Sunday night thoughts…

• It was a restful day today, I REALLY missed having service today but it was good to give everybody a break.
• It rained HARD most of the day… I am glad we didn’t have to set up in this stuff today!
• For my birthday my wife surprised me on Friday with dinner at Fogo De Chao… Oh my GOSH, I think we will eat like that in Heaven.  I learned some things from this restaurant that apply to Lifesong, more on that in a later post.
• I had planned on being at the theater this morning to meet with anyone who might not have heard that we were taking a break… I OVERSLEPT (didn’t wake up till 9:30) because I was up till 3am playing on the XBOX 360. 
• I just got in from recording the special podcast message to wrap up the Presence series… Its tough preaching to an empty room!
• We just got in 10,000 postcards that will be mailed next week… they look great.  I pray they help get the word out…
• I cant wait till next week when we kick of “Drive”… its going to be awesome!
• Everybody have a great New-year!

Taking a break…

It has been a few days since I was able to post because we were having some issues with our DSL service.  Man… I was going through withdrawals without internet!  I guess it was good having a forced break. 

Don’t forget that we WILL NOT have service this week!  It has been a long couple of months for all the volunteers and I really want everybody to have a break and spend time with their families.  See everybody on January 6th when we kick off our new series “Drive.”  Look out… its going to ROCK! 

Sunday Nights Thoughts…

• We had a great day today… I knew that we would be down in attendance because of Christmas, but it was still an awesome day!
• The band ROCKED today, that’s hard to do with Christmas carols, but they sounded great.
• The response to the blessing tree was incredible… We delivered TONS of gifts this afternoon to the three families!  I am so proud of Lifesong for stepping up and making a difference in these families lives.
• I am looking forward to taking some time off over the next week.
• Speaking of time off… We WILL NOT have service next Sunday.  I wanted to give our volunteer’s some much deserved time off to spend with their family’s.  There will be a special PODCAST message available on Sunday.  We will hit it HARD on January 6th… 
• Remember to do something special for those who serve us this Christmas… make an impact in our community, you never know what a difference it will make.

Presence…

I am really excited about this Sunday!  We will kick off our “presence” series and the band will lead us in worship with some Christmas songs… done the Lifesong way!  God is doing some AMAZING things through Lifesong and, I promise, you don’t want to miss this Sunday… seriously you better be there or Santa won’t visit your House!

I love this time of the year… there is a sense of expectation around our house about Christmas.  My daughters can’t wait to see what presents are under the tree (Dad is pretty excited too).  Lets have the same sense of expectancy about Sunday… Lets show up expecting God to do something amazing, something miraculous.  After all that is His specialty. 

Sunday night thoughts…

• Today I was guilty of having too little faith.  I spent all morning preparing EVERYBODY that today was going to be an off day, lots of people were out of town, the weather was bad and NOBODY was going to come… I was WRONG!  It was a great day!
• We had another person receive Christ today, this is why we do what we do… seeing lives changed!
• I know I say this every week, but the band really ROCKED today!  I get reminded every Sunday just how blessed Lifesong is to have such group of people to lead us in worship!
• I am blown away at the response to the “Blessing Tree.”  The tree in the lobby was literally overflowing with gifts for the three families that we are supporting.  I am so proud of this church, and I am honored to be your pastor.
• The Lifesong team is awesome, it was stinkin’ COLD this morning and set up/tear down went great. 
• Did I mention… someone was SAVED today! 
• At lunch, my wife was mobbed by some of the kids that are normally in “Kids Craze” who were not there today… I think they REALLY like coming to church!  All our children’s workers do a GREAT job… we just need more volunteers to help share the load.
• I really sense momentum building… I think we are going to see some amazing things happen in the next few months.
• Just got in from hanging out with some of the guys from church and watching “300“… I think I need to do some sit-ups.

I can relate…

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.  There have been many times when I have said things while preaching (like EVERY Sunday), that makes me want to crawl under the stage and assume the fetal position.  I can sooooo relate.

Sunday Night Thoughts…

• OK, I know I say this alot… but it was a really awesome day! 
• We had a really good crowd today, several first time guests, and lots of folks coming back!
• Lifesong had a record offering today, on an off week (usually the second week of the month is the lowest)!  This is great, and an answer to prayer.  I have been praying that we would have the funds to do another mailer in January and God provided it today… Very cool!
• Someone visited today because they picked up a postcard from the snack bar at the theater, how cool is that!
• We received a survey from our website from a guest.  When asked “what did you remember most about your visit.”  They replied, “the pastors approach and his style in preaching.”  I HOPE that’s a good thing! 
• Just finished up with our “Open House.”  We had 32 people come to the house tonight just to hang out and get to know each other better.  We might try to do these things more often (if I can talk Tammy in to it…)
• We added a new drummer to the band today.  We had Trey on conga’s and David on the drum kit, it really made for an awesome sound.  The Lifesong band is awesome… Hmmm, maybe we should put out an album…
• I am really burdened by some of the prayer requests that have been shared on our connection cards… there are some hurting people coming through our doors every week… its an honor to come along beside and pray for you.
• I know that God is going to do MORE awesome things through us… I cant wait!

Ummm…

Doing Life Together…

Its been a really good day.  I had lunch meeting today with Kevin Garrison from Life Church and Church Lewis the lead pastor of Anchor Church.  These guys have been really helpful to me and have played a huge part in bringing Lifesong to life.  It was great just to get together and share whats going on in our churches and encourage each other.  These guys are acting like an Elder advisory board until Lifesong grows to the point that we can form one in house. 

I just got in from an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.  I was invited to the meeting tonight by someone who is celebrating their 14th year of sobriety.  I was honored that they wanted me to share in this milestone of their life.  I was blown away as people shared their life stories so freely and honestly with each other,  they depend on each other to make it through the day and keep from slipping back into their old habits. 

We have a principle at Lifesong where we want people to be INVOLVED in each others life… to do life together.  The Christian life is more than just believing, it is also belonging.  It is important to connect with others in meaningful relationships to encourage and support each other to live life to the fullest.   It takes effort to create these relationships, they wont happen over night… but they are worth it!  Who are you INVOLVED with?

Sunday Night Thoughts…

• It was a good day today, not great but good… we were WAY off in attendance.  We had alot of regulars out today.  I have to remind myself that people who are unchurched don’t come every week, and some of those attending Lifesong have been two or three weeks in a row… its just the ups and downs of church planting.
• I am really excited about the Mythbusters teaching series.  I enjoyed preaching the message today, I know it helped me.  I must confess it was a hard message to preach though. 
• Will from PAC Productions came in and did a consultation on our sound system and set-up.  Our Tech Team is awesome and this will just make them better.  I dont know what he did, but everything sounded amazing!  Thanks for helping make Lifesong better!
• I am still amazed and humbled at the commitment of the Lifesong team… for a new church start, finances are ALWAYS a concern, but because of your giving, Lifesong is on solid financial footing… although if someone had an extra $50,000 laying around we wouldn’t turn it down!
• The Blessing Tree started today.  We are partnering with two local schools to provide Christmas presents to three families in need.  I understand that people really responded to the need, and some kids are going to be really surprised on Christmas morning!
• I am still praying for more people to catch the vision of the Song and get involved.  There aren’t too many things that we get to be involved in that will have eternal impact!
• God, thank you for letting me lead such an awesome group of people!