Meeting my nephew Evan!

I just got back from the hospital after meeting my nephew little Evan Morton. Evan is 7 pounds 14 ounces and 21 inches long (we got a laugh out of the fact that all of his measurements are a factor of 7. ok well at least i thought it was funny). after getting to the hospital last night we went in and saw Dave and Christine in her room it was really cool to see them and get to talk to her and stuff. it was starting to get late so we decided to let Christine get her sleep because she had quite a bit ahead of her. we all went back to the waiting room and after hanging out for awhile everyone decided to head home besides Carrie, Jared, and me. Us three stayed up all night and into the morning (I think that is one of the first sun rises that ive seen in a really long time) waiting anxiously for any updates. and long story short there werent any updates during that night but later that morning Dave comes out in to the waiting room to see whats up and with all of us have a lack of sleep we were all a little delusional and found everything funny. Later in the morning Christines doctor came and decided to break her water to get things going. well sometime in the afternoon little Evan was introduced to this world and after even more waiting we finally got to go back to the room and meet him. He is with out a doubt one of the cutest babies that i have ever seen and when it was my turn to hold him i was so excited and happy. when holding this little baby i was so happy that i couldnt help but have a couple tears come to my eyes. after handing Evan back to his mom i could see that Dave and Christine are going to be amazing parents and be incredible influence in their sons life. i will also do my best to be the best uncle that i can possible be. i am so thankful for the family that i have they may be crazy but there is no way i would ever trade that for anything.

Is it worth the time and effort?

Ok so for awhile now Shaun, me and the rest of the interns have been working on a huge remodeling project in the basement of our youth center called The Underground. This has been a huge project with MANY hours spent down in the hot, smelly from paint fumes.. (and a few other things), and even at times wet basement. The whole thing has been a lot of fun even though I dont like the whole working thing all that much. But the thing that i hated the most was painting, I wasn't good at it, I didn't like having to pay attention to detail, and it was so boring. But I hate to admit that Shaun was right and I have kind of grown to like painting.
But anyways back to the point of Was all that time and effort worth it? I mean its not like I was being paid for these hours.... or was it?? I mean I wasnt being paid a dollar wage but in fact im being paid by seeing the the impact in the youth. Getting to use The Underground to minister and impact the lives of the youth I would say that I am more than willing to give up a couple hours of my "busy" day for that.
Even though it has been really stressful at times The Underground is drawing closer and closer to being done and being ready to use, and I can not wait to see all the time and effort that we have put in be seen and used in huge ways!

-Nate Fellman

What is Love?

According to Dictionary.com love means: a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. When I think of the love the first person that pops into my head is my mom. I don’t just love her because she is my mom but because she raised me until I was four alone and made a lot of sacrifices for me. But even through hard the hard times she was always there for me.
My mom was a whopping 110 pounds and 4 feet 11 and three-fourths inches and she would never let you forget the three-fourths. One of the most distinct features that she had was her long wavy blonde hair that everyone knew her by. Even though she was small in size my mom had the biggest and most caring heart out of anyone I know. She was also one of the feistiest people you will meet. In a way you could say that I have lost touch with her because at the age of seven my mom died from e coil only a month or so after my youngest brother was born. Before this we were inseparable, she would spend every moment she could with me. She was the most important person in my life and I was hers, nothing and no one got between us. My mom had the biggest influence on my life and I know that if she had handled our situation any different I would not be the person I am today. She also influenced me by telling me to be the best person that I can be. When my mom passed away it affected me in a huge way because the person that I always turned to and loved was gone.
I believe that I saw and loved my mom in a way that no one else did or even came close to. I was her first child and I got her to myself for the first four years of my life, even though I don’t remember a lot from those years I still wouldn’t want them any other way. She was also more than just my mom she was my best friend. Even though my mom is not with us anymore her memory is still strong in me and it will always be there.
So what is love to me? I would have to say that love is a feeling that you have for someone who has been there for you, influenced you, and that you care for so much that you would do anything for them. That’s how I feel about my mom and I know she felt the same way.

-Nate Fellman

Fog, can it be a good thing?

Fog is a weird thing to me because here in Arizona we don't see it all that often and when it does come people flip out. After seeing the fog one morning after like a week of rain I started to think that people always seem to persevere fog as a bad thing. But i don't think that it always has to be a bad thing sometimes it can be a good thing because it blocks everything out, which could be a good thing because it gives you time to be alone and you don't see distractions around you (I don't recommend this while driving, it seems dangerous). But after driving for a couple miles to school me and a couple of my friends were stopped and the intersection of Sossaman and University and we noticed that the fog just just stopped. It didn't gradually dissipate but rather just stopped right there!

That day in class I couldn't stop thinking about how that foggy day can represent our lives after God does something huge in our lives. Like after a Youth Camp, Convention, or even a Wednesday night service the fog is blocking out all of the distractions and we are on fire for him and nothing else can get in the way. What really got to me and made me sad about this is that the fog did in fact dissipated into nothing so fast and I'm afraid that this may have happened or is happening to many people. I know that this is how it was for me for many years but I made a promise to myself that I needed to quit playing games with God but instead be real with him and not let the fog dissipate into nothing, but in fact make the fog thicker and thicker after every moment that you spend with him. Also remember that fog may be rare in Arizona but the "fog" that God provides will never be rare.

-Nate Fellman

Seeking Refuge

This Sunday in Life Groups when we talked about seeking refuge and security in God it really hit home with me because at a very young age I learned that seeking refuge and security in the world wont help you through hard time but in fact drag you down more. As defined on dictionary.com refuge means: something or someone turned to for assistance or security. For some people this is money, drugs, or possessions but for me it was just being with friends. Friends are great for helping you through hard times but they can’t fill that hole like God can.

God became my refuge and strength through a very hard time in my family’s life and mine. At the age of 7 my mom passed away and it was a very emotional time for all of us. For a very long time I didn’t know why my mom was taken from me and even at times I became mad at God for taking her. During these times I didn’t turn to God for strength but I bottled it all up inside until one year when I was at an alter at kids camp. I was praying and getting ready to leave because I thought I was done but God wasn’t done with me. An older guy came up to me and said that he felt that God wanted him to come pray for me and at that moment I felt a great relief like this heavy burden had been lifted off of me and then I broke down crying more than I have ever cried before. After praying for a while longer I told him what had happened in my family and he shared a similar story of what had happened to him. He then continued to tell me that what really helped him is when he let down his pride and began to seek refuge in God. Since that night at the alter I have continued to seek refuge and security in God and it has made dealing with problems much easier.

Psalm 46:1- God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

-Nate Fellman