Christ Came for me

I have been preparing to preach in Emporium Alliance Church this coming Sunday. I am preaching on the "Power of Thanksgiving." I will be using a lot material from my previous blog on "Thanksgiving"

Something else I will be sharing is what I want to share with my cyber friends right now. I find myself in an awkward place emotionally right now. As some of you know my wife Jasmine is pregnant. She is due on April 18,2017. So we are around half way there! WOOT!

We are celebrating and thankful for this pregnancy and all the wonderful plans in store for our child but we still mourn our last child who died prenatal (sometime around 6-8 weeks).

I don't know if I will ever stop mourning or if I ever half to. After all I still mourn (maybe a better word is: Miss) my mother who passed away 9 years ago. What I do have left, of those who have gone before me, are my memories and my time of mourning.

In processing my pain, last July (2015), I constructed a poem. I do not find myself very creative (though my wife would say otherwise), but blogging and writing has become a place where I have been able to think, process, celebrate, and even mourn tragedy in my life.

It is the place where as Bill Randall says, "I can get it up and out."

Below I just wanted to share the poem that I wrote about 16 months ago. This is raw and it is real. And its a little long (sorry for that!!). But I hope it inspires someone out there that is currently going through a tragedy. I hope it inspires you and gives you permission to mourn, to cry, to process, and when it's time: to heal.

Christ came for me- by Jeff Slattery

Christ came for me.

I was lost. I was dead. I was without hope.

But then He came.

He came for me.

You see, I like to take credit for coming to God.

It was my idea.

I thought of it.

I was smart and jumped on the lifeboat of my salvation.

But without Christ I couldn’t see.

I was blind. I was hurt. I was dead.

But then He came.

A light came into the darkness.

A Voice spoke into the silence.

A love came into the hatred.

From death to life through the one who made it all.

But why?

I cannot say.

I cannot fathom why? I would not have done the same.

Give my only son?

But He came.

He came for me.

I was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.

So I will not boast in anything.

But I will boast in the One who came for me.

For on the day He came.

I was changed.

Forever.

And He came to make me a son.

Me? Adopted in his holy family.

Not only a son but crucified with Christ.

For on that day He died,

I died too.

Died to myself.

So I’ll raise my white flag

I surrender all to you.

All for you.

I surrendered when he came.

Yes, He came for me.

And he came for her.

Eight weeks with no heartbeat.

Feeling nothing but defeat.

And Death seemed to win the day

But it does not have the final say.

For you were fearfully and wonderfully made
But I…I was so afraid, I prayed and I prayed.

John Green said some infinities are bigger than others
How fair is that to me or your mother?

My only hope is that Christ came for you.

When death thought it could get you down.
The Savior came and spun you around.

He’s holding you as a smile appears on your face.
Heaven; what a wonderful place.

Say Hi to your grandma when you can
She’ll tell you about the buccos and how she was the biggest fan.

Your parents? We’ll be alright.
Learning to surrender to God with all our might.  

And Christ will come again.

You see, The story goes.

Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.

The Life I now live is all looking forward to the age to come.

When Christ comes I will be made like Him.

In a twinkling of an eye, You and I will be changed.

He will wipe away your tear

Nothing to fear

For the Savior is Here.

And death shall be no more. .

The dead shall rise

We shall see our prize.

Risen King Jesus

Who came for us.  

May you know that Christ has come for you! May you know that He loves you so much. May you know that the value of your life was determined by Jesus dying on the Cross. You are literally worth dying for. Yes, even you. Yes, even when you did that ONE thing. He came; not to make you perfect. Not even so you could become perfect. But so He could show you true love.

Happy Thanksgiving (Eve).

Sincerely, a sinner turned Saint by the grace of God. 

Thanksgiving (or how to give thanks when life sucks)

It's easy to be thankful when things are going well.

You got a new job, you received a raise, you find your wife is pregnant.

But Sometimes Life sucks!

Am I right?

We all go through hard times. Someone dies, someone leaves us (divorce), you get in a car wreck, the steelers lose, etc

And in those moments I do not want to be thankful. In fact, my heart is stubborn and demands justice. Why did this happen to ME! This is so UNFAIR!

Anyone in the same boat?

So how do we choose thankfulness when things look differently than what we thought they would?


I guess the best way for me to communicate this is through stories. The first is from the Bible and the second is from my life.

First the Bible......

In the First Century, there was this man named Paul. He was Against Christianity originally but had a pretty dramatic encounter with the Lord (Acts 9) and become a follower of Jesus. In those days, it was dangerous to confess you were a follower of Jesus. Many were jailed; while others were killed for their faith.


A few occasions Paul was falsely accused and sent to Jail. He did NOTHING WRONG. In injustice to say the least. We read of this in Acts 16. So he does what any normal person would do. Complain! Right?

No.

He starts singing worship songs to God and giving God thanks while in jail. While Paul and his friend Silas were praising God and giving thanks, the whole prison was shaken by a massive earthquake.

All of the doors immediately opened and all of the prisoners chains were loosen.

The jailer awoke (naturally) and decided it was time to end it all. The Jailer took his sword about to commit suicide. But Paul yells, "Stop, don't kill yourself We are all here."

This jailer has a faith crisis moment and asks these men who were so free that they didn't leave jail "What must he do to be saved?"

What a crazy story?

There were other times when Paul was in Prison and thanking God and there wasn't a direct answer to pray. Paul wasn't praying to God so that God would act. He was praying because He knew that God was good. He knew he had some much to be thankful for. First and foremost that God is good and that God is in control, even when we are in Jail.


Even when your wife has a miscarriage.

That is my story. About a year and half ago (May 2015) we found out that my wife was pregnant. We were a combination of excited, nervous, and anxious.  But to our dismay, at the first appointment (8 weeks), we discovered that this little baby had no heartbeat. They scheduled for us to come back in for an ultrasound in 2 weeks to check again but still no heartbeat.

This feeling had to be worst than being falsely accused and being in prison. The doctors ordered for a DNC and questions start to abound. Why would God let this happen? Why didn't he answer our prayers?

Why does God let bad things happen?

There is no easy, clean answer to that question.

Maybe you are going through your own tradegy today? Maybe you were raped, maybe your spouse died, maybe you are really sick, or depressed?

IDK?

But sometimes life sucks and we need to be really intentional about how we think and how we act in light of it all.

What gave me hope through the pain is my belief in God. My belief that this little baby was in heaven with the rest of my loved ones who have already passed.

What gave me hope was that God was not done redeeming my situation. When it seems like we lose, don't give up hope. God is not finished. Remember Jesus? He was falsely accused and died a criminals death.

For what purpose? His death and resurrection brought us a new relationship with God. Sin, our bad behavior separated us from God, But Jesus came as the prefect sacrifice for our sins.

On the outside, it looked like injustice and evil were winning, yet it was all apart of God's master plan. For on the third day, Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus defeated death and hell.

Hebrews 12 declares, "He considered the joy set before him so he could endured the cross."

It brought Jesus JOY to endure the cross because he knew the end result was purchasing us a relationship with God, our Father forever!

What if we have that eternal perspective? Not denying the pain. But saying God, this hurts, But I know you are Good. I give you thanks because I know you are going to bring Good out of all this pain, hurt, and regret.

The Good News on Nov 21, 2016, My wife is again pregnant. And though I have fears and doubts that the same thing could happen I am choosing each day to place my trust in God. We are at 19 weeks. Going strong.

This thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for. But more than just being thankful for Future Baby Slattery, I am thankful for the strengthening of my faith in God. Though, I don't wish a miscarriage or any tragedy on anyone it can strengthen our relationship with God as we learn what it truly means to trust in Him.


My prayer for you this thanksgiving season is to give thanks. Don't just give thanks for the usual stuff (family, friends, job, food, etc). Give thanks for the pain, give thanks for the days of sorrow, give thanks that things don't always go the way you planned.

Because it means that God is at work!

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Am I qualified to teach gym?

Spoiler alert:Yes.

It's funny. I have been asked this question 5 or 6 times over the past few months when explaining that I have been teaching Gym at St Leo's since the start of the school year.

By the way, I have mad respect for those that went to school and continue to go to school for teaching: if that is physical education or otherwise. This blog in no one takes away from them or the importance to have qualified teachers in our school systems.

With all that being said: Isn't it funny? Like, how could they allow someone like you to teach our children! Btw I have had zero complaints (so far!) from teachers, administration, or parents within the school district. The ones who have asked are outside the context. 

So, how did we get here? I went to school and received a Bachelor of Arts in Student Ministry and received a minor in Psychology. So it makes sense that my Full time position is being the Youth Pastor for Awakening Alliance Church. But Gym? Okay. I like sports. Maybe just a little bit.

I played sports most of my life. You know: Like Baseball, football, wrestling, tennis, hockey. Just to name a few....And then I found a new one in college: Rugby. Oh, and I even assist my brother in coaching junior high wrestling.
 

But does all this make me qualified to teach K-8 gym. No, not really.

But it's okay.

Because if we wait till we are "ready" to do something nothing will ever get done. For example: my wife is pregnant. Praise the Lord. Am I ready? Working on it......

If you have kids you know, its a learning process. You need to grow and learn as they learn and grow.

All I know is when God opens the door we have the choice to run through it or pee our pants.

Lets look at this from a "spiritual" point of view.

I am a Christian. I love God and He loves me.

There is nothing I did to deserve his radical, unconditional, and fervent love toward me.

I am highly unqualified to teach the Gospel. Because I have sinned. I have made mistakes(Ask my wife). And I will never measure up to God and his perfection (so I should stop trying).

And in fact many times, I put false expectations on others that I would never put on myself. You know what we call those people right??? Hypocritical.

So, I guess I need to spot preaching the Gospel and teaching Gym and go live in a van down by the river.

Right? No! Of Course not. The Gospel, the Good News,  that Jesus brought and bought for us is based on us not being qualified.

He says, "Though your sins are many, I cast them into the sea, and remember them not."

You see, when we truly believe in Jesus: we understand that we have access to forgiveness. We have access to a new start. We have access to display love without expecting anything back. (Is that not what Jesus did himself?)

If you have experience the forgiveness of God that comes through Jesus, though your sins are many, you are qualified to tell others of the Good things God has done in your life.

So, Am I qualified to teach gym at SLS?

If by qualified you mean: I have a degree in education? Then the answer is still: No.

If by qualified you mean: God has opened the door and trained me in his own way and in his own timing for such a time as this? Then,Ya.

I am still learning and still growing. Many days I do want to pee my pants, but I go forward with pee-soaked joggers teaching the best I know, relying on the Holy Spirit, and relying on others along the way.

May you go through the doors God has opened for you. May you, though you are fearful, not be afraid. May you not think you are unqualified if God has qualified you for a new position or a new passion. And more than all of this: May you make an impact where you are.

Because a flower blooms where it is planted.