Greetings from Lakeview Camp in Maypearl. I love camp. It had a profound effect on my life as a teen and I've seen students completely changed by the power of God at camp over the years. I came to camp this week.
I stay in the lodge. I use the morning times (while the students and leaders are in separate meetings) to study, get ready for Sunday, check e-mail, etc. Then, in the afternoons, I'm with the students during the play times and I go to the services at night.
Last Night's service was amazing. Jason Patterson is the camp speaker. Typically on the first night of camp, you would hear a salvation/rededication type message. Last night was different. Jason talked about their being a need for the students to begin to discover God on their own. They needed to be able to have encounters with God on their own. He then told them that would be at the altar and gave them the anatomy of the altar. It was fantastic. At the end, he brought students forward that needed deliverance, salvation, etc. Half of our students responded. I was able to work my way through the crowd (There's over 900 here this week!) and find all of them to pray with them.
I will keep updating my blog with more camp reports throughout the week. Please pray for our students...Alexis, Brent, Coleman, Colton, Danielle, Destiny, Drew, John, Morgan and Tyler. Also, please pray for the leaders that came as well...Pastor John, Rachel and Amanda. I'd appreciate a few prayers as well. :)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Wii and More
1. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Wii for the family.....o.k., it was for me. :) Tonight, Sasha, Mady and I played the bowling game. Mady, age 5, tore it up. She hit 4 strikes and even told us to watch her so that we could see how to do it. It was a blast.
2. Well, I spoke a little too soon on the mower. After putting the starter string back on, it cranked up and ran like a dream. I went to the church to mow the little bit of grass we had there. About halfway through the mowing, one of the wheels fell off. I put it back on.....cranked it up and started mowing again. 30 seconds later, it dies. I try multiple times to crank it up. I let it sit and then tried it again. Then, I broke the string again. I stopped by a local place to see what they thought was the problem and how much it would cost to fix. Well, the guy thought it was the carburator and it would cost more to fix than I wanted to pay. So, I decided to try and fix it on my own. I got it apart, but didn't really know what to do with it other than try and clean it. I stopped by Pastor John's house and he suggested a new spark plug. He looked at the carburator and said it was fine. So, I went and spent 7 bucks on a plug, plug wrench and some form-a-gasket. I put it all back together and it wouldn't crank. I pulled the spark plug out and it didn't appear to be getting any fire. I called Pastor John and he was near the house. So, he stopped by and checked it out. Within a few minutes, he had diagnosed the problem and a potential solution. It worked. After getting the engine back together, it started on the second pull. Sometimes, you have to call in reinforcements. Thanks Pastor John!
2. Well, I spoke a little too soon on the mower. After putting the starter string back on, it cranked up and ran like a dream. I went to the church to mow the little bit of grass we had there. About halfway through the mowing, one of the wheels fell off. I put it back on.....cranked it up and started mowing again. 30 seconds later, it dies. I try multiple times to crank it up. I let it sit and then tried it again. Then, I broke the string again. I stopped by a local place to see what they thought was the problem and how much it would cost to fix. Well, the guy thought it was the carburator and it would cost more to fix than I wanted to pay. So, I decided to try and fix it on my own. I got it apart, but didn't really know what to do with it other than try and clean it. I stopped by Pastor John's house and he suggested a new spark plug. He looked at the carburator and said it was fine. So, I went and spent 7 bucks on a plug, plug wrench and some form-a-gasket. I put it all back together and it wouldn't crank. I pulled the spark plug out and it didn't appear to be getting any fire. I called Pastor John and he was near the house. So, he stopped by and checked it out. Within a few minutes, he had diagnosed the problem and a potential solution. It worked. After getting the engine back together, it started on the second pull. Sometimes, you have to call in reinforcements. Thanks Pastor John!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Doing What You Know To Do
Tonight, I had to fix my lawn mower. A couple of weeks ago, I yanked on the starter string and the whole string came out in my hand. I had considered taking it to someone who works on mowers to fix, but I decided to fix it myself. Thanks to step by step instructions available on the internet, I was able to accomplish the task.
It was frustrating to have this happen. Last year..in the Spring..I had the same thing happen. I had taken it to a lawn mower shop and paid $15 to get it fixed. So, I really expected it to last longer than one season.
It was actually a blessing in disguise. I must confess that I can't remember the last time I checked the oil in the mower. While fixing it tonight, I discovered there wasn't any oil in the mower. I decided to check the air filter and it was gross. So, I went to Wal-mart and got a new air filter and put the correct amount of oil in. The mower started and runs like a dream. Thanks to a broken string, I was able to avoid having to buy a new mower.
When we don't do the things we know we are supposed to do, it can have a very bad outcome. You'd think that I'd learn my lesson after blowing an engine in my first car. When we don't do the little tasks like change the oil, air filters, etc. in our mowers and vehicles, the outcome can be devastating.
It is the same with God. Tonight, James 4:17 came to my mind. It states "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." When we don't do the things we know we should do in our relationship with God, then it is sin. Plain and Simple.
Let's do what we know we ought to do.
It was frustrating to have this happen. Last year..in the Spring..I had the same thing happen. I had taken it to a lawn mower shop and paid $15 to get it fixed. So, I really expected it to last longer than one season.
It was actually a blessing in disguise. I must confess that I can't remember the last time I checked the oil in the mower. While fixing it tonight, I discovered there wasn't any oil in the mower. I decided to check the air filter and it was gross. So, I went to Wal-mart and got a new air filter and put the correct amount of oil in. The mower started and runs like a dream. Thanks to a broken string, I was able to avoid having to buy a new mower.
When we don't do the things we know we are supposed to do, it can have a very bad outcome. You'd think that I'd learn my lesson after blowing an engine in my first car. When we don't do the little tasks like change the oil, air filters, etc. in our mowers and vehicles, the outcome can be devastating.
It is the same with God. Tonight, James 4:17 came to my mind. It states "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." When we don't do the things we know we should do in our relationship with God, then it is sin. Plain and Simple.
Let's do what we know we ought to do.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Mid Week Madness
1. As a Die Hard Dallas Cowboys Fan, I have never been a Packers fan. I have...in recent years...cheered for Brett Favre out of respect for his durability, longetivity and the fact that I had him in a couple of Fantasy Football leagues. He retired in March from the NFL and now is considering a comeback. I cannot believe how messy this thing has gotten. The Packers want to move forward, but won't release him. Brett goes on National TV and airs the dirty laundry. The Packers now file tampering charges against the Vikings for alleged phone calls. This is messy and appears to get messier. The one thing Brett can be thankful for is that he's not Roger Clemens.
2. Well, malware strikes again. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I have had a huge battle with malware on our home computer. I finally had to take it back to the beginning. Well, Sasha's mom called last night and they had an anti-virus software pop up on their computer. Thankfully, they didn't give any information (credit card, etc.). Today, they brought the computer to me. As we suspected, they have malware on their system. It's called Antivirus XP 2008. People.....Keep your antivirus software up to date....malware is bad news and can cost you money and time.
3. I'm looking forward to seeing our Kids perform Sunday Night. They have been practicing really hard on Wednesday Nights.
4. Pastor John told me they had a great altar time in youth tonight. One student rededicated their life to the Lord. Awesome!
2. Well, malware strikes again. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I have had a huge battle with malware on our home computer. I finally had to take it back to the beginning. Well, Sasha's mom called last night and they had an anti-virus software pop up on their computer. Thankfully, they didn't give any information (credit card, etc.). Today, they brought the computer to me. As we suspected, they have malware on their system. It's called Antivirus XP 2008. People.....Keep your antivirus software up to date....malware is bad news and can cost you money and time.
3. I'm looking forward to seeing our Kids perform Sunday Night. They have been practicing really hard on Wednesday Nights.
4. Pastor John told me they had a great altar time in youth tonight. One student rededicated their life to the Lord. Awesome!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Weekend Highlights
1. We began a new series entitled "Rescue." Judges 2:16 (NLT) states “Then the LORD raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their enemies.” In this series, we are taking a look at some of the Judges that rescued Israel. On Sunday, we looked at Ehud. He went into meet with King Eglon of Moab during a time when Moab had control over Israel. He went in and delivered the message from God....an 18 inch dagger in the fat belly of Eglon. Great story....go check it out in Judges 3.
2. Last night, Pastor John spoke on the Valley of Dry Bones. It wasn't dry outside. We had a bad storm blow through Atlanta right before service start. The church never lost power, but a lot of the town did. We had no electricity at the house for about 6-7 hours. Pastor John and the Youth Band did a good job leading the service last night.
3. Sasha, the girls and I went to a family reunion on Thursday. It is an annual event in DeRidder, Louisiana. 65+ of our family were in attendance this year. The Highlights of the trip for me were: 1) Playing Spades, Dominoes, etc. (I went undefeated in Spades). 2) Mississippi Mud Cake (This has got to be on the menu when we get to heaven. My Aunt Sherry made it for me. She sent the rest home with me on Saturday. There's one piece left, but not after tonight.) 3) Swimming with my girls and nieces. 4) Getting a group of us to wave our hands and sing "Lord, I lift your name on high" to my niece, Kelsey (You have to ask her about the dream she had.) 5) Getting to meet my cousins' Chad and Amy's families. I haven't seen Chad and Amy since the early 90s and it was great seeing them again and meeting Dexter, Annette, Trinity and Ella.
4. On the way down to DeRidder, we stopped in Shreveport to eat at Moe's. Moe's is one of our favorite places to eat. There Queso is top shelf.
2. Last night, Pastor John spoke on the Valley of Dry Bones. It wasn't dry outside. We had a bad storm blow through Atlanta right before service start. The church never lost power, but a lot of the town did. We had no electricity at the house for about 6-7 hours. Pastor John and the Youth Band did a good job leading the service last night.
3. Sasha, the girls and I went to a family reunion on Thursday. It is an annual event in DeRidder, Louisiana. 65+ of our family were in attendance this year. The Highlights of the trip for me were: 1) Playing Spades, Dominoes, etc. (I went undefeated in Spades). 2) Mississippi Mud Cake (This has got to be on the menu when we get to heaven. My Aunt Sherry made it for me. She sent the rest home with me on Saturday. There's one piece left, but not after tonight.) 3) Swimming with my girls and nieces. 4) Getting a group of us to wave our hands and sing "Lord, I lift your name on high" to my niece, Kelsey (You have to ask her about the dream she had.) 5) Getting to meet my cousins' Chad and Amy's families. I haven't seen Chad and Amy since the early 90s and it was great seeing them again and meeting Dexter, Annette, Trinity and Ella.
4. On the way down to DeRidder, we stopped in Shreveport to eat at Moe's. Moe's is one of our favorite places to eat. There Queso is top shelf.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Today's Thoughts
1. I am real proud of our student ministry, CSI:. Even though we are currently experiencing tough economic times in America, our student ministry had a record year in Fireworks Sales. They will give a portion of that to Speed The Light, a ministry that provides vehicles and audio/visual equipment to missionaries. The rest will go to pay the student's way to camp and to the Youth Budget. A big thank you to all you helped make it happen...Marc, Gina, Rob, Tammy, Pastor John and Rachel.
2. We had great services this last weekend. Sunday Night's Worship and communion time were off the charts. Our worship team did an awesome job in both services.
3. Sasha and the girls have been at her Mom's the past couple of days. I'm ready for them to come home. They are on their way back as I type this blog.
2. We had great services this last weekend. Sunday Night's Worship and communion time were off the charts. Our worship team did an awesome job in both services.
3. Sasha and the girls have been at her Mom's the past couple of days. I'm ready for them to come home. They are on their way back as I type this blog.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Retraction....of sorts.
Last night, I headed out to Spring Creek Golf Course to play in their Tuesday Night Scramble. A few of the other guys in the church (Jay, Bobby and Tyler) also played in the scramble. On Sunday, I was talking about being on the winning team. As believers, we are on the winning team. If you have a choice whether or not you are going to be on the winning team, you always choose the team that's going to win. I used the illustration of a two man scramble. Tyler is an incredible golfer. Last week, he shot one under par. Jay and I shot significantly over par. I said if I had a choice in a two man scramble that I would choose Tyler over Jay every time because I would have a better chance to win with Tyler.
The way they do the scramble at Spring Creek is they take all the A players and put them on different teams. Then, they take the B players and put them on the different teams. Then, they have a draft for the rest of the guys. Jay and I ended up on the same team. There were six different teams with 5 or 6 on each team. The funny part is that our team finished in a tie for first place. We shot 7-under par for 9 holes. We lost the playoff chipping contest.
We beat Tyler's team though. :) Jay played outstanding. He put one of his drive on a par 4 about 10 feet from the green.
We had a great time and I got to meet some guys in the community. I look forward to playing in the scramble again.
The way they do the scramble at Spring Creek is they take all the A players and put them on different teams. Then, they take the B players and put them on the different teams. Then, they have a draft for the rest of the guys. Jay and I ended up on the same team. There were six different teams with 5 or 6 on each team. The funny part is that our team finished in a tie for first place. We shot 7-under par for 9 holes. We lost the playoff chipping contest.
We beat Tyler's team though. :) Jay played outstanding. He put one of his drive on a par 4 about 10 feet from the green.
We had a great time and I got to meet some guys in the community. I look forward to playing in the scramble again.
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