Sometimes giving people feed back on issues can be difficult.  It’s easy to lose your way and fall into a vicious tail spin of accusations.  So I have developed a fun way to confront others on the issues that are apparent to every one else.  Its a feed back Mad-Lib. 

____________ I just want to start off by telling you that you are a man/woman of  
(Their Name)

______________ and __________.  And I know that God has 

 (the opposite of what they are doing)

______________ in store for you.   I just believe in you so much, and know that you are
    (adjective)

____________  and full of ______________.  You just   bring so much
(The opposite of what they are at the moment)

____________  and ___________ to our team, and I just want to celebrate that.  Like last
                  (Biblical adjectives) 

week when you ___________________ it made me so happy to see that you operate in
                                    (random happening)

_____________.  And I just want to tell you how much that means.  Girl/Bro, you are just so 

(Biblical Adjective)

_____________ and ___________, and I just…want to call you up into greatness.  So…
  (adjectives, *repetition is okay now) 

yesterday when you ________________  and just said 

                                                  (the violation)                                                                                                                              

______________________  with an attitude of __________________  it made me feel
(what you think they said)                                                      (negative Biblical adjective)  

_________________ and  _________________.

  (opposite AIM buzz words, *see preference and honor)

I know that you are not _______________, and since I believe the best in you, and want 
                                                (repeat negative Bible adj.)           

______________ for you, I wanted you to know that I perceived you as
 (positive Bible adj.)  

________________ and ________________.  Since you will no longer be acting this way as
(violation and or negative Bible adj. for emphasis)

it is now brought to your attention, you can just say “thank you” and we will put this little matter behind us.  Oh, and you’re welcome. 

***Remember when you are talking to pause and say the word “just” as many times as possible. For example,

I want you to stop eating all the cereal before I wake up. 

OR

I just want….you to….just…..stop eating all the cereal before I wake up. 

See the difference. 

So future conflict, you have been warned!

Dear Georgia Bomar, 

I wanted to write you a letter. I remember the sacrifice you made to help me.  I also know that you have prayed for me while I’ve been away.   I remember that you gave everything you had, because you believed in me, and what I was doing, so you gave all of your money.  Then you prayed that God would make a way for the rest of the money to come in.  I wanted to write and tell you that it has.  I wanted to write and tell you that God has answered your prayers.  

But beyond that I wanted to tell you some of the things that your sacrifice has done.  There is a boy in Mozambique that has heard the gospel for the first time.  He now has a Bible, and knows of Jesus.  In my mind I picture what it will be like for you to meet him in heaven.  I imagine him saying, “thank you Georgia, because of what you did I heard about Jesus, and he saved me. So thank you.”  There are also the children that we help feed in the Philippines.  They have food because you gave.  Then there are the special needs children in the Chinese orphanages.  These children were unloved by their parents and sent to live in an institution.  We were able to rescue some of these kids, and even able to find some of them permanent homes with people in America.  Because you gave.  In South Africa I helped inspire young people by teaching them how to surf.  If they got good grades and stayed in school, then they got to surf.  So for a short while I was able to pour into them and tell them about Jesus. Because you gave.  In swaziland I helped build fences to protect the food of the orphans living there.  70% of swaziland’s people have the Hiv virus. And the parents don’t live very long, so there are a lot of children without moms and dads.  So we went there and played with the kids and built fences to protect their food.  It was your prayers that made this happen.  In Romania we preached to people who have never heard the gospel.  I imagine you meeting these people in heaven one day too. I also got to sit with a man who was dying and tell him about Jesus.  It was sad, but I know he is in a better place. Then in Serbia I actually preached at a church service. The people were so great.  I taught them some of the songs we do at DWC.  They loved it! I thought of you, and how I wouldn’t be able to do that without you! I am currently in Czech Republic telling people about Jesus who have never even heard his name. Its hard to believe, but there is an entire generation over here that has never heard.  I imagine you will have lots of friends in heaven that you haven’t met yet. 

Georgia, you are one special little girl! You have inspired me to be better, to believe more, and give greater!  I hope you know I haven’t forgotten what you did, and neither has our Father in heaven.  I pray that he blesses you and your family, like a lot!  Tell your Dad and Mom I said hello, and hug your sisters for me!  I will see you guys soon! Don’t forget to keep praying for me.  Never forget, your prayers change everything!  You didn’t just give some money, you gave all of your money! You are AWESOME, you really are!

Your Friend, 

Pastor Matt

Behold the Gospel…

So after a 30ish hour bus ride from Cape town to Maputo,  we jumped onto a “real” African bus for another 24 hours. These are to be avoided at all costs.  Brutal roads, willing to pick ANYBODY up, and will listen to driver’s favorite mix the whole way.  They are rough.  Our bus driver stopped outside his favorite bar somewhere around 10ish, and said, “okay we sleep here.”  Then he went inside and drank until he went up to his rented room for the night.  The three teams on the bus began to figure out how to sleep. 5 on top of the bus, and the rest in the bus is how it ended up.  I am sitting in my seat just thinking, man this is miserable.  Then this kid comes up and begins saying something in Portuguese.  It is not hard to spot a kid wishing for money from “manzumo” or the white man.  Kid if you only knew how poor world racers were you would just save your breath.  But he came to my bus window and kept trying to explain his predicament. I just listened then kept saying, “now fallow Portuguese” which means I don’t speak Portuguese.  Spelling obviously not correct. He would not quit, so I began to tell him all about the people I missed back home, what my favorite restaurants are and in which order I would be visiting them upon my return in 8 long months. This was all in English.   Then randomly I thought I should tell him about why I was in Mozambique.  I heard Jesus say to my heart, tell him about me!  To which I responded, I might need a Pentecost experience as this child clearly doesn’t speak English.  Should be noted that as I was speaking English to this kid, he continued speaking Portuguese as I was talking.  He was getting frustrated.  

So I decide, okay lets talk about Jesus. I start talking about how he changed my life, and how I had seen miracles, and how I was certain that Jesus wanted to know this kid.  BAM…I had an idea, there is a Portuguese Bible in this bus.  I get it out.  I knew if anything makes beggars run, it’s the reading of scripture.  So I open the Bible to “Jean 3:16” and start reading.  My Portuguese is TERRIBLE.  Imagine French and Spanish had a baby, its Portuguese.  Now imagine American and Spanglish, had an illegitimate union with Portuguese and birthed whatever language it was that I spoke that night.  But I read on, I was somewhere around the “that he gave his only…” part when the kid just looked at me, and ran away.  I thought, “yep, that’ll do it every time.” So I closed the Bible and proceeded to ponder my own existence.  

Suddenly the child was running at my window on with a rock in his hand.  He was smiling.  I thought, Oh Dear God he is so mad at the white devil! He stopped put the large rock on the ground and ran away again.  He returned with another rock and put it on top of the other, then he stood on those rocks to get a better view of the Bible. He pointed to the Bible and motioned for me to read on.  I was stunned.  I opened the Bible to “Jean 3:16” and rekindled my butchering of his national language.  He stopped me.  He shut the Bible and then opened it up to the beginning.  He pointed to the Bible and motioned for me to read it. Stunned again. He was asking me to start from the beginning. I mean who reads stories starting halfway through.  I laughed and told everybody on the bus, its going to be a long night, this kid wants me to read him the entire Bible tonight cover to cover.  We were all stunned. So I picked some of the top verses and we read them together, him imitating every word I said.  Behold…the gospel.  

Hi, I’m walking around with the weight of my dream, 

from start to finish it might not be what it first seemed

you see its on my mind and in my heart 

but for now I feel like its not quite at the start, 

and the waiting can seem like hesitating and leave room for notions of procrastinating 

Could it be that I am back peddling 

when what I really want to do is gain the ground lost in years of meddling, 

in things that didn’t matter, but made noise with chaos and clatter, 

I would hate to get to the end of my life and realize that none of my fears have come true, 

but they changed the way I lived my life, and what I put my hand to

so instead of taking ground and being brave, I was just weak and so mis behaved.  

But this can’t be me, not anymore, because I have caught glimpses of what lies in store, 

while I can’t paint the picture to its entirety, it not my masterpiece, but he who lives inside me. 

At the risk of this sounding a bit like a spoken word, the notion I write poetry is more thanabsurd, 

its just that sometimes I get so worked up that my words come as if delivered by the truck, 

load like they could just explode and corrode the modes of behavior I have consistently showed, 

So I just type and I write and I think and I fight that maybe I can, that I just might 

have what it takes to catch all the breaks and raise the standard as well as the stakes

that singing inside me was a great song, that the enemy wanted to silence all along

the race is blood sweat and tears, and the nights can be long…

But I carry this dream, and I will finish it strong!

Mozart had it easy, writing music with no words. 

Music sets the atmosphere, lyrics have to say something. 

Anybody can say something, but some things just don’t sing well. 

A unique concept that words can be great words, but in the wrong atmosphere they just don’t fit. 

You may have a mouth full of words, but they don’t fit the beat of the song that is playing.  

How can the right words not sync to the beat of your heart?  

Waiting on the words to sync with the music of the moments

Thats life. 

Do you still believe.

Love.  

I wonder.  

Do we ever understand it. 

I sat with a woman.  

We watched as death crept closer to her husband.  

With each breath it seemed at hand, only to watch him fight for another.  

She was old, but she still had things she wanted to tell him.

Her tears fell as books narrating the story of her broken heart. 

They fell, landing upon the wood burning stove, instantly turned to vapor with sizzling finality. 

Gone.

Not more than a second after they were cried. 

A mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes.  

That is life.

But love.

Maybe that is more. 

In Love, 

Matt

“It’s gonna be wild, its gonna be great, its gonna be full of Him” United Pursuit Band - Come Away

The safari guide wheels the truck through dirt roads of Kruger park.  The sights are like nothing you’ve ever seen.  This is the wilderness like you’ve never experienced.  Its raw, its rugged, its wild in the truest sense.  You spot the King of the Jungle.  Not more than 30 feet from the jeep.  You instantly feel so unsafe.  He is most powerful in all the land.  “Get out,” comes the voice.  You turn your head to see what’s happened.  The eyes are pointed at you.  “Get out of this jeep.” he repeats.  “ Surely he can’t be serious,” you think as your mind races.  You get that familiar sinking feeling you’ve tried to rename, but now its true name is evident, FEAR.  “GET OUT!” he screams.  You slide out of the jeep, certain of only one thing, “this can not end well.”  The guide laughs as he drives off and says, “don’t’ show fear!”

The lion approaches.

In order for a journey to be “wild,” you must be in the wilderness.  The natural assumption is that  the wilderness is a place of adventure, and it is.  But what you find in your wilderness is…the enemy. 

The greatest thing you will face, is your adversary.  

The wilderness that Jesus was “led” or “driven” into, had only one real thing to offer.  And that was Satan himself.  IF you walk into the wilderness you will find your adversary waiting for you, roaming about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. 

The purpose of the wilderness is not the man who runs in, but the man who walks out.  

The wilderness is a place you come to and realize, there is no where else to run.  The running must stop here, and now. 

The lion approaches. 

Its eyes burn with the fire of the sun.  The guide’s last words echo in your head, “don’t show fear.”  But that is an  impossible task  now.  Twenty feet…ten feet…five…two………one.   Your greatest fears are upon you. You look down and see your body shaking.  Just as lightning across a dark sky, your mind skips from one thought to the next with a speed even you can’t keep up with.  Then it happens.  The ROAR.  Face to face with a roar that will carry for miles.  You feel the waves of sound as they explode against your body.  The ground actually trembles as the king announces his victory.  In your heart and mind, you know you are done.  You could run, but where would you go?  You could scream but who would hear you?  You could fight, but what good would come of it? “So this is how it ends.” you resign.  You must face it.

You close your eyes and think of better times.  Your heart beat counts the seconds…1…2…3…4…5…6…nothing.  Its not that your heart stopped, its that nothing has happened.  You dare to look.  The light slowly creeps in through one eye and then another.  

The Lion is no more than six inches from your face.  Still piercing you with a gaze so intense you can’t stand it for longer than escaping moments.  As you divert your eyes to the side you see that all the “wilds” that this wilderness has to offer are watching.

Stopped, to watch and ponder A King’s decision. 

You see the enemy roams about LIKE a lion.  So we fear him as though he IS one.  But now you have seen the Lion.  And this is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  The fire that burns in his eyes are justice and mercy.  And his roar is one that shakes the ground, and shakes the fear from you.  He has called you to this place of wilderness to ensure you to face your fear, and face the adversary, but also to KNOW Him.

...the wilderness is always about the man who walks out.  

Changing, 

Matt