Processing through life

So it has been a little over a month since I lasted posted something on here.  We have continued to grow as a family and all have grown on an individual level.  I can't explain what it means to live in God's will and know that this is where we are to be.  There have been struggles and we will continue to process through those and seek His guidance.  What follows are a few things that I have been processing through over the last month.

Anissa, Jackson and I went to NMC on a Wednesday night at the beginning of September and it was great to see a bunch of familiar faces that night.  It was great to have a lot of people asking how things were going and also how they could pray for us as we transition into living here in Keller Park.  That night Jackson got an acorn bank after his programing was over with.  This acorn is to put money in and the kids get to crack them open in November and the money is donated.  As we get in the car to go home Jackson starts talking about how he wants to fill up the bank.  He said he wanted to put the money he had at home in there and then he said this "I want to give all the money I have in the bank, that you guys put in there, in my acorn. I know that money is to help buy a car when I get older but I don't need a car I will just find a job that I can walk to."  I can't tell you how excited this made me.  His heart is in the right place and he understands far more than we know.  This also makes me think about what I'm holding onto that I don't really need.  We still have a lot of earthly treasures and we need to make sure that we are not valuing those over the heavenly treasures that God asks us to seek.

This was posted by Anissa last night.  "Now that I think about it God has put me here for the better me I can be, and the better of others. I miss Bremen but I am surrounded by better people here in Keller Park!"  I love her perspective.  I believe that God is doing a great work in her and the outcome is completely amazing!  After some recent conversations I'm happy to know that she understands that she is loved by not only her family but by an amazing God!

Recently this was posted by a friend of ours and all I can say is WOW! Here is what was posted "Needing some help, my 6year old son ask me this question "why do we celebrate touchdowns and not things that God does?" #greatquestion."  All I can say is this hit me like a brick.  Here was my response "Ouch, feeling convicted now. He brings up a very good point. Not sure there are any great answers. Being of the flesh leads us to being more concerned with worldly issues than eternal issues."  This again goes back to what we treasure.  It is something that I continually struggle with as it is hard to reprogram your thinking after so many years of thinking about nothing but material items.  God, I will continue to come after you with reckless abandon and seek your treasures and not those of this world!

I have had the opportunity to talk with a young man from the neighborhood on a couple of different occasions.  He has helped me look at things differently.  I have had to process a lot after our conversations and believe I'm a better person for taking the time to listen to him.  Our first conversation we talked about how life was going and where things were headed.  The following is by know means meant to demean or look upon someone badly, but it is completely about giving perspective on life and were we come from.  He talked of wanting a moped for transportation, I dream of owning a Mercedes. He talked about wanting a small place of his own, I dream of having a big house on Lake Michigan.  He talked about wanting to find a job, I dream of a day that I don't have to work. REALITY CHECK!  Our second conversation consisted of telling each other how we ended up in Keller Park.  I can not begin to think about what he has had to go through in his life to get to this point.  The thing is we have come from completely different backgrounds but we both seek the SAME God.  Our Lord and Savior are the same no matter where we come from, no matter what language we speak, or no matter what color our skin is.  I will end with this quote from my wife Chris "Until we know that skin color doesn't matter, nothing that really matters is going to change..."