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Showing posts from September, 2011

My Flip Flap Solar Flower.

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I have a flip flap solar flower. It waves when in the sunlight. I gave my wife, Valerie, one that has a butterfly on it. There are bee ones etc. The one I have is in the window of my office. So why the flower? It has meaning. I have a friend (Church member) whose health is declining and basically is on hospice care. He and his wife are GOOD People. When I visit there, I feel better than before going. My friend and I have much in common - inspite of the age differences. (We both watch the same shows: Ice Road Truckers and Pawn Stars). Everytime I visit my friend .... there is that flower in his window, and he waves to me as I go to walk in his home. The flower reminds me of him. He got his as a gift from a family member to cheer him up. As I look at this flower ..it reminds me not only of my friend, but of how our God created things. That the flowers are here today, but can be gone tomorrow. So as life is short, make the most of it. All this from a less than $2 flower.

Some good advice from Hospice.

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The Nines.

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On Tuesday, in my office I got to listen to (while doing some work) several leaders from across the country give their views on ministry. life, and how to be a church leader. The Nines has been around for a few years. Every September a FREE online event that several leaders have about nine minutes or less to share their hearts and what God has been doing and giving advice, struggles, and what to do, not to do, in this journey we call Faith. I listened, jotted down some notes, and was entertained at times. I didn't get to see (They have it broadcasting for over 9hrs) it all. The Nines is like going to a convention without having to leave your office. With Church funds for several leaders being tight due to the economic situation most people are in ..this is a great opportunity to learn, be encouraged, and get some ideas. Do I agree with everyone? No. Has it been a great tool? Sure. So next time it comes why not check TheNines out

Community Leadership Event sponsored by Chik-fil-A

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Yesterday I went to a Leadership Event (FREE) sponsored by Chik-Fil-A and heard Mark Miller (@LeadersServe) speak. Basically he gave his story and in the morning we learned on Leadership .... and in the afternoon (after the FREE Lunch) learned applying it to teams. There were church leaders, business leaders, and people from Kaplan, Heritage Academy, First Data there and so forth ...and of course Chik-Fil-A. Of course, at the end we had someone ask what if you have someone that has no talents, and no skills ...(Which I yelled out "Just Hire Simon Cowell to tell them "...) So what is the Secret of Great Leaders? (Based on His and Ken Blanchard's book The Secret - having nothing to do with the DaVinci Code BTW or the Movie: National Treasure) Here is the secret what great leaders do: See the future Engage and develop others. Re-invent continuously Value results and relationships. Embody the values. In other words, Great Leaders serve. In the afternoon

Interesting Picture!!

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Patience, Learning, Perseverance, and Faith are Steps ...

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We can learn a lot about enduring in this life. We have so many hurting people who just want to give in all areas of their life. There is hope, though. One of the most encouraging verss to me is to be able to say "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6. Can you say the same? Recently I've been encouraged with my walk and want to share some thoughts that will encourage you to press on, keep the faith, and remember that God is faithful. Charles Spurgeon and his wife, according to a story in Chaplain Magazine, would sell but refuse to give away the eggs their chickens laid. Even close relatives, were told, "You may have them if you pay for them." As a result, some people labeled the Spurgeons as greedy and grasping. They accepted the criticism without defending themselves, and only after Mrs. Spurgeon died was the full story revealed: All the profits from the sale of the eggs went to support two elderly widows. Because the Sp

The Joys of Ministry

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The last few weeks of ministry have been a joy and yet considered hard work. I had recently done the following: 1. Funeral of a 22yr old. Celebrating her life and helping be the Hands and Feet of Jesus to a grieving family that needed to know the God of Comfort was there. 2. A Wedding of a former youth group member. Her wedding in North Carolina was an honor, blessing to do. Such a great family, and great memories to revisit and reflect upon. 3. A Baptism. As a result of ministering to the family (#1) - the mother - had decided to try to start her life anew and start by wanting to follow Jesus. How cool is that? 4. Ministering to a 93 yr old while in the hospital. Just being present - and helping a dear Saint who was coping with her health. 5. Seeing a newborn. A young couple in our church recently welcomed their second child. I had the chance of visiting them and seeing their latest little girl. Sharing the Joys of people's lives and being the hands and feet of Jesus

My Branchout!

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MY Branched out

Writing Takes Time.

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Writing takes time. It takes effort to try to put some intelligent words to paper and come up with a Great idea. To be a writer one needs to be a reader and learner as well. Here are some ideas what to write about: 1. Write what you know. 2. Write simply. 3. Write to yourself first, then to others. 4. Research and document what you write about. 5. Take a break from writing now and then. 6. Know that your "works" won't always be published by a Great Publishing House. (Thinking you can make tons of $$$ by writing is setting yourself up for failure - unless your name is Rick Warren or Francis Chan ...forget about the "Being a Minor Christian celebrity") 7. Be willing to take criticism. 8.The longerthesentencesgetandrunalltogethertheharderitistoread. Keep it short, simple and to the point. 9. Have fun doing it. 10. Write what works for you. For me It is thinking through some Top 10 type list (David Letterman's Top 10 influence)

Getting Rid of "Second Church"

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In talking with a friend .... he mentioned to me that "Hey did you know that in some areas the First Church was for Whites Only and Second for the African American community?" I did not know that nor could verify it. Though in looking online did see that the African American community and especially for the Restoration Movement - Christian Churches/ Churches of Christ could scarcely be found. This concerns me. The history of the church needs to be united in Christ not divided by colour. So what is the answer? My radical solution would be that we bridge the gap. We stop making Sunday mornings the most segregated hour in America. We cross the racial barriers. It doesn't matter if you are red, yellow, purple or green ... what matters is people matter to God. My other solution which would of course be met with some traditional and revolutionary revolts  ... is to change the names. Let's no longer have any churches in America be called First Christian, First Bapti

This week's Sermon: Luke 6

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Don't Give Up!

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There are plenty of times people just want to throw in the towel .... Give up ...Quit ... move on ... resign. Feel like a failure. I've been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. Made some silly mistakes. As I'm reading God's Word - I'm reminded again, and again ...not to give up. Quit whinning. The Christian life isn't a cake walk. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. In my office I have a little saying not far from my desk that is entitled: Don't Quit When things go wrong, as they sometimes will; When the road you're trudging seems all up hill; When the funds are low; and the debts are high; And you want to smile; but you have to sigh; When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit. -Anonymous. In 1 Thess. 4:18 it says "Therefore encourage one another with these words" talking about the hope we have and the coming of the Lord. Don't give up. The journey we're on - is we're in

The 4 A's in life.

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I got thinking about life and what most people want and are excited about: Especially in the Christian life and this journey we call: Faith. So here are 4 things I see that we need in life. 1. Assurance. We need to know that everything is ok. We need to know and have the confidence that what we are trying to achieve is the right thing to do. As someone once told me "If you can't do the right thing; do the next right thing." 2. Affirmation. Everyone wants to be loved, encouraged and told they are doing a good job. Affirmation goes a long way. The little notes, cards, gifts make it all worthwild. I know when "Minister Appreciation" comes in October I look forward to it ...and being told that I'm doing ok. Everyone wants that encouragement. This is one of the primary reasons we get together as a church to "Not forsake the assembly, and to encourage one another." 3. Assessment. We need to be evaluated. How are we doing? Are there any areas we c

Remember 9-11

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Here is what I wrote only a few days after Sept 11 - Sept 15,2001 In a week, where healing, comforting and tragedy has overtaken us; the only words I find myself asking is "What can I do?" Than I found out I wasn't alone. Knowing God was in control; and uplifting prayers; and having prayer services; making phone calls to check on churches in DC and NY. Getting donated goods; getting people to donate blood ..but there has to be more. So without delay; last nite - a band of Christians left to deliver good to NY. A six hour drive. Left 8pm back before 3pm Saturday. In the several hours we spent dropping off goods; praying with others there; and seeing as close as we can the devastation ..I don't think I'll ever be the same. It is worse than even what you see. In walking by Vincent Hospital ..the "lost" notices ....the New Yorkers telling their stories at 3am in the morning; and the scenes of police; workers; and heavy equipment being transported. I wa

Do It Again Lord - Max Lucado.

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This was what I read just days after 9-11on that Sunday. We’re still hoping we’ll wake up. We’re still hoping we’ll open a sleepy eye and think, “What a horrible dream.” But we won’t, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress. People did perish. It was no dream and, dear Father, we are sad . There is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will no longer heal. A church has lost her priest, a classroom is minus a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor and Dana, dearest Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in those final moments?) We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are buried, our innocence is buried as well. We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better. But we didn’t. And so we come to you. We don’t ask you for help; we beg you for it. We don’t request it; we implore it. We know what you can do. We’ve read the account

9-11 Review

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Neil Peart Drum Solo

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Showed my son this video after he wanted to know "who the greatest drummer in the world was?" And now he says I want to be like that guy. (Of course between now and then he could change his mind from being a cowboy to jedi to karate master)

Star Wars Tribute - My son's fav. video

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My son has only seen this video a few times and yet he can sing the melody and knows a lot of the lyrics ..Amazing.

Aaron Jeoffrey--"He Is"

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HT to Shelly.

Names of God

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