CPC 2007

I just returned from CPC in Orlando along with Patsy and Pastor Grant. It was a great time. We had a blast. I am always so touched by the worship there. It is nearly impossible for me to really worship and grow in my own church. I have too many responsibilities and worries. So I have to do so in my car mostly. At CPC I can finally let go and join over 2,000 other people in the same boat. There is always such spiritual electricity in the air. Here are a few highlights:

I took an extra seminar called Disney Institute where we got to tour and see backstage including tours of The Magic Kingdom and MGM Studios. And we got to see the tunnels under the Magic Kingdom. then we went through their leadership seminar. Walt Disney is one of my heroes. They told the story of when he was on his deathbed and how he was talking to his brother Roy and looking up at the tiles in the ceiling and dreaming of what would go where in the Disney World property. He died in 1966 and I believe Disney World opened in 1971.

We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort and this is the a fountain like thing near the pool.

Mickey Mouse butter at our table each night.

The three of us at dinner one night.

Patsy and I went for lunch before our plane home at the Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. I asked for another root beer and the lady brought me a real man's glass. What a fun restaurant.

I got to meet Phil Vischer and have him sign one of his children's books. He is the creator of Veggie Tales. He had an incredibly honest and courageous talk in one of the general sessions about the bankruptcy and public auction of Big Idea. I have been chewing on this talk for the last 4 days.

The conference center where the event was held.

Sunrise one morning.

On our way home to Roanoke.

David and Chase

We welcomed a couple of new children into our home today. David is 18 months old and Chase is 7 months old. They are brothers and will be staying with us for awhile. More masculinity for Patsy!

Chaplain Matt

TThis is a picture of my brother-in-law Matt Cassady(the taller one). He left today for Afghanistan. This is his second tour of duty their and he will be gone at least a year this time. If you think of him please pray for him. Pray for protection and peace away from his family and that he will have lots of chances to share the love of Jesus with our soldiers. Also remember his wife (my sister) Rachel and their three children Emma (age 9) Carter (7) and Bailey (5). Rachel has many chances to pray and share with wives and family members. They also miss Matt already. As Rachel says pray for strength, peace and joy.

Tagged

I guess I've been tagged twice - which doesn't seem quite fair. Erica and April have tagged me so I'm, fulfilling my tagged duties in one post! I am supposed to list 6 weird things about myself that others may not know and then list 6 people who have to do the same. Since everybody in the church has already been tagged this may be difficult for me to do. Here we go:

1. I lived in Mexico for a year to study Spanish and lost 30 pounds there. I came back weighing 115 pounds. Yikes!

2. I am huge fan of the heavenly mixture of chocolate and peanut butter. Surely the streets of heaven will be paved with them. At least on my block.

3. As a kid I was a fan of the the Dallas Cowboys - yuck! I feel dirty just writing that.

4. My first crush was Marica Brady - Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. I sort of liked Daphne from Scooby Doo too but can you really have a crush on an animation?

5. When I asked Patsy to marry me I bought a ring that was too small and we had to have it resized. I felt like a total looser but Patsy was kind!

6. I cried when Walter Payton died.

Alright I tag:

Rachel
Pastor Larry (he has a My Space account)
Chad Gilchrist
Pastor Kal (Chad has to tell his mom)
Pastor Karl if he reads this
Chris Parker (who never updates his blog so now I guess he is under obligation to do so)

Compassion International

I am big supporter of this para-church organization. My whole life is built on the idea of making the most with the time, resources and talents God has given us. This is a big reason I work with kids because in the big scheme of things I am like a bug on the windshield of the Mack Truck of history. Maybe a germ. But I have a chance to impact some lives in a tremendous way by investing first in my own family and then in the lives of children and their parents. For me working strictly with adults is a comparative waste of time (for me that is). I also support missions where they spend a majority of their time and resources helping children come to know Christ and showing them some of His practical love. After all the majority of the world's population are minors - and they are more open to the Word of God. Compassion International falls right into my thinking and allows our family to make a real, lasting impact on the life of a little boy and his family. We have been supporting Jerson from Honduras for three years now. He will be eight years old this week. We write letters and draw pictures for him and he does the same for us. One day when he is older we would like to visit him. He has also ministered to our family teaching us about another culture and helping us not be so materialistic. This picture is when he was five. I have had the goal for a couple of years to have our Awana program at church support a child through Compassion but so far this has not worked out. So this year we are going to have the kids write and send pictures to Jerson with the hope of next school year "adopting" our own child. I highly recommend this ministry for families. We have been given so much and "too whom much is given much will be required."

Da Bears

Nervous Bear fan here about this weekend. Which team is going to show up? At any rate They did well this year no matter what. If they do win the Super Bowl - it will be because they get on a hot streak. The real question is - is it sinful to rush out of church Sunday to be home by 1:00 p.m. for kick-off? OOOh the guilt! Also please no calls to rub it in if they loose. Have some compassion on me.

New Years letter to our volunteers

2007 sounds like we should all be driving around in flying cars that run off orange peels and they should have a cure for baldness by now. But life has changed a lot over the years but some things remain constant. Its during this time of the year that I like to reflect on all the things god has shown me and helped me through in this journey of life. I am so awed by the calling and passion He has given me to help change this generation of kids. To be part of the greatest spiritual movement in the history of Christians is a tremendous honor. For those of you who work in the children’s ministries you are also an amazing part of this movement. As parents. grandparents, aunts and uncle we also have the chance to impact history. I believe this group of kids will be the greatest and most influential generation ever. When we get to heaven we will truly understand how we influenced history by investing in the lives of children. I am so thankful and so proud of our group of volunteers at Parkway. When I first came here nearly four years ago the task of building a team of volunteers seemed so daunting I had only one place to turn – to God. He has brought together this team and we continue to grow in both numbers and in passion and skill. I have great ideas for the ministries to children. I would love to see a new worship room for the older kids with a great game room. I dream of the day when our playground is finished and offers parents and children a great place to enjoy fellowship. I would love to see a program started where we match children with adopted grandparents in the church. I dream of the day when there are key lay leaders in every area of children’s ministries developing and dreaming their own dreams. I would love to see the day when we take a missions trip for older elementary kids. You all have been a part of making so many dreams come true. I am excited about your involvement for the coming year! I pray God blesses each of you and your families this year.

I've been watching you

I ran across this song by some country artist named Rodney Atkins which is pretty cool. You can hear at http://www.myspace.com/rodneyatkins It made me sorta cry. Real men cry so there! Here are the lyrics:

By: RODNEY ATKINS, STEVE DEAN, BRIAN WHITE
DRIVING THROUGH TOWN JUST MY BOY AND ME
WITH A HAPPY MEAL IN HIS BOOSTER SEAT
KNOWING THAT HE COULDN’T HAVE THE TOY
TILL HIS NUGGETS WERE GONE
GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED STRAIGHT TO RED
I HIT MY BRAKES AND MUMBLED UNDER MY BREATH
AS FRIES WENT A FLYING AND HIS ORANGE DRINK COVERED HIS LAP
WELL THEN MY FOUR YEAR OLD SAID A FOUR LETTER WORD
THAT STARTED WITH “S” AND I WAS CONCERNED
SO I SAID SON NOW WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO TALK LIKE THAT
CHORUS ONE
HE SAID I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU DAD, AIN’T THAT COOL
I’M YOUR BUCKAROO, I WANNA BE LIKE YOUAND EAT ALL MY FOOD AND GROW AS TALL AS YOU ARE
WE GOT COWBOY BOOTS AND CAMO PANTS
YEAH WE’RE JUST ALIKE, HEY AIN’T WE DAD
I WANNA DO EVERYTHING YOU DOSO I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU
WE GOT BACK HOME AND I WENT TO THE BARN
I BOWED MY HEAD AND I PRAYED REAL HARD
SAID LORD PLEASE HELP ME HELP MY STUPID SELF
THEN THIS SIDE OF BEDTIME LATER THAT NIGHT
TURNING ON MY SON’S SCOOBY DOO NIGHTLIGHT
HE CRAWLED OUT OF BED AND HE GOT DOWN ON HIS KNEES
HE CLOSED HIS LITTLE EYES, FOLDED HIS LITTLE HANDS
AND SPOKE TO GOD LIKE HE WAS TALKING TO A FRIEND
AND I SAID SON WHERE’D YOU LEARN TO PRAY LIKE THAT
CHORUS TWO
HE SAID I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU DAD, AIN’T THAT COOL
I’M YOUR BUCKAROO, I WANNA BE LIKE YOU
AND EAT ALL MY FOOD AND GROW AS TALL AS YOU ARE
WE LIKE FIXING THINGS AND HOLDING MAMA’S HAND
YEAH WE’RE JUST ALIKE, HEY AIN’T WE DAD
I WANNA DO EVERYTHING YOU DO
SO I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU

BRIDGE
WITH TEARS IN MY EYES I WRAPPED HIM IN A HUG
SAID MY LITTLE BEAR IS GROWING UP
HE SAID BUT WHEN I’M BIG I’LL STILL KNOW WHAT TO DO
CHORUS
THREE CAUSE I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU DAD, AIN’T THAT COOL I’M YOUR BUCKAROO, I WANNA BE LIKE YOU AND EAT ALL MY FOOD AND GROW AS TALL AS YOU ARE
THEN I’LL BE AS STRONG AS YOU AND SUPERMANWE’LL BE JUST ALIKE, HEY WON’T WE DAD
WHEN I CAN DO EVERYTHING YOU DOCAUSE I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU

Books I read over Christmas vacation

I finished the Culture Warrior by Bill O'Reilly. This was a good read. Of course I never 100% agree with Bill but he is a feisty intelligent guy and he's on target most of the time. It does a good job of exposing the agenda of so many of the cultural elite who are trying to slowly erode whet America is and turn it into a completely secular nation where the state reigns supreme.

To compliment Culture Warrior I also read Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich. This book highlighted the role faith in God has played throughout our history as a nation and how it has guided us through tough times and has brought hope and freedom to so many people. It examines many of our national monuments and how they are a testament to the role faith had in sustaining the idea of liberty for all in this country. Nice little book.

Currently I am reading Children's Ministry Leadership by Jim Wideman - a very practical and inspirational book on leading volunteers and parents in children's ministry. Lots of good self-examination stuff going on as I read through this book. One of its points is that leaders are always learning - which is one reason I read.

I have also set the goal of reading through the Bible in 2007. I have done this twice before. I've got a nice Bible (NLT) that plans it all out for you.

Silly String

We have a tradition at our house of Silly String on New Year's Eve. They make for really cool photos. Hope everyone has a great 2007!