Pen in Hand

Last Sunday in Celebration I talked about being on this journey with God, and how we must actively Navigate the spiritual reference points for our life!
If not, we're in danger of a spiritual life that just goes in circles . . . or never gets out of the dock.

Some of the points of reference are unique for each of us, and some are the same for every follower of Christ -- one of the primary ones being the Bible. It is the Spirit of God using the Word of God that changes our life. It is our primary source of spiritual food. It is life.

I want to remind you about Creek Living Water . . . a blog with daily scripture and a guide for soaking in it. If you don't have a plan for reading the Bible, then I would encourage you to start there. [Click here for Creek Living Water]

And I want to encourage you in another way as you read God's Word. Do it with a pen in your hand.
Ask God to speak to you as you read and as He does write it down! Write it down in the margins of your Bible, or in a journal. Don't worry about if it's perfect, or even if it makes full sense right now. But write it down so that later you can go back and continue to listen to what God is saying.

I'll say it this way: If your pen is in your hand , then God can keep writing your story!

"I will walk in freedom,
for I have devoted myself to your commandments.
I will speak to kings about your laws,
and I will not be ashamed.
How I delight in your commands!
How I love them!" (Psalm 119:45-47)

Your Encounter

In just a week and a half our Spring Encounter retreats kick off! (Women April 18-19; Men April 25-26)

I can't tell you what an incredible time Encounter is . . . one of the best things that we have ever done at Oso Creek!
It's a weekend (Fri @ 6pm -- till Saturday @8pm) of learning more and more about encountering the Living God and allowing Him to change our lives! And the best part is that it's just regular folks (Women at the Women's Retreat -- Men at the Men's Retreat) talking about how they have experienced life change in the midst of real struggles.

We only do Encounter twice a year . . . Fall and Spring . . . so if you haven't been, sign up NOW before it's too late. Ladies email Susan (click here) and men, Greg (click here) to sign up or get more info.

How about a few of you who have been to Encounter hitting the comment button below and telling everyone about your experience . . .

Super Cool!

We have over 60 folks coming to Financial Peace University tonight to continue learning how to be great stewards of their resources! (And 8 of those folks are from Yorktown Baptist . . . I praise God for their willingness to join together to learn how to go deeper in this Jesus life!)

And then we have 24 Creekers signed up for Discovering Your Divine Design on Saturday (w/only 2 spots open! Click here to email that you want a spot)!

This is so on my heart right now. Opening up these are the kinds of very practical opportunities to help us navigate into the deeper waters of what it means to follow Jesus.

Thoughts on Sunday

Wow, I praise God for showing up on Sunday! Thanks to Sylvia and Chris for doing a great job with our music!

I spoke about Navigating into the deeper waters of God. (If you didn't get to hear the message you can click here and listen.)

And I challenged Creekers in two ways: First of all that We're each responsible for our own spiritual growth! And secondly that, Your faith should be a disruptive force in your life. Boats don't reach destinations tied up in the dock. It's only when we experience the rough seas of the journey that we become navigators. Moving forward and perseverance 'in Christ' is accomplished through trials and trauma (see James 1:2-8).

A couple of more thoughts:
Be patient with yourself, God is faithful.
Back in June I had been running steadily for 7 months and feeling great. Then baseball all-stars hit and I essentially quit from mid-June through the first of August. Now, I've been going again for 5-weeks or so, and I'm still not where I was in June.
If you've been on the sideline spiritually, it's gonna take some time to renew and rebuild your spiritual momentum. Don't feel like it all has to happen this week.

And don't allow discouragement to win!
Today was my day to run. I didn't sleep well last night. Got home late. Didn't want to go at ALL! Almost as soon as I got home dinner was ready. Ahhh, an easy excuse. I knew I should go, but this was easier.
I confess that I even sat down for dinner as the conviction (that I needed) got stronger. I took one bite and then excused myself and laced up my running shoes.
Man, I was glad I did! I went further and felt better tonight than I've felt since June. When I finished - even though my body was burned - in my heart I could have gone 5 more miles!

And I believe that you can too! I felt God was telling me tonight as I was running - you can do it! I am with you, I will never leave you or forsake you! Trust me!
It feels so awesome - and is so much more rewarding - when in the power of the Holy Spirit we press through and faithfully follow Jesus.

You can do it!