Shhhhh... don't tell anyone that I'm writing this really quickly at work, but I had to share my excitement about how crazy awesome God has been this week!
First off, last Sunday I got the opportunity to teach High School Sunday School. It was so legit. These kids are such an awesome group of people. They were funny, they had insight, the loved spending time together, and they love the Lord. I think my favorite part was during our prayer time at the end, I asked for requests... now, I expected some prayer requests for family, friends, etc. but I never expected what I got. The requests were for refocusing on Christ, discernment, jobs based on where God wanted them to be in order to best serve Him for the summer, priority, and calmness. It was such a humbling experience to hear these guys, most of them between 5-8 years younger then me asking for guidance, reassurance, and admitting their downfalls. I wasn't like that in high school at all. What an awesome way to start a stellar week...
The other cool part about Sunday was how the lesson has played into today (and the rest of the week). As many of you know I, we, tons of people have been praying for my nephew Elijah. My prayers for him started on August 26th, 2010. Now almost two full years later, he is finally coming home! Mike and Amy got a call this morning that they had passed Embassy and they could set up their court date to go back to Ethiopia and bring their son home for good! Let me explain why this is so perfect:
1. Today is Mike and Amy's 3rd wedding anniversary (I must be honest, I tried to trick Mike by asking him if it was really on Friday... he has his anniversary date memorized, good job bro)
2. God chose today, because he knew what an amazing anniversary gift that would be for two people that have humbled themselves before the Lord and made sacrifice after sacrifice to answer the call of giving this little boy a home.
3. The majority of the lesson on Sunday was about how God is aware of Himself. God knows how powerful, wise, and loving He is, and He shows it.
4. Another brief snippet of our lesson was about trusting Christ, being content and happy with life, and understanding that we must accept his purpose even if it doesn't align with our own plans. Amy and Mike have followed that to a T and God provided in a huge, mind-blowing way.
God is such a cool guy. No seriously, I laughed a little when someone phrased it that way to me in a text last night... but it's such a simple and absolutely true statement. I couldn't say it better myself. He is the Great Provider, and just when we think we have hit a point of complacency as opposed to contentedness, He dive bombs us with blessings that are so big and exciting that we can't help but look up and say "Thank You". I am excited for the rest of this week, I am excited for a number of reasons and I can't wait to see what God is going to do in my life and the lives of those around me. Thank you, Savior for all that you have blessed me with!
Grace and Peace
6.20.2012
4.23.2012
The World We Live In
I often find myself amused by "Christian" phrases. Now, if some of you have read Jon Acuff's blog Stuff Christians Like... don't stop reading because you think I'm jacking his ideas. This is a legitimate concern. So many times we, as Christians, talk about "the ways of the World" and being "in the world, but not of the world". Now, don't get me wrong... I'm not mocking these things, nor am I arguing their existance or validity. However, in the last 8 days I have realized something about the truth concerning The World.
A week ago I wrote about an amazing experience I had with Christ while away from the world on The Walk to Emmaus. I had a mountain top, retreat high from all of the great things I heard and experienced. Since I returned, it has taken absolutely no time at all for me to sink back into the ways of The World. I never really thought about how worldly my life really is, or how down-trodden I have allowed myself to become based on what the World thinks of me. I'll be really transparent right now and say that while I was on my retreat I used one curse word the entire 3 days, I didn't even curse in my head. Unfortunately, that has changed again since I have returned to the World. Now, it's something that I am working on and I don't just cuss to because I think it sounds cool, it's a bad habit. The sad thing is that's not the only change I've noticed...
I made some great strides in my prayer life, the time I was spending in the Word, and my relationships with other Christian men, those things have all greatly suffered since returning. Last week was once again a blur at work, today was frustrating... and yet despite everything that goes on I know that one thing remains and that is Christ's presence in my daily life. So if that's true, why do I ignore it so often?? Why do we, all of us, allow the World to push Christ out of the foreground and into the background. Why do we allow ourselves to take, take, take both of the World and Christ.. and yet the only one giving anything worthwhile is Christ. The World can not supply a joy that has longevity. The thing that bothers me most, is it affects my ability to minister to those I encounter on a daily basis. For example, I get to work around 7:30 every day. I love the stillness and calm of our office before everyone is there. This morning I was reading over my VOD while sitting at my desk and I heard a sneeze come from across the office. I had no idea who was there, couldn't see them outside my cubicle, and I wanted to say "God bless you" but I stopped myself. The World stopped me, because the World has convinced me that I have to be incredibly sensitive to others beliefs, even going as far as ignoring my own. I'm not saying that tolerance.. no no, acceptance is not a vital part of community. But to what extent do we go to be careful not to offend others. While I played all of this out in my head during about a 6 second span, God answered by giving me yet another opportunity, my coworker sneezed again, and again I remained quiet. If that wasn't enough, he sneezed a third time and then another coworker sneezed as well. Now, disregarding the health concern with all this sneezing going on, I just couldn't bring myself to say "God bless you" because I live of this World...
Maybe that seems extremely menial to you, but one of the things I have heard a lot lately is that we may be the only Bible someone ever gets a chance to read. I, me, Brad Robertson could be the only way that coworker, waitress, cashier, customer, fellow shopper, driver, or person on the elevator would have the chance to experience Christ that day. And I just completely blew it, I saw the opportunity, and I watched it blow away like a plastic bag in the wind (name that movie reference). I am actually disappointed in myself for my inability to be a disciple in that way. I realized I talk/complain about wanting to work in ministry, and God gave me a great opportunity to do ministry in a secular environment, and I
So let me ask you this... how are you living your daily life? Are you allowing the world to use you as it's punching bag, or are you standing your ground, dodging and blocking it's blows, and fighting back until you persevere? Have you really thought about how the World affects your daily life? What would people be saying about the World, if we really allowed Christ to hold the whole world in HIS hands, instead of trying to grasp it in our own? Marinate on that.
Grace and Peace
4.15.2012
Matthew 22:39
Running.A.Marathon
Now, you are probably all laughing while thinking about me running a marathon, in fact, I'm laughing about it myself. That's not what the opening phrase is referring too though. Lately, I have been running and in this situation I feel like the Flash (Bazinga!). That's not a good thing. I have been running from a huge burden in my life. A burden that has been hurting me terribly since I returned from Ethiopia and allowed myself to fall back into the ways of the world. I haven't talked to anyone about what's been going on in this area of my life, so if you are reading this and wondering what it is I'm talking about, and you find yourself upset that I haven't come to you about this, I apologize. However, you are not alone, because literally no one knew about this until Friday. In fact, the first time I have even alluded to the struggle was Thursday afternoon... so hang on tight because this is going to be an emotional ride (for me at least).
Walk.To.Emmaus.
I can't tell you anything about this weekend, as far as specific details go. I can tell you that saying that this weekend was life-changing is an understatement. I laughed, I cried, I prayed, I was in fellowship with a large group of Christian men, and I was transformed. Before I left I had two very important conversations with two very important people. I mentioned to each of these friends that I knew that while I was gone for three days I would have to face some big sins, and face God and myself. That terrified me. I had no idea how difficult it would actually be. I had no idea just how heavy this burden was on me.
Then.It.Happened.
Friday night I had this amazing experience with Christ. During a moment before bed, something just hit me and the weight of everything just came crashing down. I finally had to face what I had been running from for the last 11 months. So I removed my glasses, bowed my head, and began to weep. I called out to Christ and confessed what was bothering me. I had finally hit my breaking point and it was time to come clean.
I.didnt.love.myself.
There it is. That was what had been separating me from God for almost a year. I didn't love myself, and I didn't know how to love myself. I had been so unhappy with my physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental being that I was beginning to look at myself with disgust. Now, let me clarify, at no point had I become depressed, I was just at the point where I could not find joy in myself at all, all of my joy was coming from other people/places. I was at a point where looking in the mirror was a terrible way to start my day. So I asked Christ to restore me, to change the way I feel about myself, and teach me to love myself. You see, I love Christ and I understand that Christ loves me. I have felt the love of Christ, but I didn't understand it. I couldn't figure out how a God so perfect could love someone so wretched. Over the last few months I had noticed a trend occurring in my life. There are a group of people, that I tell that I love them on a weekly, almost daily basis, because I do. These people reciprocated my love, and while I knew that they meant it, I didn't understand why. I began to question why anyone outside of my family could love me, when I couldn't love myself. Sitting there Friday night I began to pray.."Why, God, why? Why can't I love myself, why do you love me, how can others love me, what's next???" While I was praying, weeping, and praying some more, one of the team members came up and asked if I wanted to talk. I poured my heart out to this man that I didn't even know (the funny thing is, I couldn't see him either, no glasses and my eyes were flooded with tears) but I told him everything about how I was feeling. He prayed for me, and I felt the weight begin to lift. I continued to pray into the night, and I continued to cry. The next day I confessed my burden to some other people, I listened to God begin to speak, and for the first time in a very long time I looked and in a mirror and smiled at my own reflection. Not because I am particularly good looking, but because I finally had made peace with Christ, and battle the beast.
Love.Thy.Neighbor.
If you recall, the last blog I put up was about being more intentional in being relational. I realized my excuses in regards to time weren't the only problems I was facing, I was having difficulty loving my neighbors (in this case being relational) because I couldn't love myself. Matthew 22:39 says "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" that's pretty hard to do when you don't love yourself. I realized that the reason I was skipping out on things, spending more time at home in front of the TV, and not acting much like myself was because I couldn't love myself. That all changed this weekend. I was reminded that I am a child of God, and while I may not be anything special, God created me in His image, and Christ thinks I'm worthy of His own life. That means more than I ever understood before this weekend. I began to realize that while there is always room for improvement, because we are works in progress, it didn't definitively mean that I was unworthy of love. In fact, after this weekend, I feel more loved than I ever have in my entire life. Christ lit a fire in my heart, a fire that had burned out over time, a fire in which my love for Christ, was kindled by the love for myself, which then fueled my ability to love others. I am thankful beyond words for what Christ did for me this weekend. Of course it doesn't stop there, but that's another story. I am renewewd in Christ, and renewed in the love I have for myself.
Get.ready.to.read.
I learned a lot this weekend. There is more to be said on the above revelation, but to be honest I am exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally (which I may have already said). Stay tuned though, one of the things I got out of this weekend was rethinking my priorities. Writing needs to become a higher priority, because it allows me to put my thoughts into words, and it allows me to share with my brothers and sisters in Christ, what is on my heart. I love you.
Grace and Peace
Now, you are probably all laughing while thinking about me running a marathon, in fact, I'm laughing about it myself. That's not what the opening phrase is referring too though. Lately, I have been running and in this situation I feel like the Flash (Bazinga!). That's not a good thing. I have been running from a huge burden in my life. A burden that has been hurting me terribly since I returned from Ethiopia and allowed myself to fall back into the ways of the world. I haven't talked to anyone about what's been going on in this area of my life, so if you are reading this and wondering what it is I'm talking about, and you find yourself upset that I haven't come to you about this, I apologize. However, you are not alone, because literally no one knew about this until Friday. In fact, the first time I have even alluded to the struggle was Thursday afternoon... so hang on tight because this is going to be an emotional ride (for me at least).
Walk.To.Emmaus.
I can't tell you anything about this weekend, as far as specific details go. I can tell you that saying that this weekend was life-changing is an understatement. I laughed, I cried, I prayed, I was in fellowship with a large group of Christian men, and I was transformed. Before I left I had two very important conversations with two very important people. I mentioned to each of these friends that I knew that while I was gone for three days I would have to face some big sins, and face God and myself. That terrified me. I had no idea how difficult it would actually be. I had no idea just how heavy this burden was on me.
Then.It.Happened.
Friday night I had this amazing experience with Christ. During a moment before bed, something just hit me and the weight of everything just came crashing down. I finally had to face what I had been running from for the last 11 months. So I removed my glasses, bowed my head, and began to weep. I called out to Christ and confessed what was bothering me. I had finally hit my breaking point and it was time to come clean.
I.didnt.love.myself.
There it is. That was what had been separating me from God for almost a year. I didn't love myself, and I didn't know how to love myself. I had been so unhappy with my physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental being that I was beginning to look at myself with disgust. Now, let me clarify, at no point had I become depressed, I was just at the point where I could not find joy in myself at all, all of my joy was coming from other people/places. I was at a point where looking in the mirror was a terrible way to start my day. So I asked Christ to restore me, to change the way I feel about myself, and teach me to love myself. You see, I love Christ and I understand that Christ loves me. I have felt the love of Christ, but I didn't understand it. I couldn't figure out how a God so perfect could love someone so wretched. Over the last few months I had noticed a trend occurring in my life. There are a group of people, that I tell that I love them on a weekly, almost daily basis, because I do. These people reciprocated my love, and while I knew that they meant it, I didn't understand why. I began to question why anyone outside of my family could love me, when I couldn't love myself. Sitting there Friday night I began to pray.."Why, God, why? Why can't I love myself, why do you love me, how can others love me, what's next???" While I was praying, weeping, and praying some more, one of the team members came up and asked if I wanted to talk. I poured my heart out to this man that I didn't even know (the funny thing is, I couldn't see him either, no glasses and my eyes were flooded with tears) but I told him everything about how I was feeling. He prayed for me, and I felt the weight begin to lift. I continued to pray into the night, and I continued to cry. The next day I confessed my burden to some other people, I listened to God begin to speak, and for the first time in a very long time I looked and in a mirror and smiled at my own reflection. Not because I am particularly good looking, but because I finally had made peace with Christ, and battle the beast.
Love.Thy.Neighbor.
If you recall, the last blog I put up was about being more intentional in being relational. I realized my excuses in regards to time weren't the only problems I was facing, I was having difficulty loving my neighbors (in this case being relational) because I couldn't love myself. Matthew 22:39 says "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" that's pretty hard to do when you don't love yourself. I realized that the reason I was skipping out on things, spending more time at home in front of the TV, and not acting much like myself was because I couldn't love myself. That all changed this weekend. I was reminded that I am a child of God, and while I may not be anything special, God created me in His image, and Christ thinks I'm worthy of His own life. That means more than I ever understood before this weekend. I began to realize that while there is always room for improvement, because we are works in progress, it didn't definitively mean that I was unworthy of love. In fact, after this weekend, I feel more loved than I ever have in my entire life. Christ lit a fire in my heart, a fire that had burned out over time, a fire in which my love for Christ, was kindled by the love for myself, which then fueled my ability to love others. I am thankful beyond words for what Christ did for me this weekend. Of course it doesn't stop there, but that's another story. I am renewewd in Christ, and renewed in the love I have for myself.
Get.ready.to.read.
I learned a lot this weekend. There is more to be said on the above revelation, but to be honest I am exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally (which I may have already said). Stay tuned though, one of the things I got out of this weekend was rethinking my priorities. Writing needs to become a higher priority, because it allows me to put my thoughts into words, and it allows me to share with my brothers and sisters in Christ, what is on my heart. I love you.
Grace and Peace
4.04.2012
Conversations that create inspiration
This post has been a long time coming. I have had many people ask me if I had stopped writing, but that's not the case at all. I think God has been preparing me to write this over the last few weeks. Life has been moving faster than ever and it seems as though I have had 6 hours to breath in the last 2 months. It was during a conversation with a brother of mine this week that made me realize, I haven't been writing for two reasons 1. I have been uninspired, I have been so focused on work that I haven't taken any time to allow the Holy Spirit to move in me (more on that later) 2. I think if I had tried to write in the last two months or so all I would have done was babble and complain, that isn't the purpose of this blog, nor is it something I want to put my readers through. While I don't promise that there will not be complaints throughout my posts, I will always try to remain focused on the Kingdom, the way God is working in my life and the lives of those around me...
As I said before life has been moving fast, so let me catch you up on everything that has been happening. Some of you may know back in December I accepted a contract position with Cummins. It was initially supposed to last 2 months, it has now been 4 months and I have another 6 months guaranteed. The hope is that at some point in the next 6 months I will be offered a full time position. To be honest when I took the position I was really just trying to make a little money. It has turned into a huge blessing, a position that I currently love and a great ministry opportunity. Two months after accepting the contract I moved into a house with a good friend of mine. It's great to be on my own again, and while it was different at first to be living that close to home but not at home, I know this was a good move for me. Between work, a new house, church/small group, friends and family life has been a whirlwind. My excuse for not writing, not staying in touch, not reading, etc. has been that I don't have time...
This week I have been getting to know some new people. Through a series of conversations with some of these people about their desires to be more involved I came to the realization that my excuses have no validity. I found myself telling them that if they felt a call on their heart then they needed to answer that call. I knew that despite what they had going on, God would provide the time, energy, and resources to get everything done because they were doing what He was calling them to do. Talk about slapping myself in the face. Here I was encouraging people to answer their call, and yet I was blatantly ignoring my own. I have things I have committed to that need follow through. I need to be more intentional about being relational. I need to continue to make time to ask people for prayers... And I don't mean ask them for prayers for myself, but ask them how I can pray for them. I am thankful for the people God is placing in my path, I am excited to see those relationships develop and grow. I constantly think about the bible and the letters that Paul writes to the different churches. He as genuine concern for them and their relationships with Christ. I want to be more like Paul in that way. I want to be more focused on the growth of those around me, and my own impact on them.
I am a constant work in progress and there are days when I take backward steps. I am learning every day how beautiful the grace and mercy of God really is. I have finally begun to slow down and take more time to enjoy everything. Things like staying up way too late to have meaningful conversations, or going for a run after work (granted I almost died after the one). I want nothing more than to look back and feel as though I never missed a meaningful moment because I took the time to stop and embrace all the beauty that God has created. I am thankful for family, friends, financial stability, the opportunity to serve in more ways each day, and the influence others are having in my life! Stay tuned readers... There is more to come. I love you.
Let me know how I can pray for you
Grace and Peace
As I said before life has been moving fast, so let me catch you up on everything that has been happening. Some of you may know back in December I accepted a contract position with Cummins. It was initially supposed to last 2 months, it has now been 4 months and I have another 6 months guaranteed. The hope is that at some point in the next 6 months I will be offered a full time position. To be honest when I took the position I was really just trying to make a little money. It has turned into a huge blessing, a position that I currently love and a great ministry opportunity. Two months after accepting the contract I moved into a house with a good friend of mine. It's great to be on my own again, and while it was different at first to be living that close to home but not at home, I know this was a good move for me. Between work, a new house, church/small group, friends and family life has been a whirlwind. My excuse for not writing, not staying in touch, not reading, etc. has been that I don't have time...
This week I have been getting to know some new people. Through a series of conversations with some of these people about their desires to be more involved I came to the realization that my excuses have no validity. I found myself telling them that if they felt a call on their heart then they needed to answer that call. I knew that despite what they had going on, God would provide the time, energy, and resources to get everything done because they were doing what He was calling them to do. Talk about slapping myself in the face. Here I was encouraging people to answer their call, and yet I was blatantly ignoring my own. I have things I have committed to that need follow through. I need to be more intentional about being relational. I need to continue to make time to ask people for prayers... And I don't mean ask them for prayers for myself, but ask them how I can pray for them. I am thankful for the people God is placing in my path, I am excited to see those relationships develop and grow. I constantly think about the bible and the letters that Paul writes to the different churches. He as genuine concern for them and their relationships with Christ. I want to be more like Paul in that way. I want to be more focused on the growth of those around me, and my own impact on them.
I am a constant work in progress and there are days when I take backward steps. I am learning every day how beautiful the grace and mercy of God really is. I have finally begun to slow down and take more time to enjoy everything. Things like staying up way too late to have meaningful conversations, or going for a run after work (granted I almost died after the one). I want nothing more than to look back and feel as though I never missed a meaningful moment because I took the time to stop and embrace all the beauty that God has created. I am thankful for family, friends, financial stability, the opportunity to serve in more ways each day, and the influence others are having in my life! Stay tuned readers... There is more to come. I love you.
Let me know how I can pray for you
Grace and Peace
3.27.2012
Blue Like Jazz: Official Trailer
Hey readers... I know it's been a long time, and I promise the breakdown of what I've been reading/thinking/dealing with is coming soon (maybe even tonight) but in the meantime, just so you don't think that I have forgotten about you... check at the trailer I've linked below. This movie, Blue Like Jazz, is based on a book about the life of Donal Miller. It's a terrific movie, and it's supposed to release in April (it was formerly the 13th, it appears it may be the 27th instead). You might be wondering how I have seen it already? The director pre-screened it at National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta this past fall. I loved every minute of it, which is why I'm sharing it with you. If you haven't read the book, pick up a copy... if you have read the book, read it again.
Grace and Peace,
B
Grace and Peace,
B
1.12.2012
A Blogger's Tribute
Off.Topic.Thursday.
Welcome to Off Topic Thursday... what is that you ask? Well it's only the greatest thing to hit this blog since... well... guest post Monday. Okay, that was lame. Anyway, the purpose of this O.T.T. is to deviate from the norm, i.e. me writing about some recent revelation or thing that God has taught me in the last few days, and talk about the way I see Christ working in others. I've never had a younger sibling, I have one younger cousin who is like a sister to me, but we are close enough in age that it's not the same. However, about 5 1/2 years ago I started hanging out with this girl. To this day, that girl is one of my best friends and one of the most amazing women I have ever been blessed to know. That girl has a younger sister, who in turn, has become like a younger sister to me as well. When I met my little sister she was getting ready to turn 13 years old. I could go on and on with stories about young Hammie (a nickname bestowed upon her by me) but instead I'll get to the point. I treasure every moment I spend with her family, because in a lot of ways they are like a second family to me. Her sister is my best friend, she herself is one of my closest friends, her mom is... well, a mom to me (a very cool one, just like the O.M.-original mom), and her dad is someone I admire, I can go to for advice, and that I play golf with. Of all the experiences I've had with this family though, I think I have been incredibly blessed to watch her grow into the person she is today.
Time.Changes.Everything.
This younger sister of mine was awesome even when she was 13, there were honestly days where I wished she was my younger sister. I guess I spent enough time at her house that it began to truly feel like she was. I got to watch her story unfold, I watched her grow from a somewhat shy, quirky, funny, 13 year old girl, into an 18 year old adult. I can remember as she got older I had some opportunities to give advice to her, to encourage her, and to laugh at her when she made silly mistakes (all in good fun, of course). The cool thing, is as she has grown, I have found the roles have reversed a little. Her faith far exceeds what mine was when I was 18. I find myself wrestling with decisions I made then, or questions I still ponder from then, and sometimes I go to my little sister for advice, encouragement, and ALWAYS for support. It blows my mind, I guess mainly because I had never really gotten to experience such a thing. To be honest, I don't put a lot of stock into Facebook in the first place, only because many times people post useless updates about their lives i.e. Brad Robertson ate a bowl of cereal this morning, yum!... honestly? I don't care that much, BUT one thing I do like doing is keeping track of friends at college and seeing how I can pray for them. In my little sister's case, I end up having prayers for myself answered in reading things she shares. Her faith is just awesome.
Blogger.Alert.
You might be wondering why I am yammering about my pseudo-little sister. Well, because she's new to the blog scene. She's a journalism major who absolutely rocks at life. We have talked many times about the idea of blogging, the other night she told me she was going to start one. I started my day off today by reading her blog before I crawled out of bed. For that I am thankful. She has great insight, it's raw, and she's not afraid to be transparent (all the things I love about blogging). I am proud of her for taking the initiative to use her talent to glorify the Kingdom.. in fact, she even talks about how that's her goal in her first post. Her cheesy imagery and examples play well to her goofy sense of humor, and then she throws a little theology, some spirituality, some Jesus Juke your way and you can't help but say to yourself "Boom.Roasted". So do me a favor readers, go check out her blog, the link is posted below. It's insanely legit. Hayli Goode, this friend, fellow blogger, and self-proclaimed older brother is proud of you. Keep spreading the light of Christ in this dark world.
Grace and Peace
To find Hayli's blog, copy and paste this link into your URL http://hayligoode.blogspot.com/
Welcome to Off Topic Thursday... what is that you ask? Well it's only the greatest thing to hit this blog since... well... guest post Monday. Okay, that was lame. Anyway, the purpose of this O.T.T. is to deviate from the norm, i.e. me writing about some recent revelation or thing that God has taught me in the last few days, and talk about the way I see Christ working in others. I've never had a younger sibling, I have one younger cousin who is like a sister to me, but we are close enough in age that it's not the same. However, about 5 1/2 years ago I started hanging out with this girl. To this day, that girl is one of my best friends and one of the most amazing women I have ever been blessed to know. That girl has a younger sister, who in turn, has become like a younger sister to me as well. When I met my little sister she was getting ready to turn 13 years old. I could go on and on with stories about young Hammie (a nickname bestowed upon her by me) but instead I'll get to the point. I treasure every moment I spend with her family, because in a lot of ways they are like a second family to me. Her sister is my best friend, she herself is one of my closest friends, her mom is... well, a mom to me (a very cool one, just like the O.M.-original mom), and her dad is someone I admire, I can go to for advice, and that I play golf with. Of all the experiences I've had with this family though, I think I have been incredibly blessed to watch her grow into the person she is today.
Time.Changes.Everything.
This younger sister of mine was awesome even when she was 13, there were honestly days where I wished she was my younger sister. I guess I spent enough time at her house that it began to truly feel like she was. I got to watch her story unfold, I watched her grow from a somewhat shy, quirky, funny, 13 year old girl, into an 18 year old adult. I can remember as she got older I had some opportunities to give advice to her, to encourage her, and to laugh at her when she made silly mistakes (all in good fun, of course). The cool thing, is as she has grown, I have found the roles have reversed a little. Her faith far exceeds what mine was when I was 18. I find myself wrestling with decisions I made then, or questions I still ponder from then, and sometimes I go to my little sister for advice, encouragement, and ALWAYS for support. It blows my mind, I guess mainly because I had never really gotten to experience such a thing. To be honest, I don't put a lot of stock into Facebook in the first place, only because many times people post useless updates about their lives i.e. Brad Robertson ate a bowl of cereal this morning, yum!... honestly? I don't care that much, BUT one thing I do like doing is keeping track of friends at college and seeing how I can pray for them. In my little sister's case, I end up having prayers for myself answered in reading things she shares. Her faith is just awesome.
Blogger.Alert.
You might be wondering why I am yammering about my pseudo-little sister. Well, because she's new to the blog scene. She's a journalism major who absolutely rocks at life. We have talked many times about the idea of blogging, the other night she told me she was going to start one. I started my day off today by reading her blog before I crawled out of bed. For that I am thankful. She has great insight, it's raw, and she's not afraid to be transparent (all the things I love about blogging). I am proud of her for taking the initiative to use her talent to glorify the Kingdom.. in fact, she even talks about how that's her goal in her first post. Her cheesy imagery and examples play well to her goofy sense of humor, and then she throws a little theology, some spirituality, some Jesus Juke your way and you can't help but say to yourself "Boom.Roasted". So do me a favor readers, go check out her blog, the link is posted below. It's insanely legit. Hayli Goode, this friend, fellow blogger, and self-proclaimed older brother is proud of you. Keep spreading the light of Christ in this dark world.
Grace and Peace
To find Hayli's blog, copy and paste this link into your URL http://hayligoode.blogspot.com/
1.08.2012
An arm around my shoulders...
A.Sunday.Like.No.Other.
I woke up extremely tired today. I was tired because I had an awesome night with a great group of friends at Perfect North. Now, very rarely do I wake up and think "Meh, I think I'll just go to the second service to teach Sunday school and sleep right now" but that thought went through my head. God said No, you're going. So I got up, took a quick shower, threw on some jeans and a hoody and left for church. I had no idea what God had in store for me this morning. I knew I was excited once I got in my car because I knew we were starting the all church study today. CCC is studying the book Sent: Living the Missional Nature of the Church by Ed Stetzer. I really like a lot of Ed's writings, and I am a HUGE advocate of the church being missional (I've gotten the opportunity to bring the message on a few occasions and a lot of the time it involves getting the church to move). However, I didn't realize the intro would go the way it did.
I.was.convicted.
Not of a crime, so don't worry. I was convicted by Scott's message this morning. It was his desire to define, or redefine for some of us, what it is the Church. His message focused on a few points, some of them were things like the Church is not an organization but an organism, it's the body of Christ, and it's not a building nor is it bound to a location. All thoughts that I completely agree with. I was sitting there smiling excited about what Scott was saying, I could feel that something big was going to be sparked in the hearts of our church. However, it was at the end that truly convicted me. Scott asked a few questions that he wanted us to pray over, those questions were the following:
1. Am I truly committed to the body of Christ and do I love the Church?
2. Am I more focused on the ways of man than the ways of Jesus?
3. Are non-believers attracted to Jesus through my life (i.e. my actions)?
4. Am I at peace with the members in this body?
5. Am I willing to submit to others in the body?
6. Do i place what's best for the body above my own wants and desires?
Now, I'm not going to answer those questions individually because part of that is fairly personal. I do want to discuss question #4 though. You see, I had an issue with someone in the body of Christ at CCC and I had never even met him. I had an issue because I was allowing jealousy to fester inside of my heart and soul. God told me it was imperative that I say something. I'm not good at things like this but I did it anyway. I went up to this person, I put my hand on his shoulder and I said "Hey man, I know you don't know me- but my name is Brad Robertson. What Scott said really convicted me to come talk to you, you see I have been dealing with some jealousy and resentment towards you for the role you are taking on in this body. It was something I wanted to take on. Funny thing is, you didn't beat me out, or take it away from me. God put you, the right person for the position in place". He said thank you, we hugged, and I felt peace on my soul, at least when it came to that aspect of what I was dealing with. Now it was time to face God...
I.Began.To.Pray.
I sat down while others around me stood and sang, so I could be real with God. I started by saying that I hate the sin in my life, but I knew I was avoiding the elephant in the room between Christ and I. He chipped away at my stone facade slowly but surely and I began to break. I asked for forgiveness for not trusting Him, for harboring jealousy, for wanting my plans to outrun His plans. I began to weep, which is not unusual when I pray, and I asked God for comfort. I asked Him to put His arm around me and tell me He was there, and things were okay. He did just that. I was sitting there and all of a sudden I felt an arm around my shoulders. I'll be honest, I had a very good idea of who it was, but I didn't dare look to confirm, I just waited. Then, my suspicion was confirmed, and Chris began to pray for me. The things Chris prayed for and over me just absolutely blew my mind. It was as though he had tapped into my thoughts and listened to my conversation with Christ. I ever never felt the presence of God more than I did in that moment. It made me feel like less of a number and more of a disciple. For that I am so thankful. I am thankful for Chris, and I am thankful for all of the people in the body of that is known of the world as CCC. I am excited to see how Christ transforms the body in Columbus, in Indiana, in the United States, and in the World... all because someone in our body was willing to stand up and say, this needs to be addressed. We need to be missional.
Grace and Peace
I woke up extremely tired today. I was tired because I had an awesome night with a great group of friends at Perfect North. Now, very rarely do I wake up and think "Meh, I think I'll just go to the second service to teach Sunday school and sleep right now" but that thought went through my head. God said No, you're going. So I got up, took a quick shower, threw on some jeans and a hoody and left for church. I had no idea what God had in store for me this morning. I knew I was excited once I got in my car because I knew we were starting the all church study today. CCC is studying the book Sent: Living the Missional Nature of the Church by Ed Stetzer. I really like a lot of Ed's writings, and I am a HUGE advocate of the church being missional (I've gotten the opportunity to bring the message on a few occasions and a lot of the time it involves getting the church to move). However, I didn't realize the intro would go the way it did.
I.was.convicted.
Not of a crime, so don't worry. I was convicted by Scott's message this morning. It was his desire to define, or redefine for some of us, what it is the Church. His message focused on a few points, some of them were things like the Church is not an organization but an organism, it's the body of Christ, and it's not a building nor is it bound to a location. All thoughts that I completely agree with. I was sitting there smiling excited about what Scott was saying, I could feel that something big was going to be sparked in the hearts of our church. However, it was at the end that truly convicted me. Scott asked a few questions that he wanted us to pray over, those questions were the following:
1. Am I truly committed to the body of Christ and do I love the Church?
2. Am I more focused on the ways of man than the ways of Jesus?
3. Are non-believers attracted to Jesus through my life (i.e. my actions)?
4. Am I at peace with the members in this body?
5. Am I willing to submit to others in the body?
6. Do i place what's best for the body above my own wants and desires?
Now, I'm not going to answer those questions individually because part of that is fairly personal. I do want to discuss question #4 though. You see, I had an issue with someone in the body of Christ at CCC and I had never even met him. I had an issue because I was allowing jealousy to fester inside of my heart and soul. God told me it was imperative that I say something. I'm not good at things like this but I did it anyway. I went up to this person, I put my hand on his shoulder and I said "Hey man, I know you don't know me- but my name is Brad Robertson. What Scott said really convicted me to come talk to you, you see I have been dealing with some jealousy and resentment towards you for the role you are taking on in this body. It was something I wanted to take on. Funny thing is, you didn't beat me out, or take it away from me. God put you, the right person for the position in place". He said thank you, we hugged, and I felt peace on my soul, at least when it came to that aspect of what I was dealing with. Now it was time to face God...
I.Began.To.Pray.
I sat down while others around me stood and sang, so I could be real with God. I started by saying that I hate the sin in my life, but I knew I was avoiding the elephant in the room between Christ and I. He chipped away at my stone facade slowly but surely and I began to break. I asked for forgiveness for not trusting Him, for harboring jealousy, for wanting my plans to outrun His plans. I began to weep, which is not unusual when I pray, and I asked God for comfort. I asked Him to put His arm around me and tell me He was there, and things were okay. He did just that. I was sitting there and all of a sudden I felt an arm around my shoulders. I'll be honest, I had a very good idea of who it was, but I didn't dare look to confirm, I just waited. Then, my suspicion was confirmed, and Chris began to pray for me. The things Chris prayed for and over me just absolutely blew my mind. It was as though he had tapped into my thoughts and listened to my conversation with Christ. I ever never felt the presence of God more than I did in that moment. It made me feel like less of a number and more of a disciple. For that I am so thankful. I am thankful for Chris, and I am thankful for all of the people in the body of that is known of the world as CCC. I am excited to see how Christ transforms the body in Columbus, in Indiana, in the United States, and in the World... all because someone in our body was willing to stand up and say, this needs to be addressed. We need to be missional.
Grace and Peace
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