Discount
I had 500 copies made of the Gas Buy Down flyers at FedEx Kinko’s today. Since I had it printed on color paper, it was 9 cents each. The cost should have come to $45.00 plus tax, but it was $34.13 (including tax). I was looking at the receipt and there is a $12.50 discount. I’m not sure what the discount is for but I’m wondering maybe it’s because I have at the bottom of the flyer “The Gas Relief is sponsored by Connection Point Church” and this person who rang me up gave us a church discount. Either way, God blessed and we have good looking flyers that were less than we budgeted for. Praise God!
Goals
I have set mini-goals for the church plant in Carrollton. We have accomplished one and planning to accomplish the second one next week. Goals help you achieve things that you dream about. The goals for Connection Point Church are set and will be accomplished by God and Him alone.
I was thinking about the goals we are planning to hit for the church and I haven’t set a personal goal in awhile. I set one back in early spring to loss 30 pounds and I lost 35 pounds by September. That was an awesome feeling. I hate looking and being fat. I’m been in and out of fitness since high school and now that I’m 38 I want to stay in good shape. This morning a set a new personal goal and I pretty excited about.
You see I started to run on the treadmill every Tuesday and Thursday instead of just walking. I used to run all the time when I was younger. I started running 2 weeks ago and man I forgot how much I enjoyed it. The treadmills at the YMCAs are preset to run up to 30 minutes. Today I ran 25 of the 30 minutes, and I feel good. My goal is to run the entire
30 minutes. I’ve set the achievement of this goal for next Thursday. After achieving this goal, I have another; to run in a 5 or 10 K race.
My long term personal goals are not only regarding physical fitness but also Spiritual fitness. I want to keep walking with God and learning as I preach and teach His word.
Most people don’t set goals and that’s all right. I need to set goals or I won’t grow. By nature, I’m lazy so I have to set goals to stay moving. It’s too easy for me to sit around and do nothing. I hope you have set goals for youself.
No King
I finished reading through the book 
of Judges this morning and the statement “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” struck me. The statement is found several times in the book of Judges. There’s a pattern to the book and Israel’s behavior. The children of Israel did their own thing and worshipped other gods and God judges them. The children of Israel say they’re sorry and God delivers them through men He chooses. There is peace for a number of years and the cycle repeats. The book shows the longsuffering of God and His love for His people.
The statement is so true for our society, “In our days there is no king; everyone does what was right in his own eyes.” In our society, we have no king for the most part. People who don’t have the King of the universe as their Lord and Master do what they feel is right in their own eyes. It’s not until the King reveals Himself to them that they see how far off they truly are in their actions and are changed. Until God draws these people to Himself, what they do seems right to them. Remember, only Christians are children of God so we know what is truly right; the average person is still the child of Satan and doesn’t know what right truly is.
Our society doesn’t have the true King. We do as Christians. As Christians (child of God) we have the King and do what He says is right and we have true peace. The world doesn’t have the King so they do what seems right for them and they have no peace. A friend sent me a link to a You Tube video about what Oprah is promoting these days on her show. It’s eye opening. Below is the link to it. If the link doesn’t work, just copy it and paste it and it will take you to the video at You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/v/JW4LLwkgmqA&hl=en
I hope you do know the King and that you do have peace.
Worship Practice
This Sunday, our Worship Leader will be preaching on worship. Since he’s preaching, our co-pastor will lead the worship and he has asked me to help with it. I love to sing and worship but it has been a while since I’ve done so as a leader. We had practice last night and it was awesome. While practicing the songs and harmonizing with the other singers, the Holy Spirit showed up (well OK, He manifested Himself to us). The practice turned into a worship session. I love when that happens.
God Is Closer Than You Think
I finished reading “God Is Closer Than You Think” by John Ortberg. It was a good read. I’m leading the small group study based on this book. John Ortherg worked with Bill Hybels for 10 years and is now pastoring in CA. His insights are quite good.
I know that as a Christian, I know that God is always with us as the Holy Spirit. There are times, it’s great knowing that I’m never alone because He is with me. But there are still other times that I live like I’m alone but He is with me when I acting like I’m alone; He is with me when I’m walking through the sewer and mud. He sees and hears everything; the good and the bad.
In the book, there is a story about a little girl who loves to play in mud but her grandmother is trying to get her to stop it. The little girl asks her grandmother to look away so she can’t see her playing in the mud. The little girl thinks that as long as her grandmother can’t see her, it’s alright. We tend to do the same thing with God. We may not say it, but just before we sin we want God to look away so He doesn’t see what we are doing. It doesn’t work like that.
If you are like me, there are times I take God’s grace for granted. He is always faithful to forgive my short comings. I’m so unworthy of His love and grace, but so thankful for it.
Gas Buy Down
I just talked with the manager of a local BP Gas Station and they agreed to let us use their station for a Bas Buy Down. It is so awesome to have this place; God is working His will out. It’s great to see His hand at work. I’ve tried for 2 weeks to use another station but they never returned my calls and when I talked with the manager face-to-face I could tell she was blowing me off.
The cool thing is that when I was driving home from my encounter with the other station’s manager I looked at the BP station and thought maybe this one. God works at different speeds, and with this one He worked it all out in less than 30 minutes. I called and talked with the asst-manager who gave me the home office phone number. I talked with the owner and he told me to expect a call from his manager (who is his daughter) of the station. Within 10 minutes, Legina called me and after 5 minutes everything was set and ready to go. We serve an awesome God!
Keep us in your prayers as we plan this out. We will have the Gas Buy Down on Saturday, April 26. Pray for good weather and that God will use this to let the community know we care for them.
Mentoring
I read a really good blog today by Tally Wilgis on the subject of Mento
ring. It was him talking about what mentors have done for him and how he is looking for one now as he prays about moving forward in the ministry God has laid on his heart. It was a great read because he laid his heart out on the table for all to see.
I saw the mentor I had from my teen years until on late 20’s on Sunday. Lynn and I e-mail one another and have seen each other off and on but not that much that last year because our schedules. Lynn was my pastor from age 14 to 29. He let a teenage boy hang out at the church’s office during the summers and help where I could. He gave me responsibilities that seem unusual because of my age. He allowed me to cut my teeth in ministry. When I failed we talked about how to get past it. I was one of many he mentored. I have no idea how many men are in ministry today because he walked beside them and mentored them. When we talk, I hear that he is still doing it today but with younger pastors. He is making sure that he can be available to help men in the ministry. Because I know he has a full plate, I’ve not tried to keep up with him except for an occasional e-mail.
I know the importance for mentoring. I’ve mentored several men and watched them grow. Since I know the importance of help others and making sure I’m available to them I’ve forgot to have a mentor for myself. That’s why Tally’s blog hit so hard in my heart. In order for me to grow beyond myself, I’ve been reading blogs of men who have planted churches and reading books to learn. I need to find a mentor that can walk beside me and meet with me face-to-face. Talking on the phone and e-mails are alright, but I love face-to-face meetings. Pray that God will send me a mentor that I can learn from.
Yesterday I was able to spend 2 hours talking with a friend at the coffeehouse (Jers
ey Java) I call my “office.” It was cool just sitting and talking over cappuccinos. I wanted to touch base with him and see how he and his new wife are doing. They’ve been married for less than a year so I wanted to see how they are surviving. I remember the first 3 years were tough for Teresa and me getting used to each other. I think it’s tougher getting used to married life for us who marry later; I was 26 and Teresa was 30 when we married and my friend and his wife were in their late 20’s when they were married. It’s worth the struggle of the first few years because it bonds you to each other.
Through our time together, I shared more on my vision for Connection Point Church. I wanted just to listen to him but when I get started talking about the church plant, I get excited and can’t stop talking. The cool thing about our time together is that we will get a free logo designed for us. My friend’s background is web design so he will design a logo for Connection Point. That’s awesome for him to do that.
When listening I was able to learn new things about my friend that was exciting. He and his wife are praying about joining our plant either for critical mass or to stay. It is encouraging for people to buy in the vision I feel God has given me. I was able to learn what his passion is and was to encourage him to go after it.
All in all, the time we talked was great. We will do it again really soon.
hild. I love it when people adopt because it shows the picture of our relation as Christians to God the Father. I was even more excited when she shared that they want to go through the international adoption; either a child from Korea or Ethiopia. She shared with me that her parents are excited for them; however, her husband’s parent are not so excited especially if they get an Ethiopian child. I was shocked mainly because they and their parents are from the New York City area. This is the main hub of emigration and the melting pot of the U.S.
ea of international adoption. This lady has a big heart and I can see her be a good mother. It sadness me to think that her in-laws are small minded.
s hiking 5 miles around a beautiful lake enjoying nature and good conversation. Gil and Teresa used their cell phones to take pictures. Gil and I became monkeys when we saw a tree leaning on another tree. We both climbed up and hang for a while (that was fun). We both channeled our inner-child. Once we finished with our hike, we were very hungry so we drove to the Red Start
Tavern. Gil has eaten there before but it was Teresa and my first time. The place has some great food. When we got there, the weather was awesome (as it was when we were hiking) so we ate outside. The weather changed while we ate; it got cold fast so by the time we finished eating, we were cold.
The place where the Red Star Tavern is located has a very good coffeehouse nearby. We walked over and spent 2 hours drinking coffee and talking some more. I watched Gil and Teresa do a crossword puzzle. The place played some good music (Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, and some jazz).Something to Think About
I'm studying for this Saturday's Discovery Group and came across this really cool illustration that tore my heart in half. It makes me think about my witness at work. Take a moment and read.
On the morning of September 11, Jeannie Braca switched on the television to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center.Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One.Al had survived the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and had even helped a woman with asthma escape from the building.Jeannie knew that Al would do the same thing this time, “I knew he would stop to help and minister to people,” she said, “but I never thought for a minute that he wouldn’t be coming home!”A week later, like so many others who were in that building, Al’s body was found in the rubble. Al’s wife, Jeannie, and his son Christopher were devastated!Then the reports began to trickle in from friends and acquaintances. Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent a final e-mail to loved ones saying that a man was leading people in prayer.A few referred to Al by name.Al’s family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack! When Al realized that they were all trapped in the building and would not be able to escape, Al shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer.This news came as no surprise to Al’s wife, Jeannie.For years, she and Al had been praying for the salvation of these men and women. According to Jeannie, Al hated his job and couldn’t stand the environment. It was a world so out of touch with his Christian values, but he wouldn’t quit.Al was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness, and although Al would not have put it this way, to be a hero!Al was not ashamed of Christ and Christ’s words…and he paid the price of taking up his cross daily. Al shared his faith with his co-workers….many of whom sarcastically nicknamed him “The Rev.”And on that fateful day…on September 11, in the midst of the chaos, Al’s co-workers looked to him—-and Al delivered!At the same time, Al too tried to get a phone call through to his family. He asked an MCI operator to contact his family.“Tell them that I love them,” he said.It took the operator more than a month to reach the Bracas, but the message brought them much-needed comfort.“The last thing my dad did involved the two things most important to him—God and his family,” his son Christopher told a writer for Focus on The Family. “He loved to lead people to Christ. That takes away a lot of the hurt and the pain.”
Networking
Yesterday, I had the honor to represent NAMB (North American Mission B
oard) and the SBCV (Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia) at a Newport News church. I wanted connect with the members so I arrived at 8:35 am for their 8:45 Fellowship breakfast. I was able to talk with several members. One older lady (I’m guessing her age was in the 80’s) talked about her daughter and how she grew up in Smithfield, VA. Smithfield is the neighboring town to Carrollton. In fact her daughter lives in Carrollton. The daughter is unable to attend church because she works on Sunday so I gave her my business card and informed her that th
e Discovery Group meets on Saturday mornings. The older lady’s eyes showed excitement with the idea that her child could attend church. She told me that she will give Mary (her daughter) the information. Lord willing Mary will contact me.
Knowing One Another
Last night, Teresa was getting her gym bag ready for today. I already had my bag packed and ready to go (We go to the gym in the mornings before going to work so we get ever
ything ready the night before. I don’t function very well in the morning so I have to pack the night before). She was looking for something; she was trying to describe it to me. As she was talking, I remembered where she put it last. I told her where I saw it; it was downstairs on the loveseat armrest. The way she looked at me I knew she wanted me to go get it for her. I told her that I’d go get it before she asked me. I told her that I knew she wanted me to go get it because I know her looks. She smiled and said, “You think you know me. Don’t you?” She said it with a smile and a gleam in her eye (I love the gleam she has in her eyes).
I’m so thankful to God for sending Teresa to me. She knows me better than anyone has (except for God). I love the fact that we know what each other is thinking before we have to say it. We’ve been married for 11 years; come July 20 it will be 12 years. Teresa is awesome.
