tv preachers.

i've never listened to preachers on tv. just don't like it. i think at some point i became numb to them. in college we'd sit in the dorm and laugh when they sorta knock people over on stage. and then we'd see people hurling their medicines to the stage like it was a one-sided snowball fight because the preacher guy told them they were all healed. and then you'd see the people on the news the next week needing their medicine back and i was left to think that these "preachers" had cheated all these sweet people. it made me mad. really mad. and so i turned the channel from there on out. every. single. time.

that changed on saturday. yes, SATURDAY. i was sitting there with bear the wonder dog, watching the playoffs (bc steve nash is the best) and the game went to commercial. it was a game i had been waiting to see. the suns were on the road and needed a win. i usually hate the nba, but it's the playoffs. college basketball is the real deal, but this time of year, the playoffs will do. all that to say, i was really into that game. i'm a sports guy. just dig it. during the commercial, i passed a channel with an older guy talking from behind a desk and i was frozen. i knew it was a preacher on tv, but for some reason, i just froze right there. for those of you that i get the privilege to walk with and speak to each week, you know that God has a way of freezing me. and not just me, but all of us who believe. what i mean by that is that sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks so strongly and is so close that it just has a way of freezing you. it's a moment where it's just you and Him and you just know it. and in that moment, you realize there is nothing better than Him and that you wouldn't want to be anywhere else. matt wertz has a line that says, "this moment is you...it's not that others aren't, but this one i know for sure." it's THAT moment. and when this older guy started speaking i honestly felt the Lord say so strongly to me, "go get your Bible and something to write on because you're gonna be doing a whole lot of writing. you've gotta write this down." i'm not gonna lie, part of my heart wanted to tell Him it was saturday and that the game was on.

i went and got my stuff. and sat. and listened. and filled up a whole page with green ink. HE was speaking to me!

i ran out of space to write. that doesn't happen often. keep in mind my stupid stereotype of these guys. but this time, i wanted to be able to pause the guy, because i needed to think it out. i couldn't. i just kept writing. don't have the tivo thing. the Spirit kept moving. and i could honestly feel my heart getting softer and my joy getting louder. and this was on a saturday. A SATURDAY. during a game i had to see. but in that hour with the Creator, He was all that mattered. He was all i wanted. i was glued. love that. the guy talked for almost 55 minutes. it felt like five. i've told some of you that my favorite talks are where i feel like the pastor is in one big leather chair and i'm in another and he's just helping me through life. kind of like a grandpa or something. he calls me out if he needs to. let's me know where to improve and where to soften. and when needed (a lot), the Lord uses him to pick me up off the floor because i don't have the will and i'm all out of strong. that's just me. i'm weird, i know. but in that hour of listening, God used this man to radically change the way i approach everything. he talked of psalm 25 and 27 and the part where waiting on God means really trusting. psalm 25:14 - the LORD confides in those who fear (are in awe) of Him; He makes His covenant known to them." i would scan my notes into a pic for you, but you probably couldn't read my writing. he moved. completely unexpectedly. and a writer of this book i've got says those are his favorite moments with God. yeah buddy. he's right. it came out of nowhere. on a saturday. and He spoke volumes to me. needed more paper. so, so good. on saturday, the Lord used a man named charles stanley to pick me up and put me close to Jesus. through a tv. good times.

g

ps. tonight a sweet lady who works extensively with a people group in malawi is coming to spend some good time with our students. i'm pretty stoked. we've been trying to help with a little clothes drive and she's gonna fill us in on all the details of where our kiddos clothes go to help their kiddos. little kids from malawi in vandy t-shirts? yeah boy. i'm sure she's got some great stories to share. pumped. and secret song for tonight is you're everything off an old crowder album called can you hear us? old favorite. so true. that whole album is legit. get it and thank me later. and if you want to laugh (i chuckled pretty loud), click here. thanks to jb for showing me. good laughs.

and i know i haven't blogged in while. sorry. been a little busy! this one is a little longer. your welcome, dad. i luh you.

SAY IT BACK.