Father's Day

While I am beginning to fall so in love with my one true father God, the creator of the universe, I wanted to write a little bit about the blessing of a Father he gave me here on earth. Bruce Wayne Stelzer is the nerdiest, quirkiest, most intelligent, resourceful, and loving man I know. He is the hardest worker I have ever met and is such a sacrificial giver. Some of my earliest memories of him are the times when he would come home from work, when I was still quite young, after a long day and eat dinner with me. He was almost always late to dinner because he worked oh somewhere around 14 hour days(if not more) and I was an incredibly slow eater. That little bit of time where it was just he an I at the table was so special to me. Even after putting in long hours he'd come home and invest moments of time in my family. Game nights were pretty much how we stayed connected, whether it was us all shouting Farkle around the table falling over in our chairs, teaming up boys against girls in a game of hand and foot, or playing one of the many other games we so loved, he sacrificed the sleep to smile along with us.
My dad is a story teller, a jokester, and sometimes incredibly hard to shut up, and while this may not always be my favorite thing about him it is who he is. His father is one of his great hero's and also mine. Dad always told stories about the things he and grandpa Earl did together, invented together, built together and more. I never knew my grandpa but he sure taught my father how to be a man. Dad is handy and knows oh so much. It seems that whenever mom has her eye on something new dad is prepared to build it(probably more to save money than anything lol). I remember he built a wooden flower trellis for her once, he built a room in our basement, learned how to re-roof a house alongside his brother, the man just never stops working. Fishing was a passion he instilled in me as a child and one hobby I know he wishes he had time for today. He tills, and plants our garden every year so we can have organic veggies(and also save some money haha). But the thing that I have seen in my father lately that overflows my heart with joy is his love. His love for the Lord and the wisdom he instills in me about the need for spiritual growth because he didn't seek after the Lord at my age. For my mother, the little notes they wrote each other on valentines day that were still around the house when I came home in May.  His love for his son, I see his pride whenever my brother Josh accomplishes another amazing thing. And his love for me. Thank you Papa for loving our family, for setting a good example, and for sacrificing for us all. Happy Father's Day

Are we ashamed?

Jesus girl, church girl, Bible thumper and a plethora of other names have been thrown at me. Their goal: to demean me and silence my testimony.

Something I've realized a lot lately is that so many of my "Christian" friends have taken on the role of silencing their own testimonies on the basis of being unoffensive to "non-Christians". While it's all good and dandy that you don't want to be abrasive when you share the gospel, stopping all together is wrong. Jesus himself was not well liked. The truth he spread was not always spoken in a tactful way. Jesus was offensive. Why? Because hearing about your imperfections and faults is never something that makes you feel good about yourself, but it shouldn't stop us from sharing the cure.

Ephesians 6:19&20 Paul writes "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Whenever he opens his mouth! Living a life filled with the spirit should be seen at all times. Our faith in the saving power of Jesus' death and resurrection should be spilling out into our daily lives every time we open our mouths. For me I know this is an area I need to work on. I don't like to step on people's toes, I hate confrontation, and I like being well liked, but I will not go on silencing myself and letting others tell me that I am too much in love with Jesus. Go hard, or go home(Lecrae). I don't mind those names that I get called, because they tell me I'm doing something right. I will not be silenced, especially by other Christians, because I know the cure for the worst disease imaginable....sin. His name is Jesus.

The Lord most high watches out for me. He is Sovereign

Let me tell you, this day has been wonderful. So many things went wrong but the Lord saw me through it all. This morning I awoke crabby and angry at my smoke detector that was beeping at 4:30am. Upset that I had to spend $5 on a single battery my mood didn't really improve. I spent some time reading my Bible this morning at a local coffee shop, as is sort of my thing, and my spirits slowly lifted. I eventually realized how shallow my grumbling had been. The Lord blessed me with  breath to breathe and life to live I should rejoice in it. Later in the afternoon I got on my bike, somewhat nervous to go back to work for the first day in 3 weeks, but headed out in a better mood. Then it happened. All to quickly and in a very surreal way I was hit by a car. No worries I have REALLY MINOR scratches. I felt so bad for the poor guy who hit me who was completely freaking out. My bikes tires were crooked and I couldn't really ride it the rest of the way to work so Andrew(the guy who hit me) ended up dropping me off. We exchanged phone numbers and he told me to call him when I got off and he would take me to get a new bike.

The only injuries I have

The actually event of being hit went somewhat like this. I was approaching a four way intersection and the lights were green. Cars were going and coming my direction but none of them were turning so it seemed safe to cross. I saw Andrews car, in the right lane of the street perpendicular to the one I was on, with his turn signal on but he wasn't moving and on coming traffic was headed our way so he couldn't really move....or so I thought. I started to cross the street. Everything from there kinda slowed down I saw his car moving, felt it touch my left side, then felt myself getting lifted into the air,(it was kind of fun the feeling of flying) and my bike being pulled beneath his car. He stopped and everything was now going by at a regular speed. I got up scathed but unharmed picked up my bike and started to go on my merry way. I assured him I had not obtained injuries that needed medical attention and he insisted I meet him on the other side of the street. I did as instructed once I realized my bike was not going to get me to work. I asked him for a ride since I really needed to get to work it had been three weeks and I needed the money. He gave me his cell phone number while in the car and I texted him my name. Then I tried my best to calm the poor boy down. We chit chatted about school and I told him when I'd be getting off, to pick out a new bike.

My sweet new bike

At work I was giddy, over joyed that the Lord had been so wonderful to protect me. Every time I told the story to a co-worker I couldn't help but laugh. The bike I had been riding was an old $40 find. A a lady my father worked with sold it to me. One brake didn't work, it was rusty, and well I was glad to be getting a new one. I got off work an hour early called Andrew up and he took me to walmart. I think he's still in shock. We pick out my awesome boy bike that I am super thankful for. As we were leaving walmart and I was getting into the truck of  a friend who had come to pick me up Andrew asked me to wait for a moment. He went to his car and when he returned he gave me a gift card to starbucks. A new bike and free coffee, boy does the Lord have a sense of humor. I hope that I get an opportunity to use this experience to show Christ to Andrew. I'm sure we'll keep in touch but more importantly I'm thankful for a God who knows my every need. I needed a new bike. I needed a better attitude today. I needed another way to show my co-workers how Christ works in me. I hold no malice toward Andrew. I hope to be his friend. I am so thankful for a God who protects.