Thankful!

This weekend was crazy. I had a Christmas party at my house on Saturday night and had about 38 people there. If you’ve ever been to my house before, you know that it was totally packed! Per the “Party-Goers’ Rule Book”, everyone must congregate in the kitchen or at least near the food for the first half of their attendance. It was like the rest of the house didn’t even exist. It was totally funny to see it happen though. For anyone who has had a large gathering like this, you also know it is very neat to see various aspects of your life come together at one time. There were people representing personal friendships, my family, people from my church who have become awesome friends over the last several months, and people from work that I consider friends before being my co-workers and teammates. It was a huge undertaking and I’m still exhausted but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was great to see everyone, especially since we’re all going to many different directions this time of year.

As I began to hobble to the bathroom and get ready for church on Sunday, I found myself saying “I sure hope Donnie rocks it out today because I need it.” And guess what? He did! The band was totally awesome and we had a wonderful service. With being sick the last several weeks and only attending once or twice out of the last month, I needed a refreshing of spirit and mind, which I definitely got.

I was also facing an entire week of travel and moving my desk at work to a new location. Sunday morning I called my mom and asked her to please help me do that so it wouldn’t take so long, which she was gracious enough to do. It’s funny how God always knows what you need right when you need it. Not only did I receive what I needed thru worship and Joey’s message and my mom’s help, but about the time I got to the office to start moving the desk I received a phone call from a manager in Charlotte saying that I didn’t need to come down there on Monday. What a blessing! I was so relieved that I could come into the office and focus on getting things in order and wrapping up a few other things before vacation begins next week.

It’s amazing to see and be reminded of God’s promises over and over again. He tells us that He will never give us more than we can handle at one time; and He knew that I was tired and almost at the end of my rope. Look for God’s present of presence in your life this holiday season and praise and thank our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Prince of Peace.

Wow! Where Does Time Go?

Okay, so you've probably noticed that I've been incredibly SLACK with the blog. It's been over a month since the last post. Let me see if I can catch you up with what has been going on.

For those of you with a Facebook account you probably have seen my status updates showing things about work. In case you don't have a FB account, let met catch you up. About a month ago, my managers came to me and asked me to work with the Wealth Division and manage a project that will develop their entire learning path and certification program. I was a little uncertain about it at first, but it's one of those things that just do because if you don't it's a career move. This project encompasses about 30 job families and a ton of curriculum that utilizes internal sources as well as external vendors. Fun stuff! (Not so much some days.) It's going well so far, but its completely exhausting.

I've also been fighting the various strains of funk that have been going around. I'm just getting over a cold which came on the heels of about 2 days of the flu. Fun stuff! NOT REALLY! I'm not a good sick person. I just sleep and try to avoid the world as much as possible. So I think I'm on the mend now.

Vacation is coming up! Wahooooo!!!!! I haven't been anywhere since summer of last year. We leave on Saturday and will spend a week in St. Augustine with a brief venture to Jacksonville and Hernando (a wide spot in the road north/northwest of Orlando, I think). That's where my uncle and aunt live; so we'll visit them while we're down there.

Overall, things are going pretty well. That is about all I can think of right now. If I come up with something else, I'll post again later.

Now THAT's What I'm Talkin' About. . .

On Sunday, Joey announced two evenings of work - Monday and Tuesday. Honestly, I was not looking forward to it because the tasks seemed overwhelming and my faith in numbers and manpower was little. Before Sunday was even over, we had people mowing and trimming the yard. Monday night we had about fifteen (15) people show up to help with the various things that need to be done in order to make the red room and the big room of The Underground "rent-able." It's a good thing since we have two events booked down there this weekend! Wahoo! It's already being used to bless the community and we haven't even begun to market the space yet. Tonight (Tuesday) we had about six people show up to help. What a blessing. Y'all, Amy can paint some trimwork! So keep that in mind if you need stuff done in your house. :) She'll get me for saying that. And Rita and Lydia are just jacks of all trades - cleaning, organizing, and painting. And that was just tonight. Last night was amazing too and the names and jobs are just too many to list.

With all of that said, things are looking good. But we need to a little more help to push us over the hump. The fire marshall is visiting again on Thursday. So if you can help tomorrow night (Wednesday) please come lend a hand. There are so many little things to do and we can use everyone in some way.

God is good! And GREAT is His Faithfulness just like Meredith said on The Smith's blog this week. Morning by morning, new mercies we see. All that we've needed His hand has provided. And He certainly showed me that I need to have more faith in the challenging times. I can't wait to be back downstairs worshiping and fellowshiping with all of our River friends this week. If you were not there this past Sunday, we are having a church potluck dinner and meeting on Sunday night. Please plan to attend. This will be a great time for us to enjoy each other's company and the space that the Lord has been so gracious to provide for us and the community - even through a few floods. Speaking of which, let's think of ways to Flood the community and share with each other on Sunday night.

Have an awesome week! Looking forward to seeing each one of you soon. Until then, as Joey always says, Be the River!

Random Thoughts

I'll go ahead and tell you. . . these are just my late night ramblings. There's no Jesus point to this post.

This Friday and Saturday brings another weekend of cool music at Confluence. If you haven't been in a few weeks or you've never attended, make plans to join us. You'll really enjoy it. Things get going about 8:00pm and run until close at 11:00pm. And you can try out one of the six (6) new freezer drinks. We have Banana Split, Chai, Garcia's Revenge (sort of like Cherry Garcia), Peppermint Patty, Bahama Mama, and Almond Joy. I've tasted all but one. . . and they're all excellent. So be there! Or else! :~P

It's been a strange week - probably becuase of the holiday and having an extra day off. It was great, but you know how that throws off your entire week. Monday was Sunday all day, so I've been behind a day (or is that, ahead a day) all week.

I've been fighting what I originally thought was a cold coming on. But now I think it was just allergy as I feel much better today. Amazing what some good over the counter drugs and sleep will do for you.

We have had some really crazy days at work lately. Our project was stalled (and still is) and so for about 3 weeks we didn't really do that much. But now it's like they're trying to pay us back all at once. The days are jammed packed and I don't think I've ever had so many voicemails in my life. Every time I turn around that $&#%@ little red light is lit up on my phone again. UGH! Today brought some relief though. We have been working on a blended learning project with a professor at San Diego State University. She's wonderful and provides excellent feedback. But I think the presentation hanging over our heads sort of caused some undue stress. Life is good now though. She loved our presentation and I think we are ahead of the other team that presented today for the ultimate "win."

We have been reading a book titled "Tellin' Ain't Training" as part of the process of forming our new larger team. It's an excellent book and I highly recommend it for anyone in the training field, middle/high school education, or even for college professors. The authors bring out some very good points about how we need to approach adult learners and what types of tactics will really help make our intended points without being the proverbial talking head. The thing to remember is that you want training and the corresponding materials to be "learner centered - performance based." Check it out or borrow my copy!

I think that's about all for right now. . . I do have one other piece of news to share. Our friend JOE OWENS, from The River Church, has a blog. Who knew that quiet Joe had so much to say and was so funny!? It's really cool. Check it out by linking from my Friends and Family section of the left side of this page.

Over and out!
J

My God Is Mighty To Save, Part 2

One of my friends sent this video today. Check it out! Very powerful and it is very appropriate based on my last post. Praise Him that He continues to fight for us regardless of how far we may stray!

My God is Mighty to Save!

The last several days have been weird. Periodically we all deal with some spiritual warfare and I think Satan picked me this weekend for whatever reason. There's no need to go into detail about all of it as it has all been dealt with and life is good now. However, it confirms a few things: 1) no one is exempt from it - no matter how much you think "it can't/doesn't happen to me." 2) good friends and people that care about you are essentials in life; they don't have to know what is going on, but just be able to sense that you need something 3) being part of a good church is important 4) you can't let yourself get bogged down in everyone else's junk; they have to deal with that themselves; that is not to say that we shouldn't be good friends and listen and pray as needed 5) everything is made better by talking with someone that can offer an objective viewpoint. With all of that said, the most obvious even before these confirmations is that we need to be in the Word and spending time with God. And even still, we're going to face some "stuff."

So when you deal with our "little red friend" or whatever color he is in your world, remember to tell him "Hey, Satan, dude, MY GOD IS MIGHTY TO SAVE. So take a hike!"

Does Your Faucet Need to Be Cleaned?

I mentioned in a previous post about our new team at work and that we are really in for some adjustments in the near future. Today we had a team meeting and discussed a lot of the team dynamics and began development of our working agreements. A few of the things we came up with were in regards to respecting each other, how to work well and communicate, and basically never make each other look bad. Ever!

Reflecting upon these interactions this evening and thinking back to the last several weeks of Joey's messages, I wondered how often we say things or do things to co-workers, family, friends, or just the person we pass on the street that either comes out wrong or we say something before we have a chance to really think it through. How many times have we said something and ended up trying to suck the words back in as they escaped from our mouths? I know I've done it. Sometimes it really stinks to know that we've hurt someone or made them look bad and the damage is already done. The worst thing is when it's in writing and more than just the two of us see it. Technology like email and blogs are not always our friends. I've learned that the hard way. Note to self: Never leave a paper trail. It doesn't make the situation any easier, but it does save a little embarassment.

One of my favorite quotes is "People will forget the things you say and do, but never how you made them feel." And so I try to think about that before I speak or write, especially since I've been on the receving end of those hurtful words before.

Having said all of this, how can we overflow with God's love and show it to the community when we don't even treat co-workers, family members, and friends the way we should? Is our proverbial faucet (i.e, our minds and mouths) clogged up with gunk that needs to be cleaned out? Do we need to spend a little more time with our assigment from week 1 - spending time in the Word - before we can focus on overflowing? I ask all of this becuase I know that I'm challenged with this sometimes too. My words may not be particularly telling, but maybe my actions speak more loudly.

After reading Joey's post today, I think we are doing the right thing at the right time. The community around our church and Confluence, and even the communities where you live, need us. We have to clean out our gunky faucets so that we are truly overflowing with the right things as we come into contact with the people we want to touch. But things have got to be right in Jerusalem before we can tackle Judea. How are things inside of your Jerusalem walls? Are they ready to overflow or does the faucet have some issues?

BOHICA!!!

That was the motto of the day yesterday. If you don't know what it means, you'll have to ask me. Yesterday was one of those days where everyone and everything seemed to be against you. Every single way that we turned at work there was a roadblock or a complication. We were not feeling the love!

Thankfully there was Life Group to look forward to last night. I needed to be around people that could bring things back into focus. We talked about our challenge for this week - finding someone within our "own personal Jerusalem" (Acts 1:8) that we could be of help to and could minister to. After thinking about this and talking about the people that we want to reach out to, the problems of the day seemed to fade into the background and not seem so overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, they're still there. But with proper focus, they seem manageable compared to what other people are facing.

Sometimes its good to stop, listen, and hear God saying, "Child of mine, I promised you that I would never give you more than you could handle. Think of others. . .you could be in their shoes."

OH! And By the Way. . .

If you're not doing anything Friday or Saturday nights - even if you are - come hang out at Confluence for a little while. We're having live music both nights and it'll be great. Check out www.confluencecoffee.com for more details. There is also a page on Facebook if you want to check there as well.

Stuff usually gets rollin' between 7:30 and 8 and goes until near closing at 11pm. So come join us! Even if you don't want to hear the music, you should come for a strawberry freezer. Don't know what I'm talkin' about? You'll have to figure it out for yourself! :)

Joy and Trials Go Hand in Hand???

I can't believe that I haven't posted since Sunday. It just doesn't seem like it's been that long. This week has been a little crazy with meetings and travel for work. We're experiencing some change at work which will eventually be a good thing. Right now it seems like a huge test since we've suddenly grown from a team of five to a team of sixteen. And unfortunately, quite a few of our new teammembers have not been coached in the same manner that we have, so I'm noticing quite a bit of what could be considered negative behavior. That's not their fault and they are not bad people by any means. But when you've had as much coaching as we have on personality types and preferences, things tend to stick out at you a little bit. They say that teams go thru four stages: forming, storming, norming, and performing. Our smaller team has been together for about three years and I truly feel like we've been through each of those stages and have successfully achieved "performing" status. So now that we have a new group of folks, it feels like we're back at square one all over again. I really hope they catch on quickly! Maybe our manager can work with them the same way she did with us and help the two groups gel more quickly. Pray for patience on everyone's part (I know they say not to pray for that, but I think it's in order here) and that we will learn how to work with each other and find the best process that works for the larger group.

On a more positive note, I attended a class today in Charlotte which our friend Justin Luckett also happened to be in. It was called Quality Philosophy. Interesting! A couple of us were wondering what this was all about before the class started. It was exactly that - the philosophy about how to achieve, manage, and maintain quality. I'm really excited about the content and how it can be applied to work and even to everyday life. I know. . . sounds weird. Just go with me! :)

Life Group was awesome again tonight. I had the opportunity to meet Cherie and Bill Smith. I've seen them at church but haven't met them before tonight. What great folks! It's always nice to meet someone else - maybe eventually I'll get the chance to meet everyone. We had a great conversation on how God is speaking to us thru the book of James. I'm really loving this group more and more. We spent a good amount of time talking about the first few verses in James 1. I guess the above situation with work would be my "trial" at this point. And with most trials there is a fear - in this case probably the fear of the unknown and uncertainty, the fear of failure of the whole group. We (our team) don't have a reason to fail - they put two very successful groups together. But this union changes a lot of major processes. I realize that this fear is unfounded and that Satan is trying his best to enter this situation and my mind. But James tells us to consider it pure joy when we face things like this because we know that our faith will be tested and that it will persevere. So I'm approaching this with joy and a positive spirit. I'm approaching this the knowledge that my faith will persevere and bring me through this time. It has before - God has before - and it will happen again.

Are Ya Drinkin' Your Jesus?

This was one of the questions that Joey, our pastor, asked this morning. He was using the analogy of a Gatorade commercial where the guys are playing sports and instead of sweating like normal, they are sweating the color of their Gatorade drink. The tagline of the commercial is "Are you drinking your Gatorade." Appropriately, he then asked us, "Are ya drinkin' your Jesus?" So I have a few things to say about this.

We started a new series today called "Overflow" and I totally can't wait to hear more in the weeks to come. Our church and Confluence (our coffee shop) is in such a neat position right now for our people to be used in the community and to reach out to people; not for the purpose of bringing them into our church (although it would be really cool if they joined us), but for the purpose of loving them and meeting them where they are; to remove those barriers between the "y'all" and "us" of non-Christians, Christianity, religion and denominations. But before we can be used, we have to be right within ourselves and with God and overflowing with Christ so that others can see Him in us. And in the process Satan is going to do everything he can to stop this. He was in one little corner of our service today causing people not to be focused; trying to pull others' attention away from what Joey was saying to what he had going on in the back of the room. And the funny thing is, he uses distractions like that to cause us to miss something - many times the most important thing. So we have to manage that and make sure that we don't allow Satan to have the access that he can so easily gain sometimes. Otherwise, we'll never overflow because he'll constantly be working the drain plug ever so slowly letting out just a little bit of what is being put in.

It's been such a long time since I've been a part of a church and a group where I felt like God actually wanted me to be. Moreover, it's been a long time since I've had a desire to be completely focused and centered on Him. Don't get me wrong, my faith has always been there and I have never doubted my beliefs and where I'll spend eternity. But the fire wasn't there. Life was repetitive, very uninteresting, and very disappointing. I was tired of putting so much into the relationships and supposed friendships that I formed with other people only to be disappointed in the long run when something better came along for them or when they were bored with me or whatever the problem was that caused them to pull away. (I don't claim perfection in that statement, by the way. What I mean is that friendship is a give and take with both good and bad. Some folks tend to bail when its not going their way or when they are disenchanted with some facet of the relationship.) I prayed for a long time, "God, show me a church, a place where you want me to be, where I can be involved, and where others will take the same interest in my life that I want to take in theirs." Now I only wish that I had listened to Him six months ago when He tried to show me The River - when I took time to read their door hanger, which I never do. All of those type things usually go directly in the trash at my house. But for some reason, I kept this one for a very long time. I checked the church out online. I read everything I could find about it and the people who are involved in it. And finally, after constant reminders and gentle prodding (okay, maybe not so gentle) I decided to give it a try. Wow! I'm glad I did. For those of you that go to The River who are reading this, I value each and every one of you and thank God daily that I'm part of this movement and that as I get to know you we are part of each others' lives.

Now that I have a church home, it's time for God to start work on the other areas. I totally know that He's going to do it too. I hope He does for you as well. There are things that apply from all of Joey's points this morning - it will just be interesting to see how God is going to carry out His plan. I'm definitely part of the group that needs to work on the "But you" part of my faith. Our scripture that we're looking at over the course of this series is Acts 1:8. .
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of
the Earth.
Jesus said "But you," not your neighbor, not the guy down the street, not the person at the store who serves you, He said YOU - that means ME. And while contact evangelism may not be my thing (it's totally not), there are other ways that I can fulfill that "But you" part of His message. Perhaps its in my daily work and interactions, or by being involved in various ways at church, or by writing something on my blog that others will read which will allow God to speak to them. But I have a purpose and a command and I have to figure out how to fulfill it with God's direction and timing. Nonetheless, I have responsibility, a mission, in the "But you" part of scripture.

This will defnitely flow into other areas of my life as we go along and you'll probably see a posting about them. But I want to leave you with a challenge. If you're the person who just goes to church and goes thru the motions of Sunday service just so you can say you were there; if you're the person who goes to church just so your kids get to attend and you're not actively involved; if you're the person who says that you're "involved" in the children's ministry or the nursery or some other part of the church and it's not truly a ministry but a barrier to hide behind, a hindrance keeping you from getting involved in your church and the lives of its people and fulfilling the 'But you' part of scripture; if you're the person who goes to church but none of your friends that you hang out with are invovled in a church of their own and its obvious that it's not a good crowd or they are causing you to lose the "But you" focus, I challenge you to re-examine those parts of your life.

If you're not fulfilled spiritually by anything you do in your life; if you're unhappy with who you are and where life is going; if you've been disappointed by others or burned so many times by supposed friendships that you now withdraw more often than reaching out, ask God what "But you" is supposed to mean for you. Ask Him to show you where you belong and how you can be obedient to His word.

We only get so many chances to reach out to people, to make a difference, to impact their lives. If we pass up those chances, what good have we done? What are we doing in our own lives to make sure that we are filled and overflowing and that others see this? What are we doing so that we possess what is needed to reach out and give to others? Are you drinkin' your Jesus?

Friday Night @ Confluence

You definitely missed out if you were not at Confluence on Friday night. We had a good showing from the community as well as our church family. There was live music provided by Donny Baldridge and it was just neat to see people coming in with their laptops for work and enjoyment to take advantage of the wi-fi that is FREE to patrons.

We're having live music again on Saturday night. I believe it is Jazz. So come on out and join us. There will be coffee, freezer drinks, and ice cream flowing (for a price, of course - after all, we do have to bring in some funds so that we can continue sharing with the community).

Be sure to tell everyone you know! We would love to see the community come out and support this place. We're getting great feedback so far - but we need YOU to come and tell us what you think as well.

Today and the Last Several Weeks

Today was a really slow day at work. We've been working on a project like gangbusters for a while now and recently received news that basically all of our work has to start over because our new manager wants to approach things a little differently. That is not such a bad thing, especially since the approach is the way that we are always saying that we really want to do things and never get the chance. It was a good day to catch up on things, but then the end of the day seemed to drag. Perhaps it was sugar-induced coma caused by the fudge and cream cheese brownies from Midtown Dessertery we had for our teammate's birthday. I've never been so glad to see the clock strike 5:00 in all my life. At least there was something to look forward to this evening. Life Group meets on Thursday.

Speaking of Life Group, for those of you that are reading that I don't attend church with, it is our weekly Bible study / small group gathering. We meet at a group member's house and talk on a deeper or even conversational level about the message from the previous Sunday. So I've attended Life Group a few times and I'm trying to figure out which group is a better fit - not only from a time perspective but from a comfort perspective. Everyone in both groups is really great. Our church is so small currently that you can almost know everyone. But as with all groups, there are dynamics that you have to feel out. Pray that God will show me which group I should be a part of and just exactly how I fit in.

Having said all of that, it was really neat to be at Life Group tonight. It was a rather small group, but you just felt at home. We had a great time of Bible study and sharing and then consumed / breathed some Krispy Kreme donuts. I definitely think I've had my sugar fill for today.

Now that Confluence is open, life is settling down a little bit. I first visited The River Church around the middle of June. Everyone made me feel very welcome and I continued to attend. Probably a week or so after attending the first time I jumped in helping with the building project. Every day I came home from work, changed clothes, and headed out the door to paint, construct, clean, or decorate something. Most Saturdays were spent that way as well. It has been really great having something to focus on and a way to serve not only the community, but God too. Now that the construction is over, I probably need to figure out how to productively spend my time in the evenings, yet remembering to rest and take time out for myself.

Check out the links above! Confluence Coffee is great! There are before and after pictures of the space on the site's blog. The space is beautiful and we're very happy to have a place where the community can come and hang out. We're looking forward to all of the wonderful things God will do with this space as we begin to reach out to the surrounding area and give back for everything that has been given to us.

In the Beginning. . .

Where do I begin? I decided this week that I might ought to begin putting pen to paper - or rather fingers to keyboard. The technology age is great and this will be the way that my future children, should God bless me with any, and their children will learn about their family history. That certainly doesn't mean that good ol' pen and paper are bad ideas. But I do think it is important for us to understand where we come from; who the people were that came before us that mold the family structures we are a part of. Since no one in my family has ever done anything like this, I'm sometimes left wondering just exactly what my ancestors were like. Admittedly, I'm sometimes a little jealous of friends who have all of this knowledge about their family and their past. Thus, my desire to begin writing about my life's adventures - my Everlasting Story. So please continue to check back and see how things are progressing here and how God is blessing my life and allowing special people and new friends to show up at just the right time. I'm always open to your thoughts and want to hear from you.