Here it is! The long awaited link to our song and interview from when we went to Nashville to meet Matthew West and the other storytellers!
Click on the link and watch this video! It is powerful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MptqnvPYAI4
Thanks!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
"I can't do this. No, you can't."
I heard a message this morning that included this line, "I can't do this! No, you can't!". It went on to explain how we need to put ourselves in God's hands and depend on His strength. We cannot live the Christian lives we are called to live on our own.
This reminded me of how much Cheryl and I depend on God, and have depended on God, to restore our marriage, and how blessed we are because of it! I do not take credit for where we are in our relationship. I, nor Cheryl, could have got us to the beautiful place we're at!
The other day someone commented to me that they admire us for our level of commitment, and what we've come through to be where we are. I thanked her, and I was thrilled that people do notice! But that praise should not come to me and Cheryl. This was, and is, a mighty work of God! The commitment, the forgiveness, the devotion, the love, the joy, the contentment, and all other aspects of our relationship, happen, and continue to happen, because we are in a right relationship with Him! Our lives....everybody's lives....would be in turmoil if they choose to ignore that fact. We, and I mean we collectively as the human race, are all dysfunctional! Sin makes us that way. The only cure for our dysfunctionality (is that a word?) is Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and aligning ourselves with that truth!
So rely on God to bring you to a beautiful place in your relationship! Put your marriage in His hands, and follow His way. For some strange reason, He seems to know a whole lot better than we do what works and what doesn't!
☮
This reminded me of how much Cheryl and I depend on God, and have depended on God, to restore our marriage, and how blessed we are because of it! I do not take credit for where we are in our relationship. I, nor Cheryl, could have got us to the beautiful place we're at!
The other day someone commented to me that they admire us for our level of commitment, and what we've come through to be where we are. I thanked her, and I was thrilled that people do notice! But that praise should not come to me and Cheryl. This was, and is, a mighty work of God! The commitment, the forgiveness, the devotion, the love, the joy, the contentment, and all other aspects of our relationship, happen, and continue to happen, because we are in a right relationship with Him! Our lives....everybody's lives....would be in turmoil if they choose to ignore that fact. We, and I mean we collectively as the human race, are all dysfunctional! Sin makes us that way. The only cure for our dysfunctionality (is that a word?) is Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and aligning ourselves with that truth!
So rely on God to bring you to a beautiful place in your relationship! Put your marriage in His hands, and follow His way. For some strange reason, He seems to know a whole lot better than we do what works and what doesn't!
☮
Friday, February 21, 2014
How does repentance help?
I heard a message on repentance this morning. It made me realize that without true repentance we would NEVER have been able to "Restore" our marriage! I repeat for emphasis, TRUE repentance is necessary.
So, what is TRUE repentance? It is turning your back on your sin, your shortcoming, your wrong direction, not because you got caught, not because you're embarrassed, not because it makes you look better, but because you are truly and sincerely desirous of doing the right thing. We need to be willing to do it God's way. We need to do everything within our power to move in the other direction. Turn around. Move forward away from what you were and toward what you can become! I needed to see what I was doing to our marriage, to my wife, to my relationship with God, through the eyes of God. I needed to see it in the right perspective. And it was not pretty.
The effect of true repentance is immense! When we choose to do things God's way, God is there for us! What more can be said about that? How and why would we want it any other way? It makes such perfect sense to me now, but.....of course when I was in the midst of it, this didn't even cross my mind. We allow ourselves to be blinded by our willful ignorance. We choose to not see. It's more comfortable to close our eyes to the truth than to face it, and deal with it. Yup, that's true...but the consequences are drastic and far-reaching!
There is no comparison to being in the right place. I'm not talking about locale, I'm talking about spiritually. There is such a peace! There is such blessing! There is contentment!!
It's not always easy. No. Sometimes it's a struggle to keep ourselves on track. But there is help and strength available to us that is unbeatable! Of course our enemy wants us to fail, and fall! Of course there will be attacks! So what! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world".
So, with all that said, I encourage you (and myself) to keep on keeping on in the direction we were meant to go. Seek Him out constantly. Fellowship with Him. Read His word to us. Follow His plan for us. It is such a blessing!! And, I repeat and earlier statement, there is comtentment.
God bless.
☮
So, what is TRUE repentance? It is turning your back on your sin, your shortcoming, your wrong direction, not because you got caught, not because you're embarrassed, not because it makes you look better, but because you are truly and sincerely desirous of doing the right thing. We need to be willing to do it God's way. We need to do everything within our power to move in the other direction. Turn around. Move forward away from what you were and toward what you can become! I needed to see what I was doing to our marriage, to my wife, to my relationship with God, through the eyes of God. I needed to see it in the right perspective. And it was not pretty.
The effect of true repentance is immense! When we choose to do things God's way, God is there for us! What more can be said about that? How and why would we want it any other way? It makes such perfect sense to me now, but.....of course when I was in the midst of it, this didn't even cross my mind. We allow ourselves to be blinded by our willful ignorance. We choose to not see. It's more comfortable to close our eyes to the truth than to face it, and deal with it. Yup, that's true...but the consequences are drastic and far-reaching!
There is no comparison to being in the right place. I'm not talking about locale, I'm talking about spiritually. There is such a peace! There is such blessing! There is contentment!!
It's not always easy. No. Sometimes it's a struggle to keep ourselves on track. But there is help and strength available to us that is unbeatable! Of course our enemy wants us to fail, and fall! Of course there will be attacks! So what! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world".
So, with all that said, I encourage you (and myself) to keep on keeping on in the direction we were meant to go. Seek Him out constantly. Fellowship with Him. Read His word to us. Follow His plan for us. It is such a blessing!! And, I repeat and earlier statement, there is comtentment.
God bless.
☮
Monday, October 28, 2013
Lesson from the leaves
I SO hate to admit this. But I think there is some value as a lesson here.
The other day I was confessing something to my wife and I wasn't entirely honest. I left out a vital part of the story. In other words....I lied to her. I won't go into the details, but, suffice it to say that I gave her what I thought to be the basis of the facts, but changed the rest. I think I was just trying to placate her. BIG mistake!
She left to go and do a job, and I was left to stew in what I had done. I felt terrible! I want to be open and honest! I NEED to be open and honest! I felt very unsettled...guilty...convicted!
I was outside blowing leaves. The wind was sporadic, and every now and then it would come from in front of me and blow the leaves back at me and behind me. God spoke to me through that. He made me think of what I'd done. Just like blowing the leaves over the stone wall to get them out of the driveway and yard, I had told Cheryl a little piece of the truth, to try and please her. But, just like the wind blowing them back and behind me, my purposeful omittance of the whole truth was causing an unseen mess. It caused a chink in the armor that makes a weak spot. It caused a separation. It caused an anxiety. I thought I was doing ok by blowing those leaves, but I couldn't keep up with them as they were coming right back in my face! Just like my lie was coming right back on me.
Later, when she got home, we sat down to talk, and I came clean. It turned out that the part I left out was worse than what I had originally told her. It hurt her pretty bad. It chipped away a little trust. It was awful to tell her. It wasn't pretty at all. But, you know what? I definately did the right thing. There will be times in our marriage and, perhaps, yours' too, when it's not easy to be open and honest. Oh well! It's the way that God wants it. He gives us a perfect model of what marriage should look like, and there is no place in that model for lies, deceit, or molding the truth to fit our needs.
From now on I will be doing this thing the right way! That way I won't have anything to be worried about sharing with her! I just need to put it in God's hands and do it His way, putting Him first, then Cheryl, the way it's supposed to be. Then....all will be well! Sounds so simple! And, in reality, it truly is!
I hope I didn't burst anybody's bubble of me. I know how you all thought I was this perfect husband! (Yeah, right!) Well, I'm not sure there is one out there anywhere, but, we all need to strive to be just that! Matthew 19:26 "....with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Never EVER doubt your God.
The other day I was confessing something to my wife and I wasn't entirely honest. I left out a vital part of the story. In other words....I lied to her. I won't go into the details, but, suffice it to say that I gave her what I thought to be the basis of the facts, but changed the rest. I think I was just trying to placate her. BIG mistake!
She left to go and do a job, and I was left to stew in what I had done. I felt terrible! I want to be open and honest! I NEED to be open and honest! I felt very unsettled...guilty...convicted!
I was outside blowing leaves. The wind was sporadic, and every now and then it would come from in front of me and blow the leaves back at me and behind me. God spoke to me through that. He made me think of what I'd done. Just like blowing the leaves over the stone wall to get them out of the driveway and yard, I had told Cheryl a little piece of the truth, to try and please her. But, just like the wind blowing them back and behind me, my purposeful omittance of the whole truth was causing an unseen mess. It caused a chink in the armor that makes a weak spot. It caused a separation. It caused an anxiety. I thought I was doing ok by blowing those leaves, but I couldn't keep up with them as they were coming right back in my face! Just like my lie was coming right back on me.
Later, when she got home, we sat down to talk, and I came clean. It turned out that the part I left out was worse than what I had originally told her. It hurt her pretty bad. It chipped away a little trust. It was awful to tell her. It wasn't pretty at all. But, you know what? I definately did the right thing. There will be times in our marriage and, perhaps, yours' too, when it's not easy to be open and honest. Oh well! It's the way that God wants it. He gives us a perfect model of what marriage should look like, and there is no place in that model for lies, deceit, or molding the truth to fit our needs.
From now on I will be doing this thing the right way! That way I won't have anything to be worried about sharing with her! I just need to put it in God's hands and do it His way, putting Him first, then Cheryl, the way it's supposed to be. Then....all will be well! Sounds so simple! And, in reality, it truly is!
I hope I didn't burst anybody's bubble of me. I know how you all thought I was this perfect husband! (Yeah, right!) Well, I'm not sure there is one out there anywhere, but, we all need to strive to be just that! Matthew 19:26 "....with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Never EVER doubt your God.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
...and the story spreads.
We were asked by someone involved in our church to start some type of group. Either a Sunday school class, or bible study group, or whatever. So, this Sunday begins our group in our home. Every other Sunday evening for a couple hours.
To kick it off, at church on Sunday morning we will share a video that Matthew West put out where he talks about our story, the song it inspired, and it also includes clips of me talking about it too! It was shot when we met him at the Storytellers Weekend he invited us to in Nashville last year. He performs our song acoustically on the video also!
It's pretty powerful, and I expect there will be lots of people welling up with tears (as I know I will be!). I liked the way they shot and edited it. There are clips of me just focusing on my face and you can see how the story affects me by my expressions. I have a hard time telling this story without breaking down at one spot or another.
So, I hope this has an effect on many people in the congregation. It's real. It's raw. It's transparent. There is a message that needs to get out there so people know that restoration is possible! And/or that the problems can be faced and overcome! God touched our lives in such a way, and we need to share that so others' lives can be touched and changed as well!
Once I figure out how....I'll post the video on here so you can all see it for yourselves.
☮ ♥
To kick it off, at church on Sunday morning we will share a video that Matthew West put out where he talks about our story, the song it inspired, and it also includes clips of me talking about it too! It was shot when we met him at the Storytellers Weekend he invited us to in Nashville last year. He performs our song acoustically on the video also!
It's pretty powerful, and I expect there will be lots of people welling up with tears (as I know I will be!). I liked the way they shot and edited it. There are clips of me just focusing on my face and you can see how the story affects me by my expressions. I have a hard time telling this story without breaking down at one spot or another.
So, I hope this has an effect on many people in the congregation. It's real. It's raw. It's transparent. There is a message that needs to get out there so people know that restoration is possible! And/or that the problems can be faced and overcome! God touched our lives in such a way, and we need to share that so others' lives can be touched and changed as well!
Once I figure out how....I'll post the video on here so you can all see it for yourselves.
☮ ♥
Monday, July 22, 2013
Is it really that simple?
Cheryl and I know how important it is to get our story out there, so people can hear it and know that there is hope in seemingly hopeless situations. God has shown us how useful it can be, and how people really want and need to hear it!
So, we've been searching, and praying for it to be clear how to go about this. A website? A support group? A bible study group? Sunday school? Some type of ministry? We're just not sure.
The other night I was sharing this with a friend, and he made a simple statement that very well may be true. He said something to the effect of waiting for God to bring people to us. Sharing where and when we can, like we've been doing, and just allowing God to urge people to ask, to come forward, to seek us out. As you are probably aware, this has already been happening. We've spoken to several people, and continue to!
Could it be that simple? Could we already be involved in the ministry we've been searching for? Could this be the way that we're supposed to be used?
We already know that the song is out there, and who knows how many lives that has touched! It could be changing people every day, for all we know! And that came about simply because we shared our story with Matthew West, and it inspired him to write "Restored"!
I guess we sometimes try to overthink things and sometimes it causes us to miss what's already there! We need to realize that all the planning and scheming in the world isn't going to further God's plan. If it's meant to be out there...it will be out there, regardless of our efforts. Not that we should just sit back and relax and forget about it, but just continue to be willing, and allow ourselves to be a part of it.
It continues to be an amazing journey!
So, we've been searching, and praying for it to be clear how to go about this. A website? A support group? A bible study group? Sunday school? Some type of ministry? We're just not sure.
The other night I was sharing this with a friend, and he made a simple statement that very well may be true. He said something to the effect of waiting for God to bring people to us. Sharing where and when we can, like we've been doing, and just allowing God to urge people to ask, to come forward, to seek us out. As you are probably aware, this has already been happening. We've spoken to several people, and continue to!
Could it be that simple? Could we already be involved in the ministry we've been searching for? Could this be the way that we're supposed to be used?
We already know that the song is out there, and who knows how many lives that has touched! It could be changing people every day, for all we know! And that came about simply because we shared our story with Matthew West, and it inspired him to write "Restored"!
I guess we sometimes try to overthink things and sometimes it causes us to miss what's already there! We need to realize that all the planning and scheming in the world isn't going to further God's plan. If it's meant to be out there...it will be out there, regardless of our efforts. Not that we should just sit back and relax and forget about it, but just continue to be willing, and allow ourselves to be a part of it.
It continues to be an amazing journey!
Monday, June 10, 2013
Surprised? Nope!
So I guess it really shouldn't be a surprise when we share our story and people are moved, touched, affected, changed, etc.
Saturday night we went to a local coffee house where our good friend, and singer-songwriter, Ben Horrevoets was performing. When he plays local, he does our song, "Restored", and gives me the opportunity to share our story. I always welcome that chance because God wants that story out there, and wants me to tell it everytime I can!
After the show, I was approached by one woman who said she was so glad to hear me share that story because her daughter, who is struggling in her marriage right now, was there, and she saw the effect it had on her. Then, a guy came up and said how he went through a divorce, and would have loved to have had his relationship restored before that happened. And at least two other people also talked to me briefly. Mind you, this was at a coffee house...maybe 25 or so people.
Back in October we went to see Matthew West in concert in Lancaster, Pa. He brought us up on stage that night to share a quick testimony. After that show, Cheryl and I were amazed at how many people were lining up to talk to us! Lining up!
This story needs to be out there. It needs to be spread to a hurting world. There is so much destruction happening to marriages all around us. If our story of hope and restoration can touch a few of those hurting people, if they can see that there is a better way, and that it IS possible to overcome adversity and rebuild, then that is a beautiful thing!
Not sure why I get surprised when we are approached and questioned. Guess we should never be surprised at the power of God to make something wonderful come out of something that could have been devastating. And I know he'll continue to do so.
Saturday night we went to a local coffee house where our good friend, and singer-songwriter, Ben Horrevoets was performing. When he plays local, he does our song, "Restored", and gives me the opportunity to share our story. I always welcome that chance because God wants that story out there, and wants me to tell it everytime I can!
After the show, I was approached by one woman who said she was so glad to hear me share that story because her daughter, who is struggling in her marriage right now, was there, and she saw the effect it had on her. Then, a guy came up and said how he went through a divorce, and would have loved to have had his relationship restored before that happened. And at least two other people also talked to me briefly. Mind you, this was at a coffee house...maybe 25 or so people.
Back in October we went to see Matthew West in concert in Lancaster, Pa. He brought us up on stage that night to share a quick testimony. After that show, Cheryl and I were amazed at how many people were lining up to talk to us! Lining up!
This story needs to be out there. It needs to be spread to a hurting world. There is so much destruction happening to marriages all around us. If our story of hope and restoration can touch a few of those hurting people, if they can see that there is a better way, and that it IS possible to overcome adversity and rebuild, then that is a beautiful thing!
Not sure why I get surprised when we are approached and questioned. Guess we should never be surprised at the power of God to make something wonderful come out of something that could have been devastating. And I know he'll continue to do so.
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