God has been doing so much in my life over the past several years. I have been thinking a lot about what is to come. I know for sure that God has been preparing me for.... Transition----transition is so difficult..that’s why it’s transition. You are going from something that is typically known to what is unknown. For me, there is peace in knowing that God is leading me right now and has prepared a path for me to walk. Our faith is challenged in transition because we don’t know the path but still have to walk in Christ and with Christ on a daily basis.
This year is going to be full of transitions for me. To say that it isn’t or to say that life and the pace of life will “slow down” is only foolish. When we try to live our life without transitions, without the “uncontrolled” moments, we typically have a more difficult time than when we simply embrace “life happening.” Because God has been preparing me, I have the ability to hit life’s transitions head on and allow God to turn the outcomes into evidences of His glory. I am thankful for life, I am thankful for the life that God has blessed me with. I am thankful for my past, my present and my future. I feel a passion right now that I have not felt in a long time. What I feel inside right now reminds me that living and living well means to follow the convictions and passion of your heart. I am walking through a door. There is nothing about this door that makes sense. This is not the logical door but I have no doubt that this door is the door that God has ordained. I have been staring at the door for far too long. It is time, I am done staring and ready to walk through it.

As you enter the New Year let your joy, love, peace, and hope, which comes from your growing love for the Lord, permeate the very essence of who you are and where you dwell…by and in God’s grace!

For my struggling friend. If you really want your feet to dance to the same beat as heaven, stop writing and pick up your guitar.
In Isaiah and in Matthew, Jesus is called “Emmanuel.”

“Em” = with.

“Nu” = us.

“El” = God.

He’s the “with us God.” He wanted to give Himself. "God with us." Each word is so vital.
"El"
God with us. What if it said “man with us” or “girl with us” or “boss with us” or even “friend with us”? As nice as that might be, it’s not that great. No, it’s “God with us.” The most awesome, most powerful, most infinite, most amazing, most holy, most loving, most righteous Creator God who’s never surprised, never worried, never frustrated, never thwarted is with us.
"Em"
God with us. What if it said “God against us” or “God without us”? How safe would you feel then? No. It’s God with us. We don’t have to go through life alone. Jesus didn’t come to take us out of this world. He came to be with us in this world.
"Nu"
God with us. What if it said “God with you”? That would mean He doesn’t care about me. What if it said “God with me”? That would mean that He doesn’t care about you. What if it said “God with them”? That would mean that He plays favorites. No, it’s God with us.
Emmanuel=“with us God”? Hold on to this ---it is something to be merry about this Christmas.

OK, so I am a proud dad. Kylie danced in the Moscow ballet this last weekend. I knew it was a big deal----but I didn't know how big the deal really was. She danced with professional dancers in front of over 1000 people at the Cannon Center. It was a great experience for her. Clayton was a champ and endured the production. I feel bad saying this--- but, I am really glad that he doesn't like ballet. Clayton stayed occupied with the fact he was missing the Cowboy's game. I could not take pictures during the ballet but here is a write up about the ballet and pictures that I could take

Great Russian Nutcracker
"""Featuring spectacular sets and beautifully costumed Russian dancers, Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker is an annual treat for the whole family. Whimsical and imaginative storytelling blends with the richness of Russian classical dance to make the Great Russian Nutcracker a unique performance not to be missed! Choreographer Emelianov and Valentin Fedorov's spectacular scenic design, with larger-than-life puppets and the backdrop of unicorns, exotic birds and animals, the Great Russian Nutcracker is a visual delight."""

I am not sure about the about the "visual delight" part..... but it was a great experience for Kylie.

I was on an airplane once that was circling the city I was suppose to land in. The pilot then gets on the PA system to speak the obvious "we are in a holding pattern." I really didn't want to hear "what" we were doing I wanted to know "why" and better yet "when" we would be out of the holding pattern and on the ground. I am really bad at playing the waiting game. I know that patience is a virtue. I know that God does some great things in us while we wait on Him. It just seems to me that God wired me to run at full speed. I move fast and I want things around me to run as fast as I do. There are lots of people in the bible that I have studied and thought "wow, that is not me at all." A person that I would consider myself to be bipolar opposite of is Zacchaeus. In Luke 19 Zacchaeus climbed a tree to wait for Jesus to pass by him. I would have never climbed a tree to wait. I don't know how to wait for things. I go crazy waiting for things. There is a good chance if I thought I was going to wait to long, I would climb a tree just to jump out head first--that is hyperbole---But you get the point. I would have pursued Jesus on the road He was walking down. I would have fought my way to the front of the line to see Him. The last thing I would have done is just sit and wait. It's not that my valor would be greater than his it is that my willingness to wait on things is just really bad. Well, as it stands today I am in the waiting game right now. I am in a holding pattern and everything seems to be moving so slow. I don't want to know "why" I just want to know "when" the plane will land. I am so ready to be unleashed---I am ready to get out of the tree.

Kylie turned nine today! We spent the week in Tulsa visiting family. Kylie made her first trip to a cemetery. She has been asking about granny Smith and she wanted to see where she is buried. It was a painful experience and one would have to question my parenting ability for taking her. However, we pulled up to the grave side and Kylie said "is it the one with the flowers?" I said "yes" and she got out of the car walked over to the grave and just sat down. She sat there for a few minutes in complete silence and then she began to wipe her eyes. I was a mess at this point but sat down next to her and just held her while she cried. Without a word we stood up and went back to the car. Kylie as only she can do to me, melted my heart when she said "dad, it is OK, she is in heaven now". I responded with "I know she is and we will see her again one day."

Pronunciation:
\ri-ˈstȯr\
1 : give back , return 2 : to put or bring back into existence or use 3 : to bring back to or put back into a former or original state : renew 4 : to put again in possession of something
This 1947 HARLEY KNUCKLEHEAD rekindled a fire in me. When I was in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago I went to a friends house. His name is Kurt, he is an amazing man, he has an amazing family and look at what he has done. He reminded me that everything can be restored. The lesson I learned by looking at this restored 47 knucklehead would impact me a week later when I was visiting with some friends. Now, if I had seen this motorcycle sitting in an old barn I would have seen a pile of junk. When Kurt saw it, he saw what it could be---not what it was but what it could be. The idea of seeing what "can be" and then accomplishing it, inspires me. Three things come to my mind when I see what Kurt has done. 1. Nehemiah rebuilding the wall. The wall was destroyed and Nehemiah knew what it would take to restore it and then restored it. 2. My dad--seeing his life being restored. Literally watching him rebuild his life. After being crushed by my mom's passing away he has his footing back and is walking again. (I am proud of you dad) 3. The challenge I could face. ---That's all I will say about that, for now--- When I see what Kurt started with and what he has accomplished it brings inspiration and two questions I can't wait to have answered. The question's I am asking today is "What will "it" look like when "it" is restored?" and "Will God use me to restore "it"?"

So, while in Texas...I ate way too much, met some amazing people and accomplished what some said was impossible. However impossible it looked to be, I was dead set on walking on the field that is known as the home of the Texas Longhorns. We got to the stadium and we waltzed into the main Football office where I ran into several coaches and saw the national title trophies collected over the years and Ricky Williams Heisman. This was all great but the goal was to get onto the field. This was not an easy task. As I have already said some believed this to be impossible. Once we got inside the stadium we were met by locked gates and more security than I thought was possible....we made our way into the locker room area. We ran into some players and I was standing in the tunnel that the players use to enter the field on game day. It was really cool but as you can see--- we faced yet another set of locked gates. I was about to jump the fence when ((no really, I was going over))...When I saw a gate open for a golf cart to exit. Kristina and I rushed around and with a great deal of confidence and walked through the open gate as if we knew what we were doing. The "Keep Off the Grass" signs were a great suggestion but I felt in my spirit that they were just that---a suggestion. So, Kristina and I had an amazing trip to Austin that ended with a story that will no doubt be exaggerated by the time I tell it to any of you in person.

I wish I had....I have heard this a few times in my life. In fact I have said this a few times in my life. I have found myself saying it a lot this past week. I just returned from St Louis. I went to St. Louis to do a wedding. While I was there I got to catch up with a bunch of old friends. When I got to St Louis I said "I wish I had my camera, I want to take some pictures to add to my blog". Well, it just so happened that I was staying with one of my best friends in the world. He told me (he, being Eric) that he would take pictures on his new first gen iphone and send them to me. I was happy with this arrangement. However, here I am several days after the fact and I am saying "I wish I had....my pictures to post". I will continue to wait with the rest of you for Eric to follow through with his commitment. Other than that, Life is good for me right now. I am very busy but God is doing some great things in me right now. Kristina and I are going to Austin, TX this weekend. I am leaving the clubs behind but I will be speaking at a church on Sunday. As busy as I am right now it would be real easy to microwave an old message. Most of you know how I feel about that---so, be praying for me as I attempt to prepare for this weekend. One last thought just for Mandi- Your dad and I are still praying for you. I have no doubt that you will repent soon. If you keep going to the snake handling church your uncle Dale and uncle Joe Jo are coming after you 8>).


Fast forward one hour later and this is ERIC'S RESPONSE.--
Seriously dude, you went public with some bad info....I totally sent them to you, twice! Check your spam box or something. In the meantime, i'm thinking about creating my own blog...and maybe I'll spread dirt of how you stole my dads dress socks 5 years ago and never returned them!
Sent from my iPhone

Radical devotion to Christ:
Karen was a Southern Baptist missionary in Iraq and was killed by unknown assailants March 15, 2004. Her story is told in the book Lives Given, Not Taken: 21st Century Southern Baptist Martyrs, by Erich Bridges and Jerry Rankin. In this book I ran across the letter that Karen wrote and left behind in an envelope for her pastors to read. The envelope said "Open in case of death."
(Here is part of that letter)
“You should only be opening this in the event of death. When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward. . .
I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience. . . .
There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him.”

The question I have asked myself and would challenge you to ask yourself is…..
Do you have the heart of a missionary? Use this as a guide—

The missionary heart:
Cares more than some think is wise
Risks more that some think is safe
Dreams more than some think is practical
Expects more than some think is possible.

This is not only a great guide to check your heart, it is also a great prayer to pray over your life. This is what Kristina and I are praying over Kylie and Clayton.

Pumpkin girl and ninja boy are putting Zeke outside so we can make our way to the fall harvest party at church. Clayton doesn't think his friends will recognize him ....Hummm...
















Sarah Palin the ultimate "hockey mom" made an appearance at our church harvest party. We had a great time and it was a good night for our community.

Last night we went on a hayride out into a pumpkin patch. We walked around in the mud and picked our pumpkins off the vine. So, today the pumpkin carving began. Kylie was creative (right side)...bat eyes, ghost nose and moon mouth. Clayton's (left side) let Kristina do most of the work. After carving pumpkins we went to the corn maze and had a great time. After a pretty rough start to my week----The past two days have been awesome. As we stood outside tonight looking at our jack-o-lanterns I thought to myself, "self, stay on course with what God is doing and let the fire inside burn bright".

I always look forward to the start of fall….I love the change in the weather and of course football starts. This year my anticipation for fall has been high. In part because God is at work and I can not lie---Kristina and I have been waiting over a year for 24 to start back up. We are huge Jack fans. I like Jack because he seems to always do the right thing. As a pastor I wish more people did the right things. Before I get into what I am thinking about tonight—here is a sample of what is coming this fall.



Although 24 can be predictable at times---I love it. It might seem weird but I have learned some great lessons from Jack Bauer. Every season in one way or another Jack has a key player in his life turn on him. His responses to these betrayals make for a great story line. Beyond a good story line it is also a good reminder--- that at some point people will let you down. Think about what you have seen and walked through in your life. At some point you have seen children turn on their parents, who loved them and did an above average job raising them. Pastors turn on their congregations, committing unthinkable acts of immorality and deceit. Husbands turn on faithful wives of 20 years because the girl at the office made him feel young, funny, and relatively attractive. I have seen a lot of people let other people down and of course I have been personally wounded at times as well. I am not an expert and can not speak exhaustively on how to respond when you are let down but I can suggest a couple of things not to do when you are let down.
--Don’t punish the loyal people in your life by becoming a stone cold, arm’s length, “I’ll never let anyone hurt me like that again, the world is out to get me” person. That’s not fair. Paranoia is not a road to recovery. It’s a sure fire recipe for eventual collapse.
--Don’t miss the blessing in betrayal. Because of betrayal, Joseph saved a nation. Because of betrayal, Jesus saved the world. If you walk in integrity and process your pain Biblically, your biggest betrayal could be the delivery system for your greatest blessing.
When that day comes that you are betrayed or someone let’s you down, do the right thing. Jack always bounces back. In fact, he bounces back this fall.
Isaiah 54:17
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.

I am putting final touches on my message for tomorrow. I just got caught up reading in Psalms in part for my message and in part to validate or console my emotions. In my little pit stop I noticed that I was missing the message of the Psalms as a whole. The Psalms engage with the entire human condition and they do it all to the glory of God. From Psalms of lament, sorrow, abandonment and betrayal to Psalms of praise, thanksgiving, joy and celebration; the Psalms cover it all. Across the entire book there is a movement from lament to praise. You see the theme of lament in the opening 20 or so Psalms, culminating in Psalm 22 which Jesus quoted in his moment of ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We also see songs of joyful praise gathered at the end of the book in Psalms 145-150 with the final verse of the book resounding, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” In the middle we have Psalms of confession (Ps. 51), Psalms of righteous anger and a desire for justice (Ps. 3:7 and many more), Psalms speaking of the glory of and in creation (Ps. 19, 104), as well as Psalms of thanksgiving, celebration, deliverance and hope. In all these expressions, from “praise the Lord” to “break the teeth of the wicked” I believe that every word is inspired by God Himself and they are all for His glory. Therefore, if I am seeking God’s glory I have to take the whole book of Psalms into account. By taking the book as a whole I am forced to wrestle with things I would rather avoid. Well, I have to wrap up my message for tomorrow morning….

This is a message that I preached at the start of 07. The message starts at the 8:25 mark...You can fast forward it. OK, why did I pull this talk out? Well, The passage in Luke 12:13-20 is a great reminder to me that the abundance of a man's life is reflected in what a man lays down...not what he picks up. I was facing some emotions last week that led me back to this passage. I used this passage all week in my quiet times. After a few days of reading Luke 12 I remembered that I had just put my hands on a copy of a sermon that I had preached using this passage and wondered what I saw today that I missed back then. After listening to it---bad video quality and the sound is not the best--- but as I listened to it, it put wind into my sails. This passage was a big part of my week last week. Rather than typing it out---Grab your bible, open to Luke 12:13-20.......

I was reading the Psalms of Ascent again tonight, which are the songs/prayers that the Israelites sang as they went up to Jerusalem for their pilgrimage. The final one, Psalm 134, made me think....I will soon be at the place that I will be able to stand and lift up my hands to bless the LORD. I will be able to look back at this past season of life and stand in awe of what God has done in me and through me. It says, “Behold, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the LORD. The LORD who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion!” As I begin to climb this mountain in front of me, it is and has been a pilgrimage. This is the final song that the Israelites sang as they approached the temple mound to begin their feasts. For me..change is coming----- and as I approach the end of this pilgrimage to the top of this current mountain, this is my prayer also. I am not looking for a feast, I am longing for a harvest.

Talk about being set up to preach......You have their attention! I could listen to Dex sing all day.


New Creation from FC Post on Vimeo.

A few months ago I was on a road trip and we got stuck in traffic. My family vacation was off to a rough start. We sat on the highway for four hours, it was crazy. We were on I40 just as we crossed over form the Tennessee border into Arkansas. We were out on the road playing soccer on the highway. Cars were turned off and people were just walking around as if things were fine. When we finally saw cars in the distance moving we all jumped in the car buckled up ---excited and ready to get back to the road trip.....Well, we were ready to go but nothing seemed to be changing. All we could see were the two massive trucks right in front of us. So we were buckled and ready to go but the waiting continued. The two trucks right in front of us did not move. Finally a guy came running by our car and started beating on the doors of both of these trucks. Within seconds;;; break lights, then movement-- they both started off slow but built up speed. I realized that the cars in front of them were long gone. These two truck drivers were in the back of their cabs sleeping or watching a movie...who knows but they were clueless that it was time to move forward. Hummm...clueless that they needed to move over so the rest of us could get to where we needed to be. In short they had set up a road block and the rest of us could not get by. We had no choice but to wait on them to go. In so many ways I feel like I am sitting on that road today. In life, I have one speed and that is go hard and go fast. For some reason God has me right in the middle of a waiting game right now. Everything in me is ready to move forward but I am waiting on God and He is waiting on others. So, for today I am content to pray and patiently wait on His direction.

Simple title for a simple reason. In Matthew 5:1-2 it says "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them by saying....."

Jesus sat down on the side of the mountain and his followers knew he was about to teach them. My goal everyday is that God would teach me something new. I often start my prayer by saying "God, I am sitting down will you please sit with me". What I am saying to Him is I am ready to hear from you, I am ready to learn something new...Speak into my life. It is my way of preparing my heart to listen.

So, why sit down? It is the position Jesus took before he taught the beatitudes and it is my desire to learn daily. It is my reminder to silence my heart and hear from God.