Packin' With The Pastor
You know, I was thinking. Pastor Tom and I are heading out this evening for the Windy City! Not for fun and games mind you (at least that's not the primary purpose) but for three days of intense small group leader training! God has blessed us with the opportunity to go to this seminar and I am truly excited about it. Not only am I going to receive some much needed direction, but I also get to spend some fine quality time with one of my favorite people! Tom and I are going to be back some time Saturday afternoon. Please keep us held up in prayer and that God will continue to bless our work at NewSong. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Friday Feast - An Ode To Coffee Houses
You know, I was thinking. Over the years I really have become a coffee snob! I like good coffee. The darker and stronger it is the better. I have been limiting my coffee intake these past few months just to help deal with some stress issues so I have been rather picky about where I get my morning brew. Here is a list of my favorite coffee houses and why:
5. The Mustard Seed - In beautiful downtown Tecumseh. They don't have the best coffee that I have ever tasted but their grub is fantastic. There is also something special about walking into a coffee joint that has Christian music playing.
4. The Coffee Beanery - This is a very popular Dundee establishment. They offer a fine brew and some great baked goods. The breakfast and lunch menu are a little pricey, but the food is very good. Just don't be in front of me in the drive thru and order a fancy latte or something that takes 10 minutes to make!
3. The Daily Grind - Also in downtown Tecumseh has got the best tasting coffee in town. I must say that I have yet to have a bad cup from this fine establishment. I must admit that I don't think I have ever eaten anything there other than the bakery stuff but I have it on good authority that the food is great!
2. Starbuck's - The Arborland establishment is the one that I will frequent when I have a chance. I know some folks are attracted to this place just because it is trendy, but the coffee is consistantly great! I highly recommend the Sumatra when it is available.
1. My Favorite Cafe - No really that is the name of this downtown Saline establishment. I have never grabbed anything to eat here but their house blend is the best coffee that I have ever had! That's what I said, the best I've ever had! Now, I know what I like and this place has got it. Very friendly people and a quaint little dining area make this place a must go everytime I am in the area.
What are your favorites? Be blessed beyond belief today.
A Song On My Heart
You know, I was thinking. I woke up with a song on my heart this morning. It is an old song that I have sung a number of times but haven't heard it in years. Here is the song:
Deeper than the ocean and wider than the sea
Is the grace of the savior for sinners like me
Sent from the father and it thrills my soul
Just to feel and to know that His blood makes me whole
His Grace reaches me, yes His grace reaches me
And will last for eternity
Now I'm under His control, and I'm happy in my soul
Just to know that His grace reaches me
Higher than the mountains and brighter than the sun
It was offered at Calvery for everyone
Greatest of treasures and it's mine today
Though my sins were as scarlet, He has washed them away
His Grace reaches me, yes His grace reaches me
And will last for eternity
Now I'm under His control, and I'm happy in my soul
Just to know that His grace reaches me
This song goes very well with this scripture from Romans 8:39-39:
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No matter what may be happening in your life right now, whether you perceive it as good or bad. It does not change who God is and the salvation that you have through His son Jesus. God's grace will reach you on the mountain, God's grace will reach you in the valley. God's love will overflow abundantly during the hard times and His mercy will last eternally! God doesn't changed based on my feelings or moods, He is absolutely consistant. But my feelings and moods can be changed based on God's grace, mercy and love. Do you hear and see God today? Are you listening and looking? Be blessed beyond belief today.
Separation Anxiety
You know, I was thinking. If you are a person who doesn't like reading a bunch of lovey dovey mushy stuff then stop reading now! I mean it................ stop reading! HEY! I said if you don't like that kind of stuff stop R-E-A-D-I-N-G! OK, I warned you. One of the ways that I know that Rachel and I are destined to be husband and wife for life is because of how we feel about being together. It's funny how this relationship stuff works sometimes. We both have lives to live and we do talk on the phone often, but there is something about being in close proximity to one another that brings a certain peace. We don't have to be right next to each other or holding hands to feel the love that is there. We are certainly past the point of trying to impress the other person. But simply being near one another and hearing the other persons voice brings us so much peace. Last Saturday we were sitting cuddled up on her couch watching the Michigan game. She was very tired that day and she dozed off to sleep in my arms. I believe that is one way that a relationship can be book marked. You are at a comfort level where you can take a nap instead of feeling like you have to be in constant conversation or paying close attention to someone. Not to say that those things aren't important, but so are peace and comfort.
Let's get to the bottom of this whole thing. Rachel and I are in love with each other. We are going to be spending the rest of our lives together and we are both excited about that! God has blessed us more than either one of us can describe or verbalize and we don't take that for granted. Life is short, live it like you mean it. I would like to thank Pastor Tom for his inspirational post that I read this morning. Talk about getting my attention! If you want to read it then go to the Semper Fi link on the right. Go out and be blessed beyond belief today.
I Must Be More Careful
You know, I was thinking. Just when you think that nobody is paying attention to you, all of a sudden you get a BAM moment! Yesterday I was feeling very sensative to certain attacks that have been happening in the Lord's body at NewSong. So I decided to write about it. I also wanted to share a personal example of how listening to God and not listening to myself really kept me from doing something stupid! Well, after a couple of concerning comments an IM message and a phone call I decided that this point needed a little clarity. There is no unresolved conflict between me and any of my brothers. I experienced an attack that caused me to lose some perspective and to have some selfish feelings that just didn't belong there. The situation was not the fault of my brother, but of my own perception. The enemy saw an opportunity and tried to use it to drive a wedge between me and that brother. This is how the enemy works his way into our lives. He gets us to focus on our feelings instead of looking at the REAL picture.
Let me make this perfectly clear: EVERYTHING IS FINE IN MY RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL OF MY BROTHERS OUT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!
Now that that's been said, be blessed beyond belief today.
One True Blessing
You know, I was thinking. One of the greatest blessings in my life has got to be serving on the prayer team. Without a doubt one of the things that I know that God has called me to do is to minister to people in prayer. There is something happening that is so personal and intimate during these times that only God really understands exactly what is happening. It is also an eye opening experience. I have come to the reality that there is a great battle going on right now over NewSong! A battle that can rock our loving and caring church to the core!
You see the enemy is way to clever for a frontal attack so he sneaks around to the side or back doors in order to deceive us. Right now without being specific here are some of the attacks that are going on:
Attacks on communication - there is something about the enemies ability to prevent us from talking to one another. Sometimes we believe it is better to address the issues with a third party rather than the person that we are having a struggle with! I cannot tell you the number of times over the past month that I have told people "you need to talk to...." It never ceases to amaze me how easy this one is to fall in to! I have even caught myself paricipating in this one lately.
Attacks on commitment - we have a tendancy to over commit sometimes! When we feel that we have dissappointed someone because we were unable to accomplish something that we said we would do we begin to pull away. Suddenly we find ourselves in a situation where we are not making any commitments and are just kind of hanging around! I believe that it is better to commit, fail and receive forgiveness then to not make any commitments at all. But, you should know your limitations and avoid committing to more than you can handle.
Attacks on relationships - this is a biggie that the enemy loves to use. I woke up Sunday morning feeling some stress on a relationship with a brother of mine. I hadn't even had my first cup of coffee yet and it was waiting there to hit me up side my head. I spent quite a bit of time in prayer on my way to church when I realized that the things that were bothering me weren't even important. So instead of confronting an issue that really didn't need confronting, intead of ignoring an issue that had me upset, and instead of allowing something to just eat at me all day, I decided to hand it over to the Father! He took all of those negative feelings that had no foundation and just exchanged them with more love for the brother that they were directed at! God just made them dissappear.
I could go on and on with various other examples that I have seen and experienced lately, but the bottom line here is to recognize the attack! Each of us have a duty to one another to love the way Jesus loves! Don't let the enemy get a foothold and don't allow anything to stand between you and the peace that God has for you! Be blessed beyond belief today.
Some Things I Just Won't Forget
You know, I was thinking. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Like most people there are more than a few events that will be forever burned in my memory. I just wanted to take time today to share some of them with you.
It was a morning like any other. I was at work before 8 a.m. and I was sitting at my computer. Sometime after 9:00 my mother called and said that a plane had flown into the world trade center in NYC. At that time I had no idea that it was a commercial jet, but in my mind I imagined a small single engine plane that had veered off course and flown too low. About 15 minutes later our Operations manager came in and asked if I had heard what was going on. I said something like "yeah, something about a plane hitting the world trade center." He said "yeah, and a second plane hit the second tower and a plane has been flown into the Pentagon, we are under attack!" I immediately began trying to log on to a news service, it took awhile but I finally got on to CNBC. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and reading, I just went numb. It wasn't until I got home from work that I saw the video of the second plane hitting the second tower. Shortly thereafter, I saw congress on the steps of the Capitol building singing "God Bless America." I can remember feeling very numb about everything. The only thing I knew to do was to pray! So I did. It was a time of great confusion and high emotions and I knew it was going to take some time before I would be able to sort all of my feelings out.
The acts of aggressions that we made against the United States that day were tragic! Our entire world changed in just a few moments. Things in the country will never be the way that they were before 9/11 and maybe that's a good thing. We as a people are better prepared to guard against terroristic acts. I would like to also think that maybe we might just realize that as a nation we really cannot stand alone without God. I would love to see our congressmen and congresswomen stand on the steps of the Capitol again and sing "God Bless America", but without a tragedy to go with it, that probably won't happen.
Give somebody a big hug today and remind them to never forget! Be blessed beyond belief today.
What A Difference Prayer Makes
You know, I was thinking. I don't think that I will ever get used to the Father's mercy and love. This morning God's people were petitioned to pray about Tricia and the meningitis that she was diagnosed with. At lunch I called sis and found out that the meningitis is viral and that Tricia will get to come home either later today or tomorrow! If you would like you can dismiss this as lucky, but I will choose to believe differently if you all don't mind. Please understand though, I don't just praise God because Tricia is going to be fine! God must be praised even if He says no! The reason to praise God is because He is God! He is in complete control and there is nothing that can stop Him. I honestly believe that God chose the path He chose in this instance to honor those saints who came to Him faithfully in prayer and just to show that He is still with us and that He does still have control.
Once again, thank you all for your faithful prayers and as always be blessed beyond belief today.
Urgent Prayers Needed
Last night my niece Tricia Fraley was taken to the hospital in Saline. She has been diagnosed with meningitis and is stable for now. At this time we do not know whether this is viral or bacterial because the blood cultures have not come back. Tricia is very sick and needs prayer. Please keep her held up today and I will do my best to update everyone as soon as I know something. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Yep It Happened
You know, I was thinking. I must be the most blessed man alive. It was just last December when I had my small group praying over me about finding the right woman that God wanted me to have in my life. Last Monday August 28th I asked Rachel to be my wife. She responded favorably to that proposal! We are now engaged and making plans for a July 14th wedding. God has been leading us down this path since before we even met each other. Needless to say, I am busting at the seams with excitement and anticipation as to the life that she and I will have together. Please join us in praise to the Father and continue praying that we will both seek His will. Be blessed beyond belief today.
