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Posted in Holy Spirit by Matthew Snyder on 2/8/2010
I might have written about this before, but I couldn't remember. If I have, then I apologize for redundancy, but if I haven't, then I hope that this gets to you the same way that these missed opportunities have gotten to me.
I really want to become the kind of guy who God uses to direct the flow of love from His Kingdom into this natural world. Does that makes sense? In other words, I want to be used by Him in such a way that His power is undeniable, that His love is something people experience and not just something that people talk them to death with.
 I'm learning how big of a battle for the mind that this life really is. Paul wasn't joking when he said we needed to be "renewed by the changing of our minds" (Rm. 12.2). I think that's the one place that the biggest battle in the spiritual realm is taking place. It's easy to think that I'm poor. It's easy to think that I'm screwed up. It's easy to think that I'm a just a sinner saved by grace. But it's a difficult to think that I'm rich in heavenly places, that I'm a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5.17), or that I'm not just a sinner saved by grace, but I'm a saint of the most high King (read the rest of Romans).
One of my goals is to develop this lifestyle where the overflow of my intimacy with God seeps into all areas of my life, that the overflow be worship, that the overflow be an opportunity for others to experience God's magnificent love! I yearn for supernatural encounters to happen through my life. I'm thankful that God declares that I'm beyond worthy enough for it! I'm blessed and in utter amazement that He has chosen us to be 'plan A' to bring expressed reconciliation to this world!
So what does that look like? It looks like me being intentional. It looks like me asking God for opportunities for His love to be expressed. It looks like me being willing and obedient when He gives me those opportunities. The truth is, I've asked for them... and the other unfortunate truth is that although He gives them to me, I rarely act.
I'd love for God to use me to pray healing into other people's lives. I don't want to get into a theological argument on this, but I believe that God still heals people today and in some crazy supernatural ways, ways that can't be explained. Why? Not only does Scripture support it, but I've seen it happen more times than I can count. It's a simple, tangible, and transformational way for God's love to be expressed. Bill Johnson says, "miracles are demonstrations of God's love for us." How true! It's the overflow...
Each day, I ask God for chances to be used in this way. Every day. I'm not kidding. And the cool part? God continuously gives me these opportunities to step into. Just last week I was at Verizon getting my phone switched (so that my phone bill wasn't as expensive). There was a gentleman in there on crutches. I thought to myself, "I should pray for him." No joke, every time I see someone with a cane or in a wheelchair or on crutches, in a cast, in a sling... I always think to myself, "I should pray for them." It's like their a giant target that screams: this is your chance to show me the power of God's love!!
 Call me crazy.
So this guy is standing at the counter in Verizon talking with the Customer Service Rep. and the guy says, "so what'd you do to your leg?" The man on the crutches looks over at me, smiles, and then says loudly, "I tore my meniscus and there's some cartilage floating around in my knee. It's pretty painful." I mean, this guy spoke it loudly. It only stirred my Spirit and was almost like God was yelling in my ear, "PRAY FOR THE GUY!!!"
And so I smiled, the CSR even looked at me, smirked, and I walked out.
Why did I leave? I was processing it with Allison and told her, "I was so convinced that if I was going to pray for this guy that he would've been healed, that the other people in the store would've looked at me like I was nuts and then I would've been overwhelmed with all of the people in there wanting prayer. I've never been that convinced and overwhelmed at the same time. I got terrified at the possibility and left."
Missed opportunity.
I mean, have you ever been afraid of success? Because I have. This isn't the first time. There's a guy that comes to the gym once in a while who's paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Every time I see him, I think to myself: you should pray for his legs. There was a girl at church yesterday morning who had her arm in a sling. I asked her what the problem was. She dislocated her shoulder and had torn a muscle. I thought again: you should pray for her. I didn't. Same thing with another guy in a motorized wheelchair at church. Every time I see him I want to pull him to his feet. I don't know why he's in the wheelchair. But every single time I see him, I want to pray for him.
I just don't. I'm afraid that it might actually work.
Have you every been afraid of success? Have you ever had this boldness to pray for people that's immediately crushed by fear? I don't know what the deal is. But I'm tired of seeing missed opportunities. I'm tired of talk. I'm tired of the supernatural coming to a stopping point in my gut. I'm ready for the overflow to whack others in the face... and leave changed lives.
We're vessels of God's love.
Let's start acting like it.
Let's start becoming infectious with health and life.
At least, I want to...
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Posted in Updates by Matthew Snyder on 2/5/2010
If I could embed audio in my blog, I'd probably embed a song that you could play while reading my blog. It would be a fun song, a song that would make you want to dance. Why? Because I feel like dancing this morning. And music makes everything better.
It's Friday, which means it's time for my Friday update. If you're new to my blog, subscribe here. I promise that I write more than nonsense. Friday's are just my day to let my hair down and write something that takes no effort to think about. It's a glimpse into my weekly life as a State-based missionary. Why, yes, it is an awesome lifestyle.
So without further delay, here are this weeks highlights:
24. If you like 24 and haven't watched last season yet, shame on you. If you like 24 and haven't watched anything from this season yet, you might skip this paragraph. I just figured it's time for me to share my commentary on this season. I've yet to do that. I'll say this much... I'm pretty sure that Renee is my new favorite character. Yes, I agree with Jack... she's slightly unstable, but I think that's what I like about her. I mean, she cut a guy's thumb off (he died this week anyway). But the Russian mafia? Score. And don't even get me started about the dumb blonde girl that works in CTU with Freddy Prince Jr. Can she make any worse decisions? The scary part is that there are people in this world just like her who can be manipulated like that. It's unfortunate, really...
 Superman Pajamas and more. My mom and my sister love to mail me surprises. I actually have an incredibly fun family that thrives on sending me random things in the mail. One of those things? Superman pajamas. I mean, I also got a coffee mug, some great candy (Top Deck), a little wind-up man that dances on my desk and more. But the superman pajamas are the best. I put them on the first night and was so disturbed by my look and the girls' reactions, that I'm not sure I'll where them again. They mentioned about turning the pants into a cape, but one of my other friends quickly reminded me that capes kill superheroes (thank you for the educational piece Pixar). Yes, there was a picture taken... and it won't ever surface.
Recording some music. I might of finished my little demo for Bethel's School of Worship. It's not that bad. I went with an original that I wrote and Kim sang with me on it. There's a girl's part... and I can't sing like a girl, so Kim offered her vocal services. I accepted. I'm in the middle of writing another song that I might use. But I haven't made up my mind. I need to send it in Monday though. I have the weekend to finish it and make a decision. (p.s. Kim's in Nashville with my friend Chris singing backup vocals on his first full-length album. Keep them in your prayers this weekend).
The Olive Garden. I will never turn down the chance to go there. It's one of my favorite places to eat. I think it's a combination of wine and really good food. And every Olive Garden tastes the same. There's consistency. I like that. But yesterday was Laura's birthday, one of the newest people living in the house. She's awesome. She's now 24. And we made a lot of racket at the Olive Garden in Fort Gratiot. But we had fun in the process... and so did everyone else in the Olive Garden. We're an infectiously fun bunch...
Reflection on life. I'm amazing that I live the life that I do. I've been thinking a lot about this lately (let me be emotional for just two seconds). It's just crazy. One of my friends just got back from Africa yesterday, another one left for Africa yesterday. I just talked with a friend in Africa this morning. I have a friend that's traveling to Peru soon. I spoke the other day with my friend in Australia. And we're constantly talking about visiting other countries like it's no big deal. We're talking about God moving in all of these places, also, and I'm consistently amazed at the work He's choosing to do in our lives. I'm so blessed to be doing what I'm doing. Absolutely blessed. If you'd like to give to this ministry, you can do so here. It helps keep me in this place. And I would really hate to leave this table because of finances. So, please, prayerfully consider giving... thank you!
That's all I have for this Friday! Now go have a dance party. It'll be fun, I promise.
*that's a picture of the little man that dances on my desk...
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Posted in General Articles by Matthew Snyder on 2/4/2010
 Janina told me to write about this today. Mainly because we just had a conversation where she had like five thoughts at once and tried to tell them to me at the exact same time. It didn't make sense. And then she said, "you should write about that. Write about how women's brains are like spaghetti and men's are like waffles."
So... I don't want to get in trouble with this. I thought I would just quote her and call it a good day. Is she saying that men are more square and stable? That women are loose and stringy?
I'm just sayin'...
So what do you think?
*This post is by no means meant to be serious. It's meant to be fun. So if you're offended, I apologize.
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Posted in General Articles by Matthew Snyder on 2/3/2010
Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
-- 1 Cor. 13.13 (MSG)
My friend Caroline recently got home from helping lead a squad of roughly 50 missionaries out on the field. I was able to take her to dinner the other night and catch up and ask her about her experience. I told her that one of my favorite stories was about her ministering to a man on the street. You can read it here. I told her that that story reached hundreds of people (a truth). She smiled, laughed, and told me that it was a really funny experience.
 Her and her co-leader Aaron walked by this guy on the street. As they passed him she thought to herself, he probably needs something to eat. So she went back and grabbed a banana out of her backpack to hand to the guy. When she started to hand it to him, she realized that he had no arms! Caroline said it was so funny because her and the man could only laugh. Her next thought was, I'll just feed it to him. So she peeled the banana and fed it to the guy bite by bite. They didn't speak the same language, so the only one they shared was laughter...
... and love.
That story still gets to me. It was all driven by her realization that Jesus' ministry was so simple. He shared the gospel and prayed for the sick. That was it. And Caroline yearned to do the same thing.
People like Caroline have eyes to see what isn't there. She saw something in the beggar, a destiny, a greater purpose than just a normal man on the street corner. I know that she had faith to see his arms grow back, his belly be filled, and the joy of the Lord overflow his soul. I know that by her feeding him that day, his spirit soared with hope - hope because not everybody in the world's going to walk by him. And I know that by her making love into a verb and more than words on her tongue, that a man torn down by the world had an encounter with God.
The days when faith, hope, and love intertwine with one another are the days that we most see God's supernatural Kingdom invade this earth.
It's powerful. It's effective. And there's no denying it's reality.
Can't get enough of this? Check out these blogs by my friends:
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Posted in Stories from the Field by Matthew Snyder on 2/2/2010
It's been awhile since I've shared a story from the field. This one's perfect. One of our girls on the field in Kenya, Les Jow, recently ran into a little girl who had never seen a "white" person before. It's a record of that experience. How eye-opening!
Last week I met a young girl. She couldn't have been any older than
four or five. She had never seen a "white" person. This made  for
an interesting, and unique experience, which made me contemplate how we
view race and how we should all approach it with the humor, compassion,
and acceptance of a child. While we were chatting with this young
girl's grandfather (in Kenya) several things happen instantaneously;
she plops down right next to me, grabs my hand, scrutinizes it like an
unknown insect in the grass, and she makes a decision and theory about
what's wrong with me. I'm dirty. I'm white. I'm a white washed African.
She looks into my eyes imploring and then it changes to sympathy. She
looks eager to fix me so I nod in agreement that it's worth a try.
First, she rubs my skin vigorously- like a carpet burn. She closes
her eyes for affect and when she opens them a look of indignant
surprise lingers on her face just moments before determination is newly
etched in. She takes a new approach-wiping the top of her hand onto my
arm as if to wipe the brown onto my desperately pale skin. My skin
looks promisingly pinker. We meet eyes and snigger for a couple of
minutes.
Her grandfather and my translator obviously missed the endeavor at
hand: "cure my whiteness". They were not amused. We immediately stopped
laughing out loud but our continued sloppy grins revealed the
mischievous giggles we were hiding. Despite her efforts I'm still white
although I have acquired a minor tan from hours of scuffling down the
road in the sun.
 To
a child, the outside is circumstantial - inside I was no different to
her, my skin just didn't match. If we all could only have this outlook
- perhaps we'd understand the Lord's heart for his children a bit
better.
"...The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks
at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samual
16:7
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Posted in Community by Matthew Snyder on 2/1/2010
I was able to spend the weekend with my friends Josh and Tara Bruce. I met them on the World Race back in September 2008. We were on two different squads, but I went and spent the month with them in Vietnam to help their teams get some things squared out. It was one of the coolest months of my World Race, mainly because I felt engaged, activated, and empowered. I wrote about it here.
 It was interesting though because Josh and I just "clicked" right away. Things with Tara, his wife, was no different. We clicked too. I remember one day in Vietnam that Josh and I went out to have breakfast at some fancy hotel. We really just went to get away from everybody, journal, have some quiet time and relax in the A/C. Not sure what happened that day, but our friendship was sealed.
Josh and Tara live outside of Gainesville, so they came into town and picked me up this past weekend and we drove out to their place in the Georgia mountains. It was awesome. We caught up, ate some food, talked, ate more food, watched movies, and drank some coffee. And while there I also was able to admire their newest addition to the family, Isabella Grace.
What a beautiful baby girl!
Most of you know that I'm petrified of little children. In fact, when I was in Guatemala I wrote this blog that went into more detail about it. When I asked God what I should do to love people more, He told me to start loving kids. It's not that I don't love kids, it's that I'm afraid of them because I don't know what to do. I know, I know - get over it.
But I just want to take a minute and write about this family.
 They ooze with love. I know that "ooze" probably isn't the most endearing word, but hear me out on this. When something oozes it's thick and it sticks. The love of God that they harbor and share amongst one another is infectious, and infectious in such a way that it gets on you and you can't get it off. It just stays. And then when you encounter other people, they get it on them.
One of the coolest things to observe though was the way that they loved Isabella. They infectiously loved that child so much that it profoundly impacted me. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it made me value life. It made me value little babies and their dependence. It made me remember that God cares for us exactly how they cared for Bella... but better. It made me marvel at the Lord's grace and how He's enriched our lives with it to the point that we get to smear all over others.
It was probably the most relaxing weekend I've had in a long time. Josh, Tara, Isabella and I know that our friendships going to last a long while. We talked about it. They're the kind of people I want to be rubbing shoulders with, doing life with, and hanging around. All three of them are like giant rods of iron butting against me and helping the Lord shape me into a better man.
So, here's to the Bruce's *raises glass*
May God abundantly bless you in the way you've blessed me and then some.
May your marriage be fruitful.
May Isabella Grace reflect the goodness of God's beauty... and touch the nations with His fire.
And may all three of you make significant strides in the Kingdom.
Love you guys!
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Posted in Updates by Matthew Snyder on 1/29/2010
If you're new to my blog you should subscribe here. If you're not new to my blog, then you know that Fridays are perhaps the most impressive day of the week. It's the day that my blog traffic spikes through the roof, the day that laughs are had, good cheer is spread, and you're easily entertained by the common happenings of my life.
Sounds like a good deal to me.
To put on some John Mayer, sit back in your chair, and feast on the ramblings of my week. Here you go.
 Road trip. For those of you that don't know, I've been spending this entire month in Georgia... except for this past weekend. This past weekend I decided to go back to Michigan... in a car. Pretty impressive, huh? I thought so too. There was a conference at the church I go to up there. It was pretty much amazing and I loved every last minute of it. The cool part? The road trip, of course! We had a blast. The 15 passenger not-too-ghetto van did a great job. The people inside of it were very entertaining. And Heidi Baker will forever go down in history now (long story).
Tigers anyone? This is one of my favorite highlights from the road trip. Actually, there were a lot of highlights but this one was the most embarrassing. It's just evidence as to why you shouldn't talk to me when I'm driving. We were just entering Detroit, getting onto I-75 to head south. I was driving. Jess, one of the girls, and I were talking about downtown Detroit, baseball, the Tigers. I was sharing a story, essentially. It's what I do best. Anyway... we're driving... driving... and people start saying things from the back like, "um." It wasn't because they were stuttering. They wondered where the heck I was going. Finally, as I came to the stoplight I exclaimed, "what the heck am I doing?" What was I doing? Taking them to the baseball stadium. I subconsciously drove to Comerica Park. Never talk to me while I'm driving.
Cracker Barrel. We started keeping track of all the Cracker Barrel's we passed. I think there's just as many of those along I-75 as McDonald's. Seriously. There are a lot of 'em. But you know what works? They're advertising works. Every five miles is a billboard with a simple statement: Cracker Barrel - exit 81. And don't forget, it always has the picture of the barrel and the old guy. So what did we do when we go to exit 81? Of course we went to Cracker Barrel. I had breakfast because they serve it all day (something else they deliciously advertise). Good stuff.
Worship. I might write something every week about worship, huh? I love it. I really do. Not only did I get to lead worship the past two nights at Real Life training camp (wasn't scheduled to), but I also found out on Monday that I get to go here and go to their worship school this summer. Am I excited? You bet I am. I'll get some excellent training, get better, and it'll be awesome. And I just made friends with a certain individual who knows Phil Keaggy. If I can ever meet him, then I'll have him pray his guitar playing ability over me. What a stud muffin.
Newsletter. Simply put: I finished my newsletter for this quarter yesterday. Do you want one? Send me your email address (matthewsnyder@adventures.org) and I'll hook you up with one. I'm sending them in PDF format this year to save on postage costs. Also, they just look way cooler because I'm not limited by black-and-white.
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Posted in General Articles by Matthew Snyder on 1/28/2010
He isn't. This is one of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome in the last however many years since I've been walking with the Lord. Quite honestly, I've only recently overcome it, too.
 Have you ever thought that way? Thought that God was always tricking you? I did. When I would say a prayer like, "God, I hope that you heal my friend," I thought that sometimes God would be tricky and my friend might pass away instead. When I would approach God about it, I feared that He would say, "well... you said you wanted Me to heal them. You didn't say I couldn't take their life."
A bit extreme, yes, but God isn't like that.
God doesn't want you to say "yes" to Him so that He can take advantage of your life. He does want you to follow Him so that He can lead you off of a cliff. He doesn't precariously examine all of the words that you pray in such a way that He can twist them to fit His plans. No. God isn't like that.
That would be a lie if you think He does.
The biggest battle we fight in our lives, I think, rages between our ears. It's a battle for our minds. That's why it's so important to continuously renew our minds, to constantly dwell on our identity in Christ and what He's doing in the Kingdom. The more we focus on that kind of stuff, the less we have to worry about God twisting our words.
The devil's a trickster. God loves us and desires the best for us. He's far from confusing although the way He operates is still oftentimes a mystery. He knows how to give good gifts. Rest at peace in that. I finally do.
** I did always think that turning water into wine would be a cool bar trick, though... **
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Posted in Haiti by Matthew Snyder on 1/25/2010
I hope that by now you're not sick and tired of reading about Haiti. The thing is: I want you to be involved. It's amaze how God can so suddenly move in hearts in a way that drives us to action. To clear up any kind of confusion, I need you to know that I'm not going to Haiti. While I would love to, because of where I'm at right now, God has me in a position where He's asking me to mobilize people.
I mentioned earlier in the year and to all of my supporters that I really want to involve you in the ministry that I'm a part of. This is me giving you an opportunity. Please seize it. Please respond. Please help me get the word out to mobilize others to go help. Here's what you can do:
1. Watch this video
2. Share this video
Link to it on Twitter, post it on Facebook, email it to people, Digg.com it, share it at church. Get people to watch it. Use your influence.
3. Pray about going to Haiti
Guess what? I work for a missions organization that's got a pretty stellar strategy for helping restore Haiti. We even have people wanting to partner with us because our vision is long term. We're not going down to Haiti to just drop supplies in people's laps and leave We're going to Haiti to sit with them in the dirt, to sit with them in their ruin, and incarnate Jesus' hope, love and our inherited Kingdom into their lives. Could we be there for a decade or longer? You bet.
Here are some upcoming trips:
 World Race Relief. It's for anybody 21-35 years old during the month of June. I'll let you know more when we make the trip available. World Race July 2010. Guess what? The first two months of the July 2010 World Race trip is to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. You can learn more here.
STM. Our short term missions department is busy organizing their trips down to Haiti. Read this blog to learn more.
Again, this isn't the last thing I'm going to post about Haiti. I'm giving you an opportunity to do what I do: mobilize the "missionary" in the hearts of people. It's harder than it seems. It's more than just posting blogs and sending emails. It's more than inspiring people from the stories that overflow out of the lives we send out to the field.
It takes a lot of work.
It involves a lot of determination and belief in what you're about.
So pray for us. We could most definitely use your prayers. And prayers for strength and encouragement!
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Posted in Updates by Matthew Snyder on 1/22/2010
:: a missionary's life - super mario bros. ::
It's your favorite day of the week. It's the day that I let my long hair that needs cut, down, sit back in my chair, and share with you some highlights of the week. So grab the coffee, sit back in your chair, throw on some Norah Jones to soothe your excitement, and prepare yourself for an informative three minutes.
Ready? Ok!
 Super Mario Bros. I know what you're immediate thought is: this is a stupid post. But you know what? I think you're wrong. I think you're dead wrong. See, we spend decades worth of hours in the office each day and at the end of it we're ready to go home and eat food... and play games. One of the joys of living in the 1825 Frat House here in Gainesville (that means I'm living with Jimmy, Braedon, Jesse, Jared, and Blair at the moment) is that we do guy things. We eat pizza. We eat easy mac. We feast on Doritos. And we play Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. That's right. Every single night this week we've played that game. We've even laughed so hard that we cry. And part of it is because I'm horrible at the game. I mean, flat-out awful. Let's just say that if I was a big blue mushroom in real life, I'd die and/or live in a bubble... a lot.
Mexican food. Want to know one of my favorite parts about Gainesville? Mexicans. That's right. I said it. They make the best food on the planet... next to the Italians (I just said that so I won't get shot by the mafia). But, seriously, I think this is the truth. Mexican's are culinary geniuses. So, Kelly - who's also visiting from Michigan - went to dinner with me the other night (no, mom, it wasn't a date). And guess where we went? We went to a place where they spoke spanish and made delicious Mexican food. I was in heaven for two hours. Yes, two hours. We were there a long time feasting on their brilliant concoction of fried tortillas broken into triangles... and salsa. Masterminds, I'm telling you...
 Nook. Do you know what that is? It is what I got for Christmas. It finally came in the mail and my mother shipped it down here for me. Can we just say that I'm addicted? I mean that in a good way. I'm addicted to reading, well, I was before but this little device only feeds the cravings I have. One of my favorite things to do is go to Barnes & Noble - perhaps the greatest store on the planet - and sit for hours. I love that place. Heaven's going to be the biggest B&N ever. If you don't like that, then I suggest you get over it fast. But this little Nook (which is like a Kindle only better) is basically the entire B&N store in my hands. And buying books literally takes 30 seconds. Let's just say... this is a "good" thing.
Coffee shops and rain. Put both of these together with my Nook and I'd probably never leave. And if Norah Jones walked in the room and started playing the piano, I'd more than likely pass out from relaxation (and infatuation). Inman Perk is one of my favorite haunts in Gainesville. The staff actually sucks and the coffee's not the best (although they had a Guatemalan coffee that was excellent the other day), but the environment is stellar. Needless to say, I was there several times this week. And I smelled like coffee when I left. It was awesome! And it rained yesterday, which is good. Now it just needs to do that when I'm at the coffee shop and I'd be set. Well, and if Norah walked in...
Road trip. I might be crazy, but I'm taking a 12 hour road trip back to Michigan this weekend. Why? Because there's a group from the Gainesville office going up there for a conference at Cross Current. I wanted to go. The crazy part is that I'm driving back down on Tuesday with them... and flying back to Michigan on the 31st. I don't know what's gotten into me, but I can't wait for God to show up at that conference. And I'm believing that I'm going to get prayed for there and my stomach problems will permanently go away. This is my subtle way of telling you that my doctor's visit back home in December didn't cure me. But all of that to say... road trip.
Okay, I gotta go work now. My boss reads these.
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