95 Hours

There are only 95 hours til I get married.

As for the wedding we are good to go. just couple things left to set up before Saturday. Today i met with Tim Harman and we are really excited for him to be our photographer. Amy is getting her roots done today, actually as i type this now. We are a Joseph and Friends.

The question i seem to keep being asked every few hours by someone is “Are you nervous?” Honestly i am not i have been thinking about i guess you would call it reflecting on our life coming up. Watching the movie Marley & Me this week sort of summed up alot of the thoughts i have been having. I do wonder if when we are 5, 15, 25 years down the road if i will be looking back at my life and wondering what if. I sure everyone does this when they get older regardless of their relationship status. I have though a lot on this and decided i am sure i will look back and wonder what would have happened if i didn’t leave SSR, or didn’t let her speak first, or go through and buy the ring and give it to her. All i know now is that i have no regrets of my past. I have NO regrets of today. I am more excited in what God has in-store for us. I don’t know how to formulate the words.

While i have learned some basic “guy” emotions and random thoughts don’t go away. I have learned that it feels as if i would forget to breathe or how to eat if i lost Amy. I know I know that is LAME and WEIRD. But i never thought i would love and other human being with as a fervent heart as i do with her.

So with job change, moving, Africa, agent appreciation day, and getting married all happening in 4 months, i would have to say 2009 has been by far the best year in my life. I have grow so much closer to God in my relationship with him. Watched my fiance, develop her relationship with Him too. It is all a little overwhelming. Also knowing that in a mere 94 hours i am going to stand in front of most of the people who have helped shame me into the man i am today, and say i will love, hold, and care for Amy for the rest of my life.

I bless the rains down in Africa!

 

From March 12, 2009 to March 23, 2009 I am going to trave to Africa. Ndola, Zambia to be exact I am traveling with a group called Wiphan. The hold that area to help support Widows and Orphans. Solid Source Realty, the company I work for has purchased a school and began a feeding program for part of the area. We are traveling there to film, serve people, worship God, and let God lead us. We are filming to show our agents what we have done with their dues. To show them how great God is. So I will be writing and posting some pictures etc while I am there. So stay tuned as I show you all the details etc of the trip. Below is where we are going i will put up more information so you can intercede on our behalf.

View Larger Map

My Letter to the Next President!

Recently my church did a series called “Letters to the Next President” the pastor (Andy Stanley) talked about what the bible would say to the next leader of our country. He ended up forming three letters from different stories about leaders in the bible and how they led in hard or difficult times. North Point also created a website for the general public to write their own letters to the next president. Not a specific person but to the one who ends up getting elected. Well I almost wrote one a few different times but for one reason or another I decided to not. Well this afternoon I did write one and I have put it below. I encourage you to write a letter. I mean he probably isn’t going to read but you never know. You don’t know how maybe God could inspire you and it could speak to the write person even if it isn’t the next president.

Dear Mr. President,

I know I have said I know what I would do that would fix the situation and I know how I would act as president. Even when I was a high school kid I wanted to actually have your job. After growing up I now realize I wouldn’t get the votes, but I would still like the job if I had the opportunity. Moving on I would like to say I know that what I see as an American watching news, reading blogs, and forming my own opinions that I do not know what you know just from the very nature of your position. So I know I would say I would do things a certain way, I pray that you can seek counsel from God and your staff to do what is right not just what makes you popular. Now I know Andy Stanley said that and if you were going to read these letters his would be the first ones and you wouldn’t make it to this one. I also highly doubt that you will make the mature correct decision for the people. I just pray that you will. Now I know you will get into office with the first 90 days of your campaign planned out and it will be what rallied you in, in the end. You will then probably take office realize what you wanted to accomplish will not be as easy to do and you will “distract” us from the goal you laid out. I already am, ok with that. I am bouncing off the letter Chuck Colson of the Nixon administration said and ask you to start your day with a devotional and scripture. I totally agree with him, have your quiet time with the creator before coming out and ruling the “free world.” Though I sort of envy your job, I do not envy your time of taking office. There is a lot of things changing in this nation and you are going to be in one of the strangest times of office.

So I pray that you do seek God, and I pray that you are humble enough to REALLY put the needs of the American people before yours.

Sincerely,

Joanthan Hoover
Amercian Citizen

We should all have a cease fire!

I was watching Joyeux Noël last night. The premise of the movie was the front line of “The Great War” and the Scottish, French & Germans were a 100 yards from each other in the trenches on December 24, 1914. The was based on a true story from the war. The story is about how their was a cease fire for the night and the opposite sides “fraternized” and took part in a catholic mass intermingled with each other.

It was interesting the way the soldiers interacted with each other after that moment when the opposite side became personal and not just a thing. Anyways towards the end of the movie the Priest who conducted the mass was told to go pack to his parish by his cardinal. The cardinal saying he had done a terrible thing. Then the priest said, “I sincerely believe that our Lord Jesus Christ came to me in what was the most important Mass of my life. I tried to be true to his trust, and carry his message to all, whoever they may be.” The cardinal quickly responded, the soldiers who are replacing those who went astray with you. May our Lord Jesus Christ guide your steps back to the straight and narrow path.” Priest retorts, “Is that truly the path of our Lord?”. The cardinal moves on to another room, and leads a group of young soldiers in telling them that they are performing the will of Christ, that Christ is calling them to kill the Germans, misquoting scripture and then praying.

I am not trying to give the point of the movie away it is a wonderful movie I am trying to point out how a lot of us feel about God. How a lot of people who believe in Jesus. We tend to put our God in a box, we put him in our backpack thinking that since we are for it God is too. I am not saying that I am for or against communism or the actions of the German regime in the early 1900’s what I am saying that, we all are capable of the grace and salvation of Christ. That we all as believers believe very different political things. We are on all parts of the political spectrum. So I understand there is sin and the bible describes sin. But we all do sin and we all will continue to sin. So why are we leveraging God to hurt people who love the same God. Why do we want to hurt people because they may have had an abortion. Why do we want to hate people and make them feel unloved because they are Gay. Like Jesus says those who want to be first must be last.
I makes me sad when I see the church persecuting it’s own and especially sad when the church persecutes non believers. Sometimes it feels like the story I read in the old testament about the people building the tower to God and he cursed them with different languages and they couldn’t communicate to continue building so the structure came crashing down. We as a body are not communicating properly to ourselves. But the people on the outside looking can see that there is a problem and don’t want to come near.
I know sometimes it seems like I am beating a dead horse, but I am saying that why can’t Jesus love our enemies, I mean he called us to love them?

Why don’t we recognize that someone else’s sin isn’t worse than ours, we just don’t have those same problems, instead of hating them or hurting them let’s love them?

I don’t know maybe I am way off on this one!

Don’t be fooled you cannot mock the justice of God!

I was reading Gal. 6 for my small group this week and the first part of that chapter was striking to me Gal. 6:1-10. The chapter entitled “We Harvest What We Plant,” I know this is an age old adage. You reap what you sow. But how many of us actually don’t believe that. I mean most of us don’t believe that with our “doings.” We recognize it in others and understand the principle, but we fail to see our own issues, and quickly proclaim the issues of others. Like it says in Matthew 7:3.

What I love about what Paul was telling the church in Greece (where Galatia was) was keep planting, keep doing for others. I was reading a commentary this is what it had to say about it. “When we sow acts of love, we reap a harvest of love in return. When we give generously and sacrificially to the needs of others, we reap a harvest of gratitude as those needs are met. When we sow the seed of God’s Word in needy lives, we experience the joy of response. But we must remember that reaping a harvest almost never happens on the same day as sowing the seed. We may not even see a harvest in this life from what we have sown. Nevertheless, we must never give up, because we know that at the proper time our Master will return and reward those who have been faithful servants.”(www.biblegateway.com)

I don’t know about you but I have great satisfaction in knowing that doing things for others not just for my own end is going to be used weather you see it or not. Reminds me of a principle I heard, “leverage what is yours for something bigger than you so that you can grow the number in heaven.” It was a monumental thought to me that the things, not just money I have, but stuff I can leverage for others to allow the “good news” to do it’s thing.

I know this entry was a little more preachy this time. But this is so important. Not just the principle of reaping what you sow. But the message of freedom, and grace through Christ. Paul talks a lot in Galatians about living free from the law, but brought into the law of love. It hurts me when I see other churches pastors and believers squabbling about the right and wrong with different things in our theology. A lot of us worry about the amount of curse words use by someone, or the number of times someone has done something we deem as wrong. When that doesn’t matter. We need to leverage our lives and our belongings to come together as believers and unite in showing God’s love to EVERYONE. When I say everyone I mean, black, white, gay, straight, murders, molesters, homeless, wealthy, arrogant and humble. We are all important to God and we ALL are loved by Him unconditionally, so we ALL can receive his GRACE. Never mind what who has sown they will reap what is theirs, it doesn’t void their acceptance in God’s house.

Sorry for the tangent, but we need to as a community and the body of Christ to come together to show we are here to love and embrace EVERYONE! Not push our views, condemn, judge, or sneer! Andy asked what are you praying for big, I am praying for a REVOLUTION in the believers community to leave the religion behind and show love, show the love of Christ to everyone around the world. I know it is big but our God is big enough!