has specifically said something is wrong, we should choose NOT to say or do it. But not all choices are between right and wrong. How do you decide when you have a choice between two okay things?   2. What is the WISE thing to do?    GO GOD'S WAY—GREEN   Choosing to GO GOD'S WAY is always best. If something were clearly wrong, then the wisest choice would be to say no or walk away. If something is not wrong and it would be a wise thing to do . . . then do it! We want to be wise and choose daily to follow God's way and rules.   Give the kids some chances to practice making choices using the stoplight. Some situations: your friends ask you to steal something; a friend wants you to disobey your parents; you want to eat cookies just before dinner; you want to play your video game but have homework, you have an hour of free time, etc. On the Journey with you, Pastor Beau