Ready for Sunday

Well, we are back from the Holiday trip. We had a blast. I will fill in the details late Sunday night.

I am expecting a great Sunday tomorrow. It is the last sermon in the why series, simply called, "Why Are We Here?"

I can't wait to preach it!

Turkey for me, turkey for you, turkey in a big brown shoe...

Here we are tonight at my inlaws house in Neosho, Mo. Had an interesting trip down, a blow out, bathroom breaks, and puking little boy. Wow.

But the short story is, its great to be here for a few days of relaxing and seeing our family!

As a side note we had 125 Sunday morning! Hurray.

Phone Book AD

Just thought I'd give everyone the update just in case you check out the ad in the Dex phone book. Don't worry we arent going to three services. The ad is totally wrong.

Check under churches in the phone book. You'll see our beautiful ad, that is wrong in everyway...

The phone book is working on solving the issue for us.

Colin the Narcissist

Colin and I were in my truck yesterday and pulled up next to a Semi. On older grandfatherly looking gent was driving. Colin loves trucks and especially big trucks. He was waving great big at the driver. Once the driver saw him, be kindly waved back.

Colin then looked at me, pointing to the driver and said, "Thinks me so cute." And a great big smile erupted on his face.

It was hilarious.

Affirmations Your Infant Needs to Hear

1. Welcome to our family, dear little (name). I am so glad you've come to be with us. We've been waiting for you and its wonderful that you're finally here.

2. (Name), your are such a beautiful, perfect little girl(boy). I like everything about you.

3. We've prepared a very special place for you to love and grow (name). We're so proud and happy to have you. You are such an important part of us.

4. (Name), you're goign to grow up to be a wonderful person. You have everything it takes. God gave you all the talent and equipment you'll ever need to have a wonderful life.

5. No matter what happens, we'll be here for you (name). You are completely safe. You are going to be well cared for. Dont worry little one, everything is going to be fine. You're goign to be safe and happy.

6. I want to take good care of you little (name). You are such a sweet baby and I love you so much.

7. We want to take good care of your every need. We are happy and anxious to feed, change, and clean you. We love to spend time with you, be with you, and look after you. Your needs are very important to us.

8. In all the world, there is none like you. No one can could ever take your place. You are unique and very special to us. You matter more than life itself to us. You are our baby (name), and nothing will ever change that.

9. (Name), we're you family. We're going to be here for you no matter what. We are going to prepare you for life. We'll see that you are well taught and that you recieve the right example. You're goign to have a wonderful life becuase we're going to take excellent care of you and see that you get everything you need to get ready for life.

Take a few minutes each day and affirm your children in these things. It is amazing to see the response in their eyes and body. I have said these things in the last week to both Awnna and Colin and it is great to see them light up!

Blue Man

Blue Man was amazing. I can't even begin to describe how cool it was. The band was fantastic. The had a full drum kit, plus two full percussion kits, a bassist, keys, two guitars and of course the blue men...

The show started with Tracy Bonham singing and playing guitar and violin. She was ok in my opinion, but better with the band. (Dara liked her though.) After a 35 minute set or so then lights changed and the backdrop dropped -out come the Blue Men.

The next two hours was jamb packed with percussion and lights, that only the Blue men can do. If you ever get a chance to see a show take it. Amazing music and production, comedy and seriousness ( a tribute to 9/11).

Ed Sustala cousins Wes is one of the lead Blue Men, and he got us some great tickets and backstage passes. I have no idea what the cost would have been on the floor where we sat, but we were in the second section from the stage.

Great show, definitely a must see.

Weekend Update

WOW what a great weekend!

We had a great service with amazing attendance. 113 with no "event." Awesome!

The bummer about the weekend is that the phone book came out and the ad is totally wrong! Pretty much everything about the ad is wrong.

It has us listed for 3 services on Sundays. I spoke with Jeff Mullen, lead pastor at Point of Grace, and he said maybe it was prophetic! Aghm.. No.

We are "working out" a deal with them to make it right. I willl keep you posted.

I am off to see Blue Man Group tonight. Gotta run.

Overseers at New Life Findings

I just read the Press Release that deal with the findings about Ted Haggard.

It is really a sad day for the Church right now. I think we need to all pray for New Life Church in Colorado Springs. You can go to their website at www.newlifechurch.org

I hate to hear about his kind of scandal. Actually any kind of scandal at all with in the church. It frustrates me, hurts me, and leaves me broken on the inside. I am broken that a the leader of a church he started could get so messed up that it comes to this, I am broken for the congregation, I am broken for the staff, I am broken for Colorado Springs...

I sit in my office, and pray that God helps me to maintain what I know as truth. I am fully aware that each of us can fall just as he has, but it is my prayer for my family that I stay true so they aren't subjected to this kind of pain.

Honestly it scares me to death. Not that I am on the verge right now of some kind of failure, but I don't want to fall into the traps that can lead to that kind of thing. As our church grows, as I grow, pray for me and for my family.

Satan wants nothing more than to destroy the church. It is the stronghold that keeps him from thriving.

Pray for New Life Church.

Ted Update

Wow, I am sure many of you by now have heard that Ted Haggard has admitted to buying meth from Mike Jones, the male prostitute. I don't really know what the truth is here, but I can only hope that it all comes to a head right now, so that that church can receive the healing it needs.

I think we need to continue to pray for this situation. I find it very disheartening, and my heart is heavy for the Church right now. Sad times, when leaders who have had such an impact, now have such am impact.

I can only think of the 80's and the scandals in Christianity and how that has hurt the church so much.

I don't really understand, except that satan literally wants to destroy the Church and the easiest way to impact an entire church is to take out the leader.

I am at a loss for words.

Colin's funny comments

The other day Colin was leaving with me, and he grabbed several things to take with him. (his trains of course, a frisbee, and a toy frog). Well once we got to the truck I put him in the cab, and was getting his carseat adjusted. He then said to me, "Hurry up Dad, this junk heavy."

It has hilarious.

Ted Haggard

Amidst the controiversy surrounding Ted Haggard, the lead pastor at New Life Church, my heart breaks for his staff and the whole issue.

This I know about the situation, he has in place a structure that if any allegations are made, a group of overseers will step in and do an exhaustive inquiry to the situation. I pray this turns out all right. Not just for the sake of Ted and his family, but for the church as well.

It makes me get a lottle introspective about where we are headed as a church. I really want to stay devoid of scandal as a church. I want our team and our church to stay in God's will. I want to be exactly what God wants me to be, all the time.

My prayer is that we would have clean hands and pure heart toward the work of God. Keep us under your covering, God. Help us to follow after your heart, and when we struggle we can work it out together with forgiveness and correction.

God keep me, and make me more like you. Help this church.

Haircuts

Isn't it great what a haircut can do for a guy? I just love the feeling that you get when you have fresh haircut. I feel like I can conquer the world. It is crazy but, it is self confidence booster for me.

So here we go...

The Heart of God

I have to think that God's heart breaks when people in the community are not taken care of that need help. I think as a church we have stayed inside our comfort zones too long. It is too easy to come to church, do our deal and leave the same way we came.

We are developing a new ministry that is just in the begining stages where somehow we have a database of sorts that lists all the services our church can provide within our body. That service can extend to those connected with the church as well as those outside the church.

For example, someone may love to babysit and is on the list to volunteer one night everyother week. Or maybe you have some basic mechanic skills and would check brakes or change oil. Or maybe you have some computer skills, or makeover skills, or you just love to spend some time with someone who is single.

Give it some thought.

Dream time

The past few days have been great for me. I have done a lot of driving and a lot of thinking. It is good to just let your mind dream as you drive or drift off to sleep. I love imagining what our church is becoming and what it will become.

I so often camp out on the text in Jeremiah 29:11-14a

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord.

Powerful, huh? Isn't it crazy to think that God is planning on things happening in your life? Do you ever wake up in the morning and consider that God is working on your behalf today. I mean, really, Jesus the Son of God is ever interceding at the right hand of the Father for your sake. You think you don't matter, or you don't count. Think again the creator of the universe prays for you every day.

Changes the thought process up a bit. Every step is planned... Do we recognize that? Do we respond that way? How many divine appointments do we miss everyday just because we are not thinking like Jesus thinks?

Connections Ministry

Our Connections ministry is a vital part of our church. Angela Sustala is doing a great job at leading that team. She is really making a lot of things happen. I have asked her to be a part of our Sunday Team meetings and she has graciously excepted! I am so excited. She will bring a lot to the table!

So excited. Angela Thanks for being a part!

Farming

I helped a buddy of mine this week for a couple hours this week on his farm. He has a couple hundred head of cows and babies. We had to get feed, grain, separate weaning babies from their mamas, and move yearlings around to feed. I remember why I stopped helping wrangle cows between my freshman year and sophomore year in college.

It was fun helping Shane, but cows are just not very intelligent. Shane got kicked in the head pretty hard, and nearly passed out. It was pretty crazy. I was holdng about twenty head over on my side of the corral, and trying to open the gate. He had one rascally one he was trying to keep out of the fenced area we were releasing the others into. His just got real crazy and kicked him right in the jaw. Argh.

Yeah, I am going to stick with what I really love doing. Living in town and helping people. Much better.

Acorns

Ever noticed acorns, really? They are amazing little things. Within the tiny seed of an acorn holds the genetic material, given the right circumstances could literally cover the earth with oak trees. With the right timing, rain and sunlight, nurture and care, that acorn could grow to be a huge strong oak, that in turns creates hundreds if not thousands of acorns.

The issue though with acorns is that some of them don't get planted, others get shuffled away, and still others just dont have a great environment to thrive it.

So the ones that grow and flourish are good seeds, and the ones that don't are bad seeds right? No. The seeds themselves are equally good, but the environment determined their growth pattern.

The same is true for us. We all are created in God's image. Not as a mistake or second thought, but too often our environment, choices, and experiences have shaped us into who we are today. All of us would go back and change some things, but those things have created some amazing attributes in our life.

Now there have been things that was stunted us, or crushed us, or hurt us. But that is no reason to just stop growing. To stop trying. To stop attaining. Actually it is all the more reason to grow and bear more fruit. To produce more "acorns" and recreate who we can become.

Remember God is wanting to shape you into what He has created you to be. We arent there yet, it takes time. It is part of the journey. Enjoy the process.

Awnna

I am learning so much about being a paremt all the time. Especially being a Dad to a very observant little girl. I picked her up from school the other day. We were quickly walking out the doors, just getting out to the truck. She got a distant look on her face and I knew something was up. I asked her what was wrong. She looked up at me and with her hand on her macaconi necklace she made that day she said, "I just can't believe that you didn't notice my new necklace I made."

I had noticed it but just hadn't said it anything yet. I was crushed and so was she. I am learning maybe rather slowly to just say what I am thinking about my girls when I see them.

I have wonderful and beautiful girls, yet at times I fail to really express that to them.

Good thing we have one more day to try to do better, huh?

Weekend

Had a good weekend at church. I spoke about another really practical matter, careers. The last two weeks I have addressed finances and careers. Not usually considered a "super spiritual" sermon, but I think has application to the life of the believer.

These are things that everyone sees daily. I think that the church has typically addressed a lot of things that no one sees. So I thought I'd get real practical and go after some things we deal with everyday.

Too often as Christ followers we compartmentalize God to Sundays or other churchy events. I am really entrigued right now with the Hebrew thought and traditon. Hebrew culture dosent seperate secular and spiritual. Basically it connects with Rob Bell's new series "Everything is Spiritual." I can't wait for the DVD series.

So we went spiritual this weekend while being practical, since everything is spiritual anyway...

Bandanas Bar B Q

Jason and Shari brought us the best bar b q in all of Des Moines! It has just opened up here in Ankeny. It is a STL bar b q joint, and it is awesome. It has actually been voted best in STL for a couple years now.

Thanks so much!