My Grandmother

I love and miss my grandmother. She was a woman that had spunk. She loved to dance and she loved her family. I could go on and on about her life and the good memories we shared together but instead here is a video I created for her memorial service. This is her story in pictures to one of her favorite songs.

I love you grandma and I look forward to seeing you again someday!!

Feed the Hunger

The more I read the more I am blown away. There is so much wisdom to be learned. I look to educated pastors throughout the week to feed my spirit. These pastors lead churches with thousands of people. I wonder how they do it. There is so much work in a small church let alone a church with hundreds or thousands of people.

Here is one thing that they all have in common… they never admit to having it figured out. And all of them READ. I was never a fan of reading in high school but now find it to be a part of my everyday schedule, and I still consider it to be a discipline. The more I read during the week the more wisdom I have to offer people and our congregation.

Do you have something you are trying to accomplish? Do you have the ambition to start or lead a company? How hungry are you? Let today be the day you stop making excuses and start the research process. Shut up and pick up a book. Feed the Hunger… leaders are readers.

Here and There

I wanted to share some very interesting history that I have learned so far in my study this week. We all have some type of “THERE” in our life… it’s where we see ourselves in a few years. Even if you are older…you can still see yourself in a location, with somebody, doing something. It’s what I like to call the “Here and There.”

Here is some food for thought: The Israelites spent 40 years on a journey that should have lasted 11 days. It wasn’t distance that stood between them and the Promised Land. It was the condition of their hearts. God’s purpose went deeper than simply transporting a huge group of people to a new land. What good was the Promised Land if the Israelites were as wicked as the nations already living there? The journey was a painful but necessary part of preparation. Through it God taught the children of Israel two things:

1) Who He Was – The Living God the Leader of their Nation

2) Who They Were – People who were fallen, sinful, and prone to rebellion and doubt.

Not much has changed today. This is why The Law is still so important… it reveals our sin so that we can always understand how to relate to God and to other people. (Romans 7) Your spiritual journey may be lengthy, and you may face pain, discouragement, and difficulties. But remember that God isn’t just trying to keep you alive. He wants to prepare you to live for service and devotion to him. (Amen)

Visionary or Dreamer?

Are you a visionary or a dreamer? There is a clear difference...are you praying for God to do the work for you, or are you praying for the opportunity to do it yourself. Dreamers dream about things being different. Visionaries envision themselves making a difference. Dreamers think about how nice it would be for something to be done. Visionaries look for the opportunity to do something.

A great example of this is in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a man with a vision, not a dream. He didn't pray that God would rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He prayed for the opportunity to go and do it himself. That's freaking awesome. God uses visionaries...people that see the way it should be and are not scared of the work it will take to get it done.

God can use Sorrow

One of the hardest things to do in life is to swallow our pride and say “I’m sorry.” That’s because NO ONE LIKES TO BE WRONG. Dealing with sorrow is hard; it zaps all of the energy out of you. You can analyze your situation so much that if you aren’t careful … you can become unrepentant. Bitter at the fact that if he/she wouldn’t have done what they did, you wouldn’t have done what you did. No matter how you spin it…… two wrongs will never make a right.

There is hope! If we can be repentant, we can experience a sorrow that we will never regret. Sorrows that will actually help us, grow us, teach us and save us. If you are dealing with sorrow, then find peace in the fact that God has not forgotten you…in fact; if you allow Him, He will take your sorrow and give you joy!

2 Corinthians 7:10 For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.

5 Things On My Mind

>First things first....I'm hungry and my Father in-law is making some pasta. YUM

>How much I love and enjoy my family. Last night Mel and I hung out with my parents and watched a few movies. Today we drove to Galveston with my in-laws and spent the day just enjoying each other’s company.

>About the book I read the forward on last night by Andy Stanley called Visioneering. Man it was good. Talked about how as followers of Christ we give up our personal agenda to pursue God's vision for our life.

>How much I hate the devil....but hope he never leaves me alone. Let me explain... every time he makes me mad, I just want do everything in my power to advance God's Kingdom! It's like telling me I can't do something, it just makes me want to do whatever it is even more.

>And lastly...how much I love my wife. She is so wonderful. I'll stop there before it gets to mushy.

Family Anger

It’s weird sometimes how little things can irritate us. Maybe it’s a smart comment from our spouse or a bill in the mail, or maybe you are just having one of those days. (If you know what I mean?) I don’t like being angry but the good thing is, we can be angry hot and still keep our cool at the same time. Most of the time it’s how we respond to anger that gets us in trouble.

Ephesians 4: 26, 27 “In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Notice that we can be angry and not sin. The hardest thing to do when we are angry is communicate it to our loved ones in a calm manner. If we let it build, then we open the door to all kinds of hell (we give a foothold to the devil) …but if we can learn how to communicate it…and deal with it before the sun goes down…then we guard our relationships from the evil one.

ONE PRAYER

Over the next few weeks our church will be praying ONE prayer. Easter is this Sunday and we are expecting a crowd of new people to come through our doors. We are all approaching God for the same thing and knowing that He will reward those that diligently seek him. Easter Sunday we will start a new series called "3 Days Grace"

Here is the list of what we are fasting and praying for that will happen over the next few weeks...

1) For God to reveal His love and grace to people.
2) For people to understand how important being a part of the church is.
3) For people to commit or re-commit their live to Christ.

I can't wait to see the results!!!

The Good Surprise

This past Sunday was awesome! I was standing by the door helping my Father-in-law greet the people as they came into our church. First, some of our regular attendees showed up and then a new family pulled into the parking lot. By the time they got to the door and we shook their hands, another car pulled into the school parking lot. I remember thinking, good...more people! Let me explain why.

Every Sunday, we set up and tear down everything-stage, lights, children's ministry, sound equipment, media equipment and chairs. This week, we just happened to be short-handed. Two of our biggest families could not make it. One had to move because it was the only time slot that was empty that week. The other family had an emergency that came up Saturday night. So, we were thinking it would be a light crowd. But then God showed up.

Family after family came pouring into our church. We actually had to set out more chairs....and then more. The looks on our member's faces were priceless; it was the look of pure joy. The worship team came out from behind the curtain and was blown away by the crowd. All that hard work has finally paid off.

The word is out about 10 12 Church and we're just getting started. You want to know something funny....the sermon was on money! Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor. I can't wait to see what happens this week. We will have to allow for more room when we set up, because the House was full last week and this week, we will have our two large families back.

Here is a picture of our set up before anybody shows up.

Super Pumped

A week ago we launched our On-Line Community at our Church...It is a Huge hit! All of our people are getting on-line throughout the week and connecting like never before. The cool thing is most of us all have a Facebook account, but the On-Line Community seems to do something that Facebook can't. It links us. We can minister to each other without the mixed in comments from your friend’s friend that you don't know.

Being a part of 10 12 Church just got better...especially if you have a crazy schedule that don't allow you to volunteer that much. Here is a screen shot with one of my favorite pictures that my friend Justin Trapp took. (I call this the American Idol Picture...Go Stephanie!)

Sex, Love, Money and Power!

I am so glad to be a Pastor of a great church. Although it comes with a lot of work most people don't understand, and enormous responsibility, I Love It. Our church is fairly new, and we have about 30 - 50 adults on any given Sunday (for now…but not for long) but what we are doing is stuff big churches are hesitant to do. We are in a series called "Sex, Love, Money and Power" and I have to say, it has been fun but a great challenge too.

By the way...we sent this mailout to 11,000 homes in the Conroe/Willis area...and the response has been interesting...I'm not kidding...very interesting...that's for another blog :)

Church has to be more than just a history lesson about the Bible. It has to be real, relevant, and helpful with the things people really deal with in their lives. We can’t allow the schools, culture and Hollywood to define how to have success and pleasure in life. Sex, Love, Money, and Power are things we all want and desire for a reason.

The reason is because God created us with the natural drive for these things so we can have a since of fulfillment in life. Imagine life without these things...BORING...but thank God, He did more than just give us the desires. He gave us His word to show us how we can get and handle them, without allowing them to consume us. For the answer to that...you'll just have to log-on to our church website and watch/listen to the series.

The cool thing is, at 10 12 Church we will always talk about the things people really deal with. Otherwise what good is the church for? It is who we are...It is the way we will always be...and I really don't care what people think...God is my boss...not people.

It is so important to start right. The people at our church are some of the coolest people in the Conroe/Willis area. They have shown incredible support as we deal with this Sex issue and for that I am grateful. I am so glad that we can start a church that will forever be a relevant and real church. Amen!

Routines

Well every Monday night we go hang out with family. After we get home I workout for about 1 1/2 hours. It's funny how we have routines in life. They seem to shape our life and they can help us or hurt us. What are some of your routines? Are they helping you become what you want to be? Are they helping you grow in your relationship with God? Through this video I want to show you one of my routines and encourage you to develop a quiet time with God for prayer, bible meditation, or just hanging out with your spiritual Father. Enjoy...(By the way feel free to share some of your routines with me by leaving a comment)

Our Father...

It was January 3rd around 11 pm when we arrived back at the house from hanging out with my mom and dad. Mel and I walked in the house and immediately she started getting ready for her Midnight quiet time before Church the next morning. I on the other hand, got all of the files ready for Sunday and then went out in the garage to preach to the punching bag. (If my work out equipment could talk...they would tell you some really funny stories)

Anyway...around 2am I finished practicing my message and came back in the house to lay the dogs down for bed. Titan came running... Trinity came running....

and as usual Molly took forever. "Molly, Molly, bed time Momma" (dog of two litters) ...but no Molly. I go all over the house calling her name finally coming to the conclusion that she must have never came in the house.

By this time Meloney is up and we are going outside to see if she is at the door. No Molly. Keep in mind it is about 2:30 am now and I have to preach tomorrow. It’s now 3am and we’re driving up and down the neighborhood yelling out her name.. All the dogs in the neighborhood are barking and we are getting more and more worried by the minute. (Never losing faith...we start saying out loud..."Lord, you brought that dog to us and we know you will protect her and bring her back to us.") Our neighborhood is small, so after about 25 mins. we figure the only other way she could have gone is toward Hiway 75 (Frazier) which, by the way, is a very bad thing. Cars get up to 50 miles an hour by the time they come by the entrance to our neighborhood. (This calls for some more prayer..."Jesus please make sure she is OK and bring her back to us.")

We start down Frazier and no Molly. We do the U-turn at League Line Rd. and on the way back, WE FIND HER! "Oh Thank you Jesus..Mel and I shout." She is off the road about 10 yards on the other side of Frazier. Whimpering and hurt, she roles over as we approach. Her leg twisted and scraped from a car that had hit her, she laid there shaking and crying. We rush her to the Emergency Vet and after 30min., they tell us she will be OK...but you will need to drug her and wait until Monday so the vet can do surgery to fix her broken leg.

After $1,200 and two follow-up visits, she is doing well and expected to make a full recovery. Here she is on the ride home from the Vet...(pictures from phone)

I tell you this story to remind you that even though God is BIG and can do HUGE miracles...The Bible also calls him our Father...and as a Father he even cares about the small things in our life.

Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Thank you Father for bringing Molly back to us!

4am

Well, its 4am and I am about to hit the sack. I will try to do this blog life again...but this time, I will use a blog spot because I had trouble getting videos and other media into my other blog. Tomorrow is going to be interesting...I will be dealing with setting up and organizing our community groups for our church. I have had good feedback form people and I am totally excited about what is to come in the future of our groups. That's it...I'm out.