loveworshiplovelife

Obviously I have not blogged all week. It’s been a very busy week. I even officiated a funeral this week for a great family that goes to C3. Please pray for the Daniels & the Surabians as they mourn the passing of their grandmother Margaret.

I have had a chance to really think about last friday and the impact that it had on my life. Seeing families with such great needs for the basics of food and clothing was just unimagineable here in our great city of Orlando. To think that I have so much and others have so little just breaks me apart.

Then there is my best friend Blaine and his dad, Del. Del fell out of a truck a while ago and broke his neck. The neck was not healing properly so they had to do a pretty risky surgery this week to stabilize his neck so that the bones can heal. Del was pretty convinced he wasn’t going to make it through the surgery but I had told him he didn’t need to worry that he would be fine. As I prayed with him right before he went in to surgery I could tell he was stressed along with Mrs. Back, Blaine & Stacy. I am so thankful that the Lord guided the doctor’s hands and that the surgery went well. Please pray for Del Back as he recovers.

With all of these things taking place this week it has just made me so thankful for the blessings of my family and my needs that the Lord so generously supplied. The life that God has so graciously given too me I take for granted so many times. Sometimes it’s good just to be reminded of what we have and from whose hand it comes from. Thank you God for the reminders. You are truly good all the time and all the time You are good!

Just like my wife and I, I am sure everyone else that helped with the food drop sponsored by C3 Church & Feed the Children, are processing and thinking about how to described what happened yesterday morning. I will definitely share my personal thoughts and images from yesterday in the next blog but I wanted to focus on a different aspect in this service project that was vital in order for it to even happen.

As Pastor Byron wrapped up the series “Big & Rich” a few weeks ago I was thinking about the 90 for 90 challenge that was placed before us and what an impact in our lives and the church as a whole it is making. I grew up in church and bringing my faith offering (tithe) is second nature to me. I can remember as a young boy putting my 10 cents in an envelope when I would receive my dollar allowance each week. So it is just something I do without giving it a thought. God has blessed my family beyond what I could have imagined. When I got married five years ago it was not even a discussion between Andrea & I. Once again it was just something we did that came natural. Now that brings me to yesterday.

While handing out the food I was thinking we had a ton of it and hopefully enough people would show up to get some. As it turns out one semi trailer of food was not even close to the need that exists right here in Orlando. At about 10:45am yesterday after only 45 minutes of officially handing out food I started to realize we would be running out. By 11:00am it was gone. During those last 15 minutes all I could say was, “I wish we had more food to give out.” What we did as a church was great but we could have done so much more. I was just thinking if every single person at C3 were doing the 90 for 90 challenge we could have easily have had 3 semi trailers of food instead of just one. I was just sad because C3 Church has the potential of making a huge impact in all peoples’ lives right here in Orlando. Having to turn people away as they came to get food because there wasn’t any more was heart wrenching.

Giving to C3 Church and bringing our “faith gift”, our “generous gift” and our “extravagant gift” isn’t just something to do because Andrea & I have done all of our lives. It’s an opportunity to fund a mission to “Connect the Community with Christ”. It’s an opportunity to bring Christ to Orlando and to see lives changed in the process. I am glad that Andrea & I have the opportunity to give and be a part of something that’s much, much bigger than ourselves. It’s a God movement! Loving God, loving others! 90 for 90 helps us do just that. Praise God! Love Wins!

You know what? I have never been on a mission trip overseas. I have always heard that your life would change when you see the poverty of those people living on hardly any income in the worst living conditions possible. All of those statements are probably correct. I’m sure my perspective on living would change and that I would definitely feel a burden for the people in the third world. But, you do not have to go half way around the world for your perspective to change because there is poverty right here at our doorstep.

Let me qualify what I am saying. I know that the low income areas of Orlando can not compare or even come close to the squalid conditions of the slums in Calcutta or the living conditions in Haiti but there is a need right here in our own city. How can so many Christians get so excited about giving their “missions” offerings to a “cooperative” program to fund missions around the world when there are poor right here crying out to be helped. How can we feel good about getting everyone else’s “house” in order when we do so little to shore up our own “house” as it’s crumbling to the ground?

Yesterday I had the privilege to walk around some apartment complexes on Mercy Drive right here in Orlando and hand out flyers inviting people to come get a week’s worth of groceries for a family of four for free on Friday morning at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission food distribution warehouse. What I saw was jarring. These apartment complexes are arguably some of the worst areas in the City of Orlando. Drive by shootings happen often. Drug deals go down on a daily basis. And the poverty at these areas were really bad. As I would hand people flyers as there doors were open in some of these apartments their eyes would light up as you told them that they would not have to worry about how to provide food for their families for a week. I can’t help but remember one little boy that Barry Leathers handed a flyer to and said, “Go give this to your mom & dad.” The little boy’s immediate reply was, “I don’t have a dad.” It was just enough to break your heart.

As tomorrow rolls around I hope a lot of the people we handed out flyers to get a chance to come get the food that C3 has purchased to help make their lives a little easier for just one week. Like I said in the previous post. What C3 does tomorrow will barely put a dent into the massive issue of poverty here in Orlando but it is a great place for us as a church to start. I believe that this is a part of “Connecting the Community with Christ”. This is part of us doing what we say we are called to do! It is true that there are huge mission opportunities overseas and people need our help all over the world. But if we can not love our “neighbors”, people right here in our own city, enough to share the blessings that God has given us, how can we love the rest of the world? Loving God and loving others, others right here in our own backyard, what a blessing, what a thrill!

“Oil creeps toward $120 per barrel.” “Priest gets prison time for having sex with inmates.” “More than 10,000 feared dead in Myanmar Cyclone.” “Fed frets over foreclosures.” “Three babies found dead in freezer, Mom arrested.” “Who lives, dies in Pandemic?” And these are just a few of the headlines in the news today. No wonder why people fight depression on a moment by moment basis. Things in this world are bad and will get only worse but, there is something and someone that can give hope in a hopeless world. The answer is Christ. As a Christian I not only have the strength to endure the constant barrage of bad news but I have hope that Jesus Christ can make a difference in this world, in me and through me.

Will we be able to change all of the bad things that happen in the world? No, but we as Christians can be a light to the world we live in and effect change in the small world that we call home. I am so proud that this week the members of C3 Church get to change a small part of the world right here in Orlando. On Friday we are teaming up with an Organization called “Feed the Children” as we help feed 400 families here in O-Town for a whole week.

This is only one small step by only one church and group of believers, but it is a step in the right direction none the less. Does this wipe out hunger and poverty in Orlando? No, but it will make a huge difference to 400 families that might be struggling just to have enough food for next week. Can you just imagine if every single church in the Orlando area were to do a food drop to help the hungry, what kind of difference that would make right here in central Florida? How would 86% of the central Florida population that do not go to church view and perceive “the church” if every church were to do this in central Florida? Would the love that we show for others be an evangelistic appeal to those who do not know Christ? I think the answer would be a resounding yes. So this Friday is not only a chance for C3 to give out some food to someone that might be hungry, it’s a chance to show the love of Christ to others. It’s a chance for us to show our love for others. Friday is a chance to bring a little happiness and a little hope to a world where both seem like are in short supply these days.

C3, Love Wins!

Letting go is hard. Letting go is even harder when the thing that you must let go of is a person. I have learned since I have entered the “ministry” back in 03′ that you as a Pastor or a minister will end up making people mad at you no matter if you are right and they are wrong. Even if you apologize and ask forgiveness sometimes for stuff that might not even be your fault. Even if you try to do what the Bible says and ask forgiveness from a brother or sister that you know has a problem with you even if you don’t have a problem with them. It does not matter if you are the nicest Pastor in the world, sometimes people are so inward focused that no matter what you do or say, if you do not meet up to their expectations of what kind of a Pastor, minister or friend you are supposed to be then you and your relationship mean nothing to them. It is in these circumstances that after you have met your Biblical, Christian obligation to reconcile with them that you then must let that person go.

It might seem cold and callous but unless you let people go it will eat you up inside emotionally till you have nothing left to give to your family, friends and the people that still call you Pastor, brother and friend. Is letting go of people easy? No, but it is a calculated choice you as a Pastor must do so that you can be effective in the Kingdom of God.

Is letting go of a person a one time thing? No, it is a choice you have to make more than once if you are grieving over the loss that you feel from a relationship that can not be restored. Why am I blogging about this right now? Well I am feeling loss right now. Personally there is a friendship that looks like I have no other choice than to let go of. Did this particular person do something really bad or ugly too me? No, but it looks as though this person, because of whatever reasons they have, want nothing more to do with me even though I have no ill feelings toward this person. So, I chalk it up to my role as a Pastor or minister and the call that God has given too me. Sometimes the loss and burdens that Pastors bear are just that, our burdens to bear. It comes with the territory.

So all of that to say this. Letting go is just so dang hard. I just need to listen to Tyler Perry’s character Madea in his play “Madea Goes To Jail”. Madea: “Let Folks Go!”  And wouldn’t you know it? Usually the best advice is the hardest to hear. Let folks go.

I have nothing against happy people. In fact it is refreshing to see happy people. It is just a little jarring when someone is just so over the top happy at 7am. This morning I got up to work out with my beautiful amazing wife (I promised I would go the Y with her). The girl at the counter was just so over the top happy. Kind of like that girl on the Progressive Insurance commercial. You know the one that shouts into the loud speaker that the customer has just saved 310 dollars and then she says “wow”. It was kind of like that this morning but at least it made me smile in a kind of irritable sort of way. It really is because I’m just not a morning person and never have been. So I worked out today, I guess that is what is important. Will this be a trend or a one time deal? I don’t know. I’m thinking about it. Maybe I need to talk to a happy person.

We had a great night. We had the best sushi in Orlando at Amura in downtown O-Town and had great company with awesome friends. All in all it makes for a great Tuesday evening. Eating out with friends is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I think that just having a good time with friends and eating good food just makes me happy. Is it the food or the friends? I think it’s a combo of both. When you think about it though, you can get good food anywhere but it’s a lot harder to have good friends. So after putting my little mind to the subject I think that it’s 90% friends and 10% food. So thank you God for the good food but I thank You even more for great friends. Sushi and great friends, yes I am very happy!

I must say I am proud of myself this evening. I try to cook. You noticed I said, “I try to cook”. Usually when I cook it is ok. Chef Ramsey I am sure would shout a whole string of obscenities if he tasted my cooking. It’s not bad it’s just not great sometimes. Usually it’s because I experiment when I cook. So tonight I did a little experimenting. We had some frozen shrimp in the freezer so I thawed them and then put some olive oil, white cooking wine, garlic, parsley and a stick of butter in a pan and proceeded to scampi the shrimp. Once I knew the shrimp were thoroughly scampi-ed I then added the pasta sauce and mixed it all together and then put it over vermicelli. It was my favorite thing I have cooked in a while. Andrea and Mom loved it too. Although I wouldn’t even make the first cut for “Top Chef” or even darken the door of the “Iron Chef” studio I was proud of what I fixed tonight. My cat even liked the shrimp. Eat your heart out Chef Ramsey!

It’s Sunday evening and it has been a great day. It was great to be at church today and be part of fantastic worship. Josh and the band did an amazing song by Jars of Clay called “Work”. This song spoke specifically about fear that sometimes grips us of being alone. They did this song along with a whole bank of other worship songs like “Jesus Paid It All”. It was just a great worship set this morning.

Next came a great message to intro the “Phobia” series that we are in. Fears are something we all face in life but faith & love cast out fear. It will be such an encouraging series for Pastor to preach. A series filled with the hope that we don’t have to be paralyzed by fear but filled with faith & love.

And what service would be complete without our new friend “Lucky”. We had Lucky on the stage today as part of the “Phobia” stage set. Of course Lucky made the point that there are many different phobias we as people have, one being a phobia of snakes. Lucky is a 6ft Burmese Albino Python who felt right at home, stage center, doing his part to reach people (no pun intended ).

All in all a great day at C3. Hey it’s not everyday you get good worship a good message and a snake called Lucky!

Fridays are my day off. I, like others on the Management Team at C3 like to spend Fridays with family. Sundays are usually very busy days for us, so Fridays are pretty important days. Andrea has to work most Fridays and so I take her to work sometimes on Fridays to spend a little more time with her. Family is only second to God when it comes to our priorities in life.

Most of you probably know this, but my mom lives with Andrea & me. Right after mom moved in with us she had to give up driving because her response times and reflexes were just not where they needed to be to be safe. In fact she was in four automobile accidents within one year. Only one was her fault but her reaction times were not quick enough to avoid the others so we made the decision that she should not drive.

Because of her inability to drive she goes a little stir crazy just staying at home. During the week I have less flexibility to take her out and provide some entertainment for her, so Fridays are kind of her designated day for me to take her out so she can have some time out of the house. If Andrea is off on a Friday then that of course changes things, but for the most part Fridays are mom’s day.

As I think about Fridays and I am honest about them, sometimes it’s hard. I would love sometimes just to do whatever I wanted to do but I know that the times I spend with mom are something special that I will never get a chance to redo and I want no regrets someday when mom passes away. My parents are why I am the person that I am today. My dad went to be with Jesus eight years ago and I have no regrets. My mom is not the same person she used to be. She forgets a lot, tells the same stories over & over, can no longer cook and generally is almost totally dependent on me.

So I thank God that I still have a mom and that I am able to be a part of her life, even if it is a kind of “parental” role. I thank God for a loving wife that understands and loves my mom as much as I do. Are my Fridays as carefree as they once were? No, but I would not trade “my Fridays” for anything.