Does "Presence" Make a Difference.

     

      More than a few times during our ministry here in Colorado Springs, we have encountered those who like the idea of our ministry, but are looking for some solid evidence of the impact we are having here before they actually give support to what we are doing. Normally, what they are looking for is some kind of metric or measure of how much impact we are having on the community. Traditionally, ministries keep track of conversions, or decisions for Christ, or baptisms, or any number of things that can show the direct impact of their work.

A Note to My Younger Self (June Synchroblog)

This year marked the 19th year since my graduation from Laramie High School, in the little town of Laramie, Wyoming. This year also marked the graduation of one of our best friends sons and his moving out into the world to find his own place. One of the gifts that Jon's dad and mom gave him for his 18th birthday was letters of advice from some of the adult men in his life. These letters contained words of wisdom that they had gained from their own experience as well as advice for his life going forward. As I wrote my letter, I found myself wishing that I had had the opportunity to read these letters myself 19 years ago. Since this months synchroblog is all about writing a letter to our former self, I decided that I would recreate the letter that I wrote to Jon.


Jon, 
                         
As you grow into adulthood, you will receive advice from a lot of people. Some people will tell you that choosing a career is important. Some will even tell you that finding "God's Will" for your life is the most important thing. You will get a lot of advice and it will be mostly about getting to a goal, or some idea of success, all with the aim of avoiding failure.

My advice to you is going to be a little different. I want to tell you that failure, at least as most people see failure, is nothing to fear, or even avoid. YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL! You will try different jobs, and you will not be successful at all of them. You may go to school, and like a lot of people(myself included) drop out, or end up with a degree that you will never use. You will seek God's Will for your life, and you will not always get it right. my advice, the most important thing I have to tell you is this: YOU WILL FAIL, AND FAILURE IS OK. FAILING DOES NOT MAKE YOU A FAILURE. 

Living your life to avoid failure is the surest way to miss God's best for your life. I am not saying that you should try to fail, but I assure you that failure is no threat to those who embrace their true identity in Christ. So live your life, embrace your passions, be who you were created to be, seek God's will in everything you do, but do not allow fear of failure to prevent you from becoming all that God has planned for you. 

Your Friend, 

Edwin "FedEx" Aldrich




This post is part of the June Synchroblog - "If I could tell myself one thing" Please check out the other posts from these great authors on this topic below.

Justin Steckbauer – What Do You Wish You Knew 10 or 20 years ago?

Michael Donahoe – What I Wish I had Known

Mary – What I Wish I Would Have Known as a Newlywed

Heather Wheat – As a Young Mother, I Wish I Had Known…

Michelle – Ten Years of Wisdom

Michelle – Twenty Years of Wisdom

Wesley Rostoll – If I Could Speak to a Younger Version of Me

Peggy – From Peggy … To Peggy

Glenn Hager – The Reluctant Time Lord

Carol Kuniholm – Life Lessons from Lydia

Edwin Adrich – A Note to My Younger Self

Paul Metler – A Note to my 20 Year Ago Self

Liz Dyer – Dear Me

Kathy Escobar – Never Say Never

Jeremy Myers – A Letter to the “Me” of 15 Years Ago

What the Hell do we really know.

When I heard about the topic for this month's synchroblog, I was immediately a bit apprehensive about writing on the topic of Hell. You see, in my previous faith traditions, Hell was a very serious thing, and when anyone disagreed about or questioned the traditional teachings on Hell, they were quickly labeled as a heretic and either banned from teaching or asked to leave the church.

Heartbreak, Groaning, and The Not-As-ItShould-Be World

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.  For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.  Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Romans 8:18-23 (NLT)

When I think of "suffering with Christ", I tend to think about some third world prison, or perhaps some awful place of exile like Siberia, or even to those few countries left in the world where taking a stand for Christ could cost you your life. Over the last few weeks, as our Sunday school has been going through Romans chapter 8, I have began to develop another view of how we as Christians can "suffer with Christ". 

Tearing Down Fences and Building Sidewalks

 

 The pastor of the church we regularly attend told a story of when he first arrived at the church.  He looked around the neighborhood and asked God who around the church needed to know God's grace. The first place he noticed was a huge low income apartment complex right behind the church. The church and the complex were separated by a hill going down to the apartments and a large fence around the church property.  The decision was made to tear down the fence and build a sidewalk. The kids in the apartments were invited to play basketball on our courts. People from the church began to reach out to the families. This one act forever changed the landscape of our church.  Now it is home to a food distribution center for needy families, a last chance school that not only helps kids finish high school and learn life skills, but gives them a chance to experience unconditional love for the first time and many other places where people can come to know Jesus in very real ways.

Cognitive Dissonance and Preaching to the Choir

       

 

       "Daddy, that was an awesome sermon, but you really did make my head hurt". These were my daughter, "Diamond's" words after I finished preaching a sermon on Romans 12 last Saturday. Well, at least I knew she was paying attention to the end of the message, cause I had used that phrase to explain the difficult passage in verse 20 that talks about heaping burning coals on the heads of our enemies. You see, after reading the things that Paul calls the believers to be doing in their lives throughout the rest of the chapter, I came to the conclusion that when Paul talks of burning coals, he is most probably using something akin to the modern phrase "you make my head hurt". We can all pretty much relate to this when we encounter someone or something that does not make sense to us. In technical terms, we would call this cognitive dissonance, basically a fancy term for when our beliefs or expectations are contradicted by real world experience. 

Finding New Life in Our New Home (March Synchroblog)

Last night was the final time we would be in our old house. The inspectors finally came to approve our move out, after a few weeks of lost paperwork, lost checks, and missed appointments. Even then the process was less than smooth and it was a few more hours before we received our cash for keys check and were able to be completely done with the foreclosure on the old house.

As we left what had been our home for the last several years, we tried to remember the good memories, the memories of children being born, our two middle sons were both born at home, in this house. Memories of children learning to walk and talk, of having bar-b-ques with our friends. Of opening our house to families in need and coming to learn what home really is. We tried to forget the last year of falling behind on payments, of collection calls, of one failed attempt after another to refinance, of dreams and hopes lost.

Today was a beautiful mostly sunny day, the children were able to play outside in the new back yard, we were able to sit on our new deck, and look at the fruit trees in the back yard as they begin to form buds. Today we remember that we cannot dwell on those things that are past, whether good or bad, but we must each day try to find the good. We wake each morning looking to God to lead us into new experiences, and know that He is still with us here as we make new memories in a new place. We look at the coming of the spring and know that our lives are in a way beginning again here, and we look for the good.


This post was part of the March Synchroblog "New Life". Please visit the pages of the other authors listed below and read their stories of new life.

Michael Donahoe – New Life
K.W. Leslie – Sin Kills; God Brings New Life
Carol Kuniholm – New Life. Mystery Fruit.
Jeremy Myers – I Get Depressed On Facebook
Glenn Hager – A Personal Resurrection Story
Loveday Anyim – Spring Forth – Ideas That Speak New Life
Loveday Anyim – Inspired By Spring To Create A New Life
Sarah Quezada – Post Winter Delight
Edwin Aldrich – Finding New Life In Our New Home
Doreen A. Mannion – Each Day A New Decision: Choose Life
kathy escobar – new life through nonviolent communication