Friday, November 27, 2009

Giving Thanks for family

I love Thanksgiving Day! It's one of those days where it's O.K. to kick back, wear your favorite "buffet" pants and to give thanks for all the things that God has blessed you with!

This year I want to give thanks for my family. Mmmm, where to start.... That's really a no brainer! I have the best wife in world...

Brenda I love you and thanks for being such a great supporter and encourager. By the way... I can't wait until our date night this week!

Of course there is my daughter Jessica... what a bundle of love! She loves life and really loves her dogs and movies! Jessica we need another movie night. I am so proud that you are living your dream, working in the field that you always wanted and you are making on your own (with a little help from Dad)!

And not to be listed (last but he is the youngest) there is my son Bradley... the great debater! Bradley has the ability to engage in conversation with everyone he comes in contact with, he is one of the best debaters of his Senior Class... Wow, Senior class... off to college next year to pursue his dream of becoming an Attorney. Did I say he was a great debater? I wouldn't want to face him in a court room! Bradley you make your dad proud! Keep up the arguing with others and not me! LOL!!!

I also want to say thanks to my parents for their impact in my life and our family. Thanks for being the Godly parents that modeled for us Christ's love.

So thank you Lord, for my family and blessing me with such a great wife, great kids and great parents...! Thank you Lord.... Amen

Pastor John

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Getting plugged in!

I just had the opportunity to speak tonight for our Wednesday night Bible Study. As I was preparing this afternoon, the Lord kept reminding me over and over again the importance of being plugged into Him.

I love the opportunity to share my heart and God's word and watch Him work in my life and the others lives! Tonight we looked at the need to connect with God and each other. What an impact we make when we are connected as a church.

We started the hour by breaking into teams of two and finding out one thing we didn't know about the other person. It was amazing what we found out from each other in less than 3 minutes. Then we took the teaching from Romans 12 and discussed the importance of each of us exercising the gifts that God has given us and working in an aligned, focused and compassionate manner.

Can't wait to see what God has in store of us on Sunday.

Pastor John

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Living each day like it's your last

What if you knew that today was the last day that you had to live?

What would you do differently?

I recently had one of those dreams that was very real to life. I dreamt it was my last day. In my dream my focus everyday was to make an impact for Christ. I lived my life so that everyone who came in contact with me saw Christ.

As I woke up... I heard the Lord say to me, "It's not your last day, you many days to live, but I want you to live like you did in your dream!"

Meaning - I need to die daily to myself and pick up my cross and follow Christ. It's not all about me, it's all about Jesus and making sure that the people that I encounter get a chance to see Jesus in me. Make every contact count, did the person see Jesus in me? Did my actions reflect my love and my relationship with Christ? What if that was the last time I had to talk with them... did they see Jesus in me?

God is calling us to a higher standard of living. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, we need to live each day like it's our last.

Make a difference in someones life today!

Pastor John