Letter of Encouragement

I received the following words of encouragement from a truly lovely person this morning. I wanted to share them here, with those who read my 'thoughts'. Truthfully, this has been an incredibly hard season for me and my family. I am so grateful to God for His willingness to put up with me, His strength that He gives me, and especially for the loved ones He has placed in my(our) life.

To the person who wrote this. Thanks... it means more than I can express.

Michael, although your life is going through many trials and struggles we can't help but notice how the voice of God, the influence of the Spirit, and the walk of discipleship is screaming from you louder and stronger than ever.  Sometimes, I wonder, how do you do it?  You have the role of husband and dad but also "shepherd" and I am truly impressed and thanking our God that you, Michael, can stand the test of time and not stutter or skip a beat in your sermons or your drive to be our church leader. 

The pressure you are under is tremendous, yet I (and I'm sure I speak for hundreds) am continually learning more about how to serve God, and keep our fire going for Him. Without a doubt, you are a great example to all of us when we face tough times, we must bathe ourselves in the Word and trust that God remains our source of strength. I love when you share that you have no mysterious privilege with God, pastors go through it just like the rest of us. You question God, you don't find the answers, you get overwhelmed with wondering "why" won't you "heal her" God, you cry, you get burnt out on trying to juggle all the "hats" you wear. The difference between you and me is that as you are going through your daily garbage you are pouring your heart into creating an atmosphere where a bunch of sinners..some whiners...some complainers...some idiots...some addicts...some broken...some normal, gather to try to grow their relationship with Messiah and put their life in order, not for their benefit,but for God's and you do this so smoothly and wonderfully.

The Truth Project is meat to chew on...we need that, thank you for leading that. I am certainly grateful for your sermons....I ALWAYS walk away with more knowledge and it feels good. The smile, the humor, the physical energy---bouncing around that stage, the voice, the commitment to God, to your family and to us. You keep on making it look easy when I know you are in a very hard place....that's when I look at you and I see the Lord.

YOU ARE LOVED AND APPRECIATED.  Always here if you need me (us!) :)