Hey spread the word and come out to our event if your in the area!

Here’s the latest project of two new athletes for This Iz My Story, snowboaders, Andy Finch and Jim Rippey! Two great guys and incredible stories coming soon. You can hear from both of them and myself as we share how you can get involved, plus we want to give a gift back to you. Check it out! If you can’t view the video, click here.

If you can see the video in your e-mail, then click here after you watch to be taken to a place to pledge.

Everyone go see Soul Surfer this weekend. It is the feature movie about pro surfer Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm to a shark attack (shark bite as Bethany refers to it).  It has an All-Star Cast of Anna Sophia Robb (as Bethany), Dennis Quad (as dad), Helen Hunt (as Bethany’s mom) and Carrie Underwood in her acting debut.

We’re so excited for the Hamilton family and I believe that God is going to use Soul Surfer to show the world his glory from Bethany’s heart for the Lord. Already, we’re stoked on the increase in number of views from Bethany’s “My Story” video we made of her last year. (38,500 & growing!!!)

Here’s an interview of my good friend and ministry partner, Bryan Jennings, founder of Walking on Water who produced Bethany’s original documentary “Heart of a Soul Surfer.” Enjoy & Share!

Bethany Hamilton, AnnaSophia Robb, Bryan Jennings talk about Soul Surfer and Walking On Water movies. from WalkingOnWater on Vimeo.

Why do bad things happen to good people? I’m sure we have all asked this question or a similar question like this one before.  Maybe it’s been phrased “If God knows everything, including the future, the why did He let this happen?”  It’s kind of ironic, how God sometimes gets blamed for all the bad things in our lives and very seldom do we praise him for ALL the good things He’s done in our lives. Anyway, that’s just a side note.   I don’t have one set answer for the latter questions, because there isn’t one. There is however, a series of possible answers that if carefully prayed over we might see the purpose  or one of the purposes of a certain trial or tragedy.

Before blaming God or doubting Him, let’s ask if this is possibly a time when God is trying to get our attention. Sometimes death reminds us of the precious value of life and raises the question about life after death.  Therefore, from the death of a friend or family member, God could bring eternal life to someone else.  You can see in Shaun Murray’s story on our our website, that at the height of his wakeboard career, he was plagued with injuries. Why? Well, in that particular instance, God got his attention through a long period of recovery.  What seems like a big time tragedy could be a time to refocus our attention toward our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Another possibly could be that we’re being strengthened through a certain trial. James 1:2-3 says to “Dear brother and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”  You don’t feel like your growing during these times, but when you’ll take a look back a certain trials, you can see how you have grown.

Thirdly, and I think mostly importantly, is that when we’re down and in the trenches, it could be a time when God is reminding us to “Trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding, Acknowledge Him in All our ways and he we will direct your path.” – Proverbs 3:5-6.  The Glory of God is why anything happens in life. If something good happens in life, Glory to God, because he is our provider and sustainer. “So don’t be misled my dear brothers and sisters,. Every good and perfect gift that comes down to us is from God our Father who created all the stars in the Heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we out of all creation, became his prized possession.” James 1:16-18.  What about the bad times or when bad things happen? Is the glory of God shown in those times as well? Yes, It can be. The glory of God is not dependent on what happens. It like when Job lost everything he owned including his entire family with the exception to his wife who told him to curse God and die. Job’s ultimate response was “naked I came into this world, and naked I shall leave.”  The glory of God is found through his son Jesus Christ who is the perfect gift to us. Like Job, we can see the glory of Christ in every situation of life because he is all we have and all we need. He is our redeemer, friend, and savior.

Be blessed today and I pray that you’ll find this blog useful.

New Story from one of our “My Story” Partners, Sun Valley Community, in Scottsdale, AZ.  This just shows you that everyone has a unique story, regardless if they are a professional athlete or not. Juan has a remarkable story that more and more kids are facing today, but he’s found hope for tomorrow.  Enjoy and share it with someone. Click here to watch or view below.

DATE: Tuesday, September 21st

WHERE: DNP Studios (David Nixon Production)
8601 Commodity Circle
Orlando, Florida 32819

HOST: David Nixon Producer of Letters To God

TIME: 7:00pm – 8:30 pm (Child Care Available)

RVSP: info@thisizmystory.com or call Emily 303-881-5632

EVENT Activities
Featuring: Performing LIVE!
Illusionsit Drew Worsham
More info: www.drewworhsam.com
Video: www.thisizmystory.com/ourstories/bio-drew-worsham.php

Guest Speakers Sharing Their Stories:
• Shaun Murray • Erik “Gator” Lutgert • Kevin Durham

When my dad would drop me off for school, he would always say, “Remember who you are and whose you are.” Many times in my life I have reflected on that statement with regret. But the past always leads us to where we are today. It will always be a part of our story, but it doesn’t have to determine who we are, or who we become. “Gator” is just such a story. Here is our short film synopsis of the life of Gator Lutgert.

Erik “Gator” Lutgert grew up like many children whose parents get divorced…He was confused, separated, divided and many times…alone. Early childhood was spent with mom and step dad in North Florida. There were good times, like when Erik and his stepdad would watch the Florida Gators play football, which is where Erik got the nickname “Gator.” But there was also bad times, like when Erik was told on many occasions, he would never amount to anything. To no surprise, he grew up believing this lie and others about himself. As a young teenager, completely lost and hurt, Erik left and moved down to Naples, Florida to live with his biological father.

Against all odds and an act of defiance, Erik Lutgert found the sport of wakeboarding and went after it. He discovered a hidden talent, and very quickly burst onto that scene professionally in 1993, with some of the most explosive moves and biggest airs anyone had ever seen. He won the World Championships in 1994 and was sponsored by huge companies that no other riders were getting sponsored by. Every wakeboard film maker in the mid 90’s knew, that if they wanted to have the sickest video of the year, they would have to get Gator Lutgert as a main rider in the video. He would go so high into the air that many times he couldn’t even land the trick. This aggressive riding style made him prone to severe knee injuries which led to surgeries plus months and months of recovery time.

His first couple of “blown” knees was hard to deal with. He would rehab it and be back on the water going bigger than ever as soon or before the Doctor cleared him. The third blown knee however was a turning point in Gator’s life…It was the pain and road to recovery that left him doubting himself. He then started to believe his past…that all of the things poured into his life as a child were true.

Off the water Erik lived the “rockstar” lifestyle. He traveled the world, went to parties, he was making good money at the time, had the girls attention. From the outside looking in, you might say he was on cloud 9 and content with his success. But behind his celebrity status and humble smile was this kid who will tell you himself in the documentary…”On the inside, I was dying.” Between the feeling of no self-worth and beginning of heavy drug use, Gator journeyed down the road of jail time, court hearings, rehab centers and spiritual darkness.

If you know Erik today, you know his story doesn’t end there. For me, Erik’s story is great reminder that God gives us 2nd chances in life to rediscover who we are and more importantly who God wants us to become.

“Gator” – The Story of a Legend
Erik tells his story along with other Pro riders, Scott Byerly, Randall Harris, Parks Bonifay, and Shaun Murray who bore witness to the legendary life of Erik “Gator” Lutgert. Among others interviewed is wakeboard photographers, videographers, Erik’s family, his lawyer and others who take us through this inspirational documentary of stardom, pain, and healing.

The past couple of weeks have been kind of busy for us both personally and with the ministry. On the personal side of things, we have packed up our house and moved to Orlando. That’s right… we’re BACK in Orlando now! It is exciting to see God moving in our lives and we feel like He is calling us to Florida to continue working on Gator’s documentary, as well as the other facets of This Iz My Story (TIMS). With all the last minute details and trying to see friends and family before we left, it has been a little overwhelming, emotional, but exciting to turn the page into this next chapter of life.

Just before leaving Denver, CO we began an AWESOME partnership sharing stories through Church For All Nations in Littleton, CO. It is an amazing church with so many great people. We feel like CFAN will always be our home church.  We miss everyone there already!  The pastors of the campus church, Stacey and Rachel Swalley, are a huge blessing and have become great friends of ours.  They are such big supporters of TIMS and lead a wonderful team of people at CFAN.  We feel so blessed to have everyone’s prayer and support in all that we do.

This partnership is so exciting because it marks the official launch of “Your Stories” where the “church” becomes the studio and the people share their story.  Although we are going to be 2,000 miles away in Orlando, FL, TIMS has an incredible team at CFAN to be an ongoing outlet for the gospel in Littleton, CO with people sharing what God has done in their lives. This is completely made possible by our team of INCREDIBLE friends and volunteers who are willing to serve and be used of God in this way.  If you live in the Denver area, contact Annabell Amos at annabell@thisizmystory.com and come share your story. We feel like this is just the beginning and hope to see it grow so that many other churches and groups will be able to do the same thing that CFAN is doing….Tell YOUR story…