Journey Church, you as a church, & our community, came together to raise several hundreds of thousands of dollars to help them MOH turn their clinic into a hospital. It was so great to see how God laid a plan on Dr. Jeff & Kathy Nees’s heart and how you all rallied around that dream, and now the dream is becoming a reality!

Before the earthquake the clinic saw around 18,000 patients a year. In 2011 they saw around 27,000! Below are some pictures of what God has accomplished through your generosity! This year we’ll be celebrating the completion of the construction & having a grand opening!

With one project down, now let’s rally together again, and trust God to use us to touch the lives of hundreds of kids who need an education!

This morning was the actual “Big Event” where 3,500 people gathered for breakfast, reading of scripture and prayer. It was pretty stellar to see members of both political parties gather in the name of Christ! It is even more stellar to hear how God is changing their individual lives! Many times we take it upon ourselves to judge each other rather than pray.

It was the first time I have been in the same room as a sitting President. (I think he leaned over & told Michelle it was the first time he had been in a room with me.) While I have differing ideas on several issues, I do believe our President has a heart to truly follow God! I know it is a lot easier to criticize and make accusations, but our call is to pray for our leaders.

After the breakfast we had the opportunity to sit with a gentleman who served the UN for many years and is now working with businesses to help establish stable economies around the world. Business is one of the greatest ways to carry forward the message of Christ in any country!!!

So, wrapping up, it has been a whirlwind trip, but it has been a great blessing to be reminded that we are “One nation, under God!”

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!

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!

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 

Over the years I have watched both brothers trust God to grow their chiropractic practices and to care for their patients in the greatest way possible. The other very noticeable quality was their desire to earnestly hear the voice of God about the timing of their future.

About 2 years ago we began to have discussions about God’s timing in birthing a second Sparks Clinic. Throughout the following months, both spent their hours away from the clinic driving around, meeting with business leaders to understand the different demographics in the Norman/Moore area. After much prayer, they found a lot on Telephone Road and they bought it, for cash! The next step was to find a building design that would provide the best experience for their patients. Upon doing so they began construction and the second Sparks Clinic will open for business in the coming months! Both men are Godly, talented, caring, and debt free! Bill and John, I’m proud of both of you for living the dream!

What’s interesting is how God brought Sam’s dream together in a matter of months, and the Sparks’ dream over a couple of years. It is important to understand that God has a dream for you! His timing always works out when we diligently seek and surrender to Him!

Patriot Ford

Sam Wampler, a JourneyChurch.TV elder, has been in the auto industry since we met. One of the things that always impressed me about Sam was that he never chased “the money,” but instead served a dealer with excellence and loyalty for many years.

About a year ago at this time, God began to show that He had been working behind the scenes for Sam to have his own dealership. After months of due diligence and prayer, Patriot Ford opened the summer of 2011, under Sam’s ownership, in Purcell, OK.

Because of his commitment to excellence, service and honor, and building a great team, the dealership has done extremely well! I could not be more proud of Sam, Lori, Gage, and Caleb. They waited patiently, then ran hard, surrendered their business to God, and are living a blessed life!

What I find interesting though is how I sometimes roll through Christmas missing the whole point. Can you relate?

Summed up in a few words, Christmas is all about encounters. It is the single most important purpose that God birthed His son into this world – to have an encounter with you!

Beginning this weekend we are going to take a look at what scriptures have to say about “Christmas Encounters”. There is no doubt in my mind that God desires to bless your life, and those blessings are a result of intimacy with Him.

Grab some friends, grab the family, and get ready for the best Christmas you have ever experienced! God is ready to have an encounter with you!

First, Abraham didn’t see the ram until he looked up! Many times when we go through difficult seasons we tend to keep our heads down and not look up to see what is around us. We become so laser focused on the challenge at hand, that we miss the provision a few feet away. Just like Abraham, God will test our hearts, and part of the test is to see where we focus our sight. Are we hunkered down, depressed, and captivated by the disappointment? Or, do we lift our eyes, filled with faith, knowing somewhere around us is the provision of God?

Second, scripture says, “So he took the ram and sacrificed it”, in other words Abraham had to go take possession of the provision. God had provided it, but he had to actively possess it! Many times in our lives God has provided for us, but we simply don’t take the steps to possess it! We sit waiting for God to deliver the provision right into our hands, when it sits a few feet away, awaiting for to take a few steps of faith to take hold of it.

If you are like me, you have issues in your life that can get you down. Everyday there are opportunities to hunker down and dwell in disappointment! But, reality is that God has place provision around us! So lift up your head and take the steps to go possess it! In the majority of circumstances receiving God’s provision is a matter of our perspective, more than His faithfulness!

While I know it sounds simple, love is something that becomes more convoluted & complicated in our culture everyday. We continue to move towards “self defined” definitions for love, instead of modeling our behavior after God. So, with that in mind, this weekend we kick off 40 Days of Love!

My encouragement to you is to make the most of this opportunity & to allow the Holy Spirit to work on your love life!

Here are a few ways:

• Commit to a 40 Days Small Group! You can sign up over the next few weekends or call the church offices.
• Read the devotional! We have copies of the book “Relationship Principles of Jesus”! Buy it this weekend!
• Attend on weekends! We have 6 worship experiences you can choose from! For some reason, if one of those doesn’t work, attend online!
• Vote for love! Give a vote for love by giving love everyday! By smiling at the waitress, by buying someone a coke, etc. – Everyone can vote for love!

I’m putting faith in your love life! Let’s grow in love & respond to a sensitive season in our nation by simply acting like Christ!