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Category: Blog

0 Like A Child…

  • February 27, 2014
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

IMG_2765Over the last few days, God has been opening my eyes to something so amazing through observing my Son Seth. The whole family ended up sick last week and Seth was the first one to get it. Then I got it, then Marlena got it. It even got to my dad for a day, but he was able to knock it out by getting some rest right away.

IMG_2837So in sickness, everything kinda goes out of perspective a bit. We become more needy, and cranky just plainly because we don’t feel good. We feel the weight of all the things that need to be done, but we don’t have the strength to get it done and we feel horrible that we’re stuck in bed with tissue paper all around us. Of all that, being sick is perhaps one of the most powerful things that lets the selfishness in us shine. So with this in mind, I look at Seth and say, well I should expect him to be a little more difficult to reason with, so just need to be a bit more patient with him.

IMG_2774The thing about Seth that has been amazing to me even in his sickness though, is what Jesus spoke of when he talked about children. He loved children whole heartedly and didn’t ever say to kids, hey you need to grow up and be more like an adult, in fact He said things like in Matthew 18:3  “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  (I’m pretty confident that Jesus is not saying you wont be saved when you die, He is just saying you won’t experience life here on the earth like it is in the Kingdom of heaven. If you want the peace and freedom of heaven, then you need to look to the children and shape your hearts and minds to be like them. That’s all. I see the tone of Jesus being love and freedom, not condemnation.)

IMG_2748

So what is it about children that Jesus is trying to get us to pay attention to. Well before I observed Seth these last few days, I had lots of ideas. I thought, well kids believe what their mommy and daddy tell them, so Jesus just wants us to believe Him too. That’s a pretty good idea. How about the one that kids don’t care about what needs to get done because they are just enjoying life. God just wants us to be happy and enjoy the little things in life, right. Tie that to Mary and Martha, and we’ve got a sermon. (who cares about picking up toys when friends are over… ok, too far… sorry!) Those are both great things that I think Jesus wants us to be reminded about and strive to live like that, but again, I’ve been shown something that’s even more amazing about a child. That thing that amazes me about Seth’s is that love is still what’s most important to him.

I truly believe with all my heart that Seth loves Daddy, and no matter what I do, or don’t do, that he’s gonna love me with all of his heart. There have been many things that have spoken to me over these last few days, but the biggest thing that stands out is when we go though experiences of him not getting what he wants. When we were at the store yesterday, he wanted something real bad and I wouldn’t let him have it. So, he got real upset. He threw a huge fit, and we kept moving along. Now, guess what happened two minutes later? Well, you’d probably guess he saw something else and got even more upset, but that’s not what happened. We went to a different isle and he calmed down and before we left the isle, he was laughing at me and having a great time with Daddy again. This happens all the time. Now that I pay attention to it, Seth gets over things real quickly! Like it never, ever, ever happened.

IMG_1914What I believe God is trying to help me understand about children is not to be more gullible or grateful for the little things in life, but to understand the power of true love. I was able to see it in Seth last night when he was able to recover so quickly when he didn’t get his way. You’ll have to follow me closely here to see what I’m trying to say… See, I think Seth believes that Daddy loves him, and when Daddy doesn’t give him what he wants, he doesn’t get mad at daddy, he gets mad that daddy won’t give him what he wants. Do you see what I’m saying? The object of Seth’s disappointment is not daddy, it’s about what daddy did, or wont do. It doesn’t shake his belief in Daddy’s love at all, nor does is shake His love for daddy at all. He just didn’t get his way, and he’s able to accept that eventually.

When we get older we lose this perspective. I mean, it happens to us all the time. When someone offends us, or we don’t get our way, then we automatically make the person an object of our frustration, anger, or disappointment.  We have a hard time seeing the clarity of what’s really going on when something doesn’t go our way.

IMG_0416I’m even crazy enough to think that as we age, we have the tendency to mature in our sin nature and actually become less mature in love.  As we grow up, we want more, and more people stand in our way, and instead of love being what fills our tank, it turns into us having what we want, and when we want it. We have to fight all the more harder in life as we age because our sin nature gets more demanding, and love doesn’t seem to be as important as it was when we were young.

I can see it in Jesus more clearly now. The objective of his heart truly was love. Nothing else mattered. Even the fact that when His children turned away from him, He didn’t get upset and say, well fine then… Or an even bigger example is how He was on the cross and asking for us to be forgiven. I see it so clearly now! Jesus didn’t tie our sin to the way he feels about us, like we do with each other.

We are quick to say, “You hurt me. I’m done with you, ” or “You didn’t give me what I want, so I don’t like you anymore.” We look at things like that and say, oh that’s so childish, but I don’t see it that way. I don’t see that in my son. He doesn’t ever stop enjoying that I’m his dad, and he quickly recovered when I don’t give him his way because daddy is better than getting his way. What if our relationships were truly full of that amount of love and power? You betcha… we would be a lot more happy like kids are.  Sure, we’d have our tantrums, but they would only last a minute or two rather than days, weeks, years and even decades in some cases.

IMG_1585So when Jesus is saying, we need to become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven, He is just saying we need to love each other whole heartedly and be quick to forgive. He is helping us be free to enjoy life by simply shaping our hearts into a place where the relationships in our lives, especially our relationship with our heavenly father is so much better and valuable than getting our way.  We need to fight through the offense and see the picture clearly. Will we let love reign in our hearts, or will we let something keep us from enjoying the people we love?

 

IMG_3018Who do you love, and what is worth holding on to that will keep you from the enjoyment of loving that person? Let it go. Forget about it. Like it never, ever, ever happened. Be free. Set someone else free! Be, like a child!

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0 “Walk with her into her dreams”

  • February 14, 2014
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

happily married

Usually, when Valentine’s Day starts to get closer each year, I wonder how I’m gonna be able to top the previous years activity, romance, or “specialness.” This year however, I didn’t feel one ounce of pressure or obligation, but instead, I spent my energy in asking the Lord what he would like for me to do for Marlena on Valentines Day.

photo-1Last Monday, Marlena wasn’t feeling well so she asked me to take her to the chiropractor to get an adjustment, so I reworked some things to be able to go with her this time and also get an adjustment myself. When we got there, Marlena went first and I waited in the waiting area for my turn. Then suddenly, an older woman came in and sat close to me, and I could tell she was having a hard time. I didn’t know why, but I felt in my spirit that perhaps she was grieving a loss, and that I needed to talk with her.

photo-3When I asked her if everything was ok, she looked up at me with tears down her face and told me that her husband had just passed away 2 months ago, and that she was having a hard time. I spent some time listening to her and encouraging her until it was my turn to get adjusted. When Marlena was done, I told her what was going on and she went to talk with her while I got adjusted. After we were both done, we stayed and talked with her for awhile and God really just opened our hearts to her and we just couldn’t get her out of our thoughts.

So last night, Marlena comes to me and tells me what she would like to do for Valentines Day. She had looked up the address of the woman we met, and she wanted to take our time out to go deliver some flowers to her for Jesus and spend more time talking with her.

photoSo that’s what we did for our valentine’s date today. I have to say, it was by far the best time we’ve had as a couple in awhile. For many years I’ve tried to do my best with the romance, candy and flowers, but this year, God showed me something so powerful… “Walk with your wife into her dreams.”

I can’t imagine being with someone for 57 years and then trying to start all over again, but I sure am glad that Marlena and I have 50 years or more ahead of us serving God like Barbara and Harry have. They gave themselves so deeply to the kingdom, and it was a great honor to sit with the love of Harry’s life and the love of my life to experience one of the best Valentine’s Day’s ever! I am so grateful for our new friend Barbara, and I’m a really looking forward to spending time with her and learning more about the great man that Harry was to her and the Kingdom of God.

photo-2So on a big day like Valentine’s Day we were able to keep it normal for us, and make the special part about someone else. By living a life closer together in intimacy, communication and freedom, it affords us to keep it simple, and give ourselves away for the sake of God’s love. I’m so glad that my relationship with Marlena is healthy and vibrant and centered on Christ’s love for each other.

– Marlena, I had the best time with you today! My favorite thing to do with you is to minister in the Holy Spirit. Whether on stage, or in places no one knows, I love doing life with you and I’m so glad that I married someone with such a big and giving heart as you! Thanks for making today very special and meaningful!!!

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0 Best gift for Valentines Day!

  • February 13, 2014
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

Best gift for Valentines Day!

The best gift to give on Valentines day is to start with the first idea given to us in 1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient and kind.” Be sure to slow down and wait, enjoy, and celebrate the love God has given you!

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1 When I pray

  • February 3, 2014
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

I’ve spent the first few days of February 2014 seeking for words and the melodies for the a new song that celebrates the spiritual discipline of prayer. I have been enjoying this song so much already and I am so joyful for this turn of the season. God has revived within me a true delight of talking with him about life, family, the things around me, His Word, and even the state of the world.

It’s been a long journey over the last ten years of trying to get an idea what prayer is all about. Funny enough, no book, conference or even searching the Bible was ever able to show me the joy of prayer. The only way to learn about prayer was to make time in life to talk to God and to experience how energizing a conversation with the Holy Spirit can be.

I really hope that this song will energize others to remember the amazing power and honor that prayer gives us in the presence of God. There is no fear in approaching Him, but through Jesus, we come to the Father and delight His heart!

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0 Christmas Ministry

  • December 5, 2013
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

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0 Not As Bad As it can be

  • December 1, 2012
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

For the last few weeks, when things seem to be tougher than I’d like them to be, or I find myself in situations I think are unfair, a sobering thought grabs my attention and reminds me that things are not as bad as they can be.

Thoughts come up like when I was driving, I imagined being in an accident and thought about the amount of pain from an impact, and the experience many people have had from such a trauma. Another crazy one was thinking of those who have been caught in a fire and suffer from burns that do not simmer down, and must live on medication to tolerate life. When I miss my family, I think about those who have lost close friends or family, or are even in the midst of waiting for God to come take someone home to Paradise.

It humbles me greatly, and it moves my heart to think of those I know of that are going through things that are much more difficult than anything I’m experiencing personally. My heart is broken for you. If I know about you, you are on my heart and I’m asking God to give you the strength to see the best in everything your going through.

Being a pastor has allowed me to be exposed to the hurting, to the lost, the broken and suffering. Those who are reaping the result on a sinful community, I am glad there is hope for us all. Though humanity has fallen, and creation has been cursed and abused, Jesus has declared a restoration that will free us all one day from the heartbreaking tragedy’s that exist in our history, present, and future.

When my heart breaks to far beyond repair, I’m reminded that we are on our way to paradise. The generation when Christ shall reign and shall remove evil and sin from our presence and we shall be led by the most wise, compassionate, powerful, and loving leader.

I’m convicted to embrace the fortunes God has given me in my life, to be content in all things the day brings, and spend more of the energy I tend to waste on being heavy hearted on caring for others that are really going through tough days.

I pray that we can have sober judgement when we evaluate our lives. I mean really, it’s not as bad as it can be.

 

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0 The first is always the most intense

  • November 19, 2012
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

I have come to experience many new things for the first time since my son Seth has come into our lives. There are so many lessons, discoveries and leaping heartbeats that have changed me.

Today I experienced one of those big things wrapped around my heart. It is up there with the first time Seth fell off the bed and his nose bled. Today Seth is really sick for the first time. He is normally hard to keep still or quiet for any matter of minutes, but today he was resting in our arms for hours and hours.

It was confusion for me. At one end, I was so comforted that he would allow me to hold him and be close to him to quiet his struggle, but at the same time I was turned upside down inside about the fact that my son was not feeling well. Oh man, how the heart of a Father breaks over the struggle of his child.

Last night a great conversations with some close friends reminded us of just how much our Father in Heaven breaks for our sickness, rejoices in our dreams and delights in us asking him for the things we hope for in life.

Right now, Seth can’t communicate to me what he is feeling or what he needs in  spoken language, but the unspoken love that is in between us drives me to understand him as intimately as I possibly can. I want to know him, and I want him to know more than anything that I am his dad, and that I am here for him.

Knowing that I’m messed up from the result of sin and how I am able to feel so deeply for my son, I can only rejoice in the truth that my Father in Heaven feels so deeply for me. How deeply he feels for all of His children.

I’ve sang songs that I did not fully understand until today. A particular song lyrics goes “lay back against you and breathe and feel your heart beat”.  Tonight, I understood. My son learning what it means to feel embraced, protected, secure, noticed, wanted, and loved. Every effort within dad’s power to make things a little bit better for him.

I know it and believe it, but have fallen far from the same reality that my Father in Heaven is crazy about me, and he loves the nearness of his child coming to find rest and safety with in his arms.

I am overwelmed. My heart is broken for Seth, but I must submit my heart and thoughts to the Lord because God is more crazy about him than I am.

I ask of my Father in Heaven, Jesus the begotten Son of the Father that His presence through the Holy Spirit here on the earth will touch Seth’s body and remove the sickness from him and restore him to great health.

I am so eager and can barely stand to wait for the morning to see him again and ask him how he’s feeling. I hope it will be better, but if he is still battling, then I will be with him caring for him.

The Lord Bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you peace!

 

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0 Feels Good

  • November 8, 2012
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

The demand of the world never seems to stop begging. It’s like one thing is marked off of the list while several more take it’s place. The world is getting faster, and busier and needs to be more entertained.

The words of my wife come to mind tonight of what God has been speaking to her. The Bible gives us a great story with Jesus and two ladies that he deeply cared about. Mary and Martha.

Martha was concerned with the doing, and Mary was concerned with being. Jesus tries to let us know that there is always going to be more that needs to be done, and the list will continue to grow, but the thing about life is that we are here to be with one another, and to be with Jesus.

It is so difficult to stop, to rest, and to trust in Christ for the work that awaits our attention, but thank God that we will never be able to do enough. What He deserves is something much more that what we can ever achieve on our own, but He does tell us the one thing He is pleased with that we can achieve and that is simply “to abide in him” To stay with him. To be with him. To rest in him.

With the balance of work, family, ministry, and whatever else comes to mind, I’m reminded of what Jesus said about what we ought to give. He said, “give to Ceaser what is his, Give to God what is his.”

We are not to be lazy or lack responsibility, but we also can not really find true joy in our work or achievements unless we are found in His presence.

It’s the one thing that settles our hearts. It’s the one thing that is right. It’s the one thing that feels good. We know it is for our good to purchase the time we need to abide in Him. The holy moments of our days. His strength, peace, compassion, joy, rest, and on and on. We don’t find that by doing more, we find it by doing what he’s asked. Abide in Me, come to me and I will give you rest, cast your cares upon him.

Jesus, you set aside far more than we will ever know to come spend time with us. Thank you for showing us what true life is. Help us not to run after the world’s demands, but give us the grace to be obedient, responsible, and simply live life at your feet enjoying your presence!

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0 Doogie Howser

  • November 6, 2012
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

Back when I was growing up, television shows used to inspire me to be better and there was one show in particular that has always been a special inspiration. As I was learning to love music, I remember the electric piano that would play the theme song and also through out the show. It drove me to find that sound so I could learn it and play it when ever I wanted. I still love to click my keyboard over to that sound and play it to make me smile. 

It seemed like we all stood back and thought of how cool it was for Doogie to apply himself and be a doctor at such a young age. All odds against us achieving anything like that, but it made us dream of applying ourself and working for something worth believing. To be someone that drove themselves to their fullest potential. 

As I get back into the world of discipline and staying connected with the rest of the world, it’s great to go back to a place where dreams were inspired. A place where hard work was celebrated and dedication was honored. Crazy to say, but also fun to say that Doggie Howser was on to something about life. 

One thing about Doogie that I always dreamed about for myself was to have the discipline to sit down at the end of each day and remember the moments that stood out. I do hope that in time, I will work hard and will find that I have made time to remember. I’m hopeful to use this blog to honor the life God gave me. I hope to celebrate and glorify the work and happenings of God in my life day to day. 

If anyone ever stubbles onto this blog, please pray for me to be committed, to be disciplined and to make the most out of all the resources God places in front of me. 

From a quote I heard from someone special, “A blessing does not have a final destination.” May all I do be for the sake of another, and for the sake of the good news of Jesus Christ. 

Shawn

 

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0 Christmas Is Coming!

  • November 5, 2012
  • by shawnstarbuck
  • · Blog

Christmas Is Coming!

You Are The Reason!

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