Excited

I'm super excited about tomorrow night. It's one of our biggest outreaches of the year. So many people will come through our doors. I feel that we are more strategic this year than we've ever been in seeing how this can better build bridges and impact lives for the Lord. I'm excited to see what God is going to do through all of this. Festival of Light is not an Eric deal or a Dan deal or an Oakwood deal; it's a God deal. I'm just praying that our people and the people who are coming in for this remember that. I'm also praying that God does His thing through us, His servants. I'm excited to be a part of this. I hope that everyone at our church is as excited as I am.

We'll see a lot tomorrow night. We'll have ghosts, goblins, witches and scary costumes, but I always try to put it in perspective with this...behind each of those masks and costumes is a person, a person with a heart and soul that God created. These kids need Jesus just as much as any of our church kids. We have to love them in spite of their decisions on costume or whatever else we see. These souls are crying out for love and acceptance so many times. Tomorrow night is our opportunity to share God's love with each and every person. I think that God has us up to the task. I'm hoping that many will come and join us for Festival of Light!

FOL

Festival of Light, our HUGE Halloween alternative is this Friday night. I'm already getting excited about what God is going to do through this outreach. Every year we get feedback from families that so appreciate a safe Halloween alternative to door to door trick-or-treating. We actually do door to door trick-or-treating in our building as children and families go from one door to the next receiving candy from our great volunteers. You don't know how much an event like this impacts people until you hear some of the testimonials that we get. We've had many families touched by this outreach and many families come to our church. I've even seen FOL as a starting point for a turn-around in some people's lives. I'm excited and prayerful about how God will use this year's event to impact people for the Kingdom.

So that's why I keep doing this....

Amy and I were so blessed last night. We took our Pastor Appreciation cards and gifts from our box and took them home to read them. As we looked over each of the cards and read the penned words from each person, we were blessed to remember that we are used by God as a small part of His plan to change people's lives and help them see God for who He really is. It's a huge blessing to get to hear how God has used you to impact different lives. It's one of those moments where God allows you to see some fruit from your work for Him. I so appreciate the kind words and the encouragement. It's one of those times where Amy and I were both reminded, so that's why I keep doing this. Many thanks to God and His great church at Oakwood for all of the encouragement and kindness. Many more thanks for God allowing us to be a part of what he's doing in Enid at Oakwood.

Birthday Boy!

Today is my 33rd birthday! Everyone keeps asking me if I feel older and honestly, other than on paper, I really don't. I'm enjoying the weather change today with the fresh, crisp fall air and enjoying the cards, gifts, e-mails, and phone calls. I praise God for my health, my family, and this great fellowship of believers where God has called me to serve. It's been a good 33rd so far!

Funny Bumper Stickers

Amy and I were heading back from Madalyn's parent-teacher conference last night and saw the funniest thing on the back of a minivan at a stoplight. The van had a bumper sticker that said "Hillary for President" and now right beside it was a McCain/Palin sticker. Just struck us as kind of funny, having those stickers side by side on the back of a vehicle.

The upcoming election is very important. You can drive around and see stickers, signs in yards, etc. It's that time of year. As I drive and see signage I like to think about what those signs represent. They all represent different people with totally different approaches, plans, and agendas. As we come to the election time, we ought not look to who will be better for the economy, etc. as the world and the media would like for us to. The real issue to consider is who will be the most Godly leader? Who will do their best to live up to His standards? Who will protect the things that God holds dear, like human life? These considerations should far outweigh any others if we are truly seeking to please God with our vote. I'm praying for this election and praying that God will help move people toward voting a way that pleases Him most.

When the Spirit moves

Watch out. God's spirit moves when you least expect it. Today's time of invitation in our church service was a great example. We had sung a verse and a chorus and no one was coming forward. I'm not the type to ever "shut down" the invitation, but I'm also not the type to extend it forever till someone comes forward. As we began to sing the second verse, one came, then another, then another, and the next thing I knew the whole front was filled with people being ministered to. It blesses me so much to see so many of our elders and staff talking to these people, praying for these people, and truly loving on them as Christ loved on us. It's great to see so many people from our congregation come forward to help, and listen, and pray as their brothers and sisters in Christ come forward to make decisions and ask for prayer. It nearly brought tears to my eyes a couple of times as I could see God's Spirit move on His people. If you were there, then you definitely know what I mean. Just goes to show me again that God operates on His terms, in His time, and as a servant of His, you just better be ready. Sometimes when you least expect it and your about to close things down...He shows up big...and the Spirit moves...and once again God shows you what happens when you open your heart to Him. I pray that every person in our church would be open to God's spirit and His leading in their lives! Amen!

Marriages

I talked to someone (not from our church) on Friday who told me she was getting a divorce from her husband of over 12 years. They were supposed to sign the papers today sometime. With the weather today, whew, what a memory! (Cold, windy, and rainy) It hit me late this afternoon with the weather changes, the cold air, and the wind and rain that this represents how God feels about broken marriages. He cries for them. He hates divorce. It ruins the union that he intended. It's sad. It breaks my heart to see how broken families function (or dysfunction, rather). When will we learn that doing marriages God's way is the best way?

The church has to do it's part to try to build strong marriages from the beginning through pre-marital services. We also must be there for couples as life comes and they are struggling. We need divorce care ministries in the church to help people function and repair their hearts. I'm no wise man. I'm not all knowing. I don't have all of the answers.

I'll just keep praying....

TGIF

Been a long week. I'm glad it's Friday. I've been getting to bed about 1AM this week and getting up at 6:30AM. Needless to say it's catching up with me. Finished the message for this weekend last night at about 12:45AM. I'm excited about it. We're talking about Marital Parasites.

Madalyn is doing the Enid High Mini-Cheer tonight. She gets to cheer at halftime with the Enid High Cheerleaders. She's pretty excited and I'm excited for her. I'm also excited to get to go to a football game with my girls.

I'm thankful it's Friday. I love Fridays for another reason. Uptown Subs has my favorite sub on special on Fridays, the Italian, 8 inch on wheat. I hope I can talk Amy into it.

Financial Independence

Thought that I'd share this. I got this from Barry Cameron this week. He's Senior Pastor at a Christian church in Texas. Read it and comment.

OUR DECLARATION OF FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE.
1. We will spend less than we earn. Saving a little out of every dollar we bring home is the foundation of independence. Without it, we can’t build equity in our home, we can’t invest for the future, and we can’t be ready for challenging times. We promise to pay ourselves first, always.
2. We will use our home as a savings account. Besides shelter and comfort for our family, the role of a house in our financial life is to build equity. We will have a healthy down payment when we buy. We’ll choose the mortgage that lets us pay down the principal fastest. And then we’ll leave that equity safe where it is instead of spending it on things that don’t last.
3. We will take care of our money. It’s not enough to have money in a bank. We will put it where it will grow. We’ll keep track of it. And we’ll check every account we have every year to protect ourselves against fraud or escheatment.
4. We will defend our credit worthiness. Good credit is going to be precious in the years to come. We will pay our bills on time. We’ll borrow only when we need to and in amounts we can comfortably pay back. And then we’ll do just that.
5. We will ignore unsolicited credit card marketing. We decide when we need a credit card, not some marketer. And mostly, we probably don’t need another one at all. We won’t even open those solicitations. We’ll shred them.
6. We will know the cost of borrowing. The interest lenders charge us is real money, too. When we buy a mortgage or finance a purchase, we’ll figure out what that interest is really going to cost in dollars, add it to the purchase price, and ask ourselves if it’s still worth it.
7. We will invest for the long term. Futures are built out of patience and prudence, not luck. We will not put off being a saver because we think there’s a lottery win in our future, in Vegas or on Wall Street.
8. We will take care of the things we have. We work hard for our money, and it’s disrespectful to waste it - or the planet - by treating our possessions as disposable.
9. We will remember what matters. We are not the things we own. If we have to spend and spend on bigger, more impressive things to keep up with our friends, then they are not our friends at all.
Saving is something we’re not very good at here in America. Even Christians, who believe Jesus saves, struggle to save anything for themselves financially on a weekly or monthly basis. The Bible clearly says, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers it little by little makes it grow.” Personally, before I would ever put my John Hancock on any declaration of financial independence, the item that would have to be at the top of the list - the #1 Priority would have to be this:
10. I will be at least a tither of my income and put God first! Why? Because God promises to “throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing we won’t have enough room for it” (Malachi 3:10).

In Malachi 3:8-9, God said the whole nation was under a curse because they were robbing Him in tithes and offerings. Maybe the best bailout plan and rescue package for America would be to get people to obey God, delete greed, and start giving.

Just a thought.

She Walks...More & More

Just so everyone in blogland knows, Isabel is walking almost all the time now. It was off and on, then 50/50. Last week on Wednesday night in the church nursery, she decided to walk almost the entire hour. Now she walk about 95% of the time. It's really cute. She toddles like she's got weights on her feet. She's doing great and growing like a weed. Thought I'd get the word out.

Feeling Prayed For

Have you ever just had the feeling that people were praying for you? I had that feeling on Sunday afternoon and evening and all day today. My spirit and countenance have just been uplifted today. There's a peace that comes when you know that fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord are praying for you, not just saying they will, but actually doing it. Amazing! I just want to thank God for being a Savior that loves and cares for all of us personally. I want to thank brothers and sisters in Christ who are truly brothers and sisters who encourage and uplift me every day. I hope that every person in our church knows the assurance and confidence that comes from knowing that someone is praying for you. I pray for the spiritual growth of our church every day. God is doing that work in people's hearts. And I'm feeling prayed for.

Candy Mixin' & Maddy's B-day

Abigail and Madalyn are next door to my office right now in the "candy room" mixing candy for Festival of Light. It's that time of year and I learned several years ago that you have to get started early on mixing or it will sneak up on you. The girls have a blast mixing it and it makes them feel important and a part of the team, I think. Just goes to show that anyone can do service for the Lord, even a 3 year old and a 6, well, now 7 year old.

Madalyn's 7th birthday is today. She's pretty jazzed about it. She picked her "special meal" tonight of mac and cheese and blueberry muffins. Friend party tomorrow night and family party on Saturday night. Big weekend, none the less. Isabel's first birthday is Saturday, so we got 2 real close together here. It's a lot of fun.

Mommy dressed Maddy up cute in a shirt today that said "Birthday Girl" on the front of it. Amy is always good at making birthdays and holidays special for everyone. When I picked Madalyn up at school today, she had a balloon bouquet that she had received while in class. When she got in the car I asked her who gave it to her and she said that it was from Glenwood (the name of her school). I said "What? Did you read the card, girl?" She said that the outside of it said Glenwood, which it did. I proceeded to ask why she thought that Glenwood School would buy her balloons for her birthday and nobody else on theirs. She told me with a very straight face, "I thought it was because they read my t-shirt." Needless to say, I laughed all the way home. Too cute from my 7 year old. Grandpa and Grandma had supplied the balloons. Too funny!