Charlie's Purpose...

It was a cool February night and Lauren and I were about to go over to our friend's house for game night. Lauren was getting Price ready, so my job was to let Sadie (our 9-lb Maltese) out to relieve herself. I opened the door and in the shadows stood this big black dog. The dog scared me half-to-death, so I frantically called for Sadie to hurry back inside. I went outside and chased the dog off, hoping that the dog would go back through the woods and return to it's home.

We returned home around midnight, so I opened the door to let Sadie use the bathroom one last time before we went to bed, and guess what I saw...the big, black dog. This time she was laying beside the back door like she was waiting for us to come home. It seemed to be a sweet dog, so I pet it and Lauren told me to give it some water. Surely the dog would return home during the night. I got up the next morning and took Sadie out. To my surprise the dog was in the same spot by the back door. Lauren and I are suckers for dogs, especially sweet ones, so we gave it a little food. I came back home after work and baseball practice and the dog was still there. I took a few minutes and played with the dog in the back yard and it seemed to be partially trained. After a couple of days of the dog refusing to go home, we decided to give it a name...CHARLIE. I assumed it was a male dog since it was big and black, but one day I noticed the dog squatted to pee so I decided to take a peek underneath...it was definitely a girl! However, we decided to stick with Charlie and the name fit her perectly.

Over the next few weeks, we tried hard to find the owner. We called the pound to see if anyone had reported a missing dog, we put up signs around our neighborhood, and I even put her on the school's online bulletin board to see if anyone needed a dog. With a 2 month-old boy, we didn't have a need nor the room to have a dog...especially a 60-lb dog. With no luck in finding her a home, we quickly grew attached. We left her in the backyard in hopes that she would find her way home, but she decided to stay.

During Spring Break in April, Lauren had gone out of town with her family and I had baseball practice everyday. One day I came home and heard this awful yelping in the backyard. I opened the garage door to find the neighbor's dogs had come into our backyard and were cornering Charlie. One of the dogs was biting at Charlie's legs, so she defended herself against them. Because Charlie was much bigger than the other dogs, she injured one of the dogs trying to get out of the corner. It was not a pretty site. Blood was on my back porch and I was trying to chase off one of the neighbor's dogs, trying to get Charlie inside, and trying to take care of the dog that was hurt. After the craziness had settled, I stopped by the neighbor's house the following day to check on their dog. Unfortunately, too much damage had been done and they had to put the dog to sleep. I was upset about the whole ordeal...the dogs getting in our backyard and Charlie hurting the other dog, even if she was defending herself. I began to ask God, "Why in the world did you give us this dog that we do not want or need?"

I felt like God was telling me to make the most out of this situation...but how??? I went next door and offered to help pay for the vet bill, but I also felt led to invite them to church. Easter Sunday was coming up, so I invited them to bring their kids to church so they could participate in the Easter Egg hunt afterwards. Sure enough they came and I was so excited! Had God brought us Charlie so she could play a part in leading me to invite my neighbors to church? Who knows???

Time passed and we began to keep Charlie inside, so she would not get into mischief outside. Charlie would lay around and let Price pull at her hair and tail, she would lay her head in our lap and look at us as if to say, "Will you please rub my head," and she knew which buttons to push with Sadie to make her mad. She fit our family perfectly!

During this time, we have been praying for God to provide us with a bigger house to allow us to grow our family, as well as using it as a safe haven for teenagers to hang out on the weekends. My wife and I both lead Bible studies on Mondays, but we don't have a lot of room for them to hang out. We have been trying to sell our house and several people have been interested, but it has not sold yet. We were wanting to finish the fence in our backyard so Charlie could run around without getting into the woods, but we didn't want to spend that money if someone was going to buy our house soon. We decided to pray that God would be very clear about the simple matter of whether or not to put up a fence. And today, God answered that prayer...but in an unfortunate matter. This past weekend we took a trip to the beach, so Lauren's parents offered to keep Charlie. Lauren got an unfortunate call from her dad this morning informing us that Charlie passed away Sunday morning.

That leaves this question...what was Charlie's purpose? Did she come to us for a brief time so we could have an opportunity to invite our neighbors to church (they have visited several times since Easter...PRAISE THE LORD)...is there no purpose for Charlie coming to us...or is there a different purpose that has not yet been revealed??? Lord, I know that your will is perfect, your timing is perfect, and you have a purpose for everything...even Charlie. Thank you for allowing me, Lauren, Price, and others to enjoy Charlie and her endless love and energy! We will miss her greatly, but we are grateful for the time we were given to spend with her. May the Lord's purpose be known for Charlie's presence in our lives.

Life Right Now...

One thing I love about teaching school is the time we have off. Whether it be in the summer, Labor Day, or the Christmas holidays, it is so refreshing to have time to play with my boy, Price, and spend time with Lauren. Speaking of refreshing, I am listening to a sound outside that I have not heard in months...RAIN!!! The experts say to expect 3-6" of rain in our area, however I am just enjoying seeing a cloudy sky with rain drizziling down. Thank you, Jesus!

Here is what is going on with my family right now...

I have to give Price speeding tickets these days for crawling too fast. He finds something to grab onto and pulls himself up, then gazes around to see if we are watching. Now he is trying to take a couple of steps as he lunges toward his next target. All of our friends say, "Knock him down and keep him on the ground," but he refuses to stay on the ground. He is growing up quickly, and I am enjoying being at home in the afternoons to watch him grow.

Lauren and I are also in the process of trying to sell our house. It has been for sale for almost a year now, but we have constantly asked God to send us a buyer who will replace us as a Christian role model for our neighbors. We also took some time last night to cruise around on the west side of town and see what kind of houses are for sale. We saw a few, but nothing in our price range. That is where we are completely trusting God to do something IMMEASURABLY MORE than what we are asking or imagining. This is the part I love about being a child of God, the part where I know He is in control and there is nothing I can do about it. My job is to pray and seek His will, and know that He is going to provide for us. My mom always made us make out a list of things we wanted to see God do and then pray about it. I remember when we first moved to Cartersville we were living in a rental house and we were looking at different houses. My mom sat us down and we made a list of what we wanted in a house. Of course all of the things we wanted seemed out of reach, but God gave us every item on that list and more. That was the first time I saw the power of prayer, not that we asked and it was given to us, but that we asked, believed, and God provided in a powerful way. This time as Lauren and I have the chance to teach Price how to pray (when he is old enough to understand), we want to look back and show Price how we asked God to provide and He gave us so much more!

Fall is in full swing and we have several things going on and coming up. Lauren and I each do a Bible Study with high school students. I do a guys Bible Study on Monday afternoons right after school, and Lauren does her girls Bible Study later on Monday evenings. We are currently doing a study called "The Best Question Ever" by Andy Stanley. The question is, "What is the wise thing to do?" It is a great time to learn to ask this question for these high school students, especially when they are dealing with temptations and peer pressure to drink, smoke, and have sex daily. And just because you are a born-again believer does not mean that you are immune to any of these temptations. Satan usually finds that loop hole in our lives and shoves that temptation right in our path. We are teaching our students the importance of reading God's Word and praying DAILY. Not a few times a week, but EVERYDAY! Satan loves it when we think we are doing our "Christian duty" by reading the Bible for 5 minutes and saying a quick prayer just to check off the "Quiet Time" box on our "To Do List". But let me tell you that God HATES it when we do that! He wants us to be soaked up with Him everyday, but we cannot absorbed with Him when we do not devote ourselves to reading His Word and praying daily. Please pray for Lauren and myself, as well as these teenagers, as we memorize scripture, read God's Word, and get on our knees and beg God to work in and through us!

Another big event coming up this October is "Fields of Faith". Cartersville High School hosted "Fields of Faith" last year and there were about 2,000 people that came and over 300 decisions that were made for Christ. Some were renewing their commitment to Jesus, and others were asking Him to take total control of their life for the first time. This year we will have students represented from all Bartow & Polk county schools, and about 10 students will share what their life was like before they met Jesus, how they met Jesus, and how God is working in their life right now. This will be held on Wednesday, October 19th at the Cartersville High School football stadium. The gates will open at 6:30pm and the testimonies will start at 7:00pm. If you live around this area, this is something you do not want to miss! (All ages are invited)

Like I said, there is a lot going on in our life right now, but we constantly pray that God will keep us on track with His will. I encourage you to study, not just read, God's Word daily and to earnestly seek Him who can do all things!

Verse for Week #6...

It has been a great and not so great week for me, as I have seen Satan try to get a foothold in my life. However, through prayer and more prayer, God has shown Himself victorious as He always does. A few weeks ago, our verse for the week was John 16:33...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

You see, Jesus already told Satan that He has overcome the world, but Satan refuses to accept that fact. Satan likes to sneak in and try to grab a foothold in people's lives, but if you truly believe that Jesus has overcome the world and trust Him then you will see Jesus become victorious in every situation!

That leads me to the verse for this week...

"In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." - Ephesians 3:12

Through tests and trials I have learned that you must trust Jesus with your whole heart, even if you are not seeing results when you want to see them. Our ways are not His ways, our thoughts are not His thoughts, and our timing is not His timing. That is why He is God and we are not. My job as a believer in Jesus Christ is to trust Him at all times and to know that He is going to take care of me. My encouragement to you is to have faith and approach God with freedom and confidence, and let the Creator of the Universe know what is on your heart!

Another Text Encounter???

Lauren and I are bummed! We left on Wednesday to go to Gulf Shores, AL for vacation to enjoy the beach for a few days. Our plan after that was to meet up with her friend Erin, who lives in Mobile, to hang out with her Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We were getting ready on Thursday evening to go eat dinner when Lauren got a call from Erin. Erin is in the hospital with pneumonia (spelling?) and will be there for 3 days. We were looking forward to seeing Erin, but there is not much fun we can have in a hospital. We decided to see if we could book our hotel room for one more night, but the rate went up $50 so that option was gone. The last option was to see if there were hotel rooms at the beach in Pensacola, FL (about an hour away), but none were available in our price range. Like I said, we were BUMMED!

After exhausting our options, we decided to get up early on Friday morning and go to the beach one last time to let Price play in the sand and take some family beach pictures. On our 5 minute walk to the beach, Price quicly fell asleep. We laid out our blanket, set up our chairs, and hoisted up the umbrella. After Price being asleep for about an hour, we looked behind us and the darkest of rain clouds were upon us. I saw the look on Lauren's face, which said, "You have got to be kidding me!" With Price still being asleep, there was no chance for him to play in the sand one last time, and the photo opp for beach pictures with our family was gone. The situation was turning from bad to worse. As soon as we returned to the hotel, the flood began. We cleaned up, packed up, and headed for home in the storm. It was a very silent ride home and there was nothing I could do about it...FRUSTRATING!

As I drove up I-65, everyone was sound asleep in the car, so I began to ask God to show me why He needed us back in Cartersville so bad. Every option we had to stay longer was shut down. I was clueless! When we reached home (a few days too early), we unloaded the car and just sat in silence. Frustrated, confused, and wallowing in self pity. It was about 8:30 pm and I needed to go pick up one of our dogs from a friend's house. Once I arrived, my friends and I began talking about caring where the people we know and love will spend eternity, and we even spent a minute praying for a couple opportunities my friend will have this week to speak with her friends about eternity. I put Charlie (our dog) in the car and decided to go through the drive-thru at Arby's for dinner. This is where God began to speak...

Let me take you back a few minutes before Arby's...

When I was leaving our friend's neighborhood, I began to tell God that I wanted to see why He brought us home early...it had to be a pretty good reason, right?!? I asked God that if I needed to share Christ with someone, then He needed to show me clearly. So after I got my food from Arby's, I was at the stop light on West Avenue and I noticed there were a couple of guys in the truck in front of me leaning out the window waving at me, one on each side. It was two of my former baseball players. All of a sudden, it hit me...was this the encounter I was brought home early from vacation for? The reason I say that is because I had a conversation earlier this year with one of the guys in the truck about where he would spend eternity. He clearly told me that he knew that he did not have a relationship with Jesus. I asked Him why and he replied, "Because I see all these people that call themselves Christians at school and they do the same stuff I do. I don't want to be a hypocrite like them." That answer about killed me, but he was right. If Christians do the same stuff people who are not Christians do, what is the difference??? It actually made me down-right mad knowing that is the picture a lot of non-believers have of "Christians"!

This morning I got up and I text him to let him know that I care where he spends eternity. I let him know that if there is ever a time that he wanted to talk about it, that I would drop whatever I am doing to talk with him. He text back and said, "Ok Coach, I will let you know." I truly believe last night was one reason that God brought us home early from this trip, so that I would see that young man and be reminded to let him know that I care where he will spend eternity. I know this...he has something to think about this weekend and he has a choice to make. Making no choice is making the choice to reject Jesus because he knows the truth about Jesus and why He came to earth. He may not decide to talk to me anytime soon about this matter, but it is in God's hands now. My job is to simply let him know that I care where he will spend eternity.

Let me finish this post by asking you this...

If you are a Christian, what picture are you giving non-believers about a relationship with Christ? Does it make you different (in a good way), or are you the one that gives non-believers the excuse why not to make Jesus the Lord of their life??? Like Alan Duncan said at SPLASH Bartow, "You are either a missionary or the mission field." Which are you?

Verse for Week #5...

After a long school year, I was worn out spiritually. I prayed that God would renew my strength and refresh me, and this summer has been day after day of spiritual refreshing...THANK YOU, LORD! I was reading my Bible the other day and I came across this verse. I thought it would be appropriate, especially for those who feel like they are out of spiritual energy and need to be refreshed...

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Please know that the Lord, your God, wants to refresh you...just ask Him!

Verse for Week #4...

Here is the verse for this week...

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

-John 16:33

Such words of encouragement!

Mission to Africa (Day 2)...

We boarded our gi-normous airplane around 5:00pm and we left the ground around 6:00pm. I had the pleasure of having a window seat next to Eric Webster. Everyone was giving their 2-cents about how they were going to sleep at a certain time, stay awake for so long, so by the time we arrived in Johannesburg they would be adjusted to the 6-hour time change. My decision was to just go with the flow and I would adjust when I got there.

In the mean time, Eric and I had a conversation about expecting to see God work in Sesheke and what we were expecting out of this trip. I honestly had no clue what to expect, but I prayed that God would speak to my heart, change my heart, and use me for His glory! I also prayed that God would send people in droves to the service under the big tree at the Baptist Mission's house later during the week, and that His presence would be seen and felt by all. I know that God can do more than I ask or imagine, so please do it Lord!

The pilot soon came over the intercom with his "radio voice" and informed us of our dinner choices. With his Jamaican accent he told us, "Your dinner choices for tonight will be beef, potatoes, and veggie-tables or chicken, rice, and veggie-tables." Apparently where he is from veggies come on a table, so that is how he pronounced vegetables. We all gave our smart comments after he finished his spill, then out came our dinner.

After dinner I watched a movie and tried to get a little shut-eye, but I have no clue how much I actually slept. After 8 hours in the air, we landed in Dakar to refuel, but we were not allowed to get off the plane. For 8 hours I never once left my seat, so when I tried to stand up I had NO BLOOD in my legs because it had all lodged in my feet. I didn't realize it until I was standing up and I could not feel my legs! My choice was to either sit down in my seat quickly or fall in the aisle. I chose to sit and do some leg pumps, then I got up to stretch.

We finally launched our plane from the Dakar runway and flew another 8 hours till we arrived safely in Johannesburg, South Africa, or Jo-burg as some people call it. We arrived around 5:30 pm Jo-burg time, which is 11:30 am Georgia time. Baggage claim was our next destination, then we took a van to the hotel where we were staying the night. It took us a little while to check in at the hotel, but once we did we cleaned up and ate dinner at "Tribes" around 7:30 pm. On the menu was steak, chicken, kudu, impala, warthog, ostrich, and several other familiar and foreign meats. I tried them all, but my favorite was warthog! I never thought I would be one to branch out to try crazy meats, but it would not be the last chance to eat something crazy in Africa.

After dinner, we went to Ty & Richard's room for devotion, which Eric shared with us...

He asked us, "Why are we here? Are we prepared? What are we prepared for? Satan doesn't want us in Sesheke, but God is with us! We have divine appointments waiting for us in Sesheke (and, boy, did we!). God is going to hold the Devil and his demons back and let us work. We each have a reason for being on this trip."

Eric finished with Ephesians 6, the Armor of God, and encouraged us to be prepared and know that God is with us!

Mission to Africa (Day 1)...

I got up about 4:00 that  morning to get ready to be at church by 5:00am. Lauren and Price got up with me and we all drove to Tabernacle Baptist Church for devotion and last minute instructions. Lauren dropped me off, and it was very hard to say goodbye. I tried not to let my emotions show because I knew Lauren was already struggling with the fact that I was going to be gone for 10 days. I kissed them goodbye and met my team inside the church.

Matthew Early, a past member of this trip to Africa, gave the devotion and he asked us, "What was Jesus' purpose for coming to Earth?" His purpose was to restore the relationship between God and man, and to tell people the truth. And the last part is what God was calling us to do in Sesheke, Zambia...tell people the truth about why Jesus came to Earth.

We left for the airport and arrived to check our baggage around 6:30am. We went through security, and after we put our shoes back on and gathered our belongings we realized we were 2 team members short. We looked...and looked...and looked! Sydney and Eric were no where to be found. I heard that Johannesburg, South Africa was the world's most dangerous city and possibly expected something unfortunate to happen when we arrived there, but in Atlanta??? Finally, someone pointed out that Eric and Sydney had been chosen to do the full body scan, so our hearts were at ease.

Our flight didn't leave until 8:30am, so we grabbed some breakfast and chatted before we loaded the plane. I sat with Zack Philliber (Philly) on the plane ride to Washington, D.C., which seemed to be a short ride compared to the 16-hour flight awaiting us. We arrived safely at Washington Dulles International Airport. By now it was lunch time and we had about 6 hours to kill during our lay-over. Most of the team ate at Fuddruckers, a few grabbed pizza, but after lunch we made ourselves at home at our terminal.

Let me introduce you to our team before I finish the story of Day 1. The captains of our trip were Joe Carp and Clift Dempsey. Mr. Joe and Mr. Clift were a perfect combination because they are both great leaders. They were very quick to get on to one another (out of love and fun) when the other took the lead and made the slightest mistake (I will get to that in a second). Next we had Mr. Gary Glaze who has been on many mission trips. He even went on trips when I was in high school. He was our photographer and the "ham-bone" expert (if you don't know what that is, that is where you use your hand and leg to make a music beat). It was my pleasure to get to know Eric Webster, who has to be one of the most genuine people I know. He has a true passion for Jesus, he is a great teacher, and I was blessed by being on this trip with him. The college teammates were Richard Downer, Zack Philliber, and Sydney Carp. All 3 have made the trip to Sesheke before, so I was interested to learn from their experience. Then came 3 of my students from the high school: Ty Downer, Clifton Dempsey, and Pierce Dempsey. All in all we had an outstanding team that was ready to tell Sesheke, Zambia about Jesus Christ!

Back to Joe and Clift ragging each other...

After lunch, Clift found nothing better to do than to rag Joe about losing 2 team members before we left Atlanta, arriving at the Atlanta airport 3 days before we were supposed to leave (really just a couple of hours), and now Clift found out that Joe had a better seat on the plane than he did. Clift's seat was on the very last row where he could not recline...for 16 hours! We were all laughing pretty hard and it became a joke the rest of the trip. We passed the rest of the time by playing games, eating ice cream, and talking to our family before we left for Africa. I called Lauren and Price one last time to say goodbye. Lauren was out "bargain" shopping with her friend Shawna, but I was so happy that she was occupied. I sure was going to miss my family over the next 10 days, but I was excited to see how God was going to work in my life and work through me to change lives!

Tune in tomorrow for the 16-hour plane ride to Africa...

(To view my "Mission to Africa" photo album, become my friend on Facebook...Drew Startup)

Verse for Week #3...

I thought this week we would go with Ephesians 3:20, which talks about God's POWER!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..."

I think that we forget sometimes that God is an all-powerful God! When we ask God to do something, He wants to do it according to His will, but we must BELIEVE when we ask. Is there something you need to believe God to do in your life? The verse says that He is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than all we ask or imagine. Ask and believe!

It Started With a Text...

My wife and I, along with the rest of the FCA leaders, had just returned to Cartersville from FCA Camp. We were pulling into the Target parking lot around 7:30pm on Sunday evening, and everyone was beyond ready to be in their own bed to rest. As we were pulling in, Lauren pointed over to Bruster's Ice Cream and saw some of my students from the high school enjoying ice cream. I saw one of my baseball players over there and decided to tease him a little about hanging out with some girls. I shot him a text and he text back. He asked where we were coming back from, so I told him we just got back from FCA Camp. He asked me if it was fun, and that is where it all started...

I had the choice to tell him that camp was fun and be done with the conversation, or I could apply what I learned at camp and show him that I cared about where he spent eternity. I waited for a few minutes before I text back and asked him, "If you died today, do you know where you would spend eternity?" Several minutes passed after I sent that text and I thought to myself, "Great! I lost him, but at least I tried." I decided to send another text, which said, "The reason I ask is because I actually care about where you spend eternity." As soon as I hit "Send" I received a lengthy reply back from him.

He said that he was happy with life, but not as happy as he could be if he were completely right with God. He believes in God and he knows that when life is over he has to come face to face with God. He told me that he is not sure where he will spend eternity when he died. He hangs around good people and makes very wise decisions, but he admits that he is not as spiritually active as he should be. He knows that he needes help, admits that he has messed up many times, and said that he knows he needs to repent, but doesn't know how. He knows what he should do, but doesn't know how to get there.

I was blown away by his honesty, but also by the thought he put into his response. I immediately asked if I could meet him somewhere for coffee so I could share how he could know where he would spend eternity, but he sent me a text back saying that he would love to sit down and talk with me face-to-face when he got back from playing baseball out of town on Friday. I was so thankful that he was willing to meet with me, so I told him to let me know when he got back in town.

I spent the next several days praying that God would prepare his heart and that He would keep him alive long enough to hear how he can be born again. I sent him a text Thursday reminding him about meeting with me and he assured me that he would be there. I contacted several prayer warriors and asked them to be praying that God's power would be present when we met.

Friday finally came, and Lauren and I were up early to take Price to get his 6-month shot. We did a little shopping while we were out, and while we were at Wal-Mart I got a text from him asking if we could meet after he worked out. We decided to meet at 1:00 at Applebee's, so all I could do now was pray. When Lauren and I got home, I rushed to help put up the groceries before my meeting. There were still groceries left on the counter, but it was time for my appointment. This was the first time I was not nervous about sharing Jesus with someone, but confident that God was going to change someone's life!

I arrived at Applebee's and we walked inside. We sat down and talked about what we have done this summer, baseball, and then Jesus. I asked him what his thoughts were about the question I asked him on Sunday and he said that he was ready to make an impact in the lives of the people around him for a better reason...Jesus. I shared with him how sin separates us from God, how Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins by dying on the cross, and how Jesus can forgive him of his sins. The scripture I shared with him was Romans 3:23 (we all have sinned), Romans 6:23 (because of our sin we deserve to spend an eternity in hell, but God's gift is eternal life through Jesus), 1 John 1:9 (God will forgive our sins if we confess them), Romans 10:9 (you will be saved if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart God raised Jesus from the dead), and John 14:6 (Jesus is the way, truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus). I asked him if he had any questions and he said, "Coach, I am ready to give my life to Jesus."

On a Friday afternoon in a booth at Applebee's, one of my baseball players gave his life to Jesus! He confessed his sins to God, asked God to forgive him, and asked Jesus to take control of his life. Words cannot describe how I felt hearing him talk to Jesus, and words cannot describe the peace and excitement he felt giving his life to Jesus. I have a brand new brother in Christ! I asked him, "Who are you going to tell about your decision today?" He began to rattle off names to no end. I encouraged him to find a church to get plugged into, get plugged into FCA, and to read his Bible and talk to God daily. I assured him that many of his friends would be so excited to hear the news of his decision and that he would have many people praying for him and supporting him in his new walk with Christ. I explained that many people in the Bible died because of their faith and that being a born again believer is not always easy, but God promises that He is always with us!

God orchestrated this whole encounter over the course of this summer. In Africa I learned how to share my faith. At FCA Camp I was challenged to be bold about sharing my faith. Then God simply gave me the divine appointment and left it up to me to me to decide whether or not I cared about where this young man would spend eternity. All glory goes to God for giving me the boldness to share and for saving a precious soul today!!!

Verse for Week #2...

I hope you followed along with us last week in memorizing Galatians 6:9. This week's verse comes from Ephesians 2:8-9...

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

Do I Care Where You Spend Eternity?

Lauren and I just got back from spending 4 days with students from our local schools at FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Camp. The last day, Mark Cahill (the camp speaker) asked all of us this question...

"Do you care where your friends, family members, and the people you pass by will spend eternity?"

He told us that when someone dies they are still very much alive either in heaven or in hell. I never thought of it that way. I have been asked this question many times before, but for some reason it actually stuck with me this time. I can say all I want to that "I care", but the reality is that I don't care if I don't share Christ with the people around me. True or not?

Maybe the reason that it actually stuck with me this time is because Mark Cahill (www.markcahill.org) is constantly sharing Christ with everyone he meets: waiters and waitresses, passengers on the plane, hosts and hostesses at restaurants, workers in the cafeteria at camp...literally everyone. He is not willing to ask you to do something that he is not willing to do himself.

When I asked myself that question, my answer was obviously "NO", I do not care as much as I thought I did about where people will spend eternity. I had to swallow my pride. I have family members that I do not know if they are born again, I have neighbors that I do not know if they are born again, and I have people all around me that I do not know if they are born again. I will only know if I actually ask them that question. But even if someone says they know where they will spend eternity, you have to know if they know the ONLY way they can be with Jesus when they breathe their last breath.

Here is how you can know...

In John 3, a man named Nicodemus asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" and Jesus' response was, "You must be born again." (The following scriptures will explain how you can be born again.)

Romans 3:23 says, "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (I have sinned, you have sinned, we all have disobeyed God and His standard.)

Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Because you and I have sinned, we deserve to live eternity in hell, BUT God sent His only son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins when He died on the cross. He rose again 3 days later and is alive in heaven right now longing for you to come spend eternity with Him.)

1 John 1:9-10 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives." (You must confess your sins to God and He will forgive you of all of your sins.)

Jesus said in Luke 5:32, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (You must feel extreme sorrow for your sins and turn away from your old ways.)

Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved." (You must confess that you want Jesus to be Lord of your life and you must believe that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved.)

Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Jesus is the ONLY way anyone can go to God the Father in heaven when they die. There is no other way.)

Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life." (God loved you and me so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross. Whoever believes in Him will live in eternity with God.)

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (There is NOTHING you can do to earn salvation. You cannot be good enough, you cannot go to church enough, you cannot do enough good things to earn salvation. It is a free gift from God through His grace that we are saved.)

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." (You do not have to change yourself. God will give you a new heart and a new reason to live. He will change you if you truly believe in Him.)

To be born again you must confess your sins to God, repent and turn away from your old way of life, and ask Jesus to become Lord of your life. This is what Jesus described to Nicodemus in John 3 about how to be born again. Wherever you are (at home, at church, out shopping), you can ask God right now to be the Lord of your life.

If you are reading this and you would like to give your life to Jesus Christ, I would love to know about it so I can rejoice with you! If you have any questions, I would love to help you find the answer. You can email me at drewstartup@yahoo.com .

Once you are born again, the Bible commands us to be a part of the body of believers (Acts 2:42-47). Find a local church that teaches the truths of the Bible and get plugged in quickly. As a new believer the Bible also commands us to be baptized. Once you find a local church, let someone know that you would like to be baptized because you are born again. This is an outward symbol of your inward commitment to Jesus Christ to let everyone know that you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. Finally, go tell other people about how Jesus changed your life and how they can be born again.

Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:19-20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

May God speak to your heart as you allow Him, and ask yourself...

"Do I really care where my family members, friends, and the people I meet will spend eternity?"

Memorizing Scripture...

My wife and I were talking the other night and we came to the conclusion that one aspect of our spiritual life that we are extremely weak at is memorizing scripture. So we decided to commit to learning one verse each week. We would love to encourage you to memorize scripture as well because David says in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden Your words in my heart that I might not sin against You." To help us hide God's Word in our hearts we are going to make note cards and place them in places where we will constantly see them. This week's verse is Galatians 6:9...

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

We must continue to do good and trust God for the results! We will reap a harvest of blessing in God's perfect timing.

The Meaning Behind "Immeasurably More"...

My wife and I already had all the details of our future planned out while we were dating in college. We would wait a year to get married after we graduated, then wait 3 more years till we started having kids, and we would have our third and final child by the time my wife was 32. The plan started off pretty good. We graduated from college, we worked for a year to save money and got married, then three years later we started trying to get pregnant and we did. Life was great! Everything was working out just like WE had planned, until 6 weeks into the pregnancy when my wife miscarried. People told us that it wasn’t unusual to miscarry on your first try, so we shook it off and tried again. Boy, were we good at getting pregnant! Six weeks passed by and we miscarried again. This time we didn’t shake it off as well. We tried again…miscarried. Tried again…miscarried. By this time bitterness and frustration were setting in and we didn’t know what to do. After 10 miscarriages we stopped counting. My wife didn’t want to be around anyone with children, so as our friends began to have kids of their own we quietly withdrew ourselves from their company. It was hard. It was painful. It was tough, as a husband, to watch my wife stare into nowhere knowing there was absolutely nothing I could say, nothing I could do, no love that I could give her to ease her pain. I prayed that God would work on her heart in a way that would allow her to feel like her life was worth something. You see, my wife’s only desire was to be a mom to our kids. She knew that is what she was created to do, or at least that’s what she thought she was created to do.

Time passed by and not much changed. We kept to ourselves and we didn’t want to hear anyone tell us that everything was going to be ok. The only people we were receptive to were the ones that had been down the road we were traveling. I remember my wife telling me years before we had pregnancy issues that when she got pregnant she didn’t want to tell anyone until we were far enough along in the pregnancy to know that our child was going to be ok. For a long time we told no one about our miscarriages. We kept our burden to ourselves. A couple of years into our troubles God gave us a peace about telling our family and a few friends. Of course they were heartbroken for us, but instead of feeling sorry for us they decided to pray relentlessly. One night my wife and I were in the bedroom and she looked at me and said, “I can’t do this anymore. I have to let God have total control of this situation and I must be ok with the fact that He may choose not to give us children.” She had been doing a Beth Moore Bible study and God had spoken to her heart and told her that she had to be willing to give up her desires and allow God to do what He needed to do in His perfect timing. She read Ephesians 3:20-21 that said, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”This verse became my life verse and we expected God to do more than we could ask or imagine!

We began praying this over and over again, and asking God to go above and beyond what we thought He could do. He began using me and my wife in ways that we never imagined, and we were given the privilege to disciple and minister to high school students and watch their lives change for God’s glory. As soon as we let go of our plans, God’s plan began to unfold. It was a plan that far exceeded the plan we dreamed up many years ago. Through the prayers of family members, friends, teenagers, and people we had never met before, God gave us a miracle. It wasn’t until we completely surrendered EVERYTHING to Him that He said, “Let me give you something you weren’t expecting.” Our son, Anderson Price Startup, arrived December 8, 2010 at 7:11 in the evening. Our hearts melt when his eyes meet ours because we see our faithful Lord and Savior in the eyes of our son. Surrender your desires to God today and let God make His desires your desires!

IMPACT!

Last week, Cartersville High School held it's second annual leadership academy called IMPACT! The goal of IMPACT is to teach students at the high school how they can be leaders at school, in their home, and in our community. We had 30 students participate and they are from all walks of life. Over the 3-day training the students performed team building exercises, heard speakers from our community share their thoughts on leadership, and their favorite part was hearing the stories of their own peers about how they have overcome obstacles in their own life. We laughed, we cried, but most importantly lives were impacted!

The theme this year was "Overcoming Obstacles Through Leadership" and we used a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that says, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." These students took this quote and ran with it! I will share one quick story...

Lauren and I were over at a friend's house eating dinner on Friday night when I received a text from one of the students who participated in IMPACT. This student said, "Hey Coach, my friend and I just did a prayer walk on Main Street. We went in every open store and asked if they had prayer requests and then prayed with them." I then asked what made him decide to do a prayer walk in the middle of town and his reply was, "I'm just trying to impact the lives of others."

WOW! One student did not wait till school started to make an impact. He knew he had to start now! That is an upcoming sophomore wanting to go where there is no path and leave a trail. I am looking forward to this upcoming year and seeing how many of the 30 will leave a trail. To God be the glory!