Monday, December 31, 2007

The Last Post of the Year!

Being that it is almost midnight, this is the last post of the year. 2007 has been incredible. I have enjoyed it. Here is some (no not all) of my highlights of the year:

  • Isaiah -- so many good times with him
  • Vacation -- my wife, my son, myself...what could be better
  • Finding out about Mark Batterson
  • Chase the Lion Series at Church
  • Thanksgiving Eve service
  • Christmas Eve service
  • Samuel
  • Melting Pot with Heather
  • Edinboro Camp -- love those kids
  • and of course, starting this blog where I can just think out loud
  • And reading all my fellow bloggers' thoughts

Blogging is great. I love this forum to get my thoughts out. I love looking back to see what I blogged about. I love developing concepts that I get to fully use later.

So as 2008 will be here real soon, 2007 was well....legendary!

Random Reflections

Sorry that I haven't blogged much lately. We have had some crazy times. I think if I counted right I had about 5 Christmases. Crazy I know.
2 years old + 5 Christmas's = 1 Cranky kid, even though he still is the cutest kid I have ever seen in my life.

I have notiticed on TV all the ads for diets as always right before the new year. With that being said I thought I should make the title of this post "easy fast quick diet that is guarenteed to work." I thought a lot of people might google that.

You should have heard my voice yesterday. Well actually you couldn't hear much. My voice was mostly gone. It was so tough to get through everything, but I did :) So that was a good thing.

I have gotten to spend more than normal time with that my family lately because of Christmas and everything. I really like that. In fact I am trying to figure out how to do that more often.

I realized today is that last day of 2007. Boy has it been a quick one and, for the most part, a good one.

That reminds me I have to do my best of 2007 list.

I am begining to like tea. My wife started to drink it almost every night, so of course I decided to try some. I am really starting to like it.

It is becoming really easy to get Samuel to smile. Smiles are great.

I need to find a way to prevent my house from being overrun by toys!

Happy New Year

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

I got my Christmas Wish

Last night we put Samuel to bed at about 10. That is later then normal, but it was Christmas and you know how crazy that can get. Samuel did not wake up till 6:30, which is the time I had to get up anyways. My Christmas wish was for Samuel to sleep all night. I think I got that. :)

Nascar, God, and Cancer

I am a huge Nascar fan. I make sure I keep up with all the Nascar stories. By doing so, you develop a liking of this writer or that writer. One of my favorite writers is Bob Margolis. I just like his writing style/information. It just appealed to me.
Little did I know that this whole season he has been battling cancer. He wrote about his ordeal. It was just amazing. Check it out for yourself:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AqeO92elavD.Ca2ZxEyqlzTov7YF?slug=bm-bobsstory122507&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Are you Hungry?

I know you read the title of that post, and the first thought in your head was "Hungry? How can I be hungry? I ate 50 lbs of cookies yesterday." Well fortunately for those of us who had more then a double helping of the "blessing" that is Christmas cookies, I am not talking about that type of hunger.

I am talking about spiritual hunger. I came across a quote today by Erwin McManus. "My job is not to feed Christians, but to make them hungry." Wow! I get it! I like it! I practice it. One of my desires is to make people want more. I am not smart enough or good enough to adequately feed people their entire spiritual meal. I don't want to be. In fact there is not one person that could. The reason is, it is not my job to feed people. It is impossible. The nourishment comes from God.

So if I can make people hungry, wanting more of God, they are going to go and look for it. They are going to ask God to fill them. Sometimes I will say stuff that will make people confused, upset, and having to search for the answers themselves. Good!

Love that quote. "My job is not to feed Christians, but to make them hungry"

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

4 hours after the Christmas Eve Service

Well it is 12:16 am. I guess that means "Merry Christmas" We just finished wrapping all the presents. Yeah! Now after we did all the work, I guess we can go to bed and wait for Santa to come.
The Christmas Eve Service...It was Legendary! I thought it was a huge success. I had a blast. I really enjoyed the felloweship with everyone. There is just something that seems right to celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve with a Candle.
Maybe I will tell you all later; but we had an amazing story come out of tonight. A God only Story. Amazing how he works. I would tell you all right now, but keep in mind that it is 12:20 and I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open.
What a day, what a night, what a Savior!

Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 24, 2007

1 Hour Before the Christmas Eve Service

Just to let you know this will be my last post until after the service sometime (maybe even tomorrow)
I'm all dressed up in my suit. I checked the PowerPoint, it worked, I have to tune the bass guitar, and a couple of other things
Now by the time it gets to be about 6:30 I will be thinking "No one is coming" and slowly but surely everyone will trickle in.
Man I'm I excited!
If you are sitting at home wondering what to do, you better come and join us a 7:00 p.m.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2 Hours Before the Christmas Eve Service

Right now I am at home. Well I am here I had to get the PowerPoint that Heather did on her laptop, transfer it to my laptop. Get the MP3 all ready to go. Say "Hi" to my wife. Check my mail, eat supper, put on something called a suit. Then out the door again, back to church hopefully around 5:30 - 6:00, and then get everything else ready. 2 Hours...I am getting really excited

4 Hours To the Christmas Eve Service

I changed all the light bulbs and did not hurt myself! (although one did shatter, but that is besides the point). I set up some more chairs. I kept debating with myself, on how many chairs I should set up. I know the whole 70% full rule (if it is 70% then you are comfortably full). So I am tyring to do that math with the fact that the 70% doesn't really apply to Christmas Eve. All in all, I am having fun.
I just got to experience the joy of giving and receiving from a totally unexpected unplanned event. I tell you what, it is just a too good of a story. If you want to hear it, come tonight to Bakerstown Alliance at 7:00 p.m.

6 Hours Before the Christmas Eve Service

Now if you would look at a couple of posts before this one, you would find why this is even more funny. I have some light bulbs to replace. I told this to my wife, and my parents yesterday. They almost made me not do it. :) So, for the next while I will be changing light bulbs and setting everything up. I have to add a couple of more chairs and stuff. I also am pondering if there will be enough room inside to form a circle. The way we have it set up now there is no outside aisle. I think there will be enough room anyhow. Due to the wind advisory and just the overall coldness, I do not think we will be outside. Well, off to move and change.

9 Hours before Christmas Eve Service

It is weird. I am at the church on Monday, (I don't do Mondays) and I am actually feeling pretty good. I guess my body realized last night that it doesn't get to rest this time after Sunday. So it is ready to go tonight. I am getting excited about tonight. I am expecting great things. I am sure that it will be a really good time. Next on my to do list is to practice my message. Just to let you all know, typically, I practice twice before anyone hears it. I find it a huge help. I would like to be able to practice more, get to the point where I could do it without notes. I am just not there yet. Well enough blogging, on to practicing :)

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Ironic, don't you think?

Right now as I type, my little one is sound asleep. He is upstairs, in his crib, sawing logs. This is amazing. He is finally starting to understand this sleep a long time at night concept.
Meanwhile my 2 1/2 year old who has been sleeping all night long since he was about 2 months old, is upstairs crying his head off. Ironic! Someday, hopefully soon, everyone will sleep all night long.

My Most Memorable Christmas Eve

Once upon a time, in a church not so far away, I was getting ready for our Christmas Eve service. Now this service is probably our best turn out of the year. So I get this mantra in my head, "Everything has to be perfect on Christmas Eve." So I noticed that one of the light bulbs way up in the bell tower was out. No problem. I will just go up there and change the bulb right? Well I was changing the bulb and it shattered in my hands. Ouch! I figured I would just run some water over it, and if it was really bad put on a band aid. Well that didn't work. It was still gushing. So I called Heather. She was like, "What did you do?" So we wrapped it up in a bunch of paper towels, then continued to get everything ready. Back downstairs, more paper towels, still bleeding. More paper towels. Begin the service, all wrapped with paper towels. Beth was singing a song, I went back down and wrapped more towels around me. Back up stairs. Preached with my hand up in the air. (maybe a little distracting). Got to the candle lighting part, lit one person's candle and my hand started gushing again. Grab some paper towels from my pocket. wrapped some more around my hand. Then finished the service. Talk to everyone on the way out. Then go to the ER on Christmas Eve. I was not the only one there. In fact I think we had to wait like 2 hours. They finally get to me. Looked around to see if there was any glass in there, ouch! Then stitched me up. Get out of the ER at like 11:30 and start heading to Connecticut, to spend Christmas at Heather's parents house. After all it was only 500 miles away. By the way it was snowing, and not just a little. Major snow! So after like 3 hours, we only made it like 60 miles. We found a hotel and went to bed. Got up on Christmas morning and once again headed on our way. Funny, none of the road crews were out on Christmas. We tried for over 4 hours to get somewhere, and we only got like another 60 miles. We heard that they were shutting down the interstate. So we gave up. Ate Christmas dinner at a truck stop, and spent Christmas day in a hotel room with no decorations. Finally on the 26th we were able to arrive at our destination. Exhausted, and with stitches.
I laugh at it now. I think back to it and can't stop laughing. On my pinkie, where I got the stitches, I touch it and it still tingles. Just thought I would share my story with all of you out there. I hope you got a laugh out of it.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

I am so excited

Sunday and Monday, December 23rd and 24th for me personally are going to be draining and then some. This week is crazy. It is Christmas go time. Now you can ask my wife. Every Christmas Eve there will be a phrase that I will repeat several times. "It's Christmas Eve. Everything has to be perfect on Christmas Eve." I know I put a lot of stress on myself. I know I do. But man I am excited. Sunday and especially Christmas eve are going to be off the charts. Christmas -- talking about the birth of the Savior, wow! This is one of the greatest things about my job.
For all of you within any distance of Bakerstown Alliance, you will want to be there 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. It will be........well...........legendary.

P.S. Hopefully in the next day or two I will tell you about my embarrassing/painful/hilarious Christmas Eve stories (sorry if you heard it before) :)

My Big Ham

Today I just felt like cooking a ham. Now, I just didn't want a little ham or a ham steak. I wanted the bomb diggidy bomb. I want the mother ship. So I cooked an eighteen pound ham. Now you are thinking, what does a family of 4 with 1/2 of them being under 3 need with that big of a ham. Well that is a good question. Needless to say there will be a lot of leftovers. Hey that is ok. It is ham! I like ham. And yes as I sit here, my house has a very strong smell of ham.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The unexpected best part of my day

Today I had a ministerium meeting. I must admit I thought about skipping. I have a lot of stuff to get ready between now and Christmas. This time of the year is always hectic. So it was just one more thing on my to do list. But I decided I should go. After all, I am the treasurer of the ministerium. So I show up. It turns out I was 50% of all the people there. Now at first that seemed like a colossal waste of time. But in reality it was the greatest time. I got to spend one hour with a person that I deeply respect, talking about life and ministry. That was incredible. Finding one hour to sit down and just talk without an agenda is difficult. That is something that we all could use a little more of. Maybe we should be more intentional about it. I know you are all busy. I know you all have a huge to do list. But why not find that one hour to talk to someone about life in general. You will be encouraged and re-energized just like I was today.

Friday, December 14, 2007

How I Spent My Morining

I just wanted to let all of you out there in the blogsphere know that I have been a little under the weather. Sick? Nah not me. I never (admit to) getting sick. Frustrates Heather. She will ask me if I am sick and of course I will tell her "no." Ok so maybe I am a little bit more then "under the weather."
With that in mind, allow me to tell you about my morning. I drag myself out of bed at 6:30, get ready, out the door at like 7. Look at the car. Why is the one tire "not so round?" Hmm, not completely flat. So I look for my air tank and it is not there. I remembered that I let my dad borrow it. He is right up the road. I will just drive carefully. So I did put some air in it. And it looked round. But I knew I should put more air in it. I dove to GetGo, got some gas, and sure enough the air was out of order. By this time the tire is not so round any more. I did not want to ruin the wheel, so I parked it and went to change the tire. Somehow the jack and the lug wrench were missing. So I called my dad. Bribed him with a coffee (always works between the 2 of us). He brought me a jack and lug wrench. Got the nuts off, went to pull the tire off. It would not budge. Argh. So I had to take Isaiah to school. I had my dad take me to my house, grabbed the minivan (and Isaiah). Take him to School. Heather calls AAA. They tell her that she has to be at the car. So she takes her mom's car, heads down the road, and gets a call saying "it is all changed no problem." So then Heather takes the car to Walmart to get the tire fixed. Of course they are backed up and Samuel and Heather have to get home, so I drive to Walmart, pick those 2 cute ones up. Then I had them drop me of at GetGo picked up Heather's mom's car, picked up Isaiah from school. Then we had Walmart tell us that we can't fix the tire and in fact we need 4 new tires. Argh. Ohh well had to do it. Went home, ate lunch, went back to work. And picked up the car after a big night out at Eat-N-Park. Well that is how my morning/day went. I don't know. Just felt like I would share with all of you

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Top 10 Signs I am not spending enough time with God

Here you go. Here is a list of the top 10 signs you are not spending with God. I am not saying these are the only ones. Also these are in no particular order. I have to give credit where credit is due. A lot of the items on this list are from Bil Cornelius.

1. Little things begin to bother me.
2. I become irritable.
3. I find worry creeping up in my mind.
4. Temptations become stronger.
5. Discouragement becomes too regular.
6. I find that I am not only tired, but emotionally tired.
7. Complacency is accepted.
8. I'm not day dreaming about what God can do.
9. I'm lonely.
10. The fun factor is down.

What do you think? Are there any you would like to add? Are there any you would like to take away?

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Sometimes you want to talk to a human

Have you ever tried to call somewhere and get a real human? It is getting tough these days. The automated processes are good sometimes, but there are those situations where you just have to talk to a human. Fortunately for me, I have a brother (literally my brother) Phil who likes to hook me up. Check out this website. gethuman.com On the site there are about 500 corporate numbers and how to get a human. Quite impressive. So there you go. Just a little help for you. Thanks to the coolest brother in the world.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Sleep or the lack there of

Someday I know that I will sleep through the night again, where I will not be woken up by a little one crying. Boy do I miss those days. I often walk around like a zombie (and I will be the first to admit Heather has it even worse) just because of the lack of a decent night's sleep. Sometimes I try to think I and will just about have an intelligent thought, and my mind will just go blank. Man that is kinda frustrating at times. Now the amazing part is that God has given me enough sustained brain power to get the things done that I need to get done. So I am really grateful for that.
Now let me make something very clear here; I would not trade it for the world. As I sit here and type, feeling sleepy, and Samuel's crying, I would not trade it for the world. No it doesn't make sense to me. 3 years ago I would tell you that it would be impossible.

Sleep, yeah that is nice. 2 little gifts from God, even nicer. 1 loving wife, amazing!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

No More Mr. Bahumbug

Christmas is a very busy time for me. Things really get crazy. However, I made a choice the last couple of years and I am going to make that same choice this year. I will not succumb to being Mr. Bahumbug. You ask "how is that possible?" I tell you the truth, you can choose your attitude. I am choosing to enjoy the season. To enjoy the craziness. To enjoy the excitement of my 2 year old son. To go outside in the snow build a snowman and go sled riding. To stand in line at Wal-mart for 35 minutes talk to the clerk in a friendly tone and make sure that I wish them a Merry Christmas. Your attitude is what you want it to be. So if I seem Bahumbugish to you, please tell me. I will need to change it.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

How Rich Are You?

We all like to complain we are poor, but are you really doing that bad?

I'm loaded.
It's official.
I'm the 569,942,529 richest person on earth!



How rich are you? >>

Update just for my Dad :)

If you click towards the bottom of the picture you will get linked to a site that you can find out how rich you are. The site is global rich list. Which clicking on that title back there will get you there, or you could click here, or here, or here, or here. :) (By the way, make sure you switch from the euro to the $$, unless you are in Europe)

Apples and Isaiah


Turns out my son really likes apples. Isaiah and I love to cut up an apple and just eat it. I'm not quite sure why he likes it so much. But I really don't care. I just like that fact that he likes it. And if it gives me an opportunity to hang out with him, hey what could be better than that? I will never claim to know what I am doing as far as being a dad. I have a good example from my dad. You know what he did? He was just hung out with me. He asked questions that were basically just normal questions. So that's what I am attempting to do with Isaiah. Basically I guess that might mean that we have a higher apple expenditure then the normal family. Oh well! :)
By the way, let me help you out in your quest for a good juicy apple. Fugi apples are by far the best. Hey, what can I say. I am here for you guys.

Monday, December 3, 2007

mmmmmm.....doughnuts....

On Sunday I received a wonderful gift. A gift that I rarely get to enjoy. A peanut butter angel doughnut. For those who do not know what these are, it is like a vanilla angel except with peanut butter filling. WOW! Those things are wonderful. Now the only place close to us that sells this little slice of heaven is in Butler. Now that is about 1/2 hr to 45 minutes from our church. A great guy (yes ladies he is single) drove the 1 hour round trip to get me these delicious delicacies. Man....they were great. I think I almost shed a tear.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

My Migraines

I feel a little uncomfortable talking about my migraines. It is just not something I share freely with everybody. I am getting better at telling my wife when I have one. It is just something I don't like to talk about. But I going to open up and share with all you out there in the blogsphere.

Since I was in like third or fourth grade I have been getting migraines. Pretty bad ones. Back then I would get about one every other week. Basically, I would end up getting such a bad headache I would throw up. Boy did that stink. I took a bunch of tests and such and we never did figure anything out.

Through high school they were not that bad. I think I just got smart about dealing with them (i.e. go to bed when they would come). In college I learned about something that I could only learn about in the South: Goodies Headache Powder. Boy does that stuff work.

Now the coolest thing about my migraines is other than one time, every morning when I wake up after having a headache, I feel fine. Now I will say the last time I threw up it took my stomach a little bit longer than it used to to get back to normal. But other than that, I am usually good to go.

Sometimes, I have those days when I get a headache and it actually goes away. I had one of them today. Man I tell you. It is incredible. When it goes away you have this whole new outlook on life. You can see things without pain. You read without wanting to throw up. It is incredible. So that is how I feel right now. It also makes me extremely grateful to God, the Giver of Life.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Why Don't You Blog About It?

Ok, and in fact I will! Guess what? This is Post 100! Wow!
I'm amazed. I never knew I had that much to say. That is pretty cool. When I started blogging back in July, I had no idea what I was going to blog about or anything like that. And as you have seen from the variety, I probably still have no idea what I am going to blog about.
I will be talking to Heather (maybe rambling on and on) and about 3 or 4 times a day Heather will respond with a "Why don't you blog about it?" Sometimes that is exactly what I do.
Blogging helps me get things off my chest. It helps me process weird thoughts. It helps me prepare for Sundays. I think I am addicted to blogging. I want to encourage you all to give it a shot. Every post does not have to be an instant classic. In fact I assure you that many of the 100 posts are not a classic, and maybe should never have been posted :)
So I want take this opportunity to thank all who have read (and especially those who have commented(I really like comments)). Thank you. It has been a blast. It has been a privilege. And I can honestly say it has been.........legendary!

The New Layout

Do you like my new template?
I guess I really should explain a couple of things.

For a couple of months I had the all black background, with that funny looking guy running. I choose that one for a reason. In fact, when I chose that template, I thought it would be only a matter of days before I would announce to all of you out there in the blogsphere that I was going to start training for a marathon. I have always wanted to run a marathon. I vividly remember in 6th grade thinking that it would be a lot of fun to run a marathon. I know I am not getting any younger, so I really wanted to do it.
But unfortunately the timing is not right. Our church is keeping me busy. That is a small factor. The main factor is/was Samuel. I knew the first couple of months are really tough adjusting. So I wanted to make sure that I was not totally killing myself trying to train and then not have any energy for my family.
For now, the dream of a marathon is on hold. It is not dead! Repeat, it is not dead! I am dreaming about it right now as I type. For what it is worth one time in college I ran 18 miles just for the fun of it. I really was not that tired either.
So I am still holding on to that dream.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Thoughts from Sunday

Yeah, Yeah, I know. It seems a little late to be talking about stuff that happened on Sunday. Well maybe I am just a little slow to process things sometimes. Maybe it takes time for me to fully think through things. But let me share some thoughts about Sunday.
I did something I normally don't do. The message (which you can listen to here) was more of a lesson about sanctification. At the end I had people share their journeys with Christ using a line to represent the highs and the lows. That was a lot of fun. It took this theoretical message and made it practical. I think we all learned something about God making us more like Him and also learned more about each other. I liked the way it turned out. I have to admit I was scared when I was talking about it that people were not connecting, but having people fill it out at the end, man, they were right on.
Lots of fun!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

3-0?

The final score of the Steelers Games was 3-0. Wow. What an strange game. I got to admit I (like every other boy who has ever walked this earth) wanted to go down and play in the mud too. It looked like a lot of fun. Just a bizarre game. But the important part is my Steelers matched their win total from last year with 5 games to go. It is looking good for a nice little playoff run, followed by another Super Bowl Victory. Yeah, I am one of those optimistic people.

I always want more

One of my biggest flaws or strengths (amazing how they can be the same) is I am always wanting to do something better, bigger, and more amazing. Just about every Sunday it is the same: I did pretty good, but...I could have done so much better. Every time we have a special event: it was good, but could have been better. Our Thanksgiving Eve service at Bakerstown Alliance was good, but I wish I did things a little different, a little more special, a little bit better. Now depending on my motivation this is either good or bad. If I want to do something better to serve God, that is a good thing. If I want to do something better to make me look better, that's a bad thing. If I am grateful to God for the outcome, good thing. If I think God let me down, bad thing.
I have to live with this tension. I have to learn to let it drive me crazy. But I love having it. I love being able to push my limits and serve my God.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Catching Leaves


If you have ever been to my house you know that there are some pretty big trees on my property. So being that it is fall, leaves fall. I was watching leaves fall from the tree. So I decided to catch them. I got lucky and caught it the first one. So I thought, this is easy. Then I tried and tried, and finally got another one. Now I am getting better. Who ever thought that leaf catching would be so much fun. One of life's simple pleasures. I like simple pleasures.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Use Everything You Have

Some years ago, I took this big long self-examination test called the IDAK test. One of the things that caught me off guard was my creative score. I cannot draw. I am not artistic. So what does that mean? I struggled with that question for some quite time.
Fast forward -- I understand what creativity is. I am understanding more and more everyday how to use it. It has been my privilege to be allowed to explore my creativity at Bakerstown Alliance. I have tried some things that, well, I will be honest, probably should have never been tried. I have tried some other things that worked out wonderfully. I feel more and more that I am able to use my creativity. When you are using your gifts and abilities, not just to their potential, but beyond, it is fun. It is rewarding.
I really hope that you take the time to discover your talents, gifts, and abilities. But knowing them is not enough. Use them. But don't stop there either. Use them beyond your current ability.
Then party and thank God!

Monday, November 19, 2007

He Plunged Me To Victory?


The other day I was thinking about some of the words in the famous song "Victory In Jesus." The song always made sense in my mind. But then I thought about the part where it says "He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood." Ok. It is that word "plunged." Be honest with me people. When is the last time you used the word "plunged." If you are like me it was in reference to a clogged toilet that you had to plunge. Honey, I had to plunge the toilet today. So what does plunging and victory in Jesus have to do with each other?
I will share my first thought with you (a thought that I now know is not correct). I was thinking ok, plunge me beneath the cleansing flood...Ok Jesus pushes us through and that gives us the victory. Kinda gross but hey maybe?
Well then I looked up the word plunged. I found out there are eight different definitions for the verb form of plunged. The third definition was "To put something quickly in something." Going with that one; Christ quickly got us the victory. That is pretty cool.

Now the point of all of this is just to challenge you to think about the words you sing. To not just sing them but to know what they mean.

My second challenge (not seriously) is for you to come up with your own translation of "plunged me to victory." Have fun!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Junky Car Club


It is official. I am a member of the elite Junky Car Club. It is a funny little organization that would rather give to those in need than to drive a nice car. For what it is worth Heather and I have two cars. The "old" one (1993 Nissan Quest) has 225,000 miles on it. Our "new" car (1996 Geo Prism) only has 188,000 miles on it. But check out the Junky Car Club homepage junkycarclub.com

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Enjoying the view?

I have read/heard many people's stories about going on vacation. I myself have been on vacation. Now just about every vacation story that you hear about will have this phrase or something similar: "It was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw." So that got me thinking. Is that really possible, or is it that we are just not looking? Then I started to think about Paul, who at the time was Saul, in the Bible when he was blinded on the road to Damascus. When he would have regained his sight, imagine all the things he would have seen! Imagine the view. I am sure he was enjoying the view. I hope you take the time to enjoy the view. Hey, why are you still reading this? Go enjoy the view already!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bad Bloggers

Now I decided there needs to be a definition of a bad blogger. So here it is: A bad blogger is a person who has not blogged in 1 week. That is 7 days, or 168 hours. Now, here is a question that I need your help with. What form of punishment does a bad blogger get? Hmm... My thought is to create another link list entitled "Bad Blogger" and move those who are on my "Links I like" to the "Bad Blogger." Anyone else have any ideas?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Top 10 Worst Ice Breakers for a Small Group

10. Share the worst sin you’ve ever committed.
9. If you were God, who would you punish first?
8. Which person in this group do you think needs to find Jesus the most?
7. Which people at your church do you wish would find a different church, and why?
6. If you could erase any verse out of the Bible, which one would it be?
5. Share the juiciest piece of gossip you know so we can pray about it.
4. If you could have anything from your neighbor’s house, what would it be?
3. What’s your favorite of The 10 Commandments to break?
2. If you could change anything about your spouse, what would it be?
1. If you could commit any sin and get away with it, what would it be?

So does anyone want to add to this “worst” ice breaker to this list?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Being Born and Being Born Again

In John 3 we have the story of Nicodemus asking how to have eternal life. The answer of course is to be born again. Now, when we read that we immediately think of a baby. Being that I just had one of those a week ago, it got me thinking. My son Samuel does not know how to do a lot of things. Like talk, walk, or even roll over. They tell me that he can not see more than like 18" away from his face. So as parents our job is to teach him these valuable life skills.
Now when we are talking about being born again, there is a difference. It is at that moment we receive the WHOLE Spirit of God. Samuel is not ready to do some of those things. His brain and body are not developed enough to be able to do them. But when we are talking about receiving the Spirit of God, it is there. Now we might need to learn how to use it and stuff like that but it is there.
So are you using it? Or are you just letting it sit there?

Friday, November 9, 2007

Read a good blog lately?

Let me encourage you all to head on over to Patty's blog. Trust me, if it comes from Patty's mouth, or in this case from her fingers, it will be worth reading. She's a lady of great insight and a lot of fun. So check it out. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. Check Patty's blog now, and check Patty's blog often. And if you don't check Patty's blog, well, then you are just not cool. So why are you still reading this? Shouldn't you be at Patty's blog?

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

You want to see some pictures?

I thought you would, so here we go:




Monday, November 5, 2007

He is here!!!!!!!!!!

It's a boy!!!!!!!! Heather had a 8 lb 14 oz 19 inch boy. Every one is healthy. I'll get you some pictures soon. I'd type more but I am holding Samuel James right now, and watching the Steelers.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Sunday Random Reflections

Now please bear with me. I will probably be all over the place.

I'm really enjoying our "Get Out of the Boat" Sunday morning growth group. Good discussions, good growth.

My throat is tired after Sundays. This is nothing new for me. It is this way just about every week. Sore might be one word, but it is a little different than a sore throat.

I liked the amount of people there today. I don't remember the number, but it felt full.

The extra hour of sleep was nice for me, and people seemed more awake then normal.

Had good muffins to eat this morning .

My wireless mic cut out on me in the middle of the message. I don't like when that happens. I have a love hate relationship with that mic. There are days I love and days I hate it. Today is a day I hate it. (proud of myself for grabbing the other mic and not trying to do without a mic (see tired throat above))

I made some grammatical errors on the listening guide. I hate doing that, but it happens unfortunately.

Patty and June shared about seizing opportunities and chasing lions...that was good stuff. That was so encouraging. By the way if you want to listen to it, go to bakerstownalliance.org. You will find a player towards the bottom of the page. Just click on it, and towards the end you will hear Patty and June.

Tough call: do I watch the Nascar race or Patriots vs. Colts?

Sundays are a blur. I don't remember everything that happened. I feel so drained every week. I put so much into it. Man, does that feel good! I know that sounds weird but, just to invest yourself totally into anything. I think we are missing that in our current culture.

Monday is coming. Now normally on Mondays I spend the day doing little projects and cleaning up things and basically just relaxing. This monday...well...just check out this post from my wife http://innermostthoughtsofaveryprivateperson.blogspot.com/2007/10/baby.html. So it is possible it will be a different kind of day.

This fall stuff, I love it. It is has been really comfortable.

I have been loving hanging out with Isaiah. He is becoming more and more fun. I know I have said that before but it continues to be more fun.

This whole chase the lion study, we're six weeks into it. Wow. It is what our church needed. It has been really good. If you haven't done it yet, check out chasethelion.com

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Where has Ska gone?

I am sitting here working on stuff for Sunday and had the urge to listen to some good Insiderz (ska band from the 90's). I don't know why ska fell of the face the world. Ska rules! I think we all need to make an effort to bring ska back and better then ever. Ska just puts you in a great mood doesn't it? Well now I have proven the fact that I am nerd. But is there anyone else out there that misses ska, or is just me?

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Redeeming Culture

Kid's Klub for our church was tonight. I got to teach the lesson. Being that it is October 30th and tomorrow is Halloween, I knew that Halloween would be on their mind. I heard something about a jack-o-lantern devotional before. So I looked it up. It is great. The pumpkins (us) are chosen (by God) who takes us and cleans us out (the goo inside the pumpkin). Of course we all are special and unique (carving the face), and then the light of God can shine through us (hence the candle inside the pumpkin.) Whoa, I will not think of a jack-o-lantern the same again, which is good.
So now I am wondering, what else can we redeem from our culture ? Hmm. This is getting me excited!

My Son the Lion Chaser

Ok, so maybe I am taking this lion chasing stuff too far. Maybe my family has to suffer through my relating everything and everyone to Chase the Lion somehow, someway. Maybe I am enjoying this father stuff too much.
Evey night when I have been tucking the worlds greatest son in bed, I tell him to become a lion chaser. So tonight for some reason Isaiah woke up (very rare) a half hour after we put him to bed. So we went up tucked him back in and stuff. As I was walking out the door, I kid you not, you can ask Heather for verification, Isaiah said "I am going to chase the lion!" Whoa, so cool.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

I am loved

Today at the beginning of our gathering, we were having announcements like usual. The one elder got up and presented Heather and me with a envelope. It was for pastor's appreciation month. I opened it up, and man there were some nice things in there, like gift certificates. It really made me feel loved.

"I Want God"

We were putting Isaiah to bed tonight, and he talks us into reading a couple of books before we go to bed. I wanted to read my favorite "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Suess. Now being the good PK that my son is of course he has a little bible story book. So when I grabbed "Hop on Pop" he said "I want God."
Wow, a two year old is saying things that I try to get everyone in our church to say. Impressive huh? Do you want God?

Friday, October 26, 2007

Chase the Lion Update

You know I am really pleased at the way our Chase the Lion series is impacting our church. I have heard about a lot of lion chasing going on. I think it is really encouraging all of us to go for it, to stop playing it safe. As a pastor, man that gets me excited. As a fellow follower of Christ, man that gets me excited.
It is honestly and answer to many prayers. It makes me really excited. Some have thought that doing this now, knowing very well that there will be another addition to the Borchert family before the series is over was a crazy idea. The thing is the timing might not be right for me, but for the church, it was definitely the right time.
Now what I have to work on is making sure that none of us ever stop chasing lions or become complacent.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

What I do when I am having a hard time thinking

Just for your comic relief. My all time favorite call in the NFL. Hope you enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zkom-6wMnw

An Update on Saying "No"

A couple of months ago I told you how I used telemarketers to practice saying "no." Before I did this, I would just hang up on them, which got rid of them but basically was a waste of time. Now in my effort to maximize efficiency (doesn't that sound impressive) I use them for a learning experience in saying "no."
So a couple of minutes ago, a lady from the Symphony called me and asked if I would be purchasing any symphony tickets this year (last year we got a great deal on a 7 show package, and had a wonderful time I might add). This year, we are not going to do it, mostly because of the 2nd child on his/her way (still don't know which one). So when she asked me if I was going to come this year I flat out said "no" with no uncertainty in my voice. When she regained her composure (guess she did not expect that honest of an answer) she asked a logical follow up question "why not." So I explained we are having another kid and just not in the situation to do it this year. While she would have loved to sell me those tickets, I could tell that she accepted my refusal and explanation and then went on to the next call.
For what it is worth, the Pittsburgh Symphony is a great deal and great fun, and I know they still have seats available. There is no such thing as a bad seat at Heinz Hall. Why not take in a show?

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

$5000 or Impacting 100's?

So I am getting ready for Sunday, and we will be talking about taking risks. And like so many things in my life it took me back to Edinboro. When I was 16, I filled out my worker application and checked the worker and the counselor box. Now let me be honest, I just checked the counselor box to make it look good. I never thought I would get it. Well somehow I got it. A couple of years later as a joke I filled out the assistant director job. Sure enough I did become the assistant director. Got to admit I had some incredible times there. Learned some incredible lessons. And along the way impacted 100's of people.
I did some calculations and the best that I can figure it, all the weeks that I was at Edinboro it probably cost me about $5000. Needless to say I could use that $5000 now. but however I would not be the same person that I am today.
So why not go for it? Take the risk. Go for it. By the way, even without the $5000, God still has enabled me to pay all my bills. He is good like that.

p.s. Are you looking for a place to make peanuts but gain experiences? Check out edinborocamp.org Tell them I sent you :)

Monday, October 22, 2007

My Monday Project

So lately it seems like I have been telling you all about what I did on Monday (my normal day off). Well today, I tackled our TV problems. For some reason our TV upstairs was really blurry and fuzzy. So it was time (or more likely past time -- it has been like that for about a month) to fix it. Well I started off thinking it was going to be the TV. So to test the TV I brought up the VCR. The VCR looked great. So then I am thinking it is the Direct TV box. So I tried the receiver box on the TV downstairs and it was fuzzy. Hmm...scratch head. So I hook the receiver up to the RCA outs and it works great. Then I figured I would just hook the other one up stairs. Well it wasn't looking right. So I hooked it up with the VCR and it worked perfect. For those of you who are completely lost, after trying 9872345 combinations, I have both of our TVs working good!
This whole experience got me thinking. I am not sure why both are working now. I am not sure why I had to hook the VCR up to get it to work. But do I care? NO! Sometimes we need to approach our spiritual lives the same way. If one thing doesn't work, try something else. If that doesn't work try something else. Try the 9872345 combinations. Whatever works at accomplishing the goal of growing closer to God, give it a shot. I am convinced that no one "method" works for you throughout your life, so change it up. Try something. Give it a shot.
Now understand that I am not saying that "all roads lead to God" or anything like that. I am talking about different methods as far as reading the Bible, or studying the Bible, pondering and meditating on the things of God.
If both your TVs are working, you're good. If you are growing closer to God, good! If it comes to the point where your TVs stop working, try something else. If it comes to the point where you are not growing closer to God, change it up.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

What I know about being a Father

(honestly this post should not have anything in it, because I think that is the true extent of my knowledge)
I was reading Mark Batterson's blog this morning, and this one paragraph made complete sense and caused me to laugh (any time you combine those two, you have done a great job). It was in reference to three goals that Mark made with his son for the year. If they do all the three goals then there will be a special pilgrimage. But in my mind it basically boils down to this:

Honestly, I don't really know what I'm doing! I just figure that if we sweat together,
talk together, and pray together we'll probably grow close together! Sure, I have a plan.
But I'm not sure what this will look like six weeks or six months from now. One thing is
sure: I'm not going to let our culture raise my son! I'm determined to disciple him myself!

For me that sums up my view of what it is to be a father. Mark really doesn't have a clue what he is doing, nor does any father or mother. But it is the determination to spend time with his son, and invest himself.
That is what I want to make sure that I do with our kid(s) (by the way 3 weeks to the due date for those of you keeping score at home). No I don't know how to do this or that, and there isn't a 5 step plan for perfect child raising. But I am going to give it my all and chase the lion.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Jerry, Oprah and the meaning of life

I kinda feel ashamed to mentioned this, but yesterday I was watching Oprah. Granted, I am not a big Oprah fan, but she had Jerry Seinfeld on the show. I like Jerry. Now of course Jerry is busy pushing his new "Bee" movie. (by the way I am totally going to see that). But as they were talking, they mentioned Jerry's wife. He talked about how much he loves her and stuff like that. But something interesting came out. Jerry said, "You know, people are always complaining about work." He went on to say that marriage does take work, but who cares? I love that perspective. We turn to many things in to that dreaded four letter word "work." We make going the bathroom "work." Taking a walk, work. We call all these things work, and we make work bad. But can work can be good? It is my joy and privilege to have a person as wonderful as Heather in my life. I enjoy the time that we have together. My favorite thing to do is to go home and see her. Now in order to keep that enjoyment going, I guess I have to "work" at it. Who cares? "Raising a son is a lot of work." Again, who cares? I get the joy of investing my time and energy into someone I love. Maybe it is just perspective. Maybe I am just crazy.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

What is Your Goal?

I have been thinking about something lately. Most of the time when I set a goal, I make it. Now that is not to say that there aren't ever any setbacks. Setbacks are just a part of reaching a goal. I have been looking at marathon training schedules lately, and I found out that, in a lot of them, every three weeks you have a set back, meaning you don't quite run as long. But just because you have that setback does not mean your goal has changed or anything like that.
So if your goal is to get closer to Jesus, setbacks will happen. That won't stop you from reaching your goal. Who cares about a couple of setbacks? Do learn the lessons of the setbacks, but then get back at it. Go get it. Go get Jesus! Carpe Christ!

"I press on toward the goal"

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

What doesn't belong in this picture?

So yesterday I was at a Word FM pastor's luncheon at Heinz Field. I believe they said something like 400 pastors were there. Yikes! Now of course with that many pastors in one place you know that the event would go long. You know it would never end on time. And sure enough it didn't.
The food was really good. The only problem is that they ran out of food so my table ended up getting their dessert first and waiting for the main course (please don't tell my mom)
Jim Cymballa was the keynote speaker. Man, that guy! You have to love his authentic heart for prayer and for God. I loved his one line "I received the book of the year award for Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, who cares? Is God going to care that I wrote the book of the year? After all He is the one who wrote the Bible" I found that funny and amazingly humble at the same time. That guy is incredible
So what didn't belong? I felt it was me. Maybe because I was one of the younger ones there (got to admit that still feels good). More than likely it is because I am all to aware of my short comings. And I look around, and I think, man look at all these Godly servants of Christ. Of course they probably were thinking the same thing. I guess the key is to remain close to Christ, and remain humble. Like Jim Cymballa.

Monday, October 8, 2007

I have a nice demeanor

Today was just too hot for anything. I was driving around Cranberry and was stopped at a traffic light. Now we all know that AC works a whole lot better when you are moving. Well I had been sitting through 2 lights already and I got close to being able to make the turn and the light is orange. I don't want to wait one more cycle. The big truck next to me was turning, so I figured why not go for it. I made it through. Then I looked in my rear view mirror. You guessed it - a bunch of lights. So I pulled over. The officer asked me for my license, registration, and insurance card. Well I had a registration card on the passenger seat, thought it was the correct one, but it turned out it was for a different car but I didn't realize that nor did the officer. So he told me why he pulled me over and then said something that I was not expecting he told me that "since I had a nice demeanor he would not give me a ticket." He handed me my license, registration (yes the wrong one), and my insurance card. "thank you officer."
A nice demeaner...hmm...didn't know I had one, good to know, good to use. :)

Friday, October 5, 2007

B-94 is back!!!!!

Wow, 3 years ago, Pittsburgh lost the B. But after a three year absence B-94 is back. It was weird. On Monday when I was going to get a new mower blade for my marathon mowing adventure, I tuned into 93.7 and they were playing Christmas music. I thought this is weird. But they kept teasing me by asking "what has been missing from pitts-urgh?" Now I am a little slow of course. But I figured it out at 4:52 p.m. this afternoon. They made the "official" announcement at 5:00. A very cool announcement might I add. And so it is back. B-94 came back on my birthday. What an unexpected birthday gift.

Happy Birthday to Me

On this day 31 years ago Vern and Lorrie Borchert welcomed a big bundle of joy in their life. Yes that would be me. Do I have big plans today? Don't think so. Still have a lot of work that I have to get done for Sunday and such.
I had my first birthday disappointment at 7:15 this morning. I went to Starbucks, got my coffee, then headed to Get-n-Go to get myself two doughnuts. Guess what? No doughnuts. What's up with that. I guess that means I don't need them. Nah that couldn't be it, so I drove down to Giant Eagle and, rest assured, I got my doughnuts. So all is right in the world.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Just once I would like a normal mowing

Well, I can say I did not get my mower stuck this time and didn't have to lift it again causing my back to be in a lot of pain for a week. So that is the good news.
But here is how yesterday all went down. I started mowing at about 10:00. It was incredible. The tractor started right up. I had enough gas. Life was good. I was mowing like crazy. Getting places that I have never gotten before. There are no longer any bees nests. That was nice. Just having a good time. And then (never good when there is a "and then") the blade breaks! Well that shouldn't be too bad right? So I headed out to Lowe's and found the blade set and the single blade. I pondered to myself, and finally decided to go with the two blades. I got home and ate lunch, went back outside and started to install the blade. Well the one side came off pretty easily, and I looked at the non-broken blade and could see a big crack in it. So at this point I am feeling pretty good about myself. Then comes the other side. Now that did not go easy. I tried this, and that, and nothing was working. All I was doing was skinning my knuckles and rounding the bolt. So I went to my dad's house, and got a 7/8" socket. Got back, put it on, bingo. No problem. So next I put the two new blades on, again, no problem. I'm thinking at this point "I'm the man." I started it up. It started real easy. Turn the blades on. YIKES! There was this awful metal hitting metal sound. I turned everything off and looked at it. It turns out that I had bent the deck which is more than likely what caused the blade to break. So I begsn to tug and pull on it and finally there was no rubbing. I started to mow again, making it about 15' and that awful sound comes back. So I tugged and pulled a little more. I think I just made it worse. I took it back down by the basement (where all my tools are), messed with it some more and it is not doing anything. I can not get it. Finally I get serious. I get the saber saw out. Next thing you know I am cutting the mower deck with my saber saw so that I can bend it out so it doesn't rub so I can finish mowing the grass (which I only have about 10 minutes worth of mowing left). Well fortunately that worked, so off to mowing I went. Now somewhere along the line, I attempted to "re-level" the deck. Somehow my 4 that I used to mow with is now a 6, but it is not like I noticed right away. I'm out there mowing at level 4 and dust is going everywhere. it was crazy. Anyhow, I did finish, and I am still alive. But it did take me 'til 5:00 p.m. Only 7 hours. (ugh)
No, there is not a deep, profound spiritual application to all of this. I share just to let you know. But for the fun of it, your mission, should you choose to accepted it, is to find the spiritual application to this story. So let me know.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Are You Hungry?

So many times I will hear the phrase "I am just not being fed." What that phrase is implying is that the person is not growing spiritually because no one is feeding them. I really do not think that is true.
Now I will give you maybe 1 out of every 100 churches might fall under that category. That is being generous, it might be even less, something like 1 in every 1000.
I think it comes down to this: Are you hungry? Are you coming hungry? Are you wanting to be fed? Are you wanting to grow?
Sometimes we have a hard time getting Isaiah to eat (he is a 2 year old after all). However, when that boy is hungry, he can eat more then his fair share. He eats Heather's fair share too :)
That is the point that I am getting at: if you come hungry, if you come with the desire to learn and grow, it will happen. Sure sometimes you will have to work at listening, sure some speakers are harder to listen to. But that does not mean there is not a chance of you being fed. You have to come hungry. As we are getting close to the weekend, let me encourage everyone out there, when you go to worship this weekend, come hungry!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

I'm ready to Chase the Lion

So in a few more days we will be officially chasing lions. I have not been this excited in a long time. I have already had to order more books! I can sense that everyone who is going on this great lion chase is also excited. I am hoping and praying for changed lives. I am hoping to end up with a church full of lion chasers! Sept 30th-Nov 11th. You need more information? go to bakerstownalliance.blogspot.com and find the little chase the lion link. Or just go to chasethelion.blogspot.com. We would love to have you all join. It is going to be well...legendary!

Monday, September 24, 2007

What We Should Be Known For

On Sunday I had people make a list of "things we (the Church) should be known for." We are known way too well for what we are against, but what are we for? Well here is the list we came up with (there were some repeats, and some that were basically the same as another ones):


What the Church should be known for…
· Following Christ, living as Jesus Christ lived
· Courage, integrity, kindness, generosity, wisdom, responsibility
· Taking risks for Christ
· Staying rooted in the Bible
· Actively spreading God’s word and love to our community, not just waiting for people to come to us
· Loving and helping people of all racial and economic backgrounds
· Ministering to the unsaved and to each other
· Worshipping and praising God
· Sharing Jesus through love that doesn’t condemn
· Helping to meet needs that are evident but not asked for
· Listening to those around us
· Mercy
· Supporting each other
· Creativity
· Spending time alone with God
· Thinking outside the box
· Questioning and discovering
· Hospitality, being welcoming
· Being a supportive family
· Taking care of the less fortunate
· Having fun!
· Seeing one another for how God wants them to be, not for what they’ve done
· Being knowledgeable of cultural and relevant issues
· Being good stewards of our finances
· Taking care of the earth
· Never giving up or losing hope
· Using the gifts God has given us to glorify and enjoy the Lord Jesus
· Discipling new believers
· Nurturing children to know the Lord
· Being prayer warriors
· Supporting missionaries
· Fellowshipping
· Supporting our pastor and church leaders
· Growing
· Love, joy, peace
· Discernment, acceptance, truth, reconciliation, sanctification, education
· Good parenting skills
· Repentance, forgiveness, loyalty
· Thankfulness, faithfulness
· Loving our families
· Surrendering our lives to Christ
· Humility
· Having a vision
· Compassion, purity
· Being kind to people even when we don’t feel like it
· Being a place to come and relax, a place where you can be yourself
· Being a place where you can always find a friend

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Hanging with Isaiah

I meant to tell you all about this earlier but I forgot. On Thursday Heather had something to do, which meant Isaiah and Daddy play time. We went to the park, played, and just had a really good time. Then it was time to head home, and on the car ride back to our house Isaiah (2 years old) said "I'm glad I got to play with you tonight, Daddy." Man, you talk about something that has the making of something well........legendary.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I'm getting old

On Monday I was mowing the grass, which is always an adventure. Some people I hear have those flat yards without any "surprises." Well, I don't have one of those. I will say though, it is looking more like a yard. I was trying to mow in a place where no riding lawn mower had gone before, and well I got stuck on a tree stump. Being the big tough guy that I am, I tried to lift off the mower off the stump with my bare hands. Well, as I was lifting...ouch...pain....back...sore...hurting...pain... And now it is Thursday, still hurting. Got to admit Emu cream helps a lot. Just thought I would share that with all of you out there in the world wide blog.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Ministry is Messy

The one thing that I don't like about the latest book or conference on how to do ministry is that often they do not mention how messy ministry can be.
Let me explain what I mean about ministry being messy. You can not get involved in people's lives and expect everything to be neat and tidy. It doesn't work. The more you get to know people the more you realize that they have issues too. The more you get to know people the more you realize that sometimes your set of standards don't apply. My dad has a quote hanging up in his office that has caused more then one person to get upset, but it is so true. "People make rules to prevent from making decisions." We do that in ministry all the time. But maybe instead of making rules, we should rely on our gut. Examine every case on a person by person basis. Some would argue that is not fair. That might be true, but who ever said life was fair.
When you get down to ministering to people, when you get involved in their lives, it is going to get messy. It is not a nice pretty set of rules to follow. It is pure messiness. Don't you think it got messy when Jesus was hanging out with the women at the well, or when his disciples were eating on the Sabbath? Jesus' ministry was messy. If you want to make a difference, be prepared to get messy.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I'm loving it right now

I have to admit, I like fall. Latley it feels like fall. As I write this I am sitting in a long-sleeved shirt, under a blanket. The air feels crisp. I actually didn't sweat too much today. That is nice. And now in a couple of minutes or so I am off to Brusters Ice Cream to get a hot apple dumpling. Yumm! Oh, I cannot forget - the Steelers won (didn't like those jerseys though). But man I like the fall, like the weather, like the football, like the food! Hope you enjoy it too!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Staying Power

Something that I have noticed in my life, and I think a lot of this comes from my Dad. The power of staying, staying the course, to invest your life fully in someone. Can I be frank for a second? I think that the reason most businesses, churches, ministries fail is lack of staying power. You all know what I am talking about. Everybody is super excited about something, and get all fired up, you know 'they are going to change the world' type attitude. Then they begin, and it seems like everything is going great. Then inevitably just like everything else, something goes wrong. Sure we might say something like "God is telling me to move on." I wonder if sometimes we use that as an excuse to quit, an excuse to give up, an excuse to fail. I don't really care where you stand on the War in Iraq. What you have to admire is George Bush's staying power. Politically he could gain a lot by getting out of there. But he feels he is doing the right thing and there is nothing that is going to stop him from doing it. I hope that is how you approach something God has called you to do. I guarantee you will experience a lot of setbacks, possible failures, possible heart aches. God will help you through it. He will be with you. Easy? No. But trust me, it is worth it in the end

Monday, September 10, 2007

What are you known for?

It hit me really hard today. If I ask you the list "what is the church against?" how long would your list be? How many things could you name. Go ahead do it. Come back in a couple of minutes.

OK. Now that it has been a couple of minutes, I want to ask you "what is the church for?" Go. How long is your list this time?

My guess is that unfortunately the "against" list was a lot longer and a lot easier to come up with. That is a challenge for me. I want the world to know what I am for. That I am for Jesus, that I am about showing the love of Christ, that I am for being honest and genuine. Stuff like that. That does not mean that there are not things that I am against. It is that I want to be known for what I am for rather then what I am against. I think that is what made Jesus so different. If I asked you what he was against, the only thing I could think of is hypocritical Pharisees.

I challenge you to be a person who is known for what they are for. It is way too easy to be known as person who is against everything. But can you be known for what you are for?

Saturday, September 8, 2007

My "Strange" Night

Tonight was well.......strange. Guess what I did? Nothing! It was strange. I guess "nothing" is not really true. But we ate supper, and then well...just hung out. It was wierd. I don't think we have had just one of those "do nothing" nights in a long time. Would I want to do it everynight? Probably not. But tonight, it was really nice. It was, well, ...legendary!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Poster for Chase the Lion

You like?

Trying not to get ahead of myself

Right now my head is spinning. I am really working hard at keeping up with our whole 1 Samuel series. It has been a blast. It has made me have to search for a lot of answers. Made me scratch my head many times and want to rip out my hair. But I think it is has really been a good learning experience for all.
I am also getting ready for the "Chase the Lion" series that we are starting Sept. 30th. Really looking forward to creating a church full of lion chasers. It is going to be well...legendary.
This ministry stuff is so exciting. It is so much fun. Never ending (well...until Jesus come back anyways). In the mean time, I will continue to try not to get a head of myself too much.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Poison Ivy

Somehow I have poison Ivy. This time it is not that bad, just a couple of spots on my arm. Other times I have had it a lot worse. I don't like poison ivy. It is a pain. I wonder why someone has not created a vaccine for it yet. But anyhow, don't worry, I don't think it is going to kill me. I will probably be able to keep on living. The world has not come to an end, and this is not the beginning of the great tribulation. But I just wanted a little sympathy :)

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Sunday Morning Nervousness

So I am right now getting ready for Sunday morning. It is always exciting when you have put that much work into it. I figured out the other week or so that for every one minute of the gathering, there is one hour of preparation. Pretty amazing. Today I have two things that are making me a little nervous. One I mentioned earlier about having to deal with occult-like activities. It's not exactly my favorite thing, but it is in the Bible, so I have to deal with it.
The other thing that has me slightly on edge is that we are using some new technology today. I am all for using whatever resources we have available to communicate the greatest message. Today we are using some new stuff. Now rest assured I have tried it, and it worked! Of course it worked at 8:00. Now there are still two hours for something to go wrong. :) Oh well, I guess that is just the way it goes. I am not depending on technology. I am depending on God! He will get us through one way or another. He is good like that.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Another person fallen to blogging preasure

So another person has decided to join the great legendary blogging adventure. She happens to be the official editor of The Beginning of Something Legendary. (Don't think that job pays too well) Not only that but she happens to be the prettiest person in the whole world. So check out the Heather Blog -- The Innermost Thoughts of a Very Private Person

T-minus Nine Weeks

I am pretty sure (you never are totally sure of the exact date) that our new bundle of fun should be here in about nine weeks. That is exciting isn't it? I am nervously looking forward to it. I'm a little scared though. I love Isaiah, I love my wife Heather, but is there enough love to go around? Smart people tell me it will be no problem. I am amazed at how God gives me the ability to love. It is from him. So nine weeks to go. What am I going to do? Work on making the next nine weeks legendary, and then after that become even more legendary..

My 50th Post!

This is my 50th post. Wow! I didn't think I had that much on my mind. I enjoy blogging. I hope you enjoy reading it. I think I am going to keep on blogging. I think I am going to let you keep reading about my personal conquest of becoming legendary. I hope that this blog becomes legendary. And most importantly, I hope that you are encouraged through this blog to do something legendary! (For some reason, I got this wrong, it is my 49th and the other one is my 50th. Close enough right?)

Wi-fi at Gas Stations?

So I am sitting in the brand new Get-N-Go on Route 8. Quite an experience. They have a Wi-fi Cafe inside the gas station along with comfy places to sit. Pretty nice. I just love to see the number of places I can find free Wi-fi. By the way, I don't want to offend anyone, but I really don't like places that charge for Wi-fi access. But Get-N-Go is free! So good job Get-N-Go.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Going through a Book of the Bible

I have been a big advocate of preaching through a book of the Bible, just taking each section and spending a week or so on each. I have done this many times. Let me tell you the pros and cons of doing this.

Pros:
You know exactly what passage you get to deal with each week
You gain a greater understanding of the Bible
You (the one doing the speaking) have to do some extensive research that leads to learning

Cons:
There is only one and it ,is this: There are some things in the Bible you would rather not deal with.

Take this for example (my example) We have been going through 1 Samuel. It's a very fun book with lots of fun stories. I mean David and Goliath; how could you go wrong? That is fun. Who doesn't like getting to talk about that. Then comes 1 Samuel 28:3-25. Ouch! In this passage there is a lot about a lady who was a medium, Samuel appearing, and all sorts of occult-type activities. This is not stuff I like to deal with. Some people like this stuff. It's not really up my alley. I don't like that occult stuff. I don't like dealing with it. I am not saying that I don't believe it is not out there. I know it is there, and it is real. I just don't enjoy that stuff.
Now with all that stuff said, this is good for me. This stretches me. This forces me to deal with subjects I would not normally deal with. Challenging? Oh yeah.
I am not saying that every series has to be a book of the Bible, but the challenge is to try to get a complete view of the whole scripture.
So if you could be praying for me this week, that would appreciate it.
peace out