Homeless for the Holidays

I want to share with you about a movie called “Homeless for the Holidays.” I was provided a free copy of this movie and I am in no way obligated to give a positive review.  But, being a Christian and me personally not having a job since April 2009 this movie hits home for me in a lot of ways.  Now, while I have been looking for a job since that time for me I know that God has called me into full-time ministry and my wife has a job.  We have not lost our house, our phone or our electricity.  The acting is not the greatest, but the message resonates true.  We are not put on this earth to have a great house, car or job, but we are here to show others what is the true meaning life. 

If you are interested in finding out more about this film, go to: http://homelessfortheholidaysmovie.com

In Mark 12:30, Jesus tells us what is the greatest commandment: “To love the Lord God will all your heart, mind, soul and strength” and the second is to “Love your neighbors as you love yourself.”

Jack in the film probably did love himself a whole lot in beginning, but in the end I believe he came to love and respect himself a whole lot more.  I would highly recommend this movie to anyone.  It is rated for all ages and it is really a very inspiring movie that is based on a true story.  We don’t truly know where our life journey will take us, but as long as we know that we have accepted God only Son as our Savior then we can know that He will always be with us and that we can probably learn along the way.

God bless!

The Seven Minute Difference

I don't normally post this type of blog, but I am working with a group called Buzz Plant.  They sent me a book and a daily planner to review and tell what I thought.  I am not obligated in any way to provide a positive review.  The book and the planner were provided free to me to review.

After reviewing the book and the planner for several weeks, I have found that this combination by Allyson Lewis is actually not your ordinary run of the mill planner.  It is not simply a step by step, do this and you will be organized combination.  She provides a refreshing and humorous way for anyone, no matter what they do help organize their life.  She also does not lose sight of providing the knowledge and methods along the way to accomplish getting organized.  I believe that you will be amazed and just how easy it is.  I am not someone who believes anything simply because someone says it, I am a firm believer in trying it out and verifying the information.

I did exactly as the book suggests, I spent just 7 minutes a day trying to help organize my life and I found it actually quite fun and it reallyhttp://www.the7minutelifesystem.com has helped me along the way!  If you have any questions, please feel free to check it out for yourself at:  http://www.the7minutelifesystem.com for more information.

Here are also 7 videos you can review to learn more about the system:  http://www.the7minutelifesystem.com/videos

I highly encourage you whether you are someone who is highly organized or someone desiring to be more organized to check it out and try for yourself!  Allyson Lewis actually makes it fun to get organized.

I would love to hear your comments and your feedback as well.

Waiting on God

HEZEKIAH

A CRISIS FOR TESTING

Steps to Waiting on God uses the story of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 who all of a sudden heard about his oncoming death. We find three key principles to shape our own decision making. 

We have often heard the phrase 'waiting on God.' We know it is important but are not sure how it fits into our Christian lives. Sometimes the actual word 'waiting' or the phrase 'waiting on God' or 'waiting upon God' is used in a scriptural passage.

At other times, however the teaching is present without the express words 'to wait upon the Lord.' This slice into Hezekiah's life is like that. It gives us practical steps to waiting on God.

Hezekiah gives us an example of waiting on God. He just heard some shocking news.

In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' " (Isaiah 38:1).

Hezekiah heard that he was going to die. This left him desperate just like it would leave you or me - absolutely shaken. The time frame for waiting here compared to Abraham is much shorter. We are talking about days rather than decades with Abraham. The training is different. But Hezekiah's matter was urgent. How would Hezekiah respond?

We should note that God left no other door open for Hezekiah than absolute rejection of God. God simply announced through His prophet that he was going to die. There was no offer of promise that if he did this or that, then God would heal him.

We often read this story as if God had given him a promise. But this is not the case here. So how did Hezekiah respond? How would you have responded?

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Thy sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. (Isaiah 38:2,3, NASB).

This announcement brought Hezekiah down on his knees to wait upon the Lord. He desperately prayed. Although his circumstances would be much different than ours, I believe we can see three important principles to waiting upon the Lord.

• TrustIf we do not trust God, then we will get bitter. We will believe His love or doubt it. This is the ultimate test. The testing forces us to make an important decision on how we will relate to the Lord. If we believe the Lord doesn't care for us, then we will turn to despair (I am doomed), self-help books (own resources) or bitterness.
  
  Previous trust is important to establish a trust decision during a crisis. Hezekiah made this trust decision. He turned to God rather than away from Him. If we can't clearly think at such a time, just remember to turn toward the Lord.
• Reject
  We must consciously turn away from using other resources that we could turn to. We need to reject paths without God. The text is silent about this. But from this silence, we see that Hezekiah did not pull our his kingly reserves and see what could be done. This is because he believed God's message. Hezekiah would die. This was the end of his life.
  
  He realized that he had nothing else to trust in. He could have tested God's Word by seeking medical help or the sage of philosophers, but he didn't. If we are a bit confused as to what the next step is, remember that we are not to first look at our resources. We need to reject them, even consciously if needed. We need to trust in the Lord for His methods.
• Pray
  My advice to people seeking God's will is to pray and stop thinking; pray and stop planning; pray and stop talking. Did you ever talk with someone who was willing to talk to everyone but God about His problems?!
  
  Prayer is prayer. We are called to talk to God about our problems so we can sense what we should do. To be true, prayer does take on many forms and means, but essentially it is talking to God about your circumstances. We need to seek the Lord in prayer. Hezekiah had two parts to his prayer.
• He asked God to remember him.Hezekiah needed God to remember his own plight. No one else could change things. Does anyone believe that God did not remember his situation? I doubt it. God knows everything. We can't say He forgot someone like we sometimes do. More than this, King Hezekiah stated asked God to remember him now. He really believed the prophet's word about his impending death. His window of life was short. He needed instant action.
• He told God about his life.This might sound a bit strange, but Hezekiah wanted God to remember what kind of life he had lived up to this point. If for any reason it was blocked from God's mind, Hezekiah believed his life was important enough to tell God about it. This was essentially telling God about his life and goals. He was no doubt hoping that God would reevaluate his circumstances. However, Hezekiah came short of asking God for healing. This didn't seem to make a bit of difference.

Hezekiah's prayer ended with bitter tears as his amen. The words he sent before God were soaked in tears from his heart. Various people will pray differently but all must pray if they are to wait upon God.

The Lord heard his desperate prayer. He did not need to wait long on God for an answer, but He did wait. He received an additional 15 years of life.

The principles above highlight that this waiting upon God is a process. This would not be the first or last time for him or us to wait upon God. God develops these life encounters so that we will be protected, strengthened, redirected and recommitted

After his illness and recovery, King Hezekiah wrote a poem of thanks to God.

A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after his illness and recovery: I said, "In the middle of my life I am to enter the gates of Sheol; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years." I said, "I shall not see the LORD, The LORD in the land of the living; I shall look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world. "Like a shepherd's tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night Thou dost make an end of me. "I composed my soul until morning. Like a lion--so He breaks all my bones, From day until night Thou dost make an end of me. "Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security. "What shall I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it; I shall wander about all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. "O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these is the life of my spirit; O restore me to health, and let me live! "Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is Thou who hast kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. "For Sheol cannot thank Thee, Death cannot praise Thee; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Thy faithfulness. "It is the living who give thanks to Thee, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Thy faithfulness. "The LORD will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of the LORD." (Isaiah 38:9-20).

These 3 points are something that I have been dwelling on over the last 15 months that God has been leading me through to bring Angie and I to the place we are now.  With Shiloh almost 7 months old and getting ready to step out in faith as an International Student Pastor working with Lighthouse Christian Fellowship and Inter Face Ministries in the greater Antioch, TN area.  Look for more to follow!

Update

Well as usuall I am definitely not the most punctual of bloggers. Yes, it has been nearly a year since I have updated this blog...slacker maybe, but a lot has happened in a year. For starters God began to real to me a greater desire for more of Him. Not being content with what I was doing and drawing me into a new era of serving Him in a much greater capacity. Back in April of this year I met with my pastor for breakfast and told him that God was leading me to full time ministry and I was awaiting a sign. I met with another friend at lunch and told him the very same thing. Well, careful what you wish for because when it lines up with what God has for you it will begin to unfold....I was laid off from my job working in clinical research later that day. Here is the great part, I didn't get mad, I didn't get upset, I actually felt relieved. I got on the phone and call my pastor and my friend and told them both and they both said..."Todd, I believe you got your sign!" I could not agree more. Well it has now been more than six months later and I am still not working. Drawing unemployment, praying, seeking God and I have been applying for jobs pretty much across the country as a youth pastor/college pastor. You what else...God has supplied not only what we need, but He has NEVER allowed us to need for anything in this time. That is what I call being a faithful God, but of course He always is! We have finished our paperwork for adoption with Bethany, Cherokee Nation and Chickasaw Nation. Been looked at by several birth parents, but it has not been His time yet for us to adopt. I guess that is good because we have had to use some of the money that we have saved for adoption to fix some things around the house as well. But, the way we see it is: it is God's money anyway and He just lets us use it, so we try not to worry about things like that. We know that when the time arises, He will provide exactly what we need just as He always does. I have had only a few churches that I really felt God was drawing us to and He has really began to open up doors for one in particular recently. I have had two interviews and I am potentially scheduled to go there sometime in the near future. Actually they would like for both us (Angie and I) to go up for a Thursday - Sunday time frame. That being of course, if God continues to open up the doors for that church. We are just waiting now because we know that He knows the exact time and place that we are going much like the baby that He has chosen for us from the very beginning. I am looking at this like an adventure just waiting on God to reveal which trail He wants us to journey down. I will try to keep this one up to date a little more frequently now. Thanks for listening all of you out there in the blogosphere!

Vacation

Wow, what a vacation. If you are ever in doubt about beauty take a trip through Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. The skies really are bigger there. Our trip started in Nashville and then we drove to St. Louis, MO and spent the night. The next day we drove to Sioux Falls, SD and spent the night. The next day we drove through the badlands and the blackhills of SD and stopped by Mt. Rushmore on our way to Deadwood, SD. The next day we drove to a little cabin just across the border in Montana for the night in a very tiny town. The next day we headed into Yellowstone National Park and then it was off to Estes Park, CO. We spent the night in Estes Park and then ventured into Estes Park and then drove to Wichitia, KS for the night. We got up the next morning and drove to Norman, OK home of the OU Sooners! and drove down to the Chickasaw Indian Reservation in Tishomingo, OK to see some of my family heritage and history. We then drove to Sherman, TX and spent the night. The next day we ventured down to Irving, TX and visited with my Uncle and Aunt and my Dad and cousins before the big game: The Red River Shootout between OU and TX. TX got the better end this year and ended up being ranked number one in the nation for beating us and we dropped down to four. The final day was Sunday and we drove home. This doesn't cover the specifics, but I might provide those details from my personal journal that I took along. Until then remember that God truly does know the plans that He has for us according to Jer 29:11!

The Beat Goes on...

Well,
I really hate cliche's like Time heals all wounds...Angie and went through our second Invitro process all the way to the end and it was negative. Wanna see a grown man break let the women that he absolutely adores weep in his arms and then both of them realize that dream they want is going to take a little longer. But, regardless God is gracious, kind and merciful. He gives us more than we ever deserve. When we feel the most lonely God is right there with us crying and hurting with us and wants us to just lay our burdens on His shoulders and rest while He carries us through. This has been a really hard week for me and more so for Angie. As I write this I am sitting in Salt Lake City, UT for work in a hotel. I have been feeling a little down today a little bit of everything all mixed into one. I had to leave town the day after our 4th anniversary and the wounds are still fresh. It has been making it harder to go to work out of town and leave Angie for even a little time. I believe that in addition to Isaac, God has something else in store for our lives. I keep remember the Bible referring to John the Baptist as a voice in the wilderness. Kind of makes me wonder why not so many voices are being heard? Maybe God is calling me to be more like John the Baptist and Jesus and a little less like myself. I know that God will reveal what He desires in His time. So, for the 3 of you that read this blog, thanks for listening and thanks for caring. God Bless and remember Jer 29:11, where God declares he knows that plans that He has for us.

Update

Well to all of you out there that actually read this. All 3 of you! Thanks for your continued prayers for:
- Matt my brother is still in Afganistan. Also pray for his wife Leigh while he is away.
- Angie's mother has surgery next week on her foot.
- My dad and step mom.
- Angie & me in our Invitro process

Obvioiusly, it has been some time since I have updated this and a lot has been going on. Alot for everyone. My brother (Matt - the youngest) was in Iraq earlier this year and home for only a short time and then off to Afganistan. What concerns me is having spent 16 years in the military myself and that I had been deployed many, many times and I saw the devastation that occurs to military families because of the distance and time apart. I just pray that Leigh and Matt will be able to continue to work things out being fairly newly married as well probably doesn't help. They have been married for a little over a year.
Angie's mom needs surgery to correct one of her feet, but with as many surgeries that she has had everytime that you are sedated a little bit of the sedation medicine always stay in your body and makes it a little harder to wake up. So pray for a normal wake up and a clean procedure.
My dad and stepmom, not really going to go into great detail here, but I spoke with my father yesterday and I believe that they are going to be separated as he is planning on moving back to Oklahoma. I am sad, but at the same time I know that all I can do is continue to pray and know that God is in control.
Angie and I have begun our cycle again with the In-vitro process (I say our cycle, but really Angie is the one that has to put with much more). She has to have shots twice a day and the medicine is irritating to the skin, so it tends to burn once the shot has been done. We got a really good report from the Nurse Practioner this week regarding her body doing exactly what it needed to do to get ready for this cycle. I pray that God will ease the hurt of the medicine and that the end result will be a new addition to the Greer family. I try to remember my favorite passage in Jermiah 29:11 that says, "I know the plan that I have for you says the Lord, to give you a future and a hope."
God bless all three of you for reading this and praying! I am trying to continue to update this more frequently.
Todd

Today,
Angie and I had an appointment with a specialist to see what our options were. I love my wife so much and it really hurts me to see her feel so overwhelmed at all the decisions that we need to make over the next few months. I pray that God will allow me to be more patient and caring when she needs me most. Often, I get off on my own little tangent and don't give her the respect that she deserves as my wife and my God given help mate or equal.

Well,
I am looking forward to great and wonderful New Year. God only knows what is in store for this year and I mean that in a very literal way! I continue to struggle with time. Such an easy word, but so complicated as well. A day is as a 1000 years to God...so what really is time and how should we be using what we have? Something I ponder a lot. I also struggle with dealing with the past. You see God will take your past and separate it as far as the East is from the West, but we mortals like to keep our past hidden in the depths of our mind so that the devil can continue to torment us over and over again. I often struggle with that fact and why we have no children. I know it is not true, but somehow I allow that thought to come back again and again.

The Beginning

In the begining everything is always a little chaotic and not all predetermined yet. Well, that is the way this blog is. This is something very new for me, so we shall see how this works for me.