i'm winning bread!

it's official! i have a job! i accepted the offer to be the (ready for my crazy long title?) Associate Pastor to Youth and Families at Neighborhood Bible Church (http://www.nbcsj.org/) in San Jose! woohoo! i get to work with my good buddy dave, my good buddy jeff, and my sister hannah (when she gets back from Denmark)! how cool is that!

more than anything, i'm glad the process is over. it has been a stressful time for laura and i, but we made it. we're packing up our stuff to move in with my parents for a few months while we work on getting enough income to be back on our own (this job is only part time).

thanks for your prayers if you offered them!

don't miss the goodness!

i love playing cards. one of my favorite games is called nerts. it is basically a version of speed solitaire. you have to keep track of many things all at the same time, so it is a very fast-paced game. if you're too focused on playing one card, you could easily miss an opportunity to play another card or cards, and that could mess up your whole game.

i have had a one-track mind this past month. i have been focused on one thing - what i thought God should have been giving me - a job. i have been waiting for that goodness, and i almost missed other good things that God has given me recently. God gave me some opportunities to preach - one coming this Sunday! God gave me safety just yesterday - i was inches from being hit by another car, but God spared me! God gave me work - i have been added to the substitute roster at The King's Academy!

if i had been too focused on the fact that i don't have the job i want, i would have missed those opportunities. i would have turned down those speaking engagements. i wouldn't have seen God's hand in protecting me. i wouldn't have applied for work at King's.

notice the good that God is giving instead of just waiting for the good that you want. you could miss something amazing.

patience should no longer be a virtue.

why should i be looked down upon just because i'm having a hard time waiting? i've never looked down on someone because they're pushing people out of the way to get to a toilet in time. sure, i laugh at them. i laugh hard (especially when the person running is my little sister Grace, because it happens to her more often than anyone else i know. she's like the michael phelps of having to pee NOW.).

i can see when the inability to wait can be a problem. people get a little crazy on Black Friday (the day after thanksgiving), and red lights are meant to be stopped at, no matter how clear you think it is. in fact, i respect patient people - mostly because i am not one. i can never understand why they're willing to get in the long line at the store or why they want to drive under (YIKES!) the speed limit. more power to them. however...

i am having a hard time waiting. the end of my time at advent (my current job) is near, and I have nothing lined up. that's right. nothing. i am wanting answers. my friends are wanting answers. this was a unique weekend for me in the way that i got to see a lot of people i usually don't talk to. i was in a friend's wedding, i saw some out-of-town relatives, and i saw a lot of people at church i hadn't seen in a while. they all asked the same question, "so, what are you up to these days?" my answer? "i don't know." it was not a satisfying answer to give, nor was it a satisfying answer for them to hear.

i am quickly running out of patience. please pray that God will give me a little boost. even better, pray that i will get an ANSWER! i think i'd rather have the latter...

risk... and trusting God

"it all began with a risk / cause Your desire is for this / to be loved and to love is what everything is all about" - ten shekel shirt, risk

God took a risk on us. so we need to be willing to take risks for Him. risks that further His kingdom. risks that follow His purpose for our lives.

i have taken a couple risks for God. i took one recently. i thought God was leading me in a certain direction. it turns out He wasn't. or at least it seems that way. it makes it hard for me to know what to do because the option i thought i had is no longer an option.

i have learned that God is good. He has provided for me in ways i never expected or thought possible. when i get in tough spots like this, i have to trust that God will be good again. i know He will, because He's faithful and He loves me. sometimes it's just hard to trust.

Psalm 13 has been my lifeline this past month. here it is in all its wisdom...

How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

i pray this encourages you just as much as it did me.