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| An old friend asked me what I've been doing the past several years since we went to church together. I got very verbose on Facebook and thought some of you might be interested in my take on the past 10 years.
"Hey Jesse, thanks for the response. Let's see, my life since I've seen you... My family started going to the Grace Brethren church where I met Weston Corder who used to play music with Brandon Rike and the Shellabargers. He discipled me in God's Word and I started to get a lot more serious about my Christian faith. In '98 we started a band- Five Star Freedom- with Scott Yuppa, Matt Purcell that technically ended in about 2000, but we all still hangout and go to Jacob's Well Fellowship and Lewisburg for almost a decade now. (Emily went there for a while).
My senior year at Troy Christian I felt a strong call to become a pastor and so I went to Cedarville University to study Bible and History. My first couple years I was kindof a dork b/c I was stuck on how much I thought I knew and made some dumb decisions. God crushed my world and in the midst of giving control of my life back to He gave me Lauren in fall '03. Like springtime after a long winter- lifelong love was clear at once.
Lauren and I wed on your birthday in 2005 after counseling with our pastor for a long while. She's a graphic designer and crafty artist and we are very close. All of the 5 Star Freedom guys are married now, and Weston and I have kids. My son Jaren is almost 1 1/2 yrs old- he's amazing.
So I'm not a pastor- at least not yet, even though I have my BA God has shown me that there's a lot more to it than that. I mean Paul even says that I must not only be "able to teach", but also "able to manage his own household well", which I've barely scratched the surface of. So I shepherd two and I love it! I've worked at Bullen Ultrasonics since 10/06 and I am on 3rd Shift too! Woo-hoo. We are very active at our church and help with the youth. We're committed to studying, teaching, and reading daily through God's Word. Discipleship and youth are huge for us. Weston is the youth pastor and I help Scott, who leads the worship band. Its great to be playing bass again!
I see we have some similar interests. I love Till We have Faces. Well that's all. Thanks for listening to my life story :)
Your turn!"
Hopefully Jesse enjoys my autobiography. What's the past decade been in your life? Growth? Change? For better or worse? Are you more or less in love with, faithful to, and serious about God, His Word, His Church, your spouse, children, friends, family? It can be a rhetorical question. But I do challenge you with this truth: if something isn't growing... it is not alive.
RiCH | | |
| So I still had my old phone lying around- Jaren had been playing with it. Super Wife found it for me and I got it reactivated. Praise God for low cost solutions.
Well... its bedtime. | | |
| Good Evening All,
My cell phone died today. So in the meantime if you need to reach me, please comment on my Facebook, email me, or call my wife, Lauren.
When I get a new phone, my number should stay the same.
Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience,
Rich | | |
| Ephesians 5:1-21 is forever relevant. Especially vs 3-4 in the case of media choices and dealing with worldly values. Verse 6 warns us that people will try to "deceive you with empty words"- making excuses as to why we don't need to be so serious about pleasing and obeying God. These are the last days and the climate is evil- do we want God's wrath and disgrace, or to understand His will and do it with a thankful heart filled with His love, light, and wisdom for HIS glory and the edification of the Body? Let's not be sleepwalkers- and when we need to be woken up, let's be grateful and not grumpy. This is war- there's no time to sleep.
If you want some extra encouragement and meditation, I recommend you listen to/watch our church's recent sermons.
If you are "trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord" (Eph. 5:10), GOD BLESS YOU!! | | |
| THE PASSOVER HYMN
Dear Family & Friends,
Let me share a Denius family tradition with you. I want to encourage you to read Psalm 113-118 this Passover/Good Friday/Resurrection Sunday. In Mt. 26:30 and Mk. 14:26 we learn that after the Last Supper, Jesus in His Apostles sang a hymn on the way to the Mount of Olives where His testing, betrayal, and ultimately death awaited. It is highly likely that Jesus led them in these 6 Psalms, according to Jewish Passover tradition and Christian scholars. Read these words and imagine what had just happened with the cup and the bread and what was about to happen in Gethsemane. It is amazing- see for yourselves! Psalms 113-118;
Remember also His prayer in John 17 which must have been offered up around the time they sung the hymn. Remember that Jesus prayed for YOU in John 17:20! What a loving and holy LORD God Almighty we serve!
-Rich & Lauren Denius | | |
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