Thanksgiving 2009

Tis the season to be thankful. Tomorrow is Thansgiving Day so I thought I would spend this post listing some of the things for which I am thankful.

1. Salvation through Jesus
2. God's Word
3. God's Work
4. My family (Gretchen, Meagan, Marissa and Malory - What a blessing)
5. My extended family
6. God's provision
7. An awesome church family (Immanuel is the BEST)
8. Friends
9. God's Creation
10. Hobbies

This is certainly not a comprehensive list by any means. It is however the some of the things that immediately come to my mind as I try as best as I can to disply an attitude of gratitude!!

Pioneering vs. Settling

I had lunch with a ministry friend today. He is 69 years old and has been in full time vocational ministry for several decades. After his "retirement" he wasted no time in getting on to the next phase of his ministry. He started a whole new ministry focused on mentoring younger ministers in order to help them accomplish their God-given dreams with church growth as an immediate and long term bi-product.

While some choose to use their "golden years" as a time to sit on the porch swing and read the daily paper, he has chosen to continue to live a life of eternal purpose. My father-in-law would say that he is a pioneer rather than a settler. Pioneers choose to continue to go into uncharted territory and claim it as their own. Settlers sit on territory that has already been developed.

This concept has really been close to my heart recently. I cannot find anything in scripture that supports a settler attitude (spiritually speaking of course). In fact what I find in scripture is exactly the opposite, because I see a commanding of a pioneering attitude in regards to spiritual things, including ministry.

I just pray that I will NEVER be a settler in my spiritual life or in ministry. I pray that if and when I reach 69 years of age that I can sit at the lunch table with a 42 year old minister and try as best as I can to pour into his life and ministry. I pray that the passion I now have for church growth and health is 27 years stronger than it is right now. I pray that I will be as passionate for the direction the Lord wants me to head as the 69 year old man I sat at lunch with today.

Tour de Lance

I began to follow the Tour de France some when I was younger. Mainly because I grew up in Boulder, Colorado which is a haven for cyclists. I had a friend who was really into the Tour and because of that I followed it somewhat. It was not until the 2001 Tour that I really got into it. That was Lance Armstrong's third tour win and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at a friends house to watch early morning coverage of the British Open and while we were waiting for the Open to start we switched it to the Tour. When we switched it over Lance was on a climb in the Pyrenees and was trailing Jan Ulrich. It was at that point when Lance seemed to find another gear and passed Jan like he was standing still. At that very moment, I was hooked. I have watched it faithfully ever since. Even in the years sans Lance. That is what makes this year all the more exciting, because Lance is back. And after today it seems as though he is back to do more that just participate, he is back to compete for the maillot janune. So I plan on taking in as much as I can of this years Tour, even if it finds me waking up at 4:30am....

Fourth of July reflections

Yesterday I celebrated the 4th of July by mowing my yard, triming a tree back, going to the movies, and eating dinner with family and great friends. It was a great day lived under the flag of freedom that I enjoy as an American. As awesome as that freedom is, it is infinitely trumped by the ultimate freedom I have in Christ. However, the two freedoms have some interesting similarities. (1) freedom only comes from great sacrifice. (2) freedom brings about responsibility. (3) freedom is never to be taken for granted. I am sure there are many more but these are the ones that I reflected on yesterday and are still on my mind today.

I sure do love my wife

One thing I think about on a regular basis is how much I love my wife. There are way to many things to mention in this post. Plus I am doing this on my Blackberry. The short of it is that she is literally the best friend I have! She loves me in spite of my faults and failures of which there are many. She is the epitome of unconditional love. Being away from her is a painful experience. I thank God every day for giving her to me.

Where did the years go?

Something happened to cause me to wonder where all the years have gone. The other day I was watching home video's with Meagan. I was watching all the girls from Christmas of 2000. They were almost ten years younger then. It sure does not seem that long ago. That caused me to look at the girls now. Then I thought, holy cow where have the years gone. To me the lesson is to enjoy each and every day as they happen.

June Gloom

After living through our 11th June in Southern California I have come to realize that in SOCAL June can be a mixed bag weather wise. There have been June months that have been a scorcher, while others have been pretty mild. The milder June's are possible because of a pacific trough that sits off the coast and brings in a heavy marine layer. Sometimes the marine layer gets as thick as 5,000 feet in elevation. When this happens it brings in what we call "June Gloom." This is the time when living in SOCAL seems more like living in Seattle. This year "June Gloom" has been especially thick. We are now into our 22 day of below average temperatures. In fact as I write this, I am looking out the window at a cloudy, cool, drizzly morning. The lifers here seem to really dread this phenomenon. I, on the other hand, love it! It keeps things cool and saves on my electric bill. After all July will be here soon enough and the days will get hotter and hotter and the electric bill will rise accordingly. Temperatures during July - September have been known to be as high as 110+ degrees (of course it is a dry heat). So I will take my "June Gloom" extra heavy please!!! To me it is a reminder that God gives us what we need when we need.

Christ's sacrifice

I am reading a book titled Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross. It is a book that is editd by Nancy Guthrie and is a compilation of essays from writers like John MacArthur, James Boice, and John Piper. It walks the reader through the crucifixion of Christ through His resurrection, exposing biblical facts about both. Some of these facts I have known for some time, but there are others that I have never realized. Funny how you can read through scripture many times and never see something.

One of the things that was of interest to me was that the only time Jesus personnaly referred to His Father as God (even though it was personal because he declared My God, My God) was on the cross. To me this show the depth of what He was going through to make salvation posisble. Another thing brought to my attention was that of the last seven words Jesus spoke while on the cross, four were direct quotes from the Old Testament. This demonstrates that even in His last hours He was focused on fulfilling His purpose.

All of these things are great, but the greatest thing the book brings to light is the power of the crucifixion. That is not something I needed to be reminded of, but something that is always good to study. Letting that continually soak in is always a good thing because it is a GREAT reminder of the love He has for me. It is also an example and reminder of the love I am to have for others.

Summer is almost here - part 2

The girls finished school today!!! Bring on the summer fun. New job for Meg, two camps, mission projects, beach trips, youth and college activities, church stuff and last but not least VACATION!!! Man, I think the summer might be over before it ever had a chance to start.

When words are not enough

We have some very dear friends that are going through a very difficult time right now. During times like this you want so bad to say something that will help. However, tonight I was reminded that sometimes words are not enough. What is enough during times like this is presence. Presence is sometimes the best thing you can give.

To run or not to run

It's Tuesday night and I have not had a morning run all week. Partly because of my schedule and partly because of out an of town guest (my mom). So I am sitting here contemplating whether or not to go on a run. I know the benefits outweigh the sacrifice of time and sweat. Oh well I will continue to ponder this.

Mistakes never go away

Shouldn't mistakes get to the point that they become fewer and farther between the older we get? Just something on my mind at the moment.

I love Sunday's at Immanuel

Sunday's at Immanuel are a time that I look forward to each and every week. I thought about that this morning and here are some things that make Sunday's special (this is certainly not a comprehensive list).

• It is the culmination of a week of laboring together for the gospel
• It is the beginning of another week of laboring together for the gospel
• It is the coming together of great people to worship our TRULY GREAT GOD!!!
• It is the effort of MANY volunteers who sacrifice their time, talent and treasure for God's Kingdom
• It is the time when we get to see God transform lives

Like I stated, this is not a comprehensive list, but for me it puts things into perspective.

Summer is almost here

As a kid, summer always began the day school let out. As an adult, not much has really changed. The girls get out of school next Thursday, so summer will officially begin. This summer will be busy around our house. Between work, three mission projects, two camps, church activities and vacation, we will be very busy. In fact I do not know of one week that is void of things to do. I am sure that a post will be coming in August which states how the summer flew buy so fast. Of course I would not necessarily want it any other way.

So, bring on the summer time!!!!

Mom's in town

My mom came into town yesterday. She will be here for about four days. I am always glad when family come to visit. I know it is a sacrifice and it is always greatly appreciated. The girls love having their mimi around. One of the disadvantages of living so far away. It should be a great time and I know we will hate to see her go.

Staff Retreat Recap

Immanuel is a very generous church family that allows us the freedom to get away as a staff each year for three days. Each year we go to the desert and get alone for three days to set into motion the plans that we believe God has laid on our hearts.

I honestly believe that this years retreat was the single most productive retreat I have experienced in the nine years I have been at Immanuel. I believe we came away with some very concrete plans that if followed will help us to reach our community and world for Christ.

Get ready Immanuel to see lives changed!!!!

2009 Reading List

I enjoy reading and usually read a fair share of books on a yearly basis. The one thing I have never done is plan out my reading. A guy (great encourager) at church challenged me to do just that. So, this is the first year that I put together a reading schedule with definite timelines of when the books need to be started and when they will have to be finished. Well, so far so good. I finished my first book this morning and will start book two tomorrow.

The first book was called Freedom's Frame by Rick Green (www.rickgreen.com). It was a great book on how the freedom we have in this country is framed by four key principles. I would highly encourage you to pick it up.

In February I am going to read a book called MacArthur's Millenial Manifesto by Sam Waldron and I am also a huge John Grisham fan and his new book The Associate is out and I will try and read that as well. To top that off a dear friend of mine (Allan Taylor - Minister of Education FBC Woodstock, GA) wrote a book Sunday School in HD. It has not gone to print yet, so I am reading the transcript. He wants me to write a recommendation that will be included on the book cover, so I have to finish that book next month.

So why am I sitting here writing this, I need to get to reading...

Planning Conference Recap

Today the IBC staff had its January 2009 planning conference and I believe it went really great! 2009 should be an awesome year in which we see God bless us with growth (spiritual and numerical) in ways that exceed our expectations. I am just so proud of the team that God has put together. They all have great gifts, talents and abilities and are passionate about using them to see people changed with the truth of the gospel. I am absolutely amazed that God has chosen to put me into the mix.

Out with the old in with the new

All my life I have enjoyed new things. Not in a materialistic way, because I also appreciate used things that have been taken care of well. I just enjoy the way something new presents itself. New carpet that has that new carpet smell. A new car that has that new car smell. A new puppy, well....., hopefully you get the idea. For me a new year is very much the same. It is a time when you can let go of what happened last year (the old) and embrace the challenges of a new year. I think sometimes that people get stuck in what happened last year (or yesterday for that matter), forgetting that they have the ability to let that go and embrace something fresh and new. That is also the way it is with sin in my life. I can choose to wallow in it or confess and forget it. For me the second option is much better. I believe this is what Paul meant when he said, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." (Phil. 3:13) HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR EVERYONE