Jesus Is In The Trying

Every day when I get home from work I try to spend good, quality time with my son Hayden. Since moving to Stephenville, that time usually results in us playing catch or some kind of game involving some type of ball in the back yard. Yesterday was no exception.

I got home and Hayden found my basketball and took it out into the yard. He told me to "'Mon!", which combined with the proper hand waving, is his way of saying, "Come on. Follow me." We went to the back corner of the yard and he begin to shoot "bakkets" or baskets. He loves to shoot hoops on his Little Tykes basketball goal, but yesterday he was convinced that the cylinder shaped transformer box on a power pole behind our back fence was a basket. There was only one problem: It's about 25 feet in the air.

He shot and shot...and shot....and, well you get the picture. The highest he ever got the ball was about a foot above his head. And after every shot that failed to reach the "basket" he would make one, determined, repeated statement: "I twy." (Which means "I'll try again.")

And so he did. He tried and tried...and tried...and, well you get the picture. We spent about 20 minutes trying to make a basket yesterday afternoon. At one point his arms were so tired that he couldn't even get the ball above his head. So he asked me to hold it for a second, and within about 30 seconds he was ready to "twy" some more.

God used my basket shooting adventure with my son yesterday to teach me something. He taught me that Jesus is in the trying. You see, when it comes to following Jesus, we will all stumble. We will all miss the mark. There are days where I struggle and fumble and fail miserably. Some days I don't get anywhere close to the basket.

But being faithful in following Jesus isn't about making the basket every single time. It's about trying again when you miss. And trying again...and again...and, well you get the point. I don't know about you, but I don't have it all together. There are days when I blow it - as a Christ-follower, as a pastor, as a husband, a father, and a friend. But I am determined to try. Because I believe with all my heart that Jesus is in the trying.

So you've messed up? Who hasn't? So you've blown it big time? We all do. Get back up. Dust yourself off. And try again. Jesus is in the trying.

Big Time Power

I believe in the power of prayer. I have seen it's power in my own life and in the lives of others. The Bible teaches that God hears our prayers and responds to them. I think for a lot of Christians, prayer is an untapped power source. We say we believe in prayer, but no one would be able to tell it by the amount of time we spend actually praying.

Prayer is basically communicating with God. When we pray, we have the unbelievable opportunity to communicate with the author and creator of the entire world. By His very word, he spoke everything we know into existence...and he cares about what is going on in our lives enough that he wants to talk to us about it! That is incredible to me.

As we plant Timber Ridge Church, we want to be people of prayer. We believe that through prayer we can see and experience God move in amazing ways. In fact, we have a goal of having a Prayer Team of 300 people who will pray for Timber Ridge as we start this incredible new church. We have a lot of people that are a part of the team already, but I'd be honored to have YOU as a part of the prayer team as well. You can sign up for our Prayer Team, where you'll receive a monthly prayer update via email, by clicking here.

I believe God works through prayer. I believe that there is power when God's people pray. And I'd love to pray for you! If I can pray for you about something, please leave a comment or email me privately at nic [at] timberridgechurch [dot] com. I would consider it an honor to talk to God on your behalf!

Timber Ridge Church and YOU

As you may know, my family & I recently moved to Stephenville, TX to start a brand new church for people far from God in the Stephenville & Erath County area. It's called Timber Ridge Church and we're excited about what God is doing & is going to do in and through us!


Several of you have asked how YOU can be a part of what God is doing through Timber Ridge. Here are a few ways to get in on the action!

• Join the Prayer Team. We want 300 people praying for Timber Ridge Church because we believe that there is GREAT POWER in prayer. You can sign up for the prayer team, where you'll receive one email a month with prayer requests, by clicking here.


• Become a Partner. Starting a new church is hard work. And it takes lots of time and lots of money to pull it off. If you would be interested in partnering with us financially to accomplish God's vision for this new church, check out our launch site at http://www.launchtimberridge.com/ for ways to give. We're looking for individuals, families, and churches who would be willing to either give a special gift toward the launch of our church or would be willing to give a recurring, monthly amount to go toward our ministry budget needs. Every dollar given goes to seeing lives changed! And every gift is significant - no matter how large or how small.


• Share Timber Ridge. You can be a great asset to us by sharing what God is doing with Timber Ridge with your family, friends, and your church. If your church or someone you know would like to partner with us, please feel free to pass along our launch site or have someone from the church contact me at nic [at] timberridgechurch [dot] com. I'd be happy to talk with them!


• Get Involved! If you live in the Stephenville or Erath County area and are looking for a church to call home, we'd love to talk to you about being a part of the launch team for Timber Ridge. Email me at the email address above to find out more info. You can also check out our facebook page here.

We believe that GOD is going to do amazing things in and through Timber Ridge Church! And we would love for YOU to be a part of it all! Feel free to contact me with any questions about Timber Ridge Church or about other creative ways you can be a part of what God is doing!