Coming out of retirement

Yeah, so it has been a long while. It is sobering to realize one day that the past six months of your life has been like a blur. It started when we began our Sunday morning service, and then things just kept getting crazier and crazier. The church has been going great, and it is such an encouragment to see more and more people continuing to step up and be Kingdom Builders.

I have learned alot over the past six months...about ministry, about people, about family and marriage. I have learned even more about myself. God has shown me things that I didn't want to see, but needed to. I have been challenged by those who love me, by those who look to me, and by those who depend on me. I feel like the past six months have caused me to grow more than the past three years combined. As I have been through so major stretching, I have learned several key things about God, and about myself.

First, I have learned that God is the only person who should ever define my identity. I realized that I have turned to others for affirmation, affection, and appproval of who I am. Anytime I do this I am setting myself up for failure, as no one but God has the right to determine who Freddy is.

Secondly, I have learned a lot about walking in forgiveness and choosing worship. What I mean is that everyday I have the choice to worship Jesus, no matter what is going on that morning. I am the only person responsible for my emotional state. I must choose joy, and I must choose to give God the worship that He deserves in my life. As far as forgiveness goes, I have been learning alot about how forgiving others plays a strong role in our spiritual journey and experience of worship. Ultimately, forgiveness is grounded in the giving up of our rights. We might have a right to be angry, hurt, etc. by another person. But true forgiveness means that we give up this right and choose love. I believe this is what is at the heart of worship as well. Worship, at it's core, is us giving up of ourselves to give to God.