Good games

We had an awesome game night tonight. We played basketball, dodgeball, airhockey, and of course...Wi-tennis and bowling. Here's a pic of Aaron and Sean getting their bowl on. Good times!
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Allergies

My eyes have been bad today. I don't know if its a reaction to food, pollen, or the weather. I watched some 24 and then spent a good part of the day in a drug induced coma. I feel a little better.
I hate being sick! I'm definatley going to go get checked out.
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Right now...

...I'm worshipping to a great Jeff Deyo song

I'm trying to live out Psalm 37

I'm learning to lean on Jesus

I'm hungry

I'm excited about this Sunday nights message ("The Right Now Life")

I'm thankful for the cross

I need more love, more power, more of Him in my life...
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Mental break

I'm hitting pause for an hour or two today. I'm really feeling the effects of running at 100mph the last several days. These next 11 days are going to require some serious focus. Time to chillax for a few.
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Fruitful not busy

Today is one of those days. Long yet absolutely no time. I have several tasks ongoing and several more to finish. Spare me the lectures on time management and what not. It's not about that. I just want to make sure that in my doing I remain focused on the WHY I'm doing. On days like this it is easy to get so caught up moving and doing that you accomplish nothing at all. I want to be fruitful. I want everything to count for Christ. I want to never becoming weary in well doing. I want to keep Christ the center and do it for Him. 

I'm excited about some great opportunities that we have to minister in these last weeks of the inaugural year of MCC. God help us to be found faithful and fruitful until the end. 

Grillin in the rain

3lbs of Southwest marinated chicken, 5lbs of hamburger, and 16 smoked sausages later and we are ready to eat! Happy Memorial Day!
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Great Preachers

I love preaching. But more than that I love to learn from great preachers. I get to listen to a great preacher tonight. Rev. Dennis Wilson is a friend and mentor of mine. He's one of the very few people I've allowed to speak into my life when it comes to how I present the Word of God through preaching. I can't wait. I preach on Jun 1st and the 8th, and just knowing that he is preaching tonight lit a spark in me for those two messages. Preaching inspires preaching I guess. God has called me to this post and with that comes the awesome responsibility of communicating the His truth with clarity, accuracy, and relevance. I pray that He finds me faithful. Here are some great communicators who impact me and my preaching:

Alistar Begg 

Dan Betzer

Maury Davis

Mark Batterson

Herbert Cooper

Rob Bell

...and there are many more. You'll notice here many different styles and in some cases some drastic differences. But they all speak into a different part of me. Check out their podcasts if you want to here some great messages.

Graduation, garageband, and gas...prices

Gotta give a shout out to all the guys and gals from our church who graduate this weekend. I couldn't make them all, but congrats anyway. I remember my HS, Basic, and AIT graduations. I didn't go to my Bible school graduation. The paper was good enough.
I've been getting my garageband on lately. Not sure what I'm going to do with all of those "HOT TRAX".
The high gas prices have been all over the news. My family and I are in the process of changing our summer break plans. Just want to be good stewards and what not. We're supposed to see a national average of $4 within the next 2 weeks. Who would have thought?
We had an awesome water gun fight yesterday with the kids. Nothing like war games! Tomorrow I'll be treated to some good eats after church. I can't wait!
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Last Day of school

Today is the last day of school for my wife and kids. Let summer begin! I'm proud of my son...he finished the year with a 98 average! We'll have a nice long weekend of hanging out and relaxing.
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Consider others

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better the yourselves." Phil 2

Consider others. I've been chewing on that this morning. Some people make it down right impossible to consider them. They may mistreat you, judge you, and even harm you. How can you have the mind of Christ when confronted with offense? I think the key is "...in humility..."
When I think of how I've wronged people, how my sin hurts God, and how my pride gets in the way, I can only thank God for His grace. If He looks beyond my junk and loves me with an everlasting love, then surley I can get over myself. Consider others. Have we considered those who have done us wrong?
God help me to bless those who curse me. Lord help me to walk in love and humility. Keep me from selfish ambition and vain conceit. Help me to consider others as you have considered me.
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Where did the day go

Today has flown by. I can't believe church is in 3 hours! I've been going 100mph today. Lots of media stuff, a hospital visit, and the normal day to day. I'm getting excited about graduation. We've got some cool videos to show and we get to lead worship.
Congrats to the grads of Decatur MC (thanks for everything Derrick).
I'm going to play some horse with my son and then head back up to the church early.
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Focus

It's been a day of focus. Some of the students are cramming trying to get last minute work done. Some of us are locked in our "virtual editing rooms" making vids for graduation. My allergies are acting up so my vision is bad in one eye...which means focusing is literally difficult. My computer is throwing me some curves and that is messing me up too. I'm glad it's break time. Maybe some mental down time will help me maintain my focus.

"The day after yesterday and the day before tomorrow needs your full attention."

Monday Monday

It definitely feels like a Monday. I've got a lot to do in 3 weeks. Our first MCC class graduates on Jun 8th and I have mixed emotions. Of course I am proud of what these students have endured and accomplished the past 9 months. But I'm also sad to see them go. After all, we've done life together 10-15 hours a day,  6 days a week, since September. I'll miss the little buggers :0

We've made history. We've participated in a work that would have failed if God hadn't shown up time and time again. It's been awesome. Next year is already taking shape and the future is bright!

On another note, I've been in a reading fog as of late. Nothing is really jumping at me. I've got some great blogs and podcasts that keep me going, but I could use another "Off Road Disciplines" or "Gospel According to Starbucks". I'll take any recommendations. 

I'll have to be in full manager mode the next 3 weeks if we are going to finish strong and with excellence. God help me...

Under the weather

I've been feeling a little sick today. I hate feeling sick. We had a Kids musical in church today. My son did awesome! I'm so proud of him! I think some caffeine I had yesterday messed me up (caffein, like shell fish, doesn't agree with me). Anyway, I'm looking forward to some r&r this afternoon. I don't want to feel like this later on.

Dreams come true

I love to dream. I love getting a picture for where God could take me. He's been so good to me and mine. I'm so blessed to live a life where dreams come true. Here are just a few that have come to pass:

- 1996 - Dream of becoming a full time pastor (Fulfilled in 2005)

- Dream of attending Southeastern University Fulfilled (2005)

- 1996 -Dream of starting a band, touring, and playing with some of my favorite groups (Fulfilled 1996-1999)

- 2000 - Dream of serving in combat with the Screaming Eagles (Fulfilled in 2003)

- 2001 - Dream of completeing my ministerial studies (Fulfilled in 2005)

- 2005- Dream of owning our home (Being fulfilled as I speak)

- 2006 - Dream of starting Master's Commission Clarksville (Fulfilled and getting bigger...)

I could go on and on about some of the things that God has given me but I'll hold off. There are also many that are too personal to share here. I'm just very thankful that God makes dreams come true!

Mac Envy

My wife was blessed with a new MacBook. Yes, I am getting drunk on haterade. After all, I'm the one with the iPod, BlackBerry, and the media pastor portfolio :)
She deserves it though! (By the by, I'll take a Mac blessing too!)
My mantra for the next few days needs to be "Thou shall not covet"
Congrats babe!

Basketball

For the first time in my life I have a basketball hoop in my back yard. It's perfect for the kids, but good for me too. Putting that thing together was the hardest thing I've done in a while. My oldest helped me out. The instructions might as well have been in Mandarin. Talk about a pain in the butt! I won the first game 12 to 3. My boys will be beating me soon enough, for now, I'll let them believe that dad is the 2nd coming of Shaq. (Anyone who's played with me got a good laugh out of that line)
It's such a blessing to father my boys. It isn't easy, but I love it!
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God or not?

I had a great talk today about revivals and other moves or so-called moves of God. Lots of people are getting worked up over what is happening down in Lakeland, FL. I amm personally connected to these types of services because I met Jesus in a real way for the first time at a revival service like the one in Lakeland. However, that does not speak to eveything that happened there. The great thing about God is that He IS and He can do whatever wherever. He will save those who call on Him. He will heal those who pray the prayer of faith. He answers the prayers of the righteous. But where there are people, there are bound to be fakes. We are emotional people who can let that get the best of us. There are still some weirdos among us. That's okay. We just have to walk in love, led by truth, understanding that God will not be mocked and we all will reap what we sow. I heard a preacher say that wherever there is a circus...the clowns are bound to show up eventually.
So test the spirits. Speak the truth in love. Know what the Bible says. Give God the glory for genuine healing and salvations. And let Him fight the battle with those who would abuse His name and their positions.

Bowl on

Here is Aaron getting his bowl on. I bowled a 202...if you add up my 2 games!

Bowling

I'm off to bowl! I'm no good at it...but it sure is fun. The MCC team will be spending some time with some kids from Montgomery Christian Academy. School is out next week so this is one of our last shindigs before summer. I'm looking forward to an afternoon of laughs. I'll try to post some pics later on.

Kickball, kids, and kick flips

Yesterday was great. MCC played kickball with the students of MCA. It was all fun and games until April did some sort of kick flip and fell on her back. She rolled her ankle pretty good. We're praying she'll be back to 100 percent soon. After work I grilled some chops and played football in the yard with my boys. Good times. My little guy informed me that he is not a big boy anymore. He said "I don't want to be 3...I want to be 2" I told hime he can't and then he asked me "what happend to my 2?" Classic. They really will say the darndest things! I spent the morning prayin at the park by the river. So good to get outdoors!
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Before the shellfish

My wife loves Japanese culture. We actually came very close to living in the Land of the Rising son about 6 years ago. Here is a pic of my youngling and mom at Sakura before it all went down hill. Thanks for the prayers!

Stupid Shellfish

I love seafood. Sadly I have an allergy to shellfish. We ate at Sakura yesterday and I had a bite of my sons Thai chicken. You may ask "since when is chicken shellfish"? I'd say "when it has been cooked on the same grill with the same utensils as shrimp and scallops". Needless to say, I spent a couple of hours in a Benadryl induced coma. And to top it all off, my wife wasn't feeling good either. She'd been fighting a bug all weekend. Well, at least the food was good.

Mother's Day

What can I say about my mother? She is the best. I respect my mother because I have seen her go through the fire in her body and in her life. She's battled storms I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy...and she's survived. My mother (along with my father) taught me the power of calling on the name of the Lord. My mother actually prayed my first "salvation" prayer wth me when I was about 6. My mom always told me to "keep God first", "be your wife's best friend", and protect your family".

Was I a great son? No. But I hope that I've lived a life that my mom would be proud of.

I'm blessed to have a wife who is a great mom. She is the picture selfless service.

Happy Mother's Day!

Friday's Blog

For some reason my mobile blogger is acting up. Friday's post was about the joy of napping. Sorry it didn't get posted. What are you going to do?

Too many books

I spent some time at hastings book store yesterday. Man! I wanted like 35 books. I wish I could go on a reading sabbatical. i'd love to get away for 30 days and just read...everything. Classincs, bios, mags, history...just read. I'll be reading tons this summer. My days will slow down just a litle so I'll be able to dig in to some new stuff.

My friend Stepehn wrote a new book that I'd love to read. i don't really read fiction, but it still looks good. Speaking of reading, I'd better get off of here and hit the books.

Random Thursday

1. Last night was great. God showed up and let us hang out with Him. Good job team!

2. Scrubs goes the way of the buffalo tonight...oh well.

3. Only 4 weeks left before we put a bow on MCC's first year! WOW!

4. I can't wait to go to Memphis this summer!

5. My kids are hilarious.

6. I'd really like some Thai Food...never thought I'd say that.

7. I have no plans for my day off which means it will be a great day off.

My Official Endorsement

Well, with election season about to hit the fan I have decided that it's my turn to make my official endorsement for president of these United States of America. It is with much prayer, thought, and conviction that I choose to make this endorsement. I hope this doesn't get me in trouble withthe IRS. Politics can be so problematic and controversial. I believe it is the duty of every citizen of this nation to be involved in the process. No exceptions. VOTE. Get involved. Protest if you must, but whatever you do, BE the change that you wish to see in this country. Anywho, the following link will take you to the official page of my candidate:

 

Past 5

Here are some thoughts that really jumped out to me the past 5 days (Honorbound retreat and Sunday services):

"Mature Christians keeps their mouths off of other people (gossip and slander)"

"For every victory there is a battle"

"Learn to like yourself. We copy what we like. If we like oursevlves then we will BE ourselves"

"Watch what you say"

"I don't need money, but the people who I owe appreciate whatever you can give me"

The Deposit

1 Timothy 6:20 says ...guard what has been entrusted (deposited) in you or to your care. I've been thinking about that in some depth this morning. What has been deposited in me by God through others. As a parent I apply as much of the wisdom my parents placed in me. As a teacher a draw on the great men who have taught and are teaching me. But the word guard is what really jumps out to me. how can a fortify the gospel that is in me. How can I secure the truth in me and protect it from godless chatter and false knowledge?

If there is one thing that God has entrusted me with this year it has to be a heart for the individual. I found myself praying for someone this morning that really gets under my skin. suddenly me entire outlook changed. I genuinely cared for that person in an instant. Gd has shown me the past 8 months how to treasure individuals for who they are, not just for what they can do. That may seem like a simple thing to you, but you try taking 6 individuals and disciple them intensely for 9 months! You'll learn real quick that the only way to effectively do that is to treat everyone as an individual who is part of the team.

God help me to guard what you have entrusted to my care.

Hungry

Lunch can't come quick enough on Sunday. I don't know if it's the energy crash or what, but I am absolutley famished right now!
I love Sunday lunch because it is the preview for Sunday nap! I've got some running to do so that might not happen today.
Church was awesome today. Great word and great fun. I sang the solo in the choir today. Let me tell you, I've preaced over 160 times in 3 years(thanks to my great pastor), I've taught a weekly class for the last 5 years, and I sit on the platform 3 times a week in front of a crowd...yet I sweat bullets when I sing in front of people. It's the weirdest thing. Anyway, time to eat!

Day 2

The retreat has been great...I'll post some thoughts later.

Honorbound

Today begins the 2008 TN Honorbound Mens Retreat. It'll be a day of non stop prep for me and my team. I love men's retreat. There is nothing better than 1000 men calling out to God through prayer and praise. We'll here some great speakers and laugh at a very funny comedian. I'll be wearing my media pastor hat today (that should be fun). I'll also get to eat some killer BBQ. Lord willing it'll be an awesome day!

Ripped Off

Don't you hate it when you get fast food and they forget something in your order? I do. I got shorted some chicken today. Very frustrating!
Why is it my job to check if I got all of my food? I'll never understand it. I guess you get what you pay for...oh wait, that's not true either because THEY shorted me my chicken!
I feel much better now.