Focus In A Busy Season

Today is Saturday. I'm in the office early because we have a Community Group Leader training, and I'm going to be introducing our 40 Days Of Prayer material to the group leaders. I'm really fired up about it, and I think that the campaign will be a help to people who are looking for a deeper connection to Christ right now.

Later, Mac and I have a football game in Fort Hall. The Lions need a win, and today is a good day to go get one.

Later, I have to pack for a retreat in Post Falls with some of the staff. Gary McIntosh, an author and speaker is the main presenter, and I'm expecting to learn a lot.

Later, I have to finish my message for Sunday. It's the last one in the Beautiful series, and I think it's going to have a huge impact on both women and men in our congregation. It's about being ready for God to move in your life, and I think God is getting ready to do a big move in our church, so it's a timely message for all of us.

Later, I have a surprise Birthday party to go to. I can't tell you who, when or where, because it's a surprise. :)

Later, I have to sleep so I can get up and share God's message on Sunday, then get in a car and drive to Post Falls.

So, in order to keep focus on the right things with an agenda that is pushing the limits of full, RIGHT NOW I NEED TO PRAY! Right now is the time to get my head right, to listen to what He has to say to me, and to dedicate my day to His glory, not mine. My day may not include a 20 minute window for prayer, but it may include 20 windows of 3 minutes each, and I need to take every one of them. When I'm 'too busy' in my life, I have to make sure I'm not too busy to pray.

What about you? What do you do to maintain a connection to God during the busy seasons of your life?

Today Is A Day To Get Excited!!

I'm fired up today, which for a Tuesday, is a special feeling! Here's why:

• Sunday was an amazing worship day! Baptisms are always a great time at FBC, and our two candidates were excited, nervous, and blessed! Their friends and family that they invited were able to see them go public with their faith, and we as their church family got to welcome them with cheering into the family! Can't wait for the next one! (Thank you to everyone who serves, prays and gives to the ministry at FBC, we see the hand of God moving, and it's because of your faithfulness!)
• The message was a tough one for some folks, bringing up some of the struggles and brokenness in some people's lives, but pointing them toward God's grace and healing. Celebrating the forgiveness of Jesus in the elements of communion was a holy moment, especially for those who were connecting that their sexual past is something that God wants to forgive. It was tremendously powerful.
• Monday was an amazing ministry day. Aaron and Janaye Floyd welcomed their brand new son, Issac, into the world, and I got to go see them at the hospital and hold their blessing in my arms for a moment. Love that new baby smell! Big brother Micah has his work cut out for him. It was fun to see both sets of his grandparents in the room and think about the spiritual legacy that Issac will inherit. Generations of Christ followers loving, teaching, modeling and praying for him.
  
• I also had the privilege of standing with a family that Beth and I know as they said goodbye to their husband/brother/friend. A long battle with cancer finally took the life of a warrior. But Jesus was there, the Holy Spirit bringing comfort, and God the Father taking Shane by the hand.
• I'm fired up today with the opportunity to work on my message for Sunday. Finishing up the Beautiful series strong and setting up the next series - 40 Days of Prayer that starts October 4. God has been working through the messages and the conversations that they have sparked. Praise God for the women in the church, and for the women in my life.
  
• The bonus of today is that the staff is having lunch with our Senior Saints! Just a relaxed, no agenda, sit down and touch base conversation at a local restaurant. (Seniors: If you can make it, give the office a call and let us know you're coming before noon. If you can't make it, we'll do it again soon!)

God is working in our midst, and the fruit is getting ripe! Fall is the time of harvest, and we're starting to see some. Can't wait to see where this is all going!!

Why You Should Bring a Friend This Sunday

The deal with church is as simple as it gets: people are more willing to come with someone than they are to come alone, and survey after survey tells us that people would attend church if someone they ALREADY KNOW invited them to come. So if you're fired up about what God is doing in your life, or if you're fired up about what God is doing in our church family, or if you are fired up about the people in your life finding forgiveness and a fresh start from Jesus, here's three reasons why you should target this Sunday to invite a friend and bring them with you to FBC:

1. Baptisms - We have three people lined up to get baptized this Sunday!! Three people who have found Jesus and are going public with their faith, three people who have been nurtured and encouraged by our church family, and three people that are ready to celebrate the life change that God is bring in their lives right now! As a church, we do and AWESOME job of celebrating people stepping from death to life, and this Sunday will be no different. Bring a friend to come see the celebration of changed lives!!
2. Grace - the message will be about grace. God's grace in our lives, the amazing, wonderful, powerful, life changing grace of Jesus for all of us who have ever blown it in our lives. The message will be clearly about the forgiveness and restoration that Jesus wants to bring in the lives of people, and your friends who need to know that God loves them and wants to forgive them NEED TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE!! Especially the woman who has something in her past that is haunting her today. God wants to set some people free from the guilt of their past this week. Bring a friend to hear a message of freedom!
3. Jesus will be there!! The truth is, none of the 'events' of the day are more important than the presence of Jesus. The music, the message, even the baptisms are nothing without the living presence of God in the room. And He has promised to be there!! Your friend that needs hope, help or healing in their life needs a touch from Jesus, and the Bible promises that Jesus is there when we gather in His name.
   

I'm fired up about this Sunday! I'm fired up about the lives God is changing, the work He is doing in my life and the lives of others, and whatever surprises He has in store for us along the way. Bring a friend and let them see and hear the truth of God's grace this Sunday. You won't regret it, and maybe someday soon, you'll be the one lighting a candle for them (or even getting to do the dunking!) when Jesus changes their life forever!!

See you Sunday!!

What A Pastor Learns From Coaching Football

This is the fourth year of my football coaching career, and after a long, busy weekend of football and church, I have finally been able to put into words what I think I've learned about being a pastor by coaching youth football. Could be more later, but for now, lets go with these:

• I can't do it all. As a football coach, I'm on the sidelines, I'm at practice, I'm calling plays and sometimes time outs. I'm making substitutions, and putting players in position to succeed the best I can, BUT I NEVER MAKE A TACKLE! I don't do the work; I can't. Even if I could, I'm just one guy, and it would take 10 more to make the defense work. I have to do my work through others in football. It's the same in church! I can't do all the ministry, and I've tried very hard the last few years to learn how to minister through others to reach more and more people. I'm always trying to put people in position to succeed, and trying to get the 'plays' called so that we have the best chance to win.
  
• You can't win them all. I wish I could say that there was a formula to guarantee success in sports, but there's not. Sometimes, you work hard, you get the right people in the right places, and you still come up short. Bad bounce, bad breaks, or superior opponents, even illness or injury can change the outcome of a game. You try to do your best, give your all, but sometimes you come up short. I tell the players on the team to win with class and lose with dignity. Good advice in church, too. We don't always win. Ideas don't always pan out, but instead of getting upset, blowing up, pouting or other unhelpful responses, going forward with dignity and a posture of learning from defeat makes more sense.
• Winning feels good! Yeah, this is a 'duh' statement, but it's true. When we win a football game, all the work, all the effort, all the conditioning and practice feels worth it. It feels GOOD! When the church wins, we all can celebrate and NEED TO REJOICE! We can and should feel good about the wins we see in the church, whenever God's kingdom moves forward. We have a great opportunity to see some of that this weekend with baptisms, so don't miss it, and don't forget to clap and cheer!!
• There's more than one way to win. Seeing a player grow from an uncoordinated 5th grader into a young man with speed and agility in the 8th grade is an amazing experience. There are a handful of kids who've been with us for the full four years, and measuring their growth in their understanding of the game, their ability and skills, and most importantly, their character, has been the best part of this experience. I wouldn't trade that for anything. The same is true of some of the people in my church. Watching men decide to follow Jesus, then lead their families, or watching someone who was afraid to pray in front of a small group of their friends turn into a person of prayer and a leader in the church, those experiences are priceless. I love being a pastor for moments like that.

If I think of any more before the Lions finish the season this year, I'll pass them on. Meantime, we're 1-2 after this weekend, with a road game at Aberdeen on Saturday night. Feel free to pray for Coach Bill to do his best to coach the kids and represent Jesus.

Could NOT have said it better...

Mark Driscol, Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I love this guy, he challenges me, he pushes me, and...

he's funny.

Enjoy!

Silence...

The pressure of football practice and our first game last week (a two point loss for the Lions, revenge will come in the playoffs!!), and getting things in shape for the 40 Days of Prayer campaign coming in October have left me little time to blog, so sorry if you've been looking and not finding here. I'm hoping that after this weekend, I'll be able to get back to regular. Plus I'm still trying to 'debug' the book reviews from Study Leave, I'm having HTML problems of unknown origin. Soon!

Today I'm having the first relaxing day off in a couple months that doesn't involve a long drive or flight, so I'm chilling out and recharging the batteries. Don't underestimate the power of rest in our hurried world. I can't hear from God if I'm too tired to listen.

I will post some more on the Beautiful series (so far, lots of good stuff God is getting done in the lives of women AND men in this series!), and let you know what has me fired up about 40 Days of Prayer when the dust settles next week. Meantime, pray for me, we have a game Saturday night in Bear Lake (90 minutes south of here), and that's going to make for a long weekend. I think the Lions have a great chance to win, and Mac will get the start at both tight end and safety, so pray for him to stay healthy and have enough gas in the tank to go both ways for the full game.

Yes, I promised not too much of 8th grade football on this blog, but this one is important! :)

Book Review: CHASING DAYLIGHT

Due to circumstances beyond my control, this is later than I wanted it to be, but nonetheless - book #1 on the list I read this year on Study Leave:

CHASING DAYLIGHT

Author: Erwin Raphael McManus 259 pages Published by Nelson Books

Summary:

McManus is the pastor of one of the most impactful an influential churches in America today, Mosaic in Los Angeles, CA. I've heard him on CD and read another of his books, but this one is quite possibly the most impactful things I've read in the last four or five years. He uses the story of Jonathan, son of King Saul, taking his armor bearer and charging the Philistine army as the template for an exploration of seizing what he calls, 'the divine moment.' He walks through the idea in three parts: Foreshock, Epicenter and Aftershock, because the move of God through a divine moment is very much like an earthquake.

Seeing a divine moment and choosing to step into it are keys to initiating an impactful encounter with God. Taking the risk, even though there is no guarantee of success, is a deeper level of faith. Starting wit a belief in God's unchanging character, followed by acting on that belief is first level faith. As he puts it, "trust God and do what He said." Second level faith, according to McManus, is what happens sometimes when we are leaning into God's character in the first level, and He chooses to do something beyond our ability to comprehend. It's the miracle alongside the empowerment, the "way bigger than us" that runs along with the "bigger than what I've experienced before."

As Jonathan in the story acts while others sleep, he enters into the place where a divine moment begins. He inspires his armor bearer to come with him and then takes on the ridiculous odds of two men against an army. In that encounter, God shows up in many ways, others are inspired to join, and the battle is own by the Lord on behalf of the people. Jonathan simply is the catalyst for the greater move of God by listening and following the promptings of God. God joins Jonathan in battle after Jonathan joins God in starting something.

McManus uses many more biblical stories and some of my favorite Old Testament characters and New Testament quotes to wrap around the idea that we need to be on the lookout for God moments that we can step into with confidence - that that we will succeed, but that God has called us to engage - knowing that God is in charge and to follow him may not be the safest place to be, but it does make us more dangerous than ever. Faith is not having all the answers before you act; faith is hearing the promptings of God and acting in line with God's character so that, win, lose or draw, you have engaged with God in what Go has called up for your life. In the end, that's always a win.

I Wanted To Talk About My Study Leave...

I had the best of intentions to post my first book review from my Study Leave yesterday, and then again today, but the distance between my technical abilities and the demands of my technology have left me helpless. I can't figure out how to do this right now, and I don't have time to learn this weekend. There are bigger issues I'm chasing, so please be patient with me, and I'll get the book reviews and a summary of the Study Leave up here as soon as I can figure out how.

What has taken the focus of my attention? Three things:

• First, I started coaching my son, Mac, in football again. He's in 8th grade this fall, and we're back with the Lions. After matching the professional version of the Lions with an 0-for the season record last year, we hope to shock the world and make the playoffs this year.Mac has worked hard this summer to get ready, and after a week and a half of practice, the team seems to be coming together. I like our chances. I won't bore the non-football people with too many details, but I will give an occasional update here. I have enjoyed the connection this has made between me and my son as he's growing into the man of God he will someday be. Plus, a whistle is always a fun thing to have between your teeth!
• Second, there's an Elder Team meeting on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, and I honestly feel like the way our church is going is a direct result of the attempt at being biblical in our governance. The Elders represent that in a major way, and I'm always glad to meet with them, pray with them, dream with them, and work to see God's best unfold at FBC with them. Can't wait!
• Third, I've been working on the beginning of the Beautiful series. It's going to be really good, I believe. I've been praying extra over it, because when a man talks to women about God's plan for women, it can get... uncomfortable. I'm praying for God to give me the words to say that will speak truth and love to the women in our community, and inspire them and the men that love them to lean into God more and more for direction, grace and all that He wants to give them. Can't wait to see where this ends up!

There you have it. I promise you'll get to hear about my Study Leave, but first, these pressing priorities have me focused. And I invite you to pray for all of this in my life, if you have a second.

Monday Random

A thousand random thoughts in my head this Monday, just a few that you might be interested it:

• What a great Sunday! Our worship together was great, the responses and conversations I had afterward were great, and the energy and passion level was great! I miss you when I'm gone, and a Sunday like yesterday is a big reason why.
• Yes, I did say that I heard God tell me clearly during my Study Leave that I needed to let go of the 'comfortable Christianity' I've been taught all my life and grab on to Jesus. Being in the center of God's will isn't safe, it makes you dangerous, and I want to be dangerous!!
  
• I hear that the Children's Ministry was mobbed during the 11 am service! Tons of kids! How cool is it that when we hear God say we need to target Children and Students this year, we get a Sunday like this to remind us why? Yeah God!
• Vision Night was good, the best turn out for a meeting like that we've had in a while, and in attempting to over-communicate, I think we might have communicated. I'm glad we have people in our church family who are interested in the management of our ministry and want to show up to these things. No, they aren't always comfortable, but yes, they are important, so thanks to the 60 people who came!
• We will have to trust God for the ministry we will do, both the outcome and the funding of God's church are up to HIM, and that's a lesson we've been learning the last few years. Can't wait to see what He's going to do in HIS church this ministry year!
  
• And again, thanks to Terry Tharp for his year of faithful service on the Elder Team.
  
• Yes, we will open up nominations for elder this fall, so be praying!
• Glad we have a date for the New Orleans trip (Nov. 1- 7), and if you're wanting to go, get ready, it's going to be amazing! If you'd like to help someone else financially to be able to go, then let me know ASAP!
• I'm stoked about this next series, Beautiful, that starts Sunday. Can't wait to see what God wants to do in the lives of women in our church and in our valley. BRING A FRIEND!!
• God has been answering prayers all around us! I've heard about jobs, promotions, health issues and more where God has been showing up and making Himself known. Prayer works, so if you're praying about something and haven't seen the answer yet, KEEP PRAYING!! When you see God answering prayers around you, it's a signal that your answer is coming closer. Be alert!

I'm still in the process of connecting all the dots from my Study Leave, so I'll leave that for a later post, but thanks to all who were praying for me while I was working hard to hear from God. I'll start the book review posts on Wednesday.

Learning to Listen

I'm in the process of trying to look back over my recent Study Leave and work through the lessons God taught me during those weeks, and at the same time putting together a message on vision for the future for Sunday. We have Vision Night Sunday night at 6, which will be a bit of both: looking back over the past year and looking ahead to what God has for us in the future.

So I'm having an interesting time getting myself in the right frame of mind for today. I need to look back, look forward, and try not to miss what's in front of me today. And just when I got settled down with a cold beverage at Starbucks to figure out what I needed to focus on until football practice starts (yes, one more year with the Lions, I'll get to that later...), my phone rings.

An emergency! There's someone in need of a pastor. A spiritual 911 call, if you will. So finishing the sermon on God's future for FBC will need to wait. The reflection on all that I've heard and learned from God during this season of study will have to wait. The immediate need is to pick up the phone and do my best to offer the hope and peace of Christ in the midst of a serious struggle. At the end of the call, things are better, and now the ministry of help and healing can begin. It's at times like this I'm glad I'm a part of a church family that I can count on to help and serve, to bless and love other people.

I don't know about you, but one struggle that I face is choosing how to balance past, present and future in my life and my walk with God. I want to honor the past, to learn from it and reflect well upon it. I want to aim toward a better future, a closer walk, a more effective ministry in my life, too. But I live in this moment, this one minute in time, this short season that is so full of potential for good, for evil, for building up or for breaking down. What will I do in this minute that will make the best of the past and the future at the same time? Sometimes, that's a hard choice. Sometimes, that's an opportunity I miss. But sometimes, like today, God steps in and makes it totally clear: "It's not about you, Bill."

My past is past - I can hopefully learn from it, but I can't go back and change it, no matter how hard I worry.

My future is still in front of me - I can hopefully honor God with my decisions and continue to walk a path that brings a smile to His face, but I won't do that by worrying, either.

My moment is now - I can listen to the Spirit the best I can right now, and do the best I can with all that I have. That's all that God ever asks.

All along the way, I see that God is teaching me that if I'm listening to Him, trusting Him, leaning into Him, I'm going to be in the right place at the right time to be used by Him for His purpose and plan. That's what I'm learning, anyway.

So, I'll get back to the sermon, the Vision Night, and the Study Leave evaluation later. The need to serve Jesus by taking that phone call was now. And in God's great plan, the rest will work itself out, too, if I will just listen.

Back From Canada

Today is the first day back in the office after my Study Leave, and after the trip North to officiate Chris and Natalie's wedding. I'll give a better accounting of the Study Leave (short version: it was AWESOME!!), and my book reviews starting next week, but here's a quick look at the trip to Canada:

What an amazing weekend! I met some great people, reconnected with some folks I had not seen in a while, and was blessed over and over by the folks I got to hang out with up in Victoria, B.C. Here (in no particular order) are the highlights:

• The time spent with my daughter, Rachel, was great. We talked about all kinds of things, and had some great conversations about spiritual issues as well as all the 'kid' stuff that she enjoys. We walked around Victoria, and she was a total trooper almost the entire time. She was amazing in her perseverance for a 9 year old, spending the entire day on Saturday getting ready, being photographed, walking through the service (she was a flower girl), then standing for MORE photos, and then dealing with the reception. It ended up being a 13 hour day for her, and she handled it like a champ! We ended up taking a well deserved Pedi-cab back to the hotel after that.
  
• The wedding was wonderful! From the rehearsal to the reception, the events seemed to go off with nary a hitch. Natalie and Chris' friends and families were great about getting everything together, and there was enough fun for everyone. The service itself was only marred by the pastor forgetting to get the microphone figured out. (my bad...) Natalie looked radiant, Chris was devastatingly handsome, and the Spirit of God was very evident. It was a blessing to work with Pastor Gary and Paul Austin on the service, and all of it was holy and reverent, including the laughter.
  
• Signing the documents in the service was new, but we managed to get through that without any hiccups. I've never seen that done, nor even heard of it before, but apparently, in Canada, that's a part of the service. As the old saying goes, the job's never over until the paperwork is done, so I guess we had to get the job done!
• The food at the rehearsal dinner was incredible! Macaroni Grill is now on my list of places to look for in any city where I travel. They just kept bringing bowl after plate after dish... I was going to need help getting out of the chair!! So good, thank you Boblit family for hosting us!
• The food at the reception was UNBELIEVABLE!! Here's all you really need to know: after I EXCITEDLY put the big scoop of the FOURTH salad on my plate, I was thinking, "What else can they possibly have?" The answer: EVERYTHING!! The food was beyond words. I've never uttered this phrase before, but it seems appropriate: I can't wait for the next bowl of Mango/Pepper salad! (for those of you who don't know me, I'm not a 'salad' kind of guy, if that tell you anything about this spread!) Thanks to the families for that amazing experience!
  
• I was so proud of the FBC folks who were there, seemingly everywhere, helping, serving, blessing Chris and Nat in so many ways. Just making the trip up was a blessing to them, and they were humbled by having so many come from their church family. Way to go!
• My first ever live webcast. The folks who saw the wedding live online said it came across great, even if it was a little blurry. Looking forward to seeing more of technology and ministry connecting people like that. It was cool!
  
• Getting across the border with a child is easier if you take a letter from the spouse that's not going with you. Turns out that once again, listening to your wife pays off in the long run! Beth had a letter drawn up and notarized that got me through customs in a flash with Rachel. Others were not so lucky...

All in all, a wonderful trip. Can't wait to get back and take Beth to see Victoria, it was a beautiful city. Can't wait to get back in the saddle around here and catch up on all that God is doing at FBC, and can't wait to see what comes next! Keep praying for Chris and Nat as they make their way down the West Coast to a wedding, a California reception, then on the the honeymoon, then back here for the first chapter in their life together.

Short Week...

This week is going to be very short and very long at the same time. I've got today, tomorrow and part of Wednesday to get my life in order, then drive to Boise, get a hotel, wake up Thursday, get on a plane, fly to Victoria, BC for a wedding, all with my beautiful daughter Rachel by my side.

See, she's the flower girl (a job she's had some experience with, I might add), and it' s very important that she be there. I'm doing the wedding, but if there's no flower girl... well, let's just not go there.

I'm looking forward to spending some time, just the two of us, hanging out, goofing off, etc... before football season starts and her brother's schedule dominates my life. I'm coaching the defense for the Lions again this year, and Mac is fired up for his eighth grade year. We're going to have a better season than last year, and Mac has been working out all summer to get ready. Kid is ripped. It's scary.

But this is going to be a crazy week. I probably will not be able to post again until after the wedding, flight home, drive back from Boise. So feel free to pray for us, for Chris and Natalie's wedding, and for Rachel as she does her very important job.

Can't wait to go do this thing, and can't wait to get back and share some vision at Vision Night on Aug. 16. Don't miss it!!

(Not) Alone Time

I'm sitting in a Starbucks (naturally) in Sun Valley, finishing up four days of alone time with God. Cathedral Pines, our ABC church camp, is up the road from here, and they have a cabin they let pastor's use for just this sort of thing. I got here Monday and have had a great time with no distractions, no cell service, and no internet access unless I roll into town.

God used this time to speak some important things into my heart and give me some important perspective. I feel like I've been in a valley in my life, a struggle for clarity, a time of playing defense instead of offense spiritually. I've felt disappointed in myself over many things, and disappointed in the circumstances I found myself in, whether of my own doing or someone else's design. I've used the Billy Graham quote multiple times: "Mountain tops are for vistas, but the fruit is grown in the valley." So getting away to the mountains, I was hoping to catch a view of the fruit, if any, that has been growing in the valley.

God is faithful. There has been a lot, and it was surprising to see some of it. Some was not the kind of fruit I like, but totally what God wanted to grow in me. Some of it, while not overwhelming in it's size or abundance, was what I wanted, and it left me wanting more.

I'll sum it up with a verse that I didn't really look for in my quiet times, but was hoping to find. While reading other things, other books of the Bible, other books (reviews to follow over the next couple weeks here, stay tuned), it was a podcast of an Andy Stanley sermon that put it front and center for me this week: Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

I realized that I have spent a lot of time and energy trusting in what I've learned from God, the gifts He's given me, and the experiences He's allowed me to have (or walked me through), but somehow, I've forgotten to trust in Him. I'm leaning on all the gifts, not the Giver of the gifts. I'm trusting the wisdom He has given me, and I totally blew it when it comes to trusting Him.

So, after apologizing to God, I'm here to apologize to you. I'm sorry. I will do better. God is bigger than just the gifts He gives, and I need to trust Him more. Pray for me.

Exciting Developments!!

Last night Karl and I had a great meeting with Coop and Penny Cooper, our coordinators for the Financial Peace University classes. They were excited about a Dave Ramsey Simulcast coming up in September, and we spent an hour looking at the details to see if we could host the event at FBC. Looking at this event, it will require some faith, yet it's very doable, so we said we were going to say a 'prayerful yes.' It would be a live webcast of Dave doing his Total Money Makeover, and it gives us as a church the opportunity to introduce more people in our community to all things Dave Ramsey, including the FPU class. Pray with us, there's an upfront cost, and we would be required to sell tickets, but I'm jacked about the potential of this becoming reality. Could you imagine our Worship Center full of people being set free from financial bondage on a Saturday in September? Pray early, pray often, and let us know if you'd be interested in being a part of this opportunity!

After that exciting conversation, talk turned to New Orleans. Penny and Coop went in March and worked with some friends from Indiana on a mission project. The folks in Indiana have invited us to go along when they send a team this fall, probably the last week of October (maybe the first week of November?). I've been praying for the chance to go, and now, it's becoming a reality. If you're interested in going, we want to send a team. We'll get the details out as soon as we have them, but save some vacation time (a week), some money (about $900-1000), and pray a bunch. I'm going, and I'd love for you to come on this adventure with me, or maybe help someone else to go if you can't make it yourself. The need is still great after Hurricane Katrina, and we'd be helping share the light of Jesus, one act of service at a time.

I love hearing people bubble up vision and watching as it starts to take shape in God's hands!! These are two of the pieces of what God wants next in the life of FBC, and I'm glad for leaders like Penny and Coop who see what's not there yet, then pray and work until it starts to happen.

Time Alone With Jesus

The best thing about Study Leave so far has been the daily, unhurried time I've been able to spend in reading my Bible and praying. It's been a wonderfully refreshing time each day. I've taken the approach that I need to slow down, not try to hurry through and check this off my 'TO DO' list each day, but take some real time to reflect on what I read, and then write out a prayer based on what I heard from God. It's been really good for my heart and my mind to connect to the heart and mind of God each day.

I'm doing an extended quiet time each day, and how much of that I can take with me past Study Leave remains to be seen, but I'm reading some Psalms each day, a chapter from the Book of Acts, and then three or four chapters from Paul's letters. Here's my thinking in this:

Psalms are prayers, written in song lyrics, like poetry and praise songs. Many times, when I am feeling the pressure of ministry, I like to go back to Psalms and see how King David and the others who wrote these amazing lyrics talked to God about their lives and struggles. I'm strengthened by their resolve to trust God for rescue and redemption, even as they confess sin and acknowledge their need of God's love and forgiveness. It's a good place to go for inspiration and the reminder that it's not always easy, but if it's for God, He's always watching, waiting to give whatever is needed, just in the nick of time.

Acts is the story of the first Christ followers as they took the words of Jesus seriously and went into the world to do what He told them to do. It's a complacency busting book. These unschooled, 'normal' people took what they had seen and heard from Jesus and simply told people, did what the Spirit led them to do, and watched as tens of thousands of people in the very city where Jesus was crucified become followers of this martyred rabbi. They didn't sit back and watch, they engaged and followed the Spirit's leading. While miracles and amazing growth followed them, so did persecution and attacks. It's a reminder to me that this isn't supposed to be easy, it's supposed to be hard, and it's supposed to grow. The two go together, because Jesus suffered to save everyone. That means everyone can and needs to be saved, and it will require suffering.

Paul's letters are clear lessons to the church about life in Christ. We all need to be reminded of what God has said to us, and Paul was dealing with all types of issues in his different churches. Frankly, nothing much has changed in 2000 years when it comes to human nature, so we have all the same issues today - gossip, disunity, people not listening to the clear teaching of God's word, folks chasing after personalities rather than chasing after Jesus, the list goes on.

As a Christ follower first (before husband, father, pastor, friend, etc...), I need to be reminded over and over about these issues, from God's love to His plan for the church to the specifics of obeying what His word has laid out for us. If you have a regular time with God each day (you don't have to spend as much time on it as I am right now), I pray it will continue to be a source of strength for you. If not, why not start today? Start with a single book, like Luke or John, and take a chapter a day (it's not about coverage). Ask God to show you something from what you read, then read and reflect on it for a minute. Let God speak to you, and He will.

Keep praying, God is showing me some great stuff during this time. I'm feeling my heart fill up and my batteries recharge.