Dan Schmoyer’s Blog

This past week at our staff retreat God really opened my eyes. I was challenged to ask God to reveal the “dark closets” in my life. As I sat and thought through the “rooms” in my life I began to evaluate whether or not God had complete control over every area of my life. I sat and thought yet nothing came to my mind. That scared my because I knew there had to be SOMETHING in my life that was not completely turned over to God, yet I could not think of anything. Right before we began to pray and end our evening session I suddenly had a thought pop into my mind. I quickly got a pen and wrote it down on my hand. I was not sure what the words I wrote down really totally meant. They did not seem like things that counted as “dark closet” stuff. It was not even something I had been consciously aware of, yet as soon as I began to think through it all and began to dig deep the more “junk came out of the room” and the more I realized the burden I had been carrying. God had shown me an area of my life that had held me in bondage for years!

I talked with my small group that night about what God had shown me and it seemed like this heavy weight was lifted from me as I cried, talked, and let them pray over me. TreeHouse operates under a Grace-based theology so it was very encouraging and comforting to know that I could share things about my life that might turn some people off without the fear of that actually happening.

God sometimes reveals Himself to me in emotional ways (music, prayer, worship, a sunset, nature) but this past week God choose to show Himself to me by setting me free. God is a God of freedom and I am free from a weight that unconsciously held me back from experiencing true freedom.

What “junk” holding you back from experiencing true freedom? As a Christian, freedom is something we should experience because we have the Holy Spirit in our lives. II Corinthians 3:17-18 say “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (NLT) I am so thankful for the freedom we have in Christ.

I want to encourage and challenge you to look into your life and ask God to show you the places in your life where you still have “dark closets” in your life. Ask Him to release you to be free from the bondage you live in. God is faithful and full of grace so it is comforting to know that He will always love us. He loves us where we ARE but is not content with us staying where we’re AT. Pursue Him. Run after Him. Open up to Him and you’ll experience the same freedom I have. Let God mold you like a potter molds the clay. We are His workmanship.

Some of you may not know, but my family from PA came to visit last week (the 7th-17th). It was really good to see them. Maggie, Ruby, and I have not seen them since the first week of December when we flew there to raise support for TreeHouse. Some things about the “little family” have changed and some have not. Mark and Grace still like to cuddle and play with each other; I can still beat Mark in basketball and Madden Football 2007; Grace still sports the bandanna’s on her head, Mom still loves dogs and wants one, and Dad is constantly learning something new about a new electronic device he just got. Grace and Mark are growing up and maturing so quickly! It still seems like they should be 6 or 7 years old still! Mom and Dad are gladly and graciously accepting the new role of Grandma and Grandpa (I’m pretty sure they don’t mind the ” officially old” label that goes with those two names!)

I am very glad that Ruby got to see everyone because faces in a book or on the computer are not good enough. She will remember everyone better now that she’s seen them and has names for the faces and voices. I don’t want her to grow up not knowing her grandparents well and I think this past week was a good step in keeping them fresh in her mind. I also think it will be good for her to see them again around September because she will have someone to give her some extra attention while Maggie and I focus on the new baby. Ruby LOVES having your undivided attention so it is going to be a pretty big wake up call for her when she has to share her mommy and daddy. We are taking steps now to reduce the adjustment period but it is still going to happen. Oh well, life will go on!

Well, I am leaving for a TreeHouse Staff Retreat tomorrow morning so I should go to bed. Once again, thanks Mom and Dad for coming out here with Grace and Mark! We all enjoyed seeing you and connecting with you. The new baby will be here before we know it and we’ll be seeing you again!

Dan

Over the past few weeks the weather has been awesome! It has been refreshing watching the tree’s bud, the flowers come up from the ground, and the dandelions sprout up all over the yard. I even had to mow the lawn for the first time yesterday! I am also in the process of getting the pool up and running (which isn’t a quick process because the whole pool needs to be scrubbed out with a brush that is only 14 inches wide!!! The pool is 28 feet in diameter so its a slow process!).

Ruby has been outside coloring on the back patio, walking her baby around the stroller, and playing with the rocks around the house. She loves being outside so she spends a lot of time out of the house when the sun is shining. I have a feeling she’ll love to swim this summer so that will be an easy thing to do with her (Yes, it does get hot in MN during the summer! The snow has been gone for a while now!).

This weekend I am attending a Youth Specialties CORE Training event in Maple Grove. If you want to check it out and see if one is coming to your area click HERE.

I have also added a section on the right panel to sign up to subscribe to any update I make to the webpage. If you want to sign up just add your email address and click on “Subscribe”. Thanks!

Have a great weekend and I’ll update you all later!

Dan

Here is my newsletter that some of you may be getting in the mail soon! I hope this doesn’t ruin the surprise and fun you all have when you get my letters in the mail! If you are not signed up to receive my newsletter just email me your mailing address and I’ll add you to the list.

Have a great day and I’ll make sure I update my site more often! Things have been pretty crazy the past week. I hope you’re all having a great day!

Dan

Summer 2007 Newsletter