God Uses My Mistakes

Last night I was laying awake remembering some of the mistakes I've made recently. The hardest mistakes to let go of are when I know that I've hurt people -- when I've corrected too harshly, or not returned a phone call, or forgotten people's names. These (and so many other) mistakes can be so painful and confusing for people. And stepping forward in leadership has meant having a huge reality-check with how much room I have to grow.

As I lay sleepless, I felt the Lord reminding me that He even uses my mistakes to draw people closer to Him. This wasn't self-justification or rationalization, but was instead a correction that brought a lot of comfort.

We Use the Job to Get People Done (not the other way around...)

I just enjoyed reading one of Anne's latest VBS posts. Other pastors I talk with are sometimes surprised that we don't often use a curriculum with our ICU groups and that we give so much latitude to our volunteers who oversee various aspects of our church life. In her post, Anne explains some of the heart behind that flexibility...

Painful News

I received some very sad news this week. Kurt Wedemeyer went home to be with Jesus on Thursday morning after a sudden, unexpected heart attack. Kurt & Laura were long-time members of the Coastlands before they headed out a few years ago with a team to support Steve & Donna Shober as they stepped in as the new pastors at New Hope in Scotts Valley.

Here's the memorial service info:

Friday, May 2, 11:00am
North Coast Calvary Chapel
7188 Avenida Encinas # 105
Carlsbad, CA 92011
(760) 929-016

There is also a memorial fund established to help provide for Laura and her girls which is available through North Coast Calvary. If you'd like to contribute, call and ask for Pastor Orville Stanton or e-mail him at orville@northcoastcalvary.org.

Brotherly Reunion

My brother (Geoff) and I grew up adventuring together -- backpacking, rockclimbing, snowboarding, etc. Yesterday we hooked up for our first adventure in about 13 years. It was an incredible day.

I am so grateful for the relationships that I have with my family, all of whom now love and serve Jesus. My parents were divorced in 1977. Sometime after that, each of them gave their hearts to the Lord (miraculous stories for each of them). In 1982 they were remarried to each other (I was their ringbearer). Thank God for how He can take a broken family and bring healing and redemption!

A couple more pics...

You can't really tell... but I was wearing my VBS t-shirt!

Rock Climbing on Thursday

My brother took this shot of me climbing Zuma Point during the summer of 1995. On Thursday I'm taking the day off and he and I are going to hook up and climb it again. I'll probably keep my shirt on this time. *smile*

Hearing God's Voice

One of my new Facebook friends recently asked me how to know if / when God is speaking. Here was my reply:

Hi [Name]-
I LOVE your question. I think learning to hear God's voice is one of the most exciting (but sometimes frustrating) parts of growing in our relationship with Him.

When you're first learning to listen for His voice, I think the most important thing is to understand that He is really speaking to you! It's not something that we're accustomed to.

Most people think that God is very distant and uninterested and that if He ever speaks to a person it would be a very strange or amazing thing (because He almost never does it). But nothing could be further from the truth! The Bible says that God is constantly thinking about us and whispering to us (check out Psalm 139:17-18).

I would encourage you to just start talking to Him. Pray something like this: "God, I think that's you tugging at my heart. I think you're trying to get my attention. Well, now you have it. Please speak to me. I want to hear and understand whatever you want to say."

Let me know how that goes... and if you think you "hear" anything in response. Now remember, it won't be an audible voice (that's the frustrating part). The Bible describes God speaking to us in a whisper... And it's always encouraging and hopeful.

Warmly,
Todd

This person is having so much fun now... They've bought a copy of Enjoying Your Journey With God and a Bible. The adventure has begun!

Spending Time

Yesterday Hilary wasn't feeling too well... So I got to have some time with my boys. Precious time with my precious little guys.

Life has a lot of pressure. It's so easy to get pushed around by all the "necessities" of life and let the most important things fall by the wayside. I don't ever want that to happen with my kids.

I know that if I want my kids to make good choices when they are older about who they spend time with and what kinds of things they do, I need to make good choices today.