JP’s Weblog

One of my earliest memories as a kid is singing a song about the peace, joy and love of God while doing all kinds of actions along with the song. We would clap our hands, stomp our feet, lift our hands, spin around and worship will all we had. There was this sense that we were truly giving God everything we had and it was a beautiful thing.

The summer I was going into Junior High I went to visit a friend’s church. When we arrived some of the older students invited us to hang out with them. Then the Wednesday night worship service began. At one point while singing one of my favorite songs I began to raise my hands. For some reason I opened my eyes. I had that feeling you get when a group of people are staring at your because of something you’ve done. So I looked over to see a couple of students smirk at what I was doing. That day everything changed. Worship would no longer be the same.

Every year at camp or CIY I worshiped like I had as a child, but that would quickly change when we came home. Worship became so much more about what others thought about me than what God was trying to teach me. The words we sang, though often incredibly powerful, meant little since the “cool factor” had began to mean more than connecting with God.

Year after year I prayed this would change, that I would grow up and outgrow this mentality, that I could get back to those days where I was no longer concerned about what others thought.

Over the past years worship has become more and more about Him and less about me. I’ve come to realize that I can no longer care what others think. However there is still this side of me that can’t help but wonder what others around me think. That is, until I met ‘Joe’.

We met a few weeks ago while visiting the inner city. I soon found out that ‘Joe’ sits a couple rows from me at church. My first week there I honestly didn’t know what to think. He sings with all he has, not worrying if he’s on key. He raises his hands and closes his eyes as if he’s the only one, even though there are 700+ people in the room. And it reminds me of what it was like to worship as a child.

So last week I did just that, at all 4 services. At each service, I found a different place to worship. At first there was a side of me that was worried about what others think, until I closed my eyes, closing out everything around me. I began to worship unlike I had in a long time. That childlike feeling returned. That sense that I was truly singing this song to Him, giving all I had. And it was awesome!

May we get back to that place where we worship like a child. Arriving at that place where we deeply desire to connect with Him more than anything else. And while we worship may we pray that those around us who feel uncomfortable, feel free to worship the God who made them. If they want to clap or raise their hands may they feel free to do so. That all may come to the point where they are willing to worship Him with all they have.

We have all seen one of these time lapse videos? A shot of city traffic, people walking downtown, a sunset, and the list goes one. Everything is moving so fast making it hard to make out many of the details. It is all somewhat of a blur.

Life can feel like this at times. We are so busy with our next meeting, event, and service that it all runs together. Sometimes the only time we notice other people is when they are in our way, and we have to work around them, because we are going full speed all the time.

One of the reasons I love ESPN is because you can catch up on all that takes place in the world of sports in one hour. The top 10 plays, who they traded, who signed where, someone else is using steroids and some guy is getting a signing bonus paying him more than most will make in their lifetime. I can get all of this info in minutes. Wouldn’t it be nice if life could be that easy?

Over the few weeks, I felt like I’ve been somewhat disconnected from the flow of life. I feel like I’m going and going without taking the time to slow down. Why is it that we are afraid to stop? Is it because we feel like we might miss out on something?

When was the last time you took a step back and tried finding some clarity in your life? Taking a little time for those things that really matter. Your life starts coming into focus. It makes me want to be like Him. I want to love the way He loves. It inspires me to be there for other people who trip and fall. It makes me want to remind people of Him by the way I carry myself. I want to be as much like Him as I can.

Hopefully after such an encounter, I will start to act a little more like Him. To renew that within me, I needed to stop for just a second, to see that there are things going on behind all the chaos and all of the hurriedness of this world. I needed to focus. I need to remain focused. I need Him.

At times you have to STOP, so that things can come into focus.

For some reason, the line from the all-inspiring movie Dumb & Dumber, keeps coming to mind - “I hate goodbyes.”

Moving to Katy, Texas nine years ago, I had no idea what I was doing, and to be honest, I was somewhat terrified. We were leaving friends, family, and all we knew, to go to the unknown. Traveling over 500 miles to meet with a handful of students in a dark room, in the upstairs part of the church. During these years, God has done some truly amazing things. The community at Grace has been a blessing to us, and we thank you for that. I don’t know if this is as much a good-bye as, “We’ll see ya again.” We leave to head in a new direction, beginning a new adventure we feel He has called us to be a part of. Thank you to all who have been such an huge part of this journey, and we truly look forward to the plans & years ahead He has in store for each and every one of us.

Until we see you again!