Hi all!
I know it has been a while since I have blogged on here, but it has been a really busy couple of weeks. Angelique and I are teaching through the book of Revelation in our high school youth class, and this has turned out to be a lot more of a daunting task than I had originally thought it would be. As if I even thought that was possible. It has been more difficult to research and put together, but highly rewarding, and the series has been fantastic! One of my favorites!
I have also been busy preparing for the new Round 2 Wednesday night series that Joe Rollins and I are beginning tonight! I am so stoked about this! The series is based on a book that Joe and I are reading called "I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt." What an awesome name! Come out and praise God with us for the next 6 weeks, and you will not regret it. If you come with an open heart and a willingness to delve into yourself, your life will be changed!
Here is the intro video for the series:
Come out and join us. It is going to be fun!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
He's Calling!
We finally finished our Emmaus Walk this past Saturday! Since we were interrupted by Hurricane Ike's leftovers, we had to get out of the woods and postpone the last couple of hours. It was awesome to go back and see everyone, and I was back in the spirit of the original weekend within minutes! It was awesome!
Listening to some of the others share, one statement really stuck with me. He said, "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called."
Some of you out there don't want to hear that because you have felt Him pulling you to do something you don't want to do, and your favorite excuse has been, "I will study for a while longer, and when I know enough, He will let me know." Nope. When God calls you, you go! That's it! He will provide you with what you need, but only after you have submitted to His will. If you are insistent on waiting until you are ready, the call will go forever unheeded! One of my favorite praise songs is "Come ye sinners," and there is a statement in it that resonates through me EVERY single time I hear it. It is, "If you tarry 'til you're better, you'll never come at all." WOW!
Friends, we are sent by God into the world to SAVE (eternal) LIVES! It doesn't matter what excuse you are using, STOP! Get up and do something for God instead of waiting for Him to do something for you! For most of us, I know we are afraid that we are not good/smart/confident enough to do God's work, and I pray that we can always remember, "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called."
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sadness
Sunday, we, as a congregation, had to face the sad situation of once again bidding
farewell to our Pastor. In one of the most emotional and hearfelt speeches I have ever seen, Chad explained to the church that he feels that the Holy Spirit is calling him to a different direction than our church is heading, and announced that he would have to resign his position with our church in order to accomplish this calling.
While Chad will be deeply missed - he has really helped shape me into the man I have become - I want to stress to those members of GCC who read this that now is the time to get up and get moving, not get down and out. Remember that God has plans for us, and even though Chad's season at GCC has been fulfilled, ours hasn't! We are to go out to the world and spread the Gospel of Christ until the day He comes back or call us home!
I know of some people in the church who have offered themselves to the elders to do whatever it takes to make sure GCC does NOT get down and start wallowing in self-pity. This is a difficult season, but it would benefit us all for everyone to remember that while God's blessings are raining down, it is in the valleys that you receive the most. For when you are on the mountaintop, the blessing land and tend to run downhill to those who are in the most need. GCC - we are in a valley right now. It is time for us, the church, to BE the blessings of God to those around us and to lift each other up!
I love everyone single one of you, and if there is anything that I or my family can do to help any of you, all you have to do is ask!
May God Bless You All!!!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Piece of Heaven
This past weekend I experienced a little glimpse of what I believe Heaven is going to be like!
I went on The Walk to Emmaus. If you are unfamiliar with this, here is the gist of what it entails:
A spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. The program's approach seriously considers the model of Christ's servanthood and encourages Christ's disciples to act in ways appropriate to being "a servant of all."
The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with a 72-hour short course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God's grace, disciplines of Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation, special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion.
The "Emmaus community," made up of those who have attended an Emmaus weekend, support the 72-hour experience with a prayer vigil, by preparing and serving meals, and other acts of love and self-giving. The Emmaus Walk typically begins Thursday evening and concludes Sunday evening. Men and women attend separate weekends.
During and after the three days, Emmaus leaders encourage participants to meet regularly in small groups. The members of the small groups challenge and support one another in faithful living. Participants seek to Christianize their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations. The three-day Emmaus experience and follow-up groups strengthen and renew Christian people as disciples of Jesus Christ and as active members of the body of Christ in mission to the world.
I can't explain how this weekend changed my life, I can only show you through the way my life will be lived from now on. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend this weekend with my good friend Mike, and it was absolutely amazing to see him transformed right in front of my eyes! I am telling you, this was the best weekend of my entire life, and I am so excited that my wife is going to experience the same thing this coming weekend. I can't wait to embark on our new lives together as a couple who are one with Christ!!!
Thank you Jesus for being who you were, are, and will be forever!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
God speaks!
Sorry for taking so long to blog again, but it has been a really busy couple of weeks.
Pastor Chad told the story of Jesus dining with one of the Pharisees and the woman who wet His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with perfume that is valued at approximately a year's wages. A year's wages! I think the average annual American income is between 30 and 40 THOUSAND dollars. Could you imagine buy 30 thousand dollars worth of perfume and pouring it over the feet of someone you have never met in your life? That is faith! Thanks Chad, loved the sermon.
What really stuck with me these past couple of days is the chronology of the life of Jesus that Chad mentioned. I have talked with some about reading the New Testament in chronological order, but that is just by the date that the books are written which is awesome when reading the letters. However, I have never thought of reading the Gospels in the same manner. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this for two days now! I have always found it confusing to try to understand Jesus' life by just reading one Gospel, then another, then another, then the last one. A lot can be forgotten in the amount time that takes, and it doesn't seem to flow as a story. Don't get me wrong...I love the Bible as it is written, but I believe that there are many ways to read it to gain more and more understanding. NOTE: If you are a new Christian, or someone who is new to studying scripture, find a mature Christian, and ask them about a reading/study plan. Don't trust everything you find in a bookstore or on the web because you can easily be led down the wrong path!
So, yesterday, I had to go to "ye olde enterwebb" (that is what it was called in the 17th century when Al Gore invented it...LOL). I Googled. I came upon a website called lifeofchrist.com where I found a list of the the Gospels in harmony with one another and a daily lesson planner to go with it. I passed this along to many of you, and if you didn't get it, email me. This morning I started reading the life of Jesus this way, and it is SOOOOO awesome! To me, it really brings out the "real dude" that Jesus was and is.
I challenge you all who don't get into the Word because it is "confusing" to try reading the life of Jesus this way. Always pray before you read the Bible, and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to what He wants you to see not what you want you to see. I know that if you do this, you will be pleasantly surprised!
Pastor Chad told the story of Jesus dining with one of the Pharisees and the woman who wet His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with perfume that is valued at approximately a year's wages. A year's wages! I think the average annual American income is between 30 and 40 THOUSAND dollars. Could you imagine buy 30 thousand dollars worth of perfume and pouring it over the feet of someone you have never met in your life? That is faith! Thanks Chad, loved the sermon.
What really stuck with me these past couple of days is the chronology of the life of Jesus that Chad mentioned. I have talked with some about reading the New Testament in chronological order, but that is just by the date that the books are written which is awesome when reading the letters. However, I have never thought of reading the Gospels in the same manner. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this for two days now! I have always found it confusing to try to understand Jesus' life by just reading one Gospel, then another, then another, then the last one. A lot can be forgotten in the amount time that takes, and it doesn't seem to flow as a story. Don't get me wrong...I love the Bible as it is written, but I believe that there are many ways to read it to gain more and more understanding. NOTE: If you are a new Christian, or someone who is new to studying scripture, find a mature Christian, and ask them about a reading/study plan. Don't trust everything you find in a bookstore or on the web because you can easily be led down the wrong path!
So, yesterday, I had to go to "ye olde enterwebb" (that is what it was called in the 17th century when Al Gore invented it...LOL). I Googled. I came upon a website called lifeofchrist.com where I found a list of the the Gospels in harmony with one another and a daily lesson planner to go with it. I passed this along to many of you, and if you didn't get it, email me. This morning I started reading the life of Jesus this way, and it is SOOOOO awesome! To me, it really brings out the "real dude" that Jesus was and is.
I challenge you all who don't get into the Word because it is "confusing" to try reading the life of Jesus this way. Always pray before you read the Bible, and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to what He wants you to see not what you want you to see. I know that if you do this, you will be pleasantly surprised!
Monday, August 11, 2008
What Am I Not Good At?
I am a big believer that all Christians should find out what their God-given spiritual gifts are, and serve in a way that uses those gifts. Early on in my life with Jesus, I realized that God gave me the gift to teach. Since then, He has opened doors to allow me to use this gift for his purpose. For those of you who don't know, I teach the high school students at Greenville Christian Church on Sunday mornings, and I have filled in for Pastor Chad on a couple of Wednesday nights where I preached to the adult congregation.
Recently, I read a blog by Ben Arment about understanding what we are not gifted with. Wow. I had never thought about that. We always tell people to concentrate on their gifts, but we fail to tell them to recognize what they are not good at doing. I see people who try to force themselves to be good at something when it is obvious that God did not give them that gift. I will use myself as an example:
I love to play games and stuff with our students. When healthy, I am a good participant in games and events. However, I am terrible at creative stuff. I just don't possess the creativity to put games together or come up with themes for stages. I realize this, and therefore I try to stay away from this kind of thing. I have tried in the past to force myself to come up with ideas for the stage at our Thrive service, but it did nothing but cause tons of stress in my life!
It took me a while to realize that I just wasn't gifted with creativity, and no matter what I wanted, it just wasn't what God wanted for me. I can accept that.
I think it would be beneficial for everyone out there in the blogosphere to take a look at your own gifts.
Ask yourself what you are doing that you know you are not gifted at.
Ask yourself why you are trying to do something that you are not gifted at.
Are trying to do what YOU want, or what GOD wants?
Recently, I read a blog by Ben Arment about understanding what we are not gifted with. Wow. I had never thought about that. We always tell people to concentrate on their gifts, but we fail to tell them to recognize what they are not good at doing. I see people who try to force themselves to be good at something when it is obvious that God did not give them that gift. I will use myself as an example:
I love to play games and stuff with our students. When healthy, I am a good participant in games and events. However, I am terrible at creative stuff. I just don't possess the creativity to put games together or come up with themes for stages. I realize this, and therefore I try to stay away from this kind of thing. I have tried in the past to force myself to come up with ideas for the stage at our Thrive service, but it did nothing but cause tons of stress in my life!
It took me a while to realize that I just wasn't gifted with creativity, and no matter what I wanted, it just wasn't what God wanted for me. I can accept that.
I think it would be beneficial for everyone out there in the blogosphere to take a look at your own gifts.
Ask yourself what you are doing that you know you are not gifted at.
Ask yourself why you are trying to do something that you are not gifted at.
Are trying to do what YOU want, or what GOD wants?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Ramblings...
I haven't had a lot to blog about here lately. We are still unpacking from the move, but Dawn has done a tremendous job on the place. She has such a way with that kind of stuff. If it was just me, I would probably still be living out of boxes a year from now!
Drew is at camp this week. So, please pray that he has fun, makes friends, and grows his relationship with Jesus while he is there. It is awesome how spending time in the forest or just anywhere in nature can bring you closer to God. I guess experiencing creation helps us better understand the Creator!!!
That's all for now, but I do want to remind you all that we are having Discipleship Training this Friday at Sacred Grounds at 7:30pm. This week we are discussing the Cross!!! We will be asking what crucification is, how exactly Jesus died, and what did Jesus accomplish on the cross. Hope to see you there!!!
Drew is at camp this week. So, please pray that he has fun, makes friends, and grows his relationship with Jesus while he is there. It is awesome how spending time in the forest or just anywhere in nature can bring you closer to God. I guess experiencing creation helps us better understand the Creator!!!
That's all for now, but I do want to remind you all that we are having Discipleship Training this Friday at Sacred Grounds at 7:30pm. This week we are discussing the Cross!!! We will be asking what crucification is, how exactly Jesus died, and what did Jesus accomplish on the cross. Hope to see you there!!!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Gen. 2:24 "...and they will become one flesh."
My friend Joe Rollins, no relation to Henry, posted a blog today about his wife being a woman of NOBLE CHARACTER. He referenced Proverbs 12:4 where it says that a wife of noble character is the crown of a husband, and he ended his blog with this:
Do you see your wife as the crown she truly is?
I feel that I don't thank my wife enough for who she is and what she does! Noble is defined as an exalted moral or mental character or excellence, and I think Dawn has always striven for this (even as a non-Christian). I remember discussing the Gospel with her before she accepted Jesus, and it was fairly difficult because she didn't realize that she needed forgiveness because she had always tried to live a "good" life. Fortunately, Jesus gave me the words and actions to show her where she was mistaken, and she became a true follower.
John Calvin, in referring to Jesus coming to earth as a human being, says that He accommodated us. Calvin is talking about how Jesus chose not to avail himself of some of His divinity while He was here for our sake. He humbled himself!
I see this in my wife as well. When out with the kids, she doesn't walk as fast as she can, but chooses to slow down so the kids can keep up. She accommodates them. She gets up with me in the mornings and makes my lunch for me. She accommodates me. She has chosen to stay home and forgo a career of some sort to take care of our family. She accommodates us.
So, to answer Joe's question: I think I have always seen her that way, but I have failed miserably to let her know that! Thanks for opening my eyes Joe!
I LOVE YOU DAWN!!!
Do you see your wife as the crown she truly is?
I feel that I don't thank my wife enough for who she is and what she does! Noble is defined as an exalted moral or mental character or excellence, and I think Dawn has always striven for this (even as a non-Christian). I remember discussing the Gospel with her before she accepted Jesus, and it was fairly difficult because she didn't realize that she needed forgiveness because she had always tried to live a "good" life. Fortunately, Jesus gave me the words and actions to show her where she was mistaken, and she became a true follower.
John Calvin, in referring to Jesus coming to earth as a human being, says that He accommodated us. Calvin is talking about how Jesus chose not to avail himself of some of His divinity while He was here for our sake. He humbled himself!
I see this in my wife as well. When out with the kids, she doesn't walk as fast as she can, but chooses to slow down so the kids can keep up. She accommodates them. She gets up with me in the mornings and makes my lunch for me. She accommodates me. She has chosen to stay home and forgo a career of some sort to take care of our family. She accommodates us.
So, to answer Joe's question: I think I have always seen her that way, but I have failed miserably to let her know that! Thanks for opening my eyes Joe!
I LOVE YOU DAWN!!!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
My Camouflaged Sin
Have you ever had a great idea? You know, the kind that immediately puts you in the best mood ever. I have, too. How would you feel if you shared that idea with someone, and they moved forward with it as if it were their own? Would you be angry? Would you feel betrayed?
That actually happened to me, and I felt both of those emotions simultaneously. I was enraged! Why? Because I was proud of my idea. Lately, it seems that I have become proud of a lot of things, and that is not good! If you know me at all, you know that I like to study the Word, and learn as much as I can. I don't see anything wrong with that, but I seem to have removed my focus from Jesus. I have put my focus into learning as much as possible for the wrong reason (ME).
I have elevated knowledge in my life to the point where it is an idol and object of my pride!
I want to use this blog to repent to all of you! I have asked for forgiveness from Jesus, and I am refocusing my life and priorities! I am sorry if my pride and arrogance has offended anyone or pushed anyone away. Please forgive me.
It's tough being human, and I challenge everyone out there to look inward and see if just maybe there is a camouflaged sin in there somewhere that needs to be taken care of.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Unpacking
Let the unpacking begin!!!
The move went really well, but we seem to be lacking some stuff. We have boxes and boxes of books, cds, movies, etc., but we haven't a single bookshelf to put them on! I am wanting to build one of those giant bookshelves with the 12x12 squares like Chad has, but I don't have the resources to do so right now. So, if anyone has any shelves they are looking to get rid of, give me a shout.
When moving day comes around, a person can really tell who cares! I know some people had other things to do, and that is fine, but I want to thank those of you who showed up for the two hours that it took for us to move. Andrew, Mike, Amy, Joe, Patrick, and Sam: I know you guys had other stuff you would have rather been doing than moving all my crap from one place to another, but my family and I thank you so much for giving us your time! God gave us a mission to serve others, and you all did just that last weekend...
Now, we have the daunting task of unloading the seemingly billions of boxes that we have. That isn't our stuff in the picture above. We have a lot more stuff than that, but I had no idea how much we had until last weekend. Please pray for our sanity as we embark on this journey(LOL)!!!
The move went really well, but we seem to be lacking some stuff. We have boxes and boxes of books, cds, movies, etc., but we haven't a single bookshelf to put them on! I am wanting to build one of those giant bookshelves with the 12x12 squares like Chad has, but I don't have the resources to do so right now. So, if anyone has any shelves they are looking to get rid of, give me a shout.
When moving day comes around, a person can really tell who cares! I know some people had other things to do, and that is fine, but I want to thank those of you who showed up for the two hours that it took for us to move. Andrew, Mike, Amy, Joe, Patrick, and Sam: I know you guys had other stuff you would have rather been doing than moving all my crap from one place to another, but my family and I thank you so much for giving us your time! God gave us a mission to serve others, and you all did just that last weekend...
Now, we have the daunting task of unloading the seemingly billions of boxes that we have. That isn't our stuff in the picture above. We have a lot more stuff than that, but I had no idea how much we had until last weekend. Please pray for our sanity as we embark on this journey(LOL)!!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Mooohoovin' Oooon Up...
We are moving this weekend!!! We found a really nice 3 bedroom townhouse apartment at the Sheffield Square Complex in New Albany. The bedrooms are pretty big, and it has 1 and 1/2 baths. Dawn and I are excited to have more room, and Skylee is finally going to have a room all to herself.
The boys will still be sharing a room, but it is quite a bit bigger than what they have now, and they are going to have bunk beds that will be stacked to make more room. They are pretty stoked!
There are two things I think we are most excited about. First is the fact that we will have a pool! Second, we will live within walking distance of Mom and Pop's Ice Cream Parlor! I love that place, and our whole family can get dessert from there for about $10...
Please pray for us to have a successful move, and for the transition to go well for the family. Thanks!!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
There is only ONE!
The following link is to a news story that I came across on foxnews.com today. Please take a minute and read through it...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,370588,00.html
I was completely in awe as I read through the entire story, but there was one paragraph that really made me just want to weep. It said:
"Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent)."
This is absolutely mind-boggling!!! According to this study, more than 4 out of every 5 protestant believers (that is us at GCC) believe that Jesus is not the only path to God. This is so discouraging because all of the talk about "tolerance" in the world these days is leading the average Christian away from a doctrine that is not debatable just so we don't hurt someone's feelings. For those who ask themselves, "Who are we to say that we have the only answer," I will give the following illustration:
Imagine you are on a plane headed to Chicago, and you strike up a conversation with the man in the seat next to yours. After a few minutes you decide that you really like your new friend, and while you are talking he says, "Boy, I can't wait to get to Texas tonight!" You, on the other hand, know that his flight is taking him in the exact opposite direction than he thinks he is going. What do you do?
Do you just sit quietly and let him go to Chicago because you don't want to hurt his feelings or because you don't want to seem arrogant by having the right information that he doesn't?
Of course not! You would tell him that he is on the wrong plane, so he doesn't end up where he doesn't want to be.
We are in the same position every single day. There are people everywhere who are on the wrong path who think they are heading to where they want to be. However, John 14:6 says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." For those reading this who don't know, THAT IS JESUS TALKING! According to this, anyone on a path that is not leading to Jesus, and ONLY Jesus, is on the wrong path...It is our responsibility to share this fact (in love) with them.
It seems to me that this is one of the basic doctrines that all Christians should believe, but according to that study on foxnews.com, more than 4 out of every 5 of us are missing it!!! Don't get me wrong, I don't want us to run around hurting everyone's feelings, but we have a mission given to us by Jesus to spread the Gospel, and train the new believers in the life and teachings of Jesus.
There is only ONE way to eternal life and that is by believing in Jesus Christ as the redemptive lamb who was slaughtered for our sins!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,370588,00.html
I was completely in awe as I read through the entire story, but there was one paragraph that really made me just want to weep. It said:
"Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent)."
This is absolutely mind-boggling!!! According to this study, more than 4 out of every 5 protestant believers (that is us at GCC) believe that Jesus is not the only path to God. This is so discouraging because all of the talk about "tolerance" in the world these days is leading the average Christian away from a doctrine that is not debatable just so we don't hurt someone's feelings. For those who ask themselves, "Who are we to say that we have the only answer," I will give the following illustration:
Imagine you are on a plane headed to Chicago, and you strike up a conversation with the man in the seat next to yours. After a few minutes you decide that you really like your new friend, and while you are talking he says, "Boy, I can't wait to get to Texas tonight!" You, on the other hand, know that his flight is taking him in the exact opposite direction than he thinks he is going. What do you do?
Do you just sit quietly and let him go to Chicago because you don't want to hurt his feelings or because you don't want to seem arrogant by having the right information that he doesn't?
Of course not! You would tell him that he is on the wrong plane, so he doesn't end up where he doesn't want to be.
We are in the same position every single day. There are people everywhere who are on the wrong path who think they are heading to where they want to be. However, John 14:6 says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." For those reading this who don't know, THAT IS JESUS TALKING! According to this, anyone on a path that is not leading to Jesus, and ONLY Jesus, is on the wrong path...It is our responsibility to share this fact (in love) with them.
It seems to me that this is one of the basic doctrines that all Christians should believe, but according to that study on foxnews.com, more than 4 out of every 5 of us are missing it!!! Don't get me wrong, I don't want us to run around hurting everyone's feelings, but we have a mission given to us by Jesus to spread the Gospel, and train the new believers in the life and teachings of Jesus.
There is only ONE way to eternal life and that is by believing in Jesus Christ as the redemptive lamb who was slaughtered for our sins!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Books---They Still Make Those?
I am often taken aback at the lack of interest our young people seem to have in books these days! I have had a lot of conversations this past week about some books that I have read and wanted to recommend, but the main response I get from most of the youngsters that I have spoken with is "I don't read." Not "I can't read," but "I DON'T read."
Maybe it is because I get an enormous amount of knowledge and pleasure from diving head first into a good book, but that comment just floors me! I wish I could come up with a way to prove to all of the doubters that if you stick to reading for a while, it gets easier and a lot more fun. I despised reading in school because I had to! Now, I read what I want, when I want, and I could not imagine living a life without books.
Just to clear the air, I am not "dissing" anyone who does not read. I am just pleading the case for the books out there that can't speak. Their feelings are hurt because they were created to make all of us smarter, and even some of them were created to entertain us! I used to debate with a friend a while back that the book is always better than the movie or show or video game, and I am still right on that one...LOL (Love ya Mike Tolle).
Anyway, for those of you out there who don't read but would be willing to give it a shot, I want to recommend the Circle Trilogy by Tedd Dekker. He is a fiction writer who happens to be a Christian as well. Notice I didn't call him a "Christian writer." That would be like calling your plumber a "Christian plumber." Anyway, these 3 books are titled Black, Red, and White. They are a quick read and are very, very exciting!!! I loved them, and I think anyone who has faith our wonderful God will enjoy them as well. Just give them a shot, and let me know what you think.
Maybe it is because I get an enormous amount of knowledge and pleasure from diving head first into a good book, but that comment just floors me! I wish I could come up with a way to prove to all of the doubters that if you stick to reading for a while, it gets easier and a lot more fun. I despised reading in school because I had to! Now, I read what I want, when I want, and I could not imagine living a life without books.
Just to clear the air, I am not "dissing" anyone who does not read. I am just pleading the case for the books out there that can't speak. Their feelings are hurt because they were created to make all of us smarter, and even some of them were created to entertain us! I used to debate with a friend a while back that the book is always better than the movie or show or video game, and I am still right on that one...LOL (Love ya Mike Tolle).
Anyway, for those of you out there who don't read but would be willing to give it a shot, I want to recommend the Circle Trilogy by Tedd Dekker. He is a fiction writer who happens to be a Christian as well. Notice I didn't call him a "Christian writer." That would be like calling your plumber a "Christian plumber." Anyway, these 3 books are titled Black, Red, and White. They are a quick read and are very, very exciting!!! I loved them, and I think anyone who has faith our wonderful God will enjoy them as well. Just give them a shot, and let me know what you think.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Duplication
I just posted the following on the GCC Sacred Grounds blog, but I wanted to put it on here in case some of you don't check that one out:
YOUNG PEOPLE
If you missed the lesson last night, Angelique delivered one of the best and most profound messages I have heard in a while. Thank you Angelique!
However, what most impressed me most on the night was Rachel Manias' comments toward the end of the class. She issued a challenge to all of the students in our program to not just come to class and service once a week, but to actually live your faith. I can't stress enough how right she is! It is one thing to come to church and play the role, but it is another to live that role everyday in our lives. We can all learn something from that, adult leaders included. I, for one, had one of those "ouch" moments when I realized that I haven't been doing this the way Jesus intends me to!!! Thank you Rachel for putting the call out...We adult leaders put things out like that every once in a while, but I feel that hearing it from a peer will strike more of a chord with our students, and I thank you for having the courage to express your feelings with such passion and sincerity!
May God bless you all!
YOUNG PEOPLE
If you missed the lesson last night, Angelique delivered one of the best and most profound messages I have heard in a while. Thank you Angelique!
However, what most impressed me most on the night was Rachel Manias' comments toward the end of the class. She issued a challenge to all of the students in our program to not just come to class and service once a week, but to actually live your faith. I can't stress enough how right she is! It is one thing to come to church and play the role, but it is another to live that role everyday in our lives. We can all learn something from that, adult leaders included. I, for one, had one of those "ouch" moments when I realized that I haven't been doing this the way Jesus intends me to!!! Thank you Rachel for putting the call out...We adult leaders put things out like that every once in a while, but I feel that hearing it from a peer will strike more of a chord with our students, and I thank you for having the courage to express your feelings with such passion and sincerity!
May God bless you all!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I am "the opposite of front!"
I am back! I know that everyone out there was trembling with anxiety because I have been gone for so long...LOL. For those of you who have noticed my absence, sorry about that. Life sometimes gets in the way of things like this...
Anyway, my family and I are doing really well! Everyone is healthy now, and the kids just keep growing. I keep telling them that with gas prices where they are, they need to slow down on the growing because I can't afford to feed them. They don't listen...go figure! We are moving on the 27th!!! We are going to be renting a three bedroom townhome at Sheffield Square apartments in New Albany. We are really stoked to finally be able to afford something of our own. Plus, there is a pool!!! Maybe, just maybe, my legs won't look like they have been powdered white anymore.
I am leading a discipleship training class every other Friday night at Sacred Grounds at 7:30pm. It is an awesome class, and everyone is invited. I don't care if you are 13 or 113, there will be something for you. We are currently in a series on doctrines, and it is really cool.
Well, I am getting busy, so I will post more about the class later.
It's good to be back!
Anyway, my family and I are doing really well! Everyone is healthy now, and the kids just keep growing. I keep telling them that with gas prices where they are, they need to slow down on the growing because I can't afford to feed them. They don't listen...go figure! We are moving on the 27th!!! We are going to be renting a three bedroom townhome at Sheffield Square apartments in New Albany. We are really stoked to finally be able to afford something of our own. Plus, there is a pool!!! Maybe, just maybe, my legs won't look like they have been powdered white anymore.
I am leading a discipleship training class every other Friday night at Sacred Grounds at 7:30pm. It is an awesome class, and everyone is invited. I don't care if you are 13 or 113, there will be something for you. We are currently in a series on doctrines, and it is really cool.
Well, I am getting busy, so I will post more about the class later.
It's good to be back!
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