Bring on the little man…
Posts Tagged ‘Family’
3
IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING FOR YOUR FAMILY
Posted: May 26, 2011 in Faith, Family, Life, Ministry, People, SpiritualityTags: Faith, Family, Life, Ministry, NORTHchurch, People, Spirituality
This Sunday I had the privilege of speaking in all 3 services at NORTHchurch. If you have an extra 25 minutes, you should check it out. You can listen to more messages, get message notes, and more by CLICKING HERE.
Special thanks for Jennifer Busler for taking such amazing pictures. She is an insanely talented photographer in Oklahoma City.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Posted: May 7, 2011 in Family, Life, PeopleTags: Family, Life, Mother's Day, People
Mom,
I thought you deserved your own personal post on the blog (If you are reading this and you are not my mom, that’s ok, but the intention is for my mom.) You may have heard these words before, but they are still 100% true.
I just wanted to thank you for being such an incredible mom. Your unconditional love and support means more than you will ever know. There are a few things in this world that I have never been able to doubt and my mom loving me was one of those things I could never doubt.
And I am so excited for you to become a grandma. There is no doubt in my mind that you are going to spoil Jordan and be the best grandma on the planet.
Before I end this letter, I want to thank you for…
- Changing my diapers when I was a baby.
- Tucking me in at night.
- Leaving the door cracked or the nightlight on when I was scared.
- Buying me Dinosaur and baseball sheets.
- Reading Bible stories to me before bed.
- Letting Dad buy all those baseball cards.
- Letting me get my big sister in trouble.
- Watching all those soap operas so that I had to go outside, play sports, and be active.
- Making incredible fruit salad and sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving.
- Christmas stockings!!!
- Cleaning up my messes.
- Letting me use you as the reason I couldn’t do something when I really didn’t want to anyways but didn’t have the guts to say that. You never minded taking blame in that situation.
- Letting me read to you after taking Lesley to SSMS.
- Letting me go on my first date even after the Cutlas was wrecked and we had a rental.
- Not letting me have a TV in my room.
- Our Thanksgiving trip to Ensenada.
- Always getting me what I needed and most of what I wanted.
- Not making church optional growing up.
- Loving and accepting my wife as your own daughter.
- Showing me what it is like to be a hardcore baseball fan.
- Letting Kate live with you & Dad so she could stay in the family.
- Being an awesome grandma to Gaby and Stella (and soon to be Jordan too).
- Thanks for already buying us all the important baby stuff.
- Supporting Heather and I in our move to OKC.
- Most importantly, thanks for leading and pushing me towards to God. By far the most important thing you have done for me is laying the foundation of faith that has completely transformed my life.
I love you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.
GOD HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR
Posted: April 12, 2011 in Faith, Family, Funny, Life, Ministry, People, SpiritualityTags: Faith, Family, Funny, Life, Ministry, NORTHchurch, People, Prayer, Spirituality
I’ve got to be honest…
With this whole “going to be a dad” thing quickly approaching, I have been battling a lot of insecurity. From time-to-time I have found myself struggling with doubt.
Will I be a good dad? Am I prepared to be a dad? Will I be able to take care of a baby?
I have really been battling insecure thoughts, fear, and doubt.
Well…God has a great sense of humor.
Every Sunday during the NORTHchurch worship experiences, Heather and I make ourselves available to pray with people. We position ourselves in the same spot every week and every week people come to pray with us. Sometimes we pray for that individual; sometimes we pray for a family member; sometimes we pray for healing; and sometimes we pray for another loved one.
This past Sunday, we positioned ourselves in our normal spot, prepared ourselves to pray with some amazing NORTHchurch people, and waited. And waited. And waited. For the first time in a long time, nobody was coming to pray with us. The other prayer team members strategically positioned around the room were all praying with people.
I literally had this thought…”God, I guess you do not have anybody for us to pray with this week. That’s cool. I am about to take my 23-week pregnant wife back to our seats.”
As soon as I had this thought, I saw a mom and her young child get up from their seat on the other side of the auditorium. They walked past two other prayer team members, walked across the auditorium to Heather and I, and asked us to pray for the young child.
I listened to the mom’s prayer request, got on my knees, held the young child in my arms, and prayed for him. I prayed passionately. I prayed a “child-understandable” prayer – which I did not know I could do. I said “Amen”, gave the child a hug, and looked into his eyes. As I did that a big smile came across his face.
Through that moment and that smile, God spoke to me. In my heart, I heard God as clear as day remind me, “I am in control. I have got your back. I will prepare you. When you are weak, I am strong. You are going to be a great dad. Trust me.”
At that point, I could not control the tears. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Of all the people that mom and young child could have prayed with, they walked across the auditorium to pray with the one person in that room that is terrified of children. The one person who was struggling with insecurity, fear, and doubt of becoming a father. The one person who doesn’t know how to speak “child” language.
Yep…God has a sense of humor.
Heather and I have chosen the name for our son. It’s bomb.
JORDAN HOLLOWAY CROMER
(And he’s already locked down an ideal Twitter id: @jordancromer)
It’s official. Heather and I are going to be having a boy. Trust me…I’ve got the pictures to prove it. Didn’t want to post them because I’m pretty sure I’d get arrested.
The Cromer name lives on.
We’re pumped!
11 KEYS FOR LOVING YOUR FAMILY
Posted: March 6, 2011 in Books, Culture, Faith, Family, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, SpiritualityTags: Books, Culture, Faith, Family, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, Tony Dungy, Uncommon
- Be a leader around your home, but lead for the benefit of your wife and children, not for your own benefit.
- Give your wife breaks from her daily responsibilities.
- Make memories.
- Keep your (marriage) vows sacred. Sometimes better comes after worse.
- If you are not married, be careful in selecting a spouse. It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
- Be present with your family – emotionally and physically.
- Be careful what you say and do.
- Write notes to your children.
- Honor those in authority over you.
- Be careful with the authority and influence that you’ve been entrusted with.
- If you can’t come to grips with your parents and your past, find a professional to walk with you through it.
(From “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy)
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT CHALLENGE
Posted: February 20, 2011 in Culture, Faith, Family, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, Sports, The BibleTags: Culture, Faith, Family, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Bible
(This blog post was originally posted on February 18, 2009…)
I have subscribed to Sports Illustrated for years. As a subscriber to Sports Illustrated, the annual Swimsuit Edition (first published in 1964) gets sent to my house every February.
Here’s the cool part…
I have not seen one picture or one article from the Swimsuit Edition in years. Every year my incredible wife gets that particular issue, rolls her eyes at the super models who are not wearing their swimsuits, and immediately throws the issue in the garbage.
My 2011 issue came on Wednesday. It went in the trash on Wednesday and I never knew it came to the house.
I love that she does this for me. The raw, honest truth is that I probably do not have the strength to do it myself. Granted, I might throw it away but not without first taking a peak. (I care here you thinking “but you’re a minister!” Yeah, you are right, I am a honest and real minister.) I cherish the fact that my wife cares about my purity enough to help me succeed. She gets it. She makes me a better person. She makes me a better follower of Jesus.
Some people might think “who cares?” or “what’s the big deal?”
Here the truth…
I know I am not missing anything. My eyes have better things to look at. I have better thoughts to think about. I got a hottie that I am madly in love with and who loves me back. Who needs the Swimsuit Edition? I know I don’t.
________________________
Here’s the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Challenge…
Follow my wife’s lead. If you get the Swimsuit Edition, throw it away. If your husband/son/brother/friend gets the Swimsuit Edition, take the initiative and throw it away for him (like me, he probably doesn’t have the strength to do it himself).
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” – Jesus in Matthew 5:27-29 (NIV)
