Our Unexpected Journey

On June 4th we were about to go out on a hot date to celebrate our 8th anniversary…but our anniversary was forever hijacked. Benjamin decided to come 4 weeks early, all 4 lbs. 14 oz. of him. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, so things got intense as our doctor masterfully cut the cord and delivered the baby. Otherwise all went quick and as smooth as labor can. We knew something was different though (being our 3rd boy), there wasn’t the normal buzz in the room. Beth was still in post-labor daze and, it wasn’t much longer after the initial inspection that the pediatrician told us Benjamin has several characteristics of down syndrome.

It was heavy, but we were still ecstatic about our baby boy! The tension of our love and excitement for our new son and the waiting 6 days for the test to come in. There were a few tears and lots of prayers. We weren’t really praying that things would be different, but that God’s glory will be shown in all this. There was fear of the unknown, there was fear of how our son would be accepted (not by us, but people can be cruel), there was uncertainty as to our responsibilities as parents.

After a couple of delays we finally got the test results back on Monday and Benjamin was confirmed as having Trisomy 21 aka Down Syndrome.

Some Scriptures we’re clinging on right now are:

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We are at peace with it…yeah we had and still have fear, uncertainty and other emotions. Our prayers for Benjamin are no different than our prayers for his older brothers: to be a strong man after God’s heart and to impact people’s lives for Christ. We are quite certain he will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We agree with what Mark Batterson says, We don’t love our boys equally we love them uniquely. They are each made uniquely in the image of a God that loves them. They are loved by the two of us. Benjamin is loved by his two big brothers.

We would appreciate if you would pray for his health as there are a number of health issues that are common with down syndrome, particularly that his heart  and body will be strong.

That’s our unexpected journey, but it will be a great one.

Love you guys,

Aaron and Beth

Christ’s Fellowship- Day of Prayer here we go: Dec. 10th 2012

Our Day of Prayer is here. Thanks for joining us. It’s not too late to be a part. If it’s full, that’s okay keep signing up. Our ‘DOP’ is where CF spends 24 hours in continuous prayer. We ask everyone to pick 1 (or more) 30 minute slot and keep our prayers going on for the whole day.

You can sign-up or see your time slot HERE.

Here is some prayer focuses to help you along the way.

You can check out a video about how to pray for Venture Christian Church which is launching next year HERE.

Pray hard CF! Let’s seek God and His will for our lives and church. Let’s love God, love people, and impact our world for Christ.

Peace,

Aaron

CF is ’4′ Lovers

CF is ’4′ Lovers

Day of Prayer…round 2.

Day of Prayer- July 16th. 

As a church we are spending 24 hours in prayer. We are asking for you to take a 30 minute time slot to help us fulfill this. Join in the adventure of seeking God. You can sign up Sunday in the Lobby, or you can sign up right here: DOP SIGNUP

Thank you for being a part of our church wide journey of seeking God. You are a piece of the puzzle in keeping our prayers going up continually for a 24 hour period. Here are some prayer focuses to help you if you want them. Pray boldly!

Worship/Adoration

- For who God is and what He’s done

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Confession of Sin

- Ask God’s forgiveness for your sin

- Help to forgive others

- Humility

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Thanksgiving

- Living in gratitude to God for all He’s done through Jesus

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Supplication- submitting yourself and your requests

-  Ask God to move in your life

- Boldness and strength to make needed changes in your life

- Those you know that are hurting

- Pray for 3 individuals you want to experience Jesus.

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Christ’s Fellowship

- Leaders/staff/volunteers

- That we may be focused on Jesus.

- That we may faithfully point people towards Jesus.

- That we may be a movement of love and grace in our city.

- For CF’s Summer Plunge a children’s program for our children and community children during Aug. 1-3.

- CF’s Community Movie Night on August 24th.

shameless self promotion

I usually don’t promote myself like this…but I feel it’s necessary at this time to let you know. I’ve allowed Jeremy Renner in the upcoming “The Bourne Legacy” the opportunity to play…me.

Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself.

http://www.thebournelegacy.com/

Aaron

Is There a Reason for Faith?

At Christ’s Fellowship we just finished up a series called, “Evidences: The Reason for Faith?” 

We looked at things like the co-existence of a good God and suffering, we looked at evidences for the Bible being God’s word, the resurrection, and how science and faith are not contradictory.

My goal was two-fold for this series:

1) For those who believe, it was to strengthen, remind, and to equip to share the reason why we believe. 1 Peter 3:15 says “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” This area of study is called “apologetics” which comes from the Greek word in this verse which is translated “answer” (or “defense”). We are not only to know ‘what’ we believe, but ‘why’ we believe.

2) It was to provide open and honest evidences for those among us who have doubts and questions. This is not something we should run from. I believe if we are honest we all have/had questions and doubts including myself. I know there are some at Christ’s Fellowship that have doubts and questions. I pray that we were moved towards Jesus through this series and that any ‘roadblocks’ from accepting him can be overcome.

After, diving back into Apologetics and hearing and reading arguments on both sides of issues, I’m even more confident of my faith that the Bible is God’s Word, and that Jesus is the Son of God who died, was buried, and was resurrected. Do you have honest questions or doubts? I would love to talk with and help in any way I can. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Don’t hide your doubts, follow through with them and seek answers.

Check out our website for some more resources HERE…if you are into reading.

peace,

aaron

Christians, Race, and Trayvon Martin

I was convicted by an article asked the question “where are all the influential Christian leaders response to the Trayvon Martin case?”  While I am not influential outside of my very small sphere I thought I would at least acknowledge this in a few thoughts.

- First off: it is sad that a teen was killed. That’s the bottom line. People are hurting right now because they are missing a son, a friend, a nephew. They need answers, they need healing, they need support.

- I’m not the juror or the judge and I don’t know enough of the ‘real’ details (not just what the media spouts) to know exactly what happened. Was it racially motivated? It seems there was at least racial profiling.  

- I’ve seen STUPID THINGS on the news and online that are just out of line…on both sides. (By both sides I’m not even sure what I mean because George Zimmerman is Hispanic…therefore not the clean cut case of “white vss. black”). Racism breeds… more racism! I pray that people cut the crap out and realize that even if this tragedy was racially motivated…that more racism does not help. It brings more division, not justice.

- Speaking of justice: That’s what I pray happens.  That God will lead and convict Judge and jurors to the truth.

You should spend 3 minutes of your life reading this article by John Piper (who is a influential Christian leader) http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/trayvon-martin-race-and-the-gospel

Peace,

AC