I just read this quote on a friends Facebook status. Before I comment, I would love to know what you have to say?
“Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.” ~Bill Gates
Comments please!
I will give life….. So many of you chose to do that over the last 30 days as we raised money for Experience Life Church. God was able to take something ordinary, a birthday, and make it something extraordinary. Your sacrifice will change someone’s life for eternity and we are believing God for a harvest. With your support we were able to raise $3,540.00. We are getting closer to reaching our goal and our launch date. This road has been long, it has been hard, but having the support of friends and family like you helps keep us going. Thank you! www.iwillgivelife.com
Normally about this time of year I am busy trying to find a babysitter for our 3 boys. It is usually a long day and night for the lucky one chosen. The plan, Sarah and I usually spend the day together, going to a mall and shopping at her favorite store (NY and Co for the record). Regardless of where it starts and what’s in between it always includes a trip to Phillips Seafood Buffet. Sarah loves crab legs and Phillips does them well. We also enjoy a walk around one of my favorite places, the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. We normally find some kind of odd thing for sale, once it was jewelry made from old forks. Don’t tell Sarah but this year I wanted to include tickets to the Yankees/O’s game. She likes the Yankees, don’t judge!
It looks like we will break from that tradition this year. Why? My wife has asked that everyone give her birthday presents to Experience Life Church for our launch. So far we have been really blessed with the response. We still have a way to go in our final goal. We need to raise about $17,500 to receive matching funds from ARC.
I love traditions! I think that somethings are good to make a pattern or a tradition in life. I also think it is good to break those patterns at times. Although I enjoy our dates in the harbor, and I love crab legs and shrimp, I love seeing lives changed more! And again I’m asking, would you help us give life? A dollar for ever year Sarah is celebrating – 30 for 30. Will you give life?
A message from my wife…
Normally birthdays are just another day but this year I turn 30. That’s right it’s the big 30!! So why should you care that I’m getting a year older? Because I’ve decided to make the most of this birthday and I’m hoping you can help.
The official launch date for Experience Life Church is October 31st, less than 3 months away, and we have to raise thirty thousand dollars before we launch. It’s so easy to take for granted the comforts of our churches and give no thought to how much things cost. Well, that reality hit me about a year ago when we started pricing out the things we would need to start Experience Life Church.
A few weeks ago I committed to give anything I got for my birthday to Experience Life Church. Then I started wondering how many other people would be willing to give the gift of life for my birthday. We know that God is going to use Experience Life Church to change lives in Waynesboro and you could be a part of that. On August 18th it will be 30 days till I turn 30 on September 16th. We are starting a month long campaign called 30 for 30 to see how many people would be willing to give a gift of $30 to make this the most memorable 30th Birthday ever!
Money is something we spend our whole lives working for. It’s here one day and gone tomorrow. It has the potential to do great things but too often is used for bad. Whether you know me, you don’t know me, wish you did, or wish you didn’t, I’m asking for you to invest your hard earned money into changing lives? Will you give someone the gift of life for my 30th Birthday?
Donations can be mailed or made through PayPal and it’s not necessary to have a PayPal account. All donations are tax deductible. Thank you for giving life!! http://www.iwillgivelife.com
I have learned through the years that without setting a goal you won’t achieve the things you want but instead you’ll hope for the best. That is just not good enough. After you set a goal, accountability is a strong tool to help you focus on those goals and others can help you focus on those goals as well. I have set a goal and am going public with it. One for accountability and two for encouragement. For anyone who would want to set a similar goal, here it is.
This an outfit that my wife bought me for my birthday in 2009! Can you see the tag on the shirt? Yes, it is brand new! I have never had it on me (except for the jeans) Why? I gained weight before I could wear it, or maybe it was too small and I said I will lose weight and get into it. My goal: By October 31, 2010 the day we launch Experience Life Church, I will wear this outfit!
The last thing I have learned about goal setting is it takes steps to achieve them. My first step towards this goal was breakfast this morning. I had oatmeal with fresh peaches and an egg white omelet. It tasted better and had more nutritional value than the pack of pepper jack cheese snack crackers I had yesterday.
Now it is your turn what is the goal you need to set?
One of the greatest concerns of any parent as their children grow older is their child’s wardrobe. Being a man with three boys, if I can get clean underwear on them I’m doing good, thank God for my wife. My middle son, Joel Wesley, is starting to pay careful attention to his wardrobe. He always wants to wear a “button shirt.” A “button shirt” is not a polo with 2 or 3 buttons at the top and it’s definitely not a t-shirt. It had to be a shirt that has buttons all the way up the front. His fashion choices became clear to me yesterday when he said “look dada I have a button shirt like you, I want to get a shirt that looks like yours and you and me would have the same button shirt.”
Do you know how thrilling it is to know that your 5 year son likes you enough that he wants to be just like you? It makes my heart melt and fills my heart with a slight tinge of terror. Knowing that he wants to be like daddy makes me realize how imperfect I am. It’s then you realize how much like our “Heavenly Father” you are not. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 11:1) “Imitate me as I Imitate Christ.” Joel has decided to imitate daddy, now I have to imitate God.
Imitating or copying people is nothing new to our culture, everyone is always trying to be like someone else but are we an imitation of Christ that people can copy? It’s funny how God uses your children to speak directly into your life. Joel’s wardrobe speaks volumes into mine.
Our lives our filled with disappointment and failures, trials and temptations. Just when we think we have things figured out, life takes another turn leaving us questioning God. Questioning his existence, His love for us, His plan for our life. “What do you do when God doesn’t show up the way you thought He would?” That is the question Pete Wilson examines as he gives you a glimpse into his own painful experiences and shares the experiences of many others. This book isn’t just for the one finding themselves desperate for answers. It’s for anyone who desires to look at their past and present situations in a different light.
Pete quotes Andy Stanley when he writes, “Every day we have this choice to make. Am I going to define God by interpreting my circumstances or am I going to simply trust that God is who he says he is?” Pete examines the life of Joseph from the Bible and shows how even in the midst of pain and betrayal, God was still with him. Our nature tells us that if bad things are happening or life isn’t going as planned, we’ve done something wrong. That God doesn’t love us or He doesn’t care about us. Psalms 139:8 says, “ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Will we choose to believe and trust that God is with us no matter what? That He’s with us in the middle of our circumstances, in the middle of our Plan B’s? Plan B not only challenges you to trust that God is with you through your circumstances but to believe that He can produce something great out them.
Whether you have found yourself with shattered dreams or have family or friends faced with difficult circumstances, find encouragement and hope in Plan B, I’m so glad I did!
Sarah and I have been in Baton Rouge since Saturday night. We were able to be at the dedication of Healing Place Church’s new arena. Our heart and passion really mirrors that of Pastor Dino Rizzo and his wife Dylynn. Later on Sunday had a great time catching up with a college buddy of mine. But tomorrow is the real reason we came. ARC is having their annual conference All Access 2010. Ever since I heard this conference was going to be in Baton Rouge I had great expectations. I knew Sarah and I had to be here, what God will do I am not sure of. But I am having Holy Anticipation, a near anxiousness to find out what God is up to.
God has already shown me one thing, what if I approached all of life with a Holy Anticipation! What if everyday were with and expectation like I have for this conference. How much more could I see God move in me and the people around me if I were to expected something to happen. I know God is going to do something great this week in Baton Rouge. I also know that next week he is going to do something in Waynesboro, PA and I have a Holy Anticipation about seeing what that might be.
Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain: Uncover the Hidden Potential in Life’s Most Common Struggles
By: Paul Meier and David Livingstone Henderson
Dr.’s Meier and Henderson go into some of life’s biggest struggles and attempt to answer some of the toughest questions surrounding them. If you have ever wrestled with questions surrounding injustice, rejection, loneliness, loss, discipline, failure or death, you should check out this book. These topics are given as sections of the book with several chapters devoted to each topic. Each section is independent of the other if you are like me and have to know about one topic immediately you can skip right to what you want. The book can be read as a whole or in parts. You will also find helpful study questions at the end of each section.
Using real life examples from their counseling practices Meier and Henderson explore these topics in real life. From a definite Christian perspective some basic answers are offered. If you are looking for deep thinking psychiatric jargon, this not your book. However, if you would like some practical applicable advice founded upon biblical principles this book will be ideal for you. It is well written and provides a good read.
I think within us all there lies a dream, a vision for something greater than who we are. As I write this it’s 40 degrees and the sun is shining. I don’t hate the winter, but I look forward to those warm summer days filled with flowers and dirt. What amazes me each summer is the number of flowers that die and the number of weeds that come to its funeral. On occasion I have mistaken a flower for a weed and pulled it out of the ground along with the weeds. I’m always surprised by just how easy the flower comes out and just how hard it is to get those weeds.
Our dreams and visions are a lot like gardening. They start with a seed. What I often forget is how determined Satan is to destroy those seeds. Too often God places a vision, a dream, a seed in our hearts and we feel that it’s impossible. “There’s no way I could ever do _______ (you fill in the blanks).” The truth is…. You can’t. You can’t fulfill the vision, you can’t fulfill the dream, and you’re not a good enough gardener to make that seed grow. John 15:5 says, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Don’t let Satan destroy the seed that God’s placed in your life. Apart from Christ we are unqualified, inadequate, and insecure but with Christ we “can do all things.” Don’t give up on your dreams and don’t let Satan steal your seed. If God has given you the vision trust Him to bring the provision.
