Dan Gould

Category: Dan Gould

  • Losing a Teen to Suicide

    Losing a loved one is never easy, especially if it’s a child or teenager, let a lone a suicide.  A lot of questions come up around someone taking their own life. But for those that know Christ, we can cling to the promise found in Romans 8:31-38 which says,

    “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
     35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

    38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)

    Sometimes we want to put suicide in a category all by itself.  However, suicide is included in the word nothing. If someone is in Christ, nothing can separate them for His love.

    With that being said, we need to remember that  …

    Sorrow and Grief are never easy!
    When we lose someone we love it is difficult to let go and say goodbye.  Even Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, was filled with sorrow and grief when his friend Lazarus had passed away.  The Bible says in John 11:35 that “Jesus Wept.”

    Now I understand that each of us grieve in different ways.  Some of us need to get away and spend some time alone while others need the company of friends. Whichever the case, I encourage you to allow yourself to grieve.

    I believe God is a God of Comfort and He is willing to comfort those who ask for His help in this grief process. As you grieve I would encourage you to allow God to comfort you.  His Word says,

    “He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

    Jesus said in Matthew 5:4,

    “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NLT)

    As you continue to grieve allow God to comfort you as His Word promises He will do, and allow yourself to cry, to laugh, and to share stories that you remember about that loved one.  This can help bring healing to yourself and those around you.

    The loss of a loved one causes us to realize how fragile and short life can be!
     None of us know exactly how long we have to live.  We are not promised another year, another month, or another day.  Each day is a gift from God.

    The Bible reminds us just how short life is:
    In Job 9:25 it says, “Mans days are swifter than a runner.”
          James 4:14 says, “Our life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”

    The loss of a loved one causes us to search for answers!
    When we loose something we try to find it.  When we experience a loss of life we try to find life.  This process causes us to look for answers about God, about life, about death, and about eternity.  Maybe you have asked yourself some of these questions.  The Bible has much to say about each of these,

    About God
    1 John 4:8 says, “God is love.”

    Now it is easy to say God is Love when things are going well, but to be honest, it can be difficult to believe “God is love” when things go wrong or not the way we expected them too.  But the truth is, that even though the circumstances change, Gods love for you and for me never changes.

    The passage goes on and says,

    “God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

    Jesus talks about life and says in John 10:10,

    “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)

    John 3:16 says,

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, and whosoever believes in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life.”

    In John 14:6, Jesus says,

    “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

    You see this life that Jesus is talking about can’t be earned, bought, or taken away.  It is simply a gift from God.  It is the gift of salvation that He wants each one of us to have.  It doesn’t matter what we have done or where we have been God offers this gift to each one of us, all we have to do accept the gift.

    Romans 10:13 says,

    “For ‘Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

    As you search for answers, have you found the answers you have been looking for?  If not, I would encourage you to ask God to reveal those answers to you and to help you understand the things, you don’t know.

    Jeremiah 33:3 God says,

    “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

    The loss of a loved one causes us to live life differently!
     Upon receiving the news of losing a loved one, life as we knew it changed.  No matter how hard we try we cannot change the past, the only thing we can change is the future.  God has a future for each and every one of us.  He says in Jeremiah 29:11

    “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

    This is the promise that we can live on.  It is a promise of hope and a future that can be ours through Jesus Christ. Even when our world seems to fall apart or we don’t understand why things happen, God is near.  He is willing to help, He is willing to comfort, and He is willing to heal.  Will you trust Him today and ask for His help?

  • Bible Challenge – Matthew 21

    “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” v.22 (NLT)

    Really? Will God answer any prayer I pray? The fact is, this verse is not a guarantee that we can get anything we want simply asking Jesus for it believing He will do it, and closing our prayer in His Name.  God does not grant requests that would hurt us or others or that would violate his own nature or will. Jesus’ statement is not a blank check. To be fulfilled, our requests must be in harmony with the principles of God’s Kingdom. The stronger our belief, the more likely our prayers will be in line with God’s will, and then God will be happy to grant them.

    Today, do your prayers align with the heart of God and His Character? If so, a prayer offered in faith is very powerful! Spend sometime today praying and seeking the Lord.

  • Humbled – My Resignation Letter

    Dear Friends,

    It is with a humble heart that I write this letter. For the past three almost four years our family has been blessed beyond measure to serve with and be loved by the people of Grace Community Church. Many of you have prayed with us, cried with us, and laughed with us also, as we learned how to raise two boys; one of them with health issues. We have seen God do miraculous things in our time here and feel that we have made friends for life with many of you. We have also seen God do many things in the life of our Student Ministry. A ministry that has seen students come to know Christ, grow in Christ, and share Christ with their friends. God has truly blessed this ministry in ways that can be seen and in ways that we may not know until we are gathered together as The Church in Heaven. We have great volunteers that truly love God and want to see students love Him also.

    God is definitely moving within Fusion, but He is also moving in my heart. For the last 5 months Stephanie and I have been praying about a new venture we believe God is calling us to pursue. In October, I was asked to pray about joining the staff at First Baptist Church in Harvester Missouri serving as their Community Pastor. This past weekend, my family and I visited FBC Harvester, meeting with staff, lay leaders and church members and on Sunday the church voted to call us to serve with them as they reach the St. Charles area for Christ.

    Therefore, I am resigning as the Student Pastor of Grace Community Church and am accepting this position as Community Pastor at First Baptist Church Harvester. My last day at Grace will be Sunday, March 13, 2011. On the 13th we will have a Baptism Celebration at the home of Gary and Kim Riddell at 1pm.  If you are a believer and have never publically identified yourself with Christ, I would be honored if you would allow me, or another pastor, to baptize you on that Sunday.

    Our staff and team will be working through a transition plan that I believe is rock solid.  However, I also know that this time of transition will be difficult. There will times of laughter and times of tears, but I hope you all know that our family truly loves you and are truly thankful for the investment you have made in our lives!

    Sincerely (Keep Running),

    Dan

  • Oh To Be A Kid

    Today I took Josiah to the dentist! In between appointments we grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s. Watching Joe play with a huge smile on his face was the highlight of the morning!

    As I sat at the dentist office, that mental picture of Joe looking down at me saying, “Daddy” with a huge smile on his face will forever be etched in my memory and on my heart!

    It made me think back to when I was a kid. Life was much easier. As a kid the biggest stress-or in my life were rainy days that kept me from playing outside or my friends not being able to play outside with me!

    Life is much different now! Even though kids are expensive (if it’s not the hospital with one, it’s the dentist with the other) they are well worth it. Everyday my boys remind me of the important things in life. They seem to always find something to make themselves happy or make us laugh. They trust and give so much not expecting anything in return. They get excited by the small things that many times are overlooked! They don’t know a stranger and are so accepting of others!

    Oh to be a kid again! Wouldn’t it be nice?

  • Praying Hands

    For the last couple of weeks we have been letting, (should say begging) Josiah to pray and thank God for our meal each night as we sit together as a family.  Typically Jackson is already way ahead of us and has to stop eating to pray.  This past week as we were waiting for Josiah to make it to the table Jackson said “we pray” and put his hands together and started praying.  The only thing I could understand was Amen at the end! Ever since then, now when we sit down to eat, both boys pray.  Jackson prays in tongues and Joe prays in English, but God know what both of them are saying, and Stephanie and I delight that the boys are eager to talk with God! What a blessing!!!

  • Merry Christmas from the Gould’s

    Here some family fun for Black Friday! Christmas will be here before you know it!!

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  • Thanksgiving

    “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1     (NLT)

    Well here it is, in less than 5 hours Stephanie and I will have eaten our first home made (our home, by us) turkey and shared a meal together as a family with my Dad joining us.  This year is different for us in many ways. Typically we are in MO seeing my side of the family and then traveling to see Stephs side of the family.  It typically includes a lot of food, a visit to the farm for a tractor rides, and yes, the forced family picture that no-one really wants to take.  But this year we are home in Texas because we will travel to MO in December for Stephs brothers College Graduation.

    But being away from the norm or tradition sometimes helps put life in perspective.  We have all heard it said that we take things for-granted.  Many times we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone or we miss out on something we are use to doing.  So today, make sure you tell the people closes to you how thankful you are for them.  As they say in the UFC be first, don’t wait for someone else to say something before you.

    Today, let’s not just eat a bunch of food and gather as family and friends without letting the people in our lives know how thankful we are for them.  They may never know how you really feel, and you may never have the opportunity to share how special they are to you again.  So be thankful!

  • Fast Trip and a Fast Weekend

    Where did it go?

    The weekend was filled with highs and lows but defiantly one we wont forget.  The highs would include seeing our families, celebrating with Rachel on Graduating College, Eating at Mexican Villa in Springfield MO, taking the bots to Dunnigan Park in Bolivar MO.  This is the place that Stephanie and I started dating and have been dating ever since. The weekend ended with a great end of the year small group party at the Winters Home for our 11th and 12th graders and a Craw-fish Boil today at the Millsaps.  These were some awesome times in a cram packed weekend. But it wouldn’t be a Gould weekend without some sort of Drama.

    Here are the lows from the weekend, Pizza Hut in McAlester OK, The Drive to Missouri, Josiah getting croup while in MO, The Drive back to Texas in the rain, which caused us to miss the Big Cabin exist forcing us to take the long way home. But the real kicker came Sunday Morning when our projectors went out just before our MS service.  This through me off so much because I had 2 videos taking up 8 minutes of my talk.  We ended up showing it on a little 27 inch stage monitor turned to the crowd.  Talk about throwing you off your game.  I was thankful we got one projector working for the HS school service.

    However, even though it went by fast, it was a good weekend filled with several memory markers.  Here are some pics that I captured from the weekend:

  • Warmness = Wagon Ride, Gilling, and Family Fun

    We had some warm weather yesterday and the family tried to take advantage of it the best we could.  While grilling some steaks the boys and I played in the back yard  One of their new favorite things to do is ride in the wagon.  So, I strapped Jackson in, he like to bail mid ride and the seat belts keep him safe and contained, and pulled them around the yard.  Even though the scenery never changed we had a lot of fun.  The highlight for me was seeing Josiah pull Jackson around the yard and hearing Jackson say cheese every time he went past me! Here are some pic of our wagon ride.

  • Jackson First Day of School & Mens Panel for MOPS

    What a day!!!  It all started with the boys both getting ready for School today at the same time.  Yes, Jackson started preschool today.  I was so excited for him and he seemed to have had a great day.  Here are some pictures,

    After we dropped him off to school I had the pleasure of participating on a “Man’s Panel” in MOPS.  I was the only guy on the panel that had his wife in the room.  Talk about accountability!  It was fun and the questions were good.  There are somethings that I feel I am doing really well at as a Husband and Father but there are definitely somethings I can work on.  I learned a lot just from listening to the other guys.  I was blown away by some of the answers when it comes to date nights, conversations, evaluations and stuff like that.  My prayer was and still is that it would be helpful and real for all that were involved.