Northwood Church

"I had never really considered that the people are the church..."

I was raised in the Lutheran Church. I attended Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and Confirmation classes. My parents were Sunday school teachers, my mom served on various church committees. Sadly, none of this really seemed to sink into my thick skull. By the time I graduated high school, I wasn't really sure who or what God was. I didn't understand why, or even if there really was, a God that cared about me and what I did with my life. The one thing I did know, was that I had somehow caught the eye of a young woman that would eventually become my wife.
Upon entering college, I put God out of my mind. I tucked him into a little box and only occasionally looked into it. If I attended church, it was with LaVonne's family around holidays. I did little soul-searching during my college years. I read books on Buddhism, new-age philosophies, and very little about Jesus Christ and his plans for you and I. It was quite easy to have this mind-set in college. Religion of any type didn't seem welcome on campus. The message I got was that it isn't right for thinking people to believe in God and all the crazy stuff his Son supposedly did for us when we have science to explain it all away. LaVonne and I were married in college between our sophomore and junior years.
Upon graduation, we both got jobs in the Minneapolis area, but we didn't really put down roots here. We tried attending a church... once, but we didn't like it, so we stopped looking. During this time, we decided we wanted to try and start a family. Shortly after making this decision, LaVonne announced she thought she was pregnant. Needless to say, we were excited and we told everyone our good news. Six short weeks into the pregnancy, LaVonne called me at work to tell me she was bleeding. I went into autopilot mode. I remember driving to the hospital with her lying in the back seat of our car. I prayed hard as we drove that the baby would be saved... that God would save our unborn child. That prayer was not answered. We lost the baby. We were devastated and I felt truly powerless. We had no church community, no friends, and no family nearby to help us out. We were alone and I was angry that God allowed this to happen.
Around the same time, my employer asked me to transfer to Sioux City, Iowa. We had nothing tying us to the area, so we packed up and moved. It felt good to leave this place and start over somewhere else. Not long after moving to Sioux City, I began to have some health issues. I underwent round after round of medical testing: MRIs, spinal tap, blood work, more MRIs, CAT scans. Nothing was found. They were able to treat the symptoms, but could not tell me why I was experiencing any of this. During all of this, we found a church home. I tried to get into it, but I just couldn't' see past the medical issues I was going through. LaVonne was now pregnant with our first child, and I was slipping into depression, due to how I physically felt. I grew further and further from my wife with each passing month. By the end our stay in Sioux City, I was attending church sparingly and had become rather cynical about church in any form. I still prayed to God that I would be healed, but I didn't follow his son. I wasn't sure how.
So, in 2003 I got an offer to come back to the Twin Cities and work for a great company. I jumped at the opportunity to move again and landed here in Maple Grove. We were a family of four by this time and loved the new community we found ourselves in. LaVonne could finally stay home with the kids and I had a job I loved. At this time, LaVonne informed me that it was time for us to find a new church home. I really didn't want any part of a church, so I told her to go ahead and find something by herself. I was still feeling the effects of my health issues at this time, so I was rather self-absorbed. She tried to find a church, but had little luck finding something that seemed to 'fit'. In frustration, she asked me to help her find something. I fought at first, but eventually caved to her request. So, I fired up Google and began to look. I didn't look for a church we would like... I looked for a church I thought we wouldn't like. I thought if I just totally messed this up, she'd stop bothering me for at least a short while about this church thing. The church I picked was called Northwood Community Church. It was unlike any church I had attended. It was 'modern' (I never really like modern worship music... I always thought it was cheesy), didn't have a building to call its own, and was small. I knew I wouldn't like it and was sure Von wouldn't like it either.
Well, we were warmly greeted at the door, showed around, and introduced to several families and made to feel truly welcome. The people were wonderful, which really means the church was wonderful. I had it in my head that a church was a collection of buildings, doctrines, and rituals... I never really considered that the people are the church... I was unprepared for what Northwood offered.
This coming January, we will have been attending for four years. In those four years, my life has been truly transformed. I have been involved in any way possible. I ushered, I joined the setup team, taught Sunday school, and joined a small group. The small group setting gave me an opportunity to grow my faith while wrestling with the questions I had been carrying through the years. In our small group, we learned, laughed, cried, prayed and grew together. The biggest point is this. Because of this church, I finally recognized that there was a Christ shaped hole in my heart and made the decision to follow Christ.
I was baptized in October of 2005 and have felt the transforming power of Christ continue to grow in me. I feel a purpose to my life that has not always been there. My church home has given me a chance to grow and flourish. The past four years are filled with events that are too numerous to list: My wife and I lead our own small group now, we traveled to Mexico this past summer for a short term mission trip, my two oldest kids accepted Christ into their hearts during VBS, and I now get to hang out with the youth group as youth leader. Jesus Christ has made me into a new person. The person that walked through the doors of Northwood Church 4 years ago is no longer here. As I have grown in Christ, my health problems have withered away. 2 years ago, my doctor said I no longer needed medication. Today, I am almost healed, but I know my soul has been fully repaired. And, my wife and I are closer now than we have ever been.
I feel called to do more with this life I have been given. I will follow Christ where he bids me to go and as I go, I hope to reflect a little bit of the love Christ back into the world.

"...it boils down to what God says in Jeremiah 29:11, that he has a plan for us..."

Don: Kathy & I met at work, I was the bartender, and she was the waitress. She hit on me! Ask me about the strawberry kool-aid story another time! We married 2 ½ years after we first met, funny how that works when I thought it would be just a summer romance. A year into our marriage we packed up our things, not much to be worthy of a u-haul really, and moved my bride of 1 year to Tucson, AZ. She had never been there, she knew no one. But we knew it was necessary to leave our hometown, and start our life together. And looking back, we see God’s hand in that move. That was over 21 years ago. We’ll be married 23 years in December.

Kathy: We have similar upbringings; with the exception of I’m from a large family. We both even had the same religious beliefs but overall, our similarities end there. Ok, we are both stubborn; imagine an Italian boy & an Irish German girl. After 10 years of marriage, God’s pursuit of me came to and end when I surrendered my life to him while living in California. It was exactly what I had been longing for. Don sat right next to me, but it seemed to have no affect on him. But from that point on, God was right there beside us, every step of the way. And there were many, many times over the next 13 years, when we needed God but we won’t go into all the details. If we did, you would miss the bigger picture. Our God is amazing!! Do you know anyone else that does EXACTLY what they say they will? And God says this, in Ephesians 3:20 from the Message ….”God can do everything you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams.” Our life, though difficult at times, has been more than we could have hoped for.

Don: But we do want to share with you this, our marriage has endured much. It has been a rollercoaster ride. With more ups & downs, more turns & unseen drops then we would have expected, or wanted for that matter. We’ve had financial struggles, including multiple lay-offs, health issues, major anxiety problems, the death of Kathy’s dad, and anyone who has parented, understands that there are always, always struggles that our children face. We’ve had them all. I know what its like to lie in bed & ask God, “why us”. Why can’t Kathy get pregnant? Why do have to move AGAIN? Why at this point in our life does my wife need to sit across from the insurance lady at the clinic to inform her we have no insurance right now? Or know my wife cries herself to sleep at the pains of one of our sons?


Kathy: But thankfully, God is bigger than that all of this. And he has worked in our lives, held us together, in spite of ourselves. Because the truth is, we have not always handled things in the right way, in a godly way. Yes, there were times when we held each other & cried, when we were in sync with each other and God. But there were also those times, when we went to bed with our backs together, not saying a word. Difficult times are difficult on a marriage. But the bottom line is divorce was never an option. But even when we weren’t clinging to each other, we were clinging to God & sometimes, yes, in desperate cries of our heart.

Don: I guess it boils down to what God says in Jeremiah 29, that he has plan for us, and his intention is not to harm us. Looking back, we understand that. In the middle of that, it doesn’t always feel that way. But what we found the most helpful was a number of things. There were days, when I didn’t know where our income would come from, that I had to consciously go over in my mind, all the things that God has done for me. Regardless of the difficult times, there were many, many blessings. For example, in the toughest of circumstances, we had lived in MI for one month, Kathy was a brand new Christian at this time and recovering from outpatient surgery, I was recovering from a serious bout of pneumonia and the doctor called us in to look at my x-ray. It could be lung cancer, they didn’t know. My best friend had died of lung cancer at the age of 34. After an inconclusive biopsy, we opted for surgery. In that one horrific time in our lives, God moved mightily. God directed us to a pulmonologist that could not only see me immediately, but he worked at the same hospital Kathy did in California, and he knew of the condition Kathy suspected I had. He also led us to a world renowned cardio-thoracic surgeon to perform my surgery AND in the mist of all of that, Jordan accepted Christ into his life. And because of the answers to Kathy’s prayers, Jordan’s new love for Jesus and my life threatening circumstances, I came to understand my need for God & assurance of eternal life. It was during that difficult time, that I too gave my life to Christ. Be thankful in all circumstances. We never know what God will do in the mist of it.

Kathy: We have also tried to always have several friends, a small group or a family member that we could rely on to be our confidants, to be prayer warriors for us, to encourage us. I think it is easy to see each other at church on Sunday and to think we have it all together. But I think for the most part, we are all under construction. We are all messy; we all need God & each other. I can’t imagine how I would have made it through some trials in my life, without my friends. That’s not to say that I will blab everything to the first person that stops at the welcome center, my marriage is more valuable than that. But a shoulder to cry on is priceless. Once I get on “the other side” of whatever we’re going through, inevitably God will use that situation to encourage someone else. It has ALWAYS happened. I can’t stand here and tell you that I say, “God, bring some incredibly difficult circumstance into my life so that in 6 months, I can encourage someone through that difficulty.” But when I sit and look into the eyes of a dear friend that is struggling with infertility, and hoping for adoption, I am thanking my God, that I have the privilege of being an encouragement to her. 2 Corinthians 1:3- 4 from The message says it like this: “He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”

Don: Currently, my job is still unstable after months of prayers. But a secure job doesn’t make me secure. My security rests in God alone and the hope he gives us. Difficult times have given us a different outlook; it has made us grow in our faith & in our marriage. So, when life doesn’t go quite how we expect it to, we keep trying & trusting while we hold tight to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11-13, “I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

"I realized that God had been quietly waiting for me the whole time..."

Have you ever looked at something someone else had with a feeling of envy and thought, “I wish I had that”? As I make this statement, some things that might come to mind are: material items, physical appearance, expensive homes or even money. At age 9, these were not things that I longed for. My heart ached for purity. It was at that time, I would learn that the kind of love that I had been receiving from my father, was not the kind of love that my heavenly father had intended between an earthly father and daughter.

What I felt on the inside, I could only hope would never become evident on the outside. I worked to push down the feelings of overwhelming guilt and go about life, however, the weight of the past would slowly creep back up like a film playing in my head. The stronghold this had on my life throughout adolescence and beyond is difficult, almost impossible for me to describe. Mark 11:25 reads,“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you of your sins.” I spoke those words of forgiveness and yet, I found no freedom or healing to move beyond the past.

The Lord blessed my life with Brad & in 1994, we were married. Two years later, our first son Matthew was born, and the heaviness of the past began to find its way back. Continuing to push these memories back down, were no longer effective.

As a child, I accepted Christ, recited all of the traditional prayers I had been taught and attended church every Sunday, but as I grew older, I still had yet to grasp what it meant to allow myself to actually be in a personal relationship with him. Carrying around the heaviness of my past made my pursuit to change this relationship pretty half hearted.

One evening, Brad and I decided to take in the movie, “Good Will Hunting.” It is a story of a mathematical genius named Will with an abuse filled past. During the movie, he is referred to a therapist who is able to slowly build a friendship with Will. When Will finally feels safe to confront the demons of his past and share what happened, the therapist’s reply was, “What happened back then Will,…it wasn’t your fault.” He said it again. “Will,…..It’s not your fault,” This grown man almost appeared childlike as he finally gave in and surrendered all that he had pushed down for so many years and began to cry, slowly allowing himself to release at least some of his pain from the past.
Some might experience their invitation to come to God in church, or on retreat……. Mine was during a movie. As my own tears flowed, I felt like God was clearly speaking to me saying “Angie, what happened…it wasn’t your fault.”

I realized that God had been quietly waiting for me the whole time to finally release all of my pain and guilt over to him to now carry and it was such a relief to give it to him. I felt my heavenly father’s embrace in that moment and my heart felt pure and safe again. This was something I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Following this, I went through many seasons where God’s presence was felt so strongly and other times, he felt very far away. As our family continued to grow with the addition of Julia and then Blake, this increased my desire to learn to become more dependent upon God and teach our children how to be in relationship with him. However, I did not feel the least bit equipped. My time with God still seemed very distant and formal. I had a bible that had rarely been opened and the tradition in my church of receiving communion was a beautiful gift that I took for granted.

I began attending a bible study where I was able to build close friendships with many women who had an incredible love for the Lord. It was a comfortable setting that allowed me to learn how to navigate around my bible, ask questions, and read about the truth of God’s promises on parenting, faith, obedience, love and forgiveness. It was through this study, that I received an invitation to Northwood Church. At Northwood, I was pleasantly taken aback by the warm welcome. It didn’t take long for the tears to begin flowing during worship and the message, as I was reminded about what Christ did for me.

I was even more struck that day when Pastor Brian invited each one of us to really meditate on the words of the “The Lord’s Prayer.” It was as though I were learning it for the first time, even though I had recited this very prayer every day for the past 35 years. Following this, we then shared the gift of communion. Again, it was as though I was partaking in this spiritual union for the first time. I was overwhelmed by Christ’s love for me. I left the service that day feeling renewed; almost like I had restored an old friendship.

My faith journey continues to be one of slowly shedding memories of my childhood and giving them to God, and trusting in his promises that he will no longer allow my past to dictate my future.

Psalm 27:1 tells us: The Lord is truly my light and my salvation---Whom shall I fear? Instead of holding on to guilt and anger, I now choose to cling to the Lord as the new stronghold in my life.

"It seemed like the God of the Bible was just another fantasy created by needy people..."

Lutifisk
Leftsa
Dave Nardini?

What could I have in common with these things? No, it’s not that we all leave a bad taste in your mouth. And no, it’s not that we are all something people joke about at parties. It’s that we are all traditional Minnesotan. With it’s Germanic and Scandinavian background, a great many Minnesotans have their religious background in traditional Lutheran or Catholic upbringings.

Me? I grew up in a Catholic home and went to church every Sunday. I was baptized as an infant, received my first communion at a young age and was confirmed as a young teenager. But I really had no interest in God or religion. It seemed to me like the God of the Bible was just another fantasy created by needy people, much like the Greek & Roman gods I studied about in school. As 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.” I guess I wasn’t ready to be saved yet. Instead I focused on worldly things and in my college and young adult days, I lived a very sinful lifestyle of drinking, smoking, partying, even occasionally watching Jerry Springer. But, as God so often does, he had a plan for me. My whole life I had always felt something in my heart. I can’t explain it, but I knew my lifestyle was not right. Something was missing. As Hebrews 8:10 declares in part, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” I could always feel it in my heart, and now know it was God trying to get through to me. But I kept shutting him out and substituting sinful behavior thinking that would make me happy; refusing to grow up. 2 Timothy 2:22 says “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It seems like all of these letters really were written to me.

Well, life went on and I had stopped going to church when I moved out of my parent’s house after college. I was still living my childish sinful lifestyle. I got married and had three children. Both my wife Chris and I wanted to start going to church again. About 2 years earlier we had gone to my niece’s child dedication at Northwood and enjoyed the music and service. We tried Northwood and immediately knew it would be our new home. I enrolled in Christianity 101 (it was based on Don Bierle’s Faith Search series on the evidence to support the Christian faith) and I was amazed at how little I knew and how much proof there is for Christianity. I finally understood and believed the Gospel message and knew what I needed to do to be saved. So I got down on my knees and asked God to forgive me of my sin. I asked Jesus to lead my life and help me defeat my sinful past and present. That was about 5 years ago and I haven’t stopped learning since. I have read countless books including the Bible in a year. I have had mighty struggles over that time and continue to have struggles. I think I am a poster child for all of Christianity. We are not perfect and will not be perfect. Satan continually tempts us and we fall because we try to defeat him alone. But we cannot defeat him without God. Sometimes I feel as if I am no better off then when I started this faith journey. But in his book “Mere Christianity”, C.S. Lewis put it nicely as he talked about our faith journeys and the process of becoming more like Jesus. He wrote, “Do not start asking yourself ‘Have I reached that moment yet?’ Do not sit down and start watching your own mind to see if it is coming along. That puts a person on the wrong track. When the most important things in our life happen we quite often don’t know, at that moment, what is going on. A man does not say to himself ‘I’m growing up.’ It is often only when he looks back that he realizes what has happened and recognizes that he has grown up.” As I look back over these past few years I have had some mighty failures. I believe I am forgiven for those sins. But I can also see great improvement in my life. And I thank God for that. Northwood church, and more appropriately, God’s people in Northwood church, have influenced me greatly. Simply put, I am a Christian today because of God and Northwood church. That’s what Northwood is, an instrument God uses to reach people.

It was five years ago that my journey with Jesus began. Now I am a little further down the path, but I still have a long way to go. Satan is right there along for the walk, pushing, poking, tempting. But God is even closer, holding my hand, if I let Him; picking me up when I fall, if I ask Him; and carrying me, when I most need Him. To complete 1 Corinthians 1:18 it says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God”. I need that power….I need the cross. And I thank God every day that he that He gives me that.