TRAIL MINISTRIES

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

a moment of clarity

I just wanted to share with you what God has been laying on my heart. Hes really been rockin me about tithing and giving.
A friend of mine gave me a book called the Go-Giver and I read it in about two hours. The books main focus is learning to give more than you receive. This is something that I struggle with. Often times I think that I am entitled to a great life because of all the "work" I am doing for God. However, that is the wrong approach to life.God didnt invite me to start TRAIL with Him so that I could receive, but rather give more. He has called me to TRAIL because He knows how many lives this is going to change for eternity.

He didnt place this vision and passion on our hearts so that we could be able to provide a great life for ourselves, but that through TRAIL we could provide an opportunity for our lives to be poured out and to give young men across the nation( the world one day) the chance at the life that they were created for.

So when we pray, let us pray that God will pour us out. Let us pray that we find new ways to give of ourselves, in prayer, time, life, money, and love. When we start to give more than we receive then we will see the Kingdom being expanded through TRAIL and we wont be able to stop the blessings on the ministry. God didnt bring us together to expand our lives but to expand His love and His kingdom.

Tithing isnt something that I have been doing because I needed every penny that was coming in just to make ends meet. But what I was doing was robbing God of the opportunity to provide for me. He provided my needs even when I didnt give. But He doesnt want to just make my ends meet. God delights in me( and you) and wants to dump blessings on me. I just have to trust and believe that He is greater than anything in this world.

Pray for me in these areas. And I will pray for you as well. Peace.

T.R.A.I.L.

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Monday, February 8, 2010

LOVE. UNQUESTIONED

"So long as we imagine that it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about; He is looking for us." God's daily relentless pursuit of our heart start with a sunrise.

Here is Soren Kierkegaard’s version of the story:

Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist—no one dared resist him. But would she love him?

She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal. (as quoted in Disappointment with God )

To really learn to love God, we have to learn to embrace everything that He offers us. He doesn't offer a life filled with fear and regrets. He offers a relationship filled with love and interdependence.

The hardest part for me to accept is His shameless freedom. He doesn't just take my sin and rearrange it to make it more manageable. When Jesus died on the cross, that was God violently dealing with and completely eliminating my debt of sin! My sins tell me to be ashamed and to be condemned. His blood COMMANDS me to be free!

There has never been any kind of love deeper than the love of God for me. He allowed His Son to die so I could live. His passion for my heart and life can never be questioned.

T.R.A.I.L.

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Morning Reflections

I hadn't made the time to really spend some intimate time with the Lord in a while. I would pray and talk to Him, but all surface level stuff, no new ground being broken. I was doing just enough to get by. I felt as if I was just drifting with no certain direction, no certain purpose, and with certainly no joy. Anyone who talked to me knew it as well. I was as irritable as a hungry baby. The only explanation I could come up with was that my feelings and attitude were a direct reflection of the amount of time I spent with the Lord. We can do all the things we want in the physical realm, but until we invite the Lord (spiritual realm) to lead us, we won't get anywhere.

So, this week I decided to get up and spend an hour every morning praying and drinking coffee with the Lord. It's not like it has been the easiest thing to do, by any means, but the difference it has made in my life is incredible! I am a different person completely.

I know this is an extremely elementary idea and learned principle to a growing and alive Christian's walk, but making God a priority and allowing Him to have control and take the lead on every day has been a life changing experience. Before, I would do my quiet time whenever I could "get to it", but I never would get to it.

God is a leader who doesn't just want the power. He already has it. He wants us to be amazing at everything we do, but we cant do it without him. I went to a camp in Colorado this summer and on one of the walls was a quote by one of their guides who was killed in a tragic rafting accident, but it is the perfect example of the life that God offers to us when we surrender ourselves and each day to Him.

"I want to be wild and good, irrational but at the same time rational, rebellious but helpful, dangerous but an ally. i don't want to be tamed by society. I just want to be free to choose GOOD over evil, CHRIST over paganism, LOVE over lust, HEALTH over indulgence, SACRIFICE instead of self-centeredness, STRONG instead of weak in all areas. I want to be a man because I want to be, because I am and I love it! I am conforming though, to just the beautiful way God made me." - Josh Lantz

T.R.A.I.L.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Surge of a Storm Counted as a Joy

When storms come my immediate reaction is to go outside and see them. I love to see their power the way they just come in almost as if they just exploded into existence that very second out of nowhere. I love to watch them surge and control the part of the world they are shadowing. My favorite memories of hiking are the ones where a storm hit unexpectedly and made us shift our plans in some way.

I would really love to be able to say that I react the same way when storms rage in my personal life. I definitely don't run outside and celebrate their existence. Usually, I get discouraged, freeze in panic or fear, or become numb and do nothing acting as if its not there...

... But what does the Word tell me to do?
James 1:2-4
"Consider it pure Joy, my brothers whenever you face trials(storms) or many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

I need to learn to dancing in the rain and know that I serve a God who is bigger than anything that I face. I don't face the storms alone. My Father, Lord, Savior, Lover, and Friend is with me always. He is growing me and stretching my faith.

When we face storms and trials its nice to know that our Father knows that we have what it takes to make it through them. Be encouraged and take heart in this.

T.R.A.I.L.

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Monday, January 11, 2010

Bridging the Gap

Its amazing to me how much God is all over this ministry. And how He constantly is making sure that I know that I am NOT in control.

About a month ago I was kind of discouraged after looking at our budget and realizing how much we really needed God to come through. I had extinguished all of my options and done everything that I could think of just short of begging people for money. I didnt know what was going to happen all I knew was that there was nothing more that i could do.

Literally within the hour of coming to the realization that we needed God to come through, I start getting calls and emails from the most random and almost forgotten friends that want to give and become a part of what God is doing with T.R.A.I.L.. Needless to say, I was blown away by the way God knew exactly what we needed down to the penny.

God is doing big things and has so much more in store for us in this new year. I just wanted everyone to know that the gap between our original vision for T.R.A.I.L. is being bridged but not because of anything that we are doing. Without God nothing is possible and nothing will be accomplished.

T.R.A.I.L.

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Friday, January 8, 2010

Sunset Over a Frozen Lake.

A buddy and I went running the other day at Fort Yargo, a state park near my house. It was a crisp 34 degrees when we arrived at the park. The run was more of a mental battle than it was a physical one. I couldnt get my mind of the fact that it was almost freezing outside and I am going for a run.

We head out on a trail that is meant for mountain bikes. The trail is pretty steep at the beginning, but not too bad. We run on and God begins to prick my heart, "I have some beauty in store for you yet'" He says to me. My mind begins to roll. I start to fantasize and look for what He has for me as we run along. I see the frozen creek and I thank Him for it and its beauty. We keep running and I see patches of ground where water used to stand, now frozen solid; and I thank Him for the different seasons of life, but still haven't really seen anything really "wowing".

And as we were coming to the end of our run, back at the top where we started, I was consumed with the thought, "Is this it? God, that's all You had to show me?" I was kinda let down and disappointed, but as we got to the very top of the trail almost to the truck God speaks to me, "Look back. Look back over your shoulder at the lake." I look and right as we are coming off the trail the sun is setting over the lake behind us. I cant even describe to you how beautiful it was. The lake sits in between two huge foothills. Its almost as if we had escaped to the mountains for a moment in time, and no one else was around for miles. I was in awe. God began to speak to me again, "Chachi, you are My son. I am always here, always romancing your heart."

God desires intimacy with us. His desire is to be so real and so evident that we cannot question His intentionality. Dont get consumed with forcing God to show Himself. He doesnt work on our time. When He shows up, it will be unforgettable and you wont be disappointed.

T.R.A.I.L.

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

ANCIENT PATHS AND LEADERSHIP

I have been studying up on bears and their power and their mannerisms. Bears are so territorial. They will shred anything that tries to take over their property or that tries to hurt their cub. They allow their cubs to go off on their own and play and explore, but they watch and make sure the cubs are close still. All it takes is one cry for help and the parent is there devouring whatever it was threatening their cub. And when learning how to cross treacherous and potentially life threatening areas the cubs follow the older bears and literally step in the exact same places their leaders step. The strides of the older bears are much wider than the stride of the younger cubs. So it takes stretching and they don't always hit the steps right the first time. They have to learn the importance of following the wisdom and steps of the older bears, but its not until they are considered an older bear in the that they learn how to walk exactly right.

And as I sit here and study these ancient, majestic creatures I cant help but see the correlations between bears and our relationship with the Lord. We have a Father that is so jealous of His property or HIs cubs, us. And He will do anything to protect His cubs. He lets us go out and try and fend for ourselves. But no matter how far we stray He is right there when we need Him, devouring whatever is coming against us.

And just as the younger cubs have to learn to follow and walk in the same ways as the bears before them, we as young Christians go through treacherous times in our lives. But if we look to the older Christians that have been before us we can learn to find the safe path. No, we don't get it right the first, second or fiftieth time, but when we do get it right we realize that it has now become our responsibility to show younger Christians how to cross the treacherous paths safely.

T.R.A.I.L.

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