My Pink/Purple Bike

Me, Lindsey, and Seth bombarded the yard sales this past weekend. We had a lot of fun, and got a lot of cool stuff at really cheap prices...as a church planter, there is no shame in my game! The highlight of all the purchases would definitely be my new bike. It is two-tone pink fading into purple! The best part about it is that it only cost me $5! It is a practically brand new mountain bike, with all the gears and everything! For $5 I can get over the paint color! Come on now, you can't hardly eat off of the dollar menu for $5! I have to admit it feels kind of awkward riding it down the street at the moment, but before long I should have it painted. I guess the old adage still rings true..."One man's trash is another man's treasure!" I will try to follow this up with some before and after pictures so you can all stand in awe of my wise purchase.

Unexpected Meeting

The Kirby folks stopped by last night. I was outside working on the lawn, and this girl comes up and gives the spill. We were up front with her and told her that they could come in and clean some of our carpet and go over our couch (which needed it anyway), but there was no way we were going to buy one. Not that we wouldn't mind having one, but it just ain't gonna happen right now!

So the two guys came over and commenced to cleaning and giving their approach to the sale. During all of that, one of the guys started to really open up and convey some pretty hard stuff he was going through. I am really glad that I let them, because I was able to get some major prayer requests from this guy that was really looking for a new church and just a place to belong. A place where people who could support and stand by him. I won't expose any more of the story, just to protect my new friends' privacy...but it was a HUGE God moment! You never know when God will open a door for you to be a witness, sometimes it can be totally unexpected.

Stretching

This morning I led worship at See You At The Pole at Lakeside Junior High. I got to be honest, I am first and foremost a preacher, not a worship leader. I picked up the guitar a few years ago and started taking some singing lessons, but I really didn't know how far I would take it, it was just an interest I had.
I had a pastor tell me one time, "God will use whatever you give Him to use." That's so true. This opportunity was so unexpected. Matter of fact, when it was offered to me I quickly rejected it. After a couple of days though, God really dealt with my heart about it. It wasn't just a random opportunity...it was a God opportunity! It stretched me like crazy, but it went really well. God simply used what I had been preparing for in a back room for some time and brought it to the forefront. There are many Biblical examples of people that God prepared in the secret and then thrust them to the forefront seemingly all at once.
Don't just jump to reject something though you may feel like it is out of your element or comfort zone. God may be trying to use you to do something you never thought you could do. God sees things inside of us that we could never even imagine. We should never be opposed to trying something new, even if it does require a little stretching.

Getting Excited!!

I have a few things I am really excited about right now. First, The Crossing Church begins having preview services on October 5! Second, deer season opens in a week! Third, it is almost fall! This time of year really gets me going! I'm PUMPED!!!

Football Schedules

One way we chose to serve our community was to give out football schedules at Little Elm's first home game. Our Administrative Assistant and Graphic Designer, Kristyne, custom made some pretty cool schedules. We were able to give out about 2000 last night free of charge to our community. The Assistant Athletic Director, Tom Swartz, gave us permission to put our logo and website on the back of the schedules which really helped stir an even greater buzz for the launch of The Crossing. We had numerous conversations with people who had no home church, and for the most part they are very interested in coming to check us out when we launch. It is pretty wild to see God doing great things right before your eyes. Thanks to those who helped with this...it was another huge success. Continue to pray for The Crossing as we launch this church.

This Is the Song That Never Ends

Just about everybody knows that annoying children's song listed in my title. What is really annoying is when this song becomes our life theme. You know, when you get caught in the same battles over and over again. Often times, we find ourselves singing the song that never ends in one area of our lives or another. Fighting the same battles can be exhausting and discouraging, with a major lack of reward. The battles can be in our individual lives, marriages, ministries, family, career, and/or many other areas. Maybe something that you just can't seem to get past. You see the horizon of victory ahead, but for some reason you have been camping out on this battlefield for a long time.
I remember the part of the song that goes, "some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because...this is the song that never ends..." For some of us, our life sings the same old song and we never intended it to do so, we just started singing (or making decisions) not knowing the full content of the song. Many of the battles in our lives that we face we got ourselves into not really knowing the cost of the battle. Not only that, if we look hard enough, we will come to find that most of the time our enemy on the battle field is not just satan, but ourselves alone. Many times we are geared up to fight the forces of darkness when the force that should be conquered is...our own desires.
If you find yourself in that endless battle today...no...when you find yourself in that endless battle today, start conquering right at home and then work your way out. By doing so, you will leave no room for side or rear attack on your life. And don't forget the encouragement from Romans 8:37. Have a good one, and sing a new song!

We're In!!!

If you follow the other Crossing Staff blogs, you will definitely hear this news on their blogs too. But for those of you who don't....WE FINALLY SECURED OUR VENUE!!!!!! We have been praying super hard for months now as to where we will hold services, and we have really felt strongly about the Lakeside Junior High School in Little Elm. This school is perfect for our set up. They have a 250 seat theatre auditorium, a big gym for Kid's Crossing (our children's church) so that we can set up our inflatables for our kids every week, plenty of space for Toddler Town and Baby Boulevard (our nursery), and a huge foyer for all of our hospitality ministries. There are no other places that would really be suitable for us, the other venues were to expensive or they just weren't the right size. Long story short...it was either the Junior High or have revival from a tent...old school style! After miles of red tape, lots of prayer, many nerve wracked days, and lots of searching....WE'RE IN!! The Crossing Church will hold preview services on October 5 and 19, and we will launch with weekly services on November 2. Thanks for all your prayers, and thank God for a huge miracle and an enormous plan for Little Elm TX!

The Real Preachers

I am coming to the realization that the greatest preachers on Earth are those who preach without saying a word. Their actions say it all. The elderly couple that is still in love after all those years, the little girl with down-syndrome that seems to brighten everybody's day despite her own situation, the young man that truly keeps his priorities in line, the daddy that takes time out of his busy schedule just to wrestle with his little boy or have "tea" with his baby girl, the minister that looks to bless others rather than just inflate his pocket book, and the list goes on and on and on.
The Bible declares in Proverbs 9:1-6, "1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. 3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, 4 Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 5 Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding." Wisdom is calling out from the roof tops, if we only had the sense to pay attention to it. May we hear the sermons and receive the lessons that the Father is speaking to us daily. In turn, let our lives exemplify all that God desires them to, and speak volumes to a world indifferent. We are all preachers, our lives all tell stories, but the important thing is what the content of our message is.

been slackin'

Sorry I haven't been posting much the past few days! I have been limited as to internet usage. More to come soon....promise!

Another One of satans Tactics

Here's how this one works...Satan adds stress little by little until it all heaps up into this huge weight on your shoulders. After that, he pushes the "pet peeve button," or something of the sort, at the point of culmination and causes us to have a break down. The trick is...live by the Spirit and keep your focus, release the stress by faith and you won't come to the melt down point. Pretty simple, but very hard to live out. Good luck!

Sun Poisoning

Well, I paid the price for standing out in the hot Texas Sun all day this past Saturday. No sunscreen, no hat, not a lot of water, nope...no need, I am iron man....yeah right! I didn't even know there was such a thing as sun poisoning, but I do now! Man, I was sooo stinkin' sick yesterday! I won't even describe the details, you can Google the symptoms if you want! I will just say this...respect the Sun, and take ALL precautions!

Family Night at the Park

After months of preperation, nearly 5000 door hangers, many blisters and sunburns, buckets of sweat, newspaper ads, hanging numerous posters (even in liquor stores), and so much more...we were finally able to see the fruits of our labor and the gracious hand of God at work tonight at our first big outreach event, The Family Night at the Park! Thanks so much to all who had a hand of help in it, you are very much appreciated. We had bbq, ice cream, huge bounce houses, a petting zoo, a clown blowing up little balloon characters, big giveaways, and countless conversations with people who wanted more out of life than what they had come to find from the mundane. I cannot express in words all that we experienced tonight. My body is so drained, but my spirit so pumped because I caught a breif glimpse of the beginnings of a major move of God. I am so hungry to see more. Anyways, just a few quick thoughts before I crash out for the night. As soon as we get some stats I will be sure to post them.

Bad Day

It has been one of those days that you wish you would have just stayed in bed! Between some cop thinking he was a hero for giving me a speeding ticket for doing 27 mph in a school zone to Satan and his clan trying to thwart everything that has to do with The Crossing...it is has just been a tough one. But I guess I find hope in the old statement..."this to shall pass!"

Chalk It Up To Sovereignty

There is no doubt that God is ultimately supreme over all creation. The problem is that we think just because He rules over everything that He controls everything that happens. That is really pretty far from the truth. We sometimes say, "well, if it is God's will it will happen anyways!" When we say that we are saying that it is God's divine will that people are sick, people die, they are demon oppressed or possessed, people are murdered and tortured, raped, abused, addictive, and the list goes on and on. That is so not true! God has given us a huge part in this thing...the freedom and power of choice, the power of prayer, the freedom to act, and so on. We are not puppets on a string! If we were then there is no way that God could be righteous, because he would have been the one that created all this mess. We jacked things up when we sinned and that is the bottom line. God is just having mercy on us and giving us a second chance to make things right. We cannot just chalk up all of our issues and shortcomings to the sovereignty of God. If we do we make God out to be a liar, because He states something totally different in His Word. In Matthew 18:14 Jesus declared, "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." That Scripture speaks for the character and divine will of God. Anyways, I had to get my preach out for today!

Half Way Up the Mountain

In Exodus 24, we see the account where Moses went up the Mountain of God. Let's lay out the scene: Moses is ascending to the One his heart yearns for to receive one of the most incredible revelations of all time; Joshua, Moses' assistant, went with him, but was left only half way up the mountain; and the children of Israel were left at the base of the mountain, awestruck as the glory of God consumed the top of the mountain where Moses had gone to. Later, because of a severe lack of patience and self control, the Israelites would fall away from their God and create an idol to worship....all in just 40 days, with the glory of God showing from the mountain! Crazy!

I want to expound on Joshua's position for just a moment, because I find myself in the same position in my life right now. I have been reading The Making of a Leader by Frank Damazio, and he brings a huge revelation out of this passage of Scripture that shook me at my core and I am sure will speak to many of you as well. I am in a "Joshua" stage of life right now, a preparation stage so to speak, half way up the mountain. Above is the glory of God, the vision, the plan, the destiny, and below the party is going on, the distractions, the commotion. Above is my destiny, but lingering below is the temptation to give up and compromise. Ever been there?

During times of preparation, God likes to set us at the middle of the mountain, to truly refine all that lies within us. If we will be the leaders of tomorrow, we must go through the refining that takes place half way up the mountain today. 40 days, the time Joshua spent half way up the mountain, is typically symbolic of a time of trial or testing. God put the future leader of Israel in a place where he was faced with the decision to be faithful and wait on his leader or descend back down the mountain...back to the status quo. He passed the test! I bet ol' Josh had plenty of time to think about his current placement as well. I am sure he heard the commotion and distraction below. I am also sure he saw the Glory above. He also defined who he was while he waited. He had time to hash out all the details and get a clear mind about things. Sometimes, God throws the brakes on us and takes us from a place of doing ministry to defining ministry.

What a cool lesson for those of us that find ourselves with a dream, but only half way up the mountain. That dream will come to fruition as long as are willing to pay the price of preparation to see it through. The price of stretching and building. Sure it hurts, but it is so worth the blood, sweat, and tears. We pray for great things, let us not jump ship when the time comes to pay the great price for it. Wait....the Glory at the mountaintop is greater than the glitter at the bottom.

Quick Update

Just wanted to let everybody know that Seth has started saying some more words! He is saying bambi, dumbo, dog, and choo choo! Linds has been faithful to read to him and practice with him on all of his words. He is growing up fast!