Asking Big

It's been awhile I know... Life has been busy to say the least. This morning on the way into my office I listened to a message that required me to take some time and blog. So here I am!  The question that was brought to my attention this morning was this, "What has Jesus done for you lately?" The question caused me to pause my podcast and think for a minute. What has Jesus done for me lately... I asked myself this question for what seemed like 30 minutes. Hmmmm, well He has blessed my family with a new home. He has given me great friends. These are the phrases that kept coming to mind. This is it! I said this to myself out loud. These are all great things, but they are not BIG things. None of these phrases represent how big Jesus is. In fact, they make Jesus look small and...well... meaningless. But Jesus is not small or meaningless. He is everything. He is the giver of Life. He is the meaning of life. He is the reason for my existence. He is my purpose in life. For Him I live! But what I seek Him for does not represent all that I believe. Therefore I must make a change...

This morning a lady came into our church office. She brought in some bottles of water for an organization that feeds homeless people. This lady came in with a smile and was obviously thinking of others. But unknown to the world, this lady has something going on in her life that would bring most of us to our knees. Her daughter has been and continues to battle cancer. Her 11 year old little girl is fighting a battle for her life and she is begging Jesus for a miracle. She is begging Jesus for something that only HE can do. A MIRACLE! Her request shows off the magnitude of the Jesus she believes in.

I want the world to know the power that dwells in my heart. Not a selfish power to be used at my disposal, but the power of Jesus that can change the world. In Acts 19:11 a story unfolds of some men who approach a man possessed by an evil spirit. They speak to the spirit, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." Their desire was for the spirit to obey them. After stating this the spirit speaks back to them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" After this question the spirit leaves the man and attacks the men sending them home naked and wounded...Yes! This is in the Bible... What speaks so loud in these verses is the question who are you? WHO AM I? Does satan know my name? Am I known for the faith and power that I have through Jesus?

I want to be known for the power that flows through me. I want satan to know my name and fear Jesus in me.  I want to be known for serving and believing in a BIG Jesus. I want to live a life that is solely trusting everyday for Jesus to come through. I want to be known for Asking Big things from a Big God expecting Him to do Big things...

Words Hurt

Today I realized first hand how powerful words truly are. Words can wound in ways that physical weapons can't. Ron Hutchcraft puts it this way.

"Our angry, or reckless, or critical words are bullets - and it's all too easy to pull that trigger. In fact, it takes the help of God and our personal discipline to keep from firing off a round of wounding words. But once you pull that trigger, there's no way to get that round back. Long after you've forgotten what you said, that person is still feeling the hurt of it, still hearing it over and over again in their heart. The words take a moment; the wounds can last for years."

I hope this helps those who read.

A New Decade

I can't believe it is 2011 already. Last year was a year of change. So many things happened as I look back on 2010; I stepped down from LifeBridge Church, my friend Tammy Cannon and I launched Project One Forty Three, Eli was born, Jamie quit her job, we moved back to Acworth, and then God orchestrated on of the most amazing events of my life... I became a staff member of Stonecreek Church. In my list of dreams, this was one of my top 5. During my first month at Stonecreek, we launched a series entitled This or That. The scripture behind it was Isaiah 42:9 "See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare." I am so excited that God declares new things. He proved that to Jamie and I all of last year and He is already doing it this year. Jamie and I eagerly await one of God's new things this year. We know it will be another change but we also know that it will bring great joy to our life. What a great year 2011 will be. This year my prayer is that I daily lead children to pursue life in Jesus as their greatest passion; I pray that my family stays focused on Jesus' call for our life; I pray for the leadership of Stonecreek Church that we are a focused people constantly changing the lives of those around us with the love of Jesus Christ, and I pray that this year orphans around the world would find the family they dream about. This is a new Decade...For Your Glory!

Long overdue...

Life has changed so much in the past 4 weeks. I became a dad on February 19th to our new born son Elijah. In the same month I launched a new organization called Project One Forty Three. The old saying when it rains - it pours, still holds true to this day. This past month has been a month of God stretching and growing me. I have learned to live on little sleep, and I have also learned the incredible importance of a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Though this past month has been filled with incredible joy, I have realized that Satan can use those things to separate you from God.

I was evaluating a ministry this week when God began to reveal something amazing to me. I am in the process of creating health indicators for the student ministry at LifeBridge Church. These indicators are being established so that we can measure the spiritual growth of the students attending. As I contemplated these indicators I began to ask myself...What are the health indicators of my own spiritual walk. God answered almost immediately. I learned that I can measure my spiritual growth by the way I am treating my wife. That might sound funny but its true. I realized that my relationship with my wife is a direct image of my relationship with Jesus Christ. The closer I am with Jesus the better I am to my wife... This is not saying that I am an abusive husband or that I yell at my wife when I am distant from Jesus... What I am saying is that my attitude is different. When I do things for my wife because I love her, and I expect nothing in return. This is a indicator that I am focused on Jesus Christ and I am loving her with the love He has lavished on me. But when I am selfish, rude, unloving, or simply not the husband I should be...I am distant from my Creator. Now I am sure that this is just one indicator that I have become aware of and there are probably many more. But I have to admit, I am excited that I have come to this realization.

It all happened one night while I was feeding my baby boy. Jamie, my wife, was sleeping on the bed in our nursery as I was feeding our son and I had this revelation that I was not loving her the way she needed to be loved. I realized that for the past month, I was showing her love by changing my babies diaper or making a bottle or by allowing her to sleep and I would tend to Eli. While those things are nice, they were not showing her the love that she needed and deserved. She needed to know that I loved her first. That I was there for her. She needed my personal time and attention. Not just a break or help with our baby. At this same moment I was honest with myself as I evaluated my spiritual walk. I realized that the 2 were connected. I had become so busy with all the things I needed to accomplish that I had neglected my personal time with God. Thus changing the way I loved my wife...

Well this is another step to becoming more like Christ. 1 down and a lifetime to go...

Something in the making...

God is so big. Just when I think I understand how big He is...He gets bigger. The past two weeks have been weeks of illumination. God has spoken and I heard Him...Loud and Clear! The past year God has been trying to tell me something but I always thought it was just a selfish desire. This past week God finally got through to say "It's me!" Jamie and I are now on a journey. A journey to see lives changed. Project One Forty Three has been created and through it, life will never be the same. Jamie and I have launched what will become life as we know it. We have started a organization that will forever change the lives of orphans and the communities that they live in. Together we will raise money to help impact the lives of ONE hundred and FORTY THREE million orphans. The day is coming when God will say...Go get them Chris...I will be ready...Because something is in the making!

Funny!?!?

Good morning world...Seriously? 1:30am!!! God you must be preparing me to be a daddy. I have to admit, it is a wonderful feeling waking up thinking about little Eli and how much I already love him. He is not even here yet and I think about him constantly. He captivates my thoughts, turns stressful moments into joy and when everything seems to be going wrong, just the thought of him and everything changes. As I sit here and write, I am starting to cry. I am so in love with a little boy and he is not even here. God thank you so much!!! We have prayed for so long that you would give us a child. Now we are only 4 months away from him being here. I find it amazing that you know his days. God I pray that I am an example of you. That everyday Eli sees Christ in me. God I pray that you protect his heart. That in these early years he develops a foundation that is built on you. I pray that his child-like faith will grow all the days of his life. May he be a servant to you.

I find it funny that it is now 2:00am and here I sit on my couch dreaming about the time that I will hold my little boy. The day I get to look into his eyes and meet him for the first time. What will he think? Will he recognize my voice? Will he feel comforted in the fact that his daddy is holding him? Does he know that I will do anything for him? Does he know that I will always protect him, I will always be there for him? Does he know how much I love him? Now I am starting to laugh as I ask myself "will I cry?" OF COURSE! People say that life will never be the same. That excites me. I have longed for this change. I have longed for this responsibility.

God help me remember that Elijah is your gift to Jamie and I. Though we are responsible for him, he will always be Yours.

Love can change everything!!!

I woke up this morning with so many different thoughts on my mind. What, when, where, who, and how seem to be the beginning of everything I think. God is working and I can feel Him, but the answers are still not clear. So I will be patient. The one thing that keeps turning in my head is how this all began. This journey of following God to do things that were so beyond me. Things that I would never do, or ever dream of. It started with the move to Savannah. But that was just the beginning. God brought us here for a reason unknown to us at the time. It wasn't until September 2008 that we would embark on something that would change our life forever. This life change would come in the form of a little boy named "Aleks". Jamie and I decided to host this little boy from Latvia for 4 weeks and allow him to experience Christmas in America. Who knew that this little boy would cause a beautiful disaster. Anyways, my story actually begins the night of January 14th 2009. This was our last day with Aleks. We knew that the next day we had to drive him back to the airport and send him back home to the life that he so desired to leave behind. It was quite a helpless feeling. Here were my thoughts... 

(January 14, 2009)

I wish I could explain the feeling I have in my stomach. I lay here with so many thoughts. I have to admit I am angry. Right now nothing makes since. I have the desire to do so much, yet there are chains that bind me saying NO. But Why. All I can do is cry... and when I finish crying, I cry some more. Right now 10 feet away from me a little boy sleeps. A little boy who deserves a Mom and Dad that love him. For the past 4 weeks that is what he has received. Unending, unselfish love. But it all stops tomorrow. Is that possible? NO! We will never stop loving him. But does he know that? Does he know how much we care for him? My anger is fueling, my hurt is devastating. But the person I turn to is SILENT! God!?!? Why??? Doesn't he deserve a family that loves him? Doesn't he deserve to be raised in a family that loves you? I am laying here begging you to do something...anything. Please don't make me send him back home with no hope. God I can't handle this! Why would you do this? We love him. We know you love him more. So please do something! 

I had no clue at the time that God was working in a way that was much bigger than I thought. The morning of January 15 was a horrible day. I remember the numb feeling all over my body. It was as if I was being forced to do something that I did not want to do. I have never felt so much pain in my life. But I was without a choice. We packed up Aleks and got in the car. He seemed pretty quiet this morning. Not his normal self. I wish I could have known his thoughts. Was he hurting, did he understand, did he know that we loved him? These questions almost killed me. If they were doing this to me, I can't imagine what he was going through. But again I state, God was working!

I am going to move on in my thoughts. If I don't I will be here all day. We said our good byes and Jamie and I drove back to Savannah. It was a quiet ride. I longed to do something, anything. I couldn't live with the fact that I just sent Aleks back to an ORPHANAGE! I was so mad at God. I kept telling myself... I refuse to allow him to live there. But, what was I to do?

FACEBOOK! That was it! I had to find someone. Someone who would listen, care, and DO SOMETHING! God is so Amazing! I posted on Facebook..."Is anyone interested in Adoption?" This was the only thing I knew to do. And it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

What is so crazy is that this story is just the beginning. God radically changed my heart. He taught me that it is possible to love someone with out even knowing them. He also taught me His love for me. God loves us more than we can even imagine. It's a love that never stops, ends, or fails. Now I want to share this love. I want to change the lives of orphaned children around the world. I want them to know that they are loved and that they are worth loving. I want to hold them in my arms and let them know that someone cares. They are not forgotten! I truly believe that we can change their lives with love. Love can change everything...