how to start a movement.

dressed by dad.

02-07-10 Dressed by Dad - Joshua Finey from EGC on Vimeo.

your love never fails.

unwanted teachers.

Trials (process) are the unwanted teachers in our lives.

Nobody likes trials. Process is never easy, yet no one will grow to their full potential without walking through many of these "teaching sessions."

I've heard it said that aging and trials or non negotiable but maturity is optional.

Even the Son of God had to learn from the things He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)

Choosing to be absent or try and refuse to show up for class doesn't really work because this kind of schooling comes right to where we live. My thought is that if we have to spend time with these unwanted teachers, we might as well get as much as possible out of each tutoring session.

Here are a few lessons we can learn from specific trials each person will have to walk through in their lifetime:

"We learn in process that the purpose of problems is to produce faith.

-The aim in allowing demonic opposition is to develop power and authority.
-The intention behind human opposition is that God will teach us grace.
-Tribulation is designed to produce patience and endurance.
-The objective behind conflict is to increase God's love in our hearts and bring us to full maturity in His nature.
-When God allows temptation (that doesn't mean He causes it-He cannot tempt) He seeks for us to be advanced in righteousness.
-When our resources come under attack, He teaches us to give so that all our needs can be supplied in Christ.

Process is where we discover God to be all that He ever said and all we will ever need." (quoted from Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior by Graham Cooke)

As you walk through your next trial or find yourself in process, just remember God is able to make all things work together for your good. (Romans 8:28)

My next post will be a song that I've been listening to for the past year that speaks right into this issue.

embraced by grace.

01-31-10 Embraced By Grace - Joshua Finley from EGC on Vimeo.

"Wiiping" over a loss.

So on our last mini vacation we took the family to a friend's house in Vermont.

The place was gorgeous. An absolute amazing mansion in the mountains of Vermont. The food was great. Company was excellent. Hot tub a Godsend.

The only downside to the weekend was getting my butt kicked by my beautiful wife on the Wii.

Hence, the killer back hand she is serving up:)

Not only did she royally beat me at Wii tennis...she beat me with a small crowd watching in the stands (couch). It was good for my manhood. I'm learning to take my losses like a big boy.

raising modern day knights.

Parents sometimes do the oddest things.

Sledding with the boys today I thought it would be a good idea to teach them some "winter warfare." The snow was good for snow balls so I proceeded to make a few for each of my boys.
I taught them a few ground rules and gave them the green light to fire away.

Then instead of going after each other....

They thought it would be funny to send multiple, tightly packed, perfectly rounded, soft ball size, snowballs at their defenseless Daddy.

Nothing like having to raise the white flag of surrender to a four and a half year old and his two and a half year old side kick...in your own back yard!

So my raising modern day knights object lesson somewhat back fired, but it was a lot of fun.

They are two men of God in the making for sure. It is such an honor to be a dad.

twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Talking about "pda's" in church this weekend (not the technical devices but public displays of affection) got me thinking about something...

Many times we feel so intimidated to openly show our affection for Jesus in public places.

It shows up in various forms...sometimes we are way too self conscious as we join in corporate worship settings, shrink back from sharing our faith with a friend or coworker, hesitantly prayer over a meal in public, rarely invite people to come to church with us, etc.

As I was thinking about this whole area of our lives I remembered a time when I didn't care who was watching or in this case listening as I showed a pda in an airport in Tacoma, WA. I was flying from Seattle to Vancouver to speak at a missions conference when I decided to call home to say good night to Anna and the boys.

Judah loved singing "Twinkle twinkle little star" before falling asleep. It was very clear what I needed to do. Even though I was standing next to a line of Starbucks customers and it was the middle of the afternoon West Coast time, I busted out with a rather loud rendition of the song over my cell phone. My son loved it, we hugged and kissed good nite through the phone and said goodbye. It felt good letting him know how much I missed and loved him.

Poor vocals skills + rather high volume+ odd looks from perfect strangers= a pda worth expressing! it was all worth it!

It felt good not letting my outward environment stifle the free expression of my inward love and devotion.

That example may seem so simple but It can be so easy to hold private the areas of our lives that are really the most important for fear of what other people might think.

More and more I just want to live for the audience of One.

So this week, let the pda's to God fly...and if you still need some coaching on "How to give the perfect man to man hug" check out this video!