Tory Farina

Elizabeth's Good Report...

Tuesday morning, Elizabeth and I met with a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. After three months of dealing with the effects of this traumatic event we were very anxious to say the least. The doctor showed us the before and after pictures from the MRI and explained that both dissections and the pseudo-aneurysm had healed.

 

We had been so full of fear — fear of a stroke, fear of an aneurysm, fear of living in a hospital bed, fear that this might be the end. Reading the Psalms seemed to be the only balm that would sooth the anxiety and curb our fear of the unknown. But just as King David did, we trusted the Lord and cried out to Him for a complete healing.

 

When we got the good report it felt like the feeling that comes when you narrowly escape a car wreck. Joy. Exhaustion. Unbridled emotion. Release. Shock. I kept telling Elizabeth, "It’s over... It’s finally over... The book is done... Let’s move on...It’s over." We called our closest loved ones and texted our good news to the world. What a great feeling. Thank you for partnering with us to pray for her healing. The Lord has been faithful and we are excited for a new season of health to come.

 

My wife is an amazingly strong woman. She is beautiful, feminine and graceful. Throughout all her trials this year (and there were many) she stayed strong. She had sever hyper-emesis, three blood clots, a root canal*, IVC filter both in and out*, a baby*, gestational diabetes, a bleed in her iliopsoas muscle, two arterial dissections and a pseudoannurism (the * means she did it with out narcotic pain medications).

 

She is the strongest woman I know. I am proud of her. I am in love with her. I get the privilege and honor of spending the rest of my life with her. 

Share Your Story...

What’s your story?

During the series “People of the Second Chance” I want some of you at High Point who have experienced a second chance to share your story of redemption and hope. Our greatest mistakes can become our greatest assets when we submit them to Christ.

Revelation 12 says that we defeat the accuser by the power of our Christ-liberated story. Your story is POWERFUL! It can and will be used by God to liberate those who are coming this Sunday to receive a second chance.

I am looking for one or two more stories. I know many of your stories and will ask some of you to tell them, but I also wanted to open it up and see if you have one that I am unaware of.  If so, would you be willing to tell it in the service over the next four weeks?

You can leave your story here on the blog, send it via Facebook, or email me the details. I am so excited to here what God has done in your life.

We are people of the second chance!

People of The Second Chance...

This fall at High Point we have been working very hard on a new series called "People of The Second Chance." We are going to open our doors as a church to those who are in need of a second chance. Truth be told, we all have been and still are in need of a Second Chance. 

Join us Sunday the 12th as we challenge the common misconceptions about failure and learn how to use our scars, wounds and mistakes to help us live our greatest potential.

 

 

Take the Plunge...

Take the Plunge. Jesus was clear with his disciples about how everyone who crosses the line into faith should get baptized. Just before Jesus returned to heaven, he said...

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

 

What is water baptism? Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. It is a sign to everyone watching that you have accepted Jesus as Savior and set your life's course to please Him.

 

You are baptized into Christ’s death. Baptism is an incredible sensory experience meant to help us understand what Christ did on the cross. The Greek word for baptize means “to go down under, to dip, to submerge.” Water baptism represents our identification with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We are literally going into a watery grave fully submerged under the water. When we come back out of the water, we find ourselves like Christ being raised from an old life into something new and beautiful. My college professor once said, “Hold ‘em under till the bubbles come up.” He was joking, but the symbolism is incredible.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20

 

You are raised into new life. Your old life is a life of sin and separation from God. After we allow Jesus into our lives, baptism reminds us of the work he did. We are no longer burdened with the weight of sin, nor are we tainted by stains from the past. Instead, we take on the perfectness of Christ.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27

Baptism is a time to tell your story. Tell what life was like before Christ, what it was like to have christ in come in your life and then share how things are different now. The testimony time is always the most moving part about being apart of a baptism.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Romans 6: 11-12

 

Baptism is a declaration to this world that I am the Lord’s. I am no longer a wandering vagabond. No longer will I try to live this life on my own. I stand with Christ and together we will accomplish the Father’s will and live forever in eternity!

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33

 

Baptism is all about your story of life transformation. Tell the people you love to come and see you take the plunge. Share with your coworkers and show the pictures. It is a powerful moment that breaks through barriers because people want to know why you would let someone else dunk you under the pool water. Tell people what Christ means to you and get baptized.

If you would like to get baptized... Let me know. This Sunday at the church picnic you can take the plunge!

"Do not be Ignorant"...

“Do not be ignorant!”

 

The Apostle Paul once said this to the Corinthian church regarding their knowledge of spiritual gifts. We hate being ignorant of things in our culture, yet I wonder how many of us would know what our spiritual gifts actually are.

 

A spiritual gift is a special supernatural ability that God gives to each of His children so that they together can advance His purposes.

 

These are not simply talents given to a few special elite, but are good gifts available to all. God’s gifts are special and unique to each person, and are not given to be hoarded, but to be shared. Spiritual gifts are tools that specialize in changing people’s lives. There are many different types of gifts, but all serve the same purpose of advancing the kingdom of God.

 

If you want to uncover what gifts the Holy Spirit has blessed you with, here are some tools to assist you.

 

1) Ask... Ask the Lord to help you see your gifts and seek the gifts that most intrigue you and/or get you excited. The Lord has hard-wired us for specific gifts that will complement who we were made to be.

 

2) Test... Testing to uncover your spiritual gifts may be especially helpful.  Some gifts are harder to recognize than others.

www.spiritualgiftstest.com

 

3) Study... I found this book to be very helpful in discovering God’s vision and mission for my life. We were all created to play a role in the body of Christ. If you and I are not on mission then we are like a sick organ of the body. The whole body must compensate for the hole you leave.

Chazown.com

 

4) Scripture... Here are some great passages of scriptures we should be familiar with in order to not be ignorant about the Spirits Gifts.

 

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

 

Romans 12:6-8

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

 

1 Peter 4:10-11

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

 

 

What are your top three biggest gifts? I would love to know?

Elizabeth's Mayo Clinic Story...

A note from Elizabeth:

Dear Friends,

On June 13, 2010 I went to the Emergency Room with an excruciating headache. I was admitted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul Minnesota and diagnosed with a carotid artery dissection with a pseudoaneurysm. This is basically a tear in the wall of the artery and causes a clot to form in the interior of the artery. The change of blood flow and clot usually leads to a stroke. My dissection was deemed inoperable due to its location inside my head at the base of my brain. I was treated with blood thinners and released from the hospital after two days in the ICU.

On June 23, 2010, I returned to the emergency room and a second arterial dissection was discovered in my vertebral artery. This one was also deemed inoperable due to its location at the base of my neck near my spinal column and is believed to be a result of the change in blood flow and stress from the first dissection.

Having one dissection is uncommon; having two is very rare (2.5 per 100,000).

I spent two nights at Regions Hospital where I underwent a neurological exam every four hours to watch for signs of a stroke. Due to my age, medical history and rareness of this situation I was transferred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota on June 26.

After consulting with a team of specialists from various fields, multiple MRA and CT scans, vile after vile of blood tests and two nights at Mayo, I’m home! The doctors have found no underlying condition to date (although I will follow up with a Geneticist on an out patient basis). I will be treated with blood thinners and have a follow up MRA scan in three months. They believe that without further injury the clot will dissolve and the dissection may heal. Once this set of dissections heals completely there is only a 1% chance each year that I will have any follow up dissections.

These next four weeks are very important to my recovery. I have a lot of restrictions to prevent any further tearing in my arteries. Among other things I am not to push, pull or lift anything over 5lbs - which will be hard to do with a two small children!  

We have seen the hand of God throughout this process and believe that the prayers of many have made a difference. I was already on blood thinners at the onset of this event due to my difficult pregnancy, a fact that Dr’s believe likely prevented a stroke. The Doctors actual words were “...you dodged a bullet”. Every nurse that treated me assumed that I had suffered a stroke, because it’s almost unheard of not to with this condition. I do still have a persistent migraine headache triggered by the upset blood flow, but no lasting physical impairment. Praise be to Jesus who shed his blood for me!

We have experienced the very presence of God, which has sustained us despite the gravity of the situation. When we have been troubled, He has comforted us. When we have had to make difficult decisions, He as granted us wisdom. When we were presented with physical unknowns, He has given us eyes of faith. We are moving forward one day at a time believing for complete healing and days free of fear. I’ve never been more convinced that my life has a purpose and I intend to live every day pursuing my full potential in Jesus Christ.

Thank you to the countless individuals who have prayed for me all over the world; to High Point Church for surrounding me with love; to the many friends who have visited me in the hospital and helped care for our kids; to my family who has dropped everything and made me their priority; to my fantastic husband who has not left my side.

My heart is endeared to you loved ones!

Elizabeth Farina

Looking to the Horizon, Again... pt. 2

Here are five things I am doing to help me see the horizon again... (check out pt. 1 for the context)

 

• Calling other leaders... I am very social but when you go through intense seasons it is easy to pull in because you just don't have extra energy to expend outwards. Social networks are life. They help me see beyond where I am currently. Iron truly does sharpen iron. I am starting to go through my phone and call people I haven't talked with in a while and meet people who I need to learn from and get out of my shell.
• Joining weight watchers... I gained 15 lbs with all the stress going on during the past 10-11 months. It’s time to shed the pounds and get back to my fighting weight. 
• Reading... I hit a wall. I just wanted to be a little numb for a while, and study for what I had to but not get stretched too much. Watching a good movie or sleeping sounded really satisfying. Although that’s fine for a season, it shouldn’t last more than a season. I am excited to get into a few books I have on my shelf. An iPad sounds nice so I would have fewer books on my dresser. I am also thinking about signing up to get free books and then write reviews on them. It may add a good bit of pressure to finish them.
• Traveling... I need to get out of town every now and again. It refreshes me. Takes me from the immediacy and helps me see things from another angle. I have a couple family trips in the works and am looking for a couple ministry trips to go on late this year or early next. I love sitting on an airplane 30,000 feet in the air with a hot cup of coffee and my journal.
• Series planning... Planning out the spiritual content of High Point for the next seven months really helps me get into the future. It has been hard for me to see beyond the present for a while, and I am glad we work ahead as much as we do or I'd be in trouble. I am working on ideas and plans for the fall and spring during these next two weeks. I am praying about what the church needs to hear. Discovering what I need to teach is a deep process. It is the most intense part of what I do. This is going to be a fun next seven months. LOTS coming up!!!

Not all of these things are things I want to do. But I am realizing the sooner I get back into my flow the sooner I will be at 100%. I have seen so many people get to the point where the crisis is over and the opportunity for them to get back on the saddle and ride again is there but they don’t jump at it. They stay right smack dab in the middle of their pity party and they stop. They roll over and die.

Recovery is an intentional process. If you are not looking for things that restore you and help you see the horizon again, then you are at risk of stalling out. I am not going to stall. There is too much to do. Too many lives that have yet to be changed. 

What are you intentionally doing to see the horizon? 

Breaking Soul Ties...

Last Thursday night we had an amazing time at the High Point Valentine Banquet. Scott and Sandy Bernstein shared about the power of breaking Soul Ties. They told of a prayer that can help to restore you back to that place of innocence that God had planned for us to be when we got married. Let me briefly explain what a Soul tie is and then I'll share the prayer.

What is a Soul Tie?

Matthew 19:5 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' ?

When a man and a woman come together to have sex they are united as "One Flesh". Many people who have had multiple sexual partners feel like they left a piece with he other person. They feel some how empty or void of apart of themselves. Often we hear of people feeling drawn to another person even if the relationship has long been gone. They will then hold onto things as a memory marker from their time with that person. The best mental picture I can give is sticking your warm moist tongue on a frozen flag pole and then ripping it off after a minute. It leaves residue on the pole. Many people have lost parts of themselves and taken parts of others with them.

Soul Ties can be dangerous. A marriage covenant is designed to be pure and Holy, scripture even calls it "Naked and Unashamed." Soul Ties still drawn to the people you have previously had sex with. It can cause resentment, dissatisfaction, memories while having sex or just inhibit you from truly being free to enjoy all of the other person that God intended.

The Fallowing is a simple prayer designed to surrender your sexual life to God, allow Him to heal your heart and help you to partner with your spouse on a more intimate and close emotional level.

Prayer For Breaking Unholy Soul Ties 

1.  Before you pray take time to make a list of your sexual partners.

2. When you are ready to pray, find a place where you will not be interrupted and can take your time to do this good work. You may want to do this time of prayer with a trusted person that can support you in prayer and affirm God’s forgiveness.

3. The prayer is to be done for each sexual partner you have had that is not presently your spouse.  This includes former partners before marriage, former spouses (living or deceased), former sexual violations through rape or incest.

4. If the name of the person is unknown, can’t be remembered or there are partners whose names you can’t recall, name the ones you know and ask Christ, who knows their names, to break those unholy soul ties.

You may experience some emotions OR you may not.  Regardless of your emotional response, you are inviting God to do a re-creative work in your life.  God is a gracious and restoring God.  Our part is to simply get on the outside what is on the inside.

THE PRAYER

In the Name of Jesus, and by the power of His shed blood, I release __(name)________ soul from me and call back my soul from ___(name)__________.  I ask in the Name of Jesus to help me forgive __(name)_________and heal the memories and circumstances around that bonding.

 

End your time of prayer by thanking Jesus, the creator and perfector of your soul, for what He has done.

I'm Back...

Things I learned through my time of Withdrawal...

•  Wayne Cordero saved my life and ministry... After reading his book “Leading on Empty” I am convinced I was headed for a breaking point at some point down the line in my life and ministry. I have and will continue to make changes necessary to leave a Lasting Legacy.
• I have more time than I thought. Cutting out extra stuff helped me realize how much time I waste.
•  My relationship with the Lord is the Source of Everything else. Yet often It gets shelved somewhere between car maintenance and shower cleaning. It does not occupy the space in my heart and mind that it should if it is the source of everything. (As a pastor this is a sad revelation.) So I am evaluating the changes that must be made to transform this unacceptable situation.
• Christian music is good but not a lot of it is GREAT!
• Facebook / Twitter are far more useful tools than they get credit for. I was shocked at how many people I felt disconnected from.
• I get grumpy when I fast Food.
•  Maintaining a Blog is exhausting. I need to figure out how to be a smarter blogger. I think I might use more video. Would you watch my short clips?
• Changing patterns takes a tremendous amount of intentionality. You cannot say... I want to change, I need to change or even I must change without making a plan and actually putting the plan into action.
•  Push email on my iphone is stupid. I cannot and will not be a slave to my email... especially when I delete most of it. My email will serve me and not the other way around.
• This will be a yearly event. I will also add into my life’s schedule times of getting out of town for times of withdrawals.
• I need a Sabbatical... Not this year but in the next few years as we round the corner to seven or ten years it is Vital the Elizabeth and I get a Sabbatical in order to gain freshness and longevity at High Point.
•  We are entering into a season of High Points Story that is really exciting. I feel encouraged, Fired Up and energized by what I feel the Lord is brewing in my heart.
•   Isolation is a Scary place to be... Withdrawal is a Non Negotiable place to visit!
•   The WELL of your Soul is what you serve others with... If it’s shallow, contaminated, or not built to last you’re in trouble. If it is Deep and Living water it will refresh people for Years to come.
• Jesus took breaks from the demands of Life and ministry often... I am still chewing on this and am incredibly challenged by it!

I have lots more to say but will leave it at this and work out more the next fe days and weeks. I just wanted to let you know I am back and FIRED UP!

Withdrawal...

Through the month of January you are not going to hear much from me. I am taking a season of withdrawal in my life. Last November, I felt that I needed to hone in the focus of my heart and mind for God to do something big in me. Last year He called me to lose 55 lbs., and I am so glad I followed through. The Lord fulfilled promises and answered prayers for both me and the church through my act of obedience. This year I feel like I need to clear out as many voices as I can that might be distracting me from clearly hearing the voice of God.

 

Jesus did this often. I always wonder why Jesus — fully God and fully man — even needed to pray, rest, and recharge. But if He did, then so do I. This has been a stressful season for me and mine. Elizabeth's pregnancy, Rapid church growth and Seven years of full time ministry has its cost. I feel like we are getting ready for something larger and greater than we have yet to experience. Jesus withdrew to rest, get stronger, hear from God, and have a fresh word for the people he was sent to lead. Moses went to the mountain top and came back luminous. Daniel prayed and fasted to break through impossible circumstances. I need more from God to live the life I am called to live and I want to withdraw to gather strength for greater things Yet to come!

 

Here is my plan...

 

• Read — I started a reading plan to go through the Gospels in 30 days. (You can do the same at www.youversion.com.) My goal is to study Jesus and His withdrawal moments — how and why He prayed.
• I am also reading “Leading On Empty” by Wayne Cordeiro- I feel like he is personally walking me through how to defragment my life. I am taking each chapter and walking through each chapter with Elizabeth and the Lord. What an AWSOME experience.
• Fast (check more out here)
• Food — This looks different for everyone some fast food totally, partially or fast a particular type of food. For me I am doing a combination of things.
• Media

-  I am cutting out as many secular non-worshipful voices as I can. Music, movies, magazines and books that do not point me to Jesus will be cut from my appetite this month. Television has been reduced to only News sources.

-  No blogs, no Facebook and NO Twitter — I am having withdrawals. This is almost painful, and I have had to break this a couple times because of Elizabeth's health crisis on Saturday, my need to get a couple numbers off of some profiles on my phone, and this blog post letting you know what’s up. It is also funny how my e-mail sends me Facebook updates and Facebook e-mails, so it’s like it will not leave me alone. I guess that means it is staying around a while.)

-  I also shut off the Push feature to my phone’s e-mail. I am now my e-mail’s master. I think that may stay longer than January.

• Schedule — I am taking certain days off over the next month, during which I will be alone and without normal distractions so I can focus on the Lord and hear his voice with clarity.
• Journal — I am keeping a daily journal of thoughts, prayers, observations, revelations, and dreams.

(This is a goal and has already had to change a little. Let me first tell you that I live by the Spirit of the Law and not the Letter, meaning that even though I may say I am not going to do this or that, I may do it if I feel I need to for a good reason. I also am taking Sundays as a celebration day, meaning I am free to enjoy with my family whatever seems beneficial. This season is about reducing noise in my life and resetting my out of balance rhythm. It is not about a list of does or don’ts.)

 

I am expecting God to break through my life in tremendous ways. I am expecting Him to change me. I was not expecting how hard these first few days have been. Nor was I expecting how the enemy would try and distract me. I shouldn't have been surprised. He met Jesus in the wilderness before his ministry began.

 

My prayer is that I hear his voice like Adam and Eve did in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden, or like Samuel did when God came to him in the night as a youth, or like the disciples did in the the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit came upon them with fresh power and boldness. My prayer is that I would have new strength and insight to lead the next five+ years with a freshness and sensitivity to the Lord.

 

What is the Lord drawing you to do? What’s your next step in your faith walk? It may not look much like mine, but that's OK. Start with where you are and go one more step.

 

I look forward to letting you know how it goes in a few weeks.

 

Live Your Potential!

 

Pastor Tory