Well, we have ourselves a new year....getting back into the swing of things is not always easy, but it does feel good to be productive again. You can only vacation for so long. hmmmm....deep thought huh.

Harlie, friend from Australia, is back in town for the year....been catching up with him recently. We went and checked out this coffee place tonight in Montrose. seriously the strongest frappuccino I've ever had....messed me up good. Going to a friend's wedding tomorrow who I haven't seen in like 7 years. One of those things where you were really close to them a long time ago, then you hear out of nowhere they're getting married and its in town. should be a lot of old h.s. friends there....should be interesting.

The live album was finally finished last week. Waiting on a few artwork/licensing/legal things to be worked out and then we're golden. the ordeal is almost over. I'm actually really excited about it, besides just having it finished after so much hassle, God never gave us a peace about laying it down through all the roadblocks....so for some reason He's allowing it to happen now, and I trust he'll use it to bless some folks. Looking at a release of mid-February in Knoxville.
God is good...totally faithful, loving us and guiding us the entire time....even when it feels like He doesn't have our best interests at hand. The last month hasn't been the easiest, but when a part of your world gets a little rocked....makes you do some deep searching. Hopefully towards God and not the dark inward spiral. His purposes are flawless. Found out Monday that Dad is having heart surgery in March, hopefully this will help him get back to normal.

Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near.

So, we're 'bout to get hammered by hurricane "Rita".....this thing does not look pretty.
This is definitely a de ja vu  of a few weeks ago.....ironic that my last entry had a hurricane in it too.
In bigger news, my heart aches cause the Cowboys choked last night. I seriously felt sick.

God has been teaching me a lot about hope lately. Hoping in Him only....fully. Hope in the middle of crazy circumstances.....only because He is my strength. Hope because he works miracles to make something worthwhile and eternally valuable out of my limited service. Its been cool to step back and look at the past year and see what He's done in the midst of a schedule that is beyond.....whatever. and the spiritual roller coaster that I put myself on.....and I can look back and begin to faintly see themes that He has going, and work that He accomplished.....thats lasting. He is amazing.

I've been really excited that in the past three days God has given me several songs out of nowhere.....like I'm packing a bag to spend the night with my parents Friday...and God chooses to download a song....so I stop and pull out a tablet and get it down.....

The spiritual world is amazing to say the least. Its so fascinating. Even more....its comforting that the King of Kings talks to us....and listens to us, loves us unconditionally, and watches over us. I honestly think it would totally freak us out to see just the angels that are around us constantly. Wow! just think about it...never alone. God - I AM is always with us.
Hurricane, stalker (like the one that followed me in the woods last week), .....any earthly trouble is not worthy of relieving us of our hope in the Lord and confidence that He really does reign, no matter our perspective on the situation. He's got it more than under control.
Stay on board Roger.

I might be seeing some of you soon.....hurricane evacuation route coming soon. I'm supposed to be leading worship Sunday morning at church, so can't just skip out yet.
Be blessed in the Lord today!

Hey...this "God He Reigns" DVD/CD is incredible!!! probably the best yet, its worth every dollar and more..it'll bless you. promise.

roj

We just finished "Night of Worship" Friday night...it was really incredible....I don't think I was able to enjoy it as much cause I was like in the middle of all the details....but I know that one guy came to know Christ, so the insane hours of the past weeks are worth it. Hopefully it will be only the first of many. Everyone was so excited and asking if we could do that every Friday night.....nice! don't think we're ready just yet.
Really surreal that New Orleans is about to be demolished....crazy! and people are just talking about how they want to die....lots of them, just a few hundred miles away. really sad.
Reagan and I hung out for the first time in over a week. I hadn't seen my own roomate in 4 days even though, we've both been "here".  We just finished disc 2 of West Wing...he's got me hooked. think it actually helps me be more lighthearted in the middle of everything at work...??? we're trying to finished season 2 before he gets married. punk.
Had a great conversation with my sister tonight....she really helped me put the recent developments at the church into perspective....
Its totally a spiritual warfare thing.....God is doing an amazing, awesome work and satan is getting very uneasy at the faith and spiritual momentum building. Even though there are so many great things happening, he tries to get us to see the negative......no room for doubt or fear. There's really no place I'd rather be.....its kinda like ministry medical school.....learning about what it looks like to be in the middle of the work of God.....in the furnace.
Cathy and Corey, and their family finished moving this weekend......that makes six of the seven, in our family that have moved in the last year. exciting times.
Sooo....who knows what this year will look like, time really flies. I was reminded today at how quickly I can derail and forget God is faithful. always has been. always will be. My mind gets so caught up in the little things, and God already has the solution....just gotta drop it and let Him handle it.

Pray for my dad....he's having a heart cath on Wednesday...I appreciate your prayers.

The time to be happy is now.