Coincidence or Answered Prayer?

Tuesday I was riding my Yamaha R6 motorcycle to my house after a long day at the office and as I was riding home a small piece of the bike had come loose and fallen off. It was just a cosmetic piece but it was missing and I was upset. That afternoon I looked for it but couldn't find it anywhere on the road where I had driven.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was in traffic coming home from work and I found myself praying a simple prayer. God, you know our budget, you know I don't want to spend money for a cosmetic piece for my bike. Could you just show me where that piece is that fell off on Tuesday so I don't have to buy a new one? The traffic started getting heavy as inched toward an intersection we stopped. I looked up after praying and right there on the side of the road was the part that fell off the bike! I put my hazard lights on and ran over and picked it up and got back in the car and drove home! The first thing I did was thank God for this!

Was that just a cosmic coincidence where all the stars lined up and the moon's gravitational pull led me to that spot, or was it God answering a simple prayer lifted up by one of his children and the Father said, "There it is!" I choose the latter.

see ya at the pole

I was up before the sun came up. Why? Because Maggie and I had a mission. We were on a mission from God. First stop 7AM @ North Stafford HS. We got there and they were just finishing up a few songs of worship and then the student leaders of FCA got together and shared from I Samuel Chapter 3 where God spoke to Samuel for the first time. Powerful scripture and I believe a lot of kids that morning who had never even thought that God could speak to them realized that He had in the past and He wants to now! Amazing. Afterward we got together in small groups and started praying. There were around 100 kids that morning all lifting up prayers for their fellow students, teachers and administration. They dedicated this school for God. Magster even lifted her voice to the heavens as she prayed for that school!

After that our mission was to head to AG Wright Middle School where Maggie attends as an 8th grader. At first it was a mom and her daughter and Mags and I. We eventually had a few more students that trickled in as the prayer time went on. The school nurse showed up and that was awesome. When two or more are gathered in Jesus name he's there also.

As I walked slowly back to my car taking it all in I realized that numbers didn't matter. The same God that was in our midst at North Stafford and the 100 or so kids there was the same God that was in our midst at our little gathering at AG Wright. Sure the big crowd at the High School was more of a spectacle but those few parents and sons and daughters had a moment with God that was just as real and just as tangible.

It was a great day as kids all across the United States lifted up the standard around their flagpoles letting the world know that they are here and are praying and making a difference in their classrooms.

Wherever you find yourself, my prayer for you today is that you'll be that light that shines bright!

Worship

This week I've been working on a song by Michael Gungor called "Ancient Skies" which gives an amazing description of God's character. His love for us is endless, and his mercy toward us never changes. What is our response to something that amazing and incredible? In the song the response is a single word. A word that is Hebrew in origin for praise. Simply, Hallelujah. It's a spontaneous expression of joy that comes from are innermost being. I think praise comes from knowing God. The more we know God and understand His love for us, something wells up within us that expresses the praise that He deserves. Take some time today to thank God and sing Hallelujah.

-andy

Super Tuesday

Today has been a really great day. There are things that I have been able to cross off my to do list which is always satisfying and I have been in meetings and phone calls that have really pumped me up for the '08-'09 school year. I've been brainstorming for our Pre-SeeYaAtThePole rally next week. I believe that God has some amazing things that He wants to accomplish through SYATP this year. If He's there when two or three are gathered in His name just imagine what can happen when thousands of kids all across the country humble themselves and pray. I believe that if this generation will pray that God will truly heal our land as scripture says.

Tonight we are starting a new book in our guys small group called "Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. I am so looking forward to diving into this book again. I read it when I was in college and unfortunately it has sat on my shelf way too long! I'm off to prepare for this weekend's h20 meeting. Talk to you tomorrow!

monday morning quarterback:

As I look back and think of how much stuff we did in the last 36 hours I am amazed that we are still standing. Friday afternoon was an H20 time with leadership guys. I took Zach to his football practice on the other side of town. Saturday morning was Zach's football game then it was off to Justin's football game. Both won their games! I'm so proud of my guys! Then, I went and mowed and weed wacked the yard and then it was off to a party at Ryan's to celebrate his birthday. We got home at 11pm went to bed and then I headed off to church @ 6:45am and then lead worship at both the 9 and the 11am services. Then we had take down and by the time I was done locking up it was time to go to the picnic which included a Volleyball tourney (we made to the semi-finals but Missy's team won again for the 2nd year in a row! Way to go Little Red!) And then after we cleaned up from the picnic we played a quick round of Ultimate Frisbee. We got home at 6:00pm and I watched a few minutes of the afternoon NFL games and then collapsed into bed. I know that this is a rambling run on paragraph but it gives the feel of what this weekend was like! Have a great week everyone!

About the Father's Business

Today I came into the office and I was the first one here. After checking my fantasy football scores this week and after I read over the news of the day, I try and get alone with God for a few moments. I love that time before everyone arrives. It's quiet and there are no distractions. I put the coffee on and set up my laptop and started reading Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest which always challenges me and then looked up the scripture references and even looked up a couple of concordances on the highlighted verse of the day. Yeah, I was feeling pretty good about myself. But there was something missing.

I was reading "about" God and I was getting nuggets to apply to my life but was I really taking the time to hear from God? So many times I do my devos and read a chapter or two and pray a quick prayer and then everyone else starts arriving and I don't get to that spending time in His presence like I should. If we are truly to be about our Father's business it would be good to get to know the Father's business! Jesus was a consultant of sorts. He was constantly consulting the Father about everything. I need to spend a few moments each day looking at His agenda and seeing what matters to Him.

I am just an apprentice. I'm spending as much time as I can getting to know and understand the business. God wants us to be about His business each day. Today, our we listening to His voice?

Blog done. Well not completely. Pastor Jim is challenging me to blog on a daily basis so I am going to start blogging Monday through Fridays. As Jim has challenged his readers, let me know if I haven't kept up! The experiment starts today.

*can't wait for the church picnic! I was recruited for the v-ball tournament. I feel special!

Writing Your Story

At H20 we've been doing a series on how your choices now determine your legacy now and later. First of all we realized that everyone has a legacy and are living it right here and now. Last week we talked about how if we leave God out of the mix as we write our story that it leads to faultering.

This week we are going to talk about how the rest of your story is yet to be written. How your story ends is still unwritten. British Singer Natasha Bedingfield has a single called "Unwritten". In the song she talks about how her life story is not complete yet, how the ending is still unplanned. The refrain that sticks in your mind when you listen to this song is "Today is where your book begins; the rest is still unwritten."

As I pondered this in my own life I realized how important it is to take the time to write your story. Don't just let life happen and react to it. Be purposeful in everything that you do. Be active and seek God's face for your life. Realize that your story has an impact on not only your own life but the life of others.