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One of the things I have learned in the ministry is that you need to develop all sorts of talents. A church planter sometimes has to pick up odd jobs here and there. I have sold furniture, drove a school bus, laid tile, and worked in real estate, among other things. You just never know where you might see your pastor moonlighting.
For the record, I think this photo of me with Carrie Underwood beats CLIFF'S
I had a meeting today that I was a little stressed about. As usual, everything went well and all the time I spent stressing and worrying was pointless. God is in control. One of my favorite ways of chillin' after a meeting like this is to drive and listen to music. I chose to listen to Carrie Underwood today and was really blessed by her song 'So Small'. The song is really good from start to finish but the particular line that caught my attention was in the chorus...
"sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand, and what you've been up there searching for forever, is in your hands,
oh when you figure out love is all that matters after all,
it sure makes everything else seem so small"
The truth is, we do struggle and stress over things that really are small when we look at the big picture. I got to thinking about all the things that fill our lives with worry and stress and here's something to think about. The greatest things in my life are my relationships. My relationship with the Lord, my wife, children, family, and friends. I could still enjoy all of these relationships without anything else, but I would not really enjoy all of life's other things without these relationships. "Love is all that matters after all".
The line "What you've been up there searching for forever, is in your hands" is pretty amazing too. It is very sad when we find ourselves feverishly chasing things that we think will make us happy, while all the while we already have them. Sometimes we need to go back and read 1 Timothy 6:6 and stop chasing things that will never satisfy.
There's another reason I like Carrie Underwood. If you look her up on Wikipedia you'll discover that she is a fellow Free Will Baptist. :)
I just read that Alex Rodriguez is now a free agent...could it be? A-Rod is a Giants' uniform? What do you think? Suitable replacement for Bonds in 2008?
Check out these STATS!!!
I've passed this church a hundred times and always thought about photographing it. Tonight was the night. I'll spend some time post processing these images later but I wanted to share one tonight.
I've been speaking on 'The Cross of Christ' for the past several Sundays. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit takes the message of the cross and pierces the hearts of men.
The more you ponder the cross, as a believer, the more you love God and despise sin.
Today, I unloaded 4,500 lbs. of tile that will be going into our fellowship hall this weekend. There are so many exciting things happening around Harvest it's hard to keep up. Tonight, I'm taking Motrin and applying ice. :)
Actually, before I get to the Motrin we're doing an Evangelism Blitz in our neighborhood to invite folks to our Harvest Carnival on October 31st.
I hate it when things don't work right. I hate it more when I find out it was my fault. I'm working with some new software and it's beating me down. I will prevail though!
It's Monday and I'm recovering from the weekend. We actually had a great weekend at Harvest. Our attendance was up, we had several visitors, and people responded to the message in both morning services. I can't go into detail but God did some really BIG stuff this weekend. I'm very humbled that He chose to use me.
I have decided to hang my Real Estate License at Gateway Realty in Fairfield, Ca. This is almost like going home for me, I started selling real estate there almost 8 years ago. Very nice people, great reputation, awesome opportunity. I'm looking forward to being a part of this team.
Up next...I'm getting ready to do a brake job on my truck. It's amazing all the skills you accumulate as a pastor. :)
Cliff met Amy Grant this morning at the local radio station. He was being interviewed as part of the station's 'Church of the Week' promotion and Amy stopped by to wish a Happy Birthday to one of the stations DJ's. That's pretty cool!
I'm now on a mission to top this...
I had the great privilege of leading Frank and Lisa to Christ on Tuesday night. Frank and Lisa started attending Harvest a few months ago after being invited by their friends Robert and Vicki. We really got to know this couple well in our Sunday Night Couple's Class. It's very exciting to see a young family come to church and take Christ home with them.
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house..." (Luke 19:9 ESV)
I think all three of us were walking on air as we left my office last night. God is doing some wonderful things at Harvest, it's nice to be able to be a part of His work.
Here I am craving clam chowder! Depressed that I have to wait until tomorrow! Concerned that Kathy may find out about my chowder delivery and intercept it. Then out of the blue, Cliff Donoho sends me this picture in a text message...What a guy! It's nice to have guys like this around to keep us encouraged. :P
It looks to me like about 10 pieces of sushi is missing from this platter...I wonder if he ate all 10 himself.
I'm in a wierd mood today! Can you tell? It's cold here. It's drizzling and wet. I have a million things to do but all I can think about is clam chowder.
Have you ever been to The Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach?
I'm seriously thinking about ordering a quart right now. It's next day UPS delivery....hmmmm. Should I? Should I not?
Done Deal! (Don't tell Kathy!!!)
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