Follow the Leader

*this blog was written from observation, not from any current situations* Enjoy!

I am a soccer player, a.k.a. football player. I’ve spent many years on the soccer field – many nights at practice – and many weekends on the road. Soccer is an amazing sport. It requires skill, fitness and a bunch of teamwork. In July, I was able to go down to St. Lucia to help with a soccer camp. We had over 300 kids from ages 8-18 with a wide range of skills. Their passion for the sport and their desire to learn was incredible. We were able to teach them new skills which they then put into practice during our scrimmages. On the last day of camp, we had warm ups and I led them in something which we call Follow the Leader.

It’s a simple thing.
The leader does something and watch this
–you follow –
incredible huh?
things like touch the ground, jump, high knees, etc.
All you need to do is watch or listen to the leader and then do what he does.

Transitioning into our roles as men in a tough generation. It is very difficult as a male in our society and culture to truly be the leader. The women’s rights movement hasn’t really helped our cause.
We have women in school getting degrees

-out working trying to compete on salaries-

doing everything they can to make us equal.

All of which are great things and I applaud you ladies for wanting to make something of yourselves but in doing that, you make it really hard on us guys.

We want to be the leaders that you need and desire. We want to be the breadwinner.
We want to wear the pants in the relationship. We want to be able to provide for you. We want you to have the life that you have always dreamed of. We want you to feel loved all the time. We want you to feel cared for always.

But we are not perfect. We make mistakes and we will continue to make mistakes. It’s hard. It’s a huge responsibility to be the leader. We can’t lead ourselves, let alone someone else. We aren’t always going to have the right answer for you or the right thing to say. We aren't always going to provide the best life for you. This life will have its ups and downs. It will be tough. But please know that if we have made that commitment to you then we still feel the same way that we did for you at the beginning, probably more.

We are, however, trying.
We want to be able to lead and give you everything.
-BUT-

We need you to be come along side of us and be flexible with us.

Help us out.
Allow us to lead and make it a team.

Dont make it a competition.
Respect the things that we may choose or decide upon.

Always remember that we are looking out for you more than ourselves.

You are our prized possession.
We will do anything for you.

We love you.

Ephesians 5:22-28
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

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 the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

St. Lucia Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,


As many of you know, my heart is set on missions. I believe that in some form or another, I will one day be overseas whether in a city or a village with the purpose of sharing Christ with people that have never been exposed or even heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This summer, I was given the opportunity to go to Indonesia for about 2 months and learn how to fish farm. Due to some unforeseeable changes in Indonesia, the trip was postponed to a later date. I was content with not going anywhere this summer but I still had a desire to serve in some aspect. Through some decisions and plans that were made out of my control, I now have the opportunity to go to St. Lucia.


The missionaries in St. Lucia are former Indian Rocks teachers, one of which was my high school soccer coach. They are natives to the island and have been back there for about 3 years. Since being back in St. Lucia, they have planted 3 churches and they have seen many people give their lives to Christ. They have ministries with women, married couples and they are now reaching out to the youth. The purpose of the trip is to help with a soccer camp. At the current time, the camp is expecting well over 500 kids. There will be World Cup soccer players and referees to lead the camp as well as representatives from SCORE International. Our role in the camp is to help with organization and lead devotions. It will be three full days of soccer and at the end of the camp, there will be a big fellowship with a Gospel presentation. The hope and prayer is that many kids will bring their families as this could be their first exposure to the Gospel.


On the next page, I have included a list of prayer requests. I am writing this letter because I believe that prayer is one of the strongest attacks we have against the evil in this world. Wycliffe Bible Translators has a sign in the headquarters in Orlando that reads – Prayer isn’t for the work, it is the Work. I then ask you for your prayers. I don’t know why I am on this trip but it is all coming together and it is out of my control. I know God is going to do something awesome and I ask that you join me on this trip with your prayers.


In Christ,

Mitchell Eggers





PRAYER NEEDS

Ø The hearts and souls of the lost and hurting people of St. Lucia.

Ø Team member and player’s safety and health during the camp.

Ø The fellowship night and Gospel presentation at the end of the camp.

Ø A deeper, personal relationship with God.

Ø Wisdom and discernment in the future with decisions and life choices.

Ø As of Monday, the government is not allowing the camp at the National Stadium or a big field. As a result, the camp is currently going to be a small field which would only allow for about 150 kids. Pray for the government to have a change of heart.

Daily Struggles – Ignorant People

How could anyone question a Creator on a day like today? It’s one of those Florida days that I wish I could bottle up so I could relive whenever I wanted. You know the days where there is a nice balance of sunshine but still a little coolness in the air? That’s what it is like today. A day that a camera couldn’t do it justice. Sure, it would capture the perfect blue skies and the palm trees softly blowing in the wind but it wouldn’t catch the feel. The feeling of WOW, there has to be more. Somebody or something had to have created this beauty. There’s no other explanation.

Days like this make me feel so insignificant. It just shows order and a plan - that I am nothing in this huge world that I live in.

The sun rises,
provides the perfect amount of warmth,
sets for the day
and then it starts all over again the next day.

Granted, some days the clouds don’t allow us to feel the heat but even the clouds are amazing. Clouds hold rain. How cool is that? I can imagine God putting all this stuff together and then thinking I need to get water to my people. How can I do that? By creating oceans and lakes and springs – that’s how - but He needed something more. He needed a way to get fresh water down to Earth. So what a brilliant idea - make clouds that can move across the world and drop fresh water down to us. Amazing! And not only does He provide the rain water but He also provides it in His perfect timing and knows exactly how much we need.

Jeremiah 5:24
They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

I am just blown away at how anyone could deny a Creator on days like today.
Are they so blinded to the Truth that they can’t see it?
Or are they just stubborn and ignorant?

I know that anyone who truly wanted to search for the Truth could find it. Look at Darwin. He theorized against a creator by using evolution. I applaud the man for searching for answers and questioning a Creator. However, at the end of his search and the end of his life, he denied his own theory and said there had to be a Creator and someone in control – it’s not just a random thing. Darwin dedicated his whole life to this theory and at the end of his life, he rejected his own creation.

People today seem to be too busy to go on a search. They don’t want to know the Truth because they are satisfied with their life. They don’t need to throw any wrenches in it and distract from their American life. We do have it really good here in the States but at some time, people have to stop being ignorant and seek out the Truth and that’s where we come in. As Christians, we need to be throwing out questions to make people think, to make people uncomfortable and make people seek out the answers.

Oftentimes, the Truth isn’t comfortable but the Truth is always the Truth and people need to know it…

Daily Struggles - Speaking LOUD

How LOUD are you speaking? The new Jeremy Camp song really drives this point home. Below are some lines from the song:

Take every chance that you can
Move together taking a stand
Never losing heart, we'll speak as one

We need to be the image of Christ
Show love and serve at all times
We can make a difference in these lands

We are the hope that's been forgotten
We have the love that will be brought and
We are speaking louder than before

It is a great song if you haven’t heard it. It truly speaks what is on the mind of Jeremy and so many other Christians in this world. It is our responsibility to speak LOUD about what we believe in.

If we aren’t the ones sharing our faith than who is?
The Jehovah’s Witnesses that come to our door,
The dead church down the road that people stumble into,
Or the Muslim nation that is quietly and quickly taking over the world?

Who’s it going to be?
Are you going to speak LOUD or let the world win these hearts?

I most definitely struggle at times with being LOUD.
I get busy with things.
My eyes aren’t open to opportunities.
I even get scared.

I’m silent, I’m quiet, I’m mute.
But then there are those times when I can be LOUD and fearless.
When sharing the truth and the love of Christ is the only thing that matters.
Where the Spirit takes over and I don’t even recall how it happened or where it came from.

Jeremiah 1:6-8 - "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

What is stopping you and I from talking to people about the one thing that matters the most to us?
Is it our fear? Probably
Is it our pride? Probably
Is it the Devil? Probably

You know why I love talking to people about Christ? Because I know how much the Devil hates it. He can’t stand it and it just brings a smile to my face every time it happens.

Speaking LOUD these days can be difficult. It requires us to know our stuff. Our stuff being God and who He is and the only way to know “our stuff” is to be in the Word and be in constant communication with Him.

Take a stand today and be LOUD…

Daily Struggles - Focus

This past week, I went to my old stomping grounds of Orlando for a weeklong interview process with a Christian organization. In my committee interview, I was drilled with questions about my past, my present ministries and my future vision. At the end of questioning, I stood up and thanked them and then everything in the room started spinning.

I couldn’t focus.

I seriously didn’t know what was going on and I thought I was going to crash to the ground. Luckily I didn’t and I somehow made it back to my room but the dizziness and loss of focus are still there. Anytime that I stand up or move my head real fast, it takes me a few seconds to re-gain my sight and focus my attention. It is definitely weird and the constant ringing in my ear doesn’t help. I feel very slow like I am a few steps behind.

With my present physical state, it got me thinking. All I want is to be able to stand up or turn my head and keep my focus.

I’m not asking much.

I use to be able to focus and keep my attention but something happened. But how much does God ask of me? All He wants me to do is keep my eyes focused on Him all the time. He isn’t asking much of me either.

He died for me.

He has an everlasting and unfailing love for me.

He deserves my eyes and my attention – ALL THE TIME.

Psalm 33:4-5
“For the Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the Earth is full of His unfailing love.

I know why my focus is messed up speaking in physical terms. Well I don’t know the exact reason but I’ll find out when I go to the doctor. I know it is crazy – Mitch actually going to the doctor? Get out of here. Anyways, what about my focus on the Lord? Why would I ever take my eyes off of Him?

Sin
Busyness
Worry
Doubts

These are just to name a few. There is good news however. If through the help of the Holy Spirit, we can focus our eyes on Christ, all those things mentioned above will begin to disappear. We will see that everything we need, we have in Christ.

-We won’t need sin, but we will listen and obey His commands. (John 14:23)
-We won’t need to be busy in the world, but we will rest in Him. (Eph. 2:6-7)
-We won’t need to worry, but we will pray and know that He hears. (1 John 5:14-15)
-We won’t need to doubt, but we will know that He is faithful.
(Deut. 32:4)

Lord, I want tunnel vision on You. After focusing my eyes on You, show me in your way to go. Amen

Daily Struggles - Starbucks

So I don’t know if you are aware of this, but I work at Starbucks. That’s the high paying coffee company that’s on every street corner in America. Working at Starbucks is a lot of fun – I’ll give it that. But it’s still Starbucks. I get coffee, I get great benefits but I still go into work and throw on a green apron and my black hat and say Welcome to Starbucks…

What 25 year old with a college degree in finance works at Starbucks?
It’s not like it’s my second job or it’s helping me pay bills as I get my master’s degree.

It is my job.

It is what pays my bills.

It’s what I have to answer, when people ask where do you work?
Yea I work at Starbucks.
Are you in school?
No, I graduated and I have a degree.
Then you always get that fun look that comes across their face. They look at you like you’re crazy or messed up - like you aren’t good enough to be in the big time corporate world like they are. Little do they know that I’ve been there and I know what it’s like. I’ve seen millions of dollars passing from one person to another. I’ve been in the meetings where a person’s retirement was on the line. I’ve seen it.

But it’s not for me. There are bigger and better things for me. I tried it and now I’m back at square one - Starbucks. Right now, I’m one of those guys that I despised in high school. The older guy that had the job that the high schooler needed and deserved.

I am very grateful and thankful for the job and life that I have but it’s a DAILY STRUGGLE that I go through. On those mornings that I have to roll out of my bed at 4 or even 6, the first thought in my head is always what are you doing, Mitchell? You can do so much more than this. And that is exactly what I am going to do.

I have been placed at Starbucks for a reason.
I know that I can fall into a worldly mindset and get frustrated with my job and my current situation – OR – I can see it as God does.

A time of focus -
A time of study -
A time of growth -

I’ve been placed there for a reason and each day can be a struggle if I choose to see it through the world’s eyes but I choose to see it through His eyes.

Lord, continue to grow me in this time. I know that this isnt what I want to be doing but I trust in your plan for my life and I trust that you will continue to pave the way. Lead me one step at a time and I will follow...

Hold Your Horses Buddy

As a kid when my parents asked if I wanted to go to the toy store, I lit up just like any kid does. That is a kid’s paradise. So many toys that I don’t have, that I need and that I want.

What stops me from getting the new remote control car or video game system?
Money
So what do I do?
I ask Mom and Dad to buy it for me.

Obviously Mom and Dad are going to say no but every once in awhile for some reason they say yes. It’s usually after report cards or near my birthday or Christmas. Sometimes you even have to sweet talk them into it which works pretty well.

However, God does not work this way. There is no sweet talking God.

If you give me this now, God, I will be good for the rest of the month. I’ll be at church whenever the doors open, I’ll tithe every week and I’ll even read my Bible every morning. That’s all riding on if you give me what I want first.

Sometimes when we ask things of God, He does say yes and He give us what we want.

Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

I John 5:13-14

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Matthew 7:7

“Ask and it will be given to you..”

Sometimes, like with our parents, we get the no. What we ask for, we don’t get which is never fun. When we ask for something like in the toy store, we are hoping to get it. We want it but God for some reason doesn’t give it to us.

Romans 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Genesis 50:21

“So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

With our parents, we get a yes or no. God works on the same answer system but He adds one – WAIT.

How would you feel if you asked your parents for the toy and they said wait?
Wait!
How about a yes or no?!
I don’t want to wait.
I can’t wait.
How long do I have to wait?
Why am I waiting?

God loves to make us wait. Not because He is trying to hurt us or because He wants to torment us. He does it because He wants to see our faith and trust in Him.
Can you wait on God to deliver?
Do you trust that He is going to give you what you want at the right time?

He knows what you want and He knows what you need. He also knows the best time for you to get what you want. Our job is to be persistent in praise and thanksgiving followed with requests like it says in Philippians.

Phil. 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Will you wait on God who waited a long time on you?