BLeach

Where I Belong

I've been thinking about Moses this week. In particular, I'm imagining how he must have felt by living in between various cultures. 

Moses was a part of three cultures. Born a Hebrew. Raised in Egypt. Lived in Midian. He was a part of three cultures, but wasn't fully in any of them.

I identify with Moses some during this season of life. I'm from Michigan. It still feels a little like home when I travel back, but it's not--not really. I'm living in Pittsburgh. We've got a great home there for the time being, but it's a quick layover. We're on our way to Philadelphia, but don't live there yet. At times it's all a bit disorienting.

Fortunately, when we struggle to know where we belong, we can remember to whom we belong. Your identity is not connected to your address. It's established in relationship to your God!

Starting Your Day--At Night

This morning I heard my dad share an interesting insight. At creation, God labeled the inauguration of time this way.

And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.

In God's view, at least at creation, the day started in the evening and then continued through the morning. Or, as my dad put it, the day starts with rest, not coffee!

What if we went into the evening with this mindset, that the previous day is finished and we have the opportunity to start again? Would we value our families more? Our recreation more? Our rest more?

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Becoming My Own Grandfather

Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach at The Oaks. They're about to celebrate their four year anniversary. It was a rewarding day.

Five years ago God put a dream in my heart of launching a church plant in downtown Royal Oak. It was my privilege to lead Church of the King in sending a core group and partnering with Chris and Nicki Bradshaw as they established a creative church in one of the most unique mission fields of Metro Detroit.

Yesterday they blessed us with an offering for The Philly Project. Leah joked that it was as if I had become my own grandfather. We parented The Oaks, and now they're helping us get launched with the new church plant God has put on our hearts. I love the reproducing spirit!

It was a joy to see the growth that's happening at The Oaks. So many new families, babies and kids. The people are great--and really diverse spiritually, socially, generationally and racially. Their worship team has a very unique flavor, and the whole gathering was setup with excellence.

Leah and I even got to grab lunch with Chris and Nicki afterward. Other than Gabs throwing up all over the floor it was great fellowship! So proud of the entire team at The Oaks!

Faith is Our Title Deed

There are many details we are entrusting to God as we follow His lead to plant churches in Philadelphia. At the top of the list is the sale of our house in Michigan. 

In the natural, the outlook isn't very encouraging. The housing market in Metro Detroit is at record lows, and the value of our house has declined almost 40% since I bought it seven years ago. We need God to do a miracle.

Strangely enough, we are at peace. We have our moments, but any anxiety that kicks up brings us back to a place of complete dependency on God. And that's a great place to be!

We've been studying Hebrews 11 each week in our family devotions. Abraham's story is especially encouraging to us. During our study, Leah came across verse 1 in the Amplified Bible, and it's revolutionized the way I pray over our house.

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the TITLE DEED) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. (Amplified)

I wanted to shout when I first read that! Faith is the title deed. Now, when I think about the day we'll finally be able to sign over the title of our house, I know it's not a pipe dream. We're walking in obedience to God, which means that this is His problem.

And the title is as good as signed!

A Few Days in Michigan

We're enjoying a few days in Michigan this weekend. Samantha, Leah's sister, is moving this weekend from Detroit back to Pittsburgh. We drove Leah's parents into town so they can drive the moving truck back. Looking forward to adding yet one more person to Hotel Edwards!

It's also been a great opportunity to reconnect here. I stopped in at COTK and enjoyed catching up with Tal and several other friends. This morning I had coffee with one of our former interns, and current team member for the Philly Project. Jonathan will be moving with us to Philly. We enjoyed dreaming and planning for the church plant. 

Most of all, it's been a great opportunity to spend some time with my parents, grandmother, Betsy, Rob, and our fast-growing nephew and niece.

We also took some time to check on our house. Hard to describe my emotions. It felt a little like we were coming home after a month long ministry trip. It definitely sunk in again just much our lives have changed.

We'll be leaving tomorrow morning to drive back to Pittsburgh, where Leah and I are tag-teaming at North Way's youth outreach tomorrow night. We'll be talking about relationships. I'm looking forward to finding out what she has to say!

Shred Your Pain

I've been going through some old files in my office today, trying to determine what to keep, throw away, or hand off to Tal. 

When I got to the "C's" I found a counseling file which contains my confidential notes from various crises I've dealt with in the past eight years.  These include sensitive conflicts, some of which required multiple meetings and church discipline.  Some of them even had me convinced at the time that the church was going to be irreparably damaged.

I realized something encouraging as I looked through my notes.  I experienced a lot of stress while walking through each situation, but until today I didn't even remember these things happened.  Once I saw the notes I could recall some of the details, but it had been months, and in some cases years, since any of this stuff had even crossed my mind--which reminds me of one of my favorite phrases in the Bible. 

It came to pass. 

That thing you're going through right now that feels like it's going to crush you.  That thing you just want to try and ignore because it feels so overwhelming.  You know, that thing you're just convinced is going to be the death of your dream.  Yeah.  That thing.

It won't be too long and you won't even remember it!

Looking back, I can identify the real benefit of these experiences.  God increased my emotional endurance.  Very slowly, and very painfully, He's been building my capacity to lead through difficulty and resolve conflict.  And I'm grateful for it.

Now I get to do something that I'm going to really enjoy.  This file that I'm talking about--I'm about to shred it!

Are you in the midst of some epic difficulty today?  If so, don't give up.  Persevere.  Endure.  It won't be long before your pain is a distant memory on its way to the shredder.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Yesterday began my second week of following the Weight Watchers online program. Leah and I signed up for the three month program, and plan to stick with it until our anniversary on January 19. I'm a little worried about Thanksgiving and Christmas myself!

I did lose four pounds last week, so that was encouraging. The iPhone app is amazing. And I love the fact that you keep track of points, because at times I forget what I'm doing and feel like I'm playing a game.

To be honest, I've enjoyed all the food that we've been able to eat. The biggest adjustment for me has been portion size. Now, almost every time I sit down for lunch or dinner, it's a smaller serving then I would have eaten before. At first I felt pretty hungry all the time, but I think my body is starting to adjust. I didn't used to think of myself as someone with an overeating problem, but now I'm realizing theirs a difference between feeling full and feeling satisfied.

The ironic thing is that indulgence doesn't necessarily lead to satisfaction. Actually, the opposite often occurs. The more we indulge in something, the more of it we want.

I've noticed one other benefit as well. Because I'm eating less, I'm eating more slowly and savoring each bite. I appreciate what I have when I know I can't just go back for seconds!

Now I'm wondering where else I can apply this principle in my life. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

I enjoy a television series more if I'm following a few rather than several.

Leah and I have only been to one movie since Gabby was born. The "diet" has made me really look forward to the next one.

One time I accidentally checked the repeat button in iTunes and didn't realize it until I had listened to the same song for an entire morning. I don't like that song anymore.

What about you?

Is there anything you might enjoy more if you experienced it less?

Limited by Grace

As humans we are limited.

• We all have to stop to sleep.
• We all have to stop to eat.
• We all have to stop to go to the bathroom.
• All of us are limited to seven days in a week.
• None of us has more than 24 hours in a day.
• No one can be physically present in two places at the same time.

Yet if you're like me, you may try to find ways to fight against your limitations.  If I just skip a few hours of sleep I can get a few more things done.  Or, if I just hold it we can arrive at the hotel five minutes earlier!

I know this will sound stupid, because it was, but as a College student I refused to make any additional bathroom stops on road trips.  My passengers could take care of their business every five hours when we needed gas.  Even by myself I would drive for hours with my bladder about to explode simply to push my limits and make record time.

So here's my question.  Do you see your limitations as an obstacle to overcome...

...or a gift to be embraced?

The only human to ever know life without limitations was Jesus.  For thousands of years he never had to eat or sleep.  He lived outside of time and space.  Yet for 33 years he joyfully embraced the limitations of a human body.  He even allowed his friend to die because he couldn't be in two places at the same time.

Our limitations were strategically built into the human condition by our Creator, who gave us a body with built-in, daily reminders that unlike him, we can't do everything.

What if we celebrated them instead of fighting them?  We may get to the hotel ten minutes later. 

But we'll probably enjoy the scenery more along the way.

Stanley, Sinuses, and a Very Strange Dream Last Night

It was a busy weekend here in the D. Here are some highlights.

• This weekend will officially go down as "BBQ Weekend."  BBQ Friday night with our leadership team, Saturday night with our youth group, and Sunday night with our Advisory Committee.
• I'll be laying off hot dogs for a few weeks.
• Last night on our way home I told Mitch, our summer intern, that the key to church planting is learning how to throw a good BBQ.
• Being outside so much did not make this a good weekend for my allergies to GO CRAZY!  They've been pretty active the past few years, but this weekend it was uncontrollable.
• Pretty sure I developed a sinus infection.
• The doctor has me on some antibiotics, so the sinus infection only has a few days left to live!
• Preached part 2 of the Encore series by drilling down on our third core value: worship.
• Interesting to preach through a sinus infection.  I think was a little louder than usual since I had to shout over the ringing in my head!
• Yesterday was our second weekend back in our Berkley building.  Really proud of our team for making it such a positive and smooth transition!
• The doctor told Leah that Gabby is in good birthing position!
• Last night I had a very strange dream that we were holding our baby.  She had thick, dark, curly hair and was absolutely adorable.  Then the doctor said we had to put her back in Leah's stomach because she wasn't ready to be out yet.  I was very confused.
• I told you it was a strange dream.
• Proof that I've been married to Leah for over a year...not only did I remember that dream, but I blogged about it.
• I'm really excited about the outreach opportunities we have as a church this summer.  Neighborhood pastors are rolling.  And this Friday is the first of three Screen on the Green events.
• The Wings dominated the Pens on Saturday night.  I was so pumped!  But of course, I was careful not to let it show too much:)
• Please continue to pray for peace in our home.  I'm concerned about Leah's emotional well being when the Wings close out the series this week.

Expecting

Today could be the day!

Now that Leah is full term, I wake up every day with a sense of anticipation. I keep my phone nearby at all times, just waiting for THE call from my pregnant bride. When she does call, I'm done answering with "Hello." Now, it's "How far apart are the contractions!" The car seat is setup and a packed bag is loaded in our trunk. Even now as I type I'm sitting on the edge of my seat. Come on Gabby. What's taking you so long!

What if we lived everyday like we were expecting? What if we sat everyday on the edge of our seats just waiting for Jesus to call? What if we left the house every morning wondering what new thing God might birth that day?

Are you just counting down the hours until you can go home and eat dinner while watching Pardon the Interruption? 

Or are you on the verge of exploding due to borderline unbearable edge of your seat anticipation?

Read this!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!