Just a thought

I was thinking yesterday. That was a mistake. I nearly hurt myself... smoke coming out the ears and everything. None-the-less, I think I thought some pretty good thoughts. So here they are:

1. There is a God.

2. I'm not Him.

Now, I can't claim that I came up with these thoughts on my own. Our Pastor up here in PA, Pastor Joel, has used these two statements numerous times in his messages. For me though, I never really took the time to apply what that meant on a daily basis. I often think to myself, "Self, what would you like to do today? Do you want to work today? Maybe watch a movie? Catch up on season 2 of Lost? Ooh, I have an idea, how about a bike ride? Or a walk with your wife? Maybe a nice dinner out? Self, what do you want to do today?" You see, I know there is a God - a big God in the heavens that keeps an eye on us, cares about us, loves us. I know that I am not Him. I know that I'm not in charge of the universe. All too often though, I think I am in charge of me.

I make plans. I set goals. I pursue dreams. I eat. I sleep. I eat some more. I take jobs. I leave jobs. I offer jobs. I meet people. I talk to people. I ignore people. I make decisions. I avoid decisions. I ask other people to decide for me. I worry. I complain. I exercise... ok, I just threw that one in to make myself look good.

I

am

me.

Sadly, I often look to me for direction.

An interesting thing happens though when I start asking God those questions. I find that as I look for his direction, I lose weight. No, not physical weight. I wish. That would be the best diet plan ever. "Just follow God's direction and you'll be skinny and attractive!" No, when I say that I lose weight, I mean that I lose the heavy burden of wondering what comes next. When I trust God for direction, I lose the weight of my priorities, my goals, my expectations and recognize that it's all in His hands anyway. I can rest in Him and pursue His goals for my life. I can rest in Him and pursue His dreams for my life. I can rest in Him and take jobs, make decisions, love my wife, watch movies, take walks, eat, sleep, run, even exercise... ok, let's not get too carried away.

So, I guess that for me, I need to add a third point to Pastor Joel's mantra:

1. There is a God.

2. I'm not Him.

3. I'm better off this way.

The sooner I recognize that the life best-lived is the life lived according to God's plan, the better off I will be. When I look to Him for guidance every day in every moment, the burden of my mistakes, my misdirections, my miscalculations, comes sliding off of my shoulders. I find true peace in following Him.

Matt

Moving from Sacrifice to Significance

Mad props to PBJ for his first message to SRC yesterday. Laurie and I are believing with you that this church will be a significant church. God is going to use us to reach this area. We feel fortunate to get to partner with all of you in this plant. We are looking forward to the time when we will not have such a long commute to get to church so that we can really get involved in what God is doing in and through all of you at SRC. Please pray for us as we will most certainly be praying for you! See ya next Sunday!

Pretty sweet...

So, I feel like it's official now... we are a part of the SRC family. This Thursday night, sometime after 2000 hours, the first-ever SRC Fantasy Football Draft took place. And I have to say... I love my team. My wife also has a team, along with six other SRC peeps. So thanks for including Laurie and I in this most crucial of SRC activities. What better way to form a bond than through intense competition, creative smack-talk, and post-Sunday depression, adulation or excitation? (I think I made some of those words up.) Are you ready for some football?!?!?

Thanks to our Family at SRC!

We had a lot of fun with all of you this past weekend. Thanks for always making us feel "at home"every time that we come down. Laurie and I are looking forward to the "soft-open" next week. I think it will be cool to finally see this thing in action! We've all been praying about it and focusing on it for the last nine months or so... it will be great to see this dream become a reality! It is awesome to be enjoying this journey with you and we're believing that God is going to do incredible things. Love you all!

Matt and Laurie