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A little over a year ago I was in the middle of some of the biggest struggles and doubts of my life. I was searching and desiring to know what God really wanted from my life and what my life as a Christian was supposed to be about. I had spent so much time in Church, and Christian School, and Seminary and more Church that I think I was starting to forget what it was all about in the first place.

So I dove into the one place that made the most sense for me - Jesus’ Prayer. The one in Matthew 6 where he is telling his disciples what to pray for. I thought, “If this is what Jesus wanted his disciples to pray for, isn’t this what I should be about?” I spent a long time just turning the prayer over in my mind, thinking it, praying it, even living it. (As a side note, it is amazing how fast the prayer for daily bread becomes a real prayer and not a spiritual one when you actually need daily bread and are not sure where resources will come from day to day.) Anyways, back to our story… it all changed one night as I was meditating on the prayer.

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compass church

I spoke at Compass Church this past Sunday. If you don’t remember, Compass is the church who lets us use their facility rent-free once a month. It was a great time to spend a Sunday with the people who so generously lets us meet their without paying a dime. The worship team was incredible and the service went well as I wrapped up their series on Compassionate Art. I spoke from Philippians 2:1-16 and talked about the God who is working in us as we are working out our salvation.

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the beauty of christmas

It’s the old songs that remind us of the beauty of Christmas. The music of Christmas beginnings… the music of a savior coming to rescue the world. One of these songs, Oh Holy Night, has captivated me from the first time I heard it with it’s beautifully piercing cry to “fall on your knees! oh hear the angels voices“. It’s the beauty of words reminding us of the power of heaven breaking into our world on that not so silent night. Up until this past week I had never heard (paid attention?) to the 3rd verse of this song. Take a few minutes and read these lyrics from the Christmas carol… hymn? worship song? All I can say is… wow.

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Move-in Day (part 1)

After living with our amazing friends, Zach and Kim Martin, for nearly 6 months we finally moved into our own place today. Well at least partially. We still have some more stuff to go and get from Pittsburgh. But wow! It has been awhile since Tiffany and I had a place all to ourselves. Lets see… we hosted Domi, our exchange student, for 6 months (he was pretty awesome btw)… then we moved to Pittsburgh and stayed with parents for 12 months… and finally these past 6 months with the Martins… that = 2 years of living with someone else.

I can honestly say that God has taught us so much about living with these different people. Here are the Top 5 lessons we have learned over these past few years:

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Beauty from Ashes

Have you ever let the words of Isaiah 61 fall over you, rushing in to the point of realizing the “me” is “you”? We carry a message - the good news - that God is taking these ashes we sit in so often and turning it into beauty.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes…

So the real question for us is…
What can we make beautiful today?