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Stories From The Streets Of Washington DC…

Monday, January 26th, 2009 By 3 Comments

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Good Monday Everyone!

I’m in my family room listing to a Kent Henry Worship Instrumental… feeling pretty overwhelmed with God’s love right now. How can I explain moments like these in human language? Every once in a while, the reality of God sweeps through my heart and mind… my eyes water, a tear slowly make its way down my cheek, chills pop all over my body… and I sit in that moment wishing it would last forever!

Like the alignment of sun, moon, and earth that brings us the rarity of an eclipse… these spiritual moments occur through the rare alignment of certain spiritual occurrences. And when they all come together at one special moment… their rarity is felt and appreciated for some time!

I suppose for me today… the components of my experience are very obvious! It begins with the Washington DC Outreach. This year, even more than previous years… I really experienced the enormity of what took place! There are so many hurting, lonely people in our earth. And while so many well to do humans point the finger down at these bleeding ones, God compels us to come to their aid! God cares about each one of them… not desiring to lecture them about the series of wrong turns they made that led them down into the gutter… He possesses us with his compassion and sends us to kneel down beside them… He gives us a message to speak… He asks us to read them a love letter… And we go with his love and his tears. He embraces them with MY ARMS… and I can feel HIM IN ME making his appeal through MY HEART.

This year, we took a team of 35+ into the frigid streets of our nation’s capitol. All day long, we gave HOPE to the HOPELESS. Even more than the message we gave them was the message we asked them to tell us. We gave them our ears… we listened to them like they mattered… and they FELT OUR LOVE FOR THEM! Their tears and ours flowed like rivers all day long.

On man “Alfrado” explained how he came to America from Elsalvador… it took him 3 months to get here, dreaming that this would be a place of new life for him. And there he was sleeping on park benches and eating food from the trash containers. Alfrado said that some nights, it’s so cold he is scared to fall asleep… that he may freeze to death and not wake up.

Another lady “Pricilla” said that she just got released from prison a year ago after being stabbed in her spine during a prison brawl. She grabbed me and made a puddle on my shoulder as she wept about how scary it is living on the streets at night! She talked about being raped and beaten over and over… and told me that she is not built for this kind of life!

Then there was “HANK”… the happiest homeless man on the face of the earth. We all left Hank wondering if we had met an angel! Just like Hank, so many of these destitute men and women gave us back so much more that we gave to them!

Throughout this day, we distributed hundreds of sandwiches, care packages, sweaters, sweatshirts, blankets, and everything else we could get into their hands. More than these… we gave them Jesus… and they took him happily into their hearts! Every single person on our team stepped out with a fearless kind of faith… they shared their personal life stories, prayed like seasoned ministers, and gave LOVE as if God himself was right there in physical manifestation!

Special thanks to Evangelist Gerald & Phyllis Mayhan for being our homeless outreach GUIDES… for their passion, their humor, and their love!

Beyond the DC Outreach, God is warming my heart today with the nearness I feel with my wife and kids, the accuracy I feel in the message I have been preaching at DFC, and the awesomeness of Gods Word stored up in my heart after reading the bible cover to cover in 66 days! All of these things have come together this morning to BLESS ME with a very SPIRITUAL MOMENT. To God be the glory for all of this… and for filling my life with his amazing love! I pray that he will work in all of us more and more… and more and more! That we will RISE AND SHINE in 2009… that we will love living the life of a beautiful people in a CITY ON A HILL… SHINING for the entire world to see!

Check out the DFC webcast archive from yesterday morning to watch more on the DC Outreach… and to catch the rest of that amazing service! Chat with you guys later on…

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A Secret To Fruitfulness and Prosperity :)

Sunday, January 25th, 2009 By 2 Comments

img_0824Happy Sunday Friends!

I’ve very sorry for the delayed posting of yesterdays blog… I forgot to hit the PUBLISH button!

I pray you’re having a great weekend… don’t forget to catch Destiny Family Center LIVE on the 10am webcast today! The DC Homeless Outreach was AMAZING! I’ll blog about it tomorrow morning.

My simple thought for today is this: All life begins when we FALL IN LOVE with the Word of God!

Isaiah 55:8-13 says…

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
      ”And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
      so my ways are higher than your ways
      and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 
 10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
      and stay on the ground to water the earth.
   They cause the grain to grow,
      producing seed for the farmer
      and bread for the hungry.
 11 It is the same with MY WORD.
      I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
   It will accomplish all I want it to,
      and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
 12 You will live in joy and peace.
      The mountains and hills will burst into song,
      and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
      Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
   These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name;
      they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Notice how God explains that his thoughts and his ways are HIGHER than our thought and our ways. He says, “As the rain and snow comes down from heavens… so it is with MY WORD… it ALWAYS PRODUCES FRUIT… it will PROSPER EVERWHERE I send it!”

I am living evidence… abundantly validating the authenticity of these verses! My life was divided into a BEFORE and AFTER on February 17th 1991 @ 10:45pm… when I gave my life to Jesus and committed my heart to his Word! Clearly, God sent his Word to me… that Word is PRODUCING TREMENDOUS FRUIT… and that WORD IS PROSPERING IN THE THING THAT IT WAS SENT!

Come to Destiny Family Center this morning, starting at 10am… the WORD of God will come down from the heavens like the rain and snow… it will produce fruit… and prosper in the people it is sent! Don’t forget… every service is LIVE@DFC!

Love you guys… we’ll chat later!

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Video: Now Is The Time… For Us To Shine

Saturday, January 24th, 2009 By 2 Comments

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Happy Saturday Everyone!

I’m walking the streets of Washington DC today feeding the homeless, preaching the Sunday morning service at DFC,and instructing “New Testament Survey” classes at Life Christian University all Sunday afternoon. So I’m not going to be able to give you guys my normal bloggage blessings!

Check out the DFC LIVE webcast tomorrow morning… starts at 10am! Browse through this weeks blogs… there’s some very good bloggage in the archives just longing to be read again! Don’t forget… I love happy comments!

I found this video Friday morning! It goes so well with our theme of the year. Hope you enjoy it! 

I’m hoping to comment on your comments Sunday afternoon between classes. Have a blessed weekend!!

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Bigger Challenge, Better Training, and Braver Accountability :)

Friday, January 23rd, 2009 By 8 Comments

peak-fitnessHappy Friday Everyone!

Another weekend is almost here! I hope you all have amazing plans. This would be a great weekend to experience something NEW. So, be creative, get off the couch… and do something you haven’t don’t before! Take a random drive to some town you’ve never been to before, have lunch and then come home. Go to a nursing home and spend a few minutes with a lonely old lady. The idea here is to break the monotony of boring routines… trust me, you’ll love it!

If you’re really looking for adventure, join us for the Washington DC Homeless Outreach. We’re leaving at 5am from Destiny Family Center, should return at 8pm. Call my office for more details. Oh, and if you’re interested in donating to this outreach… we will LOVE YOU FOREVER. Just call my office @540-337-2216 and we’ll process your donation over the phone. Please pray that tomorrows DC Outreach is the BEST ONE EVER! We’re pretty energized around here… counting down the hours! :)

I wanted to share with you guys, the 2009 Destiny Family Center Leadership Mission Statement: “This is the year of building a professional and dependable teamwork leadership through bigger challenge, better training, and braver accountability!”

Notice a few key words in this statement: professional, dependable, teamwork… challenges, training, and accountability! Them are 6 lively words… as some folks say it here in these parts! (LOL) I’m passing this on to all my blog pals so that you also can benefit from our motivating leadership statement.

Bigger Challenges: This is a year of discovering, accepting, and carrying out bold (achievable) challenges that keep us far more dependant on God!

Better Training: This is the year of mastering ministry skills through lead meetings, training sessions, one on mentorship, and self assessment!

Braver Accountability: This is the year of doing what we say we’re going to do, when we say we’re going to do it… better than we say we’re going to do it!

Read over this mission statement 7-10 times today and think about how it applies to your own life? Is this your year for BIGGER CHALLENGES, BETTER TRAINING, AND BRAVER ACCOUNTABILITY? Are you ready to break away from the boredom of simple routine and take on a selfless challenge that bounces you out of bed in the mornings? Are you willing to be the student this year… are you highly committed to the aggressive development of your talents… are you eager to turn your natural abilities into refined SKILLS? How about ACCOUNTABILITY… is this your year of NO MORE EXCUSES? I certainly hope so! It can be… and it will be… as long as you keep reading my blogs everyday!! I’m here to help… so love me for it!

Pray for the success of our Outreach… have another amazing Friday… leave a bunch of exciting comments today… chat with you guys later!

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My Son Replies To My Text :)

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 By 5 Comments

skittles-louisiana-2003Happy Thursday Friends!

If you have kids… if you have teenage kids… then you know how difficult it can be when they start desiring friends and movies, and bowling, and football games, and going to concerts… WITHOUT YOU. Fortunately, my family has remained VERY CLOSE through these teenage years… and we still spend lots of quality time together. But as a parent it’s never quite enough for me. I LOVE MY KIDS and when I am off work, there is nothing and no humans that I would rather be with then Coree, Heaven, and of course my wife Emily! :)

Heaven is far more expressive then Coree… when she comes through the doors, it’s like a mob of 1000 walked in with her… hyper activity gone wild! Heaven texts me about random things in her life… she calls me a few times day… she plops down beside me in the family room and talks about everything happening in her world… and I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

Coree is more quite than Heaven. Oh yes, he has his hyper moments… and he’s the comedian of our family, always making us belly laugh about something! But he’s not a words guy like I am. He only calls when he has a question or a request… never texts me about random things… doesn’t even return the texts I send to him. Every week, I send Coree texts about how great of a son he is… and how proud of him I am… or about how I am praying for him… and never get anything back… NOTHING. Just SILENCE… UNTIL this TUESDAY!!!! :)

The glorious moment began on Monday night, we all went to watch a friend from church play basketball… and Coree took a date… real nice girl! Of course he asked to drive my car because he was conveniently low on gas. At the game, Kaylyn had a bag of Skittles… I LOVE Skittles! So on Tuesday morning I got in my car and guess what Kaylyn had left in my drink holder? Half a bag of Skittles!! So I texted Coree and said, “Tell Kaylyn thanks for the Skittles!” Of course he knows that Emily and I are in training for a few marathons this year and Emily smacks my fingers when I touch candy! So this was a BIG DEAL!

About 20 seconds after the text… guess what! My glorious INCOMING TEXT sound went off on the phone… COULD IT BE? Did I just receive a REPLY FROM MY BELOVED SON? Yes!! Coree replied to my message… and he said, “LOL!” Just three letters… but it’s a start! :)

I called Emily and told her COREE JUST TEXTED ME… she asked what he said… and I told her… “LOL!” (Laugh Out Loud for all you text illiterate folks) It was such a moment of warmth… the sun shined on my gloomy day… my frown turned into a SMILE… I wet my pants- just kidding! LOL… LOL! This is now one of my favorite phrases… every time I see it for the rest of my life I will remember that REPLY FROM COREE!

Why am I wasting your day with this very personal story? Because I had a spiritual thought about this that I wanted to pass on to you guys. If I get this excited about my sons reply… just a simple “LOL”… how much excitement must God receive whenever we REPLY TO HIM. I think about all the times throughout each day he must be texting us… hoping for a LOL. How many times he does something beautiful for us… he answers a request… and then he watches and waits for his INCOMING TEXT sound to go off.

Let’s respond to Him far more than we do most of the time… talk to God about the random things going on in our worlds… look up a few times a day and say something that will MAKE GODS DAY!

Hope you enjoyed this message… I love you guys and I just finished praying for you. Have a most outstanding Thursday!

Oh, I almost forgot: We’re going on the Washington DC Homeless Outreach on Saturday. If you’re interested in making a donation towards this outreach, please call my office today or tomorrow @540-337-2216 (9-5pm). Your contribution will make a tremendous difference in the lives of so many people! Thanks a bunch!!

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