wrestling, and dad stuff

This is my son Zach and I, in the middle of a full out wrestling match. These impromptu matches break out at any moment when I'm home. Zach is awesome. So full of life and so ready to tackle anything in his way. Last night we stayed up late and played some Xbox 360. He was already figuring out after the first game how many more points he had scored, and of course he spent the next ten minutes telling everyone how bad he beat me. When I spend time with my kids, I realize I was made to be a dad. I love my kids. This morning I woke up and looked into each of my kids rooms just to get a glimpse of them before I left for work. Along with my wife Missy, my kids are the apple of my eye.

Our heavenly Father feels the same way about you. You are the apple of His eye! That means that well, you are very special to Him! Get to know your Heavenly Father today!

Summer Time Fun!

Wow, we just got back Monday from our NYC Missions Outreach. Our team consisted of mostly H20 Leaders which was awesome! I don't get to spend as much time as I'd like with these guys and it was fun doing something amazing as serving people in New York City! God is awesome and amazing. When you go into a trip like this with an open mind God can do amazing things through you. We spoke with hundreds of people about Jesus and what he did for us. We came back from this trip on a spiritual high.

It's very contagious, being used by God, that is. (I sounded like Yoda there!) It was so evident when we engaged in an exercise known as survey evangelism. Missy and I went up to the first person and I was like, "man I just don't wanna do this!" God gave me the strength and they were very open with us. The next one was even easier than the first and by the time we got to our final person before watching the fireworks on the Hudson River, I could tell God was giving me specific words to speak life into people's lives! I've never been so resistant to something and then have my world turned upside down by God in the next moment like that! Crazy!

I'm excited because Sunday night I get to share the love of Jesus with 65 wonderful kids who are ready to continue their crazy ride with Jesus. We are bringing it on Sunday night! Come and check it out!

there is a place that God has for those that are healing from deep wounds. Its not a retreat away from others. Its reaching out to others in your time of need.

It's always darkest before the dawn

I've heard this phrase many times but never really understood it until I rode out a hurricane a few years back. Missy and I along with 15 of our closest friends at a church in VA Beach went on a Cruise. We decided to "road trip" it down to Miami and then go to the Caribbean. We had a blast. We were 1/2 way there when we got the call saying that because of a hurricane that the boat was unable to get back into port. We decided to wait it out. The hurricane came up the Eastern Seaboard and then took a left right where we were staying. (The picture doesn't lie!) We had a fun hurricane party! The storm got pretty intense and it ended up being a long dark night! We didn't sleep much because of the howling winds, so we consequently were up at dawn. The winds died down and the sun peeked up over the horizon and it was the most beautiful peaceful and comforting thing that I have ever experienced. In the dark fear was gripping me but when that sun popped up, I was so relieved that the storm had past. We enjoyed a great vacation on the cruise ship at reduced rates and were blessed to see God's hand in keeping us safe!

If you are going through a dark time, remember that God's in control and dawn is coming!!!

Today is the Day You Have Made...

I have had a busy couple of weeks where I felt out of control. I had many many unscheduled meetings that caused my days to be "lost" when it came to being productive in the office. What do you do when you start feeling this way? I tend to get with someone that I trust and hang with them, and unload. This is what I did yesterday.

A close friend of mine got together with me for lunch and instantly my world felt better even before we said a word about what was going on in our lives. Why? Because I knew that this friend understood me. He is a pastor and has been in my shoes. We ministered together at a small church. He lead the youth group and I did worship for him. We got in his truck and we went to a place that had the potential for being their next building. We prayed for that, he prayed for us at Horizons and we both took a deep breath and were ready to face the "giants" in our lives!

How do you deal with pressure? A friend of mine once told me that our lives are like a three legged stool. One leg represents "Prayer", one leg represents the "Word", and the other represents "Fellowship". If any one of the legs is missing the stool falls over. We need to find that balance. If you are need of fellowship, find a friend at Horizons. Get in a small group. Get balanced!

Hope to see all of you at the 24 hours of prayer this weekend @ Horizons Church. www.horizons church.com

It's all in how you respond to STUFF

I get an email newsletter called Mikey's Funnies. 95% of the time its filled with cheesy jokes but this story was too good to not pass along.

"One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage -- frustration, anger, disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!"

Good advice. I'm still learning this life lesson myself. Let's put this practical advice to practice today.

-andy

Thankful

Ever looked back one year to see how God has worked in your life? Have you made progress in the 365 days that you are reflecting on? What are you using to measure your successes and failures? One thing I don't do often enough is to look at things through the eyes of thankfulness.

I looked back one year ago and realize that we were going through a really crazy time financially last year. Things were failing left and right in our house and we were literally trying to keep our head above water. We prayed that God would provide. Now, I will be honest with you, I wish that God would have rained down money from heaven but he didn't. What he did do was provide payment plan for our septic system. He provided a way to pay to fix our basement after it flooded and the insurance company decided not to cover it. He allowed an appliance insurance policy to cover replacing a hot water heater and fix a fridge.

Sometimes God doesn't give us the thousands to go out and purchase the biggest and the best, but he does provide just what we need to get through another day, another month or another year. He is faithful. Period.