God has awesome plans for your life. So get excited!

In your life, the people become like a patchwork quilt. Some leave with you a piece that is bigger than you wanted and others smaller than you thought you needed. Some are that annoying itchy square in the corner, and others that piece of worn flannel. You leave pieces with some and they leave their pieces with you. All the while each and every square makes up a part of what is you. Be okay with the squares people leave you. For life is too short to expect from people what they do not have to give, or were not called to give you.

I remember my father, who had served in Vietnam, once talking to me about how real courage is when you're scared out of your mind but you do what you have to do anyway. I didn't feel very courageous at the moment. I felt like a small mouse in the mouth of a lion.

We lied to ourselves thinking in our minds we knew everything. We were deceived in believing that youthful enthusiasm could replace wizened maturity.

I feel as if I've gone past the lukewarm stage that Jesus talked about in the book of Revelations and am slowly dwindling on cold. Deep down I want to change, but I don't know how. I'm the pastor. I'm supposed to know how. I hide my frustration with an obsession for Ohio State football and hours at the I Sold It on eBay internet cafe around the corner from the church.

The couch and I were what I would describe as frenemies. I loved to hate it. It was too small for my frame. I had tried to tell my wife that fact when we bought it off of Craigslist, but she assured me that it went perfectly with our room decor and it was a good deal.

They weren't people that liked change. They were the kind of people that would have tied change to a chair with dental floss if they could in order to avoid it. They were the type of people who desired to live in their virtual bubbles and grew to resent anyone that challenged that world.

I looked up at the wall. My bachelor's degree had been in History. Films like Back to the Future and Quantum Leap had been some of my favorite programs. Could time travel really be possible? This seemed too unreal.

I could smell death in the air and I knew it was mine. I could see the world spinning around me and I could sense the blows being thrust into my body. I blacked out.

As far as not seeing your fruit is concerned, you know many people have this idea that things need to happen when you think they should and if they don't you get this idea that God isn't in it. The fruit you've seen isn't bad fruit. It's just green. It's not ready. I've heard you humans complain time and time again about God telling you to do something and then the frustration begins to set in. You are so busy checking your fruit every two days that you don't realize it's just not ripe yet.

Your passion dwindling out isn't Father's fault either. You can't blame that on Him. He has you in Merchant for a reason. You may not see it yet. But there is purpose. Father always has a purpose.

Some battles take more than one ninja to win.

If you are a worrywart you can't be a ninja. You can't rise up and fight when the weight of the world is pressing you down. Your family needs you to be sane and not bogged down in fear.

Ninja faith stands. It is not shaken when things seem contrary to what one expects. Ninja faith chooses to believe the truth.

Ninja Mom's can't be all their called to be, if their so stressed out about how their going to pay their Mastercard bill

Ninja mom's understand that life is a balancing act, and in order to keep the balance they have to learn to enjoy the moment!

Ninja Mom's know that God has never left them!

To be a ninja Mom you have to be cool with yourself.

Ninja mom's understand that training time is never wasted time.

Ninja Mom's are graced to finish the raise set before them!

Ninja Mom's have to learn that when they mess up, they get right back up again.

You are a victorious ninja because God created you that way!

Ninja's understand that training time is never wasted time.

Stop being fake and start being real. Start being real with the people around you, and start being real with God. Churches are not Broadway musicals where we can play the role of a Christian. You may think that you can play a role with people and get away with it, but I tell you today that you can't play that role with God. He sees through your plastic smiles and fake veneers.

We've become very good in our churches today at faking our concern when really we couldn't care less about the people around us.

There is a lost and dying world out there. They need to see that the Church is different from their socially-segregated high schools. They need to see a 'family' operating as a team, not a bunch of cliques playing a role.

Having true compassion for people isn't about the words that are spoken and the actions that are done. Having true compassion is an attitude from the heart that can't be faked.

I believe that forgiveness is a processes. You might be able to release some offenses right away, but some offenses hurt deeper. You have to choose to let go and let God.

Selfishness is the root of all jealousy. When we are caught up thinking about ourselves, we can't think about anyone else.

If your temper is violent towards your brothers and sisters in the Lord, whose kingdom are you trying to build?

In today's society, Christians have a bad rap for things like holding picketing signs, screaming mantras of hate, and bombing abortion clinics. Somehow, I don't think that's showing love.

We used to live in a society where if we saw one person struggling in our boat, we'd all stop what we were doing and help that person. We'd all work together as a team. In today's world, we see that person struggling in the boat, feel glad it's not us, and pick them up and throw them in the water. We just don't really care about each other anymore.

In order to get some help in your love walk, all you have to do is ask God to let you see these people through His eyes.

One person does make a difference. Jesus was one person. He made a difference. Stop telling the Lord that the problem is too big. Stop looking at your problem. The more you look at the problem, the bigger it gets. God is bigger than that problem. Keep your eyes on God! Let God be bigger than your feats! You are one person, but you have the life of God on the inside of you. You can and will make a difference!

You can choose to be part of the solution or part of the problem.

When new believers come into the Church-when the young and innocent who are so full of life come in-we must treat them with honor and respect. We must be careful not to violate them in anyway. We are held accountable for their spiritual growth.

Gossip is multiplying like breeding rabbits in the Church today. We may pretend it isn't, but we're only lying to ourselves. We like to put pretty little bows on it in the Church today. We like saying that we're just passing on some information so that so-and-so can be prayed for by our other sister. We like to justify it in our heads, but sin is sin so I'm going to call it that.

God isn't looking for a bunch of actors. He is looking for people who are sold out to His plan and purpose.

Accuracy is not the measure of a true prophet. You will know the true prophets by their fruit.

The story of Balaam is also a good reminder that just because a person can flow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit doesn't mean they have character.

In order for us to become the Bride of Christ, we must stop being so divided. We must start coming together. We must be places of refuge for the nonbelievers and start being places they want to come. That doesn't mean that we will always agree on everything, but we must start pursuing unity.

The world sees the junk that is going on in the churches, and they don't want any part of it. If we really accept the Great Commission in Matt 28:19, we will put our differences aside, we'll stop asking, 'What is in it for me?' and we will genuinely start loving each other.