Detour

January 26, 2012 in Life with 0 Comments

When God was leading the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he did not lead them on the shortest route to the Promised Land (Exodus 13). Scripture says that God brought them a roundabout way. Why would God not take the shortest route?

Great question!

Sometimes the route that seems to make the most sense includes some danger that we may not see.

My dream, at 15 years old, was to have a church someday. As I got older, the dream evolved into a desire to lead at the church that I grew up attending. I joined the staff when I was 23 and it seemed the dream might become a reality! Then, in November of 2000, when I was 30, I received a call from one of the elders asking if I would be interested in the possibility of becoming Sr. Pastor! Are you kidding me? That was the dream!!!

Plus, it seemed like the shortest, safest route to what I wanted to do in life!

However, right after receiving the call, the Lord began to deal with my heart. Although that had been my dream, it was not His dream for my life! Over the coming days, weeks and months God widely opened the doors for us to plant a new church. While I grieved, and sometimes still do, about allowing the most logical route to my dream die, God knew exactly what He was doing! And today, I get to live my dream on a daily basis!

Our responsibility as God’s children is not to figure things out, but to simply follow Him! Even if the route doesn’t make sense to you, know that He is a good Shepherd! He will lead you into a healthy, life-giving place of influence in your life! Trust His plan and don’t force your own, even though it might seem like a shorter route!

Uno Spoono

January 19, 2012 in Culture, Life with 1 Comment

When I was 15 I went to Mexico for the first time. Sitting in a nice restaurant in Tampico, I ordered ice cream to share with my table. The problem was that the waiter only brought one spoon. Being a master of the Spanish language, I have always lived by the theory that if you add an “o” to any word, then that it makes it Spanish. So, with that in mind, I said, “Uno Spoono” and they brought me more ice cream, not another spoon! While it made total sense to me, I obviously lost something in the translation!

This week I was thinking about how many people say, “The best is yet to come.” While I totally, 100% agree with that statement, I wonder if sometimes we might lose something in the translation. Most of the time when we make that statement, we make it with a singular point-of-view in mind – my life is going to get better. Again, I do believe our lives can get better, but I also believe that God speaks with a multigenerational approach.

What if doing the right thing didn’t improve our lives, but laid a path of blessings for future generations? Would we still do it? Would we sacrifice our own personal comfort and pleasure for a multigenerational blessing?

The best is yet to come! Don’t miss what God is doing by having a singular point of view!

Dreams Come True – Part 3

January 11, 2012 in Dreams Come True, Life with 0 Comments

The third dream I want to share with you is about a young man, Brian Andrews. I had been aware of Brian for several years, but never had the opportunity to get to know him. A couple of months ago I made the decision that it was time to invest in my physical body (we will talk more about that later!), but I’m pretty picky about where I work out. This is when I got to know Brian. I was researching Norman’s gyms and found BA Fitness. I dropped by to check things out and started working out the next day!

Brian’s story is filled with ups and downs, like we all experience. He had plenty of opportunities to give up on his dreams, but he kept trusting God! Recently, we were talking about his time serving our country in Iraq and he said it ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to him! God moved in his life throughout that time and energized Brian about not only pursuing his dreams, but also God’s dream for his life. And through that encounter, BA Fitness was birthed!

Within six months they were almost filled to capacity, so they have already had to expand! Not only does Brian trust God, he functions in excellence and honors his clients. A few weeks ago I was there working out and another client shared that she didn’t have time for extra cardio because of errands she needed to run for Christmas dinner. One of the employees took the list, headed to the store, and the client did her cardio! That is service!

I love seeing dreams come true and am proud of Brian, and the team, for trusting in a big, big God!

BAFitnessNorman.com 

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