So I moved this past weekend, and for anyone who has ever moved, you know the stress and worry and how hard it can be.  If you Google ‘most stressful things in life’, moving is ALWAYS at the top of everyone’s list.  Knowing this, Colleen and I tried to make it as ‘stress-free’ as possible with to-do lists and scheduling, texting and emails, and phone calls and conversations in preparation for the move.  And even though it was incredibly taxing and hard, hard work, we managed to keep the stress to a somewhat manageable level, and made it to our new house on schedule and under budget … well, on schedule anyway. 

What was awesome to see was the actual moving day.  I contacted my circle of friends to see if they could help, and we have a great group here at the church that specialize in helping people out with life stuff like moving, and they graciously offered their skills.  So on Saturday we ended up with something like 15-20 people milling around in the front yard, waiting for something to do, wanting something to do, getting mad if they DIDN’T have something to do!  My brother quickly mobilized the volunteer army and away we went; boxes flying, furniture above the heads, bikes, toys, beds, tvs, plastic nameless things, EVERYTHING started moving.  You never realize how much stuff a family of five accumulates over a 10 year period until you decide to move it 5 miles to a new house, then you wonder, “WHY do I still have this Time-Life 5 LP set of Christmas Classics sung by Burl Ives?”  Nevertheless, those priceless pieces of trash … er … treasures were moved too.  With great care, I might add.

I was reminded on Saturday what can be accomplished in a short period of time when you have a group of people with (1) hearts that want to serve, (2) have one common goal, and (3) the means to get it accomplished.  We moved my family 5 miles to our new house in exactly 2 hours and 23 minutes from 1^st box to last.  That is incredible.  Just think what an assembly of Christians can do when they gather at church with the same mind set as mentioned above.  They would be unstoppable!  No enemy would stand a chance.  No goal would be unreachable.  No thing would be impossible.  As we gather together as the local church, it’s not just us being in the same building that gets things done; it’s us engaging our hearts together for the cause of Christ.  It’s us putting aside our petty differences to build His kingdom.  It’s us worshiping with all abandon to proclaim His name over our city. 

When we meet at church this week, let’s engage our hearts to serve one another and serve Him, have the cause of Christ as our goal, and be ready to tell the world about our God.

God’s Best,

Jaris

Have you ever been dog-tired, but strong?  Let me elaborate:  physically, you’re completely spent - strength gone, stamina gone, running on fumes, but spiritually you’re riding a strong wave - hearing God clearly, sensing His presence, desiring Him alone.  That what I experienced this past week after The Storm youth conference, which BCA hosted for the students in the city.  We had services from Sunday to Wednesday and by the end of the conference, my body was tired, but my soul was being renewed and refreshed from the worship, teaching, and fellowship from the services.  It was awesome.

I’ve noticed that living life in 2008 can have the same effect as attending 4 days of meetings in a row.  We’re running here, picking up kids there, meeting friends tomorrow, church, school, gym, groceries, bills, house maintenance, car maintenance, crisis management … the list never ends, and our physical bodies can, well, just wear out.  But thank God we are not just a physical body; we have a spirit that is in communion with God, and a soul that can be made alive unto God.  And as we participate in spiritual things - reading the bible, worship, teaching, church services, fellowship with God, we start becoming strong from the inside out, and our weak bodies start to receive supernatural strength.  Thank God.

If your body is weak, tired, or fatigued, I want to challenge you to participate in spiritual things.  Notice I didn’t say, do this, do that, check them off your To Do list, but participate.  Engage.  Make a connection with God as you study His word, pray, and worship.  Especially when you worship!  We have such an amazing opportunity in each church service to rejuvenate our lives with worship!  To worship God for Who He is, to remember what He has done, to join our voices with our friends and family in the congregation, to just be with Him, is an incredible thing.  

“I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me. For this reason, I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kind of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Jaris

As most have heard, Tim Russert passed away this weekend (Friday, June 13, 2008).  I was a fan of his, not so much as the “Meet the Press” moderator, but from his books, Big Russ and Me and Wisdom of our Fathers.  As the weekend wore on, I was surprised at my reaction to the news of his passing; I was genuinely saddened.  My heart immediately went out to his wife and son.  Many times over the weekend as news shows presented fitting tributes to Tim, I found myself misty-eyed.  Why was I crying?  Why did I care?  I’ve never met the man or his family.  What was going on? 

If you know me well enough, you know I am NOT a big book reader - who has time these days?  But I did listen to the audiobooks of both of Tim Russert’s books while on various road trips, and I can say they are worth every moment spent reading (or listening to) them.  Probably the book that had the greatest affect on me was Big Russ and Me, which is Mr. Russert’s story of growing up in working class surroundings, and the immense impact his father had on him.  My surprising emotion over the death of Tim Russert can be attributed, I realized, to this book.  It is an amazing story of a working class family, but what it is really about is love, devotion, faith, sacrifice, responsibility, loyalty, thankfulness, joy - attributes that should be a part of everyone’s life.  I remember being moved by Tim Russert’s recollection of his childhood, adolescence, and later life, and the incredible passion he had re-telling his stories of growing up.  And that was the reason I was so moved by his untimely passing; a passionate man was gone, one who loved his family, his faith, his friends, his vocation, pretty much everything that life holds.  The world had one less man who loved passionately. 

And that was hard for me to take.

Today, I want to encourage you to love passionately - God, family, friends.  Leave a mark on your world with your zeal for people and God’s house.  Let the world know that you are alive, you love God, and you are moving ahead.  Don’t be denied your destiny in God.  Refuse to quit or give up.  Throw of discouragement as fast as it comes upon you.  And lean into the things that God has for you.

Live life with passion!

See you at church,

Jaris

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. (Ps. 103:1,2)

As we make our way to church this week, let’s remember all that the Lord has done for us.  The scripture above has helped me during those days when I don’t feel like worshipping.  When I don’t feel like worshipping, I make myself remember many of the amazing things God has done for me.  It might go something like this: 

I remember how God healed my son when he was born

I remember how God helped my daughter being born

I remember how God helped us record a CD of our songs

I remember how God brought rain to my city and stopped the drought

I remember how God raised up an amazing church for my family and friends

I remember how God supplied my friends in Gunnison with a church building…

I could keep going, but you get the picture.

When I start to do this, there is no way I cannot praise God.  There is no way I cannot shout my thanks to Him.  There is no way I cannot give Him my life to worship.  Why?  Because the focus gets off of me and onto Him.  I start to see God for who He is - a good God that gives good things, a great God that is full of wonder and awe, and the humble Servant-King who carried what I was supposed to carry.  Incredible.

Remember this week all that the Lord has done for you, and make it personal.  Start to replay in your mind the awesome things God has done for you, your family, your church, and your city.  Then your soul will bless the Lord!

See you at church,

Jaris

For the past month or so I have been taking a Spinning Class at the gym, which is an indoor cycling class.  At first I was in a ‘come and see’ mode, but now I can say that I am hooked.  It is a pretty intense hour of cycling in a group setting - 20 or so fellow cyclists pedaling for all its worth, while an Instructor encourages you to go hard!  Don’t give up!  Push!  You can do it!  As I’ve attended my weekly classes, I’ve noticed some parallels with the Spinning class, and to what you and I do everyday - walk as men and women of faith to build God’s kingdom.  They are (in no particular order):

Be prepared - before I took my first Spinning class I spent half my time at the gym on some kind of cardio machine; an elliptical trainer or a recumbent bike.  When I started Spinning, I wasn’t completely wiped out by the work out.  It was hard, but I had the stamina built to finish the hour.  Often times as we walk with God we are confronted with the challenges of just living life, and if we are not prepared spiritually to deal with them, they are going to take us out.  THAT’s why we pray continually.  THAT’s why we read the Bible.  THAT’s why we attend church.  To build up our spiritual ‘stamina’ to live life successfully!

Hydrate - drink your water!  You start sweating like a pig about 20 minutes into the class; you need to replenish the water you are losing.  In the last class I was in, the Instructor said in passing, “drink your water before you need it”.  What a revelation!  Many times in the midst of hardships, we finally pick up our Bible (our spiritual ‘water’) and start ‘drinking’ - AFTER we are completely empty and spiritually ‘dehydrated’.  Don’t let that happen!  Drink your water before you need it!  Read your Bible before the trial arrives at your door!  Then you will be ready to stand and fight and see God move.

I’m encouraged when I see my friends - at almost every Spinning class, I see people I’ve met at the gym, or a friend from church, or somebody else I know.  And you know what?  Just having them there encourages me.  I know I won’t be alone in my workout.  Even though it’s tough, just having them there brings a big boost of encouragement.  Some people don’t realize this, but when we show up to church, it encourages others. And when we don’t show up to church, it can sow seeds of discouragement in those who are at church.  They notice when we’re gone because they love us and want to see us grow in God.  So, be a regular at church!  Church attendance just doesn’t help you, it helps those around you.

The Instructor is a lifesaver - thank God for the Spinning Instructor.  When you go to Spinning 101, they are there to help you properly set up your bike, tell you about it, and let you know what to expect from the next 45 minutes.  After 101, the Instructors encourage the heck out of you; all you hear for an hour is YOU CAN DO IT!  DON’T GIVE UP!  DRINK YOUR WATER!  REST WHEN YOU NEED TO!  LET’S GO!  YOU ARE AWESOME!  LOOKING GOOD!!!  After hearing this for an hour you feel like you can do anything!  When we come to church, we hear YOU ARE GOD’S BEST!  YOU ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS!  YOU CAN DO IT!  GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD!  GOD IS GOOD!  HE IS ON YOUR SIDE!  After hearing this week after week, it starts to sink in, and we start to believe it.  And anything is possible to him who believes!

So this week: be prepared, hydrate, and encourage someone by showing up!

See you at church,

Jaris

Greetings!

I pray everyone is having a great week in your journey with the Lord.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:1, 2)
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“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.” (Ps. 139:1,3, NLT)

Do you know that God has a specific path just for you? Psalm 139:3 says God charts a path ahead of me and tells me where to stop and rest. If we can think about that for a moment, and let it resonate in our heart, it will bring amazing revelation to our lives. God has made the path for me! He has gone out before me and made the road I am to travel on. He has crafted them just for me. They have my name all over them.
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I rode the city bus last week.

Not because I had to, but I was keeping a promise. In 2005 my family made a trek from NM to California to spend a week on the beach, see a giant whale jump out of a tank, and visit a world famous Mouse. The last bit is what I want to bring up - our visit to Disneyland and how it turned into a city bus ride.
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