It’s been a good year. A lot of good has happened this past year…some not so good but more good than not 
Will have more on this past Sunday, but for now, it went well. God was really at work in people’s lives. I had some really great conversations after I preached.
For now, I’m going to veg out watching some more bowl games
Well, except for studying over my notes some, one more mental walkthrough and some prayer, my sermon prep is pretty much done. Just spending the day at the house chillin. It’s cold and rainy. Kids are playing with some of their new toys they got for Christmas and Kim is relaxing….life is good
Looking forward to some bowl games, some fireworks and hopefully watching the DAWGS laying the smackdown on Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.
….I’m excited about preaching this Sunday, but I’ve got to admit: it is difficult to get my mind in gear to finish up my notes during Christmas week. The week of Christmas leading up to New Years is usually time that I take off to just chill with the family, eat way too much chocolate, and watch some football. The outline is ready, but I’ve got to find some more time to pray, finish up my notes and put together all the media for the message. The name of the message is “Man On The Run”, and I’ll be preaching from Jonah. I really believe that God is going to meet with us and is going to change lives. Pray for me as you think about it.
Hope you all are having a great Christmas. We’ve had a really good day. We started with presents this morning. The kids are totally jacked as you can imagine. I surprised Kim with a mac mini which I am so excited about. She had been using an old blue and white G3 that couldn’t even play a video on YouTube without it stalling. She totally surprised me with a new grill. My old one was out of commission in a bad way. The Grillmaster is BACK!
We went over to my parents’ house in North Augusta for about 3 hours and then back to the house for some chill family time.
Speaking of Christmas, one of my favorite Christmas movies is Home Alone. I don’t know what it is, but ever since I saw the first one in like high school I have loved these movies. I think it is a combination of 1. being a Christmas movie 2. the music and 3. the comedy. Back in 2000 I took some students on a missions/service trip to Chicago to work on homes in impoverished neighborhoods. Being the Home Alone fan that I was (I know..it is very sad), I thought that the movie was centered in Chicago so I wondered if the home really existed. If it did, it would make for a great photo opp. while there. Well, sure enough, after some googling, I found the actual home. The actual home is located about 30 miles north of Chicago in Winnetka. So, while we had a free day, me, my intern and another student took off to find the house and lo and behold, there it was. We spoke to the owner and found out all kinds of interesting stuff. For example, the basement has not exterior door with steps leading down to it. So, the crew dug out and built a false entry in one day, did the shoot, and covered it back up.
….wow, this month has been crazy. From family gatherings to videos at CCC, Alive Media and 4Thought Media stuff, we have been going non-stop. I have my outline ready for Sunday, but am going to be working on my presentation and media elements for when I preach at CCC. Somewhere in there, I’m going to hopefully find a nap, some egg nog and some quiet..okay, maybe some egg nog. Rocco is sporting his santa hat and is ready for the fat boy in a red suit.
I hope you all have a very merry Christmas. Thank you Jesus. Without you I’d be lost.
I am sooo stoked! I’m preaching on the 30th at CCC. This is an area of my ministry that I am having a growing desire to do more of so I am very thankful for the opportunity. I have a pretty good idea of where I’ll be preaching from. In fact, the Lord woke me up the other night around 3:30 and so I was spending some time in the word and WHOA…..He laid out some good stuff. Please pray for me that God would use me for His purposes on the 30th and pray for the hearts and minds of the people there, Christ follower and not.
Just got finished watching “The Star of Bethlehem”. It is about an hour long presentation that takes a serious look at the astronomy (not astrology…there is a difference and the latter should absolutely be avoided) surrounding the birth of Christ and even the death of Christ. It is presented by a Christ follower that is a lawyer. Is very well done and the production values are very good (that’s a biggie to me). A lot of time, effort and money was invested in this project. A definite must rent to check out. There is a lot more info on the website as well. You can check it out here:
Here’s a story that my mom sent to me. It is an article about a friend of mine from Curtis school named Christa. She and her husband gave birth to a son named Nate in 2004. Nate was diagnosed with a heart condition and unfortunately passed to be with the Lord. They wanted to do more than just survive. They wanted to use their experience to bless other children that are struggling. Check it out HERE.
