So here goes…

MY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED!

After what seems like a million years my sister and her boyfriend are now engaged to be married! This guy called to ask my permission and before he even had the words out of his mouth I said yes and gave my enthusiastic blessing! God has done amazing things in their relationship and it is so evident that He is the center of their lives both as individuals and as a couple. I am so excited for the both of them and can’t wait to help make their wedding an amazing day!

I AM GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!

After what also seems like a million years I will now be back on the path to finish my BA Degree in Communications. I have enrolled at Regent University in Virginia via their Online Campus. As many of you know I made a promise to my Mom before she was ushered into the Loving Arms of Jesus that no matter what happened with her that I would finish my degree. One of my core requirements for this to happen was not to go into any additional debt. Through my current employer I will likely qualify for full tuition reimbursement for almost all of my classes. I am so grateful for the Lord’s provision to make that promise to my Mom a reality!

DNR MUSIC HAS BEEN “REVIVED”!

Some of you may not know but back in 2004 I and a few friends got together for the purposes of creating, playing and producing music. We called ourselves “DNR” standing for “Do Not Revive” tying into the idea that this earth is not our home and that ultimately that if faced with the decision to be “revived” into our frail earthly body or to be with Jesus forever the choice would be “Do Not Revive”. That being said, over the past few months I have been rearranging and reproducing our songs to finally put together a record to be release sometime at the beginning of next year. In the midst of that I have also teamed up the Rachel Hayes to help her produce a demo record to be release in October. Not only is she blessed with mountains of talent but she is like minded in being a light and missionary in the mainstream music industry.

I AM OFFICIALLY PART OF ANOTHER CHURCH PLANT!

In September of 2008 I started meeting with a guy named Mike Mixon. At the time he was the leader of a small group from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley. After meeting with him for a while for Biblical Council and Discipleship, he invited me to be a part of his small group. On Wednesday nights we’d get together with about 10 other people in his cramped one bedroom apartment that he and his VERY pregnant wife were renting and on Sunday’s we’d trek out to Simi Valley to worship with the rest of Cornerstone. Around this same time Cornerstone was rethinking the difference between “going to church” and “being the church”. It took a while but eventually Mike and the Elders at Cornerstone realized that our group could better serve and worship Jesus and serve and love our community if we met as a church where we all lived and worked. To make a long story short we went from that small group of 10 people in a living room to a larger group of 50-60 people meeting in a small drama theater in the heart of Burbank each Sunday to raise the volume of praise in our city and in the world. And so a few weeks ago we officially became City Life Church Burbank. Right now I have the privilege of serving each and every Sunday on the Audio/Video Team and occasionally on the Musical Worship Team. When I first talked with Mike almost 3 years ago I never imagined that I would be doing either of those things much less be part of something as exciting as a church plant.

Well that about wraps up the updates thus far. There are a few more things on the horizon that may be update worthy but until they are here and finalized I’ll leave you all with this passage that has been crushing my fears and raising my hopes.

“10And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. 12And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. 17And Job died, an old man, and full of days.” Job 42:10-17 (ESV)

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1. My cage was rattled over the Conan verse Leno Late Night Wars. I love Conan and always have. Ever since I watched Johnny Carson as a kid I always wondered what it would be like to one-day work on a show like that. I love comedy and I when I found out Conan was going to host The Tonight Show I was excited and gave myself something to work for. To one day write or be a part of the Tonight Show was not a far fetched dream but something I could actually see myself doing. Needless to say it was tough to see Conan be abused by NBC brass but it was inspirational to watch how he went out… by having a lot fun on Television.
2. Since mid-October there has been a hole in my ceiling that resulted from a leaking roof. The roof was eventually fixed however after repeated contact with our management company the ceiling was ignored until early last week when the torrential rains finally proved to be to much for the flimsy patches to hold and the ceiling caved in and damaged irreplaceable pictures. I ended up getting into several shouting matches with people that could care less that water had caused damage to my property due to their negligence. To add insult to injury we were served with an eviction notice because we refused to pay the rent until they decided to do something about the poor maintenance.
3. In addition to the poor maintenance form management Southern California Edison has seen fit to turn our power off three different times over the past 2 weeks. They claim each time it’s for maintenance but then today the power went off with no notice and it wasn’t until after we called that we discovered that there was scheduled maintenance but that the problem was the maintenance caused “severe damage to critical systems which have led to an extended outage.” The power has been out since 9AM this morning and won’t be back on until approximately 6AM tomorrow. Right now I’m hiding out at a Starbucks trying to see if I can get stuff done for the move this weekend.
4. Moving is a pain in the a$$. Packing and going through and getting rid of crap that you’ve had for over 25 years can be both liberating and excruciating. There is freedom that comes from divesting yourself of the things that encumber you, but stuff is funny. We think we need it, but we really don’t. And the truth is the more stuff you have the more problems that stuff brings you. At the same time, the memories that are brought back by a third grade project, or a Christmas card from a particularly tough year can be comforting and encouraging. Then of course moving involves location, location, location. Not to mention cost, cost, cost.
5. Some major changes and events have been transpiring at my former church that directly relate to the ongoing reconciliation process. Needless to say, some key players are abandoning ship and it’s put me in a position where I’m left wondering how far to pursue reconciliation with them. At what point should I abandon the idea that there will be a happy ending to this?

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So there you have it… my complaints and hassles this week. But in reality they pale in comparison to the suffering and misery of the people in Haiti. No food, no water, no electricity, no order, no help, no hope. People’s dead loved ones are piled in the street, violence has been slowly creeping in and churches there have been decimated by structural damage, whole congregations dying and spiritual turmoil due to unimaginable trials. Yet I’m ticked off over and entertainment show, a small pathetic hole in my ceiling, temporary lack of electricity, clinging to stuff that I don’t need and problems with a couple of people who have no control over my spiritual well being.

Pretty selfish and stupid. Sure I texted “Haiti” to 90999, I gave to my church and I donated at Starbucks. But oh how comfortable that was. To sit thousands of miles away from the horror of what is taking place there and to send money to a country that is in ruin. It’s the equivalent of putting a band-aid on a severed limb, I’ve done no good. And yet I am SO ungrateful for the amazing gifts and blessings that I have here and for what? Just a little comfort… I am disgusted.

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I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a personal update but life has been busy and unpredictable. Hard to tell you all what’s going on when I don’t know what’s going on . You’ll also see that I did a little redesign on the look of the site. Everything is still here but I’m going to be expanding and adding stuff this year and I wanted to make some room. I liked the old theme cause it had 3 Columns but I’m also a big fan on cutting down on information overload so this new theme should work just fine.

Since I tend to be able to think better when I make lists here are few things I’d like to share with y’all:

1. I Will Be Moving At The Beginning Of February – For the past 12 months I have had the privilege of living in the Santa Clarita Valley. It’s had it’s ups and downs but it has been a great opportunity for me to be on my own and learn some important life lessons. I’ve had some great roommates and some great visitors but unfortunately our lease is up at the end of January and the rent is definitely going to be out of our price range. At this point neither of us know where we’re going to end up but suffice it to say we won’t end up on the street. There is a good possibility that I may end up back in my home town but my desire is to find a place in Burbank close to my church family.
2. I’m Finally Beginning To Settle On A Career Path - While the details are still blurry the broad strokes is that I’d like to end up in the world of Production or Post-Production. I know those don’t necessarily go hand in hand but at least it’s been narrowed down. Last year I had the privilege of helping out on some amazing short films and couple of Reality TV Shows. I’ve also had the privilege of editing some great projects last year as well and had an amazing time doing both. Despite the fact that the path I thought I was on 3 years ago has radically changed, being a part of the entertainment industry has always been a part of my path. The Lord has dropped so many opportunities in my lap but unfortunately I took them for granted. 2009 was a tough year stability wise with jobs and income being the biggest issues I wrestled with (compare that to 2008 when I lost everything in my life that meant something to me and it doesn’t seem that bad). I hope that this year the side projects and opportunities will be plentiful and will build a strong body of work to have as a resume for good jobs in the future. But I also know that with the way things are in the economy I’m going to have to work harder then I ever have to find the good ones.
3. God Has Slowly And Faithfully Been Healing Me - 2008 was the worst year of my life. I lost my Mom, my church family, my liberty and hope for a future. Trust me, that is no exaggeration. Sometime in the next 6 months all the details of what transpired in 2008 will come out, but for now please know that I see now that God was in control of it all. As a result, I spent most of 2009 coming to grips with my life being turned upside down and trying to cope with hurt, depression and pain that the Lord allowed. So many of you walked with me and my family through those trials and were faithful and point me to the Lord not matter what the circumstance. I apologize if I didn’t seem receptive, but just know that the Lord spoke through you no matter what my initial response to you might have been. For those of you who are strangers I hope that sharing my story will be an encouragement to you when (NOT IF) you walk through trials in your own life. The Lord allowed some unimaginable things, but He also allowed them for unimaginable reasons that are still being revealed to me daily. When I think back to where I was a year ago I marvel and the Lord’s goodness, faithfulness and trustworthiness, which was a key concept for me last year. I’ve had to learn some hard lessons the hard way, but the Lord has been there every step of the way.
4. God Has Given Me An Incredible New Church Family - When I began looking for a new church a little over a year ago I never thought that I’d find the love and support that I have found in Cornerstone Burbank. When I first started attending there I was a bump on the wall. I came, I didn’t talk, I left and had no meaningful relationships with anyone. At first it was very hard to get over the hurts that I experienced at my previous church, but slowly I saw that God was working in and through the folks in Burbank and I began to see first hand that those folks were the real deal. They submitted to Jesus. served others and loved them both. Through an amazing set of circumstances I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to be vulnerable and share with group about all the doubts and pain I had been experiencing since my Mom had passed away. The group overwhelmed me with love, prayer and sweet fellowship based on our common love for Jesus. It was something that had been missing from my life for over a year and the Lord has used to strengthen and encourage my heart. Since that night I have a church family that trusts me and that I trust as well. This year I hope that the Lord will continue to open up doors in the group where I can serve and be served, love and be loved.
5. God Has Been Drawing Me Closer To My Family - When my Mom passed away in June of 2008 I felt as if our family would never be whole again. That we would be forever scared and would never be a “family” again without her. Last October my Dad married an amazing woman named Cindy. In the months before and after the wedding my Sister and I have gotten to know her and I can honestly say that I consider her to be part of our family. She’s not a replacement for my Mom (as that is impossible) but she’s and addition to our family that has helped heal the wounds of loosing someone you love. She has experienced loss in her life and has been very sensitive and respectful of what my Sister and I have have been going through. She understands the ups and downs of grief which is a blessing from the Lord. This has also served to better my relationship with my Dad. We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on everything (don’t get us started on politics!) but over the past year my Dad and I have been working though our issues in our hearts as well as our issues with each other. We are communicating better and most of all we enjoy spending time together. My Sister and I are also drawing closer together. We have a little joke between us that we’re always emotional opposites. When I’m having a hard time with something, she has peace about it. When my Sister is struggling to understand, I’m there to try and explain it to her. Considering the fact that these are major life issues we’ve been wrestling with I am so grateful that we can count on each other and that God has made us unique enough to support each other during the tough times. I can honestly say I look forward to our family get-togethers on the weekends and holidays.

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Finally, over the next few months I’d like to start posting again on a regular basis. The biggest reason that I have haven’t been sharing here has been the things on my heart and mind involve matters that are private and involve other people. The Lord has seen fit to begin to heal those situations and is opening the door for a miraculous and amazing story about just how awesome God is and how powerful the Gospel is. My hope and prayer is that the things I share here will be an encouragement and blessing to those that read it and that unlike some of my posts last year, they will be uplifting to others and glorify the Lord.

The Gospel Conference
Cornerstone Community Church, Simi Valley, CA
Session 3/4: “The Recurring Patterns Of Life And Ministry”
Jeff Vanderstelt

1 Peter 2:9-12

The Six Rhythms Of Gospel Living

1. Story Forming
   • The Redemption Story = Creation–>Fall–>Redemption–>Restoration
   • Story As Family–>Each Other: Do you know the story of those in your family (community group etc)?
   • Story As Missionaries–>Neighbors: Do you know the story of those in your neighborhood and surrounding community?
   • Story As Servants–>Tangible Blessings: Knowing someone story will show you the gaps in their own Redemptive Story giving you the opportunity to be a tangible blessing
2. Listen
   • Listen To God First
   • Listen As Family–>Spirit/Each Other: Listen for fruit
   • Listen As Missionaries–>Neighbors: Listen for gaps in fruit
   • Listen As Servants–>Do It!: If we truly listen to someone we have to react by doing something to fill in the gaps
3. Celebrate
   • Christians have a lot to celebrate and party about!
   • Celebrate As Family–>Jesus Parties
   • Celebrate As Missionaries–>Redeem Parties
   • Celebrate As Servants–>Prep, Provide, Clean Up
4. Bless
   • There are enough resources here on earth to bless everyone
   • Bless As Family–>Each other
   • Bless As Missionaries–>What would bless instead of curse?
   • Bless As Servants–>Spend all he has given you!
5. Eat
   • In Scripture meals are used as tools of remembrance of God’s grace and provision
   • Eat As Family–>Remember grace
   • Eat As Missionaries–>Eat with neighbors
   • Eat As Servants–>Bring the food/Gospel over the table
6. Recreate/Rest
   • God rescued us so that we can find rest in Him
   • Recreate/Rest As Family–>Rest, play, create beauty, work unto God
   • Recreate/Rest As Missionaries and Servants–>Find what is missing

The Gospel Conference
Cornerstone Community Church, Simi Valley, CA
Session 2: “The Gospel And It’s Implications – Part 2″
Jeff Vanderstelt

1 Peter 2:9-12

Our Three Identities In Christ

1. A Chosen Race = Family
   • The best evidence of the Gospel and the best light for the Gospel is Christians loving and caring for one another
   • The Gospel can even be displayed in your repentance
   • We’ve been called to be a display to all people in the world of what God is like
2. A Royal Priesthood = Missionaries
   • We are Christ’s representatives
   • cf. 2 Cor. 5 The ministry of reconciliation is a metaphor for the Gospel
   • You are the priest in your community and neighborhood
3. A Holy Nation  = Servants
   • We are called to be different in every way
   • We most embody Christ in our servanthood
   • We are to be set apart but not separated from the world

The Bottom Line: We are called to be a family of missionaries that serve the King

Great Thoughts

• The best way to be a preacher is to live a life that demands an answer
• We are called to be worship leaders in whatever situation God places us
• Does your life resemble the truth of the Gospel?