Photo: Phil’s family

By Philip Voisin

I love family. My family has always been close, even as we have continued to grow. When Cassie and I got married, I then had the privilege of being able to start my own family with her AND I got to join hers! We’ve laughed together, cried together, shared our struggles, mourned together, learned from one another, and strengthened each other. I love the way family teaches me about God. God created the family in the garden, and through that left pieces of himself in the family. The family teaches us how God truly loves us. 

As a son, I experienced the unconditional love the father has for his son. When I did something wrong, my father still loved me. When I disappointed him, he still loved me.  I can’t thank him enough for the Godly example he set for me.

As a husband, I got to experience love in a different way. Love is not just a feeling but an action. It’s a choice. We, as Christians, are called the bride of Christ. Jesus loves us regardless of our actions. He continues to see us as his perfect bride, loves us as if we could do no wrong. I am still learning the true meaning of unconditional love (Cassie makes it easy), but God has shown me how truly limitless his love is for us.

Soon I will learn what it means to BE a father. I get to experience love from a different angle. I get to show the love of a father and at the same time learn how the Father loves me. Although this will be tough at times, I pray God gives me the strength to love unconditionally. I am so excited to be the example of this aspect of God’s unconditional love.
 

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God,” 1 John 3:1.

By David Osterhaus

It’s time to begin thinking about Life Groups in the Spring. I want to take a moment to share the impact that Life Groups have had on my life. 

When my wife and I first started attending Life Church we knew very few people in the area. A move from Texas left us with very few acquaintances and no nearby close friends. 

We started attending Life Church and immediately started looking for ways to meet people and make connections with people who had common interests. Life Groups seemed like a good choice. One of the groups that immediately sparked our interest was a group for young marrieds to come together for potluck style meals and an evening of games. It wasn’t an intense Bible study group, but that wasn’t what we were looking for; we wanted the opportunity to grow friendships. 

I still remember the first few times we met with the young marrieds group; my wife and I had a great time playing games and talking. We always left feeling more energized and excited that we had made connections and were creating friendships. 

Thee years later, there are several couples that we have stayed close with from that first Life Group. These are the people we call when we have an emergency and need someone to watch our daughter, the people we want to celebrate birthdays with, and the people who will join with us in prayer over anything at anytime.  

I have also become involved with a few men’s groups. The time spent with other men of God is a great opportunity to grow and have deep conversation about everything from the Packers’ recent win to the role of the Holy Spirit. I have met some men that I consider mentors both in my faith and in my personal life. These men set an example for how to walk out a Christ-centered  lifestyle and give me both accountability and a new perspective on God’s word. I took a picture at my men’s Life Group this past week and we all look pretty happy for 6:45 in the morning!

Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47

By Eva Lepa

Some of you may have already heard this story and some of you may not.  But recently, I was reminded of something God spoke to me about a couple years ago. I shared it during the worship weekend in 2009, but I want to share it again.  

At the time, I had just finished reading “The Shack” by William P. Young.  It was one of those books that received a lot of mixed reviews. Those who loved it LOVED the book. And those who didn’t love it, strongly disliked it.  So I decided to read it for myself and make my own judgment. And what ended up happening changed my life forever.  There was one sentence in the book that transformed my thinking, my view, my relationship with Christ.  I had a God-moment.

What I read was this: “Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved.” I read it again. And again.  And then I put the book down and I said out loud…  Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved.  

Then why don’t I always trust God? Is it because I am told that He loves me and I “know” that He does, but do I really truly know that? I was dumbfounded. I thought that I knew God loved me. God reminded me of previous relationships I’d been involved in where I had a hard time trusting the other person and it made sense all of a sudden. I didn’t “know” that they loved me.  So the trust was not there.

I was challenged, and still am to this day, to find a way to believe and receive the fact that God loves me. How can I make this trust grow?

I don’t have all the answers to this question, but here is what I do know. You allow God to love you in His own way. I’m not sure how this fleshes out for you and your life, but for me, it’s in the moments when I sit down in His presence and I just say, God I need you to love on me, right now, in Your way. I need to taste and see that You are good.  I am going to choose to let your love take over and in that process, my trust begins to grow. You see, it’s not hard for me to trust my parents or certain friends in my life, because I know beyond a shadow of doubt that they love me. And how do I know that they love me?  Because I have allowed them to.  I have spent time with them and shared my feelings and my joys and my pain with them. And they love me regardless. So I trust.   

Allow God to love you in His way and watch. Your trust in Him will grow.

Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved.

By David Osterhaus

Parenting presents a constant learning curve. My one-year-old daughter Eve, just like most one-year-olds, is constantly exploring her surroundings and playing the daredevil. Her cat-like curiosity leads her into precarious situations, like balancing over the edge of the couch or scaling the kitchen cabinets like Spiderman. 

The other morning I watched her as she discovered something entirely new. Most of the time I wonder what goes through her head as she licks the TV remote or assists the dog in destroying my unread Sports Illustrated. Recently she discovered the joys of twirling for the first time and now she spins and spins in sweeping circles, unable to control her laughter.  She does it again and again; it’s an expression of pure joy. I couldn’t help but marvel at the new perspective I was getting of my relationship with the Lord. 

I wonder if God looks down from his throne and smiles when he sees one of his own children discover something new?  I imagine it wouldn’t have to be something huge, perhaps a lesson as small as learning to pray, how to handle a difficult situation with integrity, or maybe even something as trivial as learning to twirl a bit.  The Bible says a wise child brings joy to his father (Proverbs 10:1).  It is my prayer that I will continually grow in the Lord and seek ways to bring him joy. Not because he requires it of me, but because I now know the pride and joy a father feels when he sees his child grow.

More hilarious relationship advice from Marriage Life Live.

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