FERTILE SOIL OF SUFFERING

      I was talking to a friend the other day (on face book) about how sometimes life circumstances, pain, discouragement, and spiritual attack, takes us out of the game for awhile. God’s calling on our life can be thwarted if we begin to look at our difficult circumstances, instead of looking to the one who can redeem those circumstances. In Romans 8:28 it says, “And... we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Often times on “Christian TV”, I hear people stating that God wants us all to be healthy, rich, and so on. Subsequently they state that because all we need to do is simply “claim” our inheritance—if we don’t see that financial prosperity it must be due to a lack of faith. While there is some truth and benefit to positive affirmation, it is a false belief that bad things don’t happen to good people (or believers). Bad things happen to good people all the time. Loved ones die, businesses struggle, people lose their jobs, relationships fail, cars brake down, etc, etc, etc. Hardship is a part of life. The difference as a “Christ follower” is that when those hardships happen, I have the assurance that I serve a sovereign God that loves me and promises to grow something beautiful in the garden of my heart (using the manure of life). I also know that no matter how hard things get, my loving heavenly Father has good things planned for me in the future. I look at some of the people whose testimonies/lives have had a profound impact on my life and one common trait is the fact that God had developed character within their lives while they went through tremendous adversity. Women like Corrie Ten Boom, who was a simple some unknown Dutch watchmaker’s daughter until she learned to trust God in the midst of a Nazi concentration camp. Joni Eareckson Tada, Elisabeth Elliott, Melody Green, etc. All people who learned to trust God deeply in the midst of tremendous adversity and were transformed by God’s faithfulness in the midst of hardship. 
A great quote By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss American author, which I just read;

 “The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

SEEKING HIM LIKE A LITTLE CHILD

       A few weeks ago I was at a family function at a local restaurant. When I walked in, my adorable little niece saw me across the room and yelled to get her “Uncle Brian’s” attention. She then ran up and lifted her arms up and asked me to pick her up. When she ran over...my heart melted. Isn't it awesome with little children how if they love you they aren't afraid to show it (even across a room)?  I was at a Bible study last night led by my friend Keith Gilbert at the Vineyard church I attend. At the class the speaker was talking about how little children love and trust their parents unconditionally. He was speaking about little children by the way, NOT teenagers (lol). But the speaker had recalled back many years, when he asked his small son if he wanted to go to Lowe's Hardware store with him. Immediately, his son ran over to go with his dad (not even knowing WHAT Lowe's was). He just wanted to be around his daddy. That is what God’s heart is for us. It is God’s heart for us to desire to spend time with our (Abba) daddy like a little child would. Also for us to trust Him unconditionally like a little child trusts a good parent. When we first accept Christ we usually have that excitement and desire to spend time with God. Our heart is soft and we believe that God loves us. Because of this fact, we can hear God’s still small voice speak to our hearts. As we get older however, often we lose that “First Love”. We get hurt by life experiences and our hearts begin to shut down. We begin to misinterpret things around us and believe falsehoods about our Heavenly Father. For example; that He doesn't care about us, He’s distant, He’s punishing us, etc, etc, etc. This in turn, turns our hearts to grow colder and harder. Our relationship with God starts shifting to an intellectual one. We understand church doctrine and theology (in our head)—but lose grasp with the fact that a relationship with God takes place in our “heart”. Eventually, we stop hearing God’s Voice and presence in our lives completely. We have an intellectual religion but have lost our relationship with our daddy. How many wives out there (or husbands) want to have an “intellectual” relationship with your spouse? I don’t (even though I am currently “spouse-less”). In my case it took the severe trauma of both divorce and financial loss to drive me to cry out to my Abba (daddy). When I cried out to Him in my pain, fear and loneliness He heard my cries and spoke to my heart. You see God had never left me—I had been the one that wandered off. When I sought Him out—He assured me that He was there for me. My previously hard/cold heart was once again able to hear God’s Voice—and I am so thankful for His presence in my life now.

Luke 18:15 – “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

James 4:8 - “Come close to God, and God will come close to you…”

AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRAISE GOD!

[Brian’s thoughts of the day: Jan. 31st]

AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRAISE GOD!
      I went out to dinner with one of my friends the other night and we started talking about the fact that true faith is learning to trust God even when you don’t see any solutions on the horizon.  I was pretty upset the other evening because it seemed like I was getting hit from every side—but my friend Doug encouraged me with the fact that I now have an opportunity to (in faith) praise God in the hard times.  One of my favorite verses (that I have shared on facebook before) is in Hab.3:17-18 : “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  In this passage the situation spoken about is pretty dour.  In that society in ancient Israel--if you didn't have an olive crop, a fig crop, a vineyard, or any livestock--you were pretty much facing certain starvation and death.  Yet, the author continues by saying, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  How do we learn to trust without seeing any resolution?  The Bible talks about offering up the sacrifice of praise to God in Heb 13:15.  
     Is praise really that much of a “sacrifice” when everything is going smoothly however?  I know personally it had always been much “easier” for me to be thankful to God when everything is running smoothly.  When finances were stable, when the business was running smoothly and when things were cool at home it was easy to be thankful.  Initially it was a struggle for me to keep that same perspective when everything was falling apart.  Although I didn't have barren grape vines, fruitless fig trees or any failing olive crop, I did have a tremendous financial trauma: a failing business plus a disintegrating marriage.  It was hard to trust in God when everything seemed like it was disintegrating.  But that’s when I made the conscience decision to trust in the One that had taken care of me when things were good.  It’s also was when my praise became a real sacrifice for me, at the same time when I started to die to self.  As I entered into this time of tribulation in my life this past year or so--I always knew in my head that God would bring good things out of my current circumstances, but I kept trying to tell Him how and when to do it.  When He didn't resolve things in the time or the way that I expected, in turn I would sometimes get angry and would doubt His goodness.  It’s awesome when we see God’s divine provision as well as a miraculous answer to prayer.  But I almost wonder if the depth of our relationship is cultivated through the hard times?  Almost like a marriage.  It’s easy to love your spouse when they are lovable--but what do you choose to do when your love isn't reciprocated?  My mother has a neighbor/friend who lives in a small condo near her with his wife of 40 plus years.  This man's wife has Alzheimer’s and has slowly degraded to the point where she barely recognizes people she has known for decades.  Eventually, she will probably get to the point where she doesn't even recognize her husband.  But, he is still committed to her, gently taking care of her, guiding and protecting her.  He so obviously still loves her, though she is quite different than the young girl he married as a youth. That kind of love is a sacrifice: yet a beautiful one at that!  I pray that I eventually get to the point where I can trust fully in God’s goodness regardless of the circumstances I see around me and keep my eyes fixed on the One Who works all things for my good. 


Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/ 

TRUE DELIGHT!

[Brian’s thoughts of the day: Jan. 21st]

   TRUE DELIGHT!
    A  face book friend recently quoted one of my favorite Bible verses (Psalm 37:4) in his status today.  In that verse it says to, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."  In that verse, it says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart; but what if you don’t know WHAT the desires of your heart even are?  On the recommendation of another friend, I recently read a book by Christian author Byron Easterling called, 'Dream Big, Dream Often'.  In the book the author talks about the very concept of learning to courageously pursue our dreams while in the process of earnestly seeking God’s heart.  Looking back on myself now, for years I was on autopilot.  I was, according to Byron’s book, what is called a 'repressed dreamer'.  I worked really hard to keep things stable in my life.  I avoided any risk or change out of fear.  I stayed doing the same job because of the fact it was financially secure.  I worked a tremendous number of hours so that I could make my house payments, car payments, pay my bills, and keep things stable at home.  As many of you know, over the last year and a half my “stable existence” had kind of been unexpectedly dumped on its head.  It seems like everything in my life at the present is uncertain, except for one thing:  My relationship with God (and my dependence on Him) is now stronger than it’s ever been.  Additionally, this entire journey has caused me to have deep perception and begin to understand what the desires of my heart truly are.  I almost think that in order to understand our heart desires—we need to learn how to delight ourselves in the Lord- FIRST.  In the past, I always read/interpreted that verse with the second part of the verse (the giving us the “desires of our heart”) being a “reward” for accomplishing the “task” of delighting ourselves in the Lord.  As my perspective and circumstances have radically changed--it’s left me wondering if in order to even discover what the desires of our heart are, we must first learn who God created us to be.  By spending intimate time with God, I’m beginning to understand more deeply who I was created to be and subsequently I am beginning to discover what my true heart desires are.  By getting to know my Creator and the one Who made every part of me—I am beginning to understand myself and my own heart better.  Who better to help you understand the dreams in your heart than the one who placed them there?    

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/ 

MY TRUE IDENTITY

    MY TRUE IDENTITY

   While at a prayer group at Vineyard one evening; I really felt impressed God was speaking to my heart about something. I recalled when I was younger, I had been reading a book where the hero, while on a quest mistakenly wanders into a 'Forest of Forgetfulness'. Once there, the protagonist slowly forgets their mission and stays for an extended period of time until someone searches for and rescues them. When the rescuer finds him, he has to wake the hero up from the haze of forgetfulness by reminding him of who he is and what he is destined for. 

  This same basic concept of the hero/heroine either forgetting their identity or not being aware of it has been portrayed in various movies from Lord of the Rings, Labyrinth, Matrix to the movie 'What Dreams May Come’.  All these movies have that similar theme of the hero forgetting their true identity and what they are destined for. While at church on a Saturday evening; I  had almost felt as if this was where I had been for the last decade. Lost in my own personal 'Forest of Forgetfulness', not remembering that I am the son of a King on a mission of great importance. Until, I was 'not-so-gently' awoken from my slumber by my loving Savior; Who reminded me of who I was created to be AS WELL AS- who I was created for. I was reminded of my true identity by a my Lord, Who sought me out when I was in this slumber. How many years did I waste in a haze? Filling the large vacuum in my heart with things that could never leave me satisfied  How many years were wasted misinterpreting the hardships of life as either punishment from God or proof that He either didn't care or was even unaware of my plight. How much time and energy did I spend pursuing temporal things? Deriving my identity through my family, my job or my possessions while knowing in the deepest part of my heart that something was still missing; entertaining myself by living vicariously through the TV shows I watched, while all the while knowing their had to be something more. But God sought me out and woke me up from my haze. He pursued me and showed me He desires a relationship that is deeper than Sunday morning church attendance. My beckoning God desires a relationship that permeates every part of my being. As a Christ follower, I believe that we are all called to a deeper relationship with both our Creator as well as those around us. Isn't it interesting that when asked by a religious teacher what was the greatest commandment, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  [This is the first and greatest commandment.] And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” That’s all God wants--a deeper relationship with us. He won’t reject us, or cast us aside. He doesn't have any ambivalence towards us but passionately wants to know us and be involved with every aspect of our lives.

“God wants the whole person and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety. No part of the man will do" - A.W. Tozer - "The Pursuit of God”

John 1:12  "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/ 

WHO DO WE TURN TO?

WHO DO WE TURN TO?

What do you do when your life seems to be falling apart? How do you react? 
Who do you turn to first for help or guidance? 
How do you perceive your situation? 
Over the last few months of sharing my experiences on face book I have had the honor of being contacted by a number of facebook friends who shared with me their intense personal trauma. One face book friend just found out he has a large brain tumor (and is going in for surgery soon) , another had recently received the diagnosis of a very debilitating disease, while others have messaged me about struggling with failed marriages, estrangement from their children or loss of employment. The questions of who do you turn to and how do you perceive your situation are critical when you are facing things that seem (and often are) overwhelming.

    Around 13 years ago, I was in a tremendously tenuous financial situation. A business that I owned was failing. Due to some bad business decisions on my part (expending too quickly), coupled with an economic downturn AND substantial employee theft; I found myself over almost $250,000 in debt. When I finally woke up and realized the seriousness of my financial situation--I immediately closed the first location and scheduled a meeting with a Christian attorney for some legal (and hopefully spiritual counsel. At my first meeting with my Christian lawyer he looked at my financials and told me that it was too soon to make a decision on bankruptcy. In his words, “We serve a big God--give it 3 months and lets reevaluate at that point.” I struggled through the next few months until my next meeting with the attorney. During that next few months I was falling behind on sales taxes and the debt load was getting deeper. To pay my business bills (and payroll) I was starting to use my credit cards. I had two main credit cards, each with a $20,000 limit and I was using both those cards to prop up my one remaining store. Although the interest rates on both cards was less than 5%--I quickly found out that the credit card companies can increase your credit card interest rates up to 33% if you are late on a few payments. And I was late on quite a few! At that next meeting with my attorney, after looking at my books he told me that I needed to declare bankruptcy immediately. Although my first retail store was incorporated, which shielded me personally from most of the debt, I felt bankruptcy was still wrong in my situation. The decision to declare (or not to declare bankruptcy in my case) is a pretty stressful decision. I’m not making a statement of whether it’s right or wrong for anyone else. In my mind (and heart) however, it would be a bad example for me to close my Christian owned business and not pay off my debtors. Regardless of how I got into that financial chasm ultimately I was the owner, and I was responsible for paying off those creditors. So I went against my lawyers advice and personally assumed all that debt. 
Now prior to that business failure, I had grown accustomed to being successful in all my endeavors. I am and have been very successful in my military career as well as in my endeavors as an entrepreneur. Although I was a Christian and very involved in my church, my focus was not very clear. At that point in my life I was really concerned with projecting an image of being a financial success and my “religion” for the most part was contained within the hours of Wednesday evening Bible study and Sunday morning church services. 

    After I assumed that debt personally--I remember being so desperate for answers that I would spend hours online typing out prayer requests which I sent to various prayer websites--hoping that somehow who I perceived as a distant, ambivalent God would hear my prayers because of my perseverance. Little did I know that not only was God NOT distant or aloof, but my loving Creator was already using these hardships to show His affection for me. Over the next 10 years I saw multiple situations of God’s provision for me and my family (one story which I previously shared about getting a bike for my son). Although I wasn't happy being in that place of dependence, I started learning how to trust in God’s faithfulness even if the situation seemed hopeless. Although it took over 10 years, I eventually paid off all my creditors. During that period of time I experienced multiple situations of seeing God meet my needs when I had no one or nowhere else to turn to.

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/ 

God's Big Heart

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  God's Big Heart           When my youngest daughter (Lanah) was around 4 years old she went shopping with her mom for a Christmas present for me. They had gone to a Hallmark (craft shop) looking at inexpensive gifts. Almost immediately upon entering the store my 4 year old ran over to a display that had different stuffed male dolls that looked like vegetables sitting on it. (lol). There sitting on the display, they had a “corn-man”, a “green bean man” a “carrot man” and finally the one that she REALLY liked—“pea man”. Pea man was approximately 10 inches tall and looked like a miniature green robin hood type doll with a pea pod as his torso. My daughter begged her mom to purchase that for me—which she did. 
  

  

     On Christmas that year, I opened an assortment of gifts from my family. I received socks, a couple of shirts from my mom, gift cards, tools—all things I had asked for. Then I opened my final present. I’m sure I had a perplexed look on my face when I opened the box and pulled out “pea man”. As soon as I held it up—my youngest daughter’s eyes beamed as she squealed in excitement and she said, “His name is pea man daddy—I saw him at the store and I knew you would LOVE him”. That year (and to this day) that is the favorite Christmas present I have ever received. NOT because of what the gift was—but because of the joyful heart that my beloved daughter had when giving it to me.    So many times in the past I have felt so inadequate when approaching God. As I've said in a previous post—I would always compare myself to others around me in church and felt like I didn't meet up. I didn't know the Bible as well as a lot of people. I wasn't the best singer, so I stopped singing worship songs when I was by myself because there were a lot of better voices out there worshiping God. I didn't spend as much time in prayer as others I knew—so I felt inadequate around God. I had multiple areas in my life that were far from what (I felt) God demanded of me—so I simply began avoiding Him. When hardships would take place in my life, I would wrongly assume God had either abandoned me OR was punishing me somehow. So my heart shut down even more. But I've recently found out a wonderful secret—God is not angry with us. God’s heart is simply to spend time with us. Even if our lives are “messy” and our hearts are hard —He still pursues us. Just like when Lanah gave me “pea man” that Christmas. I loved that gift more than any gift I could have ever received—because I love her. And God’s love for us is FAR greater than my love for my children (even on my best day).    Our Heavenly Father loves us even more than I could ever begin to fathom and His biggest heart’s desire is simply for us to be able to experience that love in our lives and allow it to change us from the inside out. His desire is for us to cry out to Him in our pain and loneliness and ask Him to speak to our hearts. That gift is one that warms your Heavenly Father’s heart and is the thing he desires the most—even more than 'Pea Man'. 
  

  
  

       Eph. 4:2-7 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in       mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in   transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

  
  

        1 John 4:16 “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
  

  
  

  Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.  Check out my blog:   http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/

Valentine's Day?

Feb. 14th

   Happy valentines Day to all of my friends! For those of you who have either faced the pain of divorce, loss of a relationship or the death of a spouse--this holiday can be a very painful one. I can still remember when I was in school (as many of us can) the pain of being one of the kids in the class that didn't receive a Valentine card. On Valentines Day its easy, when loneliness sets in, to believe the lie that you are alone and no one loves you. I just want to encourage you in the fact that your Creator and Heavenly Father loves you DEEPLY. Our Heavenly Father's heart's desire is that we understand His deep love and fascination with us and come to Him with our pain and woundedness. God can heal our hearts and restore the joy that we were created to experience. The scriptures says that; He will "never leave you or forsake you" and also that we can "cast all of our cares on Him, because He cares for you." 

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

                              Kari Jobe - How He Loves Us

GOD DELIGHTS IN HIS OWN

[ Brian’s thoughts of the day: Jan. 19th]

     I was thinking tonight about how much my perception of God has changed over this last 18 months. I have been a Christian since I was a 16 year old at Carmel High School. Yet, my concept of God has changed tremendously in a short period of time. I always knew in my HEAD that God loved me--but in my HEART I don't think I ever really believed that simple fact. Somewhere in the depths of my heart, I felt like God was either angry or disappointed with me. Or worse yet, He was simply ambivalent about me. I was like an orphan who has been adopted by a loving family, yet still struggled with feelings of abandonment. I went on with my life never REALLY believing that God loved me. I mean why would He? I'm broken and we both know that? However, over the last year, God has showed me in so many ways that He not only loves me but adores me. He sees sees us as His beloved children, created in His image, thus He delights in us. Just like I love to be around my kids and love to see my kids happy and joyful--God wants that for His children as well. Although we go through hardships in life, and those hardships bring maturity and growth (I've posted a lot about that lately) that is NOT the end of the story. God wants us to know Him and to be joyful. He wants to give us the desires of our hearts if we simply delight ourselves in Him first. How exciting is that fact? The Creator of the universe loves you and delights in your presence. He is fascinated by you and derives joy simply by seeing you joyful. This whole concept is simply overwhelming to me! 

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 27:13 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.  Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/

IF ALL WAS GONE...THEN WHAT?

[Brian's Thought for the day: Jan. 19th]

  This thought hit me today--if everything was stripped away that you currently find your identity in, how would you live your life differently right now? So often we get caught up with the monotony of working hard to pay our bills and we spend most of our time/energy on temporal things. When we are younger we try to get our needs filled only to find our identity in the status of the things that we own or... do (i.e...cool car, expensive watches, designer clothing, impressive job, etc...). Then as  we get older, we just continue to keep working so hard so that we can keep the things we've already accumulated and remain comfortable in life. 

 Our relationship with God often is like an old dusty book that remains on a shelf until it needs to be pulled down and dusted off when things in our comfortable world get out of control. The poor economy and job losses, family trauma, and so on, have brought many to the point of questioning what they have been investing their lives in. If you lost everything tomorrow--financial security, home, job, family, everything that we normally find our identity in--what would you then invest your time into? How would you live your life differently? How would your priorities change? That's the journey that God's been taking me on as of late and it's a completely different paradigm from what I've ever heard or experienced. ~ Brian

JOY TO MY SOUL

[Brian’s thoughts of the day: Jan.19th]

Feeling really joyful today.  Nothing particularly new or encouraging going on—just feel hopeful and excited about the future.  I always used to read in the Bible about being joyful but never really understood what it meant.  I was “happy” when things were going well in my life.  When I was doing well financially or things were going well with my family, I was happy and I confused that for joy. Joy, in my humble opinion, has very little to do with outside circumstances.  It is an inward state of being.  In many verses the Bible refers to either rejoicing or having a joyful heart.  When we’re joyful, it’s not because of what we are currently seeing or experiencing—instead we are joyful because of what we are anticipating.  I am joyful because I know that I have a loving heavenly Father that knows me by name and cares for me.  I know that God has good things prepared for me and that He is leading me on my new adventure in life.  I had told someone that I was talking to a few weeks ago (at my church) that I almost feel like Bilbo Baggins (“The Hobbit”) leaving the comfort of the “Shire” and undertaking a new adventure. Cold, scared, hungry, and uncertain of what the future will hold—but certain of who holds me in His loving arms.      "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7 "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." Psalm 94:19

God’s Provision & The Bike

     God’s Provision & The Bike

    About 12 years ago my family and I found ourselves in tremendous financial trauma. The East side car audio store that I owned wound up failing (due to both internal theft and economic downturn) and we wound up almost 250k in debt. I had no reasonable ability to pay off our debts—but I was trying to hold onto my faith in God’s love and provision in the midst of tremendous adversity. It was during this time period that my son, Izzy, (at that time 9 years old) came to me with excitement after seeing a “dual suspension” mountain bike at Wal-Mart that he wanted. That year Izzy had grown 5 inches and the previous “kids” bike he had was so small for him that he was unable to even peddle without his knees hitting the handlebars. He wanted to go bike riding with his neighborhood friends but was unable to go out with them as his growing frame could no longer fit. "Dad," he exclaimed with excitement, “The bike I want is ONLY $150.00!” But I didn't have enough money that year to afford Christmas “cards” for my kids, let alone a $150.00 bicycle! I went into that Christmas season feeling like a complete failure. Like many men, at that time I derived my identity out of my job and my role as the provider for my family. That was a role that I felt I was failing miserably at. My son really wanted/needed that bike. It was a valid request that I was unable to provide for him. How could I purchase a bike when I was 60 days late on my mortgage and my family was facing the fear of foreclosure? I went into my room and poured my heart out to God that night. I vented, cried, yelled and told Him how I powerless I felt. I asked Him why all this was happening to me and where was He in the midst of all of this pain?

   A few weeks later I was sitting at my one remaining retail store hoping to sell something that season. I had shelves of dusty electronics that I wanted to sell but was severely lacking in customers. Late one afternoon a gentleman walked in and asked to speak to the owner of Soundsational. I told him I was the owner (expecting that he was either a salesman or a bill collector of some sort) and he introduced himself. He told me that his name was Larry B. and  that he had purchased an alarm from us a few months prior for his company van and loved the quality of the workmanship at my store. He then told me that he wanted to buy a larger audio/video/security system for his wife’s minivan as a Christmas present. Larry wanted to know if I would consider “bartering” for a stereo system? He told me that he was sales representative for Raleigh bicycles and wanted to know if I would ever consider trading car audio equipment for bikes? My mouth dropped when he told me this. I knew that this was not a coincidence! Larry probably didn't understand at the time why I started wiping tears from my eyes--but my realization of God's provision and love for me was overwhelming. I wound up doing a large audio system in Larry’s wife’s van that Christmas. That year I didn't get my son that $150.00 Wal-Mart bike, instead, I got Izzy a $650.00 Univega dual suspension bike. I got both my daughters new Raleigh bikes; I got a bike for me and my wife (at the time) as well. Even though I didn't have the ability or resources to take care of myself or my family—my Heavenly Father had MORE than enough resources to take care of all of us.

Matthew 7:9-11 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.

WHAT DO I KNOW?

[Brian's Thoughts for the day: Dec. 21st]

 WHAT DO I KNOW? 
 I was drawn into a web discussion one night about; “What was the unforgiveable sin talked about in the Bible?” I then began to think about how important it was for me, when I was a 16 year old new believer in Christ, how I could figure out every doctrinal and theological concept in Christianity. Was I a believer in Arminianism or a Calvinist? Did I believe in a pre or post tribulation rapture? When will the world end? What exactly did the “Unforgiveable Sin” actually refer to? Who will be the anti-Christ? Etc, etc, etc. Luckily, by the time I was 18, I had figured out the answers to all of life’s questions (at least I thought so). Now, as a middle aged man I finally realized that I didn’t need my seminary education to understand God's heart or Christianity. Jesus’ message is really VERY SIMPLE (even young children can understand it). In Luke 10, Jesus was asked by a Jewish religious leader; "What was the most important commandment, of the 613 commandments (or Mitzvot) found in the Torah (Bible)?" Jesus responded very simply by saying; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.” Really simple concept! God loves us and wants us to love and trust Him in return. He also wants us to show love towards those around us. It’s a shame that in my life it took hardship, loss and trauma to turn my face fully towards my Heavenly Father. It was still ok though as God had been waiting patiently and always rejoices whenever His children turn to Him. Can’t say I’m fully walking this all out yet—but loving God fully is the current desire of every fiber of my being.   ~ Brian

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.

"Without A Battle There Can Be No Victory!"

[Brian’s thoughts of the day: Dec. 20th]

     Speaking with my mom at breakfast this morning--she told me a line from a recent Christian song that impacted her. It said; "Without the battle there is no victory."  Really interesting concept isn't it? Often people try their best to run away from battles, conflict and hardships. We avoid problems and pain and try to stay at that place of comfortable security. When we directly address and face hardships and pain it gives us the ability to see God's faithfulness at work in our lives.
     I was talking to a friend of mine about an experience that I went through 14 years ago. I had started a business that failed miserably and left me hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. The easy way out (in my eyes) would have been to declare bankruptcy. Instead of filing however, I assumed personal responsibility for the corporate debt. I felt like that was the honorable thing to do. Over the next seven years; although my family and I went through a lot of hardship,we all learned to trust God for His Supply. I got to see God's Hand at work in my life like I never did when things had been going well. 

"Without a battle there can be no victory!"

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.

Making Godly Decisions

 [Brian’s thoughts of the day: December 18th]

      Making Godly Decisions 

Lots of decisions going on in my life right now. The thought came to me tonight that the true sign of a person's maturity in Christ lies in whether they chose to be obedient and make "Godly" decisions even when it hurts. It's easy to be obedient when things are easy, but what choices do you and I make when the road is rough and compromise is the easiest alternative? What do we all chose to do when no one is watching? Will or do we make honorable decisions or take the easier road? Will we show personal integrity and conviction or  compromise? Will we chose fear or walk in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father loves us and can provide no matter how much turmoil is swirling around.
 For years my faith was limited to Sunday mornings between 8:00 am and 11am. I am now at a point in my life where that's not good enough. I chose to be a man that trusts and follows Christ in the hard times and makes decisions that honor Him no matter what the cost. ~Brian

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.

BRIAN'S STORY

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/]

 MY STORY

I had first accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a 16 year old kid attending a Christian concert with my youth group at Northview Christian Life (a church in Carmel, IN). I had been asked to go to see a performer named "Keith Green" by my youth pastors, Bob and Nancy Curry. I was so moved deep inside my heart, that I wound up asking Christ into my life that night at Market Square Arena. As a new believer I became zealous to follow God with all my heart . I was excited to share my faith with my friends and eagerly looked for opportunities to serve those around me (as Jesus taught). As I grew older however, I seemed to slowly forget my "First Love". I got distracted by all the things around me and my heart became hardened more and more. I still believed in Jesus and continued involvement in church--but my passion to serve God waned. I began to distract myself by pursuing success in business and by finding my identity in my material possessions.  As things in my family began to unravel--I medicated through overeating. This is when I  began to shut down emotionally and live vicariously through the TV shows I watched every night. I continued at this place for years thinking that was my life. Until one day the circumstances in life began to rip away everything I was deriving my identity from. It began with the failure of my first business and me winding up in tremendous debt. I had to sell all my "toys". The success in business that was almost like a drug in my life--got stripped away. However, instead of getting bitter at God for MY failures, I began to return back to the basics to seek answers. When in addition to everything else, my marriage began to collapse I felt like I was dying inside--and truthfully was. The application of learning to "die to self" was being applied. You see, in my "weakness" God was able to again soften my heart and show me He never left my side. The same God that called that 16 year old teenager to follow Him so many years ago--was again calling this 46 year old man to start following Christ again. I am so grateful for this fact. 

2 Cor. 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Mark 8:35 "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

                                         Keith Green - Draw Me

BRIAN'S FIRST POST

FROM DANEILLE  (Post Editor): Brian and I are friends from high school youth group and we have recently reconnected on facebook. I happened to be there when Brian first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. Also I have been following his Facebook posts on Brian's journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. [Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/]

  DIVORCE IS HEARTBREAKING

     Divorce is heartbreaking. It's especially heart wrenching when both couples in the marriage are believers and that relationship with God should have impacted their marital relationship. The current divorce rate among "Born-again" church attending Christians is over 50%. That's the same divorce rate as among the non-churched. Whatever happened to the Biblical idea of a marriage "covenant"? What ever happened to trying to resolve your differences instead and working on the relationship. The death of a marriage is heartbreaking for all involved.

   I'm a little introspective tonight as this evening I just finished attending a "Divorce care" class that is taught by one of my church friends, Bill. It hit me as I was sitting in the class, that 4 years ago- I was on staff at the same church; co-leading their "Fireproof" marriage class! Wow, a lot changes in 4 years. I'm so glad that I have so many faithful friends that have been there for me this last year. I'm also so grateful that I serve a compassionate God that is always there for those who cry out to Him. 

Psalm 34:18: "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."