andy's blog

2008-05-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

We Are Hungry

Is there a hunger for God in your life? Webster's tells us that hunger is our weakened condition caused by the lack of food. If that's true then a spiritual hunger means that we are in a weakened spiritual condition caused by the lack of God in our lives. What's the solution? If you are hungry you may need to go grab a meal and eat! If you are spiritually hungry you need more of God. Plain and simple.

Some of us may be thinking that's great and all but how do I go about that? How do I satisfy that spiritual hunger? A few months back in a time when a lot of folks in our church were feeling spiritually dry, we had an "Experiencing Worship Project" night and the theme of that night was coming to the table. Many times I think about going to the "table" spiritually and I think, "man, I am not worthy to be sitting here." I know what God's word says about forgiveness but I still carry a tremendous amount of guilt with me to that table and sometimes it keeps me from being served.

First of all recognize we are hungry and stand up and head towards the table. The food is there but God's not going to bring you a doggy bag, he wants you to come sit with him and dine with him. What do you need to do before you go to a meal. Wash your hands. We should wash our hands spiritually too. Ask God to speak to your heart and come to Him humbly and ask to bring to light the things you need to repent of before you can enter into His presence.

Once you get there what happens? What goes on at a dinner table? In my house it's saying a prayer of thanksgiving. We thank God for what he's given us. That should only be the beginning. There's conversation that happens. It's the first time in the day for a dad to speak to his kids and see how they are doing. Spend time with God. Let Him know how your day was. I know when I was growing up we knew when someone at the table had a bad day and we talked about it. We offered advice and many times my dad would have a story that would speak to the situation. At God's table we need to listen up after we let him know how our day was and ask him to speak into our lives.

When God speaks, think meditate and "chew" on what He's spoken to you. The table is a place to come to get filled up. Ask God to fill you with good things!

We are hungry and we need to keep coming to the table and getting filled each day in order to be spiritually healthy. Have you come to the table today?

Just ask Him today, He will fill you!

2008-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

This week I'm going to be introducing a song Sunday morning called "Giving It All To You" It's a simple song about giving God our all and our desperate cry asking Him to be in our life. The more I listened to this song the more I realized the depth of this song. One line talks about how "just one drop" fills us. When Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit I believe it's the realization that we all are and we desperately need a "drop" from the Holy Spirit.

This song was written by Michael Gungor and it came to him after he had a conversation with guy at a homeless shelter that had been on the street for years. He met this lady that he ended up marrying her. She took him to church and He turned his life around and gave himself to the Lord. It inspired Michael to ask him what would someone who is homeless want to sing to God. Just a drop from him, and we are filled. Such a powerful line. Just one drop. Every drop is precious. It just shows us that we all no matter whether we are homeless or have more than enough food and shelter we are all the same. We all are a part of the body of Christ. We all are desperate for God. We need His touch in our lives. If you are in a place that is desperate. If you are in a place that you don't know where to turn, cry out to Him, TODAY. Extend your hand toward him and receive that drop. It's more than enough!

2008-04-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, let me "splain"! I was really tired one night while I was attending the WFX conference and I wanted to have some fun with the Mac laptop that I brought with me. There is this cool program called comic life that I started playing around with. This is my first time actually creating something so enjoy.

Click on the jpg image for a blog you won't soon forget

2008-04-28T05:12:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up early so I could get a start on the day. I am going out of town to Indianapolis. It should be a great trip because I get to hang out with our Horizons Pastoral team. Although I'd rather have been in Myrtle Beach, SC (inside joke) I know that this is going to be a great time getting info. on cool stuff for the new church building.

2008-04-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

Grab the Rope!

I just met with a friend of mine at Starbucks today and he is with a church plant that meets in Alexandria, VA. He's a new youth pastor and is like a sponge soaking up everyone's advice. It's funny. As he's asking me a zillion different questions I really started thinking about how we are all on this journey together.

If you can imagine for a moment being on a mountain expedition and you are on a particularly vertically challenging pass. Each of the team members are hooked together linked with a rope taking one step at a time. You are putting your feet in the exact same footholds as the person that is just above you and the person below is doing the same. If someone slips and falls all those above are digging in and holding that person's life in the balance and can pull him to safety.

In our lives we should have people in our lives that have gone before us that have the rope and are holding it steady and giving you advice about how to be a disciple. You should also have others that are struggling and working alongside you would call your peers. You also should have those that aren't as far along as you in the faith that you can lower your rope to so that they can have a safety line. No matter where you are in the journey everyone has that common goal of having that prize before us. Life is not meant to be lived alone. We all need a helping hand. Who's on your rope?

2008-04-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Random Thoughts

It's Monday night and I'm sitting in the comfort of my own home watching the NCAA Men's final on my big screen. All of the kids have left from H2O' Music Team Practice. My kids just got tucked into bed and finally the noise of the house has quieted down to a dull roar.

Missy and I look at each other and chat for a few minutes. We are tired. I always wondered why my parents looked old to me and now I realize that they were just tired, like I am now.

Missy walked upstairs and I am alone watching an amazing overtime comeback. What a game! But I'm sitting there by myself suppressing my yelps because everyone else is asleep.

After the game was over and the TV faded to black I realized something. Whether you are experiencing incredible highs like those kids who won that B-ball game or incredible lows, if you don't have people surrounding you to share in the joy and the pain you have nothing.

We have built in by God's design a desire to be with other people. Some more than others, for sure. Philippians 2 talks about how we should put others before ourselves. It's my desire to be Christ-like because not only do you have a positive effect on others, but it does something to you as well. Share a moment with someone today. Give a word of encouragement. If one of us celebrating a win, we all celebrate with them, and if someone is mourning the loss of a friend mourn with them. It's the way Jesus intended us to be. How do we start? How do we make this a reality? Ask the Holy Spirit for those moments.

Be Jesus for someone today.

Mind you, this all came to me at 11:30 at night and I hope it makes some sense. Have a great week.

Leaving No One Behind...

2008-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Where do we learn how to love?

As the coffee was brewing my thoughts drifted toward a person that taught me how to love. My dad was a government man at Defense Intelligence Agency for 35 years. Monday through Friday he'd wake up, work out, spend time with God all before 4:30AM. He'd grab some breakfast head off to work and then he'd do his best to get home in the afternoon when we were all home and spend some time with us. Even though he got up before dark he was the one taking me for drives when I had an asthma attack in the middle of the night. He coached baseball, helped us out with school projects and made a huge effort to be in our lives even in the midst of his very busy career. My dad wasn't perfect but he made every effort to show us how much he loved my brother and I. He did so by honoring my mom and he did so by showing us what love is. He put her before my brother and I constantly and reminded us that she came first. The thing I remember about my dad growing up was that when he made a commitment, he kept that commitment. Each year he was sure that we did a family vacation, and would take weekend trips with us.

It almost sounds like a fairy tale. Why do I say that? Because these days you don't hear about Fathers who think that way. How did my dad learn to love like this? His family split up when he was very young and he never really had a father figure in his life. When I turned 18 my dad sat me down and told me that he did the best he could with me. He told me He prayed for wisdom everyday when it came to raising us. "There it is!" I thought. It says in God's word that if we need wisdom to ask for it. My dad, who didn't have that role model around prayed and God spoke to him. What an amazing testimony of one man's faith in a living God who is the ultimate Father figure!

I find myself comparing myself to my dad because he put up a very high measuring stick for success. Many times I don't feel like I measure up to my dad's standard that he raised. I know that I am to do the best that I can. I want my kids to one day blog about me. About how I made them feel uncomfortable and made them say, "ewww! dad's kissing mom again!" And when they asked me to go outside and play ball with them that I dropped what I was doing to spend a moment in time with them. I want to leave a legacy with them to teach them what it means to be a dad.

Thanks, dad for the legacy you left me. Thanks heavenly father for the wisdom that we can have if we would only ask you for it.

2008-03-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Undo Button

Don't you wish you had an "undo" button for your life? The undo button when I'm editing is invaluable. There have been times in my life, very embarrassing moments that I wish I could have just hit the "undo" button. Being a musician and performing in front of large numbers of people is a recipe for something funny to happen. There are the string breaking incidents that keep reoccurring whenever I play guitar on Sunday mornings. My "undo" button in that case is the back up guitar. My fellow worship team members are calling me "iron claw" because of this habit I have of breaking a string.

It all started back in 7th grade. (don't you love it when a story begins this way?) I was in band and we had a concert that had 300 people in attendance. I don't know why but my band director thought it was important for us to know that right before we went on stage. Talk about being nervous! Anyhow, a fellow percussionist had a part to play and hit the crash cymbals. After he was done he put them on a chair that had a slight incline. During the rest of the song the cymbals started inching their way down the chair and in a particularly quiet part of the song the cymbals fell off the chair and hit the floor with a mighty crash. I was standing right beside the chair and every eye was on me. All the members of the band, the band director, and every person in the audience. The guy who stuck the cymbals on the chair even looked at me like it was my fault! Now the story doesn't end there. A few days later I was on a middle school retreat with my church and when I got to the camp there were several other churches we were participating with. I stepped off the bus and there was a cute little flute player that was in our band. I went up trying to be cool and said "hello" and she smiled and said "hi" back, but as I was walking away I overheard her say to her friend next to her, "yeah, he's the one who knocked the cymbals over in the concert! After what seemed like an eternity the laughter died down and I was thoroughly embarrassed. I don't remember much more about that weekend but I do remember that at that moment I wanted to be anywhere but there!

There are times in our lives that we have been embarrassed by our actions and maybe we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. We've done things that we wish could "undo". Well, there's good news. We do have an undo button in our lives. It's wrapped up in two steps. Repentance & Forgiveness. Now it might not be the undo button that would completely erase any consequences of an action but what it can do is give you the knowledge that you are truly forgiven. God's grace is enough. This week Pastor Rich is going to be talking about Grace. Look for songs within the service that point toward that Grace that only Jesus can give. Have a great week and know that He is the answer to our every need!

2008-03-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

I've been talking to a lot of kids lately that wonder who they are. Many are searching and trying to answer that question through experiences or following their heart. In a building when you are looking to find out something about the inner workings such as electrical wiring, or plumbing you go back to the blueprint to find out where things are located. If we are asking questions about ourselves we need to go back to the beginning, to the one that has the original blueprints. The Bible says in Psalms 139:13 that God created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. David praised God because he was fearfully and wonderfully made. He even goes on to say that all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. God is our master designer and His Word is the blueprint by which we should live our lives.

Oswald Chambers in his devotional "My Utmost for His Highest" says that "Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing." I want that kind of joy and fulfillment. A tool is most useful if it is used for what it was created for. In the same way unless we are used for what we were created for we will not be fulfilled. God has a plan for your life. Pray and ask today for Him to reveal to you what that plan is.

2008-02-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! Yes, I'm back after being out of action with this flu thing that has been going around. Even though I was sick for so long a lot of things have transpired since I've last updated this blog. H2O, which is our youth ministry at Horizons Church has been busy. Last Saturday we sold Krispy Kreme donuts at the Fredericksburg and Stafford Wal Mart locations. We made over $800.00 and that put us over $3000.00 that we needed to build a well in Rwanda so that they might have clean water to drink. It was cold and after about an hour we wanted to just go home. But, after a while the kids started selling those donuts like it was going out of style! Way to go H2O!

This past weekend our Sr. High Group went to Liberty Mountain in Pennsylvania. So many of our kids got to connect with each other. A lot of kids come to youth group on Sunday nights but never have made any real friendship connections. I think that this weekend was a great time to fellowship and get to know one another better.

A few months ago, we went to a two day conference called Dare2Share. We were all challenged to really live out our faith and share Jesus with those we are in contact with. Part of the conference was to obtain a map of a neighborhood and go door to door and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't know about you but that scares me to death, but after realizing that people are literally dying without the knowledge of the truth helped all of us overcome our fear. With a simple outline that gives kids confidence to tell people about Christ the GOSPEL message can be given to anyone, anywhere. Since then, God has really given a lot of our kids the burden to tell others about Jesus. My prayer for our kids is that they realize that "none live for ourselves" but live out our lives for Jesus with 110% intensity! God gave His all and we can do no less.

Peace,

Andy

2008-02-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm sick. It's no fun. I'll be back soon...

2008-01-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

This morning I was dreaming. I dreamt that I was on my way to a destination of a tropical sort. A warm destination with sand and waves and my surfboard. When I woke up I had a strong desire to call and cash in my sky miles to find a place to retreat. You know that commercial that says, "Wanna get away?" That was me!

What is it within us that wants to get away? What is it that causes us to want to retreat when the going gets tough, or life gets monotonous? What are the ingredients that can help us persevere through such times? Sometimes we feel that we deserve a break today and don't get me wrong, vacations and breaks are good, but it's what goes on here when it seems like there is no relief in sight that is significant.

In Hebrews 12:1 it says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Knowing that there are literally hundreds and thousands surrounding me and cheering me on in the heavens helps me stay on track and to be true to what God is requiring of me. Knowing that others that have gone before me in the Faith are watching and encouraging me makes me dig deep and find the strength to carry on.

In whom do you put your trust? In whom do you put your faith in? Jesus Christ. Follow Him.

2008-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

Ghandi once said, "I love your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."

Why does that statement sting when I read it this morning? Maybe because there's some truth to it. I am constantly reminded that we need to be striving to be Christ like. It goes against our nature be like Him.
What's the remedy? What's a way we can prove Ghandi wrong! Stay close to God. How do we get close to God? David asked this in Psalm 15. What was God's response? He who does what is righteous, who speaks truth, doesn't do his neighbor wrong, honors God, and he who keeps his word even when it hurts! What can we do? How do we make it happen? Get close to God. Start living what we know is right. God honors that. He shows up, and he shows Himself strong in amazing ways. We have opportunities every day. Go for it!

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

-Psalm 15

"Father, help us to be more Christlike. Help people to see you in our everyday lives. Help us to put our selfishness aside to lead others into relationship with you. Help us to have a heart for You the way David did."

Have a great day and know that God's light can shine through you today if you let Him.

-andy

2008-01-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

So I'm in my office today and I'm sitting here, the sun is coming through the window and I'm squinting because it's so bright, but I like the warmth that comes from it so I endure the brightness. I love light. My dream house would be a house that has a huge vaulted ceiling with a wall of windows with a view of a body of water.

When you start looking at the streams of light you see everything. You can see specks of dust flying around the room. Although it's painful at first, being in the light is a good thing. When we allow God's light to envelop us we see things that were once hidden and we need to allow God to deal with them. It takes us walking in that light before we are able to see and deal with things.

There is a song by DC Talk called "In the Light" I love the pre-chorus and chorus of that song.

"So tell me) what's going on inside of me
I despise my own behavior
(This only) serves to confirm my suspicion
That I'm still a man in need of a savior

(CHORUS)
I wanna be in the light
as you are in the light
I wanna shine like the stars
in the Heavens
Oh, Lord be my light
and be my Salvation
'cause all I want is to be in the light"
"Dc Talk - In The Light Lyrics"

As I walk in the light I find that as things come to light it's a not a fun thing but every time it shows me that I need Jesus. I need Jesus in my life. I need Him now, and I need Him tomorrow and the day after that! I trust that God will bring to light those things that I need to deal with. Once he does, I simply repent and ask God to forgive me. There's a freedom that comes in that process. Where are you in that process? Open the window and allow His light to shine on you today.

Be in the Light!

2008-01-08T07:20:00.001-08:00

Today is another sad day in the history of the Washington Redskins. My hero, Coach Joe Gibbs is stepping down as Head Coach. Just when things seemed to be turning around and the Redskins had a glimmer of hope because Gibbs was in the driver seat, the team will once more be a team that has to go through another major transition. Joe Gibbs is a man who lives by his convictions and is not afraid to be a stand up Christian. You will be missed, Joe...

2007-12-31T06:47:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm reading a book by Tony Dungee called Quiet Strength. I would highly recommend it. The last "coach" book I've read was by Joe Gibbs. I always find it interesting to see how leaders get to where they are. I appreciate these guys because they are walking out their faith in the public eye. Every move they make, people, press and the world are watching what they do. Do you ever think that you'd change what you'd do if you had that kind of press coverage? These leaders realize that they've been given a platform to share about the love of Jesus Christ. They get a chance to share Godly principles that have shaped their lives. It dawned on me as I was reading this morning that all of us have a sphere of influence. We may not have press conferences after big meetings or reporters knocking on our door to find out what we ate for breakfast but we have people surrounding us that are watching how we live our lives. So, how are you living your life today? Would a person see you and know that you are a Christian? Would they see the way you approach life and have people see Jesus through your actions?

My prayer for you today is that you recognize that you are an influencer for the kingdom of God and that you have a choice every day that you wake up, to use that influence to expand that kingdom. As cliche' as this might sound, let's get out there and do some good!

*Go Redskins!*

2007-12-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't be surprised when God answers my prayers. As I look back over the past year a smile comes to my face. In the course of one year I have seen many people come to know Jesus and enter into a relationship with him. It's been an awesome year. Many kids have made fresh starts and are asking for help on how to go about this. So as much as I love to sit and reflect, the job has only just begun.

H20 is growing literally each week. We have more and more kids that are inviting friends that are hurting and need a touch from God. In order to make this all happen at H20 we have a large group worship time with middle school and senior high together. We then split these two groups up and have age appropriate messages and activities that help deepen our relationship with Christ. All this is awesome and great, but where the real discipleship takes place is in our small groups. We have six groups that meet each week right after the message to talk about how things are going in our lives. This is where the much needed discipling takes place.

Right now we are looking for people that have a heart for our H2O kids to help lead these small groups. If you would like to partner with H2O to see life change happen, call us. We need your help. Are you up for the challenge? Are you willing to give a night out of your week to help kids know and understand Jesus? When life happens these kids need to know that there is someone that they can count on when life gets tough. You can be that person. Think about it.

-Andy
arogers91@gmail.com
www.horizonschurch.com
757-373-3164

2007-12-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so now you know the worship music I listen to. Now I'll give you some Christian bands that I'm really loving.

An album that my daughter loves is TobyMac's latest offering which called "Portable Sounds" The thing I like about this album is the quality of musicianship and the production on this is phenomenal. You hear these songs on ESPN and other channels for their promo songs which is pretty cool. It's a very well done album. You've come a long way TobyMac from those DC Talk Rapping days!

Leeland is another band that is truly amazing. Their songwriting is amazing and they are really talented young musicians. The album is called "Sound of Melodies" and they have a new album that will be coming out soon which is supposed to be even better than the current album!

I'm a huge Switchfoot fan and any of their latest albums are very thought provoking and truly have a great unique sound all their own.

Reliant K gets a lot of play at youth group on Sunday nights. Their latest is called "Five score and seven years ago".

Check it out!

2007-12-04T07:26:00.001-08:00

A lot of you have been asking me the question, "What is a good Worship CD or what is a good CD that I can buy for my kids. First of all, I have a wide range of musical tastes and I try to bring that into the music that I create. Here's a couple of albums that have really influenced me over the past year.

I listened to a lot of Hillsongs United this year. They had two albums that really are amazing. You may notice them playing in the background before the service starts. "United We Stand" and "All of the Above." I'm always looking for songs that bring me into the "presence" of the Lord and these two albums have many songs like "Fire Fall Down", "From the Inside Out", "No One Like You" that do just that.

Of course, I absolutely love Crowder and his new "Remedy" CD is growing on me. Passion CD's are always something that is a must in my collection.

Lincoln Brewster hasn't come out with a new project lately but his "Live" album inspires me to become a better musician/worshiper.

That's it for now. Have a great weekend!

-andy

2007-11-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a book called Deadly Viper "Character Assassins" by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite. It's a survival guide for our integrity. As a leader I am scrutinized in many ways. I'm constantly reminded how I need to be above reproach. I've read through the first couple of chapters and the one quote that really stuck in my mind was this. We need to live by a "basic mode of operation: refrain from doing anything today we'd be uncomfortable reading about in the headlines tomorrow, watching on the eleven o'clock news, or being broadcast to thousands of people."

In this world we are lacking leaders that are men and women of integrity. Are you willing to stop the madness and start living what you believe? I believe it is time for each of us to rise up and be men and women of integrity, at work, at home, with our friends and even when we are alone and no one else in the world is there.

The book asks the question, "How would your life change if you knew you'd see it all played out on television tomorrow?" I already have a list that I've made of things that I'm changing in my life as a result of this question. I want to do something about it. Do you? It's never too late to change. You can start today.

2007-11-12T11:01:00.001-08:00

Today's the day I live for one thing, to give you praise...in everything we do the praise goes out to you. How many times do we sing a song and we don't consider the words that we are singing?

Being a worship leader I pick a lot of set lists. During our camp I had to come up with four days of worship. The most amazing thing was that none of our set lists were long enough! We'd put together a seven song list which translates to about an hour of worship and we'd get to the last song and the kids wanted to continue. The first day we ended up going back to the notebook and choosing extra songs. The songs weren't the thing. They were the catalyst to entering into the presence of the Lord.

What is it that the kids experienced that caused them to rise up and worship like that? I believe that it was coupled with the fact that they experienced the Holy Spirit. That experience caused a mini revival to break out. At first there were many that had a hard time participating because there was a lot of baggage that they brought to camp. Once they started dealing with those things, they were able to enter in. They felt the freedom of forgiveness and the life changing power of being in God's presence.

How can we tap that power in our everyday life!? Does that mean we quit our jobs and we go to the church and worship 24/7 for the rest of our lives? What we need to do is have the revelation that we need God. We need Him and we need to understand that we have been created to worship and praise him. "In everything we do, the praise goes out to You." The key is that in all things we acknowledge God. Acknowledge Him and not just to yourself but to others. I had a friend named Hap Gregg who was a fantastic soccer player. He became a Christian and wrapped his brain around the fact that in all things we worship Him and praise Him. Every time he scored a goal in soccer, which was quite a lot because he was an amazing player, he would yell at the top of his lungs, "Thank You Jesus!!!" A lot of us were embarrassed by his outbursts, but he caught the idea that in all things we worship and praise Him. For Hap he didn't have to go into a closet to be in God's presence. He lived a life that remained in His presence. In everything we do, the Praise goes out to you!

2007-10-13T14:27:00.001-07:00

So, I'm not sure how many of you are Redskins fans but I've been one all my life. My Grandfather taught me what it meant to be loyal to them when I was just a little guy. We would watch them faithfully after the Sunday dinner. Needless to say all us guys would hurry through dinner so we wouldn't miss a play. I've been a fan during the drought of the 70's and during the amazing 80's and during the current drought of the 90's and 00's. It's frustrating. Each pre-season I think that this is going to be the break out season and they will go to the NFC championship game and then the super bowl but there is always something that holds them back. How can such a talented team never seem to get it all together? Dan Snyder has proved one thing since acquiring the team that even when money is no object and you purchase some of the most expensive talent in the land, it's still not enough.

So, what's the missing ingredient? There's a lack of team unity. Back in the glorious 80's we weren't that talented of a football team if you compare them to the current team but they all united together. When they played together and sacrificed for each other and for Coach Gibbs as a whole they were simply unstoppable.

I know that there have been a million comparisons between church and football over the years but here goes. The church has many talents. They have a depth of leadership potential than any other place on earth. But unless we all learn to work together we will go nowhere. It says in the Bible when two or three are gathered in my name I am there also. We have to see that it takes more than one star it takes a group of "heroes" that are putting others above themselves to make Christ known.

2007-10-11T10:45:00.001-07:00

Have you ever felt like you are being tumbled around by life and you are totally out of control? This summer while on the Brazil Missions Trip we took the kids on a White Water Rafting Trip. The conditions on the river were optimum as we just had six inches of rain the night before and the water level had risen causing the rapids to be, well, "more rapid"! (see picture)

There was a section of rapids where all of the boats waited in a line to go down a huge waterfall. We all waited patiently and watched the other boats go over the edge. During this part I began thinking about once that boat is launched there is no turning back. Once you get into the current it is almost impossible to go backwards.

Last week I was at a pastor's conference and there was so much information coming at me it was like a fire hose that was turned on full blast. I was trying to digest as much as I could but it was overwhelming. God totally wrecked me in many areas of my life that I thought were under control. It was as if that raft had just been released and I had fallen over the edge. Now what? God requires more from me? The one thing that stuck in my mind after I came back that God wants all of us not just part of us. Just when I think I have a handle on things God reminds me that I don't have it all together. He has the handle on the river of life. On each of the boats was a world class oarsman who had many hours on the river and knew how to steer around the rocks. We need people in our lives that have been over the edge and lived to tell about it and now can give us advice on how to trust in God.

We were next in line and about to go over the edge and although it was a pure adrenaline rush going down I remember thinking that it wasn't as bad as what I had imagined. Having the expert in the boat totally put my mind at ease and knowing that the other boats ahead of me made without losing a passenger made me feel better too. I looked back at the next boat and cheered them on.

That's how it is in Life. We have those that are ahead of us who are blazing the trail and we have those that are beside us walking through our everyday life with us and then there are those that are behind us that we can encourage. Where are you in your relationship with Christ and others? Do you have a mentor or coach in your life that is a seasoned Christian that can help you out? Do you have peers that are beside you that you can lean on as you go through life? Finally, do you have those that are baby Christians that you are cheering on and discipling them? Having all three of these types of relationships give us the balance that we need. Have a great week!

2007-10-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here at the boys bus stop waiting for them to get picked up. They have to drive all over the neighborhood and thirty minutes later they get to school. If they walked they could be there in ten minutes! Crazy how that works.

This Wednesday Jay, Jim and I are going to a conference in Atlanta, GA. The conference is called the Catalyst Conference. It will be a time for us to listen to amazing speakers, get new ideas for our ministry and just reconnect as a team. Pray for us as we travel and more importantly pray for our families while we are gone.

See you Sunday!

-andy

2007-09-19T07:40:00.001-07:00

"Just Being"

Last night was a typical night in the Rogers' House. I came home just in time to give Missy a peck on the cheek before an H2O student came by to work on a project. After that the kids all came in and then it was homework and then off to football and soccer practices and me off to Bible Study. I remember walking in the door later that evening and sitting down and Missy snuggled up next to me for a brief moment. We didn't talk, we just looked at each other for about 30 seconds. And then she got up and said she was off to bed. It was a moment that I cherished. I woke up this morning and remembered that moment.

Just being. That moment where there are no words, and no actions just enjoying one another's company. So many times I think that we feel we have to be saying something or doing something and we miss those moments just enjoying one another's presence.

I think our relationship with God needs to be that way too. How many times do you go to God and get right to the agenda of asking Him for things and demanding answers! I believe that God wants us to spend time with him and just be. We can be changed by just being in His presence. He created us to have a relationship with Him. Try it! It's amazing what happens when we take a moment to catch our breath and "just be"with our creator, father, friend.