Talking faith, life, ministry, church, rural & multisite
Today is a processing day.
After spending last week with 40 plus CrossPointers at the C3 conference in Dallas, TX, I have a lot to ponder. I usually love these days.
Coming back from a conference has always meant rest, rejuvenation and a boatload of new ideas.
Not this year.
It felt like every speaker was giving me a booty kickin’.
I left every session feeling like I just got sucker punched by the Holy Spirit. Don’t get me wrong it was awesome; painful, but awesome.
A very public valentine for my wife. Because I want her to know, that you all know, what I know…
I love you my Kathy.
There is a reason that wife rhymes with life
God’s design from the beginning
That the two become one
Never undone
Best prize to be won
A life well lived, shared together
The reason that life rhymes with wife
____________________
Many a role she has played, over the years to this day
A partner without equal
A mother, yes
A friend, the best
A lover, caressed
A sister in the faith
One who covers me when I stray, never fails to pray
____________________
Taking a journey or a stand, through the years hand in hand
She’s a companion much undeserved
In marriage, my bride
Over children, we’ve cried
Through my fears, a guide
A single day without, I cannot imagine
This life I could not withstand without her in that wedding band
____________________
On this day we are not done, many miles yet to run
The only race I never want to end
Promised love, I do
To our home, I’m true
My only love, is you
Words cannot express my heart
Regrets there are none, knowing our time has just begun
THE Christmas Story from Andy Addis on Vimeo.
I love watching Mythbusters. Tackling urban legends and misconceptions, putting them to the test with high speed cameras, hands on testing and real science… it’s an Addis family favorite.
Can you save yourself by jumping upward in a crashing elevator? Is it possible to fly using a lawn chair and helium filled balloons? Can ninjas really catch arrows shot at their head?
Now that’s some high quality entertainment!
One of my favorite parts of that show is the fan (or ‘not so much’ fan) letters they receive. It’s crazy to me how some people will dogmatically hold to a belief in something that is undeniably proven BUSTED. Or, how some will completely refuse the reality of something that was crowned PLAUSIBLE and has 60 minutes of video footage to back it up.
“I don’t care what the Mythbusters say, you can pop popcorn with your cellphone… I’ve seen it on YouTube!”
Continue reading “God WILL give you more than you can handle”
Now that was an expensive phone call! I just got off the phone with my wife who is on mission in Nairobi, Kenya.
The boys are with Grandma in Kansas, I am with 700+ grade schoolers at camp in Texas, and my wife is on the mission field in Africa.
Literally, the Addis’ are all over the world.
I haven’t been able to talk to my wife since she left on Saturday, and the 6 am phone call this morning was awesome.
Actually, the first call that rattled me out of bed was a series of, “Hello, can you hear me?” statements that were completely unreciprocated. So, frantically, I pulled up SKYPE on the computer and dialed the same number that just called me.
I was pretty sure it was my wife since the caller ID showed about 45 numbers… obviously not a telemarketer. Continue reading “Now that was an expensive phone call”
I’ve been really excited about the possibilities that I feel God has planted in my heart. It’s a been a real season of risk, faith, hope and awesomecrediblephenomness. Yes, thats what you do when you don’t have a word for it.
In this season I have recognized a pattern in me that I have also seen in others and in many Scriptural stories. I’d like to share it with you.
The Dream Process from Andy Addis on Vimeo.
Here’s the process…
1. God plants a dream in you
2. Hope is you believing in what is yet unseen, and you go public with the dream
3. Faith gets you through the hard times as you trust the arm of the Lord is not too short
4. Reality comes when the dream arrives
Don’t bailout in any part of this process! Its too important to give up.
Numbers 11:23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”
Isaiah 59:1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
Isaiah 50:2 When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you?
Thanks to everyone who attended our Christmas Eve Celebration. This year we tied the whole service together with some poorly written poetry that told a version of the Christmas/salvation story, and I can say poorly written… because I wrote it.
I’ve been a asked a couple of times where to get it, so, I thought I’d make it available here at the CrossEyedLife.
It comes in five sections as a progressive story and many thanks to Sam Wilk who narrated for us… great job!
THE NEED
Dark and barren, a formless void
Our universe an empty nothing
No light, no warmth, no life to be enjoyed Continue reading “Merry Christmas”
For you regular here at the CrossEyedLife, you know I’m a reader. I don’t just believe in it, I enjoy it (that is, once I got out of school. No one likes reading when they are forced to).
The picture that accompanies this blog is the right hand corner of my desk that several of my ‘loving’ brothers and sisters have offered to file/clean for me. But, I share with each of them that the corner stack, mound, pile, library (proper usage check) is actually not static, but in frequent turnover.
These are the ‘next read’ books and when one is finished another is added. I love reading, learning and growing, and several times I have quoted, or even taught from significant reads. Never, though, have I reviewed a book here at CEL, so, today we make history.
As always, my first recommendation to you is to read, re-read and re-read again the Bible, but I also want to make this recommendation: Primal by Mark Batterson should be a primary read for you in 2010. Continue reading “Primal is a Primary Read”
Had a great opportunity this week. I was invited to sit down at a small roundtable discussion with Ed Young Jr. He’s the Pastor of the uber huge Fellowship Church based out of the Metroplex of North Dallas.
Kathy and I attended there often while we went to school and pastored in Fort Worth. And, I have taken our current staff to their C3 conference every year since I have been here.
We have stolen… er borrowed… several ideas from Ed and his staff over the years. But, we shouldn’t feel bad about it. In Ed’s own words, “God gave you eyes, plagiarize! Copy it and make it better!”
It was one of the most awesome days in recent history for me personally and professionally because of what I learned, the other pastors I got to fellowship with and… I hugged Ed.
Yes, yes, yes… for those of you who know, invading my bubble means it must have been a special moment. It was actually caught on tape and I am Giddy to share it with you.
You’ll notice that in classic Ed style he kept asking me questions even though he was the far more interesting guy in the room. I’d love to get the opportunity to turn the tables and throw the questions his way! Continue reading “He Touched Me…”
This is an open letter to my wife on our 15th wedding anniversay. She means more to me than words can say…
Dear Kathy,
On our 15th wedding anniversary, I find that today is an example like so many days in the last 15 years that show an inexplicable love and devotion that I neither deserve nor understand. But, nonetheless, it’s this relationship with you that I treasure more than almost anything in my world.
For the last 15 years I have been a youth pastor and/or camp speaker with a July wedding anniversary. So, only once or twice in our years together have we actually spent these precious camp dates together. When we did, they were days shared with others, like today.
Today, for our 15th wedding anniversary you drove yourself and our boys all the way to central Texas to spend 3 days with me and about 700 third through sixth graders. Then on this big day you celebrated by:
• getting up early
• packing for two boys, a husband and yourself
• doing most of the heavy lifting because my head was hurting again
• listening to me preach for the 1 billionth time
• working the product table and making change out of campers wet lake water money
• driving a second car 8.5 hours home
• making your anniversary dinner a burger, fries and peanut buster parfait from Dairy Queen at a truck stop in nowhere Oklahoma
• finally, making the late night unload at the church of all the tech equipment and junk we’d been hauling
Most impressive of all Mrs. Addis was the fact that everytime I saw you today you smiled and hugged and looked for a kiss. Even though many others would whine and complain about their lot in life, you showed joy and love.
It was a day you could rightfully claim as your own, even if you had given up so many others. Surely, the 15th should be special. But, you put your God, your husband and the cause before yourself.
You’ve never looked more beautiful to me. Continue reading “An Open letter to Kathy”