Let me start by thanking God for every breath He gives me and my family.

That being said, this weekend got off to a rough start.  For once, the rough start was nothing that I could have done anything about.  One of the families at our church recently lost their two month old baby and the memorial service was yesterday afternoon.  Preparing for that was intense and I am grateful for the rest of the production who covered the ceremony because I don’t know how I could have sat through it with young children of my own.  I can’t even imagine the roller coaster of emotions that the family is going through, but I do know that their hope is in Christ alone.

Along with this feeling of sadness was a feeling of encouragement.  Not only from the hope found in Jesus, but also from the love He showed through His church.  The small group of that family came alongside them to lift them up and support them.  Our student ministry and counseling center were there for the siblings and family.  It was just incredible to see how the body of Christ came around a hurting part of that body.

Moving on in the weekend, my excitement level began to rise.  I was blessed to have the opportunity to play guitar with the worship team this weekend at our Wexford campus.  On top of that, this weekend marks the kick off for our student ministries fall semester.  If you know me, you that these two things are to if my favorite passions.  Next to being with my family, nothing brings me more joy than worshiping God through music and spending time with students, helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Last night the leaders for our high school ministry (Blitz) met at our high school director’s house for some food and  a time of prayer.  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might remember my struggle in understanding corporate prayer (linked here).  I am beginning to understand it now, not because I have seen results from prayer, but I have been seeing our elders and others getting fired up about prayer.  We are not just praying because it’s what we’re supposed to do.  We’re praying because it is a part of a healthy relationship with God.  How can you have a relationship without talking to someone.  On the corporate side (at least at our leaders meeting last night), it’s like having a conversation with God in a small group.  I could continue on in this discussion, but I think I’ll save that for another post.

So now, on Sunday morning, I have gone from excited to fired up.  As we approach the time for Blitz, I am getting more and more fired up and I am pumped to see how God is going work this year in this particular ministry.

I thank God for giving me and my wife His breath and passion, and I pray that He instills deep passions in my children.