The last Monday...

It was big weekend in the Schmidt house. Dance recital on Friday night (Brooke,of course she was awesome), softball scrimmage Saturday night after church (Ashli, more awesomeness), normal weekend services stuff, all leading into the last week of school.

The last Monday of the school year meant one thing in our house....3rd grade field trip to Ameriquest Field........yeah baby. We had a good time. Toured the Legends of the Game Museum (highly recommend it), clubhouse, dugout, lunch on homerun porch, back by 2:00. Good stuff.

Why does Fuddrucker's skimp you on fries so bad? My daughters had a student council dinner there tonight, so me and the boy ate there too.......they really rip you off on the fries.

My allergies are killin' me. It's one of those eye burnin', nose runnin', sneezin' my head off days. I've got a serious benadryl buzz.

Well, the Mavs are trying to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory right now, so I've got to go try and help pull them through. All I know is that we're only 82 short days away from the first Cowboys game of 2006. How 'bout them Cowboys?!!!!

Here's some pics from a day at the ballpark with my 3rd grade buddies....

I'm out....

A Real Beat Down.....

Have you ever felt like you just had the crap beat out of you? That's what the last couple of days have been. Allow me to vent...

Our plumbing problems continue to mount. They found two more leaks. That makes 5 so far. I know it's beating the plumber down.....he just wants to be finished with my house. He's a great guy and we are really lucky to have him working on the stuff, but I feel bad that he keeps having to come back to my house. I woke up at 2:15 a.m. Wed. morning and could not go back to sleep. It's just stressing me out big time. The insurance should cover it, but you know how that goes....we'll see. Our adjuster is a great guy and real easy to work with which makes it a little easier.

Then yesterday we take my son to the doctor because of some hearing issues he's been having again and get more news. He has to have a third set of tubes put in his ears and his tonsils taken out on June 14.

Yeah....lot's of fun right now. Vacations, anniversaries, and the home improvements we actually planned to do are looking pretty bleak right now.

On an up note....the merge was great last night. Our junior high kids are really growing and learning what worship and commitment to Christ looks like on a daily basis. Jay was out sick last night, so I got to teach the jr. high kids for the first time in a long time and loved it. They're great kids.

Well......I feel better. Thanks for letting me get that out. We'll see what happens today....if you have time in your schedule you can come over and kick my dog or something.

I'm out.....

Come Monday....

Grey's Anatomy......WOW!! What a great show....and what a great season finale.

The weekend was great.....DaVinci Code officially rebutted. I'm sure it's a great book, but it's not truth.

So I visited the Dallas Holocaust Museum today with my 8th grade daughter's English class. It was very interesting. We spoke with a holocaust survivor and heard his story. Absolutely incredible! He immigrated here with his mom in 1951 after losing his dad to the nazis in 1942 at Auschwitz. To hear his story of persecution and survival really put some things in perspective. He still plays in a stinkin' soccer league for people 40 and over.......he's 67!!! I highly recommend a visit to the place.

However I don't recommend coming home to a plumber in a 4' freakin' hole in your living room floor which is what I came home too this afternoon. Problem solved though.....for now. Another leak found, and another day needs to be scheduled to complete the job. This will actually be the third time in two months. Good thing is....my plumber is an great guy! Robby Genzel of Genzel Plumbing............yes that's a plug.

My 6th grade daughter had a voice recital tonight. She's great!

I'm out....

Mom's Day

I think last night was the first time everyone in the family has been home on a weekend night in about a month. It was cool. We all went to dinner together, came home and cleaned house a little, watched some Smallville that we had on the TIVO, and just enjoyed each other's company.

Mother's Day weekend.......guys, go buy your cards, candy, gifts, make reservations, or whatever you need to do to make Sunday special for mom.

I got to spend a little time with my mom earlier in the week. You know, as I get older, it's weird how much smarter she gets. There are just so many things that I face daily that cause me to think back to what my mom must have gone through at times with me and my brother.

Talking about the DaVinci Code this week in our services. I read another church's blog that was complaining about there being too many churches talking about this subject. Well, we are responsible for our communities and if we don't address things, people are probably not going to go seek out a church that is addressing their questions, they just won't go at all. This is a landmark book, and the movie will probably do just fine. I think it is wise for churches to address the issues with their people so that the book and movie are understood to be exactly what they are.......fiction. To understand truth, you must be able to recognize what is false.

Inlaws, daughter's softball practice, cleaning house, saturday service, and oh.....Mother's Day shopping. Got to get going....I'm out.

Feelin' old

So my oldest graduated from 8th grade Sat. night. You know, I remember leaving 8th grade and all we got was an 8th grade dance. This was a full blown graduation ceremony, minus the caps and gowns, followed up by the dance. It's killin' me when I think of her going to high school next year. I remember my freshman year of high school like the back of my hand and that was 24 years ago....she's making me feel really old.

Back in the office for the first time in about 10 days Wednesday. Serious catching up to do....e-mails, calls, cleaning, camp stuff, senior recognition stuff, you name it....it needed doing.

Speaking of the office.......big season finale tonight. Greatness! Looking forward to that...

Going to lunch today with my buddy Harp.....Rafains......meat overdose! I'm out.....

A man trip....

There's nothing like a quick, one day trip to Houston to start your week off with an oh crap. I grew up in the place, but was obviously immune to the stinch and gunk that covers everything down there, including your lungs. The redeeming side of this trip was that my son went with me (yes I let him skip two days of school)....he made a 100 on his TAKS so there.... and I went to help my mom move some stuff. She's getting re-married this summer and she's trying to get ready. Beaux and I had a good trip...a few stops here and there and good man stuff.

I haven't been in the office in 10 days so I'll be playing catch up tomorrow for sure. Lots of stuff to get ready for the summer and only a few weeks left of school. For now, I'm turning in.......

Here are some pictures of the man trip to Houston......I'm out...

WOW

wow...we've had a lot of good weekends at springcreek, but this had to rank right up there with the best of them. it was just a good time of worship together from start to finish. God is moving at springcreek in big ways and i'm just glad to be on for the ride.

not much to say tonight.....just kind of chillin' out, watching babe laufenberg and resting up after a great night at the net. i'm drained now, but i'm sure i'll have more to say tomorrow.

i'm out...

cinco de ses....

a great night's rest in my own bed. awesome! it was so nice to sleep at home last night. i went to dinner with my family, and just enjoyed their company after being gone for a while.

today was crazy.....8th grade graduation for one kid, cheerleader initiation for another, and our saturday night service. busy stuff....but then again i could be sitting in an airport somewhere.

8th grade graduation...now there's a ceremony that i just can't endorse. i understand the fact that it is a moment.....but a 2 and a half hour ceremony in which every kid gets an award and it's bookended by two heart wrenching choir performances of "I Will Be There For You" and something thematically along the lines of "water colored ponies".....c'mon. it's probably just the fact that i can't believe my baby girl will be in high school next year, but it was beyond anything i've been a part of at the junior high level.

well, "dumb and dumber" is on and loyd just drove a sixth of the way across the country the wrong way. hmmm...a movie about a colorado vacation.....

i'm out.

a re-emergence

Please don't hate me because I myspaced. I have decided to make my return to the blog world and to only use myspace to spy on people. Myspace can be a dangerous world and I will continue to monitor my own kids and my students. I ask your forgiveness and will be blogging consistently from here on out.

I'm writing this from the Colorado Springs airport. We've been on staff retreat and were supposed to head out of here yesterday at 11:00 a.m. Didn't happen. Hasn't happened yet. I think the bad luck started when we saw a fox running down the road with a rabbit in his mouth. That seems to be when our luck turned for the worse. It had been a great trip up to that point and the retreat was very productive. It does look like we're going to be heading out around 1:00 this afternoon. I hope that's the case. My senior pastor, Keith, was on a 6:10 a.m. flight this morning that didn't take off until 9:50....the real bad part of that is that they were on the runway with the engines off for an hour. I have no desire to sit on a hot plane, packed full of people, breathing butt-smellin' air for an hour. I am officially sick of airports.

I've made a few friends and had some decent airport soft tacos, but i'm ready to be home. Here are a few pictures from the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak.....unbelievable. As Keith said...God was really showing off when he created Colorado.

I'm out

8 days later...

it's been 8 days...i know that's david hoodlike when it comes to keeping up my blog. but i have been blogging on my myspace sight that my students spend a lot of time on, so i am prioritizing. i will get no credit for that from scott, bob, or anybody else, but i figured it was worth mentioning.

i am pumped about the new series we're starting on easter weekend. "face the music" is going to be a great series. good, relevant teaching mixed with some great music and creativity.

i have really been thinking about some things lately. leadership comes in so many different forms. but more than anything else.....effective leaders must be servants. our concerns should be centered on the needs of those we are leading, not the needs of our overactive egos and inflated values of ourselves and our talents. it's a dangerous place to be when we feel we deserve certain status, or that God needs us to achieve his work.

it is a privilege to serve a God that uses us in spite of who we are and not because of who we are.....if that were the case i'd be toast. i'm out...

a beat down...

well....i'm trying to keep up. i never knew what the my space world was going to be like, but it is crazy. i started a my space and i now have something like 50 friends and they comment, and send stuff. i've been trying to keep it up, and it is kind of addicting.

i had an experience i have not had in a while last night at a service i've been leading worship for in dallas. the regular speaker was not able to be there so there was a substitute. he proceeded to preach for an hour on the downfall of todays church and was a little offensive. i don't mean to sound like i can't accept or identify a challenge, but this was a little beyond just challenging.

he covered everything from "homosexuals have all the power in this country," to "sit coms are why we can't handle a preacher preaching for more than 20 minutes," to "God struck down New Orleans with a hurricane to deal with the immoral people there," to "we spend too much time listening to Beth Moore, Chuck Swindoll, and Dave Edwards (who happens to be the regular speaker for this service), and not listening to the word of God." He also trashed youth pastors that plan "too many trips to six flags, and other senseless activities," and worship bands that play all of this "new, watered down, ineffective music." Of course this was said right after we finished our worship set. there's a lot more, but this is only one blog, and have but a short time to go on..........i may share tidbits of his wisdom daily with you.

i left there so beat down it wasn't even funny. i still feel bad about myself. okay, i'm over it.......i'm out.

What have I done?

I did it....I got a my space. It's crazy. I kind of like it though. I was looking at some of my student's spaces and found out a lot of stuff. It's pretty cool..

Today was Elk burger day at Ye Ol' Butcher Shop in Plano. Greatness! Me, Bob, and Ray did some damage. Well, Bob and I did....Ray just sat and watched. We had a great time just talking ministry and just chattin' about the stuff we see God doing at Springcreek.

My oldest daughter has high school orientation tomorrow night.....that's killin' me. That's my baby.

Well....I've got to take some allergy medicine. I led worship tonight at our jr. high service and it felt like I was singing in a space helmet. I'm goin' to bed. I'm out....

I love my job...

Yesterday.....
1. Organize a slammin' summer calendar for our students.....it's gonna be a great summer.
2. Free lunch with the people from Hawaiian Falls Waterpark. Great company and great
people.
3. Answer some e-mails from my awesome students
4. Put together Rock'em Sock'em Robots
5. Have Rock'em Sock'em Tournament with Jay to make sure it works properly.
6. Put together music for Jr. High '80's party. Need I say more?
7. My son Beaux made a 100 on his TAKS Test, so we had to celebrate....Double Dave's Pizza!
8. Thursday night means 2 things......"My Name is Earl" and "The Office."

What a day.....

So this morning this lady pulls up beside me at a red light. She has workbook/planner of some sort open on her console, another book propped against the steering wheel on her legs, she's writing in the one on her console, looking at the other, eating a breakfast burrito, and driving. What is up with that? I sincerely hope she made it to wherever she was going safely, but if she did not...I can understand why. I got a quick start when the light turned green and let the people behind me deal with her swerving all over the stinkin' road.

I am so excited about this summer. We are finalizing our summer calendar and it is going to be a great summer. It's a great thing when your ministry requires you to be in the mountains of New Mexico during June where it's only 80 degrees at the hottest.

It's Friday afternoon and I'm goin' home. I've got a little more reading to do and some e-mails to answer, but I can finish those while I'm driving home. I'm out...

Rain, rain, sleep away...

Rain, rain, rain.....after months of unbelievably dry weather we are getting drenched. I'm good with that though. I've got this cool hat that I bought in Australia that I get to wear when it rains a lot, plus I sleep like a stinkin' baby during thunderstorms.

I'm a little down right now. I'm not sure what to think about Terrell Owens coming to the Cowboys. Talent and work ethic are unmatched, but the attitude and negative impact on the rest of the team is a concern. However, if there is anyone that can make it a positive it's Bill Parcells. My buddy Ray (Pastor Ray Miranda) and I will have plenty to talk about this season.

Day off tomorrow....nice. I'm gonna go try and catch some rain sleep. I'm out...

Been a while...

Man...what a week. We took a group of sr. high students to San Antonio/San Marcos/New Braunfels for a couple of days and it was great! It was a little cold for floating the river, so we found some other things to do with the time and it was great. We're taking a group of jr. high students to Six Flags today. The weather is great..so we should be good.

On the way to work this morning I remembered that it is St. Patrick's Day. I didn't have a stitch of green on, and I'm going to be with jr. high kids all day. In my mind that meant I would get pinched about a cajillion times today. So I stopped at Walmart to get me a green shirt. I love that store. It has saved me so many times. Need a last minute card...stop in at Walmart. Need some candy for the movies....Walmart. Need some more BB's for the neighbor's cat....Walmart. It's awesome!

Well....I'm looking forward to today. I'm also looking forward to the new series we are starting this week. It's titled "In the Ring." We're going to spend the next 4 weeks talking about dealing with difficult people. Man...is that something we all need to hear or what? I'm not sure what she meant, but my wife said she was real excited about it and planned on buying the dvd series for future reference. If she's not careful I'll be making a run to Walmart to buy that 60" HDTV flat panel Widescreen so she can watch those bad boys. I'm out...

Spring Break...

It's Spring Break....

That doesn't mean the same thing it used to in my teaching days...but it's still good. What a great weekend it's been. Ray, our Connections Pastor, did a great job on the message this weekend. It was a great message on the rest that God brings to our lives. He did a great job of illustrating the busy side of our lives, the struggles we all deal with in scheduling and stuff, and how important the rest and relaxation times are to our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Great message mang.

I'm looking forward to Spring Break this week. We're going to New Braunfels with 25 of our senior high students Tuesday. It should be a lot of fun. The rest of the week I'm hangin' with my family and going to Six Flags on Friday with our middle schoolers.

I've had a rough couple of days. I'm really struggling to figure out life with teenage daughters. I just don't understand the teenage female psyche. It's totally foreign. The drama, the eye rolls, the sighs of frustration at your "totally unfair" rules, the clothes, the deer-in-the-headlight looks for any number of things....it's all just so confusing. With my son...we pick up a ball, or an x-box controller, or play pull my finger jokes on each other, and it's all good. Oh that it were that easy with the girls.......maybe not the pull my finger jokes, but the other stuff would be great. I love them dearly...I just don't understand. I don't know if I want to understand. Crap, now I sound like them.....HELP ME.

I'm out....

here, there, everywhere....

It was a crazy night. One kid at dance by 6, another at softball by 6:30, pick up from dance by 7:45, and softball 8:00. An English project, math homework, and one little boy that just had to go along.

My wife had parent conferences tonight at her elementary school. I'm not sure how many she had, but those nights are the worst. When I was teaching, the parents you really needed to talk to never showed up for conferences. They knew their kids were jerks, and just didn't want to hear it anymore. I don't think I would have patience for an elementary parent conference and the enabling that can take place there.

Well...I'm looking forward to Ray's message this weekend. I'm realizing how tired I am right now, and in anticipation of the message. I'm going to rest a little.....I'm out...

Random Tuesday

Hobosexual-- a person who dresses in thrift clothes by choice, not necessity while growing a beard that covers the entire neck.

Thoughts....

David Blaine is the devil.

I could eat fried shrimp everyday........

Why was "Love Monkey" taken off of the air, but we still have to endure "Skating with Celebrities?"

There's not much better for a late, late dinner than a bowl of Corn Flakes and a huge glass of milk

I just saw a commercial for "24 The Game" for x-box............GREATNESS! I am Jack Bauer.

Who told the guys from "System of a Down" that they were good? They suck!

David Blaine is the devil.

Thanks for your time...I'm out...

Too much noise...

Life is crazy sometimes....

As I sit and think about the stuff that's going on this week it makes me dizzy. I love the fact that our kids are involved in stuff, and I'm very thankful that they are able to do the things they love. I think it is so important for kids to be involved in something. In my years as a teacher the kids that seemed to get into trouble the most were kids that were not involved with anything. They just had time to sit around and make bad choices. So, I encourage my kids to get involved and do something.

However, we also must remember to take some time to relax and be still. I know there have been times that God has tried to speak to me, but I was too busy to listen. Dr. Jack Groppel has some awesome info on managing stress, and time. We saw him at the "Choose to Lead" conference at Willowcreek. His presentation was great and really revealed to me the importance of slowing down and taking time to recover from all of the energy spent. It's hard to hear over your own noise.

I'm tired and it's a long day of meetings tomorrow. I'm looking forward to programming out the next couple of months and talking ministry with the guys I get to serve with every day. We'll spend some time talking, but the listening is where we find the answers. I'm out...

Back in the saddle...

Willowtime is over and it was back to the office today. Trying to get caught up and ready for the weekend. American Airlines finally got Jay's luggage back to him about midnight last night. All of his clothes were in there and everything. If they would not have found it he would have been out at least $4.13. I mean....it was his good clothes.

Jay and I sat down and planned a big part of our summer calendar. It's looking good. We've got a lot of good ideas and some cool things planned. I'm excited about the opportunities our students will have to grow spiritually this summer.

I've been thinking about something in particular from the conference this weekend. Greg Stier spoke on evangelism. I have a tendency to agree with a point that he made when he said that we may have forgotten or short-changed the effect that God's word can have on people's lives. The power of the gospel can stand alone and change lives. Like Greg said, I don't know how, and I can't understand it completely......but I believe it!

I'm going to go watch some tv......I may even try to find David Blaine resurrecting dead pigeons with the birdman and a group of pilgrims on The Learning Channel. Ask Jay...

I'm out.....

Home Sweet Home

Man it's good to be home...

I got to baptize my son tonight.....AWESOME!!!! It was so cool.

Today is my birthday and my wife planned a surprise party for me after church tonight. One of my student's parents asked me to come talk to her, and all of my kids were waiting in the student ministry auditorium to surprise me. It was great. We had a cake and everything. I got a cool Stevie Ray Vaughn dvd/cd, and some gift cards. My wife got me a cool gift card to the mall, and my son got me an x-box game. It was fun.

I would love to stay up and talk more, but I am dead. I will have some more Chicago stuff for you tomorrow. Some highlights of the trip, etc....

Thank you guys for my party and all the stuff...ya'll are awesome. And thank you Kel and kids for all that you do, and for putting up with me. I'm out......

Chi-Town

Just got in from a night in downtown Chicago. Very cool....

We hit Gino's East for dinner........unbelievable pizza! Went to the top of the Sears Tower.......110 stories and 1400 feet above the street. WHAT? Saw Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, and Navy Pier. But we had another brush with greatness. We actually stood outside of Harpo Studios within feet of Diane Keeton, Emma Thompson, and Oprah herself. Of course they were inside the building and we were outside where it was 28 freakin' degrees. But we did talk to two really nice security guards, 1 limo driver, and a pimp.

Yes..Jay and I now know Chicago pretty well. We stopped in a 50's style diner in Wrigleyville (that's what us locals call the area around Wrigley Field) and had some good conversation with some of the clientelle and a really nice waitress. We were just there to warm up, so I had a vanilla shake.

I know what you're thinking....I thought Doug and Jay went to a conference. We did, and we heard some really good stuff today from Bo Boshers. He is the Director of Student Ministries at Willowcreek. He spoke on leading and mentoring. He had some excellent stuff. He is also from a teaching/coaching background and I was able to have a really good conversation with him after the session. I also spoke with Jim Mellado for quite a while. Jim and I went to church together, sunday school, etc..when we were in church together in Katy, Tx. back in the early '90's. I left there to go coach in Nederland, TX when he left to go to work for a growing church in the Chicago area. He's now the President of Willowcreek Assoc. We spent some time today catching up and talking about our families and stuff. He's an awesome guy and it was good to catch up with him.

Well....we're flying back tomorrow and I get to baptize my son Beaux. I am pumped! I'll also be a year older when I wake up tomorrow. 38! Wow.....suddenly I feel tired and achy. And did I mention that I got my picture taken with Mac Powell from Third Day? I'm out.....

A Real Moment....

Check this out....
















Oh yeah.....that's me and Mac Powell of Third Day. WHAT? When I left Dallas I told my wife that I was getting my picture taken with Mac Powell. Today...Jay and I are leaving the building walking to our car, and there he is coming down the sidewalk right towards us. WHAT? I just went....OH MY GOSH! Jay started laughing at me, and I think Mac was a bit scared. I just said can I get my picture taken with you? He obliged, and then let us interview him on video to bring back to our students. AWESOME!!! This my friends......is a moment!

The Third Day show tonight was great, as was the conference. We met some friends from a Menanite church in Kansas. We had dinner with them and hung out for a while. We were late getting back to the church from dinner for the concert, but managed to talk our way down to the 10th row and had a blast.

One last question....why did Travis choose Sara? And did I mention I got my picture taken with Mac Powell? I'm out..........

Sweet Home Chicago

It took a while...but we're here.

Jay and I left after the music part of the 11:30 service to catch a flight to Chicago. We were too late to check our bags at the airport, so they had to put us on standby. Fortunately the lady liked us, so she got us on a 2:00 flight instead of the 1:30 that we were supposed to be on. The weird thing is that it landed at the same time as the 1:30. Needless to say...we're here.

We got our rent car and made it to the hotel by 6:00ish. The hotel was so nasty. We just dropped our stuff off and drove to downtown Chicago. It only took us about 20 minutes to get down there, but then it took us about 45 to find a place to park. It's crazy down there. We finally parked and walked around looking for a place to eat and happened upon Ditka's. Very cool place....very good food. It was fun.....but we missed Grey's Anatomy, so Kelly has it TIVO'd for me when I get home.

We made it back to the hotel and that's not necessarily a good thing. It was just gross. So this morning as I'm standing in the shower that has less water pressure than someone peeing I made the decision to find somewhere else to stay. We're now in the Amerisuites, and it's great.

The conference starts in a bit so we're about to leave. It should be great. Third Day is in concert tonight, and my goal is to get a picture with them. Jay wants to stay at the hotel and watch the Bachelor.....but I'm not doing it. I'm still trying to earn my mancard back from watching it the last time and learning way too many details about the whole thing. I'm sure more will happen while we're here so stay tuned.....I'm out....

Everybody's workin' for the weekend....

S-A-T-U-R.....D-A-Y NIGHT......nothin' wrong with a little Bay City Rollers on the weekend.

We went and saw "Eight Below" last night. Good story....good movie. We took my two daughters to see it with us. The boy was spending the night with a friend. Ashli (my oldest), and I have a little game at the movies. At a totally stupid time during the movie (previews, feature, whatever), she screams like something in the movie scared the dog out of her. She gets lunch, a snow cone, or something like that and I laugh my head off. It's great fun.

I don't know of anything much better than sleeping in a thunderstorm. Last night was an awesome storm! Rain, lightning, thunder....it was great. It woke me up about 3:00 a.m....and I laid there for a little bit, then rolled over to the cool side of the pillow and slept like a baby. A really big baby, but a baby none the less.

I'm sitting here with my son, waiting for my wife to get back from my middle daughter, Brooke's dance competition. Their awards ceremony started at 10:30 p.m. WHAT? Somebody help me understand the whole dance team thing. I'm really trying, but I just don't get it. It's not the dance thing in general....she's really talented. It's just the attitude of a lot of the girls and their moms. Oh my gosh. It's really mind boggling at times. And the costumes don't help either. I do know one thing.....if I started over again and it was all about the money. I'd open a dance studio. They make some serious jack.

Well....it's about time to go to bed. Services tomorrow......awesome!

I'm out....

Tonight was PTA meeting night. Can you say whippin'? They tactfully scheduled this meeting in front of the 3rd grade choir program, as they always do, and then slammed us with a PTA meeting. The 20 minute choir program was actually a welcome break from the PTA business. I think if someone would have hit me in the face with a 2 x 4, I would have actually enjoyed it as a welcome relief from discussion of PTA Lifetime Membership Honorees................WHAT? LIFETIME? Why would you not quit once your kids are out? There was a lady there that had been a member of this school's PTA since it started.......20 years ago. WHAT?

Oh well.....my son was brilliant in his speaking parts and that's why I was there. I've been watching my calories and I'm down to 259 from 272. The 5:00 a.m. workouts and calorie counting are starting to help. I celebrated tonight with a vanilla shake. 1st one in over a month......don't judge me.

I'm out....

Wrapping it up...

Just watched American Idol. My personal early favorites:
Girl....Melissa McGehee (i think that's her name)
Boy....as much as I want Chris Daugherty to win....Ace has the whole package and the female backing.

I am really looking forward to a good night's sleep. I woke up this morning at about 4, and couldn't get back to sleep. I was just thinking about the day in front of me. Well, that day is over. I'm just hangin' out right now while my wife grades some papers.

Tomorrow is a busy, busy day. My daughter Brooke has the lead in a melodrama at school plus she is portraying Ashley Olson at the school's living museum. These two events are happening at the same time. Someone didn't plan real well. At the same time my son has his first choir program. He has a speaking part and everything. So my wife and I will be splitting duties tomorrow night.

At times I forget to sit back and rest. I think sometimes, in today's fast paced lives that we lead, rest is something that is sacrificed all too often. On the way home from church tonight I tried to gear down from this long day and just clear my head. I love my job, and I love the opportunities that God has given me here at Springcreek. But I also love the time He gives me to rest and plan on taking full advantage of that right now.

I'm out......

Random early Wednesday...

I know it's early Wed. morning, but it was a long day yesterday, and I didn't get around to writing anything yesterday.

Here are some thoughts....

Why am I up right now?

Watching SportsCenter and all of their NBA highlights makes me realize something......I miss football season.

What's a nuget and why is it in candy bars?

Is there anything that you cannot find at Walmart?

I just saw a commercial for a reality show on ESPN that follows a New York high school basketball phenom on his "difficult journey" to declaring for the NBA draft..........WHAT?

Right after that Walker Texas Ranger did a commercial for a home gym........he needs to "go Walker" on his plastic surgeon....WOW...

Well...I'm going to the gym now. A lot of my friends workout at night. I just can't do that. It helps me get going for the day when I workout in the mornings. Plus, I just saw Peter from the Brady Bunch on an AbLounge commercial and if he can do it, so can I.

I'm out....

Your my boy Runks...

My boy Runks brought it home tonight at Footnote Dallas. His message on being made right in God's eyes, and standing before Him as a righteous person was awesome! I likes me some Runks.

Tomorrow is going to be a looooooong day. 9-5 training on the new computer system at the church. It is much needed, but it is one continuous meeting...all day.

I've got to go watch the ice dancing highlights from last night again..........stinkin' hilarious! Here are some pictures of the carnage. The Canadian crash was the best (bottom).

Tomorrow is Random Tuesday, but right now I'm trying to figure out why my boy is sleeping in his jeans that he wore all day today. I'm out....

Ready for Monday...

Monday morning......when I was teaching these were the hardest. Now...it's my day off and I love it.

What a great weekend. I had the opportunity to spend it with First Baptist Church Arlington, TX. It was their student ministry's Wake-Up Weekend. This is the second year I've had the chance to help out with this weekend. It was so much fun, and I really enjoy hanging out with that group. We got to worship together, talk about the different ways that Satan tries to "punk" us, how to identify God's truths and desire for our lives, and how to apply those things to our lives. They're just a great group of students with incredible adult leadership. Curt, thank you for inviting me to be with you guys again, and I look forward to the next time we're together.

I watched some Olympic action last night. I've never laughed so hard as I did watching ice dancing. There were more crashes than you see in a NASCAR race. It was great. If you didn't see it, watch the highlights.....greatness.

As part of my day off...I get to go grocery shopping. In order to do that well, I need to go eat breakfast or I will buy all kinds of stuff. I cannot be hungry when I go grocery shopping. It's just not a good scene.

Here are a few pictures from WUWE.....I'm out....

Wakeup

I'm at First Baptist Church Arlington's Wake Up Weekend right now. We had a great night last night, and this morning was awesome. The kids are doing various service projects this afternoon so I'm hangin' out at the hotel.

I'm lovin' this weekend's theme and how everything is coming together. The whole "Punk'd" theme is great. As I've been studying and preparing I've been seeing all the ways the world punks us when we're not prepared and paying attention. All the different "untruths" that are thrown our way and made to look appealing and needed can destroy our lives slowly. The danger there is it's kind of like gaining weight. You don't see it happening until you've put on 20lbs, and then it's like where did that come from?

The students are really engaged with the worship and discussions we're having and I enjoy hangin' with them. I can' t wait to get back to my students tomorrow night and worship with them. When I get the opportunity to teach, the passion for teaching and ministering becomes stronger.

I'm going to go watch the Olympics and try to figure out what in the crap Curling is......I'm out..

WUWE

I leave work today and it's 80 degrees.....I drive to Arlington, stay 'til 9ish, walk out of the building and it's 40.....what the crap is that about?

I'm hanging out with my friends at First Baptist Arlington this weekend. It's their Wake Up Weekend (WUWE), and they've asked me to preach it, and asked Envoy to lead the worship. We did this weekend with them last year and they are a great group. Curt Grice, the youth pastor there, is one of my favorite hangs. He's probably a little higher than Scott Harper on my list of hangs. His wife Kim is awesome. I'd say Curt out punted his coverage when he married her.

Anyway, their theme this weekend is "punk'd," and I'm really excited about the whole thing. I hung out with them tonight for the kick-off party and it was great. We'll start tomorrow night and go through Sunday morning.

On that note...I've got to make sure I've got clothes for the weekend. I'm out...

The topper...

I got to pray with my son as he asked Christ into his life. I couldn't top that with anything.

I'm out....

Not so random Tuesday

Well.....today is the day. The day hated by men everywhere. It is pretty common knowledge that Valentine's is a highly commercialized holiday. It is driven by the card, flower, and candy industries around the world.

Don't get me wrong....I love my wife. I bought her a card today and she bought me one. But I spend time telling her that the other 364 days of the year as well as Feb.14. I am so thankful to be married to a woman that realizes the unnecessary spending that takes place on February 14 and expects me to do things for her at various times for no reason. We buy the kids some candy, and a small gift, and we get each other cards. Oh, there have been gifts in the past.....good ones. But there really is no sense in it.

I'm not being unromantic, but I think it's probably more romantic to buy her flowers, take her to dinner, and get her gifts on days that she's not expecting it. Why emphasize it just one day out of the year?

Now...that being said. I bought each of my daughters a dozen roses today with a card. I just wanted to be the first guy in their lives to buy them roses. I know I won't be the last, but I am the first. I spend many days trying to teach them about things to expect from guys. Guys that buy them things on Valentine's Day and don't mind their p's and q's the other 364 days of the year will not be accepted.

Change of subject.....I'm trying to eat better. Cutting the junk food, fast food, etc..So today I'm at Quizno's with Scott Harper. I order a SMALL sandwich, get some chips, and a small drink. I get to the register, and what happens.......they made me a LARGE sandwich. It was as if they heard my lips say "small," but my body language was saying "I want the biggest stinkin' one you've got." In Scott's words...they were thinking "there ain't nothing about him that says small sandwich." However, I ate half and wrapped up the other half to go for tomorrow.

I know this is long and a change from my usual "Random Tuesdays." Happy Valentine's Day Kel.....and you mean just as much to me on Feb 15 as you do today.

I'm out....

Super Size....

So I watched the movie "Super Size Me." Oh my gosh! That movie has taken away something that I have held dear for my entire life. McDonalds has been a favorite of mine since I was a boy. I just can't bring myself to look at the place the same. If you have not seen the movie, you need to watch it. I'm not saying I'll never eat fast food again, but I'll definitely think a little harder before I order.

Grey's Anatomy is on right now, so I will not be long here. What a great show.

I have to take care of Valentine's stuff tomorrow. The most commercially created holiday in the stinkin' world is upon us again. It totally confuses me and causes me anxiety that is completely unneeded. Candy, flowers, jewelry, dinner, kid's stuff, teddy bears.......what? It's just not right......I'm out...

Busy Week...

I fully intended to get to this more consistently this week, and I've just been busy. Things will happen that I say to myself, you have got to blog about that, but then as the day goes by......it falls on to the back burner.

We have "The Net" this week for the first time in two weeks. This will actually be the first one since "Focus Weekend." We'll be starting a new book this week. For the next 6 weeks will be covering "Spiritual Growth." Working to be like Jesus in all that we do. That excites me. Having the chance to look at ourselves and identify our strengths and weaknesses and how we can use each other to encourage and strengthen our spiritual walk. I'm pumped!

Speaking of pumped....I had a four hour meeting yesterday about camp. It's going to be awesome. My buddy Van Minter and his group from Lake Ridge Bible Church are going to camp with us this year. We'll be going to Cloudcroft, NM. It is going to be great. We hashed out a lot of great ideas yesterday, and some not so good ones too. But it's all good and camp is going to be something you do not want to miss.

Well....the weekend is on us and we're kicking off a new series..."The Death of Religion." It should be a great one. This week we'll be talking about some of the problems with "religion." Sometimes it just seems that we, as the church, shoot ourselves in the foot by how we treat others and how we allow "religion" to get in the way of ministry. If I haven't already invited you, come hang out with us this weekend.

I'm leading a new series at my house titled "The Death of a Chihuahua" where I'll be talking about the systematic elimination of our dog the next time she pees on one of my socks. It doesn't matter that my sock should not have been in the floor...........pee goes outside. I'm out...

Super Start......

Okay....so a great weekend ended on a down note with the Steelers winning the Super Bowl. Our services were great. Pastor Keith's message was solid, and as different as the rest of the service was programmed, it was a great weekend. I just can't get over Bob's version of Janet Jackson's "Control" dance. Classic! Check out the clip at springcreekchurch.org.

Nobody at my house had to be at school or work today, so it was nice hanging out with the fam. We had lunch together and stuff, and just hung out.

Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Mesquite, TX has a service called Footnote every Monday night. My friend Michael Moers, the youth pastor at Shiloh, is the man in charge. They did it for 6 weeks in the fall, and it will run through April 24 this spring. I get to lead worship at these services with my band Envoy. They are really cool services. It's a lot of fun having the opportunity to lead this service with Dave Edwards (davetown.com). It's just a very worshipful time for me personally to be a part of these services with 3 of my best friends (Greg, Michael, and Scott) and have the chance to be a part of these services. Needless to say, Monday was a good start to the week.

There is something a little concerning though. I caught myself watching "The Bachelor" with my wife tonight for the second week in a row. I know their names, and was getting mad at certain girls for the way they were acting. I was voicing opinions out loud and getting into commercial time conversations about the show. It was a total brokeback moment and I apologize to all of my guy friends for my lapse. I'm going to watch "Tombstone." I'm out.....

Brokeback.....

Why Men Hate Church......this is the title of our service this week. It's going to be great. I can't think of a better weekend than Super Bowl Sunday to address concerns that men have with coming to church. There are so many things about church that I never realized were more feminine than most men care for or want to be a part of on a regular basis.

For quite obvious reasons the term brokeback has become an adjective describing things that may seem more feminine. I'll not say much more, but we don't want our men feeling like they're involved in some sort of brokeback worship. I now have a folder on my laptop for brokeback worship songs and there will be an attempt to mix them with a good bit of rockin' stuff.

I'm going to go watch "24." Not a brokeback show.......I'm out

Random Tuesday

I am completely hooked. I have friends who watch "24" religiously. I had never watched it, so I went and rented the first season. It's keeping me up late trying to finish it. Sheer television greatness!

So my 12 year old daughter may have broken her toe this evening doing a high kick in the hallway. Why? Does that even make sense to anyone else?

Does anyone else think that chihuahuas are one of God's little animal jokes?

Steelers v. Seahawks....am I the only one that thinks that is weird? I can't root for the Steelers.
Sorry Jen and Bob and Tiffany and Joel...

Anyone that hasn't checked out Jeremy Camp's new live acoustic cd/dvd needs to go and buy it. Amazing!

Cap'n Crunch has got to be the best cereal ever created. Arguments?

Sanford and Son v. Good Times?

Florence v. Esther?

I know my students are too young to even know what I'm talking about....but trust me....more sheer tv greatness.

I am so looking forward to The Net starting back up in a couple of weeks.......lots of good things happening.

Here are some pictures from Focus Weekend......Enjoy.......I'm out.....

Focused....

Wow....what a great weekend. I know it's been 4 days since my last post, but the time and planning have paid off. Focus Weekend was a huge success!

Our theme was "the WORD." And we spent a lot of time in the word, finding out why we believe what we believe. Our students left empowered with biblical truth about their faith and encouraged to act on what they know to be true. Runks brought us a word that was needed in our ministry here at Springcreek. He left us with no excuses for not being able to share Christ with those we come in contact with daily. Greatness!

Some highlights of the weekend:
1. seeing our students worship in song like I've never seen them do before. they are amazing.
2. our first annual "ninja hunt" game.......winner---the juniors
3. two of our ninjas getting frisked by the cops and getting their picture taken with little kids
that thought they were real ninjas.
4. watching dozens of people literally cross a bridge into a a closer walk with Christ (we built
a bridge across our stage for "The Great Divide" series and people were invited to make
their decisions public by coming forward and crossing the bridge). It was awwesome.
5. the nap I had today

Pictures of the weekend by tomorrow night or Tuesday. I've got tons to download and go through. I'm out......

Happy Birthday....

Today is my daughter Brooke's birthday. She is 12 today going on 18. She cracks me up. She requested Babe's for her birthday dinner tonight, and after a day of looking forward to some chicken fried stizeak we get there and it's closed. Brooke's plan B was Red Robin.......very good choice.

I got my truck back today. The Body Shop did an awesome job of putting it back together, and making it look like new. The rent car was nice, but it's nice to have my ride back. I got new tires put on today too, so it's feeling pretty good.

Tomorrow is meeting day, and the beginning of a very busy week leading up to Focus Weekend. I'm really excited about the way things are coming together and I know it's going to be a great experience for our students.

Super Bowl XL.....two weeks......Seattle v. Pittsburgh..............I hate the Steelers.

I'm out....

The weekend...

Well....we survived. The slumber party was a success....tiring.....but a success nonetheless. Drama was held to a minimum while giggling and and goofiness were at their peak. I think they finally fell asleep around 5:00 a.m. I still haven't downloaded pics, but will probably do that tonight and post them up.....

We had a worship team meeting last night at Scott's house. We had 16 or 17 people there just to hang out and talk about vision and direction in our worship ministry. It was awesome! When a team is on the same page, moving in the same direction, with the same goals, much can be accomplished. When I was coaching that was usually the first order of business. Get the kids focused on why we're doing what we're doing, and the value of their participation and effort. We have a great team, and I can't wait to see who else God brings into the ministry, and how He uses us to accomplish the ministry of Springcreek Community Church.

Sunday's are long.....services this morning, The Net tonight, and today we've got a membership class at 3:00 that I need to be at before The Net. It is the most rewarding day of the week for me, but also the most tiring. I usually don't feel it until I'm on the way home Sunday night. I always look forward to Sunday night though because I come home and watch Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy with my wife. Say what you will, but they're awesome shows. We don't miss them. I'll stay up after the shows and watch the championship games that I TIVO during the day. Sometimes that helps me forget that I love Desperate Housewives and re-establishes my man card.

I'm out......

6th grade slumber party

Monday is my daughter's birthday....she'll be 12. So tonight we have 10 6th grade girls spending the night in our house. If you could please lift us up in prayer, it would be much appreciated. No drama so far, but it's only been 1 and half hours. We tried to do a scavenger hunt out at the new Firewheel Towne Center mall, but the mall security and management took all of the girls to customer services and shredded their list of things they had to do, made them sit on the bench outside of the building while they lectured them, and then had them call us. We were eating ice cream just down the mall and walked over to a crying group of 6th graders, and brought them home.

Right now, they're doing cheers in my living room and having a good time, so I'm trying to disappear. The over/under for drama is 4 hours. Chances are it'll happen about 2 a.m. and I'll feel sorry for my wife having to take that kid home. I just don't understand jr. high girls sometimes.....they just confuse me. They're funny......yet annoying, loud....yet eeerily quiet, sensitive......yet mean......I don't know. Boys are just much more simple creatures.

I'll have pictures for you tomorrow maybe.....I'll try to get one of my wife dragging some poor girl out of my house at 2:00 a.m. crying and snotting all over the place (it'll probably be my daughter). Right now though...I'm going to go sit down with my son, eat some popcorn and watch Cops, or wrestling, or something.

I'm out....

Ramdon Tuesdays....

For years I dreamed of having a job that I could just talk ministry with friends and watch all of the ways God could work in a church and in the lives of people. I'm there.....

I had the weekend off Sat.-Mon. and came in today ready to hit the road running. We've got some good stuff coming up and there are some great ideas floating around the office that are going to be slammin'.

I just watched the first episode of American Idol 2006. Hilarious! There was a new show on tonight that I really liked a lot. "Love Monkey" is a new series about an A&R guy with a small New York record label. Very funny, and very good. It'll be a regular on my TIVO from here on out.

Found out that my truck should be out of the shop, and lookin' brand new by Friday. I like my rental car, but I'm ready to get my ride back. It could be worse I guess....I could be Ahmish and my ride could be at Mordecai's body shop getting put to sleep.

I just found out today that my Assoc. Student Pastor, Jay, studied mime in college. WHAT? I'm not sure what to do with that.....but I'm sure I'll think of something.

You know, I think I'll start making Tuesdays just a day to write random thoughts and happenings. Too many things went on today to organize them into any sequence, so maybe Random Tuesdays will work. I'm gonna go laugh at David Letterman until I fall asleep.

I'm out......

Favorite hangs....

Yesterday I had the chance to hang out with my buddy Scott as we went to the airport to pick up his friend Marshall. Marshall is leading worship this weekend at Springcreek while I enjoy a weekend off. Usually hanging out with Scott means good conversation, laughing my head off, and eating some good food. Yesterday did not disappoint.

After picking up Marsh at the airport we made a trip to Uno's in Ft. Worth for some awesome pizza. With Scott, a trip anywhere east of I-35 means Pappa's pizza, west of I-35 is Uno's. But that's okay...at least he has good taste. In the book of Acts, chapter 2, Luke speaks of the importance of breaking bread together. I'm sure he would've loved hangin' out with Scott.

On that note, it's just fun hangin' out, and talking about things that are going on in our lives. God works in so many ways, and puts so many people in our lives for so many reasons. It was great meeting Marsh and hanging out with him too. We talked marriage, music, tv shows, worship, and just hung out. It was great.

I focus a lot of time on trying to reach people that may not believe in the same God I do, may not go to church, or may not be sure what they believe. God gives us people to hang with that are heading in the same direction, with the same outlook, and same beliefs to provide us with encouragement and fun.

Think about those people in your life that make things fun and encouraging. Take the time to "break bread" and hang out with those people. Now I've got to go try and figure out why Marsh is so much higher than me on Scott's list of "favorite hangs."

I'm out...

A beautiful stinkin' day in the neighborhood....

Every day is a new day right? I'm sitting here on one of those mornings that I woke up early thinking about all of the things I need to get done today. I fell asleep last night watching Law and Order after a very long day that started out great. 24 hours ago I woke up looking forward to getting into the office and getting my fairly long to do list done. A list that included lots of things to finish up for Focus Weekend, taking my truck in at lunch for new tires, preparation for this Sunday, and finish it off with "the Merge," our junior high service.

It was a great morning. A driving with the windows down, listening to some new worship tunes, eating my donuts, and drinking my diet coke morning. Then it happened........she just pulled right out in front of me. I had a green light, she was sitting at a red light, and she just pulled out. It all happened in slow motion, but yet in a flash. I could see her face as I nailed the front end of her brand new, paper tags, little Kia Sportage with my beast of a Dodge truck.

I couldn't believe it....my light was green, hers was red.....I just sat there. I couldn't look at her. So many questions....such as....should you really be driving when your head is up your butt? I sat there in disbelief and finished my donut.

I was lucky though....the lady was one of the nicest people I've ever met. She took full responsibility, could not stop apologizing, was fully insured, and repeatedly referred to herself with names that made me laugh.

My truck was drivable unless I tried to turn left. But by afternoon it was at "The Body Shop" in Garland, I was in a Dodge Durango rental car (very nice), and I'm thinking about changing my car insurance to State Farm. I've got to get ready to go to work....

I'm out...

Random Thoughts....

Paulio's Pizza.....I've been waiting for a sit-down pizza place in Rowlett, other than CiCi's, for 6 years. This place is great! Thin crust pizza, cheese bread, and cherry limeade on tap. Stinkin' awesome!

Why do some people put the toilet paper upside down on the roller?

Why is every light in my house on right now, but I'm the only one not in bed?

Why did I ever agree to get a beagle?

Who decides what stories make the 10 o'clock news?

Is it possible to maintain a "glass half full" attitude when there are 4 half full glasses of milk in my den right now?

Speaking of milk....I need some Nilla Wafers

How much money do people get paid to test the side effects of new drugs, and do you get paid according to the severity of the side effect?

Skating with Celebrities? Are you kidding?

Did that marketing genius also come up with New Coke?

Predictions on how many times we'll watch Vince Young score the winning touchdown in the Rose Bowl between now and the NFL draft in April..........I say 8 cajillion.

Who told Alanis Morissette that she would look good as a blonde?

Why am I still awake? Oh yeah, it's because I'm eating Nilla Wafers and milk.

I'm out......

Connecting

Man....I have got to get on top of this blogging stuff. I was doing so good when I first started and now I go days without posting.

Today was my day off, and it was good. I got some stuff done around the house, and got to hang out with a couple of friends for lunch. After the kids got out of school I played some football with my son. That was awesome! We've got plays and everything, and you should see his endzone celebrations. Good stuff.

Last night was our first student service in two weeks. I've got to brag on a couple of my students. Meghan and Ashley are two of my high school girls. For several weeks we've been talking about connecting to God, connecting to others (believers and non-believers), and how to use the power that God gives us to love others and what that looks like. These two girls have taken huge steps to make that happen in their own lives and in our student ministry. They are impacting people, and they don't even realize it.

I've had some conversations recently with some of our students. They've ranged from questions about beliefs and faith, to confessions of sins and asking for prayer and healing. It has been great. Our "Focus Weekend" is coming up at the end of the month, and it is going to be awesome. God is moving, and I'm just having fun watching it all happen and being someone that He chooses to use.

Look for ways to connect with someone today and work hard to show the love of Christ in dealing with others.

I'm out....



This is Meghan and Ashley.....they're awesome!

back in the groove...

We had our first staff meeting in a couple of weeks today, and it felt good to get back together and talk about doing ministry. We've seen some amazing things at our church in the last few months, and I just know that we are going to see great things happen at Springcreek in 2006.

We also have programming meetings on Tuesdays to discuss upcoming sermon series and how to program our services to be most effective in ministering to the people of our community. When we get together like that and talk about ideas for ministry I just get pumped.

We recently talked about community, and fellowship with other believers at "The Net" (our sr. high ministry). I was a teacher for 15 years, and I can honestly say that I never got excited about faculty meetings. But there is something about meeting with other believers, and talking about doing ministry, celebrating the things that God is doing, casting vision, and just hanging out that gets me excited about Tuesdays.

In Acts 2: 42-47 Luke expresses the importance of community. There were basically 4 things that this community of believers commited themselves to:
1. Teaching
2. Fellowship
3. Breaking bread together
4. Prayer

The importance of hanging out with other Christians cannot be overlooked. Should we reach out to non-believers? Of course....no question. That is our mission. Showing others the love of Christ is something we should do daily. But the encouragement, and confidence we receive from hanging out, and sharing with other believers is what empowers us to continue in the daily spiritual battles of life.

Evaluate the relationships you have with other believers and take the time to develop those into a community that encourages and empowers each other to do the ministry that God has called us to as the body of Christ.

To those of you who I have the privilege of serving with at Springcreek, thank you. To my students.....you're awesome!

I'm out....

What lies ahead?

Wow..starting a new year. Looking back on the last year gets me so excited about the coming year. My wife and I were talking about all of the things that have transpired over the last 12 months, and I just can't help but wonder what's in store for us in 2006.

In January of '05 things seemed to be plugging along just as we planned. We were unbelievably busy most of the time but were happy with our lives. We had goals for the new year and dreams of what we wanted to achieve. As we set out to pursue our plans, it only took a little while to realize God had something much bigger planned.

I never figured that God would lead me into a full-time youth pastor's job at a church that I had never even heard of when the year started. It only proved once again that even the best plans that Kelly and I could come up with could never match up to God's plan for our lives. Why He would choose me for this position, I don't know. The opportunity to serve on a church staff like the one at Springcreek is incredible. I could never have imagined this one year ago.

As we look at 2006, I am trying real hard to allow God to lead without having to pull me back from chasing my own dreams. I would encourage you to remember that God has a unique plan for each of our lives. Regardless of our mistakes, shortcomings, flawed reasoning, and whatever else we still get a uniquely designed plan for our life. I want to make sure that this year I work at recognizing the opportunities that God places in my life.

There are plans for your life that you can't even imagine right now. Regardless of where you are, what you've done, or what's going on in your life, there is a plan for your life. It's more amazing than you could ever imagine, and nothing you come up with on your own will match up. The design for your life is in fact, uniquely yours and the rewards will be amazing.

Happy New Year.......I'm out....