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!!!

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!

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.

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!

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!