Surprisingly though my favorite music right now is an instrumental jazz fusion electronica whatchamacallit. I believe the album is called “the best of chill” and I am really diggin it for study, relaxing, surfin the web, etc.

Some people can’t do music while reading, but I’m gonna be honest. It helps me stay awake… Lol.

I know what you’re thinking, this is fascinating, but hey if u hate, like me, to waste precious dollars on a song that sounds great for the preview and then is a 4 minute dud, then here are 10 great songs that you must have:
Heartbreak Warfare ~ John Mayer
Yahweh ~ Hillsong
Holy ~ Matt Gilman
Good Life & Marching On ~ OneRepublic
Cave In & Fireflies ~ Owl City
Your Love Never Fails ~ Jesus Culture
No Matter What ~ Kerrie Roberts
At My Door ~ Charmaine

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

God has been so faithful to my family and I. Beyond so many daily blessings, more specifically, I am thankful for what God has done regarding this pregnancy. It has been a little over a year since Ashley had her miscarriage and we experienced the deepest sadness we’ve experienced thus far in this life, and going through the surgery to remove the miscarried baby that would have arrived in January. And although, admittedly, it is still a sad subject, we will soon, and very soon, celebrate the birth of our 2nd daughter (what if it is a boy?? ahhhh) Adelyn Makenna Clark.

We look forward to another healthy child, which many do not have the chance to experience, God have mercy on them. And we look forward to enjoying another addition to our beloved family. From little tiny diapers and late nights to some new furniture (which we were blessed with, thank you again, God) we get to walk through the beginning stages of a whole new life, that we are lucky enough to teach, discipline, nurture, and trust God for. The thoughts of the years to come bring a whole other wave of emotions from joy and excitement, to anxiety and
concern for the unknown, but it all starts with the “right now” of God redeeming our loss and the past months of recovery.

Regardless of our current blessing, suffering, favor, or discipline, God is faithful and loving to those who love Him. Daniel 9:4 1 Corinthians 2:9 Deuteronomy 7:9 Nehemiah 1:5. We are living proof, and I just wanted to share my thankfulness to my God who loves contraconditionally.

For those of you that don’t know, Pastor Michael Kyker, Myself, Kyle Pendergrass, Nick Brakin, and George Koch are all in Port’au’Prince Haiti from May 8th until the 15th. (Just 36 more hours)

All I can say is wow. To sum it up in a few words: desolation, desperation, people need Jesus. That to me is the spiritual condition. Physically there is destruction, chaos, danger, and questions like, “Will this country and people ever recover??”

Insanity.

People keep asking us how we like Haiti, and I am very torn in giving them a response. My initial response is that we love it, but I feel like an idiot because I can only imagine them thinking: “huh? Have u looked around? There is almost nothing here but destruction!” so I normally explain that the culture and the people are what make it beautiful. Although some might say that they have almost no culture because they are so stripped of everything. But it’s certainly there. From the multiple influences of their language, to the way they have so quickly adapted to living in tents (if you can call them that) and how there are markets on every street. Everyone is an entrepreneur. They have to be. This is their culture.

They are broken survivors. From what I’ve seen and heard, they were just surviving even before the earthquake. It’s crazy. But these people are beautiful. I mean; they are PEOPLE. Different or not. They just expect violence, showering with a bucket, and crappy roads like we expect clean water, a new computer, and relatively safe streets. Not to bust on Americans, but I am just saying that we have no idea what their lives are like. BUT TO THEM ITS ALMOST NORMAL!!!! THAT’s what I’m trying to convey. People showering in the streets, and little kids squatting in the ravine behind the church like it’s normal. And it is.

There is so much chaos with some of these charities too! We’ve been told DO NOT give money to Salvation Army for Haiti Relief, among others because the money gets thinned out immensely. These people need your monetary support as they rebuild and hopefully restructure, but GOD do they need our prayers. They need Jesus. The government and authorities need JESUS. I cannot pretend to know a lot about what hinders this people, and the powers that be, but based on some more wise men than myself, and various sources, the truth might be that there is no recovery apart from Jesus.

So PLEASE give monthly (at least)(seriously go, go give now) to a dependable charity, but pray EVERY DAY for these people that will, most likely, NEVER EXPERIENCE THE SAFETY AND COMFORT THAT WE DO DAILY, very possibly not even eat daily. Not that they need our things, nor do we, but they need Jesus, as do we, desperately.

So if we believe in prayer….. then pray….. join me….. Jesus heal this land. this people. us sinners.

There is a video however that you were supposed to see but did not (dang it) and it was the modified version that I worked on Friday night and Saturday!!

I was definitely disappointed as the lights dimmed Sunday morning, and I realized that I had not replaced the old video with the new one!!! Awww crap!!! It included a little bling in the Haiti text (watch carefully) better handwriting effect and moving text at the end. Oh, well not one person would have gotten saved due to the changes, HOWEVER, there were enough tweaks and refinements to deem this video worthy of the title:

“Haiti Video Recap !!!!LEVEL2!!!!” ENJOY…

(Also you can see this video and other past Journey videos @ our Vimeo site here: http://www.vimeo.com/journeyriverview )

Haiti Video Recap from Journey Church on Vimeo.

It has been a while since I put anything up about little Bre (or baby for that matter) so as you can see she’s moving and grooving. Picture (up above) is literally her groovin to music. She’s a blast to play with, and anytime music is going she’s laughing and dancin, or grabbin her guitar to play alongside me. Ash and I are so blessed! We thank God every day for His abundant grace to have such a beautiful family.

With one on the way…

Baby #2 is doing great, along with Ash having a great pregnancy. Although watching 6 kids at work can take its toll at times (even if you aren’t pregnant). Baby #2 is 18 weeks along at this point, and around 6 inches tall, WOO HOO! We’re definitely excited to experience a baby all over again.

Some names we have been throwing around so far, although it’s completely up in the air still (obviously considering we wont know boy or girls for 11 more days), are:
Canon – boy
Caydence – girl
Harper – boy
Lynn – girl
Liam – boy
Levi – boy
Reagan – boy
Naomi – girl
Ultimately the name will come down to gut feeling and it’s meaning, just like with Breanne.

I’ll keep you’s updated as we find out more But in the meantime,
What does your name mean? Does it match you in meaning? what do your kids names mean? Why did you pick them?

Be Blessed.

I don’t know about You, as corny, or old, or whatever that song may be; every time I hear that song I jam. So, as I sat and wondered “How can I incorporate this into my blog?” (Cuz i wanna blog more often)

This thought came to me:
I GUARANTEE YOU, SIR OR MA’AM, I CAN COME UP WITH at least 99 THINGS TO THANK GOD FOR.

I bet we all could if we took what, 10 minutes? And I bet there are more like thousands. And I’m talking fairly recent, every day life things. Not, “thank you Lord for…..ummm……pizza”. Although depending how religious you are, that might be a legitimate, heart-felt prayer, Praise Jesus.

So now, God is up in heaven jamming to “99 Beautiful Thank You’s” (cuz in heaven prayers/thank yous float, not balloons) literally seeing our thanks rising up to His ears.

Pretty sweet, huh?

And seriously, in the same way that that song can make me instantly feel like a goat eatin a hole in a bully’s shirt, those 99 things, or even 5 things that God has blessed us with, whether food, or family, money, or salvation, by taking the time to give God glory will definitely turn sorrow into joy, and probably bring a smile to our heavenly Father who paid the highest price so we can enjoy and glorify Him. (AWESOME)

God has been so good to us, as the bible, and our lives so faithfully attest, and He is worthy of all the credit.

I am going to write down 99 things, and you just might see them up here some time soon… What about you?

Be Blessed.

No, ha ha I cannot show you it yet bcuz it might ruin the fun, but I can tell you that I am sending it to our Pastor and my Co-staff for the enjoyment and edification.

AND I WILL ASSURE YOU that I will post it here for you as well after we show the ACTUAL video I am making.

TRUST ME don’t miss Sundays @ Journey…. EVER. God Is THAT Good!!

1. Shouldn’t we almost cherish the thought of broken people imitating/referencing Christ or whatever you want to call it in their own messed up way? God sees and knows their hearts.
2. These people are broken and far from Christ, what should we expect? We need to shut our mouths about how inconvenient this is to our religion and open our hearts and realize this hinders the supernatural saving power of Jesus Christ a whole 0%
okay 3 thoughts..
3. I think we should be worried when our offense over the heretical, blasphemous, or inappropriate reference (whichever you might believe) to the cross pales in comparison to its timing in regards to our religious traditions

So if I could say something to Mrs. Lohan it would not be “stop trying to look like Jesus” cuz hey isnt that OUR goal? But just a little advice that “its not so much getting the outside right, but the inside” Ok, c’mon I wouldnt say that cuz its cheesy. BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS… Which one accurately depicts the CORRECT message of Jesus Christ better:

Disgust? Or Discipling? If they dont want to be discipled then maybe they don’t see anything life-giving in our lives… time for a self-check… less of me more of You, Jesus.

What a beautiful description of the owner in who hands I securely rest. The same owner of the unending universe that ripped the darkness from the night sky with the words “let there be light”. The same author and lover of the human race that has almost spent its entire existence perverting His creation and worshiping the created, myself included. And still, the same owner of the precious tree that provided the wood for the cross that His Son would be murdered on. That same cross and murder that set me free and allowed me to crawl into these eternally safe hands forever removed from
hell,
[MY] sin,
shame,
and fear.

There are not perfect enough words to describe my perfect Savior and God.

I am so thankful for my time at Journey Church over the last 2 and a half years. I have been forced out of my fears, negative tendencies, bad attitude, etc. Not that I dont slip back sometimes, but thanks to Pastor Michael, Pastor John, and my teammates I’ve been able to make mistakes, fall on my sword, adjust, feel the pain of loss, joys of success (best Christmas EVER!!! ) man up and get my butt ripped (miss it Pastor), and learn about the Grace of God. AND THAT’S THE BIGGEST LIFE CHANGER. Understanding Grace.

Understanding God’s massive room for mistakes and even blessings on top of that when we’re walking that line He’s set before us, because believe you me, I’ve made mistakes, and God’s not given up on me. He IS that loving Father we all dream about hugging us and telling us He loves us unconditionally. Sometimes it’s just on His terms, He is God after all.

Back to my first point though. It’s been 2.5 years at Journey Church, and amidst all the learning, mistakes, doubt, discouragement, fun, joy it would have been another 2.5 years without 2 things:

1. Mentors that Mentor – don’t mince words and get confrontational when needed
2. Law of Process – Meaning consistent learning/challenge

You know this is convicting as I write it, because the men who have spoken into my life don’t wake up and go if Scott asks for a challenge today I’ll give it to Him, they are men of the word, integrity, and the cajones to do whats needed. Im convicted because my excuse for not being more like that myself is fear. Fear of being wrong, Fear of being misunderstood, Fear of not being liked. And seeing other men around me that need a challenge or even a rebuke (like I often do) I give into this fear.

I have to repent because just like I need other men, I know that I need to be that to other men, and that means standing up and being a man. Honestly, I still need freedom in this, I don’t have my breakthrough yet, but I’m not going to give up.

Still I wouldn’t even be here without those two things, so here’s a question or two for you.

Are you being mentored? (have you asked for it)
If so, are they blowing your precepts away or blowing smoke up your butt?  Even good intentioned mentors or meetings can just hinder. If thats the case then can YOU step up and create the atmosphere for change? For a long time I just sat knowing my meeting time (years ago) was ineffective, but I couldn’t say what was hard to hear.

Are you applying the law of process?
Meaning, are you reading books consistently to strengthen your weaknesses and reinforce your strengths? Day after day are you working toward a goal? Even if its minute steps… the law of process is the only thing that will lead to significant change apart from God’s radical transformation.

As I continue to do these things myself I can only imagine what lies in store. I can never achieve or succeed (on any meaningful level) apart from Christ, but with the Christ in me I am an overcomer, a son, a disciple, heir, messenger of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank You Jesus! God please continue to transform me. Make me like you, and bless the men in my life who want that as well.