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.