Past Few Weeks Events

Did I tell you that summer is nearly half-over in the NW and it really just began? Oh I know summer begins in June, but out here "summer weather doesn't usually arrive until sometime after the 4th of July. At that time the rain finally stops for a month or two and we get to enjoy some of the greatest weather known to man!

I am one of those people who has all these great aspirations coming into summer. All the things that i want to do. I usually make a list of cool things that I want to do and then about October realize I did none of them. Well, this summer is a little different. For those of who who don't know back on May 23, 2007 I was diagnosed by Dr. Logerfo with Melanoma. This is a very serious form of skin cancer. It is diagnosed with many different stages, types and levels. I was told my skin spot was cancerous and that a specialist (Dr. Fuecht) would be calling me shortly. Dr. Fuecht's nurse called me shorty to schedule a consultation that would cover what type of melanoma I had and at what stage it was. Needless to say the next few days were some of those most interesting of my life. You won't believe the thought processes that run through your mind. Through it all God granted me the grace to endure up until the day I went in for my consult. Dr. Kenneth Fuecht is probably in the top two or three of the most intelligent people I have met in my life. He and his team of surgeons have been credited with many discoveries in the field of skin cancer. The walls of his office are lines with recognitions from medical universities all over the globe. This made me feel a little more comfortable as I settle into a plush chair on this dreaded Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Fuecht soon arrived and the first words out of his mouth were, "you didn't Google this did you?" Of course I said "yes" to which he replied, "Oh God!" He proceeded to tell me how the majority of those folks have no clue and they throw out blanket statements concerning these diseases that don't apply to every diagnosis. He then went on to tell me of a situation previous to me that week where a woman came in very emotional sure that she was dying because of what she had read online, only to find out that the test he held in his hands showed no real danger concerning her diagnosis. I started to feel good at this point. I even remember thinking to myself...maybe that is me! God just took me through this time to make sure I still trusted him. Unfortunately that was not the case. He proceeded to break the news to me that I had the most deadly type of melanoma. He explained that the severity of melanoma is not determined by its diameter...many types of melanoma will grow on the skin and may require skin removals and grafts but never be a threat to ones health. The severity of melanoma is determined by its depth and infiltration of surrounding skin cells and glands. An undetected melanoma that attacks the cells and glands will take a life in less than six months. This is the type of melanoma that I had just been diagnosed with.

A million thoughts began to race through my mind. You would have to know my situation. I hate doctors and have maybe gone twice in the last 20 years. This past winter I contracted a cold and after a three month infinity cough my wife finally convinced me to go to the doctor. Dr. Peter Logerfo who serves as are family physician wanted to listen to my lungs. while he listened he notices this tiny little speck on my back that showed some discoloration. He expressed his concern about this spot and asked me to just be safe and schedule an appointment to have it removed in about a week. Life is busy in the Johnstone house and the appointment that I made came and went with little or no thought from me. That is until Dr. Logerfo personally called me to beat me over the head about not coming in. his exact words were, "Nick this is serious, don't play around get this taken care of." I scheduled an appointment for the following day and started to wonder what had made him call me back. When I arrived he looked at it again and made statements like, ""you know it is probably nothing, it will probably just go away over time." Me being the "physicians office hater" that I am thought, well then lets just leave it alone. I hate needles and pain so why torture myself. After about a short 30 minute surgery I left his office with a small incision in my back and thought that was the end of it. And it was until I went back 10 days later (May 23) to have the stitches removed. The nurse came in and told me that the doctor was out today but he would be calling me because my biopsy came back positive for melanoma. This news came only hours before I had to leave town for 3 days of preaching engagements in two separate cities. Talk about distraction.

All of this came flooding back the moment that Dr. Fuecht spoke the words "un-detected spots." I began to wonder, had God given me an everlasting cold? Did he know that in my male ego and stubbornness I would not have ever gone into a doctors office for a simple checkup. The good news was that they had caught this particular spot at a very early stage. However, the area removed contained "bad cells" which basically meant that the risk of a quick return was very high. After further review of my back Dr Fuecht spotted four other areas that were of concern to him. At this point i didn't care if he was concerned or not...just get them off me! I am not taking any more chances. We scheduled a surgery for June 28, 2007. We are seven days removed from the surgery and my life is starting to return to normal. My back looks as though I was attacked by a shark and is healing slowly. I am not out of the woods yet. In about three days I will find out about the cells and their depth around the melanoma and I will also find out if the other locations were clean.

Both Kaylee and I are very appreciative of all your prayers and support. We are trusting in the Lord and covet his grace daily.

With that being said, this has changed my life! I am doing exactly what I want this summer. I have canceled engagements and cleared my schedule. Life is too short to not spend time with family and friends. My list is growing quickly...I have to get over to Yakima to play Apple Tree golf course, take my quads to Moses Lake and spend time with my wife and family. Sounds like more bbq's and pool parties to me!

I am still working on the Survivor mentality blog...I will be posting it shortly.

Nick

Posts in Process

I am currently working on two different post that I have felt inspiration concerning. The first will be entitlted "Generational Gap" and the second "Survivor Mentality!" These both have come to me over the past couple of months while traveling and taking in different things that are transpiring in different places.
Some of the things that I have writtenin these post have been rather harsh and I have sought the Lord for better means of gently sharing them.

Pray for me

Nick

Generational Gap

Have you ever stopped into one of those old time drive-in joints that serve greasy burgers, thick fries and old time milk shakes? There is usually some oldies music playing on the jukebox and 10 or 12 middle age or older couples sitting around really enjoying themselves. I walk in at 26 years old take one look around, laugh and remind myself that I am only here because the food taste good. I tend to lean more towards the Applebees and Red Robins of the world. In fact you wouldn't find many teens now days hanging out at the old time drive-in joints. It isn't that I dis-like the drive-in atmosphere or even the company that frequents such a place it just isn't my era. You don't find Applebees playing the music they play at Johnny Rockets. Okay now that I have rambled allow me to help you understand where I am coming from. I love both Applebees and Johnny Rockets...both have their time and place.

I was recently in attendance at a sectional church meeting. I was the youngest preacher there and one of the five young people in the building since there were only three youth in attendance. It was here I was reminded once again of the great "generational gap" we have in Pentecost. Allow me to compare this church meeting to Johnny Rockets. Usually the folks who frequent Johnny Rockets are very sentimental about those types of places. They are sitting in the booth sipping their old fashion milkshake with two straws remembering of a Friday night in 1965 when they were driving a 1957 Chevy two door Bel-Air wearing a letter-mans jacket after a homecoming drubbing of the football rival 20 miles down the road. As I sat in this meeting listening to a 60 year old 4th generation pentecostal singing a song her mother must have sung at a fellowship meeting when this sister was my age I had to stop and look around at the young people sitting around me and wondered to myself if they thought the same way about this meeting as I do at Johnny Rockets. Oh, and the reason there are only three youth in attendance...they have been to these meetings before and refuse to come back because of this very atmosphere.

Think about this for a moment why do we have children's church during our traditional Sunday morning worship service? Because for the most part young children cannot relate to what is transpiring in that particular form of church. Why is it that when kids get older and become young adults we suddenly feel the need to subject them to grandma pastor's wife singing "On the Wings of a Snow White Dove" to some really bad piano playing. I know that I am about to get blasted out of the water here by some of my more traditional peers but I have kept my peace for 10 years and I am more concerned for the present generation of youth and my own generation than I have ever been. I know, we have youth rallies and youth camp and youth convention (hold on to your bladder) but some of those meetings are not any different than what I have described above. Youth Camps and Conventions are great and they hold some of the most memorable experiences of my young life but why am I subjecting the current generation to participate in the same activities at youth camp that I participated in. It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to understand that no generation has the same interest.

I am in no way implying that standards of holiness need to be let down to appease a generation of vipers. In fact, I believe we need to hold the line as strong as ever in this generation. I am not talking about holiness, I am talking about methods. I can already here the screams of traditional Pentecostals, "REMOVE NOT THE OLD LANDMARKS!" Consider this for a moments. When Moses was faced with a water crossing at the Red Sea, the LORD told him to lift his staff. When the next generation was faced with a water crossing the LORD instructed Joshua (the new leader) to have the men carry the ark of the covenant and step into the Jordan. Both men received the same result, but two separate methods were used under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Imagine for a moment if Joshua had walked to the Jordan and lifted up his staff waiting for the waters to part. That generation would have never walked in the promise that God intended for that hour! The problem is too many generations of Pentecostals are standing at the edge of Jordan with the same method that the previous generation used. To break it down even further...trying to build churches and see a harvest in their cities with the same methods that the previous generation used. We need more Joshua's that in lieu of just walking to Jordan and lifting a stick because that is what Dad or Grandpa did, they wait upon the Lord for his inspiration and then act on it in their hour.

I am not sure what happened to the interim generation in Pentecost. I appears to me as though we have a whole slough of Azusa Street folks and a whole bunch of North American Youth Congress folks but not a lot in the middle. Those that are in the middle seem to lean towards the Auzsa Street folks, because they are the generation that passed the mantle to them. Now here comes the North American Youth Congress group whose parents are leaning towards the Azusa street group but they are seeking a new method and the Azusa Street folks can't figure out why we don't want to be just like them. I hear questions from the Azusa Street group like, "Why do you guys want to sing all that new music?" "What is wrong with the hymns?"

There has got to be a coming together in the day and hour that we live in. We have to close the generational gap! The present generation has to embrace the former and their methods and the elder generation must embrace the younger and their passion to be on the cutting edge of what God desires in this hour. Until the generational gap is closed we will continue to have empty sectional meetings and minor interest from each generation in what the other is doing

Grace

Too many "church" people over the years have confused grace with mercy and used them as though they were synonymous terms. Consider this for a moment. Mercy - compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence (Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) ). Grace - the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them - the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God (same as above).
In my short 10 years of ministry I have numerous times been confronted with a faithful saint of God who in a time of affliction or infirmity solicited the prayer of an elder in accordance with the word of God. I have always prayed the prayer of faith believeing that God was able to deliver from any circumstance and heal all manner of disease. I have many times witnessed the working of miracles as Paul described to the chruch in Corinth regarding the spiritual gifts imparted by God, and have at other times witnessed the impartaion of the gift of healing as was described by Paul in this same setting. Allow me to share my thoughts regarding this passage and how it plays into the thought of Grace. If I were to give you a gift wrapped in beautiful paper and stuffed in a box you would not have actually received the "gift" or the object that I had given you until you had taken the time to un-wrap the gift. If you don't have the faith to belive that the box with fancy wrapping that I gave you contains an actual "gift" then you will miss out on the contents of the gift. For some folks un-wrapping a gift is a five minute ordeal. For others like myself I un-wrap it in a hurry because I want what is inside. I know that there have been times through the years that I have prayed for folks with different ailments and because the Lord chose not to operate through the working of miracles but rather through the gift of healing they walked away from their encounter unchanged and within a few hours began speaking things like" Well I guess God chose not to heal me this time." Quickly the faith with which they approached me is now fading. In other words, they place the "gift" back on the altar because they didn't see instant results.
Now that you think I am absolutely crazy, allow me to explain how this ties into grace. Paul in his writing to the church in Corinth makes this statement in 2 Corithians 11.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Paul writes to the church regarding all of the circumstances he has encountered in his walk with God. Being a man of God myself I can't help but believe that Paul did not talk to God about any of these issues. I am sure there were a few prayers that went up in the midst of these beating. There had to have been a few cries for help amidst the ship wrecks but yet seemingly God chose to allow Paul to continue through each of these trials. Did Paul do something wrong? Did Paul not have enough faith in the midst of his situation to belive that God was able to deliver him? I believe Paul begins to shine more light on this subject in 2 Corinthians 12.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Because I pray for a healing from my presesnt infirmity or I ask for deliverance from my present situation and God chooses not to heal me or deliver me doesn't mean that God doesn't heal anymore or that God doesn't deliver. It doesn't even mean that I have any less faith than the last time that I prayed for healing and received. It simply means that this time God has chosen to simply give me the grace to endure whatever it is that I am going through. As christians when we pray we are immediately looking for the instant deliverance or healing. I can only imagine how Paul and Silas felt that night in prison after a beating was received for preaching the gospel. In Acts 5 when the apostles were put into prison for preaching the Gospel the angel of the Lord was sent and delivered them out of their present situation. However, when Paul and Silas were captured and beaten then thrown in prison the angel of the Lord did not appear this time, but rather God gave them the grace to pray and sing praises to God and that brought them through and out of their situtation.
I have often had folks tell me, "I am praying for direction but the Lord just hasn't answered me". The God I serve is always faithful to answer those that wait upon him. However, I don't always like the answer that he gives and so I catch myself continueing to wait upon him hoping that he will somehow change his direction. Could it be that the answer to my prayer is, "My grace is suffucient for you?"
Won't you boldly approach the throne of grace for help in time of need?

Sabattical

As most of you know I haven't blogged for nearly 4 months. This has been due in part to a very busy schedule and also some other issues that arose out of blogging.
Still desiring to log in some sort of format each and every thing we encounter, understanding that this is a process and I am growing everyday and every single thing that I encounter helps me to understand how I got where I am and refocus on where I am going.
This isn't a place to begin debates or even push my viewpoints on any given subject.
So, please just enjoy what ends up on here and I will do my best to keep up with this thing at least weekly!

A lot has transpired in the last four months. I will probably share more as I feel led in each post. I don't desire just to post for something to do but rather to post as I am led of the spirit. Who knows all of whta will end up here but I hope that who ever stumbles across it will enjoy some part of it.

Nick

Super Bowl

GO COLTS!!!!!!

Birthday Weekend

Hard to believe it is already Wednesday. We had a wonderful weekend which I will get more into later in the post. Last week was very un-eventful. Both Kaylee and I were very busy with work and preparation for getting out of town on Friday night.

Kaylee's birthday was the 28th so I planned a special surprise trip for her. She knew we were going but didn't know where. Friday night after work we set out on an adventure to Leavenworth,WA http://www.leavenworth.org/ . We had the time of our lives. For all of you who don't know, Leavenworth is this cool little Bavarian Village located about 3 hours NE of Seattle. It is nestled in the cascade mountains and has a whole plethora of attractions. We spent Saturday snowboarding and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL SUNNY outdoors of eastern WA. Then Sunday we hit all the shops and a couple of restaurants in the downtown area. I loved the aptmosphere of this little town. Even though is was barely above 20 degrees and 2' of snow on the ground the outdoor venues were great. I ate more Bratwurst at outdoor heated eateries than I can even count. This was Kaylee's first snowboarding experience and I hope not her last. It was a rather rough day for her on the slopes. I enjoyed the time I was able to spend on the mountain carving up the slopes. This week is rather short. PI begins on Friday night and we are frantically trying to get things in order for Youth Convention March 7-9. May the blessing of God be with you throughout the remainder of this week.

Enjoy the pics

Nick

Hayward Field

A great shot of Hayward Plaza. I was the Construction Manager on this project while living in OR

My Tail Is Between My Legs

WOW. o-2 don't know how that happened. Other than the teams that I picked to win forgot to show up!
However, I must admit now that I secretly wanted Peyton (even though I cannot stand him or his brother) in the Super Bowl and if you will read several post from Oct. you will find that I made metion of the Bears. I simply picked the teams I thought would win on Sunday. I am EXCITED at the thought of a BEARS vs. COLTS game. I am going with the Colts.
Okay, enough of the NFL for now...lets talk College Hoops!!! Oregon is 18-1 and 7th in the country. The team looks much like the team that the Luke and Luke show led to the Elite Eight. Needless to say I am stoked at the thought of Oregon playing the way that they are.

Church was great last weekend. We had a normal weather week for once. We took the Youth Group to Snoqualmie Pass to play in the snow on Saturday. A few bruised tail bones and head aches were all that we suffered.
This weekend is Kaylee's Birthday (1/28). HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!! We are going snowmobiling and snowboarding. We are goign to have a blast.

Pray for my parents they are looking for a home in Yakima. They want to be where God wants them.

Until next time...
Nick

Super Bowl...Cajun Style?

We have survived once again a storm event of the decade...this time snow. It all started when we awoke last Tuesday to 1-2" of snow. By Wednesday evening about 9:30 it was snowing blizzard style and by midnight we were pushing 6" in the Puyallup Valley and upwards of 1' further north. That was all followed by temperatures that rarely raised out of the teens the rest of the week. We are recovering slowly...my street and driveway are still packed snow and ice.

With all of that it was a pretty slow week. I enjoyed a little bit of down time. The weekend was pretty eventful. A group of men from the church visited Monster Jam ( Monster Truck show in Tacoma) which was quite the event. A few blown ear drums, rolled over monster trucks and a great time as had by all.

I made mention of my parents home selling last weekend. I will expound on this in more deatil now. In September of 06 God began to deal with my Dad concerning the city of Yakima, WA. After a few other events transpired he knew that was the place God wanted him and his time in OR was through. After much prayer and Godly counsel from several men around him they made the decision to step out in faith. They listed their home last Saturday and it sold within the first five hours and their were more people in line to purchase it. It is amazing how things flow when your walking in the spirit. Upon final approval of the district board a church plant will be started in the Yakima Valley. Please keep them in prayer throughout the next few months and years as the help of God is coveted dearly!

So far I am 5 -3 on playoff pics. No one has emeerged as the real frontrunner for the Super Bowl but I can't wait any longer for my pics. So here goes...

New England

New Orleans

It is a NEW thing this year! I am pulling for the Saints...no greater story than a Super Bowl win for this team and City!

Playoff Picks!

I needed to establish these before the weekend.

Bears
Saints
Chargers
Ravens

May the force be with you all.

P.S. It is official I have expereienced more snow this year than any other year of my life...maybe even more weather events than any other year also!!!!

Monday Weekly

Well its Monday and that means time to reflect.
3-1 on my wildcard playoff picks! The one that I got wrong was the only one that mattered to me this weekend. Dallas got duped big time...I guess the officials owed Seattle one.
I trust that all of you had a wonderful weekend. This was a PI weekend...I am teaching Ministry of the Apostles this semester. Very interesting class that focuses on Apostolic Ministry in the book of Acts and how it applies to the church today. There were a few points throughout the weekend that really stuck but one that knocked me over was the apostles and their "house to house" ministry. I will post more on this subject later as the Lord allows but it will blow most of your pentecostal, traditional, lets go get ourselves a big building that is more nice and more classy than the church down the street mentality right out of your head. I was almost angry at myself after the class for the way that I thought for most of my young ministry.
Work is extremely busy for me right now. There is some major transition going on within my company which I am not able to disclose but when it becomes public info I will share. Kaylee is doing well she is looking foward to this possibly being her last 6 months of working a real job!!!!
My parents home sold this weekend. I will post more on this subject next Monday.

Until next week, may the Buckeyes win and God be with you and bless you all!

Late Weekly Post

With the holidays my weekly post is running rather late. The holidays were very eventful even though Kaylee and I were both on vacation for two weeks. I really enjoyed the New Years weekend. We had a "non-traditional" Watch Night service that included a little word, a little praise and a little testimony. We even threw a little food into the mix at the end of the night. This week has been very busy. I have spent the majority of my time out of the office chasing meetings. I walked out of a 1:30 p.m. meeting today only to realize it was already Friday and the weekend was here.
Tomorrow is the kickoff of the NFL playoffs more formally known as "Wildcard Weekend". Here are my official picks for the weekend. First I am taking 'De Boys' of Dallas. They should kill the Hawks of S-town! I am fasting and praying fervently for this game. Second I am taking the Colts I beleive that KC's backwards plunge into the playoff via a Denver loss will not be enough for Peyton and the gang. Third I am taking the Pheagles over the G-men. I don't think Weeli Manning will be able to get around Lito Shepherd and it should turn into a pick fest! Fourth, I am taking the Pats over the Jets. Bill will school the student.
I will post again on Monday...until then...

God Bless
Nick