Lady In The Water

so i know that i said that i was going to be putting up an article about being real when you worship but something else just really spoke to me. i just got finished watching the movie Lady In The Water by M. Night Shamalon. I'm not going to sit here and ruin the movie for you (although i do encourage that you watch it) but it was basically about this guy who does maintenance at an apartment complex. he was out by the pool one night and found a girl in the pool. after telling her to get out he went to jump in after thinking that she needed help. in the process he slipped and fell on his back and then fell into the pool. he then goes unconscious and when he wakes up, hes back in his room with the girl by his side. he asks her her name and over the course of the next few days finds out that she is from another universe (corny i know but it gets better) and that she only has a few more nights to return. with the help of one of the residents he finds out that he alone cannot return her but that he must have help from many of the other people living in the apartment complex. I'm going to end it there because i am really bad at ruining movie for people but your probably thinking what can i get from this cheesy movie? surprisingly i got a lot from it. ok to start off with this woman was from ANOTHER UNIVERSE!!! hello if it were me and i found someone that was from another universe I'd be like seeeeeyaaaa! u know what i mean, I'd be like alright you have fun with that and I'll just stay over here, 10 ft away. but what amazed me was that not only did the guy who found her befriend her but everyone else that learned about her was doing anything and everything to help and get her back home. i think we can all take a look at this and learn from it. we often look at people and tend to push them away because they may be different from us. one of my great friends Cody Deese, talked about this once when he spoke. we as Christians put ourselves in this little bubble and block off the world. we don't realize that God didn't come to save those of us who already know who He is. he came to save the lost. when we push people away because they are different from us we could be hindering what God is trying to do in their life through us. who cares if they dress differently, who cares if they have as much money as you do, who cares if they choose to act differently than you do. God still loves them and so should you!

Recently i went to North Carolina with Katie and Cody Deese of Fan the Flame Ministries. Cody gave a message on exactly what i am talking about now and it really hit home to me. I really thought it was great and powerful but it wasn't until the ride home that I got to test the message out in real life. we stopped to get some dinner on the way home (cuz we ABSOLUTELY CANNOT miss a meal with fan the flame) and it was already dark outside. we pulled off the exit and came to the stop light at the top of the hill. as we pulled up we saw a man standing on the side of the road with a sign and i don't even remember what the sign said but i remember the look of the man. he was obviously homeless, his clothes were torn, his bike was bent up, and he was filthy from head to toe. i remember thinking, "oh my gosh, lock the doors and keep driving." I was terrified of him. then the words that came out of Katie's mouth threw me way of course, she said, "Cody, give him a dollar." she reached into her wallet, took out a dollar and Cody handed it to the man. we drove off and went to dinner but the whole time i was thinking. what just happened? and then it hit me. just like Cody had said earlier that day in his message, we get scared of people that aren't like us and then we put ourselves in this little Christian bubble and want nothing to do with them. without realizing it this was exactly what i did to this man. i got scared because he wasn't like me. and that moment that i thought "lock the doors and keep driving" could have been the moment that God was trying to do something in this mans life and I missed it because I was scared. i thought about the man all through dinner and you wont believe what happened on the way back to the interstate. we had to stop and get gas before we headed home so were pulling into the gas station and guess who we see. it was the same man we saw earlier at the red light. Cody pulled up next to him and said hey. they made small talk and then Cody asked him if he knew Jesus. the man answered yes and Cody replied good. we went and got our gas and then headed home but still to this day i cannot get that man out of my head. I went with Katie and Cody that weekend to learn about the ministry but God was really working in my life and He not only showed me the ministry but he showed me how to BE the ministry.
so that was just something that was speaking to my heart after watching the movie. but i had a great 4th of July. the matiaks came over and we made hotdogs and hamburgers and then did fireworks in the backyard. church today was great we wrapped up the series Vital Signs and i had a blast in Kidmo as usual. Say a prayer for Katie, Cody and I as we are traveling to Destin this week for a summer camp. I am thrilled to be getting to spend more time with Katie and Cody and getting to see what Fan the Flame is all about. I also have family coming into town this week so pray for traveling safety for them. I'm about to go but i have to mention that this Friday there is an Ocean Is Theory concert at The Warehouse at FBCW. You REALLY need to come! this is one of the best bands in the world!!! haha! they are really awesome guys and their music is rockin so come check them out if ya can! i hope that everyone is doing great and living for God!