New Blog Site

Hello Friends!  Just wanted to let you all know that I have a new blog site, where I will be posting new blogs from here on out.  Check it out at aoman94.wordpress.com.

See you there!

New Year…New Adventure

Another year has come and gone.  I’ve had a lot of time to reflect and to see where God has brought me the past year.  I can honestly say that some events that have transpired the past year were unexpected…some were exciting, some not so exciting, some very good, and some not as good as I would have liked.  I kind of wished that some things worked out the way I wanted them to, but maybe if they did, they probably wouldn’t be as good for me as I thought they would be.  The only common denominator that brings all these things together is that throughout the year, the one true constant is God.  And, one of the primary things that He has been teaching me is that it’s all about Him…it’s not about me.

I’ve spent this year trying to understand this truth in my life…everything being all about Him.  It was a struggle ‘cause it meant that I had to let go of a lot of myself.  I had to let go of some of the desires I have for my life and to align myself to God’s desires.  That’s not an easy task, especially for someone who likes to be in charge and to plan for where I saw myself to be.  The toughest part of learning all of this is that God had to take away some things in my life…sometimes He had to do it twice, and I regret to say that some took three tries.

The thing I’ve been focused on the most lately is God’s Kingdom Building.  I’ve been leading worship music at a church in Woodland Park since last August.  The attendance is low – maybe 10-20 people each week.  I used to wonder why there weren’t more people showing up, and I used to be pretty bummed out about it.  After a couple of months, though, God had to remind me that it is all about Him and not me.  It’s not about my expectations, but about His work and His time.  Since then, I’ve been so excited just getting to know the regulars who attend and being able to praise God with them.  The cool thing about all this, too, is that God has been providing me with more confidence in the abilities He has given me…and that excites me because I believe that He isn’t done with me yet.

I’m finishing up my Master’s in Project Management this May.  I was going to write about something that has to do with spaceflight and why the US is going back to the moon, but I changed my mind and I’m now currently working on a new subject (which I should be doing right now, but I’m messin’ around with my blog instead).  I decided to change my subject to church planting and managing successful teams in a non-profit setting.  This is what I’m most passionate about; hence, me and a couple of my brothers in Christ are hoping to attend a Bible college or Seminary this Fall to get Biblical Study degrees and/or a Master of Divinity.  I’m not sure what God will do and how He’s going to work this out, but I’m excited about it and I’ve learned to get excited about the unknown…but not just the unknown, but the unknown that is known to God and the unknown that is driven by Him and my desire to follow Him.

This is so new to me because I’m not the type that lets go of things easily, and some of those things include my past.  I hold on tight to those memories, and sometimes I wonder if God will allow me to experience those again.  But, I have to ask myself if those things I hold dear to also hinder me from moving to the direction God wants to take me.  Am I allowing those things to make me less efficient for God’s use?

The one thing I know through all of this is that it never hurts to step out in faith…to do the things that I know God is directing me to do even though it isn’t comfortable or that I have to sacrifice some things to do it.  When you step out in faith, though, that’s when you can see God work around you and in you.  That’s tough ‘cause there’s that “unknown” thing again and you worry about the outcome.  Stop!  Stop worrying!  Allow God to use you and you’ll see how much your relationship with Him will grow.  Make yourself available to Him and you’ll see what kind of adventure He’ll take you on.  You don’t have to worry because He’ll bring others along the same journey…and those times when you feel like you’re all alone…He’s not too far off…He’s holding your hand.

Stretching Out

I’ve had so much that I wanted to write about the past couple of months.  I know that some of you want to hear more about my Bosnia trip, but I want to share with you something greater that God has been doing since Bosnia.  My faith has been tested time and again the past year and a half, and it hasn’t been that easy.  I’ve learned so much about myself, but the most important thing is that I’ve been able to know my God more.

My perspective on things in my life changed dramatically a couple of weeks after I returned from Bosnia in May.  I had to humble myself to a brother and to my God regarding a situation in my life that involved covetousness and envy.  I had to humble myself to the point where I washed my brother’s feet in front of those I love dearly.  It had to be done because it was keeping me from allowing God to use me.  It’s as if I hindered God’s vision for my life by making myself a slave to selfishness.  But after doing what I had to do, I sensed a peace that transcended anything that I could ever imagine and release from something that dragged me down.  I knew right then that God had a plan and that plan involved my being available to Him…me being obedient to Him…me all sold out for Him in reckless abandonment.

Since then, I know God has been building back a strength in me that I once had in Him…I lost it not too long ago because I lost sight of Him.  Instead, I was overwhelmed in my own pride.  My eyes have been opened to the things that He is planning to do and to the things He is currently doing.

Recently, I accepted a position as a worship leader for a church down in Woodland Park just west of Colorado Springs.  The church has had a vision to start a new Saturday night contemporary service – a service that would reach those who have been disenfranchised with church and its traditional ways.  Four of my brothers and I heard of the opportunity and made ourselves available to allow God to use us by my interviewing for the position.  It is an opportunity for us to use the abilities and the heart that God has given us for outreach and for building a community of believers and those who soon will be.  It’s an exciting time as I know God will reveal more of Himself to me, and to all of us.  We will witness His power and His love by obeying Him and knowing that He will guard our lives.  It’s a step that I’m not used to doing…it’s a step out of comfort, but a step into the great unknown that I believe will be full of God’s greatness and unending love.

My Building Brothers group and those in my eXodus small group hosted a community BBQ at my townhome complex on Saturday.  We had a huge turnout from those living here and the friends we have outside of the complex.  It was a fun time filled with food, music, outdoor sports, and conversations – true community.  From that one day, we were able to create new relationships with those who we probably would never have taken a second look at in passing.  The hearts of the people around me are filled with God’s vision for His Kingdom, and His Kingdom building.  It’s an exciting time for us to spread our wings and to lengthen our cords by going beyond what we know and understand – we’re stepping out in faith and we’re being obedient to the One who has called us to be His children.  It’s an exciting time!

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.  For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.”

 ~ Isaiah 54:2-3

Back Home

I just wanted everyone to know that I made back home safely on Monday afternoon.  After some weird run-in with Customs, all is fine. I want to thank you all for your prayers and for your financial support.  I will post up more about the trip in the next few days, just so you'll know what we did from Day 4 and on.

I'll also post up some photos in my Photo section, so you all can see what Bosnia looks like and have a chance to see what we were up to.

Again, I appreciate your prayers very much.  I can't begin to tell you how much God has been a huge part of this trip and how He worked things out long before we got there.  He's revealed Himself to me in so many ways that I just don't have the right words to describe His pursuit of me.  I hope I can try to explain this better in the next few days.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Bosnia: T minus 14 hours

It’s almost midnight and I should be asleep right now, but slacker me is still doing laundry and getting things together for my trip to Bosnia in about 14 hours.  This will be my second trip to Bosnia.  I went with a team of eight back in May 2005 – it was our first time in Bosnia as a mission team from my church.  Last year, a team of eight went, but I wasn’t a part of it.  I had some other things in my life that kept me from going.

This year is a bit different.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure if my heart was really in the right place for this trip.  I didn’t know if God was really calling me to go, or if I just signed up just for the heck of it.  I’m a part of a team of four…four very close friends.  We’ve had our team building meetings, but I still wasn’t really into them.  I just didn’t know if I was really supposed to be on the team.

My attitude has been much different lately, especially since the time is upon us.  The past several weeks have been rough for me, and I just didn’t know what God was trying to teach me.  Things didn’t really turn out the way I would have liked.  Still, I wonder how much of my focus was on my desires and what I wanted instead of what God really wanted.  How much did I really desire Him?

This trip to Bosnia will be a selfish one for me.  It’s a given that I will be serving my God and will be used as a tool for His Kingdom Building, so I’m excited about that.  My first trip there was primarily focused on serving Him.  This time, I’m really looking forward to how God will reveal more of Himself to me.  How much will He reveal some things about myself, and how much of His work and His vision will I see?  This is what I’m excited about…I want to know more of the bigger picture…that His plans far outweigh my own.

I’ve really had to learn how to let go of my own desires and truly seek what God’s plan is…not just for my life and for others in my life, but His own plan.  I’ve had to learn how to be more selfless and to trust in God’s sovereignty.  While it may be difficult I’m excited about where I’m at in my life and I’m looking forward to where God wants me to be in His plan…His will.  I want to be one step closer to being the man He wants me to be and is shaping and molding me to be.  While I’m not complete in Him yet, I trust that He’ll reveal more of who I am in Him.