You Choose To Love

I have the blessing of having a beautiful wife (Michelle) to whom I’ve been married to for 15 years. We serve in ministry together (I pastor, she leads worship) and we have a blast doing it. We have great family, friends and have even been on a few “trips of a lifetime.” We have much to be grateful for. At the same time, we’ve had to deal with the pain of infertility. Not being able to have kids is a pain we would never wish on anyone. At the same time, it’s through our darkest nights that we’ve seen that we are not alone (the Lord is our shepherd), and that we have the kind of faith that can make it through a storm (like Job). Marriage is hard work, but it’s worth it. Anything worth having is worth working for and marriage is no different. You choose to love. We choose to love each other to reflect the love that Jesus has for us. 

As a youth pastor, I try to show that same love to the young people I serve. They have so much potential and yet are under so much attack. To live for Jesus is to live counter culture. They need to be reminded (as we all do) that their identity is in Jesus. As his child, they matter. Our good Father has a plan for them that is real, exciting, and adventurous It’s incredible being a part of the work God is already doing in through and around them. Helping them discover that only through living for him will they be who they were created to be. Character matters so we try to encourage them to be people of integrity – on social media, at school, with their friends, family and even enemies. Their “best life” is through Jesus. We show them, tell them and challenge them to show and tell others through the power of the Spirit.