Deurty

My laptop monitor is fried and I am using the Watermark desktop at the moment until I figure out what to do. It is full on busted and a warranty is long gone... Oh well. I am going to try to hook it up to a monitor and see if I can get stuff from it and use it that way for a while. In the meantime - and advancement I made on my message is toast. The good news is that I wasn't planning on doing a ton of writing for the chat this Sunday, but still - it is a pain. But - at least I have a working computer to use!!! Have a great day! sd

"A good person produces good deeds from a good heart , and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart . Whatever is in your heart determines what you say." - Jesus Christ in Luke 6:44 I watched a leadership teaching from Andy Stanley yesterday and he stated that we lead from our hearts. What is in our hearts will determine how we lead, because it determines how we live. He gave some different examples... like having anger, jealousy, greed, guilt etc... in our hearts and how that impacts our lives and the lives around us. I totally agree with the statement Jesus made and Andy taught about, but I am slow to grow my leadership in the heart. Maybe it is because growing the heart is a long and difficult process. Maybe (most likely) because that growing the heart involves times of quiet and not activity. It grows from times of looking in rather than looking out. It develops from activity that looks like inactivity and the pressing emergencies of the day breathe d...

I walk alone... I walk alone. The potential hub is coming together... A few more signatures and a lot of work and we are good to go. I will fill you all in more when things are more finalized. My face is peeling and it looks like I have a skin disease! LEPER - UNCLEAN - UNCLEAN! But the sun was worth every second! Anyways - that's all I have to say about that. sd

Hey, I am back from our four day vacation! It was refreshing and fun. I laughed, I danced, I burned and I ate and ate and ate. Here are some images I found googling... This was our itinerary... A trip to Nassau, Bahamas and back to Port Caniveral. Our ship was called, the "Fantasy," from Carnival Cruise Lines. Once we arrived in Nassau we spent the day in front of the Wyndham Hotel on Cable beach. I was burned and loved every moment. The picture below is the back of the hotel looking toward the beach we were on. It was a relaxing and fun trip. I'll have to tell some stories in the next few days including the inspiration I gained from a drunk girl who danced with an older slimey dude and when she found herself in the position of being stared at by a crowd of people she burst out with a preachy, "You only live once! Live it up!" (You only live once - so make it short!) :) Anyways we are glad to be with the kids and in the comfort of our own home, but I ne...

Went to the father / daughter dance last night. It was a special time for Autumn and me. They did a little square dancing. It was fun and a good way to dance with your five year old. :) Lots of fun. When we were finished and we stopped by the store and I bought her an orange Crush in a glass bottle. mmmmm the memories. When I was a kid we used to get this pop called (I think) "Town and Club"??? Anyways - it would come in a crate and be full of all kinds of exotic and fun flavors. You would return the bottles and then pick up a new batch. Red pop was always a highlight. I think they even had Rocky Road. Anyways - I love anything that is not mass packaged and marketed. I think that is something I enjoyed about living in Sydney. There were a lot of family owned places to eat and visit. There were more options that McDonalds and all the other big named national chains. I like character and individuality. I find myself drawn to places that don't always fit...

Wrapped up the River Packet. If you would like to read it or see what it is about you can get it here: RIVER PACKET We went to the mall with the Thompsons and the kids. Lots of fun watching the kids play in the play area. My son is often approached by little girls who think he is cute. When they get close... he slaps them in the face! They giggle and he tries to do it again. Dad enters the scene and asks him to apologize. He hugs the girl who forgives him because he give the sweetest little man hugs. His pants were riding low tonight and his hair was mullet-esque. I love my son. He, Autumn and I have been playing a form of baseball in the house. He pitches, Autumn hits and I catch with his little mit. When there is a strike I yell out - STTTRRIKE ONE! and I point a one in the air. He responds with a yell and finger thrusted upward. Funny. I am blessed with a great family. I am blessed most by having a marriage that is centered on trying to follow God. This is som...

We have been able to use some office space for free the last five months or so, but that space will be unavailable at the beginning of March. So, we are in the search for a ministry center (or centre) that we can use as a hub or drop zone or whatever you want to call it. We are looking today at a potential space that popped up. Let me give a bit of a church planting lesson or thought that I have been learning, but not figuring out... The first year - everyone is happy to help and there are not a lot of areas that need deeper leadership. However, there is a ton of get your hands dirty type stuff to do. This is a season in which the 'starter' or leader tyes enjoy because it is action oriented and something new is being launched. The second year - the year of execution and going deeper in leadership. At this time people desire to play a more active role in leadership. They still set up chairs, but they want to see other ways to serve that better fit their skills a...

Hello February. Well I have not made enough headway into my pile of stuff I need to get done. Looks like it will be a long weekend. I wanted to share with you a thought that my wife shared with me following her conference in sunny Florida. She went to a breakout that dealt with marriage and the speaker spoke about core fears. These core fears drive our arguments as couples and heavily impact us. Anyways - she told me that the guy mentioned that women's core fear often is being abandoned or rejected and that men's core fear most often is feeling helpless. So anyways we chatted as a couple and I think my core fear is disappointing people. My whole life I was about gaining approval and praise from others in a people pleasing manner... oldest kid... oldest cousin... be a role model... the peace maker... the relational glue to friendships... you name it - I was the people pleaser that didn't want to have anyone dissappointed in me. So now I'm 33 and still...