Choices...

Choices. It’s really all about choices isn’t it? On November 4th you are going to have a choice. You will have the opportunity, privilege and responsibility to vote while exercising the freedom of democracy. What an awesome thing!
Over the past two weeks we’ve talked about Jesus For President and how we choose to cast that ballot everyday of our lives. We make the choice to follow Jesus by how we live, love and serve. We make the choice to follow Jesus by doing the right thing when no one else is watching. We make the choice to follow Jesus by allowing love to have the final answer, even when we don’t like the way that answer sounds.
The Bible says, “Choose life, so that you might live,” and when we vote for Jesus we are truly choosing a life that makes a difference. (Deuteronomy 30:19) We have to make choices right?
Check this out…even God makes choices. And here’s the thing that takes it to the next level in the Gospel of John when Jesus says, “I have chosen you out of the world.” (John 15:19) God chooses YOU! Right in the middle of where you are, God says, “I choose you!” God says, “I love you,” and God wants us to know that nothing we can do will ever change that choice.
What choices are you going to make?

Speak on it...

Questions...

So here's the thing...I'm trying to stay focused, I'm trying to stay in the zone, and Yet I’m continuing to struggle with the ups and downs. Just like everybody else I’m trying to keep it real in the midst of the chaos, but it leaves me with questions about the how/why/when and where God is going to move next…

Our church is taking huge steps, it was built on a strong foundation, and God is calling us to do more than we could have ever imagined…and yet I still have questions.

I wonder about my boy Ezekiel when the Lord said, “eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel” (3:1). The scripture says, he opened his mouth and he ate it, tasting sweet as honey. It’s the same question before us now.

Are we willing to open our mouth to eat this scroll? Are we ready to do the things that God is asking us to do that are not even on our radar screen? Are we ready to really take the next step of faithfulness in order to help other people know and experience the Kingdom of God? Are we ready to sacrifice? Are we really ready to eat this scroll?
If we do our work in the Lord, we don’t do it in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58). It’s time to eat the scroll friends…
Speak On IT!

Hey...Hey...Hey

Didn't Fat Albert say that? Yo...What's good? I'm living the dream on this end. I know it's been forever since I've posted so thanks for those still reading or wanting to read. This is a good place for me to just let it out a little and do some thinking now and again.

I've just been reading from Ezekiel and I'm having some pretty intense feelings about the 2 & 3 chapters. Eat the scroll? It taste sweet as honey... I'm down with that.

What about being taken up by the spirit? That's freaking awesome! I love that language and the reality of how that is played out today. What thinks you? As it goes on and on it really brings some important questions to light as to how we have to be concerned for our brothers and sisters as we journey through life together (sounds like a good book title, haha).

Anyway...I'm out for a couple of days, then I'm back to Speak ON IT! Peace

Somewhat of a quandry...

So here's the thing...this weekend is going to be a pretty intense time. I know it's only Monday, but Saturday North Carolina and Virginia Tech are going to throw down. For years I have been a huge fan of UNC. Especially their basketball team! Now all of a sudden I'm in a rock and a hard place. I totally dig VT and I'm all about becoming a member of the Hokie Nation and yet I'm torn.

The saga continues....

Speak On it!

Coudn't think of a title that wasn't lame...

Two months in and I think I know where I am. I don’t know about you but I still feel really new to Fieldstone. I’m still learning names, trying to understand the rhythm of the New River Valley and I still have two boxes in my office to unpack!
I don’t have to tell you that September is full of newness, with back to school meetings, finding a new routine, and new opportunities. Our son is going to preschool today and he’s fired up for his new adventure. He’s already picked out his dinosaur t-shirt and can’t wait to get out on the playground! (I just hope he actually does some work!)
Things are changing. We do know that the only thing constant is change and as that change will open up new opportunities for our community to love God and love people. God says through the Prophet Isaiah, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” God was talking about doing a new thing, creating a new way, a way that spoke mercy, justice, hope and love. This is our God and this is an exciting time to share in ministry.
Look for the ways that God is doing a “new thing” in you this week. Consider taking a step in faith as you consider joining one of our new small group bible studies or finding a new way to serve and share in the community.
With God all things are possible and all things can be made new!
Speak On IT!

Guess Who's BACK...

No! It's not Slim Shady...it's your boy, the Round Man Of Rebound, well not really him either, it's just me. We've just gotten back from vacation and enjoyed two weeks of family and fun. Now it's back to the grind and I've got to tell you, I'm kinda missing the beach...

Looking forward to writing and keeping everybody posted about Fieldstone UMC and the way God is moving in this place along with some inconsequential thoughts now and then.

Talk soon...

Speak ON IT!

This was cool...

Tonight before we put Jackson in the bed, he told us he wanted to sleep with his bible. What? Before I could say anything he said, "You always read your bible by your bed, and I want to have mine tonight." How do you say no?

So then he says, "After I finish reading I'm going to put it under my pillow and sleep with it tonight." WORD! So as I was walking out of room and closing his door, I overhear him talking to Jesus... That's the real deal friends.

Who told us to stop sleeping with our bibles? I totally hear God saying something right now.

Speak on it!

Holy Humility

I was reading from "Glimpses Of Grace" by Madeleine L'Engle the other day where she wrote concerning humility.

"There's an old story of a student who went to a famous old rabbi and said, "Master, in the old days there were people who could see God. Why is it that nobody sees God nowadays?" The old man answered, "My child, nowadays nobody can stoop so low."

Then it hit me. What is keeping us from stooping that low? I'm reminded of Paul's letter to the Philippians in the 2nd chapter verses 1-12 where he sets before us the person of Jesus and the work offered by his modeling humility as he became obedient to death upon the cross so that we might see God...

When do I get to the place where I'm not concerned with how it looks when I stoop that low?

Speak On it...

Fieldstone On TV

Yo...check out some of the interns and the students from SPY (Summer Project Youth). It's awesome!

http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/spys_change_lives/14482/


Here is the written article from News 10...

By Lindsey Ward

Published: July 22, 2008

An old house is getting a new face with the help of some young students.

SPY, short for Summer Project Youth, extends work for kids past the last day of school into the long days of summer. They pick-up their paint brushes and hammers and work to make a difference.

“We help out needy people, the handicap, and the elderly,” said Harrison Weinhold, SPY Intern.

Juanita Allen’s home is one of SPY’s largest projects yet and a she’s spent a big part of her life in this house.

“I was born in this house,” Allen explained.

Approaching 80-years-old, Allen admits she and her husband are no longer able to keep up with the maintenance. Unaware of a serious leak on her front porch a neighbor knew turning to SPY was the only option.

“They worked so hard. They’ve faced wasps, they faced rain, they faced insects, they faced heat and they carried on joyfully,” said Allen.

It’s estimated this project would cost the Allen’s upwards of $2,000 in supplies alone, but thanks to community donations and SPY’s free labor the new porch comes without a price tag.

In the past five years SPY has invested $250,000 into the New River Valley, but for many the help is priceless.

“It’s such a blessing to see young people willing to do something for the older generation,” Allen said tearfully.

Summer Project Youth says their next goal is to expand their work to other areas of Virginia.

Speak On IT!

Vacation Bible School is not even half of it...

Basically I'm just taking a moment to sit and think about what's going on here at Fieldstone UMC. Thursday night we started Vacation Bible School and around 30 kids came out to learn a little bit about having a beach party and a lot about Jesus. They were on one side of the building while about 50 more students and all the SPY staff along with member of our community were preparing for dinner and evening program and then it hit me...

God is totally rocking this place out. The energy is wild and contagious. It's typical camp stuff but it's more than that here. It's a picture of what the church is supposed to be like. The ecclesia, the called out community of God actually living into the love offered by Jesus Christ. This is indeed a powerful place. I just wanted to take a vivid picture of what this community looks like and share it with the masses. I want other people to know that the church is not just a place that sticks to the established way of doing things, but a place that I feel is committed to truly following Jesus. Dude, I'm so fired up right now.

Speak On It...

Spirit Is Moving...

Proverbs 3:4-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight."

And so it begins. The whole trusting thing. You know it's like sometimes, you fight the trust factor don't you? A couple of years ago I was continued in my ordination because I couldn't articulate in ministry terms some of my thought. It didn't take long before the lack of trust starting eating away in my soul. I prayed hard, had some conversations with God, dug deep into the scripture and fought against myself. I wanted to trust, I needed to trust and yet there were parts of me that didn't want to trust. Maybe you should throw it all away, maybe this isn't what God really has in store for you type thing...BLAH!

Obviously I moved on because I trusted that God had called me into this thing called ordained ministry and God had specific things to do within that ministry. Thank You Jesus!

Fieldstone. A place alive with the spirit. A warm place. A community dedicated to loving God and loving people, while reaching out into the community with a tangible piece of love in so many different ways.
Fieldstone. A community that has already blessed us. A gathering of people who want to know want to experience Christ in a way that transcends the mundane and mediocre, a place for you to come just like you are, be called by name and welcomed at table to experience the holy power of a "come close" God who changes us from the inside out.

It's time for us to trust in the Lord...

Speak On It....

Heaven isn't too far away....

Somewhere around lunch Jackson started to talk about how Jesus and God know everything and how they were both in Heaven and how he really wanted to go to Heaven. SLOW DOWN. I was like "What!?" He said he really wanted to be with God in Heaven. So Lori & I started thinking real fast and I said, "remember when we say the Lord's Prayer, and we say, 'thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." He says yes, and then I say well, what if we could bring Heaven here?

Right then he really starts listening. "How can I do that dad?" Love people, I said. I said, all you have to do is love people the way that God loves you and you can bring a little bit of Heaven right down here on earth. He started smiling. Then he says, "I can love people and tell them about Jesus right dad?" Bingo. that's what I'm talking about brother.

So here's the thing...that's our job. This is totally not original with me, but to see Jackson's eyes light up when he thought that he could bring a little bit of Heaven down to earth it was awesome. It was one of those moments where I sat back and gave God some mad praise. Thanks for the hearts and minds of the little children.

Speak On it!

PS. I know you remember the song from Warrant...right?
Heaven isn't too far away
closer to it everyday
no matter what your friends might say
we'll find a way...

Transitions...

So here's the thing...moving is tough. We just got cable & internet today! We still have a couple of boxes yet to unpack and I'm not sure I know where all my underwear is. (Don't worry, I've got enough clean ones!) When you are getting all of your stuff out of boxes and you are meeting new people everyday it's easy to get overwhelmed. It's easy to lose your path so to speak. It's easy to want to stay in bed and just listen to the rain. There seems to be so much happening. That's when it gets dark.

Psalm 119:105 says, "By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path." The boxes are still there. I'm still faced with some tough decisions and things to deal with, but the words throw a beam of light on my dark path and things begin to change. I'm reminded of stories of healing and justice, where somebody actually did the right thing. I'm comforted and find peace that allows me to rest. I find out how to do work and I am reminded of a God who never leaves me, even when I can't seem to find Him. That's the good news friends...because we are all in transitions aren't we?

Speak On It...

Bringing Back The Funk

Yo...Finally back online, well at least at Fieldstone, and I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things on the blog. I really haven't written since we found out we were moving to Fieldstone. Basically we are fired up and we're close to having all our boxes unpacked, and in case you were wondering the house is pretty killer. I'm just saying, we've gotten two rooms painted and as you can imagine, we are living the dream. So, this is just to get moving again on the blog front. Much Love & Peace,

Speak On It....

A Trumpet...

We started teaching Jackson the Prayer of St. Francis the other night. We have tried to teach him prayers and spend time helping him night after night. The other night as Lori was going through the first line, "Lord make me an instrument of thy peace…” As Jackson started praying the prayer he said, "Lord make me a trumpet"

Dude...this guy is so awesome. What a blessing.

Here is a copy of the Prayer Of St. Francis.....I think he would be okay with Jackson's addition.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Speak on it!

Zoo

Hey...today we went to the Zoo and it was a great day for family. We went with some friends and had a blast. I know this is isn't deep or anything like that, but I haven't written in a bit so...

Speak On it....Later

Beautiful One...

Lori was putting Jackson to bed the other night and she asked him what he wanted to pray for/about. He said, "Mom, I want to sing Beautiful One, because God likes it when we sing."

He gets it! So tonight as I was putting him down and just rubbing his back before he slipped off to sleepy time, he said again, "Hey dad, let's sing the Beautiful One again..." How awesome is that! SO here we are singing a cool song for the God who loves us and I am reminded again of a God's means of grace for my life. Those times, areas and moments when I feel the warmth and presence of our God who loves us so much that "my soul my soul must sing, my soul my soul must sing...the beautiful one!"

Speak On IT!

Too Easy...

I mean come on. Two in a row.

Speak On That!

I'm hungry!

Dude...I'm just saying. This is a prime target!

A Really Important Story...

Yesterday as we were finishing dinner, my son Jackson said he had a really important story to tell. Basically it went like this...


Today in preschool we read a story. It was about God. Some people didn't like Jesus and then he was dead. There was a cross. Then they put Jesus in a big monster cave and rolled a rock as big as a monster onto the cave. Three Weeks later he was back alive! Now he lives in the sky...

The four year old version of what he remembers from the greatest story that has ever been told. When you hear it from a four year old, you begin to remember the first time you could ever tell that story. I'm also reminded of the often used story where Jesus says, "let the children come." (Mark 10:14) That's good stuff.

Speak on it!

In case anybody reads this...

I just changed the color of the blog. What do you think?

Speak on THAT!

BTW...anybody seen the new coaches poll? http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3274936

Amazed....

So basically I've been reminded that God is all about rocking my world.

Check this out...I meet with a group of pastors on Monday as an accountability group and part of what we do is discuss our sermon preparation. We try and stay a week ahead in our discussion so we might plan save ourselves from falling in the trap of writing a sermon the night before you have to preach.

Yesterday we were talking about Judas, in prepping for March 14/15 and the conversation got crazy as we looked at how "I am Judas" and we all fall into being Judas at some point in our lives.

As our conversation continued it's like the Spirit just rolled all over our room. The story came alive for us in a different way. We read these stories year after year, and many of us think we understand them thoroughly when in fact there is always an opportunity for God to teach us something or bring us to a new understanding of the Word. This is the power of the Word! Dang.

Now I don't know if the sermon will be any good in two weeks, I don't know if any sermon is really good, but I do know if we listen close enough and we are open to what God might be saying we could certainly, and not in a corny way, be amazed.

Speak on it....


Here's a quote from Karl Barth that might make some sense here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Barth

"If a sermon is biblical, it will not be boring. Holy scripture is in fact so interesting and has so much that is new and exciting to tell us that listeners cannot even think about dropping off to sleep." (Homiletics, Westminster John Knox, 1991, pg 80)

Spring Cleaning Come Early...

So basically Lori just helped me mix it up a bit in the office. We moved the desk, cleaned out some stuff and I've got to tell you...I'm fired up. This is just a little taste of what's happening at the Smith household...stay tuned.

Speak on it!

WOW...I've got to go!

Yo…You have to watch this video from my buddy Gordon Pruitt. He's a pastor in Richmond, and one of my best friends. He's thinking about preaching this for Easter.

I don't know how to put these fancy links out, so hopefully I put this on right. Go to his blog and have a good laugh.

http://biblemoth.blogspot.com/2008/02/ive-got-my-easter-sermon.html


Speak on it! Just stand up I guess.

Baby Clothes...

My wife is getting ready for a consignment sale to be held at the church. She is going through all of our sons clothes he wore from birth-three years old. It's seriously taken me down memory lane. She just pulled out some of the first Nike's I got for him. (I thought he might have been a baller.) As I see this happening I'm brought back to the place of first holding Jackson and remembering his smell and the way he felt, thinking I might break him with the wrong move, and wondering what we were really going to do with this little life that just moved in to our quiet home.

What a gift. What an opportunity. What a scary ride. What an awesome chance to co-create with the creator! WORD!

As I write tonight, my son is upstairs sleeping. When I got home from youth group I walked into his room, kissed him on him his cheek and said a small prayer. I'm so thankful that I got to see Jackson grow up in those baby clothes.

God you ROCK!

Speak on it...

Once Again It's ON!!!!!!

Okay…
It’s long over due! I’ve been very delinquent in my blogging, so I wanted to get back into the swing of things by talking about hanging out with some friends from church and catching a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God looks like…

We had some pizza and played Wii! (I totally smoked Lori!) A bunch of kids running around, laughing and playing and some for real off the chain strawberry short cake is hard to beat. We laughed, got serious and really enjoyed our time and I can’t help but see this through a theological reflection.

Now in his book the Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell (http://www.marshill.org/) talks about the way Jesus mastered the “art of the long meal.” When he would share in a meal with his disciples, they didn’t rush through the meal in order to get something else done. What they were doing was the only thing that mattered and Jesus modeled that for his disciples and he models that for us…

It was there in that time of really sitting with people, sharing with people and enjoying the company of fellow travelers on the journey, that I was reminded of God’s call to community and family. As I continue to grow in my own understanding of who God is and how God calls us to live in the Way of Jesus, I’m more convinced, and I’ve experienced the blessing, of actually being with people in relationships and it is my prayer as we continue in ministry together that we might bring some more friends to the table.

Speak On It…

UNC....

Dude...I'm so sad. Carolina lost to Duke. Can't write.

Trying to brace myself for the pain...

Getting Back On Track...

So...I'm writing tonight with a freshness. Last week I was approved for Ordination as an Elder in the UMC. I think I can get back to a more frequent post pattern and hopefully write something worth reading.

Right now....we are gearing up for the Carolina/Duke game to come on tomorrow night. GO UNC!

Speak On IT!

Dude...

I was walking out of the house tonight to go to another meeting when Jackson calls to me. "Dad...you are my best friend! I love you!"

Wow. Right now I have a ton of things happening, (I'm also watching Duke play and I'm totally pulling for VT) as I'm getting ready for ordination interviews. I have a final (I pray) interview for my full ordination as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. My mind is running all over the place and with the pressure I feel preparing for this interview, I was almost brought to tears when my four year old son gave me a little perspective.

Don't get me wrong, I think the time is at hand for ordination, but I'm my son's best friend and right now that's enough to speak on it!
Peace

Always Surpised...

So tonight we were riding home from church, and we started talking about the night and the church school classes when all of a sudden Jackson laid it down. His church school class is learning the Lord's prayer and things got crazy. He says, that the Power is in the blood! Well, nobody said anything to him about the blood but he's totally right. The power is in the blood that cleansing blood of Jesus that washes over us, cleansing us from sin. I'm always surprised! Speak On It...


By the way...I'm a little ticked because Carolina (My favorite team ever) lost to Maryland (I do like Gary Williams) but dang!

Check this out...

Yo...a friend of mime turned me on to this blog. I don't know how to link it, so this is the best I can do. I think it's pretty tight. Peace.

A Church for Starving Artists: Can't We All Just Get Along?

A Little Bit of Hope & A Dash Of Hot Pepper...

So tonight during worship my son, Jackson, completely flipped the script when he went to pray. We serve communion every week and invite people to move to a time of prayer at the altar. My wife usually takes Jackson to pray and she will pray-hold him-pray and generally ask him what he wants to pray about. Tonight when they went to pray she said Jackson started praying by himself and offered two beautiful prayers that have nearly brought tears to my eyes and also brought a deep laughter.

His first prayer went like this. "God, I hope that you love me." WOW. Of course Lori reminded him that God loves him so so much and when we put him down for the night, after we prayed, I gave my son one more hug and kiss and said, "God loves you big guy" Jackson responded...I know baby...

What a huge thought from a four year old. How many times do we wonder or want to ask the same question? "God I hope you love me. " It is your job, my job, the churches job to remind the people we see day after day, that no matter who you are, what you've done and how far you think you might be from God...it's good to be reminded that God loves you baby...

His second prayer went a little more like this..."God, I hope I stop biting my finger nails, so mommy and daddy don't put hot pepper on my fingers!"

Jesus said come to me like a child...I wonder if he said anything about biting finger nails?

Cool is Cool...

So I wear glasses and I've worn them since I was in college, but my godson (who is 8) is about to get glasses this week. Of course he's worried that other kids are going to make fun of him, which the sad reality is they will, and he's trying extra hard to find a pair of glasses that look really cool.

But regardless of what type of glasses he gets, the question I have is "will he still be cool?" Who determines what cool is? Of course he's going to be cool! It's not going to matter what type of glasses he wears, or what type of clothes he has on, because the reality is he is important to God and according to God my godson is a masterpiece! (Ephesians)

Which leads me to some thoughts about how we let other people determine who we are and how we live. I mean, even as adults we get caught up with how other people want us to live, act or respond to life. It's almost like it never stops. Sometimes we forget that we are that same masterpiece of creation, whether we are 8 or 38! Hello!

I don't think this is anything original, but it's just where I'm at tonight and I think I needed to hear that God has some crazy love for me just because I'm me. That's what's UP!

Much Love & Peace...

Sunday School Class...Not Done Yet?

So this morning, I went to our 11-12 Sunday School class with all intentions of disbanding the class do to very low attendance. The craziest thing happened when all of a sudden five kids showed up. I was like dang...five kids. Now, you may be thinking that's not a lot of kids, but the reality is, for whatever reason, this class has very poor attendance, I'm talking like two kids, maybe three...sometimes. We, meaning Cheri and I (who btw is a great teacher) asked them what they wanted to do and they were like "Whatever", "We're okay either way", "Dude, we don't care" so we're thinking "Hey...maybe God's not done with this class yet."

The point of these ramblings is that even when we have ideas about how things should be or think we've got it all figured out, God has a gentle way of reminding us that maybe Sunday School class is not done yet.

Much Love & Peace...

Wedding Stuff

It never ceases to amaze me! This morning I was counseling a couple for marriage, which is a pretty cool aspect of my job, and as I was talking/listening, I couldn't help but think about my own marriage with Lori. Last week I officiated a wedding at Natural Bridge, (http://www.naturalbridgeva.com/) which btw if you haven't been, you should totally go, and as I'm watching the newly married couple walk down the isle, I turn and catch my own bride smiling wide and I think...Dang! I'm totally married to this great woman. In the back of my mind, it's like I hear "don't forget that dork!" All this talk is basically an opportunity to thank God for reminding me of how blessed I am to share my life with a woman like Lori. Thanks for the Reminder GOD!
Much Love....

Go Hokies...

Getting Started...

Speak On It...
So here is the first post of hopefully many more insightful, thought provoking and ridiculously ignorant notions about how I'm trying to keep it real as a husband, father, and Jesus follower. If you read this, thanks for your time.

Much Love & Peace, T. Bryson