I had the most amazing time on the metro the other night. I was on my way home from NCC worship practice and I was listening to Johannes Armritzer's Love Miracles sermon. I am about to get on a plane for Sweden and have a lot to do, so I will be short for now. Faith and Hope are good but LOVE is the greatest. I realized that I can be a good Christian and even encounter the Holy Spirit and move in my gifts without ever having love in my heart. It is possible to be a senior pastor or a worship leader to an enormous church and still have no love in your heart. Being a person that Loves is not always easy. Especially when you are first starting out, you will have to counteract what your flesh tells you to do. You truly have to follow Jesus. I want to look around at the people on the metro with Love in my heart for them. I want the LOVE in my heart to never leave me, I want it to be the fuel for my life. I want LOVE to be the motivation that drives me to do ministry.  want the LOVE of Christ to be my desire, not just a 'now and then' experience. I dont want to just wait until there is an emergency or disaster to have compassion. I want the compassion and love of Christ all the time. We have to ask for this love. Ask God to fill you with His love and compassion for all people regardless of their make up. To see through his eyes and feel with His heart.

Listening to the voice of God, although as hard as it may be at times, has to be the most rewarding part of following Jesus Christ.  That said.

Ordering Your Private Word ( a book by Gordon MacDonald) is truly (2 weeks after its completion) recking my world, for the better. I realized recently that I have let "my" ministry run my life. I prioritize my work before my spiritual life. That's wrong! The first problem is that it makes me view that work I am doing as more of a pain instead of the pleasure that it should be. Doing the work that God has called us to should be a pleasure. The second problem is that I have neglected my personal time with God, my endless hours out in the woods, hiking with God. I know that this it is a huge temptation to think 'because we are doing ministry work that we can just burn the candle at both ends and God will somehow restore and refresh us. Now, I know that there, as well, may be times that God will refresh and we have to make a deadline. But, I think that God is jealous of us and want our time to first be His and then to the world.  I could go on, but you should just read the book (Ordering Your Private World) if you get the chance.

I was sitting down last night to type and email about all the ways God is instructing change in Shawna and I's lives but I couldn't seem to get it all out. I am still struggling but here is a little something I want to share. I will be meeting with the NCC (national community church in DC) early next week to talk about joining their worship team. I feel God telling me to enjoy some new experiences with worship and to learn from them. So far they are open to the idea in spite of the fact I will be leaving at the end of the year for Tulsa. I even told them I could only commit to one service a  month. I am very excited about the opportunity and looking forward to all the other ways God is going to open me up.