I am sitting here trying to relax and catch my breath. Jennifer’s “honey do” list today included bringing down the dresser that was in Mason’s room upstairs, and taking the bigger dresser that was in the spare bedroom up the stairs into Mason’s room. Although that may not seem like much they were very heavy and of course I had to be a man and do it myself. It’s been a good day off though. I picked Jenn up at her office and we went out for a quick lunch. Then we came back to her office and she scanned our little baby that will be here next month. I can’t believe he’s going to be here already. (For those of you who are confused, Jenn does ultrasound for a living & can scan the baby anytime she wants.) We often joke about having more pictures of Mason before he was born than after. We had a great day again this week at church. Our new sound engineer Bryan Giles was an incredible asset and has already lifted the bar at Fellowship. Kathleen rocked the house singing a Bonjovi song (livin’ on a prayer). I am always giving props to our band but just as incredible are the girls that sing every week. I am so blessed to have such a great team. Not only are they good, but they are great to work with. They make my job easy. I was reading my friend Mike Silliman’s BLOG a few minutes ago and the title was “I get to be a part of this, you gotta be kidding me!” My thoughts exactly. Whether it’s at Elk Creek Church or Fellowship Church being a part of God’s grander plan is amazing. God thanks for using me. I am so blessed and honored!
Archive for March, 2008
It’s been a good week following our Easter services here at Fellowship Church. We had a record attendance for a single service. God showed up in an awesome way.Last night before band practice I met with one of the guys in our band. He had called me up earlier in the week asking to get together to talk about spiritual things. So we headed out before practice last night and got some pizza and just talked about what God has been doing in his life.One of the greatest rewards of doing what I do is seeing life change. That’s what we are all about at Fellowship. To see how far this young man has come in the last couple years is just more evidence of God working in people’s lives. One thing that he said sticks out in my mind still. He said “I have always wondered about the presence of God. I heard you and others talk about it but I never got it, until this past Sunday. I experienced God’s presence.” How cool is that? That is a win for F.C. and a win for God. He is at work in people’s lives and nothing is more satisfying.This weekend we continue in week two of our i-love series. We have an absolutely kickin’ 80’s song that the band and Kathleen will tear up to get the service started. We are also introducing a new song called “Came to my rescue”. I was introduced to this song at the Creative Pastors Conference in Texas last month. It should be great. This weekend I plan to just chill with my family. Jennifer has a baby shower on Saturday which is being thrown for her, and Mason has a birthday party at moon-bounce adventures for one of the little girls in his class at school. I am ready for some relaxation and down time. My tank’s a little low.
I want to give a big shout out to my Pastor, my boss, and my friend John Cremeans. It’s his birthday today so I just want to list some things I appreciate about him.The first thing that comes to mind when I think about John is that he believed in me when a lot of other people didn’t. He believed I could do great things for God. He and the elders took a huge risk in bringing me here three years ago. And I can’t imagine life not being here at Fellowship. John is the most encouraging and positive person I have ever met. Even when I need a kick in the behind he is able to speak to me in a way that makes it a teachable moment. John never speaks in a negative manner to people. It’s just not who he is. John, thanks for living out life in a manner that models Jesus in every area of life. The way you prioritize your family shows you get it. You know what is important. The way you believe in your staff makes each of us feel so valuable. We truly would do anything for you and follow you wherever you lead us. We know you are following Christ and seeking him. So although your birthday isn’t a big deal to you, it is to us! We celebrate your life, your ministry, and your friendship! I love doing ministry with you!
This morning when I woke up the sun was beaming through our bedroom windows and my mind immediately went to the thought of riding my motorcycle to work today. The weather has been playing with me lately. I will wake up many times and it will look like it’s warm but when I get outside it’s still frigid. But this morning it was perfect. I got Mason dressed for school and we hopped in the car for the morning routine. After leaving Mason’s school I hurried home and grabbed a coat, my riding gloves, and my helmet and off to work I went on my motorcycle. For those of you who want to know, it’s a 2006 Yamaha V-star Custom Midnight (blacked out engine block). It has an 1100 twin v engine.When I ride I do a lot of talking to God. It’s just a time when the world takes on a different look and for a moment the world stands still. As I was riding this morning the thought occurred to me that Spiritual Warfare is a lot like riding a motorcycle. As I am riding down the road I keep my eyes scanning the environment around me. I look for anything that might be hazardous to me making my destination safely. I look for bumps or potholes in the road. I watch for any animals that might dash out in front of me. I even think to myself, “what if that car doesn’t see me and makes that turn into me?” To be a safe rider I have to constantly be on the look out. Not in a placid way, but vigorously imagining every possible scenario that could happen. Now let’s switch gears. (Pun intended) Look what I Peter 5:8 says “Keep a cool head. Stay alert! The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up.” First let me point out that the guy who wrote this was the same Peter that cut a soldiers ear off when they came to arrest Jesus. Jesus had to rebuke him for being so hot headed. And now years later after Jesus resurrected from the grave and ascended to heaven Peter, the same guy that blew up says “Keep a cool head, and stay alert”. Wow something really must have changed his life drastically. Anyway, here’s the point. Satan does not like what is going on in your life. He does not like what is going on here at Fellowship Church. He is looking at every area of your life and he is sizing you up trying to determine just where and how he should pounce on you. We must, must, must stay alert. We must scan the horizon and look at possible hazards or objects that can harm us. My challenge is simply this. Be alert to your surroundings today. Scan the horizons of your life and be ready!
Tonight we had a great time with our life group. Although it was only a few people it was one of the most powerful lessons we have done in quite a long time. We are currently going through an Andy Stanley series entitled “The Best Question Ever”. The question is “What is the wise thing for me to do in this situation given my past experiences, current circumstances, and future hopes and dreams?” Tonight we tackled morality, specifically sexual morality. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that people don’t just fall into sexual immorality. They get there by a series of unwise choices. It is then those choices that lead one to fall. It is no wonder that King Solomon in the Old Testament when given a choice to have anything he wanted, chose wisdom. Check out Ecclesiastes if you want more to read on wisdom and what matters in life. I hope you are being challenged spiritually right now. If you do not have a life group that you are a part of. Please go find one right away. You can sign up for one here.
Tonight I got to put into practice what we are learning about during our current series on relationships. Sunday John had two baskets on stage. One was labeled “Desires” and the other “Expectations”. You see we come into marriage with all these God-given desires. Then somehow we turn them into marital expectations.Tonight I was able to meet one of my wife’s current desires by reading a book on husbands being labor partners. I know… lots of fun reading there. I did that mainly because I know that is a desire she has of me. She wants me to be ready next month when she goes into labor with our second child. You know, one of the really cool things that I am learning the longer I am married is that it feels good knowing that I met that desire of her heart. It makes me feel good to know that I put her desires above my own desires. Mine had to do with TV and maybe an X-Box. But I put those aside to meet hers.Now please don’t get me wrong. I am not the perfect husband by a long shot. I just am learning to put into practice things that God is speaking to me about. I pray that as we dive into week two of our i-love series this next week you will be praying and asking God what areas in your life you need to get rid of the big “I”. I know I am praying that God will help me get rid of more of my selfish desires and love my wife and family selflessly. I want to love Jenn better than I do right now. Let me speak to another group of people for a minute. I know that some of you are in the midst of painful relationship situations. For some of you, you are thinking of not coming back next week because you already have your mind set on giving up on your relationship with your spouse. You want to (as John said) take your box of desires and give them to someone else.My prayer for you is one of the many prayers the psalmist David prayed. ”Help me to want to do your will…” Many times we simply do not want to follow him because it is too hard and too painful. We would much rather take the easy way out. I plead with you dear brother or sister to pray that prayer. ”God help me to want to do YOUR will.”
I can hardly believe that Mason is old enough to do an Easter Egg hunt on his own. This year our neighborhood held a Easter Egg hunt for the kids on our block. So far Mason is the only boy old enough to participate. Unfortunately Jenn had to work so I Mason and I went. I was so proud of him. He is such an unselfish kid. He helped some of the smaller children put eggs in their baskets.On Saturday night I read Mason a book about Easter. The book says it’s not about the Easter eggs, or the Easter bunny, or the candy. It’s all about Jesus. We work hard with our family to live out our lives at home, school, and at work to make everything we do about Jesus.This morning Mason was praying for his cereal and it was so cool to hear him thank Jesus for the services yesterday at church. He is barely three and he loves to pray. So at this Easter I am thankful for my boy Mason. He is the love our our lives. Thanks God for Mason!
