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A couple of years ago I read a book entitled, "High Expectations' by Thom Rainer. The crux of the book was that growing, strong churches had high expectations for their members and adherents. I believe it. When we are challenged to rise to the occasion, we usually do. But the problem with high expectations is they challenge your lifestyle, attitudes and culture. Everyday we are challenged with the choice of Christ's expectations or living to please our culture. Pentecost has high expectations for you and me. When we totally yield our life to Jesus we will be challenged to change. Some people complain about being challenged, but the truth the life that Jesus has in store for you is better than anything you can create on your own. If giving up some pleasure that only serves yourself instead of Christ improves your life - what is so hard about that? Most of what we struggle with are those things which are self serving. What is the one thing that Jesus is trying to h

Some of you have told me personally that you would like to comment, but that you didn't want to set up a Google account to do so. I can understand that. So after much research, and finally reading the instructions on how this blog works (hey, I'm a guy) you can now leave comments without having to open a Google account. Comment away now!!

Pentecost is focused. It knows what it wants. I speak about Pentecost in the third person - but the reality is Pentecost is the heart of Jesus. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in other tongues, focuses ones life on what is most important to Him. It's more than just being clear about life, it's being clear and purposeful about the purpose and will of God for ones life. If our focus is about the organization, then what the organization wants defines the focus of our efforts. If the focus is about our relationship with Jesus, then Jesus defines the focus of our efforts. When you look at Pentecost in Acts 2, you see that it's about their relationship with Jesus and the organization. Some may desire to argue with me on this, but look at the following. Each person in the upper room prayed and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Peter stood up and preached a sermon which in his altar call led 3,000 people to accept Jesus as their personal Savior.

The youth service was great tonight. I had a blast with all of the kids this evening!!

Pentecost is intense. I remember as a kid growing up at First Assembly of God in Rogers, Arkansas that people prayed, worshipped and served with intensity. They didn't do anything half way or weak. Why was that? Because the fuel for their intensity was real. Real emotions, real needs and a real desire to touch the heart of God. As I have been praying, God not only brought this to my memory, but also challenged me with my own intensity. My love for others, should be intense. The expression of my heart to God should be real not weak or worthless. I believe that God is also challenging our intensity. That in 2008 is isn't what how much we do, but how well we do it. Some may even be overwhelmed with our love and passion for them, each other and for Christ. But don't you think that would be better than them calling us weak, worthless, passionless Christians? Pentecost comes from a relationship with Jesus. When Pentecost derives its existence from religion it can o

I get aggravated with hotels that don't allow me to get on the web. They say they offer the service, then when you try to get on - nothing. The poor guy behind the counter doesn't have a clue what to do except to repeat what he already told you that didn't work in the first place. So I apologize that I haven't delievered on the blogs I promised, but we are home and and I'm getting them ready for you review. GRRR, sorry about the repost. I kant seeem to spel twoday!

I am starting a new series of blogs this week about FFWC. I will blog at least one time a day, sometimes more. However, I will need your help. As I begin to present some of these ideas please comment on anything that peaks your interest. Your input helps us to make wise decisions in a timely manner.

Today we said goodbye to Jason, Jenni, Juilana, Bella, and Alyiah Perez. While it pains our heart to have to do this, we know it is God's will for them and their future. We ask that God bless them, their family and their future ministry wherever God leads them. I have already made some contacts looking for new leadership for this ministry. However, I am also asking God to raise up leadership from within. Personally I have learned to prefer the latter in the long run. Bottom line is this, what God wants is what God gets. Amen? This Wednesday I will be leading the youth service. I ask that at least one parent of each youth please attend. I have some announcements that I will be making concerning youth ministry and this will also give me the opportunity to cast some vision about Ignited Youths future.

Thank You Mike Scanlon for being my first commenter on this blog. You can read it by clicking here. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading this thing. So Mike, for your act of courage and bravery come by the office and we will go get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. I will offer the next cup of coffee at comment 100. Get to work people!!

Got up this morning. Drove to Stuart and voted early. Drove to the South Florida Fair. Went to the lion and tiger show. Went through the exhibits. We saw sharks, seals, panthers, marmosets, sugar gliders and boa constrictors. Went through the arts and crafts section. Then we visited the rabbits, roosters, chickens, ducks, cows, pet a few calfs, pet a few more horses, rode a horse, pet at yak, llama, fed a camel, watch the pig races, ate some cotton candy, drank free ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts, at some free pizza from DD and then a free flat bread ham and swiss sandwich from there. Visited with an old friend of mine from Arkansas whom I haven't seen in over 20 years. (Hello Jay) Drove home in horrible traffic on the turnpike. Got Betty to the Women of Worth dinner at Pei Wei. Took Anneka out on a date to Chick-Fil-A (by the way the Long John Silver/Kentucky Fried Chicken is now open.) Went to Wal-Mart, then to Home Depot, then to Office Depot, then to Big Lots. Back

Wow, Sunday is going to be an exciting day at FFWC! Davie Teen Challenge always brings a powerful and dynamic service. Be sure to invite a friend and let them hear how Jesus changes lives for themselves. As most of you know this is Jason and Jenni's last Sunday with us. We will be acknowledging their faithful service and saying what I am sure is going to be a tearful goodbye. With the guests that we know are coming from Jupiter, Sebastian and other points around Florida, we are going to have a full house! We've got a great praise and worship service lined up, the food has been ordered, extra tables and chairs are being delivered and the day is set. Even the weather man is cooperating, so spend the day with us Sunday, your going to love it!

According to Reuters news feed, Starbucks is thinking about serving $1 coffee with, get this, free refills ! Now let me see if I understand this correctly. Starbucks, the home of the $100 cup of Cafe Americano with half of half and half with and half whole milk, half decaf with half caf, served on ice with whipped cream, is thinking about serving coffee? Now don't get me wrong here, I drink Starbucks and like it - what annoys me is when I ask for a cup of coffee and the usual response is, "That's it?" My standard response to that is, "This is a coffee shop, right?" Times have changed and a cup of coffee isn't a cup of coffee anymore. But with the economy going the way it is Starbucks is looking at McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts thinking, "That isn't a bad idea after all." Tonight I am going to ask our small group, which is studying Max Lucados 3:16, this question. "Is your faith religion based or relationship based?" You can

Upon the announcement of Heath Ledgers death this afternoon questions raced through my mind. Did he know Jesus? Did he commit suicide? Was anyone there? Could someone have stopped this? These and more will probably go unanswered. I can't help but think that one event, one person, one action could have changed everything. Then I think the same thing about myself and the people I know. "Life is fragile, handle with prayer" while old is true. What we say to people can make a difference. Our attitude and action towards them can heal or destroy - depending on what we want to do. When I was a senior in college, a young man whom I had known for 4 years committed suicide. Days before graduation he drove off and never came back. Honestly, he was one of the funniest people that I ever knew. But he couldn't take the thought of leaving his friends and going back home, where he was considered an outcast reject. Upon graduation day, all of us were excited and overjoy

George Wood explains how we can fail. It's short - to the point and absolutely correct. Read it here at Ken Horns blog . Ken is the editor of Today’s Pentecostal Evangel.   Had a blast at the Jarretts yesterday.  Watch the first game and ate lots of great food.  If you don't know, Tim is really a good cook, especially when it comes to fish.   Then we went to the Scanlons for the second game - there we ate some Cincinnati 5 way chili.  If you have never had any, ask Mike about it.   What's next!  For those of you whose teens attend Ignited Youth - a few of you have asked me - what are we going to do next?  Well there is a plan.  In the next few days, after a few details come together, I'll share more of it with you.  What is most important right is what we are NOT going to do.  Worry.  God is in this.  God knows what we need.  And as we pray (something that we should be doing a lot of right now) God will lead us to do the right thing, at the right time for the right

I wanted to follow up on my comments this morning about priorities. Anyone who has ever worked for my on staff either paid or volunteer has heard this speech from me more than once. God first, then each other (marriage), your family - then church. That isn't to say that everything in this world is cut and dry and that you can balance these four things well. Add to that carreers, health issues and such and life can be just downright demanding of your time and space. I have on more than one occasion sit people down to review their priorities and needs. And on more than one occasion I have told them to go take care of more pressing matters and let someone else lead their ministry. This isn't to say that God has "uncalled" them from ministry or that they were never to be in ministry in the first place. It means that God closes a chapter in our lives and opens another one. Sometimes the characters make it to the next chapter and sometimes they don't. But you have to fo

I was rooting for the Colts, they lost. I was rooting for the Redskins, they lost. I was rooting for the Jaguars, they lost. I was rooting for the Packers, they lost. I was rooting for the Chargers, they lost. I'm rooting for the Patriots.

I just found out that one of my fellow college alumni, Doug Clay, has just been elected General Treasure for the Assemblies of God. Congratulations Doug! You can read more about this at AG.org

I am really looking forward to tomorrows service. I am going to continue "Activate 08" with a sermon entitled "The Jungle of Life". There are vultures and leeches, lions and - well come on to church and find out how you can survive living in your jungle of life.

Betty had a SLAH (for those of you who don't know that stands for Southern Living At Home not shredded cabbage) conference in Orlando today. Normally I would drive the turnpike up, but noooooo, not today. The fog was so thick the "pike" was closed, but not 95, all the way to Vero, SR 60 across and back on the turnpike at Yeehaw Junction. (For my dear friends 'up north' that it's real name). So we arrived a half an hour late. After we drop mom off at the convention center. Anneka and I discovered this place called Disney Marketplace. We had a blast and we stayed there all day long. They have the biggest Disney store I have ever seen in my life, (I mean huge!!). But the best moment for me was at the Lego store. There looking at a Sea Monster made entirely out of legos, I lean over to her and say "I love you." and she puts her head on my shoulder and whispers "I love you too."

We Nehemiah. 8 says that the "joy of the Lord is your strength." he knows what he is talking about. Nehemiah led one of the biggest construction projects that Israel had seen in over 100 years, if not more. But it wasn't a project of improvement, it was a project of survival. You see the temple had been destroyed, the walls of the city had been knocked down, the gates had been burned up. Israel's enemies were running the show and the people were discouraged and beaten down. Where in the world was Nehemiah going to get the motivation and courage to rebuild the city walls? From God. Challenges may be great, life may be bad - but God is greater and my God is good. Challenges are opportunities for God to shine. Hope is eternal if our hope is Jesus. Life isn't fair, so when life throws us a curve God knows how to deal with it. Notice when you read Nehemiah that God never did do one miracle. Yet, they give Him credit in the end. Something like, "We cou

I just watched myself on TV. Quite honestly that was painful. However, I heard something from myself that I didn't really hear during the interview. Joy. God really wants His people to know joy. He really wants us to know joy - the source of our strength - (Neh. 8.) Joy doesn't come from our station in life. If you get everyone and everything the way you want it - you will not find joy. Joy doesn't come from other people. If you looking to someone in your life to make you happy, you are making them miserable. Joy doesn't come from our self indulgence. Gratifying the flesh doesn't bring joy - instead it brings sickness and disease. Joy comes from God. First of all joy isn't an emotion so much as it is a gift from God. Yes, it is a great feeling - but feelings can be misleading if they come from the wrong heart. In the worst of circumstances do you know and experience His joy? Secondly, joy comes from knowing Gods grace, mercy, love and forgiveness.

One of the blogs I read, perrynoble.com, Perry writes an article on 7 joy killers of ministry. He is right on the money!! Click here and learn! !

Some of you have asked me about the New Testament CD's we passed out last Sunday. They are not playing on your CD player at home or in the car. That is because they are in a MP3 format. This is the only way to get the whole NT on one CD. On the inside of the cover there are instructions how to use the CD. Someone asked me this evening if they could burn it to CD. Yes you can but you going to need a lot of CD's. There is roughly 20 hours recorded on this MP3 and a CD holds 74 minutes. (By the way, if anyone can tell me why a CD holds 74 minutes I'll buy you lunch at McD's - click on comments and leave your answer there.) Anyhow, you do the math. Next time you are at Wal-Mart (or your favorite store with a electronics section) stop in and ask to see their MP3 players. They will take you to those little ones which you can carry with you. If you don't have a computer, ask me - I'll download it for you. You can purchase large "boom box' type cd

Last Sunday's sermon was more than just a sermon, it was a reminder of who we are and what we are. Over the last 2 years I have been working on a process that reflects our ministry and church family in this community. I've studied hundreds of church vision statements, mission statements and core values. I read and reread blogs, books and brochures about churches, what they believe and why they believe it. So believe me when I say that a lot of thought went into this before I presented it to you last Sunday. The last hurdle for me was the exact wording. I had the ideas and concepts down, but saying it in a way that everyone could understand it was eluding me. Then an article I was reading really got my attention. Apple, the people who make Macintosh - the computer I use, have made a business out of simple and easy. Simple designs, simple software, simple everything! So what? I just checked and at this moment Apple is worth, $159.64 a share. Simple works. Then Saturd

As I recall last nights program, I mentioned something that you never have heard before. In 2008 I believe that God desires for us to run 100 people on Sunday morning and to do so in 2 services. Now the 2 services thing has to be from God because I am not a morning person - and the 100 figure is roughly double our attendance now. While it may sound simple to some, anyone who teaches church growth will tell you - this is a major big time miracle . Now don't misunderstand me here, my name isn't Moses and I'm not coming down from the top of the mountain saying, "Thus Saith The Lord!" What I am doing is telling you what God is whispering in my heart and I would really like to know what He is saying to yours.

I just got back from the TBN recording at WTCE in Ft. Pierce. I think I can across as stiff and uncomfortable. Well the chair I was sitting in was. But we really did have a great time. You are going to love the music on this program. But what I was really surprised about was Betty. She gave her testimony and did a great job!! It will be broadcast this Friday at 11 a.m.

I am really excited about this afternoons taping. It has been a couple of years since I have done this so this should be interesting. My good friend Scrivner Damon and his wife Dolores will be hosting. What am I going to say, what are we going to do? I have no idea. But every time that I do this, God shows up and blesses us in a wonderful way. P.S. I'll probably be blogging a lot the next few days. I couldn't do as much as I desired while my laptop was down, so I have a lot of catching up to do.

Well after 9 days, one hard drive, a systems upgrade, replacing my word processor (they quit making it) 10 downloads (so far) and a great deal of persistence (because I cannot afford a new one) my laptop is up and running. For those of you who do not understand, do the following. A) Make sure that you have a start up/install disk for your computer. B) Back up everything all the time. C) Make sure that you have a disk to back up a copy of necessary software (and keep a list of websites where you have downloaded stuff you use). Believe me, someday you will thank me.

We had a wonderful service last Sunday. Our faithSKILLS class has a great discussion about sacrifice and self control. Then the morning worship service The sermon EXPERIENCE God, ENJOY each other, LIVE the life and GIVE back has been in the works for about 2 years. Someone noted after the service that I had to much coffee because I was going so fast. Actually I didn't have that much coffee - I was that excited! To have and enjoy a simple process of ministry like this gives us such an advantage. We know what we are doing and we know how to do it! By the way, did the Cowboys really lose yesterday? Well I guess Romo can go anywhere he wants to with Jessica now! My team, the Colts, got knocked out yesterday - by San Deigo? Well I just became a Packers fan. I hear there is going to be a Super**** party at one of our members homes. We had a great day in our Intro To FFWC class yesterday. Walking people through the vision of FFWC - what makes us what we are always helps to

...Betty Jones' computer. Mine is working, but software issues are keeping me from using it. So hopefully today, I can get Betty's computer ready for tomorrows service. Currently I am waiting for a systems upgrade CD. Then after I do that, I still have to find a new word processor. Apparently they just quit making Appleworks. Who knew? A few dozen downloads and updates and I we should be back in business!!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12TH PRAY FOR OUR LOST WORLD Pray for the 3rd largest mission field in the world - The United States of America. Pray for Muslims who need to discover Jesus. Pray for third world countries where our missionaries serve under hostile governments. Pray for our neighbors, friends and relatives who don't know Him. Pray for places in this world where being a Christian is a crime punishable by death. Unity Psalms 133:1 "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" King David wrote this one and I believe that he meant it. He after all had been hunted down for years. Endured strife within his own kingdom that cost the life of his son. He had created enough havoc of his own that any other man would have been executed for. So when he says, "How good and pleasant . . ." He knows what he is talking about. Strife, contention, disagreement and discord are all word that many make you break out in hives. No one likes to work in

This morning I had the privilege to attend Rev. Robert Raburns funeral. Robert is the father of our District Superintendent, Terry Raburn. Robert has pastored Ft. Pierce First Assembly of God for the last 23 years. As I listened, sang songs and prayed, something hit me - I don't know if it was Holy Spirit inspired, but none the less it was good for me. Robert showed us, with his life, how you can take it with you - if you know what to pack. Speaker after speaker spoke of his love for churches, missions and winning souls. His joy and his hope found in Christ and how he loved and thanked God everyday for his family. I really don't know if he was rich in this world, but I do know that he is a rich man in heaven today!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11TH PRAY FOR OUR NATION Pray for upcoming elections - national and local. Pay for current leadership in the White House, Congress and Court System. Pray for our troops at home and overseas. Pray for our state and county leadership. Pray that this nation will return to God. Apples and 20/20 Vision Psalms 17:8 "Keep me as the apple of your eye . . ." The Psalmist prayed this prayer on his behalf to God. God sees us with 20/20 vision. He sees and knows everything - even the stuff we are thinking. We are guilty of judging ourselves and others to quickly. Usually our assesments are wrong and in fact we don't know what we are talking about. We don't have 20/20 vision. Yet God, who sees us clearly for who and what we are chooses to see the apple of His eye. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Sorry that todays journal is late. But this one is coming from my personal computer. The new Hard Drive has been installed and we're back in business!! THURSDAY, JANUARY 10TH PRAY FOR THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD Pray for AG missionaries at home and overseas. Pray for AG ministers here in the US that serve in a variety of positions and ministries. Pray for our national leadership team in Springfield, Missouri. Pray for our each state and language district - ours serves in Lakeland, Florida. Pray for the local AG leadership who serve the West Palm Beach area. Pray that God will bring a revival of the Holy Spirit among us, empowering us to do His will. Living the Life John 10:10 "The theif comes only to steal and kill and destoy; I have come that they may have live, and have it to the full." There are so many kinds of lives that we can live. Carefree, stressed out, passionate, miserable. But only one that Jesus came to give us wasw abundant or to the full. First of all

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9TH PRAY FOR YOUR COMMUNITY Pray for you neighborhood, pray for you city and pray for the Treasure Coast. Pray for our schools, our kids who attend them and the staff who takes care of them. Pray for our local economy, that people will be able to get good jobs. But I don't want to wait! Isa 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength..." Sitting in a waiting room is painful for me. The first thing I do is look for magazines, then, I pray that all of them are not Cosmo. I settle in and - wait. Remember that we wait for a reason. Sometimes it is to feel better, to meet someone we haven't seen in some time or to receive something that we want or need.l (As in my case, a hard drive which still hasn't arrived.) So why does God make us wait? So that our strength will be renewed. Waiting serves a purpose other than wasting our time. While we wait, God is working on us. Working on what you ask? Whatever is next - and o

John 11:43 - 44 "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth!" As many of you know, Russ & I had a very rough weekend!! Saturday morning while Russ was working on his sermon, his laptop computer starting acting & sounding funny. After working on it for a couple of hours, he realized his hardrive was going out & he was losing things right before his very eyes. He runs out to me in the sanctuary to use my laptop & sees my panicked face. We had a group of people taking down the Christmas decorations, & a glass of water had been knocked over on my laptop computer & it fried instantly. The person who did it was terribly upset & offered to buy me a new one. I explained, you don't want to do that....it's a "Mac". (To replace what I had was going to cost $1500 - $2000) Besides, it really wasn't their fault. I was the one who placed the water on the table & f

TUESDAY JANUARY 8TH PRAY FOR MY LOCAL CHURCH Pray for it's leadership, financial future and that it will fulfill its will in God's plan for Palm City. Pray that we will be able to reach our community with the good news about Jesus. Pray for its ministries and that God will help this church lead people to know Jesus is a real way. Hope Waiting doesn't come easily for us, usually because it requires patience. Rom. 8:24 says, "For in this hope we were saved...." When do you need hope? Usually when you are in some kind of need. Hope sustains us in our trials and troubles. In fact hope can be so strong is can be the only thing that will get us through. God will come through for us - hope. His grace is enough to help us wait. When we say that we "Give hope and build a future" at FFWC, it means that we introduce people to Jesus, who will get them through. Not only will he get them through, He will help them move on to a better future.

Went to the apple store with computer #2 (my wife's). We brought it it in many pieces. We put it back to together and turn it on. IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE! Yes you heard me right - it is working just fine. My new hard drive should arrive tomorrow and then we are back in business!!

The Apple store confirmed that my computers hard drive has crashed. I just ordered a new one, it will be here Tuesday. My wifes computer will probably be a different story. Pray that we can get it replaced soon! (Thanks to the Shurr family for letting me use their computer.)

REVISED @ 3:15 P.M. MONDAY, JANUARY 7TH PRAY FOR YOUR FAMILY Pray that God will bless them. Pray for those who have not entrusted their faith to Jesus. Pray for those who have, but are struggling. Struggle of Flesh vs. Faith Eph 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood..." I'm not much of a wrestling fan. It's so scripted and over the top for me. The real wrestling for me comes when I'm tempted. Let's call temptation a slice of "death by chocolate" cake. If you've never had one, believe me the name comes close. It's calling your name, even though you know you will pay for it later. Should you or shouldn't you? Yes or No? In life something motivates our decision. We don't react with instinct - we react with motive. When our motives arise from our sinful , selfish, manipulative, controlling self, we eat the cake. When our motives arise from a heart that is dedicated to God and separated from this world, we sa

Now through Saturday, we will be joining millions of fellow believers across this nation in a week of prayer and fasting. SUNDAY, JANUARY 6TH PRAY FOR THE LORD'S GUIDANCE Ask God to give you direction in every area of your life. Ask Him to help you listen to and learn from Him. God Loves You John 3:16 "For God so loved the world...." That's You! When you stop to think about it, it means that God has never stopped loving you. Now you may be asking, "If God loves me so much then why....?" My daughter doesn't understand every decision I make. Sometimes she tries to force her opinion on me. Because she isn't old enough to understand doesn't mean that I don't love her - I do very much. We cannot understand everything about God - that's just impossible for us to do. But we can experience His love, even when He makes though decision that effect us. Remember that no matter what is happening God has and will always love you - forever.

Last night, just before I went to bed I thought that my computer was running a little slow. When I got up this morning, it was really, really slow. I worked on it and worked on it. When I concluded that it wasn't going to make it I immediately walked out of my office in order to commandeer my wifes. That way we could at least have powerpoint for tomorrows service. As I walked out of my office my wife was running in to get me. The look on her face said it all. When I got to her computer it was wet, really, really wet. Someone had bumped the table and a glass of water tipped over into the computer. It is now in many pieces drying out. I have borrowed this computer for the evening and mine - oh, the hard drive is fried. GRRRR!!

I am really looking forward to this Sundays service. Carpe Diem is a message that I have wanted to preach for quite some time. I'll be using clips from the film Second Chance with Michael W. Smith in it. I'm ready to seize the day and the rest of 2008 for Christ, how about you!! Also, we will enjoy lunch after service this Sunday - Fried Chicken is on the menu. If you would like to bring something to go along with it you are more than welcome.

People run away for a reason. Usually the reason(s) are rooted in fear. We are afraid to face something and that causes pain. People have been known to leave their marriages, family, careers and obligations. You may know someone who one day just up and quit. Why? What happened? When we allow our own fears to go unchallenged they will become bigger than life. That is to say they will become so large, it will scare us to run. Healthy Fear helps us stay out of trouble. My wife is allergic to peanuts and any other nuts that exist. She will run away from peanut butter. The smell of it can send her body into shock. We are talking throat closing, tongue swelling and open blisters in the mouth. If it goes untreated she would die. So running is a really good idea. Unhealthy Fear usually gets us into trouble and enslaves us. I knew a lady 12 years ago who was afraid of frogs. The first time I saw her react to one she nearly injured everyone around her. No kidding. People were

All of us have had the thought before. Just to run away from our problems and find a less stressful life. Having the thought isn't a sin, thank God, or we would all be in trouble wouldn't we? Today as I was visiting with a fellow minister our conversation somehow got sidetrack to this topic. I mention how another minister whom we both know, might just "run away". His response to this was passionate. He said that we have to remember that Satan is trying to destroy us, our churches and our ministries. That if we leave the ministry Satan isn't going to be satisfied until he has completely wiped us, our family and our future out. While we may find the life that we are looking for, it isn't the one that God called us to. As I drove away, his words were still ringing in my ears. Over the next few days I'm going to keep working on this. Check back tomorrow.

The official low for Stuart was 39 degrees, It was 31 in Okee. and that breaks a record set in 1979. It is cold. My office just got up to 56 degrees and we started at 50. I keep saying to myself, "I'm not shoveling snow." "I'm not shoveling snow." "I'm not shoveling snow." But if it doesn't warm up soon I going to go pastor in Aruba.

As you may have noticed yesterday and today that political violence in Kenya erupted over recent elections. As a result a number of people sought refuge in a church. Rioters burned it down with them in it and (according to most reports) up to 50 people died. That church was an Assemblies of God church. Our fellow Christians and missionaries are in hiding and are safe for the time being, however, they have no food at all. I went to college with one of the missionaries and his father was one of my professors. Please pray that the violence stops and that our fellow Christians and our missionaries can return to their homes safely. For more information please go to www.ag.org

Now that 07 is over, I took some time to review this last year. Here are some of the top things about 07 for me. Learning how to blog (still am) - but I'm glad I jumped in. Taking my daughter to SeaWorld. Watching Anneka at her first recital. My Dad passed away, but I learned that he had trusted God with his soul. Octobers Ocean baptismal Personally leading people to Jesus. South Florida Pastor Co-hort, that really has helped me over the last 2 years. No hurricanes! PTL Betty and Anneka getting to go to Indiana and visit Grandma Jo The sermon series, Life Isn't Fair. I really enjoyed that one. Meeting our new General Superintendent George Wood.