5 Messages That Are Making Me Feel ALL THE FEELS! 😭 😭 😭

I have been trying to listen to as many sermons as I can lately.  I just want to hear what people have to say about our great God and there have been a couple that have rocked my world.  I thought I would share five of them with you.

I would recommend bookmarking this post and coming back to listen to these sermons only when you can actually listen to them.  Don't put these on as background noise, but really listen to them.  I usually listen to them either while I am driving or washing the dishes.  Click on their names to be directed to the message in podcast form.

Side note - I think my hair game would compete with all these pastors, especially Francis. 😂

1. Grace, Grace! - Levi Lusko

2. Too Good To Be True - Carl Lentz

3. What's In Your Hand? - Rich Wilkerson Jr.

4. Friend of Jesus Part One - Judah Smith (And also Part Two)

5. Fight for Authenticity - Francis Chan

I hope they help you with your walk with Jesus.  If you have any messages that are rocking your world please let me know in the comments below!  I would love to listen to them!

Netflix and Chill | Two Easy Steps To A Totally Average Life

DISCLAIMER - Before you read this, please know I am totally aware that "Netflix and Chill" has two meanings.  The slang meaning is having sex -- so if you are a parent, be aware of that.  I, however, am referring to the original meaning of the phrase, but am using a title that would cause someone to click on the post and potentially learn something.  Please stop messaging me about the dual meaning, I am aware. 😂

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I don't really remember the first time I saw the phrase Netflix and Chill, but I do remember thinking that it was a very clever advertising campaign.  I love great advertising and I thought Netflix and Chill was just that!  It was easy to understand and relate to.  I have spent a lot of evenings doing exactly what they were suggesting I do - watching Netflix and chilling.

Fast forward a few months and I'd totally forgotten about the Netflix ad.

This past weekend, I spent this weekend at the Lake Champion Young Life Campground for the Circl3 Fall Retreat. Circl3 is the youth group that I volunteer at and lead a small group of the coolest 10th grade guys ever.  The chances of them actually seeing this compliment are very small since it's in written in a blog post and not a text or snapchat. 😂

During the retreat I heard the phrase "Netflix and Chill" so many times.  I don't know if Fetty Wap or Drake just put it in a song, but high schoolers are obsessed with the idea.  Anytime a speaker asked what the students liked to do someone would scream "NETFLIX AND CHILL!!" and all the students would laugh and nod their heads in agreement.

I really started to think about the burning desire for these students, and myself, to just watch Netflix and chill. It seems like sitting on a couch or bed and binge watching shows has become the pinnacle of living.  The more I thought about how often I do that the more frustrated with myself I became.

At the end of my life will I be glad that I was spending so much time chilling with Netflix?  Heck no!  I don't want that to be the defining phrase of my life.  I want to live and live well.  I want to love and love deeply.  I don't want to be glued to a screen watching and re-watching shows over and over again. 

I love TV.  Brooke can attest to my deep love for television.  You could put almost any episode of The Office on and I can start quoting it word for word, line for line, because I've watched and re-watched the series so many times.  So, clearly I am not on a high horse right now, looking down with distain at people who watch to much TV, because I am one of them.  (Also, if you don't watch TV.... we get it. You can stop reminding us.)

But I am talking to my fellow TV and Netflix lovers out there.  What do you want your life to be focused on?  The beautiful, glowing red and white screen of the Netflix logo or something else? Something more?

I want my life to be about something more.  Lately, I have been noticing that my heart is crying out for more.  My heart wants a more fulfilling life!  I want to be engaged with everything in my life.  I want to notice every little thing that June does as she grows and her brain develops.  I want to notice and react to every kind thing Brooke does for our family.  I want engagement, authenticity and reality.  I don't want to live in front of a screen and, if I'm super honest, I have been for far too long.

I don't want to come to the end of my life and pass into eternity with Jesus and have Him say, "Imagine what you could have done if the two defining words of your life were Following Jesus and not Netflix and Chill?"

That cuts right to my heart and is so convicting.  I want more of Jesus and less of all the other crap in my life.  When I have more of Jesus I have more time with my wife, my daughter and all the other things that make my heart full.  When I have more of Jesus I have more purpose, passion and desire to do something for Him! No matter how many times I read the gospel I can't find any verses about binge watching shows.  I don't think it's part of His plan for my life and that is a hard pill to swallow.

Honestly, I don't even want to write this post, because that means I have to change something about the way I live.  AND I DON'T WANT TO!  I want to sit on my couch tonight and watch Friends or The Walking Dead or anything... I want to scroll through movies for 30 minutes just to start re-watching something I've already seen.  I don't want to change and you can't make me!! AHHH!!

But again, at the end end of my life I want to look back and know that I lived.  I want to take my final breath with satisfaction and not with frustration.  I think if I continue the way I am going I will be frustrated.  I will have regrets and I don't want that.

So, how do I change?  What does it look like? 

I am definitely not one of those people that is going to tell you to throw away your television and start using a flip phone.  I am just going to encourage you (and myself) to practice some self control, which, last time I checked, is a fruit of the spirit.  I am going to challenge you to start cutting the time in front of Netflix and start adding time in front of your spouse, kids, parents, friends - face to face with an actual conversation.  I am going to challenge you to spend 22 minutes reading your Bible, talking and listening to God instead of watching an episode of How I Met Your Mother.  If Netflix isn't your time waster, I know something else is.  So start practicing the same self control with that.  Put down the iPhone, video game controller or whatever else you want to limit and start living. 

I personally know that to start living this way, I need to totally shock my system.  So, starting tomorrow I am going to say goodbye to watching Netflix for eight days.  I am going to use the next eight days, Netflix free, to focus on the One Night Only event we are having.  I am going to read, listen and pray to God about the event.  I am going to sit down at the table and have dinner with Brooke.  I am going to play with June.  I am going to read books.  I am going to write.  I am going to draw.  I am going to wash dishes. I am going to clean.  I am going to do anything I can instead of Netflix.  Will it be easy for me?  Absolutely not!  I will probably complain a lot and try to talk myself into "just one episode".  Shocking your system is never easy. 

I look at self control as a muscle and I need to work it out when it comes to Netflix.  What will the end of the eight days look like?  I don't know.  Will I still watch Netflix from time to time after the eight days, of course.  Because Brooke and I really do enjoy snuggling on the couch and watching shows.  But I want to limit that (the Netflix part, not the snuggling part!) and actually use it as entertainment and not just a time filler.  I want my time fillers to be conversations, love favors, laughing, playing with June and time with Jesus.  I want the "time fillers" in my life to be things that actually fill my heart.

And so, here it goes: My name is T.J. Mousetis and I am a Netflix and Chill addict. I wholeheartedly believe continuing to live this way will lead to a totally average life.  And I don't want to have a totally average life! I want to live an extraordinary life for Jesus.  I want to change my Netflix and chill attitude and I am finally going to do something about it.  I want you to join me. I want the two defining words of my life to be Following Jesus and not Netflix and Chill.

Where I Hope to be in 30 Years

Last night most of my immediate family spent the evening together.

And by immediate family I mean....

Dad, Mom, Steph, Kyle, Kaila, Stephen, Stellia, Alton, Nick, Lindsey, Zadok, Selah, Me, Brooke, June, Sam, Kyle, and Max. (I know, my siblings love "unique" names for their kids, but there are 17 of us, so go ahead, just try and make fun of one of them... 😂)

That's 17 and we still have more that couldn't make it last night.

The baby boom has hit our family in a big way.  All of the married siblings added one kid in 2015.  My older sister Steph and her husband Kyle had their fourth, Nick and his wife Lindsey had their second, Sam and her husband Kyle had their 1st and Brooke and I had June. Four babies in one calendar year!  It's crazy.  What is even crazier, at times, is that we can all actually find a night to get together.

Last night was one of those nights!  I kept just saying over and over again, "There are so many kids here.  In 5 years they will all be running around like crazy and we will probably have to call the fire department to have them on standby because 'the Mousetis' are getting together'."

I would turn my head to the left and someone is holding a baby, then to the right and someone is tossing a toddler in the air, then back to the left and one of the older kids is attacking their Grandpa. It was beautiful madness.

At one point we took a photo of my parents with all their grandkids with all the 2015 babies included.  There are so many now that the oldest, Kaila, has to hold the youngest, Selah, while my parents hold all the ones in the middle.  Also, no one got the "look at the same camera at the same time" memo.  Again, beautiful madness!

Besides June and her Grandpa having the same hair style, the most amazing thing about this photo is my parents.  We didn't start with much as a family.  We had a very modest life growing up.  I remember as I got older I had all these realizations that what I thought were "fancy" things weren't actually fancy things at all, just my parents putting their brilliant, fun twists on everything. 

For example, did you know that peaches aren't a delicacy? Or that The Olive Garden isn't the fanciest restaurant in the world?  Well, I didn't know until I WAS IN HIGH SCOOL...  My parents made our modest life seem extravagant at times, which I am forever thankful for.  Now, all of my siblings, myself included, have very blessed and successful lives.  We all have great spouses, places to work, houses, food, clothing, iPhones, etc.

But that isn't the most impressive or amazing thing about my parents and what they've done. What is most amazing is the heart, attitude and way of living they have instilled in our giant family.  They have shown all their children how to live, love and follow Jesus well.  When they pass on into eternity, which is still a ways away, we won't think about all the stuff they allowed us to get, we will think about the amazing love they showed and how they constantly pointed us to Jesus both individually and as a family!

The photo we took last night will look a lot different in five years.  My dad and June won't have the same hair style. Kaila, the oldest, will be 12.  June, Max, Alton and Selah will all be five.  There will probably be quite a few more kids pictured, hopefully one from my younger brother Mike!  Come on Mike, get married and get busy!  There will be LOTS of differences...

But what will be the same is the heart that my parents have for their children and grandchildren.  What will be the same are the lessons that they've passed down to their children on how to raise kids.  Some of those lessons, we will use as is and some we will add our own twist to. What will be the same is the excitement that they greet every new grandchild with.  What will be the same is the preciousness of every moment we get to spend together.

My Dad and I are 30 years apart.  He turned 60 this year and 9 days later I turned 30.  It's a very cool connection to have with your Dad and I passed it along to June.  When I turn 60 she will turn 30.  When I have her take a photo of Brooke and I holding our future grandkids, I hope it looks a lot like this.  I hope that I can stand side by side with my beautiful wife and be overwhelemd with love by and for my children and their children.

Beyond that, I hope, as a 60 year old, I can stand there extremely proud that I did my best to point them all to the loving arms of Jesus.  That June will be all in on loving and serving Jesus and that her siblings will be the same way.

To my Mom and Dad, I just want you to know that I am constantly thanking our great God for the two of you.  That you met, fell in love with each other and decided that your lives would be about Jesus.  I am so thankful that you two decided that the legacy you would leave would be about Him and not about you.  I pray that as I age I can stay the course and keep that as my focus.  That I can devote the next 30 years of my life to pushing and encouraging my children and their children to follow Jesus.  I hope, in 30 years, I can have a similar photo of Brooke and I.  A photo that is filled with the accomplishments of what Jesus has done in my life and the lives of my children, but at the same time, filled with so much potential at what my kids and their kids will do!

Marriage & Babies! Best things ever!

I remember when Brooke and I were getting ready to get married over six years ago.  We were so excited because, like most engaged couples, we were madly in love.  I look back and think how "madly in love" we were back then and laugh because six years later that love seems so tiny in comparison to the love we have for each other now.  Our love has grown, deepened and become way more exciting than the young love of two kids excited to get married.  Both loves are great but I prefer the type we have now.  Anyway, I remember so much about our engagement but one of the things that I remember the most is that.. Married couples can be SOOOOO negative about marriage.

We would hear things like,

"You just wait..."

"The first year is the hardest.."

"There will be times you are going to want to kill each other.."

Fast forward five years into our marriage and Brooke is pregnant -- again, we were so excited for our little bundle of joy, but people with kids again started saying things to us like,

"You just wait..."

"The first year is the hardest..."

"Say goodbye to sleep..."

And so on.

The most frustrating thing about the people saying these negative things is that they were Christians!  What in the world is that?!?  These were supposed to be people whose hearts, minds and worlds have been radically changed by the love of God and they are being negative about marriage and babies!!!  Those are two things God loves! Like, a lot.

Come on Christians! Stop being negative and lean into the joy that comes with Jesus. Allow Him to change your heart to be a place of unrelenting joy!  I get so frustrated when I hear Christians being so negative.  The joy of the Lord is our strength! The fruit of the spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience....!*

We act like our lives are just as crappy before Jesus as they are after Jesus.  No wonder people don't want to come to church.  We, as followers of Jesus, should be the most joyful, radically optimistic people this world has ever seen.  Jesus has won, the grave has been defeated, death has lost its sting, we will be given new bodies, we will spend eternity in the presence of God and, at times, all we do with that knowledge is tell people how hard their marriage or parenting is going to be.

I would love to see more positive Christians out there.  People who when they are hear about someone getting married they say things like,

"Marriage is awesome!"

"Get ready to fall more and more in love with your spouse."

"Marriage is so much fun!  The first year is exciting!"

"Spend the first year doing unexpected and awesome things for your wife/husband!"

"I LOVE BEING MARRIED!  IT'S THE BEST!"

That's what I say when I find out my friends are getting married.  Marriage is such a beautiful amazing gift from God and we complain about it way too much.  Imagine if you took all the energy you spend complaining about marriage and put it into serving your spouse.  I think you'd have less to complain about because your marriage would improve.

The same goes with children.  We, as Christians, should be overjoyed when a new life that God created enters the world.  We should be showering new parents with excitement and encouragement!

Now I know that I am painting with a very broad brush.  I know there are tons of Christians out there who are positive about both these things, but the negativity is louder.  If you are one of those positive Christians out there read this and be encouraged that your joy will make a difference.  If you tend to be a negative Christian, which can be figured out if you want to comment on the blog and tell me why I am wrong about everything...😂, stop.  Let the joy of Jesus be your strength.

I believe that when we walk closer with Jesus we will find more joy.  That joy will carry us through the rough waters of life and people will be amazed at how our first response is always positive.  I don't think people want to live life in a negative tornado, tearing and ripping apart all that's in their path.  I do think that, at times, that's the only way they've learned how to live.  Give "Negative Nellies" a new example of how to live.  The example of Jesus.  Show them you are overflowing with positivity and joy and when they ask you how you can always see the good in everything you can say to them, "The joy of the Lord is my strength!  Jesus has changed my life and given me this unending joy in all situations...."

Those are the type of conversations I want to have with people, but I need them to actually see the change in my life before I can.  If I am "Grumpy Gus" all the time no one will ask.  If I am bouncing off the walls with excitement and joy I think they might ask my opinion.  If when someone tells me they are getting married or having a baby and I say, "THAT'S AWESOME!! I LOVE MARRIAGE AND BABIES!" they might want to have more conversations about each of those things.

And I'm certain I can start with a conversation about marriage and end with Jesus.

I can start with a conversation about the brand of diapers I use or the time June pooped directly in my hand... and I can end with Jesus.

In all things our goal should be to point people to Christ and His saving grace.  Let's start living like that!

I love my wife and daughter!

* Nehemiah 8:10 // Galatians 5:22

Marvel At The Light

June turned 8 months old earlier this week, on Monday the 12th.  Brooke and I are constantly looking at each other and saying, "How do we have an eight month old already? HOW!?"  It's flying by and while most parents say, "Oh...just stay small forever."  I say, "Grow! Let's start walking, talking and playing!"  Every time June develops something new in her repertoire of tricks I love it! Especially since I have never been a huge fan of just holding babies because I like to play. And the more June is able to play the more I love being a dad.

Whenever June celebrates another month of life Brooke and I grab our iPhones and snap a few shots to announce it to the internet world!

This time around we took her outside to shoot a few photos of her in the grass being super cute and as happy as she always is!

I can't even. 😭😍

After a few photos in the grass I wanted to grab a selfie of the family.  So Brooke picked up June and we turned the camera around and snap!

This is the photo we took.

Look at those light rays being all brilliant and beautiful. They were not added as a filter, they were just in the original photo.  I looked at this photo over and over again after we took it I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the goodness of a loving God. The brilliance of His light and love is always around us. Most of the time it goes unnoticed or ignored. Sometimes though, if we are looking through the right lens, we can see it, capture it and marvel at it.

The spectrum of light is always around us.  Our eyes normally can't see it's beautiful colors but every now and then, either through a rainbow or a camera lens, we actually can see it.  By seeing or capturing it, we don't create it's beauty, we just acknowledge it.  The beauty is always there.  We just have to look through the right lens to see it..  

Jesus is the light of the world and the beauty of His grace is always there for us to see, but we have to look for it.  We have to train our eyes. Often, I think we feel that the beauty isn't there, but I really believe that we just aren't seeing it.  God's beauty shines all around us all the time and we just need to take the right snap shots to catch it, see it and enjoy it.  We need to realize that the beauty of light isn't a product of our circumstances but a truth of our heart.  So even when darkness clouds our world, we know that the light is shining in our changed hearts.  That we can count it all joy, even in suffering, because our world doesn't dictate the light in our lives, but the unflinching, unrelenting love of Jesus does!

Later in the afternoon on Monday, I took this photo of June with my phone...

As followers of Jesus we need to always be doing two things.  We need to constantly be seeking the light. Whenever Brooke and I go for a walk, she is always going off course to find the best light.  All of a sudden she will stop mid-sentence and walk off to look at the way light is coming through the trees or shining on a wall.  It's what makes her a brilliant and amazing photographer.  She is constantly looking for the best light -- because that creates the best photo.  And sometimes we need to go off course and find the best light -- because that will create the best life.  We need to find the light in everything so we can show the light and love of Jesus in everything.

The second thing we need to do is just marvel at it - marvel at the light in all it's brilliant, sparkly glory.  I snapped that photo of June because she was doing just that.  She was just marveling at the light as it came through our front door windows and landed on our wood floor.  Most times, I really struggle at simply marveling at the light God has created around me.  I pack my days full of work, play and everything else, but rarely do I just marvel.  Rarely do I just sit back and thank God for the beauty of His unending grace and love.  I think we need to add more marveling in our lives.  Have you ever seen a group of people all looking in one direction.  You start rubbernecking to see what they are looking at.  Cause you gotta know what they are marveling at!! We, as Christians, need to start doing the same thing.  Let's just marvel at Jesus and I think people will start to rubberneck and ask us what we are looking at.

When we start to search out and marvel at the light I think we will start to see our lives being refreshed over and over again.  We will see beauty where most people see despair.  We will see joy when there is suffering.  We will see Jesus in all and through all.  And when we see the light we can direct others to see the it too.

So today, marvel in the light. Be drenched in the beauty and brilliance of it's rays over and over and over again.

Hey Christians! Stop Hating On Christmas!

Early to mid October always seems to usher in two things.  The first is peoples obsession with anything Pumpkin Spiced flavor. Seriously everyone, calm down. You burn your mouth once on a PSL and you'll rethink how delicious they are when you feel hot, burning rage on your tongue.  The second thing to happen is the start of Christmas decorations popping up in large stores which seems to bring a different kind of hot, burning rage to some.  This always baffles me.  

You know the type of rage I am talking about.  Christmas haters saying things like....

"And so it begins..." (Insert photo of Christmas decorations at Target).  This is usually followed by a million comments on how it's too early...blah blah blah.

"It's not even Halloween...."

"What happened to Thanksgiving..."

"I can't listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving...."

And so on. Lots of snarky complaining and eye rolls.  But here is my response...

AREN'T WE CELEBRATING THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD COMING INTO THE WORLD? WHY THE CRAP WOULD WE WANT TO LIMIT THAT CELEBRATION?  DON'T WE CELEBRATE THAT ALL THE TIME? WITH OUR LIVES?

Okay, calm down T.J.... <caps lock off.>

Christians can sometimes be the grumpiest, most negative people in the world and it's so frustrating.  We currently live in a societal enviornment where God is being removed.  You can't pray in school, you can't say God Bless America, let's take "one nation under God" out of the pledge, and so on. BUT! Here we have a holiday, the biggest holiday at our disposal to proclaim the good news of a savior and WE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW EARLY IT STARTS?

WHAT THE HECK PEOPLE?

Why not use it?  Why not use the fact that Christmas starts earlier and earlier to proclaim the saving grace of Jesus!  Yeah, I know that it is commercialized and all that stuff, but I think people can start with a commericalized holiday and end with Jesus.  I believe people can start with buying gifts for others and end with the gift Jesus bought for us.  I totally believe people can start with receiving gifts from others and end with receiving life from Christ.

Christians, wake up!  We have the opportunity to use the biggest holiday on the planet to proclaim the coming of the King of Kings and we are often too busy complaining.  Gah!  Let's celebrate the birth of Jesus whenever we can and however we can.  Let's use Joy to the World playing in Target as we walk the aisles as an opportunity to praise His Holy name!  Let's use gifts, candy canes, stockings, trees, lights and parties as a starting point that will end with the lives of our friends, family and strangers being saved by grace!  Let's use standing in that dark, cold Black Friday line as an opportunity to talk to the people in front and behind us about Jesus. (That's seriously a great idea, because there is no way those people are getting out of that line.) 

Stop complaining and start using all things Christmas to point to all things Jesus!

And while we are at it. Let's start using all holidays as a launching point for procaliming the power of saving grace.

Let's use Halloween to talk about the darkness of the world and the light of Jesus.

Let's use Thanksgiving to talk about the ultimate thing to be thankful for - grace.

Let's use New Year's Eve and day to talk about starting fresh when you give your heart to Christ.

Let's use Valentines Day to talk about how we can only start to be truly loved when we let Jesus take control.

Let's use Flag day to declare that the banner or flag over us is love.

Let's use Arbor day to talk about how He is the vine and we are the branches.

The list can, and does, go on and on and on.  Because God can use anything to proclaim His glory! ANYTHING!  SO LET'S START USING EVERYTHING AND LET'S START WITH CHRISTMAS COMING EARLY THIS YEAR! <caps lock forever!!!!!!>