Storms

So life has felt a little like a country song lately.  Country music for some reason has the ability to capture and tell a story of an old man picking up the pieces after a tornado or the husband who runs home to his wife after the death of a friend.  Country music sells us these stories in a neatly packaged, melodic three minutes.  While storms slammed the Southeast for the last 5 days, including the monster that hit Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, I got a message that a friend of mine from high school was found dead of heart attack at the young age of 34.  It got me thinking that we all face storms. 

I have many friends that will be picking up the pieces (literally) of their lives by the devastating weather that tore through their homes and damaged their belongings.  In the same way I have friends that have been hit by the high winds of life that have tore through their hearts and devastated their families.  We all face storms.  Some of them we can predict, some them come out of nowhere.  We all face storms, stroms that leave us rebuilding.  Rebuilding places we have called home, even when we may not be rebuilding a physical structure but an emotional one.  

As a fixer, not repairman, but an individual who always wants to have an answer to your problem.  I quickly realize I don't.  All I know is that we all face storms.  At times we all get hit by devasting winds or devasting news.  At times tornadoes rip through our homes or rip through our hearts.  At times it down pours rain or down pours brokenness.  The one thing I know...we all face storms.

³⁹ When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39

Tuesday's Tune

Hey all!  Every Tuesday I am going to highlight a song in the blog. God gifted me with the ability to not perform music.  (I think it was to keep me humble, cuz I would have done ran off to Nashville to be a star.)  Nonetheless, I love music and want to highlight a song or album weekly.  So welcome to Tueday's Tune.

Check out "Oh the Blood" by Gateway Worship.  Gateway Church is great church in Texas with an awesome worship leader named Kari Jobe, among several others.  Enjoy the tune and look for something new next Tuesday!

Jeff

Easter Thoughts - Day 55

While Easter this year was bursting with traditions - baskets, egg hunts and ham dinner.  If felt a little more like 55 days later.  Let me explain.  The book of Acts gives us this snapshot image of this thing called the "church" organically coming together sharing life, possessions, food and whatever else was needed.  This passage takes place some 40 days post resurrection, another 10 days post ascension and sometime after the Day of Pentecost.  So let's call it day 55 after Easter! 

While our service was Easter-y (if that is even a word).  Our post service activities felt a little more day 55ish. The current status of LifeGate is a bunch of young adults and young families, most of which have distance between themselves and their biological families.  So today, we were family!  We brought our food to share, our lives to entangle with one another.  In essence we were the church!  We were just the church as pictured on Day 55.  It was one of the best holidays I can remember (no offense Mom).  There was something right about it, something genuine, something Day 55 like.

Not saying that every holiday is going to look like this from now on.  But this moment in time was a reminder and a reflection of as much what Easter was purposed for: 1) lost being found and 2) the family of God being a family.  Thanks LifeGate family for being my family this Easter.

God Be Praised [+Digital Booklet]