Ephesians 3:17-19

My prayer is that I may be "filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Through faith in Christ, I can be filled with all the fullness of God! The idea that I can be full of God is something that takes a lot of faith. If I am honest with who I am, what I have in my past, and unfortunately some of my thoughts while driving to work today in traffic! I don't always feel like I am full of God. That's why I love this scripture because it's not about feelings, it's about faith in Christ who lives in my heart! When I have faith in Christ, my actions, attitudes, and behaviors change for the better! (vs. 17) So this morning, as I work on so many things that consume my thoughts and actions, may I be completely saturated to the measure of all the fullness of God!

Youth Pastor Training

Today I am at the Northwest Ministry Network with my wife learning! Jeffrey Portman did the first session. He is the DYD of our Network. We learned about growing as leaders! Thad Huff Spoke at the second session about improving your flow. He is from Northwest Family Church in Auburn. Right now Tyler Soley is speaking. He is the Youth Pastor at Eastridge Assembly. He is talking about structuring for success.
I am really enjoying this time. I love learning, growing, and being cahllenged to do more than I have ever done. And I love spending time with my wife!

Wired

Wired is our student ministry at Sound Life Church in Spanaway (Tacoma) Wa. We had an incredible night last night. The youth worshiped God with all their hearts, entered into prayer for each other, and responded to the message very well. Five people accepted Jesus as their personal savior and 11 want to be baptized for the first time! God is doing so many cool things! All the glory goes to Jesus!

I voted!

I received my absentee ballot a few weeks ago and today I finally decided to vote! The reason for the delay was non other than laziness. However, I have voted and I am glad I did! So, I would encourage anyone reading this to make sure to vote by Nov. 4th!

Holla-ween!

This Friday night will be an awesome event! Great music, DJ, costume contest, Ipod Nano give away! I can't wait! Wired youth ministry is doing a great job of reaching their friends and inviting them to this event! I can't wait to see all that God will do!

Richland!

I am in Richland, Washington today and tomorrow. I am so used to seeing Obama signs in Renton and Seattle. It is funny to see mostly McCain signs. I am not going to say which person to vote for or who I am voting for, I am just amazed at how differently people vew the world only a 180 miles away from each other. I think we live in a great country that allows people to express how they really feel. I hope that everyone excercises their right to vote. I am sending my absentee ballot in soon, and I am just thankful that I have the right to vote. Not everyone does! So get out there and vote!

Give back the football!

This sweet lady is Edna Jester. She was arrested a few days ago for not giving back a football that landed in her yard. She is 89 years old! She refused to give the ball back, so the police charged her with petty theft!

I am not sure what's worse our police having to spend time sorting this out or that Edna stole a kids football. None the less life can get a little petty at times. I think its important to remember to keep some perspective in life.

Luke 12:22-34, is a great reminder about what we should and should not be worried about.

Faith first!

Joshua 3 talks about the Israelites crossing the Jordan river. The priests had to carry the ark of the covenant on their shoulders and walk into the river before the water parted! This may not seem like a big deal, but I can just imagine the priests carrying the ark and thinking, "what happens if the water never parts? do we use the ark as a flotation device?"
Following Jesus is a lot like this. There are times when we must step out in faith even when we don't know all the answers.
Sounds a lot like an adventure to me!

Sleep!

I recently had my appendix removed! It was crazy! I am still getting over it, but I am so thankful not to be in the Hospital! One of the results of surgery is the need for lots of rest! I needed lots of rest! I slept for 10 to 12 hours for a few days in a row. It felt really good to sleep. I must admit that sleeping is one of my favorite things to do. When I come home from Church, I love to fall asleep on my couch with the Seahawks winning in the background. Unfortunately I have been falling asleep to them loosing most of the time this year! However, I was struck by a proverb in my devotions that said, "Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare". Prov. 20:13. I have to admit, I love sleep, but I think I like to have food even more. I think this verse is simply saying don't be a lazy bum! (in the original hebrew of course)

TIme to start Posting

Well its been along time since I last posted. This week has been crazy. I was supposed to be in Class for my masters all week. However, after the first day my stomach hurt so bad I had to go to the emergency room. Then they took out my Appendix! Crazy! So I have been sitting at home trying to recover these past few days. My wife has done a great job taking care of me! I am hoping to be in Church tomorrow!

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, who can be against us?
I love that thought! No matter how tired, lonely, or insecure I feel, God is for me.
Wired! Our youth ministry was awesome! Lot's of students, great worship, the leadership was on their A game! It was great to see God's people working together! God is for us, who can be against us! Through Christ we can and will accomplish great things!

Have you ever been afraid?

My wife and I are moving. We are trying to sell our home. In our area the market is... let's just say less than ideal! For financial reasons, we have decided to sell our home without hiring a real estate agent. The funny thing is that real estate agents have been calling us trying to get us to use them. The tactic that everyone one of them has used so far has been fear. We should be afraid of selling our home alone, and that the only way to sell is to come to the light! (Which of course is them and a huge chunk of our money) Now, there are advantages to using an agent, no doubt. However, fear drives people in so many areas of life. However, the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, power, and self discipline. The good news is, God is in control. The home will sell in God's timing, and I have nothing to fear! (I am saying this to preach to myself) Don't be afraid Nate! God's got it under control!
Have you ever been afraid?

Guest Blog Miel

Top Three Reasons I'm Glad to Be Back in School:

3. Every day is one day closer to graduating
2. I'm still taller than Thompson
1. I get to come home to my wonderful husband

Transition

Yesterday at Fairwood Church we announced that my wife and I had accepted a job as Youth Pastors at Sound Life Church in Tacoma, WA. We were so blessed by Fairwood Church's love and understanding yesterday. It was difficult at times, this Church is the Church I grew up in. I have been at Fairwood since 1988. I am proud of Fairwood, I believe in Fairwood, and I am thankful for the heritage I have. I am also very grateful for Pastor Brian the senior Pastor. He has been very encouraging, supportive, and extremely generous during this time.
Miel and I are excited for our new adventure at Sound Life with Pastor Cal Carpenter. Transitions are not easy, change isn't easy, but I believe they are necessary for growth to occur. God always has what's best for us in mind, it is our job to trust him and his leading.

Wild Goose Chase

I just received my copy of "Wild Goose Chase" by Mark Batterson. I am really excited to read this book because his last book "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" was so good. I had a chance to meet Mark Batterson in Washington D.C. in May 2007. He was such a gracious host, fun to talk with, and very excited to share all that God is doing at NCC. What I remember most about Mark is that when he talks to you personally or even when your in a crowd it feels like he's about to hug you at any moment! Pretty funny!
I am very excited to read this book!

Crash

Friday August 21st, I saw a car crash. This crash was totally preventable and might be one of the most common types of car crashes. Dude backed out of his drive way going way to fast and hit a car parked in his own drive way! The dude jumped out of the car, said some choice words and ran inside to tell his Mom that he had just hit her car! Funny stuff!
Pastor Brian just told me that on his vacation last week, one of the people in their party backed into their Mom's car! He damaged not only his Mother's car, but his in-laws car as well!
Be careful in your driveway!

Why I love Vacation

Family
Rest
Time with God without as much distraction!
Water-skiing and wake-boarding!
Eating lots of food!
Golfing
Peanuts, Diet Pop, and red vines are essential!
Oh, and lots of sleep!

Vacation

Having a blast wakeboarding! The fall on this jump attempt was pretty painful but totally worth it. This was on blue lake in Coulee City, were are heading to Diamond Lake today! More fun ahead!

IPHONE Rocks!

T-MOBILE is trying to catch up to the IPHONE with a new phone that is made by HTC powered by a new Google software called Android. It's supposed to be a touch screen and have the ability to slide open to reveal a key pad to type on. According to the New York times this new phone should be out by Christmas or as early as October for Americans.
I am sorry but the IPHONE rains supreme! I have one, love it, and I don't believe T-Mobile has a chance! Even with the monster company Google on their side...
But we shall see!

How happy are you?

How happy are you? This is definitely and odd question. How do you judge the level of your happiness? Is it the amount of laughs in a day? The amount smiles? Good vibrations (Beach Boys). I think being happy is elusive and something that we shouldn't be chasing as Christians. Pastor Brian Dolleman taught our church (Fairwood Church)that happiness is the sumof happenings that creates joy or sorrow in our lives. However, Joy is Christ working in our hearts which allows us to create an atmosphere of contentment, satisfaction, and peace that passes understanding. This kind of Joy really is only found through Christ.
So instead of pursing happiness, I think we should be pursuing Joy!
What do you think?

Anger

I have always loved competition especially in sports. However, I have to admit that at times I have let my competitive attitude go a little to far. The worst it ever got was when I was a junior in high school. I actually broke my hand punching a padded wall after misting a shot in a open gym basketball game. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even feel the pain in my hand. I knew that I had crossed the line.

I have learned from that experience and many other experiences that self control and discipline not only help you become a better person but actually help you perform at a higher level. People who let their emotions get out of hand actually lose focus on the task at hand and perform poorly. Paraphrasing something I heard Michael Jordan once say, "you must channel your anger to fuel your play instead of getting even or just losing it!"
I really like that!

Ecclesiastes 5:2

"Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth so let your words be few."

Listening to hear the voice of God continues to be a journey of peaks and valleys in my life. One of the most powerful moments of sensing the Power of God in my life was in my office, silently laying on the floor listening for God to speak. I truly felt swept away by God and I knew without a doubt that he had everything under control! It was indescribable! I found freedom and strength in God simply by listening to him.
Try it, let me know how it goes!

Healer

I just watched two videos from you tube that really inspired me to put all my trust, faith, and hope in Jesus. I am putting this link in my blog, hope it blesses you as it blessed me!

1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ_ny8hMgRY&NR=1

2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4xsWldmqAo&feature=related

Team Church!

Had a great week with our staff at the "Team Church" conference at The Champion Centre in Tacoma! My favorite speaker was Craig Groeshel from LifeChurch.tv.
One of my favorite thoughts that he shared was "When you obey God, press through, you will wake up with uncommon clarity."
Life gets better the more obedient we are to Christ!

Approval=Condemning?

Romans 14:22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God, Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

I was in 8th grade playing lots of basketball! A new movie came out called "The Air up there". I spent the night at a friends house and we rented this movie. I had never seen the movie before, but my enthusiasm got me a little carried away. I told my friends parents that this movie was the best movie ever, that we had to watch it, and that they would love it! So... We all sat down to watch it, unfortunately we got about 5min into the movie and the parents turned it off! The cursing was so pervasive that we had to turn it off! I was so embarrassed, I was the Pastor's son and I brought garbage into the home of a family in our Church! Not cool!

Be careful of what you approve!

Debt

...the average American owes more than $8,000 on cards. Their statistics show that the average debt per American household with at least one credit card was $8,940 in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Msnmoney

Romans 13:8 "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another..."

Debt!!!!!!! I guess the only "out" is not to let our debt (except for love) remain, so I guess we can have it for only short periods of time? I understand that there are times when we have to get loans or use credit cards for emergencies, but as our country has seen, we tend to push the limits.

I guess it's simple, get out of debt, but love others continually.

Silverwood!

Just back from a day at Silverwood theme Park! Incredible! This has been the best camp ever! Can't wait for tonight! Isaakar is going to lead worship and Pastor Brian is going to speak! Tonight is going to be off the chain!

WNL Event

I am at Lake Coeur D' Alene in Idaho! We are having camp with our youth ministry! Life is really great right now! We head to Silverwood tomorrow!
I have learned two things this week!
1. Eating bugs is hilarious to watch, not to do! (thanks Forest!)
2. Slip n' slides need water!
Camp rocks!

WNL Event

Last night we had our out of school BBQ event! It was awesome! There were inflatables, volleyball, basketball, food!, live band, jousting, and lots of students (125ish). Great job WNL! What a great night! Pastor Andy spoke, did a great job and helped us all look forward to camp! In Coeur d' alene Idaho! If your not signed up, get signed up!
www.fwchurch.com

Time

Which brings more value, taking time to do a job or getting it done quickly? 1 Kings 6:38-7:1 says that it took Solomon 7 years to build the Lord's temple, but 13 years to build his palace. Is this saying that Solomon cared more about God because he finished the temple first and in half the time or that he loved his palace more because he spent more time on it? If anyone has a great answer I would love to hear it!

Which ever way you land, I believe the point should be that whatever we do, we should do it unto God with our best effort.
Should we take more time? Should we be moving faster?

One wise man said, "the slower the car is moving, the less damage is caused in a collision".

Retreat!

Usually when I think of retreats, I think of losers! If your in a battle, and you are forced to retreat, then you are defiantly not winning. Well, I went on a retreat last weekend with our church to Lake Retreat. Greg Parsons spoke and our senior Pastor Brian Dolleman spoke. They did an excellent job as they challenged us to enlarge our hearts. Truthfully, I wasn't really looking forward to going because I hate losing sleep due to snoring and small confined bunks. I also have a hard time with the food that is infamously known as "camp food". Most of all, I missed my wife! Only been married 4 months! But, the retreat was awesome! Getting to know the guys, watching tough men open up and share their hearts. The most exciting part was seeing the power of God transform a retreat to become a huge win for so many guys. I had a great time.

No more Dog!

It is official, we sold our dog Maximus! I feel a little sad, but mostly, it's great! My house is quiet! The carpets are being restored and their is no more fur on my jacket! It is great! Sure I miss the dog a little, but it's great!
I was trying to think of some kind analogy or great principal to apply to this event in my life, but all I can think about is the last "office" episode of this years season where Toby the HR man leaves and Michael Scott is so thrilled that he writes a song about it! I am not that excited, but I am enjoying not having a dog.
So.... Good by Maximus, hope you have fun at your new home!

Every part matters!

Last night I was awakened at 2:30am not to noise but to pain. I went to bed feeling fine, but woke up in a lot of pain. I tried to lay in bed for a while hoping the pain would suddenly stop, but it just kept coming. My big toe on my right foot was killing me!!! I had an ingrown toenail! I fumbled around the house for a toenail clipper which took about 20 minutes. Finally cut the edges of my toenail and the pain lessoned considerably! I went back to bed, but I woke up still limping but feeling much better.
I learned two things!
First, when a part of the body hurts the whole body hurts, thanks Apostle Paul!
Second, toenails are supposed to be clipped straight across, not curved! I never knew that! Pastor Russ told me and Pastor Brian confirmed.

Change

My wife and I bought a puppy four or five weeks ago. This is my first dog, ever! This dog is really cute and small. His name is Maximus! I really like this dog at times, but their are times when I hate this dog! We have already gone through a bottle of carpet cleaner!!!!!
I have come to realize getting a dog has huge ramifications! Not every decision we make effects our day to day lives, but some have huge effects! I started thinking about my life and I realized, I have made huge changes recently:

• I got married a little over three months ago!
• We bought a dog!
• I now workout at 6am four days a week, instead of once in awhile
• I now sleep with a fan on!
• And I have officially cried in a movie twice!

Things are changing! But I am thankful for the consistency of God's love in my life! Without him, my life would be insane! And I am also thankful to be married to the most wonderful, gorgeous, and HOT! woman in the world!

My First Blog!

I set up my blog in January but this is my first post! I am excited to get started!
I woke up at 6am this morning to hit the weights. I work out at Bally's in Renton. This gym feels a little like the gym Rocky Balboa worked out in Rocky III, kinda ghetto! However, I have been told that the weights still weigh the same so... no complaints. Working out has become very important to me, especially since I got married three months ago! My wife and I both decided we would do everything possible not to be the normal married couple who puts on 15lbs the first year of marriage! So my wife and I went to Barnes and Noble and picked out our own work out books. My book was the The Men's Health Hard Body Plan : The Ultimate 12-Week Program for Burning Fat and Building Muscle (Paperback)
Great book on workout technique, science, and most of all help with eating. I would highly recommend this book! I am on my 11 week and I still love it! Give it a try!