Money, Life, and Student Debt

Enjoy!

Dan

A few weeks ago I got back from Haiti and I can say without any hesitation that I would go back in a second if the opportunity came up again. I was challenged, stretched, broken, strengthened, encouraged, and smacked right in the face with my materialism, pride, and selfishness. Many of you followed us on Facebook at the Alexandria Youth Haiti Trip group and your prayers were definitely felt.

I think we have all heard someone say “Thank you for your prayers. They helped me a lot” and thought to yourself “Do my prayers really do anything?” I have wondered that many times. During my trip to Haiti I realized why that thought comes to my mind. It is because I don’t pray with expectation or for specific things given to me by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Several times on our trip we had times called “ATL” (Ask The Lord) where we would pray for people in our group or for ourselves and ask God to reveal what to pray for that person. We didn’t ask them “What can I pray about for you?”, instead we started praying and asked God to reveal what to pray for that person. It is amazing what happens when we ask our Father for the right words to pray. We know that the Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know what to say or how to say it, but do we ever give the Spirit an opportunity to actually do that? Typically I make sure I know what I’m going to say before starting to pray for someone. I don’t want to look bad or stumble around with my words. But is that what prayer is all about? At its core, is it about speaking clearly and knowing what to say? I used to think that way but now I know differently.

When I pray it is to an Almighty Creator who has made everything around me, including me (Act. 17). When I go before God’s throne and enter His presence in prayer for someone else I believe God already knows what is going on in that persons life. If I truly believe that then why shouldn’t I ask God to show me what to pray for that person. Is it easy? No. Is it kind of scary to take that step of faith? Yes. It is especially scary if you don’t know what the voice of God sounds like. If you don’t know your Shepherds voice then you won’t know what He’s saying. We can either hear God’s voice, our own voice distracting us, the world’s voice, or Satan’s distracting voice. There are options and deciphering which voice we’re hearing is a learned skill through discipline in God’s Word and in His presence. It takes a heart that is willing to be humble and open to His voice to be able to actually hear His voice. Ps. 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” That’s not a suggestion, it’s a command. Quietness is essential to hearing the voice of God. Silence is a part of prayer. I don’t always have to be saying something to be praying.

Here is my challenge for you. Take some time today to ATL what He wants you to do with the rest of your day. As a Christian it is so easy to say we trust and follow God but are we willing to actually put that into practice and ask Him to lead us today? Go ahead and try it and I guarantee you will be blessed and encouraged more than you can ever imagine. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 God blesses a widow beyond her wildest dreams by not only giving her enough oil to sell and pay off her debts but enough to sell it and live off the profit!!! When we come to God with an open heart and truly seek His face He will meet us where we are and answer our prayers. The answer may not always be “Yes” but He will answer us. Try it and see what He does today!

Below is a link for some pictures from my Haiti trip. If you are on Facebook you can check out more videos and pics there too.

Haiti Pictures

“You don’t need to know how, just Who.”

I think it is easy to forget who is the One that controls my life. I try my best, in my own strength, to order my day, schedule my daily and weekly activities and responsibilities in an attempt to show that I have control over my life. In reality I am trying to do my best impression of “God”. For those of us who have attempted that and been aware enough to honestly look at the results we have seen how utterly short we fall in our desire to control our life. I have also been running the verse from Acts 17 in my head where Paul says “In Him we live and move and have our own being.”  To think that I wouldn’t even exist apart from the presence and Person of God is a humbling thought. I am not even dust on the ground apart from Him. When I think about the potential rough spots in my life that may be coming it gives me great perspective to know that I don’t need to know all the answers (why do we always think we need answers from God anyway?) of how He is going to show His power and grace, I just need to continue to rest in who He is, knowing that apart from Him I’m not even here. “You don’t need to know how, just Who.” Powerful statement and something I would encourage you to mull over in your head with whatever scripture verses the Holy Spirit bring to your mind as you spend time with Him each day.

Maggie is doing well. She is due with Baby #3 around Christmas time. We have named him Eli (yes, we know it’s a boy!!!) and are still deliberating about the middle name.

At the moment that is all that is going on around our house. We’ll try to keep you up to date more often. Enjoy your weekend!!

Click on the picture to see more!

I am going to copy the link down below for you to go and watch this awesome and encouraging perspective. Make sure you have some uninterrupted time to watch because it is about 45 minutes long. I guarantee you will enjoy it. At the end of each part you will be able to click on the next part until you have seen them all.

Louis Giglio- How Great is our God Part 1

My previous picture of full-time ministry involved a number of different things. 1. Having a career/job with a Christian organization, 2. raising your salary or part of it, 3. not getting paid much for what you do and the time you put in , and 4. your ministry being centered at a specific location (ie.. church, school, TreeHouse, etc…). Finding a job that fits into the small box I mentally created is REALLY hard and usually involves #3 being a prohibitive factor in taking any jobs that would come along.

As I have been rethinking the ministry box I have begun to see ministry in a more holistic way instead of narrowing it down to fit into old “normal” paradigm. I have come across an article that explains how I am beginning to view the term “full-time ministry”. To read the article CLICK HERE. It is a little long but a quick read. The story at the end about the young pastor is something I can relate well to because as I have been transitioning from TreeHouse to Spectrum High School I have had similar feelings. Thankfully I am beginning to see things a little differently. I hope it also gives you something to think about. I want to challenge you to  reconsider how you view your job/career and why God has placed you there. Is it about earning money or bringing Him glory?

My website is now updated and running with some new additions and upgrades. One negative thing I lost during the transition was all of your email addresses! If you could go to the Subscribe section of the webpage (bottom right side) that would be great! Thanks!

Let me know your thoughts on how things look with the updates and upgrades. Thank you.

Dan

Okay, I have a question. Are adults supposed to say things like “that kid is a drugged up loser”? Aren’t adults supposed to see past all that to a hurting teen who has turned to drugs to escape from his life. Aren’t adults supposed to try to help the “losers” of this world, not leave them on the street corner to hang themselves by their shoelaces? Aren’t we as Christian adults called to reach out to those kids who seem beyond help? It makes me so mad that we would rather leave them to die and rot in hell than love on them. “Oh, those kids are undesirable!” we say. We tell our children not to go near them, and we walk on the other side of the street when we see them coming. Hmmm, kind of sounds like a parable Jesus told doesn’t it? Sure, these kids have made some really bad choices. And maybe they don’t want to give up those bad choices right now. Does that change how our attitude should be to them? Do we really leave them alone to wallow in their sin without ever showing them the love of Jesus? Any Christian would answer “well of course not!” but we do it all the time. We turn up our noses at the teens who dress in black and dye their hair purple. We shun the teens who sit on the couch all day playing video games and wishing someone would take the time of day for them. We shut our youth group doors to kids who cut themselves and don’t shower every day. They are undesirable to us. No one, not even the youth pastor wants them around. How tragic! I hope we are all happy in our plastic perfect lives. I hope that all of us who never have problems are encouraged when we hear of another tragic suicide. Good!! The world is rid of another trashy human being who apparently was not fit to live among US!!

HYPOCRITES!!! Wake up you white washed tombs!! I’m sick of your pharisaical tyranny over those who need Jesus the most!! I’m sick of watching another kid leave church never to come back because all of you act like you’re too perfect and too holy to interact with them. If not for the love of Jesus lavished on us, would we not be in the same place? How ugly we must look to God. How disappointed in us must the Lord of the universe be to see us deem another precious creation of His unworthy of our interaction! How about we let the Lord decide who will come into His presence. And since we do not know who that will be, it is our job, our RESPONSIBILITY to make sure EVERYONE has that chance, not just a select few that we think “make the grade.” Quit being Pharisees and try being followers of Christ. We can’t imagine the joy we’ll feel when one day that “drugged up loser” stands before Christ and says, “Lord, if not for your people I would have perished eternally, but they loved me like You and they showed me Your grace and here I stand in Your heaven today because of them!”

SARAH METCALF.

So, in the last month a lot has happened. I won’t bore you all with the details and such but I will give you a general idea as to what has gone on.

Thanksgiving was great with my whole family around. We had fun spending time catching up and letting the grandparents bond with the grandkids. I was especially happy that Pop Pop (my grandpa on my Dad’s side) got to see all 3 grandkids because I don’t know when our next trip to PA will take place. When they all left our house it was really quite and empty. It was good though because it gave Ruby and Titus a chance to get back into their sleeping/napping/eating routines. All in all it was a great week with everyone around.

Things at TreeHouse have been really busy this month. Typically we have program nights on Tuesday and Thursday nights with another event every two weeks or so. So far in December we’ve had the regular programs but we have also had an event each week. It’s fun to give the kids an opportunity to get out the house and experience community but it is also hard on my family because I am gone more than usual. Last week the earliest I was home was 9:30pm (except for Monday, that was a “normal” workday). Weeks like that can get kinda stressful at home. Pray that Maggie and I are able to learn how to balance work, family, personal time, and time together so each need is met. Thanks!

It has been great seeing the progress some of the kids here are making. Sometimes its hard to see because we’re in the midsts of it but when I think back and look at where a few kids were and where they are now I am encouraged and grateful to have been a part of that transformation. I don’t feel like I do a lot for some of the boys I meet with but thankfully God works in ways I have no idea about! It is good to know He is faithful despite what I may say or do in these kids lives.

I am in charge of our Winter Blast event which is a huge event for TreeHouse and the kids. We are going to Camp Forest Springs in Wisconsin for a weekend retreat. All the TreeHouse locations will be attending so it’s gonna be a huge event! Thankfully I’m not in charge of all the TH locations, only Chaska, but it’s still a big responsibility. The trip costs $110 per kid so it is hard selling a trip of that cost to kids who struggle with the $5-$20 trips and activities we do throughout the year. So far though it has gone well but I am still trying to figure out how many kids are going to need scholarships and how much they’ll need to pay. I think I’ve got it all figured out for now but please pray that I’m able to be financially responsible with what has been given to Chaska and what each one of you have given me.

Lately I have been challenged with a quote I read in a devotional booklet I read online. The quote was this. ” No day is complete without worship.” It was in reference to the word “Selah”, seen mostly in the book of Psalms. (What Does Selah Mean?) The author was talking about the meaning of the word and how we need to have a “Selah” moment each day. A time where we are quite, reflective, and meditating on God’s Word. Our lives get so busy and crazy that we often skip the opportunities for “Selah” in order to get more work done, to catch up, or busy ourselves with more work. I have been challenged because that’s what I a lot. I don’t know if anyone can relate to this, but I have a problem with always coming up with something else to do when I arrive at the time of the day where I want to spend time with God in His Word and in prayer. I always seem to find something that I need to quickly do before I start. Normally that “quick” little project becomes a huge project and before long I have wasted my time on other things. Again, I don’t know if any of you can relate to that or have experienced something similar before but that is usually the reason I miss my “Selah” moments during the day.

My challenge for you this Christmas season is to remember that “No day is complete without worship.” Whatever it takes for that to be accomplished needs to be done. Ignore those ‘quick” little tasks that seem to come up when it is time to enter our prayer closet or kneel before Him in the Holy of Holies. This is something I am working on and I know it is something others struggle with so please continue to pray for me and each other in this. We are a community, a body, not a lot of different random parts trying to figure it out on our own. Supporting and lifting each other up is very important and impactful.

Well, I have to go pick a kid up to hang out but I’ll keep you all updated more frequently! Promise! Thanks for all your prayers, support, and encouragement. They keep me going each day.  Have a great Christmas (yes, I said Christmas, not Holiday because it’s about Christ) and I’ll talk with you all soon!

Dan

“No Day Is Complete Without Worship” 

1. Waiting for the new baby to be born

2. Maggie works this weekend even though she’s due any day now!

3. I have made it through the last 2 weeks of craziness with work and trips so I am trying to get all caught up on my paperwork

4. I was in charge of the Going Deeper talk on Thursday night (I’ll post the notes and PP for the talk later)

5. I taught youth group at chuurch on Wednesday night

6. We sold our swimming pool last Saturday and we have been working like crazy to get the back yard prepared for grating and rolling out some sod

7. We are in the process of deciding which home project to do first: get a new garage door opener, install hardwood floors in the kitchen, or open the wall separating the kitchen from the living room (so far the kitchen floor and opening the wall are in the lead)

8. Ruby’s birthday is coming up soon and we’re going to have a family party at David and Adrienne’s house

9. Get the AC fixed in our SUV very soon!!! (it has been in the 90′s a lot lately so when ever we drive around in the car we all sweat!!)

10. I am one of the coaches for our church’s soccer clinic

11. I am planning on playing in the St. Michael Day’s and Knight’s Softball Tournament (our church is heading up the whole tournament)

Obviously, all these things will take a few steps back when the new baby comes but we’re hoping to have a bunch of stuff done but the end of this fall. So, if anyone is looking for a place to stay when they’re in MN please give us a call! We’d love to have any of you visit and catch up on life.

I am going to post my notes and PowerPoint from my talk the other night sometime soon. I have also added a new photo slide show on the homepage so enjoy the pictures! I’ll update them every so often so you can keep up on the family and work that way too.

Have a great day and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Dan, Maggie, Ruby, and”Mini Schmoyer”