Less Crap, More Jesus

Jessica and I had the privilege of leading worship and sharing about Clarity at Ridgewood this past weekend. It was such a great time that was born from a brief meeting five months ago. They have a great vibe and we loved being a part of it. I look forward to a growing relationship with them! Also, while driving, we saw a great billboard that really summed it up... less crap, more Jesus.

Muscle

The human skeleton is perfect for performing the necessary human functions. Walking, lifting, running, pushing, balance, jumping, sitting, pulling, grabbing, hitting, etc. We then build muscle on that skeleton in order to do these things with proper efficiency. Imagine how tragic it would be to build all that muscle on a badly designed skeleton that could not perform the necessary functions. It would be like building your whole life (finances, relationships, career, dreams, priorities, etc.) on a foundation not designed by God. He’s the only one who foresees enough to design the perfect framework for your life to be built on. Without His foundation, you are like a bunch of good muscle being overworked with no results because the skeleton is faulty. Learn his way and go with it.

Surely Goodness

Did music and led worship at Family Life today. They are a community in Penns Valley that just went through a local homicide of a friend and a serious car accident involving their pastor and his family... he broke his collar bone and several ribs.

The song "Surely Goodness" from our Freemont album seemed to mean a lot. It is based on Psalm 23. This is also the song that has been picked up and recorded by Sarah Kelly and will be featured on her 2010 release. Just thought I'd share it with you...

Pastor KR and the congregation were a HUGE blessing to us... even in the midst of all their pain. We were honored to be there and seek God with them in tears.

Soooo Close... Updates

Oh boy... claritylife.org is so close to beginning our new clarity staff blog!!! My brother Josh is kickin butt and getting it all set up right now. This will be a non stop source of great new content, the latest happenings with us in LA, and life changing teaching.

A couple of recent happenings...

JR Mahon came and helped develop our team at Clarity Dev Take 1! We BBQ'd, prayed, worshipped, laughed, and learned tons about life, ministry, and rock and roll in LA! Check him out at www.hollywoodpastor.com.

Jessica and I did music and shared the vision at Mill City AG this morning and had a GREAT response and received wonderful support! Huge thanks to them!

We now have nine committed clarity staff members all moving together in January! What a team! Pray for us and send us cash :) ...for real.

More coming soon...

New Life

Well, I am thrilled that my new baby was born this past Tuesday at 8:01 PM! Her name is November Loren Kollar and we call her Novi for short! She was 7 lbs 14.6 oz 19.5 in long.

I was very involved in the birthing process and was my wife's coach. I have never seen such RESOLVE, DETERMINATION, FOCUS, TOLERANCE of PAIN, and FOLLOW THROUGH than what I saw in my wife, Jessica, who I now call the warrior princess! She was in a battle.

When the contractions got VERY severe and she felt like she was panicking, I would lean in close and coach her... "Stay in control, stay in control, breath in, breath out, you can do it." Every time this happened she would look up with such focus, get in control, and push through it. According to her, it would not have been possible without the coaching.

Today, maybe you feel like the pain and trials of life are just getting too strong and you are panicking. Pause and hear the voice of your heavenly coach saying, "Get in control, I created you on purpose, I have prepared a way for you, I have given you all the tools and power you need in the Word, breath in, breath out, get in control, I love you, You can do it!"

Leadership

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Proverbs 15:22

Leadership is not about making decisions on your own. It’s about owning decisions once they are made. Learn from those who have been where you are going. Listen to those whom God has placed around you. Hear the counsel of many. Decide and follow through with integrity and perseverance.

Twitter baby...

I just signed up for a twitter account to better keep in touch and for a free giveaway for attendees of Impart at Elevation Church!

Check it out at twitter.com/nathankollar!

Soon...

The new site is soon coming and still being set up... we will get back into daily updates shortly... check back.

Countdown...

The reason for my absence is a soon-coming surprise. The countdown is set... it will be fresh, daily, and content-driven! It incorporates our whole CLARITY team. Check back soon.

Duck

I'll be taking this next week off from blogging as I will be on a family vacation in Duck, North Carolina... I'm hoping to see some wild horses and to grow closer with my family and Jesus.

I hate it when people think that being on vacation think it means they aren't responsible to still offer each day completely to the Lord. Anyone who thinks they need a vacation from God does not understand what it is to know Him.

In fact, vacations are the perfect opportunity to spend a lot of time relaxing, reflecting, seeking, and receiving.

NOW

"Because God lives in an everlasting now, He has no past and no future."

A.W. Tozer

Interesting that He who we were made to be like only has now (according to Tozer) . Often we either store up all our hope or fear in the future or live in the highs and lows of the past, missing here and now. 

Tomorrow will never come because when it does it will be today... so if you do not do, say, change, love, forgive, or defeat whatever it is you need to today, you never will. 

Now thankfully God offers us seemingly never ending second chances so we need not despair... rather, choose now to live here and now, making the MOST of every opportunity given you. You CAN walk in the direction you desire to... do it NOW! 

I Hope You are Being Disciplined!

Today I read in Hebrews chapter 12, verses 7-8...

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.

I hope that you are in the process of being disciplined in some way by your heavenly Father. If not, you may not be His child. We often become angry, bitter, or full of accusation, and run away from God when enduring this discipline... when in fact, it should cause us to RECOGNIZE we are His children, REJOICE in it, and RUN even MORE into His arms! 

The real danger is if you feel no discipline from Him at all and begin to justify your sinful actions. If this is the case for you, then you need another shift from your thoughts about sin to His thoughts about sin... a true repentance that leads to an altered heart and altered actions. 

REJOICE in His discipline... child of God! 

MORE MORE MORE

Hebrews 2:1 reads "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."

We do not drift towards God, we drift away from Him. We do not drift towards holiness, but selfishness. We do not drift towards passion, but apathy. We not drift towards humility, but pride. We do not drift towards righteousness, but sinfulness.

This is why we are warned, pay MORE attention to what you have heard or you WILL drift away. Take notice of the word, "more." At first this closeness to Christ comes easy because it is brand new and revolutionary, but as normalcy creeps in (it is still brand new every day and revolutionary) but we must pay more attention to see it. 

How do we practically pay more attention to what we have heard... look at it, study it, read it, listen to it, memorize it, apply it, obey it, teach it, write it, hold it, speak it, more often and longer! 

Write it Down Sluggard

We had our second CLARITY meeting tonight and it was full of great surprises from the gifted and passionate team members! 

One such idea I have heard, but haven't practiced for years... Kyle said we should hand write chapters of the bible verse for verse like the scribes used to... and in doing so, we just may notice, learn, and retain more. I agree.

I say... anything that helps us deal with, handle, and fill ourselves more with the word is a good thing and worth the effort! We'll be starting with the book of mark...  

Weekend Mobile Shots

Some fun mobile shots I thought you may enjoy from our weekend in Ohio (In No Particular Order) Mama and Baby Elephant / JR Mahon and Family (Plus Personal Chef Ben :) / Talli MacDonald the Princess / ...a bonus of Josh's Half Hair Cut (not from Ohio)