Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 1/29/2010
I used to be a list person. I think that it's normal for list people to fill the top of their To-Do list with the quick and simple tasks that are easy to accomplish and leave the big, looming tasks constantly at the bottom. At least this is what I always seemed to do. Doing this used to give me the illusion that I was being productive and accomplishing something. Not only did I do with this with my normal "To-Do's", but for much of my life I did this with God. I believed in God, but I didn't know how to process him. I knew that tackling the process of figuring out who God really is and what that meant for my life was a huge task and would take a lot of time, so I kept putting him off, leaving him at the bottom of the list, and telling myself that I would get to Him later, after I had crossed off everything else on my list that would be easier to take care of. The problem was that I kept adding more things to the list above Him. He was always there, but was always in the "I'll get to it later category".
Later finally came two and a half years ago. Life had rocked me, shaken me, and broken me. I had met God but had turned away from Him. Like Jonah running away from Ninevah, I too was trying to escape God, had been trying to escape to Tarshish, and had been hurled into the deep of the raging sea. But the same God that sent Jonah a whale, sent me a friend to rescue me. There came a day where I finally told God that I would make him #1 on my list. I committed my life to Christ, but even while I did, even while I told God that he would come first, I did so believing that it would be a sacrifice. I honestly believed that living for Him would mean that I would have to give up the things in my life that were fun and that I would be miserable.
As I sit here and look back on the last two years, this is what I gave up:
I gave up nights of black-out drunkenness....for a life that I will actually remember
I gave up surface level conversations with people....for discussions where I get to know who people really ARE
I gave up greed...for generosity
anger...for forgiveness
hurting...for healing
worry...for unfailing faith
judgment...for acceptance
I gave up trying to please people...for being comfortable with who I am and loving people whether they like me or not
I gave up the belief that I had to be dating someone to be whole...with the knowledge that I can never be complete without God
I gave up occasional happiness...for a constant, deep, and overwhelming JOY!
I gave up feeling empty inside...for the realization that I will never be alone
I gave up meaningless lists...for two goals: 1) Love God and 2) Love Others
I gave up a dead soul....for a Jesus-filled heart
I guess in some ways, I was right. I have given up a lot. But the more I have given up, the harder it is for me to even fathom what 'miserable' would feel like. By giving things over to God I have been cleaning the garbage out of my life and making room for those places to be filled with something so much better. I never could have guessed that living for Him would be so fulfilling and I never would have imagined that I would have so much FUN being a child of God. It's amazing the lies that we believe and the true rewards of life that we let the world ROB us of when we listen to everything but the voice of God. It's even more amazing the life He gives us when we finally listen to his whisper and Follow Him, finally put him at the top of our list, finally make him our number one priority. I know the result of giving things up to God and I no longer look at it as a sacrifice. I look at it as an honor and a privilege, and a GIFT! I will continue to give things up to my God until I have GIVEN IT ALL!!!
Constantly trading LIES for a TRUTH that sets me,
FREE
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 1/28/2010
I wanted to give a quick update and a HUGE THANK YOU to my supporters!!! As of right now between what I have already showing in my World Race account and what I have in pledges, I have $5000 raised!!! Only $10,000 more to go to be fully funded! I know this is a lot of money, but I believe that every dollar will be worth it for the opportunity my team and I are going to have to share the love of Christ with those we meet. I could not do this without those that are supporting me in this journey and I want to give a very special thanks to:
Kathleen Pfeiffer
Ian & Amy Hallinan
David Lucord
Justin Kearns
Matt & Allie Bruski
Gary Knurek
Jen Rasel
Jerry Mils
"Anonymous"
And Of course a huge THANK YOU to my family. Let's be honest, where would I be without you? Much love to all of my friends, family, and supporters. Your continued love and encouragement is so very appreciated. Love you all!
~Jamie
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 1/5/2010
I can't believe that it is 2010!! More amazingly, I can believe how quickly 2009 FLEW by! The older I get the faster time seems to tick and it begs the question: Are you going to make this year count...or are you going to let it be another year that simply slips by with good intentions?
As we begin a new year and a new decade, I encourage everyone to DREAM. We don't do that enough in our lives anymore. We get caught up in work schedules, responsibilities, bills, etc and we don't allow ourselves to HOPE and DREAM and TRUST in something bigger than the meaningless everyday askings of the world. Remember what it was like to dream as a child? Think about yours passions-the things in your life that truly make your heart happy-and know that God put those in you for a reason. We all have a unique place in the Kingdom. We all have God-given talents, skills, and desires and shouldn't feel that we have to ignore them. Maybe this year will be the year you will listen to the whisper inside. Maybe this year will be the year that you will allow the dream to become reality.
Do you have a love of working with your hands and seeing the results of your hard work? Volunteer this year to help build a house for a needy family.
Do you have a heart overflowing with love, encouragement, and compassion for others? Mentor a child that may not otherwise know what it means to have people that care.
Is your whisper inside calling you to missions? Go on a crazy adventure called the WORLD RACE!!! Abandon your inhibitions and hold on for the ride. Interested? Anxious? You could be serving God throughout the world as early as June. Check out the June Race route......there's still time to apply!!
http://updates.theworldrace.org/?filename=june-2010-world-race-route
This year, my hope is that we all stop trying to quiet the voice inside. God lives in us and that voice may very well be the voice of your Creator calling you to the life you were meant to live. I hope that we all make 2010 a year in which we break down walls, stop making excuses,follow our passions, and make our lives count. Whatever your whisper, let 2010 be the year that you allow it to ROAR!!!
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
-John 10:27
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 12/18/2009
(something I wrote last year at Christmas. Wishing all of my teammates, supporters, family, and friends a Very Merry CHRISTmas!)
"Do you know how many Christmas trees I have had that were only
decorated on the bottom?"
I smiled as my dad said this; he sat next to me Sunday morning at
Kensington's Christmas service and I knew that there was so much meaning
in that one little question. I could almost see the memories flooding
his eyes...and more importantly the love.
I knew exactly what Christmas
trees he was talking about: the ones that we decorated as a family
every year after my mom died.
There is little that I remember from childhood that doesn't revolve
around the pain that my family felt from losing my mom to cancer when I
was five years old. My oldest brother was fifteen at the time and my
dad was suddenly a single parent to six young kids. Most of my memories
are of me growing up too fast. But I remember those Christmas trees.
They are a symbol of the one season in my
life as a child when I was still able to grasp a small bit of childhood
innocence and they are a symbol of some of my first experiences with
real love.
I don't know how my family decorated our trees before my mom died, but
afterwards I remember this: Every year we would pick out a tree
together, we would bring it home, and my dad would string the lights on
it as we watched happily. Then in that moment, he would stop and just
sit back and watch. He would sit proudly and watch with a father's love
as his six kids-surrounded by boxes of ornaments-would do their part to
empty them onto the tree. Most of our ornaments were handmade or held
some special memory and most of these ornaments ended up on the bottom
two feet of the tree. We would hang the ornaments as high as we could
reach but the tree usually stood two to three times our size and most of
it remained bare. When the ornaments were hung, my dad would finish
everything off by placing the angel on top and by the end we would have
our tree: decorations top and bottom and bare in the middle. It was
truly a sorry looking sort of thing if you were to look at it by the
world's standards. But my dad never looked at it that way. He saw it
through the lenses of the love by which it was made. To him it was
beautiful. The tree was empty in the middle-our family was anything but.
We were filled. Filled with the love of Christ and the meaning of
Christmas.
My childhood Christmas trees have taught me a lot about the way God
loves me. As a follower of Christ I decorate my tree, I carry myself, a
little differently; I try to approach life with a child's heart and
innocence and I try to show love in the way that Jesus Christ taught me.
I do not strive for perfection by the world's standards, but I try to
live by God's standards instead. I put the ornaments where I can reach
them and I understand that I need not worry about the bare spots. By
the world's standards I truly am a sorry looking sort of thing.
The world may not always
see the beauty
in those bare spots, but a father always does. I realize that I am still
being watched with a Father's love and I always will be. Not only am I
being watched by a Father who loves me, but I have been saved by Him as
well. Despite all the ways that I fall short of perfection, despite my
sins and flaws, I am loved by a God who died for my sins and now
watches over me with love.
I will always try to reach those high places-i know that I will fall short-but when God sees
me loving with all that I have, He does not expect perfection. He knows
that there will always be spots that I can't reach, things that can't be
done by my own doing and he loves me anyway and watches over me proudly.
Those empty places aren't bare at all: they are simply the places that
we need God's help in order to fill. God will always fill the
empty places.
I pray that we all allow God to fill our empty places. There is nothing
that we can do to earn our Father's love, but He gives it to us freely.
I hope that everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas this year and hope
that you are all blessed with the true beauty and love in trees...only
decorated on the bottom
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 11/21/2009
The temple was created. Built with love. Built stone by stone with purpose and a plan. Intended to be a place reserved for worship and connecting with God. The temple is beautiful, but it doesn't know its beauty. It's unaware of its purpose as a sacred structure. Unaware because men are violating her. They have made her a place of business. Soliciting in her courts, selling cattle and doves-they are undermining her purpose for their own earthly desires and fulfillment. In the background, I can hear Jesus shouting: "How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"*
The temple is not a place, but a person. For we are the temple of the living God. We are temples and we are turning a blind eye to the violations occurring in our courts. Beautiful young girls are being sold and violated. Trafficked. Every day. Men who raise up sex and money as their idols are using God's temples for evil. God's temple is being vandalized. I want to live like Jesus did. I want to overturn their selling tables and drive them out. Who allowed these men into the courts? Which of you will stand by idly allowing them to use these sacred places and leave brokenness in their wake? Which of you will ignite with the jealous love of Christ and drive them out so that he may reclaim the temple as his own?
I hear my Father's voice crying out in the background and I am convicted to be his messenger. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."** I want to rise up and, with a bold voice and an unwavering determination, declare: "These girls are not a marketplace and these lives are not for sale! The only way we can be bought is by the blood of Christ and that price has been paid. We belong to Christ and he is coming again to take his own. He will overturn your selling tables and redeem his temples with his love!"
*John 2:14-16
**1 Corinthians 3: 16-17
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 11/11/2009
*Note: I did not write this, but I believe it and try to live by it.
MY COMMITMENT AS A CHRISTIAN
I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go until He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me--my banner will be clear!
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 10/25/2009
Thanks for visiting my blog page! Please look around the site to see what the World Race is about and to read my story and the stories of those on my team. I am excited that you are here and hope that you will consider supporting me in this journey. I have been getting a lot of questions lately about where I am going to be and when over the next two years so this blog is to explain that as much as I can right now.
As of two weeks ago I am back home in Michigan after being on orders for five months for the military in Colorado and Tennessee. Yes, there had been the possibility of being gone for the military until next year, but this would have been a voluntary assignment. I have chosen not to take those opportunities in light of wanting to be home with my family and friends, especially in light of my father's recent sickness.
So, I have returned to Northwestern Mutual Financial Network full time and will finish out my employment there for the following 6-8 months until the Spring when I will again have military duty before leaving on the World Race. Then in July I will leave for an incredible 11 month journey serving people around the world and trying to be the hands and feet of Christ to others! I am so excited for this unexpected, challenging, and exciting opportunity in my life! (And no, we do NOT know what 11 countries we will going to yet :-) This does not bother me because I know that God will use my team no matter where we are)
Many people have been wondering how I am able to leave for a year. My answer is only by the grace of God. It is not normal that the military would allow someone to leave for a year, but my commander has agreed to work with me on this. My enlistment is not over and when I return from the World Race I will continue to serve in the Michigan Air National Guard. I am so blessed that I am able to serve first and foremost, my Lord and secondly, my country. I am truly living "For God and Country" and it takes my breath away that God has blessed me with all that I have in my life.
I hope that this answers some of the questions that I have been getting from people about where life is taking me. I am so glad to be home with family and friends again for a short time and I am so thankful for this crazy experience that is my life. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have or let me know if you would just like to talk. I would love to share more with you about the World Race or whatever else you would like to talk about. Also, if you feel it on your heart to support me in this journey please click on the "support me" link on the left. I have to raise a lot of money for this trip in order to live off of for the year that I will be gone so ANY support you can give is greatly appreciated. Even if it is only a few dollars, you will be making a difference in the world. Thank you for your consideration in supporting me and for visiting my blog page!
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 10/16/2009
This year I have realized that I missed a very basic mathematical fact somewhere in my education. I don't understand the meaning of three. Three. It sounds so simple, but I refer to it in the context of the Trinity and immediately it's not so simple anymore.
A few months ago, I had my phone interview for the World Race and I was asked a question that I am sure my fellow racers were asked as well. Basically, they asked me what my thoughts and feelings were regarding the Holy Spirit and believing in the power of the Spirit to work through us. My answer was honest: I believe in the Trinity, but I feel like I tend to forget about the Holy Spirit and don't really understand who he is. I have been working on this area of my spiritual life and have been praying for God to reveal his Spirit to me.
Last week while looking through my church's resource center after service, I stumbled upon a book called Forgotten God that caught my eye. It is written by Francis Chan and the subtitle of the book reads: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. Given the subject matter of this book and the recent awareness of my own neglect of the Spirit, I decided to buy it. I am glad that I did.
I know that the World Race is going to cause me to experience the Holy Spirit in a way that I never have before and I highly recommend this book to fellow Racers and anyone else who may feel the way I have been feeling about not truly being in relationship with the Spirit. Chan really does make some great points about why we would want to ask for the Spirit's presence in our lives...and what will probably happen when we do. Here is one excerpt that may very well apply to all of us on the WR:
"The truth is that the Spirit of God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something that you wouldn't normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or pretty or comfortable place to be. The Holy Spirit of God will mold you into the person you were made to be. This often incredibly painful process strips you of selfishness, pride, and fear."
I think that in my heart I always knew this. I knew the painful process that would be involved in truly and completely surrendering myself to God. I was afraid. So instead of welcoming God fully into my heart, I took him in one bit at a time. Piece by piece. The Trinity-three persons in one being-never materialized in my spiritual life because I refused to let myself know God in this way. Instead, I invented my own meaning of three, which for 26 years never made it past two-at best-trying to understand God as the Father and Son. At my lowest point, I even came frighteningly close to that number dropping to zero when I almost turned my back on God completely. But the Bible tells us that God is three in one. There is no other way to look at it. He is God the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the Son. He is the Holy Spirit, sent to be our Counselor.
This is the God that I want to know. I do not want God piece by piece anymore; I want all of Him. God has shown me that I have a lot to learn in regards to welcoming the Spirit into my heart and coming into relationship with Him. I desire this. Through books, prayer, and conversation God is teaching me about His Spirit and how I have neglected him in my life. I want to know three the way God wants me to. Three. It's simple math...and profound Truth.
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 10/11/2009
This is the reality of my life:
I was five years old when my mother died of cancer. I was five years old when my world was rocked and my innocence was ripped from me. The fear of death began haunting me at an age when most kids' thoughts are consumed with toys and playthings.
I have been afraid of losing my dad or one of my brothers or sisters since I was five years old...
In junior high, this fear began plaguing me; it became crippling. My mother had died in the middle of the night and the memory of my dad waking me to tell me she had died was clear in my mind even though I had been so young. I began to have irrational fears that something would happen to my dad or my brothers and sisters in the middle of the night as well and this terrified me. So I stopped sleeping. I would stay awake after my family had gone to bed and I would think that maybe I could keep them safe if harm were to come their way in the night. For over a year I was an insomniac and was consumed by fear.
As I have gotten older, the fear of losing my family has continued to be ever-present in my mind. It increased when I went away to college and would come home on weekends to visit with my family. One weekend I came home to Dad as I always knew him. Two weeks later I came home to a man that looked as if he had aged twenty years in two weeks. We found out that he had very severe diabetes and very serious blockages in his arteries that would require a triple bypass. Since that time, my dad has battled to stay healthy. He has been in and out of the hospital several times, he has had both big toes amputated, and has been generally weak and constantly in pain. This August when he was brought into the hospital, he was within 24 hours of dying. Thankfully, the infection was caught just in time to save his life; it was not caught in time to save his leg. His left leg has been amputated just below the knee and he is currently trying to heal and will have to learn to walk with a prosthetic. It is for these reasons that I doubted my decision to go on the World Race.
However, I cannot-at this time-abandon my plans for the World Race. I felt that God was leading me to this so I must TRUST him. He is in control of all things. He KNOWS all things.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight"
The reality of my life is that I am 26 years old and I have memories of both my parents being sick. I have seen both of my parents fighting to stay alive. I have seen my dad lose his soul mate and raise six kids on his own. My dad is my hero. He always has been and always will be. I am terrified of losing him.
I have spent many tears imagining the day that I will lose him. I have cried more tears at the THOUGHT of his death than many people have cried at the REALITY of the death of a loved one. So I do not make this decision lightly...
It did not take my Dad being brought into the hospital a few weeks ago for me to realize how close we came to losing him. In my mind, I have ALWAYS been at risk of losing him. It has been a constant, everyday worry for 21 years and counting. So for those that do not understand my timing in the World Race, I will tell you that for me, it doesn't take the events of the last few weeks for me to realize how likely it is that I could lose my Father.
But I will continue to plan on going on the World Race at this time. At the risk of sounding rude, I am telling you that you do not have to understand. At the risk of sounding heartless, I am not looking for your approval. If circumstances change and I were to decide to not go on this journey, it would be a decision that would made as a result of prayer and leading from the LORD. It will not be a decision made as a result of FEAR. This is my reality. You don't have to understand....
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Posted in General Posts by Jamie Freeman on 10/11/2009
There are things going on in my family right now that are
making it hard for some to accept my decision of going on the World Race. I can see how it would appear to be
"bad timing" but maybe I can bring some clarity here:
This was the timing of events:
It was in July and early August that I found the World Race,
applied, got accepted, and-through prayer-decided to go. It was nearing the end of August that I left for Tennessee for a six-week Academy for the
military. I had intentions of writing and sending my first support letters as soon as I got to Knoxville, but it was Day 2 of my
Academy that I got a phone call from my sister telling me my dad was sick again
and had been brought into the hospital.
It was Day 2 of the Academy that my sister told me my dad had an
infection in his bloodstream and that it was life-threatening. It was Day 2 that I began doubting my
decision to go.
At that point, I still had not sent out my support letters and there were
only a few people that knew of my intentions to go on the trip that I would
have to inform of the change of plans.
After a few weeks of doubts and second-guessing, I realized that it was
distrust and fear that was holding me back. God does not call us to harbor doubt and FEAR. He calls us to FAITH and love. He had made it clear to me that this is
what he was calling me to...but the second a storm came into my life, I forgot
his guidance and his plans for me and started to make my own. If I had changed my mind that easily it
would not have been trusting God, it would have been giving victory to Satan's
lies in my life.
So I have sent my support letters out....
This does not mean that I do not love my Dad. It does not mean that I do not want to spend as much time as
possible with him. It does not
mean I do not worry about losing him...but...
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