nicktheambassador

Dare devil...

2011-01-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

   So, I have been blessed with two of the most amazing little kids ever. I know a lot of people, or should I say most people say that about their kids, well they should. But, I really believe that my kids are special. Before I had kids, I thought that whenever I was blessed with kids, that I would be the one, teaching them life lessons and showing the way of the righteous path. Which don't get me wrong, I have been teaching my kids a lot of things, but I have been surprised, how much I have learned from them. Everyday, the Lord seems to give me another lesson through the innocence and the faith of my kids. One of these lessons came one morning when I least expected it.
   It was a Saturday morning and, usually our Saturday mornings are pretty laid back and then we have the list that the wife gives that we try to finish before the end of the day. Well, this particular morning, I had Jackson duty. Which means, i try to keep him from digesting, or doing something that might be harmful to him. Which sounds simple enough, but if you are the parent of a crawler/little boy, you know what I mean. So Jackson and I were hanging out on our bed, and I was folding laundry, yes, I was folding laundry. He was doing what a baby boy does, smile, laugh, and enjoy life. So, he was doing what he does and he started heading for the edge of the bed, I did not think anything of it, because I thought to myself, surely, he will stop before the edge, why would he not? I mean, doesn't he realize that the floor is hard and that if you get in a fight with it, it usually always wins? So, before I could blink, this dare devil tried to take a dive of the bed, I don't know if you have ever had one of those moments when the world moves in slow motion and you have a million thoughts fly through your head, but that was this moment. I thought, my wife is going to kill me if I let this kid get hurt, I also thought he could possible have a permanent dent in his noggin if he falls off the bed and I also thought, what is this booger thinking(nothing because he is only 9 months)?
   I pulled my super dad maneuver, caught him and just about had a heart attack. When I grabbed him, he had the nerve to smile and laugh at me as if it was the best time he has had in his short nine months. At first I was a little flustered, but for some reason, through my little dare devil, something became even more alive and vibrant to me. The passage in which Jesus says, that we are to have faith like a child. See, I realized that Jackson took a soaring leap off the bed because he trusted his Father. He knew that I would catch him. He didn't think that, if I take this leap, this, that or the other could happen. He just leapt, and left the results up to his Daddy. What a word, because, call me crazy, but I think that is how our Heavenly Father wants us to trust him. Could you imagine the impact we could have on this world if we would just leap and trust. I know the temptation is to count the cost, but what if we just trusted? What would happen if we lived lives that reflected our trust of a Father that truly is trustworthy?
   I decided in that moment that I want to live a life not so safe, I want to let go, leap, and trust. Just like my little dare devil.

Ordinary Girl...

2010-07-31T13:33:00.000-04:00

The other day, for some reason or the other I was looking at new music on Itunes, that part is not the unusual part, the part that is out of the ordinary is I clicked on new songs by...wait for it...Hannah Montana. The reason in which that should be weird is one, I am a male; two, I am over the age of 13; and third, it's Hannah Montana. Anyhow, I clicked on the new release for the new season of Hannah Montana and the song is called "Ordinary Girl". I found this title a bit ironic, in light of the current media frenzy that is surrounding Miley Cyrus. There has been a lot of talk about her racier new image, the fact that she is a Christian and yet is dressing and acting just like every other girl pop star out there, there seems to be nothing that is setting her apart from everybody else. The Christian circles have added to the frenzy in saying that she is unfit to be a role model and that she is "dressing like a lady of the night", I put it a little bit nicer than they worded it. So now I am thinking about all of this and I click 'buy', because I was intrigued. I listened to the song and instead of the response of, "what a bad example, what a let down," my response caught me off guard; my heart went out to her. Just a little disclaimer before I lose you: I do not think it is appropriate at all for young girls to promote their bodies instead of their talent, or do I think that anyone bearing the title of Christian should look just like the world. Now that we have that out of the way let us continue, shall we? My heart truly did break for her. I thought to myself, here is a seventeen old girl, who loves the Lord, yet has stumbled, and the community of believers that is suppose to encourage and help her back up has thrown stones. As I think about the response some followers of Christ have given, I had to ask my self a very piercing question, "what would Jesus do with Miley Cyrus?" Would he persecute her or love her? Would he call her names and boycott her or would he lover her? Would he help her up if she fell, or would he kick her why she is down? The Jesus that I read of in the Bible, when faced with an opportunity to persecute someone caught in sin, gave them love instead. Well, if we bear the name of Christ, shouldn't we love people the same way he did? Shouldn't we, instead of kicking those that have fallen, help them up? This was a question that haunted me. I don't want to be the person that picks out the spec in others eyes while I have a tree sticking out of mine. Lord, please don't let me be that person. We are called to stand up for what is right, but we are also called to Love. So how can we do both? Well, instead of telling all of our friends how horrible we think this struggling seventeen year old is, maybe we write her an encouraging note. A note about how we understand how hard it is to live out your faith in the public eye; that she should hang in there. Or maybe we pray for her everyday; pray that the Lord would make her path straight. I don't know all the answers, but I do know that there has to be a better way. It is amazing what you can learn just by listening to a song. Who knew that God would teach me a lesson from Hannah Montana? I pray that when given the choice whether to throw the stone or bestow love on someone that does not deserve it, that we will choice what Christ chose. Instead of casting the stone, he got up on the cross and gave his life, so that I could be a part of what he is doing. I pray that I will choose love. Let us all choose love, for that is the way the world will know us.

Anxious...

2010-05-26T09:36:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had those times where you are on the cusp of something new and you are beginning to get that butterfly feeling in your stomach? The closer you get to the new adventure, job, or whatever, slowly you feel that excitement start to turn to anxiousness. Then that anxiousness starts to turn to fear and before you know it this new whatever has turned to from a blessing to a burden. It happes so suttlely, that you don't realize that it is happening. It may begin with a question of your qualifications or if you truly have what it takes to do this next thing, then Satan gets a hold of that and places doubt in your heart and that is the beginning of the journey towards fear and staleness. Because being anxious at it's core is not a bad thing, it only turns bad when we let fear creep in. So what do you do, what can you do? I am going to say...trust! Not in your own abilities and skills, but trust the one in which the world cowers at his voice. Trust God, because he in which has called you, will be faithful to complete what he has called you to do! Trust!

Much love,
Nick

Antidote...

2010-03-13T13:42:00.005-05:00

I am a people watcher, I think I have mentioned that before. Now, when I say a people watcher I am not talking about being a creeper. When I say a people watcher, that means that I watch people, how they respond to other people, the faces they make, and just their personalities. I think I have always been that way. With people watching you begin to pickup on what is bothering people and the needs of people. Which when confronted with other's issues, you are forced to make a decision, either ignore the problem or help with the problem. I would have to say, it use to be a lot easier to ignore the problem. I would always ask myself, "what can I do?" Or I would make myself feel better by saying that someone else will help, even if I don't know who that is or when that would be, that would make me feel better about myself. But the older I get and the more I am trying to become, or should I say, the more I am made to look like Christ, the harder it is becoming to look the other way. May I say, that makes my life a little bit more complicated, because you can't help everybody. Isn't that what the popular thought is these days, you are only one person, what can you do. I have to say, I have used that as an excuse for a long time, but then I came face to face with a situation that changed things for me.
I had the privilege of teaching an abstinence class a few weeks ago and I always ask the kids some questions to start out the classes. One of the questions I asked the class was what is their family goal. Meaning, what would there perfect family look like. Most of the answers consisted of women who look like Beyounce and good in the question, but one of the answers i received from the students perplexed me and the class, he said his perfect family would consist of him having a dad... yes this was a pin drop moment. You know, one of those times you could hear a pin drop because of the silence. Not only that, but he got emotional as he said it, which in turn, made me a bit emotional. When that took place, I could not let it go. See most of the time when I am faced with a situation that needs some attention, I typically can give a reason as to why it is not my responsibility to do anything about it. I give the excuse of how busy I am or how that is a blessing for someone else. But this time, none of those excuses or rationalizations seemed good enough, this time, I was the antidote to the problem. I have to say that I don't have this totally figured out, but I have made it to the place where I am willing to let the Lord use me in the midst of others' mess, to be an antidote, because I know the antidote to all issues, the one true antidote, Jesus.

Quitter...

2010-03-01T20:17:00.004-05:00

You know, there have been a lot of things in my life that I have not been proud of. There have been a lot of failures, a lot of things that I gave up on and a lot of situations in which I have given up on myself. I remember once, in school, we had to run the mile run, which to all my chubby kid friends out there, the mile run felt like punishment straight from Satan. We had to run it in the fourth grade and I was determined that I was not going to come in last this time. So I started out strong, even in the front of the pack, but soon I faded to the back of the crowd and with each step, my body begged me to stop. So I remember my third lap that I was going to stop, that I couldn't go on. So I ran across the finish line only completing 3 out of the 4 laps that I was suppose to. I was dishonest, I did not finish, I was a quitter. I also remember that in high school, I was an excellent student, what I mean by that is that I made good grades. The thing of it was, that I made good grades without really having to try to hard. I was one of those kids that was just good at school. But even though i excelled in my first three years of high school, my final year there, I was tired and i was over it, so in a way, I quite. I was still there physically, but mentally I checked out. Luckily for me, my grades were so strong my first three years of high school, I managed to make it out pretty well, but yet, this was another time that I had quit. Why did i seem to not be able to finish anything strong. I read in scripture all the time how Paul calls the Christian walk a marathon and not a sprint. May i say that makes me so nervous. The reason is that I know how I have finished a lot of things in my life, not well, not well at all. Will this Christian life have the same outcome as so many other things in my life? If i ever wanted to finish something well, it is my Christian walk, it is my walk with the Lord. So I have come to a resolve in my life, that I am going to finish, not limping over the finish line, but running and running well. Nothing in my life has ever been so worth it. Because me finishing this race well impacts my family, friends, and people that I minister to. So i refuse to be a quitter. Even if i fall, even if I stumble, I am finishing this race. Even though a lot in my life I have been a quitter, I am not going to quit this. I am going to finish the race and I am going to get the prize, that is my resolve, that is my goal and that is what I am living for. The good news is, I am not running the race alone, I have the hope of glory living through me, so how can I fail if I am running with the king of kings and the Lord of Lords? So I am not longer going to be labeled as a quitter, even though that is what I have been all my life, I am going to cross that finish line, because it is the cross that spurs me on...

Play on...

2010-02-03T08:38:00.003-05:00

So i have the wonderful joy of being able to play basketball a few times a week with a great group of guys. The cool thing about this group is we are all very different. It is three other guys I play with, their jobs all have to do with finance in some shape or form, so i guess that I am the odd man out. But anyhow, we are all different, which makes a very cool dynamic in our basketball games. I always play against on of the guys. We are always matched up against one another. Our teammates may rotate, but we always play each other. I am going to have a moment of real honesty right now. He wears me out. What i mean by that is, I do everything I know how to do on the defensive end, but he always finds a way to score. I even foul him a good bit, but yet he always finds a way to score. The crazy thing is, not only does he wear me out, but he can literally shot the ball from anywhere on the court and make it. Despite my best efforts, he dominates me on the court. Let me go ahead and let you in on a little secret about me, I don't like to lose. I know you are thinking, who likes to lose. But I am really competitive and for me to go out on the court and play basketball and to only come away with a win, 5-10 percent of the time, is really, really, really frustrating. I love to win, but i think I am learning more in my losses than my few wins. I am beginning to feel that the lesson is in the journey not so much the victory. I can't believe i just said that. But let me see if i can explain. See, the easy thing to do when I lose would be to quit, and to maybe change the teams where me and my nemesis would be on the same team, but that would be the easy thing to do. That would not build character in me, I have learned in my losses that I have to play on. When I lose time and time again, I have to get back in the game and play on. I have realized that the more i play, the better I get. Did you catch that, the more I play the better I get. Sounds a lot like our Christian walk doesn't it? I mean there are times in life where we walk by faith and fall flat on our face, there are times when we fail, there are times when we fall back into that sin that entangles us so easily. But the lesson is, not to quit or to give up, but to play on. I think James says it best, in chapter one of his letter, beginning in verse 2, he says this, "count it all joy my brother, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." I don't know about you, but I don't want to lack anything, and in order to get there, there are going to be trials, there are going to be losses, and there my be some stumbling, but I know at the end of it all, i am going to look more like Christ because of it. Isn't that the point anyways. So the question I have to ask myself, in midst of my failures and "trials of various kinds" am I going to have enough faith and resolve to Play on...

To be like Chuck...

2010-01-22T10:42:00.002-05:00

May I say, that as a father of a 16 month, a husband to an 8 month pregnant wife, and the older brother of a 17 year old, I do not get to watch a lot of television. Partly because when all of my duties are complete, I fall asleep when I sit still, the other reason is, I just feel that most shows on TV really aren't worth my time. But a friend of mine introduced me to a show that I heard of, but never got a chance. The show is called Chuck. You may have seen it. The story line is quite intriguing. The main character is Chuck and he is sent all of the governments secrets and they end up being encrypted on his brain. In a blink of an eye, Chuck goes from computer geek, to a very important asset to the government. Chuck finds himself in all kinds of predicaments because of his new found importance. It is so interesting to see how Chuck handles all of the new situations he finds himself in, because now, he is no longer normal, he is something so much more. The more I watch these episodes, the more I realize that I am a lot like him. Think about it, I have the king of kings and the Lord of Lords living through me, and He has invited me to be a part of what he is doing. That can be a bit overwhelming. Just like knowing all of the governments secrets is a bit overwhelming for Chuck. But I love the way Chuck handles it, he takes everything thrown at him in stride and he does not try to do it all alone, he has a community around him, well in his case they are government agents, but for the sake of this illustration, community. As followers of Christ, we need that community as well. Also, Chuck let's what is already inside of him come out. As followers of Christ, we should let what is already inside of us come out in our lives, in our families, in our jobs, etc. It is funny what lessons can be learned through a simple show like Chuck. But the more i live this life as a follower of Christ, I realize that I need to be like Chuck...

Things that make ya go hmmm...

2009-11-17T07:10:00.001-05:00

Before I began, let me say that this is by no means a knock on church planters or the church. This is me thinking out loud in my blog. Okay with that said, on the way to work the other day I noticed something quite peculiar, every school I passes had a church meeting in it and then between the school were actual churches with their own buildings. On my way to work, which is about 12 miles away from my house, I counted 9 churches. Yes, nine, ten if you want to include the church in which I am on staff. Nine churches. Part of me felt that I should be excited about so many churches in a small area, because in the area I live there are over 100,000 unchurched people. I would guess that all of the churches combined attendees would be less than 10% of that number. So may the answer to the question on how to reach these people is not another church, another way of doing church, or a cooler edgy church, maybe the answer can be found with a group of people in the book of Acts. See a few things I noticed about this crazy group of church planters in Acts is this, first they were a united group. They were all about the same thing, raising up the name of Jesus Christ. See what I noticed today is a lot of churches are about raising up their denomination, their type of worship, or how cool they dress instead of raising up the name of Jesus. Also it almost seems like we brag about how ununited we are. For example, I hear alot of churches talking about how they are reformed over here, we are Calvinist of there, good grief, at the end of the day I want to know if you love the Lord your God with all heart, mind and soul! Also the church in Acts loved everybody, they really got the statement they will know we are Christians by our love. Let's take note of this and let us love one another. The world is crying out to see an authentic picture of this love. Let us show them this love. So here is the point of all my ranting, if the Lord has led you to plant a church or start one, be obiedient and do so, but maybe it does not need to be across the street from another one, maybe God has called you to be a part of that other church and make it better, I don't know. I just want the thing we raise up to not be how we are different from the church around the corner, but that we have been united by the blood of a glorious savior, Jesus Christ!

the Outsiders...

2009-10-28T12:57:00.002-04:00

You know as early as I can remember, I have been trying to fit in. It is a crazy thing, as soon as we are old enough to realize that there is an in crowd, we want to be in it. Pun is definitely on purpose. I remember as early as kindergarten, I wanted to sit at the table with the cool kindergartners, whatever cool is in kindergarten. I remember later in grade school trying to make sure I had the right clothes, shoes, etc. When I was in the fifth grade, my family did not have a lot of money. I remember that the shoes to have at the time were the, Deion Sanders'. They were the stuff. If you are as old as me, you know what I am talking about. Well, we did not have an extra $120+ dollars sitting around, so my parents bought me the off brand "Sanders" from K-Mart, that cost about $20. Well, I was very embarrassed to wear these bad boys. Because I was afraid of not fitting in. I use to think that I would eventually get over this need to fit in when I became an adult, but I found that it may even be worse when you get older. There is this unsaid pressure to live in the right neighborhood, drive the right car, and have the right size television. May i say, it is tiring work to try and fit in. But I am starting to realize that being an outsider is synonymous with being a Christian. Have you read the bible lately, Jesus was the ultimate outsider. He did everything opposite of the way that the world did it. Not only was he comfortable with being an outsider, he encouraged his followers to do the same.
So I find myself at a crossroads, do I continue to work to fit in to this world, or embrace my calling to as an outsider? Well, I have decided that I am going to stop trying to fit in when I have been called to be an outsider and different. You know what, living in that freedom makes for a lot less stressful life. Don't get me wrong, I still feel the tug to fit in and do what everyone else is doing, but I am going to embrace my call to be like the ultimate outsider, Jesus Christ. So with pride and confidence, I would like to introduce myself, I am Nick Person and I am an outsider...

Outsiders-Needtobreathe

Shortfalls of little sins
Close calls and no one wins
Stand tall but running thin
I’m wearing thin

Oh, why are we keeping score?
Cause if you’re not laughing,
Who is laughing now?
I’ve been wondering
If we stop sinking
Could we stand our ground?
And through everything we’ve learned
We’ve finally come to terms,
We are the outsiders.
Oh, we are the outsiders, oh

I’m not leaving without a fight.
I got my holster around my side.
Just ‘cause I’m wrong it don’t make you right.
No you ain’t right.

Oh, why are we keeping score?
Cause if you’re not laughing,
Who is laughing now?
I’ve been wondering if we stop sinking,
Would we stand our ground?
And through everything we’ve learned,
We’ve finally come to terms.
We are the outsiders,
Oh we are the outsiders, x7

(On the outside,
You’re free to roam
On the outside
We found it home
On the outside
There’s more to see
On the outside
We choose to be)x2
On the outside

Why me?

2009-10-05T11:13:00.002-04:00

I don't know why he would choice me. Lately I have been overwhelmed by the love of our Heavenly Father. It seems lately that I have chosen my way instead of his, the things of this world instead of keeping my mind on things above, putting on the throne, instead of worshipping the God that is already seated there. Yet, time after time He decides that he wants to use me to get the glory. Why me Lord? I am far from perfect and so many times I will choice what I want and forget about the call that the Lord has laid no my heart, yet, because God is far grander that I could ever hope to be, he uses me. With my scars, a lot self inflicted, with my shortcomings, with my lack of faith, with my indecisiveness and the list goes on and on. Yet despite all I have stacked against me, the Lord still chooses to use me. Why me? Why would he love me? When so many times in my life I say with the decisions in my life that I love me more that I love him. I am starting to get maybe why it is that he chooses me. Because despite all of my flaws, when the Lord uses someone like me to preach his gospel and to be a part of his story, He gets the glory. Because only a God like that could use someone like me. So I have come to a conclusion about myself, I want to be used by God and because of this I want to live up to the name that his has given me, Holy! I want to live a life that is set apart! I am glad that God can use someone that chooses my way, but how much could he use someone that chooses Him? I want to find out. I know why me, so that God can get the glory.

A grandfather named King...(from journal 09-20-05)

2009-09-01T21:01:00.002-04:00

Not to long ago, I had the daunting task of going to a commencement ceremony. For the record, graduations are not ever fun, even if it is your own. I would have much rather been doing something else other than sitting at a graduation. I would have to venture to say, that dusting would have been more fun, and I absolutely hate dusting, just ask my wife. I also think that watching grass grow would have probably been more entertaining. Actually, just about anything would have been better than sitting on an uncomfortable bleacher. I think that you get the point, i will stop torturing with my very bad analogies. Actually, one more thing, I do not think that I ever been to a graduation that has started on time. You rush to get there and then you get to wait an extra thirty plus minutes to cheer on the graduate of your choice. While I was sitting and waiting for the lovely event to begin, I decided to take up a favorite past time, people watching. I typically gravitate to people watching when I am bored. There were all kinds of people at this event, which was not unusual for a graduation. There were people who were very excited to be there, which I totally did not get. There were people there that were like myself, miserable. The I saw a sight that caught my attention. A young man, I would say around the age of twenty, walked in to the auditorium, normally this would not have grasped my attention, but He happened to be pushing a wheelchair, that I would say was holding his grandfather. His grandfather was probably around the age of eighty or maybe even older. Most people, I've noticed, when it comes to older people, maybe not most, but some. Seem to have an attitude towards older people that is not the best. Almost as if they are a bother and not a joy. But this young man pushing his grandfather, seemed to have a different attitude. It was almost as if he was pushing royalty. It almost seemed as if pushing his grandfather was more of a blessing than it was a burden. It seemed as if was announcing the entrance of someone very regal and grand. He pushed his grandfather with such care and precision. He navigated his way to their designated area like a precession in a parade. When his grandfather spoke,it was as if he was speaking words of gold the way his grandson hung on every word. It was as if he cherished everything his grandfather had to say. It was amazing to see the interaction between the two of them. Watching these two brought a question to my mind, how do i treat people. Do i treat them with care or like they are a burden. A very tough question to answer and honestly, some of the time I treat people like a burden. But what if i treated people the way God treated them, as if they were precious, almost like royalty? What would that say about the actual king that I serve. Truth be told, they are royalty because the are heirs to the kingdom of God. Maybe i should treat them that way. It is amazing what you can learn from a little people watching. I am not sure if that grandfather's name was King, but i know his grandson treated him that way...

When He takes you at your word...

2009-08-31T20:32:00.002-04:00

I have sung many a sung that has given the Lord permission to use it all. You know what I am talking about, Lord take my life, Lord take my all, Lord take everything. There have been many of times when I really meant those words. I mean, I truly meant them. Then, there were other times, when they were just words on a screen that sounded good. While my heart was very far away from meaning those words. But I have found out something, if you don't mean it, you probably should not say it. Because when you tell the Lord that you have given him control of every part of you life, He will take you at your word. A few years ago, I lost my mom in a car accident. It was probably one of the hardest times in my life. I did not know what to do, or where to turned, I eventually turned back to the one that is the giver and the taker of life. The Lord truly healed my life and going through that time allowed me to see how good God truly is. When I sing those songs in church and let the Lord know that he is allowed to use every aspect of my life, I really never thought that he would require that I revisit the hardest time of my life. But there is a verse in Romans that kind of put things in perspective, all things work for the good of those who are in Christ. ALL things. I found out recently, that even my great loss was included in this all things. I have recently been allowed to walk with a young man that just lost his mother. Very quickly I have learned that when you tell the Lord something, He will take you at your word. I have been able to see that even though when my mom passed it was a really dark time, the Lord has been able to use even that situation for the good. I have learned something through all of this, that if you don't mean it, don't say it. But I have to admit, even though it is hard to say, I am really glad that the Lord took me at my word. Because only He could take such a horrible situation and use it for good...

Two guys and a little red truck(from my journal 09-20-05)

2009-08-30T17:34:00.003-04:00

I had the privilege the other day to have the top to my jeep off. If you have never experienced this you really should. It's almost feels like you are flying. Granted, I have never flown (like superman) but if I had, I am sure it would have felt very similar to riding in my jeep with the top down. Anyhow, I was driving and I noticed a truck to my left. For the record, I am very much a people watcher, not stalker, just watcher. People are just very intriguing to me! This truck caught my eye, no that anything was exceptional about the truck, it was a red, ordinary, compact, pickup truck. I like so many other people, have the predisposition to look into the next car whenever I pull beside one. So I looked over into this little red truck and I am quite intrigued by what I see. I don't know if most people would have been as intrigued as I was, but I was very intrigued. In the little red truck I saw a driver and a passenger, not that out of the ordinary I know. The driver was a white male, around the age of 70, I would guess. The passenger was a black male around the age of 70. My interest was peaked by these two men. I did not know where they were coming from, but I did know that seeing them together in that little red truck made me very happy. I think this had such a profound affect on me because it is not something I see everyday. Yes I see older white males and older black males, but rarely, very rarely do I ever see them together. It was pretty stinkin' cool to see them together. It reminded me that things can and do get better. These two men, who were raised in a time of high racial tension, found some way to look past the outside appearance, to the heart of each other. What they found was something that transcends color, they found a person. I wondered what their story was, I wondered how they became friends, I wondered how they got past their social do's and don'ts. To say that I was intrigued would be a major understatement. I was floored, in a time where segregation and racism reigned supreme, these two gentleman were able to look past all of that. Even today at times we can feel the ugly head of bigotry rising up ,but these two fellas, reminded me that there is hope. Hope that we can look past a person's outside appearance and not just see a color, or money, but their heart and see them for who they really are. Hope that what our fore fathers wrote about, can be a reality in our day and time. Yes, a fleeting moment in traffic became a lot more, it became an ah ha moment. A moment where I realized that I am a part of the change I desire to see in the world and so are those two gentleman. What a very important lesson learned from two guys in a little red truck...

Rainy days...

2009-08-28T13:24:00.001-04:00

So I have come to realize something. I really like rainy days. Let me explain myself. Because I am sure that the majority of the population does not share my enthusiasm for rainy days. I like the fact that rainy days cause you to slow down a bit. If you are anything like me, you are constantly running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. By the way, why is that the illustration that we gravitate to when we explain how crazy we are? Anyhow, the rain makes us drive slower as to avoid bumping into the cars around us. Also the rain brings new life and allows life to grow and florish! Another thing the rain does, is it causes us to appreciate the sun. Think about that statement, it cause us to appreciate the Sun! That is crazy cool. Because the rainy days in our lives causes the same outcome. Whenever my life spins out of control and the rain falls, I have to realize that the sun is going to shine again and it causes me to appreciate the Son! Rainy days are not fun, but they are neccessary for us to realize how good the Son is. If I can remeber that, I think that I would live differently, so I have decided to welcome the rain, no matter how heavy or inconvienient, bring on the rain.

Much love,
Nick

No prostitutes allowed...

2009-08-24T15:16:00.002-04:00

I was reading a book the other day. I know, I am so cutting edge. Anyhow, the book is entitled Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. I am rather enjoying the book, because it gives me a lot to think about. I don't always like to read people that think just like me, I like to read people that will give me something to think about. Let me add, that Shane Claiborne very much so causes me to think. So I am reading and he tells of a conversation that he and one of his hippie friends has and here is how he sets it up and tells of what happened with their interaction: "I have this old hippie friend who loves Jesus and smokes a lot of weed, and he's always trying to get under my skin and stir up a debate, especially when I have innocent young Christians visiting with me. (The problem is that he knows the Bible better than most of them do.) One day, he said to me, 'Jesus never talked to a prostitute.' I immediately went on the offensive:'Oh sure he did,' and whipped out my sword of the Spirit and got ready to spar. The he just calmly looked me in the eye and said, 'Listen, Jesus never talked to a prostitute because he didn't see a prostitute, he just saw a child of God he was madly in love with.' I lost the debate that night."
Something about that story just echoed in my spirit. What if i saw people as Christ sees them and not as the sin or their shortcomings. I think the world is crying out to be loved where they are and not for what they do. If we as followers of Christ could live this way, I think we would shine as we have been called to shine. So let us not look at people based on what they do, but on who they are, and they are loved by our Heavenly Father. So instead of us picking up judgment, let us pick up grace, instead of holding up condemnation, let us hold up Love. A challenge indeed, but worth it all the same!

Drop kick or grace?

2009-08-17T13:19:00.003-04:00

So I am watching ESPN the other night, yes, a very manly thing to do, because I am known as a man's man. Okay, not really, but I do have some manly tendencies. Anyhow, I am watching ESPN, they are going through the previous nights' highlights. So there is a recap that catches my attention, it was recapping the game of a major league baseball game. The batter was up and the umpire signaled to the centerfielder that he was ejected from the game because he was stealing signs. Nevertheless, the centerfielder was not at all happy about the call, so he proceded to sprint from centerfield to home plate and he was going to let the umpire have it. What happened next made me a little upset, he was so angry that he let every explitive fly known to man and he tried to grab the umpire and cause him so bodily harm. The reason I was so upset is I know that there are kids watching this athlete and taking cues from him on what it means to be an athlete. I did not want this guy to be the example. I wanted to drop kick him! Then I had a very sobering moment. I asked myself this question, is that how God feels about me? Let me have a really honest moment, a lot of the time I do not represent the name of Christ very well. I am the represenative of Christ in this world, whoever calls themself a Christian is! I wonder if Christ ever wants to drop kick me. I know that sounds like a very awkward question, but think about it, if you died on a cross so that people could have the opportunity to live for you, and they took that sacrafice and lived however they wanted, it would bother you. I learned something from watching ESPN, I am not living for my own gain, but for the renown of Jesus Christ, that is a pretty big deal! I should live my life in such away that people know whom I am living for. See, the really splendid thing about living for the Lord is when I stumble and deserve a drop kick, he gives me grace and because of that grave I will get up and run this race with endurance!

Suffering from squirrel syndrome...

2009-08-12T08:43:00.001-04:00

I don't know about you, but I am suffering from something called squirrel syndrome. Let me explain, have you ever seen a squirrel cross a street? It is quite a site. Squirrels start crossing so confidently, until a car comes or something startles them. Once that happpens it's as if they have forgotten what they are doing or where they are going. Back and forth they dart across traffic, and the sad part about this is some lose their life. Others just go back to where they started not daring to try and cross again, and then there are those that keep running to the other side. Those are the ones that are resillent. But my faith and my walk with Christ is a lot like that. I will be walking on my journey towards Christ and a car comes, which can take on many forms: sin, tragedy, dissappointment, you name it. It gets me off my course and I run back to things that are comfortable, forgetting about the journey I am on. I follow christ and then my own way and then Christ and so on and so forth. The sad thing is some people don't get pass this point, they live their life in the mediocre or their sin leads them down a path that requires their life for payment. Even though I do suffer from this squirrel syndrome, I wan to be one of the ones that makes to the other side, I wan to be a follower of Christ that finishes the race. Even though there are times I lose my way, I want to finish the race and finish well. Maybe at the end of this race I can say I overcame my squirrel syndrome.

Much love,
Nick

Jesus in a little red truck...

2009-08-10T10:48:00.002-04:00

Today i was driving from a coffee shop in town to my office and i turned on a road that had a lot of construction and road work going on and my first thought was "oh great" how long is this going to take to get to my destination? I happened to get behind a little red truck. I did not think much of this truck until we started hitting some road construction spots that had flagmen(to all the ladies of the world, the reason in which I call them flagmen is because I did not see any women, just saying.) and I noticed that the driver of this truck proceeded to wave at the flagman. I was a bit taken back by this gesture. Because in my head i was beginning to get frustrated, but this guy in front of me was waving at all of the flagmen in which we passed. I watched intently as he waved at everyone that looked in his direction and who he passed. Then something very surprising began to happen, the flagmen and road workers began to wave back at him. I could not believe what i was seeing on this Monday morning commute. So i found myself do something that caught me off guard. I began waving to them as well, and they waved back at me. Crazy, and what also caught me by surprise was how my attitude began to change drastically. Now I saw this gentlemen on the side of the road as people and not just beings that are impending my progress to work. Then it hit me, isn't that what being the light is all about? Aren't we called to shine our lights in the darkest of situation and it doesn't get much more dark than a M0nday morning commute. So to whoever that gentleman was in that little red truck, thank you for stepping into my path this morning and allowing me a reminder of what my role is to play in this world. In my head, you were Jesus in a little red truck, because you stepped into a very bleak situation and shined. My prayer is that I may shine as well.

From pollen to honey...

2009-07-11T21:10:00.002-04:00

It is amazing to me how easily i get distracted. But i have learned that sometimes in those distractions, I can learn a lot. Which recently, a distraction was able to teach me a very valuable lesson.

The other day i was doing one of my man choirs, if you are not sure what a man chore is, it is a choir that you can do, without screwing it up and usually it is given to you by your wife. Anyhow, I was walking my pup and I noticed a bee buzzing around as my pup took care of her pup business. i noticed how the bee flew from one flower to another collecting pollen for it's hive. It did this just by landing on a flower and going to another one. I am not sure if it had any idea about the impact of it's actions. We are a lot like that. Each day we come in contact with people and walk into situations where we are either going to make those better or wreck them. What if we were like that bee, that because of our nature, we made the world a better place. We have an opportunity everyday to plant seeds of faithfulness in the lives of people. My prayer is that we will live life that way. I don't know about you, but I desire to make the world a better place. Besides, that is what we are called to do, ¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."-Matthew 5:13

Color of love...

2009-06-23T14:32:00.002-04:00

The other day, I was headed to lunch with a friend of mine and my younger brother. I always dislike trying to decided where to go and eat. But we finally came to a consensus and headed off to lunch. My buddy was in the car in front of me and we were on our way to eat lunch. Everything was going as planned and we were tracking to lunch, until we saw an unusual sight to our left, there was a lady on the side of the road flailing her arms and yelling, " call 911!" It was a very surreal moment, in which i was not sure as to what i should do. So my buddy in the car in front of me pulled over and i followed suit. I tried to call 911, but my phone is also my ipod so it took me a bit longer, so my buddy called 911. I got out of the car and I noticed what was wrong. An SUV had swerved off the road and hit the side of a building. It did not appear that the car had a chance to apply the breaks, because it hit the building head on, and it was in the building basically. The lady that was screaming was almost hit by the car. So we go over to the car and see how we can help. The scene is a mess. The driver is laid out in the front seat, and it appears that he is having a seizure, the passenger is badly bleeding and trapped in the front seat, and the guy in the rear seat is bleeding as well and is very disoriented. What do you do in that situation? Well you help, that is all you think, let me help. So my brother and i cleaned out the back of the car so that the emergency crews could get to them easier and then when they had the situation under control, we prayed. We knew that the person in control was not the medical crews, but the Lord above. So we prayed. So many fire-trucks came and ambulances, it was a scene from Cops or Rescue 911, for those who have never heard of those shows, they show real life situations. Then I noticed that a lady came to the scene that was apparently related to the guys involved in the crash. I watched her as she took in the whole scene and you could tell that her heart sank in her chest, which i imagine would happen to anyone in a similar situation. I felt let to go and pray with her, so I did. I went and put my arm around her and held her hand and prayed, it was a moment that i felt honored to be a part of. I got to play my part in the story of God. It is so funny how you react to situations, you just do what needs to be done. During this whole time I was helping in this situation, not once did I care what color this people were. Not once did i hesitate to help based on how much money i thought they had. It was a none issue. What if our churches operated in the same way? What if we loved people, because they were people. There is a crazy thought out there in the world that if you are the same color, then you should go to church together. It is funny, because i can not find that verse in my bible. I think the body of Christ is a place for all people. I think worship is a corporate thing based on a living God, not the color of the people or financial situation. Because love has only one color, and that is red. That is the color of the blood shed on the cross for all people, of all walks of life. So we cannot base our love on any color but red, because that is what has set us all free. So let's love like Christ loves, not based on color of skin or rank in society, but because we have been called to love, because he first loved us...

Once when i was little...

2009-06-08T14:40:00.001-04:00

I don't know about you but it seems to me that life keeps going by faster and faster the older I get. I mean, when I was a kid, I felt as if time moved by so slow. But now that I am older, it is zooming right by. I remember when I was a kid my outlook on the world was a lot different than it is now. When I was little, I could do anything. There was no job to big, and there was nothing that I was not able to do. When I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut, and a model. I had the audacity to believe that I could do anything, and not only could I do anything, but I would do it the best that it has ever been done. I also, wanted to be superman, stopping the bad guys and saving the day. I wanted to be a vital part of the world, I wanted the world to know who I was and the good I did, when I was little, I had not limits. I remember, when I was little, I would dream. I would think of how things could be. That was when I was little, now I have grown up. You know what i realized, I don't dream anymore audacious dreams. Why? Why have I stopped dreaming. What has happened to me, why don't I believe that I can do anything? I think what happened to me has happened to me happens to a lot of adults, we become mature and realistic. Things get put in perspective for us and we realize that we do have limitations. We realize that we are human and that we can't do anything, but I think the problem with this line of thought is that we think about ourselves to much. What I mean is, we forget what kind of God we serve. We serve a big, audacious, amazing God that has no limitations. How many times have you felt led to do something kind of crazy, and thought, I can't. I am too little, I don't have enough time, or so on and so forth. But the thing of it is, we serve a God that is not small and that has infinite time and that desires to use his people for his glory. What if we trusted God to do what God does and did those audacious dreams. I think that the world would look different, because God's people would be people of faith in action. So the challenge is to have "faith like a child!" Jesus was on to something when He said that we need to have faith like a child. Because he knew that adults are compelled to safety and not faith. He knew that if we had faith like a child we could change the world. The challenge for our lives is no longer to live in why we can't but to dwell in what we can because of the God that we serve. So no longer shall we say, once when I was little, but say I can because of who God is!

On my knees and I cried holy...

2009-05-23T20:52:00.002-04:00

Wow, today was a good day. A very good day. I don't know if you have ever had those moments that you walk into, but you did not expect. Well today that happened. But it was a good thing. Let me say first off, that I do not like funerals at all. I know most people are in this boat, but i really don't like funerals. Ever since my mom passed away three years ago, I just don't do funerals well. But today, I wanted to be there for a friend of mine, she is probably closer to a younger sister than a friend, but back to the story. I head to this funeral because her grandmother passed away. I am already a little nervous about it, because I don't know how I am going to handle them. But the pastor started presiding over the funeral and I was doing well. Then the pastor began to speak on what would be missed about the loved one. She painted a beautiful picture. Then she said that the song she was probably singing was, "On my Knees and I cried Holy." I was not familiar with this song, but she began to sing it. Which I am always impressed when a preacher can preach and sing. The song's lyrics when like this:

I dreamed of a city called Glory,
So bright and so fair.
When I entered that gate I cried holy;
The angels all met me there:
They carried me from mansion to mansion,
And oh what sites I saw.
But I said, "I want to see Jesus,
He's the One who died for all."

Chorus:
Then I bowed on my knees and cried,
"Holy, (holy) holy, (holy) holy."
Then I clapped my hands and sang, "Glory,
Glory to the Son of God."

I thought as I entered that city,
My friends all knew me well.
They showed me the streets of heaven;
Such scenes too numerous to tell;
I saw Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Mark, Luke and Timothy.
But I said, "I want to see Jesus,
He's the One who died for me."

As I listened to that beautifully written song, I saw my mom singing that song to Jesus. The next thing that happened caught me by surprise. I had peace. A peace that I have yet to experience when thinking on the lost of my mother. It was as if God said to me, she is where she needs to be. It was awesome! So in the midst of a funeral, I found my peace, I found Closure! Amen!