Trying to be a good sport

It’s been a difficult softball season as we have gone 0-6 and many of the games haven’t even been that close. Last week, a team that we played was beating us pretty good, and to make matters worse the pitcher from the opposing team was showing poor sportsmanship. I wanted to give the pitcher a piece of my mind and was just about to, when I realized I would be doing the exact same thing as him. I would be setting a bad example to my teammates and anyone else around if I would have shared out loud what I was thinking. It was quite difficult to hold back, but I asked the Lord to give me the strength to bite my tongue. This growing moment showed me how much I have changed through the years. Whenever I got irritated or upset in the past I would just let my emotions fly, which was not always the best thing, but I am not who I was.

2 Cor 10:5 says, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. Our flesh has a mind of its own, and we need to bring everything to the Lord, before we blurt out whatever it is we want. Words are powerful and have the ability to encourage or tear down a person. Maybe you know someone right now that has pushed you to the brink and all you want to do is go off on them. I encourage you to bring the situation before God and He will show you what you need to do. Sometimes it’s better to not say anything at all, than regret what you said.

Graydon 10 Weeks Old

Graydon Talking at 10 Weeks

Can't Fathom

Below is a picture of mine and my son's feet. The more I look at my son Graydon, the more I fall in love with him. Yesterday, I got choked up as I was overwhelmed with love for him and thinking about how awesome it is to be his daddy. My son brings a joy into my life like I have never experienced before. His smiles melt my heart, the silly little things he does makes me laugh and my wife and I prayed for a snuggler and boy did we get one! The crazy thing is, I don't think Graydon will ever comprehend fully the love his mommy and daddy have for him. It makes me realize that I will never comprehend my own parents love for me, even though I am one now. I will also never be able to fully comprehend the love my Heavenly Father has for me. As my son's smiles melt my heart, so God melts when we smile at Him and are grateful for the life He has blessed us with. God takes great delight in His children as we bring Him much joy and laughter. The love God has for us is hard for most of us to understand. We try to think of all the reasons why God couldn't possibly love us, yet that doesn't mean it makes it any less real. We will never fathom the love God has for us, but today He wants to tell you that, "He's not ashamed of you, has never regretted once in creating you and is madly and deeply in love with you!"

1 Month Old

A Kingdom Heart

Many of you probably haven't heard me preach in awhile or ever, so if you would like to hear the message I gave on Palm Sunday during our main service copy and past the link below. The message is about 25 minutes long.

http://www.nlbf.org/nlbf/index.php?id=143&tx_wecsermons_pi1[showUid]=103&tx_

"Relax Son"

A story from a fellow Pastor that I shared today in our sunrise service, be blessed-Jeremy

"A father and son were traveling down a country road on afternoon in the spring time when suddenly a bee flew in the window. Being deathly allergic to bee stings, the boy began to panic as the bee buzzed all around inside the car. Seeing the horror on his child’s face, the father reached out and caught the bee in his hand. Soon, he opened his hand and the bee began to buzz around once again. Again, the boy began to panic. The father reached over to his son, and opened his hand showing him the stinger still in his palm. “Relax, son,” the father said, “I took the sting, the bee can’t hurt you anymore.”

The empty tomb is God’s way of saying to us; “Relax, my child, I took the sting, death can’t hurt you anymore.” Why was the tomb empty? Because Jesus was alive and the promise to us is that we too can live even if we die. That is promise of Easter."

Graydon's Beautiful Smile

Two weeks old with the hiccups

Lessons Learned about God by Being a Parent

God has been teaching me a lot about His love these past 2 weeks of being a parent. It says, in Genesis 1 that we are made in His image. Graydon definitely looks like his daddy and I’m sure some of his mommy’s traits will be coming sooner or later. We do know that Graydon loves to sleep like his mommy, so he at least has that of hers☺. God not only desires that we look like Him, but act like Him.

God says in Matthew 6 that He is our provider and will meet all our needs. My son totally relies on his mother and me to meet his every need, whether he realizes it or not. I often forget how much I truly rely on God for every single thing in my life and how that goes unappreciated.

In Psalm 34, God’s eyes are on the righteous and His ears are open to their cry. Sabrina and I can’t stop staring at Graydon and it’s amazing how just a whimper from our son is enough to practically make us jump out of bed. God’s eyes are truly on His people and He listens and cares about every single cry.

Zephaniah 3 says God rejoices over His people with singing and 1 John 3 lets us know that God lavishes His love upon His family. What a fitting reminder as we love on our son, how God loves on His children as well.

God promises that He takes us under His wing where we find refuge in Psalm 91 and that His faithfulness is our shield and protection. It’s amazing at what a protective papa and mama you can be and if you mess with our kid you mess with us. My protection can only go so far and it is God who is the ultimate protector. You mess with God’s child and you got a fight on your hands.

Lastly, God shares with us in Psalm 139 that His thoughts for us are as countless as the sand of the seashore. It’s pretty hard to concentrate and get my mind off my wife and newborn child when I am away from them, yet God never stops taking His mind off of us. I am humbled by the lessons I have already learned as a parent and God’s incomprehensible love for His children, not just for our sake, but for His glory and because that is just the God that we serve. If you question God’s love, being a parent is a great reminder of who our creator really is.

5 Days Old Video

Meet Graydon Robert White

Overwhelmed
I first want to start off by praising our God who
has created all things that are good. When
Graydon arrived I was overwhelmed with
emotion like I have never experienced before.
I could barely breathe with excitement at the
surreal feeling of seeing my boy make his debut,
then I wanted to cry, yet celebrate with great
rejoicing at the same time. To say that this is
the greatest experience of my life would be an
understatement. Thank you for all your prayers
as things could have gotten complicated, yet by
God's grace and mercy it all went smoothly.
Jesus, may this boy serve you wholeheartedly one
day as we could never ask for any greater thing
upon his life than that. You do all things well!

Game Time and The Name
Sabrina and I in the middle part of her labor. We both had a
pretty good sense of humor up to this point.
Graydon is my Grandpa White's name and one
of my middle names and Robert is Sabrina's dad's
first name. Graydon is the first boy in Sabrina's immediate
family and joins his cousin Jordan. On the White side,
we just keep on adding the fellas with 4 boys now and
only 1 girl, all in less than 5 years. Graydon was in a hurry
to come out as Sabrina only had to push for 11 minutes.
























Weighing in at?
Born February 26, 2008 at 1:34am 7pds 12 oz
19 1/2 inches long with a Hungarian jaw and
a lot of hair on his head. Mom Rousay and our
midwife Amy weighing baby G.
























Graydon with Momma and Grandma Rousay


















Snug as a bug in a rug


















The Fam
I am so proud of my wife and the trooper that she is.
In Labor for 9 hours with no meds...I know I couldn't do it!


















ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
We haven't even known Graydon for a day, but
know that boy loves his sleep as can be seen
here in the bassinet at the birth center.























We Salute You!
Grady says, goodbye for now, but with his
mommy being a photographer and his dad
an email junkie, he has no choice but to fall
in love with the camera and be shared around
the country, so stay tuned for more adventures
to come.

Long-Forgotten Pefection By The Lake

1948 Cleveland Browns

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/sports/football/27anderson.html
?ex=1359090000&en=5e4a205e340f6d9c&ei=5088&partner=
rssnyt&emc=rss

Susan Magnuson
January 30, 1947-February 11, 2008


Our dear sister-in-Christ went to be with the Lord this past week after a 9 year bout with cancer. "Momma Mags", as I liked to call her was a sweet woman of God who was gracious, served God and others faithfully, a lady that always told you the truth and was a fighter till the end. My wife and I only had the privilege of knowing Susan for a couple of years here at NLBF in Dallas, but we were blessed by the time we did get to spend with her. She taught many to not only live well, but to die well. It is one thing when all is going great to praise the Lord and another to watch a Saint suffering and still praise God, as that speaks to an unbelieving world. There is a sign hanging over the door in the room that she passed away in that says, "Her children arise and call her blessed" from Proverbs 31, which describes the life of a godly woman and epitomizes what Susan Magnuson was all about.

I often pray in our sanctuary during the week and look at the 3 beautiful banners Susan made after God had given her a vision of those. Those banners remind me of the praises that are due to God and I can only imagine the praises she is giving the Lord for all eternity even as I type. As I visited the family this week with the other Pastors, I was reminded at the circle of life as I saw the pictures Susan's Grandchildren drew of what heaven is like and heard them laugh and play. The circle of life continues and she wasn't able to hold Graydon on this side of heaven, but hopefully one day. Thank you sister for showing me what being brave and faithful truly means. We will mourn for a while, but will be reminded of your wonderful homecoming as well. Please continue to lift up the Magnuson family in your prayers and may God continue to be glorified for His faithfulness to her and us.

I Love the underdog, Go Giants!!!

The Playground for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

click on the link below to see the trailer of Ben Stein's new movie coming out in the Spring, showing that their is free speech except for those that promote intelligent design.

The Playground for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

The Sound of Love

A writing by my friend Luke, a new Father and a fellow Youth Pastor here in the Dallas area with his precious daughter Claire.

My little girl was a week old yesterday. May I say that this experience of being a Father is quite amazing to the point where words fall very short in describing it accurately.

However, yesterday as I was holding Claire I was talking to her. Of course I know that she can’t understand anything I am saying and is much more interested in her next meal than in her fathers voice. But, I have noticed that her favorite position to be held is tight up against my chest with her head against my heart. I was so incredibly still that I could feel my pulse as my heart continued to beat. I said aloud, “Although you don’t know it yet baby girl, the sound of love is what you’re hearing.” Of course she didn’t understand that, but I pray one day she will.

I began to think of my Savior…and to think he was probably saying the same thing to me (and the rest of mankind) as a matter of fact. “The sound of love is what you’re hearing.” As he washed the disciples feet, as he turned over tables in the temple, as he was silent before his accusers, as he was scourged, as the nails were driven into his hands and feet, as his blood pooled at the foot of the cross, as he took his last breath, as the stone rolled away. “The sound of love is what you are hearing.” And although you might not understand that now, I pray that someday you will.

Overwhelmed,

luke

The Mystery of Mercy

Read this lyrics before you read my post

Caedmon’s Call
Mystery Of Mercy

I am the woman at the well, I am the harlot
I am the scattered seed that fell along the path
I am the son that ran away
And I am the bitter son that stayed

My God, my God why hast though accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?
My God, my God why hast though accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy and the song, the song I sing

I am the angry man who came to stone the lover
I am the woman there ashamed before the crowd
I am the leper that gave thanks
But I am the nine that never came

You made the seed that made the tree
That made the cross that saved me
You gave me hope when there was none
You gave me your only Son

My God, My God, Lord you are my God

This has been a good week as God continues to teach me about His mercy, kindness and compassion towards me. The more I realize that I have nothing to give God except myself, frees me to be who I am. I don’t have to try and earn God’s love or favor. It does seem hypocritical that I am lavished by this mercy and yet have such a hard time extending it to others, especially those that are different from me. I want to pick and choose who gets this mercy, but it is just a failure, because mercy knows no bounds.

Brennan Manning in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel writes, “There was a sinful woman in the village who had kissed Jesus’ feet. There was freedom in doing that. Despised as a prostitute, she had accepted the truth of her utter nothingness before the Lord. She had nothing to lose. She loved much because much had been forgiven her”

Christ didn’t pick and choose who received mercy, but only the humble could truly receive it. We forget our nothingness and how much we have been forgiven so we cannot experience mercy the way it was intended until it is given back. Who needs God’s mercy at this moment right now and do you realize you are the one called to receive it and give it? Mercy, you are a mystery!

This is the most recent picture of Sabrina's belly. She is exactly 8 months in this picture...not too much longer to go! I actually took this picture of her when we were in Ohio for Christmas visiting my family...she did the post processing on it...pretty good team hugh? Sabrina and "Baby G" are doing well and everything looks great with only 7 weeks to go, as long as Graydon doesn't come early! This week we're working on his nursery. Its amaizing how much time, prayer, and thought you put into someone who isn't even here yet! God bless and we'll continue to keep you all updated.

Videos from our youth group

This is a skit that many youth groups are currently doing across the country. Our youth recently performed this at our Texas State Youth Convention. The Song is "Everything" by Lifehouse. It's a powerful skit and I never get tired of watching as I'm reminded of God's love that seeks after us and is faithful even when we are not faithful and wooed by lovers less wild. Thank you Jesus for not giving up on us. You are truly amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nFKavdC_GA

The Lyrics are below

"Everything" by Lifehouse

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want your all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Sorry we are unable to get Christmas cards out to ALL of you, but we are thankful for each and every one of you and hope that you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year this year!  God bless you all!

A Lady In Need

My brother George helping a lady in need this past week on the local news in Cleveland
Double click the link below, copy and paste and then click the hugging picture under videos
http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5212004&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

The Gift of Giving

By Pastor Jer

What was the greatest gift you ever received for Christmas or what is the greatest gift you have ever given? The second question may be a little bit harder to answer than the first, but one thing I know, giving is contagious. A lady in Pennsylvania this week going through the Starbucks drive-thru paid for the car behind her. This nice gesture at Starbucks went on for 2 hours as one person after another paid for the person who was waiting behind them.

Several things I am learning about giving is that it is easy to give when you realize who it all belongs to. Whenever I get possessive of things or people I do not enjoy them the way God intended me to enjoy them. Another lesson I am trying to grasp is learning the value of the gift. It is so easy to take God, family and friends for granted. The loyalty, love and memories shared are precious.

Luke 6:38 reads, “Give, and it will be given to you.” I can be more than generous when I know that God is my provider. God wants to use you this week to show His love to someone in need. Ask the Lord how you can be used as His gift. Merry Christmas!

Over due update!

Sorry for the delay in the updates! Here is a picture of Sabrina and baby Graydon at 24 weeks, (six months). At this point this picture is even a bit outdated! Sabrina is almost 30 weeks now and baby "G", as we lovingly like to call him, is continuing to grow just as he should. We had a check-up this afternoon and everything looks good and everyone is healthy, PRAISE GOD! Now that Graydon is getting bigger (weighing about 2.5 lbs), he's moving a lot more and his kicks are getting much stronger which has been a lot of fun for Sabrina, and myself, to experience! I'll try to get the most recent "belly" picture up soon for those of you who are interested. Thank you again for all your prayers as we continue on this exciting adventure!

Let’s work on this some more

I have been keeping a journal for the past 6 years. Journaling has been such a blessing to me as I go back and relearn what I have forgotten and to see how far God has brought me and how far He has yet to take me. I came across an entry from last March about getting upset over little things in my life, which is something God has been speaking to me about lately. Sometimes I just get upset or frustrated for no reason at all, but at the time I feel like I justify my reactions. I feel the root of that is peace and learning that I can’t be in control of everything even if I want to and that is ok.

God’s patience is incredible and I love how He continues to allow us to work on issues so we become more like Him. I was struggling with this issue almost a year ago and this past week it came back up again. It was almost like God was telling me, “Let’s work on this some more Jeremy”. Most of the time we don’t just surrender something to God and never have to deal with it again, but it’s a process as we continue to rely on God’s strength to overcome.

So what is your issue or issues that keep on coming up? Instead of getting all frustrated, thank God that you have been given another opportunity to work on this. If it is sin don’t try to justify it and just agree with God that this it is sin and you need His forgiveness with it. I want to come to a point where I desire God more than I do holding onto my struggles and sin. So let God work on it some more.

Living a life Christ died to give

When the Sonagrapher told Sabrina my wife and I that we were having a boy, of course we were both excited and the news made things even more real, especially for me. I experienced great joy and I also had a sense of overwhelming responsibility in thinking about trying to raise a young man in this world today. I thought about the issues and personal struggles that still linger in my life and how I wished the Lord had gotten rid of those before my first child is born. This however, is not reality and we are all a work in progress and our Creator and Savior is patient.

A question I came across this week was, “Are you living the life that Christ died to give you?” 1 John 1:6 says, “If we claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth”. Christ has not only died and risen to forgive us, but has died to set us free from sin in this life. I no longer have to live as a prisoner to sin, but can live the life God has always intended me to live by being in fellowship with Him. God will continue to refine His children and I know my soon to be son Graydon will not always see his dad live a perfect life, but I hope he can see God’s love through me as I strive to live a life Christ died to give.

We Know What We're Having!

For those of you who can't tell what your looking at...it's our SON! We're having a boy! This is a profile of Graydon Robert White. His head is on the right and his belly is on the left. You should be able to see his forehead, eye, ear, nose, mouth, and chin pretty clearly. We are very excited to know that everything looks good and he is developing just how he should! Only 18 more weeks to go until we get to meet our little man. Please continue to pray for the healthy development of our baby and we'll continue to keep you updated! We appreciate all of you and all your prayers.

Half Way There!

My wife is at 20 weeks and we are half way there to delivery! Sabrina is looking cuter everyday. I haven't felt the baby kick yet, but Sabrina says she's feeling him or her move all the time, so it's probably hyper like their daddy:) We think it's a boy from our last ultrasound, but the baby wasn't quite cooperating with us. We should be more sure with this week's ultrasound. Stay tuned!

Close

You are as close to God as you want to be. What is your first reaction when you read that? Does that pierce your heart? Do you want to instantly disagree with that statement? Your response may come from how close or distant you feel from God, but even more than that your response may come from where your desires are right now.

Being in ministry I get to learn a lot about people from all over the country and even the world. I read or listen to fellow believers in the faith and how God is moving in their lives. Often times I admire a persons faith they have in Christ and the personal intimate relationship they have in God. I at times may even envy how close some people are with God when I compare my distance from Him at times.

When I think about the distance between God and myself, I cannot blame anyone or any circumstance I have been through. I am realizing more and more that I am the one that dictates how close to God I want to be. No one can stop me from thinking about God in all that I do, no one can stop me from praying, no circumstance can stop me from praising God, nothing is stopping me from learning more about who God is through scripture or growing in my faith.

We do not want to take responsibility for a lot of things in our lives and one of those may be our distance from God. Thankfully God is not the one that has distanced Himself from us. It is what we have or have not done and where our hearts are that dictates what our actions will be. So how close to God are you and how close to you want to be? -Jeremy