Do you know what your gifts are?

Here is a test you can take on-line that will tell you what your spiritual gifts are. The test is 108 questions long, so hang in there I promise it will be worth your time to find out how God wired you.
http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1

And let me know what your results are

Funny Video

If you know me you know I love sports. So at this years ESPY'S Justin Timberlake hosted and did an awesome job. So I thought I would share a funny video or 2 from that show.

Question of the...

I love food if you can't tell that by my photos. But something has always bugged me about food. So here is my question of the day (thought out loud). When you go and eat Chinese food there are always Mexicans in there eating. But when you go and eat Mexican you NEVER see Chinese people eating. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

Weekend Madness

• Thursday I found out a great friend of mine has cancer. He goes on Tuesday to see what the next step is and I will be right there with him. Chuck I am praying for you and your family and will be there to do whatever you need
• Friday I worked but that night I took off and did not do anything. It was my only chill night for the whole week.
• Saturday it was yard work, yard work and more yard work. And then headed to church to do some work to help clean up for church that night.
• Great weekend at The Creek had a guest speaker Marc Barnes who shared what the church is doing world wide to help reach lost souls.
• Saturday night Laura also got home from being away for a week. I missed her alot so I am glad she is home
• Saturday night was fight night. And boy did the UFC have a great fight card. Anderson Silva is the best fighter I have even seen
• Sunday was more church. Chris and the band did some awesome worship. And in the back we had lots of kids. I think things are starting to turn for us and it is only a matter of time before we can dearly hold on.
• Sunday night was our first Hope Creek 201 were we talked about prayer, reading the bible, service, tithe, and the beliefs of the church. Great night and Great job Scott

Why do bad things.......

I have never calmed to know everything (even though some of you may think other wise). So I still to this day struggle with "why bad things happen to good people". I have heard all kinds of stories from folks about "bad things". Some are happy stories about fathers that worked so much and they never spent time with his kids, then he loses his job and he finds a new outlet as a father and it builds back up his relationship with them. While yes that happens everyday and it is a great story, that is not what I am talking about. The stories that get me are the bad ones that go like this. Man/Women loves the lord with all their heart. They honor God like they should. They honor him like a Father. Then cancer, or a car wreck, or murder hits. Why? I don't know. I don't understand.
A great family who are dear friends of mine are going through this very thing. They are church going, Christ believing, God heart people. Yet he has been told he has the big-C Cancer. Why, God why these people, Why now. I understand that God has a plan, I understand that he will not put anything in front of us that we can't deal with. But I still have the WHY'S. And before you say it I know I know I am a Pastor and I should not question God's will, but I am also a human and I am hurting right now. So if there is any one that reads this blog and can help me. PLEASE DO!!!!

How to stay sharp

I get a great newsletter every Monday called Monday Morning Insights. This was the insight for this week. In his book, Practicing Greatness, Reggie McNeal discusses how great leaders need to stay very sharp mentally. Reggie gives us several ways that we can keep our brain chemistry healthy. Some are simple. Others take a little more effort:

• Adequate sleep (a sleep-hungry brain is subject to fuzzy thinking and poor judgment)
• Proper Diet (especially a good amount of protein)
• Moderate your use of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine (don’t use these to ‘medicate your anxiety’
• Adequate exercise (helps physically, but also mentally)
• Daily doses of positive human contact (leaders who are connected are keeping their brains ‘wired’)
• Mental recreation (It helps from making your thoughts dull and tired)
• Muse time (time to ponder, noodle, reflect)

Great advice. How are you doing? Are you giving your brain an opportunity to stay on top of its game?

Here’s to a vibrant ministry!

Selecting a good leader

Another Insight

Selecting the right people to serve around you is one of the most important things you’ll do in ministry. The right people can help you reach many more for Christ. The wrong people can hold you back like a thousand-pound anchor.
This week, let’s discuss how to pick the right people.
Today I’ll list ten of the biggest lessons I’ve learned on selecting great people:

1. Character is more important than giftedness.
   


2. God often uses those others overlook.
   


3. My wife is almost always a better judge about people than I am.
   


4. Past success is a good indicator of future success.
   


5. There is often a reason someone is looking for a job.
   


6. Teach-ability is non-negotiable.
   


7. When I’m trying to talk myself into liking someone, it’s best to move on.
   


8. People from within the organization typically have a huge advantage over those who are from without.
   


9. One of the best ways to attract better leaders is to become a better leader.
   


10. We’re all better off when we pray, listen, and obey.

What would you add or take off the list?

Weekend Madness

• Friday went out with some great friends for dinner at Texas Road House. Great steak just really loud.
• Friday I also tried to play my Wii that is only 5 weeks old and it would not work. No power or nothing. So I packed it up and took it back to Wal-Mart. Where or course they did not have another one. So I got my Money back and I am looking for another one.
• Saturday during the day was a lazy day. I got to sleep late and only did as little as possible. I don't get many days like that so it was nice.
• Saturday night head to The Creek for some great worship and a great talk given by a women that grew up Jewish and converted to Christianity.
• Sunday was the same thing. Great feel with awesome worship. Back in the Great Adventure we are talking about Endurance and we tied it in with the movie Cars and character Lighting McQueen
• Big Rick Sunday night went great we talk about "Purity of the mind". How purity was much more than just sex. So we hit on 3 impurities Anger, Rebellion, Lust. And the check points to help clean your mind out.
• Got meetings planned this week with all the kids workers so I can share our new vision with them.
• Plus we start putting fish on the walls so it is going to be a long week
• Laura is gone all week with her mom and I miss her already

Wake me Up

Remember how I told you I used to be famous. Well here is another photo of me in case you doubted me before

Worship

Worship comes in many forms. Most of the time we think of worship when we sing on the weekends to God. Worship is meant for God. But sadly sometimes instead of worshipping God we worship stuff. Cars, money, houses, woman/men, jobs, you get the idea. But last night I experienced the ultimate in worship. 11 people showed up on rainy night July 10, 2008 at 6:00 to help paint the kids area. These people had worked all day and I am sure where tired and had better things to do. But they gave up there night to help improve God kingdom. They did it with out any negativity or resentment. In fact they were up beat and happy the entire time. Laughter, joy and singing filled the space. It was worship. And it was great. So to those that came out last night and helped from the bottom of my heart I say THANK YOU. If you want to be a part of worship like this come on down. We have many more days planned and all you need to do is show up. So shoot me a e-mail, comment, or see me this weekend. And lets worship together and build upon God's great work at The Creek.

Weekend Madness

• Crazy couple of days repainting the kids wing. We finished step one of the blue paint now it is time to paint some fish.
• July 4th was spent working in the yard and cleaning house. Laura's mom and papa came over for pork chops and steaks.
• Saturday was kinda of a lazy day finishing the yard work up. And I had to head to the church for a bit to clean up and a prep for Sunday. Then we headed to some friends house for some taco's and UFC
• Sunday was week 2 of our series "The Star, The Cross, and The Crescent". We looked into the world of Muslims. Scott really did a great job on this. It is a tough thing to speak on and he did awesome.
• Chris had some rockin good worship going on today. Great songs, great musicians, great set
• We only had 1 service this week with the 4th and the energy is always off the hook when we are all together. If this is what is in store for us I am looking forward to it.
• In the Great Adventure today was Wacky Olympics day. It was fun getting back to my kid days and playing with them
• And to top it all off. I got to take a nap today which does not matter that how.
• It was a hard week for my 30 day challenge. I missed 2 days but my plan is to make them up at the end

What a feeling

OK for those people that know me know that I am not really good at sharing how I feel. But I just had to take a moment to explain what I am feeling right now. For a long time I thought God hated me because nothing in my life seemed to be going right. I was not happy in fact I do alot of stuff to sprees what I was feeling. But I think the old saying is true "Behind every cloud is a sliver lining". Well let me tell you what is happening in my life that is my sliver lining.

• I have a great family. My mom and dad have always been remodels of how to live a Christ centered life. And love me no matter how much I screw up.
• I have a great girlfriend. Who I love with all my heart and I know I will spend forever with.


• I have a great group of friends. That know just when I need to laugh and when I need a shoulder to cry on. They are a blessing and I am lucky to call them friends


• I have a great work family at Hall-Wynne that make every day a good day at work. It is a tough job but they make it better.


• I have a great work family at Hope Creek. Scott and Chris help me everyday grow as a leader and pastor. They are always ears to listen to me speak my mind and hands to pull me up when I am down.


• I have a great group of folks that work weekend and week out at Hope Creek to help people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. It is an honor to service beside them each week. I only hope that I can lead them by example.


• I have a great a chance to do some great big God sized stuff at the Creek. And I can promise you this. I will my best in everything I do. I will give 100% to help build the church and help spread the word of Jesus Christ here at Hope Creek.

So to everyone and everything on this list

Thank You for changing my life