AC3 VB74 Chazown

Check out this weeks video blog right here as Rick and Dan discuss a popular upcoming class. Enjoy! :)

Don't Ask, Just Follow

Listening when it doesn't make sense. 

So there I was, managing this coffee stand at the church. Handling the tracking of money and helping with every aspect of the operation. For starters, I don't think that I should even be my own bookkeeper, it's certainly not in me to be a diligent tracker of money for an entity outside of myself. However, there I was, because God needed me to be involved. The coffee stand needed change, Creek Espresso needed management and needed good stewardship. I didn't see myself fit for the job, but God did, so I listened.

I did the best I could and prayed like crazy for God to show me the more permanent answer as to who belonged managing Creek Espresso, it certainly didn't feel like it was me. Since I joined the BAM board (Business As Mission) earlier this year, I felt drawn to this coffee stand. God was pulling me towards it to seemingly set the path for the future, much like he pulled me in to start this blog late last year. As with most things God pulls me to, there was enemy opposition. It was not an easy road but with the help of the BAM board, our volunteers and a HUGE help by our new Creek Espresso Management, Stephanie Moddison, the future is looking bright for Creek Espresso and it's efforts to raise funds for The AC3 Community Center.

The power of prayer

Like I said, the prayers were being sent up in great numbers lately about finding a solution to the problem that I was facing. I needed to step down from this role in the coffee stand, but I needed God to show me the way as surely all of this hard work was for progress in Jesus' name. 

So there I am, praying like crazy. One night, I had a good long talk about it with Bet (aka the awesomest wife in recorded history), told her I was praying about it and asked her to as well. That night before I went to bed I prayed that I'd find balance, that even if I was supposed to manage this coffee stand that I could fit it in where it needed to be fit in as I run a real estate business that supports my family that is clearly #1 on the work priority list. 

How God works in my life.

Well, in the short years I've been a real follower of Jesus, I've learned that The Holy Spirit seriously lacks subtleties when showing me the path that needs to be taken. 

So I'm moping around the house, the very next day after talking to Bet about this coffee stand/time constraint problem and Bet says, "hey honey, I found this in the bag of stuff taken out of your old car, do you want it?"

This is a press pass, made for me by one Nate Crain, an idea straight from God, filtered through Dan Hazen and myself. It was the vision to start this very blog that caused me to take up my passion for writing again, a vision that was seemingly taken from me when business picked up and the coffee stand among other things took all of my time.

At first I didn't think much of her finding the press pass and handing it to me. Then I checked my email. Within an hour of Bet handing me my press pass, I get an email from Creek Espresso's saving grace, Stephanie Moddison. Stephanie and I had been working together to manage Creek Espresso for several months. There's no way that it would be what it is today without her. The email was about how God was putting it on her heart to take over full management of Creek Espresso. How her little guy was just getting old enough where she thought she could take this all on and that her processes for the stand were ready to be in full swing. 

So, I took a step back. Thanked God for working in my life and told Him that I'm listening and that I'm His humble servant and will press forward as he's called me to do. 

Listening forward

So, I listened. Here I am, writing on the blog. I know not where I'll be led in this adventure but I know I'll be led somewhere He wants me to be which makes my heart happier than I could have ever imagined. I'm done asking questions about where He leads me, it's time to just follow because I always end up in the right place at the right time. 

I also know, AC3, that your espresso stand, Creek Espresso is in capable, amazing, loving and caring hands for the foreseeable future in Stephanie Moddison. I will be doing all that I can to support her as she takes on this challenge that God has laid on her plate. So stop in for some java this weekend at church and support the community center at the same time. 

-Jared Galde

2014 Men's Forum, H.U.G.E. Hearts!!

Men after God's heart

 

H.U.G.E. Men of God Men's Forum kicked off last night at Word of Life Church in Marysville. This is my first time attending, so I thought I'd share my experience and growth throughout the 5 week event and in to the 2014 Men's Advance.

AC3's own Pastor Dan Hazen delivered the first week's message, the message was profound. An epic beginning to start this 5 week event leading up to the 2014 Men's Advance.

The intent of the Men's Forum is to unify the men of all Christian churches in and around our community. To continue to create a church without walls, worship, fellowship, deep discussion and HUGE growth in the hearts of the men in our communities.

Open Heart?

 

As I do with all of my time with God's people, I intentionally went in to this night with what I thought was an open heart. I try to leave all notions of who I have been to this point in my life at the door and just take in what God has planned for me to learn.

As Dan passionately and intentionally delivered this message to this crowd of men, gathered on a Tuesday night in Marysville, magic was happening in our hearts. God's presence was apparent and what an open heart truly means was redefined for me, through God's eyes.

The Pregame

 

I won't dissect this message too much, it was too good for me to hit every point of it and somehow do it justice. I can however relay where and how it hit me. First things first here though, I must say, the worship band absolutely rocked, excellent couriers in to God's presence, that shouldn't be understated but the message hit me hard, so I guess it is.

For as long as I can remember, I've looked to world class athletes for traits that I strive to have. An amazing work ethic, a dream and a lofty goal realized, humility, courage, faith and especially those with an extreme will to succeed.

Russell Wilson is all of these things. His character, by all accounts is absolutely incredible. I bring this up because it was profound to me. That Dan, self proclaimed "nerd" and hardly a fan, let alone a big fan of football would start his message with tangible (and somehow accurate) evidence of how the characteristics of Wilson's heart are responsible for where he is today. Where he is today is on the verge of achieving his ultimate football goal as well as finding himself on the biggest stage possible to spread The Word of God in a community that desperately needs it, he does the latter quite gracefully I might add.

With Super Bowl Sunday coming in a few short days, I think Dan knew the way in to our hearts because that was just the beginning. The set up or the 3 yard run before the deep play action touchdown pass.

The message of and from the heart

 

If you know Dan, you know Dan's heart. If you don't know Dan, know that he wears his heart on his sleeve and reveals it to his community in every walk of his life, especially while delivering a message from The Word.

I won't dive in to the event in Dan's life that he centered this message to these men around, if you weren't there, I'll leave it up to you to ask him about that. Let me just tell you that he told an amazing story, a story of true courage in a young boy's heart and the profound effects of the lessons learned from it more than 30 years later in his life. How that courage gave him the ability later in life to love his father more and better than he had even thought possible.

The fierce passion in this man's eyes, his tone and his fists, shaking at the sky made it feel like he was talking directly to me, but I know I wasn't alone...I wasn't alone in knowing that men's hearts in our society aren't just broken, they're hardened by our culture. We're on a crash course, losing the courage and will it takes to truly love God, to truly love ourselves and in turn, love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

My will to seek God is the will that matters. We've all been broken by something at some point, our will to seek God is what gives us Christ followers redemption, it's how we find God's grace in the darkest of hours in our lives and how we find true joy in the best of times.

What I took from this message is that my will to seek God, the courage it takes to open my heart, mind and soul to God's word and His people is everything. My heart is hardened by my past, the only way to soften it is to keep it open for God's work, to have the courage to completely break societies mold of the modern man and continue to give my entire life to Jesus Christ so that our community can be the light on the hill for all to see.

H.U.G.E. stuff

 

After the message everyone headed to breakout rooms for discussion on what we love versus what we fear and different ways men have overcome fear with the courage to chose love in many situations. I'm certain that a man's life was changed in our group and I can't wait to follow up with him to make sure he stay's in God's presence where he was on Tuesday night.

These are the rooms where new relationships with like-minded men in all walks of life come from. A safe place to find real answers to real life problems through someone else who has conquered a similar situation, because I guarantee you, someone else has been there and overcome it, whatever it may be.

So, I hope and I pray that you'll join us. If week one was this good, I can only imagine where we'll go, I can already imagine the bonds that will be created in the hearts of men in our community over the next 6 weeks. The growth that this event is creating in our communities is astounding. So please come, open your heart, be courageous and do your part to make our community and your love for it stronger.

More information on the website HERE

We'll be at the Word of Life Church on 51st Ave in Marysville on Tuesdays all throughout February.

Chazown!!!

 

Chazown class was incredible.

I can only dream at this point that every member of our church, every member of our community would find God's vision for their lives. The class is centered around the word Chazown (Kha-Zone), a Hebrew word meaning vision. For "Where there is no vision, the people perish."- Proverbs 29:18

Chazown class is centered on finding a sentence that defines you, a sentence that creates a vision for your life by looking at how your past experiences, your core values and your spiritual gifts overlap. Real stuff. Candid stuff. Powerful stuff.

The Chazown Journey

There is pain, triumph, sadness, glory, weak moments and defining moments when we look at our past experiences. As believers, we should take all of these things as part of God's vision for our lives. If you truly believe that God only gives you what you can handle, then all of it plays a part in defining who you are at this moment.

Combine deep thought and prayer about these instances in your past with prayerfully seeking to find the spiritual gifts you've been given, figure out what your core values are and you'll find something powerful, I guarantee it.

As with anything, you'll get out of it exactly what you put in to it. If you give this time to God, seek His guidance with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, you're going to find what you're looking for. God tells us it's true and I gave it my all in listening and learning throughout the class.

Finding my Chazown

As I said before, I went in to this with an open heart, even if I already thought that God had revealed His vision for me and that I am trying to live it.

I made my timeline, wrote down every event I could point to in my past that I felt significant one way or another. Craig, the creator of the class and the man in the video led sessions will tell you to write anything that comes in to your mind about your past as it's come to your mind for a reason and may have significance if you pray and ask God for answers. So I did, there were things sharper than knives in there, things I sometimes wish I could forget. There were also things in there that I hadn't thought about in years that were absolutely incredible moments that I never would have thought significant if not for this class. All in all, the timeline was enlightening, I thought some really great things came from my past experiences, even from dreadful events.

The biggest being my inherent need to be obedient to God's calling in my life. One thing stuck with me, he implored us to think about the things that bring pure joy, unfiltered joy, but also think about the things that make us red hot with anger when we think about them as this may point to something far more significant. After all, some of the best lessons on earth come from our hardship and our mistakes.

For me, I felt incredibly angry when I looked back to the time before I became a follower of Christ. I saw the signs he'd thrown right in front of my face that I never listened to. I thought to myself, what if I'd started listening to Him then? What if I started listening to Him when that happened in my life? Maybe, just maybe I wouldn't have to overcome so many hurdles. I wouldn't have to overcome such a sinful life that this culture created within me, my life could have been filled with joy rather than chaos, could have been filled with many more meaningful relationships rather than relationships that I would need to distance myself from in order to have a more meaningful relationship with God and with my family. The need to be obedient to God is in me, it's one of the strongest feelings I've ever felt. There were more things to take from my past experiences, but this clearly stuck out.

From there, you figure out your spiritual gifts. The strongest gifts I've received are encouragement, faith, writing and leadership, "imagine that" I thought to myself. These are things I feel compelled to do yet fight them sometimes. It's the way the Christian life works for me, the "easy way" is rarely the way that I feel God is pulling me. This exercise was no different. Moving on...

Finally, we moved to figuring out our core values. Mine came down to obedience, integrity, enthusiasm, joy, family, teamwork and community in no particular order. 

How does it all fit?

Making it all fit takes prayer, discussion, quiet time with your thoughts as well as a yearning to find God's vision for your life. Craig asks you in the videos, when you die, which we all will, would you want to meet Your Maker and have Him tell you, "you did pretty good, but you missed the one true reason you were created"? This is a powerful question, a motivational question that helped me find the sentence that I believe God wants to define my life.

I did the exercises, I filled in the charts and figured out where everything overlapped. Obedience is key, so is writing, this blog was started from a call from God so it had to fit in. The other key was Jesus. I want desperately to love like Jesus does, it showed in my answers to the class' questions. So here it is. The sentence that defines God's vision for my life, for where there is no vision, the people will perish.

"God has created me with a dream for my life, and I think it might be to obey God's calling within it, encouraging others to love like Jesus, to live intentionally like Jesus while documenting my journey to inspire my community"

So here I sit AC3, heart on my sleeve, an open book on this blog and throughout my life. I want you all to know that I live to glorify Jesus Christ. I live to bring my family and my friends to a close relationship with The One who created us. To me, that involves being obedient to "the call", being obedient so that my gifts can be given to He who gave them to me and to share them with the church that introduced me to The Lord of my life.

The last part of Chazown is as powerful as all of the others. You design a plan to follow your Chazown, you set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound goals and you set up accountability to achieve these goals. A 100 day action plan to launch God's vision for your life. Mine starts tonight, here on this blog and every one of you who has read this far in the post is my accountability partner on this blog. Let's talk about it, if you see me at church, let's get real about things happening within our walls, things you think need mentioning on here and I'll pursue them.

The next Chazown class.

Our church body needs your gifts. That's the intention of this class. Our God given gifts are meant to be shared with the community to make sure we continue to make this the safest place possible for non-believers like I was just a short time ago to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. To light God's fire that he desperately wants inside you. Going through the motions, being lukewarm on God is no longer an option, we're called to more, all of us. Don't miss the target that God has set for you, He wants more impact for your life than most of us are willing to admit.

Here's the first video in the series, I encourage you to open your eyes and your heart to what God is calling you to do, your church needs your gifts I can assure you.