I’m sure if you follow my Tumblr/Facebook/Twitter… you know that I post regularly from FourSquare & GetGlue. I check into what I’m listening to, reading, where I am…

The problem is that it’s keeping me from being present with people. The other day, Kristin and I went to lunch a a great Thai food place here in Canton called Sukho Thai. It took me forever to “check-in” on Foursquare and it frustrated Kristin that it took me so long to do so. I was spending time on my phone instead of spending time with her.

I’ve found if I’m meeting someone at our local Starbucks, before I sit down with them I’m checking in on Foursquare. Then while I’m there I’m checking in on GetGlue to get a sticker for listening to the Silversun Pickups or She & Him. 

No more. 

I’ve really been trying to “be present” more in my conversations, meetings, etc. 
I’ve even tried not taking my laptop into some of our creative meetings at work so I won’t be tempted to “tweet or tumble” during the time. That’s proven ineffective as I use so much of the internet in searching for creative inspirations during brainstorm sessions. 

Regardless… 

In an effort to be more present with the people I’m around and connecting with, I’m deleting my Foursquare and GetGlued accounts. I don’t need to check into the movie theater to have a good time at the movies. I need to put my phone in my pocket and engage the people around me before the previews and the movie begin. 

What simple things are keeping you from “being present” with those around you? 

Sitting in a funeral running sound right now. Listening to the stories told about the life of a very loved woman. I’m praying that at the end of my life there will be stories told that are filled with such love and laughter. I pray that envy story would point to my love for Jesus and my love for my family and for the people of this world. Tears have come to my eyes at the stories of a woman I never knew. I pray that my life can be as inspiring for the purpose of lifting up Jesus.

I can’t even remember how many times I’ve posted things like this before. Posts where I’m digging in deep into my heart and mind and striving for a consistency in every area of my life.

I had a good friend yesterday come to me and apologize for something said, not to me, but around me. He wanted me to know that he wasn’t normally the person he was acting like in that moment. He wanted me to know he was striving for consistency in his life. He wanted people, no matter who they were or where they were, to get the same him in every environment in which they interacted. 

I desperately want and need that. When people look at me, I want them to see the love of Jesus. I want them to see me live, like Jesus lived. That begins with consistency. It begins with being the same in every are of my life. When people meet me, no matter where or with whom, I want them to get Micah. 

When I’m on stage leading worship at NewPointe Community Church, I want our community to see me. When I’m at home with my wife, I want her to see the same person. When I’m interacting with my soon-to-be-born daughter, I want her to get the same me. I want my life to line up. 

That’s a lot of wanting. 
I guess what I’m saying is that I’m opening this up to all you guys that check my tumblr. You guys see my posts, my LOL’s, my quotes, my pics, my vids.
If you see things here that don’t line up with my life in follow Jesus, call me on the carpet. You have permission. Message me. Reply to a post. Call me out.
I need that.

I’m so very thankful for the people God is placing into my life to help shape me to be more like Him. It’s coming at me hard. It’s coming at me in ways I didn’t expect. God is in the process of some molding me right now. I’m ready.

In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel is speaking about obedience and following God. In the passage he says that to obey God is better than any amount of sacrifice we could give to God. The passage reminds us that God is looking in us for a clean heart. He’s looking for men and women that will be obedient to His call on their lives. He’s looking for those who will put follow Him. 

That doesn’t mean that obey Him will mean you won’t have to make sacrifices…

About 8 months ago now, my wife Kristin and I began to feeling like God was leading us in a new direction with where we were serving in ministry. We began to feel that God was leading us away from Thomas Road Baptist Church.

When I first felt the Spirit leading this on my heart I got confused and angry. I love my job. I love doing ministry at Thomas Road, especially my ministry with middle school students in PowerSource. I love working with the team of staff and volunteers that I lead with. They are my family. Kristin and I have so many life long friends when we walk into the PowerSource room every Sunday. There are so many there that are near to our hearts. They have walked with us through thick and thin. 

So why would God move us? 

Somewhere in the middle of all this Kristin became pregnant with our baby girl Rylee Kate. This was an awesome time in our lives. God was getting ready to make some major changes. 

In a bit of retaliation (maybe not a smart move on my end) I told God that I wasn’t going to go looking for anything. (again me telling God to do things maybe not the best idea). I wasn’t going to put my resumé out online or anything like that. If God wanted us to move He was going to have to bring it to me. 

Immediately God began to bring opportunities my way. He began to open doors through praying friends and mentors. He began to shape our hearts for what He wanted us to do. 

I had asked my friend Jordan to be praying for me about where God was leading us. And shortly after he drew my attention to a church in Dover, Ohio called New Pointe Community Church that he believed I would be a good fit for. Kristin and I began to pray about the position. After praying and feeling God’s leading, we submitted the application for a worship pastor position at the church.

After applying for the position Kristin was talking to her sister Kelsey and we realized that she was a member of that church and sang on the worship team! To us this was a major confirmation from God that we were doing the right thing. One of my biggest concerns with moving would be leaving the friends and family we had built around us in Lynchburg. This helped to confirm that God was in control and He knew what was up ahead. All things were in His hands. 

The interview process began shortly after that with some phone calls and a Skype video chat with their creative teams. At the end of the Skype interview Dave D’Angelo, one of the pastors at New Pointe, prayed that God would place my hands where they would have the most impact for His kingdom. Whether that was at New Pointe or in Lynchburg, or California, or across the world. Kristin and I began to pray this same prayer together. That God would place us where we would have the most impact for Him. 

Soon they asked Kristin and I to come visit their campuses and lead worship for them.

Kristin and I immediately felt at home there. We met the people who served and ministered at New Pointe and got to know their mission to love God and love people. We heard their heart and vision to reach the people of north east Ohio with the love and message of Jesus. We began to truly feel like this is where God was leading us to serve in His kingdom. 

Shortly after the interview process, I received a call from Dave D’Angelo, who offered me the job. Kristin and I prayed some more and felt God leading us to accept the positon. And we did. 

While we are both excited and believe we are 100% follow the will of God for our lives we are both a bit scared and nervous. Being obedient and following Jesus means that we have to sacrifice some things. It means we have to leave PowerSource and the family that we have here. It means selling our home. It means uprooting from what we know and moving to a new place. It means longing hearts and tearful “see you laters”. 

While I understand I’m stretching the context of 1 Samuel 15:22 a bit here I believe that obeying God in this move, in this change will be far better than the sacrifices we have to make in order to be obedient. The issue is still worship. For Samuel it mean that obeying God (true worship) was better than meaningless sacrifices and prayers (false showy worship). For Kristin and I it means that this is going to be hard, but we believe, Jeremiah 29:11, that God has a plan and purpose for our lives. A plan to prosper us and not to harm us. A plan with hope and a good future. 

Even though we believe that…
This is honestly the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. 

Yet in my longing to follow Jesus and serve Him I have to be obedient. 
That’s my prayer for all of us. For all of us who follow Jesus.
It’s my prayer that we would always strive to be obedient to His call on our lives.

We always have a choice to make. My prayer is that: 

When it’s hard, follow Jesus.  
When it hurts, follow Jesus.  
When it means tears, follow Jesus.  
When it’s easy, follow Jesus.  
When your friends don’t, follow Jesus.  
If your church doesn’t, follow Jesus.  
When your life is going great, follow Jesus.  
When your life is falling apart, follow Jesus.  

When it means leaving your friends and family and moving to a new state… 
follow Jesus.  

So we’re following Him.

Here’s how you can pray for us:  
Pray that our house sells quickly.
Pray that our move goes well.
Pray that Rylee continues to grow safely.
Pray for Kristin and I as we adjust to a new state and a new place in ministry.
Pray for PowerSource and they move forward into a new era.
Pray for the new friends we’ll make.
Pray for the life long friends that it’s killing us to leave.
Pray that we will have the most impact possible for the kingdom of God in Ohio.

Practically, we need help packing boxes and moving. 
We need your support and love even after we move to Ohio.
We are all the body of Christ.
We are the Kingdom of God regardless of distance.
We need your strength and prayers to help us through. 

This time in Lynchburg, at PowerSource/Thomas Road has been one of the sweetest seasons of my life. It’s very hard to leave, but the rewards of obedience are far better than the pain of the sacrifices made.  

To all of our friends and family in Lynchburg, we love you and will miss you. 
To all of our friends and family in Ohio we’ve yet to meet, we are praying for you already and can’t wait to follow Jesus with you.

Love God. Love People.
- Micah 

Where: My Office.  
Coffee: Home Brewed Starbucks French Roast.
Listening To: The Smashing Pumpkins: Teargarden By Kaleidyscope & Carlos Whittaker: Ragamuffin Soul

Pray. 

Lord, I’m struggling today to be more like you. I need help focusing on Your words this morning. This passage is familiar to me. I know it it my head. Help it to pierce deeper into my heart than it ever has before. Let me wrestle with it. Holy Spirit guide me in the Truth found here on these pages.  

Read.

[For God So Loved the World]

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” 

(John 3:16-21 ESV)

Think.
…………………………………………………………… 

Write.

Love. Light. Darkness. Salvation. Hope. Jesus. Sin. World. Lost. Looking. Searching.
Found. Christ.

I keep going over these words in my head. I keep reading this passage over and over again. I keep reading and reading and reading and reading.

Then I think……………………
And I think some more…………………… 
Yet I just keep going back to reading.

I think it’s the beauty in all of it. The beauty of light breaking free into the darkness forcing it to move is an image that I can’t quite shake. Even more the image of Christ. The image of His love for us on the cross. The hope that brings. The love that is. 

I want to be more like Christ. I want a love that transcends boundaries and breaks through walls. I want to be a light that forces darkness to retreat into hiding.
Lord give me the strength.  

Do.

I guess we’ll see. 

Be Awesome.

Father let You and You alone be my strength.