We’re hours away from getting on a plane here in Columbus, and excited to see what God already has in store. We’ll be stopping through Dallas, San Francisco and Taipei before landing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (28 hours and 10,269 miles after leaving Columbus)!

All of this would be impossible without the prayer and financial support of many friends and family members. We were supported as a “missionary family” to work for 1-2 years for a church camp here in Ohio. That support helped me start out as a self-employed web designer over 4 years ago. I’ve now taken a full-time position outside the home, but this missions trip is a great reminder of how God provided when we took that step a few years ago. Reminding me how much people actually care and want God’s work to take place. It wasn’t very easy for me to take the step this time, but I knew it was what God wanted.

Marla and I will be tweeting while we’re on the way there, but I’m excited to partially unplug and connect to things that God wants to do with our hands and our hearts. Have you ever stepped out into a unfamiliar situation / location / circumstance where you were uncertain what God had in store? I’d love to hear about it.

I’ve been surrounded lately by stories. Real stories from real lives. Real lives that are struggling with chasing after wrong desires. God’s been opening our eyes to stories of sex trafficking, stories of immorality, stories of objects in the world being sought after first. And so on, and so on. You and I have stories like these, there’s no getting around that.

Life really is a story. The way we live it mirrors how we tell our stories. If we know God, there are certain laws and truths that He’s given us to help us build our story. Somehow we start narrating the story / living the life by going down a rabbit trail that doesn’t match how He desires for our story to continue. He’s given us the pen, knowing very well how our story should be told, but letting us figure out a way to screw it up. Rabbit trail after Captain Me Planet rabbit trail.

Isn’t that what free will is all about? God having the power to keep us on a leash, but somehow He loves us enough to unhook the chain and let us get lost.

The story of Christ (God the Son) is the only story on earth where the pen wasn’t handed over. The story wasn’t screwed up, because God the Father satisfied Himself by covering our messed up stories with the one His Son wrote over the course of 33 years.

Thanks to a discussion going on over on Max vs. Max today, I was blown away by the words of C.S. Lewis. – “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” (Mere Christianity, Bk. III, Chap. 10, “Hope”).

What are 2-3 things that you have found yourself chasing, thinking your craving would be satisfied, but finding the next minute or next morning that it was only another rabbit trail ending in a desire for something more? Were you made for another world?

I’ve questioned whether or not I should post this, but here it goes! I’m taking yesterday’s post (friend Mitch and his sweet design studio “Studio NashVegas“), and a conversation I had with a friend today as signs that now is fine! In case you are confused with the title, I’m hoping this helps….

This weekend Larry King invited Jennifer Knapp, award-winning Christian musician who is now a professing homosexual, into an interview. You can browse all over YouTube and check out the interview videos. I’m not writing this to bash Jennifer. She’s had enough of that. I am standing up for the fact that God’s Word is clear and a life lived in following Christ is a life of repentance (privately or publicly – it doesn’t matter how or where). From the interview (and many other articles), it’s obvious she’s not repenting.

She goes on to say that those who believe that homosexuality is a sin have wrongly interpreted “Greek” scripture. Sorry Jennifer, but homosexuality doesn’t stop short of the Greek text (Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. – Hebrew). His standard against the sin of homosexuality continues throughout the New Testament (“Greek” text). In case you’re questioning that, you can read at least one obvious instance in Romans 1:24-27.

I write this because I care deeply for the church (the Monday – Saturday church outside four walls). A church (me included) that sins every day. But a church that stands firm on repentance being just as much a part of life as love is. Obviously the people that are standing up for God’s Word love Jennifer. If they didn’t love her (like I do), they wouldn’t take the time to pray, write blogs, send her emails, direct messages via Twitter, etc. Why wouldn’t they just give up on her? Really?

And obviously, by the title of this blog post, I believe the cross is being shared with less and less confidence. God’s Word is being faded out by much of Christian music, often replaced with politically correct ideas to gain sales. Just some, not all of “Christian music” (to be clear). I won’t get into how liberalism seems to be predominant in the same circles. Nashville struggles with becoming like Las Vegas. The problem? Whatever happens in Las Vegas really doesn’t stay there. It’s time we gave up on that idea. Pray for me and for yourself, just as much (if not more) than Jennifer. That we won’t stray from being people that repent for our actions. It’s not perfection that is required, it’s that we acknowledge the work of the cross and why that was even necessary.

Definitely not a fan of golf (won’t go into describing that), but I usually will watch The Masters each year. Thrilled that Mickelson won, and that his wife (battling breast cancer and being in bed the entire rest of the tournament) got to enjoy the victory with him.

Tiger Woods has been through quite a bit the past few months, so I wasn’t surprised at all to see the cameras following his every move. After he messed a tee shot up, his voice raised with “God! Tigurrrrrr…….Jesus Christ!”. Obviously he could have replaced “Tiger” with “Holy Spirit” and the discussion across the web would have been entirely different. Maybe?

I’m fairly certain Tiger’s not a Christ-follower, but at some point Christians need to ask – what’s the point in using our Father’s name like this? Really…..I don’t get it? I’m glad I don’t play golf, primarily for this reason. I’m not above getting competitive and letting my stress show during athletic events. I’ve struggled with that. From my understanding and little experience out on the golf course, many golfers are known for this. The sport requires focus, perseverance and perfection. And it’s not the only sport where we hear this, I’m sure of that.

You find it offensive? Does freedom of speech protect this? Should athletes not be confronted for their words while in the spotlights? Thoughts?

A new online friend of mine, Joey Bergeron, sent me a Facebook message today that made my day. He thanked me for being an inspiration to him, and specifically thanked me for how open I am about my sharing my faith online. Technology allows us to relate to each other. We’ve both been married for 11 years. But God is at work in our lives in very different, but both just as important, ways.

After a few messages / chats, and then even a phone call, I started to see just how much God was behind us connecting. My eyes were opened to the fact that you don’t “need to be somebody” to inspire others. I’m not any more important than you are. I don’t have a better chance of inspiring someone than you do. And neither do leaders, celebrities, or people who are greatly admired for their skill / work. Agree?

To inspire someone could very well be one of the greatest compliments you could receive, which is why I am blogging about this. I want to challenge both you and I to realize that our lives (online and offline) have been given to us to glorify God and relay the thrill of following Him to others. All of us struggle with the necessities of being an inspiration (transparency, honesty, listening, etc.), but we don’t have to be all of them to light the match.

The people you have been placed on this earth to inspire might be totally different than those that I have. Some might know Christ, and some might not. But God has given those people to you. Do you believe you are an inspiration? Are you struggling with connecting with others or finding the place God has for you to shine? Or maybe you could share how you have been inspired (or by who), or maybe how and who you might have been an inspiration to?