The First Night

Well I made it through the first night of Project Fill "it" Up, and I have learned one valuable lesson. DO NOT take high school aged boys to Starbucks at 9pm if you want to go to bed before midnight. We went for our outside game last night, and a thunderstorm rolled in so my idea was to go hang at Starbucks, great idea, wrong time. We then rushed home to watch the original Star Wars Episode 4. We have been through 2 services so far, and things are going great. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us later on tonight and tomorrow!!!!!

Trying to get better....

I know it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post, and man have things gotten crazy. 2 weeks ago when I went to Elevation church, I had thought that it was the most physically, spiritually, emotionally trying week I had ever experienced. I was trying to sell my house, and the home inspector the buyers had hired came back with some bogus stuff, to which I had to hire a certified engineer to refute. (it amazes me how much stock people place into someone who goes to take a one day class and a test to get certified to inspect homes). Never the less, my guy came through and we close on the deal in 2 days. Also that week I got sick, and without going into too much detail, I was selling Buick's to Ralph on the way home from Elevation. On top of all that I am trying to figure out the direction God is leading me into, and Satan is really on my back.

That was probably one of the worst weeks of my life, until this week. Briefly, moving sucks and we are addressing some family issues, and I need much prayer. I know God's word says that He will never allow Satan to put anything on us we can't handle through the power of the Holy Spirit, but man is it tough. On a positive note though, our youth mini-camp, starts tomorrow, and I am excited about what God is gonna do there, and I am gonna get to preach the Friday night message. Haven't got to do that in several months (over 6) and God has given me a great message on His Guidance. I love to preach, and teach, and am really excited about this opportunity. Well anyways if you are reading this, just keep me and my family in your prayers as we work this crap out. PEACE!!

Mind Dump.....my first...

1. Elevation rocks, those guys are awesome.

2. I hate selling my house.

3. Home inspectors suck. They are overpaid flunkies.

4. I missed youth on Sunday.

5. I HATE trying to sell my house.

6. I think I am gonna have to go to the doctor.

7. Spiders scare me.

8. My head hurts.

9. I HATE SELLING MY HOUSE....this is stressful.

10. I need a vacation.

I AM DYING.......

I went with Gary, Preston, Mike, Aaron, Chris, and Taylor to Elevation Church Saturday, and ever since I have been sick. Pray for me while I try to get over this crap. I sold Buicks to Ralph on the way home, and still ain't right. Being sick sucks.

HMMMMM..... I wonder?

I think I am gonna try a series. This is my first stab at it, and since I am relatively still a blogging baby, we will see how it goes.



OK, so I have always had all these questions for God, and I know one day they will all be answered, but this one kinda hit me today. I know we all have people in our lives that just annoy the crap out of us. I am no different, and it always seems to be someone I work with. I mean the type of person who, no matter what they say or do, they just always seem to be on your last freakin nerve. Well I wonder if God ever feels that way about us, I mean we always seem to go to Him with our petty problems, constantly nagging, and just won't shut-up about what we want, or what we need. I know God loves us, and desires to hear from us, but I wonder if He ever just gets annoyed with us to the point He just wants to scream SHUT UP!!!!! HMMMMM.....I wonder?

The WORLD'S WORST BLOGGER!!!!!

I have to have the title for being the world's worst blogger. No excuses, but life has been freakin crazy right now. For those who don't know, I have had my house on the market since last September, and finally signed a contract on it last Wednesday. Trying to close the deal, negotiating offers, trying to get ready to move in with the in-laws, packing (all done by my lovely wife, Tracy, so far), talking to builders, talking to the power company, TALKING..TALKING..TALKING, it is all very frustrating. So , if my 2 readers will be patient, I will try to do better in the future. I got alot on my mind right now so get ready for multiple posts.

Smashing!!!!

Well I had heard the rumors, and I guess today I have found out they are true. One of the best, and in my opinion the best, Alternative Rock bands of the nineties is back. After breaking up in 2000, the Smashing Pumpkins are back with a new album...

Zeitgeist is slated for release on July 10th, and I can't wait. In the midst of all the grunge rock of the 90's, the Pumpkins had a style all their own. Reportedly, only 2 of the original members of the band will be back, guitarist/songwriter Corgan, and drummer Chamberlin, but I am excited none the less. Grunge Rock Is Back !!!!

In honor of Blake Lewis on American Idol!

Blake Lewis has developed a huge following, simply because he uses a special skill in oral vocalization called the BEATBOX. Well here is a clip of a guy who I feel takes it to a new level. LOOK OUT FOR THE HAIR!!!! Here is another guy named Yuri, he actually beatbox's with a harmonica.

Do I have to be baptized to get to Heaven?

This seems to be one of the most asked questions by Christians and non-Christians alike, and before I answer this, I feel I need to say a few things first. You may be asking what brought this up, well we are having baptisms at the Stone on the May 27th, and in light of that, we are discussing baptism in small groups this week at TPU. So...I am reviewing my studies over baptism, and felt like sharing what I have learned, and right or wrong, I am sticking to my guns.

The Bible speaks of 3 types of baptism, as far as I can tell, and they are all mentioned in one verse Matthew 3:11.

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

So here the bible speaks of water baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and baptism of fire. Here is my take on each.

1. Water baptism, cannot, get you into heaven. Yep that's what I said. Water baptism simply is a public sign of obedience to Christ, and a symbol of dying to your old way of life and being born into a new life, a life with Christ.

2. Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is what happened to Christ after he was baptised by John. The bible says that John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Christ like a dove. That is what happens to us when we accept Christ into our lives. The Holy Spirit comes and lives in our hearts, creating a life change.

3. Baptism of fire. Now I guess this one can be debated, but what I get from scripture is that during our Christian walk, Christ is continually doing a work in us. As true followers of Christ, we should strive to be more like Him everyday, and in doing so Christ stretches us beyond our comfort zone. This process, according to the Bible, is called refinement. What is refinement? Well when something is refined, such as precious metal, great heat, or fire, is applied to the item being refined, so that the impurities are removed. This is what God does with us. During our refinement, we are allowed to go through certain things, not to test our faith, but to make us more and more like Christ.

So now back to the question at hand, do you have to be baptized to get to heaven? Yes, but only the baptism of the Holy Spirit is required for entry into heaven. Well that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Peace.

Smack Dab in the middle of God's will.

I am telling you what, God never ceases to amaze me! I have been really caught up in, intrigued if you will, by the book of Esther lately. I have no idea why? I am praying daily that God speaks to me on what He wants me to get out of this book in the Bible. I know that sometimes I look back over my life, and at the time certain things were going on, I was asking God, why is this happening. What have I done for me to have to go through this, or what is it You are trying to tell me God? I think we all tend to do this sometimes. Now though, I can look back and see where God was working in my life, to get me to where I am today. The whole time I have been reading through the book of Esther, I have been wondering, did she know she was in the center of God's will, or was it merely a matter of her being available for God to use her. I may never know, but here are my thoughts I will leave you with. I know that God has a plan for my life. I also know that no matter what I may do, God's plan will see it's way through. When I was a seventeen God called me into His ministry, and I did what so many others do, I ran from His calling. I entered into a backsliden state, and if you had of known me back then, you would have never known me to be a follower of Christ. It took me 11 years before I actually threw up my hands and said here I am God, use me. Boy has he. I have been involved in 3 church ministries since then, and all the while I feel that God was preparing me for serving in this church. The point of all this is, that Esther, I feel, didn't know what God was preparing for her to do, but by her being available, she was placed in a position to save an entire race of people, her people, God's chosen people, the Jews. Wow. I want to be that available too.......

Coolest snowmobile video ever !!!!!

I want to freakin do this, these guys are CRAZY!!!!




Can you imagine the RUSHHHHHHHH??????

GOD ROCKS MY SOCKS!!!!!

My quiet time is really rocking right now, and I felt inclined to share what God had to say to me today. I read out of Luke 5:4-11 and Psalm 149.

You know as a Christian, we are taught from day one to be submissive and meek, and often times I feel that meekness is misunderstood to mean that you are weak or timid. I beg to differ. God often times illustrates things to me through the eyes of a child, which in turn causes me to reflect on my own children. I'll put it to you like this, a truly meek individual is neither weak, timid, shy, or hesitant. Meekness in the biblical sense means trusting, confident, and secure. It was right here that God dropped the hammer on me, and showed me something I had never seen before.

My children, both girls, are naturally scared of everything in the world, bugs, dogs, the dark, but one thing that really gets them is a good ol' thunderstorm. They are petrified of lightning, and it never fails, when a storm approached the house when they were young, I could expect a knock at my bedroom door. They would come in and immediately want to crawl into my arms for comfort. They trusted me enough as their father, that as soon as I wrapped my arms around them, everything was alright, they were secure, and confident that nothing was going to happen to them.

As Christians I feel that sometimes we truly forget who God is, and we can all take note of how Simon (who later was named Peter) dropped everything, and followed Christ. Jesus is the One that holds our lives in His hands, and we have to be submissive enough to place our trust in Him, confident that He knows what is best for us, and secure enough in our faith to give our lives totally and completely to Him.

Perry hit the nail on the head.....

Every now and then I slip around and read Perry Noble's blog. It always seems to be so awesome, and about things I have thought about, but just wasn't eloquent enough to put into words. This particular post jumped out and screamed at me, and because I would do it a great injustice to try to explain it to you, I will just let you read it for yourself.

Back from the Beach...

Wow, I had a blast. Tracy and I are back, and things are back to normal, so to speak. We got back from Gulf Shores on Monday, and it has taken me a few days to get back online, but here I am. A couple of things I noticed on this trip. As short a trip as it was, we needed this. I now more than ever realize how truly special my wife is. Secondly, if you are married, and you and your spouse do not get away, alone, just the two of you, nobody else, (have I made it clear?) you are truly hurting your relationship. The whole time I was gone, I wanted for both my girls to be there enjoying what we enjoyed, but at the same time I'm glad they weren't. Sometimes you just have to get away. I came back refreshed, and renewed, but immediately had to jump back into the rat race of life. The beach, awesome, beautiful weather, great walks, even better talks, and killer food. Our favorite place to eat in Gulf Shores is Fish Camp. From the outside it doesn't look like much, but they have awesome food, and something I hadn't ever eaten before, but is now my new fav,... deep fried (anything fried has to be awesome) sweet potatoes. Yep sweet potatoes. I had to ask the waitress about them, and she said they dump them in the fryer, pull them out, soak them in butter, and then pour the cinnamon and sugar to them. UMBOY!! Well anyways glad to be back, and can't wait for the next one. Peace.

Rats!!!, The Final Shakedown

I know it has been drawn out, but here it is the final shakedown of why and how I have used this experience. I believe that God allows us to experience certain things in our lives, and if we look hard enough, something good can come from it. Honestly I am freakin petrified of rats now, simply from this experience. To say that I hate them would be an understatement, I want to WIPE THEM FROM THE FACE OF THE PLANET... now that that's over, here we go. I believe that we all have little rats in our lives, these rats are called temptation. Temptation effects us all in some shape form or fashion, be it drugs, alcohol, porn, internet, email.....the list could go on, but the point is we all have some area in our life in which we are really weak, and we need help in getting through this. Well it just so happens that God left us explicit instructions on how to do just that. Those instructions are in this neat little package called the Bible, and He has given us several ways to resist this thing called, temptation. What I have come up with in my studies is these 3 things:

1. We must first realize who is tempting us. Ephesians 6:10-12 tells us explicitly, that spiritually we are at war, yes I said war, and it also tells us who this war is waged against. We are at war with satan, this is the same satan that Christ battled in the desert when He went to be tempted. We also need to remember, that satan knows his job, and he is very good at it, so the only true way to battle back is to know our enemy.

2. Secondly we must resist the devil. James chapter 4:7-8 tells us 4 specific ways to do this.
1. We must Submit to God's authority. Basically give everything over to God, every aspect of your life.
2. Resist the devil. I know this sounds redundant, but basically when temptation presents itself, you have to walk away. God tells us that if we resist the urge to sin, satan will run.
3. Draw close to God. The easiest way to explain how to do this, is to spend time with God.
Just like any relationship, the more time you spend with someone, the better you get to know them, and what they expect from you. The same holds true with our relationship with God. When I was at the schools I used this cheesy illustration, where I would get 3 volunteers, and have one be satan, one be God, and the other just be themselves. I made them stand side by side about four feet apart with God and satan on either side, and have the person in the middle walk towards God, and away from satan, or vice versa, demonstrating, that the closer you are to God, the further away you are from satan. Dumb I know, but the kids love it.
4. Finally you have to wash your hands and purify your heart. Simply put, those things you gave into, they're in the past. Forget about it and move on. God doesn't want us dwelling on the past, but satan uses that against us to keep us down.

3. Lastly, we have to rejoice. Yep, be happy, cause satan has been defeated, God has won, and the devil is just to dumb to see it. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, that God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle, through Him. That last part is the key, we get the strength to resist satan from Christ. God always gives us an out.

Well that's it, my longest blog to date, but that's the way I see it. Mojo OUT!!!

BEACH!!!!

I am fixing roll out of the driveway to go to the beach. This is a long overdue trip for my wife and I, without the kids!!! We have been planning this get away for about 3 months now, and to highlight the event it is also our anniversary. I can't believe Tracy has put up with my crap for 12 years. Well anyways gotta go...I'm coming dear.....

Rats, Part 7!!! NEXT TO LAST!!!!!!!

So now here I am in all my glory except my bed clothes and boots. Can you say Deja vu? Now this rat has gone behind the love seat, it's 3am, and my wife is in the chair. I am pissed off, and a little scared, but here goes nothing. I told my wife my plan and said when you see the rat, let me know which way he goes. So, I picked up the end of the love seat, the rat runs out the opposite side, I gave chase, he heads into the living room, and I lose sight of him. I run into the living room, ask my wife where he went, and she says, "I never saw it." What the ...... "You never saw it.." I said. "No, maybe he went down that hole by the door." "What hole?"said I. Needless to say, there was a freakin hole by the door, that Tracy had known about for some time, but she never realized that it was a rat door. I pulled back the carpet, and there it was, a hole just big enough for a rat, that headed straight for my crawlspace. So what did I do, I grabbed the ol' 22 rifle and some rat shot, and head to the crawlspace to kill the rat, which by the way has a spot to stand up in. So once I get down there, I flip on the light, and there he goes. He was way to quick for me. So I look for the hole, and without going into much detail, I found out where they were going in, and it was freakin amazing. The tunnels that were up under this concrete slab that my office was on, they went everywhere. I waited until the next morning, went to Home Depot, bought some concrete, and filled in the hole. By the way, it took 14 bags of concrete to fill all the hole up. Since then I have had no more rats in the house, but I learned a valuable lesson, which I will tell you about in the wrap up......ALMOST OVER!!!

Rats, Part 6...The return.

So several weeks go by and not one rat. I actually by this time have somewhat developed a phobia about this whole thing. Finally, I have started to get a good nights sleep. Well I get up one night about 3am having to go take a whiz. I go to the bathroom next to our new bedroom, open the door turn on the light, and standing right there in the middle of the floor, on two legs with arms out, seeming to say come and give me a hug I missed you, is one of the biggest freakin rats I have ever seen. I FREAKED OUT to say the least. Immediately I shut the door to keep him in, and called to Tracy ever so softly, "Hey baby, can you go get my boots?" She rubbed her eyes and questioned me with a "HUH?!?" I said "Can you go get my boots?" "Why?" she asked. I told her about the rat, she got up, headed down the hall to get my boots. Here is where I got stupid. I opened the door. I am still not sure why I did it, but Mr. Rat took advantage of this opportunity, and ran for it. I jumped up, he ran under my feet, and was closing in on my wife FAST!!! I yelled, "HERE HE COMES!!!" At this point I like to reflect on something I used to do as a kid. I flippin loved to watch wrestling as a kid, and my favorite wrestler was Sting. He had 2 finishing moves, #1 the scorpion deathlock, #2 the Stinger Splash. We will be referring to the later. My wife, all 100lbs of her, launched herself into the air, flew across the living room, and Stinger Splashed the living room chair!!! BAMM!!!! The whole house shook, and Mr. Rat, he dove for cover under the love seat we have in the office. I immediately ran into the living room, to first check on Tracy, and then to get my boots. I was prepared for battle now, and all I can say is this rat was numero uno on my list of America's Most Wanted. "Let's Get Ready To Rumble".......TO BE CONTINUED.

Some youth ministry stuff...

Well we had our second united service, and it was awesome. Adam changed some things up, and I felt like the small group sessions went very well. Because of our numbers, we put high school and middle school together, and things went great. I truly feel as though our middle schoolers, for the most part, are maturing and growing in their faith as a result of small groups, and our high schoolers are helping to generate a lot of chatter. I love it when you sit down and have a discussion time, and it isn't just myself, Chris, or one of the other adult volunteers having to do all the talking. I know God is fixing to do big things in this ministry, and I can't wait to see it.

On a different note, Adam and myself are going to Cherokee High School on Friday to speak at the FCA meeting. It will be Adam's first go at speaking to FCA members, and I am praying, and asking for your prayers too, that all will go well. Also the whole two or three of you who actually humor me by reading this, pray for TPU, and that God will rock the lives of all the students who darken our door. Well that's all for now LOVE GOD and ROCK'N ROLL.

Hell? No!

Well the new shirts are a dud. My daughter wore hers to school, and said several youth had theirs on too, and NONE of them got kicked out. I am very disappointed to say the least. You would think that with the reputation our church has that something would come of it, but it hasn't yet. I'll just keep waiting I guess, but wouldn't it be cool if all our students got kicked out, and then we could have like an emergency youth outing or something. We might even make the news again....hum I wonder.....

Rats, Part 5!!! Will it ever end?

So I have killed the rat, and I am thinking not a problem, until. I get up the next morning flip on the kitchen light, and hear the pitter patter of little feet running across the floor. Normally this wouldn't have even phased me cause we have this little mini poo, but on this particular morning she was in her kennel, and I thought crap another rat. I looked high and low, but couldn't find it. I finally pulled out my stove, and Kabamm, RAT CRAP EVERYWHERE!!!!! So I remembered a funny smell from behind the washer too, so I pulled it out, and rat crap there too. Not only rat crap, but they had pushed the vent hose off my dryer, so they had easy access to come and go as they pleased. Well I spent the morning cleaning up the mess, and getting the dryer hose back on and clamped down tight. Then I went and bought a trap, and set it. Well that night right before I went to bed, SNAP, YAP YAP YAP, the dog got into the trap. After attending to the dog and getting her calmed down, I reset the trap. I got up the next morning, and had caught the biggest freakin rat I had ever seen. I set the trap again and for several nights never caught anything, so I think, rats gone right? Wrong!!......TO BE CONTINUED..AGAIN.

Rats, Part 4!!!

So here he is, hurt limping, and seemingly a little out of his mind. He has retreated to the opposite corner of Adriana's room, and now is simply walking out about 2 feet and going back into the corner. This continued for several seconds and then, light bulb. When he moved back into the corner, I took a step towards him. He moved out to the same spot, and back in, and another step closer for me. Eventually, he was walking right between my legs. Crane stance, drop the hammer, scream and struggle, twist of the foot, snap of the neck, DEAD RAT!!!! I had done it!! I, the great white hunter, had killed the rat. In my triumph, I turned on the light, picked him up by the tail, and displayed him to my daughter like a trophy. I proceeded to take him outside and dispose of him. I chunked him in the backyard for the buzzards. Well my rat killin days were over..........or were they......TO BE CONTINUED.

TPU

Well, in a word. AWESOME. I think Preston summed it all up when he said this. I had never been so freakin stressed in all my life. I was in charge of the media and sound. I got there at 2pm to get the lyrics and videos onto Media Shout. After about an hour and a half, Media Shout decides all on it's own I'm taking a nap. It literally just shut off by itself. I lost it all. It was then I went into panic mode. Now it normally takes alot to stress me out, but I knew how important this was, and how important it was for TPU to go off without a hitch. Long story short, with a little help from Preston, and alot of copy and paste, I got done, and for the most part, pulled it off. I NEVER want to do that again. Whew. Aside from that, everything was great, and for the record TP (toilet paper) is great for throwing at bands during a song. I wonder if we should try it in our main service one Sunday? PEACE!!!!

Rats, Part 3!!!

Well, as I said, it was on. So I eased into the bedroom, and shut the door. I had heard that rats were pretty smart, so I knew that he knew the only way out was through the door, then I had an idea. I thought that if I cracked the door, he would make a brake for it, and on his way out I could stomp him. So I cracked the door, got into the crane stance (for those who have no clue what the crane stance is watch the Karate Kid), and waited. I didn't have to wait long, he made a break for it, I dropped the hammer, he let out the most blood-curdling scream you've ever heard, I jumped up and hit my head on the door frame, Adriana sat straight up in her bed and screamed "Daddy what was that!!!", I said "Nothing go back to bed!!", then the rat went back into the room, and I staggered around a little while trying to get my senses back. Now what in the world just happened. I had no idea rats could scream. But anyhow I had done some damage, now he was walking around with a limp. So I started to watch to see what he would do next so I could plan my next move...........TO BE CONTINUED.

Rats, Part 2!!!

So here I was in my boots, ready to take on the rats of the world, so I headed towards my girl's room, and I saw him. He was in the bathroom. I breathed a sigh of relief, and started towards him, and at that moment he decided to make a run for it. He ran right behind the entertainment center, or so I thought. I ran over shined the light behind the E.C. looked high and low, then it hit me, crap he's in one of the bedrooms. I wasn't worried, but I knew that if he woke one of my girls up it would hit the fan. So as quiet as a mouse, (pun intended) I proceeded to try to track him down. I went to Adriana's room, and shut her door, I mean I couldn't have him getting away, and proceeded to Ashley's room to see if he was there. I opened the door, looked around with the light and listened. No rat. So I shut her door, and went back to Adriana's room, started to look around, listen, and that was when I heard him. It was on.......TO BE CONTINUED.

The Project United!!!!!

Wow!! I am totally excited about what God is fixing to do at the Stone, and in our student ministry. I believe that our new youth guy Adam is gonna be able to do great things with our ministry, and TPU kicks off Sunday April 15th @ 4pm. I can't wait to #1 see what Adam has to say, #2 see what he and Preston have come up with, #3 see how God totally rocks our world in a ministry that has struggled ever since I have been at the Stone. I just found out that we have our own TPU blog here, and that Adam has been posting our videos on YOUTUBE. I love this one, mainly cause I got to shoot Adam with my paintball gun. I LOVE PAINTBALL, and it sucks cause we have a game scheduled on the 5th of May, and I won't be able to play, lucky for them. Also, if you link to the video just curious, but does it look like Adam's fly is open? HA!! PEACE OUT!!

Rats, Part 1!!!

It all happened about 6 years ago in the little place I like to call home. We had just finished remodeling our house, and things were going pretty good. Well one morning I was getting up to go to work, and I am not one of those people that can just jump up, get ready, and go. I need about an hour to get woke up, get motivated, and get going. So this particular morning, I got up, and fixed the usual bowl of cereal, sat down on the couch, and commenced to watching TV while eating my Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. (my fav) While I was in the middle of my breakfast I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, CRAP A RAT!! Now I am not talking about your run of the mill house mouse. I am talking about your foot and a half long, steroid eating, greasy, good for nothing, spine chilling, warf rat. He was in my house, MY HOUSE!! Well what did I do, I watched him. He was just walking around, checking things out. He even looked in my boots. All was well, and I was just wanting to see where he came from until...he headed for my girl's rooms. Snap, now I have to take action, so I get up, find a flashlight, and start looking for him. I didn't know what I could do as far as killing him, I mean I have a gun, but not in the house. So I looked around for a stick, bat, anything that would work,... ahaha, my boots. Yes I said boots, I could stomp him to death, so here I am in nothing but my underwear, holding a flashlight, wearing my work boots. Yes a horrible sight to say the least, but now I was off to hunt rat.........TO BE CONTINUED.

In honor of GARY AND HIS RATS!!!!!

Ok, for those who haven't figured it out, I attend Ridge Stone Church in Canton, GA, quite possibly the perfect church (in my opinion). I make it a habit to read my pastor's, Gary Lamb, blog. He has on a few occasions read mine, and tells me how bad it sucks. Well hopefully that all changes today. Gary says he has been plagued with these dreams about rats, and it just so happens that one of my favorite sermons to teach teenagers, and as a matter of fact I have taught it in almost every school in the county through the FCA and First Priority programs, is about just that, RATS!!! After Sunday I had a hankerin to include it on my blog as a series, as it is way to long for one post, so here it comes Gary.

What to do, what to do???

I have been thinking about it, and I believe I am wanting to have a central theme for my blog. I am not really sure where I will go with it, but I feel that I need to try to focus on just a few certain things. I want this blog to be more than just simple babblings about my life, and the lives of those around me. I want to try to use this blog as a tool, a tool to maybe reach out and help others with maybe family and ministry issues. I will think about it some more, and keep you posted about what I will do.

Easter Promo, Part 2

If you do read this blog, here is part 2 of our Easter promo....

Hockey Night in Gwinnett.

Well the Ridge Stone youth went to a "Good Ol' Hockey Game" Saturday night. We got to watch the Gladiators whip up on the Pensacola Ice Pilots 3-2. Got to see an awesome fight, and some great hockey action, and our group made it to the big screen numerous times, cause I guess we're all just so freakin' crazy. Well nuff said, next event PAINTBALL!!!!!

I feel like a Twinkie

I will make this short and sweet. I started cutting grass again Wednesday, and hadn't really been outside a whole lot before that, but let me tell you the pollen is kicking. For those of you who actually read this, I am allergic to about everything outside this time of year, and due to a lack of rain, we have been plagued by pollen. In a nutshell, I went out to cut grass, got done took a shower, and never have I seen water so yellow, just from the pollen that was on me. This SUCKS!!

Gobble...Gob..(((BLAM))) dead turkey!!!

As I said before I was going to try my hand at turkey hunting this year, and amidst the funeral for Papa, and everything else, I did find time to work in a little hunting time. So as of yesterday, I got my first Eastern gobbler, just a jake, but a gobbler none the less. Here he is.

It was amazing!! I heard him gobbling, walked as close as I could, set up my stuff, and started calling him. He immediately answered back, and within a few minutes, BLAM!!! dead turkey. I felt like the star in one of those hunting shows, except my bird was a lot smaller.

Wow!!! Can't wait until Easter!!!

Well Easter's right around the corner, and Ridge Stone is bringing like no other again. Our easter promo video #1 hit the big screen Sunday (even though I wasn't there to see it due to a death in the family). From what I here people are on the edge of there seats waiting for part #2 just to see what the "Stone" staff has in store for Ol' E.B. (Easter Bunny in case you didn 't know what E.B. stood for) You can rest assured that whatever it is will be off 'da hook, and if you just must know what I am talking about, you can see it here.

Gobble, Gobble!!!!!!

No, you haven't slipped into a coma and woke up in November. No I am not totally dilusional, at least I don't think. Nope it's time for Wild Turkey.

Not this one....

But this one.....

Yep! It's Turkey season, and after last years success with the deer hunting, I am feeling cocky. I will take to the woods with the expectations of taking one of natures wariest creatures. With eyes like a hawk, I am gonna camo up, get my shotgun, and try to blow the freakin head off of the largest game bird in North America. The past couple of weeks I have been scouting, and have a couple of spots picked out for early Saturday morning. I will keep you posted to how I do. Gobble, gobble!!!!

What's happening???

Well there is some excitement brewin' all around. #1 simply cause I attend and volunteer at the Stone, I got to freakin ride in a helicopter. It was awesome. We flew up to the Ballground airport, down the runway, and back around to the church office. It ROCKED. Where else can you go to church, serve, and fly in a copter. Next I am totally stoked put about what is fixing to happen with the youth. The PROJECT UNTITED. That is all I can say about that. I finished my message for Sunday, last night, or so I thought. God has really been bugging me about something I didn't put in, so I guess I am gonna have to make an addition. Well till next time. Joe out.

God freakin rocks!!!!

Well, so I lied. It has been three days, but it has been one of those weeks. We've got two grandpas in the hospital, but I think they are gonna be ok. Anyways church was great yesterday, but I do think some toes got mashed. Youth went ok, we are working out some stuff right now, but I know God is in this thing, we just have to keep seeking, and we will find out the right answers.

I am more focused now than ever, about life, God, my family, and this ministry. I am just stoked about how God is fixing to rock our world here at Ridge Stone. He never ceases to amaze me.

My blog sucks.

Gary Lamb has called me out twice, and I can't say I disagree with him, about my blog sucking. Well I have decided to try harder, so from here on out I will do my best to post at least every other day. HERE'S TO YOU GARY. Wow that's 2 post in one day. Incredible.

UNLEASHED....simply Uh-MAZING

Wow!!! That was how I left the conference yesterday. I have been reading his blog for about a month now, but in person Perry Noble was incredible. A big shout out to the entire staff and volunteers at New Spring. I think I hit every spiritual high and low that could be hit yesterday, and some of the things I have been dealing with recently were touched on yesterday. I realized how fortunate I am to be a part of something like Ridge Stone, and at the conference I gleaned some things that I intend to apply in my life and our youth ministry here at the Stone.

1. Simply put, it's all about God.

2. We need to get more creative in our ministry, by tapping every resource, leaving no stone unturned, and getting creative crazy in the way we bring the gospel to the students.

3. We need to pay attention. Get involved in our student's lives. Get more involved in the lives of our volunteers, and see to it that they get involved in our student's lives. I have been a firm believer in this ever since getting into the ministry. Students aren't dumb, and I truly feel you have to be real, and show a genuine desire to be a part of their lives. Our ultimate goal should be discipleship at every level.

4. We need to follow up with our new visitors on a more personal level through email, letters, or calls to simply let them know we enjoyed their visit and look forward to having them back. Our volunteers would be great for this.

5. Chris, Taylor, and myself need to be totally commited to God, the ministry, and ourselves. We need to support each other completely through prayer.

6. We need to plan to grow by planning ahead.

7. Make it fun. There has to be a "fun factor" in every service, or the youth will lose interest and quit coming. If they quit coming that means their friends quit coming, and we have failed at doing what Christ called us to do in the first place.

8. ALWAYS, ALWAYS bring them JESUS!!!!! No matter what the subject matter or topic make sure that Christ is in it. Period.

Well anyways, that's not necessarily all I got out of the conference, but those, to me, are the biggies. I am so pumped right now that I can't see straight. I am totally excited about what God is gonna do here at the Stone, not only in our church, but with our youth. Love God and Rock n' Roll.

What a day!!!!!

What a day we had at the "Stone" yesterday in the main service. My daughter, Ashley, well her boyfriend Josh gave it up yesterday, "dumped all his crap" (quote from Gary), and got right with God right there in Riverstone Cinemas. Tracy, Ashley, Becky(Josh's mom), and myself all prayed with Josh and it was amazing watching God work through that young man yesterday. Then as soon as we got done, I looked up, and saw another teen couple just bawling, and dealing with some stuff too. All that even poured over into last night, and we had an awesome student service last night. Yesterday I guess just reminded me that our job as parents, and ministers is to invest in these kids lives, and try to show them how you can live the Christian life, and still be cool and have fun doing it, even though I am just a big ol' dork that just loves hanging out with these guys. Well anyways, God ROCKS and so do our youth at Ridge Stone. Peace out.

Excitement is a brewin...

Last night Chris, Taylor, Julie, and myself all met at Chik-fil-A to plan out what we are gonna do over the next few months for our youth services. I feel like we made some real headway, and I am totally stoked about what I see happening in the youth over the next two series. Granted things haven't gone perfectly every time (hey this IS youth ministry), we have seen real growth, and new faces every week. Our next series is gonna be The Fabulous Life of..... character studies in the Bible. I can't freakin wait. I am getting a break from the band cause I am on call at my job, and it is possible that I might miss service. Well gonna try to go eat some BBQ for lunch. See YA!

Back from the boonies...

Well, we're back. What can I say it took me a day to recoup, but we got back, no broken bones, and all is well. The trip went good, except for one late pick-up from our driver, who by the way, would make any NASCAR fan cheer by the way he takes the turns in WV. I loved the time we had to spend with the youth, and I think and hope many of them made decisions this weekend to draw nearer to God, and let go of some things that were holding them back from being 100% sold out for Christ. Well anyways, Winterplace so blows Cataloochee out of the water as far as skiing goes. They have much better slopes, and for the most part, I thought better food. The only thing was I thought Chris was gonna have to beat-up on of the lift attendants. Which I guess if I was gonna take sides, I would have put my money on the lift attendant, sorry Chris. Later.

Is it Monday, Tuesday, or Friday???????

Well, I spent yesterday at home with the kids, cause Tracy's got a stomach bug. I am trying to stay away 'cause we leave for Winterplace, WV on Thursday for our youth ski trip, and I don't wanna be sick. That would suck. I first went skiing last year, and I love the crap out of it. It rocks, the only thing better is paintball. Anyway, I am at work for the first and last time this week, so today is my Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, cause I am off the rest of the week. Well, I am just trying to make the day and then I am off for the slopes of WV. Peace.

I love this commercial !!!!

I don't know why, but this commercial made me laugh. I know I'm a dork.

I hate waiting.

Man waiting sucks. I have been trying to sell my house for awhile now, and I have had several offers, but just can't seem to make it click. I get excited about it whenever people come over and look, and get my hopes up everytime. It just seems like something happens, and we can't make it work. Just within the last week, I have had a guy come to my house on 3 seperate occasions, and my realtor says he is gonna make an offer, and offer that I like, but it is just killing me all of this waiting.

Well, I got to thinking about it, and I guess we do this same thing with God. We want something to happen so bad, and so fast, and when it doesn't we wonder, what happened. We know that this is what God wants, we have prayed about it, sought Him out, and now want to know what is taking so long. I have come to realize in all of this, that things go according to God's timing, not ours. That sometimes just because we want something, we don't always get it exactly when we want it. I have also realized though, that if during this time, that if we stay truly focused on Him, and not all the things we want, that there will come a time when we will be able to see God's timing in things too. We will know what to expect, and when to expect it. I have, in the past month or 2 had to really change my focus, and turn and run closer to God with several areas in my life, one of these being patience. I truly believe too, that the closer we are to Him the more we will know exactly what God wants, and when He wants it.

Well that's what I think anyway, for what it's worth....Peace out.

Blog, blog, blog.....

Wow. Doesn't seem like it, but I haven't blogged in a few days. Well a few things going on here. I have been so busy lately. I had a conference with Ashley's, my oldest (for those who don't know), counselor yesterday about some college stuff. School has always been a struggle for her, and I was a little worried about her even being able to go to school. Well my mind was set at ease and for now it looks like she will be able to got to the school she has been wanting to go to. CSU (Charleston Southern University). I have been to the school twice on mission camps, and want her to attend. For the whole 2 of you who view this, pray for her.


Also I'm stressing over V-day. I felt like I set a high bar last year, and I am trying to top it.

I am also excited about date night this week. My bro is watching the girls, and Tracy and I are going to a HOCKEY game. Yes, I am heading back to see the Gladiators, 3rd row seats!!!! We will grab something to eat too.

Lastly, if you happen to read this tonight, or later, cause I will be going to several schools over the next month, I am going to Creekview HS in the morning to speak at FCA, just say a little prayer for me. I just finished studying for tomorrow, printed up my notes, and am ready to rock. Preston is gonna go with me. I am excited, but I always get a little nervous too. Love God and Rock n' Roll.

Joe

Footballs over.....finally...

Well the Super Bowl's finally over, the party was a sucess, now I can focus on bigger and better things, namely HOCKEY. You know I have been asked many times how a country boy (AKA Big Country) like me can like such a communist sport...well I will have to answer like this, ever known a country boy that didn't like to see a good fight? Well, anyhow, I went to a game Saturday, the ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators. These guys are awesome, plus you see more fights in one night at one of these games than you do in the whole season of the Thrashers. Don't get me wrong, the Thrashers are awesome too, they're my boys and all, but they just don't get it on like the Gladiators, who BTW are the minor league team for the Thrashers. Both teams are at the top of there respective divisions right now, but in my opinion, the Thrashers need to step it up. They're 5-5-0 in the last 10, which ain't gonna cut it for a team trying to make the play-offs. I hope I can make a few more games before the end of the season anyway. Well peace out.

My brother is so stupid.........

Yeah, I know it ain't necessarily cool to talk about others, but I just had to tell y'all about this one. My brother, who I have accused a time or two of not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, went grocery shopping this morning. He gets his items, checks out, places said items in the mini-van, puts away the buggy, gets in the van and tries to crank it. He inserts the key, and tries to turn the ignition, but the van won't crank. He, I assume, tries several more times, until he realizes that, IT ISN"T HIS VAN. What a moron. He actually put his groceries in someone elses van. Then he in a mad dash removes all his groceries before the rightful owner emerges from the store. Well anyways, just thought I would let y'all know about my bro.

Snow Day Dance....

You've heard the old saying, you learn something new everyday. Well yesterday I learned from my 10 year old, Adriana, via my wife, that there IS a snow day dance, and it does work. For all of you skeptics and non-believers out there, let me tell you, she did it Wednesday night, and they were out of school yesterday. After hearing that, I have placed her on Snow Day Dance suspension for the remainder of the season. See, for those of you who don't know, I work for the power company, and when it snows I go to work (see post Work Sucks....).

Anyhow, I feel inclined to tell you how the dance is done with this disclaimer, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, DURING THE WINTER, OR ANY OTHER TIME THE TEMP DROPS BELOW SUB-FREEZING. Thank You. Now for the dance.

After taking a shower you must immediately after drying off put your PJ's on inside out. Then proceed with urgency (hair still dripping) to the freezer. At this point, you fling wide the door, of said freezer, and commence to getting your groove on. When your are thoroughly exhausted your straight forth retire to the bedroom, turn out the light, and go to sleep.

As soon as Tracy told me about this I died laughing, simply because I could envision Tracy standing in the shadows quietly cheering her on, cause she, being a T.A., wouldn't have to go to work either. So in conclusion they got their snow day and I got 3 and a half hours over time. Thanks Baby Girl.

Hobbies Aquired

As you can tell, I have alot of time on my hands today. So I just thought I would list some of the new things I have done in the past 12 months. Here it goes:

1. Skiing- this was the bomb. At the age of 36 I just went skiing for the first time, and by day 2 was doing pretty darn good if I do say so myself. The only way I could see to improve on skiing would be to find a way to incorporate paintball (my alltime fav) into it. I am gonna work on that.

2. Deer Hunting- yes another stupid redneck has entered the woods. I used to go squirrel hunting when I was a kid, and even tried deer hunting a time or two (rained on the first time it was about 34 degrees, the second time my buddy and I got lost and almost missed supper), but this year I made it official. I AM HUNTER, SEE ME KILL. I officially became a man on Saturday November 25th around 9:45 am when I shot my first deer (a nice wall hanging 8 point buck, which by the way will probably never make it on my wall if Tracy has anything to say about it).

3. Hog Hunting- yep that's what I said HOG. I made my first feeble attempt at this one last weekend, and came back with nothing but cold feet and lost time. Maybe I will try again this weekend. If I kill one I will post the picture.

4. Geo caching- What is this you may ask. Well let's see. You basically go out into the woods to find stuff that people have hidden, usually in a box or something, take stuff out of the box, put stuff in the box, sign the log book inside to prove you found it, then re-hide it again for the next buffoon to find. Not really sure if I will stick to this one. Didn't really have a good first outing yesterday. Went looking for 6 and only found 2, but I am convinced the others just weren't there.

Well that's it. Wonder what exciting adventurous things are in store for me down the road,..........hum I wonder.......

Thanks.

Just finished reading one of my all time favorite chapters out of the Bible, Hebrews 11. I just love the way that Paul list all these different guys (and gals) in the Bible and how they had faith to see beyond their circumstances. That no matter what situation they were facing, they saw past it all and focused on one thing, God's vision for not only their lives, but the lives of people for generations to come.

I said that to say this. I am so thankful to finally feel like I am truly a part of God's plans. I had searched for a church that lined up with what I felt was God's design for a long time. I finally found it at the Stone. I have been attending this church for about a year and a half, and since coming here, have seen the numbers more than triple. This is only because the staff at RSC are totally focused on one thing, reaching the lost. No matter what the situation, ridicule from the skeptics, or straight out bashing from the "religious" leaders in our community, the staff at the Stone never allow that to blur the vision that God has laid out for this church.

I guess what this is, is a big THANK YOU first and foremost to God, and then to the staff at the the Stone for allowing me to serve in just a small part of what I feel is God's design for a church.

Work SUCKS.........

What the crap? My boss calls at 7pm last night and tells me that I have to be in by 3am, cause we are under a winter weather advisory. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my job and all, but........
Well anyways I was just sitting here at 2:20am waiting on my carpool buddy and thought what the heck nothing better to do than blog on the old laptop. Oh well gotta go keep the lights burning.

Temptation

Man that word, what is it about temptation that just drives me crazy. Crap. I am just sitting here, and all these thoughts of things I don't want to do go through my mind. It drives me crazy, but one thing, I am fixing to stop writing turn to God and pray for His help. I don't even know why I am writing this, but hey, it has helped to get my mind off of some of this crap. Well anyways, going to go talk to God now. Peace.

Grease...your the one that I want

My youngest daughter slays me. She has gotten into her first reality show, and it's Grease. Her favorite is some guy named Austin (cause he is so cute, she says). This is from my ten year old. I guess it's cute now, but in 5 years or so it will drive me crazy. Anyways, she was so into the show last night, that she forgot that it was on DVR, so she is racing around and madly scribbling on a piece of paper the names and #'s of the contestants that she wants to vote for...........BTW this is just a scaled down version of American Idol, which I watch. The difference, most of the people, the ones that make it, suck as bad as the ones that get cut from Idol. Peace.

Round 1

Well here I go. I am about to enter into the world of blogging. Will it matter? Will I make a difference? Will anyone even read this? The answers.......probably NOT. None the less, I will make an attempt, no matter how feeble, to uplift God, my family, and my church with this blog. I have many many things to say, and sometimes don't quite know how to say it. So here it is I am just gonna say it here. Well anyhow, I am off and running. Love God and Rock'N Roll.