Avoid the Detour!

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)

"So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on the things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."

Paul had perspective.

The apostle Paul went through many troubles that would (at the least) emotionally devastate or (at the most) physically destroy others. He, however, possessed an ability that we would do well to adapt. As bad as it seemed, Paul refused to allow himself to be distracted from his life's focus. He knew how to gain perspective.

We must learn to be like Paul. We must gain the proper perspective concerning our circumstances. It doesn't matter how bad a situation may seem, it is only temporary. Failure, while overwhelming, will pass. The loss of a job may have cause you a setback but it will not last forever. There are many disastrous events that cause us to feel as though our world has fallen apart. We must remember that these events are only that... events. They do not define who we are or where we are going. They are temporary. They will not last!

Our focus, like Paul's must be on the destination of our journey, not the setbacks along the way. Keep focused. Refuse to allow the distraction of life to cause you to deviate from who you are becoming.

You're going to make it!

Would the Real You Please Stand Up?

2 Corinthians 11:30 (NLT)

"If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am."

I get accused of being too transparent. Apparently, to some, I share too much of my humanity, my struggles, my weakness. However, here in 2 Corinthians 11:30, the apostle Paul expresses to the church at Corinth that he is uneasy about boasting about his strengths. He doesn't want to be seen as prideful when explaining to the church how he came to be an apostle. As a matter of fact, he would rather be transparent about the not-so-stong areas of his life. He would rather boast about his weaknesses.

I feel much the same way. I would rather have people learn from my mistakes than have them assume that I know more than I really do. I would rather people know who I really am than some facade that I've placed there to foster a false perception of me.

I would rather have people who love me... just me. I don't want people who are just in love with my gifts, my strengths, my calling. I want to be in covenant with people who care about me. I want to lead people who accept me.

Therefore, I will continue to be as transparent as I know how to be. I will share my weaknesses, my struggles, my humanity so that others may learn from it and maybe, just maybe, become a better person than I am.

I love you Restoration Ministries, for letting me be the real me. Let's grow together.

I LOVE My Church!

I know that everyone gets sick of hearing me say how much I LOVE Restoration Ministries but deal with it! I DO! There is no place like RM in the world! There is no other group of people with whom I'd rather be in covenant relationship. You guys are the GREATEST!

We have some incredible things happening right now that I want to point out.

1st - We have seen 2 people accept Christ in the last two week!!! I am super excited about this!

2nd - We have been consistently over 100 in attendance on Sundays for more than 7 months now!! We are now pushing to break the 200 barrier! Keep inviting your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, cashiers at Wal Mart, strangers at the gas station! Invite everyone you can! God is doing some powerful things and we want as many people as possible to be a part of it.

3rd -Our Kids Ministry is averaging around 30 kids a Sunday!!! I didn't know how much that was until they were all brought into the main auditorium when we installed Pastor Z into the Executive Team. Man, that was a lot of kids!

4th - We now have new Youth Pastors, Greg (Coop) and Ragan Cooper. We are super excited about this couple pastoring our teens. AND last night they had 16 teens in their meeting!! God is getting ready to do some incredible things in our student ministry as well.

5th - Our pews are GONE! We will all be sitting in comfortable, cushioned chairs this Sunday. There will be a little different arrangement as well. We are excited about this change.

6th - Our food distribution has been serving many families each week and has been averaging 11 volunteers!!! People are catching the vision of serving our community!!

I am PUMPED about all that is going on and all that God is doing here at RM! I've said it many times before and you'll probably get tired of hearing me say it...

I LOVE my church!