I love Grace!!

I love Grace Community Church! I love the people...I love what we do in the community...there is no place I would rather be in the WORLD than South Bend, IN. We have a group of people who really want to be Jesus in the community...they want to help people and OFTEN that is a personal sacrifice for them. They serve by giving $ for food vouchers...pouring out their time to the kids of our community at the Construction Zone...stepping out of their comfort zones by coaching soccer and serving people in our Blitzes...serving to set up at Movies 14...loving on people who have lost jobs/spouse/homes...And there is more!! My prayer is that God would expand our influence...allow us to impact this area in a HUGE way for him!

Life Stuff...

On Thursdays at our office Jerimae and I pass out $30 food vouchers to people. The $ comes from the people of our church who designate it for Community Hope...people can get 2 vouchers every 6-months. For the first 17 months of our church we gave away maybe a couple of hundred dollars. But in the past 2 months we have given away over $2000...Today was the hardest day though...the word is out that we have these, but we don't have any to give out this week. Jerimae had the awesome idea of providing lunch for people that came in...and that was awesome! GREAT idea on his part...we still had over 30 people that we had to turn away though.

My heart just aches...there are so many hurting people in our community...so many people and so much need...not just financially but also spiritual...emotional...physical...It is hard to turn people away and it does one thing for me...it drives me to my knees in prayer...Praying for the God of the universe to intercede for these people...for the God who holds the ultimate power to rain down his blessing on us, so we can in turn pour it on others. It is a tough place, but great place to be...I love being God's child and being a part of Grace Community Church...

A spiritual energy drink...

I was sooooooooooooooooooo excited last night. On my way to serve a Judgment House (a drama about life and death...a haunted house alternative, with a MESSAGE!) I was shouting and singing in my car...just PUMPED to go and share my faith. I couldn't wait. God really came through too...I worked as a counselor...had the chance to encourage 3 people who were believers...to pour into their lives that Jesus has them...one of those was a 13 year old who barely goes to church, but he is hungry for more. Another guy I got to talk to had just prayed to give his life to Christ...IT WAS AWESOME!! I could see it in his eyes and to be there with him when he walked from darkness to light...NO ENERGY DRINK CAN GIVE YOU THE RUSH THAT I HAD! I'm smiling right now thinking about it...That is such a fun moment...ANGELS WERE HAVING A PARTY IN HEAVEN AT THE SAME TIME I GOT TO TALK WITH THIS YOUNG MAN! HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?! I will never get tired of those kind of moments!

The Election...

I have said before that I have a few leaders blogs that I visit weekly...guys who are in love with Jesus and write on leadership and life...Tim Stevens is one of those guys...he is the Executive pastor at Granger Community in our area. This week he has posted articles about the election..from different points of view, but all from people who are Christ followers. Different takes on who to vote for. If you can only read one article...read the one from today titled: "It's not up to Washington...It's up to us"

Go check out his site...it is worth reading! www.leadingsmart.com

Got an email from Tim Boucher...

Sounds wierd huh? Yeah, sometimes I send myself email reminders about things, but this was different. In my inbox was an email from Tim Boucher from Australia! NO JOKE!! This guy and I share the same name...first time, I've every "met" a Tim Boucher...kinda cool. Want to know the uncool thing...he is only 23!! I can remember back then...MAN...12 years ago...I got married when I was 23...I started my first teaching job at 23...My kids were only something I dreamed about...CRAZY!! I have enjoyed connecting with Tim...I have to say he has a GREAT name!!

Sunday Night Thoughts...(on Monday Morning)

What a roller coaster weekend...first my Buckeyes lose and then we have an AMAZING Sunday. The service was just great...Jerimae's songs...his passion...it is easy to speak after he leads! Just love that guy! Then to be able to share from my heart on Exodus 15-17...MAN...this is right where I am right now. Chapter 15 is a chapter of celebration...AND WHY NOT...God had just parted the Red Sea and then taken out the Egyptians...of course they were flying high! THEN, they start to whine and complain..."no water...no food...no water..." GRRRRRRRR...just mad me mad as I read through it...COME ON ISRAELITES, DON'T YOU REMEMBER HOW GOD HAS COME THROUGH FOR YOU?!?!?!?!?!?!?! (It was perfect by the way...I told our workers to not serve the doughnuts before the service...AND MAN DID PEOPLE GRUMBLE! Then when we talked about God providing food, we passed out doughnuts...it was a great moment...lots of people "mad" then we give them some food...the illustration really was effective.)

THEN...

I just had to do it...just had too...had to go to 1 Corinthians 10...had to talk about how the Israelites are example of what NOT to do...had to go there...It is so much easier to sit back and just examine them...to say what they should have done instead of examining our own lives. But we did it...here is the deal...we have seen God do many amazing things in our lives...yet when the trials, tests and temptations come we just start whining, grumbling and arguing with God. LET'S CHOSE TO STOP IT!

I left them with three thing...
1. STAND FIRM...be strong and don't fall into temptation
2. We can do it! NO temptation is not common to man...SO, we are not alone...we can make it through
3. SEEK IT OUT!! Too often we just give up...we want a quick and easy solution to our problems, BUT God promises to give us a way to STAND UP UNDER the temptations...so keep looking...God will give you a way out!

BTW...we got in the theater yesterday and there was new carpet! How nice of Movies 14 to give us new carpet!!!!

What is God teaching you?

Well...what is he teaching you?

He's 65!

Yep that is my dad doing the boogie board at 65 years old. He did a 360 degree roll too...I sure hope that I'm doing that 30 years from now! GO Dad!

1 Peter 3: 15

I have often read this verse: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason fro the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." My focus is always on the 2nd part of the verse...to be prepared to have an answer. BUT today when I read it...the first part just JUMPED off of the page. "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord." That is what everyone has to do when they become a follower of Jesus and what we have to do daily...to move Christ to #1...that he covers all areas of our lives...that he is set apart as Lord...as leader...as the one in charge.

DO IT TODAY...set Christ apart in your heart again or for the first time...and then fight to keep him there!

Sunday Night Thoughts...Expectations, blown away!

Alright...I had HIGH expectations for this weekend at Kalahari. I was even a little concerned going into the weekend, because my expectations were so high. I was believing that we would have fun hanging out as a family...fun playing on the water rides...fun hanging out at the hotel...OH BUT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE HALF OF IT!

We (being my family...my bro's family...my parents and Aunt Judy) had the most amazing family vacation that just blew me away...from playing Flinch (a card game) in the hotel...to watching football (or Hannah Montana if you're Chloe) to water...more water...water in your nose...water in your ears...Really, really high water slides...tubes...surfing...OH MY WORD...

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT IT WAS OVER...I ran into 3 High School friends there...Two of them (they were high school sweetheart Sean and Jen!) I haven't seen in over 15 years and we see each other at Kalahari! NOW THAT IS COOL!

This morning I got the chance to lead a short devotional with the family...I focused on the kids...I encouraged them to listen only to the positive voices...to really believe Phillippians 4: 13..."they can do ANYTHING through him (Christ) who gives them strength!" BELIEVE IT...LIVE IT!

I am tired...I am refreshed...I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of my kids for all of the things that they tried...I had so much fun with Kelsey and the rest of the family. AWESOME weekend.

The pics are of Jaden surfing on the surf board...the crowd clapped for him! He made it up on his knees! The next pic is Troy going down what we called the Toilet Bowl...I was so proud of Chloe....she went down that one! (A water slide that drops from about the ceiling into that "bowl"...Hey Kelsey and my 65 year old dad did that too!) The last pic is of the whole gang...GREAT weekend!

Great day...

Today I got a tour of South Bend and Mishawaka...a history tour with Pat, he has been involved with future planning in our region for over 25 years. He went all the way back to when LaSalle first came and settled this area...all the way up to the future that is on the horizon...It was AMAZING!! A taste of the past, present and future...I LOVED IT!

The family is off to Kalahari tomorrow...indoor water park...CAN'T WAIT...3 days just hanging out with my family, my bro's family, my parents and Aunt Judy...IT IS GOING TO BE FUN!

Go Pastors!!!!

We did a lot of competitions during Wild @ Heart. One of them was a race down a dirt and rocky path...5 guys from each team were connected to a chain and had to dive under ropes together and then over more ropes...then under 2 more sets of ropes.

Our pastor team was the last group to go...the record time was 37 seconds up to that point...we beat that time by 1 second. BUT WE FOUND OUT that some of the other teams had moved the ropes back by 20 yards...YEP you got it...they moved the ropes to make it harder on the pastors AND WE STILL WON THE RACE! That means we would have beaten the best time by 5 or more seconds! YES! I didn't know that until today...I would love to have a video of the guys faces when we beat the best time AND WE HAD TO GO FARTHER! I can just picture them looking at each other like..."we can never let them find out what we did!" But we did and we are proud of it!! YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!

Wild At Heart

What a weekend...left Thursday night at 6 p.m. for Maryland...arrived after 2 a.m. and off we went for our first competition...the next 2 days just flew by. The competitions were just a blast...the pastors were a team and everyone was wanting us to lose! I'll never forget Pastor Jim taking the raft we made and sinking into the green bog with our ship...we lost but seeing him out there was PRICELESS! NICE!

Thoughts...
Friday night was an amazing time...guys just surrounded each other and prayed for each other for about 1 1/2 hours...guys shared the things that ache their hearts...a powerful time. I've experienced very few moments like that one!

On the way home Mike and I were talking about mountain top experiences...he made a profound point. He said that often these experiences prepare us for something that is to come...that it is not just about an amazing moment on a mountain, but about the something that happens. The trouble is many of us just focus on the mountain and miss the opportunity in front of us. So I am praying that the guys that went to the retreat KEEP THEIR EYES OPEN this week and in the weeks to come. God is up to something and they better be ready!

The Potomac River is BEAUTIFUL!

When the water is shallow and the rocks are coming keep paddling! We didn't do that the first time and got stuck! (Still Mark and I came in 2nd on the canoe trip!)

THE LORD IS A WARRIOR! THE LORD IS HIS NAME!

Driving Home

Ever been in a van with 10 guys for 9 hours...that is what I'm doing right now and no I'm not driving...This is FUN!!!!!!!! No showers for 2 days...tons of fun...sleeping outside...OH WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND...5 hours to get home! THIS IS FUN!

Goooooooooooooooooooooal!

Tonight was the team party with my Jr. High soccer team...we still have a team banquet, but today was just a let your hair down-fun time. We played a 7th vs. 8th graders game...final score was 3-3, and I played in the game...that is soooooooooooooooo fun to play with the guys. I'll say this...when I was on each team my teams won 6-0...(I scored 2 and had an assist! Not bad for a guy who used to play goalie!) I like that! Fun time with guys...I sure enjoyed this group of guys...I'll miss them...

Going back in time...

Blogging stops today...well, at least until Sunday or Monday. I'm off to Wild At Heart tomorrow and there is no wireless connection...no Internet at all. I think I will go into withdrawal, but it will be good for me! I'll only have my cell phone so we can communicate with the other vehicles that are going... When I get there though...the phone is off too...no more communication with the outside world.

BTW...did you see the picture of the canoe trip on my last post...OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to be there!

Wild At Heart

2 days until we take our trek to Maryland for our men's retreat...the outdoors...tents...NO electricity...4-wheelers...guns...competition...GREAT conversation...food (ok so I only bring hot dogs!)...I just love these couple of days to hang out with the guys. Good time to really deal with the stuff in our lives and have A LOT OF FUN. Can't wait for the canoe trip down the Potomac River...BEAUTIFUL! 10 guys in our church van for 9 hours...NICE!!!

Matthew 10: 27-28

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can ever snatch them out of my hand." What power is in those verses...These are the verses that my class has to memorize for tonight...what I like is that Jesus says "no one can EVER..." Ever...not sometimes...or maybe never...or well I hope no one...it says NO ONE CAN EVER snatch me out of his hand. And I am so glad..."Thank you Jesus for holding on to me and not letting go!!!!"

Sunday Night Thoughts....

Great service this morning...Jerimae and Kyle just BROUGHT IT with the worship music...Jerimae added some nice background things to our stage that really made it feel like home...NICE! Jim's message ROCKED...may we all walk with boldness...some great quotes from the message:

-Our lives are marked by God for something special
-If you are redeemed then you are good enough to be used by God
-Ignore the voice...the negative voice that tells you, you are not good enough...you can't do it
-LISTEN to who God says that you are
-God believes in us more than we do
-God has a remedy for our past
-God wanted to use Moses even though he was a MURDERER!!!!


4 Days until the Wild At Heart Men's Retreat and I am getting excited!!!!

"Leave everything on the field"

You have probably heard a coach tell his team to "leave everything on the field." Meaning...when you walk off the field today, know that you played your best...tried your hardest...did everything that you could do in the game. TONIGHT....my boys soccer team did that in our playoff loss. We lost 1-0...and my boys played with heart...with passion...they truly left everything on the field. I'm soooooooo proud of them...they put their best out there!

My thoughts tonight have gone to this...what happens to you when you put everything you have into something and it doesn't work out? AND what happens the next time you have the same chance? I'm not just talking about sports here...I'm talking about work...school...marriage...raising kids...church...how do you respond to failure or at the least something not working out.

This is a true test of your character...would we be willing to give everything again if things did not work out last time...MAN...that is hard...putting your heart back out there after a failed marriage...after a lost job...after a...you fill in the blank...may we always be willing to face our fear...face our failure and come out and continue to try...to continue to push forward and continue to risk failure...cause if we don't take a risk failing we will never taste sweet success!

I love sports...because there are so many life lessons that can be learned...so many character traits that can be worked on...and to my LaSalle Lions boys soccer team...GUYS...I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of you!

Baptism from afar...

Now this is really cool! A baptism done through Skype...done on-line...What a moment...I found this video on Tim Steven's blog...he is a pastor at Granger Community Church. (And don't get offended at his United Methodist comment 'cause Granger is United Methodist!!)

The best part of the story is that this lady was able to express her faith in Christ through baptism just before she died...What an amazing moment for all of her family and friends to remember!

Here is Tim's blog: http://www.leadingsmart.com/ and then go to his post: Can You Baptize Someone Over the Internet?

It is worth your time!