You may have noticed we have a new logo and look! We’ve been working with a local Indianapolis design company called Makers to roll out a new look for Nothing is Wasted Ministries. There is more to come including a massive website overhaul, but for now we wanted to give you a sneak peak at our new logo!

This is an anvil. Why did we choose an anvil as our logo? Let me tell you more . . .

. . . You see, growth not only brings about change, but change — and often painful change at that — can also be its own right a catalyst for growth. If I keep doing what I’ve always done, I’ll keep getting what I’ve always gotten. And if what I’ve always gotten is status quo, some type of uncomfortable or painful change will be required in order to kick-start new growth in my life. Sometimes I am brave enough to initiate it. But many times, God in His goodness, sees it necessary to shake me out of the rut I’ve found myself in and, Himself, be the initiator of some kind of change in my life. Drastic, unwelcome, and even excruciating change has now entered my life four times. Each time initiated by factors out of my control . . .

Over the next several weeks and months as we sit and reflect on the impact Resonate Church has made in Indianapolis and in the world, countless faces, names, and stories will fill our thoughts - stories of healing, life-change, freedom, and salvation. We will be forever grateful for the volunteers and staff who labored tirelessly to see the Gospel spread in Indianapolis and in the world around it.

My greatest fear in life would be doing something or leading my family in a direction that is against what God has called us to do. Ever since I gave my life to Jesus when I was eight, and especially since I was called into full-time ministry at eighteen, I have learned that the most fulfilling and fruitful place to be is at the center of God’s will. But sometimes leaving where you are to move into that center can be terrifying.

You never know when you’re about to face trial. If only trial would call you up and warn you when it was coming into your life. 

“Hey man! It’s your old friend, trial! Yeah! It has been a while. How’s your mom and them? Good, good! Hey listen, I was thinking about moving in for a bit starting on the . . . . hmmm . . . let’s see . . . the 13th of this month? How’s that sound? Your calendar clear? Ok great. We’ll see you soon!” 

If only it would happen like that. Then maybe we could prepare for adversity. Then maybe we could, as my friend Pastor Levi Lusko writes in his book Through the Eyes of a Lion, “train for the trial we’re not yet in.”

You never know when you’re about to face trial.

Kristi and I just flipped a house! I know, I know, before the Chip and Joanna Gaines comments begin to flood this post (especially since my wife looks strikingly similar to Joanna) I want to tell you why we did it. It certainly isn’t because we were bored or had an abundance of free time on our hands. That’s the furthest thing from reality. It isn't because we're looking at house-flipping as a new career path. I’m still pastoring and hopefully always will and she’s still in PA school. And no, we didn’t flip the house we live in. We flipped a rental property. And we have a strong reason for doing so even amidst the chaos of our lives. 

As I stood on the banks of the Jordan River for the first time since April 2016, God brought me back to all the feelings, all the tears, all the stomach clenching pain that accompanied my first trip to Israel. And as I walked away from the muddy waters of the Jordan I saw things clearer than I ever have. God had just brought me full circle. Back to the Place of the Crossing. Back to the healing waters of the Jordan. In a very short amount of time He’d allowed me to experience the loss of the most precious person in my life, suffer through the aftermath of that, find hope and healing in Him, and then bring someone precious into my life again . . . God’s redemptive story for my life coming full circle once again. 

Every year for the past several years I’ve identified a word for the year. I used to only choose a word for our church. Now I choose a word for our church and a word for our family. In the past the word has often been based on a concept or an idea that I couldn’t get off my mind. It usually spawned from lessons The Lord was teaching me the final couple months of the previous year. I’ve always want this word to provide us with a unified sense of purpose and direction for the coming year - in one case for our volunteers and staff, and in the other for my family.

You see, several months after Amanda passed I wrote something in my prayer journal:  Lord, if you ever bring me another wife here’s what I ask for, that she loves you more than she loves me, that she loves me, that she loves Weston, and that she loves Amanda. 

Last Friday, October 27th, our family stepped into a significant season of this journey. As many of you may have heard, Jalen Watson (one of the men on trial for Amanda’s murder) officially submitted a plea agreement. I purposefully took a little time before I commented on this because unless you’re walking through it it’s impossible to understand what something like this does to you emotionally.

On January 22nd, 2018 my father-in-law, Phil Byars, and I are leading a 9-day tour in Israel. This will be my second trip to Israel. My first was with NewSpring Church and was led by Perry Noble and Brad Cooper. They invited me to go April of 2016, five months after Amanda passed. It was so amazing I decided I had to go back and lead a trip! I’d love to invite you to come with us, but let me first tell you why I’m going back:

You see I truly believe The Lord does something powerful through relationship and connectivity. I believe it’s one of the main ways he shows us He’s in our situation with us. I believe it’s one of the best ways to show us He’s walking through the valley of the shadow of death with us. Although we can’t tangibly see God and not many of us have actually heard his audible voice, He places His representatives—His ambassadors—other Christians with similar stories in our paths to remind us he sees us and knows our situation. He wants us to know He hasn’t left us alone but that he’s working it all out for our good in His master plan.

This morning I dropped Weston off for his first day of preschool. 

Let me tell you what may have just happened to every school-aged mom who read that sentence. Immediately your senses flooded with the gamut of emotions you felt the first day you dropped your kid/s off at school. How is it in one moment you can simultaneously beam with pride, lament how fast he’s growing up and how time seems to be slipping away from you, and grimace in pain as nervous knots tie up your stomach while you wonder how he’s going to do?

When we got back to the hotel that afternoon I began thinking more about it. I felt like I had just experienced a little taste of what heaven will be like. I believe that every moment of awe we experience on earth is just the appetizer for heaven. You and I could spend every waking moment of our lifetime seeking new adventure and discovering new places and never tap into the full creative expanse of God. He is a master creator, and I believe both science and scripture point us to the fact that God’s creativity is limitless.

I peered over the horizon and thought about the significance of the sunset in front of me, a symbol of the closing of a perfect day. I silently begged the sun to stand still right where it was. If I just stared straight at the sunset I could almost imagine being there 10 years earlier with Amanda. I wanted to freeze that feeling, but as the sun continued to fade that feeling fled from me. 

I’ve been thinking a lot of Heaven lately. Maybe it’s the turning of the harsh Indiana winter into a soft spring and warm summer and the fresh blossoms swaying in the breeze that transports my senses to the celestial paradise. Maybe it’s because I had a lot of time to sit by the ocean last week while on vacation and think about what our final resting place will be like. Maybe it’s because the week before vacation was a marking day in my healing journey—May 18th my unborn baby, Evie Grace, would have turned one year. Whatever the reason, the peaceful pace of vacation had my brain spinning with what life’s like on the other side. 

This principle has been killing me right now . . . I did a post on it a while back and it's probably the most prominent thing God has been teaching me in this season in my life . . . . . . And so for this I have decided to put my blog on hold. I feel it's not worth my time right now. That's not to say I won't pick it up . . . even soon . . . but it will probably be by request.

#1. Compassion – My calling is to see people who don’t know Jesus come to know him personally. It’s hard not to get caught up in my own daily routines, family responsibilities, and the grind of life.

My girlfriend lives 12 hours away from me. WOW! Just thinking about that seems like forever away. Neither one of us are very good “phone” people but we’ve done so well, and the phone has really been the major vehicle for our relationship.