Second Stage Ministries

I want to share something that came up this past weekend and I shared with the students at my church. This month we have been talking about respect and what that looks like for them. We have talked about the people they respect, respecting their parents/caregivers and respecting their leaders. We have built the month in this verse - "Show proper respect to everyone." - 1 Peter 2:17, NIV Everyone means everyone. But it's not that easy. Parents make a bad call or are a little unfair. Bosses aren't the easiest to respect. Friends can be disrespectful too. We all have someone that is a little hard to respect. But God wants us to respect them as best as we can. You don't have to look very far in this world to see the amount of disrespect people have for each other. People taking sides and if you aren't with them your against them. People protesting and yelling insults toward the fellow men and women. This is not the way it's supposed to be. &

I had an interview yesterday for a position at a church in Ohio. The interview was for a Children's Ministry Director and I am passionate about children. After the interview was all said and done, I couldn't help but think what dream come true it would be to get that position. But I also thought about the other end of it - what if I don't get and it and it turns out like the few other interviews I've had. I was reminded of a verse. It's one of my favorite verses and is found in the book of Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 NIV God knows what He has planned for me. That is good news! But wait, there's even better news - what He has planned for me is better than what I have planned for me. This church and the position they offer may be what God has planned for me in this season or I'm not yet ready and it's

The lyrics and the message of the song below are so good and I just had to share it with. The lyrics speak for themselves and better than I could write. I hope this post provides a little bit of encouragement for you today or this week. God is a God a second chances. God gives us the opportunity to start over – to start new. _________________ "Start Over" (feat. NF) Everybody’s got a blank page A story they’re writing today A wall that they’re climbing You can carry the past on your shoulders Or you can start over Regrets, no matter what you've gone through Jesus, He gave it all to save you He carried the cross on His shoulders So you can start over Don’t let your heart be troubled Don’t be afraid To the broken-hearted that wished that they’d Never been born, never been torn, never sinned, never disobeyed I know you think there’s no hope, but that ain’t true, Jesus saves! I know you feelin’ regret (Like I) brought this all on my

Are you anxious? Stressed? Worried? Uneasy? Nervous? Overwhelmed? What a silly group of questions. I know I can be. I know you can be. Did you know that Jesus was a little stressed? He had the weight of the entire world on His shoulders. Talk about a stressing moment. We read about that moment of Jesus' life in the Gospel of Luke: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." - Luke 22:44 NIV “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” - Mark 14:34 a NIV Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him (John 18:4). He knew of the pain to come and it was weighing heavy on Him. He was greatly overwhelmed. While Jesus was under this great pressure, He went and prayed to God: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” - Luke 22:42 NIV Now God didn't take away the pain that Jesus was going to be going through. But God did give Je

When I got home from work a few weeks ago my kids were watching the movie "Home" and it was toward the end. If you aren't familiar with the movie here is a brief summary: There are these creatures called Boov and they are running from their nemesis the Gorg. In their running, they wind up in Earth and take over the planet to hide from the Gorg. But eventually, one of them comes face to face with one of them. When the Gorg emerges from his ship, it is revealed that under the massive and scary armor, the Gorg, is a tiny harmless starfish. [1] The Boov ran from something they thought was huge and scary; however, it turns out that their problem wasn't as big as it appeared to be. I feel that's how it is for us with the things of life. Sometimes problems present themselves as being bigger than they are and we become scared and runaway. But it's probably not as big as it seems. Nothing is bigger than God. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Walk through