Monday, June 30, 2008

Weekend Update

1. We had a great time last night at our Fifth Sunday Fellowship. I love these connection nights where we visit and eat. There were two different kinds of Banana Pudding, lots of great BBQ and to top it off a cookie cake to celebrate Alexis' 13th Birthday.

2. Our worship team did a great job Sunday Morning. I'm proud of the way they are growing together musically, but also how wonderful a job they are doing leading us into the presence of God.

3. I'm glad Pastor John and Rachel are now residents of Atlanta. We moved them into the parsonage on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who came and help unload the truck.

4. We had a garage sale on Saturday. Sasha has been wanting to get rid of some junk for awhile now. We didn't make a lot of money, but we did get rid of a bunch of stuff.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Sasha gets drafted..

Well, I was hoping to say that the Mavs drafted Sasha. I'm not talking about my wife. I'm talking about Sasha Kaun, Center from Kansas. He....not she....was drafted tonight in the NBA draft. The Mavs had no first round pick. It had been traded to New Jersey in the Jason Kidd deal.

Instead of Sasha (Russian pronunciaton), the Mavs selected Shan Foster. Shan was the all time leading scorer in Vanderbilt History. He also was the consensus SEC Player of the Year and Second Team All-American. I think the Mavs got a steal in the second round.

Hope Springs Eternal on Draft Night. :)

P.S. Football Season starts soon. :)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Catch

Last Night, we had fried Catfish for supper. There was something different about this fish. I recently went on a fishing trip with my father in law, John, my brother in law, Clint and Clint's brother in law, Michael. Despite trouble with the boat, we had a great time fishing. We ran some trot lines and did some pole fishing.

The fish that we ate last night was some of the fish that we had caught on the trip. Michael and Clint had cut the fish into filets. Sasha did a great job frying the fish last night.

Fishing taught me several lessons:

1. Patience - When fishing for catfish, you have to wait patiently for the fish to bite. When I fished growing up, I threw the baited hook into the water and wanted a fish to bite it in five seconds or less. If that didn't happen, then I reeled it back in. This trip, I listened to the more experineced fishermen and left bait in one place. It paid off. I caught the first and the biggest fish on the trip. :)

2. Flexibility - You have to be willing to be flexible. We had problems with the boat. We had to change plans. The fish weren't biting in a particular area. So, we had to be willing to change locations. The bait we were using wasn't drawing the fish out. So, we had to change strategies.

Jesus told us to be fishers of men. When fishing for men, we have to be patient. Some are ready to receive the gospel and for others it takes a little more time. We also have to be flexible. We may go into a conversation with an agenda, but need to alter course when a door is open. Just like the same bait/strategy doesn't work for all fish, we may have to alter our approach with different people.

Happy Fishing!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

There's nothing like going to a baseball game. I have to admit that I'm not much for watching "America's Pasttime" on Television. However, I love heading to the Ballpark and watching a game. I also love watching kids play.

I want to congratulate the Atlanta T-Ball team for winning their Region Tournament last night in Marshall. It was a great game for the 5 and 6 years olds from Atlanta. One of Cornerstone's own, Kolby Mason, was on the team. He ended up with a Single, Double and a Triple.

In July, the team will compete for State.

Congrats Kolby and the Atlanta T-Ball team!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Monday Monday

1. Yesterday was a great day at Cornerstone. Four people made commitments to Christ. There were several new visitors that indicated that they would be back.

2. It was great having Pastor John in service yesterday. Please pray for them as they make the transition to Atlanta this week.

3. Please pray for Steve Ray. He is undergoing a procedure this afternoon.

4. The Storage Closet next to Fellowship Hall looks awesome. A huge thanks to everyone who help remodel and to the Caraways for putting everything back in. :)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Armadillo

Today, Sasha was going through some old boxes. There were some keepsakes from my teen years. In one box, she found the shell of an Armadillo. Why would I have the shell of an Armadillo?

The shell was from a Royal Rangers campout that our church took during Christmas Break. The campout consisted of three of my friends, our commander and myself. It was freezing cold outside. When we arrived on the land in South Central Texas, our objective was to earn our survival badges. We had decided that we would build our own shelters and live off the land on one night of the campout to fulfill the requirements of the badge. We came up with a plan to trap and kill an armadillo to eat. We knew that armadillos were blind. So, we stayed down wind and would get close enough to try and hit it with a hatchet. Somehow, we were able to have some success at killing the animal. We got the shell off. I somehow ended up with it.

As I mentioned before, it was freezing outside. So, after looking at the nasty Armadillo and feeling the cold air, we abandoned our shelters and headed back for the comfort of the campfire and the safety of store bought food.

The point of this whole blog is not to gross you out. However, it is to instill the value of making memories. We went to that camp area two years in a row. It was at one of those camps that one of my friends accepted Christ. I'm thankful for a commander that gave up his time to hang out with some 13-15 year old boys. The memories of chasing Armadillos, throwing Buffalo Chips, hiking across the land, making our own meal and many others are well worth the time. 3 of the 4 young men are in ministry today.

If you are a leader, don't underestimate the impact you are making in the lives of those you lead. If you are a parent, what are you doing so that you are making positive memories for your kids?

By the way, we eventually did get our survival badges.....when the weather was warmer. :)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Random Thoughts

1. We had a great Father's Day weekend. Sunday, I spoke on having a fire shut up in our bones. We need the Holy Spirit so that we can be witnesses. After service, we went to my grandparents in Texarkana for a great lunch.....homemade fried chicken and strawberry cake. :)

2. I'm excited about Pastor John coming in today. Pastor John will be leading the Youth Service tonight. I believe the best days are ahead for CSI:, our student ministry.

3. I need to be more consistent in blogging.

4. Can you believe the beatdown the Lakers took last night? Wow, that series and that game only added major fuel to the Celtics/Lakers rivalry. Now, the Mavs need to make a huge deal this summer like the Celtics did last summer.

5. Continue to pray for Peyton. He needs a miracle.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Wednesday Night

I thoroughly enjoyed and was challenged by Zollie Smith's message at District Council Wednesday Night. He challenged the crowd with the thought that God doesn't want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Zollie Smith is the Executive Director for U.S. Missions for the Assemblies of God. Here is a picture of the two of us taken following the Wednesday Night Service. It was taken on my mobile phone. That is why the picture is so hazy.


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

District Council

1. This has been a great council so far. The times of worship have been incredible.

2. Monday Night and Tuesday Morning, Pastor Rick Dubose shared the vision and strategy for Target 1000. This vision is to have 1,000 Healthy churches in North Texas. It's a huge dream and with God's help, it can be accomplished.

3. Last Night was the ordination service. Dr. George O. Wood, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, brought a challenging message from II Timothy 4:7. He challenged us to Fight the good fight, keep the faith and to finish the race.

4. This morning, Gaylan Claunch, communicated a powerful message on prayer. Pastor Claunch is an exceller preacher. I enjoyed his message on hitting the mark in prayer.

5. I'm looking forward to tonight's service with Zollie Smith. Zollie Smith is the executive director of U.S. Missions for the Assemblies of God. Tonight is the annual missions service.

6. I said it my blog before, but I've enjoyed reconnecting with friends and family. We had dinner last night with my grandparents. My mom's dad has been an Assemblies of God minister for many years. Also, my cousin, J.C., has been at the council. It has been great seeing him. Plus, there are many people that we've been able to see. We had lunch today with one of Sasha's friends from High School, a friend of mine from College and two new friends.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

What's on my mind?

1. We had a great day yesterday. The presence of God was strong in both services.

2. Thank you to everyone who helped with the work day Saturday. I am still sore today. :) I enjoyed spending time with the people of Cornerstone.

3. This week is District Council. It is always great to reconnect with friends. Tonight's service was incredible. God is stirring his people.

4. I am proud of my school. Southwestern has done a fantastic job with the campus. The two new dorms are awesome.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Great Weekend!

1. We had two great services yesterday. The podcast from Sunday Morning should be up sometime today. We had great altar times in both services. Last night, Eric Akin, former Youth Pastor at Cornerstone, shared his vision for planting a church in the Rockwall/Heath area. It was great catching up with Eric. He and I have known each other as long as I can remember. He also brought a couple who will be moving to Rockwall with them. It was great meeting Jeff and Kim. Jeff led the music during the altar time and did a fantastic job. All in all, it was a great day!

2. I made a big announcement yesterday. I am pleased to announce that we have a new family joining the Cornerstone Team. Pastor John and Rachel Stout have accepted the invitation to become our Youth Pastors. Please pray for them as they look for jobs and move in the coming weeks. Pastor John has previously served churches in Troy and Crowley. Rachel is currently the Administrative Assistant for the North Texas District Children's Division. We are anticipating great things in CSI: Cornerstone Student Impact.

3. Congratulations to Crystal and Richard! They were married Saturday at Cornerstone.