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Today has included mini-golf, picnic, & waterslide & pool. Tonight, we are taking it easy & maybe go-karts or bumper cars.

Grandma, Aunt Kay Jean & the cousins joined us today. Grandma took little ones to track & butterfly pavilion while older kids went to Ripley's & Titanic. We ended day at Track & supper at Fuddruckers. Shopping for Bethany & Kay Jean while kids & I & grandma went swimming. Here are a few pictures:

I will not be posting any new content except maybe some pictures until after May 28th because I am on a family vacation to Branson.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of summer break!

Today, I am reminded of God's faithfulness, provision, and love. We leave today for vacation in Branson and I am looking forward to time away with family.  Before we left, I needed to run some errands which included purchasing a family pool pass to get the discount (you know I am always looking for a sale).  All of these things--Branson vacation and pool pass were reminders.  Why? Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we can stay at a home in Branson without cost. Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we have season passes to Silver Dollar City for free. Because of the generosity of an anonymous donor, our pool pass was purchased for us. I am thankful for each of these individuals/families for their generosity.  I thank God for them and their love for me and my family.  I am grateful to serve God with these families at Hesston MB. I have prayed blessing over them as they have understood, "it is more blessed ...

Because we are, right now, under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ, Christians already have an "A." My friend Steve Brown tells a story about a time his daughter Robin found herself in a very difficult English Literature course that she desperately wanted to get out of. She sat there on her first day and thought, “If I don’t transfer out of this class, I’m going to fail. The other people in this class are much smarter than me. I can’t do this.” She came home and with tears in her eyes begged her dad to help her get out of the class so she could take a regular English course. Steve said, “Of course.” So the next day he took her down to  the school and went to the head of the English department, who was a Jewish woman and a great teacher. Steve remembers the event in these words: She (the head of the English department) looked up and saw me standing there by my daughter and could tell that Robin was about to cry....

Here are notes from my message today at Hesston MB: Read Romans 8:31-39 God is for us! vs. 31-34 - This is my favorite verse in the Bible. Vs. 31-Today’s passage has a total of 6 questions with three in 31-32 & three more in 33-35.   If God is for us, who can be against us? What’s the answer? No one. It is a rhetorical question.   In the Greek, it could better be translated “since” instead of “if.” (MacArthur Bible Commentary). The answer is obvious.   God is for us.   God is for you. However, Paul knows how we think so he clarifies it more in the next verse. Vs. 32-God gave us Jesus.   This Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again.   God did not spare His own Son.   Since we know this to be true, if He gave us Jesus, why would He not give us all things.   This amazing statement reinforces the previous verse.   God giving us Jesus is evidence that God is for us. (Romans Commentary, Toews) Paul continues to prove t...

At our church, we are currently working through a discipleship plan from birth to death.  The committee responsible for this is called the Discipleship Ministries Committee (DMC for short).  We have also been talking a lot about discipleship as pastors at our Tuesday meetings and now on our Thursday afternoon planning sessions.  I love these conversations! At times, it seems like we might not be making progress.  But I am glad we are asking some difficult questions.  We have also had the benefit of three people from our church attending Exponential. They heard some great speakers and are excited about what they learned.  As part of that discussion, we have had at least two conversations based on content from Exponential.  We also started reading a book together as DMC, PMC (Pastoral Ministries Committee), and pastors.  It is called DiscipleShift by Jim Putman. I look forward to seeing what God is going to do at Hesston MB as we discuss and imp...

A great word from Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. 

I have been studying for a message I am preaching on May 19th.  As I reflect on this message, I am drawn to two specifics (I might even go so far as to say basics) of the Christian life.  I need to know who God is and I need to know who I am.  If I look to the world or determine these on my own, I can have a flawed understanding of both.  We need to look at God's Word to see who He is and who we are.  What does the Bible say about God?  God has revealed himself throughout the Bible.  After all, the Bible is truth about God.  Every page tells us something about God.  More intelligent people than me have taken the passages of Scripture and tried to explain God's attributes (his character) in a systematic way.  This is helpful, but we also have to understand God is bigger and wiser than we are.  We will not understand everything about Him. What does the Bible say about us? Many Christians are confused about their identity....

As you know, I love to read.  Here are a few new books that I have purchased that I look forward to reading: Prototype by Jonathan Martin What It Means To Be a Man by Rhett Smith Limited Church: Unlimited Kingdom by Rob Rienow Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley Who Do You Think You Are? by Mark Driscoll

Here is my current reading list: The Genius of Generosity by Chip Ingram Multiply by Franis Chan On the Grace of God by Justin Holcomb Identity by Eric Geiger When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel What great books are you reading that you would recommend?

 Pastor Jared sent me this video a few days ago and I just watched it today.  What a powerful message!  I encourage each of you to watch it.  Do you enjoy God?  You might be surprised. 

Last week, I started a new book given to me by a friend at church.  It is called When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson.  I am only a few chapters in, but thought I would share some insights: "The lack of miracles isn't because it is not in God's will for us.  The problem exists between our ears." "Jesus destroyed the power of sin, sickness, and poverty through His redemptive work on the cross." "The mistaken idea is this: if it is good, it can't be for now." "We are often more convinced of our unworthiness than we are of His worth. Our inability takes on greater focus than does His ability. But the same One who called fearful Gideon a Valiant Warrior and unstable Peter a Rock has called us the Body of His beloved Son on earth."

Check back here Thursday, May 2nd through Sunday, May 5th for content from the best family ministry conference.  I will be sharing videos and mp3s from previous conferences.  If you have not attended before, you need to sign up now.  This conference is for parents, grandparents, children's pastors, youth leaders, next gen pastors, lead and senior pastors. Visit their website for more information at d6conference.com

I am continuing to share thoughts from Jesus Is _______. Here are quotes about love, suffering, and life: "We are all God's favorites. . .It's not about how much we love God. It's about how much he loves us." "Go ahead and try to describe the height of his love, the length of his love, the width of his love, the depth of his love. Our metaphors pale in comparison. We have marriages, we have children, we have adoptions, we have friends, but nothing compares to God's love for us." "He is on your side not because of who you are but because of who he is. His love is unconditional and overwhelming. He is your advocate, your defense lawyer, and your biggest fan." "The Bible declares emphatically that God is with us because God is for us." "Some of us go so far as to think God gets a kick out of our suffering." "The fact that Jesus is here not only brings comfort in hard times, it gives us courage that our cir...