7holycrap Holy Crap

2021 Was a Great Year! Am I Insane?!

Well 2021 is finally over. I see people posting some pretty funny memes about what they thought of this past year but as I look back I can say what a great year! Now, why would I say something like that considering where we are in the world in so many dysfunctional ways?

Maybe 2021 has been a year of seeing and knowing what NOT to do. Isn’t that as important as a year we would define as “great”? Generally, I don’t like correction but when we get something wrong or something bad happens in life those moments raise the value of the “right” in life when we have Jesus in control. It seems like correction is something talked about in every other verse of Proverbs. From the results of being stiff necked in Proverbs 29:1 (A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed–without remedy) to Proverbs 12:1 (Whoever LOVES discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid) Such fun verses to meditate on the first day of the new year. Haha

You may say, “That’s easy for you to say. You had a relatively uneventful year.” Unless you realize that I fell in the airport late last year, had to have major rotator cuff surgery and be in an a sling for 42 days. AND since the new year has happened my insurance deductible went back up and I start 6 months of painful physical therapy that will cost thousands of dollars so…yeah…I would have a reason to complain to start the new year but I wont. I am going to ask God to put the people in my path that need to hear about him; Doctors, nurses, receptionists, my PT person, etc. and not just complain. I pray that our eyes are fixed on HEAVEN and not on the trappings of this earth.

2021 has also been a WONDERFUL year of defining lines in the church body and those who want to pursue holiness in life and those who want to just add Christianity into the other things they do. This may sound like a judgmental statement, but it is not. I know about the story of the thief on the Cross and him living his life for himself to the end and Jesus inviting him to heaven. I do think that there will be people who make it to heaven who don’t do much on this earth for Christ. To me, that is a scary place to serve God from because if we say we are a follower of Christ but we only follow him to the local church on Sundays and our Bible and prayer when it gets tough in life can we TRULY say we are a follower of Christ? ALWAYS remember that Jesus didn’t come to CONVINCE anyone that they needed to follow Him. He came to live a life of example and OFFER a different way to people who had unmet expectations in life. It is also an observation based on people who want to get to heaven but don’t want to change their actions including the trend of “Christianity in Hollywood”. I do believe that there are some wonderful followers of Christ out there, but there are many A list stars that have professed their Christianity but still take acting jobs that reflect Godlessness. I believe that is leading people astray to think that a walk with Christ is about just saying you follow Christ but not doing anything in life to prove it.

So what will 2022 be to you? Will it be a year of recognizing what you did wrong this past year then changing what you do this year to expect a different result? As we get closer to the return of Christ remember that there will continue to be a blurring of what it means to have Jesus in control of your life. You may be reading this and say, “How do you know that YOU are right?” The only thing I know is that I don’t want to live as far away from Christ as I can and only reach out to him when things go bad. I will use the Bible as the guidebook for my life and be involved in a church that preaches the Word AND is not afraid to defend what is being preached from the pulpit. I will love EVERYONE equally but also not be afraid to let people who I disagree with know that there is another way to live life. That may sound like judgement to some, but I’m not trying to make anyone live the life I do. People have to come to the end of themselves before they decide to do something different. This new year I will be a bridge to people getting back to Jesus who have walked away. Basically, I want to be an example to people i come in contact with and see the fruit of the decisions I make to put Jesus first in everything because it is not about ME or anything about me but Jesus IN me!

Have a GREAT 2022 and I am praying for you!

7holycrap Holy Crap, Life Lessons

Talkers are Praised While Listeners Go Unnoticed

Listening
I cannot say that I know very many people who are great listeners, including myself. Someone who, when their name comes up, is known to others as an exceptional listener. At the same time, we can name numerous amazing speakers when it comes to people we think have full command of the words that come out of their mouth. It is an interesting thing to me that we praise talkers but great listeners in life go unnoticed. Maybe it’s because we feel like if we don’t share how we feel we will not be able to change our corner of the world. Maybe you grew up in a large family and if you were not able to express yourself well that you were ignored or even forgotten.

As a follower of Christ, I was ALWAYS taught growing up the importance of telling others about my relationship with Jesus. Even now, Christians far and wide believe the most important thing is telling the world about how much Jesus loves them. We even sing worship songs about “telling” and build vision/mission statements around talking! When was the last time you read the vision statement of a religious organization that says, “We will listen to the broken and answer with love first and words second.”

Please hear me. I am not poking holes in religious organizations or churches but just making a statement about maybe some of the pacing we do as followers of Christ that tries to mimic the people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus yet. The world is all about telling others who they are, how they feel and the convictions they have and operate by.

There is an incredible power exhibited when you LISTEN to someone who either disagrees with your stance on something or even says things based from a place of hurt or pain. Stop trying to come up with a witty antidote to something being told to you and just tell yourself to shut off your mouth and engage your ears and mind to just listen.

The amazing byproduct of listening is that it encourages others to hear what YOU have to say because they felt honored that you would listen to them. So it is not whether you ONLY listen or ONLY talk but that listening opens up the channels of communication with others and helps you share what is on your heart. Maybe it is a priority of listening with a result of talking. Even Jesus would interact with people in a question format, listen to what they would have to say and then share. The greatest communicator to walk the earth was first and foremost the greatest listener, and He is who I want to be.

7holycrap Holy Crap, Life Lessons

God DOESN’T Just Love You…

goddoesntjustloveyou-image
The Bible tells of instances where people came to Jesus because they knew who He was. Those people would be considered “believers” in our day. But it is also FULL of times where Jesus went out to minister to people needing help and not even knowing that Jesus could fix what was broken. They would be considered “lost” in our day.

If you are a follower of Christ, it’s not just about coming to church on Sundays, praying, reading your Bible and spending time with Jesus for self consumption. It’s about following Christ’s example and going out to get the lost. The church does not only exist for us to consume good teaching and feed only ourselves for the week. No one will know how great Jesus is and how the church can help them if we don’t go get them!

The question is what does it look like to “go get” people? For some, it is making sure that we find and tell people what they are doing is wrong and that we don’t show an ounce of care because that would be justifying what they are doing. Others have been led to believe that Jesus came to this earth to simply love with nothing else in mind. That is also incorrect. His love for people was and always is there regardless of the situation, but his REAL purpose for being on this earth was to bring CHANGE. It was change for Jesus’ followers to have to leave their known professions and follow Him and his teachings. It was CHANGE in the lives of people to be healed from disease that had plagued them for years. It was CHANGE for the religious officials who were more concerned about keeping the religious laws of the day rather than doing what Jesus directed which was helping the poor, sick and broken.

We are now the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are looking for a change in life and maybe don’t even know it yet. That means we love everyone no matter what but we are constantly asking God what we need to do to be an agent of change in their lives. It may be loving someone unconditionally while telling them that you think they may be making a poor choice. It is still love to care for someone and disagree with their actions. Jesus loves ME when my actions might not line up with what he thinks is best for me and because of that love I know where I can go when I want to make a change in my life.

It is very important to remember that we are not the ones who BRING change in people’s lives but that we set the stage for GOD to bring change. When we are focused on setting up opportunities for God to move in people’s lives it takes the stress off of us to think that we have to make something happen in people’s life. When I love with the knowledge that I am not going to MAKE anyone change, I can let God work in their hearts and then be there if they want to go in a different direction in life.

Today, consider how you are going to go get the lost tomorrow by setting the stage for God to bring CHANGE in the lives of others. Jesus trusts that you are not going to screw it up so just go and love with a purpose!!

7holycrap Holy Crap, Life Lessons

The Importance of God NOT Being “Early” in Your Situation!

early-god
I have two friends, Matt and Jill, who moved their family from Colorado to Washington recently. He had been out of work for a very long time and living off of the severance package from his former job. He is a great employee and was looking for jobs everywhere but it was always not the right fit. They were feeling God’s direction to move to Washington without any real firm leads on a job for him and massive transition for them as a family with their three girls.

 I felt impressed to pray for them as a family the other day and texted them that I was doing a “run and pray” for them and believing that God would open doors that no man could close and close doors that no man could open. Jill texted me the following day and said that Matt had gotten a job offer that day and possibly another one by the end of weekend! Jill and I texted back and forth a few times and she said that they had just gotten their last severance check that day. She said, “God thinks he is so funny!” I responded and told her that in my life, “God has NEVER been early but He has never been late.” Jill responded and said that was so true. Then I thought of the countless times I have said that same line to people through the years.

Then it hit me. I responded something that I know came straight from God. I texted “If God was early, we would think it was our talents, connections, whining or complaining that made it happen.” All of which are NOT true!!” Wow. My fingers were typing it as I was thinking about why God is never early in our situations in life. It all made sense at that moment and I texted Jill that I felt a blog comin on!! Haha

Maybe you are in a situation where you are trying to give something to God and trust him for the outcome and wondering why God is not coming in early and making the changes you want to see. You are probably anxious about the situation and curious as to how God is going to “pull this one out” of the fire. Just remember, if God was early in meeting your need in life then you would probably give yourself the credit for “praying hard enough, complaining enough or just crying enough” to make it happen. Trust is essentially believing something is going to happen when nothing in the physical realm seems to be changing.

Today, pray and make your request known to God but then trust HIM to do HIS part in your situation. I am not saying this is going to be easy. In fact, it will probably be some of the hardest prayer/trusting you can do in life but will be the most gratifying when you truly release something to God and then see Him bring the increase. Just ask Matt and Jill and their journey these past couple of years. Good stuff.

7holycrap Holy Crap, Life Lessons

Four “E’s” to Help Change Your Life!

NewLife Old Life
I want you to consider four “E’s” this weekend that could change your life.

Equip
Think about what you need to activate in your life to be successful to not only yourself but to the people you come in contact with for the rest of this year. Do you need to ask God for patience or for wisdom in a specific area of your life? Let this be a weekend of taking inventory in your life and areas you need to be equipped.

Engage
There are people you have in your life that you need you to engage. I mention in the Holy Crap book about the power of reaching out to others when you are in your own crap of life. Don’t wait until you have everything figured out in life to engage others and see how you can help them. Even a phone call that says you are thinking about or maybe even praying for them can speak volumes.

Encourage
Let God encourage you where you are in life. Our natural human nature is to see the things that we still need to work on and then try and strive to get to those places. There is nothing wrong with working on yourself and trying to become a better person in all areas of life, but it we don’t have a little encouragement along the way, that path is much harder to navigate. Take some time today and let God speak to your heart and encourage you right where you are and to help you see how far you have come in life instead of how far you have to go.

Empower
Empowerment is such an amazing word. It literally means to give power to (someone) OR to give official authority or legal power to (someone). When you ask Jesus to be the leader of your life, you then have authority given to you by God over the devil and his schemes for your life. You are empowered by Him to pray prayers that you could never pray in your own power and to take authority in all areas of life.
This awesome power if available to you if you would only reach out and ask for it!

I am believing that these four E’s can help you live the full and complete life that you were always intended to live. Have a great weekend and know that I am ALWAYS praying for each of you!

7holycrap Holy Crap

Take Heart and Trust God!

John 16_33 Pic
John 16:33
…In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The world will be full of problems and trouble of all kinds. Even in the book of John in the Bible, there is a factual statement Jesus makes about problems and pain life saying that “this world will have trouble.” So it is not a question of IF there will be pain but WHEN and to what degree.

The term “take heart” means to evaluate your heart and where your trust is in difficult situations. This verse was not when Jesus and the disciples were lounging next to a lake eating figs and enjoying the cool fresh breeze. It was before Jesus’ arrest and the beginning of a very difficult time for his followers.

Today, think about where your trust is located. Is it in temporal earthly possessions? Is it in your looks or your personality? Or is it in Jesus who is the one who has overcome the world and all the destruction that will continue to occur around us? Find hope, peace and strength in Jesus and maybe start to give him control of even one area of life. You can do it. I am praying for you and believing for the BEST in your life.

7holycrap Jesus thoughts, Life Lessons

Asking God for the BIG Things

keep-calm-and-ask-god-for-big-thingsI woke up this am, turned on my Kindle and read a devotion that just changed my thinking about prayer and asking God for things. I know that sounds like an overstatement but this devotion was so life-changing that I felt like it needed to be shared in a blog post. It was in my Smith Wigglesworth devotional and it said, “Begin to believe in extravagant asking, believing that God is pleased when you ask LARGE things.” For whatever reason, this concept has been foreign to me and I am not sure why. When I think of asking God for things the logical thought would be to ask for smaller things, He answers them and that builds your faith to believe for the big things. But I believe that is opposite to what God wants us to do and ask. Asking for things outside of our ability is probably just what God WANTS us to ask for because it is proof that we need HIM to accomplish the goal!
I think something that helped my thinking this am is helping Yolanda with the Children’s ministry at our church. When you are a child you don’t have a concept of what your parents can or can’t do. Plus, you are in a position to ask and believe without thinking you will be able to do anything to get what you are asking for. Simply asking and believing God should be an ageless goal and routine. But as adults, we are tainted by our own abilities to get things done instead of truly asking God then believing what his Word says. On Sunday’s, we normally make time at the end of worship to ask the kids if God spoke something to them and then have them pray over the group. I tell them every week that we are not babysitting them and that they have an ability to ask and believe God without being jaded by living too many years on the earth.
Today, I pray you have a renaissance of child-like faith in asking God for BIG things and then knowing that he takes pleasure in you asking.  When you ask for things that you know you cannot do, then God sees you trusting in HIS power and not in your own. Praying for you my friends and believing for GREAT things today!

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

Nepal May trip update

20110521-042846.jpg


Well we are in Nepal again and it has been another wonderful trip. We had great flights on Qatar Airlines (definitely recommended if flying in this part of the world) and it was only 26 hours of flight time which was the shortest of the three trips we have made over here. If anyone knows anything about Nepal they know that the government has “challenges” which is an understatement. There is going to be a bandh tomorrow and Monday which is where groups of people that are protesting the current government shut down the city traffic and force all the shops in the city to close down. We have really been working hard to get the majority of our shopping for orphanage supplies done the first couple of days to avoid the shutdowns around the city. So far for me this trip has been about perspective and my life back in the states. Everyone in the US will admit that the past few years we have undergone some pretty serious problems with our economy and just the government fighting and not getting a lot done no matter if you are democrat or republican. Here, it is just absolutely insane. The country has 7 days left to write and ratify a constitution for all the people, and opposing people groups are shutting down entire cities because they don’t like what is going on. The people here live in abject poverty yet these party’s find time to strike and not make income to support their families and the government in general. Things like this would NEVER happen in America and it is something that helps me be thankful for what we do have back home. What we have is not a perfect system but we don’t have the level of disorganization like what is happening over here every day.
It was also refreshing to go to an all Napoli church today and not understand a blessed thing that was said except for “Jesus” occasionally. 🙂 It helped me to gain a perspective of/for people who come to my home church who don’t speak English and how they feel. I can now understand that there would definitely be a greater emphasis on the worship/music because they could recognize the melody and sing the songs in their language.
The passion that people have for God in church is so unreal. I do believe that the US church has people who genuinely love God, but when the church here gets done singing an old 80’s song like “Lord I Lift Your Name On High” and then break into open worship for about 5 solid minutes it is no contest in comparison with America. I have always wondered what the difference is from foreign lands to America and I really feel it has to do with distractions and not quieting ourselves and letting God reveal himself in deeper ways. We get distracted with things we can’t control (work, sickness, family issues, etc) but also with things we can control (tv, music, entertainment, etc) It is so refreshing to get re-calibrated over here as well as spending time with these kids we love so much.
Tonight we get to buy the kids pizza and play some games with them. With all the crap going on with the government the next couple of days we get to spend more time with the kids because they will not be in school so that is one plus. More updates to come!