Sunday @ SGC

This past Sunday @ SGC is something that most of the people that attended wont soon forget... not because of the flashy lighting used by Imagination Pro Media, Not from the incredible Sound System that was set up by the same people, not for the amazing musicians and staff that put everything together... This was an unforgettable Sunday because of people being vulnerable and letting GOD work...

This past Sunday @ SGC we made our attempt at Cardboard Testimonies. If you havent seen this before its when someone writes on one side of the cardboard what their life was like, or something bad that has directly affected them... then on the other side is how God provides, heals, how Gods grace is bigger than our circumstances... There were over 30 people who agreed to share their Cardboard testimony with the congregation... there were worries of what people would think of them afterwards, fears that they might even lose some relationships because of the first side of their cardboard... This fear was totally shattred when we began the song "Healer" and the testimonies began to unfold. I watched as a congregation celebrated victories and cried with those that had gone through pain and suffering and at the end of it all looked up to God and praised His name for everything that he has and is doing in the lives of the people at this church. Because those 30+ people allowed God to use them we saw people come to know Christ, ask Him to be their personal Lord and Savior! Glory to God forever...

This past Sunday @ SGC was something that I and those who were there will not soon forget!! God showed up, used imperfect people to show others how much HE LOVES us!!

Glory to God

I had the priviledge of going down to Atlanta, GA a few weeks ago to the Catalyst Conference! What an amazing time of worship and hearing from some of the greatest minds this country has... I left there renewed and over whelmed because of everything that we covered and heard. So much to process in such a short amount of time left me on info overload!! Loved every second of it but needed some time to process!

Now that I have had some time to think through everything we heard it really all boils down into a few points...

1. God has you where you are for a reason - look for that reason instead of looking for a reason to leave
2. Make time for yourself(time for you and God, time for you and family, time for you)... dont give more of yourself than you have to give
3. God gets it all... done!!

Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God forever

such simple lyrics but ones that will stick with me for a long time... Our God is amazing, mighty, powerful, loving and merciful... he desires us... HE desires us

Hmmm...

So there is a lot going on around me the past couple months and it looks like there is no end in sight...   Always something to do, people to meet and develop relationships with, students to hang out with and get to know, events to go watch and support those individuals and teams, friends to continue to go deep with... so much to do but so little time.   

God gave us time, gave us the choice to do what we think we need to do with that time.   Sometimes I think I miss the boat on what God wants me to focus my time and energy on... Sometimes I am so focused on others that I miss the mark in giving time for myself to recoop, refuel, re-energize and reconnect with God.   In the hustle and bustle of life my relationship with God gets tossed on the back burner...  that is not right... it says to "Seek first the kingdom of God." 

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." ---

We all need time to spend with God and really come back to the basics of this life's purpose, which is to know God more and then reach out to others and share that with them.  Reach out!!!

Our Little Man

This is the first time I have been able to get on the ole Blog and talk about our new little man... On May 10th @ 6:43pm... Trey William Bjurstrom was brought into the world at Goshen General Hosptial! WOW... what an amazing miracle and love of our life we have now! He is precious and beautiful and all I want to do is stare at him even though I know its rude. He is doing awesome... a little over two weeks old and he is walking and saying his first words... :) ok not really... but he is sleeping well and eating good... mom and dad couldnt be happier!!! I will have to get some pictures on here so everyone can check out the Trey man! :) More to come later on... Summer is here and life is getting crazier than before!! God is good... So thankful that God loves me in spite of me!

Baby

well... I have not done a very good job at keeping up on this blog thing... Steph is a few days from her Due Date on the baby!! She is getting ready and is incredibly uncomfortable at this present time. We are so excited to meet this little one and to start our life together with a little baby!!

We have also bought a house and fixed it up... all in about a week. It was a repo in Goshen that we went to town on. We were so blessed to have so many people helping out and pitching in from ripping up carpets, cleaning, painting and moving... it was crazy!! So thankful... God is good!! We are trying to unpack and put the finishing touches on appliances and decor to call it home!

Almost here

Holy Smokes... we are in the home stretch... getting ready for our first child!! Absolutely shocking!! Steph is 36 weeks along and is probably ready to have the baby so she can go back to her previous form! :) I think she is adorable though!!

We are still trying to figure out home situations... possibly will have our own place soon... not really sure... nothing like cutting it close!

March Madness has been a lot of fun this year... for a while I had the 6th ranked bracket on ESPN until Louisville and Oklahoma lost in the Elite 8.... I had high hopes for winning only to be dashed on the rocks... 6th isnt bad! :) Now Im 11,102... my how far we fall!

Thanks to everyone who attended the baby shower a few weeks ago... that was incredibly nice of everyone to be so generous.... we are almost ready for this child to be here!

God is good!

March = Chaos

As February ends up and march begins to roll in... I look at my calendar and shutter because of all the stuff there is going on here at work, church and life in general... wow!! Not only is this going to be a great month because of March Madness and being one more month closer to Steph and I having our first child... its going to be a challenging month spiritually with Sugar Grove going into a stewardship campaign. Steph and I are in prayer about our 3 year commitment to the church to do some building and remodeling of our current facility!! What an amazing thing to walk through in this time of economic wonder (sarcastic). It truly will be a God thing, taking a step of faith and trusting that God has everything under control and is leading us through! I have been learning about just seeking after him with all I have, its all about Jesus, it always has been about Jesus and it always will be about Jesus. Sometimes we get caught up in the do's and don'ts and argue about things that will not matter in a few years... Jesus is all that matters, spreading the news of his love and mercy and reaching out to those who need a relationship with him is what we should be worrying about!!

Pray that Steph continues to progress like she should being pregnant... that the baby inside her grows healthy and strong... that our house sells in Illinois and that God provides a place for us to stay in the mean time!! God is good...

Time Flies

Time is absolutely going crazy right now... not only crazy but its going by so fast. We are nearing the 2 month away mark from our first child. I would say he or she but we are waiting until the day of to find out the sex of the baby. We are that adventurous... surprise style!! Its kind of fun but I really want to know so we can pick out a name!! Fun times... I have noticed lately that I am being pulled in so many directions and trying to figure out where the balance is... My wife is amazing, unbelievable and so loving its shocking... I love her more now than ever before! We are both a little stressed and run down at the present time with all thats going on with work and with life in general! We are still house sitting for a couple who is in Arizona for the next month and a half... We are currently waiting on our home in Illinois to move (sell or rent out) so that we can get a place arouond here (Goshen, IN). I think its not knowing where we will be or how things are going to work that has us a little on edge. God has a plan, sometimes I really want to know so that I can feel like Im being a good husband and take care of my wife!! We are constantly relying on God to fill us up and trust that his plan is perfect. I meet with a realtor on Friday to figure out some ways we can go about getting people to look at our townhome... pray that this goes well and that we get some answers fast! We both cant wait to have our OWN place...

My job has been going well and still in the process of figuring out what works and what doesnt and really just loving students and encouraging them in their walk with Christ! There are a lot of times that I dont feel worthy to have the position I do, I feel that I am in over my head... Again I am trusting that this is where God has me... I felt called and I guess it doesnt matter if I think Im ready or not... if He does then thats good enough for me!! I try not to let myself get in His way... God work through me!

So much for doing a lot of blogging as my new years resolution... twice isnt bad!! I dont even have any friends on my blog yet... I am cool!! :)

I caved...

Well it seems that my new years resolution is to start and keep up with a Blog!! Hooray for me... hopefully it goes well and we can keep everyone up to date with whats going on in our crazy life! Steph and I are loving life right now, living in Goshen, Indiana and expecting our first child at the end of April. Holy Smokes... thats scary! Steph is working in Sales for Aramark Uniform Services and I am a youth pastor @ Sugar Grove Church.