Nathan’s Story

On Sunday (Sept. 16, 2018) one of our high school seniors was baptized by one of our adult leaders.  Nathan has been a part of our church family and student ministry for several years.  He has been connected to our community for years, but waited until this week to take the step of baptism.  In his video he shares why.

There a couple of things I love about this video.  The first is that is so genuine.  Nathan simply shares his journey, the experiences and, most importantly, the people that have had an influence on him.

That leads to the second thing I love about this video.  The emphasis on relationships.

As you listen to Nathan’s story, he names names (in a good way). He shares how his parents, his small group leader, other adults and even his peers have had an impact on his walk with Jesus.  I know there were many conversations with Nathan in the past about what was keeping him from taking the step of baptism.  God was working on him through those relationships, through those shared experiences and leading him ultimately to a full understanding of who Jesus is.

This video is a solid reminder of why we need others in our lives and the value of being in a small group.  If you find yourself in a similar place as Nathan, maybe his story will move you to that next step.

Her Name is Kate – Part of our Adoption Story @DaytonMomsBlog

Cheryl’s latest post on the Dayton Moms Blog gives some insight into the relationship we have with our son’s birth mom. We are grateful for how God has worked somewhat unexpectedly over the past 3+ years.

Her name is Kate. She is the mother of my son. She is family.

You can read the rest on the Dayton Moms Blog.

Whether You Feel It or Not

Today was the day we decided to tear the stage at church and get rid of all the Christmas decorations.  It’s one of those things that you know needs to be done, but you would rather do just about anything else.  There’s a whole lot more excitement to decorating for Christmas than putting it all away.  Thankfully, it’s all done!

After taking the Christmas decorations away, I was setting up the stage for rehearsal tonight and services on Sunday.  I was flipping through my Amazon library and ran across Matt Maher’s All The People Said Amen album.  I hit play and started moving things on the stage.

During the song Your Grace is Enough, Matt Maher shared briefly about why he wrote the song.  I had listened to it before, but thought it was so powerful as I heard it again:

“I wrote that ’cause I was going through a difficult time and I needed to be reminded that despite what was going on in my heart, those words in Scripture are true, whether you feel them or not, that God’s grace is sufficient.”

What a great thought and reminder: God’s grace is sufficient, whether I feel it or not. Sometimes we let how we feel determine what we believe to be true.  Instead, we should allow the truth of God’s Word and who He is (and who He says we are) to guide our feelings.

Appreciated that reminder today and hope you do, too.  Thanks Matt!

Our Story of Adoption & How You Can Help

In the past few months I’ve posted about our Gotcha Day and how adoption has impacted our family. Max, who is almost 19 months old, will soon be joined by a little brother.

We have connected with a birth mom who is due June 22. We are making plans to travel to be present for the birth and to get to know the family. We have started the process to adopt again and have enlisted a great team here in Ohio and a great team in Maryland to assist us. Adopting Max happened very quickly and we pulled together various resources to pay for his adoption. Financially we need some help and we are using a non-profit fund-raising platform called Adopt Together to help us raise the necessary funds.

If you are someone (or you know someone) who has a heart for adoption, please visit our page. It tells a little bit more of our story about adoption and gives people an opportunity to help with the expenses. While this adoption won’t cost as much as Max’s adoption, we are seeking financial support.

To visit our Adopt Together page, click on the image below.  On our page, you will be able to read about our plans for adoption and how you can help if you feel led to do so.

10,000 Reasons & Psalm 103

10,000 Reasons is a pretty well-known worship song and has been used in a variety of venues.  Just this summer I’ve sung it with our congregation, with about 900 high school students at a CIY MOVE Conference and with about 100 junior students at our week of summer camp.  We used it as part of our song set yesterday in our morning service and it seems to really connect with groups of all ages.

Before we sang it yesterday, we played about the first two minutes of this video where Matt Redman (who helped write the song) talks about the story behind the song.  Since I’m not a song writer, I find it interesting to hear about the process writers go through.  I like what he shares as it gives the back-story to the song we love to sing and points to Psalm 103 and what it says about worship.

Redman also gives a good reminder that God is always giving us reasons to worship Him.  Whether we are young or old, on the mountaintop or in a valley, loving life or struggling to get through the week, God provides numerous reasons to worship him.  A good reminder not only for our Sunday worship sets, but for how we live Monday through Friday.

God the Great Story Weaver

Over the past couple of months God has been unfolding a story that has been quite unexpected. Through a series of connections – starting at the church where my wife grew up, to someone she knew briefly in college, to a re-connection with that friend over Facebook, along with a series of other seemingly random connections – God has been putting together a somewhat unlikely scenario. We are still waiting for details to play out, so I don’t want to project how the last chapters are going to unfold. But it is amazing to look back at how God is putting various pieces together and the timing in relation to those pieces and events.

As my wife and I were talking this past weekend, she commented on how God is truly the Great Story Weaver. Whether it be the timing of certain events or simply responding to a request that at the time didn’t seem to be that big of a deal, we are surprised how God orchestrates and weaves together a series of events and conversations into something unforeseen.

We don’t know how the story will continue to go, but we are excited to share it with others in the months to come. We have to realize that we are a part of the chapters being written and can’t see the end of the story. Even when we think we are at the end of a story, God is still writing. He is the Great Story Weaver.

IU featured in SI

Sports Illustrated has a story on Indiana basketball in this month’s edition.  For Hoosier fans, it is a somewhat painful look at what has taken place in the basketball program over the past decade, but also shows the resurgence the program is making.

It’s a somewhat lengthy article, but one that is worth reading if you are a college basketball fan or if you are an IU fan.  Check it out by clicking the link.

Indiana fans from Albany to Zionsville—and across the – 01.16.12 – SI Vault.