No offense Hannah (or Mylie, or whatever), but THIS is the best of both worlds...

This song has been a theme for us for a couple weeks now...

I saw this and thought it reminded me of a great time in the past: daycamp. Can easily see Cara leading he kids with Chris to this song.

Just so cool...

I TRIPLE Dog Dare You....

HAMMOND, Ind. - In a scene straight out of the movie "A Christmas Story," a 10-year-old Hammond boy got his tongue stuck to a metal light pole.

Police say the unidentified 4th grader was able to tell them a friend had dared him to lick the pole Wednesday night. Temperatures in Hammond were around 10 degrees at the time.

By the time an ambulance arrived, the boy was able to yank his tongue off the frozen pole.

Police say ambulance personnel explained to the boy's mother how to care for his bleeding tongue.

House Hunting...

So, which one would you pick? I was in a neighborhood today that had 1.5 million dollar homes. I took these pics before the cops showed up...(jk) :)

If you have a couple mil, it's not bad. Right on the beach in beautiful St. Augustine.

I have my favorite... Can you guess which one???

Whoa.

Glory To The King

Still one of my fav's...

Happy New Prayer...

I've been trying to figure out what to do for the new year. I was going to post a video from our New Year's Eve celebration at Southpoint. It was so much fun!

But, it didn't seem fitting somehow. So, I waited. Now, after this morning, I know...

I'm a guy that responds to challenges. Always have. I don't know if it's just a byproduct of my sex or how I'm wired. Don't tell me I can't do better... Me no likey...

This morning, Pastor Russ had a really great challenging message about prayer. I met Pastor Russ briefly on New Year's Eve. He asked how we found Southpoint (they've been experiencing exponential growth the last four months) and I told him the hard facts: Internet search, website, visit. But that wasn't the whole truth. I was looking for heart. Authenicity of the heart. I sensed it immediately with Pastor Russ the weeks I heard him speak. I've been thirsty for a challenge for a couple years. Some would say that I should just motivate myself and that is valid. But, like I said, I need challenges...

Back to heart. I've not been real proud of my heart lately, especially the last six months. This has been my responsibility and I've not responded well to it. I've not dealt properly with things that changed around me. I put my feelings for people I truly love interfere with what I was sure God really wanted me to do. Please don't read too much into that, it was more situational than personal.

Eventually, I knew that God would reveal the next step and place for my growth. It has been so long that I have seen God moving within and without me. I wanted to be in a healthy place so that I could grow. I am not naive. I know that we are all fallible. I know we are all imperfect. Just as sure am I that God blesses when he feels like it. Not when we deserve it or earn it. There are a lot of people out there that can't understand why God isn't blessing them because they are closer to Him than people that are experiencing a blessing. There are a lot of sinful people that go farther into ministry or other "christian" endeavors than some much better people.

God blesses based on what HE wants and needs to do rather than what WE think. We are all in places and face things that help us to become what he wants us to be.

God has been pressing me in the area of prayer. In my life as a Christ follower my prayer life was and is pretty poor. I talk to God throughout my day, so I do pray, but I don't focus it like I should. More "shotgun" than "rifle" would be a good description. As I immerse myself into Southpoint I was looking for God to confirm some of these things.

Today Pastor Russ started his next series. His vision for Southpoint is much like SouthField, my old church. Impact. Let's not grow by transfers, let's impact Jax for Christ with new believers. He believes that is just around the bend and only needs what we can do...Pray. Concerted, focused, specific prayer. That applys to time, effort, and follow through. It is good to be listening again to someone who loves to challenge and say things that the world would consider controversial.

I'm embarking on this with purpose. I haven't any excuses not to. My reading in the Word took me to a study on the Lord's prayer and prayer in general this morning. As I sat waiting for the service to start I prayed that I would have a heart for prayer. Real, effective, passionate prayer. Pastor Russ' series is called "I'm M.A.D.". It's his heart for our church. M.A.D. stands for Making A Difference and his call to prayer for our church is the beginning of that belief. Prayer has preceded every great move of God. It still does.

So, "Happy New Prayer" is appropriate. I want to pray in new ways, with a new view of it, and with a love for it like Christ had. Day and night the disciples of Christ were with him. They saw him walk through crowds that wanted to kill him, perform miracles, and know everything about them. They also saw that he was human and like them in so many ways. Only one thing was different. Jesus prayed. He prayed like no one they had ever seen and probably like no one WE have ever known and seen.

I want to be more like Jesus. I'm counting on him to help.

Happy New Year, everyone!!

A Blessed Christmas To All...

Merry Christmas to all I love and care for. You all mean more to me than you could ever know or understand.

Please pray for me and my family this Christmas time. It is a time of many challenges for all of us and stress is palatable around here.

Again, love to all. He is still alive...

"Glory to God in the Highest and Peace on Earth to all Men...

I've been disturbed for years at the trend of people worshipping angels. TV shows, books, news articles...all talking about angels and what they do for us and what they are - blah, blah, blah...

I know that angels are real and all about us. The Bible says that, not me. I believe, no, I KNOW that angels watch over Christi and our kids. Too many times I've seen them about to fall or something else that would have hurt them and for some reason, they don't. A lot of times it defies gravity, logic, and everything else.

That is one of the reasons why I was so struck by this photo and article. Here's the link: http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/629997.html

I started reading it, admittedly, because of the photo and kept reading because the young lady involved has Hydrocephalus just like Christi except much worse.

So, have you ever had an angel experience? Has God sent you an angel? Have you seen one? I know it can seem out there, but although it isn't common, it does happen. Oh yeah, it's even biblical.

Take that Blago, Illinois taxes, and, ahem, bad weather...

It's official. I'm a Florida resident. I can feel my blood thinning now. I don't know if I can get used to this good weather all the time. Imagine those beautiful, mild summer days in Illinois and having them around all the time. yeah. It really is THAT good.

So, what's next? A conceal and carry permit, of course. Then....a TAN! Woo-hoo...

Which Rat Do You See???

Ok, find the rat in this picture....

Palm Reading...CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

All hail the Christmas Palm!

I was feeling a little melancholy for my 12' tree so I decided to get a replacement for my apartment....

More Beach pics...and a prayer request.

Took these pics while I talked to my buddy Aaron. He goes in for surgery on his wrist as is a little apprehensive about it as he has never been "out" before. Pray for him to have a quick recovery and not a lot of pain. They are inserting a plate into his wrist to stabilize it so be sure to refer to him as Aaron "Steve Austin" Shellhorn when addressing his Lee Majoristocracy...

Get well, Brother!!

Church shopping 101

I haven't been a church shopper in 16 years. Literally. In January, 16 years ago, Rachel and I attended what has become Southfield Community Church for the first time. After serving for so many years and trying to get into the mind of the person looking for a church home, I have to say that it was nothing like I thought.

Because it is the 2000's, I started with the web and searched for great churches in Jacksonville. I also searched for a fellow Willow Creek Association (WCA) church as our church is part of that organization. A bunch of churches came up so I searched sites to look for churches that would be compatible for us.

Part of this move is trying to find a church home before anything else. I am most concerned with a biblically sound church followed by great groups for my kids to be a part of. I feel that if I help the kids to make connections quickly it will help them through this time. A lot of people are not from here so many kids will be able to relate to our kids.

So, what are the chances that the VERY FIRST church I'd go to I'd like. A bunch. I went to another one later, but I was really impacted by the message and atmosphere. Nothing is perfect, but for the most part, I felt like this could be our church home. The next test: bringing the fam. We will go when we all come down here after Christmas and give me the thumb up or down.

The church, funny enough, is called Southpoint Community Church. Again, what are the chances of that? Their web page is: http://www.southpointcc.com/

Please pray for us that we will find our home down here. Thanks.

A Beautiful Place....

Finally. I finally got to the beach today. It was so pretty. It was around 1:30 pm today and I was close to the coast so I decided to take my lunch and head over. Today, it was 75 and sunny. People are just drawn there. I was walking around and there were just a couple others taking a stroll with the seagulls all around.

I'll let the pics tell the story. Just beautiful...

Sweet Home....Jacksonville????

Well. It's officially official... I landed today from a snowstorm in Chicago to 65 degrees and palm trees swaying in the sun in Jacksonville. The two hour delay at O'hare helped cement my decision as the appropriate one.

I'm attaching a couple pics of my corporate apartment... It is SO nice. Imagine, I FINALLY have a nice bachelor pad and I'm not a bachelor!!!

Oh, well.

I'm so thankful that I'm exhausted. I'm hitting the sack pretty soon as the hour time difference is my biggest hurdle. I'm also disciplining my self to early rising since I'm alone here. I HATE being away from my family and lonliness is the only thing that really cripples me spiritually if I'm not careful.

Thanks for all the kind words from so many of you at church Sunday. I cannot express how I feel about so many of you. I miss you all already...

Happy Thanksgiving!! (with a Christmas twist)

Feel Like I'm Falling

By Your Side - Hillsong

THIS IS A CHURCH ON FIRE

There are moments of my life that are so vivid. I can remember the tiniest details of those moments. There are other moments that I should remember better but don't.
There was a point many years ago where our church split. Well, not officially, but around 40% of the people left because the congregation voted to change the name of the church to reach the lost. Bethel Baptist was the old name. The new name became The Church of Rock Run. Did is work? Yeah, I guess it did. People came in the door that wouldn't have otherwise.
After the church voted to change the name, I played this song (I was working the soundboard). It was the true desire of my heart and I really believe at the time the desire of those wishing to change the name that we have a church that was on fire for God.
There have been moments over the last 10 years that I saw God move incredibly. People were getting baptised, lives were changing, hearts were moved. It was a blessing to be part of it, but, as with many things in life, I only see it now in retrospect. I didn't feel it at the time like I thought I would.
I miss it.

The Light of the World

I think that one of the reasons I like Christmas so much is the lights: candles, Christmas lights...I don't care.

Jesus is the light of the world. I think that is the greatest metaphor for Christ. He lights hearts, minds, and Scripture.

Today we are going down to Chicago. We have wanted to go to the light festival down there for at least a decade but either didn't have the time or the money. We still don't, but we're going anyway.

It's probably our last chance to go with the kids as, next year at this time, we will be in a slightly warmer climate. OK, significantly warmer climate.

There is a kind of parade with (of course) Mickey Mouse leading the way. I guess they turn on the lights as he passes. Then there is a big fireworks display over the river and then we are taking the kids to a Chicago classic: Ed Debevic's. If you've never been their, it is great. They use out of work actors to fill the wait staff and they play up the 50's diner slop house staff to the "t".

I love the city. I think I'm gonna miss it. Then I remember King Richard is the dictator/mayor and that I have to pay a 10%(!) tax on everything just for the right to shop in Chicago.

I hate that city. I won't miss it at all. :)

Not much new...

Mom started physical therapy today and I haven't heard how it went.
Thanks for all the prayers for us and our family. We can never say how much it means to us.
More will come soon...