Rest is so hard…teaching our kids to rest in Jesus.

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015 / youthguysteve / 2 Comments

I have Mondays off. It is the one day a week I get to have off and I try to guard it like crazy. Well mostly that is true. Honestly my wife is the one who guards it best because she knows if I didn’t get my rest I will be cranky and out of control.

When I was in High school I spent three weeks of my summer in Puerto Rico for a mission trip. I spent that amazing time getting to know some of the people there and would love to go back just to experience that place again. They taught me a whole host of things but the thing I remember taking away from my time with them was how important rest was to their culture. You see every day they had a siesta. It was a time when the whole country shut down for the most part and people were expected to rest. I remember being told by one of the people there that we Americans didn’t enjoy life because we didn’t rest enough. We ran from thing to thing never enjoying the times God gave us to rest.

My life seems to moving faster and faster. I feel more tired and enjoy my life in Christ less and less. My kids feel it too. I am afraid we as a family are too busy with life to enjoy our time in rest in Jesus. We as the family of God need to slow down and rest. We need to spend time in resting in Jesus.

So how are you resting? Are you resting? I know I am not resting nearly long enough. I am running too fast and ultimately teaching my kids to run to fast. Let us all find those times to slow down and rest. Let us teach our kids to rest. The laundry will be there tomorrow, the school work will be there tomorrow, the office work will be there tomorrow. Let us rest in Jesus. Let us teach our kids to rest in Jesus. To focus our time on rest.

²⁸“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

My kids are liars and cheats…being a parent to sinners.

September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 / youthguysteve / Leave a comment

I had a bad day. I am going to bed angry with my children for their attitudes, and their mood swings. I am angry because today one of them lied to my face and she is the young one. She is supposed to be my innocent one. She is supposed to be the one we did this parenting thing correctly. For a moment I thought I need to just pull out my Thor hammer and play whack kid. I was reminded today that I am raising sinners. I was reminded I am the chief of them.

Every parent if we are honest holds to proverb 22:6

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

We think if we just teach them correctly they will be perfect little angels. Today is another reminder that my kids aren’t perfect and that they resemble more closely this verse:

¹⁰“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Acts 13:10

Here is the rub, on most days I epitomize this verse also. You see every day I know I should have more patient. I know I should have more kind words. I know I should be praying for them and with them. I should be reminding them I am not perfect (although they know it, they need to hear it as well). They need to know the only remedy is Jesus. Jesus’ forgiveness for us brings a new day. It brings healing to these broken relationships. It brings peace to situations that are in chaos.

I think often as parents we are afraid to say this. That we all have days, weeks, months even years where we are chief of sinners. We fail to point our kids to Jesus. Being a parent is hard. We are all sinners in need of Jesus.

So tonight I am on my knees in prayer. I am praying for my kids, I am praying for my wife, and I am praying for me. I am praying we would experience Christ’s forgiveness. Lets join together in prayer as we walk with Jesus.

³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NIV

I make mistakes…God works through our mistakes

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 / youthguysteve / Leave a comment

I make mistakes. I know this is a news flash for most of you. I say the wrong things. I do the wrong things. Often they lead to big messes, but mostly God uses my mess ups for His purposes.

I messed up last Sunday. It wasn’t big but it was a mess up. During worship I was leading the end of the service and I was supposed to say the prayers,then go into the creed, followed by a song. I finished the prayers of the people and then sat down for the song. I missed the creed all together. The pastor told me lead them in the creed after the prayers, and I missed it. It was a total mess up hopefully no one but the person running slides and the music team noticed. It didn’t end the world but I was frustrated with myself.

Right after the service I went up to the music team leader and apologized. While we were talking someone came a lady came up and told us saying the creed after that song was one of the most moving moments she has had in worship in a long time. She finally said it and really meant it. It was a great Jesus moment.

I feel like we all need this reminder from time to time. We need to be reminded that God can use our mistakes, our mess-ups for his Work. He can use our broken best laid plans for his Work. So today if you messed up remember God is working it for his good. God is working it so others can know Jesus. May you be reminded of Jesus working in your good times and your bad.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV

My name is Steve not Mr. Wilson!

September 14, 2015September 15, 2015 / youthguysteve / Leave a comment

So it happens everytime I meet someone new. Well at least at Church. Actually it never seems to happen in public. At Church and especially school people want to call me Mr. Wilson. My normal response to this is turn around and look for my father. (Actually I look for my grandpa but since he is with Jesus I assume they must be talking about my Dad) You see I really do want you and your children to call me Steve. In fact to the students who have known me best it is often Steve-OOOOOOOOOOO in a very loud voice…but I digress. I have a reason I want to be called Steve and not Mr. Wilson. By the way it has nothing to do with not wanting to be old.

So why do I do it? The reason I want to be called Steve is because I want to have a different relationship with you that Mr. Wilson can’t. I do it because I want to have a relationship like Jesus did with his disciples. I want you to have a relationship with me that goes beyond authority figure or someone you can’t talk with. No I am not your best friend but I am also not your authoritative principal. I want you to know I care for you. I want your child to know I care for them. I never want them to be scared to come to me and ask the most ridiculous question in the world or tell me their deepest darkest secret. I want them to know we are walking as disciples together. We are equals in faith and by calling me Steve I think it shows we are on an equal plain and able to talk with.

I know many parents who teach there children to call adults by Mr. or Mrs. as a sign of respect. I do it for my own kids but here is the thing. I believe it is respectful for you and your children to call me Steve because I have told you to do it. So please don’t get mad at Jimmy or Jenny for calling me Steve. I told them to. I wanted to be in relationship as fellow disciples. I have never heard of Jesus telling people to call him Mr. Jesus in fact he seemed to go out of his way to get them to call Him Jesus.

Disclaimer: This is not a post about anyone. This is my thing. If you want to be called Mr. Blah by all means do that. I am not trying to call others to do the same…Well I guess I am but not with the Mr. or Mrs. thing just the be in relationship with each other thing, sharing Jesus.

Sleeping on an air mattress, following Jesus can be uncomfortable!

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015 / youthguysteve / Leave a comment

I miss my bed. I miss how it makes me feel. I would like just once to wake up in my own house on my own bed next to my wife and not have a kink in my back and neck. My new chiropractor loves this by the way. (Not really but we have gotten to know each other rather well these last few weeks based on the number of times he has popped my body back in place.) Needless to say it has been a uncomfortable few weeks.

Beyond the aches and pains I started at a new ministry. I traveled back and forth to sell and buy a house. I have lived with my in-laws for almost 6 weeks now. I went from a 5 minute commute to work to over 45 minutes when traffic is good. I went from knowing everyone’s names to knowing almost no ones.(cue Cheers music) OH and my wife is living in Grand Rapids and i see her on the weekends. Needless to say everything is different. Life has become uncomfortable and I am ok with it.

I do like life to be comfortable. I like to have a routine. I like things to be predictable. I really like to sleep in my own bed with my wife. However being uncomfortable has helped me know Jesus. Over 3 months ago my life was flipped on end. I said goodbye to some amazing people. I am serving in a new ministry. It isn’t comfortable but it is exactly where God needs me to be. Worship, prayer, and everything else is in my faith life is different. Jesus is in control and for that I am grateful.

So why bring up being uncomfortable. Is it so you can feel sorry for me? Is it so you can comment on this post and say we are praying for you or can we help? (please do pray for me and my children.) Really that isn’t the point. The point is being uncomfortable in this faith walk is a good thing. It reminds me of God and His work in my life. It reminds me that no matter how much I have planned and how comfortable I am He seems to find a way to make me uncomfortable so I can trust in Him, so I can follow Him.

When we get comfortable I think we tend to trust in ourselves. We trust in our choices, and abilities instead of trusting in Him. We trust our good fortune, or luck. We trust in everything but Jesus. We look to everything but Jesus. Here is the thing. We need Jesus. We need Him in His word, and sacrament. We need Him in our prayer life. We need Him in everything. Being uncomfortable has reminded me of Jesus’ work for me. Thank you Jesus for reminding me of my need for you. Thanks for making me uncomfortable!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV