Turn Your Phone Off

Have you ever had one of those days where your phone just rings CONSTANTLY? Today has been one of those days. After getting to sleep around 2:30 this morning, my phone began ringing at 7:45 this morning. Then a text at 7:55. Then a call at 8:15. By 9:00 I'd had 6 or 7 calls and 5 texts. And it has been that way all day. Which isn't a bad thing in and of itself. But for some reason I feel like I need to take calls, check texts, etc. On top of that, my phone has been on the blink, so if it does work I need to jump on it. By 2:00 this afternoon, I'd run my battery completely down and had to turn my phone off. I know, I know...How ever will I live with my phone off? Well, it turns out that just minutes after I turned my phone off a lady engaged me in a spiritual conversation which ended up with her coming to Christ. She had been raised around a church where people respond to humans instead of Jesus for forgiveness and restoration. When I explained to her that true regeneration only comes from Christ and that it only comes when He becomes our Savior, she was ready to engage him. Through the course of our conversation we started talking about obedience and baptism, when she says to me, "You could baptize me RIGHT NOW. I'm ready!" It seems that she decided Jesus was going to be her master, so we went out behind the building to the hot tub that is there, and in the presence of some of our close friends, I baptized her. I say all of that to say this: what would her life be like if I had plugged my phone in, and been engaging the 100's (not really) of people who want to talk to me instead of turning it off and engaging the one in front of me? Just a thought to ponder. Turn your phone off and look around. The world won't end, and for someone near you, their world might just begin.
Peace

My Friend, Cecil

Cecil Sarratt left this world last night at 11:40. Well, he may have left much sooner, but his body stopped working last night. I imagine Cecil screeching into heaven on his Jake and Elwood Blue 1200CC Sportster.

Cecil was a real friend. He was one of the first members of The Heights Fellowship that I met. He and "Charlie-boy" helped me get my Honda out of the mud I'd gotten stuck in on Father's Day, 2004. Earlier this year, the battery had gone dead on Harley, and Cecil left work to help me push start the bike at the United parking lot. He thought it was funny that the battery was dead because I forgot to turn the bike completely off when I got there.

Cecil was a good man. He'd only been a follower of Jesus for a few years. Saved out of the rough life of a 1% biker (1% is the amount of bikers who are"outlaw" bikers like you see in the movies), Cecil loved Jesus. Every Sunday morning, I looked forward to standing outside talking with Cecil and "Charlie-boy" about our bikes, about life, and about Christ. Three weeks ago, Cecil and I took what would be the last ride we would take together in this world. He was the Road Captain that morning for our Nooma Riders ride. We ended up at Spanky's where we laughed and had a great time. Of course, Cecil was at the center of the conversation with a sense of humor that was on such a roll all we could do was sit and laugh.

Cecil, you will be missed. We'll take care of those you left behind, and I'm looking forward to riding with you again one day. Peace, My Brother.

Actual vs. Potential

Two words that you never really think much about: actual and potential. Simply defined:

"Actual" - "presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible."

"Potential" - "the inherent capacity for coming into being."

Taken at face value, we say, "Yeah, I knew that." But the implications of these two words can be profoundly life altering. Think about them when applied to people. Actual is what you are at the moment. It's the realized reality of all you've done. There's no changing what has actually come to pass. There's no changing what has become actual. It's done.

Potential, however, is all that could be from here forward. It can be a great word when we say, "That guy HAS great potential!" But when accompanied with one's actual, potential can be a horrible word: "That guy HAD great potential." See, our actual impacts our potential. I would even submit that as life goes on, your potential diminishes while your actual increases. At birth, we are 100% potential and 0% actual. At mid-life, we are 50% potential and 50% actual. Near death, we are just about 0% potential and 100% actual. John the Baptist understood this, stating that it was time for him to fade out and let Jesus take the scene. Jesus Himself realized this as we read John 13. His time was coming to a close, and it was time to show them the full extent of His love. I think it's this truth (although usually unknowingly) that drives people into "mid-life crisis." The thought sinks in, "I have accomplished so little and have such a short time left...it's time to do all those things I feel like I've wanted to do. Or at least to live life more fully with what I've got left." The counseling theory here is that a mid-life crisis is an unresolved fear of death and failure...but that's for another blog.

I bring all of this up to share a way to multiply your potential as it actually diminishes! I'm not a fan of math. I'm not current on math principles or trig, or anything else that could be hip about math. But I do understand multiplication, and am convinced that when you take whatever potential you have left and invest in those with potential, you increase their potential exponentially. If I am at mid-life (and at age 38, that's a reality if I live to be 76), and have 50% of my potential left, I can invest my energy and my future in my son, who at age 8 is still 90% potential. If I wisely invest what's left of my life in others, I can raise their potential, and in doing do I increase my potential, too! My youth pastor, Bart McMillan, once told me that the greatest investment you'll ever make is investing in people. Little did I know at the time that he was handing me the key to real success. No matter how long I live, if I will invest my energy in those around me, everyone's future gets brighter. Rather than being depressed or alarmed at how little life you have left, invest it in people and be amazed at what God will do with it. And be amazed at what God will do with you.

The Loss of a Friend

The Laseman family attended THF with us. Justin, mentioned below, and his brother, Jacob, have been on youth trips with us. I am saddened by the loss and ask you to join me in praying for Sheri and Jacob.

From The Lubbock Online web site (our local news site):
The motorcycle deaths of father and son Danny and Justin Laceman on Thursday add to an increasing number of motorcycle fatalities over the past three years, something that concerns hospital workers as the summer months arrive.

Typically there are more motorcycles on the road during the summer, and “people have got to watch for motorcycles,” said Lubbock Police Capt. James Shavers.

"There is no way to predict a motorcycle accident," he said. “You have to assume they don’t see you.”

Laceman was driving the motorcycle around 9:15 a.m. Thursday, headed east on 82nd Street as he approached Milwaukee Avenue. At the same time, Laurie Cromeenes, 33, was traveling west, police said.

That’s when Cromeenes, who was driving a 2005 Chevy Tahoe with a 5-year-old and 2-year-old in the rear, tried to turned left onto Milwaukee and the vehicles collided.

Pieces of glass and parts of the Harley Davidson littered the ground in the busy intersection.

Shavers said police are still investigating the accident and have not filed any charges.

The two children inside the Tahoe were taken to Covenant Medical Center by ambulance with minor injuries.

Danny, 43, and Justin Laceman, 14, were taken to UMC by ambulance. Police said Justin was wearing a helmet, his father was not.

Boston Stryper...Styper Boston...Bostyper? Strypton?

I just got a text from McMinn that the legendary rock band, Boston, is playing in the D/FW area tonight...And sure enough they are. But the shocker is who their frontman is these days. Have you ever heard of Stryper? How about Michael Sweet, Stryper's founder and former front man? That's right, kids! I got this from Boston's web site:

The legendary band BOSTON will headline the outdoor festival at Marina Park on Friday, June 6 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The show kicks off a summer of stadium, concert and festival dates that will span the United States and Canada. Seasoned Stryper frontman Michael Sweet and new fan phenom Tommy DeCarlo join BOSTON veterans Jeff Neal, Kimberley Dahme, Gary Pihl and of course, Tom Scholz on stage this summer. Gary, the longest reigning member of BOSTON next to Tom, joined the band in 1985 to help complete “Third Stage,” and through his efforts, the band reemerged in 1987 for the Third Stage Tour, which set stadium records across the US.

WOW!

The Anit-marketers

I was speaking with a local business owner last night that I met at a community event a few weeks back. We actually met at this local free concert series in the park down the street. He was there handing out advertisements for his shop while we were handing out water to the thirsty folks. After the concert last night, some of The Journey went out to eat, as we do every week after The Gathering. As we were finishing up, the business owner was there, too, and stopped by our table on his way out to ask what our "angle" is. Now, those weren't his words, but my summary of a 2 minute conversation. He wanted to truly know how we were planning to get those people into our church. He seemed stunned when I said, "We're not planning to get those people into our church." He just kinda stared at me. After the dazed look melted away, he wanted to know why were handing out water. This seems to be a hard concept to grasp in our western, money/resource based mind set. "Why would you spend money on people and not ask for something in return?" seems to be the real question. I assured him that we love the people at the park, and hope that they will come to Christ, but that our real goal was to be kind and show love unconditionally.

[ASIDE: Last night we even added a twist to the routine. We brought a box of Milkbone Dog Biscuits since so many people bring their dogs to the park for the concert. My daughter LOVES dogs, and she would take treats to the dogs while we brought water to the people. (By the way, a box of smaller Milkbone Biscuits is about $4.00, so there's really no overhead there. But we've discovered that dog lovers love people who love their dogs. They receive love by having their pets loved, too, so this is just another way to love people.)]

While most business owner's goals are to get them into their shop, our goal is to be Jesus in their lives. That seemed to just stun the local business owner. He even said something to the effect of, "Most churches would at least hand out a flier about themselves and capitalize on the marketing." Exactly. And that's fine for them. But it's not what God asked us to do. God asked us to go love thirsty people by giving them a drink of water.

[Sidebar] In three weeks, we are planning a cookout for the ENTIRE community. We're expecting to feed around 500 people. And the following week we are going to do a kid's club in the park every day from 9 a.m. to Noon with crafts, recreation, Bible story, and snow cones. Because we love Jesus and love our community, we are free to expect nothing in return. Rather, we get to lavish our love, resources, and life on Jesus by pouring ourselves onto people.

The business owner just kinda stood their again, thought for a second, and said, "So, you're like the anti-marketers?" Well, no. We are pro kindness. I told him again that our goal is to let people know they are loved and we are here to serve with no strings attached. He just kinda nodded, and walked away as he said, "Cool. I'll see you guys next week." I hope he understood, but don't think he did. But he will. And now we have another person to love and another person to serve. We just have to discover how to serve him and show him love. It's an exciting thing to be odd. It's like that line from the end of "The Incredibles."

TONY : You look different.
VIOLET : I feel different. Is different okay?
TONY : Hey, different is...[clears throat] Different is great.

Yeah, he's right. Different is GREAT. And I'm loving it.

Roy on Discipleship

My friend and great thinker, Roy, has some great thoughts on Discipleship. You can read more at his blog. Here's something from his site.

"How did Jesus go about transforming a raw, interesting, diverse group of men from non-awareness to developed disciples? Reading the gospels, I came across several, repeated actions.

• Teaching. Jesus had an agenda of significant themes that had to be discussed. Sometimes, he initiated. Other times, he took His cue from the disciples' conversations or behaviors.
• Talking. The goal of talking is to relate, to express, to get to know someone. To be transformed, we need both formal and informal talk. Requirements without relationship won't produce lasting disciples.
• Time. Jesus walked over 5000 miles with the disciples. He ate around 3800 meals with them. Do you think their relationships deepened after all that eating, walking, and talking? Some parts of discipleship are better caught than taught.
• Trouble. Jesus used negative situations and turned them into teachable moments. He warned His guys about pending dangers. He prepared them for difficulty. Jesus didn't train His friends to expect a sterilized, sanitized world of fluff and puff.
• Thinking. Jesus asked the best questions. He knew how to get to the "what" and "why" of an issue. His provocative questions helped prepare the disciples for their purpose. Jesus knew behaviors and thoughts are linked together.
• Time-Out. Jesus laughed. He went to parties. He attended weddings. He enjoyed being with his friends. There should be room in discipleship for just fun. Is it possible more transformation could happen over ice cream at Friendly's than at Bible study one week?
• Tasks. Jesus gave both simple and detailed assignments. He debriefed the disciples when they returned. What did they see? What did they learn?

Are there any items you think should be added to the list?"

We were spotted.

Our local newspaper has a community photo site called "You Were Spotted." They "caught" us handing out free water at a local community event.

http://spotted.lubbockonline.com/photos/index.php?id=2583603

A Week Without Distractions

We just got back from Youth Camp, and God definately had His way with our group. He saved 7 and led another 5 to be baptized in obedience to His desire for their lives. Out of the 22 kids we took, 12 made public decisions, and the others made life-changing/habit changing decisions. It was a GREAT week. To quote a close friend, "I love my life."

Remember when?

Every Memorial Day I think of Reveelation 2:5, where Jesus reminds the church at Ephesus to remember their early zeal for Him. Is that weird? Is it weird that every time I hear someone talk about remembering something meaningful, this verse comes to mind. That's what led to me thinking about this verse last night. I was thinking about a lot of things, remembering, when it popped into my mind. That brought me to the point of thinking about the early days of my faith. WOW! It's been a while. Not too long ago I passed the "swing point" where I've actually been a Jesus follower longer than I wasn't. I've been following Jesus for 21 years. Some of you have known me that whole time, AND you're older than me...just thought I'd remind you of that! I did some CRAZY things as a young believer. Some of them were stupid, and some were inspired (probably more the former than the latter). I would do things like take witnessing tracts and hide them in people's lockers at school, or unroll a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom and put an Answer Tract (remember those?) every 5 or 6 squares as I rerolled the paper. Lance and I would toilet paper people's houses on their birthdays and leave little toy ninjas on their porch. I had a friend named John Newton that nearly got us killed A LOT in South Dallas. My friends, Kyle and Laura, would make sure I got to church every Wednesday night, even though it meant they had to drive 15 miles out of their way and it meant that I had to be the only male Acteen (a teen-girl's mission group) in our church. I remember the youth newsletter that I was the editor for, "The C.H.U.B.S." which stood for "The Colonial Hills Underground Baptist Standard." So many good things came to mind last night as I thought about the early days of my faith. And so many good people who invested in me. Every person that I have gotten to reach for Christ is to their credit, not mine. So many people poured into me to make me who I am today.

Then, of course, the comparison happened. I like to think that I do a lot more now and that I do a lot better now, but it's hard to compare like that. I do know this, whatever I did back then, it was out of a crazy zeal for Christ and the new life I'd been given. How much do I do today because it's expected? How much of my faith is a check list of things that "Good Christians" do? The early church at Ephesus did A LOT of great things, but they lost their focus on why they were doing it. Memorial Day always reminds me to remember my first love, and to allow Him to set my schedule, dictate my day, and have His way with me. I just need to love Him and do silly/crazy things because I am so in love with Him. I hope Memorial Day was a day of remembering for you, too.

Twitter

Okay, so I'm twittering now. I'm not exactly sure what it is or why I am...well, I guess I am because a lot of folks that I follow by blog are twittering. You can connect to me thru http://www.twitter.com/thejiggybishop. I think!

Fatal Hit And Run Takes the Life of Lubbock Man

I just don't understand people. Accidents happen, sure. But why hit and run? This was the senseless death of someone dear to many people in Lubbock. Here's the article from www.kcbd.com.

At 8 p.m. Thursday night, Lubbock police arrive at the scene of a hit and run motorcycle accident at the corner of 50th Street and Avenue D.

Just 20 minutes earlier, at 7:40, Monte Wampler was riding his beloved 2000 Harley Davidson East on 50^th Street. In a split second, as Wampler passed Avenue D, he was hit by a 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis.

Allegedly behind the wheel was 21-year-old Rochelle Ranson. But police say Ranson didn't stop when she allegedly hit Wampler. The police report says Ranson backed up, running over Wampler, and then took off North on Avenue D.

Police say Ranson then hit another person, a pedestrian, running over the person's legs. At that point two people jumped out of the car and took off on foot and Ranson allegedly then took off west on 46th Street where she got into another accident - another hit and run.

Not 20 minutes later around the same time Wampler was pronounced dead at UMC, Ranson was pulled over and arrested at the Super 8 Motel on I-27 and 66th Street, barely a mile from where the initial hit and run occurred that killed Wampler.

"It appears intoxication may be a factor but we'll have more on that when the test results come back," said Lt. Jon Caspell with the Lubbock Police.

Until those results come back official charges won't be filed against Ranson. She's currently being held on an unrelated warrant at the Lubbock County Jail.

The family of Monte Wampler is getting ready for a funeral service Saturday and they say the public is welcome. If you'd like to pay your respects to Wampler, his family invites you to the First Baptist Church in Ralls at 2 p.m. Saturday for a service in remembrance of Monte.

Operation Study Break

We had an INCREDIBLE night last night. I am going to save the best part for last. But to catch you up on what we did; here's a summary. It's finals week at Texas Tech, and where we meet for The Gathering is a Tech student study hot spot. The back room where we gather is an overflow room during the week so J&B can accommodate more customers. So, the plan was to use our space to serve rather than run the students out for our 2 hour time slot. We decided to give out vouchers for free coffee and put out free pastries. We brought in our friend, Katie, who is a massage therapist, to do free 5 minute chair massages for those who needed it (and who doesn't need a free massage?). My friend, Matt, brought his guitar to provide soft acoustic atmosphere music, and we set up a prayer room upstairs for those who might want/need prayer.

Over the course of the evening, we had several conversations with folks just about life and why we would be giving away coffee, pastries, and massages. The massage chair was a big hit. Thanks Katie! Over the course of 2 hours, she did around 20 massages. The cool thing about that was that the staff at the coffee shop were able to take advantage of this gift, and it provided a further connection to them. One of the girls who was working the counter used to work at Aroma's, so she knows us a little. As she was tallying up everything and all the food products we'd served, she kept apologizing for so many people taking advantage of the free food. I kept telling her that we wished more people had been here to enjoy it, and that our goal was to give twice as much away next time. "Next time?!?!" she asked in a shocked/amazed way. "You mean you'll do this again? This has been GREAT!" We gave away $101.00 worth of coffee and bundt cake last night.

The people of The Journey were amazing, too. They bussed tables, played with dogs, handed out coffee vouchers, and engaged the people in our new oikos. I left last night feeling like we had done in one night what it took me several months to do at Aroma's. Yea for multiplied effort!

My friend, Matt, came and provided live "atmosphere" music, which was very well done. The music side generated a new friend who calls himself T-Rex. He's a late 50's/early 60's manic musician! He plans on joining us in the back room for The Gathering this Sunday.

The highlight of the evening, though, happened at the very beginning of the night. I had just put up the signs indicating that there would be a prayer room upstairs, and was getting ready to head up there to make sure the chairs were set up. Standing at the bottom of the stairs was "Mike," just gazing up the stairs as if summoning the courage to ascend. I would later find out that Mike is 55, has 3 daughters, and I think he's divorced, living alone here in Tech Terrace. I came along side him and just stood there, off to his right. He sensed I had walked up, and turned to me, asking, "Are you one of the people praying for folks?" I told him I was and introduced myself. He gripped my hand with the desperate/tight grip of a man barely hanging on. He looked me in the eye and began to weep. As the tears rolled down his cheek, he told me that he was going to end his life, and had gone for a walk to think that over. He told me he felt like he needed a coke, and came in to buy one...but he doesn't drink coke and wasn't sure why had even come in to get one. As he was standing at the counter, he saw the signs letting people know if they needed prayer to come on back. He said that at that moment he knew that God had brought him here to be prayed over and restored. So we walked up stairs, and he shared some of his story with me, being sure to say several times that he knew God had brought him to J&B to save his life tonight. Turns out, Mike is a follower of Jesus who has fallen on very hard times. He lives near J&B, and was out walking as he contemplated his suicide. He told me he had made a mess of his life, and just couldn't go on. So, we prayed. But before we started I just reached out my hand, and he grabbed it with both of his and squeezed the circulation out of it. I prayed Scripture over him, and asked God to give him wisdom. We thanked God together that Mike could offer a broken heart and contrite spirit. I prayed that Mike would find the end of his own strength and effort and plug into God's unlimited resources. We prayed and prayed and prayed, praying for about 15 minutes. All the while Mike wept bitterly and uncontrollably. After we finished praying, Mike continued to hold onto my hand as he looked up, visibly relieved, and thanked me. He knew it was a miraculous intervention of God into his life that we were there last night. As we talked about life, and what would be next for him, he began asking about The Journey. I told him I was the Pastor. He looked down at the floor and said he had skipped church that day because things had gotten so bad. I just smiled and told him that we exist to bring God to him. We chatted a bit longer, and he tried to offer money for The Journey. I told him we couldn't take money from him, but that we would continue to pray for him. We talked for a bit more and I asked him if there was anything else we could do to help. I didn't want to be the guy who just prays for him, and sends him on his way. He said prayer was exactly what he needed. He plans to come back and hang out with us. He even went as far as to say he thinks there are many people in this neighborhood who need to have God brought to them, and he felt like we would do that very thing. As he stood to leave, he grabbed my hand again, and thanked me for saving his life. I didn't know what to say, so I just told him that I was honored to be a part of his life, and that I would be honored to continue to walk with him. "You aren't designed to do life alone," I told him as we headed down the stairs. I gave him my cell number and told him that if there were ever anything he needed, to call. And, just like that, he headed out the door. We could have packed up at that pointed and headed out. I felt like that's why God had us here last night. Mike helped me see what God sees here at J&B. It's a normal thing for me to be broken for the lost condition of my community, but seldom do I dig in and really contemplate how bad some of their lives may be. Sitting here this morning, I'm wondering who else is at the end of their rope, thinking about giving up or giving in. Hopefully, The Journey will always be there to step in and be Jesus to those who need Him.

And I say all of that to say that our network of prayer warriors from all over the country played a vital role in what we did as they prayed for us last night. I really believe that as they prayed, God moved and brought Mike looking for a drink that he didn't have at home. I believe that as they took time out of their day to pray for us, Mike turned the corner to the left instead of the right and ended up here rather than the park. Ultimately, I believe that one hopeless 55 year old man now has hope because of prayer. Thank you to all of you who prayed for us last night, and for giving of yourself and your time to make a difference in Lubbock and the kingdom. YOU ROCK!

Confession, Forgiveness, and Freedom

it's been a week of lots of conversations with lots of hurting people. I am actually sitting here stewing over a pile of written confessions done by a group of teenagers this week. It has put me somewhat into a funk. But I know that God is in the process of freeing them from these things, so there is a bright side. Why do we carry hurt? Why don't we share it with others? My sense of it would be pride/ego. Maybe possible humiliation. But the truth is I can't quite figure it out. We all go thru very similar things. We all stumble and fall in similar ways. Why can't we figure out what James is talking about in chapter 5 of his letter when he says, "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; and the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (5:15-16) James deals with our own shortcomings as a sickness that needs healing; telling us that we will find the healing in confession and prayer. And yet, we continue to struggle and stumble, seemingly alone.

As I went thru the stack of confessions, I came to a simple drawing. It was a heart/sun! It was a heart with a smiley face and "sun rays" coming out of it. Then I remembered that my daughter, Cayla, had sat in on part of what we were doing, and that was her offering. It brought a smile to my face as I was deeply touched by her simple confession that Jesus, The Son, is love and warmth. She told me that was what she wanted to tell God, and I had completely forgotten about it until I found it in the stack. Now, I don't want to make light of sin, or say it's no big deal, but I think sometimes I beat myself up with guilt about my sin and forget that if The Son has set you free, you are free indeed. And confession brings freedom. And Christ is life, love, and freedom. In the midst of all of the yuck in this stack of human depravity is a reminder that, in spite of it all, God deeply loves us and seeks to forgive and restore. So why don't I confess more to Him? The Psalmist reminds me, "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning." (30:5)

Confession is good for the soul is not just a glib cliché, but a soul-healing truth. Make confession a regular part of your day/life/moment. The Journey is best made with each other walking in the freedom of Christ's restorative forgiveness. Don't walk alone, Don't walk in guilt. Walk in the light, as He is in the light. He is the light.

Peace

All Talk and No Posts

Tons of conversations this week have kept me from being able to post or read much. I'm hoping to remedy that tonight...

As if reading my blog

It was an amazing thing yesterday. I posted that I didn't have a remote here in my room, and within minutes the maintenance guy was knocking at my door with a remote for me. It was very uncanny. It was as if they were reading my blog and realized that I needed a remote!

No Remote

I'm in a Hotel in North Arlington, and I just kicked back on my couch to catch up on local sports and news (D/FW is home for me), when I realized there is NO REMOTE for the TV! Now, when the commercial's volume is turned up, I have to get up and walk over there...not to mention changing channels! How ever can I relax having to stand up every 30 seconds? And surfing...don't get me started on trying to find a good channel...UGH!

Make it so.

This week has been HECTIC! I actually had to turn my phone off yesterday at 5 p.m. because I hadn't had a break from people in a while. SOOOO, if you called or texted me yesterday, sorry! Sometimes I just need a break. Ever feel that way? So today, after our LIFE Group (which met at 10 for our study on the early church), I am going to practice Sabbath. I heard one pastor call the day of rest "cocooning." It's not a day to cease from work, but rather a day to focus. By God's own example, He doesn't cease from work on the Sabbath day. If God quit working, we would cease to exist! The Sabbath is a day to make sure your heart beats with God's heart. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, and not the other way around. God knows that we have a tendency to allow the things around us to choke out the things He is doing in us. Sabbath is a day of "weeding," so to speak. So, after I'm done with this update, I'm going to jump back into the Scriptures, share the day with my family, and get some much needed recliner time. How's it going for you? Do you have a refuel and recharge day? If you don't, you're headed down a rough road. I'll be praying for you today. I'm praying that you will find that time of Sabbath. "I'm too busy to..." is only a symptom that you are heading for failure. If you are too busy to refocus and recharge with Christ, then you are too busy. As Jean-Luc Picard says often to Ryker, "Make it so."

The Last Guy I Sparred

The Old Man can still bring it. Here's a couple pictures of the last guy I sparred.

Who doesn't like crayons and playdough?

It's a simple truth...we all love to doodle, color, and play with playdough! It's an amazing addition to the worship gathering to cover the tables where participants sit with white butcher paper. Leave some crayons there and put out a couple cans of playdough. During the entire gathering, some people will express through their hands what they feel they can't with their mouth! For more creative ideas, check out LOS's blog.