What an incredible weekend at Living Hope. It was so cool to see the depth of our pastoral team all within about 48 hours. My heart was touched by all the pastors that shared their stories and preached their hearts out. I feel totally blessed to be part of such a team.
Hey Sunday nighters~ thank you all for coming out and supporting pastor Matt for his sermon. I know a few of you were surprised to see Matt instead of me. Surprise what not our intention. I hope his realness and authenticity came through. As I prayed with him before he went on stage his words were everything I wanted to hear that night. He said "I just hope I don't get in the way of God because I want to be able to help whoever HE brought here tonight". Matt's heart is so amazingly focused on what God wants. He is unselfish and truly inspired to reach people for Christ. Great Job, Matt. I am so proud of you!
Hey Sunday 11 am service ~ Thank you all for allowing me to share part of my current story and my ministry race. Katherine and I were overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayer and encouraging words. We appreciated all the hugs, the talks and the smiles after the service. While the race I shared was very focused on me, I hope the message and points still came through. We need to Eliminate things that are weighing us down. We need to Concentrate on Jesus. We need to Anticipate the end when start to feel down.
One of things that I think is so critical is that when we don't Eliminate things, but we try to Concentrate on Jesus instead, often it is so hard to do we give up. Another way of looking at it is that we need to eliminate distractions from what the real focus needs to be. Take driving a car for example. You go on a road trip and you're driving through a beautiful countryside at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. It sunny and 70 degrees. As you are driving you see the wheat fields, the flowers, the animals, the blue skies with clouds, the distant mountains, etc. I mean we all see things when we are driving, right? Take that exact same trip when it's 11:00 pm and it is so dark you cannot see your hand in front of your face without a flashlight. You can drive the same road with your car headlights on. Now think about it. About all you can see is the road and the painted yellow lines. You are totally focused. And, your knuckles are probably more white too. Anyway, don't you think you spend a higher percentage of time focused on the road at night? I mean think about all the things you see during the day drive. Every time you saw something was that much more time taken from focusing on the road ahead. When the sun goes down it Eliminates the distractions that can take away your focus. Once Elimination occurs you can Concentrate on the what really matters, especially if you are driving speeds like my sister-n-law! (love you Michelle)
As for my secret to Eliminating, whether it's your family or team at work: Consider what you need to stop doing instead of investing time in what you need to start doing.
Hopefully you heard me share that my current race is heavily in Concentrate and Anticipate modes. While the trials continue I will keep fighting the good fight for Jesus. It won't be easy - I know that. But I will think of Jesus as my coach from that film clip Facing the Giants; "Keep going. Don't quit. Give me your best. I want your best. If your muscles hurt, you're going to need to renegotiate that with your mind. Keep Going. Don't Quit. KEEP GOING! DON'T QUIT."
As you consider your life this week, think of areas you may be quitting in that are critical to what God's plan is for your life. If you know you have not made your spouse the #1 priority after your relationship with Jesus, you may be quitting on them to some extent. I know that might sound harsh. But really, are you giving it your best for her or for him? I know I fail at this regularly. But after sharing with all of you, it has energized my heart to make Katherine an even higher priority than she had been. She deserves it. Write your spouse a letter. Tell them how important they are. Remember words matter a lot.
Thanks for letting me share my story with you. We will keep enduring together. Pray for each other.
George
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2 comments:
Was touched by your message on sunday very much and you have been on my mind and heart. I want you to know that I am praying for you and your wife now.. as you prepare to receive the results for your sons test today. Father God.. here we are , so human and small.. so small we don't always see our part in the plan. Your plan. Be with George and Katherine today as they see the doctors for Luke - their very heart. We lift him up to you now. We can't see your plan in this scare or situtation.. but we we decide to trust together and believe in your words, that you have a plan for each of us. You have a plan for the beautiful boy that you entrusted to them. We ask now for good news from these test, and if there is an issue, we ask that you be with the doctors. Give them wisdom in their decisions and care of Luke. We ask too for a peace for Katherine and George as they work through the medical system. Help them to feel and KNOW you are near. We pray these things, agreeing in Jesus name. Amen.
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