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| Wow, I've not posted since November. I've gotten really lazy about Xanga. I see the last post was about the growth at church. Well, it's been four months, so how about an update? We're now pushing 800 people in Sunday School! That means another 160 more than just four months ago. And last Sunday, we had 425 people who were 18 and younger!
Our pastor received a letter informing him/us that our church was in the top one percent in the entire SBC for baptising people. The Spirit is truly moving.
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| Heard an amazing statistic at church last night. Urbancrest had more than 640 in Sunday School this Sunday. The same weekend a year ago, they had 480-plus. That's an increase of 160-plus, or 33 percent, in just one year. Wow! That's what it's all about!
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| Last week/weekend proved to be one of the most exciting and meaningful times in my life spiritually. Got to take part in our church's walk-through drama presentation of Judgement House. I had no idea what an impact it would have. More than 2,130 people came through over six nights. Of that total, 124 people accepted Christ, and 122 rededicated their lives to Christ. It was just a tremendous outpouring of God's spirit, unlike anything I have ever personally been involved in before. And I can't wait for next year's Judgement House!
Along with those numbers, more than 200 people participated as volunteers, whether in acting, registration, concessions, security, parking, counselors, runners, props, sound, etc. It is amazing to see how God can gift so many people in so many ways, yet create a unified spirit for a common purpose - to evangelize the lost and bring the wandering back to Him.
And church Sunday was maybe the most incredible, exhilirating day of worship I have ever experienced. It wasn't even like church; it was more like one long spiritual pep rally, lifting hands and clapping in enthusiastic worship and praise. I've never been so pumped up to be part of God's team. Maybe for the first time in my more than 20 years of being a Christian, I'm finally starting to realize what belonging to God really means. And how awesome, powerful, holy, sovereign, gracious and mighty He is! Anyway, we served notice to Satan that we were taking territory from him. And by God's power, we did!
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| If your faith is persistently weak, could it be that you've not given God a chance to prove He is faithful? I ask this of you, but I pose it to myself just as much.
An exerpt from a book entitled "Walking by Faith" by Jennifer Rothschild, a Christian author who happens to be blind, says, "That's why trust is a risk. We never learn whether someone is worthy of our trust unless we risk walking with him-and that's what God invites us to do."
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good," David says, "blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Ps. 34:8)
She writes this passage in the context of explaining how she has had to rely on others to be her physical guide, since she is without sight. I placed myself in her situation and imagined what it must be like to rely completely on others to help me from place to place while all I saw was physical darkness. Then I realized that was also a metaphor for many of life's spiritual struggles and challenges.
We often find ourselves in the dark on things. We don't know where we are or what is coming. The darkness can seem like a curse. Or, perhaps, it's a blessing. Because what we might normally consider as darkness is actually a perfect opportunity to take God at His word and dare to trust Him in the circumstance. Because after all, darkness must give way to light when God is present. If only we'd be perceptive enough to see the light that is chasing our darkness. And realize that, sometimes, some momentary darkness is necessary so that the contrast of God's light might be manifested in and through us. If only we'd trust more. If only I'd trust more.
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| Guys, today was one of the most incredible days in my career. I got to fly aboard an Air Force KC-10 aerial refueling tanker. The aircraft flew in to Wright-Patt from a base in New Jersey so that the acquisition folks who work on tanker aircraft upgrades can get a chance to see and fly aboard the aircraft they manage. A friend from the office and I were aboard to escort media covering the flight.
The mission was to fly to an area over Missouri and back, doing aerial refuelings of another tanker aircraft and three A-10 Warthogs. There were a number of people on board our aircraft, so the crew had us go two at a time to walk down to the end of the aircraft, go down some stairs and into the boom operator's station. For those not familiar with the term, the boom is the long pole that extends from the tanker and connects to the aircraft being refueled. The fuel then passes through the boom into the receiving aircraft.
Anyway, my friend and I both got to sit next to the boom operator and watch this A-10 pull up behind us and line up with the boom while the operator maneuvered the boom into position. He topped off the A-10 with 1,000 gallons of fuel (yes, you read that right) at 11,000 feet and 250 mph. We got some pictures. Below is one of them. It was an awesome day!
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