The God who sees our misery

7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."

Ex 3:7-10 (NIV)

When you find yourself in difficult situations that seem to be hopeless, remember:
1. God sees your misery. It doesn't matter if it's misery you brought on yourself or misery someone else created. He sees your misery.
2. God hears when you cry out. He knows what enslaves you and He loves to deliver the helpless who humble themselves before Him.
3. God is concerned about your suffering. He is so concerned that "he came down to rescue us..." What a great picture of what Jesus came to be as our Rescuer.
4. God wants to bring you into a good and spacious land. God's ultimate desire, even in the midst of trials, is that you live an Exodus 19:4 life where you allow Him to bring you to Himself. So don't just seek His hand for what He can do for you but seek His face for who He is. Then it won't matter if He delivers you now or later. You will be in that good and spacious place with Him.

Coming close to the fire

I've been reading through the book of Exodus lately and getting some much needed leadership insights. If you are a leader of any type, I hope the Lord encourages you through these words.


1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up."
Ex 3:1-3 (NIV)

1. A good leader tends to those God has given him. He spends time with them and leads them into the very presence of God.
2. A humble leader understands that those that God has given him to shepherd are God's and he will stand before God one day and be accountable for them.
3. A pesistent leader is willing to lead God's flock to the "far side" instead of settling on the closest place of comfort.
4. A leader with a sense of spiritual curiosity is always seeking to find where God is at work.
5. A growing leader understands that fire represents God's desire to cleanse and refine a leader so he will be useful to the Master. Clean hands and a pure heart are an imperitive for God to use a leader.

I Believe...

Check out this amazing video done by Gregory Jones from The Brook. It truly captures the excitement of what God has done the last 10 years and it clearly shows that there is a sense of expectation and momentum as we look towards the future!


I Believe - 10 Years at The Brook from Jan Owen on Vimeo.

The Brook Cardboard Testimonies

The Brook's 10th Anniversary cardboard testimonies. This is only a glimpse into what God has and continues to do! Astounding!





Cardboard Testimonies from Jan Owen on Vimeo.

Blown Away!

I was totally blown away by what the Lord did today at the Brook! It is such an honor to be a part of such an amazing church. The Lord really used our worship time today. The place really exploded with powerful expressions of worship. It's fun to be part of a church that isn't afraid to celebrate by shooting off confetti cannons, dance, raise our hands in worship, etc. You could feel the Spirit moving even before the service started. It was great to have everyone in one big special service...although I wouldn't want to do it every week because I know God is going to bless us with tremendous growth!

It was fun to tag team with Josh and Jan. We have had some good times planning for this special day and knew God was going to do something really amazing, but we really didn't anticipate some of the special reactions before, during, and after the service. I met tons of people, got to pray with several people with people who are sincerely seeking God, and just really had a great time hanging out at the picnic afterwards pigging out on some awesome hamburgers!

I can't wait to get the video of our cardboard testimonies. Even though we had walked through it several times before this morning it was still extremely powerful and emotional. I hope to have some video posted very soon! As I watched the crowd it was obvious people were overwhelmed because of the picture of lives changed for all eternity. It was so great to have so many families from our Conversation Club there today. Thank you Sue Ann for taking the time to personally invite these wonderful families! I could tell they were really impacted by everything that happened this morning. I bet it will make for some great conversation tomorrow!

So what's next? We start a brand new series called "Momentum". This series is being designed to cast vision for our next steps at The Brook. We strongly believe that God has greater things in store and we want to fully embrace His plans. I think you will be greatly challenged as we look at things that cause us to take steps forward as well as things that cause us to lose momentum as a church. Come ready to be challenged and changed by our Awesome God who never fails to amaze us!

The Brook 10 Year Anniversary

As we celebrate The Brook's 10th anniversary on Sept. 21st, we will be sharing our "cardboard testimonies". Here is an example of what it will look like. It has great potential to be one of the most powerful God-moments we've ever experienced!

Watch is here or check it out on my Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1473690734

Why I still date my wife

Amy and I celebrated 20 years of marriage this year! As newlyweds we agreed that we would continue to go out on dates on a regular basis. I truly believe that making this a priority has tremendously helped us keep our relationship close and fresh. We take turns planning the dates and put a lot of thought into each date. We have two rules: we can't talk about kids or work. It really helps us focus on us.

Here's a few of our favorite dates...

Huntsville, Alabama area
1. We love concerts. We recently saw Kathleen Carnali and have plans to see Toby Mac in December. Can't wait!
2. Picnics in unusual places. My favorite place is a spot on Rainbow Mountain overlooking Madison. Great view and very romantic place on a huge rock.
3. We are coffee fiends and love the simplicity of talking over a Vente Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks. It never gets old.
4. When we run out of money before we run out of month, we have "in dates". We pretty much banish the girls to their side of the house and we enjoy snuggling up and watching movies. I have grown to appreciate chick flix and Amy has grown to appreciate movies about Alaska!
5. Sitting alone anywhere and making each other laugh. My favorite sound in all the world is Amy's laugh.


When we lived in the Washington D.C. area, we had tons of places explore. Our most memorable ones were...
1. Jumping on the Metro and stopping at ethnic restaraunts. There were so many to chose from. The food was amazing and the environment was always memorable.
2. Exploring all 14 Smithonian museums. It never got old.
3. Touring the first president's home (Mt. Vernon) and the sitting president's home (White House) in the same week was an amazing experience.
4. Wolftrap in VA. A great outdoor venue for concerts.
5. Taking walks in the snow and sledding down the parsonage hill.
6. We took ballroom dancing lessons. It was hysterical. We're not quite ready for "Dancing with the Stars" but we really enjoyed the moves and laughing until we cried!

Our big celebrations (anniversaries, birthdays, etc) are usually something over the top. Here's our favorites:
1. Taking a dinner yacht cruise on the Potomac at night. Great food and views of the monuments all lit up at night.
2. Kidnap dates. This typically involves packing a bag and saying "just trust me" and driving to the airport and flying to another city for a night on the town and a stay in a nice hotel.
3. King/Queen for the day: This is an all day date that where you get to do whatever you want all day long. Its a great chance to serve your spouse for an extended period of time and makes it fun to return the favor.

Our dream date
1. For Amy it would be anywhere there is a beach.
2. For me, it would be anywhere there is a mountain.

I'm thinking we need to move to Hawaii so we can enjoy both!

Future Preacher! Get ready to laugh!

Fishing Fiasco

I took Grace and Joi fishing this morning...scratch that...I fished and they did everything but...

It's not that they didn't want to fish. The desire was there but their casting capabilities still leave a little to be desired. Too many backlashes, tree bass, near misses in almost hooking the " daddy fish" left the girls thinking it would be more fun to nap fish and climb trees. I must admit...I wasn't on my "A" game today. In one cast alone I lost my favorite lure and half a Walmart fishing pole. Don't EVER buy one of those cheapo two piece rods. Half of it will end up in the pond! Next time I go after the big bass I'm bringing my graphite ugly stick and a bunch of worms so the girls can catch crappie all day long. Grandpa, hurry up and move to 'Bama. We need your help!

It's all good though. We had a blast! I do have to fix one thing. Amy is going to kill me for not noticing that Grace wore her new school shoes and got them REALLY messed up! Gotta go clean some shoes!