With Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving has always been an incredible holiday experience in my family. Food, family, and fun have always been the norm resulting in a lifetime of memories that have helped shape my values and direct my life. This has given me a thankfulness for my past that is rooted deep in my soul.

I realize that my experience is not the same as everyone else's. I know how blessed I am. I know that those like me who find the holidays to be refreshing and full of joy have something truly amazing to be thankful for. I try very hard on a daily basis to live in a way that does not take it for granted. This stage of life is showing me on a daily basis what I have to be thankful for right now, today, every day.

Last year Thanksgiving changed. We were at my parents' farm where I group up. It was early in the morning. We were getting to ready to have breakfast when we got the news. My father in law had passed away early in the morning hours before dawn.We were close. He would frequently supervise me as I tackled projects way beyond my skill set—offering up his expert advice and informed opinions—all smothered in generous helpings of his winsome sarcasm. 

Over the years I had come to love and appreciate our conversations. They were packed with questions. He would quiz me on different passages of scripture and I would share my opinions. We disagreed almost as much as not and I ALWAYS came away learning something even though I was the one being asked the questions. 

His passing hit me hard. He had become a second father to me. Of course I was sad, as most people are when losing someone they care for, but I was reassured by one simple passage of scripture that I have probably heard hundreds, maybe thousands of times.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A year ago that's exactly what he did. It was a reminder of the joy that awaits us. In an era of cultural uncertainty it has renewed in me a sense of thankfulness for the future.

Zacapa 2014: THANKFULNESS

I have had the outstanding privilege of serving young adults for the last eleven years. For the last four of those God has graciously granted me the opportunity to travel to Latin America in service to Jesus and His Church abroad. This week has been far and away the most intense experience of my life. So intense I am finding it difficult to collect the appropriate words.

I feel I have seen and experienced more of the powerful presence of God over the last ten days than I would have dared to imagine. So much has transpired that I'm not sure I will ever be able to absorb, record, or articulate all of it.

However, one resounding feeling rises above the chaotic din of stress, joy, and relief for this experience....

THANKFULNESS.

God is faithful. When you pursue Him. When you put your trust in His hands. When you decrease so that He gets the glory, honor, and credit—He always comes through.

Every. Single. Time.

Why I'm Thankful for My Mistakes

Mistakes hurt. Sin hurts. This stuff creates pain in our lives. Many times, after God has helped someone come through a difficulty, they want to forget it and act like it never happened. Of course not everyone is like this, but it happens. Most of us are guilty of doing just that from time to time. I'm not happy about the awful things in life that I have done; the bad judgment calls, the willful disobedience of the Father, the selfishness, or the legalistic idolatry, and many, many, others that would be impossible to remember and/or quantify. I'm not happy about my mistakes. However, I'm exceedingly grateful for where I find myself in life in spite of my many failures. There is a part of me that recognizes this journey that I am on, and is entirely thankful for my mistakes.

Jamie and Ethan are the world to me. Nothing else I do in this life is as important, or should be, ministry included; and I would have never been in the place to meet this awesome woman of God if not for a series of monumental errors in my life. In fact, the biggest mistake of my life set me on the path that lead, not only to this incredible relationship and family that I adore so very much, but also to this ministry that means the world to me.

I don't glorify my sin. I also don't pin it to myself for all to see, so that I might somehow wear it as a badge of honor. But I don't run from it either. I realize the errors I have made, and at times still make. I seek forgiveness. I repent. I share the truth of my many failures in moments when I feel that they might make a difference in someone's life. Above all of that, I offer up continuous thanks to the wonderful Father who continues to shepherd me through it all. Him I do glorify, as best as I know how.