I’ve written before about my life (1,2,3), my devotional time, and of my time with Mercy Ships (1,2). I’ve shared wisdom that I hope would encourage or provide knowledge to you (1,2). I even asked you for crazy amounts of money and shared about the biggest struggles from my past, that, by the grace of God, I’ve been finding healing through. However, I’ve never projected a message specifically to you about faith in God. This is my first post that calls you to Jesus.

My testimony bears witness to the fact that there is healing from every hurt we’ve ever experienced. That healing comes from knowing and uniting with the creator of the universe. It is my pleaded request to you and prayer for you today to invite Jesus into your life and heart. Invite Him into the dark corners of your hidden life and share with Him as one would a trusted friend or parent. Tell Him everything that you are upset with. Share how badly things hurt. Ask Him how to get through it. You can approach Him, talk with Him, and depend upon Him.

There is no one who can deny you of the promises you are entitled to and that have been given freely to you by the creator of the universe – your role is to accept and receive them. I’ve listed a few things that people feel steal them of the ability to receive forgiveness and healing, but I testify that nothing can separate you from the Love of God (Romans 8:38-39) and the wholehearted joy and peace you receive from knowing Him. He desires a relationship with you, today, right now!

Those things listed do not prevent you from knowing or being a child of God! His message to you is, “You are very special to me. You are worthy of love, created for a purpose, with a value that can never be bought with money because I paid for you with the life of my Son.”

If you are at the end of the road with no more crossroads to turn down, I beg you to kneel down, and lift this prayer up to Jesus.

“Jesus, the only way to the Father, I beg today that you will hear my cry for help. I beg that you will search and know my struggles. I confess to sins that rightfully have separated You and I, but today I want to change that. Today I want to invite you into my hurt. I want to invite you into my pain. Jesus, I want you to walk with me as I march through this storm that has brought me to my knees and left me at the cross that you were crucified on. Today, Jesus, I want to ask you to be my savior. To lift off my hurts and baggage, that I may be able to find life in You. It’s in you Jesus, the Savior of the world that I put my faith in and ask to be forgiven and freed from my sin.”

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

If you prayed that prayer from your heart, let me welcome you into Jesus’s arms!

It’s important to find a local church who is fully committed to Jesus as their Savior and begin to receive guidance in and encouragement with growing your relationship to Him. If you don’t own a Bible, let this be your first reason to get one. The Bible is God’s word for you to read and receive revelation to who He is.

Your family may disagree with you. Your friends may disagree with you. But life is not about living to please them, it’s about loving the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Yes, I plead that you strive to honor your parents. However, they should not be a stumbling block that prevents you from following Jesus with all of your heart. In fact, the opinion of no one should hold you back from wholeheartedly serving Jesus.

I warn you, there are many false teachers in this world who claim to know God and teach truth. I know good people who follow these teachings and I know Jesus loves them, as much as He loves you and I. It’s on my heart to warn you of the false religions that claim to be true, but fall short of the full truth which the Bible teaches. Those include:

Romans 15:5-6 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Love,

His,

When my sister and I were in elementary school my mom would take us to karate in hopes to prepare us to be able to defend ourselves one day (haha – we both had the body makeup of a toothpick).

My dad coached my sister and I throughout different sport teams as we grew up. I’ll never forget him coaching my baseball team when I was 10 years old. He stepped up to coach all of the kids that didn’t get drafted, taught us the fundamentals, and lead us to go undefeated the entire season.

My mom was a member on all of the parent teacher clubs at my schools for as long as I could remember until I moved school districts in eighth grade. My dad worked at my high school and was ever only a few doors away if either my sister or I needed anything. My parents always new if I was in trouble at school and sometimes knew I was in trouble before I even did.

My mom and dad stretched and bent their lives in all different directions to provide for my sister and I.

Just before I turned 18 my parents encouraged and supported me in completing my Eagle Scout project and make the rank of Eagle. It was their support that helped me run two years of cross country in junior college.

I spent the majority of the first 13 years of my life with my mom who would shuttle me to school, sports, family events, and scouting events. Mom would help me with my homework until it got too difficult and she just made sure I completed it – sometime between the transition from addition and subtraction to multiplication and division. Jokes aside, I needed her encouragement and discipline to complete it.

From ages 14 to 19 I was with my dad who I drove with for over an hour a day to and from high school. During my 11th and 12th years of school he allowed me to use his vehicle to drive into town every day to a secondary high school called CART (Center for Advanced Research and Technology) to get extra training in IT and video production classes.

If sick we were sick, my parents were always available to take care of my sister and I. My parents owned an ambulance business so they knew if either my sister or I were faking it or if we were really sick. They loved us and cared for us very well. If we were too sick for school my mom would stay home with us. I can remember she wouldn’t let us go outside and play, but we got healthy quickly. If I had a bad headache my dad would tie one of his big socks around my forehead and somehow it would feel a lot better.

My dad was an EMT then moved to teaching. He’s taught special education, at risk high school students, coached basketball, been an athletic director, and is now an assistant commissioner for high school sports in the central section of California. As long as I can remember he has been setting the example to invest in others. Not only has he been a positive role model in my life, but also in many others.

My mom took care of her father when he had cancer before I was born, was an assistant at a hospital, helped run the ambulance company with my dad, raised my sister and I, volunteered at our schools, and now works at as an office clerk at an elementary/junior high school. My mom was my rock. If I needed anything, I could always depend on her. She disciplined strongly, but loved compassionately.

I’m sure there are thousands of things I could add to this short list and I know my sister could double those additions – that’s addition and multiplication, I wonder if I remember that from my homework. In contrast, I know I’ve brought them both sleepless nights, tears, and disappointments, but it hasn’t stopped them from loving me.

I can’t emphasize this enough – I have been blessed to have an AMAZING set of parents. My parents love my sister and I over and beyond the moon and would have put their lives on the line for us both. Looking back, I wish I would have told them every day how great they are and how much I love them.

Looking back and looking forward to 2015 I have one major want. My prayer going into the new year is that the Lord will bless you mom and dad. Lord, will you pour your grace and love into their lives. I pray that truth will bless you both every day this year and that all your needs will truly be met. I pray that you both will be reminded of the memories of our upbringing and be reminded of all the love you’ve poured into both Courtney’s and my life. I pray in Jesus name that our relationship will be restored and that I will respect and honor you both this year.

Love,
your son, Ryan

Photo Cred: Walter P.

In part of this desire, co-created with my good friend Walter Pretorius, we’ve recently announced a movement called Free Family Photos. The purpose of FFP is to do just what I’ve described above. In the early development stages of FFP, the request for support to purchase a printer was made, which excitingly is on the way and expected to arrive in Madagascar soon! I’m amazed by the support and encouraging words that have been shared with me, and am grateful that the Lord has made a way for the printer and all of the supplies to be purchased. A big thank you to everyone who has been following Free Family Photos and helped support the purchase of the printer!

Walter P.

Diving deeper into my heart, I have a strong desire to find a way to release families from poverty. “Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours,” is one of the tracks that repeats throughout my life. I recognize that the only holistic way for families to break free from poverty is to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It’s my goal to freely give, that’s the example that Christ set for me. If I am asked why I’m doing what I do, I’ll openly share that the motivation is for all to come to know and serve our Lord – stepping out of poverty and into freedom.

With that, it’s easy to perceive that I’m overlooking the physical and economical aspects of poverty and recognize that they are not to be forgotten. And I am encouraged to the challenge of thinking that a simple gift of a family photo, and the more-precious gift of time, speak volumes to human value. I’d insist they blind the lack of wealth and open the eyes to see more meaningful aspects of life. If only for a minute, a family doesn’t measure themselves by what they physically have, but has the opportunity to see their value based on Gods unmeasurable Love, then maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to find freedom from the chains of the lie that satan holds us to believe – that wealth and power are happiness and happiness is only possible in a first world country. We all need more time with Love. Time with Love, captured to be remembered. Hope, visible as God shines His light. That light is captured, the story is written down and an amazing gift of who you are and who is important in your life is freely printed, framed, and returned to be remembered for generations. If one family gives their life to the Lord as the result of the time, kindness and the displayed message of equality, the effort would be a complete success and worth all the time.

Now, God has arranged this story in such a way that it is largely through our lives that people get a glimpse of Jesus. So it might be good to ask yourself, when it comes to my life, what is the Jesus they see? (The Utter Relief of Holiness – Page 166)

I have been thinking, what message does my life tell? If I could author my story, I’d want it to be a story of giving endlessly and never running out – knowing who my Provider is. I would want there to be a chapter about taking on challenges, failing fearlessly, but rising up with optimism, persistence and wisdom. Certainly I’d want it to include a chapter on loving, faithfully, loyally, with joy and zeal. My story would definitely, and does, include struggles with relationships and communication, but in my eyes the most important chapter that I can see would be on committing to serve Jesus in all I say and do.

I believe that Romans 12 describes this:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I recently finished the book The Winning Attitude by John C. Maxwell and am blown away at the insight and encouragement he offers.

When asking a group of church leaders “What keeps you from building a great work for God?,” the number one answer Maxwell received was “Fear of failure.”

I don’t want to be that guy, so I’m putting one of my small dreams out there. Out in the world where it could be trampled on, destroyed and forgotten forever. But with a better perspective, reminding myself to look at the glass as half full, it could be supported, encouraged, approached with love and fulfilled. Coming from a family who loves basketball, I often remember the quote by Wayne Gretzky, “You’ll miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.” I’m going to take a shot. Mistake 1, as my friend Jamie Vonk pointed out to me, Wayne Gretzky is a hockey player, not basketball, but the quote is completely applicable and quoted on the basketball court. Thanks for humbling me, Jamie

Jamie (the one with two legs)

Continuing on, I have decided that if I want to be used to do big things in this world, I have to trust in God who created me, and not my own strength. Failure is a risk of trying and an opportunity to learn from, not something to be afraid of or prevent me from moving forward in faith. It also doesn’t define who I am.

Admittedly, I’ve been pretty fearful recently. Have you ever wanted something really bad but been too afraid to ask for help to get it?

Maybe you’ve also found yourself in my shoes, where you never tried to ask for help because you were so afraid of what people would think about you for asking.

That small dream that I have is getting a new camera that is currently out of my budget. From the start of Free Family Photos, I’ve been eyeing this camera, but have never asked for any help to get it in fear that I would be rejected or shamed for asking for such an expensive item.

“The” camera

I’ve been long in prayer with God about this request, and I’ve had to challenge my motives and heart multiple times to ensure I am in the right place with this desire. Can I be happy and “full” without this, absolutely! God has been taking me on a journey to rid the idols of my life, and I don’t desire to add any more back. I’m in a confident place that the reason I desire this particular camera is to help others.

One exciting thought of having a camera like this is being able to share it. When I was in high school, the photographers from Maxwell Studios of Fresno, CA trustingly shared their Canon DSLR bazooka-camera with me at basketball games to take action shots for them. It was big, heavy and expensive, but they were happy to give me a chance. I value moments like that!

Further, in reaching out to families who have never had a family photo taken, I want to do it with the best gear available and appropriate. The particular camera is small and doesn’t feel like you have a bazooka pointed in your face. It’s my dream to point a camera, typically intended to photograph celebrities, at some of the most beautiful people in the world, and remind them how special and valuable they truly are.

I don’t want to be afraid to ask for help and admit that I need help, so long as I can say that I’ve challenged my motives and I know why I’m asking. To that, I feel certain. It might turn out that the timing is not right, but the desire is sure. I want to be apart of giving the best to families who would only normally get what’s left.

How does this small dream come true? For it to happen, I’m asking you for your help and support. The camera I have been talking about is a Leica M-P with a 35mm f/1.4 lens. All together, it is just less than $14,000 – see below for more details. God, who created the universe, is well aware of value and never had a problem with price, but He had a big problem with idolatry.

Sharing this dream is certainly a vulnerable moment for me. But now that it’s done, I can relax, knowing that God is in control and His will will be done. Thank you for your time!

Way’s you could help…

There are few ways you could help. The first is through financial support. In financially supporting, you’ll also receive a tax deductible receipt through my Mercy Ships donor page – see green link below. The next way is to share my vision and my story with your friends! And last, but certainly the most important, I would ask that you’d pray for me – specifically for my heart, continued faithfulness, and perseverance with this project. As I mentioned before about the FFP project, the absence of a high quality printer would not stop the movement, same goes with the camera.

I can’t wait to share more on how FFP is helping to change families lives!

God Bless,

President Hery Rajaonarimampianina of Madagascar waving at me

The view of Toamasina, Madagascar from the ship.

 Gear Details:

Gear Image	Name	Link	Price
	Leica M-P Digital Rangefinder Camera (Black)	goo.gl/VUBR20	$7,950.00
	Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH Lens (Black)	goo.gl/HPCfyY	$5,150.00
	SanDisk 16GB Extreme PRO SDHC UHS-II Memory Card	goo.gl/DCwI2E	$64.99
	Leica E46 UVa Glass Filter	goo.gl/jKQOzL	$89.95
	Leica BP-SCL2 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.4V, 1800 mAh)	goo.gl/2OUqDE	$168.00
	ONA Berlin II Camera Messenger Bag (Vintage Bourbon)	goo.gl/z7Beu4	$389.00
	Link to all: goo.gl/78ZVoB	Subtotal	$13,811.94

Dad – Jeff, Mom – Chris, Me, Sister – Courtney

Sad and happy news, but first the sad. The FFP – Benin Project did not get fully funded on Kickstarter. But not to fear, there’s happy news! Many great things have come from this.

1. Many people became aware of the FFP movement and Benin Project.
2. My dad supported me. This is not his first time, but always encouraging!
3. I was able to share about my friend Rovel.
4. I became aware of a movement called Help-Portrait that is doing a very similar thing.
5. My faith was strengthened.
6. Jesus Christ was not forgotten!

The project ended up raising just over $2,000 from 15 supporters. Unfortunately, Kickstarter only collects pledges if the project is fully funded – which was set at $4,500 (the cost of the printer and supplies).

With that, there is still hope! I have received news from a friend of mine who is willing to support half of the project – that’s $2,250! I am able to cover the $224 that was not pledged on Kickstarter and, God willing, if the supporters who pledged on Kickstarter are able to continue supporting the project, the printer will be in Benin!

If you would like to still support and were not able to on Kickstarter, I’ve setup a page documenting how you can help. Here is the link: http://rcte.ch/support-ffp/

God always makes a way!

The next challenge is getting the printer to the ship. Please keep that and the continued support on the pledges in prayers!

Thank you for liking, sharing, praying and supporting!

Love,

Men painting her blue stripe.

Things are getting exciting in dry dock. Both rudders, propellers and propeller shafts have been removed from the ship, serviced and reinstalled. The hull of the ship has been sandblasted and repainted (had to get the barnacles off of her). Our bow thrusters have been completely overhauled by Rolls-Royce mechanics. We dropped anchor (onto the dock) cleaned the anchor lockers and then brought them back on again.

Countless projected have been started and are nearly finished inside the ship. We received two brand new sterilizing machines for the operating rooms that just finished being installed yesterday. There were major repairs to the fresh water pipes onboard leaving us without water on the ship for a few days throughout the last month – sometimes with no warning.

It’s great, there will be an announcement over the PA system “The water has left the ship” when it has been turned off and another saying ”The water is back on the ship” when it has been turned back on. It gets you imagining, where did it go? It’s fun to image no water on or around a ship, but it’s not as fun living without it. Try making lunch or dinner for 100+ crew without water! That takes some incredible planning. But in His grace, everything moves along and we find little jokes (like the water leaving the ship) to help us get by.

We are not allowed to run our generators while in dry dock so we connect to the shipyard power which only provides a fraction of the usage that we typically are used to. If we need to use the main crane, we have to shut down the galley. Lots of little things like that which cause stress and difficulties to the fluid function of the jobs.

In writing this, we just had water “return to the ship” and a second PA announcement was made that ”the laundry room is still closed because of the power shortage.” It’s fun, it’s life and there’s joy in the midst of it all.

New carpet and flooring has been laid in many areas of the ship. Walls have been constructed. New wiring has been ran. Lots of metal welded. Stairs have been painted. Our elevator repaired (I can’t explain how important that thing really is!)

There are two big holes in the bottom of the ship where men from the shipyard are entering our fresh water tanks to resurface them. Those should be sealed today, tested and God willing we are expected to “float” tomorrow, i.e., be put back in the water!

It’s exciting to share that maintenance is on track and Benin is just a month away! In the beginning of August we should be sailing to Tenerife and arrive in Benin late August!

I can’t express how awesome of a team there is on this ship and within this organization. I’ve used the word ‘we’ many times, but every person that comes has brought a special gift to this ship and has chosen to come to serve. It’s not always easy and I’ve wanted to pull my hair out at times, but I wouldn’t change it in any way.

Thank you for your support for me and Mercy Ships! Your prayers, gifts, thoughts, Facebook comments, and emails have helped me very much during this time!

Please do keep me in your prayers.

Love,

Serenety – Photo Cred: Amy Jones

Meet Serenety
Please read this beautiful and inspiring post about my friend Serenety Liu written by crew member Amy Jones. We spent a few weekends in the prison together. Link

Starboard propeller being removed.

Rovel and I

While in the Republic of Congo, I became good friends with a young man named Rovel.

Rovel and I met while he was onboard the Africa Mercy receiving surgery to replace the skin on his cheek that had been destroyed from a disease called Noma. 

What started out as a Monday night trip to visit Rovel on ward D led to a cross-town friendship that involved a 45 minute taxi ride from the ship to his home.

One of the weekend visits to Rovel’s home was accompanied by my friend Walter who spent most of his time during the visit snapping photos of the kids who lived with Rovel. 

The kids from Rovel’s home

The kids loved it and with anticipation they would run up to Walter to see how the photos turned out. I’m not sure who had more fun, the kids or Walter.

The kids again from Rovel’s home

During the week we edited, printed and laminated the photos. They weren’t high quality, but they were water proof!

We took the photos back to Rovel’s family and got to experience the incredible joy of watching the kids see their photos that were printed out. 

It was clear to both of us that there was a lot more than a free photo that was given.

Walter and I than begun discussing the idea of Free Family Photos. We were sure that we wanted to take a family photo, have it printed, and return it to the family. As for all future families, we hope to get to know, record, and share their stories with you as well.

What we both hope is that the family photo is a result of a friendship.

In the case with Rovel, we both built a friendship that we’ll never forget and hopefully continue to build into. 

Free Family Photos is our little way of saying “you matter” and sharing the love that we’ve received from Christ with others.

That’s how the idea came about.

Love,

PS – ALL PHOTOS IN THIS POST WERE SHOT BY WALTER. HE GETS THE CREDIT!

You can read more stories about Rovel at the links below:

My Blog:

http://rcte.ch/2013/12/01/team-ministries-and-patients/

http://rcte.ch/2014/01/14/cardoza-cardoza-gardening-service/

Becky Johns:

http://eattolive-eattolove.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-only-get-so-many-minutes.html

http://eattolive-eattolove.blogspot.com/2014/01/something-that-matters.html

http://eattolive-eattolove.blogspot.com/2014/01/many-things-can-change-but-some-things.html

http://eattolive-eattolove.blogspot.com/2014/05/pieces-of-my-heart-pieces-of-my-soul.html

Charissa Seitz:

http://nurseonabigship.blogspot.com/2013/12/unexpected-heros.html

Scott Reed:

http://scottreed.org/2014/03/11/my-friend-rovele/

The power plant down the road from Rovel’s home

Website:
http://www.freefamilyphotos.net/

Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doers/free-family-photos-benin

MAKING CHOICES ON SENSITIVE ISSUES (1 Corinthians 9-10)

All of us make hundreds of choices every day. Most choices have no right or wrong attached to them — like what you wear or what you eat. But we always face decisions that carry a little more weight. We don’t want to do wrong, and we don’t want to cause others to do wrong, so how can we make such decisions?

If I choose one course of action:

• does it help my witness for Christ? (9:19-22)
• am I motivated by a desire to help others know Christ? (9:23; 10:33)
• does it help me do my best? (9:25)
• is it against a specific command in Scriptures and would thus cause me to sin? (10:12)
• is it the best and most beneficial course of action? (10:23, 33)
• am I thinking only of myself, or do I truly care about the other person? (10:24)
• am I acting lovingly or selfishly? (10.28-31)
• does it glorify God? (10:31)
• will it cause someone else to sin? (10:32)

My Thoughts:
This sail has been difficult for me. Every day I have had to take my desires to the Lord and lay them at His feet. Acting out in my own strength felt like the right thing to do, and there were days that I just wanted to break down the doors in my own strength, not recognizing or caring who it might hurt in order to get what I wanted. However, each day the Lord gave me the strength to take my desires to Him and leave them with Him. I’ve had my times of frustration, anger, unnecessary loneliness, but it was all an opportunity to be drawn back to God. I’m grateful for these questions this morning, as I am able to look back and see the Lord cleansing me of my pride, selfishness, bad motives and restoring me closer to Him.

My Prayer:
Lord, As we transition into new seasons of our lives and have choices with difficult decisions to make, I pray that we would first bring them to you. Would you guide our every step as we make choices that will affect our lives and those around us. Please reveal to us the motives of our hearts and your will for our lives, and give us discernment to make the best choices. In Jesus name, Amen.

Love,

Malachi and Sam during the first annual AFM Chess Tournament. Photo Cred: ME!

Why do I do what I do? A classic question to discover your motives. How would I have answered? Me, I did for others approval.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve lived my life trying to please people and get them to like me. I would lower my standards to theirs so that they would enjoy my company and maybe like or would accept me. I made myself who I believed they wanted me to be, and not who God made me to be. Inside, it cut deep into my spirit. Can you imagine never being happy with who you are? I had multiple identities, lots of masks, and was drained with trying to be just the perfect person for everyone.

In Luke 6 verse 26 Jesus says, “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” It’s worth considering whose approval you’re seeking if everyone speaks well of you. This deeply saddened me as I reflected on my past. Too, many people rejected Jesus and His ways, and he reminds us in John 15 verse 18 that, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” Keep your standards, live for Jesus, and know who and whose you are.

Now, after intense internal heart surgery by the Holy Spirit, I stand up for Jesus. I do feel different from other people. For instance, I don’t want to indwell over famous people, movies that have negative content, or participate in conversations that suck people dry of love, but not pour it back into others who are around. In addition, I choose the entertainment of children more often than adults. We are reminded in Proverbs 12 verse 26, “the righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” I believe that who you are around has a major influence on who you become, and that God desires for us to choose righteous acts over the opposing. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus did hang out with the tax collectors and sinners, and that is an active part of my life, but I intend to be a positive influence over them, not vice versa.

This change began a few months ago, and it has not been extremely fun or easy, but it has been deeply healing and rewarding. “But this comes with [high] costs”, as John Eldredge writes in his book The Utter Relief of Holiness. He continues:

Holiness will cost you. It will certainly cost you the expense of laziness; there’s no more coasting through life. You have to be aware now of where your heart is going on any given day, what you’re allowing in and where your heart is wandering off to. That will cost you, in the sense that there’s no more slacking off anymore, no more assuming your personality and your motives don’t need to be looked at. You have to be vigilant to guard your heart. Frankly, the cost for this is pretty minor when you look to the benefits; there’s a whole lot of “struggle” and “battle” that never have to unfold because they never get started. Besides, as you practice self-awareness and shepherding your heart, you get stronger; it begins to come naturally, and the benefits are more than worth it. But yes, it does cost — or you’d see a whole lot more people living this way.

You will have to give up precious idols, and that is almost always painful. You’ll be giving up your false comforters. To maintain your personal integrity will cost you relationships. It may cost you employment. Your pursuit of holiness will cost you sleepless nights — not because you’re worrying, but because you’re praying (fending off warfare, breaking agreements, battling some deep issues).

You will experience a higher degree of loneliness, because [there] are very few people who seem to want this, and so you will feel odd. You’ll wonder why people aren’t wrestling with the same things you’re wrestling with. You’ll wonder why they don’t talk about the same things you talk about or want to pray about things that seem so obvious and urgent to you. You won’t feel comfortable seeing the same movies your friends do, or listening to the same music, reading the same books. And so you’ll experience the loneliness that Jesus lived with. But he felt it was worth it.

A genuine holiness will — if you decide to receive the life Jesus offers you — inevitably put you in the crosshairs of religion. Because of their love for technical morality, large portions of the Church will be upset with your freedom. Because of their lack of desire for holiness, they will not want what you’re offering. Jesus was in almost constant conflict with the religious, so that ought to give you a warning — this is probably in your future as well. Don’t look for it; I’m not encouraging that. Don’t make it your mission to go change the Church. But the conflicts will inevitably come, simply because you a residing with Jesus. There is a cost to that as well. But again, Jesus clearly felt that it was all worth it, everything he went through. So did his closest friends who follow in his footsteps. So did the vast cloud of witnesses down throughout the ages who chose holiness over an easy life. Their shining examples ought to give us heart!

One major aspect to stepping out was knowing who I am. Ephesians 2 verse 10 reads, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” “[We should see] ourselves as God sees us, as His masterpiece, His workmanship of grace and love, His work of art that He is continually painting in such a way that we will glorify Him!” shared by my mentor, Rick, yesterday in his daily verse and prayer email. Knowing who you are is essential to having the confidence and courage to breaking through the chains of bondage that hold you down as a people pleaser.

Now I know who I am in Christ, and understand my true identity. Stay tuned for that post to come later.

My friend (and manager), Walter, reminded me a few weeks ago that I need to get comfortable with myself and comfortable that people care for me. This was very difficult to accept, but working through it, I want to cover you with the same truth. You are cared for, just the way you are, get comfortable with who you are.

Some key points for me:

• Desire deeply to know and honor God
• Choose Jesus above everything else
• Invite the Holy Spirit into your life and Jesus into every problem
• Know who and whose you are and don’t allow others to compromise that image
• Know the motives to your actions
• Do the right thing because it’s the right thing, not because others are doing it
• Trust God has an amazing plan for your life

I share this with you to encourage you — not to convict you and certainly not to condemn you. I also want to be open with you about what I’ve been going through. It’s been very important for me to have found that having high standards in not legalistic, but holding others to my standards is legalistic. (I can’t remember where I found this quote, but when I do I’ll update this post.) Just as important, I believe that all salvation is only by faith and the Grace of Jesus Christ, and it can not be earned.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,” Romans 3:22

In closing, whoever you are, wherever you are, I accept you exactly as you are, but I want to see you find freedom, and this is how I found freedom. I will work with you, pray for you and walk in high waters along side you, but know that there is someone greater who wants to be right there with you too, and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can truly set you free!

Love,

“No one in the world is rubbish.” – Dr. Gary Parker

*This story was shared by my pastor, Jeff Kristenson, in his sermon It’s A Trap! on Oct 6, 2013.

Josh Callow, Ryan Hare, and I… Bowie got a nice photobomb back there too! Photo Cred: Josh Callow

Proverbs 4:23-27 (NIV):
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Life Application (Zondervan & Tyndale):
Our heart – our feelings of love and desire – dictates to a great extent how we live because we always find time to do what we enjoy. Solomon tells us to guard our heart above all else, making sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path. Make sure your affections push you in the right direction. Put boundaries on your desires: don’t go after everything you see. Look straight ahead, keep your eyes fixed on your goal, and don’t get sidetracked on detours that lead to sin.

My Thoughts:
I know that the direction of my life is towards Jesus – that’s where my feet are going. When opportunities arise, I must consider whether they will take me off course and guard my heart accordingly. I must also consider who I spend time with. Do my friends contribute to positive growth of my actions or do they develop habits that I don’t want to model?

My Prayer:
I pray you can see that having direction is vital to guarding your heart and guarding your heart is important above all else.

Love,

This is where we are at right now, heading towards the sunset. Photo Cred: Josh Callow