Tory Farina

This will mess with you...

from a Franciscan Benediction…

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

How is God blessing you?

Fasting and Prayer Wednesday

I was a freshman in college and was asked to come down to Florida for a national prayer and fasting event. I was flattered to attend and was going to be praying with my dad at the event. There in the back room of the event I meet a man who challenged me to be a person who doesn't just pray but to be a person of prayer and fast. The difference is that one is an event... the other is a lifestyle. Bill Bright was the man who challenged me. Here are some of his thoughts on prayer and fasting.

http://www.billbright.com/howtofast/

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

I am at the office with some great worship music playing. My heart is crying out to God... I am in prayer for the amazing things that god wants to do...

• In my life- I am so in need of you God. Teach me to be a better father, lover, boss, friend and worshiper. I submit my life again to you God. Help me to make decisions not in self perseverance mode but in Your Kingdom first mode. Show me how I can be more submitted to you. Take away anything that distracts from my being close to you. I love you deeply. I thank you that you have given me so many blessings. It is always baffling that I get to do what I love, in a town I love, with the people I love.  Thank you God for your amazing Providence. Thank you for your spirit. Give me wisdom, as I need it more today than I ever have.
• In my family- God thank you for the blessing of this little Girl. Give Elizabeth and I the abilities to lead her into a better future. Your will be done in our family. Show us how to spend our resources well. How to manage what you give and provide. May your presence always be found in our family. Build us strong in your presence and compassionate towards those who do not know you. God give me wisdom to challenge my family into the family that you have created us to be.
• In my Church- God Pour your spirit on this church. May we be your hands and feet in the community. May you be made famous because we are so passionate about what you do. Build our volunteers and help them to see and be passionate about the vision of High Point and building your kingdom. May we be the most welcoming place in the Twin Cities. Heal the sick... Raise the spiritually dead... Break the chains of sickness, addiction and demonic interference. May we as a church "Live our Potential" in and for you. Help this mailer to reach people who are prepared to reserve it. Bring in visitors. Help our connection groups to be the best they can be where we develop our faith together and sharpen one another. Keep us focused on you.
• In my community- I am praying for four people in my neighborhood who I want God to become known in there life... And that they would come to church on the Sunday when I invite them. Raise the level of your presence and fame in this community. Holy Spirit have your way in our lives and in our homes. Break the strong holds in this city that keep us distracted from you. Open up an opening and interest to your presence.

God Lead us on in You. Thank you for challenging us in a deeper way. Amen!

I would love to hear your comments about what you prayed about or maybe what God spoke to you when you prayed. Live your Potential!

The Half Mile Hill...

I was running today and on the 3.5 mile route I choose I had to make a decision. Do I run down the half mile hill? Which as you know is a lot easier and more fun. Or do I run up it at the end of my run?

I choose to run up it at the end but half way through I realized that that was not a fun idea. To make matters worse they had just put road gravel down so it was like running on the beach. I felt like David Hasselhoff. I wanted to quite. But turning around only meant I would have to go up the hill again when I was less tired. Stopping would have only given me a break for the moment and walking meant that I would be giving in to the pressure. I ran the whole way up. Slowly, but it was still defined as a run… I looked it up.

I think life is like this. We have half mile hills that we face all the time. If we are pursuing Gods will we will face Half mile hills all the time. I am talking about Noah this week. 120 years he spent building the ARK. That was a long time filled with a lot of stopping or quitting moments. He kept going. Why.

It says in the passage regarding Noah that he walked with God. When I am running with James “the machine” Zwiefel, he tells me that I am not tired yet. I argue with him between gasps of air but he usually wins and I keep running. By coach knows that I can do a lot more than I feel I am able.

The first time we ran 3 miles I was tricked into it. It was actually 3.8 and when we finished I realized that 3 was no big deal. So what in your life looks like a half mile hill? What feels as impossible as 3 miles did? God your coach wants to walk you through it. He wants to see you victorious on the other side.

One final thought: For every up hill there is always a down hill!

The lion is scary!

You are what you preach. I have been telling

High Point

lately to go after those God sized dreams in your life and to fallow the inner prompting of the Lord. I felt that I should be apart of God sized change in the Assemblies of God. They are our pastoral accountability and set the theological tone that we at

High Point

hold to.

There is a transition of leadership in three weeks and no one is creating an organized conversation. So Paul my BFF and I with a little encouragement of some mentors took the plunge. We went from talking about a great idea to implementing a great idea.

Hopefully www.futureAG.blogspot.com becomes something that we can look back on and say, "That was when things changed."

I spoke with my pastor Clarence St. John and he said... "You can’t just sit there!" So I raise my coffee mug high into the air and say, "Cheers to all who didn’t just sit there!"

Memorials and Alters...

I went to a wedding today at ECC today. I was sitting there watching the ceremony in the same room E and I got married in and I felt how dry and thirsty for God I was. I looked around and remembered the moments in Gods presence I had had here as an intern many years ago. I recalled the words from God I had given her in this sacred space to young people that are now adults peppered through the crowed. I met God here and He changed me. I can bring my Kids to spots in this building and show them and tell them exactly what God did.

I want

High Point

to give people that experience. I want people to walk into that theatre and begin to cry as I did as they remember where God met them.

I am talking in the morning about Zacchaeus. He climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. And he was never the same that day. I don’t want to be the same. I need another glimpse of Jesus. I want to lead this church on a quest for a glimpse of Jesus. Because that is all that is necessary for a life extraordinary!

May we be tree climbers!