For what its worth, here is my thanksgiving takeaway. I am so grateful for God restoration. Without it, we are in trouble, with it, we get to enjoy relationships that were once distant. Family is such an amazing gift from God. The family poses as a symbol of the church. God has adopted us into His family and in turn we live to express this very same element, love and acceptance. I have such a strong desire to be a spiritual foundation for my family. I can remember when my great grandparents were alive. Reunions, get-together s, and whatever else brought the family together always centered around them. When they showed up, the gathering was complete. It was like they were the glue, or the foundation of the family. I am so thankful for that and in turn I am so inspired to be that for my family. Shelly and I want to be that common denominator for our immediate and extended family and whoever else needs a family. I want my house to be the place of tradition and constant. A place of comfort and healing and a place of love and acceptance. This will continue to be our prayer every year.

This definitely makes me want to drink Evian:) We have come so far with our advertising!

I have gained a new perspective on the Thanksgiving Holiday this year. In times past, even though it seems quite juvenile because of the name of the holiday, I always viewed thanks giving as more of a "hoarding" day. I couldn't wait to have my time off from work so I could shut myself away in my home with my family and eat lots of food at my table. However, this year my perspective is quite different. I am intrigued by the example that Jesus set by giving up himself and his desires for others. There is nothing that he possessed that He would not give. I wonder if part of our problem is that we spend all of our energies towards acquiring things and holding on to them for dear life? Then comes anxiety, stress, depression, and anger. Whether it was time, money, or energy, Jesus would give it so that others could understand what they have to be thankful for. In a sense, Jesus was a giver-of-thanks. He gave his life so that others could know what they have to be thankful for, an undeserving and live-giving relationship with God. I want to take heed of this example in my own life. I wonder if the answer to every conflict you will ever face is...giving. If there is a need, give your time, money, and materials. If there is an offense, give forgiveness and love.  If you just don't have enough, give and it shall be given unto you. Give, Give, Give! It's not meant to be just a once a year occurrence. It's a lifetime discipline. I don't know about you but I want to be known as someone who gave!! Let's spend our lives in order to be givers-of-thanks. 


Takeaway: live your life to possess the ability to give! whatever hinders your ability to give, decide against it!

I had the opportunity to speak in my hometown this weekend. I always enjoy those opportunities because it brings back memories and where God has brought me and how faithful He has been to me and to my family. It also keeps me grounded and reminds me where I come from. On this particular night I was a special guest to share a message and lead a few songs as well. Towards the end of the night the musical team from the church asked if I would join them. I joined them and connected with a teenager who played the guitar as well. He was eyeing up my guit and seemed really excited to be playing along side of me (a bit awkward but cool). He seemed like a really nice kid with a great heart for God. After the service was over he came up to me and said that his mom, who was in the crowd, thinks she recognizes my name and thinks that we used to be neighbors a long time ago. Turns out it was true! What a small world. That was such a cool thing. Immediately I was reminded of my past and how much God has restored. Just a really cool reminder that God is always near.

Had the opportunity to here some thoughts from Craig Groeschel, Pastor of LifeChurch.tv this week and wanted to pass along some notes about Creating Personal and Spiritual Momentum. This challenged my heart to BE more rather than DOing more.

4 Things you can do today that will enable you to do tomorrow what you cannot do today.
1. Do something to defeat your Dark Side- face your fears and insecurities
2. Create artificial ministry deadlines- you are more productive with a dealine
3. Delegate what someone else can do- don't delegate responsibility, delegate authority
4. Do something only You can do- find it and do it well

If we are not careful, the way that we do the work of God can destroy the work of God in us.

3 Things that only You can do:
1. be a husband or wife to your spouse
2. be a father or mother to your children
3. only You can seek God on Your behalf- no one can do this for you!

Whoop..there it is! These thought really challenged my heart to make some changes..hope they do the same for You.

Starting this week and continuing up to the 1st of the year we go into evaluation mode here at NCC. We look at the past, dissect it, and dream about the future. I enjoy dissecting things. In my mind, everything has room for improvement. I thrive on thinking of ways to make things more productive. As much as I enjoy evaluating and creating, I have to make sure that I am thanking God for what He has done. Tremendous energy and synergy can be had when we look back to remember and thank God for what He has done. Its the tension of opposites. We would do well to be sure to balance ourselves in that tension. Too far on one end and we are ungrateful, greedy, and at times depressed. Too far on the other end and we don't get anything done which can result in mediocrity. Let's continue to be grateful for what God has done and push forward to keep growing and becoming better at what we do and most importantly, who we are becoming.

We are in Baltimore at our planning retreat. Great time to get down to the "nitty gritty" of things and believe God for the impossible. We are writing it down on tablets (Word Documents) and believing God to do more than we could ever dream of or think of. This retreat also lends itself to a great time to get honest and provoke change as needed. It is very easy to do the same thing over and over again every year but as we all know when you do what you have always done you will get what you you have always gotten. These times are important. It may hurt a little and take a bit of brain power and focus but in the end it will reap a harvest bigger than we can imagine. It also creates great synergy among the team which is never a bad factor:) Yesterday we planned and budgeted an entire year for our very first Deaf Ministries Budget and made plans to launch Campus Alpha at Gallaudet University. Today we will meet as Campus Pastors to evaluate our locations and finalize budgets for each. This afternoon we will gather for an all staff team meeting to talk about the year to come and then we head back to DC! Over and out.

For the month of November I am going to tweet each day different things that I am thankful for. I am doing this for two reasons. First, because I need to do it for myself. I think its important to realize the things that I am grateful for so that I am not taking anything for granted. It is also good to make a list of things that you are grateful for to help you step out of any false state of reality that certain trials or circumstances have created for you. Second, because I think its contagious. When I hear about things that other people are thankful for it makes me realize the things I am grateful for. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, please join me in giving 30 days of thanks. Follow me at www.twitter.com/jyost
Here are my tweets for the last 4 days:

I think sometimes our greatest fears can double as our greatest potential. If we are not careful, our fears can bind us into living mediocre lives that leave much to be desired in the end. I picture our fears as doors that we come to in our lives. When we approach these doors we are left with two choices: we can turn the knob and walk through it, or we can turn around and find another way. However, when we come face to face with our fear and turn the knob, a new world of opportunity is presented to us. A new experience, with new perspectives and vision is at hand. Each new door or fear, when overcome, supplies the avenue for us to live out our greatest potential.
What fears in our lives have we not faced? What decisions do we need to make that would place us in a position to face our fears? What risks are you taking in your life. Here is a thought..if you feel like your life is boring and you are not making much of a difference its probably because you playing it too safe. Take some risks and let's make a difference together.