Meeting day with the staff team. We went to Miss Lisa's tonight for ice cream with the kids - that was awesome because it means summer is on its way!!! I have this deep desire to get everything organized - from my garage to my schedule.
Tonight I met with my prayer partner at his place. It is so humbling to have someone pray for you. I really want to grow in the area of dependence on God and right now I'm feeling like it is needed. I am taking a day on Thursday to do some advance planning and take time with God. I am looking forward to seeking God's presence and direction.
I can't keep blogging because 24 is on.
Bauer time,
sd
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We have been blessed to have church partnerships in New Zealand. One church is about the same age as our church and is led by a great bloke named Mike Yates. The name of that church is SHORE GRACE. Link to left.
Another church we are connected to is a new church called CESSION|COMMUNITY. They are also in Auckland and led by none other than our friend, former watermark short term staffer and his cooler than school wife Kristin. Their web site is up and I thought you'd want to check it out so you can keep in the loop on God's goings on in KIWI country! LINK TO LEFT.
I very much desire to strengthen such partnerships, because it can be sooooooo easy to get self absorbed.
N8 - I want to ask you to set up another blog that can be a commentary and guide to understanding your current blog... :)
I'm loving it,
sd
Wow - I feel like I have been non-stop all day!
1) Gathering & set up and tear down: 7 am to 12:30 pm
2) Lunch with a church planter looking at West Michigan: 12:45-2:00 pm
3) Drive to Lansing to meet up with Vicki's dad: 2:00-3:15 pm
4) Hung out with Vicki's dad (flew in from Oregon): 3:15-6:00 pm
5) Drove home to Grand Haven: 6:00-7:30 pm
6) Fuel up car: 7:30-7:50 pm
7) Put kids to bed: 8:00 pm
8) Chat on phone with long time friend: 8:30-9:30 pm
9) Hang out, catch up on email, read blogs, watch television and typing this...
So - it was a day of movement... It feels good to sit still. Is being still a spiritual discipline?
The show "Jesus" is on television as I type this. I can't help compare it to "The Passion." This version just seems to lack the realism and punch of the story. The televised version seems to be neuterd. I guess that is why Mel Gibson made sure that he pushed the realism factor with the violence. Anyways...
AHHHH! Spent the day working all day! I did get a walk in with the family! That was nice. Vicki and I spoke at a church in Jenison, Michigan. We did two marriage seminars for their "date night." When we drove up to the church they have a church sign and it reads: "DATE NIGHT 7-9 PM SPECIAL SPEAKER: STEVE DEUR"
I turned to Vicki as we drove in and said, "I am not sign worthy." Anyways after placing the additional pressure of having to be any good firmly behind us, Vicki and I shared about the design of marriage and the importance of being a student of your spouse. Overall it seemed to go well - I know Vicki and I enjoyed doing it and grew in our marriage through it.
So we got back around 10 pm and I just got done changing the whole ending to my message. It aligns with what I was sharing about needing to depend on God more and more.
Well - good night. Remember to take the poll (it is newer.) Here is a pic of one of my favorite bands fr...
Here is a brief slice from an article that I came across... It gives me hope for a long life. :)
"Picking your nose and eating it is one of the best ways to stay healthy, according to a top Austrian doctor. Innsbruck-based lung specialist Prof Dr Friedrich Bischinger said people who pick their noses with their fingers were healthy, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies. He says society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking and encourage children to take it up."
But - it hasn't helped me in my health this year! I better get to work. WHAT?! Wierd thoughts. I am feeling better though and spent a lot of time getting my message for Sunday done. I really feel like Watermark needs to deepen our dependency on God and I think that the story of Nicodemus will bring this out. It is funny how you can plan a message months in advance and it comes at the right time. As we approach spring it can be a time to be tired, uninspired and apathetic in th...
I am sick and my life orbits the bathroom. Yuck! I have not emptied my tummy like this in a long time!
In between emailing, thinking about trying to do my message and sleeping - I am being entertained by my daughter doing "magic." My own personal Harry Potter. I am sick of our family being sick.... :)
Kneeling,
sd
Had an early meeting with a guy from Watermark. I came away from that meeting being challenged and encouraged to spend more time cultivating the quiet with God and listening to Him. That was a fitting encouragement for the day, because I was scheduled to have a Day Alone with God. Of course I felt like I didn't have the day to give to a day of reflection and growth...too much to do. But, I decided to go forward with my plans. I spent the morning studying the Bible. I had lunch with my family and spent the afternoon reading and journaling.
It was a good day and I am realizing that one of my top priorities is to be listening to God and growing in my relationship with Him. THIS IS SO OBVIOUS AND PROBABLY NOT WORTH WRITING! But, I feel like I don't have that relected in my calendar and priorities enough. I always say it is foundational and a given, but if I do not truly take the time - then I am kidding myself.
My daughter loves Star Wars episode 4 (New Hope) - you k...
Vicki is sick. Will our family ever be healthy? "Expect a miracle brother!" :)
We spent some time today working through growth plans. These are plans for the staff gang to fill out and live out. They deal with spiritual, personal and ministry growth and goals. We also laid out an evaluation process. I have had to do evaluations of other staff members before, but this will be my first time in this sort of Lead Pastor role. I am excited about how this will help our team be focused and aligned. I really want to encourage an environment throughout our church of growth, reproduction and support. I am enjoying the role I have been serving in. I think I'll write more about that sometime soon... Anyways - we also spent time laying out our top 2 goals or priorities for the year. We are going to all rally around these priorities for the year. This will bring a good team atmosphere and unity and alignment.
This week we are looking at John 3 - Nicodemus. For a kn...
Prayer tonight was much needed and brought me a lot of excitement and peace. I am wrestling a bit right now and I think it comes down to a desire to be more dependent on God. It is utterly amazing how quickly we drift from dependence on God! One minute I am following closely and then I get anxious or selfish or frustrated and slide into doing things in my power, but I don't realize it until later and then it is knee jerk reaction! :) So - it seems that the discipline that keeps me most on track is prayer. As my prayer connection with God goes...so goes my position and dependence on God.
So - I am praying that I would grow into that first line of our vision statement (once again!!!!):
"Because Jesus is the center of our lives and we are devoted to Him..." Lord make that true in my life and in my family's life and in our church! Make that true in our communities and in our nation. Make that true in the world.
>> Switch Gears I quick shout out to th...
Today was my first full day back into the swing of things. It was great to be back with the Watermark gang during the gathering. I love the sense of movement and direction that comes from living life together with the people of Watermark. I love being a part of something that is bigger than any of us on our own. Today was a good day and I really enjoyed being with the kids all day - since it had been a bit over a week without them.
So... our gathering had a cool moment. I spoke on the topic of Zachaeus and answering the question of "for whom did Jesus die for?" And more specifically - "was Jesus' death for people like Zachaeus?" Don't know the story? Read Luke 19 and know that tax collectors like Zachaeus was a moral leper, thief and traitor.
Anyways - we spent time following the message writing names on the bottom of our newly purchased chairs of people in our lives that need God. We also encouraged those who were searching for God themselve...
Vicki is full blown sick and in a lot of pain. On top of that - there is the stress of getting organized in the near future for our vacation. Pray she will be healed of this head congestion and pain. Thanks.
I just got back from working out with my work out / accountability parter. It went well - we lifted - did cardio and then grabbed some diet cokes and did accountability. It was great hanging and connecting. I love working out for a lot of reasons... The first reason is tied to my heritage as a dutch boy. I don't want my financial investment to be wasted. I want to get my money's worth! :) Following that are little reasons like wanting good health and not having a heart attack. Oh the pull of the genes are strong - the pull of my heritage is stronger. I don't understand why I wrote that.
ANYWAYS - we had our first 10 minute check in meeting with the staff guys today. That went long, but well. We will refine it and get better. The idea is to share ...
My day today...
9:30-11:00 Meeting with the fellas (tactical staff meeting)
11:30-2:30 Driving to the Flint area
2:30-5:00 Funeral and connecting with family (Vicki's grandmother passed away)
5:00-8:00 Driving back home (while my son cried for 2 and a half hours and my wife was sick)
8:00-8:30 Wife to bed sick... I put the kids to bed.
8:30-now Check email / American Idol / Checking blogs and writing this...
Anyways - it was a great funeral tribute of Grandma Lulu. They had an audio interview with her that they played. I thought it was interesting that when asked what advice she would give her grand kids and great grand kids she mentioned tithing. She mentioned how when she used to make $4/day she would give $.50. It was interesting that giving was one of the things she wants to make sure her family gets. Made me think along with the usual thinking about life and death and what I am passing on.
Pray that my honey will get better! We have a cruise...
Getting ready for Core Focus tonight. Today's gathering was great. Dan Seaborn from Winning at Home came (link to left) and spoke. I helped out in Surf City and served in the nursery so I missed the message, but everyone was extremely positive. Surf City was great and we had an awesome team of people serving - as usual!
We had a lot of people there today and a lot of faces I didn't know. I always find it difficult to balance between connecting with "core" friends and giving time to them and meeting new people and helping them feel welcomed... I fear that I may cut conversations too short on those mornings, but alas - if I am doing life together with our Watermark gang - I should get other times to connect with them.
WE GOT OUR NEW CHAIRS! We also got a new trailer to haul them. They are great! They are sturdy! They are built for wide booty's. Anyways - we are debriefing the Passion movie. I feel like I have already lost some of what I gained f...
Getting ready for Core Focus tonight. Today's gathering was great. Dan Seaborn from Winning at Home came (link to left) and spoke. I helped out in Surf City and served in the nursury so I missed the message, but everyone was extremely positive. Surf City was great and we had an awesome team of people serving - as usual!
We had a lot of people there today and a lot of faces I didn't know. I always find it difficult to balance between connecting with "core" friends and giving time to them and meeting new people and helping them feel welcomed... I fear that I may cut conversations too short on those mornings, but alas - if I am doing life together with our Watermark gang - I should get other times to connect with them.
WE GOT OUR NEW CHAIRS! We also got a new trailer to haul them. They are great! They are sturdy! They are built for wide bootys. Anyways - we are debriefing the Passion movie. I feel like I have already lost some of what I gained from w...
In regards to the post below... The key to understanding the quote is to think about prayer... Got it? :)
As far as Russ' - I am a dutch boy and I will always love it as a boy loves his homeland. It is a point of origin. Had Harrison's b-day party. Lots of fun hanging out and Harrison got COVERED in cake. Vicki made a little cake for him in the shape of a mini-cooper, but she said it looked more like a Desoto.
Big and busy day is now complete... Ahhhh - relaxation!
sd
Check out this quote from my dad's blog (link to left):
"I noticed the other day that when most people would receive their food order at Russ' Restaurant, they'd stop for a minute and begin rubbing their eyes in unision, then gradully look up, look around to see if anyone was noticing their dilemna, and begin eating. There's got be something in that food that causes such an allergic reaction."
INTERESTING! Could there be a slow destructive force at work in the food?
Russ' food = eye irritation?
sd
My boy - little Aitchie (H-e) - is one today! Happy birthday bubbles! :)
Click on link for a recent photo of Harrison: Aitchie0204.JPG
Also my sister has her birthday today - happy birthday Caleb (Lisa).
I have been cleared for full weight bearing on my leg and no more need for a crutch. I am going to get a walking stick for longer walks and support. Thank you God - no more blue brace and crutches.
I am in therapy three days a week for my knee. (Physical therapy - I could use the mental side too.)
Long live the "H!"
sd
Sorry for another quick post, but it was time I spoke up for a man I believe in...
Rally with me for Aussie prime minister John Howard and say no to Mark Latham.
(I figure I can be political since it doesn't deal with my own country!) :)
But believe it or not I really care... Crazy.
YES
NO
My aussie friends can sound off on this... :)
sd
Vicki woke up with "the sickness," which meant i was MR.MOM / Worker today. I would get the kids organized and catch as much work as possible during naps and eating and playing. Vicki is just plain sick and in pain. Praying she'll kick it tonight as she sleeps... We have been in a world of hurt since 2004. My knee - all the kids sick - Vicki and I sick...Round and round it goes. When it stops - CRUISE! Thank you Lord - Cumebya (spelling is whacked.)
Great meeting with P - Yo today from the Mother Church. He is the wise rabbi - my Yoda and he is a great friend - like Han Solo... not like Lando - who betrayed Han. I am a Sci-fi geek.
Anyways - got some great insights and had an opportunity to share with him for a while. I went with Autumn to some Watermarker's home tonight and had an awesome time hanging out. They are a great couple with cool stories and they are a lot of fun to chat with. Autumn had a blast because she got to have a cupcake and ice cr...
I received and read the book: "Death by meeting" yesterday. It was a great book on how to have successful and meaningful meetings. The basic premise is that we need to have more passion / drama / conflict in our meetings. That we need more meetings in different contexts rather than trying to cram in all in fewer less effective melting pot meetings. He lists 4 contexts for meetings:
1) Daily check ins (5-10 min.) These are quick check ins to give updates and clarify anything.
2) Weekly tactical (30-60 min.) These are weekly meetings (without agendas) in which you give a brief report of what you are working on and then dealing with the items that arise. These are the tactical things needed to make things happen toward that weeks goals.
3) Monthly strategic (2+ hours) This is a strategic session of planning, philosophy discussions, advancements, bigger picture items. This is where only a few items are battled out and decisions made that will impact the future.
4)...
I am home sick today. Actually I was sick yesterday as well, but God gave me some of that go-juice to keep me plugging along during our gathering. Following the gathering I got home and slept and then woke up and went to "The Passion."
HOLY COW!
What an amazing movie. I kept wanting to stand up and say, "You are my hero!" As I watched the movie I found myself remembering verses from Scripture that applied... An impacting moment for me was watching the way of suffering to the place of the skull where Jesus would be crucified. As I watched that long journey - full of whips - taunts - pain and exhaustion I kept hearing in my head... "If anyone wants to come after me - you must take up your cross daily and follow me." Is that what it looks like to take up my cross to follow Jesus? Is it that full of self denial and humility? GUT CHECK!
The movie was very thought provoking and my wife had a great comment. She said she felt very guilty and unw...