A New Year, A New Path to Walk....

Wow, its been quite awhile! I apologize that I haven't written in awhile....many new experiences have been moving like the midwest wind this past 4 months. A new year!! A new path.....have you ever wondered just why you are on the path you are right at this moment? Why you woke up this morning with the thoughts that floated in your mind or the TV station you turned to have a story that captivated your attention at that very moment?

We are given a new year every 365 days and right now we only have 354 days left! What am I going to to with this time??? What adventures will I chose to venture that will enscript my life for all eternity this 2008? For those of you who read and for those of you who care about what is read....take a deep breath.....exhale it out SLOWLY and with each pulsating moment you notice as you do....you'll make the most out of the 354 days you have left. Hmmm....wonder why?? You just began the new path of your days this 2008 with....CONTROL! Let yourself enjoy this year with your family, friends and even your pets! If this may be your last year of life....make the Lord proud you made the most of it with what He gave you and breathe.....as you see your horizon bless you with its coming beauty.

God bless you this 2008.

Don't Forget!!

Hey there all!

Don't forget that my family's television debut is on the week of October 29th through November 2nd on Wheel of Fortune! Amber, my wife, will be in the audience being shown on the October 31st show and my actual game is on November 1st. Be sure to check your local time and station the Wheel is on to make sure you don't miss it! Let me know what you think and see for yourself how awesome God is!

Love in Christ,
Chad & Family

Pat, Vanna & Me....

Well, here I sit in my hotel room atop the 9th floor of the Radisson Hotel after my most adventureous day to remember. Today was the day that I fulfilled a dream by being a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune. Without exhausting all the details of my day I can summarize as this: Meeting 19 other outstanding competitors and now friends of a common blessing. I was the only "Midwestern" there and the tallest as well. Seeing the studio, it is MUCH smaller than invisioned on TV, yet the fasination of it all was just as I dreamed it would be.

God answered my prayers that day, giving me what I don't deserve and withholding what I desired to show how awesome and in control He is in. He blessed my life through this experience with what He wanted, like I prayed for. Never underestimate how much control of your life God does have even when we are too self-centered to see the actuallity of it all.

I'm sure more thoughts of this weekend will come in the coming weeks....for now, everyone needs to know that the show will air NATIONALLY on NOVEMBER 1st, 2007 on whatever local station shows the Wheel of Fortune....so tune in and see what God has done.

Until another time my friends....

Positive Fortunes....

Wow, it seems like forever since I've been able to update my blog, but I must say, its for good reasons. Ever been at a time in your life when you just don't know which direction at the crossroad you need to take? The whole month of September seems to have many crossroads that I have been given the opportunity to decide which way to venture....but so far, God has led the way.

Right now a great humbling has been surrounding my life starting with my factory job I am now working at, which has been pleasantly great, but the environment is a struggle due to its ever increasing negativity and cursing. God is helping to hypersensitize my boundaries as a Christian and I must say, its a teder-toder right now.

God is good and many roads lie ahead for me and my family and for those keeping tabs, we are doing better than we have been! Also a pleasant venture lies in our waks on October 12th when FINALLY the Wheel called! :)


Yes, Amber and I will play our fortune on the Wheel of Fortune gameshow on October 12th in LA. Pray for us that God will help us make the most of this amazing opportunity and for us to give all the glory for what comes of it, to HIM.

Until next time, God bless you all.

East to West....

How far you ask? How far does the line of forgetfulness go? Listening again to the Casting Crowns new hit "East to West" and on the same day I get a phenominal devotion from Joel Osteen entitled "Free From Condemnation" where he reminds us how when we asked Jesus into our hearts, which is truly an experience only validated between YOU and GOD and never to be doubted by others, he tosses our sins away from us as far as the east is from the west. With the recent occurrances happening in my family's life, I cannot help to but to express to those reading how awesome it is to be reminded of the fact that God doesn't see our past, doesn't focus on it and works with the evil one to bring you down when you may stumble, but to embrace you and remind you that all He sees is "white as snow".

Feeling attacked? Being reminded that your mistakes of your past have to be seen in your future? Remember this:

"God actually chooses to forget your sins! That means your sins are completely removed. In fact, they aren’t even yours anymore. Don’t let the enemy dig up your past or try to make you feel guilty for something that happened a long time ago, or even yesterday. The enemy is called the “accuser of the brethren”, and he works overtime to bring you down with false accusations. Be confident that God doesn’t remember your past. You are free from condemnation through the blood of Jesus Christ. The next time the enemy brings up your past, declare that you are free from condemnation in Jesus’ Name!"

SLAM!! Was that the door???

Sometimes you can't see it coming and for most that do, you try to plug your ears so the emphasis it brings won't hurt as bad. The slamming door....the door forcefully shut in your face by someone who doesn't want you anymore. Many interpretations can be seen by the imagery of the door slamming; however the true meanings seem to hide themselves awaiting the Heavenly translator to interpret the engravings left on your forehead.

This past week an unexpected door slammed in my face bringing with it shock, uneasiness, pain and a surprising peace unlike any experienced before. I had been asked to resign from my Youth Ministry position at Crestview Christian Church. The reasoning??? I had a sinful past that couldn't be overlooked since it danced its way out of my closet by an old acquaintance. A past where many mistakes of immaturity were made by me and at a time where God was tucked away in the crevice of my back pocket only getting the gaseous reminisces of my already devoured actions.

I had a past that I was afraid of to share and too ashamed of as well. God has returned back to the place he belongs in the center of my life and this "stain" upon my life was still viewed as a stain by a body of believers whom are taught to see the white cleansed by the blood where the stain once was....however, that was not what happened.

I am not writing all this to gripe in bitterness the happenings at Crestview, I am here to testify a much greater purposed shown to me by God by the slamming of this door! You see, when your life seems to be going well and you THINK that God is blessing your every move, that is when you have to see that YOU are being glorified, not God because you expect it. The unexpected happenings are the results of faith where the control is immenently in His hands, not yours....that was my problem. The Youth program was growing little-by-little and the spirit of the congregation was positive....but I accepted the ego boost, not the humbleness that God's power brings over my own....causing me to get too confident, and causing me to let down my guard and boundaries that I had made.

Now the walls are crumbling between God's will and my ego boosting mirror allowing my spirit to feed off of God's intentions, not my own for whatever comes next for my family and I. The reconstruction of my stained past is not over yet and may never be by the time our Savior returns, but when God sees I'm ready to do GREAT and POWERFUL things, even beyond my ministry at Crestview....I can't wait for that door to open!

May you as well see the doors opening and closing in your life, whether bad or good to you on the surface, and see the power God will reveal to you!

Get Over Yourself!

Somebody once told me.....and told me....and told me yet again that the only way to let God in to work, is to "Get over yourself". In ministry your goal and prayers are that these moments will become fewer and farther between, yet somehow, some way, when God deems in necessary, He gives you a reminder of how its not about YOU, but about HIM.

Life comes at you fast sometimes and the passing moments are hard to recollect and make sure they are the passing thoughts and comments you want them to be as they travel from your lips and display from your body to another. God doesn't take second place anywhere or anytime, He's the most aggressive Father you'll ever have and more than not, will show you more "tough love" than even your parents can give.

I express this as a pastor who falls short everyday of the glory of God and knows that sometimes when you let your accomplishments of the PAST overshadow the decisions of tomorrow, you push God away from the reigns of control and then you have to wait out the crazy ride that lies ahead. Its like driver's education all over again, let the instructor teach you all the tricks to keep you safe out on the road of this world; don't think you know what He'll say next and then wreck the car (and your life). So I say to you now....GET OVER YOURSELF, and Get back into God!