Facts on the Faithfulness of God

I heard some bad news yesterday. In spite of the wonderful 45 – 48 degree temperatures that we’ve been experiencing, I heard that tomorrow Chicagoland is expecting to get 3 – 6 inches of snow!!! Oh no! I though that the Lord had lifted drought of sunshine and decided to let Spring start… not so. This is just a light joke, but I can honestly say that even in my darkest days here in Chicago, God has proven himself over, and over, and over and over again. Whether it’s been connecting with family, friends or just needing to feel loved, I have not lacked anything emotionally or relationally despite brief periods of loneliness or disconnectedness (is that a word? I guess). I have received over 30 cards and postcards as well as having the opportunities to connect with lost connections (as can be seen from the previous email). I have had the joy of being close to my extended family and I was able to spend time with them over the past few months because of my proximity. Also, I intend to go to Cincinnati for Easter evening as the Lord allows. Even my dad who lives in Arizona has been able to connect with me. The Lord allowed him to have business to tend to in Chicagoland several times giving he and I times of sweet fellowship. Here's my dad:

God's faithfulness is expansive, and now that I’ve started writing I realize that I can’t even encapsulate a fraction of his faithfulness (towards me) in this post … or even verbally. But if you give me a call I sure would try (smile)!

Even aside from having plenty of time to connect with people face to face or on the phone, God himself has continually covered me with his presence. I have been blessed with a peace that has truly surpassed all understanding, and when I needed a Word, God always has made sure that I received it! This morning I was listening to a sermon on Nehemiah 6. And the Lord reminded me to stay on course through the key verse 3b, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” When Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall, many people came to distract him from doing the work that the Lord had laid on his heart to do. In a similar manner, God has a great purpose for me and no matter what distractions I face, I need to keep my eyes set to doing things to please him and advance his kingdom. Thank you Lord for your Word.

Friends from everywhere...

God has been so good. He's been better than good... but I've learned that the word "good" is just that "good". A lot of times we try to top "good" but the Word says the Lord is good, so that is sufficient for me. I've been crazy busy in preparation for my departure from Chicagoland in just over a month. I am thankful for all of the things that I have been able to learn and the wonderful friendships that I have been able to develop over the last 7 months. In these next few blogs (which I am giving myself a time budget to write) I am going to give some facts... just the facts
Facts about Friends
Facts about the Faithfulness of God
Facts about the Future

I did the alliterative thing in an effort to be clever.
The first of the three is on

Friends
I had numerous opportunities to connect with a variety of friends from Chicago last week. On Monday (March 10) I hung out with other buddies in the School of Ministry and ate meatloaf; random fact to include, but since I've been in the midwest I have enjoyed more comfort foods and meatloaves that I have in the past 7 years in AZ! It's cool. Then Tuesday I gave one of my friends, Lee a workout that left him nauseated. Not that it's an accomplishment, but I haven't had that kind of effect since training clients back in Phoenix. Wednesday night I enjoyed dinner at The Clubhouse in a part of town that I had not yet explored. But the best part about our dinner was the conversation concerning a Young Men's Leadership Initiative. My friend picked my brain about some things that we can pour into young men (recent college grads just starting life on their own) in order to equip them for serving in the church, and helping them shore up their weaknesses. The Word says that we are to sharpen one another Pro. 27:17, so we had a wonderful discussion as ideas were thrown back and forth. Hopefully the result with be a smaller scale version of the Timothy Leadership program that was a critical instrument to training young men at Scottsdale Bible Church. It was a privilege to be a part of the pioneering component of shaping the next generation of leaders.

Thursday, God gave me a good Word on Psalm 27:4 and seeking one thing at the Connect ministry! The illustration that stands out to me was this: Many of us... wait. If I give it now, I won't be able to use it in my own sermons. I'll just hold it in my repertoire of illustrations and you can ask me whether it was one that I picked up at Connect (hahaha).

Friday, I had a great dinner with a friend Kelly. She's a teacher here at the Harvest Christian Academy, and although the school is a separate entity from Harvest Bible Chapel, we are in the same building. Kelly and a few of the other teachers have been really encouraging in lifting me up in prayer over the last few weeks as God has provided direction and guidance for my next stage of ministry. We went the Grand Lux Cafe in downtown Chicago. It's basically an upscale Cheesecake Factory, but the atmosphere a little nicer and the food a little richer! Good stuff. We had fun encouraging one another.

Then I had some friends from out of town visit. My buddies from my fraternity in undergrad had dinner with me on Sunday. Brent, visiting from St. Louis has been one of the good friends for the last 10 years and I thank God that we have been able to stay connected. He is a good sounding board and I hope that I can have as much of an impact in his life as he has had in mine. I look forward to staying connected and seeing God do some great things in his life. By the way he was also a friend that hosted me on my trip up north when I initially moved from Phoenix. (look back at the first blogs... he's there).

Finally, I was able to hang with a friend from high school! Beverly was in town for business and we had a chance to go to Bandera (good American cuisine) after a random, unplanned shopping spree on Michigan Avenue - known as Chicago's Champs Elysee. She was looking for a dress for a wedding and somehow I ended up with a new pair of shoes! Kenneth Coles... but I got them 1/2 off! Praise God.

So as I look back over the past week I was truly blessed to be able to spend time with friends from different seasons. A wise woman told me, "Everyone is in your life for a reason and for a season!" thanks mom...

2 more blogs coming soon

Cycles of life

It's crazy how things work in cycles. Often it seems that God takes us through the same seasons... over and over again. Although as we grow the intensity of the seasons increase in the same manner. I sometimes think of a few days when no one phones me as a break, but at other times, I pity myself and say that I'm getting "no love". Then the enemy comes in and tries to distract (from God's purpose), dissuade (from sticking to God's path) and destroy (the fruit that God has planted in my life that I'm cultivating).

I thank God for his perfect timing of even being able to orchestrate what I am listening to: in person, on cassette tape, on my iPod shuffle list, and the radio to all mesh and produce for me one LOUD CLEAR THEME that He desires for me to listen. Yes, sometimes I would like to have a loud resounding word from the mouth of the Lord directly, but when I am compelled to listen to the small details... the small voices I am able to have even more confidence that it is no one but the Lord!

Today, I am thankful for how he allowed me to hear the autobiographical words of John Newton (author of Amazing Grace), the lyrics of Kirk Franklin's latest album, and a prayer prayed over me -- all which strengthened me in Him.

I am praying diligently... and God IS answering prayer. Can you hear Him?