Trouble Codes

We left Rancho Santa Margarita one week ago with great expectation about all that is going to do this summer. Our first stop was Yuma, AZ where we spent a fews days with our friends Kenny and Athena and visited the Yuma Foursquare Church where they attend. (I will share more about the church in another blog post.)

Yesterday we set out from Yuma headed for Goodyear, AZ, which should have been a 3 hour drive. That is until, about 25 miles south of Buckeye on Highway 85, the Excursion sputtered and died, leaving us on the side of the road in 100 degree weather. I carry a full compliment of tools, and have quite a bit of experience in troubleshooting and fixing vehicles, but there is only so much you can do on the side of the road...so the call to roadside assistance was made and the wait for a tow truck was on.

And now the point of this post. I always carry a DTC code scanner in my car which helps to troubleshoot problems in case of a breakdown. Modern cars have computers that control and monitor the engine functions, and if something goes wrong, the PCM (computer) records the data and issues a trouble code (and thats when the check engine light comes on). I read the trouble code immediately after we stopped on the side of the road, and then after working on the truck for a while, took another reading and found that there were additional codes that had been set off. Now that one system was not functioning it began affecting other systems which the computer then translated into trouble codes. The reality is that some of those codes are not indicative of a real problem, they are just basing their problem off of another faulty system.

This got me thinking about my walk with the Lord. It was not too long ago that this a situation like this would have caused me to just about "lose it". Frustration, anger, fear, etc were par for the course for me. And it would have just gone from bad to worse. One "trouble code" would have set off another and another and yet another. But this is not the mark of a Christ follower.

There are a number of passages that speak about this 'condition'. Philippians 4:6-7 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." While there are things that are beyond our control, the is NOTHING that is beyond His control, and as his children we benefit from what He is able to do in our impossible situations. And because this is true, we don't have to have a cascade of trouble codes that run amok with our hearts and minds. Too often we allow our circumstances to dictate our 'peace' level. This are of our lives should belong to the Lord. It is HIS peace that guards our hearts and minds, even when we don't understand it, can't fix it, don't have an answer, or are unsure of the outcome.

What are your trouble code triggers? What gets the cascade going in your life? Where does your trust in God get challenged? Whatever they are, God wants to relieve you of that burden and replace it with his peace.

I've been a little surprised at how calm I've been through this experience, but the real blessing is that Megan and the kid shave noticed the difference. We set out on this journey to encourage pastors, and already God is encouraging our family, even in the midst of 'the storm'.

God's way

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

It has been an amazing 3 weeks. We've had the opportunity to visit 3 great churches (Lakepoint Church in Keizer, OR; Waldport Foursquare church in Waldport, OR; and Christian Life Center in Chico, CA) and have visited with a number of pastors and church leaders. As we travel, one thing is certain, God is the one determining our steps. We took many months to plan our strategy and approach, build a team and raise support, and plan our schedule and the churches we would visit (certainly all of which is important and necessary). What we have discovered is that as we travel, God is crossing our path with people who weren't on our 'schedule', giving us the opportunity to share with, minister to, and encourage them. God knew, long before we packed the car and headed north, where we needed to be and who we needed to meet.

I can't help but think that too often we plan God right out of our lives, missing opportunities to be salt and light because we are on tight schedule. We didn't set out on this trip with the intent of making unexpected stops, but some of those stops have proved to be some of the richest times of fellowship and blessing we've had thus far. Don't miss the opportunities in your day to share the love of Christ.

Trip update:

We are currently in Reno, NV where we will be visiting our friends Kris and Melissa Dahir. The Dahir's planted a church in Reno/Sparks a few months ago and are enjoying walking out God's call on their lives. I will have the opportunity to preach at the church on Sunday and we will be in Reno until heading to La Grande, OR next week. More to come soon.

The Big Picture

It was almost twelve years ago that we first met Rick and Karmel. In the week following us first meeting each other, our families spent almost every evening together and a strong friendship was formed as we sat in our living room into the wee hours of the morning talking about life, marriage, family and faith. We moved to AK and while we were there, Rick and Karmel moved to Chico, but our friendship has remained and we consider ourselves blessed to have friends like them.

We pulled up Rick and Karmel's house in Chico close to 1am last night/this morning. Despite being worn out from a long day in the card, and the fact that Rick had just returned from a business trip, we found ourselves once again unable to stop the conversation and stayed up way too late discussing matters of life, marriage, family and faith. What a joy it was to look back to those early days and recount the lessons learned, the hardships endured, and more than anything, the faithfulness of God in the years between then and now. There was no way we could have looked into the future and anticipated where both families would end up, but one thing is certain: God knew. He knew every challenge we would face, every pain we would endure, every victory we would celebrate, every move we would make, and uses them all to shape and mold for His glory.

Last night was a great reminder that God sees the big picture. He knows where He's leading us, and He know's what needs to happen along the way in order to prepare us for when we arrive. Nothing is lost to him. I stand in awe of all God has done in my life and family, and the lives of Rick and Karmel and their kids.

NW Trip