Yeah God...

My good friend, Jamin, and I have spent the last ten days in a deep personal pursuit of God. Each of us were seeking God's heart, wisdom and direction on specific issues concerning our families. It has been a really challenging time for me. I wasn't sure to what to expect because it has been a while since I did such an extended fast, but it was very refreshing for me. God used this time to expand my view of who He is and to show me areas of my life that needed changing. There were many things God highlighted for me over these last ten days, but I thought I would jot a few here...

#1. My understanding of my dependence upon God has to be greater than my pursuit of Him for an answer! In other words I began this fast for direction concerning a specific issue, which is perfectly fine, but God wanted me to understand that my greatest need will still always be Him and not the answer to my question or my need for direction.

#2. God doesn't want my "doings" He wants my heart and my obedience! Doing the right stuff especially in ministry does not necessarily equate to being the right man God desires me to be. No amount of doing will ever overshadow my heart.

#3. Don't minimize my sin, be ruthless in dealing with it, quick to confess it and honest in repenting of it. ALL sin is an offense to God. God doesn't classify sin, man does. I need to seek to be holy because that is what God calls me to be.

#4. God's grace is sufficient! Nuff said...

#5. Take the time to enjoy God's tangible expression of His goodness, mainly my wonderful wife, my amazing kids, and my great friends.

#6. Don't be so concerned with where God may be taking or leading you next that you almost render yourself ineffective in the place He has you. This one was huge because there is an apostolic and catalytic side to me that I can get so caught up in thinking about where God maybe leading my family and I next that I can become distracted from where He currently has me.

Like I said these are just some of the things that God truly taught me through this journey. One of the best parts is that I began this in hopes that God would show me where I needed to put my son for school next year. My son, Max, has been living and striving through his diagnosis of autism. This past year we year blessed to have had him in a special private school in Naples. We were not certain if he would be able to return due to the financial cost so we were going to be faced with the option of public school which is still a pretty good option, but we truly feel that this is a crucial year for Max and my wife and I both had reluctance to pull him out of where he is now. Well long story short, today we met with the director of the school and we will be able to keep Max in the school. PRAISE GOD!!!

As you can see I broke the fast immediately after we left the meeting... I know it isn't "hallelujah diet" friendly food, but I got to say it was good.