Rethink came out with a great sermon series called GodView. It rocked my world and it really helped my kids think through their view of God and how they approach Him.

This week we talked about how our view of God can become distorted if we aren't careful. When we ask God for something and he says no, do we tend to doubt God is who he says he is? God is God and his purposes will prevail. He's our dad and He wants the best for us! We won't be disappointed if we see our lives in God's hands.

One of my favorite songs of all time is Blessed Be The Name. It talks about how we should call God blessed no matter what. In the good times and the bad. The bridge of the song says, You give and take away...blessed be your name. That line is coming from someone who's been through the ups and downs of life and recognizes their life is in God's hands.

My prayer today is that everyone of our students (and adults) get this and apply it to our life. What is your Godview?

The Butterfly Effect:

In my last post I shared with you how God moves when we worship. Two weekends ago we had 24 hours of worship and that was amazing. All over the planet there were cities and communities worshiping together asking God to move in this generation! As we worshiped and interceded throughout the night God moved on our hearts. God spoke words of encouragement to us and I believe His promises are being fulfilled in this generation.

After a massive event of historic significance, there is a cause and effect that is set in motion. We are seeing the after effects of our offering of Praise and Worship. Each team brought a fragrant offering to Lord. Now, two weeks after the event, we are seeing those effects. God is at work!

Last weekend we had 25 people moved by the Holy Spirit to get baptized. We preached a simple message about baptism and people responded. I believe this response has a direct connection to the 24 hours of worship and intercession that took place the week before. Do you desire to see the Lord work in your church, community and city?

"14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there" (2 Chronicles 7:14-16).

Let's humble ourselves today and ask the Father to show himself strong in the coming days.

This weekend we will be gathering together as a body of believers to worship for 24 hours. All over the planet there will be communities of believers that are gathering together at the same time. If this sounds like a long time to worship, it is. But the payoff is that we are connecting the body of Christ at large to come together to acomplish something no one team or church could accomplish on our own.

When we worship we see breakthrough. By design we are created to worship. Our desire is to see God lifted up in every town, every city and that they will know and see God. Habakuk 2:14 says "That the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the seas." That image is so powerful.

Over the summer I had the chance to spend a week at the outer banks. I spent every morning praying and reading the word as the sun came up over the Atlantic. I thought about how that body of water is a connection point to Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond! My prayer is that each of these points of worship would be a light that shine in that community but would be bright enough to see to the horizon. People would be drawn to the light and know that God is good.

John 4:23 says "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

Horizons Church is a house of worship. My prayer is that it would be filled with true worshipers. God seeks those who worship in spirit and in truth. May God seek you today as you connect with Him!

The Rest Of The Story...

Since last Spring, Missy and I have been going through a rough time waiting on God. She was looking for a job for the '09-'10 school year. The beginning of school started and Missy was still without a job. She started substitute teaching and all the while still believing she was going to get hired. I'll be honest, I had my doubts. I felt like that she'd be subbing the rest of the year and maybe, maybe she'd get a job next year. Well, last week while she was subbing at a school she got not one interview but three interviews for three different schools. Out of the blue, there were three positions and she had the pick of the three! Once again, God was like, "Hey, I told you to trust me!" Are you trusting Him today?

Dash

The older I get the more I realize that yes, God cares about us finishing well but he also cares about the "in between". When you get to the end of your life most likely you'll have a tombstone. There will be a born date (first most significant date in everyone's life. birthdays are pretty sweet!) and the year that you passed, and in the middle is a simple little "dash". Although these two dates are pretty important, God cares about the dash in the middle. He cares about how you lived your life. He cares about the steps it took to get to the finish line of the race. So, today, you may be working for the weekend (I know I do, but I'm a pastor, I'm supposed to!) but what are you doing Monday through Friday to get there? God cares about the destination for sure, but he also cares about the every day stuff before we get there. How are you spending your dash today?

Big Picture: Never Stop Fighting for a Relationship With Your Child

We just completed an XP3 series called the "The Good Fight". I wanted to share with you highlights of what I shared with our parents last Sunday evening. I am committed to building teams of leaders to encourage your kids to have a good relationship with their Heavenly Father as well as have a good relationship with their parents. We are going for God and not leaving anyone behind.

As a parent of two teenagers myself, I am realizing that my kids are moving from dependence on me to independence. I am moving from being the authority to being the influence in my kids lives. I have learned that it's not an easy transition. I am constantly battling from holding onto the reigns and letting go and giving them opportunities under my umbrella of protection to make wise and sometimes unwise choices.

One of the things I shared with my parents on Sunday night was the fact that we need to spend priority time with our kids, but a lot of us are asking ourselves, "what does that look like?" Here's some rules for priority time with your children that will help you get started.
1. Find common ground
2. Make sure there is no agenda
3. Keep it outside of your home
4. Do it without friends
5. Put it on the calendar
6. Stay flexible
7. Remember your goal is not to CHANGE them.
8. Keep working on it (even when it doesn't seem to be going well)
9. Use it as an opportunity to give your teenager one thing...

What is that one thing? "the gift of approval" You as a parent are the only one that can give them this! You know your child better than anyone. You've seen them at their best and at their worst. If you believe in them after all that, they know "your approval" is REAL!

Decide today to: make the first move with your child. It may seem awkward, it may seem messy, but it's a process! Don't stop trying...make the first move over and over!

The final thing to remember is to realize that you are not alone! There are other parents that are dealing with the same issues that you are. Find out whats working and not working with other parents @ H20.

Never Give up! God doesn't give up on us! Don't give up on your kids!

Busyness of the Summer (Why is there a smile on my face? Read on to find out!)

Most people's summers are a little more "chill" and laid back. My summers as a youth pastor are one of the busiest times of the year. We met on Sunday nights and added a mid week "Wacky Wednesday" event night which consisted of Madden tournaments, open gym nights, bonfires, a dodgeball tournament, laser tag, a senior high beach trip, and a pool party just to name a few of the awesome things we did. Small groups, and Bible studies continued to meet. Yes, all this and not to mention our week long Messiah Camp and our NYC Missions Trip! Wow, such a great summer!

So why the smile on my face? Because, I got to witness so many instances of life change. Kids that didn't want anything to do with the church or God at the beginning of the summer are now head over heals in love with Jesus and now are devouring His Word. Yes, kids that are hungry for a life that is fulfilling and are finding it through a relationship with Jesus and other Christ Followers! What a wonderful summer! And I can't wait for the Fall! Horizon's H20 Youth is a great place to call home!

Wanna get plugged in? Come to the Fall H20 KickOff, Wednesday, Sept. 2nd @ my house. Dog's n Burgers and a slip and slide! What more could you ask for!?

-Andy

It's Been A While...

This morning I woke up @ 6:30AM and my heart was heavy. I have a lot of things on my mind and my brain was already on overload even though I just woke up. I woke Missy up and told her to get her dressed, we were going to go do a work out. When I am distraught or worried there's a little three mile circuit that I do to pray through things that are weighing me down. There's something about getting outdoors and away from the computer. (yes, I did carry my Blackberry with me, but that's another story!)

As many of you already know, Missy is looking for a teaching job in Stafford County. And as many of you also know, there aren't that many positions to be filled. Missy filled out the application, been through an interview process, took two classes to get her re certification, and is ready to go. But, at this point it is looking like there just isn't any positions available. With the economy the way it is and there already is a shortage in the education budget there just isn't enough resources to hire new teachers. Needless to say , this is weighing heavily on us.

What do you do when things are in the mix and they are out of your control? If you've done everything that you know what to do and you've done all your homework, you've passed out resume's to everyone you can think of you have to just say, enough. You have to know that you've done it all and now the rest is up to God. God is faithful.

Our hope is in Him, not the circumstances around us. Jer. 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God gave His people (that's us!) a “gracious promise” (v. 10, NIV) to deliver them, and He would keep His promise. God makes His plans for His people, and they are good plans that ultimately bring hope and peace. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid or discouraged.
In every situation, however, God’s people have the responsibility to seek the Lord, pray, and ask Him to fulfill His promises, for the Word and prayer go together. Are you seeking out God today? Have you asked him to fulfill His promises in you! He is waiting, patiently for you today.

wrestling, and dad stuff

This is my son Zach and I, in the middle of a full out wrestling match. These impromptu matches break out at any moment when I'm home. Zach is awesome. So full of life and so ready to tackle anything in his way. Last night we stayed up late and played some Xbox 360. He was already figuring out after the first game how many more points he had scored, and of course he spent the next ten minutes telling everyone how bad he beat me. When I spend time with my kids, I realize I was made to be a dad. I love my kids. This morning I woke up and looked into each of my kids rooms just to get a glimpse of them before I left for work. Along with my wife Missy, my kids are the apple of my eye.

Our heavenly Father feels the same way about you. You are the apple of His eye! That means that well, you are very special to Him! Get to know your Heavenly Father today!

Summer Time Fun!

Wow, we just got back Monday from our NYC Missions Outreach. Our team consisted of mostly H20 Leaders which was awesome! I don't get to spend as much time as I'd like with these guys and it was fun doing something amazing as serving people in New York City! God is awesome and amazing. When you go into a trip like this with an open mind God can do amazing things through you. We spoke with hundreds of people about Jesus and what he did for us. We came back from this trip on a spiritual high.

It's very contagious, being used by God, that is. (I sounded like Yoda there!) It was so evident when we engaged in an exercise known as survey evangelism. Missy and I went up to the first person and I was like, "man I just don't wanna do this!" God gave me the strength and they were very open with us. The next one was even easier than the first and by the time we got to our final person before watching the fireworks on the Hudson River, I could tell God was giving me specific words to speak life into people's lives! I've never been so resistant to something and then have my world turned upside down by God in the next moment like that! Crazy!

I'm excited because Sunday night I get to share the love of Jesus with 65 wonderful kids who are ready to continue their crazy ride with Jesus. We are bringing it on Sunday night! Come and check it out!

there is a place that God has for those that are healing from deep wounds. Its not a retreat away from others. Its reaching out to others in your time of need.

It's always darkest before the dawn

I've heard this phrase many times but never really understood it until I rode out a hurricane a few years back. Missy and I along with 15 of our closest friends at a church in VA Beach went on a Cruise. We decided to "road trip" it down to Miami and then go to the Caribbean. We had a blast. We were 1/2 way there when we got the call saying that because of a hurricane that the boat was unable to get back into port. We decided to wait it out. The hurricane came up the Eastern Seaboard and then took a left right where we were staying. (The picture doesn't lie!) We had a fun hurricane party! The storm got pretty intense and it ended up being a long dark night! We didn't sleep much because of the howling winds, so we consequently were up at dawn. The winds died down and the sun peeked up over the horizon and it was the most beautiful peaceful and comforting thing that I have ever experienced. In the dark fear was gripping me but when that sun popped up, I was so relieved that the storm had past. We enjoyed a great vacation on the cruise ship at reduced rates and were blessed to see God's hand in keeping us safe!

If you are going through a dark time, remember that God's in control and dawn is coming!!!

Today is the Day You Have Made...

I have had a busy couple of weeks where I felt out of control. I had many many unscheduled meetings that caused my days to be "lost" when it came to being productive in the office. What do you do when you start feeling this way? I tend to get with someone that I trust and hang with them, and unload. This is what I did yesterday.

A close friend of mine got together with me for lunch and instantly my world felt better even before we said a word about what was going on in our lives. Why? Because I knew that this friend understood me. He is a pastor and has been in my shoes. We ministered together at a small church. He lead the youth group and I did worship for him. We got in his truck and we went to a place that had the potential for being their next building. We prayed for that, he prayed for us at Horizons and we both took a deep breath and were ready to face the "giants" in our lives!

How do you deal with pressure? A friend of mine once told me that our lives are like a three legged stool. One leg represents "Prayer", one leg represents the "Word", and the other represents "Fellowship". If any one of the legs is missing the stool falls over. We need to find that balance. If you are need of fellowship, find a friend at Horizons. Get in a small group. Get balanced!

Hope to see all of you at the 24 hours of prayer this weekend @ Horizons Church. www.horizons church.com

It's all in how you respond to STUFF

I get an email newsletter called Mikey's Funnies. 95% of the time its filled with cheesy jokes but this story was too good to not pass along.

"One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage -- frustration, anger, disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!"

Good advice. I'm still learning this life lesson myself. Let's put this practical advice to practice today.

-andy

Thankful

Ever looked back one year to see how God has worked in your life? Have you made progress in the 365 days that you are reflecting on? What are you using to measure your successes and failures? One thing I don't do often enough is to look at things through the eyes of thankfulness.

I looked back one year ago and realize that we were going through a really crazy time financially last year. Things were failing left and right in our house and we were literally trying to keep our head above water. We prayed that God would provide. Now, I will be honest with you, I wish that God would have rained down money from heaven but he didn't. What he did do was provide payment plan for our septic system. He provided a way to pay to fix our basement after it flooded and the insurance company decided not to cover it. He allowed an appliance insurance policy to cover replacing a hot water heater and fix a fridge.

Sometimes God doesn't give us the thousands to go out and purchase the biggest and the best, but he does provide just what we need to get through another day, another month or another year. He is faithful. Period.

Continuing to read through the Bible in a year

Five months into anything it's easy to just give up and go on to something else especially when it's something as tedious as reading the Bible in a year! I have been pretty good. There are days however that I've been "catching up" because I've missed a day here and there. But, today I'm caught up and rocking it!

Today I read some really cool stuff in Kings about Elisha and I read the first chapter in Acts. What a privilege it must have been to actually be one of his chosen and actually see Jesus to appear after his death. He spent forty days which seems to be a significant number in a lot of ways in the Bible to show himself and to encourage them. Then he said, adios but told them to wait! Which is what I'm going to do now because I'll continue this conversation later! Seriously read Acts 1 and mull it over and meditate upon it! There is a lot of stuff in this first chapter that will rock your socks off!

If you've stopped "eating an elephant in 2009" I want to encourage you to start again! To me its a great motivator to keep my mind bathed in the Word of God. If you've gotten out of the habit join with me and start here in May and work your way through in a year!

Just lettin everyone know that I'm back on trrack with my blog. I've got so much to share with you. God's been doing some amazing things @ Horizons!

After a few days of rest camping with the family we are heading back to Stafford. It's amazing what a few days away can do to refresh! Now back to prep for Sun!

BABY STEPS

As I look back on my life I see God's imprint on it. Sometimes there were pivotal moments like coming to Faith and the decision to marry Missy and those were incredible moments of asking God for wisdom and having Him open my eyes to see where He wanted me to go next. But there have been times when I have taken steps and I'll be honest, I didn't see the light, and I didn't hear the angels rejoicing! They were tough steps and sometimes I felt like I was walking all alone. There have been those times when I felt nothing. I got up, got showered and dressed went through my day and at the end of the day I felt like saying, "Where was God today?"

It's in those times that I realize that God IS near. He's requiring me to trust in him and not waver in my faith. I need to be obedient to Him even in the mundane. Last month we went through a series dealing with these "baby" steps in our spiritual lives. We all have taken these steps, steps to overcome adversity, sin, all to get closer to God! We can't do it alone. We need each other. We need other believers that help us along the way. They help us stay the course. And when we accomplish a "victory" step even if it's a small step, a mundane step that isn't of epic proportions we need to celebrate the win! It's all for you, God!

Finish Line

There haven't been any blogs in the past two weeks because we have been putting in some serious long hours getting the new Horizons Church Campus in Stafford up and running. While we were working on Saturday someone noticed that the name of the seeding company that was spreading grass seed on the property was named Finish Line (see picture). Those of you who've been here for a while know that our capital campaign was named Finish Line. What a funny coincidence! Last Sunday was our first service and it was rather surreal. Watching so many people respond (we had a record crowd) to the message of Jesus, was unforgettable. It was a powerful fantastic service and God showed up!

I even had some time to chat with some of the workers while we were up here working. We were very blessed to be able to share Christ with many of them and see them take steps toward committing their lives to Christ. I believe that scores of people will come to this place to meet Christ for the very first time and begin a relationship with Him! Workers who had been on the job site for months came to the service on Sunday and worshiped alongside of us! All in all it was an amazing weekend. The fruit of many years of labor!!!

God is Good!

"I Can't Believe My Eye" (this has nothing to do with anything except for a commercial I saw during the superbowl and me playing around with my webcam!)

Today as I was reading Joshua and trying my best to eat an elephant in 2009 (check this group out on Face Book that is a help to read through the Bible in a year) There are so many times that the Israelites were asked to do way crazy stuff back then!

The latest is when they are ready to go into Jericho in Josh 6. The first six days they went around the city walls once a day. They had the band playing, worshipping (trumpets actually) in the front but armed men were protecting from the front and the rear while the whole group walked around the perimeter! Wow. I can imagine that this didn't go unnoticed by the people in Jericho. They already were a little afraid of the Israelites because their reputation has preceded them. The people inside the city were fearful, not because the Israelites were the baddest horde on the block but because of all the cool stuff God had done on their behalf. The surrounding neighbors were getting nervous!

As I read through this I realized that in order for all this to happen God didn't build a highway from Egypt to Jericho and build a bridge that led into the Land of Milk and Honey. He sent them through a process of steps to teach them to trust in the Lord with all of their heart! One step at a time. Not huge leaps but steps. Let's walk today recognizing that God is leading us forward!

I usually blog at the beginning of the week, but here we are and it's Thursday and I'm just now getting to it. Spring in VA! One week we have a wind chill of 8 degrees, snow on the ground and we are sledding then the next week it's 70 degrees and we are out playing ultimate frisbee in shorts!

My heart is full! I'm amazed at what God is doing at Horizons! We are starting to do a new series on Sunday morning called "My Story". Wow, this is going to be powerful! Simultaneously, we are going to be starting a new series called
"Forward Motion" that will totally knock the socks off of everyone and will transform our lives if we apply this stuff! It's gonna be awesome and you need to be there!

Last weekend was an amazing weekend. DTR (you can see them playing(shameless plug) @ Bella Cafe'), a local band who has a heart for worship came and played at H20 Sunday night. God showed up. Period. 45 kids were dialed into God that night! After that we had a friend of mine who grew up in the church I went to in Vienna, VA come and speak. She is a smart girl, William and Mary graduate and loves God with her heart soul and mind. Now she's married, to a wonderful man, Gabriel and they have a mission. A mission to plant churches in South Africa! They spoke life to our group Sunday night! It was amazing. We had a question/answer time at the end of the service and I had to stop the kids from asking questions because we had to break down and get out of the building on time! When is the last time you've seen kids that dialed in!? God's opening the hearts of our kids. There were several that really took a look at what missions is all about and have decided that this is what they want to do with their lives.

Jesus is at work @ H20. Come and see what God is doing. Sunday Nights, 6-8PM @ Colonial Forge HS. Soon to be at our new building! Yeah baby!

A friend from VA Beach gave me a call this afternoon. He's a really cool dude, and loves to worship. He doesn't have a musical bone in his body but I've never seen someone worship with as much enthusiasm and passion as he does. He called me this morning and wanted to share that after a lot of prayer over the course of the last few days that God spoke to him that he's supposed to reach out and be a voice to this generation as an evangelist.

It took me by surprise. He told me God spoke to Him in a vision and revealed this to him. Some of us might say, "Does God still speak like this in the 21st century!?" And I would have to say a resounding yes!

I thought back to when I was sixteen years old I was working as a counselor at a Christian camp for 4-6th graders. It was held at a farm and we totally had a blast swinging on tire swings and swimming and playing star wars with our flashlights in our tents at night. In the middle of the week we were having a meeting and there was a time of prayer. I was in the back of the room and I heard a voice behind me. I thought it was my youth pastor at first but I looked behind me and no one was there. I sat down quietly and I heard the voice again. Basically the message was, "You will be working with young people and many lives will be impacted by you!" I opened my Bible took out a piece of paper and wrote that down and stuck that piece of paper back in my Bible. I think I still have that paper somewhere in a box! It wasn't until I turned 19 a couple of years after high school that I realized this message from God came to pass. I became the Jr. High Youth Leader and worked with our 7-8th grade kids. I am still friends with a lot of those kids in that group. Working with them was so fulfilling and I've never looked back since.

As I read the passage in the Old Testament about Samuel hearing God in the middle of the night I never doubt that he heard God's voice. I've heard it too, and so can you.

Are You Connected?

Looking outside our window at the office last week, it looked like the trees were going to rip from their roots and start rolling down the street. Our electricity started flickering and our server went down twice. Not too long after that I went to a meeting with my student leaders at the Daily Grind and the electricity was completely out there and they were turning people away. The wind evidently had caused trees to come down on power lines and that caused thousands of houses and businesses to lose power.

In Life we can become disconnected. For various reasons friendships and circumstances can come our way that cause us to disconnect from each other and sometimes from God. The thing that we need to realize is that there is always hope for a reconnect. I am finding this out more and more through an amazing resource called Face Book. I have reconnected with literally hundreds of people that I have known over the years. It's pretty cool because I feel like I have a second chance to get to know them again and reconnect with them.

I feel like we all need a vehicle like FB to help us stay connected with each other. But how to do we reconnect with God? Sometimes we may feel like it's too late. Or that We've done something that is unforgivable that our relationship with Him could never be rekindled. God's always there. His arms are open wide and guess what? You don't need a Face Book to reconnect with Him today. All you need to do is dust off that love letter called the Bible and ask Him to speak to you today.

Recently, a friend of mine, Adam Herod www.adamherod.blogspot.com wrote a blog regarding the power of prayer in his life when he was a kid. He encouraged others to chime in with incredible experiences of healing. I want to share this story with you.

I believe that God heals today and I am a product of God's amazing healing touch. When I was three I contracted a blood disease that caused my white blood cells to go all out of wack. The doctors tried many things, and I almost died because of a botched blood transfusion. You can imagine the toll that this had on my mom and dad. It is a disease that has no cure. I was destined to live with it the rest of my life until one day my mom and dad's friend Claire Matthias came into my hospital room and felt compelled by God to lay hands on me and pray for my healing. Out of my mom and dad's desperation they said yes, and this lady prayed over me and in a short time my disease disappeared. The doctors where amazed and told my mom and dad that this was miraculous!

For some reason this disease came back when I was six. I had to stay home from school that year and went to the doctor every day to get my blood checked and was bed ridden for many months. This time my mom and dad's prayer group prayed over me and again, I was healed!

From a very early age I realized that God had a reason for me to live because twice he saved me from certain death. As my friend Adam stated in his blog, I also believe that when we are in the presence of God, amazing things happen. When two or three are gathered in His name He is there! God's will be done.

Anticipation

Perry Noble of New Spring Church just sent a twitter that I thought was worth noting. He says, "The reason there is seldom revelation is because there is often no anticipation...so...what are you anticipating the Lord to do today?"

A lot of our kids at H20 get that. They aren't waiting until H20 services Sunday night. I see them come into service on a Sunday morning and they are ready to receive from God. They are anticipating that God is going to do something that morning! And they aren't afraid to act upon that!

This weekend is one full of anticipation! We are taking forty some kids to Acquire the Fire. Many have brought friends with them in (yes, there's that word again!) anticipation that God is going to meet their friends and experience life change! It's going to be a great weekend! We've been praying and seeking God all week long and we believe that God will reveal himself to many this weekend. Pray for us as we go to Richmond Friday and Saturday. I believe that God has great things in store for us! We are ready for God to do something great! Check this out! http://www.youtube.com/ATFacquirethefire

Sunday morning is coming and Horizons services are going to be amazing. We just had our planning for the order of service yesterday and I am so excited to see how God is going to use each element of the service rock our socks off! So come this Sunday anticipating that God is going to do some great things!

But you don't have to wait until Sunday! "What are you anticipating the Lord to do today?"

a trip down memory lane...

This morning I'm looking outside at the freezing rain. I'm doing my devos and sitting in front our fireplace drinking a cup of coffee. We had an awesome day yesterday sledding and playing games, and watching movies with the kids. It reminds me of how things were when I was a kid on a snow day. We would get our snowsuits on and grab our sleds and walk to our elementary school which had a huge hill. We would trudge up that hill and then throw our sleds down and jump on it and slide down and scream and just have a blast. We'd do this sometimes until late at night. A neighbor would bring a big barrel and started a fire in it so we could warm ourselves before the next run down the hill. Finally we'd make our way back to our house and mom of course, would have steaming hot chocolate ready for us. I don't know how she knew when we were coming back to have that hot chocolate prepared for us but she did. There were no cell phones to call and let her know we were coming home!

Today it's back to reality. We've got a busy weekend ahead of us and thankfully it looks like the weather will clear up for this weekends activities. God's got some great things in store for you this weekend @ Horizons! But you and I need to prepare for those things and get our gear on and hat and gloves and move forward. Some of us may find ourselves trudging up the hill or maybe we've just made it to the top and are ready for the run down the hill. No matter where you are spiritually God is walking beside you leading you to the place that he wants you to be.

"Father, I pray that you would speak to our hearts today through your word and through the circumstances that surround us. Let us be a light for you today! Help us to lead others into a relationship with you today!"

-andy

Last Week:

Last week was a crazy week. My kids loved it because they got off school for two days in observance for Martin Luther King Jr. and the inauguration.

Some of us needed to be in the office and it was cool to catch Obama's swearing in Live on streaming video with CNN/Facebook on my computer. We got to witness history in the making. It was really cool. There was a window that had live coverage and on the right side of the window people were sending messages via Facebook commenting about the event. The awesome thing that I liked about this was the fact that people were connecting with hundreds of people across the nation sharing an event.

I thought Rick Warren did a great job with the prayer and the name of Jesus was proclaimed. Way to go Pastor Rick!

It's next week and we are on our way with a new administration in this land. Please pray for our local and national leaders that God will grant them wisdom to lead this country.

-andy

Kids...

I can remember the days back before I had kids and parents would come up to me as a youth pastor with questions and problems and I remember thinking how silly some of the questions were and how easily they could arrive at a solution to that problem. I thought I knew so much until I brought Maggie home as an infant from the hospital! All of a sudden my life changed dramatically and it gave me a brand new perspective on how my youth group parents handled things! There are so many variables that go into seeing situations clearly. I have memories of how my dad raised me, I have certain fears, moods and that's just me. My wife has a whole other set of variables that she's dealing with. Missy and I work together to be on the same "page" when it comes to family decisions and discipline but we don't always get it right.

I realize as a grow older that I can't do any of this alone. I want my kids to get a well rounded upbringing and get support from trusted people speaking in their lives and I know that my kids are getting that from our Children's Pastor and his small group leaders. Likewise I know that we have a volunteer staff at H20 that genuinely care about the spiritual development of our kids. Praise God for a church family that can help us in shaping our children to be Jesus followers!

-andy

2009...Gonna Be Awesome!

Yesterday was New Year's Day. I had my laptop on the coffee table kicking out Happy New Year greetings to all those on Facebook and getting emails answered. I spent a lot of the day dreaming about being in the new building and how that's going to dramatically change how we do ministry @ Horizons & H20. I'm so excited about the possiblities!

Jesus Said, "Follow Me"

Have you ever done a ginormous thing before? I'm about to once again. I did it a long time ago but I was convicted to do it again. I have joined a Facebook group called "Eat an Elephant in 2009" A dude named Byron Vinson basically started this group to get hundreds of people to read through the Bible in a year. I joined because I have to say I have not read all the way through the Bible since I've moved to Stafford. I know I know that's hard to believe. It really challenged me when I read what this group was up to. I wanna encourage all of my friends @ H20 and Horizons and all over the world to sign up for this and read with me! The Bible is our handbook and love letter from the Father to us, His sons and daughters. Want to know God? Read your Bible. It's that simple. It's a great place to find out exactly who God is and why He sent His son on this earth. Will you join me in this quest?

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

My prayer for all is that you'd find Hope in Jesus this Christmas.

From our H20 family to yours! I hope each and everyone of you has a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Looking for God?

Wow, I'm more pumped and charged about Christmas this morning than I've been in a long time. And I haven't even had my cup of coffee yet! Why, you ask?

Well, for one thing, I am always excited to buy gifts for my family at Christmas. And of course its great to receive gifts too! Justin left a note in my car to me saying, "don't worry daddy, I'm getting you a Christmas gift this year! During my forty something emotional moment as I read this note I realized that something has happened in Justin's heart. He's not just begging and pleading for the perfect gift but he's starting to think of others! Not bad for a ten year old! I'm proud of 'em.

Christmas, as it probably will be for a lot of people will be a bit leaner this year in the Roger's house. But, that caused me to rethink how I do Christmas. I had to get creative to save a buck but still give a gift that is going to make someone smile. I started listening to my family. Not the "I want a "fill in the blank" for Christmas kind of conversation but the ones that as we talked I began to see where their passion lies and that helped me figure out what gifts I'm giving.

I find God in these little things and I hope that this Christmas that we all see the attributes of the Father in our families! Only 16 more days til Christmas. "Don't worry Dad, I'm getting you a present!"

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows."
-James 1:17

It's A New Day and a New Year (Almost)

Hi Everyone,

After a short break from blogging I'm back on track again. I took some time off last week to catch up with some things such as planning for the new year, staff retreat, the new building, etc.

Here's a video short of something that I am so jazzed about. We found out on Monday that they are pouring the stage so we got a camera and went out to see what was up! As I was watching them spread the concrete over the form it was an "ah ha!" moment where I realized that we are so close to getting this building finished. Anyhow, here it is and I hope you can capture the excitement. God bless and have a great day.

It's Wednesday morning and I'm at a stopping place from desperately trying to clear my inbox and trying to get a handle on a very long to do list. As I stopped for a moment I thought back to Sunday night. We had a worship time in youth that was truly amazing. After worshiping for almost an hour we broke up into small groups and had a time of prayer.

Usually when I look around at the different groups I see some kids disengaged and not taking things seriously and I'll join that group and help them focus, but last Sunday there wasn't one group that wasn't completely focused. In fact they were so focused that when I called to have everyone join in corporately for one last song I had a hard time getting them to stop praying! What a great problem to have! God's moving in the midst of our kids and our leaders are noticing how their prayers are genuine and even outward and not all about their own problems.

Take some time today and pray. God's waiting...

2009 and Beyond...

We are in a staff retreat right now and we are planning for 2009. Yesterday, we had several team building activities and we spoke words of encouragement in the form of constructive criticism to amazing encouragement. Although it was exhausting, I came out of this meeting realizing that these are people that really understand me and want me to succeed as a leader.

Today we are in the brainstorming mode of what our theme is going to be for 2009. We have spent time in prayer, and God has brought us to some amazing ideas for this year. I'm excited, nervous and believing that God is going to get us to where He wants us in this new year. A lot of things are happening this year. We are moving into our new building. The goals that we are looking at are more challenging then ever but we all are sitting here with eager anticipation to get started! God is good.

Looking Back/ Looking Forward

Looking back:
Last weekend was awesome. We had a Fall festival that was an amazing event at Horizons church. I'm so glad that we were a part of that although, it was a little disappointing that our Trunk did not win the competition! After that we went to the Colonial Forge vs. Mountain View Football game. The MVHS Wildcats pulled off the upset and there was much rejoicing, unless you were Forge fan. Afterwards we went to Starbucks to celebrate and then over to Ihop to get some much needed nourishment. The next night was Mission Possible. Six Teams determined as ever got their camo gear and painted their faces, deciphered code and stealthily collected clues. All the while the counselors were being the spoilers and trying their best to distract the teams from their goals. Afterward we hung out at the camp fire, roasted marsh mellows and chilled. It was a beautiful night to be outside! Sunday night was H20 and I spoke to the middle schooler's while Missy spoke to the HS Group. We had a great night and overcame adversity to be in the presence of God.

Looking Forward:

This weekend will be even more amazing and incredible than last weekend! We are off to the Patriot Center Friday night to launch the inaugural Invincible Tour for Dare2Share. Steve Fee and Leeland will be there leading worship and Gregg Stiers and his team will be giving us some tools to be "Invincible" as we go out and about sharing Christ to a hurting world.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone Sunday morning
and evening @ Horizons services and H2o Services Sunday night!

Standing in the Midst of the Storm

As I look back over the past few months we've had a lot of things go wrong at our house. Some of you may remember that we had a series of thunderstorms over the summer. One of those storms knocked out our power for five hours and our sump pump in our basement failed. That translates into 2 inches of water all throughout the basement level! After that we had a hot water heater go bad that needed replacing. After that we had our fridge go out and needed fixing, twice in the same week! And this month we had our ejector pump go bad in our septic tank which is not a cheap fix. These weren't, "gee it would be nice to fix that someday expenses". These are all in that "necessity" category. Missy and I contemplated each of these things and realized we needed someone in the form of a savior to help us. Now in each of these things God showed himself strong. We got things fixed and realize that there are more things that are going to need fixing in the future as well. It's part of life.

As I was praying with the pastor's this morning I realized that we are in the midst of a storm. The word that came to me as I was praying was that Jesus said that "my yoke is easy". What that means is the fact that as we are walking through all these little trials that add up to big headaches sometimes, that He's walking with us, shouldering the burden. The light bulb went off and I realized that He's walking right beside us. When these things happen and when we are flustered and we aren't sure how we are going to deal with the things that life throws at me, we can stand firm. We can stand in the midst of the storm confident that He is right by our side. And you know what? After all, "We Win!"

Making Time For Him

In the middle of this crazy "fast paced" Northern Virginia world that we live in, I had three different people that tell me, "Andy, you need to slow down and spend more time in the presence of God." I hope you aren't shocked and surprised that a pastor would have to be told to slow down and rest and take it easy. Well, I thought I had a handle on this and that the time I was spending with God was sufficient.

Two questions quickly came to mind. How in the world can I slow down with all that needs to be accomplished in God's kingdom? And the other was what in the world can I cut out to do this? Do I lose sleep and get up earlier? Do I spend less time with my family to do this? Do I spend less time with my H20 kids? What do I do?

As I was pondering this I was reading some leadership mentoring materials over before meeting with some of the H20 leaders the next day. I realized a very simple truth. I better make adjustments even if it hurts. One of the key statements in the material I was reading was the fact that we as leaders need to put our own spirituality over others spirituality. That means simply that if you aren't spiritually healthy that you can't minister to others.

So, today I need to just be, even in the midst of taking care of my home and family, even in the midst of all the crisis that emerge around me, I need to take that moment and just be. God please fill me up today. I need you. You are my source for the energy and the power that I need to be able to accomplish everything that you have planned for me to accomplish in this life. Thanks, God!

The Monday Holiday Syndrome

I have a love hate thing with Monday holidays. On one side of the coin we get a day off and can spend some time with the fam. On the other hand we have lost a day at the office and we are sprinting to get things done by the end of the week.

Monday, we basically used it wisely which really means that we worked around the house, went grocery shopping and then later that evening we had H20 worship practice. At 9:30 that night I remember thinking where'd the day go?

If I lived "back in the day"and Jesus said, "Come follow me", I would have been the one saying, "but, don't you know what I have to do by Friday?" "There's a lot of fish to catch and fry!"

The bottom line: Here's the deal. I need to give my week up to God. I need to allow Him to speak to my heart and trust that He'll give me what I need for the week. Lord, give me the strength, the wisdom and knowledge to be an effective witness for You today.

No Worries!

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." -Matthew 6:34

I think this applies to four day work weeks as well.

The Search For Significance

How many times have you prayed and asked God for significance in your life? "Am I really making a difference or am I just a blip on a huge blue ball called earth?" There are several moments in my life that have had that sobering realization that I am still on the planet for a reason. The first moment was when I was three. I had a rare blood disease and unless God intervened and healed me I would not be here today. Long story short, a woman of God who my mom and dad were friends with came into my hospital room and laid her hands on my head and prayed and asked God to heal me. Her name was Claire Matthias. Through this lady, God's healing power touched my body and I was healed. The doctors were amazed and called it a miracle. Fast Forward (I fast forward and rewind a lot in my blogs for some reason.) to when I was six, and I contracted the disease again! As you can imagine my mom and dad where devastated. But, God was faithful again. One more time, people came to our house and prayed for me and I was healed.

Not once, but twice my life was headed for a premature end but God showed Himself strong and healed me. Whenever I am having doubts I can recount the stories because they've been told many times over in our family. Are you recounting your story? If you look back, I can guarantee that maybe God didn't have to save you from a life threatening disease, but you can see God's hand in your life. There is purpose for you to be on this planet!

The One Thing

Here I am, and it's a beautiful Monday morning. After the morning meetings I got on my motorcycle to ride back to the office I realized how blessed we are to be a part of where God is at work. It's the "One Thing" that we were created for. It's the thing that keeps me up dreaming about how to do it the best that I can. I realized that God's hand is on my life. I sense His presence at the beginning of the day. I realize that I am fulfilling God's will for my life here in the place that God has me.

This morning at the Daily Grind, I read a scripture in 2 Corinthians that really says it all. 2 Cor. 4:7 says, "But we have this treasure (the One Thing) in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. Thanks God for the treasure! Thank you that you use us even in our broken state. We are leaking and cracked but you use us to carry your treasure. Everything that we do and everything that we are is because of your power not ours. This passage goes on to say that we are pressed but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. In everyday terms, we will have problems. Everything is not perfect. We make mistakes! But God is there, using us and making our lives significant each day through His son Jesus Christ.

The Light that Shines the Farthest...Shines the Brightest at Home...

We had an awesome week last week celebrating a multi-church effort to celebrate Jesus Christ through "See Ya At the Pole". I marveled at the prayers that were lifted up. (see blog below about syatp!) I love it when God says do something bigger than yourself! Several area churches in the Stafford area came together to do something special and I believe that there will be profound affect felt throughout the year because of that event.

I came into work yesterday and I guess October 1st is Missionary update day! I got three updates from my contacts in Southeast Asia and Western Africa and each one was chock full of God doing amazing things! As I was reading the one from my friends Drew and Sarah in Bali, Indonesia I saw this same concept of churches coming together happen on a much larger scale. 30,000 Indonesians got together in Bali's largest stadium for four days to hear the gospel message. Hindus, Muslims and Christians all joined together for this historic event! People brought the lame and sick and they were healed. My friends church had the priviledge of leading worship and documenting this by filming the event. It is a beautiful thing when God calls His Body together to do something amazing!

Last year I had the priviledge of going to Indonesia to serve the local church in a "Burn" for 24 hours. Continuous worship to bring down strongholds and to strengthen his church. Since then the Fire is burning and I was blessed to bring some of that home with me. The leaders of that trip had the priveledge of meeting with local church leaders and they wanted to know how to keep that fire burning even after we left. The Burn continues there and this outreach is just more evidence of God moving in Indonesia. Drew and Sarah continue to serve faithfully in a local church in Bali and they are seeing God's faithfulness each day.

May God continue to draw churches together to impact our world around us. The light that shines the farthest shines the brightest at home. May God's love invade your world today!

Impacting Our World
Wow, it's Wednesday and yes, this is my first blog of the week.

Have you ever really got a glimpse of how God is using you to reach people? Even ones that you'd least expect. Here's a great example.

Flashback to Sunday night. As the kids were playing a game in the auditorium, I was praying in the hallway before we started worship.

A guy came up behind me looking around like he was lost. I asked if I could help him and he said that he had teenage kids and wanted to check out the H20 Youth Meeting. I told him that he was in the right place. And, I'll be honest I prayed another little prayer that youth group would go smoothly! I'm always a little self conscious when I have parents in the meeting!

He and I walked through the doors into the auditorium and there was music playing and lights going during a wild and crazy game called "tick tick boom". The guy proceeded to the back of the auditorium and found a seat. The game finished up and I got up to do announcements and to pray before we started worship. As worship started and the band started playing and the lights went down, I sensed this was going to be a great night. Instantly everyone got out of their seats and entered into worship. During one of the songs, a youth leader got up with a word and the kids responded. Leaders were praying for kids and God encouraged all of us that night. Even more than we realized.

We finished worship and went into the message and then got in our small groups. As we were transitioning into small groups the guy sitting in the back handed me a note and thanked me for letting him be a part of the service.

I read the note as the kids were getting into their small groups and it went like this. "I've been looking for a church with youth on fire for the Lord. I was only going to pop in for 10 minutes but I couldn't leave. The youth during worship so blessed me. It was incredible. God was definitely in this place tonight. The kids here are building treasure in heaven and blessing people even when they don't know it." As I looked up from the note the man was just walking out of auditorium and I thanked God that his life was changed by what he experienced at H20.

The thing that stuck in my mind was the fact that he said, "the kids were blessing people even when they don't know it." When we are honoring God and worshiping Him, it changes a place and those in that place are profoundly affected. Here was a casual observer. Someone who was checking out the youth group for his teenage kids and God showed up and totally blesses him.

Without realizing it we are all having an impact on the others that are around. We are leaving a legacy wherever we go. What is the legacy that you are leaving?

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.

The "things" of this World

I don't realize how caught up I get in things until I go on vacation. We hadn't even been in the Outer Banks a couple of hours and I was already thinking about the things I'd just left behind. I was sweating details that were actually out of my control and not able to handle from 4 1/2 hours south of Stafford, VA. I was calling H20 kids up and making sure details were covered. Funny thing was I had already covered all that before I left to go on vacation. Finally my trusty friend and colleague, Pastor Jim told me to just let it go. In my mind I argued back, "no!"

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon and I realized it's taken me 36 hours to finally realize that I am starting to relax and letting go of things. As I was doing my devo's this morning, while watching the sun come up over the ocean, I read a verse that helped me understand and accept the peace that God can give. In John 16 it says He's with us. Even though He's gone in the flesh He is with us, through his Holy Spirit. His Spirit is our peace, and our wisdom and our joy. Today as I leave my todo list for four more days, and contemplate the loss of a dear friend, I choose to receive His Peace that comes to us when we ask for it.

Receive His Peace Today no matter what the circumstances are.

Sincerely,

"the sometimes uptight pastor"

-Andy

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Wacky Wednesday Ends in Sleepy Thursday!

Today it's Thursday morning and I really need to get some sleep. We are having an overnight with our Sr. high kids. Missy is over at the Scott's with the girls and I'm over here at my house with Josiah, Cory and Don and a bunch of xbox 360 gamers going strong @ 3:25am. Scott Simmons wimped out on me and went home early. Thanks, bro! Scott and his wonderful wife Robin have been helping out with us since last spring and just found out that there is a job opportunity that takes them to Oklahoma and they are leaving at the end of the month! It came as a shock and H20 and Missy and I will truly miss this fantastic couple. May God truly bless them because truly they have been such a blessing to us.

Earlier tonight we played some serious ultimate Frisbee. Pastor Rich played with us and showed his athletic skills! Gregg Tomlinson and I both went for the disc at the same time and I think he won! I had the disc and then I felt this "wack!" and then I was picking my self up off the turf! Needless to say we have some old dudes who still know how to mix it up on the field. We had a blast!

I'm tired and I'm out. Here's a video of our amazing camp that H20 was a part of this summer. Thanks to everyone who helped make H20 Youth Ministries summer session awesome!

cool video

Recuperation!

Today is my son Zachary's birthday and I have to confess that with the busyness of youth ministry and worship that I almost forgot that today is his day, if it wasn't for him telling me two hundred times yesterday and then running into our room this morning and yelling at the top of his lungs, "Dad, it's my birthday!!!"

Zach is a special guy and I've never met anyone who has the drive and determination he does. I'm amazed at his zeal for life and how he can walk into a room and people are taken in by his charm and cuteness. That can be a strength or a weakness as he gets older! I love that kid!

We had an awesome time at H20's Messiah Camp. This year had to be one of the most amazing camps we've ever had. Our "Big Idea" this year was understanding the "Father's Heart". We had over one hundred kids and I would venture to say everyone was blessed big time. The facility and the camp staff was top notch and our kids were deeply touched by the messages and the worship that took place over the course of the five days we were there.

We are planning on going back next year and we will be expanding our camp as I believe that our youth ministry will probably double by this time next year. God's blessing has truly been on this ministry and we feel that God has brought the right H20 staffers to bring this ministry to a new level. I can't wait to see how God works this fall! There's a foundation that is being laid and this camp is like a launching pad for us as we do ministry this fall.

May God truly bless you all this week and as I recover from camp and actually turning 45 the last day of camp, I truly pray that God gives you rest in the middle of an incredible summer.

Summer Time Fun

Summer time is the busiest time of year for Missy and I. In addition to regular youth group meetings and bible studies we do a mid week activity with the youth on Wednesdays. Next week we put all that on hold for our annual Summer Camp which will be held at a place called Watermarks Camp in Scottsville, VA. It's about 2 1/4 hours away. After that I'm going on Vacation with my family to the outer banks for six days. Then we regroup and ramp up for our Fall kick off and we are off and running during the 08/09 school year.

This is such a crucial time and we are really building momentum for the Fall. I know that God's doing some really cool stuff in people's lives. We have 55 kids from our church and that's not including the adult counselors that have volunteered their time to go and spend time with these kids. Please pray for us as we make last minute preparations this week. We'll be gone at camp from July 27-August 1. The theme this year is the Father's Heart. Pray that God establishes a strong relationship with each of the campers and that the roots of this relationship will grow deep, rooted in His love.

-andy

Be Still And Know That I am God

Today I realize that there are only so many hours in a day and only so many days in a week and only so many weeks in a month. My to do list grows by the minute and it looks like there will be some carry over from the previous week too!

How do we handle these things without being overwhelmed?! Help! This morning during my devo time I remembered a song by the Newsboys called "Be Still" The song's overall theme is "Be still and know that I am God." It's such a simple phrase. Jay's Message echoed in my brain about pausing and taking a moment to catch our breath. Be Still.

It is 12:42PM on a Monday afternoon and after some morning meetings I'm overwhelmed at all I need to do before I leave for a couple of days of camping with my family in the latter part of the week. The words keep echoing, "Be still and know that I am God." Take time today even at your busies, to observe a moment with your creator, savior, friend...

Making Time for Family

Today we didn't go anywhere. We grilled out back and had a great meal. We watched movies and hung out and played catch. It was a very relaxing day. We had thought about visiting some area get togethers, or maybe go downtown (D.C.) but in the end we lit off a few fireworks and watched our neighbors fireworks shows and then walked back in the house and went in the hot tub.

We realized how awesome it was that we didn't have to fight traffic. The kids are just as happy as if we had taken them to see the million dollar firework display but were even happier to play with their glow in the dark bracelets and sparklers and run up and down our street. I thought for sure there'd be backlash and whining at not getting to go anywhere. In the end I realized that it just doesn't matter where we are as long as we are together. You can make memories right here and it's just as memorable as those vacations we all save for and then they are just a vapor in our minds by the next year.

All this to say that I am grateful for what God has given us as a family. We are blessed so much to be here in Stafford, and serving God in such an amazing Country. God bless America. The light that shines the farthest shines the brightest at home. May God's light continue to shine bright as His Spirit burns brightly. May His Freedom Reign over this country.

-andy