I got home last night from being in Tampa/ St. Petersburg for most of the week. We had our Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastors’ Conference which was fun to see some old friends. Then I had a coaching meeting with a group of Pastors that was really good. I love talking nuts and bolts. But my far the best thing was seeing my girls when I got home! The cutest thing was that Mia didn’t want to go to sleep because she didn’t want to leave me. I love that little girl! I hate being away from my family, but we’ll … Read More

I am very big on goal setting and planning. So I thought I’d post some of the questions I’m asking myself as we inch closer to 2008. 1. How can I be a better follower of Jesus, husband, dad, and friend in 2008? 2. How can I be a more faithful Pastor and leader in 2008? 3. Where do I want my time to go in 2008? 4. Am I doing things that either need to be delegated or deleted? 5. Am I planning to take a Sabbath every week? 6. How am I going to take care of myself … Read More

I got an iPhone for my birthday! It’s glorious! This is the best phone I had ever seen/ held/ used. Apple has done it again. Thank you to my wife and my friends that all pitched in to get this for me. I also got a couple of books from my wishlist from some of my peeps. Thanks guys!

It was 14 years ago today that I gave my life to Jesus. My wife Carey made that decision on the same day as well. It’s the best choice we’ve ever made. Everything I have, everything I am, and everything I hope to be is all a result of following Jesus. “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the … Read More

10 years ago, I sold my 1983 Gibson Les Paul Standard so we could pay the first, last, and security on our 1st apartment (yes, that’s true love). Well, 10 years later, I received a knock at the door and Fed Ex dropped this off. A 1995 Gibson Les Paul Standard. It is in completely mint condition. The price was a steal! I had been saving my book royalty money for months (This is a slow process if you know anything about book royalties) to be able to get it, but Carey stepped in and gave me the ultimate 10 … Read More

Bad News: My church credit card number was hijacked. My credit card company called me when they saw some odd purchases on my account. So they closed the account. I’m impressed with their proactive approach. Good news: I just got what looks like a game-used official baseball from the 2006 All-Star game in Pittsburgh. Totally amazing. I opened the package right after I got off the phone with the credit card people, so it was a definite boost to my day. The baseball came anonymously, so I don’t know who to thank. But if you’re reading, thank you so much. … Read More

Nothing! I mean “Make-you-feel-guilty” kind of nothing. I took a 3 1/2 hour nap. I watched some Star Trek re-runs. I read. I spent a lot of time with my daughter. I spent time with Carey. I talked to my neighbor for a while. I’m so glad this book challenged me to get serious about getting into a rhythm of rest. I’m ready to go back to work Tuesday and do what I love!

(This post should be read with dramatic William Shatner pauses to… get… the full… effect) I feel…much better today. Antibiotics are a wonderful thing! I will say this, I’m losing my mind. I haven’t been out of the house since Thursday. And I was out on Thanksgiving for a total of 2 1/2 hours. All I’ve done for the last 5 days is sleep, cough, and watch Star Trek (thank you TiVo). All of the shows I watch are on Christmas break, so I had to go old school. The bad news is that Carey caught what I had, so … Read More

I’ve been tuning in to competitive eating for the last couple of years when I caught a Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on ESPN in which Kobayashi cleaned house and ate 59 dogs! After a nap to help get over my cold, I turned on ESPN only to find that today was the Krystal hamburger eating contest. This was 60 minutes of great TV! How we haven’t thought of filming people while they eat and giving them money and trophies is sheer lunacy! Needless to say, Kobayashi won by eating 97 Krystal hamburgers. Yes, you read that correctly…97 burgers. It … Read More

I’m thankful for a lot… just not the cold I have. This temperature drop has gotten me down for the count. It was 60 degrees in my house on Tuesday! We’re not prepared for this kind of cold. I have never turned the heat on in my house (I wonder if it works?). But I can tell I’m sick because: – I’m Coughing violently and yelling, “Ooouuuuch!” afterwards – I’m Popping cough drops like Dr. House pops Vicadin – I could only put away 1/2 of a bagel (what’s up with that?) – I turned on the TV. Oprah was … Read More