brianeberly.com

I did something yesterday that I thought I would never do. I ran a 5k! Keep in mind I am the guy who normally would only run when being chased, so this was a big deal!  To make it even better, I did it with my daughter Brittnie!


My friend Jon, recently began the Molalla Running Club a ministry of our church,  Foothills Community Church.  Yesterday, for the Fourth of July they held their inaugural race, the Freedom 5k.  Nearly 250 runners ran through the parade route prior to the Fourth of July parade here in Molalla.  It was a great time running passed the thousands of people lining the streets, cheering us on.

As I prepared to run the race I was quite surprised to realize, I actually enjoy running! Once again, something I thought I would never say.  So here's to better health and fitness.  Keep your eyes open, you just might see me running by!

Mother's Day is approaching.  My appreciation for the art of mothering grows each year. No, actually each day.  While I have such deep appreciation for my mom and all that she did in raising both my sister and I, it is what I see each day in my wife that has caused my appreciation for moms to truly go through the roof!  Thanks babe!

Mom's deserve more than just a day.  This tells the story.




Source: http://FrugalDad.com




Call your mother! 

As 2011 comes to a close I must give pause to reflect on the amazing year it has been.   After a three year odyssey of a whole lot of change and uncertainty, 2011 has been the year in which the dust finally settled.

Each day we find our selves thanking God for the way He has provided and blessed.  He has blessed us with a new home, new relationships, and an incredible church community to name just a few.  Our hearts are full.

As is our family tradition over the past few years we have put together sort of an online Christmas greeting.  A video that looks back of the past 12 months showcasing some of the many highlights.

Here's to 2012.  I look forward to what it holds.

I am a blessed man. Not a day goes by that I am not in awe of the beautiful family God has blessed me with. At the same time, not a day goes by that I am not conscience of and often overwhelmed by, the enormous responsibility I have in leading my family. In my estimation, there is no higher calling.

To be a loving and godly husband is my desire. To love her as Ephesians 5:25-28 is my call.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Equally it is my desire to lead my children in the same manner that Christ leads me. To parent in a fashion that demonstrates both truth and grace.

I want my faith and trust in God to be caught by my children. I want to faithfully parent them as God has called us to in Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

In all of this I am woefully aware of the fact that I can do none of this alone. For me to love and lead my family as God desires, I must first allow Him to lead me. To seek Him daily. To stop long enough in the business of life to listen to Him.

As a spouse and a parent, make it your priority to follow God's lead. Spend time listening to Him. Learn from Him. Allow Him to lead you as you seek to lead the family He has entrusted to you.

I sit here on December 31, 2010. Another year in the books. As I think back over the last twelve months I can't help but marvel. I marvel at the ride God has had me on. The year has been filled with many ups and downs and surprise twists and turns, all with one destination in mind. To be by His side trusting Him is the destination He has had in mind. As I close out the year I am left with a renewed sense that to be in the center of God's will is the best place to be!

2010 was a year filled with great ministry. For most of the year I was blessed to work with an incredible group of students at Rock Harbor Church in Sherwood, OR. I will forever remember the many adventures we found ourselves on as well as the times of life impact as we together allowed God to form us into who He wanted us to be. In the final three months of the year the Lord called me out of student ministry and into a whole new world.

2010 marked the year that I began my ministry at Foothills Community Church in Molalla, OR. The story of how God moved in lives to call me to make this move is nothing short of amazing! At Foothills we are home. We are at home with a community of people fully committed to being a part of God's story of transformation in the lives of the people of Molalla and around the world.

This last year was also a year of amazing memory making times with the family. From learning to ride a bike, to soccer games, trips to California, to our first cruise. I could not feel more blessed with the family God has given me. A true gift.

As has been the tradition of our family for the last few years, we have complied the best pictures of the year and put together a sort of Christmas e-card. A highlight reel if you will. Here is a look at 2010.



It's now 2011. Here we go!

Enjoy the ride!

It was with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I announced on Sunday my resignation as Associate Pastor at Rock Harbor Church.  It has been my distinct pleasure to serve along side the wonderful people of Rock Harbor as we worked together to make a difference in the community of Sherwood and beyond.  My family and I are grateful for the opportunity we have had to be a part of this wonderful community. 

In recent months the financial, and personal needs of our family have grown and have driven us to seek the Lord in how these would be met.  The way in which He has chosen to meet these ever growing needs can only be described as a God thing!

It has been through a great deal of prayer and listening to God that we have come to this place.  It has not been an easy decision, yet one in which He has clearly led.  We are saddened to say goodbye to our Rock Harbor community, yet at the same time excited about joining God in what He is doing in and through the community of Foothills Community Church in Molalla, Oregon.

Beginning on October 11 I will be taking a bold new step in my life.  It is on this day that I will be following God’s lead in stepping out of the student ministry world as I begin my new role as Associate Pastor at Foothills Community Church.  It is with eager anticipation that I move forward in my mission “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12).

To my family at Rock Harbor, know that you are loved and will always hold a special place in the hearts of my family.  It has been an absolute joy and privilege to join with you in moving God’s Kingdom forward.  To the students of Rock Harbor Student Ministries, my life remains open to you.  Never hesitate to contact me.  I am but a text message, Facebook message, email or phone call away.  You are loved.  Remain in community with one another and stay close to your leaders.  They are fully committed to loving and caring for you.  They are the best!

To our new family at Foothills, we are filled with anticipation as we look forward to joining you in your mission to reach the thousands of unchurched people in your geographic area with the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and to equip them to experience His presence and demonstrate His power.  We look forward to doing life with you and experiencing the kind of community that comes from together seeking the heart of God.

The ride continues.  Bring it on!

The Church is family.  For a family to operate within it's intended design and purpose, family members must be committed to sacrificially serving one another.  So it is with the Church.

Mark Driscoll nails it on this one...



He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." Luke 8:21

I have just read Julie Ferwerda's new book "One Million Arrows." I stand and applaud! It is a book that resonates with my heart on so many levels.  It resonates with both the father in me and the youth pastor in me.

In recent years I have experienced a giant shift in my thinking in terms of the way I pastor students. I have come to understand that it is not the churches responsibility to raise kids to be fully devoted followers of Jesus.  It's the God given responsibility of parents.  Read more of my thoughts here in an article I wrote for Life In Student Ministry.  Julie does a fantastic job of bringing to light the importance of this matter.

She writes, "When we take to heart that the home - not the church, not the youth programs, not the Christian school - is the Great Commission Training Center, the lives of our kids are truly impacted soul deep."  How true that is.  It breaks my heart each time I think of students, both current and past, that have walked away from a love relationship with Christ, simply because they have not seen it in their parents.  Christianity equates to one thing for them.  Hypocrisy.

The book is filled with stories of families that have taken seriously their call to raise not just good kids, but kids that will make a radical difference for the Kingdom of God.  Along with the stories come a host of practical ideas that can be implemented in the raising of our children.

If we as parents are to take seriously the call on our lives to raise world changing kids then it will require a radical commitment on our part.  No longer can we rely on the 40 to 50 hours of Biblical education/training a child will receive in a typical year from the Church, rather we must embrace the 2,500 hours a year God has given to us to raise our children.

I have recently been asked by speaker, author, Julie Ferwerda to read and review her new book, "One Million Arrows."  It's an excellent work on the importance of raising our children to live out the purpose and mission God has for them.  I'm still working my way through, so stay tuned for the review.

In the meantime check out this short video for more insight on the the book.  You may even see a family you recognize!

Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise — that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Ephesians 6:2-3

This morning as I was driving and listening to the radio, an old classic song came on. A song that has been around since 1974. I have known it for years; in fact it was one of the first songs I ever learned to play on the guitar. Musically it's great, lyrically it's frightening.

As a father I think often of how my son looks up to me, and in many ways tries to be like me. Read more of my thoughts here. The task of parenting is not one to be taken lightly. In my estimation there is no greater endeavor.

As a pastor one of my greatest desires is to see healthy families. Healthy families begin with parents that are completely and fully following after Christ, and modeling that life for their children. I believe the number one reason that the Church is seeing so many high school grads drop away, is that our kids have not seen a genuine faith modeled for them by their parents. There is no greater influence in the life of a child than mom an dad.

Listen to this classic Harry Chapin song, and let the message run deep.

Tomorrow our family leaves for a week away at Black Butte Ranch. It will be a wonderful time as a family to rest, renew, and prepare for the next chapter in our lives. Three days after our return, I hit the ground running in my new position at Rock Harbor.

These last three months have been a wonderful time as we have waited on the Lord to show what was next. It has been a great time of rest and reflection; a true sabbatical. Perhaps the best part of my time off has been all the time I have had to spend with my little man, Benny. Not many dads get as much time with their children as I have had over the last three months.

We have enjoyed bike rides, gardening, preschool field trips, treks to the pond in search of frogs, time at the park, and much more. What a blessing this time has been!




While these last three months were not necessarily a part of our plan, they were certainly part of God's, and have I ever enjoyed them! I am thankful for all God has done for us as a family. He has provided and blessed in ways we could never have imagined!

I am now excited and eager to see how the next chapter unfolds. Stay tuned!


If you are reading this via an RSS Reader and unable to view the embedded images, please click here.

This morning as Robin and Benny were having devotions together, she asked him what he would like to pray about. He said, "Bugs and spiders and beetles." When asked what specifically he wanted to pray about them, he replied, "To pray that they would fly way, way, way up high into the trees and stay there."

She then asked him what else he wanted to pray about and he said, "There are people who don't have any lights to turn off, or blinds on their windows, or a house to live in, or chocolate chips to eat, they really need chocolate chips to eat."

He gets it! If only the rest of us would.

Last night was the beginning of a brand new ministry here at Grace Point. It's a ministry designed to bring families together to experience a great meal together, fellowship with other families, and a time of worship and teaching from God's Word. We call it Family Point.


It was so wonderful to see families sitting around tables enjoying good conversation, and laughing together, as they shared in a great meal. The sad reality of our times, is that many families today have let family meal times go by the wayside in the interest of life's busy schedules and high demands. It is our hope that the joy of sitting around the dinner table as a family will be rediscovered through through this new ministry.

After the meal families enjoyed a time of worship through song, in a way that connects with kids. It was a time of high energy and lots of motion! The night also includes funny skits all designed to direct our attention to the theme of the evening.

I concluded the night with a short talk on how God wants to use our lives to generate a great harvest for the Kingdom of God. The theme verse of the evening was Matthew 17:20, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard see you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move." Through our faith, as small as it may be, God desires to do great things through our lives!

We are looking forward to many more Family Point nights. They will be happening on the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month. If your family is a part of Grace Point or you live in the area, come on by!

It was 10 years ago today that I married my best friend. It was 10 years ago today that my life changed for the better...forever.

I can say with all sincerity that this has been the fastest 10 years of my life. Time really does fly when you are having fun!

In honor of our 10th year of marriage, I share what what I wrote to my bride just before we were married.







The 10 Things That Swept Me Off My Feet and Stole My Heart.


1. That beautiful genuine smile
2. Four words....”The Same Air Babe”
3. A love and passion for life
4. A love for the Lord Jesus
5. A passion for worship
6. Gorgeous
7. A great sense of humor
8. Straight life priorities
9. Incredible (singing) voice
10. An even temperament

After 10 years they all remain true, and I could easily add more.

Love you babe. Happy Anniversary!

So I was surfing around on YouTube and much to my surprise, I came across a video featuring none other than my son and father-in-law. The video is espousing all the fun one can have with YouTube, and would actually make a great advertisement for them.

All the clips used were just randomly selected YouTube clips. With over 83.4 million videos hosted on Youtube, kind of funny one of mine got chosen!

When it gets to "be childish", that's my boy!



See the original video here.