The little Things

As many of you know, I am an assistant coach on my daughter's softball teams. Both of my girls play for the Upper Nazareth Clippers and I help out on both teams. My younger daughter's team lost their first game and then won their next 4 in a row. They've played really well, they've come together as a team and they have dominated pretty much every game they've played. That is until last night.

Last night they had the opportunity to see what it feels like to get totally spanked!! I'm not talking about loosing a game. I'm talking about an all out butt kickin'. At the end of the first inning, we were loosing 6-0 and only had 3 girls at bat . . . And then it went down hill after that. :-(

The biggest issue with the loss was the fact that our team didn't do the little things right. They didn't use two hands when catching a fly ball. They didn't keep their gloves in the dirt when trying to get a grounder. They stood and watched strike after strike sail past them without raising the bat from their shoulders. They threw the ball too much, they held onto the ball too long and ended the game with a score of 15-1.

The little things can cause big changes, failures and successes. Little things like talking with God on a moment by moment basis. Little things like celebrating who God is and who you are as a result of the blood of Christ. Little things like worshiping together with other believers. Little things like giving a hand to someone in need. Little things like inviting someone to church. Little things like telling a friend about the Hope that you have in Christ.

Like my daughter's softball game, when the little things are done well, they win. When the little things aren't done well, the score is 15-1. The same thing is true in your walk with God. When the little things are missed, people face a Christ-less Eternity and Satan has an opportunity to gain a foothold in your life. However, when the little things are done well, your relationship with God grows, lives are changed and you'll hear God say, "Well done!"

Focus in on the little things!

G3,

Emily Update

I want to thank all of you for your prayers.

Emily seems to be feeling much better. The best we can tell is that she had some kind of nasty virus that just wouldn't go away. Today was the first day she ate real food and was a bit more like normal. (Although I did kick her tail in Mario Kart).

G3,

Please Pray for Emily

I want to give a quick shout out and ask for your prayers for our
oldest daughter Emily. She's been sick since Sunday. After a local
doctor visit, a call to her specialist in Hershey and some blood work,
we're not sure if it's just a virus or something more serious. She's
in a lot of pain and doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Please pray for Emily and our family.

Thank you and I'll keep you posted.

G3,

Joy in the Journey

As a new church start, it's frustrating sometimes when things aren't moving forward at the speed that I think they should. God is continually reminding me that His timing is perfect and mine . . . not so much.

I received a very encouraging email yesterday from one of the people at NewSpective. In this message the writer says this:

I think God is allowing me a glimpse of where we are going as a church. I am reading(madly) several books on just what we as a church can offer this new generation that is coming into the Lehigh Valley. I do believe that God is showing me that I GET IT...I SEE WHERE WE WANT TO GO....so praise God.

What an encouragement. God is moving in the lives of leaders and positioning NewSpective to have an impact on the Lehigh Valley. The team is coming together and beginning to understand just what it takes to reach a lost generation. I'm excited for the growth, excited for the challenge, excited to see lives changed. God's doing some cool things and I can't wait to see what's around the next corner.

G3,

Next Steps

On my way to Mars today I listened to a message by this guy. While the message wasn't really about "Next Steps", God used this message to stir in me some thoughts about my Next Steps, NewSpective's Next Steps and maybe even your Next Steps.

As many of you know, some of our NewSpective team spent some time at Liquid on Sunday. We had the chance to experience, first hand, what a move of God in a community could look like. Since our conversation with Tim and Mike and some email communication with them over the past day or so, God's been stirring up a fire inside me. He's been stoking the fire for reaching the Lehigh Valley like never before. However, this fire brings with it a fear. To move from where NewSpective Church currently is to where I believe God wants us to be, is a daunting task. Do we have the budget, do we have the volunteers, do we have the children's ministry workers, do we have the commitment, do we have the band, the greeters, . . . It's like trying to eat an elephant.

Today, God reminded me that eating an elephant is easy. It's just one bite at a time.

He reminded me of the story of Moses as he led the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses told the people, in his humanness, to stand still, sit back, relax, take a photo and watch what God does. And yet, God doesn't work that way. God responds to Moses by telling him to stop crying, stop standing around and take a Next Step. Raise your staff, enter the water, take your Next Step and then I'll show you my glory. You step and then I'll move.

I don't know that I've been sitting around waiting for God to move but there certainly are some Next Steps that I need to take. There are some Next Steps in my personal walk with God. There are some Next Steps to take with NewSpective Church.

Church, we need to take our Next Steps. Whatever that is for you and keep moving forward. God's going to do some crazy things in the Lehigh Valley through NewSpective Church. Let's take some steps and see what God's up to.

G3,

Weekend Recap

As many of you know, Jennifer and I got away for a long weekend. We went to Cape May, NJ and spent 4 days and 3 nights in stress less bliss. Here's some random thoughts from the weekend.

• I love my wife!!!
• It's important to get away and recharge: Recharge your personal life, your walk with God, your relationship with your spouse and recharge your own purpose.
• Yes, I actually went on the beach. Sand stuck to me like glue. However, please refer to thought number one above. :-)
• The little shops in Cape May were fun. All of them weren't open but we did make a purchase at "Whales Tales." (How cool is that!)
• When you view a beautiful sunset live, it really makes you appreciate the amazing creation that God put all around us.
• The view from the hotel was simply awesome. Clear shot to the ocean.
• I've never done a wine tasting before. I guess I never realized how many different subtleties there are in wine flavors and aromas.
• Sitting on the beach, listening to music, reading "Pop Goes The Church" and hanging out with my wife . . . Priceless!
• I am no competition for Jennifer when it comes to 500 rummy. She kicked my butt . . . TWICE!!!
• When are they going to get one of these restaurants in the Lehigh Valley?
• Why is it so hard to follow directions backward? Left is right and right is left, North is South and South is North.
  
• The iPhone is amazing. The only technology I brought on the trip and the only technology I needed. Full web, maps, email; what more could a man need?
• Returned home last night and capped the weekend off by taking about 17 people from NewSpective to experience a worship service at Liquid. Wow, Tim and his team do an amazing job. Set up starts at 4:45am and take down ends at 9:00pm. They are reaching their community and extending around the world. We spent a little more than an hour with Tim and Mike after the service. They were so encouraging and gracious. (More about Liquid in a future post)

All in all this was a great weekend from start to finish. God is Good. He's truly blessed me and my family and I'm grateful that He allows me to be a part of His plan.

G3,

Caption Please

So Jennifer and I saw this live tonight. Simply Amazing!!!