rite of passage

My oldest son is now is 9 and ready for his first rite of passage. The other night after all the kids were dozing off, I snuck in and got him up to watch Lord of the Rings. I will have to do this for at least 12 nights. We had some great discussion already and we are only 1 hour into it. Last year at bed time I told my boys the whole trilogy which took over a month. It was great, there was a certain part that my son thought he had seen. He must have a great imagination.

the gifts

The gifts that are given by Holy Spirit are much needed in our lives and churches today. I believe God is wanting to do something new in our church and wanting to take us to the next level in our adventure following HIM and in reaching our city. I think sometimes the gifts of the Holy Spirit get a bad wrap because people get in the way. They do this by making it more about themselves than about Glorifying Jesus Christ and this is sad. BUT, just because there is MIS-USE, does not mean it should lead us to DIS-USE. We need the power of Holy Spirit now more than ever operating in our lives. I am believing for an authentic move of Holy Spirit within our church, and we will know it is real when everything that is done is pointing to Jesus Christ and not to ourselves.

room

I have traveled to several developing nations and have found that they have a rule when it comes to public transportation...."there is always room for one more." I have been riding where I thought there was literally no-way possible that someone else could get in the vehicle and then 3 more people somehow find a way.
This is true in our lives as well. We cram so much in, it is uncomfortable and nothing gets the proper attention. It's sad to say that we cram Jesus right in there with everything else and sometimes He is shoved to the back. Personally, right now I am trying to make more room for Jesus in my life. More time to pray, read and listen. How much room do you have for Jesus in your life?

5ft 4in

Today was cool! I got to shop with a professional decorator who attends C3 and pick out the furniture / paintings and decor for our foyer and cafe. I'm almost afraid to say this...but I kind of enjoyed the whole process. I did learn something valuable today. I asked her at what height do you know to hand the pictures? She said the standard was 5ft 4in for the middle of the painting. Good luck applying this to your life, if you do come up with something, let me know.

the mix

At home when I give my kids juice, I water it down. One, because with my kids it doesn't take much sugar to set their energy levels through the roof and secondly, because the juice lasts longer. The key is, how much I water it down. The more water I mix in, the more it lessens the strength of the juice and the reaction on my kids. The same could be said for how much I water down the power of Jesus Christ in my life, with myself. "I must decrease, so He may increase." What's your mix?

District Council

I had a great time at the Ohio District Council. It is always good to see friends from all over the state. I had the opportunity as the presbyter (overseer) of the Central area to be a part of the Ordination service and to pray over my friend Mark. I account that as truly a high privilege. I still remember when I was ordained and prayed over by the leadership. I literally felt like I could take on hell with a squirt gun and win!......and I still want to live that way today.

together or alone

"Alone we go fast, together we go far."
When alone, decisions are fast because there is only one opinion to convince. When together, the hard work of casting vision has to be done well and then caught and bought into. BUT, when the vision is caught and together a group of people begin running in the same direction, they can carry a greater load at a greater pace, for a greater distance.

too old

Tonight at District Council, the speaker Dan Betzer gave a great quote. He said something like, "You know you are too old when you become more enamored with your memories, than with the hope of your future.
I never want to live in the past. I want to be grateful for all the lessons learned and cherish the memories, but only in order to build on them. The moment we stop dreaming, we stop living. May we never lose our ability to stop dreaming.

the hard work

Today, our team again spent another day locked in a room with a white board hammering out clarity of vision. The goal was to give every staff member clear roles and lanes to run in. It's amazing how hard that is and how much time it takes, but it's necessary to move forward with effectiveness and efficiency. After 3-4 total days of discussion and healthy debate, I think we have the next level for our church mapped out. Most of what was talked about was structure and will be felt in a few months as we continue to move forward to accomplish God's Will for our church. I can't wait to see how this all pans out.

proud of C3

I am very proud of our church. This past Sunday we took an offering for a single mother in Ecuador who's bamboo house is falling over. Everything she had of value was stolen and she was left with nothing. For $500 we can build her a new house. We raised enough money to build 7 houses! I can't wait to contact our missionary there and let him know to find more single mothers that we can bless. It's awesome to be a part of what God is doing in and through our church.

authority

As a believer, God has given us authority through Jesus Christ. The problem is that most believers never use it. Jesus gave us His authority in Matt 10:8 to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. That is power! I want to walk in His power and authority that Christ Jesus has given me. I think too many Christians whine in prayer, rather than praying in authority. From this day forward, I am seeking God's Will and then praying it with His authority.

reject apathy

I want to make this one of my life's goals, to reject apathy. It is so easy to slip into my calloused mode where I fly through life and forget why I am really here on this planet. I am here to reveal the love of Jesus....to people. God help me to keep my heart clean and open to be open to be used.

back home

The trip was amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how I always go to give, but return feeling that I was the one who received. I am so proud of our team. Everyone gave of themselves and worked very hard without ever complaining. We built some amazing friendships with our new friends from Ecuador as well as on our own team.
Every time I see poverty, it always gets to me. The conditions that people were living in, tears me up. God forgive me when I complain or mumble about my cell phone battery dying or running out of hot water when showering. The world is a big place with so many people, and they need to hear and see the love of Jesus Christ.

more Ecuador

We have worked our hearts out in the intense heat of this amazing country. Working with the locals has been a blast. No doubt they have never met a group like ours. We make everything fun. Today, we will work part of the day and hopefully go shopping in the later afternoon. So far, the trip has been incredible.

Ecuador

We started building yesterday. We are working on a bathroom, a water station and a church building. The heat over here is intense. We are working in a very poor area. Yesterday it rained, so we had to carry all the materials up the hill to the work site on our shoulders due to the mud. We also had to push the cement mixer up the sloppy muddy hill...crazy. The heat is very intense and the sun is nothing like ohio. our team of 17 is doing great and we are working hard. Funny, the computer keyboards are different over here so i may not totally type this out correctly and it spell checks everything in spanish.

First day in Ecuador

Today, we went out to the sight where we are building their new church. We did their 4th service ever for this new church plant. We blessed every kid and parents with gift bags full of everything from toys to toothbrushes to deodarant. It doesn't matter how many times I see extreme poverty, it still gets to me. We are working with a missionary and his team who are planting a new church outside the big city in the slums. We are building a bamboo frame church, bathrooms and running a water line. It is going to be some serious manual labor in the intense heat....I can't wait.

another journey

We got everything in our new house yesterday in the move. I appreciate all the help of friends and family. This morning myself and 16 others are boarding a plane to Ecuador for a C3 missions trip. I'm excited to be a part of what God is doing in Ecuador. We are supposed to have wi-fi so I hope to update regularly.