THREE GOOD BOOKS.............

I heard somewhere, that God can speak to us in three ways (not to discount that there might be others..such as dreams and nature); hunches, instincts and "first impressions". I also believe ..that when we,as believers, are in fellowship with our community of believer friends..he might also speak "into us" through them.

Anyways...when someone i just know is in an intimate,close relationship with God, i usually make it a point to listen to/act on, their advice. I also am apt to pay attention when they suggest a book,scripture or other "source material" directed at me.
In the last several months, i have been so directed to three books that have brought me cloeser to my Maker, made me think in a different way, or simply inspired me to press onward in my attempt to gain a more intimate relationship "in Christ".

Here are the three books...

"Layman Look Up" - An excellent overview of the concept of "marketplace ministry".

" Choosing God's Best" - A "relationship application" book of the very best!

" The Reason for God " - Tim Keller's insightfull book on missional aspects of Christianity.

For anyone desiring to spend some of your summertime learning,growing and reaching...these books are all awesome!

In HIM,always...

Jerry

WINDING ROADS .....

Funny...how God will lead us to a particular point,subject or aspect of our life "In HIM", if we’re open to looking for it, listening, and practiced at taking our spiritual "blinders" off..when he does.
Yes..i’ve spoken about this practice before..so reader beware! :O)

I love Bonnie Somerville’s song, "Winding Road". I discovered it(or..err..God revealed it to me) the other night, while watching the movie "Garden State". Instantly falling for the melody, and then coming to fancy the lyrics,alot. Here’s a sampling..

" ..it’s a winding road, i’ve been walking for a long time, i still don’t know where it goes. It’s a long way home..i’ve been searching for a long time, i’m gonna find my way home"

Yes..they’re rather simple, but just listen to the song.It will grab you, and it made me think. Think about my own road these last 6 months, and how exciting, mysterious , crazy, scary and fun it’s been !!!!
Some doors have closed, and new one’s have opened. Some friendships have cooled or dissapated..other,new ones, have begun. Ministries that once seemed my life,seem less important now. Ministries i never even knew existed,have begun..and the passion for them increases and unfolds,daily. God is freak’n amazing! He keeps us moving and changing,always.
While conteplating all this, i was..for some reason..directed to Luke Chptr 24,verses 13-36. The passages cover "The Walk to Emmaus", and are basicly about two men walking..discouraged..contemplating Jesus crucifiction, and a hopelessness that came from that. How Jesus appeared as a stranger,allowed them to confide their emotions to Him.Jesus allowed them their emotions,then..at a certain point..revealed himself to them, and the glory that came with His death and resurrection.

There’s a "tie in" here somewhere, as i just don’t believe that God opens a door..or takes us on our "winding roads", without desiring to teach us something. For the men walking to Emmaus, it was a road to an "awareness of faith". I think..perhaps..the same could be said for this little journey of mine. There have been times when i really wondered about God’s purpose for all he’s done to,with and for me..these last few months. Why he brought someone to me,who i thought was the bride he had in mind..then took her away? Why he stripped me of my job( my proffesional "identity"), and didn’t..right away..deliver me another? Why he’s cooled long-standing friendships, and replaced them with others?

I couldn’t for the life of me,see his reasoning,while "in the thick" of it..but i am starting to have an idea..now. It’s about character..and perserverance..and strengthening of, and reliance on,faith. It’s about HIM teaching me to "really" be a Godly man, and giving me the experiences to now "life it our" on a new,different,level. Again..God is amazing!

Well..i’ll sum it up in this scripture ( Luke 24:32) " They said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures"

I love that! Thank you God, for speaking to me. For leading me to the movie...which led me to the song...which led me to thoughts of you..which led me to scripture...wich led to Godly wisdom, and encouragement.

It IS a winding road...for all of us! I challenge the reader to,also, always look,be open to and understand that God will show you, and provide clarity, through many mediums...if we’ll just let him, and follow where it leads.

In HIM,forever...
Jerry :O)

EASTER THOUGHTS.....

I love this time of year !

The sun's warmth starts to become a daily occurance. People just seem to have an extra "bounce" in their step. More smiles abound, and greet us as we go about our daily duties.
Mostly though, i just enjoy being amazed at how God brings a natural resurgence, in the form of "mother nature" ; with clover taking over yards, trees starting to bud again, and the return of small creatures...everywhere! It makes me think of resurrection in general, which..as a believer and lover of Christ, only leads me to thoughts of Easter's truest meaning, Jesus' resurrection..and how it brought a "new life" to us all!
Every year at this time, i just seem to regain enthusiasm, and heart. When it comes to serving others, and my love for Jesus. This year..i am marveling at the path God has me on, and the people he has brought into my life. What an amazing God!
I guess i'll close this thought with a poem that my sister wrote several years ago..before she passed away. I love it...and hope the reader does too....




Easter Day
By Danna Hope Hale

I love to wake on Easter Day
And ponder God’s redeeming way
A lamb – to live and die, and then
A stone to move – and life again
“He is not here,” the angel said,
For He has risen from the dead.”
Will you believe this in your heart?
Will you believe and do your part? –
To go into the world and preach
To all creation, and to teach
That Jesus lives and through His name
Our lives will never be the same!

THE STAND

As i sit here at the computer...listening. Listening..to the words of Hillsong United's song "The Stand", it just humbles me so freak'n much. Making me see ... so clearly... how i do really fall short...but desire so much " not to".

It's quiet in my house tonight, with Brooke asleep, the t.v. off , and nothing but me. Me sitting here, earbuds in my ears , my ipod blazing with these words(and chorus).....

" I'll stand, with arms high and heart upended, in awe..of the one who gave it all. So i'll stand , my soul Lord to you surrendered , all i am is yours."

IT RESONATES ... it shines a light on the many ways i fail to truly... really... honor God with all i do ! In my daily life...how i "sometimes" treat and speak to others...but, equally important, my thought life towards others,as well.

Father God, let me actually love you so much that i want to, and can, have my thought and active life match the words to this song. I pray that you'll remove any hard-hearted views,bitterness or resentment toward others from my heart. Let me further surrender my soul to you Lord and, even if it's not "felt" now, lift up others and ask that you glorify their lives and grow all of us, together, in your Son's likeness.

".... So i walk upon salvation, your spirit alive in me. This life to declare your promise, my soul now to Stand. So what could i say? What could i do? But offer this heart o God...completely to you."

THAT'S IT...in a nutshell. Perfectly quoted in that song verse. I DO offer this heart to you Lord ....and invite you to just keep on transforming it.
In HIM,always....

MY OWN 'LIL "BUCKET LIST"

I saw the movie "The Bucket List" a few weeks back. At the time, i really wanted to rush home and write my own "list" ...but decided to pray on it for a few weeks, first. Anyways ...this is the list, i think, God's finally placed on my heart;

1. Write the "great american novel".

2. "Get it right", and be someone's awesome hubby.

3. Be able to do full time ministry.

4. Be around to watch both my daughters have kiddos, and take them all surfing.

5. Just keep becoming a better and better friend.

6. Love passionately again,with no fear of failure.

7. Trus, and be open to, where God is taking me..from a local and global "mission perspective".

8. Watch 10 years worth of jnr high boys grow up to love the Lord with all their hearts.

9. Serve at my church till i'm old, and watch all my favorite church peeps do the same.

10. Die in my sleep.with a smile on my face.

In HIM,always........

Jerry :O)

RIDING THE WAVE OF FAITH

I am really learning...more and more each and every day... how our " believer family" is so very much, also " real family" in most every applicable translation.

God is also teaching me alot about "transformational faith" and how...as our hearts grow for both the local and global mission-field, it's so very akin to one of my favorite sports .... surfing.
A little on my beginning topic, first:

TONIGHT was special ... and happy ... and sad. It marked about the 5th year that our little band of Christiansurfers have been meeting. The relationships,closeness and friendships that God has grown over the years holds a special place in my heart. I've learned alot just watching them, loving up on them, and being open to them doing the same, for me. We said " goodbye" to two...Kylle and Haley, tonight. They move to Hawaii, to spread the vision, love and hope that is Christ Jesus. True...we'll see them again this summer...but their empty chairs in our group will never be filled. What a blessing they've been to our group!
On the way home tonight, i reflected on the special relationships that God has brought me...in many different circles of believers: New Wine Gathering in Bacliff, the Starbucks Men's Fellowship(that has been going on for 2+years now), My Clear Creek Jnr High Adult Volunteers Group, super close family friends in Becky and Jeff Gray and..finally... the (now) high school guys that God has given me the chance to "pour into" these last 6 years. How blessed i am, and thankful to God...everyday!

As for TRANSFORMATIONAL FAITH:

I continue to be amazed at the path God has taken me on. How..through so much "relational loss", he just keeps on bringing into my life "relational gain"...in profound ways. How...beyond that...he grows our faith not vertically, but horizontaly, as well. Mission minded, if you will.
Being on mission for Christ is SO MUCH akin to surfing...seriously! If our beach is the foundation of which our surf experience begins, so too is our local church. We grow there, we thirst there, and we begin to "seek out" there. Yes..we even begin to be pushed out.
Then..there is the "paddle out"! It's not always easy, and there are peaks and valleys of whitewater to fight through...just like in our faith...when we have to go through the "low points" before we can "Go Local" or "Go global" and spread the gospel to others.
It's that glorious desitination we search for, and seek. The place where we begin to TRULY make an impact for Jesus, and teach and bring others to Him. It's the "line-up"..or "mission-field". It's the "perfect wave"...or the "perfect opportunity" to share the gospel with another. We're in the lineup...in the mission field, and God really starts to use us...to give us opportunities to share. He gives us that PERFECT WAVE. We ride it in, and praise Him, and serve Him...all the way to the beach. Then we rest gain...renourish...resupply...and paddle out...again!
I love this analogy. This parable, if you will.
Let's all seek HIM. Let's not sit on the beach and watch from afar. Let's grab the board(the cross) and paddle out...and do it all over again...for HIM.
In HIM, always....

Jerry :O)

"INKED" -SurrenderedMans Testimony

I got my tattoo when i was getting my divorce. A heartbreaking event, symbolizing the end of my 10 year marraige. My original motivation..sheer rebellion, and a way to thumb my nose at my (now) ex wife, and just "do" something...anything, to get her goat.

After my divorce, i sought refuge from my pain..in the form of constant partying, chasing women to feed some emerging rejective seed and ... i see now..to hide, from myself, God and others.

Here's where it gets weird.... You see, my tattoo was of a red surfboard,with white trim. My actual surfboard was white, with red trim. This is significant, because...in a way..God took that tattoo, made "it" right, and made me right in HIS timing, not mine.

Back to my story... After my divorce, and two years of parting and racking up alot of debt, i was empty. I started attending CLear Creek Community Church in the fall of 2001. The more i went, the more i wanted to be there ! God had seen to it that i was at the end of my rope ...or was it the beginning ?
One day ...on the steps of church, i asked the Pastor if he would come over and talk to me.I was broken, troubled and asking him ( and myself) questions about how i was doing life, and why i felt so freak'n empty. Suprisingly, he agreed, came over that very night..and we talked for 2 hours !!!

Did i immedietly turn to him and accept Christ?? No, i was stubborn.

Fast forward..a year later. God was breaking me ..hard ! I went to work one day, crying and even more broken ... and called the church. I spoke to the community pastor and , 30 minutes later, i was on my knees, accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior. Afterwards, the Pastor asked me "now what are you going to do"...my answer was the following Sunday, when i joined my first small group ( Bible Study for Dummies...a name i thought was appropriate).

I always thought..when i accepted Christ, that the story ended there. What i've discovered is that our testimony is never ending. Since that time, God has been at work in my life ...bigtime ! He's brought people into my life, for the sheer purpose of helping define HIS purpose for me. He brought me broken ...again..to Exchanged Life Ministries, and John and Joyce Stanley. He brought me there to show me who i really am "in Christ", and real, honest to goodness applications for life-transformation and the ability to live out this new found faith...daily. He brought Becky Gray into my life, to lead me to serving in junior high ...which i have now for 5 years. He brought Godly men into my life, which helped me understand i have a gift for discipling to, and helping other lost or broken men. He brought an organization called Christiansurfer into my life, which showed me that there are good christian guys who raise their families right, surf and share God's word with the lost.

So..that's where i'll close my story..back at the beginning. That tattoo...the one that was the opposite color as my real surfboard. God made that right,too. He had me stumble onto a (sight unseen) surfobard for sale on a surfers messageboard..but a year after i had crossed the line of faith. As i approached the garage where it was stored..i had no idea. As the garage door opened, i looked inside..and what did i see. A red longboard..with white trim. Identical to the one on my ankle.

I smile when i recal this story. God made the surfboard allign with the one on the outside of my skin. He also took that surfboard..and through his working in my life, made it a part of my purpose for him...to disciple to the local surf community, troubled teens and broken men. Now..when i occasionally look down at it..or someone asks me about it..it makes me smile. It makes me get goosebumps just thinking about it. God's amazing, and sometimes..when he's at work in us..we can't see it at the time. But it IS undeniable..and amazing...and and so cool, too !

There is another way to fullfill ourselves , and it doesn't start or end with with us ...rather ....HIM.