God's Faithfulness

God recurrently surprises me by showing me prayers that He's answered that I've forgotten I'd even made.  One of the best examples of that occurred to me this last week.  As I was walking into Dillons, one of the employees (who often goes to The Gamers Guild) stopped me and asked me if I'd be willing to do his wedding vow renewals.  We had a bit of a conversation, because I needed to know what both he and his wife were wanting.  First, they often have different desires and don't always communicate well, and I didn't want to step into a minefield.  Second, I wasn't sure if they wanted this to be a Christian ceremony, and I needed to know those details before I decided if I'd be willing to proceed.  We ended up agreeing that he and his wife would meet with me the following day or the day after (they were doing the renewals in three days, and I wanted to let them know yes or no at least a day in advance--preferably much earlier).

They ended up showing up at The Gamers Guild to discuss what they wanted the night before their ceremony.  It took a fairly long discussion as they did want a Christian ceremony but hadn't laid out how the event should look.  They did know some songs they wanted, but there was no sound person or sound system, just a laptop with loud speakers and a cell phone.  They also knew some of the things they wanted to happen, but they didn't have an order or timing set out.  We worked through all of those details and more (I was glad I'd done a wedding once before), and then we set a time to do a rehearsal in advance.

The day of the event, I was mostly present to be a peacemaker and keep everything running smoothly.  I hadn't had much time to prepare a message, but I trusted the Holy Spirit to give me the needed words at the time and had at least some ideas laid out.  I'd be happy to share the details of the day and the ceremony in person at any time, but that's not really the heart of the story here.

The heart of the story is that when I first met these two almost four years ago at The Gamers Guild, they'd walked in as a group of four.  The husband had a girlfriend on his shoulder, and the wife had a boyfriend.  They man introduced himself and his 'soon-to-be-x-wife', in his words, and the woman introduced herself and her 'soon-to-be-x-husband', in her words.  They also introduced their significant others.  Needless to say, I wasn't sure exactly how to respond.  I kept it polite, and I introduced them to what they could do in The Gamers Guild.  I also got to know both of them and listened to their stories.

Over time, I watched them interact with each other and wasn't sure if they should stay together or not, but I turned it over to God in prayer--praying for the best outcome for them and the people with them.  Over the next few months they went through ups and downs, but they were ultimately separate and living with others.  Fast forward to a few years later, and they are back together--not only that, but they are generally treating each other better and are moving slowly towards a healthier relationship.  I'd forgotten about the prayer I'd made on their behalf long ago, and then, out of the blue, I'm asked to renew their vows.

That's when I remembered their true history and also when I remembered what I'd prayed.  It struck me pretty hard--how could I have forgotten those prayers years ago?  How much work had God incrementally done to slowly help these two get to where they were now?  What an amazing series of events must have slowly been occurring that answered a prayer that I'd forgotten I'd even made.

I felt humbled, embarrassed, and thankful all at once.  It was an interesting moment for me, and it was one that I'm still reflecting on today.  How often has God done major things to answer my prayers only for me to no even notice all of the hard work He and The Holy Spirit have been doing in others' lives?  Isn't it crazy that He could be lovingly, painstakingly answering a sincere prayer that I made so long ago that I forgot it?  How amazing is His great love?

Thank God for his patience, forgiveness, and most of all, for His love for all of us...

The Unexpected Kingdom Work Proverbs 3:5-6

This morning had a rough plan--it's my day to get more work done for The Gamers Guild side of the outreach work we do, and I had to get a fair bit done.  Our monthly schedule switches to summer schedule in a couple of weeks, and I need to lock down the hours that we'll change to for the summer along with several big upcoming events (and make sure they fit with direct ministry events, Aikido events, and other happenings).  This involves a couple to a few hours of direct scheduling work, then double-checking them with my wife, uploading them to two websites and four facebook pages, and printing them off to distribute at the Dojo and The Guild.  I had just finished getting around and was running to Dillons to pick up some needed items when I got a call from a local fellow who is getting very involved with several ministries (and who has a building that he wants to use for ministry that may be a long-term fit for us or may be something he'll use for his own ministry initiatives--for now he's working on his own things, which is how it should be at this time).  After making sure it was ok with my wife (the mornings are also our time to be together before she's at work since I work until midnight), I ran the errand at Dillons and headed down to First Call for Help.

Once there, I chatted with this fellow and a guy who's on First Call for Help's board of directors.  Both are idea guys who will follow through, which is great, but it can lead to conflict if visions aren't 100% in line.  The fellow with the building was urging the board member to consider renting out the back of First Call for Help to us (for the Dojo or Guild) and buy the house next door for their high efficiency apartments (instead of using the back we were standing in for the apartments, which is the current plan).  He had a few good reasons, including the fact that our money could go to First Call for Help instead of some local landlord, which I wholeheartedly agree with.  However, the building they bought was bought with intention to turn the back into the apartments, and they do already own the building and are already in process of looking to do that.  Also, the space would maybe work for the Dojo but not for the Guild or free store as it is too small and doesn't have enough parking.  The ceilings are too low for a Dojo, so we couldn't use weapons inside, but in an emergency we could look at renting a space like this one.  Right now at this time, though, it's not a good fit for us.  At this time, as First Call for Help waits on drawings from an architect for the apartments and costs, it's also not a good fit for them.  In future if things fall through, though, it's good to be aware of this option.

I made sure to chat with both men to a fair degree as I could sense the visions butting heads, but I also know both men to be powerfully kingdom-driven and hard working, so a conflict is in no one's best interests.  I also wanted to make sure neither lost drive by their idea not happening--they both do good Kingdom work, and letting them become discouraged is not good for the Kingdom.  Overall, I think it went relatively well--I got a good handle on the situation and I think it opened us all up to options if things change at First Call for Help without overly discouraging anyone; it did end up taking almost two hours, though (I stayed to talk with the board member about this and other things).  After that discussion, I had a very beneficial talk with the director for First Call for Help, which took up another hour or so.  Again, this talk was highly beneficial as it let us catch up, clarified a few cases we are both working on, and it also got us on the same page with this particular idea and a few others.  I was also able to pick up some items for the free store from their back room of extra items.

Afterwards, it was already after noon, and I ran by Breathe to pick up a coffee drink to give to my wife at work.  I wasn't able to chat with her long due to how much work we both had, but it was good to still spend ten to fifteen minutes getting on the same daily page, encouraging each other, and seeing each other.  I also caught the station director--I wasn't sure if he and I were grabbing coffee at 1PM or not--we had tentatively said we might since last week didn't work out.  He said it would work for him if I wasn't overwhelmed, and I felt it would be good to do for both of us and for the Kingdom, so I agreed to meet him.  This left me 40 minutes to get home, get a few quick things done (including eating breakfast at 12:35PM), and then get back.  We proceeded to have a great chat, which lasted until about 2:15PM, which was beneficial to both of us and to some ministry things we're both doing, and then I headed home.  Once home, I had to take care of a few urgent things, and then it was time to pray and center for the day (normally something I do in the morning--now I was doing it about 3:00PM, and I have to head to the Dojo around 4:15PM, so there was no way I was going to get the schedule done anymore, much less several other items on my list for the day).  During that time, I prayed that God help me 'seek first the Kingdom in all I do', which is something I usually pray, and something interesting stuck out to me: He had already answered that prayer in my day today up to this point, and I should have realized He would do so.  In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will make your paths straight.'  Had I done my usual day in my understanding, which would have been helpful to ministry, as well, I would have likely missed out on most or all of these things I'd experienced.  Other good things would have happened, but it was seeking God's will in each moment, not relying on my own understanding of how things should go (which would have involved me staying at home to do my usual morning routine etc.), that allowed my day to fall into place in such a beneficial way to myself and Kingdom work.  Seeking His will in each truly small thing in my day, even if it deviates from what I expect I should do, is really the best way to allow me to follow Him so He'll make my path straight--according to scripture but also to life experience (both now and previous). 

Anyway, after my reflection I hopped on here to share it (after getting some water and coffee).  One other thing that I've been adding to my life (almost daily) is to share how God's working and/or write (not necessarily on here), so I figured I'd share a bit of the ministry day today before I head out to the Dojo on my bicycle with my wife in the next five minutes.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else God has in our day, and I'm not worrying about how each little detail will shake out (though I am trying to make sure to get things done that need done in each moment as I go--right now I need to make time at some point to complete this month's schedule as soon as I can, though it may be tomorrow, and I need to make time to iron out the final details of some lifeguard classes I'm teaching later in the month).  The key, though, comes back to not worrying about what I can't control, being present in each moment, and in that moment seeking Christ.  Even now I prepare to hop on a bike and chat about the schedule with my wife on the way, but then I'll fully be in the Dojo mode, thinking of how I can teach the young ones both physical Aikido and Godly principles (humility, respect, love) in the lesson that will shortly occur.  Each phase of my night will be that way--just focused on the phase in front of me, not on what I have to do in the background.  In that way, seeking the Kingdom in each thing, I trust that He'll make my paths straight, and I thank God that He will do so.  I hope you, too, can be focused in your day and can seek first the Kingdom in all you do in each moment; I know that it can be tough when other things pull at us, but I know it will have the greatest result for all of us if we can succeed in doing it.  Go with God and keep serving/loving; thanks for reading and sharing part of your life/time with me!

Adventures and Spiritual Growth in Japan

By the way, if you want to know what happened in my 7 weeks travelling (most of it spent as a live-in Aikido student in Japan) along with some of the things that I grew in spiritually, please feel free to check out my blog relating those occurrences here: (https://uchideshiexperience.blogspot.com).  Not all of the entries talk about spiritual things, but many of them do, and all of them have potential to be interesting if you have never been a live-in martial arts student in a foreign country before (and even if you have).  ;)  Enjoy!

The Small Things

Though we all arrived a little bit late to this morning's small group (that we hold in Breathe coffee house) due to a local walk-for-a-cancer-cure event cordoning off the major streets near the coffee house (and directly in front of it), we all seemed genuinely happy to be sitting down to small group again.  While I was gone in Japan, it sounds like attendance was intermittent, but some of that was due to local events (including a blizzard at one point).  Now at least a few of us are regularly meeting, and more will likely rejoin once semester finals are over.  

For my part, I was glad to see the guys again and hear how life had been treating them.  One of them had gone through several relatively major life events, and the other was primarily focusing on his family and some things his youngest child was going through.  Both were happy to share and to listen, and I really enjoyed hearing what they had been learning about life and spirituality (while that was the main encouraging point for me, you'll have to come to a small group yourself if you want to know what they were learning, as discussions in small group are private).

We didn't get to much Bible study, and we never normally do when someone makes it back after a long absence, but it was still energizing finding out how we could pray together and simply being together after such a long absence.  There are some things you don't realize that you miss until you are back in them, and this time was definitely one of those things.  Though some of our small group times I'm exhausted, all of us (including me) are distractable, or topics range far enough away that it may not be obviously beneficial, many other times we share powerfully as we learn through reading the Bible and discussing it and/or sharing what we've been learning in our own personal, spiritual walks.  This time is invaluable and encouraging in ways I don't always see, so I was very blessed to be able to spend it with some fellow brothers in Christ this morning as I then rolled on into my day (which involved five minutes later selling an Aikido student a wooden weapon and talking about the challenges of raising and teaching children--especially of teaching them morality--and relating that back to our own personal growth in Christ and patience, then running to the bank to make change for The Gamers Guild for tonight and proceeding home to get breakfast and do office work).

Often-times its the small things in my day that end up setting the tone for everything else to go well.  Thanks to God for that opportunity this morning.