Umm...GREAT words!

Psalm 31 GRABBED me this morning...I'll let THE WORD speak for itself...

"In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth."

When you are done reading Psalm 31...CHECK OUT chapter 30...GREAT...GREAT words!

Respect

I have a great deal of respect for Pres. G.W. Bush...he had a VERY open and honest interview last night...he was honest about his shortcomings...about his decisions that he questions...he was straight-forward about the war...Katrina...economy...and his thoughts about Pres. Obama. I have to say I respect him even more after the interview...here was the BIGGEST issue for me...

When asked about Pres. Obama, Pres. Bush said: "President Obama has plenty of critics and I'm not going to be one of them." OH MAN! PRICELESS! Here is a man who was ATTACKED by Obama and many others throughout the campaign...criticized for the decisions he made...and now he is taking the high road. WELL DONE MR. PRESIDENT!

I'm sure that Pres. Bush has opinions...but he has also sat in Pres. Obama's chair...he knows what it is like to have millions and millions of people that you are responsible for...he has been there...I hope that he sticks to this...

It also made me think...what if those of us in the church did the same thing for our leaders? Both the leaders in our own church and other church leaders...What if we decided that we weren't going to publicly criticize their decisions....that we were going to either support or keep our mouths shut...especially if we have never had to make those decisions. WOW...

Reflections

Sunday. A day of life change for many people. Our service ended with people writing down their sins and then we burned them...took them outside to a fire pit and BURNED THEM UP! I pray with ALL THAT IS IN ME that people left those sins...addictions...struggles right there...that they allowed God to move in with his grace and forgiveness...that they will take RADICAL steps of life change!! POWERFUL Morning!!

All things...

"All things..." not some things...not a few things..."And we know that in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

For too long I believed that "good" meant happiness...and that it had to happen here on earth...But I think that sometimes we won't see how it worked to the good until we get to heaven...sometimes it is something that happens within us...a strengthening of our faith. Whenever it happens...the bottom line for me is...HOPE! This verse is 100% about hope!!

Argh...Technology!

Nothing frustrates a good plan like technology!! This afternoon was one of those days for me...I had my afternoon planned out...lunch...then head to the office...I had my to do list for the day ready to go...including wrap up a couple things for the service on Sunday (OH IT IS GOING TO BE POWERFUL!!!!) and work on Kidzone stuff. BUT...I got a curve ball when I went to check my email. I couldn't check it...nothing there. Doesn't sound like a big deal except that the plan for Kidzone was emailed to me, so I couldn't work without it!! Sooooooo...1 1/2 hours later my email worked...only I lost ALL of my incoming emails from yesterday. Oh well...I "punted" and ended up having a very productive afternoon...just not doing the things on the original to do list! ;)

Even More Scripture from Sunday...

Psalm 42: 9-11

"I say to God my Rock, 'Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?' My bones suffer mortal agaongy as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so distrubed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."


People shared POWERFUL word from THE Word on Sunday...JUST POWERFUL!!

Soccer!

I LOVE TO COACH! And I especially love to coach my kids...nothing is more rewarding than watching a group of kids come together as a team...to see them develop their skills together. This soccer season has been fun...Luke's team is all 4 year old boys...they really got better this year. In our first 2 games this year we just got KILLED! Like 12-4...15-2...then they didn't lose for the rest of the season. The boys really learned the game...fun to watch.

Jaden's team was amazing...the boys were the most coachable kids I have ever coached. They worked hard and really enjoyed playing together. They were VERY FUN to watch...I taught them some things that I used to use with my middle school teams. VERY COOL...They went undefeated this year...excellent season...coachability goes a LONG way!!

More Scripture

A couple of more verses that were shared on Sunday...read them outloud to yourself...let the words PENETRATE your heart and mind...

Acts 20: 24..."However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."


Romans 8: 28...And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Power of THE Word

The Bible has power...all it has to do is be spoken and it can penetrate hearts...that was the case at service yesterday. We had a time when people could come and share a scripture...any scripture they wanted to share...I was in tears as people read...and thinking about the people who were sharing and the stories that are behind each of those scriptures...POWER! VERY moving...

Here are a couple of the verses:


Galatians 2:20:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."


Proverbs 3: 5-6:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

THAT was cool!

Our message on Sunday was all about the Bible...why we believe that it is 100% true...where it came from...how we got it...and then Pastor Jim ended the message with stories of people people who had given up their lives...had died...protecting the Word. It was VERY powerful...I closed the service with a challenge to dive into the Word and encouraged our people...all of us...to read through Proverbs this month. After I dismissed everyone...something happened...something that has never happened like it. People just started clapping...TRUST ME...my closing was NOT the reason...it was far from worth that...I believe it was something that was inside of each person in the room...they simply longed to respond to the message...longed to thank those that had given their lives so we could have the Word...longed to thank GOD for giving us HIS word...IT WAS POWERFUL! VERY POWERFUL!