3 years ago…I married Hailey Solena Trachsel…life has NEVER been the same since, and I’m glad!

At its inception, my blog was about my life…engaged then married…in university then starting work…no kids…then kids.  My wife’s blog (which is not getting more daily hit then mine b/c she’s smarter, prettier and just generally better than me) focuses on our family, our life and everything in between.

In years past, I’ve walked the line between full-time ministry (still hate that term) and working in the corporate world.  That said, after much consideration, I have decided to change the focus of this blog.  What am I going to talk about?  Well…there’s not way I could possibly answer that now, as I am sure a year from now I’d be way off!  BUT, I can say this: the blog is going to focus on my life, but more in what I am learning and the stuff that I deal with on a regular basis.  Some of the topics I really want to dive into include: “Being Young.”  I get asked to often about what it’s like to Be so young and: Married, Have a Kid, Own a Business, etc.  My first response is always “Not easily,” giving God the glory for what He has done and continues to do in my life.  Pride is a tough thing when your young.  The world says “conquer me…then brag about it,” but God’s world says “die to self, live for eternity.”  WOW, is that not contradictory!  That said, I’m going to kick off the “new focus” with a series called “Being Young” in which I’m going to dive into different areas that I have experienced and what I have learned as a result (both the easy and hard way).

I hope that this new focus will better help me to get into words the lessons I learn daily, and hit the world of blogging from the perspective of a young entrepreneur that also loves Christ.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

I saw this on THIS GUY’S blog.  Like him, I’ve watched it 3 times now…and cried…3 times.  “God is still God, God is still Good.”

I was drawn to John 6 – The Feeding of the 5,000 and how the disciples started with no food to feed all these people. Then a kid shows up with a few little buns and fish scraps and the disciples are thinking that could barely feed them let alone everybody else…but. Jesus says, it will be enough and then starts getting the food passed out.

How many times in our lives do we do that to ourselves? Look at the time to complete a task…”No way that’s enough.” Or maybe the strength to climb the big mountain in front of us “Don’t have enough.” Well, first reaction is usually right, at this is no different. You don’t have enough time, strength, money or whatever else it is you need. You think if Peter was like, “Okay everybody, I got some food here, everyone just take a small nibble as pass it along” hoping that at least he could feed a few dozen people and explain the shortage when the time came..?

Nope.

They were all like, “It’s not enough Jesus!” And what did Jesus say…It’s MORE than enough.

I’m not saying to leave late to work or go look for huge mountains to climb…but what I am saying is this. WHATEVER your facing. Lost keys, Lost job, Lost joy…He’s MORE than enough.

1) I know nothing. It funny how as you get older you realize not only how little you know, but how foolish you were. I had lunch a few weeks back with a good friend, and we talked about that exact thing…how “in our youth” we often count ourselves so much more highly than we ought AND take for granted the wealth of knowledge from those around us.

2) Life is getting busier. I remember years past when the most challenging thing on my “post-work agenda” was whether to play Madden or rock the DVR…not so today. Between growing responsabilies and work and @ home…life is definitely NOT slowing down.

So. Why do I write this? Well the first inclination might be that I haven’t blogged for 20 days, and unlike blogging rockstars like THIS GUY I have…well…left something to be desired…

But more than that…I find myself circling the wagons a little lately. I had a LONG conversation last night with a guy in my small group about the calling of a man to 1st be a good disciple 2nd be a good husband/father and 3rd be a good worker/employee/etc. God doesn’t need your 41st hour @ work. He doesn’t need the 3rd garage in your house or the new surround-sound speaker system…you know what though….He does ASK you to give ALL that you have and follow Him.

As life gets busier…compromising gets easier. Prayer for PS3…Devotions for David Letterman…it’s not that far a jump. Within a matter of days a slip becomes routine and then your “down and out.” One of the disciplines I’ve been pursuing lately is substituting good things for GODLY things. T.V isn’t bad…neither is PS3…but you know what is more that “not bad”….JESUS CHRIST. I want to love Him, live for Him, serve Him, follow Him and Lead people to Him whenever I can…and unfortunately…”busy” is in the way.

So why do I write this? I clearly DON’T have it figured out…

Well, that’s the point. No one does. I’m just a dude trying to live for the only thing worth living for. I get in my own way sometimes, but the Lord is gracious and leads me back to where I know I ought to be.

Thank-you Jesus.

<==Here is a picture of her holding Stella right after she was born. Go check out her blog HERE. God continues to be glorified in and through her and although she cannot talk, her heart speaks volumes to the grace and faithfulness of the Lord. Last week I had the opportunity to visit with her and I continue to be amazed at how she “suffers well.”

I read an article about the recent happenings in the life of Matt Chandler and his family.  Matt is the Teaching Pastor @ The Village Church, and is definitely a well-known teacher and leader within the Evangelical Church.  Check out this quote from the article…

“Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.”

It makes me truly wonder how anyone…apart from God can “suffer well.” The overwhelming peace it Matt’s responses…the unexplainable joy in the face of my Nana…it comes from Jesus…nothing else. The craziest and most convicting part for me is this:

When I’m having a crappy day. When someone yells at me. When I’m feeling “off.” Praising God is not easy. How much MORE difficult is it to praise him when my life is REALLY off the tracks. The token question that naysayer’s always go to is “Why do bad things happen to good people..?” I understand now more than ever before. It’s not as much about God letting the bad things happen, but rather what He does in and through the “good people.”

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Whether it’s the depravity in Haiti, a terminal illness, or just a bad say…STILL I will praise the Lord. God remind me of that truth when I forget.

mattmacdonald.ca joins the plethora of blogs and sites that review the highs and lows of 2009.  This year I am doing it a little differently.

I am going to do a series of 3 YIR’s that cover media…world issues….and my personal year. Enjoy!

Luke 2:1-20

¹In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. ¹⁰And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth! Peace among those with whom he is pleased! ^15”When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

It was so cool to see him spend time with Stella and have some time with him last night around the dinner table. In addition to being a song writer, Travis attends and teaches at Liberty University in Lynchburg, and leads and serves on various ministry teams there.

Time with Travis is anything but predictable.  He’s always talking about his adventures and what God is doing in his life.  If you haven’t checked out his music yet, go HERE for the link to a song he wrote that was used as the title track on Charles Billingsley’s latest album. I’ve also posted below a video shot of him conducting the choir at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg to his song, “God of the Ages.” I know the first time (and everytime since) God has stirred in my heart a passionate time of personal worship. Travis is one of the most genuine people I know, and I am thankful for his heart for the Lord and his friendship. God is using this man and I am humbled that he calls me a friend. Praise the Lord for the things He does in our lives and the ministry that He does in and through us!

When Uncle Trav comes to visit…anything can happen!

1) I got REALLY Sick – ….yes…it was H1N1…and then an pneumonia. I was off work for 2 weeks…it was crazy brutal, Praise the Lord that I’m better…

2) New Job – As of the beginning of November, I started working for a Toy Manufactering company called “Tech4Kids.” I am working on a bunch of different fronts there, but spend most of my time working in North American sales. I still spend 2 days a week working with my dad HERE, but spend most of my time over @ Tech4Kids. It’s a HUGE learning curve and definately a different pace, but it’s for sure fun!

3) Stella – She’s now 6 months…she’s almost crawling…I love her a lot.

4) Church – Hailey and I have really jumped 2 feet into Harvest Oakville this fall. Being back in Oakville has been great. Although we miss a lot of the people in Markham, we are very thankful for our church family @ Harvest Oakville, and have been so blessed by the ministry there!

So there’s a quick run-down of “what’s up.” For those of you that follow me on twitter, I’ve been tweeting up a storm, so most of this stuff is “old news.” That said, with the switch to the new company, I had to go back to Blackberry from my Iphone (HUGE Boo-Urns!) So twittering on “crackberry” is not as sweet as Iphone.

Update Over.