Follow The Numbers to Another Miracle Story...

Posted over the past 48 hours on Facebook and Twitter:

• 11
• 11.25
• 2+
• o+0<
• 14
• 7.02
• 123<365
• 5/3
• 2
• 3
• 5589

So, here we go:

After 11 years, Janelle found herself struggling to keep up with us on vacation, constantly getting car sick, and craving pickles.  The day after Thanksgiving (11.25) Janelle bought a couple of sticks at a Pharmacy, and used them.  They both came up postitive (2+).

That's right. JANELLE LYNN PRENKERT IS PREGNANT (or if I were to put it into an emoticon o+0<).  14 weeks pregnant to be exact.  We are looking at a due date of July 2nd (7.2).

It took a while to settle in.  The Ultrasound we saw at the doctor helped confirm the reality that we are moving from 1 child to 3 in less than a year (123<365); that next Summer this household will have 3 children under age 5 (5/3).

Yet, these 2 parents are absolutely blown away by the 3 miracle stories that God is granting us the privilege of calling our children.

Isaiah 55:8,9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Follow the Numbers

@derryprenkert on Twitter.
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Posted so far:

• 11.25
• 2+
• o+0<
• 14
• 7.02
• 123<365
• 5/3
• 2
• 3
• 5589

The code revealed here at www.derryprenkert.com 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 28.

Mery Christmas!

From David Crowder Band and 4,000 Youth Workers with camera phones.

The Hobbit

Oh. My.
Thank you for the Christmas present Peter Jackson.
Now all I have to do is wait for a year.

Passage - Life Verse #3

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 

Philippians 3:7-11

Moving students from Religion to Relationship to Spiritually Reproducing... it's why NMC Student Ministries exists.  Everything we do keeps this goal in mind.  Moving past a stale, rules-driven, empty label of Christianity and into a relationship with the Almighty Creator of the Universe is at the core of my personal story.

There's plenty of things we can pursue with our lives.  There's plenty of people to meet.  There's plenty of knowledge to be gained.  There's plenty of goals we can have.  Yet, whenever I read Paul's words in this passage, something rises up inside of me and says, "YES! That's where I want to live."

Paul's words are chucked full of relationship language.  I wish I could say I'm there all the time... where everything else is "rubbish" in comparison to knowing Christ, but I'm not.  That's why I love the next three verses of this passage:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 3:12-14

Passages - Life Verse #2

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Matthew 22:34-40

I can tend to be wordy in my story telling or explanation.  I love the side stories that go along with the main plot.  Yet, I love it when someone is able to sum up a huge issue, happening, or idea with a sentence or two.  When I ran across the Greatest Commandment passage during my Time Alone with God (or as we call it at NMC Student Ministries, TAWG) when in college, something hit deep.

The two commandments resonated with me deeply...

1.  Love God with everything you have.

2.  Love others (Jesus defined "neighbor" pretty broadly in other passages) in the same way you should love yourself.

I've dissected this passage trying to learn the historical, textual, theological significance of it.  

I've come to realize this passage is not a pathway to salvation but a call to godly and holy living.

I've wrestled with what it looks like to love your neighbor without loving your neighbor's sin.

Ultimately, what continual blows me away is the deep truth of verse 40... if these two commandments were a coat hanger, you could hang every other commandment on one of them.  So, if I can nail these two commands, I can nail the whole of scripture.

I try to make it a point to pray with or over my kids nightly.  One key phrase I pray over them, or that Katylynn will now pray out loud, is, "God, help (Katylynn/Moses) to learn how to love you and love others." 

When asked for a "life verse," I rarely quote this one, because it's a passage and not a verse. 

Matthew 22:37-40 is a "life verse" for me that I'm praying to be a life verse for my kids.

Passages - Life Verse #1

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

                                                              Matthew 6:33

I'll often be asked if I have a "Life Verse."  A life verse, as I understand is a verse or passage of scripture that God has more or less branded on to your life.  It will likely tie in to your direct calling. When asked, I have several verses that come to mind (hence #1 as a part of this post).  This tends to be the primary one I'll give. 

I love to be about "kingdom" business. When I gave my life over to Christ in September 1995,  I remember looking at a friend kneeling at the alter next to me and saying, "If I'm doing this, it's all or nothing.  I'm done living for myself."  Unfortunately, that statement has been a little more tough in practice than it was to simply declare it.  Yet, I find myself most alive, most in my "sweet spot" when I am...
... involved in something that clearly glorifies God's character and God's calling for mankind.
... taking part in something that will live beyond me.
... wearing my "eternal eyes" and not just a "momentary monacle" (a really dumb illustration I often give when speaking).
... a part of something significant.

When I seek HIM first, things don't necessarily get easier, and they don't necessarily change, but things do seem to fall into proper place and perspective.

A common prayer for me:  "God, let me advance your Kingdom today.  Get my eyes off my Kingdom."

Passages: I John 4:19

We love because he first loved us. 

                                                                              I John 4:19 

I was in High School. I wasn't pursuing after Christ. I had a ton of religion and no relationship with Christ. I had to sit through church services on Sunday morning and Sunday night. I would do anything to pass the time... Tic Tack Toe, drawing, passing notes, and sometimes when I was really board, reading my Bible.

I can't remember the exact date or even year, all I remember was I was in High School. As I leafed through my Bible, I realized for the first time there was the book of John, but there was also the book of I John. I started skimming through I John. When I hit chapter 4, verse 19 something just made me pause.

It was a simple statement, but it spoke to me. I am able to love because of God's love. In that moment, I decided to do something I'd never done before. I was going to memorize the verse and where it's found. Don't get me wrong, I had memorized verses before, but every other verse was because I was told to or it was so I could earn a patch for my "Missionary Cadet" sash.  This time my memorization was different.  It was the first verse I ever memorized because I thought it would be good to memorize.

I don't think I memorized another verse or passage of scripture until I fully surrendered my life to Christ my Freshman year at Bethel College.  After that moment and in the years since, I have committed many passages to memory.  This one will always be a special one to me.  Both for the message and for the reality that God was speaking love to me as I was running away from him.

Passages

Kind of funny that I'm heading on a vacation and I'm going to kick out a blog series. Normally vacation time means no blogging. I figured I would switch The concept of "Passages" is to throw out passages of scripture that are especially meaningful to me an the story of why. Look for more to come over the next few weeks.

Converge Is Back

After a few month break, I was able to get back to the Remedylive studios to record several new episodes of Converge.  We did a little reformatting to the show...
New set, shorter episodes, and series.

I'm excited about the 4 episode series with Terry Linhart about where we are discussing how the Christian teen can make a global difference.

Here's part 1:

Converge EP01 Terry Linhart from remedyLIVE on Vimeo.


Here's part 2:

Converge EP02 With Terry Linhart from remedyLIVE on Vimeo.

Part 3 will air live Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Remedylive. You can also watch archived episodes of Converge here.

Sell This House!

Our house is on the market!

If you know a young couple, a renter looking to own, or an older couple looking for a retirement home, let them know 802 Locke is a great option!

 Our listing:  http://www.hahnrealtyandauction.com/realestate.php?action=show&id=665
You can call Brandi Kitson to set up a showing: (574)773-4184

Thought for the Day

1. I am a youth pastor. 
2. I am a husband. 
3. I am a parent. 
4. I am a follower of Christ. 
5. I am a child of God. 

Rarely do I feel like I'm fulfilling these roles with excellence all at the same time.
I tend to find 1, 2 and 3 at battle against each other.
I see number 4 as the one that can bring 1, 2, and 3 into balance.
When it gets down to it, 5 is something I need accept more than perform.

Trale Lewous Cracks Me Up

Our tech guys discovered a fantastic series of videos at a conference they attended. We've been showing them at the beginning of our Wednesday Nights in Senior High. Enjoy Trale's Skittles commercials:

A Month Without a Post

Yes, it's been one month with no blog posts.
No, I'm not done blogging.

I once heard a story (probably apocryphal) of the 19th century Native American leader who was being brought to Washington to meet the President. With his handlers, he endured the noise and dirt of a ride on the iron horse. They stuffed him into a carriage, hustled him to the White House steps. At which point, the indigenous leader sat down and refused to move. “You have to hurry,” shouted the handlers. “The biggest chief in America is waiting to meet you!” Said the Native American leader, “Your chief will have to wait. Right now I must wait here to give my soul time to catch up with my body.”

As I've processed through:

• The major activity of the Summer .
• The adoption of our son.
• The significant, humbling, yet appreciated attention these activities brought to us publically.

I realized I just needed to step back and let "the soul behind my writing" catch up with my blogging.
The break is fairly open-ended.  I'm not quite there yet, but believe very soon I will be back with some thoughts, rants, reviews and ideas.

This Week in Thoughts

He has been a great friend.  I'm so glad we met in college. On Dan Weiss while writing him a note for his 35th Birthday.

What is the culture of our Student Ministries right now? While be challenged by a godly member of the NMC family at our staff meeting.

The culture we create will make or break this one.  While working with a think-tank on a significant move we are looking to make with NMC Student Ministries.

It's so good to have her back.  Wednesday when Janelle (my wife just in case you didn't know) rejoined our administrative team one day a week.

This one's all you God.  On Wednesday Night as we had a flooded alter at the close of our Senior High gathering.

I'm really ticked.  My grace bank is depleted on this one.  On Wednesday Night when a gal came up to me to let me know her Droid X phone was stolen from her seat while she was  at the alter.  (Glad to report she got it back the next day).

I would be okay if the Colts could draft Kellen Moore next year.  He could sit under Peyton Manning for 3-4 more years then take the reins. Tonight as I watch the Boise State Broncos against Toledo.

I have one amazing family.  Thank you God.  Thursday while getting our family pictures taken.