What I'm Thankful For (From our 3-Year-Old)

Today is Thanksgiving and I woke up thinking of all the incredible ways God has blessed us. But rather than give you my thoughts about Thanksgiving, I thought I would let you hear from the heart and mind of our 3-year-old daughter, Carson. I asked her if she wanted to tell everyone what she was thankful for and she said yes. So here you go!

WARNING: This is completely unedited. You have been warned.

1. Me

2. Daddy

3. Jadd

4. Mommy

5. Josh (Cassidy)

6. Daddy

7. Jadd

8. Mommy

(At this point, I had to re-explain what we're doing here. I got the sense her heart wasn't in it.)

9. God

10. Grandaddy

11. Jesus

12. Oranges

She then said, "Now let's talk about toys!"

13. Caterpillar

14. Tiger

15. Zebra

16. Lion

17. FeeFee (her blanket)

18. Tiger

19. Hippo

(I told her we'll go ahead and lump all of the animals together)

20. Olivia (friend from school)

21. Annie (another friend from school)

22. Mateo (yes, another friend from school)

(you can see where this is headed)

23. boys (that answer just made my heart sink)

24. Neal

25. our house that we live in

26. our stairs

27. The refrigerator

(she then began to look around the room to find other things)

28. stockings

29. Christmas tree

30. our old house

She then said, "One more thing, daddy!"

31. baby Avery (who is due in 3 weeks)

I thought we had a pretty good list, so I decided to ask her what Thanksgiving is.

"Thanksgiving is, um, doing some turkey stuff. Because we are going to Josh and LaLa's house."

Who were the first people to celebrate Thanksgiving?

"Jesus."

(she has already learned that the answer to any semi-serious question is "Jesus".)

"What's a pilgrim?"

(whispering in my ear) "They are on the Mayflower."

"What do you eat on Thanksgiving?"

"Turkey! And pumpkin bread, and sweet potatoes, and rolls. I want daddy to hold me!"

Ok, so maybe this idea was better in my head. At any rate, have a Happy Thanksgiving from Carson and the rest of us!

Transformed

Last night, we concluded our Fusion series for the month of November called "Transformed". Throughout the series, we emphasized to students that God is not content with just making us good people who go to church, love our parents, only use Christian cuss words, and don't cheat on tests. His desire is to make us like Him! It is about complete transformation! Here are some of the highlights from the series:

• Our Creative team of students came up with some cool ideas to deck the room out and help enhance the series. We had some car parts from a local junkyard setup on stage, including a red hood that looked the part of Optimus Prime. This is the first series where we had student involvement in the planning/creative process and they did awesome. Definitely looking forward to the New Year and getting their feedback on some incredible series we have planned!

• The first week, I spoke about the blind man from John 9 that Jesus healed. The 3 points we made based off this passage were: (1) Only God can transform us; (2) When God transforms us others take notice; and (3) Our transformation deepens our love for God.

• In week 2, I spoke briefly from John 4 and the woman at the well. We then made 2 points to the students: (1) Our transformation begins where we are; and (2) God uses our transformation to transform others. We then had one of our leaders share her incredible story. She grew up in a verbally and physically abusive home, made significant mistakes as a teenager, and was at the end of her rope. But God grabbed hold of her heart and changed her. She then encouraged students by telling them God can change anyone! Powerful stuff!

• Sr Pastor Rick White spoke week 3 as we wrapped up the series and did an awesome job, taking the life of the Apostle Paul to challenge the students not to focus on self-righteousness. Paul had a lot to be proud of and could rest on that and feel that he had arrived. But he considered everything as loss compared to knowing Jesus and experiencing the work He was doing in Paul's life. Rick told the students that we can't transform our own life or pretend that we're good enough. Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..."

• We also got Rick involved in a karaoke game. We wisely didn't tell him that until he showed up that night. He had to put on headphones and hum 80s songs into the mic. Students had to guess what song he was humming. He was a good sport, although his humming was a little pitchy at times.

• Each week, we made a fun video where one person is transformed into someone else. In week 1, one of our students (Zac) was transformed into a leader (Dan). (Check it out here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kK1wpOFBp4). In week 2, another student (Beau) was transformed into me, curly hair and all. And in week 3, I was transformed into our Senior Pastor Rick White (Check it out here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trlh-8aAPzE). Anytime you can get Zac to wear chick pants, Beau in an afro wig, and myself with my hair straightened, you can't go wrong. Or maybe you can.

• We also had a video testimonial of one of our students talking about the change God is making in his life. He talked about how he used to just go through the motions in his walk with Christ. But over the last few months, God has been working in his life and he sees a huge difference.

• The band did an incredible job throughout the series, rocking songs that talked about the incredible change God does in us. They also did a really cool acoustic version of Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move".

• Our leaders had the chance to counsel/pray with several students throughout the series as God spoke to them! It is special to see God open students' eyes to the reality that He wants to make them like HIM! That is a transformation we all need!

The Best Way to Live

Are there things that you've learned in life that you wish you had known earlier because it would've changed everything? For example, it would've been nice to know a few years ago that the housing market would go in the crapper in 2008-2009 and our home values would drop. Had we known that, maybe some different decisions would've been made for many of us.

Or if I knew the path ahead of time that God would lead me on, maybe I wouldn't have spent so much time dragging my feet and questioning what He was doing. (of course, I may have just avoided the path altogether)

Maybe you wish you had known to avoid that bad relationship, or to study harder for a huge exam, or to stay away from that party where things went very wrong. The decisions we make (both good and bad) are often the best teacher and help us later in life. But if we had only known what the right decision was early on...

Recently, I read a verse that reminded me of something incredible I learned later in life. I wish I had known this awesome truth when I was younger. The verse is from 2 Corinthians 3:8-9:

Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way,

now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way,

which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more

glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!

In this passage, Paul is comparing the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was rules-based, and required us being perfect in order to obtain salvation and holiness. This was the Old Testament way of living that said if you want to be like God, you have to obey every law. Mess up on any of them, even the smallest one, and it was over. If the Old Covenant was going to work, it was up to us to be holy. Needless to say, this was impossible for everybody. All it proved was that we were failures.

The New Covenant was different. It was grace-based, and gave us something we didn't deserve. The New Covenant depended on Jesus for salvation. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law because he never sinned, so he could stand in the gap for us. Now, when God looks at us He doesn't see our sin, He sees the holiness of Jesus!

Sadly, many of us as Christians stop there. I stopped here too for much of my life. We're thankful for the cross because it means we're forgiven, and we're no longer going to hell if we trust Jesus as Savior. But we fail to realize that there is so much more! It's more than just getting a "Get Out of Hell" card. There is something incredible that happens in us!

Here it is...

The New Covenant also says that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. There is a change that happens in us that involves the very power of God! Living a holy life is still important, but it was no longer up to us to do it! The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live differently! It's not just about salvation (as incredible as that is); it's about living a God-filled life!

A few years ago, I read a book that profoundly impacted me. It is "Experiencing Christ Within" by Dwight Edwards. In this book, Edwards uses Scripture to point out 4 major things that God gives us when we become a Christian:

1. New Purity - Our sins are COMPLETELY washed away by the blood of Jesus! We are no longer who we used to be - a sinner.

2. New Identity - Our identity (who we are, what defines us) now is found in Jesus, not ourselves. Not only are we no longer who we used to be, we are now something we've never been before! We take on the identity of God!

3. New Disposition (Motivations) - We now desire to live for God. We want to walk with Him, know Him more, and live the way He wants us to live. We don't have to force it.

4. New Power - We now have the power of Almighty God in us! This is huge! Not only do we have the desire to obey Him, but we also have the power to accomplish it.

Understanding this has changed everything in my life! I now begin to understand the unbelievable revolution that takes place within my own heart. And when I understand how my heart has changed, God then begins to change the way I live!

Do you understand the impact that is made when you give your life to Jesus? It's way more than being saved from hell. It is the opportunity for a supernatural, power-filled, God-controlled life to be lived in you. That, is the best way to live!