What Are You Running From?

We often think of the Biblical character, Jonah, when we think of running away from God’s plan for our lives.  He ran from God’s calling so God interrupted his journey through a wild set of events that eventually led him back to the path he needed to be on.

Our son Jaylon, like most kids, loves to chase birds.  He was in hot pursuit of this one on Mackinac Island. 

However, I think a lot of us run from God’s calling in our lives more like Moses.  God asked Moses to go help His people who were being oppressed in Egypt.  While Moses didn’t physically run from God, he gave excuses.

We can observe the excuses of Moses  in the opening chapters of the Biblical book of Exodus, "Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" (Exodus 4:1)."

We, like Moses, often spend too much time asking God "what if...." questions instead of following Him in faith.

"Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue" (Exodus 4:10)."

Thankfully, Moses decided to place his faith in God instead of his own abilities.  When he made himself available to God and stopped making excuses, he was used greatly by God and went on to lead the Israelite nation out of slavery.

What are your excuses?  What are you running from?

Mackinac Island Memories

Last fall, I took Jennifer and the boys up to Mackinac Island for their first time.  Growing up in Michigan, I had been there a couple of times, but it had been many years since my last trip.

Since the island is only accessible by boat, it feels like an escape to a distant world.

Mackinac Island is one of Michigan’s beautiful vacation destinations.  It hosts beautiful scenery, historic Fort Mackinac, an old fashioned town, and the impressive Grand Hotel.  We spent the day exploring the island on foot (since there are no cars on Mackinac Island).

Jaylon seemed to really enjoy the water…

He spent a good amount of time just throwing rocks into the lake…

Jaylon was intrigued by the horses as well…

Kylan also did well on one of his first big family adventures…

The views in every direction were stunning!

The Mackinac Bridge was an impressive sight on the journey back and forth to the island.

You can see Fort Mackinac in the background of this final picture.  Jaylon’s facial expression sums up how much fun we had on our trip!

Join Us This Sunday!

We're launching a brand new message series on Sunday that we are so excited about.  The series title is "Comfort In" and we will be taking a hard look at our comfort from God's perspective.  We will be studying the dynamic book of Exodus in which God walked with His people on an uncomfortable journey in order to take them to a more comfortable place.  As always, we will have upbeat and inspiring worship music, an excellent nursery and children's ministry through 5th grade, and friendly faces!

SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR REGULARS: We were excited to see so many people join us for worship last Sunday.  However, at our most popular 10:20am worship gathering, this caused us to nearly run out of parking spaces and available seats.  If you can attend one of the other 3 worship gatherings for March & April, this would help us welcome the new guests that will be joining us for the Easter season.  Thank you!


-Post taken from the Faith Church Blog at www.lansingfaith.org

Where Are You Headed?

One of the most impacting messages I heard in the last year was presented by Louie Giglio at Catalyst 2009. He said that we will become like whatever it is we are chasing. The destination we are headed toward will shape who we become.

Photo Courtesy Of stock.xchng

Is the vision of your life taking you toward a successful career, a large bank account, or the accomplishment of some dream? Where do you want to go? In Louie’s words, ‘you’ll be shaped in the image of’ that goal, vision, or experience that you are seeking.

Louie reminded those of us who are Christians that we are ultimately headed for the face of Jesus Christ.

I always want my journey to be centered on the face of Jesus. I want Him to shape me more than anything else that I aspire toward. We will find nothing more meaningful and fulfilling than a deep experience with God.

In the Psalms, we find this truth expressed so eloquently, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10, The Bible).

What are you seeking? Where are you headed?

Touching The Lives Of Kids

From the Faith Church blog at www.lansingfaith.org
February 25, 2010

Earlier this year, our CIA (Christ In Action) Ministry delivered 100 activity bags along with 40 toys and blankets to Sparrow Pediatrics. We were hoping to brighten the lives of a few kids who were in the hospital, no stings attached. Listen to the letter we got in the mail from one of their Child Life Specialists...

"Dear Faith Church Members,
I wanted to thank all of you for the large donation to Sparrow Pediatrics. The goodie bags are so nice for the children in isolation. The blankets and other toys have been very useful as well. On behalf of the entire staff thank you all for helping our patients!"


Way to go, Faith Church!

We Love Our Boys!

Jaylon will be 3 years old in June and Kylan will be 1 in May.  We love them so much and they genuinely seem to love each other.  Sometimes Kylan just laughs and smiles at Jaylon while Jaylon enjoys entertaining his little brother.

Boys (and girls) are a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:4-5) and we're so grateful to have these little guys in our life!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Today is Jennifer's birthday!  I have been so blessed by her love over the 11 years that we have been friends.  Jennifer is the most loving person I know and she lights up any room she enters with her warm and caring personality.  I tell her all the time how beautiful she is and I can't express enough how thankful I am to be her husband!

If you'd like to send Jennifer a birthday message, you can email her at brandonjennifer@gmail.com

As you can see in this picture I snapped of our backyard this morning, we have a ton of snow on the ground right now.  I think we have more snow today than we have had all winter and I told Jennifer that it is a gift from God because she LOVES snow so much!

Overlooking Offenses

An observation you may make about people who have unhealthy relationships is that they are constantly making big issues out of little offenses.  This pattern is especially pronounced in struggling marriages.  They are constantly creating conflict over misunderstandings or miscommunication.  This often comes from a sense of entitlement that we have the right to never be offended by another person.  If someone says the wrong word to us or steps on our toes in the slightest way, we feel that we have a right to settle the score or demand an apology.

Healthy relationships develop an ability over time to dismiss some of these offenses.  This doesn't mean that they ignore relational problems that need to be lovingly confronted.  Instead, they 'choose their battles' and confront the significant issues that, if changed, could lead to a healthier relationship.

Once again, God's wisdom from the Bible on this topic is so insightful and helpful...

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."   -Proverbs 19:11

"A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult."   -Proverbs 12:16

Forgiving people when they offend us is a mark of maturity.  If you can master this principle it is the relational equivalent of winning Olympic gold!

CLICK HERE if you're interested in reading about how to develop what I call 'Rock Star Relationships' in your life.

What Do You Think Of God?

If we could read a transcript of our prayers over the last six months, I’d imagine we would discover some eye-opening realities. Among other observations, one that would leap off the pages for most of us would be the limits we infer upon God.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng

Of course, we would never come out and say that God’s powers are limited, but our requests of Him reveal much about what we truly believe. When the majority of our prayers are for God to heal colds and sicknesses, help us to have a good day, bless our food, and help us to sleep good at night we have to ask what this reveals about what we think of God’s power?

Erwin McManus wrote, “I think a lot of our prayers make God wonder why we think so little of him. I can just imagine God looking at us and asking us, “What do you want?” Then he shakes his head and thinks, If I could just get you to believe more, to care more, to want more than you’re asking for” (Wide Awake, Page 18-19).

Yes, God wants us to come to Him and request help with all the routine challenges of each day. However, our attention should also be on the more significant needs, more pressing concerns, and inspiring hopes for our lives and for the many people in the vast world that we live.

Let us not forget that we have a God that is powerful to act on our behalf. He is the same God that was written about in the Bible in Psalm 147:4-5, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”

With the awareness that we have a mighty and powerful God, Jesus instructs us to make bold requests…

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”  -Jesus (Matthew 7:7-11)

The next time you talk with God, pray in such a way that your conversation will be a testament to your faith in His unlimited power!


More Articles On Prayer Posted At http://www.brandonjenniferbruce.com/

Getting In Touch

Another Way To Pray

Speaking At Winter Blast

I've been speaking at Grace Adventures since 2001 and have grown to really enjoy and appreciate the high quality and high impact ministry environments that they offer.

This weekend was highly inspirational as we saw dozens of students stand to make a commitment to Jesus Christ for the first time! This gets me fired up every time!



I enjoyed serving alongside the Tommee Profitt Band as well as building some new friendships with these guys. They did a great job of engaging the 200 students who were present and bringing them into the presence of God through worship.



My top ministry goal that I set coming into 2010 was to develop my speaking to the next level of impact in hopes of seeing more lives changed for Jesus Christ! The 4 sessions I spoke at during Winter Blast gave me the additional opportunities I needed to sharpen how I present the message.



There are seemingly endless choices for fun activities at Grace Adventures. Here are a few things that the students enjoyed this last weekend...





I learned an exciting new version of dodge ball...



I enjoyed the trail ride on my horse, "Guss"...



One of my favorite adventures was making it to the top of the climbing wall...



I'd highly recommend Grace Adventures (Mears, Michigan) to anyone looking for a great location to host your next event, retreat, or camp.

Guided By Integrity

“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” -Proverbs 11:3, The Bible

With integrity, most of your choices will be easily made. However, they will not necessarily be easy choices. There’s a big difference there. The call itself will be uncomplicated because your integrity will inform your decisions. You will know the right path to take despite the fact that walking it may be painful, difficult, and cause inner turmoil.

Without integrity, you will continually experience the stinging bite of consequences that follow poor choices. Eventually this duplicity or doubled-sided life will destroy you. You may know of someone who is headed for a train wreck because they lack this integrity in their life. You can see it coming, can’t you?

What do you do if you want to develop greater integrity?

1. Be aware that it is something that is developed over a long period of time. There is no “quick fix” to attaining integrity if you find yourself lacking. A book is written when an author assembles thousands of words on dozens of pages over a period of months or years. The choices you make throughout this season will be a chapter in the book that is being written about your life.

2. Integrity comes as a bi-product of a daily walk with God. You will not grow if you are giving God your left-over time each day and ignoring His Word when it is inconvenient. We grow through daily placing a high priority on seeking out His presence in prayer and reading His Words found in the Bible.

3. Integrity is developed from the spill-over of a reservoir of good choices. Day after day we are faced with a long list of choices. Each right choice you make builds your integrity and each corrupt choice you make erodes your character. Is the momentum of your choices sweeping you downstream or thrusting you up the mountain?

What do you think?

Grand Rapids Date Night

One of the amazing things about living in Lansing is that you are somewhat close to most of the major cities in Michigan! Detroit is about an hour and a half to the East and Grand Rapids is an hour to the West. Grand Rapids is where we went last weekend. We dropped our boys off at my parents house in the Holland/Zeeland area and then got away for some cherished time together!



Downtown Grand Rapids is a great place to visit. The river cuts right through the city like it does in Lansing. They also have ice skating to enjoy!



We went to the top of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel for a dessert at Cygnus 27. By splitting a dessert and drinking water we didn't pay much, but the views were worth a million bucks! Of course, Jennifer was my favorite part of that view as always.