The Sacred Act Of Holding Hands

This simple act has kept our union safe.

Anything can happen, when you forget to practice the art.

You can slip, or lose your way, or be run down.

We have practiced the art until we have refined it.

We never cross a busy street without the counsel of this clasp,

'cause in the uncertainties of this life, you just never know.

-Calvin Miller

After 17 years, I still love to hold your hand. Happy Anniversary to my beautiful wife, Alisha.

Moment

Moment: a short period of time; instant. The present time or any other period of time. A definite period or stage as in a course of events. Specific and measured amount of time.

Saturday I attended a graduation at Azusa University and as a sea of black cap and gowns walked across the temporary stage set up on the fifty yard line, I was struck by this thing we so easily dismiss, a moment. For many, years and countless funds have been invested. Great sacrifices have been made by individuals and families and in this moment we came together to celebrate their achievement, their sacrifice, and their future. Names were pronounced, degrees were read, terms like Doctor, Phd, and Masters were used and graduates marched across a stage as friends and families cheered their names. Pride was in the faces of parents and grandparents alike. Honors were given and diplomas received. It was a wonderful celebration and a defining moment for many.

Life is full of moments and not all can be celebrated. Most escape without us ever noticing them. They are full, bursting with events. School and work, children and spouse, gas stations and phone calls, the gym and texting, lunches and news, traffic and appointments and before we know it, the day is gone and the moments have passed.

I am not saying that we waste our moments. Life is busy and full and time is a valuable commodity for most. The thought that gave me pause was making sure we take moments to appreciate what we have, who we are and where God has brought us from. A defining moment can be good or bad and we can look back and appreciate those times for what they are. A battle with cancer, childhood of poverty, a home run, an A-plus, a divorce, death of a loved one, a first kiss, the best kiss, communion, salvation, baptism, a calling, a layoff, relocation, first car, first cool car, first practical car, bankruptcy, new business, birth of a child and the list goes on.

My prayer for you is that you take a moment, a measure of time, to reflect, appreciate and celebrate where you have been, where you are and where you are going. May it bring hope to you today, may you stay the course and hold to His promise. how great is our God for He has brought us a mighty long way!

written by
Todd Howard

Rhema and Logos

I am in the big city of Wasco, CA right now and I am attending a Pastors & Leaders conference at Westside Church. The church has put us up in a beautiful hotel, they are providing our meals and have been wonderful and gracious hosts for this event. However, this is not the reason for my blog today....

Last night Bishop John Norvell brought a word for me and my wife. While I am sure there are others that may feel the same way, that word was for me. It's difficult to explain the feeling I get when a message or personal word is given that I know is Divinely directed toward me. To know that God took time to speak something specific to my situation is a humbling experience. I can use the words of Isaiah when he saw God and was called to be a Prophet...

Isa 6:5
5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." NKJV

The definition of rhema & logos has been debated for some time but for this particular instance I will use what is commonly accepted by most Evangelical Ministers.

Logos refers to the written "Word of God".

Rhema refers to a specific word from the "Word", for your situation.

This is when the "Word" becomes alive to us. It is this "Word", that gives us hope in our darkest moments and brings strength in our deepest troubles.

I received rhema last night and I am undone in the presence of my King.

So you're probably thinking, "What did God say"?
I can't tell you, it was for me, it was personal and I will hide it in my heart. I will keep it there and it will be light and peace when I need it most...

I guess the reason I am writing today is to ask you this question, What has God spoke to you? How long has it been since you heard the Creator say your name? Logos, the written Word is great but Rhema, the living Word brings life.

Position yourself to hear, to be undone in His presence. Spend time in prayer, in the Word and in Church. Put yourself where God is moving and He will not disappoint... "Oh God, we are your people. You are our God. Speak to us, your people, and we will hear You!"

My King

He did not pass me by. He did not hide me in the cleft of the rock. He did not cover me with His hand.

Rather, He touched me and embraced my heart. He saw me and His light shone upon my face.

He adopted me into His kingdom... The veil was rent...

I am betrothed to my King. I am promised to my love. He chose me and sealed me with a kiss.

I am His... I wait for His return. I look for His procession and long to be united for eternity.

He is mine and I am His...

My love, my Lord, my King.

Written by Todd Howard

The Journey

Sunday I preached a message titled "The Journey" it was taken from a series I have been preaching on the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Here in this story, the young man takes two very significant journeys in his life.

One - he leaves his Father to be in control of his own life.

Two - he comes to the Father and would gladly be a servant but the Father calls him son.

These two paths are a metaphor for life.

Though our lives are diverse and our backgrounds may differ and everyone has their own story...

There is one simple truth...

Everyone on the face of the earth is on one of these two paths.

One - toward God

Two - away from God

Which journey is yours?

Where are you at on this path?

Are you closer to God today than you were this time last year?

Is your journey leaving a footprint, that will lead generations that follow, toward Christ?

How will your children and grandchildren be impacted by the life you live?

Come to Christ!!!

Thirteen Year Miracle

Thirteen years ago...............
Something changed my life.................
It is one of the most significant events in my life and it has changed who I am. This event had a profound impact on me and continues to challenge me and make me a better man.

Thirteen years ago my wife was in labor for roughly 22 hours.....

As the day turned to evening, she kept telling me something was wrong. The nurse would reassure us that this was our first and everything was fine. I would look at my wife, not sure what to do or think, after all, the nurse was right. It was our first. Something I have taken away from this experience is that, a Mother knows, trust her instincts.

Finally our oldest was born. It was a BOY! 10 pounds, 2 ounces, 22 inches long, he was born a toddler. He was also grey. He had been so large that he become trapped in the birth canal and struggled so much that the cord had wrapped around his neck and he had also suffered something referred to as Meconium Aspiration. He ingested meconium and amniotic fluid, I'll spare you those details but it was severe and his lungs were eaten alive with infection.

They took him from our room and I followed. My wife made me promise that I would not leave him. He was life flighted to another hospital, I followed him there. My wife was left at the first hospital while I would visit two more that night. My loyalties and responsibilities torn for the first time. I was a Father now and my son was fighting for his life. We had family with us at both hospitals and I am so thankful for all the support we received during this ordeal but it's hard to explain how alone I felt in the middle of this crisis.

I was told at the second hospital that our son would most likely not make it through the night and once again we were life flighted to a third location. We found ourselves at Vanderbilt University Medical Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. (NICU for short).

Our son was put on an Ecmo machine. He was only the 94th patient to have gone through this treatment. His neck had very large tubes coming out of it, his blood was taken from his body, filtered through machines and pumped back through him. His lungs were inflated by a respirator so they could rest and heal. We were given very little hope for success.

My wife checked herself out of the hospital in the morning and her Mom drove her to Vandy Hospital (even if you're a doctor, you don't get between a mother and her baby!) We lived at the hospital, we slept in the waiting room and brushed our teeth in the hall.....

Every day we were given a new prognosis, every day the team of specialists would prepare us for the worst. It was a living nightmare! Friends and family came and would give prayers, support and sandwiches. (the Vandy caffeteria has the best chocolate shake in the world!!!)

I stood in a back hallway, alone with God, and told Him it was okay, whatever He decided to do was alright with me. I gave him my son and surrendered my will. It was the most difficult prayer that I have ever prayed. As soon as I finished my prayer, something began to change on the inside of my heart and there was a peace and strength that had not been there before. I remembered who my God is and I began to believe with my wife for healing.

Doug Nolan, Tim Sumner, James Gaches and myself walked into that room where only one person was allowed at a time. We laid hands on this baby that we weren't allowed to touch and began to pray. They had tied my son's hands to the bed so he wouldn't pull the tubes from his neck. He had gauze around his wrists safety pinned to rubber bands that were attached to the bed. When we would pray he would lift his little hands and stretch those rubber bands as far as they would stretch. He was fighting!!!

God began to move and our son was taken off of Ecmo and moved to the regular NICU. We spent the next two weeks loving and caring for our son in this place. We were able to minister to families that were from all over the country and had wound up in this hospital with their babies. We saw tragedies and victories unfold for others. Every day the specialists would give us the news, at first, he wasn't going to make it, then it was he'll be disabled, then it was he'll be slow, then it was he'll have health problems his whole life, and so on....

Every day we would get their report and every day my wife would thank them for their service to our son and their knowledge but then she would reassure them that our son was going to be fine. (She was and still is an amazing woman.) The staff was incredible and we are thankful for all they did but to everyone's amazement, in two weeks we walked out of that hospital with a healthy baby boy (well toddler, he was huge!) The doctors couldn't explain it but they did acknowledged Divine influence.

Our son has no physical or mental issues. He is strong, intelligent and a testimony to how great our God is. He is a thirteen year miracle in the making!!! I am amazed at how much God likes to show off and I am so grateful for His grace and mercy on our lives. Thank you God!!! And happy birthday TJ!!! I am so proud to be your Father and I love to watch you, love your God!!!

Oh and by the way, God still is a God of miracles!!!

Independence Day

Brilliant colors flash and the crowd will roar and gasp. Picnics will become the feasts of kings. And military marches will be traded for high school marching bands... It is a celebration. We bask in the glory of our liberties. We smile upon a promise, a promise of bigger tomorrows and greater celebrations... Our hearts are full of hope. Deep down we know that our spirit cannot be broken. This land has been tamed, this land has been claimed and upon this rock we have built a people. People who believe that our brother is more important than our collection of things. People who know that Earth's Creator has blessed us due to our freedom to proclaim Him... So, the Frisbee is thrown, the burgers are grilled, the watermelon is sliced, and the fire is lit... Scream into the night sky! Burst into color so bright! Declare to the world, we are free men and we shout to the corners of the Earth... God Bless America!

written by Todd Howard