So, I spent a total of 14 hours at Church this weekend (6 services) - not to mention quite a few hours at rehearsal practicing this routine . . . why did I need practice?? -

a. I’m getting old,

b. I have never had any formal ”dance” training,

c. I hate messing up!

d. I wanted to make the most of this opportunity to serve Jesus!

You see . . .

Easter to me is all about surprises – really good ones!! And though no experience can compare to hearing the amazing news that JESUS IS ALIVE!!!   

I really couldn’t believe that I got to have this much fun serving with friends at my church!  Praise God that He invented fun. . . .and dancing!

Have you been grazing spiritually lately. . . . OR. . . .Have you recently had a mountain top experience of some sort? – Feeling pretty confident about you spiritual life and your ability to impact people who are hurting and broken? Be careful!!!! You are now more dangerous than ever to the enemy, and you better believe that he is lurking like a lion (1 Peter 5:8) – and he is going to try and bring you down as soon as possible. . . . . are you married? (it doesn’t matter for how long). . . . then let’s talk, because within marriage lies one of the most commonly used attacks of the devil . . . why? – because, unfortunately, it works a lot of the time!

First warning. . . if you think this doesn’t apply to you, and that there really is no need to read this. . . . . I really don’t know why God will ever tell you that. . . .so, you might want to check the source of that thought – AND keep reading! You also might want to pray that God be with you as you read. . . . once again, if that sounds like a ridiculous thing to do?? . . . . . . . that’s not coming from God. . . do it – get Him involved.

First let’s talk about some basic characteristics of the enemy – I recommend you watch the weekend service from Granger Community Church from this past weekend (3/8/09) entitled “Sex for Sale” – watch it here (www.gccwired.com)  – where Mark Beeson explains the 3 hats of satan

Hat #1 – Tempter – trying to sell you lies like -  “this (whatever act the temptation involves) is not that bad. . . noone will know. . . and it doesn’t matter anyway, because it’s not that wrong . . . you can totally handle it. . . other people, stupid people, get caught – but your not stupid. . . . . it’s just this one time. . . . . just a little bit won’t hurt” – and after every step that you take, the enemy tempts you with the next one – and notice. . . . it is usually a slow/gradual process.

Hat #2 – Promoter – after he has tempted you he then tries to sell you lies like “this is going to be the best ever. . . . so fulfilling, it’s going to feel so good – you will feel so taken care of, so complete, so alive, so. . . . . . right – this is what you have been missing out on for soooo long!”

Hat#3 – Accuser – after you have commited the sinful act, he then tries to sell you lies like “I can’t believe you did THAT. . . you are horrible!!! – your toast now – God will never take you back. . . . might as well not even fight it – just give in all the way. . . you can’t resist it . . . you’ve already proven that!. . . . it will never go away. . . there is nothing you can do!. . . you knew it was wrong, but you did it anyway – that is the worst of the worst – not even God wants you back now!”

Let me be very clear. . .satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), which means. . . all he does is tell lies. . . so, these “hats” are ALL LIES – every single one!!

So, what does this have to do with you?

So, what is your weak spot when comes to your marriage?? What do you feel like your spouse is not giving you enough of?? especially things that you think you deserve?? Here is a quick list of some of  these maybe

1. Sex

2. Quality time together . . . that they actually WANT to spend

3. being valued and appreciated for all that you do

4. Sharing an emotional connection – talking about things that are close to your heart. . . . EVEN YOUR FAITH!

5. Passion, desire, adventure, fun

6. A sense of peace (or lack of tension)

etc….

HAVE NO DOUBT IN YOUR MIND that this area of resentment in your life has a huge bullseye painted on it – and it is going to be attacked by the enemy using Hat #1 and Hat#2 above

and if you don’t already have one – there may be someone entering into your life that just “happens” to provide an opportunity to have that resentment fulfilled. . . . . it’s called a strategy. . . and the enemy has been perfecting it for thousands of years!

The question then, reagarding our behavior, is NOT what is right and what is wrong – the question is what standard are you going to hold yourself to -  so as to be the brightest light possible for God’s kingdom – bring Him the most Glory – form the most solid Family – to be an inspiration for your friends/children/grandchildren. . . . . . because they will know, and they are watching. . . . . and in order prevent this, you need to have behavioral guidelines that will protect you from the lies of the enemy. . . especially the one that tells us that this is “really not a big deal”, and that “you can handle it”

Here are some questions to ask yourself (rate each one on a scale of 0-5 – with 0 being “no, not me at all” and 5 being “yes, that is me most of the time”):

1. Am I sharing more of my thoughts/feelings with someone else (of the opposite sex) than I am with my wife/husband?

2. Have I been thinking and getting excited about how I can see someone else (of the opposite sex) a little more often – even if it is with a larger group?

3. Am I, or could I be,  the major spiritual force in someone else’s (of the opposite sex) life right now – turning them towards Christ?

4. Do I have SOME excitement and/or attraction to someone else (of the opposite sex) when we physically touch in a supposed “neutral” way? – hand shakes, welcoming/parting hugs, a touch on the shoulder, arm, or knee, etc…

ok . . . Tally your points. . .

-

- if you have a total of 1 or more then you need to understand that you are most likely being attacked spiritually. . . AND. . . you are losing. . . . . . now what??!

1. Remember that some of the most effective “sells” of the enemy is that “this is not a problem – completely harmless”, and “you can totally handle it on your own.”

2. Remember that Paul tells us in the Bible to RUN from sexual sin and temptation (1 Cor 6:18) – so that means you need to stop cold turkey/put distance between you and him/her, STOP communication

3. This path to sexual sin is most often a very SLOW one – with gradual steps that you hardly notice . . . . it is a slow fade

4. Think about what kind of legacy/model you want for you, your marriage, your children, and grandchildren. . . . because they will remember these types of things forever!

5. Know that in this struggle, you have an opportunity to get even closer to God (who is strong enough to help you through this) and have a witness of strength. . . . . or become one of many who have sinned in this way only to hide and decay in shame and agony – saying to themselves “I don’t know how this happened. . . . . ”

6. Finally, know that sexual sin starts when you even lustfully (not just sex, but also companionship, etx…) think about somone else. . . . many of us have traveled down that path at some point – to differeing degrees. Repenting/confessing/being real with God wipes it all clean – from the one-time lustful thought to the full-fledged adulterous lifestyle that someone has lived for years. Don’t ever believe the lie that God won’t take you back (hat #3 above). . . . . . In fact, you may be reading this post for the exact reason of God desparately wanting you back . . . He’s just waiting on you to ask. . . . . . . . ask Him back in. . . and WHATEVER you have done. . . He is ready – right now -  willing AND capable, to help you turn this thing around. . .

So, many of you know that 3 times a year Ang and I put on a workshop at our church called “Beyond I Do.”  Typically, this all day workshop (or sometimes spread out between 2 weekends) is for engaged couples within the church. Recently, however, we have had more married couples coming for a kind of “refresher” on some things.

We cover a lot of material, which we break into 4 broad categories of Spirituality, Communication, Conflict Resolution, and Sexual intimacy. Here is a picture of most of the 21 couples that attended this past Saturday (Feb. 28th).

- We had a great time, and I always love working together with my wife to help influence people’s lives!!

Here are my top 10 highlights from the day:

10. A comment from one of the couples “to defray desires becoming expectations, simply imagine what it would be like if you were still alone.”

9. Giving people some insight on how the enemy is going to try and attack your marriage

8. Outlining in detail the “good” fight – conflict is inevitable, and the proper handling of it can make you stronger than ever!

7. Talking about the idea that if the point of communication, especially disagreements, is to truly understand each other. . . .then. . . “winning” – really has very little to do with it!

6. Seeing people “get it” when we talk about some of the gender differences that can lead to all kinds of communicative difficulties.

5. Helping couples begin to pray together, outloud, – some for the first time – ever!

4. Having one of the guys comment in front of everyone – “WOW, I am getting a lot more out of this than I ever expected!”

3. Referring to our very frank Q & A session regarding Sexual intimacy – yes, we talked about _________.

2. Seeing several couples crying during one of the prayer times where we have them look at each other while Ang prays for each one of them – she does an amazing job with this!

1. My amazing wife pausing throughout the day to breath through contractions and back spasms – I am so proud of how tough she is for the Kingdom! One time I even reassured everyone “don’t worry, she’s a professional. . . “ 

Well, 6 years almost to the day. . .

What were you doing 6 years ago?  Life was a lot different me . . . just starting Graduate School at Notre Dame. . . no kids. . . absolutely no concept of what was to come.

But one night during a church service, I felt God telling me that I needed to go and help out Corey Mann with Lifeline (the name, at the time, of the high school youth group at GCC),  so that is pretty much what I told him. . . “hi, I’m Ted. . . and God told me that I am supposed to help you with the youth group” – ok. . . . sort of different – but it was the start of a wonderful 6 full years.

A week ago this past Sunday night, I said goodbye to GSM (Granger Student Ministries) and yet:

1. I was still having so much fun volunteering

2. I was still having tremendous impact with the students

3. I was still effective in my teaching times to the youth group

4. I was fully supportive of the leadership, and loved the leadership team so much -

5. I believed with all of my heart in the future of GSM and D. C. Curry

6. I got to enjoy weekly time with some of my closest friends

7. I could not have enjoyed the band’s worship any more than I was – just amazing!

Do you get the point . . . . NOTHING WAS WRONG. . . .

It is so funny that many times we assume that something must go wrong (either from one of our own mistakes or the mistakes of someone else) in order for God to pull us away from something. . . . BUT, I see no promises of that in the Bible, in fact, there are many instances when God or Jesus calls someone to transition from one good thing to another.

Rob Wegner gave a message a few weeks ago about being a laser in life – you know – the idea that if our efforts are widely dispearsed then we have little effect – BUT, if we focus our efforts on only a limited number of things then we can have tremendous impact and power (i.e., just like the focused light in a laser). . . . well, . . . God started to do something with me on that one . . .

As a prayed and wrestled with God on this a little bit, these are some things that I discovered:

1. I am no longer able to be the laser focus at GSM that I wanted and used  to be (go on all the trips, go to student’s ball games, hang out late at night, lead a small group, etc…) - largely due to some of my life circumstances (i.e., 3 soon to be 4 small children, among other things).

2. I believe God is moving me into three other areas of my life where I can be a laser (husband/Father, being a professor at Bethel, and greenLockers), and I am supposed to focus there now.

3. Though leaving is saddening, I was reminded of a saying (not sure who said it, but it is on the wall in my sister-in-law’s house ) – “Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened!”. . . . to that I say AMEN! . . .

and so I end with some of my highlights from the years – in no particular order – and this is just the start of a huge list in my head: Feel free to leave comments below with some of your favorite memories!!

1. Stephen Smith’s baptism, and a certain conversation I had with Nathan Gage on a Monday night  – both on a Mexico trip.

2. Serving with my amazing wife for 3 of the years!

3. The dresser drawer night

4. The night that I felt the spirit move so much that I taught for 1.5 hours. . . . oops

5. Without a Trace

6. Campfires at Men’s retreats. . . . all of them, but especially one at Camp Mack when a father and son were reunited

7. playing basketball down on the back porch outside the Great Room with some of my boys from Niles – that one goes way back!

8. Acquire the Fire trips!!

9. Camp Adventure. . . . way too many memories to even start!!! – - God is just so tangible there, and that main room there where we worship is pretty close to Holy ground in my book.

10. Just all of the week-in and week-out hugs and heys from everyone. . . . I may miss that the most. . . thank you for all of the love everybody. . . I will miss you tremendously, but thank you for helping me become the Man that God wants me to be. . . . . . . . . . and if God has ever used me to influence your life. . . . all I can say is – go . . . . . GO. . . . and do likewise!!

I was driving along Cleveland yesterday on the way to rehearsal at GCC for a monologue I did this weekend, and traffic was packed in the right-hand lane coming up the hill right there where SR 23 breaks off to the South by UP mall. I was in the left-hand lane cruising along at like 15 mph without a car in front of me at all (and still about 50 yards to the light) . . . . . . and then a van decides to pull out of the right lane and into the left just as I was getting ready to pass her (i.e., I must have been in her blind spot). . . . . . there was nothing that I could do – no time to dodge . . . . in an instant, I heard a crunch, and then like a bumper car was spinning into the 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. . .praise God the light had only just turned green – so the oncoming traffic had plenty of time to slow down (if the timing would have been different. . . , well, I am not sure what would have happened, but I know what could have. . . ).  I pulled into a subdivision – long story short. . . I got a relatively small dent, some scratches. . . she was 16 and freaking out – it would have been really rough for her to have that on her record already. I decided to let her go. . . . but not not without trying to help her understand that we all make mistakes, . . . really it happens to everyone – then we talked a little more and we were on our way. . . . probably never to see each other again – and I prayed to God that in some way she had felt His presence in all of this. . .

It is amazing what happens when you realize for a moment that for some reason your life was spared. . .

you ask. . . why?

and though I cannot fully answer that question – especially in light of the unexplainable deaths of so many people everyday – including my aunt and uncle (see post below), but I do know one reason

I still must have work in God’s Kingdom bringing process to complete. . . . and I do not plan on wasting any time pursuing things for only myself or even my family – because those motivations pale in comparison to God’s will, which I trust already has what is best for me AND my family. Now this does not mean that I must run myself into the ground with busyness – I fully believe there is a divine rhythm  for me – for all of us. . . . . and a rhythm is nothing without its pauses (times when there is a rest/silence).

That being said though . . . I am on a renewed drive to crank up the amp on my electric guitar and ROCK! . . . .seriously, what is there to fear? . . . failure – no, because I believe that the only true failure is inaction, stagnation, being lukewarm, refusing to give God what little I have – -remember, God can never use you to feed 5000 if you never give him the 2 fish!

I love figuring out patterns. . . I study the brain, and well. . .  our brain loves patterns – it loves to be able to recognize themes/consistancies in our experiences and then go on to not only predict what will happen next. These recognized patterns can lead to bad things . . . such as stereotypes, prejudice, and belittling assumptions, but. . . . they can also lead to good things such as empathy, organization, and an understanding of the “big picture” . . . . here is one such pattern that Rob Wegner reminded me of this past weekend:

1. God says . . .think small. . . big will come – Matthew 13:33 (NIV)

33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

I love how I have read this passage many times, and know of the parable. . . and just skipped right over the “3 measures of four” part because, . .  . well, I have no idea what that means. . . I mean. . . of course you use flour in bread  – right, what is the significance of that.

The early audience of this message would have understood this at a much deeper level. . . 3 full measures of flour = 11 two-liter Coke bottles full of dough = about 100lbs of dough. . . yeah, . . . we are NOT talking about one small loaf of bread here!. . . and yet, Jesus says the power of the kingdom of God is only having to use “a little bit of yeast” and it will work its way through all 100lbs of dough!

God says. . . when big problems come upon you. . . THINK SMALL. . . .it is through small interventions that big problems are solved, . . . do not wait for some huge solution. . . . instead have faith that one small solution followed by another, and another, etc… you know, . . . like the small changes/decisions that we make in our lives – it is through these. . . that huge solutions are made. . . – - – God is telling us here that in God’s kingdom. . .  there is an immensity in smallness . . . . remember, the Kingdom of God is also like a mustard seed, which (Matthew 13:32 NIV) though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree.

If this is all true. . . . then we can start looking at things completely differently. . . . so, it is the small things that we do. . . . the everyday things that can bring the kingdom of God . . . things that we already know how to do . . . . no more excuses on not being “prepared” or not “knowing enough of the Bible” - 

here is my mustard seed list today

• smiling at someone that I do not know
• not complaining today, but being encouraging
• giving my wife and kids a great big hug and kiss when I get home today – before I say word or do anything else
• caring for my students – listening to them
• not exaggerating any stories today
• asking my 2 of my colleagues how they are doing today. . . and having the time to listen
• being grateful, not greedy
• calling a friend that I have been meaning to call for months

Make a list for yourself. . . and see what God does with your small interventions . . .

 -

There is a verse that I have been thinking about lately, and I wanted to get your thoughts. . .

- SO, what does this verse mean to you? . . . to us as the Church? . . . and what DOESN’T it mean?

Matthew 9:11-13 (New International Version)
11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?”

12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

- the footnote is Hosea 6:6 (NIV) -  6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
       and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

- SO. . . .

Well, it all comes down to this day . . . . and either way. . . History will be made. I tried to explain the whole election process to my daughter this morning in our 5 minute ride to her school. . . . I was right in the middle of breaking down the differences between the Electoral vote and the popular vote, when she says something to the effect of . . . . . “so we are getting a new king?”. . . .to which I responded. . . . “yeah. . . something like that”  – - – I wanted to dive a little deeper into the principles of Democracy, but . . . . we were already at her school, and well. . . . she IS only 4.

 It was inspiring though to wait in line this morning (Ang went first at 6am and waited for 45 minutes) – I followed with about a 30 minute wait at 6:45ish. . . . . but to see all walks of life there . . . unified. . . . each with his/her own team that they are playing for  . . . . committed. . . . passionate. . . .willing to do whatever it takes to do their part. . . . to reach their goal. . . . . . when else do we see this in this country???. . . . there was no threshold of affluency, race, religion, sexual orientation, athletic ability, intelligence, physical capability, gender, language, etc….. – WOW, you know what I thought of . . . . . . . isn’t this supposed to be kind of what the church looks like? - there was no checklist of rights and wrongs at the door to let you in – just your government issued ID. . . . . there were no further questions, judgements, or even looks – to try and categorize how “good” you were or what you believed – in fact. . . it seemed everyone was well accepted. . . . . . . . . . . wow, what a refreshing and INSPIRING experience to see unity – oh sure, . . . there were different opinions, but there was . . . one goal – to make this country better. . .  - and everyone was “ALL IN”.

Then it hit me. . . . Christians are all supposed to be on the same team right???. . . . sure, there are differences in our opinions, but the goal should be the same right?? – reaching the lost, suffering, broken, and poor. . . . . . but we aren’t even coming close. . . . in fact, one of the biggest reasons, from people that I have spoken to, that people don’t want to become Christians is because of all of the bickering/fighting/badmouthing that the see within the Church. . . . . . . . . and we are supposed to be the EXAMPLE of love, peace, grace, and mercy in the this world?

I pray for unity within the Church – NOT REPLICATION – but a committed effort, across our differences,  to do whatever it takes to reach our goal – together. . . . how amazing would that be?!. . . . . . . . . Maybe some day there will be lines outside of churches – people just waiting to get in,. . . . so committed and passionate to make a real difference in the world – without feeling judgement or threshold barriers of some sort. . . . . . . . . . . . maybe this will never happen, . . . but, I am going to give everything that I have as a part of the Church to do that (i.e., everyone I meet, everyday, everywhere) – I don’t want to shoot for anything less than that - – - – every vote counts right?. . . so does every smile, every hug, every encouraging word, and every listening ear. . . .

I was reminded this weekend about incredibly simple God has made our mission within the Church. . . now, I am not saying that it’s easy, . . . but simple. . . yes!. . . . And so, I am wondering why there seems to be very few people actually carrying it out. . . . is there some sort of confusion???

I see people using all kinds of big and fancy words to try and explain to people their Christianness (I know, not a word, but it fits here), their specific denominational doctrines, . . .  and how DIFFERENT they are from the rest. . . . . . or the opposite, . . . not knowing at all how to show to others that we are Christians.  Do you know how ridiculous it seems to those outside the church (remember. . . the people we are supposed to be reaching. . . !) – when we bicker, conditionally love, fight, badmouth, and hold grudges towards one another??!!??. . . . why would they ever want to be a part of that??. . . . as if there’s not enough dysfunction in our own families to deal with. . . . . Seriously!, . . . . Church. . . . let’s get ahold of ourselves (myself included). . .

What did Jesus say?

John 13:35 (New Living Translation)

I was reading an article by Rev. Frank Majka concerning 3 things about Jesus’s life that were challenging to him. They kind of struck me, and so I wanted to share some of the highlights with you. . . .feel free to tell me what you think – agree? disagree?

Jesus as an infant – he “depended on love and care from others, especially Mary and Joseph. If we are meant to carry Jesus’ likeness, we can’t try to be invulnerable and the church has to admit its own vulnerability and need.”

Jesus calling Peter – “Peter admitted being an unworthy companion and even asked Jesus to go away from him. Jesus didn’t say He was calling Peter because of his virtuous life but promised Peter that he could be better and do great deeds if he followed Jesus. In His life on earth, Jesus risked sharing Himself with weak and sinful people — and that’s still true.”

Jesus washing feet - “We may think God wants us to serve Him, but Jesus showed us that God’s real desire is to serve us. He also said that we should serve each other in His name. That’s challenging for us as individuals and as a church because we sometimes too quickly tell people what we expect of them rather than ask what we can do for them.”

What a great weekend!!! I love spending time with teenagers!  Here are some quick thoughts from the weekend:

1. Many of the young people of this coming generation inspire me. . .  they give me hope for the world that my little children will one day live in. . .

2. What is it about bonfires? . . . God just seems to show up in such a huge way. . . loosening the tongue as well as the heart. . . Praise God for 11p.m. bonfires in the woods with stars filling the clear night sky!

3. In the boat that we are sailing on in life – is Jesus the cargo or the Captain? (Mark 4:36)

4. Jesus calms the storms outside of us and inside. . . . if we let him

5. If the enemy cannot stop you. . . he will speed you up until you spin out!

6. Samson forgot that the LORD was the source of his strength. . . have I? . . . have you?

7. How scary is it to be a part of a people or a church that is sooooo routine that if God’s spirit leaves it (Judges 16:20) – no one would notice!

8. Many times. . . “success is simply getting up one more time than you fall down” (Mark Beeson)

9. Simon Peter only met Jesus. . . . because his brother Andrew brought him. . . . never underestimate what God can do with the people that you invite to come and see Jesus

10. Many of us are asleep to the power of prayer (Luke 9:32 )

Well, I am off to the Men’s retreat this weekend – should be amazing. . . . I am off to seek truth – further in . . . deeper. . . and higher than ever before. I am not going to relax, but to engage. . . I can’t wait to hang with men and young men from our church – it is always one of the highlights of the year for me.

May God receive tremendous glory from all that we do in the next 2 days !!!

Some of you have already seen this, but still. . . . here is some truth to hang onto today and this weekend:

Peace be with you –

I know that I feel pressure sometimes. . . pressure in most areas of my life – like many of you. In fact, I actually thrive on pressure, but I never want pressure from others (peers, girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, authority, parents, friends, teachers, coaches, boss) to DETERMINE who and what I become. . . . I can only trust Jesus for that. . .

Dr. Bob Laurent spoke last night about Satan’s temptations in the desert to Jesus in a new way from the perspective of whom Jesus wanted to become. . .

#1  - Stone to Bread: This was a temptation to be the People’s Messiah - because such a miracle would convince people that He was the Christ – it would fulfill their expectations.

#2  – Jumping from the Temple: This was a temptation to be the Torah’s Messiah – fulfilling scriptures to the point where the religious leaders would believe that He was the Christ – it would fulfill their expectations.

#3  – Authority over Kingdoms of the Earth: This was a temptation to be the Kingly Messiah - that could wield power and authority and control. . . . so that all would obey His expectations of them.

So, why did He turn all of these down?  Because He wanted only to fulfill the expectations of his Father. . . . He became the Suffering Messiah. . . . . not so much concerned with obedience or the expectations of people or religious leaders, but focusing on eliciting love, which can only happen. . . . . by loving. . . which takes passion. . . . which takes being connected to suffering. . . and yes, . . . that was his CHOICE. . . . remember –

You see, . . . for Jesus to save others, he couldn’t save Himself. . . . . the same truth can be found in our lives. . . . . for you to save your marriage, you can’t save yourself. . . . for you to save your family, you can’t save yourself. . . . for you to save your friends, you can’t save yourself. . . . . . . . . . . we can’t have it both ways. . . . . what we want . . . . and what someone else needs. . . . this is the essence of submission and servanthood. . . . . . this is the essence of Christ

so, things/desires/selfishness in our lives that come from pressures in this world to be this or that. . . let’s choose the radical way. . . let’s die to self. . . . . . . . . . . seriously. . . . . .and watch what happens!

So, yesterday was a day of 2 picnics. . . the first being of Elliana’s Montessori class at Bendix Woods County Park (over by New Carlisle). She started Countryside Montessori in August and ABSOLUTELY loves it!!! As you can see from the pictures – we had a hay ride (where she got to play in the straw with one of her friends – Jo jo), a cook-out and play time at one of the playgrounds – good times:

The second picnic was to celebrate Raj , who is GCC’s guru pastor in India – overseeing all of GCC’s mission work in India. You see. . . . I am going to India on a short term mission trip this Christmas with the “Justice Team” ~~ parner with International Justice Mission in their fight against bonded slave labor and forced prostitution ~~. There are several other teams going from GCC including Media, Water, Construction, and Vehicle Maintenance teams. So, we all got together to celebrate what has been done over in India already and what wonderful things are to come. . . . . India is dealing with some genocide issues right now, so keep them in your prayers. . .

Finally. . . . . I love meeting the friends of my kids – - they spend all of this time with other kids at Church and school, and then we finally get to meet them every now and then. This in one such case. . . . . . Elliana is friends with Belle Wegner – Rob and Michelle’s youngest. . . because they play all the time at church together, but we have never gone over to their place, and they have never come over to ours – but here are the two cuties having a deep discussion about something. . . .they were holding hands earlier, but I didn’t have my camera ready!!!

I always try to pray before I teach every class, just to invite the holy spirit to hang out with me and the students. . . because I don’t want to waste time or miss an opportunity for there to be supernature things happening. Every now and then – something awesome happens. . . and I know it is the Holy Spirit doing His thing

So, I have been teaching Adolescent Growth and Development for 3 years now. . . I have helped out at the youth group at GCC for going on 7 years now. . . I have had countless encounters with students – trips, camps, teaching them, etc. . . ., but something has always gotten to me, you want to know what it is?. . . . . . . what was Jesus like as a Teenager? The bible doesn’t give us much – only 1 verse:

(No, I have not read this book) So, we know that he grew in “wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” – growing in favor with God. . . no problem,. . . .  but what about with man??? Really, . . .  he grew in stature with Man???? What does that mean?? I know what it means in the junior highs and high schools around here – is it the same?? THEN IT HAPPENED – Holy Spirit time . . . . . . . . . . I asked my students in my class these questions: - was Jesus popular?, was he Prom King?, was he in the who’s who of Nazareth?, did he flirt with girls – if so how far, did he get frustrated with a zit?? Difficult questions right?? . . . . why so difficult? . . . . . NOT just because we don’t know the answer, but, I would argue that . . . . . . . . . the difficulty comes because it is the perfect mirror of what you think is right/wrong for a teenager to do. . . . . . it reveals all of your biases – all of our legalistic tendencies, b/c if Jesus didn’t sin. . . . then he did nothing wrong. . . . is it wrong to get frustrated with a zit, and to worry about what everyone is thinking when you walk into school???

Furthermore. . . hang with me here. . . . some students said, well, I think Jesus wouldn’t have gotten upset because He would have a different perspective that it’s not that big of a deal. . . . . really, . . . b/c if he was fully man – fully a teenager – then one of THE biggest characteristics of these years is that EVERYTHING is a big deal – so if he never felt that . . . . does that mean somehow he was not fully a teenager?. . . . . . . . ? . . . . . ? – it’s about this time that I saw my students’ minds’ turn into Jello. . . . . . so, I ended class by saying. . . so what do you think God is up to by not telling us the details of what Jesus did as a teen? . . . . . . They got up slowly, . . . . and as they regained motor control they slowly. . . . made it out the door. . . . and I praised God for visiting my class last Thursday .

So, . . . . . . . . what do you think????

I realized something this weekend. . . I sure am glad that God can still do His thing – even when I’m clueless to what is going on around me. Let me give you the background on this.  Let’s just say that I did not have the best Saturday - I was battling the familiar tension between needing to be productive around the house/get “projects” done, and being a good father/husband by spending quality time with my wife and family. . . as many of you know – this is a difficult balance, especially when the “projects” are taking longer than expected, and self-imposed expectations of time and quality are not being met.

Along with this, I was not happy with my message that I was going to be giving on Sunday night to the youth group (GSM) – it just seemed too lukewarm – too informational, not enough passion. Needless to say I was not in a great spot. . . then, as I am trying to get the pool cover onto our deck to dry out for the winter – I got a splinter. . . . I do not like splinters. . . especially when it is UNDER MY FINGERNAIL – OUCH!! – yes, it is still in there, and yes it still hurts. . .

I usually do some praying before going to church on Sat. night, just to make sure that I and my family are open to God and the Holy Spirit, because I never want to miss anything that God is doing. . . well, . . . I didn’t do that Sat. night, I even forgot that it was baptism Sunday (we only have one massive baptism every year at our church) . . . Church was really good – the music set was good, our senior pastor, Mark Beeson, delivered the Gospel really well (see it here), and there was an invitation to come forward to accept Christ as your personal LORD and savior.

WHOOA. . . - this caught me off guard, I mean, we only do this once a year and usually there is this big build up, and you feel the spirit moving, . . . and I hadn’t felt that. . . . . I had not felt anything like that. . . I was sooo clueless. . . around 75 people came forward to give their lives to Christ in our one service, but the next day over 427 people came forward at the 11:00 service. . . ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! – - – and that is when God kind of slapped me. . . . . . . . . . you know what Ted, I’m going to do what I’m going to do, I am God, it is your choice whether or not you want to be a part of it. . . I don’t need your permission or readiness to love the hurting. . . heal the broken. . . and rescue my people. . . . . . . . .  in that moment, I had both a sadness that I had missed out, and simultaneously, a feeling of God inviting me to jump on bandwagon, without judgement, and join in the celebration. . . so we did

What a celebration it was – people getting baptized left and right outside the church in four huge pools. . . and guess what. . . I spent some more focused time on Sunday with God, and he helped me discover a completely new message for the students – it never ceases to amaze me how much God is doing around me and wants to do in and through me. . . just a reminder that it is my choice to be prepared, so that I can have eyes to see and ears to hear. . . . . . God, please help me not to miss out on what you planned in, through, and around me today – I really don’t want to miss out again. . .