The Journey

Hey, guys! So, since my last "health" post was such a big hit with all of you, I thought I would do another one. And this one is about the one thing that plagues many young people in their twenties. Can you guess? Stomach problems! People in their twenties to thirties have a lot of stress placed upon them. Let's face it. College and new careers take a huge toll on us mentally and physically. And one of the symptoms of this stress is stomach problems. I'm not talking the "I ate too much" or "I'm constipated" or "I've got an ulcer" problems. I'm talking about the "I look at food and think I'm going to throw up" problem. For many of us, we have way more stress than we know what to deal with and having a sick stomach that doesn't want to be nourished doesn't help. Then, when we try to let go of all that anxiety, guess what happens? BAM! Stomach problems send us on a wild ride again. You may not even h...

It seems like today the whole world is obsessed with one thing: communication. We now have Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube, Blogger... and probably a hundred other means of communicating including cell phones and the Post Office. So why is it that with all that we still cannot answer the one question that bugs us the most: How does God communicate with us? So does he tap us on the shoulder and whisper in our ear? Write letters in the air? Strike us with proverbial revelation lightning? How? Before we answer this question, we need a little bit of history. At the beginning of the Old Testament, Adam and Eve had direct, audible, one-on-one discussions with God. But after sin, that ended abruptly. Then people had only one way and one way only to hear from God- prophecy. Sure, they could pray to Him, but the only way He talked back was through the voice of another. Some of the most famous Super-Star prophets were probably Noah, Moses, Daniel, and Isaiah. There...

Do you ever get that sick feeling in your stomach that just won't go away? Are you strung tight from being tossed about by things beyond your control? Yeah, that's what I've been dealing with these last few days. It's a feeling of weightlessness, but not the good kind. It's that feeling that I imagine astronauts get when they get knocked into a tailspin in space that they can't pull out of. No matter how desperately they try, all they do is spin. And if they aren't hooked in and can't grab onto anything... they just keep going forever. That has to be the greatest fear- aside from asphyxiation- that every space man has. Sometimes life is a little like space. One moment you feel yourself firmly planted on the ground, life is good, and everyone you love is fine. And then something happens and gravity is ripped out from under you. All it takes is one thing... one tiny, infinitesimal thing and we lose all orientation. Up becomes down.... Left bec...

Father-God, Today I pray for all of the abused and broken souls of this world. So many more people than we know have been hurt by others to almost beyond repair. I see them, hear their stories, and feel their pain until... I just want to cry and plead to You to save them. Just save them. Save them from the memories, issues, their abusers, and wrap them in Your loving arms. Most people don't just wake up one morning and decide they want to be gay or abuse others or commit suicide. There's always a reason and it is because they have no hope that they eventually resort to these things. So many broken people.... It's overwhelming. I know it is nothing You have done and instead it is because we live in a fallen world that has been given over to its passions. I wish that You would protect all of these innocents, but no one is truly innocent- all are sinful beings rolling around in a mess of sin in a broken world. It is a miracle that anyone is saved from it. Thank You, F...

Do you want to know who one of my favorite women of the Bible is? No, it's not Mary. Or Esther. Give up? It's Deborah. Bet you didn't guess her! You may be wondering what this has to do with the title of this post. I admit, Deborah isn't a very talked about woman and there's not much known about her, but there's not much that we know about encouraging the boys in our lives to become men either. If you were to ask just me and me alone how to do this, I would have to tell you that I honestly don't know. But Deborah does. Let's take a look at what we do know about our dear Deborah: She lived in a time when everyone around her was doing anything but what God had commanded them. (Judges 4:1) She was being plagued by an enemy nation that seemed like all it wanted to do was pick on her people. (Judges 4:2,3) She was in an unusual position of authority (that most women in that time period did not have) as a prophetess and judge. Everyone and anyone w...

Whew! It's been a long time since I've written anything on here other than that little advertisement for the Living On The Edge sermon. And I think by now I owe you guys an update. So here it goes! The first camp we took part in this summer was the camp for people with disabilities. It was so  much fun seeing some old friends and getting to know new ones. All of the people who came as participants- or campers- were Romanian, but out of the leaders and volunteers we had a little bit of diversity. There were three girls from Ukraine who all spoke Romanian, several people from Britain (most of whom were Scottish and only spoke a little Romanian), and the Luse family minus Rebecca (from America, in case you didn't know, and all speaking Romanian fairly well). Since there were so many people who didn't speak Romanian, Kenneth and I did more translating than I think we have ever done in our lives. Alyssa, mom, and dad would be able to say the same thing except they were ...

Just a few minutes ago I listened to a message in Chip Ingram's God As He Longs For You To See Him  called Is Your God Too Small? Part 2. And I was blown away. I've been a Christian for close to ten years now. You'd think my view of God would be better than most. But... to be honest... the "test" that Chip gives at the end of the message cut me to the heart. At best, I could probably give myself a six in each category. Don't think that I don't see God and don't have a pretty good idea who He is. But do I really have that, "Wow...", blown away feeling when I think of Him? Do I think of Him that much- in all His intricacies and not in basic brush strokes? And can others SEE that? Chip has convicted me today to spend more time- 180 seconds precisely- before I pray just pondering who God is. Just to sit there and meditate on His awesomeness. So I have a challenge for you, too, but you had better act fast because I don't know how...