my life…in text format

I really hate that I’ve allowed almost two full weeks to go by since my last post. I really want to blog more frequently. It’s Sunday, Mother’s day. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! Thanks for what you do, raising us crazy, rotten, spoiled, snot nosed kids. You’re great and we love you for it!

Currently, my computer clock reads 11:25, which is interesting because it’s only 11:20 (my computer clock is five minutes fast)…weird. My dad is currently preaching a killer message about bringing God home and making our relationship with Him PERSONAL. It seriously is a fantastic message. I’m considering taking notes on my blog and just post the notes from the sermon. Maybe I’ll start doing that in the next few weeks. Live blogging dad’s sermons. I like it.

Thanks to all you guys who come by and read this, my small corner of the internet, I would love to see this little community we have here continue to grow.

Got a question for you:

If you are in a relationship with God…what are some ways we can make that relationship more personal?

If you’re not in a relationship with God…I hope someone that’s in a relationship with God hasn’t ruined it for you. And if they have…I’m sorry.

Love.

I’m sitting in a comfy green chair in the cafe section of the safehouse right now. There are approximately 50 young people munching on some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and it’s absolutely beautiful outside. I am tired and at this point, I can feel the weight of leadership as it seems to be heavier today than usual.

All that being said I can’t think of better job on the planet. I just got to tell 50 teenagers, right before there were served their sandwiches, that we loved them and cared about them. I got to tell them that every person that works here was at one time rocked so hard by God that we wanted to do something to share that love with other people and this is the way we decided to do it.

What ways do you share the love of God with people? Day to day as you go through your job/social life/friendships/hobbies what ways do you feel you can share God’s love with those around you?

Maybe a better question to ask is also, if you’ve never experienced God’s love, in what ways can someone who HAS experienced God’s love share it with YOU?

We are made for community.

Let’s engage :: :: ::

It’s a little chilly outside. (For whatever reason, I got hungry for chili when I wrote that…weird). But the sun is shining and it’s staying lighter longer and it’s simply a beautiful thing!

Today, we closed the safehouse for some spring cleaning and it NEEDED it! There was dirt on top the dirt. It was nasty. But, the team I have stepped up, tore into and within a few hours, the place was clean, clean, clean. It’s been a great day.

I’ve been in cleaning mood lately. I started to clean my car yesterday, I cleaned my office today, I will probably clean my room later and before you know it, there’ll be nothing left to clean.

Until Tuesday, when the safehouse opens again and teenagers come piling through the doors. Then it’ll be time to clean all over again. Which is a great problem. I’d never want to clean the safehouse and never worry about it again since that means nobody is using it.

Overall, I’m not the BIGGEST fan of cleaning, but it’s something needs done. And the fact that it needs done means that something more important is happening. The safehouse is being used.

What other things can you think of that you don’t like to do, but the fact that you have to do them means something more important is happening?

Perhaps, having to relocate to a bigger facility because so many people are coming in, for example?

Let’s get some comments on this here blog!

There are always moments in my life where I am given a glimpse of what God might see when He looks down at me. Here on this little ball of dirt we humans call Earth, in the midst of a solar system housed in a galaxy that we will probably never fully understand, we live our lives and go through our days and never really stop to consider what God might see when He looks at us.

I am a very visual person, if I see it I can comprehend it better. I can understand something that is shown to me much more quickly than if it were explained. Just two nights ago, I was sitting in a living room with two wonderful friends of mine just chatting, laughing, talking, about nothing and everything at the same.

You ever that experience? Where you aren’t working, you aren’t trying to do anything really, just engaging in the company of another human being. Laughing, living. Doing life…together. It’s a beautiful thing.

At one point, a guitar was brought out and my friend starting playing a song she had written. I’ve heard the song several times before on a recording and when she started to play it there in the kitchen, somehow it was new. I was sitting there, having just finished my microwavable buffalo hot wings (which, by the way, are actually way more delicious than I anticipated) and she started playing and singing this song that she had written and it was like the first time I had heard the song. That may sound cheesy and a little dramatic, but as I’ve written in previous posts, there is something about music that speaks a language no other art form can speak. So I have no problem saying that when she started singing, I was blown away.

Later on that same night, she still had the guitar, and the conversation between myself and the other person in the room had faded into a steady, quite comfortable silence. I think it was comfortable because as our voices faded, the sounds of guitar strings being picked took precedence over all other sound in the room. We both looked at our guitar playing friend and I noticed something small yet exciting. Her eyes were closed.

Which could mean one of two things…she was either too exhausted to keep them open, or she was so engaged in the music that she closed her eyes to engage even further. It could’ve been that plus exhaustion, but either way…the point is the two of us in the room stopped and looked at her and listened.

What do you think God does when you say His name?

What do you think happens when you whisper a cry out to God when you’re in need?

Or a word of thanks or worship when you are reminded of His character?

What do you think happens when you even attempt to communicate with God?

I think it’s a lot like what happened just two nights ago sitting in a living room.

He notices. He listens. He looks.

He is proud.

There are a lot of things I’ve done in the past that, if given the chance, I would not do again. Because it was so wrong, so sinful, so selfish that I don’t even like to think about it. But when I think about what happens when I cry out to God and when I seek after God….

I can’t help but close my eyes and concentrate on HIS music. The story of my soul.

Over the past month or so, I’ve met some absolutely amazing people and have made some lifelong friends in the process and I can’t help but think that this is just a glimpse of God. Just another thing that He’s allowed me to experience to point ultimately to His unfailing love and amazing sacrifice on my behalf.

It’s Easter time. We celebrate the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Celebrate loud.

Celebrate well.

Celebrate with friends.

Shake the walls of hell with your celebration.

We have a lamppost on our street that looks kinda like the lamppost featured at the entrance to the magical land of Narnia and with how much it was snowing today, I seriously wonder if we entered into that land.

I’m waiting on a half man, faun creature to walk through my backyard and invite me to his underground home for tea and music that puts me to sleep.

In case I don’t post anything for a while, find a wardrobe and send a search party.

If you live anywhere where the sun is shining, could you send some our way please?

I’ve lived in Ohio all my life and this weather is starting to make even me think Spring will never get here.

I was at Target today and the cashier said, “I think we should find Punxsutawney Phil, shoot him and eat him.”

Apparently she is tired of this weather too.

Don’t worry fair groundhog, Aslan will save you.

I got a haircut today.

I know you’re excited…calm down. It’s late. I’m bored. I don’t have the brain power to attempt to write anything profound right now. But I wanted to post something. So, I posted a picture of my hair.

I know I know…it’s lame and my forehead looks oddly large. But you also get a great look at my sliding glass door, so don’t complain please.

If you can do me a favor…if you read this blog, drop me a comment. I’d love to know who you are. I have a goal in this year of 2008 to become more than just another blogger, but have a site that people enjoy coming to and reading. So please, drop me a line, leave a comment.

And while you’re at it, tell me how nice you think my hair looks

Love.

Andy ::

Every now and then, I’ll walk downstairs and my dad will be watching one of those shows on the Discovery or Learning Channel about how those crazy tall skyscrapers are built. The process, the technology, the equipment…it’s all very fascinating. One thing you don’t see a lot of on those shows, in the midst of the monstrous cranes and beans heavy enough to crush a man like a rotten tomato, if you notice, they don’t spend a lot of time on the foundation and how it’s built.

Why not? The foundation is one of THE most crucial components of the entire building. A faulty foundation, even off by inches will create thousands of dollars worth of setbacks and potentially risk the lives of thousands of people.

So why not talk about it? If I’m a person who works or resides in that building, I want to know that the foundation is solid. Sure, I would love the unique design and great view of a fancy skyscraper, but if it’s sitting on a faulty foundation, I’d rather live in a two story, crappy-view-of-the-building-right-next-door apartment that has a good foundation.

We need to remember the foundation. It’s what everything else is based on. Literally. I constantly need to be reminded about trusting in Christ as my Savior.

Why? I’m a Christian. I’ve prayed the prayer. I’m a pastor. I know the verses.

But

I

still

make

mistakes.

I still sin. I know I do, and there are times when I really think it would be a good idea to just bang my head against a wall because of it. I need to be reminded of my foundation.

Jesus Christ is my salvation. I need to remember that my foundation is not my knowledge of scripture, my ability to communicate the Word of God or even a series of good deeds. My foundation is not how long I read scripture each day or how much I pray.

My foundation is the most important thing to the house Christ is building.

Christ died for me.

Christ died because I screwed up.

Because

I

sin.

Christ died.

Then…completed the process by raising again from the dead.

If nothing else good ever happens in my life again, I still owe God everything I have had or will ever have because of that one act of selfless love.

When we pray and we say “In Jesus’ Name” at the end of our prayers, what we are really saying is that because of Jesus’ death and because of Christ’s sacrifice, the sin that separates us from God and the sin that makes it so we cannot be in the presence of God is paid for, atoned, and we are justified through Christ. In the Name of Jesus we pray because in any other way, by any other name we wouldn’t be able to come before God.

It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive.

Just remember the foundation. Your house is built on one and unless you are a contractor or construction worker, I bet you rarely ever think about your foundation. Not because we don’t care or because we’re bad people, but because it’s always been there.

It will always be there.

If you’re a Christian, you may or may not know how easy it is to forget the foundation of our faith.

Jesus Christ.

If you’re not a Christian, maybe you were burned by somebody who did, in fact, forget the foundation and did something outside the character of Christ.

I am being reminded of my desperate need for Christ and His blood atoning my sins. It’s a humbling and freeing realization and I pray you experience it too.

Because to remember your foundation is to be reminded of our need of a foundation. And when you remember you need a foundation, realize you have a foundation…a solid one, a sure one, you are freed to build a skyscraper and know that it will withstand the harshest of storms.

Believe that the price has been paid. Believe that God’s anger at our sin has been pacified by Christ’s death. Believe that the foundation has been laid and you are free to…

Build.

Remember.

Look up.

Believe.

As I start typing on my lovely Apple keyboard it is 12:18 AM on Sunday. In about 7 hours and 30 mins, my alarm will ring and alert me that it’s just about time to get up. I will then go over some notes for the final time before I head off to preach a sermon at a friend’s church. I really should be asleep right now, but I couldn’t lay my head on that sweet, soft pillow and take the express lane to dream land without writing a few things rolling through my head.

First of all, if you were at, talked to anybody that was at, or were within a few miles of the safehouse last night (well, technically the night before last….Friday night…the 22nd) you were treated to quite a spectacular show. Of course, I’m a little biased but overall, the feedback I got was all positive. 6 bands one night, everybody said it was quite an ambitious goal to work on 6 bands in one night, in one place and actually pull it off.

One person said, “I think you’ve bit off more than you can chew my man.” And while I certainly bit off more than I could chew by myself, I had some people to share the meal and together, we were able to chew it and swallow just fine.

If you were at that show and were a part of the amazing team of people that made it possible let me start by saying and amazing and very heart-felt THANK YOU! With your help we were able to make a huge impact on a lot of people and set a precedent for the future. Thank you so much!

It reminded me how much I love my job. I was exhausted, it was about 10:00 we were probably transitioning from the third band to the fourth band of the night and I could feel my calves, feet and ankles start to scream at me for putting them through so much (apparently my ankles, calves and feet are very wimpy). There were around 250 young people scurrying about the safehouse, parents proudly looking as their kids wailed away on whatever instrument they featured in their respective bands, merchandise table attendants selling T-Shirts, buttons, stickers, and CDs. A good friend of mine who also promotes concerts for a local radio station set up a table and promoted an upcoming concert. It was all very real and I realized in that a moment, a small, but equally real truth. Looking back, I can honestly say that I didn’t want to be any other place at that moment.

There, pulling my glasses of my face and wiping away the fatigue that had slowly crept its way into the corners of my eyes, I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want to go home and go to sleep. I wanted to be around all these people. I wanted to shake hands, get names, meet people, touch people in a real and lasting way. If nothing else, I wanted them to know that somebody cared about them. I couldn’t touch everybody, I couldn’t get everybody’s names, but I wanted to do what I could.

I wanted the band members to know that not only was I happy to give them an opportunity to play, I want them to know that I’m proud of them and thankful that they showcased their talents. It was the best event in the short history of the ministry called Safehouse and I was a part of it. Not only was I a part of it, I had the distinct and humbling privilege of leading a team of amazing people who, by the way, make me want to be the absolute best leader I can be and I am so proud to be a member of that team.

There’s not a lot else to say I guess. I was in the writin’ mood and this show had taken up the majority of my time over the last few days. So…there ya go. Enjoy!

Videos and pics of the show to come soon.

*This post is probably littered with typos and grammatical errors…please don’t post nasty comments criticizing my spelling, etc… I’m usually very good, but…I’m just so stinkin’ tired!

I’m going to sleep now.

This little girl sang for the first time in front of people with her dad in front a small coffehouse full of people. It was a wonderful time. A nice reflection of a daughter and father sharing a gift.

Sometimes I wonder if God looks at me the same way. Like, when I get down on my knees or I close my eyes to pray and as I get ready to speak, He leans over the edge of Heaven so He can really pay attention to exactly what you are saying. Not so much what’s coming out of your mouth as what’s coming out of your heart.

Recently, I’ve been evaluating my prayers to God and I’ve realized that I am trying to “pray right.” I am trying to say things that I think God would be happy to hear. I am trying to say things that will get me to a desired outcome instead of crying out, speaking, asking, singing or simply standing in His presence. This little girl didn’t move once she got behind the mic…she had a small voice, audible only because of the piece of technology standing inches from her mouth.

I don’t want to just say prayers to God. I want to communicate. I want to engage, I want a relationship. I don’t want a monologue, I want to dialogue with God. Where I take, He not only hears, but listens and where He talks and I not only listen and hear, but am transformed by His words.

Speak up. You don’t need a mic when talking to God. He’s closer than you think.

Items Present:

-Bible (New Living Translation)
-Notebook
-Devotional Book
-Apple MacBook Pro
-French Vanilla Caramel Coffee
-Pen

What a wonderful way to start my day. I would seriously do this everyday, but I would get food every time I went, rather than just coffee and would probably have to sell my kidney to afford it.

But nonetheless…this will happen more and more.