But what about the ladies?
My wife and I have talked to more and more couples who are being torn apart. But, I’ve begun to see a trend that increases every moment… women are diving into pornography and sexual addiction like never before. The truth is- if you’re dealing with this… you’re not alone. There are thousands of other women out there struggling with the same thing. I recently watched the testimony of Anne Jackson. It is very moving. Check it out:

If you or someone you know is struggling in this area, please email Carrie or I so we can help point you to the resources to aid in battling back against that addiction with God’s help.
Carrie’s Email
Jason’s Email

Listening to God can be difficult for me at times.
Especially in sermon preparation.
“God, what do you want to say to your people?”
“What do they need to know that will bring them closer to you?”
“What if I totally drop the ball and wreck it completely?”

Thankfully, it’s not on me. God can use a great delivery or a sloppy mess to communicate His love.
He does the work.
I just get to humbly be a part of the process.
Yesterday we talked about judging others. I used two scales and had bricks with words I used to judge the other person. The passage we kept coming back to was Matthew 7:2 “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” We cannot put that weight on others, we’re not the ones to judge the heart, God is. We need to bury/kill that kind of thinking. We gave everyone a brick. Told them to take it home, write the things they are judging others about on the brick, and bury it.

Here’s one couple’s story…

“I’ve always been quick to judge. Especially when I feel threatened. My husband and I have been through A LOT the last year. I’ll spare the details, but it’s a year I’ve been wanting to forget. Because of things that happened, I put a lot of labels and judgment on my husband and other people. The judgment I passed on them has done nothing but make me expect the things I judged them on. I thought bad things, therefore I expected bad things. Which in return has made everyday a nightmare. It’s a horrible life to live expecting the worst everyday. And even when things are going good, it sucks when you manage to find or make up something bad about it because you’re convinced that’s how it is. Point being, when you tell yourself someone is bad, you start to believe it. I’ve been praying a lot lately for help letting go of the past and the judgments I’ve placed that I held onto. Finally, today you gave me the extra push I needed to stop thinking about doing it, and actually doing it. As I was writing on my brick it honestly felt like a weight was being lifted. Every time I wrote a word, it was like a little anxiety went with it. By the time I was done, I felt so calm and at peace. It feels good to let go. Really good. Here’s to a fresh start, a clean slate, an open mind, and a compassionate heart.”

Thanks be to God.

Jason *over and out*

The service yesterday was inspiring.

I am so excited that weekly now people are getting baptized and giving their lives to Christ.  That is definitely a testimony that God is working through Forefront Church. If you hadn’t heard, 5 people came talked with Jason yesterday about getting baptized (That’s 10 people in the last three weeks. So cool.)

The bible passage in the message, Mark 7:31-37, was eye-opening. How Jesus, even in the midst of healing a deaf and mute man, thought about all of the temptations and trials that man would now endure in life- it was a change in perspective for me.  Up until being healed, he had never been influenced by a dirty joke, curse word, or angry rant- he couldn’t hear it. He had never been tempted to say an evil thing, yell at someone, or speak in gossip- he couldn’t physically do it.

Lady Gaga, via Google Images

In thinking on that, it reminded me of the “innocence” of children. How they are slowly being exposed to all the negative influences we see in culture/society (as is everyone else who interacts with society). And it only took jumping into our car right after service to see it all go down first hand.

As we drove to lunch, we had the radio on and Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” started up.  Jason went to change the radio station and our 22 month old angel in backseat became unruly as she started screaming “NO! Song! Song! Daddy! Song!” She wanted to listen to Lady GaGa (seriously? she’s 22 months old!).  Definitely not the influence we want Chloe to seek.  But even at that young an age, she is already being exposed to the negative influences all around us.  I am not saying that we shouldn’t listen to the radio or watch TV.  I love TV (speaking of TV, any LOST fans out there? I love that show).  But, we need to stay focused on God constantly so we do not become desensitized to the things around us.  Once we become desensitized, we more easily give into those negative influences and the temptations they bring.

Wasabi Gospel by Shawn Wood

I finished a pretty good read recently, titled Wasabi Gospel by Shawn Wood.  He takes a deeper look at key Bible passages that some of us have read 100 times and never thought much about, or maybe some of us have never read ever before.  The main themes revolve around “true forgiveness” and “overcoming sin.”

At one point Mr. Wood discusses Matthew 5:27-30, where Jesus is teaching on sin and our actions, “If your eyes cause you to stumble, take it out, for it is better to loose an eye than for all of you to end in destruction.” The point the author gets to is that at the root of all sin- is our heart/mind. What we fill them with will ultimately be what we give and show to the world and others around us.

I was challenged on Sunday…
To share my story.
To live a life that makes people go, “Do you follow Jesus?”
To be a better woman of God.

Until next time, Carrie

What about you?
Has God been pulling at you to make a decision?
Are you looking for every reason NOT to experience His love by making excuses, ignoring Him, etc?
I’d love to talk to you about it…
Hit me up

Jason *over and out

Inked. Branded. Marked.
What does it look like to be marked by God?
By His love, healing, restoring power?
A couple of weeks ago we launched a series titled, “Inked.” We’ve been looking at the healings of Jesus. People’s lives being touched (branded) by Jesus, they are healed, and life as they know it is never the same.

As we filmed for the series bumper at Fuzion Ink, we hung out and talked with the artists (one of which attends Forefront with his family) and it was so cool to hear their stories.
How life has moved them.
How their lives and their clients stories intertwine through this artistic medium.
How a community of artists who many people are scared of just because the way they look (craziness!), is actually an amazing family of people who look out for one another.

This is Tony Scambony and his story. Enjoy.

Inked. Branded. Marked.
What does it look like to be marked by God?
By His love, healing, restoring power?
Last week we launched this series, “Inked” which is an extension of the scenes we see throughout the New Testament of the Bible. People’s lives being touched (branded) by Jesus, they are healed, and life as they know it is never the same.

As we filmed for the series bumper at Fuzion Ink, we hung out and talked with the artists (one of which attends Forefront with his family) and it was so cool to hear their stories.
How life has moved them.
How their lives and their clients stories intertwine through this artistic medium.
How a community of artists who many people are scared of just because the way they look (craziness!), is actually an amazing family of people who look out for one another.

One of the first guys we caught up with is Forefront’s very own, Dave Lukeson. Enjoy.

Forefront meets 10 a.m. Sundays at Ocean Lakes High School.
Fore info and directions check out: http://www.forefront.org