Gettin' My Praise ON!

Hello again. Chris Tomlin, Israel Houghton & New Breed were the bomb diggity! I love their music and ministry and if you have heard me, I may sound a little different after screaming and singing my brains out at a recent concert. If you ever get the chance to see them in concert, their definitely worth the price of admission. Check them out. Peace.

In HIS Presence for an audience of ONE

Hello again. I have been really feeling God's presence in my life. Ever since the spiritual renewal conference that I attended in January called SOAR, I have been worshipping God with "reckless abandon". I have really felt closer to God and I have been worshipping God like never before. I like to call it worshipping Unleashed. I guess I have been keeping things bottled up and all of a sudden now, my personal and corporate worship has been more real than ever. My personal Bible study and prayer time has been better and I'm always wanting to improve. I really am enjoying my church family and now I am starting to enjoy some really close personal relationships with some of my fellow Christian friends. I'm really amazed at what God is doing in my life and all of the praise goes to Him, the Audience of ONE.

Champions..on the Field and in Life

This morning I went to a Super Bowl Breakfast hosted by a northwest Houston church and I really enjoyed it. In addition to the food and fellowship, I got a chance to watch the Super Bowl prayer breakfast hosted by a Christian sports ministry titled, Athletes in Action. You can do an Internet Search and learn more about them. Tony Dungy, the retired coach of the Indianapolis Colts, was one of the speakers and I was moved by how much grace, class, and peace that he has shown in a dog-eat-dog like environment such as the National Football League. If there was ever and example of how to conduct yourself under that kind of a microscope and make a difference for the cause of Christ, Tony Dungy's picture would be right next to it. I also heard from the recipient of the Bart Starr Award, an award given to an NFL player who represents his team and his community well. This year's recipient is Warrick Dunn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To learn more about Warrick Dunn, do an Internet search. All in all, I got a chance to catch up with an old friend from a few years back. He is doing fine and his kids are growing up fast. In fact, he and his wife celebrated their fifteenth wedding anniversary last week. This breakfast was more than just football, this was a chance to learn more about the men behind the players past and present. This was a chance to exalt the name of Jesus Christ, the greatest champion of all. See I Cor. 9:24-27, II Tim. 4:7-8. Peace out and God bless.

A (Christian)Single Creed

I received this at a Christian singles seminar two weeks ago and it really liked this. This is from one of the speakers, Steven Cooper from Neighborhood Centers of Houston(http://www.neighborhood-centers.org). Please note, I modified some of the statements mentioned in this creed.

My Credo as a Unique, Separate, and Whole single Christian

My commitment to God, myself, and family is that I will hold myself accountable and encourage my friends and loved ones to hole me accountable for thinking, saying and doing the right things, according to God's will and commands by:

• Praying and reading God's Word daily to gain the wisdom to help me better know, love, and glorify God; become more Christlike in thought and action; understand His plan; and participate with Him and others in His plan
• Demonstrating good stewardship of the time, talent, and treasure God has given to me by strategically using the time, spiritual gifts(faith, leadership, administration, teaching, wisdom, and discernment), and financial resources God has given to me in the most beneficial ways possible.
• Demonstrating that giving and serving are deeply held values.
• Serving my family, church and community with a humble spirit.
• Demonstrating hope in difficult situations by reaching out to loved ones with my head, heart and hands to help them address their difficulties and opportunities.
• Being a self-starter by creating plans and engaging other family members in the creation of plans with a worthwhile vision driven by Godly values.
• Diligently acheving worthwhile results and encouraging everyone to do the same.
• Facilitating self-correction and continuous personal development and excellence.
• Demonstrating patience in all encounters.
• Forgiving mistakes and faults in myself and others.
• Developing strong networks, friends and partners who uplift me, bring out the best in me and help me arrive at destiny's door.
• Creating success against all odds as God has given me power and dominion
• Loving myself and celebrating my uniqueness and purpose.

I hope and pray that we as believers will not only use this as bulletin board material, but to live this out. Peace out and have a blessed and Christlike weekend.

Letting Things Go

Have you ever had a hard time of letting go of things, whether it's material, emotional, or otherwise. I have a really difficult time letting go of the past, previous relationships, etc. I need some help in this arena. If anyone has some ideas, please leave your comments on this blog. I need all of the encouragement I can get right now. I need community. Peace.

SOAR-ing Into His Presence

This past weekend I SOAR-ed into his presence. It was a weekend of spiritual renewal at West Houston Church of Christ. West Houston hosted this event and was co-sponsored by Bammel Church of Christ. This weekend I got a chance to experience God and got to meet some very new and interesting people as well. I also learned some things about myself and I realized that I have struggles just like everyone else. I just wish that it did not hurt so much. Well, like the saying goes, you can't have life without adversity and how you recover from it. I've always found out that God is bigger than any adversity that I face. I learned a lot about community and I realize that I need community no matter how many times I like to be by myself. Man I just wish that I can just bottle this up and keep it. Well, that's what Christians are for, right? I want to SOAR some more. Get ready to buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Christmas, in its truest form

Hello. I am writing to say that this Christmas for me is going to be one of the most memorable that I have ever had. I got a majority of my presents before Dec. 25th, and I am overwhelmed by emotion; however, this is a good thing because for the first time in recent memory, I am in amazement at how God can do what He is doing in my life through the example set by His Son, Jesus Christ. I realize what it means to not only go the 2nd mile for others, but to appreciate others going the second mile for me. I am in love with Jesus Christ this Christmas season and I hope and pray to carry that on into 2009. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.