Pastor Pusch

Dickens wrote, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the season of Light, it was the season of darkness… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

It seems that over the last year my family has experienced both sides of the emotional, mental, and physical spectrum that Dickens penned in the opening line of his classic title  A Tale of Two Cities. However, to bring the last 12 months to summation, I would have to say, we experienced the greatest of times showered only by the grace of God.

June 2009 proved to be a trying time in our family as we had to take our daughter Jovie in for surgery to repair her cleft palate. While Jovie was clueless to the situation, Rena and I were charting new and unexpected territory. This was perhaps the most difficult process to endure. We had complete confidence in Jovie’e care, but it was still my little baby girl who had to suffer. I cannot even begin to tell you how much joy and happiness Jovie Madelyn has brought to our home. We released Jovie into the arms of the surgeon with indescribable feelings swinging back and forth between hope and despair. Today, Jovie is doing extremely well and has not experienced any further problems. Grace.

July 2009 we learned that Jovie was going to be a big sister. Overall we were excited about receiving another gift of God, but it would be a complete lie if I told you that we did not experience feelings of another kind as we wondered whether or not we were ready for child number 2 after all we have experienced with number 1. Today, we are within 6 weeks of delivery, and words would fail to describe the great anticipation we feel as we wait for the arrival of Jovie’s little sister. Grace.

September 2009 taught us unforgettable lessons. Two seizures landed me in the hospital for a series of tests that brought forth darkening results. After reviewing the results, doctors wasted no time scheduling surgery. After surgery, recovery was a challenge. From anxiety to full mental breakdown, I experienced everything in between. Thankfully I have been taken off the medications that caused such instability. The pathology reports all came back the same week of surgery. Today, all is well. What was thought to be a low grade brain tumor with malignant activity is no longer. I am taking 1 medication with little to no side effects (for only 6 more months) and to this day all of my scans have come back clean and clear. A miracle for sure. Grace.

It is not like we have not seen God’s hand at work in our lives before, it just 2009 has been a year like none other. Words fail to describe how grateful we are as a family. God continues to mold us and shape us. He has given us new perspective and we enter 2010 with great anticipation thankful for all that He has done and will continue to do. While 2009 brought with it great trials and heartache, I can say for me, it was indeed the “best of times.” Grace.

“And the God of all grace…will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” I Peter 5:10-11

Blessings,
PastorPusch

“Some things are too sacred to joke about.” – Dr. Robert E. Woodard

“You can tell a lot about a man’s character by what makes them laugh and what makes them cry” – Dr. Robert E. Woodard

The first time I heard the above quotations was about 10 years ago when I began my college experience. While I’m sure I haven’t always lived up to the principles found in those two statements, I haven’t forgotten his impression. I do think there is a lot to be said as they are great words to live by. Dr. Woodard, though a tough professor, was a great encourager and had a heart of gold. I am thankful for the relationship I have with him.

Death would be one of those issues Dr. Woodard would have placed into the sacred category. Death is not just the termination of life here on earth, but it is a beginning of eternity in one of two destinations. Anytime we attend a funeral or learn of somebody dying (celebrity or not), it ought to be a sobering thought.

Surely if you have any sense of awareness of what’s happening in the world around you, you are then well aware of the iconic deaths that have taken place in recent days. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays all have stepped out into eternity over the last 3-4 days. Where they are, I do not know, however, I do know that Christ was the only avenue into the Father’s paradise for them; I hope they made that discovery.

Making Fun of Death – It took only a few minutes after the pronouncement of death for the jokes to begin circulating concerning the deaths of Billy Mays, Ed McMahon, and especially Michael Jackson (mostly coming from friends who heard them first). In my humble opinion, I think it’s absurd. ”Some things are too sacred to joke about.”

Side Thought 1: While there is great rejoicing that takes place after the deaths of the most notorious evildoers a.k.a. Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler, it is still a sobering thought to know that these stood before their creator and all was revealed.

Side Thought 2: Thousands of people step out into eternity every day, notorious or not. That’s sobering or at least it should be.

Week 2: Crazy Love
Chapter 1: Stop Praying

Who is God? All of us could give a great list of responses. If you were asked that question, what you say? Who is God? What has God been in your life? My guess is that our answers would look a lot like this. God is Holy, Good, Just, Love, Peace, Joy, Righteous, Faithful, Creator, Everlasting, Omniscience, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Eternal, Wise, and Great. He’s everything. God is my shelter, strength, provider, salvation, rock, hiding place, firm foundation, healer, sustainer, redeemer, friend, maker, Father, rebuilder, restorer, and rewarder. The list can go on and on. No doubt you have probably thought of a few names that I missed. The point is that we know this. Anyone of us can give these names/titles as a response to who God is and what He has done in our lives. He is God and we must have a high view of Him!

In chapter 1 of Crazy Love, Francis Chan challenges us to stop and really think about who God is. As mention before, we know those names and titles of God. We can sputter those things out at an instant, but Chan asked, “When was the last time we marveled at them?” When was the last time we really stopped and considered those names and titles we attribute to God? When we say, God is my redeemer? What does that mean? To say God is great? What do you think about? What does great mean? The problem with words is that if we are not careful, those words can lose their value. We mouth these titles so much; we hear them all the time and the reason we do not marvel at them as we should is because we allowed them to lose their value and become merely words. Stop and think. It’s amazing to think that God, who fits all of those descriptions, is crazy about you and desires a relationship with you. God wants you! Yes, He is all those things magnified to the greatest degree and all He asks of us is that we would know Him and love Him.

Chan talks about “spiritual amnesia” and how that affects our lives and nobody is above it. No matter how many times we have seen God at work, no matter how many times we have experience true worship, no matter how many times we utter the names of God and experience those attributes personally in our lives, we still forget.  We live in a world of distractions; things that attract our attention and divert our focus off the things that are eternal and everlasting. Chan writes, “It confuses us when loving God is hard. Shouldn’t it be easy to love a God so wonderful? When we love God because we feel we should love Him, instead of genuinely loving out of our true selves, we have forgotten who God really is. Our amnesia is flaring up again.” Are there times where you don’t feel like loving God or perhaps maybe it’s just not at the top of your priority list, or you just don’t think about it? I admit, I’ve seen those days before.  Chan concludes by saying, “In our world where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of Him.” We must make a conscience effort to place all that God is at the front of our minds. When we wake up, lie down, and go about our everyday lives, God must reign supreme in our lives.

Stop praying? Not really. However, before the next time you pray, think about who God is and what He is like and before you utter the first word, let those thoughts guide you through your prayer and life.
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For those of you who were in the group last night, thank you so much for a great time. I thought the session last night went very week. I would love to hear from you… even if you spoke up last night. I know there are a small handful of people who expressed interest in following the discussion on here (those who weren’t able to make and those who do not live near Nash to come). What are you thoughts on chapter 1 or about some of the thoughts I shared with you this post.

Blessings,
PastorPusch