Monthly Archives: January 2023

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.

Do you have big plans for the day, are you trying to keep your New Year’s resolution for a least a week? What is it about the start of the new year that we find that desire within us to make a change? Something inside of us places a marker, a line in the sand that says “this will be different.” We have countless plans, many towards improving our physical health. I kind of started my resolution at my 55th Bday, by cutting out any soft drinks, rolling into 23′ by adding no juices. My goal is working my way to no sugar, which basically means I won’t eat – LOL. What about our mental and spiritual health, which is honestly more important because they both directly relate the our physical condition. Mental health is directly related to spiritual health, because without an understanding of God’s sovereignty, you will always wonder the “why” of everything. Spiritual health is the most important component of our being, the pinnacle of what matters in life, and what we should desire with all our heart, mind, body, and strength.

The prophet Jeremiah was young when God called him to be a spokesman for Himself. We still to this day have tendencies to not listen to the younger generations, much less take advice from them. This was a very real struggle for Jeremiah, he knew what people would think of him, but he was obedient to God as he wrote this letter and had it delivered to the captives that had been taken away by Nebuchadnezzar. Not only in this letter did he warn them not to listen to other prophets, but that God himself had orchestrated their captivity. 29:4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon.” Jeremiah reminds them God was judging their sins, but also in this letter he tells them of the blessings to come, of their freedom to come from God in 70 years. God clearly lays out his plans for his people, and uses a young man as his spokesman to remind them of God’s love. Their spiritual health in this letter is the most important thing to their livelihood and well being as they figure out how to do daily life in their new environment.

I grew up in religion, then I ran from God for 20 years. God called me back to a church where he taught me about grace, and he placed in my heart a desire for more of him, I wanted to begin reading my Bible. That is where my life changed, it changed with a heart that desired more of God than just saying I believed, checking the box and moving on in life. When you begin to seek God as Jeremiah wrote, as Matthew wrote, as so many wrote in the Bible, your life changes. Only Jesus can produce the change you desire, only the gospel and the Bible can alter your life eternally, beginning with today. Why not seek God with your heart, much deeper than a NYE resolution, but responding to that tug within God has placed there from the beginning of time. That will truly make a difference in your life, and likely those around you too.

Year Review/blog/reflection…..the WHY. I was asleep at 9 last night, no revelry or partying, just glad to hit the sack for a good nights rest. I can honestly say 22′ was a year for the books in so many ways, some good, some bad, but it seemingly it is a blur as a type. We traveled so much, made so many new friends, had so many laughs and memories along the journeys. I have seen God work around our little NeedPrayer? Race team, doing what God does in peoples hearts. I have had SO many talks and prayers with racers and families this year, I have seen God soften hard hearts, seen God stir questions in others, drawing others to himself. I cannot believe God called me back to a ministry that I love, to a place where I served an idol before him, to a way that I can share of the One True God. I get to go make memories with my family, get to preach the gospel, get to give away free Bibles and see the smiles on kids faces. I get to pray with people who need to hear a word from God. I am blessed and undserving of of such grace from God.

I live my life on social media, my year could easily be reviewed by scrolling my timeline and forming your own opinion. What is so strange is the psychological complexity (sure someone has a name for me) that I am. I honestly don’t care what people think of me, I never did what would make people like me, but always what I wanted to do that made me happy. I have become an introvert as I have gotten older, and hermit may not be in the too distant future. My body from years of abuse is aging rapidly, I cannot believe how much I have declined in the last five years. The battles of anxiety and depression have gotten much worse the last year, and my pride keeps me fighting that war mentally and spiritually. My mind is the scariest of them all as I see both my parents disappearing before my very eyes and I feel the loose connections in my head’s wiring impossible to articulate. I am not going to do this getting old thing gracefully.

BUT GOD chose me, rescued me from damnation and died to save my very soul. He put something inside of me, a part of himself, and I cannot keep him to myself. The tug to share my faith is unstoppable, I honestly don’t care about so many other things in life that matter to so many of us, I want to point you to Jesus. The why of how I share on social mead it simply two fold. One, to share a Bible verse that I hope God will speak to you with, to encourage or convict you in some way to draw closer to him. Two, to share both my highs and lows of life, filtered through my faith, how I go to God for help through life, to build that relationship we were created by him to have. I still have daily struggles, doubt and fears just like you, BUT GOD gives me daily strength and encouragement to get through them. If it were not for my faith, I think my story would be much different.

I love busyness, fast paced crisis control, I work well under pressure. Sadly I believe that changed this year also, I think I found my limit when I surpassed it at some point these last couple of months. This year’s pace caught up with me, and I am exhausted mentally and physically. Raced 39 weekends / over 17,000 miles / 17 states and worked almost every Monday, it has been a seven day a week pace. But if the Lord calls me home today, the memories that I made with these two boys were worth every, single, sacrifice and penny I have. The Bible tells us “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, and not for men.” God knows I have given it my all.