The Abundant Life Blueprint

This month of August we will be doing   the Connection Challenge. In the Connection Challenge we are going to pick one area each week to focus on taking our connection to a new level. This week our challenge is to connect with God on a new level.  To connect with God on a new level we can do basic things like taking communion, reading his word, praying, praising, listening for him, and t...

Recently a verse from Hebrews 10:5 keeps coming to mind. Jesus says, "Sacrifices and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." I feel like   God is trying to show us something about the phrase... A body you have prepared for me.  Here is Hebrews 10:5-7 for a little more context... Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:“Sacrifice and offering you did...

I used to have a baseball coach who was an excellent hitting instructor, and he would always teach that if the beginning and the end of the swing were in the correct place that everything in the middle would tend to workout.   This is a Biblical principle, because Jesus is the beginning and the end. But Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:8 that the end of a thing is better than the beginning.&nbs...

Recently I have been meditating on Ephesians 6:8 which says, "knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether [he is] slave or free." The context of this verse is doing our work as if serving God rather than people.  This verse says.. We should KNOW that whatever good we do we will receive back from the Lord.  But, when do we receive it ba...

In July our message was Confidence Through Praise. For me personally this was probably one of the most impactful lessons we have done.  Through praising God consistently and filling up the basket of praise we can grow more confident in our faith. Through the month I began to implement a very simple routine of praising God both morning and evening. In the Old Testament temple David said he was...

Recently I have been thinking about a couple of scriptures that tell us to lay hold of what God has given us. Here are the scriptures: Philippians 3:12   - Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may   lay hold   of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 1 Timothy 6:12   - Fight the good fight of faith,   lay hold &n...

Here is this week's Yearly Cycle Update. Recently we had a Yearly Cycle reminder that God's favor surrounds us like a shield and is on us for a lifetime. His favor produces opportunities. This week is a reminder to be looking for opportunities to connect, help others, and be a blessing. Sometimes these opportunities come disguised as problems or difficult people. But these are opportunities to see...

1 John 4:16-18 says, " God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." The other day I was in a...

In my book "The 8th Date," there is a section at the very end of the book that talks about circles and shadows. To be honest this section of the book is something God taught me and contains some precise math, but I haven't fully understood how to walk in what he showed me yet.  But lately he keeps bringing the idea of circles back into mind because we have been talking about planning. An impo...

Over the last couple of weeks, I feel like God is showing me that the most important thing he wants with our program the Abundant Life Blueprint is for it to be a thriving community of people. Thinking of community reminds me of doing science homework with my daughter a few years ago. She was learning about the difference between a population and a community. The science book said a population is...

2 Corinthians 13:9 says, " We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and   our prayer is that you may be fully restored." And 2 Corinthians 13:11 says, " Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice!   Strive for full restoration , encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." These verses are translated different ways such as...

In Matthew 12:43-45 Jesus said, “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the fina...

The other day we talked about how to make sure we keep the gifts and answers to prayer God sends our way. For example, I have heard of many stories where people were healed by God but then the symptoms came back. The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable, meaning he won't take them away, but they can be stolen from us. Lately God has been teaching me about holding fast our confession. This mea...

Here is this week's Yearly Cycle Update.   This is a time of year when light is increasing. During this time of the year, I have found that God often expands the vision. He helps us see things in a new light which expands the vision of what he has called us to do. I believe his plan unfolds over time because if he showed it all to us at once it would be overwhelming. Spend some time connectin...

When God brings breakthroughs or answers to prayer into our life how do we make sure we keep them? For example, I have heard of many stories where people were healed by God but then the symptoms came back. Lately God has been teaching me about holding fast our confession. This means that when we keep remembering what he did by praising him for it, it helps us to keep everything he sends our way. A...

Recently we have been talking about planning, winning at the game of life, and building community( I think we win as a team). As I was thinking about these things, the phrase "Game Plan," kept coming up to me and then the other night on our Partner's zoom call without me saying anything about the phrase "Game Plan," one of our partners closed out our zoom with prayer and he asked God for the "Game...

Recently the phrase "Winning at the Game of Life," keeps coming up to me. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of playing a card game called Rook. In my   family we   would always play rook at family get togethers. In Rook there are 2 sets of partners playing against each other for a total of 4 players. Each hand has a possible total of 120 points and each player bids on how many...

When I was writing my book "7 Dates With Jesus," I had a time when God was teaching me about his favor and I felt like he wanted me to record the date, which was July 19th, 2014. Every year since then it seems God reminds me of his favor whenever July 19th comes around. The Psalms tells us that God's favor is on us for a lifetime and it surrounds us like a shield. And the Proverbs tell us that fav...

Today's video has a little different format to add a little variety into our Daily Communions. So much of what we experience in life comes down to our daily rhythms.  In today's communion I felt like God wanted me to share my daily rhythm for connecting with him. The key to rapid growth is total immersion and this is what total immersion has looked like for me. I don't pretend to have it all...

Lately we have been talking about planning and the concept of plotting vs planning keeps coming to mind. In the book of Proverbs there are several verses on planning but there are also several verses on how evil people spend time plotting. Proverbs tells us that plans fail for lack of council, so I feel like the picture of planning is something that is meant to be done together, while the Hebrew w...

Lately I have been thinking a lot about planning. With the Abundant Life Blueprint, I feel like what God wants most is a community of people who are all aligned together. But, this means planning and getting more systemized in what we do so that everyone is coordinated together.  As I was thinking about planning Proverbs 15:22 came to mind... Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many...

Here is this week's Yearly Cycle Update. This time of year, it seems God always reminds me of something I wrote in “7 Dates With Jesus.” On July 19, 2014, Psalms 121:7-8 jumped out at me. The verses say this: “The Lord will keep you from all evil, he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” Then that night, God...

Lately the word satisfied, or satisfaction keeps jumping out to me. I was reading through Isaiah 53 and verses 10-11 speak about Jesus and say... It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.  11   After he has suffered,...

I used to do a lot of   longer-term planning, but for the last 2 years I feel like God has been teaching me to trust that he has the   plan, so I have been more focused on doing what I know to do each day. Over the last 2 years I wasn't doing much long-term planning. During that time I grew a lot in my ability to follow God's lead each day. But, lately I feel like he is prompti...