Okay, I'll admit the posts have been a little erratic and a bit short at that. So keeping with that theme here are some things I think I think:
1 - Today is my last 5th Quarter for the year, isn't that strange even though it is only October...? Well, it's true. And I'm OK with it.
2 - Disunity - I am not sure if this is a real word, but it's is a very real thing happening in my club - wait did I say club? I meant faction, I mean brotherhood. More later..But while I am on the subject for a group that uses the term brotherhood so much , sometimes we aren't very brotherly. - Hey, maybe more on that later too.
3 - I'll be at Zoe next week with my wife and daughter, I am really looking forward to it, I/we need the refreshing - God is good! (Holla, if you are up that way, love to meet ya!)
4 - Our church has become construction central; a new multipurpose teen area (Thank you God) and parking lot. I am getting pretty excited about this...
5 - I think God has called us out to realize that living this life for us, was not what he had in mind. And on that note, either next week or the week after I will post something on the Health and Wealth! (That is gospel)
6 - My daughter Hayden is really awesome, sometime I'll post some pictures, but she is growing up and becoming quite the Daddy's girl.
7 - New tires for a GMC Yukon, and new roof on my house after Katrina, this month i a bit snug in the moola department. I am thankful I still have that house to live in and car to drive!
8 - Starting a new study called Coffee and Conversation in a couple of weeks using
Velvet Elvis by
Rob Bell, and I am really looking forward to it. It may not seem like much but believe me it's a huge step for our church because we are doing it in a local coffee shop, especially a coC in L.A. Pray for us.
9 - If you like good music, the new
DCFC cd "Plans" is a beautiful piece.
God bless you as seek the face of God this week!
Mike Cope had a great post today! Thanks Mike I needed that!
I am becoming really good at two things:
1 - Hurricanes, man living in L.A. I promise I may be the best, although self proclaimed, hurricane tracker.
2 - I am an expert at having my laptop fixed. Two hard drives and a mother board later, our church just bought me a new laptop. I'll be more regular I promise, O.K. If you believe that, call me I have some beautiful property for you...nevermind.
But for real, some of you have heard me talk about praying for me on an issue that I have that I cannot talk about here. Keep praying, the Father is working and answering!
I really will post more later!!!
Wednesday typically is my longest day. Working in "ministry" is a tough "job" on Wednesdays. I put ministry and job in parentheses because, I really don't see ministry as a job, more of a passion that has been made more like a job in many ways that makes it sort of bureaucratic in a way that I think it shouldn't be. To me there really shouldn't be a separation in our lives like we typically make it, i.e, church life; work life; family life, but that's another blog all together. So I find myself pretty worn out at the end of the day on Wednesday as my day usually goes like this:
7:10 SGA Meeting at Mobile Christian
8:30 Prepare Wednesday nights message, activities, and worship time for "the calling"
11-12 Eat lunch with someone/somewhere
1 pick up any supplies needed for "the calling"
2 do all media presentations for "the calling"
4 begin setting up the gym for "the calling"
5:30 call and order food for "the calling"
6 pick up food
6:30 start "the calling"
9 head for home to be with my family, who are already in bed
So that is a very basic shot of what Wednesday's look like for me, sometimes they are different, but that is typical.
Yesterday, my Wednesday was very different. We piled a group into a few trucks with chainsaws and other exciting motorized equipment and headed to Pascagoula, MS, seeking some way to live out our faith. After sitting on I-10 for about two hours we made it to Pascagoula. We spent the day working on everything from cutting trees, to helping stock a food supply and hanging up clothes. We worked with a group of Christians from Calhoun, GA and they were all about business. It was really awesome! I have never been so encouraged by what I saw yesterday, it was so neat to see people not asking really important questions like, "Do you think it is sinful to clap in worship?" and just work!
While I was encouraged by the resolve of the people in Pascagoula, I was also saddened to see all of the wreckage, all of the pain and hurt. It was hard. Mostly though peoples spirits were high. It was a great trip and so much fun to help. (Isn't it weird that when you are trying to serve God it just seems so fun?) I came home to a stark reality. We got home and I cleaned myself up and got to the church building just in time for "the calling."
Ken did a great job focusing our group on something really special and then we played a game.
What hit me was how good it is. It is so good to have a gym to have "the calling" in even though I complain that the space is too big, allows too many interruptions and is hot and hard to work in. It is really nice to be able to spend my whole day planning for this on Wednesday because it is a really big deal. I am thankful that at the end of the day I am weary and tired, just as I was last night. I was exhausted when I finally got home last night, but it was the best tired I have ever felt!
Father, thank you, thank you , thank you. You are here among us encouraging us and holding us up. I am so glad I can be tired in you, that my times of what I consider exhaustion are my times of allowing you to recharge me. Thank for letting me do that, you are so good to me. Please bless all of those that I didn't meet and see yesterday, my heart aches for them. Allow them to find true refuge in you! Recharge and refuel them, just as you do me, when I allow you to. Thanks for hearing me. Amen
