7holycrap Life Lessons

The True GOLD Standard

Revelation 21:21 is a great “perspective” verse about what heaven is made of and what we feel is important.  “21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.”

Some economists talk about the potential astronomical value of gold in the coming years because of such a volatile US and world market system.  By the way, we are not going to “elect” our way out of a crappy economy with this presidential election.  We need to stop trying to spend more than we take in.  Period.  (but that is another blog for another day 🙂 I like the comparison you can make that the most important thing on this earth, gold (or money/economy) is just pavement under the feet of those in heaven.  Think of it this way; anything the world thinks is important is the exact opposite to God.  Popularity, money, status, etc. So, basically, the “gold standard” on earth is just the “pavement standard” in heaven.  Our prayer needs to be each day that we keep our lives in perspective while realizing the necessity of earthly things like money, but with the correct level of focus on those things.  Have a great week!!

7holycrap Life Lessons

If you are changing, others will notice

This morning I was thinking about the word “change” and what quantifies change in a persons life. As a follower of Christ, if I am not changing each day than I know I am not becoming the person God needs me to be. I slip into a stagnant relationship with Jesus that becomes less relevant to a hurting world and makes my life meaningless. There is already a great work that Jesus did in me when i first accepted him but my flesh always will want to stay stagnant not change. The key thing that separates a successful and valuable person from everyone else is the ability to change. If I think I am changing then the people I come in contact with, especially those closest to me, should notice something different about me. More patient, listening better, smiling more, etc. A great litmus test in your life can be the reaction of others to you, positive or negative. One thing my dad always told me was that you can learn something from anyone, even something negative and seeing what you don’t want to do or be like. I really don’t believe there is anyone on the face of the earth who wants to be the personal illustration for a dad telling his son, “now THAT, my boy, is what you do NOT want to do/be in this life.” Yet, we can all recognize people in the course of our lives that we would consider “bad examples.” Change is a beautiful thing but not automatic. The only way we can truly change into the person we need to be for this world is by submitting ourselves to God but also to those who we trust and want to see us succeed. None of us have all the qualities in this life to finish up living just the way we are. If I call myself a follower of Jesus, I need to be asking God to help my actions line up with the change Christ has already brought inside of me. Maybe there is something to the verses in the Bible that talk about iron sharpening iron and that I am being changed from glory to glory. The thing I will work on today is my will lining up with those promises of change. 🙂 Have a great weekend.

7holycrap Jesus thoughts, Life Lessons, Orphanage Trips

The Outward In or The Inward Out – Devos from India

This was a little blog post i put together while traveling through Delhi, India last week. Thought i would share it with you!

I am currently sitting in the Delhi India airport waiting to see my bags (which they need to get their crap together, by the way, as far as transfer passengers) I was reading my Watchman Née – Secrets to Spiritual Power book for my morning Devos. This book is so loaded with good, biblical thoughts to chew on so I thought I would share a little something from the other side of the earth. 🙂 Watchman says, “One way to discern between the work of satan and the work of God in a persons spiritual life is this: God always works from the center out while Satan works from the outside to the center.” I know that many times I am reacting to the outward circumstances satan throws at me instead of living from the inside truth that Jesus has it all under control. Don’t let your today be robbed by allowing the devil to make you focus more on his power to deceive instead of focusing on God and His power to ALREADY deliver you. The key is us realizing that the work is already finished. God is ready to work from the inside out instead of letting you be distracted from things on the outside trying to maneuver and get into your life. Have a good day and blessings!

7holycrap Uncategorized

Pastor Wally was Just Like Jesus


Today I was thinking about Pastor Wally Hickey and the legacy he leaves on this earth.  So many people from so many countries around the world will feel his passing.  I truly believe that when we are born and start our lives that we strive to be a world changer.  Someone who will be remembered for something great and leave a lasting mark on this world. The interesting thing for Pastor Wally was that he only wanted to be known because of Jesus inside of him.  Not for the glory or the fame, but if he had those things, he would turn it back to God.  I have only been at Orchard Road for a little over twelve years and many people here have known Wally for much longer than I have.  I didn’t have to know him for his whole life to see who he was.  When you would ask someone about Wally, you would only hear about Jesus’ love shown through his actions.  Whether it was through his singing worship, rhyming in prophetic words, favorite sayings, his “Dear Ones” in the bulletin, loving his kids Michael and Sarah or supporting his world evangelist wife, you saw how Jesus would handle the situation.  Pastor Wally was not perfect, as none of us are.  But he consistently and frequently consulted God on all decisions which is why so many people can say, “that man touched my life.” His life is an example of staying faithful to the things that matter most in life; to God, to the vision God gave him, to his wife and to himself.
If you knew Pastor Wally, I ask you to think about how you are going to allow his legacy to live on in your life. I know that I want people to not say some day when I am gone that I was tall, funny or other irrelevant things.  I want them to say I was a lover of God, my wife, my family and the people he put in my path. Not that I am perfect, but I serve a perfect God who, when I let shine through me as Wally did, can have a sheen of perfection because of Jesus in me.  Let Jesus love shine through you too. It would put that slight smile on Pastor Wally’s face and make him happy, which is just like Jesus.

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

Last Night in Nepal

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Well, we had a great trip to the boarder of Nepal next to Tibet. We spent three days just loving on the people and doing dental work, handing out glasses and praying for the sick. We saw about 195 people in the eye clinic and about 170 in the glasses. We also got to pray for about 16 people and saw one lady accept Jesus into her heart and one man healed of chest pain. I loved just sitting and listening to all the stories of the people we came in contact with. Some people on the last day took a bus from their house and walked three hours up the mountain to where we were ministering. Many if not all of the people we saw had never been to a dentist or an eye doctor in their entire life. The church got all the names and addresses of the people who came to see us so it was a great time of spreading seed of God’s love as well as just praying for people and letting them know about the love of Jesus. We so appreciate the doctors and their wives who came at their own expense to touch the lives of so many people who desperately needed to see and experience the love of God through action.
The awesome thing is that you don’t have to go to Nepal to show the Love of Jesus to the world around you. Many times we say, “if I could only go to a far away country and show people that Jesus loves them…” But you have friends and family that need to see Jesus’ love on display and not in some foreign country. I challenge you today to ask God to give you an opportunity to share His love and to be used by Him. Many times we wait for moments to “stumble upon” a person or situation that needs a God infusion instead of being targeted with our requests and then letting God do the rest!! Have a great night/day and our next stop is a 9 hour layover in London!! Woohoo!! Good times and we will see everyone Sunday am!

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

Nepal Update – Tomorrow is looking good America!

Good morning from Nepal! This morning, Yolanda said something and I referred back a conversation Jesus had with the disciples. She said, “now today is Monday and it is still Sunday night back home.” Simple enough, but I thought of Matthew 6:34 that says…
34 “So don ‘t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When God tells us not to worry about tomorrow, He isn’t saying it because he lives in the same “time zone” that we are in. Many times we forget that God is already in tomorrow (as we are in Nepal and you are in America) and can see what is coming.
So I can tell you that your tomorrow is going to be great. 🙂 haha
Notice too that the scripture does not say there will be NO trouble in tomorrow, but only to rely and trust in His provision, as stated in the verses previous to 34. Worry is something that can affect everyone and anyone. I remember when I was going through my physical stuff and I would worry so much about tomorrow that I would allow the devil to steal the joy of my today. We are either listening to God and the authority of his Word or our finite flesh with all its trappings. Choose today to keep your eyes on your today combined with your mind on God’s Word. A winning combination that will ensure you have the kind of tomorrow that God desires for you; one that is trusting wholly in Him.

Today we leave for the Nepal/Tibet boarder to do more dental and eyeglass ministry. Not sure how much Internet connection we will have up there but will do updates when we can. Again, thanks for praying and blessings!

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

Thanks for the prayers! The orphan supplies made it!

You will notice the notes we added to the suit cases for people to not steal our supplies. You never know who is in your bags when you are traveling overseas. 🙂 Notes to thieves combined with prayer makes all the difference in the world!

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7holycrap Orphanage Trips

Nepal Orphanage update! First day of our clinic

Greetings from Nepal!!

We had a great day yesterday doing dental work along with handing out some eye glasses. Our kids did awesome considering the fact that they had never seen a dentist before in their entire lives. I know for me it is always an “interesting” experience when I go to the dentist back in the states (and I don’t mean it is enjoyable – haha) Today we are doing dental and glasses for a school in the area and then packing up to get ready to head to the Nepal / Tibet boarder for help in the village there. God is doing great things and thanks for continuing to pray!!

This morning I was reading in 1 Samuel 7 where Samuel was talking to the people of Israel about requirements for following God and dealing with idols in their lives. This is what it says;
1 Samuel 7:3-4
3 Samuel spoke to the whole community of Israel. He said, “Do you really want to return to the LORD with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your strange gods. Get rid of your statues of goddesses that are named after Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the LORD. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the powerful hand of the Philistines.”
4 So the people of Israel PUT AWAY their statues of gods that were named after Baal. They PUT AWAY their statues of goddesses named after Ashtoreth. They served the LORD only.

Are you PUTTING AWAY your idols that you put in front of God or DESTROYING them? Those are two different foundations to serve God from. In verse 4, it says they served the LORD only.
We can still be serving God today but have idols that we have not destroyed or hidden for when we want to honor our flesh and not God. When you get rid of something you are saying that you don’t want to rely on it anymore. When you “put away” an idol you are essentially saying, “God you are awesome…but if this thing goes crooked with following you then I have a back up plan”. Right now in Nepal is one of the big Hindu festivals and there are plenty of physical “idols” around town that people are worshipping and sacrificing to. In America, it is much more subtle but still as deadly. Don’t mistake the difference with putting something away in your life and destroying it. God is worthy to be praised, followed and honored in all circumstances and will take care of those who destroy everything else in their life that can bring a false sense of security, which is the primary definition of an idol.

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

We made it to Nepal!!

Today we got up and had a delicious breakfast at our hotel and (of course) Masalla Tea, which is one of my favorite beverages on the planet. We went to church today and it never ceases to amaze me how much the Napali people worship/love God. Coming to church is actually one of my favorite experiences because it helps put into perspective not just American overindulgence economically, but American UNDER-indulgence Spiritually back home. This is one of the best reasons to go on a missions trip and really experience God from a Spiritual “world-view.” The funny thing is that its not really about “loving and worshiping Jesus” like a Nepalese. It’s the seeking of God with the same wreak-less abandon that looks past the distractions of life. The love and care of the “church body” in Nepal is amazing and I love watching the team we brought experiencing God in a different way than they are used to. More adventures to follow including setting up the clinic today and working on the eyes and teeth of the orphans. Tune in for more updates and thanks for praying!!