Why am I still here?

A lot of time has passed since I last posted something and needless to say life has been a bit busy. Not only do I have an energetic and spontaneous three-year-old, my church has been going through a lead pastor change through since November 2018. I spent a year as the only full- time staff member at my church.

Throughout that year there were some ups and downs, as there are with any job. There were some relationships that needed to be healed and some forgiveness that needed to be sought, and just some over all healing that needed to take place. Throughout the past year I got asked one question a lot in one way or another. The best way I can phrase the question is this, “You’re going to stay on as the youth director?”

Now this question was never asked with any ill will, and in fact I completely understood why they were asking. What the mode of operation usually was, was that when a senior pastor would leave, the youth pastor wasn’t far behind. I completely understood why people were asking me this question.

I never really thought anything of this question. To be honest, I always responded in a way that who ever was asking knew I wasn’t planning on going anywhere and once I had answered said question, I just went on about my day never really giving a second thought to the question. That is until someone else asked me a similar question that has stuck with me since the day it was asked about a month ago.

I was asked, “Why are you still here?” This question came after a conversation about my ups and downs in the past year and some of the internal battles that I had faced in the last year. To be honest, I had never really given much thought to why I was still at Community Grace. I just knew I wanted to be here and never really thought about why.

After the conversation had ended, I took some time to really think through why I was still here. Why had I not pursued other opportunities? Then thoughts of “had I missed my out?” “Was that my chance and I missed it?” came creeping in. But then as I was looking in scripture I came across Colossians 3:23-24 that says “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

It was after reading this passage that it dawned on me there was a reason why I hadn’t thought about why I was still at Community Grace. That’s because the Lord gave me no reason to want to leave. I had a moment of panic where I thought maybe I had missed the Lord opening a door in the past year, but as I looked back on the past year, I realized He did the exact opposite. The Lord gave me every reason to want to stay, and I can say with out a doubt that I want to be at Community Grace now more than ever.

This past year, the Lord has shown me what good can come out of his people coming together and seeking the Lord’s will for their life. Matthew 18:20 has never been more alive and real in my life than in this past year as our family at Community Grace has grown stronger and more in love with Jesus as we have walked through this process. I have loved watching that happen.

In man’s eyes I have already “served” my time as youth director/pastor at Community Grace. The average time of a youth pastor staying at a church is roughly two to three years. I am currently in my fifth year, so by humanistic terms/standards I have already “run the gauntlet” so to speak as youth director. I am reminded of that weekly by articles that I read on Facebook, in emails, and even people telling me that in everyday conversation. In those moments though I look back on Colossians 3:23-24 where Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, do it full heartily, for the Lord, and not for men.” The Lord opened a door that I wasn’t even expecting 5 years ago at Community Grace Brethren Church in Warsaw Indiana. He has yet to signal that he’s anywhere close to closing it. So, what does that mean? It means that’s why I am still here.

God isn’t done with Community Grace and He’s not done with me yet. I have loved serving the people of Community Grace, who so graciously wanted me as their youth director five years ago. I love being a part of the community of Warsaw and Winona Lake and I can’t see myself serving anywhere else at this moment. The Lord has continued to open doors to affirm that when he called me here five years ago. He absolutely had a plan for me and Alex here.

So, let me answer that question, “Why am I still here?” Because I can’t see myself anywhere else right now. I want to be here and Alex and I love being here. God is moving here and the people of Community Grace are the best people to work for. The community and love that they show for me and my family is outstanding, the way a church should function.

I always get the question; well do you ever want to be a lead pastor or not a youth pastor? My answer always is a shoulder shrug usually followed by a we’ll see what God has for me. I think that best summarizes why I am still here. This is what God has for me and I can’t picture my self-serving anywhere else but here at Community Grace in Warsaw. Our future at Community Grace has never been more bright, and has never looked better and I am excited to get to be along for the ride and see what He does with us in the future!

Abortion isn't the problem, Sin is

This week a very controversial bill was passed in New York regarding abortion prompting those who appose abortion to cry foul, and cry foul very loudly. So loudly in fact that I have felt a conviction about how those of us who are followers of Jesus are responding to abortion. This is not a post about me trying to change your views. I am not writing about why, I feel personally abortion is wrong, this is a post about how we as followers of Jesus need to watch carefully how we walk, but if you would like to talk about my personal views on abortion you are more then welcome to contact me.

In fact let’s start there, with how we walk. Paul actually uses this phrase in Ephesians 5:15-17, when he says, “Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Don’t act thoughtlessly actually means don’t make judgments based off of your emotions and the topic of abortion is an emotional trigger for people on both sides of the table. Paul understood something here about human nature that not many people understand and that is the nature to completely shut down when opposed.

Now if you have read any comments about the New York law that was passed you know that there are people who are not going to change their minds on abortion and I even have friends who are pro-choice that have very deservedly called out people who claim to be following Jesus but when I read their posts, it makes me question whether or not they follow Jesus.

My purpose in writing this is not to say we shouldn’t voice our opinion about these topics, because social media is a great place to share what you believe, but is also a place where one should walk carefully in what they say. As Proverbs 15:1 states, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” I would argue that in many of our attempts to cry foul, we have stirred up anger and made following Jesus look like a judgmental pack of ravenous wolves ready to devour.

Now I want to also say that I recognize that in Ephesians 5 Paul does state that we are to expose unfruitful works, but he also states that we are to speak that truth in love in Ephesians 4:15. I feel like we have only heard the expose unfruitful works and we forget to speak it in love or we didn’t know it at all.

Again I am not saying that it is wrong to post our views on social media, but what I am cautioning us with is to be careful how we word it when we speak out, and with what conviction are we posting what we are posting. I have a friend who has had an abortion and I would hate to think that what I had posted on Facebook was seen to be in hate and not love. We must speak firmly against abortion and speak up for those who have no voice yet, we must speak up in love and not hate. If we speak up in hate we can count out any chance of having an edifying conversation on this very important subject. Remember abortion isn’t the problem, sin is the problem and I would rather take an opportunity to speak to someone to repent of their sin, instead of turning them away by posting something that comes across as hate.

I want you to hear this so as not to get confused. I hate abortion and believe that we as followers of Jesus are not to take abortion lightly or turn a blind eye to it, we need to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, but we also must do it in love, because that person on the other side, who is pro-choice, needs Jesus just as much as you or I do.

We must do a better job of how we speak out against such sin as abortion. We must do a better job of walking with people through their struggles and turning them towards repentance. This doesn’t mean speak at them with hate, it means speak the truth in love and if they don’t hear it, we don’t speak stronger hate, we love stronger.

 My friend who had an abortion, is a follower of Jesus and was when she had her abortion. I know that she has struggled in her walk with Jesus because of some choices that she made and as I continue to speak out against abortion, am I doing so in a way that leaves the door open for those like my friend, to be able to come to me when God laid it on their hearts what they have done. Is the door open while they are still a mess or is it closed because I spoke out with hate giving no thought to the struggling.

We must speak in love and not close doors to walk with those who maybe struggling with getting an abortion or have gotten one. There are evil people in this world, ones who make legalize and make it easy for abortions. There are those who voice their opinions loudly on street corners and who will never have their eyes open to the truth of what is happening, but I am convinced that there are people out there who are pro-choice, who have had an abortion, who had they been walking with Jesus, or had their walk with Jesus been stronger, would not have made the choice that they did and I want to be able to speak truth in love to them instead of closing that door.

To end this, I say this. We must continue to fight for the unborn and give them a voice. We cannot sit silently while babies are killed without having that voice, but we must also speak in a way of love that does not close the door to someone coming to know Christ. It is a fine line, which is why Paul said, we are to be careful how we live.

Trying Terrible Twos

When Alex and I first found out we where pregnant, there was a warning that has floated around, “Just wait until she turns 2!” Or “Watch out for the terrible twos.” The warnings would even come when having general conversation about how good Sadie is, and how much Alex and I enjoy being her parents. These phrases usually sounded like, “Well you haven’t hit the TERRIBLE twos yet” or “Just wait until you get to the terrible two’s, you won’t be nearly as excited.” These warnings said to us as if once Sadie turned two we will then not want to be her parents anymore or because she has turned two, she is now a burden on our lives.

Now I want to be clear with something, I know the statements I listed above are all said in good fun and if any of you reading this have ever said any of those to I or Alex, don’t feel bad. This is not me calling you out and this is not a post about how people need to watch what they say. What this post is about is a mind set when it comes to parenting or actually any situation in life. A mind set that is morphed around the phrases above, because I feel in my own convictions that we have taken the above phrases to heart and believe them about our children and our circumstances and thus are doing our children a disservice as parents when it comes to training up a child as Proverbs 22:6 says.

I am by no means claiming to be a perfect parent or claiming that I have nothing to learn from those who have come before me, but one thing Alex and I have talked about is the stage of life that we are currently in with Sadie and that is the 2 stage. I love watching Sadie in this stage because she is beginning to figure everything out and figure out how the world around her works. Up until this point in life we, in a sense, gave Sadie everything to discover and really didn’t understand what no meant.

Spontaneous is the best word I can use to describe life with our 2 year old daughter. She keeps on our toes. We walk through the endless mind field of what color food pouch she want to have and we make the daring attempt to suggest what shoes she should wear. Spoiler, it’s always going to be jellies. At this current moment, the war to change the diaper has been less of a war, but if you know my daughter or have a 2 year old yourself, you know that attitude can change rapidly, almost with the snap of a finger. It really does keep life interesting.

Being a dad to a 2 year old is one of the hardest things I have done. Helping Sadie process through her emotions has got to be one of the most difficult challenges I have had in my short 27 years of life. Sadie will scream at the top of her lungs when she wants out of her car seat. In fact she has even started throwing the fit before we even get to the car. Trying to get a flailing, strong willed, wants to be independent toddler into her car seat when she doesn’t want to is hard to say the least, but also an opportunity.

I know putting a flailing 2 year old in her car seat only to have her scream for an hour in the car doesn’t sound that rewarding, but bear with me. I firmly believe that when God grants couples the privilege of Being parents, it is their responsibility to then raise that child up and teach them how to control those emotions that they are trying to figure out. Sadie screams because that’s all she has ever known. When she’s unhappy, she screams. It’s not joyous mind you. I do not look forward to the screaming fits, but when they do happen, I don’t blame the “terrible twos” because they aren’t terrible, they are trying.

Every time I go to put Sadie in her car seat and the screaming match begins, I am tested and tried. My will, my patience, my ego are all tested in a matter of minutes. Some of you reading this have been there, more than once too, and know the exact feeling I am describing. What I am proposing though, is if our mindset was different, could it change the way we parent?

If we think of these times as terrible, it makes us see the job that God has given us as a burden instead of a joy and a challenge. John says it best when he says in 3 John 1:4- “ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” How do our children know the truth to walk in? We train them, starting even before they are 2.

I have noticed that Sadie knows when I am upset, she will even sometimes come over to me and pat my leg and ask “daddy okay?” So what this tells me is that she can read me well and can even read when I am annoyed, impatient, or upset with her and if she can read those feelings, I guarantee she could read the feelings if I where to ever think of her as a burden or as terrible.

Call a child terrible and they will be terrible. Train and a child in the way they should go and when they are older they will not depart from it. I know this is easier said than done, but I want to be honest. My child is not terrible because she is two. She is strong willed, driven, vocal, stubborn, independent, and passionate. How she deals with those emotions is not always correct and if she where to act the way she does now at 27, would be frowned upon, but she’s not 27 she’s two.

I think we need a mind set change for those of us who work with children. They are not terrible, they are trying. Trying for you and trying for them and they rely on us to help them figure out those emotions. Staying consistent in discipline and guidance will be key. Will it tiring, absolutely. But it is not the end. See it as trying and stay consistent and you will one day be able to say the child walking in truth.

Crying out loud

This past Friday was probably one of the best and hardest days that I have had sense becoming a dad nine months ago. Today I took the day off work to spend time with my daughter and take sometime to recharge after what turned out to be a very busy week.

This past Thursday night my wife and I where sitting on the couch watching TV, and I felt my self getting very excited to get to spend the whole day with my daughter. Her personality has really started to blossom and not to mention she is very mobile now. Add that with being curious and an adventurer and you have yourself a great Friday. Needless to say, my Friday had been an adventure. 

Teething is hard to deal with as a parent. So is a stomach ache, mixed with a cold due to the drastic change in weather. If you hadn't guessed yet, my daughter, Sadie, experienced all three, in one day. Let me just say, I have never felt more hopeless and scared in my entire life. 

In the last three months my wife and I have found that there are three things that usually work to calm Sadie down when she is in distress. We either feed her, change her diaper, or snuggle her until she starts to fall asleep. Sadie began her distress call at 1:45 PM. Dad mode set in, after all I have been through this routine so many times, seeing as I watch her every Monday, so I went into Sadie's room feeling very confident that I would have her soothed and calm in no time. Yeah I was wrong. 

Started with the feeding, because with Sadie that's just where you go first. The good kind of worked but wasn't enough, so I on to step two. The diaper change happened swiftly and promptly and Sadie was still in distress. So I sprung into action, scooped her up and cuddled her. All seemed to be fine for the first four seconds and then more cries for help. I began bouncing her up and down as I walked the hallway. I would rock her while rubbing her back. Nothing was seeming to work and I was out of options. 

It wasn't until the last time that I tried cuddling her that I realized what she was doing. As I would lightly bounce her in my arms I realized that she had the tightest grip on my shirt and she was not letting go for anything. It was in that moment that I realized there was nothing she wanted me to do but hold her. 

And that is exactly what I did. I held her and would whisper in her ear that everything was going to be okay that daddy had her and I wasn't going anywhere. She slowly drifted to sleep and I was finally able to put her in her crib. I never felt more proud in my life. That was until 45 minutes later when she woke up again with the same drastic cry for help that I heard early in the afternoon. I had started on another project, actually I had started writing this post, and as a result of her crying out for help, I put my plans on hold and came to her rescue to let her know that dad was still here.

I couldn't help but think that God does the same for me. I "cry out" in distress, wanting to know that everything is going to be okay. When family members are going through medical issues, when Sadie has her teething days, when work is just very overwhelming, when the enemy plants thoughts that God didn't call me to Warsaw, that I made a mistake, I can cry out to God and he comforts me.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 speaks very clearly that God comforts us in our afflictions and in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus is very clear that he wants those who feel weary or heavy burdened to come to him so that they may find rest. God wants you to call out to him. He hears you the same way a parent hears the cries of their 9 month old baby calling out for help and comfort.

It really is that easy. Simply cry out to God. It does not matter what you are struggling with. Maybe you are so deep into pornography that you don't know what is true love anymore. Maybe you are so frustrated with your marriage that you consistently have to work late so you don't have to be around your spouse. Maybe you have just been rejected to many times that you don't care, you'll find "love" from anyone or anything that will give it to you. God wants to be the one to comfort you in those hurting times. God wants to be the one whom you cry out to when you are hurting. He won't ignore your cries, he hears you, so cry out to him!

Top 4 things I have learned in my first year of full-time youth ministry

I have now been the Director of Student Ministries at Community Grace Church in Warsaw for just over a year now and I have been reflecting back on all the things that I have learned this first year and I just want to share some of those things with you, but before I do you should know something about what you are about to read. Not only do I explain what I have learned but I also take the time to challenge you and ask how you may apply what I have learned in ministry in your own daily lives, and not just those of you who are involved in ministry. So with out further ado, here are the top 4 things I have learned in my first year of full-time youth ministry 

1. The youth ministry will only be as strong as the adults you have leading it.

A wise teacher of mine once said that above statement and I never fully understood what it meant until this past year. In the youth program I came from, we had awesome adults that where present every Wednesday and Sunday night and many of them I am still in contact with today, but I never paid attention to who they really where or who they represented. They where adults whose identity where first cemented in Jesus Christ. They understood why they where there and why they where giving up there Wednesday and Sunday nights. They where committed to what God was doing in the youth program. 

The exact same can be said for the youth staff that I have here in Warsaw. I firmly believe that I have some of the best adults in the business. Some of them this is their first year volunteering, others have been involved for 20+ years, (You know who you are), but on a Wednesday night when 909 meets, none of that matters. Each member of the youth staff shows up ready to work understanding the purpose of why they are there. They understand what God has called them too and I credit the 20+ adults I have working with me as part of the reason why 909 Student Ministries is seeing significant growth this year. 

2. It’s not about the lesson, it’s about the relationship 

When I first started as a youth intern over 8 years ago, I put so much energy into writing lessons and having great discussion questions ready for the adult leaders, that I would be genuinely disappointed if the small group leaders never got to ask those awesome questions because a student was struggling with something and needed help. You can have a great lesson and students can be zoned and listening but at the end of the night if the students don’t feel they can trust you can and are not willing to open up to you, but you gave a great lesson, then I say you may want to reevaluate the priorities of the group. This is not to say that every student is going to open up to you but those students that you have in your small group, or those students that you are always having a conversation with before youth group starts, yeah those are the students that you want to trust you. If all they feel is that you are there to teach them and not walk with them, then again you may need to look at your priorities. 

3. Point back to Jesus

Everything you do as a youth program should and needs to point back to Jesus. Every lesson, every event, the reason behind them should be to point back to Jesus. Every October for Fall Break we go to Fort Wayne to play laser tag, each year the students have invited friends that are not walking with Jesus. The point of this event is not so that we can play 2 games of laser tag, but it gives us an opportunity to say hey we care about you so much that we are willing to drive you to Fort Wayne and play laser tag with you because Jesus loves you. 

This year a student asked me why we do this every year. This gave me the opportunity to say because you don’t have school and I wanted to hang out with you. This student then asked why I wanted to hang out with them and I was able to answer because I care about and care about whether or not you are walking with Jesus. The reason for laser tag was clear to this student, it was so that I had an opportunity to talk about Jesus with them. 

4. Don’t do anything without praying and consulting God

This is by far the most important thing I have learned this year. First off, when I consult with God, I move in a direction that I am sure is in tune with His will for the youth program. Yes a big reason for the growth in 909 Student Ministries has been because I have the best youth staff ever, but more so because we consult God before we do anything and we have the students do the same. Most every Wednesday night, we start by playing games, but before we dive into playing games we have the students break into groups and pray with each other. Not just because praying is a good thing to do, but because we want to make sure we are following Gods leading and not our own. It also teaches the students the importance of praying. 

These are just 4 things that I have learned in my first year of full-time youth ministry. I know I have a long way to go and that God isn to finished with me yet, but I look forward to what the next 4 will be. 

God Signs

Have you ever had one of those moments in which God is sort of nudging you in the direction he wants you to go? You know like you can almost here God clearing his throat and and tilting his head in the direction of whatever that sign is? Every time the sign comes into your view you immediately look at it almost nervously because you know there is a reason that sign is there because its unique to you and that moment. 

If you know what I am talking about then the story I am about to share with you will make sense. You will read this and understand what I am talking about when I say sign. If you don’t know then please don’t stop reading. Just enjoy the story of how God used on bracelet to start a great conversation. 

Monday nights are date night for my wife and I and for the past couple of weeks our date nights have consisted of watching either the Chicago Cubs play Monday Night Baseball or watching WWE Monday Night Raw. Now before you think my wife and I are huge WWE fans, we simply watch because it provides us with a good laugh and the acting is just hilarious. Anyways, not what this is about. I realized one night that the baseball season is quickly coming to a close and that ever sense Alexis and I had returned from our summer ministry, we had yet to attend a baseball game. To keep this from getting to long, I picked the first Monday that the Fort Wayne Tin Caps where home and that was what we went with. 

Alexis and I had received a gift card to Longhorn Steak House and so before the game we decided we would actually have a nice dinner out. Thanks to the hour drive from Winona Lake and the game starting at 7:05, we beat the dinner rush to the restaurant. My wife had gotten a phone call and so I waited not so patiently for her to finish her phone call and when she finally finished two people had walked in front of us. Now I know what you are thinking, that I need to calm down and not make this all about me. She had a phone call that maybe lasted 10 minutes. I know not that bad, but the thing is I was hungry and I really wanted my steak. My thought process at that moment was all selfish and self centered motives. 

Now here’s where God takes my impatient situation and shows me that he had a plan all along. We get seated and a waitress comes to our table and takes our drink orders but a different waiter brings our drinks back and says that he is actually the one taking care of us. Immediately after smiling and thanking him for bringing our drinks, my eyes lock on the bracelet around his wrist. 

Love was all the bracelet said and was made by Mud Love. Now for those of you reading who have no idea what Mud Love is they are a store that makes jewelry out of clay and have actually become quite popular. No coincidence that they are made right in Winona Lake. If you are thinking that I immediately strike up a conversation with our awesome waiter, well you would be wrong. I let him come back to our table twice before finally getting up the nerve to ask him about the bracelet. 

Our conversation quickly went to me asking him if him and his girlfriend, who was the one who bought him the bracelet, went to church anywhere. When he told me no I was expecting him to quickly leave and I thought I would only see him once maybe twice more throughout our evening there, but God had other plans and he seemed very interested in knowing why I was asking. So I explained Mud Love and what they do and then even had the awesome opportunity to invite him to the church that my wife and I used to attend when we lived in Fort Wayne. From further conversation it was discovered that my wife and him actually knew each other, or had at least met once while my wife worked for ONE in Fort Wayne. Turns out that our waiter also sells medical supplies, no coincidence that he sells staples for hand surgeries. My wife worked with a hand surgeon while she worked at ONE and he even knew the doctor she worked for! We where able to then pray for him and his job of selling medical supplies, as it is not an easy job, and throughout the whole rest of the night he came back to our table more than he did the other tables he was waiting on. 

The reason I am telling you this story is simple. I want to encourage you that God can use the simplest things in life to allow greater things to happen. What I mean by that is God used a simply bracelet that started a conversation that left one waiter at a Longhorn Steakhouse with hope and an invitation to church. I cannot tell you how much more encouraged our waiter appeared as he worked the rest of shift. He was already in what seemed to be a very good mood, but because someone took the time to care about him and hear about him, he was even more encouraged. 

I was nervous when I started talking with him. I never know how conversations are going to go, but I knew that God had him wearing Mud Love for some purpose and I took it to start a conversation. I can’t help but think of how impatient I was before my wife and I where seated and how even more impatient I was when two people walked in in front of us and where seated before us. The people who went in before us, where seated in a different section that was not in the section that our waiter was in. 

Yeah God worked last night, and I could tell he was working in our waiters heart. Never think that something is a coincidence. Things do happen for a reason and sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes we get to see why those things happen. God works things out for His glory, even if that thing is a phone call and someone being seated before you. 

Where is God leading you and how is He leading you there?

I’m sitting in my office this week simply just looking back on how I got to where I am now. I’ve been looking at pictures from my time in youth group. I look at who I was when God brought my best friend and mentor into my life my Sophomore year of high school and because of God bringing him into my life, where I am now.

Currently I am the Director of Student Ministries at Community Grace Church in Warsaw, Indiana. Eight years ago if you would have asked me if I was going to be in this position now, I would have laughed at you. I thought I was going to be a fireman in my hometown of Kendallville and thought I was going to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I thought I had my life figured out, until my junior year of high school when God shook my plans and laid a burden on my heart.

Growing up I was always known as the wild child. I was loud, hyper, and just plain annoying. I was told most of the time to just calm down and whenever I was disruptive I was placed in the back of the room or just sent to the principal’s office. The teachers I had growing up throughout elementary and middle school where awesome. Do not get me wrong. I will be forever grateful for their investment into my life and how many of them saw something greater in me as well and pushed me to maturity. The only problem throughout my elementary and middle school years is that I did not care what anyone wanted out of me. I was used to just being told that I was annoying and needed to be quiet, mostly by classmates, and thus I had a huge burden to be accepted and quite frankly even noticed.

So I continued to be loud and annoying and took any kind of attention I could get. I was just longing for someone other than my family to really show that they cared about and wanted me around. This burden really started growing when I entered into high school and because I had this burden to be accepted and I was at a pivotal point in my life, I was beginning to think that drugs, drinking, and sex would help me feel accepted. Praise The Lord, God had other plans.

When I first met Dan, I didn’t want anything to do with him. I thought he was going to be just like every other person who I thought cared about me but as soon as I was graduated he wasn’t going to care anymore. I could not have been more wrong. The intentionality that Dan showed me and his willingness to pour into me regardless of how I acted built the trust I had with him and slowly I began to open up to him and starting to confront the sins and things that needed to change in my life.

I had no idea why God had placed my family in First Christian Church back when I was in 3^rd grade, God had a bigger plan for my life and placed me where he knew that come my sophomore year of high school I would need someone in my life like Dan, who I would listen to and who would finish the work that my teachers throughout my grade school years started.

I want to ask you, what is God is preparing you for right now? Just as God brought Dan into my life 8 years ago, what is God doing right now that could have a impact years from now? Just as God led Moses through wilderness to prepare him to lead the Israelites through the same wilderness, God is preparing you for something. What that is? I have no idea, but know that God knows where he is leading you and who better to be leading you than He who created the heavens and earth and you and me and knows you better than you know yourself?