I’ve been in talks & processing with New Harvest Church in Clovis, Ca about an opportunity that might have been available for me out there to join their staff. From the conversations I’ve had with Him to my visit out there in early December, Pastor Mitch Ribera has done a lovely job of being thorough, detailed, & gracious in our exploration of this possibility. Through lots of prayer and feedback and questions, we’ve arrived at our conclusion.

Pastor Mitch has asked me to come out to California and join his team full time as the Creative Arts Director for the church. I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity to serve and grow doing exactly what I love to do. Quite literally, this is my dream job. I’ll be responsible for the worship environments for the church & other media expressions of the church, as well as the technical aspects of the church. I’ll be responsible for quite a bit of work, but I can’t wait to get to it. I’m also comforted that I’m going to be well cared for and intentionally built up and poured into as a young leader and growing Christ-follower.

One thing I want to make clear is that this whole opportunity has had nothing to do with Port City Community Church or anyone there. I cherish my close relationship with several leaders and they have done nothing but ensure that New Harvest was a place that was going to take my walk seriously and continue to build into my life. I am so thankful for their constant prayer and how they have always valued my walk more than anything that I can do. I have always felt loved, and I’ve learned more than I could possibly write from my time at Port City, so I will miss this church family.

So, where does this leave me? Actually, leaving rather soon. I’ll be leaving either Sunday (1/10) or Monday (1/11), for the left coast, to arrive in Fresno next Friday (1/15). This means that as I sit here on Wed (1/6) morning, I only have 4 or 5 more days here in Wilmington. I’m going to be doing a lot of prepping and packing, but I want to see as many lovely faces as I can before I say “See You Later” for a while. If you have my number, give me a call because I’d love to see you, but if I don’t get to see you before I leave, know it was only a conflict of time that caused me to miss you.

Through this experience, I’ve seen that God is faithful and that He loves overwhelm you with grace. I’m excited to see where He takes my life, and I’ll continue to step in faith into whatever I feel He is leading me to. It’s hard to leave the home and family I’ve loved and known all my life, but I know that His plan is far better than any I could create. If you’re ever in Fresno, look me up, and I’ll buy you some real mexican food. I can’t wait, and I’m quickly on my way.

Wilmington, it’s been great.
California, here I come!

One.Love

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Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.

Two things stand out to me here:

1. Jesus was the son of God, but he still learned obedience. It wasn’t inherent. This makes me feel better about my inability to obey sometimes. The more I learn about Jesus, the more hope I see for myself, only because of Him. I do think that the word “learned” here should be read, like in the original language, as “to acquire the habit” or “be accustomed to”, rather than like a child learning to read.

2. Suffering yields obedience. I believe that the circumstances of your suffering will determine who/what you are obedient to. Jesus suffered for something He believed in and He finished His suffering, so He “learned” to be obedient to God. The kind of suffering that brings complete obedience includes complete endurance of the suffering. No quitting. No letting up. We have to finish.

This is definitely a time of year that lots of people begin programs or make promises that lead to sacrifices and ultimately some suffering. Diets, exercise plans, and Bible reading plans. You know what I’m talking about.

As we suffer through the hunger pangs or sore joints, remember that if we see it through, we will learn to be obedient to ourselves or maybe Someone greater than us. However, this all begs the question . . .

Suffering yields obedience, but are we willing to endure?

One.Love

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I think that some of my greatest strengths have also been the source of the constant thorn in my step. A man much wiser then me once said, “Never let your talent outrun your character”. This is not to say that I’m some kind of over-gifted brat or that I am something greater than what I am. It is to say that I’ve allowed the things that I’ve been blessed with in life to control the direction of my life and effect my priorities in it.

The solution to all this is to humble myself. To humble myself daily and to focus on what it looks like to make humility what I am about, rather than this pride that I’ve allowed to fuel my efforts for far too long. Seeing God for who He is and how He is is where I start. Declaring my dependance on and trust in God is how I take out the corrosive leech that has securely attached itself to my character and identity for far to long.

All this is to say that I feel like I’m moving again. I feel like I have a plan for what I need to do. All is left is to wake up each day and decide to make choices that rebuild my character. That continue to erase this pride from who I am. That continue to help me find my identity in the death and rising of the God that’s never left me.

One.Love

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• Crazy Love – Chan
• Humility – Mahaney
• Desiring God – Piper
• The Jesus I Never Knew – Yancey
• Vintage Jesus – Driscoll
• The Weight of Glory – Lewis
• Developing the Leader Within You – Maxwell
• The Knowledge of the Holy – Tozer
• The Great Divorce – Lewis
• Lit – Edwards
• Prayer – Foster
• Mere Christianity – Lewis

With all of this, I’m also reading through The Chronicles of Narnia collection for some lighter reading. I’m pretty happy with this list and I’m praying it helps to grow and mature as a believer. Right now I’m searching and being intentional about personally answering the question Jesus asks in Luke 9:20, “Who do you say I am?”. This, along with searching for my own identity, is the lens I’m looking through right now at all I’m reading and in the Scripture.

Outside of the Bible, What are you reading?

One.Love

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Q: What is this blog about?
A: I want to stay mostly within 5 main categories.
Worship: My thoughts on worship leading and worship music. My general musings on growing as a worship leader.

Faith: My thoughts and observations on how God is moving in my life. This is my attempt to be transparent and open, within reason, with the good and bad of my walk in an effort to spur others to authenticity in their own lives.

Life: My thoughts on what is happening to me, in general. This is more about the day-to-day or interesting things that are going on.

Bible: My thoughts on what I am reading and how it applies in my life. Hopefully, this will encourage others to see how the Bible applies to them as well.

Creativity: My thoughts on any cool things that I’d call creative. Taking time to notice out-of-the-box ideas can lead to creativity of your own.

Q: Who do I write my blog for?
A: I write for believers, worship leaders, and friends.

Q: Why do I write my blog?
A: I write my blog so that I can put my thoughts about worship, life, and my walk into words. Hopefully, what I write can be encouraging and helpful as well as a mean of accountability for myself. I’d like to show how God is moving in my life and how I am being shaped through my circumstances, whether good or bad.

Q: Why In.Motion?
A: In Motion is a way for me to express the fact that no matter our circumstances, no matter where we are in life, we are always in motion. More importantly, God is always moving in our lives. Let me rephrase that: No matter our circumstances, God is always in motion. This can be a source of hope for those who believe because the Bible says in Romans 8:28, “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him”. God moves in the good, God works through the bad, and, undoubtably, God always redeems. That is my hope.

I think that this is going to be a good, fresh restart. I’m hoping that In.Motion can be used to glorify God, to help me grow, and, hopefully, help others grow as well. Also, let me say this: I know I’m not perfect and this is not my attempt to come across as such. I’m going to say dumb things and I might even offend people (I am a sinner). Please know that I write this blog with the intent of building others up and with some degree of foresight. I only want to share how God is working in my life and what I’m learning along the way.

I’d like to invite you along for the ride.

One.Love

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