Tag Archives: Jacob

The Lost Wallet: Pursuing God

Faith, inspiration, Ministry, personal growth, , ,

43157226_10215898189221025_4163176722738446336_o.jpgNo offense to my dad or my pastor, but I have a new favorite preacher. This Wednesday I had the privilege of listening to my son preach at his youth group. As a parent there is nothing better than watching your child live for God and hunger to share his faith with others. This wasn’t J’s first sermon, but it was our first time hearing him. With a few under his belt he didn’t think we would make him nervous any more.

With his permission I want to share with you what he taught on Wednesday.

One day last year, while at school, Jacob reached into his pocket at lunch and realized that he didn’t have his wallet. Logically, he began retracing his steps. He asked his teacher if it was found in the classroom. He dug through every nook and cranny of his car. When he got home he looked all over the house. No wallet. We all know this feeling, don’t we? The only thing Jacob could think about all day is where his wallet was.

On the second day, J filed a report at school. In the report he had to list the contents of the missing wallet. It held his driver’s license, school IDs, a (frozen) debit card, his library card, and a whopping $12 in cash. As he put it, “twelve dollars is just twelve dollars, and a couple pieces of replaceable plastic,” yet the perceived value of IDs, bank access, and a little cash stayed on his mind. Like a pebble in his shoe, he just couldn’t think about anything else.

Jacob challenged his youth group to think about God the way we think about a lost wallet. If our faith was on the forefront of our thoughts every day, how amazing would our relationship with God be!?! And God is so much infinitely more valuable than a couple pieces of plastic and some cash. He is worth our pursuit!

  • God commands us to seek after Him – See Deuteronomy 6:5-9
  • Pursuing God will help you overcome temptation. – See Matthew 4:1-11
  • Staying close to God makes it easier to see the things he wants to show us. – See Proverbs 3:5-6

Jacob eventually found his wallet. It was in his backpack, crammed into the pages of his calculus book. When he found it, he rejoiced; he cheered and ran around the room! Finding his missing wallet brought so much joy and a sense that all was restored in his world. Imagine how much greater we’ll feel when we find closeness with God!

God is not a Sunday only God. He’s not an Easter and Christmas God. He’s not a Wednesday night youth service or bible camp God. He is an every day, every hour, every minute, there for you God who wants to have that kind of intimate relationship with you!

The pursuit of God is never in vain. Consider Jeremiah 29:13. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Go after Him, He’s waiting for you!

 

Family, Missions Trip, ,

This weekend, my son, Jacob, and a group of 15 students and chaperones from our church are leaving for a week-long missions trip to Puerto Rico. I asked Jacob to help with this week’s post so we can tell you all about his trip.

I chose to go on this trip with my youth group because I think that everyone should experience a missions trip at least once. It lets you see how people live in other parts of the world, and it gives you a chance to get away from the distractions of your life and focus on sharing Jesus with others.

This week in Puerto Rico we will be working with kids at a camp. I have enjoyed helping with VBS at my church for three years, and have attended Bible camp ever since I have been old enough, so this is a good fit for me. We have been practicing songs and skits, some in Spanish (which I do not speak!) to perform for the kids. I’ll be playing the part of Jesus in one of the skits. Some of the students will be sharing their testimonies, as well. We have been preparing some crafts for the kids to do – cutting out tons of little pieces of paper to take along. The airline better not lose that luggage or we’ll have to cut them all out again! There will also be days when we are doing maintenance work at the camp, and a day for sightseeing and going to the beach.

The cost of the trip was $1250, which includes our airfare, housing, food, and supplies for the week. I made the $100 initial down payment from money earned at my part-time job at McDonalds, and some of the cost was offset by fundraisers through the youth group. The rest was raised through support letters which I sent to family. Through their generous support, I made my goal and I’m ready to go! Puerto Rico is an easy location for a missions trip. You get the experience of missions in a foreign culture, but since Puerto Rico is part of the United States, they use U.S. currency and you don’t need a passport or have to deal with customs at the airport.

I am excited to see what God is going to do through the youth of Riverdale Church this week! We appreciate your prayers for safe travels, health and unity for the team, and that many kids’ lives would be changed for Jesus. You can follow our adventure on our trip blog, http://puertorico.myadventures.org/