The Grace of Forgetting

The Grace of Forgetting

  As we prepare to begin a new year one of the possible obstacles in receiving the new things God has prepared for our lives are our own unhealed memories. For most aspects of our lives, our ability to remember is a vital skill so necessary for success. But there are times when the things we remember and how we interpret them can paralyze us and hinder our growth and progress. Today I would like to look at the scriptures and how they instruct us about what I would like to call the 'grace of forgetting'.

  It doesn't take long for us to accumulate experiences, relationships and failures that we would like to forget. But often those mental images we would like to erase stick to our souls and cause us to despair and lose hope for our lives. We need something beyond ourselves to move forward from our places of hurt and disappointment. We need the grace of forgetting.

                                                        A Transformed Mind

  I am not saying we need a spiritual 'lobotomy' or the complete removal of our memories. What I am talking about involves something deeper and more profound than a physical reality. When grace is at work in our minds it involves both transformation and translation of our memories into a kingdom perspective where God can rule over our pain and brokenness. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." (Romans 12:2)

  The Old Testament prophet Isaiah spoke to the nation of Israel about not losing hope for the future. They were living in a foreign land and had lost the ability to hope for the promises God had given them. God had to lay out the hope of the future for them again and it began with a command to forget! In Isaiah 43:18, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise."

                                                    Letting go of Painful memories

  We often don't want to yield and surrender our painful memories to God. Soul pain is rooted deep and nourished by our repetitive remembering of what others have done to us.... what we have done to ourselves. We build altars over our injuries and participate in the false worship of our pain. God through the prophet Isaiah clearly calls us to forget the former things.... the old things of our past. We are being called to welcome and discern the new thing  that God is actively wanting to bring into our lives. The question needs to be asked, 'do we perceive it'? The ability to discern what God might want to do in our lives is hindered by the inability to open our minds beyond what 'has been' to 'what will be'.  There is a difference between tolerating evil and harm to ourselves and wallowing in the memory of what has been done to us. The grace of forgetting does not enable or discount the evil that has been done to you or through you. When we receive the grace of forgetting we are looking beyond ourselves into the throne room of heaven and saying to God, "I need your grace to go on!" I need you to breathe into me the hope and truth of your promises for my future life. I can't go on without hope! Soul pain runs very deep into our minds and emotions. Only God can make a way in the 'wilderness' and 'desert' of our souls. When he pours out a 'fresh word' of hope into our minds and hearts it's like a river bursting forth in the driest desert. My prayer for all of us as we enter 2012 is that we will enter the new year with an openness to the new thing God wants to do in all our lives. I want all of us to be empowered with the supernatural grace of forgetting.

                                                Leaning into the Future with Grace

  In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul who had once been a religious terrorist and prideful bigot knew the grace of forgetting. While in the natural he had so much to 'brag about' in his own religious and cultural heritage and past he made a willful and wise decision to firmly leave his past behind. In Philippians chapter 3: 13 we read, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  The grace of forgetting is meant to take us deeper than we have ever gone in a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is so much 'impossibility' wrapped around the unforgiveness deeply embedded in our souls. Often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves.... and those closest to us... who have the ability to get close enough to hurt us so deeply.

                                              A New Year and a New Opportunity

  Every new year, opportunity, relationship and life direction demands both a 'letting go' of the past and an openness to the new. God wants to soften you on the inside. He wants your soul to be tender enough that he can take his finger and write upon your heart a new chapter... a chapter of hope, restoration and healing. The things that have been stolen need to be replaced.... the things that have been lost need to be found. Are you willing to receive the grace of forgetting? There is a very real and costly choice involved. You will have to be open and trusting to an unknown future. You will have to believe again. You will have to nurture and develop your relationship with the God of grace and love. You will have to let go of cynicism and a critical spirit. But it's worth it to have that fresh water of life flowing over your soul. As the new year dawns, its time to open your life to that cleansing stream of  life that flows from the river of God's love. Welcome 2012 with hope and expectancy! God has good things in store for us all. Let the dreams inside of you out into the open. Dreamers believe and believers dream!

Jim

Soul Satisfaction: Intimacy with God

What we seek for in a relationship can determine it's depth and intimacy. There is real danger in our seeking to know God that our search for more facts and information leads to a false sense of 'knowing' God. We can know many facts about someone without really knowing them. Some aspects of knowledge are limited to the 'public domain' but intimacy implies that the real essence of a person is shared in the context of commitment and trust.
You can know facts about God but not be on 'speaking terms'. Many attend religious ceremonies, say prayers and do various religious acts without ever hearing God speak to them in a personal way. Intimacy at its root is an inner knowing of one another to the point of total satisfaction. When you really know God in the place of intimate friendship, there is an inner satisfaction and fullness that keeps one safe from other false lovers. You aren't tempted toward spiritual adultery once you have tasted the all sufficiency of the perfect Lover, Savior, Friend and Lord.
Are you satisfied in your soul? Do you find yourself falling prey to sensual temptations? Perhaps its because your soul has not fed sufficiently on the greatest lover of every soul, Jesus Christ.
Our prayers, our reading of scripture, our service on behalf of God when separated from the gracious call to sit at the feet of the loving Savior lead to dissatisfaction, frustration and confusion. We must first rest in his presence before we can act on his behalf. There is a progression in our relationship with God that can never be violated. First, we sit in his presence and marvel at his finished work of salvation. Then in the light of his risen SON we walk hand in hand with him and live the life he has given. Finally, in the shadow of his presence we stand and do battle against evil in our world.
The minute I stop embracing God is the minute I begin to lose the essence of life itself. Apart from him... his love, his word, his ongoing grace and care... I die.... slowly, inexorably, my life is totally dependent on Jesus Christ... the way, the truth, the life.... and the love of my life.

Jim

Belonging and Believing

  The first call from God is not to a system of belief or to a religious organization. The first call from God is always to himself. Belief is meant to flow out of divine love and relationship and not the logic or systematic flow of depersonalized truth. Truth in its purest form is always personal and deeply embedded in the personhood of God himself. Jesus said it this way, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6)

  Allow me to share some scripture to help you understand my thinking on this subject. From Mark's gospel chapter 1 and verses 14-17, "After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near, Repent and believe in the good news!  As he was passing along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother.  They were casting a net into the sea, since  they were fishermen.

  'Follow ME," Jesus told them, 'and I will make you fish for people!" Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little farther, He saw James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in their boat mending their nets.  Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."

  The kingdom of God's primary work is the calling of men and women to the King's service. A life of intimacy, satisfaction and deep meaning... and challenge.  Following the King's call to establish something that will last forever!  Nothing else will ever totally satisfy the man or woman who has by the Spirit heard the voice of Jesus calling him or her to "Come and follow me.!"

God's call to himself is a call to relationship.
God's call to himself is to a life of service and worship.
God's call to himself involves a transformation of relationships and priorities.
In the security of intimacy and belonging to God all other relationships and commitments find their proper place and order.

  Another place of belonging: The call to covenant relationship with other Christ followers.
  1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 1, "Follow me as I follow Christ." Other translations render this verse as "Imitate me as I imitate Christ" and "Pattern yourself after me, as I imitate and follow Christ."

  Because of our own insecurities we often don't call people to follow Christ in us as Paul did...but there is no 'Plan B' to Christian disciple making. When you substitute anything in place of the biblical pattern  you're no longer building the kingdom of God.  Many more people are being called to 'church' or a religious experience or institution than they are to a life changing encounter with the living Christ.

  Jesus Christ cannot be reduced to a program or a sermon outline. His life must be demonstrated  in real relationships and life experiences and not held hostage to the 'safe' confines of church auditoriums or Sunday school classrooms.  It's time we let God out of the 'boxes' made by human hands.
  Jesus command to "Come follow me" is still echoing outward into our present day world.  Even as you read this blog if you listen for the voice of God's Spirit you can hear him calling you to himself in relationship!  What will be your answer to the Lord? Are you willing to leave the security of your own 'nets' and 'families' to simply follow him wherever he may lead?

  The massive changes which are coming into our world in the coming years will either destroy us or drive us deeper into the realities of a Kingdom which cannot be shaken or destroyed.  The voice of our loving, holy and sovereign King is calling us to himself. Jesus knows exactly who we are and still he welcomes us to belong to him and to use us in his grand plans of calling others to believe and belong.

  Today, even as you read this, the Lord 'sees you' in a deep and intimate way. He knows exactly where you are in every sense of your being: body, soul and spirit. His word to you today is a radical and liberating call to himself...not to resolve to be a 'better person' in your own power and strength....but to surrender to the love that will change you from the inside out.

  It's love that liberates, changes and transforms. Jesus first and last call is always to himself.  Come and follow Jesus as I follow him. Together in a community of belonging and believing, real life truly begins!
Jim

Preparing for 2012

 

    One of the constants in modern life is change. The rapid pace of change in every dimension of life causes stress and anxiety for many people. Change is often viewed as an enemy in life. When we resist change and avoid it, we only postpone the inevitable. Change waits for no one because it is a harbinger and guide into the future. Change is not an enemy, its a friend, calling you into the future.

    When we resist change we ignore the spiritual realities of life. At the center of the universe is a spiritual being.... God. God has created not a static universe but an ever expanding reality. You can't bottle up time...it marches on and only those who embrace change are in step with where history is taking us. When we ignore spiritual reality and don't relate to our creator in relationship, we get disconnected from both who he is and where he is taking us.

  People with a real and dynamic faith should  not only embrace change.... we need to anticipate it and plan for it. Learning to adapt and embrace change becomes easier when we know both the plan and person of God. Yes, God has a plan and history is not meant to be a random series of events. God tells us plainly in Romans 8: 28, 29, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

  There is a purpose and more importantly a divine person behind the events of history and in our present day reality. When you are in relationship with God by the Holy Spirit you can hear a voice and discern a presence to the change that comes into your world daily. You are not meant to have a sacred/secular division in your life. Everything and everyone that comes into a believers life has significance from God's point of view. The last thing we need to be doing as people of faith is hiding in Bible studies or church ghettoes from the realities of every day life. Truth not juxtaposed into the middle of everyday challenges quickly devolves into fantasy and myth. The world is waiting for men and women of real faith who walk with God in the midst of rapid and seemingly unpredictable change.

  God wants to breathe into you and me an expectation and an excitement about the change that is upon us. When your faith is a real and vibrant trust in a living God, you are not a victim of circumstance or change. You are an active participant in God's plan for your life. When you get your direction and guidance from the author and finisher of life's great reality, you can have confidence and faith in the future instead of fear and hopelessness.

  Remember, change is not your enemy, it's the voice of a friend.... your God and creator, calling you into a future prepared for you before the foundation of the world!

Jim

Searching for Inspiration in 2012

Inspiration is a word whose root meaning flows out of the physiology of the body. Inspiration at its root means to "breathe". To take in oxygen by inspiration and to remove carbon dioxide (the waste products) by expiration enables physical life to go on. Without a fresh supply of oxygen you will die within minutes.
Life is dependent on an ongoing intake of "new" air both to energize and supply the body but also to remove that which is no longer alive.... The new thing DEMANDS the removal of the old. If we hold onto Carbon Dioxide too long we will also die.
As it is in the physical realm so it is in the spiritual realm. Our financial provision flows out of an exchange in time and energy... When what we do brings added value to the world in which we live we are compensated/rewarded for that exchange. When the world changes suddenly and what we do no longer adds value, the compensation either diminishes or is eliminated. This is how the world works. When we fight against this we are wasting time. The world rewards a fresh supply of life and responds accordingly. When we live in the past we can count on diminished returns and lack. God allows us to hunger and thirst and even suffer to some extent so that we will embrace the new things he is trying to do in the earth. Let's reflect on the powerful word from the prophet Isaiah 43:18 and beyond, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. ....".
When we hold onto last year's provision, profession, idea or memory we deny God the opportunity to provide for us with fresh creativity and inspiration and we ensure our personal lives, families and communities will become a wasteland. God wants to restore, refresh and bring life to barren souls and communities but first we have to take a risk... open our hands and grasp the new things from God. Turmoil breeds distrust and paralysis. Risk apart from knowledge of God's will is futile and foolish. But when we cry out to God and he "impresses" our hearts and minds with a vision and plan we MUST MOVE with him into his future... the only secure place on the planet. Are you willing to move with me as I follow God? God wants to inspire your heart and mind in the coming new year of 2012. Open your heart and let him breathe fresh air into your soul!
Jim

Learning to Embrace Weakness

 While the world teaches us to boast about our strengths and hide our weakness, the kingdom of God teaches us to be humble about our strengths and transparent about our weaknesses. Following Jesus Christ involves such an intimate relationship of honesty and dependence that we can rest and relax in openness. It takes a lot of energy to be 'always on' in terms of creating and maintaining masks and images. We want to be seen in the best light but often create our own false idolatry of image.

  We are more than the sum of our talents and gifts. The fact is that we all suffer from some measure of weakness and brokenness. Scripture teaches us that we are all guilty of imperfection and failure to some degree. We need a Savior..... and we need one another. When we aren't honest about our failings, weaknesses and needs, no one gets healed.... and we continue to suffer lack in key areas in our lives. Healing and growth flow out of relationship.... with God and with one another.   When we don't reveal who we really are, we all suffer.

 An early leader in the church (Paul) had a series of amazing miracles and visions take place in his life. Despite these experiences, others who knew him rejected him and challenged his leadership and authority. Instead of bragging and boasting about his qualifications, Paul learned some foundational truths about where real strength lies. In 2 Corinthians 12, he makes some amazing statements about the power of surrendered weakness. Paul has an ongoing weakness in his life that he seeks God to deliver him from. Three times he begs God for deliverance. God's responds with a profound revelation of truth, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness."

  Pride is the great grace killer.   When we gaze too long in the mirror of our gifts and abilities we lose perspective on what life is all about. The world does not revolve around us!  Self worship and self centered lifestyles ultimately end in dissatisfaction. We need a vital and real relationship with God. Pride and arrogance burn the bridge of dependence we need in relating to him.

  Real lasting strength for life flows out of relating to Jesus Christ and his power. Paul boldly states,"So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me......for when I am weak, then I am strong."

  Traveling the road of humility is not an easy path. The world will mock, persecute and ridicule the humble pilgrim. The road that leads heavenward is narrow and often misunderstood. The surrender of self glory and a focus on God's glory is the mark of a true follower of Jesus. The power of weakness is a transfer of your own limited and futile strength for the resources of the creator of the universe..... and the Savior of a broken world. His power is perfected in weakness...it's time to get real..... to be open.....and to live a transformed and powerful life, for his glory.

Let the weak say, I am strong....in him.

Jim

Preparing for the Dream

Dreams offer us an opportunity. They give us a picture of what could be.... what might be....what should be for our future. But dreams offer no guarantees. Dreams offer a doorway for the man or woman to respond to either in faith or in disbelief. Dreams are a call to relationship and partnership with the grand originator... our creator God. But relationship to God is not passive and it involves a give and take of communication and responsiveness. When we initially receive the inspiration of a 'life dream' or calling, we need to follow up with the discipline of preparation, training and the changes that our dream calls for us to make. Athletes get this. I was raised in a family of runners. My father was a sprinter. My uncle was a long distance runner and professional coach. My uncle would get up early in the morning and run 10 or 15 miles on a daily basis well into his 50's. Even into my teen years I could not defeat my father in a sprint race. There was always an expectation that I would be a runner like them. One year I went out for the cross country team in high school. I had run sprints the previous year in high school (my freshmen year) and had done pretty well. Cross Country season is in the fall. I had not done much training in the summer and when I went to the first few practices I was exhausted and quit the team. The following year I spent the entire summer running twice a day workouts. I had a deep desire born of initial failure to succeed. My senior year of high school I won an award for the 'most dedicated' runner given by the team to the hardest working athlete. I wanted the dream of being a runner to be mine... but I learned the lesson of preparation and training. Many talented people depend solely on their talent to take them to places of prominence and success in their dreams. But talent alone will often only project us forward to the first phase of our dreams. I have often heard it said that talent cannot take you where your character won't keep you. You see talented people can fail in very dramatic and painful ways. You are more than the sum of your talents. Your identity goes far beyond what you are good at! You are a human being...made in the image of God...born to know God and born to love him in a real and vital relationship. When you ignore that divine and eternal reality you are setting yourself up for disappointment and real and lasting failure.
  Are you preparing yourself for lasting success or temporary success? Awards, records, personal victories are important but short in significance and satisfaction. What are you preparing for? What are you disciplining yourself for? How are you defining yourself? How would you define success? Ultimately, why are you on this planet?
  The content of your dreams and your ability to discipline yourself to achieve those dreams is deeply connected to your spiritual beliefs. So many 'successful' people are ultimately unable to enjoy their achievements because they choose shallow goals and selfish means to accomplish them. Every achievement and dream demands great sacrifices of time and the surrender of some aspect of choice in life.
  To be a follower of Christ is an amazing life of blessing and satisfaction...but it is also a life of surrender and obedience to a real and personal God. Jesus described the ultimate priority for those who would follow him, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." When you achieve things apart from being rightly related to God, there will always be an empty place in your soul. Dreams are great but they are not meant to achieved in isolation or apart from loving relationship with God... and with the people that he has put into your life. When our relationships falter, achievements mean little. We should be asking ourselves some big questions all along the journey toward achieving our dreams.  Why am I doing this? What will happen to me If I achieve this dream? How will this impact my relationships? Who will get the glory if I achieve this? How will this impact my soul? I encourage you to 'go for your goals' but to also be thoughtful and count the cost before you set out on life's journey of faith and adventure. Remember what Jesus said about achievement, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
  Dream...prepare for your dream. But remember dreams are not meant to separate you from your Creator...they are meant to draw you nearer to him than you've ever been. Dreamers believe.... and believers dream. It's all about relationship.

Jim

Our Dream: Jim & Mary

  As a child growing up I never wanted to be known as a 'dreamer'. I wanted to be known as someone responsible. Someone who made correct decisions with little risk. I wanted to live my life in the 'sure thing' realm. Get a decent job. Make average or better money. Live somewhere in the middle of 'middle America'. When I heard the word dreamer it conjured up images of irresponsibility. So at the age of 17 with no money for education, I did the responsible thing and joined the military. I would work hard, stay out of trouble, and save money for my education. And about 3 years into my sojourn of responsibility, my world became undone. I found myself in trouble on the inside. I had achieved a measure of success in the military.... graduating with honors in their medical laboratory training schools. I worked hard.... and saved every dime I could. I wanted to be safe. But the safety of a savings account did nothing for my soul. I was flat out empty and going into a danger zone emotionally and spiritually. I needed something more than a respectful safe place. I needed love.

  On August 2nd, 1980 I prayed a prayer that lasted no more than 5 seconds. I cried out to God on the gym floor of a Baptist church for help. I can't recall the words of my prayer but they were probably nothing more than, "Help, I am screwed up!"  Help came. My life has been an ongoing relationship with God who continually challenges me to walk with him to places I would never go alone. By nature I want to hide.... hide from people, hide from danger, hide from myself. But God.... is love... and he won't let me alone!

  Over the last several years I have been dreaming backward.... let me explain. My fears of becoming known as a 'dreamer' stem from observing that many dreamers never seem to amount to anything at all. Their dreams are fanciful, naive and frankly often crazy. But when you walk with God (and this sounds...excuse me...dreamer like) and he speaks to you through scripture it can define your life and change everything. I was reading in the final book of the bible known as Revelation. (Warning.... don't read this book at home alone...it could permanently alter the course of your life) I was specifically reading Revelation chapter 5 and verses 8-10. It describes a magnificent and hard to comprehend scene from heaven. Jesus is at the center of the picture, "When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and four gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; and you redeemed people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth."

  This vision of the future in heaven has defined my reality.... and my dreams for the last 15 years. While praying in December, 1997 in Gilgit, Pakistan, God spoke to me two words, "International Students".  I spent the next several months praying what those two seemingly disconnected words meant to me and my life. Previously I had told God while I enjoyed living and working in Pakistan I wanted to if possible to serve among people "all over the world".  Long story short I wound up in Mobile , Alabama where for nearly 13 years I have served the international students at the University of South Alabama.  Since the summer of 2009 I have also been developing along with a team of friends an international church known as "All Nations Community Church".  I have become a 'dreamer'. But unlike most dreams I am dreaming backwards. God has revealed the future to me.... well in fact to all of us... who choose to believe it. He has shown me the future and I want all of my decisions, plans, priorities and purposes to be defined by that future reality which I see by faith.

  I am building a house of love that goes beyond ethnic boundaries to cooperate with a future God has promised us all. I am living among a community of people defined by gratitude and worship of a God of love. We are wrapped together in a garment of many colors.... a rainbow of grace. I am no longer able to be that middle of the road man who won't take any risks. I have been transformed by a God who heard my cries for help three decades ago and will never be the same. Where he goes I go.... what he says I say. I'm dreaming backwards.... into a future....filled with love.

Jim

When Dreams Delay

  Dreams are a vital part of connecting the 'what is' with the what 'will be' in our future. Our interior being was meant to actively engage and interact with our dream world. A man or woman with an active faith life will not easily dismiss the power and purpose of dreams in their lives. God uses dreams to paint broad brush strokes of hope onto our souls. They can act as a catalyst or ignition device to move and act in a specific direction or purpose requiring both discipline and risk taking. A dreamless life is a faithless life. A dreamless life is a symptom of a soul that has lost its ability or even desire to be fully human.
  Perhaps you have found yourself struggling to pursue your past dreams. Maybe it's been a very long time since you've thought about an earlier time in your life when so many possibilities ran rapidly through your heart and mind. Perhaps somewhere along the way you were beaten down by some mistakes or failures in your life. Someone might have told you that dreamers are irresponsible and that you needed to get a 'responsible' plan together and forget about the deepest desires in your heart.
  The challenge for many of us who receive a very real dream and vision for our lives is not its validity or possibility. The biggest challenge for dreamers is that there is a 'time between' what we see with our souls and what we see with our eyes. Dreams are really 'faith vision'. Dreams enable us to see the future before it happens. They are real....they are substance and yet they are 'not yet'. The Bible is largely an unveiling of God's will and purposes into the earth....dreams being released into the heart and minds of people willing to walk by faith into the future planned in advance. The grand adventure of all our lives is so magnificent that when we stop imagining, stop dreaming....we cease to really live as we were meant to. There in the land of the 'time between' we often falter and lose hope about our dreams ever coming to pass. We stop hoping, stop believing, stop dreaming....and slowly and painfully begin to die on the inside.
  In my own life I've had to learn that just because my dreams are delayed does not mean that they are in anyway denied or invalid. There is a purpose and a plan even in the delays to physically seeing a spiritual dream become a reality. One of my early life dreams was to live and work in Asia as a medical missionary. In 1989 I began talking with an Ophthalmologist in England about preparing to help establish an eye hospital in Pakistan. What began as broad brush strokes of purpose and mission over  time became a finely detailed painting of faith enmeshed in my soul. I believed in it long before I saw it in reality. All along the journey there were specific points of testing and trial that threatened to undue the faith vision I so desired to live. Many times I thought of quitting and giving up on the dream. Every great dream requires a corresponding great faith to accomplish it. Great faith is not born out of ease and comfort. Great faith is born out of adversity, resistance, testing and trial. When I initially was exploring going to work in Pakistan as an eye nurse, I was an officer in the United States Navy Nurse Corps. I had served in the military for seven years and was making a 'good living'. I had wanted to perhaps do work overseas while still keeping my good job and career....security. But God clearly and dramatically (I'll tell the full story later) told me I needed to resign from the military and serve him full time. I left the U.S. Navy in the fall of 1990 after completing my term of service. I then worked in hospitals in Pensacola as an ICU staff nurse. I was supposed to be 'raising support' to enable me to serve as a missionary overseas. In other words I needed to somehow convince people and perhaps churches to pledge monthly financial support to enable me to work and establish the hospital in Pakistan. I honestly had no idea how to do this and faltered for many months. One day I received a call from our mission agency director on the phone. The call was brief, frank and discouraging, "Jim, I think you are not going to make it as a missionary. You have not raised support. You might want to give up and move on." I hung up the phone. I told my Mary what my director had said and then I fell onto the couch in our living room in despair. I went into a deep sleep and had a dream that I will never forget. In the dream I was standing by a rail road track with a slow moving train going by. I was watching the cars go by and noticed that there were loads of fresh fruit on the insides of the box cars. I felt like I wanted to get onto the cars... I wanted to get on board...but I felt a strange and dark presence lurking nearby resisting me...not allowing me to get onto the train. I felt this huge inner struggle going on and then I woke up in a full sweat on the couch. I woke up and then I understood some things about my future and my dreams. I understood that there is a battle for our future... for our dreams and that I must be willing to fight for my dreams... in prayer and in faith. A turning point erupted inside of me that day. I began to believe in my dreams at a deeper level and also began to understand more fully the cost of those dreams. The cost of pushing through... the cost of resisting discouragement....the cost of believing when others disbelieve. There will still more delays to encounter but all of them were not meant to deny the God born future I desired.... no they were meant to do a deeper work in me... shaping my character, preparing relationships, forging partnerships and softening hearts. You see, our dreams are not isolated from a much bigger reality we all need to embrace. God is big....and we are small. When we look up at the sky and see the immense beauty of a star lit night it should humble us and also encourage us. Each star has its purpose...its place and its light in the sky. It got there on purpose and its destiny is assured. It will burn and it will enlighten exactly that portion of sky it was created to.  So it is with you and me. Today, I encourage you to begin dreaming.... or dream again. The dreams for your life might be delayed but in God and by faith they will come to pass. Don't lose hope for your dreams connect you with a loving God and a beautiful humanity waiting on the dreamers who won't quit before the night ends.

Jim

  

Infidelity and Betrayal

For some reason in American life this has been the year of the 'affair' in married public life. One after another we see a man standing before cameras announcing his sexual sin in front of a cynical and sickened public. Typically, it's a male 40 or over who in spite of professional 'success' just threw his family life in the trash can. Just what form of stupidity causes a man (or woman) to throw their family life under the proverbial bus? The seduction of sexual infidelity is a powerful lie that appeals to our own pride and ego like nothing else. All sin flows out of the lie that we deserve something better than what we already have. To not "take" that something would leave us feeling dissatisfied.
When we leave our commitments to faithfulness and respect for marriage vows behind something inside of us dies. To betray our husbands or wives has a domino effect on children, parents, friends and society that leaves us all less whole. We would do well to remember the Proverb that tells us, "Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished."
The cost of pursuing sexual pleasure outside of God's boundaries is injury and death to the soul. The real you lies inside and the scars of betrayal impact both the guilty and the innocent. Only God can forgive and heal the broken heart. When we don't allow for that healing and even pursue it, we guarantee more injury, destruction and death. What we seek in adultery, pornography and other sexual sin is often a much deeper need that momentary pleasure can never satisfy. To be whole and healed of the emptiness in our hearts is a gift of grace and love that only God can satisfy. When we can't control our appetites, the answer lies outside of having more of what we crave. 
We are all capable of infidelity and betrayal. We are human and thus imperfect sinners in need of a Savior. But today we can make a choice to let God heal the broken places in our lives. Today let's examine our hearts and our steps to see in which direction we are walking..... toward sin which would destroy or toward faithfulness which heals and preserves.

Jim

Finding Intimacy in a Lonely World

  It's funny how the things we need the most in life are almost always the most difficult to obtain. Of all the most needy places to be; its the souls need for meaningful relationships that creates the most trials and confusion along life's journey. I am the least likely person to address the topic of intimacy in relationships as my own journey in relationships was extremely stunted and immature until I was challenged in nursing school to do something about it. The word intimacy in and of itself is layered with all sorts of misunderstanding and innuendo. In a sensual and sexually overloaded culture like America the word intimacy instantly conjures up images portrayed in the media of a strictly physical experience.


But as I've prayed and thought about this topic I awoke about 5 a.m. this morning with a few words in my heart that are helping me define intimacy in a new way. Here's my new definition for intimacy that came to me as I awakened: Intimacy is the ability to reveal who you are without regret.


Because of sin, brokenness, fear, abuse, disappointment and misunderstanding, we seldom let others see and know the real US. We constantly are hard at work trying to become someone we aren't. This takes tremendous energy and ensures we will be FOREVER lost on the journey for meaningful and intimate relationships. Intimacy demands many things but foremost is the ability to be true to oneself.


Every culture on earth has defined the essence of beauty in distinct ways that set up boundaries that define attraction, bonding, courtship and the movement toward intimacy. If we don't know who we really are or are not willing to express that we become shaped by externals and betray our inner selves. Confusion, mental illness, anxiety and depression about relationships all have at the root the most grievous of all sins: SELF BETRAYAL. If we have to become someone we are not, a cycle of personal schizophrenia begins that ends in NEVER BEING SATISFIED OR INTIMATE. For if you don't reveal who you really are... you can only live in a place of tormenting regret.


Relational satisfaction begins and ends with the ability to believe you are not a mistake. Your appearance, your personality, your dreams, your desires are all worthy in and of themselves. You are created to love and be loved not as an imitation of someone else but as yourself. To share intimacy with another begins with the ability to know some essential truths revealed by God about you:
1. You are not an accident
2. You are loved by God
3. Even in your broken places and failures, God still loves you


The interesting thing about intimacy is that God started it all. When we are connected in a relationship with the God of Love we have a foundation in which to grow and sustain healthy and satisfying relationships. But what happens when we have been poisoned by relational failures of our own or others making? Intimacy is disrupted, damaged and too often deleted from our lives. 
We run out of the garden that God has prepared for us to live. We substitute serial relationships of increasing toxicity and we hide from people who we really are. It's in a return to the place of trust in God that we can find satisfaction for this our DEEPEST and most fundamental need in life. You can be cut off from food or drink for a time... but when you are cut off from meaningful and intimate relationships, your death is very near... for death is not primarily a biological word.... it's relational. When we die... we are separated not from what we eat, drink or consume as much as we are separated from those with whom we are meant to share ourselves... without regret. Truly, life is all about relationships.

More to come;
Jim

Covenant Marriage: The Vows

  As a father, husband and more recently as a Pastor I have been thinking a lot about the state of marriage in our world... in my world. On December 31st, I will be conducting a marriage ceremony for two dear friends, Richard and Nivi who met here in Mobile as international students. In spite of the intense and satisfying experience of romantic love that is a universal phenomenon, marriage as an institution appears to be 'on the ropes' and declining rapidly in both numbers and quality. As my two dear friends from India prepare for their wedding I have been spending some time trying to communicate the concept of commitment to God and with one another in marriage. The word covenant comes to mind... a solemn agreement.... a serious and absolute agreement to do what one says in the context of a life long relationship. For the Christian, the idea of covenant relationship flows out of grace and the character of God. Without the vertical dependence on God we will inevitably stumble and fail one another in our desire for a covenant marriage. Right now, Mary and I are reading and teaching our way through a book on marriage with a radical premise. The book is called, "Sacred Marriage" and it is written by Gary Thomas. The subtitle for the book says a lot, "What if God designed marriage to make us Holy more than make us happy?" We live in a modern culture saturated with the 'search for happiness'. I can honestly say that in our marriage I have been a very satisfied and blessed man. But I have not always been 'happy' and much of my 'unhappiness' was very important and well placed in making me a better person.... a better husband and a better father to my children. Sometimes happiness is overrated.
  Over the last couple of months my own marriage covenant has been tested by pressure placed upon one of our marriage vows. On June 29th, 1985 Mary and I stood before God, our families and friends to establish our covenant of marriage. We repeated vows that I believe are both biblical and deeply human. Being young and deeply in love the words we spoke carried both excitement and intimidation... the pledge of life long fidelity and commitment seemed somehow overwhelming and difficult to comprehend. One vow struck me hard as I took a deep breath and repeated it publicly, I made a pledge.... a vow to love Mary, "in sickness, and in health..... till death do us part." As I gazed across at my magnificently beautiful wife Mary who was a picture of radiance and excellent health I had difficulty imagining any sickness ever coming our way. Some day perhaps in the long distant future we might have some illness but..... I repeated the words, but knew deep in my heart that the vows which came so easily to my lips would be much harder to live out when the time came...when the test came....when the temptation came.....when our bodies, our souls and perhaps our minds might fail us.
  Two months ago sickness rocked our world suddenly and without warning. Suddenly my wife and I faced a test of our covenant..... of our love for one another. The vision in my right eye was damaged by a serious form of cancer that could end my life. At some points over the last few weeks I have had to literally lean on my wife to walk me down the road....in sickness and in health has come to our door as a reality far weightier than simple words repeated in a formal wedding ceremony. Mary's vows to me (and mine to hers) have been proven to be true. Our love has matured, deepened and grown since that nervous ceremony 26 years ago. Each test of the vows we spoke verbally has served as a basis for something much deeper than we could ever imagine. My hope....my prayer and my deepest desire is to continue to walk in covenant love with Mary Victoria Schiavoni Mather.... a woman whose virtue, passion and love make life so rich for me and so many others. In sickness.... and in health.....till death do us part.

Jim

Operation Birmingham

  I just returned a few days ago from the Callahan Eye Center in Birmingham, Al. It had been a challenging time of waiting and preparation prior to the surgery on Friday, December 9th.  Dr. John Mason inserted a large radiation plaque into the back of the right eye with the presence and assistance of Dr. Kim, a radiation oncologist. The operation itself only took about an hour. For the next 4 days I was confined to my room to let the radiation dose begin to work on the melanoma tumor. On Tuesday of this week they went back into the O.R. to remove the  plaque. Almost immediately after the surgery I got into our car and drove back to Mobile. I have been feeling like an old boxer the last few days. I feel like I have taken a couple of pretty strong punches to the head!
  On the way to the hospital on Friday morning for the initial surgery, Mary asked me, "How do you feel?" I had a very distinct feeling that I could only describe as being 'carried' on a wave of prayer. I had slept the night before the surgery better than I could have expected and went into the operation with complete peace and rest. What a huge blessing knowing that so many have prayed and stood with our family during this medical battle. The results of the surgery will not be known for several months. The Doctor will do an exam of the eye in May to check to see if the radiation has shrunk or killed the tumor. In the meantime we continue to believe in God's healing presence and power in our lives. We were blessed to have several visitors with us during our time in Birmingham. Thanks to Pastor Bruce Terry and Liberty Church Birmingham for allowing us to stay Thursday night in their 'mission house' next to the church. Buford and Ann Lipscomb were able to visit and pray with us before and after surgery. We also had visits from Julie Mehta and Faith Mugeta (former students) and my good friend from Mobile, Steve Weller. We felt so loved and cared for. There is so much healing in sharing your presence with someone going through a trial! Small acts of kindness carry great benefit and power when done in love.
  During our time in Birmingham we also sensed God had a purpose beyond my own physical healing. Somehow the staff of the hospital including nurses and doctors had heard our life stories of helping establish an eye hospital and working in an international church in Mobile. Each night at around 10 p.m. just before getting my vital signs and medicine I would have a 'visitor' who would come by to open his or her heart about what they were seeking for in their lives. I went into the hospital to obtain healing of a 'vision' problem but found myself daily dispensing a prescription of spiritual.... heart vision. Every person I talked with was in what I can only describe as a significant life transition. As they stood by my bedside to give care they had open hearts and ears to what God put on my heart to share with them. I felt the presence of God as I shared my own personal story with those assigned to care for me. I just felt God saying, "I made you a Pastor, right now this is your congregation, love them and speak my words." To be honest, I would prefer not to have 'church' in a hospital! I would prefer not to having my eye operated on to thwart the growth of a cancerous tumor in my eye. But I am not God and I trust that he knows what he is doing when he gives me an assignment like "Operation Birmingham".
  When you speak, act and move as directed by God, you feel his love and presence in powerful and meaningful ways. I went to Birmingham in search of healing and have come away with a renewed love for God and people.... and that's the best healing I could ever imagine.

Jim
  

The Power of Surrender

I am a couple of days away from having surgery on my right eye. The Doctors will put me to sleep and operate in a delicate procedure to treat a cancerous tumor known as melanoma. When I found out I had a problem with my eye, my first thought was one of denial.... I don't want to deal with this! I just wanted to carry on as usual and go to Nepal as I had planned. I even thought about postponing going to see the Doctor and not tell anyone I had experienced loss of vision. I didn't want to lose any sense of control in my life.
  We all have plans and vision for our lives and seldom does it include pain, disappointment, brokenness and illness. We have been discipled by movies and television with neat plots and happy endings. When we come face to face with imperfection, our first tendency is to turn away..... this is not happening..... is it? No amount of denial can take away the reality that we live in an imperfect world and that the illusion of control needs to be confronted and addressed.
  Let me say this plainly, you are not GOD. The world does not revolve around you! The purpose of life is not for you to live comfortably and experience unending pleasure. That stark fact is not meant to discourage you...it's meant to orient you to the real God who created you, shaped you and formed you for his pleasure and purpose in the world. When we yield control to the God of love we experience a power far beyond our understanding. Our destiny and our dreams are not meant to be separated from a willful surrender to God in relationship. Do you begin your days with a plan or a conversation? When you pull yourself out of bed do you consult your calendar or your creator? I had a plan for the fall of 2011. Nothing wrong with planning I assure you. We need to think ahead and plan our tomorrows. But in all our planning and thinking we need to remember the importance of yielding full control of our lives to the God who transcends time and place. There is a plan and a purpose to our lives. That plan is meant to be born out of places of connection and intimacy with a real God of love. For many of us prayer is less about intimacy and surrender than control and manipulation. We want God to do what we want.... or else we forsake him and abandon the relationship. We have affairs with those we can control and manipulate for our own selfish ends. It's not real intimacy but at least we think we are in control...it's a lie.
  Tomorrow morning Mary and I will drive to Birmingham. My heartfelt prayer is that I will continue to yield my heart and my life to God in full surrender. I have been prayed for and loved in so many powerful and meaningful ways over the last several weeks. I want you to know that those prayers are worth so much to me and my family. The love that is transmitted to others as you hold them before God is the most powerful form of communication possible by people. I don't know what the future holds exactly... but I am ok with that. I know who holds the future and I know he has nothing but plans of love for my life. I am lifting my hands and heart in renewed surrender. I am weak but he is strong. I am in need but he has all I could possibly ever need. I have a Father who will never leave me, never forsake me. I am choosing to remain fully surrendered to the God of love. Will you join me?

Jim

The Bridge of Trust

 Love builds the bridge that trust learns to walk on. To yield yourself fully to another person is an act of faith. Intimacy and complete satisfaction in relationship are uncommon. No matter how much we seek to rely on outward beauty and techniques of emotional, physical or intellecutal bonding, we still fall far short of achieving true intimacy.

  Love in all its richness and depth is built over a lifetime of quality materials: patience , kindness, selflessness, hope, endurance, forgiveness and a strong foundation of TRUST. Trust is the ability to fully disclose all of who you are to someone without fear of betrayal, deception or denial of affection. Trust is the profound experience of allowing yourself to be known in totality: all your goodness, successes, dreams, failures, weaknesses and fears.

  Trust is something that is built over time. It demands consistency and reliability. The love that satisfies is not built on fantasy or image. No amount of 'makeup' or wardrobe changes can alter a defective character. You don't love the mirror image of a person.... which can be easily manipulated or 'air brushed'. You can only love a real person whose character is revealed by how they treat themselves.... and how they treat you.

  Do you want to experience true love? Do you long to be known and to know another in truth and pure love? Are you worthy of another's complete trust? Are you reliable? Are you a man or woman of your word? Does what you say match up with how you treat those closest to you? A love deficits root cause is most often a character deficit. We attract and draw people to us who are most like us. Are you looking to obtain and 'get what you want' in relationships? Are you a TAKER? Then most likely you are a magnet for other self centered and immature people.

  Satisfaction in love is founded on becoming who you were born to be, before demanding what you think you want. We need to be transformed on the inside ......we must be born from above by God's grace. The bedrock stone of trust is found in knowing our Savior Jesus Christ. He proved worthy of trust by giving everything in dying for our sin....our inner brokenness. Are you a giver? What are you willing to sacrifice on behalf of the one you claim to love?

  When you're changed on the inside, you can become satisfied on the outside. Relational intimacy is rooted in inner transformation. Are you at peace with yourself?  Are you at peace with others?  Are you at peace with God?

Love trusts...... and trust loves. It's time to start believing.... and its time to start loving. That's where life begins and that's the life you know you want. 

Jim

The Call to Create

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Everything we see, know and experience is an outcome of the created acts of God. Creativity is at the center of life itself. When God created people he proclaimed, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves."

  To be made in the image of God is a high calling that enables us to have relationship with God. It also deposits within us both an ability and a desire for creativity. To create simply means to bring into existence. God has invested into our souls the ability to bring things into existence which are first 'seen' within our minds and hearts. The ability to imagine and then bring the unseen into the realm of reality is a treasure of immense magnitude. It's a reflection of the deepest values of being human.

  As the Pastor of a newly formed church known as All Nations Community Church, I am in the dreaming and creative phase of church development. Being a part of a church family of immense diversity has brought me face to face with the desire to create something that reflects God's beauty and glory. Just being around people from all over the world you can sense the depth of God's creative glory in times of prayer in various languages and song. But there is something deeper. 

  There is a story of stories that carries God's love around the globe. Story is the narrative that God so loved the world that he both created, redeemed and called us to himself forever. It's such an intense drama of unfolding love that the arts of writing, drawing, drama and music are necessary to carry the full weight of his glory. In history, we can see the creative power of the soul unleashed on the Sistine chapel ceiling. We listen transfixed to the powerful music of Handel's Messiah. We read the amazing writing of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy unveiling the battle of good versus evil. And yet deep inside we know that there is more creativity yet to be unleashed into the earth.

  I believe God is wanting to call artists back home to himself. There is sadly a huge gulf between the modern art world and the story of stories that art is meant to proclaim. We need a new renaissance to awaken our world to the beauty of God. I am actively praying and believing God that All Nations Community Church will be an oasis for artists to develop and share their creative talents with the world around them. Every community of believers has a varied deposit of grace held within them. It's a mosaic of varied artistry that if called upon will speak in agreement with the words of scripture that God exists.....and he is love.

  What if artists felt the freedom to be loved and honored within the family of God for who they are as creative talent? I believe that art can become a viable means of communicating grace in forms that we often ignore and deny. The spoken word of scripture is the foundation stone of revelation.  The truth of God's word informs and guides all forms of creative release. 

  At present I am encouraging our worship team to write and perform original music. I believe God is writing a unique story of love and grace in our midst. But I believe God wants to do so much more in our midst in the area of creativity. I believe we will see new books and plays written. I believe we will see a literal community of artists call All Nations Community Church their spiritual home. I believe we will see paintings, sculpture and other forms of art being created to communicate the message of God's love for the nations.

  The most fundamental of revelations about God are also the most profound. God is big and we are small. And yet even in our smallness we remain a reflector of God's magnificence. By writing this I am proclaiming something that is not yet.... as though it will be..... with a few words I am calling something the future into existence......faith. The deposit of God in my soul enables me to dream.... to believe....to hope .... and to love. And with that dream there remains a yet unknown cast of characters.... of artists who will join me in this calling to create. Perhaps you are reading this and searching for a spiritual family who will embrace who you are..... in your talents, dreams, desires and yes even in your weakness and brokenness. I have good news, welcome home. Come and be a part of the mosaic of life we call All Nations Community Church.

www.allnationsmobile.org

Jim

Dreams: Journey into the Unknown

  Dreams can be so vivid and powerful in our lives. The imagery in dreams leaves us wondering, what does it all mean? Dreams can be used to draw us into the future with hope and expectancy. Dreams can also leave us feeling frustrated and anxious. Will what we dream about ever really happen? Dreams have the ability to tap into our inner life in a way that can alter our behavior in both positive and negative ways. Dreams involve both the soulish and spiritual realms of our lives. But how do dreams come to pass? What part can I play in 'making it happen'. Dreams are like a finished painting that we have to insert ourselves into after the first 'rough draft' has been etched. When we first encounter a significant dream for our lives we are often tempted to run into the future without proper preparation or planning. We want to jump into the deep water of the 'not yet'. What we are experiencing at times like these is deeply profound and real. We should not minimize the awesome reality and power of glimpsing the future before it happens....this is an amazing gift from God enabled by faith. A very powerful definition of faith is found in the New Testament book of Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1, "It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

  In 1989 I received a surprising phone call from someone I had never met. In a strong British accent a man named Dr. Howard Harper called me after hearing about me through a mutual friend. Later I had realized I had heard of Dr. Harper from a book I had read about ministry in Afghanistan. Dr. Harper was quite blunt and bold in our conversation. He informed me that he had heard I had a desire (dream) to do medical ministry in Asia. Howard's question to me was simple and straightforward, "How would you like to help me start an eye hospital in Pakistan?" I was stunned by his question and immediately was thinking, "How can I hang up on this guy?" I had absolutely no interest in working in an eye hospital! Howard questions continued in rapid fire sequence, Would I be willing to do eye surgery myself? Would I be willing to go to England to study Ophthalmology? My head was spinning and in an effort to get off the phone I told him I would need to pray! He assured me that was a good idea and pledged to follow up again with me soon! Up until this phone call I had been working in intensive care units for several years. I had no background in eye care whatsoever and now I was being asked to consider doing eye surgery!

  Dreams are often outlines God deposits into our minds and hearts to thrust us outward into the unknown of his prepared future. When we are impacted by dreams and visions we often make incomplete and wrong assumptions about what that future will really look like in reality. "We see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity." (1 Corinthians 13:12) Sometimes the next step on our path toward our future is not what we expected at all. I had a very fuzzy and general desire to serve God in medical ministry overseas. Now suddenly a phone call from God (in the person of Dr. Harper) stunned me enough to challenge my faith deeply. At one point during the call I pushed back against Dr. Harper regarding doing eye surgery... I told him flatly, "I have no training and skill in doing eye surgery!"  And then Dr. Harper said something that still resonates to me all these years later, "I didn't ask you if you could do eye surgery, I asked you if you would be WILLING to do eye surgery.... if you were trained properly." That was a fair question and in good faith I had to say that indeed I was willing. He was satisfied with my answer and the first step on a 9 year odyssey to Pakistan began with that simple response, "Yes, I am willing."

  Every dream draws us out to places we have never been. To think that you can accomplish your dream with the skill set you presently have is absurd. A dream is a journey of faith that requires many steps into the unknown of learning, risk, adventure and danger. If you want to dream, you'll have to move into uncharted waters where most fear to journey
.
  Our imagination tries to fill in the blanks of the unpainted portions of our dreams journey. There is nothing wrong with that. Imagination serves its purpose in giving the rough draft of our future.... but there is a danger in putting too much faith in this temporary mental map. When we actually get to where our dream is taking and it looks very little like we have imagined, we can become deeply disappointed and regretful. Our faith and hope need to be centered on a relationship with the Dream Maker himself. When we have that ongoing relationship and things don't turn out as we have planned we have an anchor to hold us while we fear and falter. Perhaps you have gotten to a place in your dream journey where you've wound up in unexpected places with unexpected people. You feel alone and fearful. You are asking, just what is going on in my life anyway? There is Someone who wants to reorient you to where you are now, and where you're going to.... but it takes faith to get there.  Believers dream.......and dreamers believe. "So you see it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who comes to him must believe that there is a God and  that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (Hebrews chapter 11:6)

  Your dreams are taking you somewhere. The destiny for your life will deeply satisfy you in every dimension of your being. But that destiny is wrapped around relationship and not just isolated acts of achievement and accomplishment. When you get to where you're going the joy and the satisfaction of the journey is judged by the quality of your relationships more than your income or material wealth. Life is all about relationships and the Dream Weaver himself, your creator and God is calling you forward into the unknown. Let's dream together..... let's believe.

Jim