this little light of mine....

I haven't got to blog about the last 2 nights services. Tuesday night I didn't get to really focus on the message because I was taking care of my son (which is an awesome little man) and had to leave during the best part...the prayer time. Last night was the night it was different. We had an acoustic worship service and then got in a huge circle and had this open floor discussion time. Last night, we had the most attend...27 people. That doesn't sound like a lot of people or a big thing, but just to come to a random service that not too many people knew about; in downtown Waxahachie; in a youth center, The Pump, to just meet God and pray about missions and where you belong in missions.

I know not everyone is called to be a long-term missionary or even a short-term missionary...but I believe that mission trips are something that we all need to be apart of someway to do what God said. On the flipside of that...I know that the US is becoming a country that needs God and is turning into our own missions field. It's always been our missions field but it's getting worse and worse in today's culture.

I do know this, God is still doing work around us in the US and in the world. I believe He is preparing a totally different type and "brand" of workers to finish out the work before He comes for us. This generation has seen more than most older people have seen in a lifetime. I know the kids that I come in contact with has seen more than me and I'm only 26. It's redonkulous to hear what they are going through and I can totally see why they are running to the crap they're getting in. That's why we need to reach these kids so they can reach out to others.

This little light of mine...sometimes our light is too light or even no light at all until we are at church or around church friends. We need to have our light shining at all times and be ready to share our light. The picture that I posted with this blog is the world at night with the city lights. You can tell where the big cities are and where the smaller less lit cities. We as Christians need to have our light shining and been seen like the lights in big cities. That's one lesson that we will always be learning and striving to achieve.

...this light light of mine, we need to let it shine...not hiding it from the world. God at least deserves that from us.

Culture Shock Bootcamp - Monday Night

Last night was an awesome first night at Culture Shock bootcamp. We had a pretty good turn out for the first night. We had a mixture of pastors, missionaries, regular visitors and of course the ones going on Culture Shock.

Evangelist Joey Hamby did a great job last night. Last night he really just sent over his experiences in different cultures/countries and the extremities of those cultures/countries. At the end of the night, Joey just started pray for people and speaking into their lifes. It was awesome because he was speaking things that completely answered questions and confirmed things in my life. I know that others said the same thing and felt the presence of God like I did. It was like God Himself came down last night and was telling us all something that either answered questions, confirm things, or encouraged us to continue to follow and seek what He has put in our life.

I still have questions but God answered some huge ones that I had and confirmed what Val and I have been feeling and believing for a long while now. For some strange reason, I've always wanted God to speak to me and confirm things like last night, but when Joey asked me to come to the front, my stomach dropped in fear not knowing what was going to happen. I was afraid what God was going to do for whatever reason, but when Joey started talking and God used him as a megaphone to speak to me...the rest of me got happy but dropped that God was publicly confirming things and showing me things. I think I always wanted God to do that because it's easy for me or something, but last night was one of the highest points in my life in the fact God was speaking to me in a way that I wouldn't question the answers that He gave me about my questions.

I'm not blogging that to brag or anything like that, but to show that God cares and answers us when we need it. I know last week I wrote a blog about being in the desert and not sure when God was going take me out or what...but last night was a boost out of the middle of the desert. I probably wouldn't say I'm in the desert now, but more like I'm in the middle of Nevada or Arizona...the desert but more civilized in a way. Or maybe it's like moving from the desert to an deserted island (you the beauty of the tropic and some form of food and water, but still looking for answers). That maybe just way out there and completely ridiculous, but I have more clarity today than I did last week, but still have some questions.

Culture Shock Bootcamp

Tonight starts our August Culture Shock trip bootcamp that will last a full week. I will be videoing the events and services that we do so you can follow and pray with us this week. I will be making a Video blog with all the footage of the bootcamp and posting it sometime next week. I will post it on here and our Culture Shock website.

The special speaker for the night services this week is evangelist Joey Hamby. All the night worship & devotion services will be at The Pump in Waxahachie starting at 7 pm. If you want to come to the services, all is invited but only participants of Culture Shock can attend the weekend activities.

Sand Castles

Being in the desert, to me, is not an enjoyable place. It's hot, dry, sandy (duh)...but being in the desert physically and being in the desert spiritually are 2 completely different things. I've never actually been to the desert but living in Oklahoma and Texas my whole life, I know how it feels being in middle of an open red dirt field with no wind and it's 110 degrees. That's not fun and I can only imagine what the desert feels like physically.

I can tell you how it feels to be in a desert spiritually but I believe everyone's spiritual desert place and experience is different from each other and different everytime. I know that right now the transition that me and my wife are in is put me in a desert place. I know that God has called my wife and I to work with Network 21 Missions in Culture Shock but that's all we've known for the last 6 months. Our next step has been a mystery to us but not to God. I know we have to wait on His timing and not our timing to make it work. In order to work like God wants it to and to work to glorify Him, it has to be done right and in His time.

The desert place I'm at right now is frustrating me I've been there for awhile. I know that when God places you there it's for a purpose, but sometimes it's like the desert gets to you and messes with your mind. You start hearing things that you think is God and you follow those things because they're "leading you out" of the desert when really you're getting further away from getting out. Sometimes your mind will even play trick on you and you see things that will make you believe it's real or the way.

Daily I have to remember to clear my mind and spiritually "clean my ears out" so I can hear God talking to me and leading me. Sometimes you will think you've become deaf or have a ear full of sand because you can't hear God's voice.

In saying all that...the desert place sucks both physically and spiritually but the reward for fighting through it and the lessons learned are sweeter then giving up and getting nothing out of it to help you. One thing about giving up is (sometimes we don't think about this) if God's next step for us is to go through the learning experience in a desert place and we give up...we still have that step to go through to get where God wants us at. When we run from it, it gets tougher to go through it later than it would when God first brought us to that place. We just need to have clarity daily and have people praying with us to keep us encouraged to be able to finish the dreaded desert.

Hebrews 13:5 & 6 says (The Message):
"Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,

God is there, ready to help;

I'm fearless no matter what.

Who or what can get to me?"

if you like more traditional versions...

Hebrews 13:5 & 6 says (NKJV):

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?"

Let's Begin...Shall We

Since this is my first blog, this maybe a little short...or not. Here is the purpose of this blog and where the name "Self Ignition" came from.

The name "Self Ignition" is something that came to me the other day during my quite time with God. Growing up in church all my life, I went to youth camps, youth conventions, youth rallies, discipleship camps...anything that my youth pastor and/or my family thought was going to help me and challenge me as a christian teenager. Not only did I grow up in church but grow up around ministers and pastors. When going to those youth events you would always come back excited about God and "on fire". But just as you get settled and the "high" is worn off...your once burning fire is now no longer the light you started with. Sometimes, your fire turns into a pile of ashes.

I'm not saying the camps and conventions were a bad thing or are a bad thing, but sometimes we don't understand why we have those to attend. God didn't intend for us to go and just get a "religious high" and have experiences that would forget about in a month or two. The one thing that I finally understood was, the fire burned out simply because I allowed mySELF to do so. I let the things that God was trying to drag me away from suck me back in and suffocate the new life that God gave me.

We have to learn that as Christians, we have to put self aside allow God to direct our life story. God puts the fire out there but if we allow ourSELF to continue to put the fire out that God gives us, we will never get to where God intends us to be or do what He intended us to do.

We must be willing to prepare ourSELF for the fire that God gives us. The definition of "Ignition" is the process of setting something on fire. We need to want the fire to start the process. Once the process is started in ourSELF...God will continue to fuel the fire that He started. We can't fuel the fire ourselves with "artificial fuel" or we'll kill the fire. That's another blog on another day.

The purpose of this blog is to share a journey that God is taking me and my family on and to somehow encourage someone that needs it. Also, to remind us that everyday that we have to kill SELF for the fire that God has for us to take and ignite our life.