Archive for category life
Here’s the Plan
Posted by thelokey in Uncategorized, life, personal, realizations on December 10th, 2009
So the blog’s been a little quiet over the last few months and for good reason. I’ve been taking some time to really focus on my life and where God is leading my family. It’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions that has forced me to reevaluate a lot of things. The last thing I could do was try to express the details of everything that was going on during that process. Needless to say, it’s been raw, emotional, and at times very scary.
Anyone that knows me will read the title of this post and laugh at the word “plan” when it comes to my life. I don’t think I’ve had a plan of mine work out since I got the lead in “Oklahoma” my senior year! So for me to say “here’s the plan” is comical at this point. Let me go on record and say “I’M SO GLAD MY PLANS DON’T WORK OUT!” If I had had my way, my life would be TERRIBLE right now. That’s the cool thing about submitting to God as your authority, there’s so much safety and protection there.
So, back to “the plan”. I’m going to attempt to go back to school and finish my B.A. degree. It’s a goal that I set for myself a long time ago, and it’s something I’ve always felt God really wanted me to accomplish. After a lot of trials, praying, and plenty of setbacks, I really feel like this is the right time to finish this chapter of my education.
What this means is I’ll be splitting my time between Columbus and Valdosta. God has provided a way for to have a place down in Valdosta (for free!) so I can really focus on studying (what’s that?) and maybe even have a part-time job to pay some bills. Crissy will be staying in Columbus full-time and working which is right where she wants to be. (BTW..She’s graduating on Wednesday!) So it’ll be tough being away from each other, especially since we’re expecting (another post).
All in all, we’re feeling really good about the idea of both of us being finished with school and expanding the family a few months later. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the course of my life, it’s that God always finds a way to provide for us even when we don’t know what we need.
Stay tuned to the blog, there’s a lot more coming your way.
The All-American Gods Part 1
Posted by thelokey in encouragement, life, realizations, spirituality on June 27th, 2009
I recently shared with some students in our youth group two things that God never called us to have. I surprised myself since this particular “message” wasn’t planned or scripted in any way, just me sharing some thoughts on where God was calling us as individuals and as a group.
I also think these two things are the gods we worship in America, whether we’re Christians or not. Yes, I said Christians worship these false gods. I have worshiped them on numerous occasions. There two little god’s called “Safety” and “Comfort”. Neither one bad in and of themselves, but taken to extremes and vaulted over God’s call to discipleship, sacrifice, and obedience they become dangerous foes that can derail even the “godliest” of Christ-followers.
For example, every time I pray before going on a trip with students, I pray that God would keep us safe. Why? What if God not keeping us safe forces us to rely more heavily on His power, provision, and protection? Our parents never want us to experience danger because we might get hurt, but it’s through the hurt we experience that we grow to become more like Christ. It’s a pretty tough balance.
Obviously I don’t WANT bad things to happen to me or the people I love, but my desire for safety should never trump my desire to see God have His way in those lives.
So my question becomes, “Are we seeking safety or are we seeking God’s will?” Because the last time I checked, His will is the safest and most dangerous place we can find ourselves.
Unfortunately, Not the Last
This past Sunday night, I came home to an empty apartment after a busy night putting on a concert at FOCUS. My wife called in a panic and told me that her mother passed away. It was a shock to everyone.
I won’t go into the details because most are personal, but I want to share my own thoughts about my involvement in the funeral service (and life/death).
This was my first time preaching at a funeral. After being asked, I became extremely pre-occupied with what I was going to say that could comfort the family (and myself). It got to the point that more than anything I didn’t know if I could keep from breaking down in the middle of the funeral. (not what the family needs to see from the minister)
Once I finally settled on the message I prayed through thoroughly, I was ready to go. Until I got in the chapel and sat down. It was at that moment I felt completely unprepared, unqualified, and WAY over my head. So I prayed…HARD. Read the rest of this entry »
What a Difference a Day Makes
So, today would’ve been exactly 35 days away from me moving into our new apartment in Columbus, but that’s not going to happen. We received a phone call this morning from the apartment complex that the apartment we originally looked at was available to move in as early as Friday!
So while I was planning on patiently waiting for April 27th to start living and working in Columbus, God was orchestrating this new plan.
That’s not even the best part. Last night was an INCREDIBLE night at our youth services. It started out typical, but once I started teaching I could tell that God was up to something different. It came down to me teaching through one of my favorite passages, Isaiah 6:1-8. I won’t go into the details of what I talked about, but it came down to making a choice. I didn’t challenge the students to make this choice (the typical student pastor route), I made it. Right there, on the stage. The choice I made was to do whatever God called me to do. Whatever, wherever…no matter how hard or how impossible. I guess all it takes for God to take notice is complete abandonment of our will in exchange for His (sound familiar?).
I’m not saying that it’s going to happen the same way for you, or even happen the same way for me ever again. What I can say is that in this case, as soon as I let go, God changed things. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next, but anyone who says the Christian life is boring hasn’t lived it!