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