The Face Of Love

Over the past 40 days or so, we at LifeGate Church have been tirelessly learning about LOVE and everything it means to live a life full of it.

Today my heart is heavy and my nerves are screaming because someone that I love very much is everything that 4 letter word stands for. My mom, Victoria VanDyke will head to surgery around 7:30am on Tuesday of this week. After the surgery she will be in bed and unable to work for 3 weeks. She isn't sick. In fact, she is quite healthy and full of life. SHE doesn't "need" this surgery, someone else needs this surgery.

About 5 months ago or so, my mom was at church and a man named Mark was on the prayer request list. Mark just turned 40 and he spends 3 days a week in dialysis. He has a rare genetic kidney disease that has affected earlier generations in his family. Mark has an amazing wife and 2 beautiful children that are going through this as well. Mark has been living with this disease for the past year. That is roughly around 160 trips to the doctor. That morning at church, my mom felt like she should do something for Mark. They barely knew each other but the Lord had laid something on my mom's heart that she couldn't deny. She approached Mark and told him that she wanted to know what it would take to donate him one of her kidneys. Now this wasn't the first time someone had offered to donate Mark a kidney, but all the other times it was close friends and family, and most of them were just saying "Man, what do I need to do to give you one of my kidneys!!" They had good intentions but never went through with it. So when this virtual stranger came up and ask what she needed to do to get tested, you can understand his scepticism.

That was 5 months ago. Tomorrow my mom will give a body part to someone else. I like to think that I am a pretty loving, giving person. I really try to show love in everything I do, but I have to be totally honest and say that I don't know if I could do what she is doing. I am so proud to call her my mother. I am glad that my daughters will one day have the opportunity to realize what an amazing Mimi they have and what an example she is.

Tomorrow at 7:30am I will ask you to pray for my mom and Mark. For the rest of your life I will ask you to try to follow her example. I'm not saying that you should donate an organ to someone you hardly know, but we could all learn from this SELFLESS act of love and kindness and try to live it out in our own lives. Thank you very much for your prayers and thank you Mom..........for being you.

New Era!!

We just got back from camp!!! It was amazing! If you were there, you know that already. I was "Dreaming Big" going into camp. Praying that God would do something extraordinary in our young people. Little did I know that he also had something big planned for me. I had the opportunity to meet and develop some pretty cool relationships with other youth pastors and youth leaders while at camp. I have come to the conclusion, much like I usually do when surrounded by other youth leaders, that I have a lot to learn!! :-) Now, I am not saying that I think I have been doing a horrible job by any means but being around guys like Carlos Ortiz, Kyle Embry, and Jacob Jester just kind of puts things into perspective. Those guys are like youth ministry gurus!! I learned from Carlos that you really have be yourself and make your ministry your own. I learned from Kyle that sometimes you have to stop talking and JUST DO IT, and watching and listening to Jacob, I realized that I have a long way to go as a speaker and a communicator. Man that guy is GOOD!!!
This is me being transparent. I am sure a lot of youth pastors would never blog about all of the areas they need help in, but I believe that if I don't realize my shortcomings, I will never grow. No one is going to come up to me once every couple of months and tell me all of the areas that i need improvement. (unless it is an angry parent)! Anyways, my point is, you don't have to be a teenager to have your life changed at youth camp. You just have to be open to what Dreams God has for you!!

Goin To IRELAND!!!!

March 12th through the 19th Rachael and I and a group from LifeGate will be take a leap of faith and jetting off to Galway, Ireland for a mission trip. I am so excited about what God has in store for this group and for the many lost souls that we are going to reach! If you are reading this blog then you too have an opportunity to be involved in this amazing adventure! We need your prayers more than ever. We will be there on St. Patricks Day!! We are going to be doing street ministry most of the time we are there. Anyone one who has ever tried to witness to a drunk atthiest knows that we need prayer!!! We also need financial support. For much of the group, it is going to take alot of people giving in faith and sowing seeds in order for everyone to go. You have an opportunity to sow into someones eternity!! If you wish to give to this cause, just contact me at rhett@edgeyouthministries.com. I thank you in advance for your prayers and support!!

My New Year's Res!!!

We all make New Years Resolutions. Some we keep and some we don't. Last year, my New Years Res was to stop drinking Diet Coke*. Those of you that know me, know how that worked out :-(. This year I want to blog my resolution, so my friends and family can hold me accountable. So here we go. This year I want to strive to be a better husband and father. I will spend more time at home and not at work or church. I will make it a point to have a date night with my wife on a regular basis. I will tuck my babies into bed and pray with them every night. I know what you are thinking, "Rhett, you couldn't even stop drinking Diet Coke*. How are you going to do all of this?" Well, you are right. I couldn't stop drinking Diet Coke, because it was JUST a New Years Res. You see this year is different because it's not just going to be a New Years Res. but a life style change!!! I want to be the husband that Rachael longs for. I want to be the Daddy my little girls deserve. I hope that every one reading this blog decides to do the same. If there is an area of your life that you want to improve on, don't just make New Years Resolutions! Make life style changes.

Praising God I Am!!!

This weekend was awesome!!!! Saturday night my wife (Rachael) and I spent time hanging out with a friend that I haven't seen since I was like 10. He and his wife are awesome. We had a great time. Sunday was amazing. We just started a new descipleship program called Over The EDGE. I am floored by how much God has changed these teenagers in such a short amount of time. Where they used to be reserved and complacent, now they are out going and on fire for serving God in every way possible. I am so optimistic about the future that I can barely even contain it. That is why I am writing this. I have never really been a "blog person", but when God is working in your life, you just have to tell someone. So there you go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!