STRESS!!!

I know that none of you ever expected this, but I am going to tell you something about myself that will make me look like a nerd. Right now some of you are thinking, “Wait…that’s just not possible!” I know, I know. It is hard for me to fathom the fact that I might not be as cool as everyone thinks, but it is time to embrace my inner geek.

Sometimes I get stressed out. I am in charge of two completely separate ministries (worship and youth), one of which includes nearly all the details that a full church encompasses. I have three kids who LOOOOOOVE to scream. There is nothing more fun to them than running around and screaming “Pee Pants!” at the top of their lungs. I have a relationship with God that I desperately try to prioritize before any of these things and I only have 24 hours in a day. And serioulsy, I gotta sleep for at least 8 of those or you better watch out. Sometimes the pressure to satisfy everything that needs attention in my life is unbearable.

But I have three great reliefs in my life:

1. Terri changes most of the dirty diapers. That is love…perfect love.
2. God. ‘Nuff said.

As pressure and stress bear down on me. I find joy in your commands. (Psalm 119:143)

…and now my nerd moment...

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation. We’ve been getting it on DVD from Netflix and we’re on season three. Shut up, you know you love it.

Chipotle

I’m going to tell you something about myself right now that no one but my wife and I know…I’m not perfect. Normally in my every day routine my perfection is clear to all around me including myself, but lately that has been challenged by a large, delicious burrito. You see, I don’t really care for Mexican food. It is okay. I can eat it without gagging. It can be pretty good sometimes, but I never, NEVER crave it. Because of this I typically don’t really get too excited about Mexican restaurants. In fact I can even resent some of the more popular ones just because EVERYONE loves them so much.

I hated Chipotle. I had maybe eaten there once, but just like it is so easy to hate the quarterback prom king because everyone loves him I hated Chipotle. I know people who waited in line for an hour and a half for a stinking burrito and I resented them for it! For a burrito? A burrito?!?!? Well lately I have been going there with a chum because he loves it, and what to my surprise has happened? I have fallen in love too. Just like one of those dumb romantic comedies where the dumb jock ignores the girl of his dreams until the last scene where he realizes how wonderful she is, I realized how wonderful Chipotle is and how much I love it. Call me old fashioned, but Chipotle is the type of restaurant you bring home to meet the parents….

Guacamole!

PSP

Every week before The Creek service on Wednesday nights we have pre-service prayer (PSP). It is open for everyone from 6:15 to 6:45. This week was pretty amazing.
I don’t know many people who, like us, don’t have cable, but without it you have to use the old rabbit ears on top of the TV to get any kind of signal. It would be difficult to count the times that I have jumped up from the couch to fidget with those thin metal poles, trying to catch the broadcast signal as best as I can. There is a huge sense of satisfaction that comes when my contortions get a perfect signal because we are now perfectly tuned in.

As I walked around the room where we meet asking God to do something amazing that night, I had a sense that we were really starting to get tuned in. God has a plan for The Creek that goes beyond the music, the games and the fun. He wants to see us changed into the image of Christ. Like playdough, he wants to squeeze, roll and shape us into his shape and likeness. It is a process, but being at PSP is just the beginning of it. The time we spend seeking God is time when we are knocking on his door, asking him to do something beyond what we could imagine in our lives and in our church.

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9)

Let's keep knocking.