Bonjour, Mes Amis

Bonjour! I`m writing this from Tahiti and the keyboard is foreign to me. HA! The keyboard does have a few letters in a different place so it is taking a while to type this. But I just wanted to say hello from this incredible place that shows off some of God`s best artwork. I`m pretty sure He must have gotten an "A" in art class. It`s been a trip to renew friendships and to actually, simply relax. Hope you are well and I encourage you to take a trip to the beach this summer...if only to listen to the sound of the waves.

Tahiti, Take Me Away

Well, it's been about 4 years since I've been to Tahiti. So, I'm going back. Hopefully I can post some pictures upon my return. Also upon my blog. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come by my blog again later next week!

It's A Short Dinner

This is the Short family. No, it's not their height, it's their name. Dave is on the left, Kim is in the middle and Matt is on the right. In the middle is Matt's friend Aaron.

We went to Benihana for Dave's birthday and I'm relieved to say, we made it out of there with all of our limbs attached. However, at least for me, I also made it out of there with a little more weight attached. I love the little volcanoes the chef makes out of the onions. I probably ate two volcanoes.

We are so very thankful for these Short people. They are incredibly helpful and diversified! They have helped us in so many ways -from canvassing to greeting to ushering to feeding to chopping down a tree in the backyard! Also, I am so glad to have Matt playing his trumpet with us. He rocks!

The Godoy Family

This is my buddy Patrick with his wife Anita and sons Esteban and Isaac. I was able to visit them in San Antonio. Here we're having dinner on the Riverwalk.

Patrick is a major Spurs fan so I can imagine that he is quite happy today. When they won, I was quite happy for him. He's not actually on the team -but I'm sure they use him as a consultant.

Sluggard Pie

Proverbs 13:4 "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."

Typically I've read this proverb and thought of it in terms of having a strong work ethic. I've always thought this to be vital -especially in regard to working for the kingdom.

But that scripture hit me another way this week. Think of it in terms of your spiritual growth. Should our work ethic in that area be any less important than working hard at our job?

I've heard people say things like- "I wish God would just make me more disciplined." Maybe that's like saying- "I wish God would plant an apple tree in my yard, pick some apples, bake a pie, and set it down in front of me." It doesn't work that way. We've got to work for it. However, He has given us all the ingredients we need. And I believe He's also given us the cookbook with the recipes. Let's get to work! The diligent will grow in their walk with the Lord.

The sluggard craves a slice of hot apple pie with ice cream just melting in his mouth...and gets nothing. But the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Thinking Blue

The Dodgers played the Mets last night and Gary and I were there to see it in person. The Dodgers have been on a bit of a losing streak...until last night. Yes, they beat the Mets, 5-3. And I'm fairly certain it's because Gary and I were there to hoot and holler. The players may have also had something to do with it. Juan Pierre steals bases at lightning speed. He is amazing to watch -but he's so fast, all you see is a blur. So, whenever he's on base, the pitchers tend to get awfully nervous and it seems to throw them off a bit. I think I could run that fast if there were little incentives out there. Like maybe a cookie at each base.

Jerry Seinfeld was also at the game and they put him on the big screen. However, he was wearing a NY Mets cap...so the crowd booed. He seemed to get a kick out of it though.

If you look real hard, you might be able to see him in this picture. He was wearing a black shirt.

Where Are My Glasses?

This Sunday morning my message is titled "Where Are My Glasses?" Have you ever looked for your sunglasses only to discover that they're planted firmly on top of your head? The sub-title is "Seeing The Unseen" which is spoken of in 2nd Corinthians 4:18: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

The enemy of our souls does a lot of fancy footwork to keep us from really seeing the kingdom and things that are eternal. The "unseen" is actually more lasting than anything we're seeing now. So how do we see the unseen? It's as plain as the nose on your face -or the sunglasses on your head. Join us!

Houston Pics

These are from my trip to Houston. The president of our organization, Steve Riggle, presented an intensive seminar for pastors on church growth. He is well qualified to give this as his church seats 10,000. The seminar ended with their Wednesday night prayer meeting -which was powerful.

Soldier Shawn

Don't let his looks fool you. This is one tough little Marine.

"I know what you're thinking. You're asking yourself,

'Did I put one bottle in this bag or two?'

Go ahead punk. Make my day."

Shawn's dad, Ashley is a Marine. We are so proud of all of those with us who are serving in the military. We want to pray for them often.

Memorial Day

We had lunch at Downtown Disney on Memorial Day. At one point half the table got out a camera. So we might conceivably be able to post a panoramic view of this meal.

Little Shawn was more excited about milk than Mickey Mouse at this point.