Tag: faith

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“Hi, My Name is Nick and I Am A…

…Control Freak!”

It really sounds bad, but its true. I would much rather put God on a leash and be in full control of everything, rather than to be submissive to him and wait on his timing, to play by his rules, and to follow his path. Unfortunately, I have seen enough and I have learned enough in my ancient 27 years of living to know that I am out of luck, because God is in control and no matter how much I would rather him be on a leash, he will never assume that position. However, my knowledge of this does not make it easier for me, sure I have gotten better at giving up control, but I still struggle with it.

I believe God is huge on Integrity (John 1:45-48). I have been given an opportunity to speak at my church on July 6th. Now you may be reading this and think, “What’s the big deal? I speak at my church all the time!” Well, it is a big deal. I was a part of the teaching team at my former church and have been at my current church as a volunteer leader for less than two years, so #1 They don’t lay hands on any man suddenly (which is cool by me) and #2 Its been about two years since I did a message in “BIG” church, I speak with teens all the time. But, for two years God has put a passion in my heart for a particular subject a main theme for Christians and the church…its nothing new, but its what the Lord’s given to me, so in a way it is new. It focuses on the total abandonment of the people who say they are followers of the Christ. So, as I have been struggling to put all of the pieces to this message together, God has been building the message out of me. I have been living it for the past couple of weeks, and I just realized what was going on, and in the meantime learning that I have a serious problem if I am going to live out this message that is on my heart!

So there it is. Seriously ashamed. I am a control freak and it must stop! My wife would probably have a heart attack just for me admitting it. I never let her drive the family around with me in the car. I’ve always seen my dad drive and I always thought it was the gentlemen thing to do. I’ve let my wife drive me when I was very sick, but it was at those times that I could care less if I was in control. Nicki drives our boys (and Hailey) everywhere, so why is it any different when I am in the car? Because I must control. Though it is a small start, tonight when we go get dinner, I am having Nicki drive us everywhere! And when it comes to spiritual things, I realize I must give up my selfish ambitions, my understanding, my timing, and my plans to live totally abandoned to Jesus.

Join the Conversation…is there anything God is revealing to you lately?

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Chasing Daylight Chapter 6 Thoughts (Part 2)

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Here are my final thoughts on Chapter 6 (Advance) of Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. Join the Conversation at the end if anything stands out to you…

  • What is it about our conversations with God that we seem to hear the no more readily than the yes? Many times when we claim we are waiting on God, He is waiting on us.
  • You are called not to be a survivor, but to be a conqueror. With passion and anticipation, you move with determination into the eye of the hurricane.
  • I don’t know what it means for others, but for followers of Jesus Christ, what it means to live on the edge is to stand at the epicenter of where the kingdom of God confronts the kingdom of darkness.
  • On this journey one thing becomes certain: When you move forward on what you know, things become clearer. When you refuse to act on what you know, all that you do not know paralyzes you.
  • When we become a people of the Spirit, we join the wind of God as He moves through human history.
  • Those who seize their divine opportunities move with the God-given yes unless God says no. They work from the go and wait for the stop. They understand that the mission gives them permission. They know that the danger is their invitation to step up to the challenge. Continue reading “Chasing Daylight Chapter 6 Thoughts (Part 2)”
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Chasing Daylight Chapter 6 Thoughts (Part 1)

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Here are some quotes and thoughts that stood out to me from Chapter 6 of Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. Join the conversation at the end if anything sticks out to you…

  • When God’s calling and promises are made clear to us, our response will shape how the journey plays out.
  • God will give us victory in the battle, but He will not fight the battle for us.
  • When you’re moving with God, you must move with an advance mentality. You move forward unless God tells you to stop. You advance unless God tells you to wait. There are certain things that you do not need permission to do. You’ve already been commissioned to do them. There are certain things that you do not need a calling to do. You’ve already been commanded to do them.
  • Much of our religious language has been focused on the don’ts rather than the do’s. In the same way we act as if the primary word from God is Stop when it actually is Go.
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158

After 2 months of hitting a wall…I finally lost a pound.

I was sitting at 159 for a long time, but now I weighed in at 158!

I kind of feel like the person who is standing in front of the Amway seminar talking about all of my success, where as I used to be the one in the audience saying, “Yeah, well that’s you…I could never do that!” Trust me, I am not bragging, but it finally feels good to see results after many years of talking.

People tell me all the time that I need to stop losing weight, but I love fitting into the clothes that I like, even though I have to get new clothes now because about 8 years worth look like tents on me. I would love to not lose weight after about 155 lbs, but how do you stop eating healthy and keeping in shape by playing basketball or working out? (The health book says someone with my build and height should range from 151 to 163) Do I become a couch potato and become lazy? So know this, you may feel you can’t do something, but chances are, you can…this is 33 lbs now that I have lost…

Do you feel like you are sitting in the Amway seminar saying,
“I can’t to something?” What is it?

P.S. I kind of feel like Joel Osteen 🙂

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Here Comes the Bride

I just read this great post by Perry Noble, here’s an excerpt…

Here comes the BRIDE…

Once upon a time a beautiful wedding was about to take place. The people who were invited were all buzzing with anticipation. All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had assumed their positions, the candles had been lit, the music was playing, the groom was in place and joy was the dominant mood in the room.

THEN the doors open and the BRIDE began her walk towards her husband…and that is when the trouble began.

Some people actually took their focus off of the BRIDE and began to discuss whether or not the people in the room had been chosen for invitation…or if they had merely accepted an invitation. Little groups began to discuss and debate this issue, thus ignoring the BRIDE. [READ ENTIRE POST]