I do not know how this "partnership" with Kirtland Hope Church will look as we go forward. I just know that it is RIGHT.
I do know that God WILL show us as we continue on.
I loved hanging out with all of the Team down there. We got to hang out as a Team, and I also got to hang out with each of them separately. So cool. I got to listen to their hearts.
I LOVE getting to meet new people and hearing their 'story'.
I do know this, they have a "burden on their hearts" for their town, for their people. That I do know.
We made some awesome connections.
God will be glorified through all of your generous donations!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
New Mexico Trip
Well, it's been a very long day. It has been a GREAT day. I know a lot of you are waiting to hear the stories and see the pictures, and you will. Just not right now. You will have to wait a little while longer. We are just shutting down for the day. We just got back to the house we are staying in after being gone all day. A couple of more connections tomorrow, with some missionaries and with a ministry, and then back on the road home. It's been an awesome trip.
THANKS to all of you for you prayers and for you hard work and your donations to pull this thing off.
Special thanks to Phil for the truck and trailer.
Grant
THANKS to all of you for you prayers and for you hard work and your donations to pull this thing off.
Special thanks to Phil for the truck and trailer.
Grant
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
I Missed My Dad Today
I missed my Dad today(well actually it was last Monday-but I didn't want to change the title).
I was out at LCCC helping with the Thunderbirds air show that was going to be in two days. All the volunteers got to watch them practice. It was awesome.
You see, my Dad LOVED anything to do with planes/flight. He would have loved this show. He was a pilot. He even had his own plane for a while. I barely remember him taking me on a flight when I was very young. Soon after that , he and his business partners decided to sell their plane. But, he still loved it. And the seed of interest was planted in me also.
I've often said my Dad would have loved living here. There seems to always be something flying around my house. I love watching the military choppers fly over. Dad would have too.
Just wanted to share that.
Grant
I was out at LCCC helping with the Thunderbirds air show that was going to be in two days. All the volunteers got to watch them practice. It was awesome.
You see, my Dad LOVED anything to do with planes/flight. He would have loved this show. He was a pilot. He even had his own plane for a while. I barely remember him taking me on a flight when I was very young. Soon after that , he and his business partners decided to sell their plane. But, he still loved it. And the seed of interest was planted in me also.
I've often said my Dad would have loved living here. There seems to always be something flying around my house. I love watching the military choppers fly over. Dad would have too.
Just wanted to share that.
Grant
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Seasons PT. 3
So....let's try to wrap this up.
You see just over three years ago God called me and Terri Lynn to move to Cheyenne from Gillette to help Jeff plant Element Church.
Sometime the next month we shared the news with Terri Lynn's parents, and with Ben and Jill(Terri Lynn's sister and bro-in law--who were also living in Gillette at the time).
So, here are Jan and Terry living in Alabama. And there two daughters and son-in-laws are both going to sell their homes in Gillette and move their families down to Cheyenne to do this Element Church thing with absolutely no guarantees on this end. They were excited for us. They may not have totally understood all of it--not sure we did . But they were happy for us. So immediately they started to follow Element Church from afar. Janice always read our blogs and listened the Jeff's sermons. Sometimes it seemed she knew more what was going on then we did! She was one of our biggest fans.
Here's the kicker. You see ---in my humble opinion--when Janice started to follow Element Church down in Alabama, she did NOT have a relationship with Jesus. She had professed faith in Jesus as a young child. Even raised her own kids in church. But for the last twenty years had done very little that would tell others that she knew anything about this man named Jesus.
That all changed when we launched Element Church. Soon she was discussing the sermons with my wife. Then came that day in the car I wrote about earlier. Thats when I knew that she had come back "home" to Jesus. What a glorious day!
Shortly after Janice died and went home to be with the LORD, I was talking to my friend Dereck. He kind of knew most of the story. I was talking to him about the "coincidence" of my article about "seasons" hitting the paper the same day Jan died. He said " Ya creepy--In a good way". He then said "Well, Element Church just sent their first person to Heaven!" "What do you mean?" I asked. He said "Well if I'm understanding this right, the fact that you were willing to risk and come down here and plant this church is a big reason that Jan came back home to Jesus". "Ya I guess" I said. "Well" he said " the way I see it is that your mother-in-law is in Heaven today because of you." "And I think that is THE best gift a son-in-law could ever give their mother-in-law!" " And because of that, Element has just sent their first person to Heaven". Wow! Obviously I didn't know what to say. Still don't. Thanks DMan.
Like Jeff says--"for the one". We would do all of this over again for one person coming "HOME".
Grant
You see just over three years ago God called me and Terri Lynn to move to Cheyenne from Gillette to help Jeff plant Element Church.
Sometime the next month we shared the news with Terri Lynn's parents, and with Ben and Jill(Terri Lynn's sister and bro-in law--who were also living in Gillette at the time).
So, here are Jan and Terry living in Alabama. And there two daughters and son-in-laws are both going to sell their homes in Gillette and move their families down to Cheyenne to do this Element Church thing with absolutely no guarantees on this end. They were excited for us. They may not have totally understood all of it--not sure we did . But they were happy for us. So immediately they started to follow Element Church from afar. Janice always read our blogs and listened the Jeff's sermons. Sometimes it seemed she knew more what was going on then we did! She was one of our biggest fans.
Here's the kicker. You see ---in my humble opinion--when Janice started to follow Element Church down in Alabama, she did NOT have a relationship with Jesus. She had professed faith in Jesus as a young child. Even raised her own kids in church. But for the last twenty years had done very little that would tell others that she knew anything about this man named Jesus.
That all changed when we launched Element Church. Soon she was discussing the sermons with my wife. Then came that day in the car I wrote about earlier. Thats when I knew that she had come back "home" to Jesus. What a glorious day!
Shortly after Janice died and went home to be with the LORD, I was talking to my friend Dereck. He kind of knew most of the story. I was talking to him about the "coincidence" of my article about "seasons" hitting the paper the same day Jan died. He said " Ya creepy--In a good way". He then said "Well, Element Church just sent their first person to Heaven!" "What do you mean?" I asked. He said "Well if I'm understanding this right, the fact that you were willing to risk and come down here and plant this church is a big reason that Jan came back home to Jesus". "Ya I guess" I said. "Well" he said " the way I see it is that your mother-in-law is in Heaven today because of you." "And I think that is THE best gift a son-in-law could ever give their mother-in-law!" " And because of that, Element has just sent their first person to Heaven". Wow! Obviously I didn't know what to say. Still don't. Thanks DMan.
Like Jeff says--"for the one". We would do all of this over again for one person coming "HOME".
Grant
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
"Seasons" Part 2
Ok, so there is a bigger reason why I shared on this blog my article that I submitted to the paper back in January. It definitely was NOT to brag about my writing skills.
The same day that the article was in the paper was THE same day that my wife's Mom passed away. I had know for months that the article was going to be published on Janurary 31st. I had also known for months that Janice(mother-in-law) was battling lung cancer and, though there was hope for a full recovery or a miraculous healing, she was very ill. And literally that week had gone down hill very fast.
So that Saturday morning I read my article in the paper and shortly afterwards got the call from my wife Terri Lynn that her Mom had just died. Talk about a new season in life! Was it just a coincidence that they occurred on the same day literally moments apart? I think not.
Yes, my wife lost her Mom. My boys had lost their Grandma. And my father-in-law, Terry, had just lost his wife. And , YES , there would be tears and sadness. But there would also be some "celebration of life" laughter and some tears of joy.
You see, Janice had just recently come back to the LORD! Thusly, the tears of JOY! Jan was in Heaven with Jesus! How can you not celebrate that? Yes she is missed. Yes there are still some sad tears from time to time. And, yes, even though she is in a "better place" we are not. But there are also a lot of tears of joy when we think about how our long-suffering and amazingly-loving and merciful GOD got a hold of Jan's heart. God waited many years for Jan to come back "home" and then He took her HOME.
I will NEVER forget the time that I had to pull the car over to the side of the road for fear of wrecking because of the tears in my eyes. Terri Lynn wouldn't have been able to drive either because of all the tears in her eyes. You see, TL and I were on the phone with her Mom and she was sharing Bible verses with US. What?!?! Janice was preaching God's Word boldly! Wow! Talk about an answer to prayer. That is THE moment when I knew she had truly come back to Jesus after many years of being away. It was awesome.
And , yes, those of us that knew and loved Jan are in a different "season" now. And ,yes, there are still some occasional tears. But it will be OK.
The same day that the article was in the paper was THE same day that my wife's Mom passed away. I had know for months that the article was going to be published on Janurary 31st. I had also known for months that Janice(mother-in-law) was battling lung cancer and, though there was hope for a full recovery or a miraculous healing, she was very ill. And literally that week had gone down hill very fast.
So that Saturday morning I read my article in the paper and shortly afterwards got the call from my wife Terri Lynn that her Mom had just died. Talk about a new season in life! Was it just a coincidence that they occurred on the same day literally moments apart? I think not.
Yes, my wife lost her Mom. My boys had lost their Grandma. And my father-in-law, Terry, had just lost his wife. And , YES , there would be tears and sadness. But there would also be some "celebration of life" laughter and some tears of joy.
You see, Janice had just recently come back to the LORD! Thusly, the tears of JOY! Jan was in Heaven with Jesus! How can you not celebrate that? Yes she is missed. Yes there are still some sad tears from time to time. And, yes, even though she is in a "better place" we are not. But there are also a lot of tears of joy when we think about how our long-suffering and amazingly-loving and merciful GOD got a hold of Jan's heart. God waited many years for Jan to come back "home" and then He took her HOME.
I will NEVER forget the time that I had to pull the car over to the side of the road for fear of wrecking because of the tears in my eyes. Terri Lynn wouldn't have been able to drive either because of all the tears in her eyes. You see, TL and I were on the phone with her Mom and she was sharing Bible verses with US. What?!?! Janice was preaching God's Word boldly! Wow! Talk about an answer to prayer. That is THE moment when I knew she had truly come back to Jesus after many years of being away. It was awesome.
And , yes, those of us that knew and loved Jan are in a different "season" now. And ,yes, there are still some occasional tears. But it will be OK.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Seasons
Back in January of this year I was asked to submit an article for the newspaper's "religion" section. I thought I would share it on my blog.
SEASONS
The other morning I was sitting at my kitchen table doing my usual morning routine (coffee, Bible, etc.) when all of a sudden, something outside caught my eye. I looked out into the heavy snowfall and saw a flock of blackbirds roosted in my neighbors trees. They rested for a while, only to take flight again. I thought: “Just two days ago my friends were thinking about going golfing. Now we’re pulling out our shovels instead of golf clubs.” Welcome to seasons in Wyoming.
Randomly I began thinking about San Diego. I’ve been there a few times and have loved it each time. I wasn’t wishing I were there, or booking a flight to leave. It was more like, “Would I enjoy living there?” Being a Wyoming native I think there would be some adjustment to the mass amount of humanity, traffic and cultural differences. But the thought that really stuck in my head was “seasons”. Does San Diego experience four seasons? One? I don’t know. I just know it’s been really nice each time I’ve been there, even at different times of the year. Would I miss the change of seasons? Would I miss the snow? I think I would miss having all four seasons.
What about “seasons” of life? What season am I in right now? What about you? Am I like that dormant tree in my neighbor’s yard where those blackbirds roosted, just waiting out this season? Waiting for brighter days? I don’t think humans are designed that way. Yes, we ARE designed for periods of rest. Maybe even for a “season” of rest. We are NOT however designed to be dormant. We are designed to grow…to be ALIVE!
Recently I was reminded of a season in my life. In 1982, I was a Senior in high school and on the varsity basketball team for Lovell, WY heading to the state tournament. When we first rolled into town, we had an early morning practice at some random gym. All these years later, I had no clue where that gym was. I didn’t really give it much thought. That was until last week. Some friends and I were in Laramie on a business outing. One of the places we landed that day was the Civic Center. It was cool. I love historic buildings. We walked into the gymnasium and BOOM it hit me “This is it. This is that very same gym where we practiced at in 1982.”
I couldn’t help but relive some of the memories. Good memories, and bad ones. I loved basketball, and still do. It was a childhood dream of mine to play high school ball. In that “season” of life I was living my dream. I was on varsity, and we are at the State Tournament. Life is good, right? But something was missing. Why did I feel empty? Why, if I was living a childhood dream, did I feel like there was more? Why did my life feel like that dark, cold and dingy gym?
So, there I was all these years later. Same funky wood floor, bleachers, hoops and even the same tattered padding behind the hoops. It was the same old gym but something was VERY different. ME! My life is no longer empty.
So I left that gym rejoicing. Thanking God for what he showed me while I was there, and praising Him that I no longer feel dormant but ALIVE. Alive in Christ! My life now has purpose no matter what season I find myself in. What about you?
SEASONS
The other morning I was sitting at my kitchen table doing my usual morning routine (coffee, Bible, etc.) when all of a sudden, something outside caught my eye. I looked out into the heavy snowfall and saw a flock of blackbirds roosted in my neighbors trees. They rested for a while, only to take flight again. I thought: “Just two days ago my friends were thinking about going golfing. Now we’re pulling out our shovels instead of golf clubs.” Welcome to seasons in Wyoming.
Randomly I began thinking about San Diego. I’ve been there a few times and have loved it each time. I wasn’t wishing I were there, or booking a flight to leave. It was more like, “Would I enjoy living there?” Being a Wyoming native I think there would be some adjustment to the mass amount of humanity, traffic and cultural differences. But the thought that really stuck in my head was “seasons”. Does San Diego experience four seasons? One? I don’t know. I just know it’s been really nice each time I’ve been there, even at different times of the year. Would I miss the change of seasons? Would I miss the snow? I think I would miss having all four seasons.
What about “seasons” of life? What season am I in right now? What about you? Am I like that dormant tree in my neighbor’s yard where those blackbirds roosted, just waiting out this season? Waiting for brighter days? I don’t think humans are designed that way. Yes, we ARE designed for periods of rest. Maybe even for a “season” of rest. We are NOT however designed to be dormant. We are designed to grow…to be ALIVE!
Recently I was reminded of a season in my life. In 1982, I was a Senior in high school and on the varsity basketball team for Lovell, WY heading to the state tournament. When we first rolled into town, we had an early morning practice at some random gym. All these years later, I had no clue where that gym was. I didn’t really give it much thought. That was until last week. Some friends and I were in Laramie on a business outing. One of the places we landed that day was the Civic Center. It was cool. I love historic buildings. We walked into the gymnasium and BOOM it hit me “This is it. This is that very same gym where we practiced at in 1982.”
I couldn’t help but relive some of the memories. Good memories, and bad ones. I loved basketball, and still do. It was a childhood dream of mine to play high school ball. In that “season” of life I was living my dream. I was on varsity, and we are at the State Tournament. Life is good, right? But something was missing. Why did I feel empty? Why, if I was living a childhood dream, did I feel like there was more? Why did my life feel like that dark, cold and dingy gym?
So, there I was all these years later. Same funky wood floor, bleachers, hoops and even the same tattered padding behind the hoops. It was the same old gym but something was VERY different. ME! My life is no longer empty.
So I left that gym rejoicing. Thanking God for what he showed me while I was there, and praising Him that I no longer feel dormant but ALIVE. Alive in Christ! My life now has purpose no matter what season I find myself in. What about you?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Ascent Conference
Man this conference has been SO good. It has been three years since I have been to anything like this. I have been impressed. There is much I could write about. So much good stuff.
The one thing I feel led to try to unpack right now though is this one truth (amongst the many truths/challenges) that Pastor Boyd shared. I'm not even sure which session it was. Doesn't matter.
His challenge went something like this:
"You have to learn to be a good son before you can learn to be a good father."
When he said that, my heart both leaped and hurt at the same time. I think he's right on. My first thoughts naturally went to my relationship (or lack of) with my own Dad. It was not good. It wasn't violent or anything like that. Just more of the "two ships that pass in the night" and never speak to each other about things that really matter, kind of thing. He was always there but never there, if that makes sense. And YES it mattered. And I did not know how to be a good son. I wasn't horrible just not good. I did not know how to be a good son or father. So....when I took that to pain to God, it mattered. But guess what, My Heavenly Father has healed me. I have shared with very few people exactly how that conversation with God went. Just trust me, He took the pain away and taught me how to be a "son". And then HE taught me how to be a father to my boys. And HE can do the same for you, if you'll just let Him.
And then I thought about my two boys. "Have I been a good Dad"? I like to think so. Perfect? NO! But, doing the best I can, with God's help and with the help of my awesome wife? I hope so.
It has SO blessed my heart this week to see my son Morgan (which, by the way, was sitting in the same room as me when those words of challenge were spoken by Brady). To see the man he is becoming blesses my heart. And to see how much the other students look up to him--and not just because he's tall. He is definitely one of the leaders of his class. SO cool!
I can't wait to have my other son ,Nathan, down here next month at Desperation Conference. It's going to ROCK! I couldn't be more proud of him also. I am blessed.
Have there been tough conversations with each of them? Absolutely! Worth it? Yes.
Has God had tough conversations with me? ABSOLUTELY! Worth it? You better believe it.
Why does God discipline his children? Because He LOVES us!
The one thing I feel led to try to unpack right now though is this one truth (amongst the many truths/challenges) that Pastor Boyd shared. I'm not even sure which session it was. Doesn't matter.
His challenge went something like this:
"You have to learn to be a good son before you can learn to be a good father."
When he said that, my heart both leaped and hurt at the same time. I think he's right on. My first thoughts naturally went to my relationship (or lack of) with my own Dad. It was not good. It wasn't violent or anything like that. Just more of the "two ships that pass in the night" and never speak to each other about things that really matter, kind of thing. He was always there but never there, if that makes sense. And YES it mattered. And I did not know how to be a good son. I wasn't horrible just not good. I did not know how to be a good son or father. So....when I took that to pain to God, it mattered. But guess what, My Heavenly Father has healed me. I have shared with very few people exactly how that conversation with God went. Just trust me, He took the pain away and taught me how to be a "son". And then HE taught me how to be a father to my boys. And HE can do the same for you, if you'll just let Him.
And then I thought about my two boys. "Have I been a good Dad"? I like to think so. Perfect? NO! But, doing the best I can, with God's help and with the help of my awesome wife? I hope so.
It has SO blessed my heart this week to see my son Morgan (which, by the way, was sitting in the same room as me when those words of challenge were spoken by Brady). To see the man he is becoming blesses my heart. And to see how much the other students look up to him--and not just because he's tall. He is definitely one of the leaders of his class. SO cool!
I can't wait to have my other son ,Nathan, down here next month at Desperation Conference. It's going to ROCK! I couldn't be more proud of him also. I am blessed.
Have there been tough conversations with each of them? Absolutely! Worth it? Yes.
Has God had tough conversations with me? ABSOLUTELY! Worth it? You better believe it.
Why does God discipline his children? Because He LOVES us!
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