Seven Pounds

No, I'm not going to tell you to stay away from the Christmas goodies and lose seven pounds.

I saw the movie, Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith, this past Saturday. I highly recommend it. I think it's a great look into the potential of the human heart.

Christmas Moments

My definition of a Christmas moment is when something happens to remind me of what Christmas is all about. I had two of those moments today thanks to my kids.

It's been pretty crazy the last couple of weeks and as I freely admit it easy for me to get caught up in all the things surrounding Christmas. Mind you most if not all are good things, even necessary things.

This morning I was taking Abbey to school. Usually I drop the kids off at the school curb but today Andrew was home sick so I parked and walked her into the school. As I got ready to say good-bye to her she grabbed my hand and asked me to walk her to class. Any one who knows of Abbey's independent nature will understand why that was a special moment for me. I jumped at the chance.

As I said, Andrew is home sick today. I was staying with him until his mom got home at 3pm. I had my plan: he would watch TV quietly, the dogs (one new puppy) would sleep in the corner, and I would pull out the laptop and get loads of things done. Didn't happen. Not even close.

So I scrapped that idea (not an easy thing for me to do) and went with plan B. Andrew and I took care of one of our Christmas traditions, watching Home Alone together.

Now I'm at Wegmans trying to get at least half of my list done.

I'm thankful to God for today's Christmas moments and that I did not miss them.

The American Humanist Society has unveiled a $40,000 ad campaign in the DC Metro area. The campaign will use the Metro trains, buses and stations to advertise their message "Why believe in god? Just be good for goodness sakes."

The spokesperson for the group had this to say about their decision to run the campaign at Christmas: "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."

I think the church needs to respond to his statement, but probably not the way many churches will. I believe he's right. A lot of people are lonely during the holiday season. But the church has a message of hope and so we need to get that message out there, not to counter an anti-religious group's campaign but because the second greatest commandment given to us by Christ is "love your neighbor as yourself."

With the help of one of our pastors, our church put together it's own message for the holiday season to help share the message of hope with lonely people.

New Arrival

We have a new arrival on the way in two weeks. He's a 6 week old Australian Shepherd (Aussie.) We have not decided on a name yet but so far Andrew is leaning toward Indy.

One of our hopes is that it will be somewhat theraputic for Andrew. Andrew has ADD so self-esteem and self-confidence is always a concern for us with him. He will be going through the obiedence training with the puppy and maybe even doing some obiedence competition.

Great Time of Year

I love Fall. I finally got back on my bike after a couple of weeks of business. Great to be able to create some margin and enjoy the great outdoors.

I grabbed this pic yesterday. It was a little cool but worth the ride. The colors were great and I saw at least 7 deer.

Prayers for Jamie

I received an Email late yesterday from Rick asking for prayer for his daughter-in-law Jamie. Seven weeks ago she had a baby prematurely. Two days ago Jamie was admitted to the hospital and they discovered she had a large brain tumor. She underwent almost 30 hours of surgery.

It is unclear at this point what her condition is and what the complications from the surgery will be.

Here is a link to Rick's video blog where he gives more details: http://saddlebackfamily.com/blogs/newsandviews/index.html?contentid=1500

Lejla's Story - Operation Christmas Child

This is the video we used to kick-off this year's Operation Christmas Child ministry.

Lejla's story is an amazing one.

Real Love Video

I came across this video on YouTube as I was doing some research for the Real Love sermon series. Had to post it. Enjoy.

Real Love Video

I came across this video on YouTube as I was doing some research for the Real Love sermon series. Had to post it. Enjoy.

Politics and the Church

I found this great article from Christianity Today. It's an interview with Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church. I thought it was worth passing on. It's always great to find someone who shares one of my views.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/003/15.44.html

Tough Quote

I read a quote today in my One Month to Live reading that really stopped me dead in my tracks. It immediately brought to mind conversations I've had with my children in the past. Times when because of stress or whatever, I was not at my best. I almost feel like I should put a "warning, not for the weak hearted" on it before I post it.

They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." - Carl W. Buechner

Sunday's Game

Sunday's game between the Redskins and the Cowboys was a great one to watch. I was watching it while doing some work on the outside of my house. I kept hearing yells and chants from my neighbors - all Redskins fans. I kept quiet since I was pulling for the Cowboys.

Here's a pic of a banner our church puts up every year before the big game. It has really caught the attention of people in the DC Metro area. It's been mentioned on a call-in radio show as well as on Facebooks Redskins Fan Club.

Make It Count Momets

I'm really loving the book "One Month to Live." The questions from today's chapters are questions that I think everyone should ask themselves everyday. So I thought I would share them.

• If you only had a month to live, whom would you want to spend the time with?
• Whom would you need to apologize to?
• Who needs to be assured today that you love them?
• What keeps you from spending the time and saying these words now?
  

Things To Come

Really excited about some of the things that are coming up at FCBC and on the home front. Here's a few that really get me going:

-Our small group is cranking back up after the summer slump. I love small group.

-We're launching two new small groups. Can't wait to see what happens there.

-Two months away from Operation Christmas Child. OCC is one of my favorite things our church does all year.

-Andrew and I are dong the Marine Corp Marathon One-Miler in Oct. He's already started training. He's never done a running event in his life. Should be great learning for both of us.

-We're starting to work on a church campaign that we will do in the New Year. It's based on the book "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren. One of our small groups will be test running it in Dec. I think it's going to be an amazing time in our church.

-Our youth team met last night at my house. They are an amazing group of people and it's exciting to see some of the things they are working on. Some of the things they are working on seem pretty risky and God-sized to me. Can't wait to see how our youth lead our church this coming year.

Staff Meeting

I always look forward to Wednesday's staff meeting. It's just a great time to bring everyone around the table and plan and pray together.

Today's staff meeting seemed like it was going to be difficult. I've been fighting a cold since Sunday and just didn't feel well. Some of the other staff were either not feeling well or had already had some rough spots in their day.

Things changed when Brian, our Youth Pastor, arrived and began to lead us in a debriefing of Sunday's Back to School Bonanza. Before we knew it we were talking about the positives, sharing stories from the event and passing on the great feedback that each of us got from of our guests. Our guest, by the way, were blown away by our church's generosity.

I'm thankful for a church that has an "inner awareness and an outward focus." I'm thankful for a staff, that even on tough days can figure out a way to celebrate what God is doing. And I'm thankful that God knows all of our needs and will meet them.

Determination

Sometimes my kids really surprise me. Last year Abbey would not go near the climbing wall. This year she wanted to do it. The guy running it told her he thought she was too small, that the harness would not fit. She told him, "I just turn five so I am big enough."







About an hour and five tries later, she made it to the top without any help.

Back to School Bonanza

Sunday was our Back to School Bonanza. It's a community event we do every year. It's our way of saying to the community we are a church that's about more than ourselves. It's basically a big carnival with moonbounces, a rock climbing wall, food and games and prizes. All free and designed for people outside of our church.

This year we had somewhere around 150 guests show up and around 70 volunteers from our church making it all happen. I saw a lot of our folks engaging in coversations with folks from the community, which is one of the main goals of this event.

I want to thank everyone who volunteered to help make it a success. Can't wait to see what God does with some of the connections that were made.

Life Regrets

A great quote from "One Month to Live":

Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it I say! Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. - Pope Paul VI

Being Attractive Without Having to Look Good - part 3

Today, in worship, we talked about the number two most needed spiritual fruit - self-control. Great feedback this morning. I received a comment today from someone who said they appreciated the fact that I was willing to put my own struggles out there. Most of the time, I'm learning right along with the rest of the church.

Next week we will wrap up this series with the #1 most need fruit of the Spirit - patience. So here's my question? Feel free to answer or be prepared to answer Sunday. What are some “impatience triggers” in your life?

Here's my short list:
-When I'm stuck in traffic and I'm late.
-Kids
-Waiting in lines.
-People who don't do what they say they will do.
-Having to redo something.

One Month to Live

I hope the title of the post didn't freak anyone out. I'm not dying (that I know of.)

I started a new book that I'm reading each morning for the next 30 days. The title is "One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life" by Kerry & Chris Shook.

I just started it today so I'm sure a lot of my AM posts will include stuff I'm reading and learning. Each day ends with a few questions to help me begin to focus my life toward no-regrets.

Today, I was challenged to tell someone that I am reading the book and ask that person to circle on the calendar the date for one month from today and to ask me how my life was changed in the month.

Because I want my life to be more of an open book, I'm sharing that info here. The date is October 2. If I forget to post an answer to the question someone please remind me.

First Day of School

I always loved the first day of school when I was a kid. I didn't sleep much the night before from the excitement. One of the great things about being a parent is getting to have a similar experience with my kids.

Andrew was really excited today, which was an answer to prayer considering how bummed out he was about his class at open house. Abbey had not really grasped the reality of going to the "big kid school" and being one of those big kids. When we walked through the doors, with the crowd and chaos, reality set in.

She did really well but she held my hand very tightly, which for those who don't know her, she's very independent and usually doesn't want to hold my hand at all.

As I was walking home I was praying for both of them and that God would protect them and allow them to have great days. As I walked and prayed it occurred to me to thank God for allowing us to live in such a great place as N. VA. and to have the benefits of some of the best schools in the country. I also asked God to help us not take that for granted and to help all of our family to use what He has given us for his glory.

Power Base Makeover Pictures

Several people have asked to see the pictures I used of our Power Base group. Since there are nine of them I really don't want to post them here. I'll have them posted on Facebook tomorrow. If you don't have Facebook, you should get it, it's a great way to reconnect and stay connected to friends and family.

I'm also happy to Email the pics to you.

The Number 2 Most Needed Spiitual Gift

I don't have the actually numbers in front of me but if my memory is correct we had 48 people vote on their top three. Peace was number 3 with 32 votes, Number 2 was self-control with 33 votes. The number one vote had 38 votes.

So next week we will be talking God's picture for self-control, the problem that keeps us from having it in our lives, and God's plan for getting it in our lives.

Being Attractive Without Having to Look Good - Part 2

I received a lot of positive feedback today. A lot of folks seemed to resonate with the ping pong analogy.

At lunch someone told me they realized that when they don't dig deeper and just "play the game", how that affects multiple other people down the line. For example, if I come to work stressed out, my stress then stresses out the people I work with. So I've introduced stress to their lives that is now passed on to other people in their lives, like their family.

Here's some follow up questions/comments:

I said that when we dig deeper I thought we would find fear, anger and guilt at the root of the problem. Did I miss anything? Are there other deeper issues that cause us to lose the war with peace?

Why is it that we find it easier to just use the coping strategies rather than actually going after the deeper stuff? Is there a way the church can do more to help people go deeper?

Fruit of the Spirit Survey Results

Thanks again to everyone who helped with the survey last Sunday. We had about 50 surveys turned in. What we will be doing over the next three weeks is taking the top three picks from the survey and using them as our topic for the message. This week we will be talking about number 3 - Peace.

This week in worship I will introduce everyone to some guys in our church who have been working on their own, personal, physical makeover. They are called the PowerBase Group and they meet each week to workout together.

We've captured their progress and will be showing their "makeover" this week.

I've been fortunate to participate with the group and have see a true makeover myself. I'll post the pics Sunday evening.

Back to School

We took the kids to their school's open house today. Since I'm the one who will be taking them to school on the first day I wanted to go today to get a read on where they were with their new classes, especially since Abbey is starting Kindergarten this year.

Here's my take on where they are:

Abbey has been really excited about starting school this year. She still is, but today I notice she was a little quiet. I think she starting to get a little nervous and maybe even a little overwhelmed with it all.

Last night we walked up to the school to see their class asignment. Andrew hoped to be in the same class as his friend Samuel but it didn't happen. He also hoped to not get the "strict" teacher. And he was happy that Emma was not in his class.

When we got to open house today he discovered that Samuel still was not in his class, that he did have the "strict" teacher and that not only was Emma in his class but that she was sitting next to him.

I'm so glad God gave him one of those "happy-go-lucky" personalities. He's great at just rolling with the punches.

I'm sure they both will have great years, love their teacher, make new friends, and be used by God along the way. At least that's how the last four years have gone. But if you have some extra time next Tuesday, say about 8:50am, say a little prayer for all of us.

FACETS Back to School Party

Went to the BTS party last night. It was a lot of fun. Basically we helped elementary and middle school kids back their book bags with the supplies they will need for school. It was great to see the kids excited about starting to school and to have the chance to encourage them to do well.

FACETS is a great organization. I am so thankful our church is able to partner with them.

Being Attractive Without Having to Look Good

Sorry the post is late. Next week school begins and I will be able to remember which day it is.

Thanks for the great response on the top three fruits of the spirit needed in your life. I can't wait to see the results. If you missed Sunday or did not turn in your blue card and want to participate in the survey, shoot me an Email with the three fruits of the spirit that you need most in your life.

This Sunday we continue the series. We will be talking about PEACE. Here's the questions: What are some things that keep you from having peace in your life? How are you different (better) when you have peace in your life than when you don't?

Fill free to comment on this past week's message. I'm not looking for compliments, I'm interested in what we are learning and especially how we are applying what we learn in the real world.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Starting a new sermon series tomorrow on the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5.) The title is "Being Attractive Without Having to Look Good."

Ready for the Weekend

Even though it's been a short work week for me this week, I'm really ready for the weekend. We're starting on a painting project inside our house. By the time we're done (hopefully before '09) we'll have the whole interior painted. I hate painting but I love the change and the feeling of newness.

Something New to the Blog

1. I want this blog to be more than just my wondering thoughts (like some of the blogs I read.) So I am going to try to add something new to it and see if it generates some discussion.
   
   I going to begin posting on Friday or Saturday a "Sneak Peak" at Sunday's service. I might post a comment about the sermon, a pic or vid that we will be using in the service, or something along that line. Then on Sunday/Monday I'll post a question or comment about Sunday's experience to continue the conversation. I hope people will join in the discussion.

Good to Be Home

We had a great trip to NC. It's always great to visit family and friends. Sunday we went to church with my parents. It's always a neat feeling being back in the church that I grew up in. Brings back a lot of memories of people who helped me grow in my spiritual journey and had such an enormous impact on my life.

I'm glad to be home and looking forward to the end of summer and the beginning of a new season. I'm really excited about the things we have coming up at FCBC in the next few months.

North Carolina - Hiking

Today, we took the kids on a hike in Dupont State Park. I grew up hiking a lot as a child with my family so it was great to be able to continue the tradition.

As Andrew and I were saying prayers tonight he told me it was his favorite part of the day. That's pretty good considering he go a new Bionicle, ice cream and go to buy some souvenirs today.

The kids did great on the hike. No complaining or anything. It was about 2 1/2 miles round trip and straight up at points. The view of the three waterfalls was worth the work.

North Carolina - Biltmore House

Yesterday my parents took us to the Biltmore House. Marsha and I have been a couple of times. The kids really loved it. It's close to where I grew up and is the largest house in the country. It's an amazing place.

My great-grandfather worked on the estate in the dairy. My grandmother, as a child, attended Christmas parties and birthday parties at the house.

An American Home: Fostering Lopez Lomong

An Amazing Story

If you've followed any of the Olympic news the last couple of days you have heard the name Lopez Lomong. His story is amazing. You can read about it here.

"When we were in Africa, we didn't know what was there for us as kids--we just ran. God was planning all of this stuff for me, and I didn't know. Now I'm using running to get the word out about how horrible things were back in Sudan during the war. Sometimes these things are not on CNN, so if I put out the word, I hope people can get the information. Right now, similar terrible things are going on in Darfur; people are running out of Darfur, and I put myself in their shoes." - Lopez Lomong

Fuge

Just able to get on the campus network today.

Fuge is going great. Our students were awesome today. Most of our group signed up to do a mission track in the afternoons. The leader nicknamed our group the "mission group" because they are so willing to serve. Today was their first day on site. It was pretty grungy work but when the participants were asked to volunteer our students were the first to jump in.

They were a great testimony and represented our church well.

Narnia

Saw Narnia today with Andrew. It was more intense than the first one, but Andrew loved it. We spent the whole day together after dropping Abbey off at daycare. The ride home from the movies was a great debrief from the life principles from the movie.

Narnia

Watching Narnia with Andrew. We needed to brush up before we see part 2 next week.

The Third "Take Away" From the PD Gathering

Brian and I were introduced to Straton at the PD Gathering. Here is his story: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0SUJOcRU-_w&feature=related&fmt=18

http://www.thepeaceplan.com/

PD Summit 2008 - Day 3

This is the final day of the gathering. It's been a truly spectacular experience. Right now I'm sitting next to a guy from Time Magazine who is here covering the conference and blogging it. You can bet I'll corner him before the day is over and see what he thinks of it all.

Later today Rick is going to explain the P.E.A.C.E. Plan and how that has been working.

One of the things I do when I'm at events like this is, rather than try to grab everything that is said, I always as God to clearly show me the two to three things He wants me to take away from it all. I'll gotten the first two, an idea for small groups and an idea about how to take our global and local influence to the next level. God is good.

Brian and I are both preparing ourselves to be blown away by Rick's challenge to join the PEACE Plan.

More later...

Purpose Driven Summit - Day 1

Today was the kick off for the PD Summit. My brain is full. The worship this morning was truly amazing. Rick Muchow is incredible.

Rick Warren spent the entire morning (actually he blew right past lunch) catching us up on a lot of the things Saddleback has been trying and testing getting ready to pass on to churches.

The afternoon was packed with three panel discussion. The two best take home quotes today go to Mark Batterson of National Community Church in DC:

Speaking of the church - "We're educated way beyond our obedience." "Church is a tag team sport."

The verse that summed up the challenge for me today is James 1:25 (NIV) "The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it --he will be blessed in what he does."

Jet Lagged

Brian and I made it into CA without any major problems. I'm a little jet lagged which is why I'm blogging at 5:00am CA time.

We are here for a gathering of pastors and other leaders from around the country that Rick Warren invited to join him for a discussion about how we can partner together as churches to tackle some of the global giants.

I especially excited to see what God is going to do, especially with this event falling right in the middle of FCBC's strategic planning.

Lessons in the Rain

Andrew (my nine year old) and I were driving to church this past Sunday. It was pouring rain and he became very concerned about a flood. In those situations, he almost always recognizes, without my prompting, that it's time to pray - so he did.

When we arrived at church we discovered that part of our building was taking on some water. At that point Andrew got really scared that we really were going to have a flood. He started to panic a little more. So I asked him about his prayer and if when he asked God to protect us from the rain, did he really believe God would do that? He said he did. I pointed out that at that moment he was not acting like he believed God. He got the point.

My question for myself and for anyone reading is "Do you get the point?"

Stop. Be Quiet. Make a Connection

This past Sunday in worship we talked about how to "Stop and Refuel" our spiritual lives. Six simple words, "Stop. Be quiet. Make a connection."

What I Learned This Week

Our church, working through several local agencies and faith-based groups, served some of the homeless in our county this week by providing shelter and meals for nine days. Here are some of the things I learned this week.

I learned...

...we have an awesome church who loves and cares for one another.

...God is teaching us to be a church that cares about those on the outside, especially "the least of these."

...when you let volunteers loose and they are passionate about what they are doing and allow God to guide them, you create an unstoppable force.

...from watching some of our volunteers that sleep is optional (way to go 4:00-8:00am shift.)

...that God has provided this church with some incredibly talented people and giving people.

...that some homeless really prefer that, while others are hard working people who are just victims of a broken world.

...that some in corporate America are willing to partner with churches to make a difference in our world.

...that because God loves everyone, so must I.

...that when people serve others out of true compassion and love that can only come from God in their lives, they are changed in significant ways and will never be the same again.

Thanks to 85+ volunteers who made HRW possible.

Opportunities To Serve

I have not blogged for a while. I've been travelling and have not had a regular Internet connection. My mom had surgery last week for breast cancer so I've been in NC with my family.

One of the things I teach and preach is that God can use us to serve His purposes no matter where we are or what we are going through. I am always looking for great examples of people living this out in their lives.

My mom gave me such an example this past week. The week before, when she found out she had breast cancer, a neighbor, who is new to their area and has no family, had to be hospitalized. My mom drove her to the hospital and stayed with her until she got settled. As mom was going back and forth to the hospital for her own tests each day, she would always stop and check on this woman who had no family and friends around.

The night before mom's surgery, a lot of her friends were calling to check on her. I passed through the kitchen and mom was on the phone. I assumed it was another friend calling to check on her. Then I noticed she was writing a note. It turns out she was taking a prayer request through her church's prayer chain. She hung up the phone and called the next person on the list to share the prayer need.

It just amazed me that here was someone going through a vary serious and scary time in their life and they were still serving God by serving others.

Inspirational

Someone Emailed me this video clip. It's truly inspirational.

http://video.stumbleupon.com/?s=ithct48cqw&i=ufcchmyxqsuj9vwsemax

Here is the full version: http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/multimedia/randy-pausch-lecture.shtml

Missed Opportunities

I believe in divine appointments; when God brings people together for a purpose. I also believe we usually miss more of those times than we get - missed opportunities to impact the kingdom of God. I think I may have had a divine appointment yesterday. Not sure if I missed it or not.

I was at the dentist for a check up. The dental hygienist immediately began to tell me part of her story. She first told me she was expecting a baby in 19 days. Then she told me how her mother, last week, was diagnosed with cancer and only given 9 months to live and her father had died of cancer two years ago. She did more talking than I did, mainly because my mouth was full.

My son Andrew was with me and was doing a great job of being patient and not messing with the equipment, too much. She commented on how well behaved he was and "what was my secret." I told here the secret was Ritalin, which started a whole new conversation about her 5 year old and some of the problems he was having in school that made her think of ADD. I gave her the ten minute brief on everything that I had learned from experience and research about ADD.

I left the conversation feeling glad that I was the kind of person that would let a stranger dump their story on them. And I believe that my listening was a good thing and probably left her in a better place.

But I wonder if I should have done or said more. I wonder if I was distracted by Andrew being with me and if I missed an opportunity to set an example of how to minister to someone in a more signaficant way?

The one great thing about missed opportunities is we can learn from them and move on to the next one.

Difficult Days

This Sunday we will be talking about the 5th phase of a dream - The Difficulties Phase. A friend Emailed me some pictures to help put things in perspective. I thought I would share them.

-Enjoy


The bear was crossing the bridge and was scared by a car. He jumped over the ledge. Officials did not think there was anything they could do for it. When they returned the next morning they found the bear asleep under the bridge. That's when they went to work on getting him down.

Great Day

Yesterday we were blessed in N.VA with a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day. As soon as I realized what a great day it was going to be, I loaded up my mountain bike, Andrew's tandem and all of our gear. We headed over to the Maryland side of Great Falls and took off down the C&O Canal towpath.

We mangaged to get in 10 miles before the rain hit. We got a little wet and Andrew got freaked out a little - he was afraid the river was going to flood. We also got to cross the river on a small, hand operated ferry, spotted an eagle's next and then headed back.

Quality time!

Hindsight

I love hindsight. I love to look back and see what things have become and remeber what they used to be like. But I also love to dream. To dream about the possibilities of what could be ahead.
I think a lot of times though, we either have our eye on the dream (the future) or are looking into the past wishing for the 'good ole days' and we miss the here and now and we miss the fact that life is really lived in the present.

So this week I've been trying to remind myself that while God has done some great things in my life and in our church, and while He promises to do even greater things in the future, He's actually at work right now. That's amazing when you think about it.

I wonder what Hypothermial Relief Week is going to look like in hindsight? What will it look like after this weekend when we have 50 students at our youth lock in? What will be some of the God-directed outcomes of our strategic planning? What is God doing in my sons life when he stands with me in the voting booth and pushes the buttons? To know that God is working in these and so many more things, right now, makes the present a great place to be.

Starting a Blog

One of the things I am always interested in is finding new, and hopefully, better ways of communicating. That's my purpose in starting a personal blog. My only goal is to open up a new channel of communication with the people I serve along side of.

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting but probably not more than once or twice a week.

If this goes well you can think Brian for constantly bugging me to start it. If it goes bad- you know who to blame.

Enjoy
David