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Coree-izing Your Life!

Friday, July 17th, 2009 By 11 Comments

Happy Friday!

As this afternoon begins the weekend for most of you guys, it begins the ending of our very blessed vacation. I have the best mother and father in laws… our time here on Hatteras Island with them has been something to be cherished… as it is every year!

I’m very excited about getting back to home sweet home! Can’t wait to see my family and all my beautiful friends at Destiny Family Center… and bring them some of the victory I received these past two weeks.

Last night, we stopped into the arcade at the old Buxton Drive In and played the stacker machine a few more times… trying to win a Spider Man digital camera Coree wanted! His enthusiasm for this prize, at the age of 18… it was HILLARIOUS! Thanks to Elizabeth and her arcade mastery, Coree walked out of that place with a STRUT!

They were even singing songs about the spider man digital camera on the suburban ride back to the cottage… PASSIONATE SONGS! If last night had been karaoke night at the Froggy Dog, they would have taken their song to the masses!

The ENERGY from those few hours was something to LEARN FROM!

This is one of the mysteries of my son… his ability to turn a $19 digital camera into a mega TREASURE that EVERYONE ELSE DESIRES!

I’m telling you guys… we we’re swept into Coree’s EXCITEMENT… laughing hysterically… our creative forces were DANGEROUS! I was SO IN LOVE WITH HIS PRIZE that I almost decided to trade my IPHONE for his SPIDEY CAMERA!

Coree has a UNIQUE gift for turning every day moments into ONCE IN A LIFETIME memories! I’ve never seen anything like it! Every day is a vacation in Coree’s world!

COREE-IZING YOUR LIFE:

One of my goals for the next few months is to COREE-IZE my life! I’m going to try my hardest to see my world through his eyes. The goal is to take what’s COMMON and make it RARE! I want to make significant adjustments with my life, ministry, and schedule… adjustments that will give me the kind of life I don’t need to escape from.

Somehow I believe there is a way for all of us up the preciousness of our everyday lives! Then we wont be so DESPERATE for our vacations… and so depressed when they are almost over!

So, what do you say? Ready to COREE-IZE your life too? Hey, if you need some help… I’m sure Coree is willing to help for the right price! Maybe Coree should become a consultant! He could become a CREATIVITY GURU! Now, that’s an IDEA!

Ok… I better log off and pray over some of this before my family wakes up. Last vacation day… lots to do! Please leave your comments EVERYONE…

Let me leave you with a video of Coree and his friend Cole Moore on their suped up shopping carts! See what I mean!!

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This Developing Tribe

Thursday, July 16th, 2009 By 3 Comments

Happy Thursday!

Went back to Ocracoke yesterday… all four of us surfed for a few hours… had a blast! Emily was smiling BIG on her new surf board… kept asking me, “Charlie… did you see me on that wave!” Her excitement and her smiley face… priceless! 

I wish you guys could have seen the SCHOOLS of fish going up and down the break… there were so many fish, the clear water turned black like there was an infestation of seaweed. The fish were JUMPING out of the water… hundreds of them. This happened every ten minutes for the entire time we surfed! 

Only two days of vacation left… gonna make them GREAT… then back to my amazing hometown!

For todays message, I’m posting a follow-up to yesterdays blog and the comments it provoked. 

“Thanks for the encouragement Tammy… I’m really missing everyone back home… only two vacation days left… looking forward to Destiny Family Center on Sunday!

Randy, I’ve been thinking about your comments on shepherding… and I love Tammy’s reference with David and King Saul. So often, previous generations LOAD US DOWN with whatever worked for them… and it doesn’t work for us.

I like Tammy’s phrase… ‘same office, different assignment’. It helps to explain what I was getting at in yesterdays blog… not questioning my office… just the SPECIFICS of MY assignment… and the assignment of THIS developing tribe.

From my studies of five fold ministry (Ephesians 4 Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher)… clearly, there were Prophet/Pastors, Pastor/Evangelists, Pastor/Apostles… and so on.

God most definitely combines spiritual gifts and ministry offices for specific eternal purposes. God gives us what we need to carry out our specific assignments. And if we get stuck in the rut of fighting our giants within the DEFINITIONS of one TITLE instead of following the specific vision God places in our heart… we may end up losing the epic battle of our generation.

I’m not asking God IF I’m called to shepherd or IF I’m called to carry out the great commission… thats a given. When Jesus launched the church… he incited a movement… over the years, the church has turned his MOVEMENT into a RELIGION.

I’m asking God to use me and my friends to turn our RELIGION into a MOVEMENT again! This requires new vision… clear vision… a biblical manifesto for this modern generation.

Whereas, this movement is about so much more than ME… it includes me… and I’m talking to God about the part he wants ME to play… as the Pastor of Destiny Family Center… and as a husband, father, blogger, writer, conference speaker, etc.

Hopefully, my transparency in these two blogs will inspire others to do the same with their own lives… and together, we will progress beyond a general life purpose to one that is far more SPECIFIC. And maybe… just maybe… we will incite a legendary movement together!”

Thanks again for your comments… hopefully, I’ve better clarified my current pursuit. You guys are amazing… love you all!

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What Kind of Change Am I Supposed to Bring?

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 By 5 Comments

Happy Wednesday!

No waves yesterday… ocean was FLAT. Beautiful for swimmers and readers… so we went with it… and had another amazing day!

I pulled out our Waboba Extreme: the amazing ball the bounces on water! We had lots of fun… it really works! Every beach bum needs a Waboba Extreme!

It was all fun and games UNTIL some lady almost lost her EAR! Yup, Coree was throwing back to me from about forty yards… and since my last aggressive throw to him, some lady had INTRUDED in to my personal space… I mean there’s a big ocean out there, what was she thinking!

To tell it from Coree’s words, “I don’t know what happened dad… I turned and glanced your way… saw the lady and thought: oh no, I better wait for her to move… and somehow I lost command of my arm… it took over my body and bypassed my brain… my arm did what it wanted… and I couldn’t do anything to stop myself… next thing you know… the ball was bouncing across the water at like 75 miles an hour STRAIGHT FOR THAT LADY’S EAR!”

A direct hit… and a most DRAMATIC OVEREACTION! She went crazy… we apologized a few times, felt bad at first… ended up happy for the accident… I really think she needed this! lol

On the spiritual side…

The kids left the beach early yesterday, leaving Emily, Merle, Mille, and me to RELAX for a few hours. I took a nap… woke up with a serious crick in my neck… read for about two hours… got inspired… climbed to my feet… put on my iphone ear phones… turned on some really good worship music… walked the shore and TALKED TO GOD.

That hour seemed to kick off the profound spiritual breakthrough I had been hoping for this vacation. It felt as if God rode his Imperial space limousine to the Frisco Beach and walked that seashore with me!

I didn’t ramble on as I usually do in prayer… I just ASKED A SERIES OF QUESTIONS. Not just any questions… the PERFECT questions!

For the past 7 years, I have been doing everything I can to keep people from forcing me into a management role… to keep circumstances from normalizing me… to dodge the status quo tranquilizer darts coming at me every day!

I’m called to LEAD… called to cast a vision… to build a tribe of millions… and incite a movement! I’m not called to MANAGE… not interested in turning DOWN my fire or my VOICE… not looking to blend in or fade away! There is something IN ME that’s bent on BRINGING CHANGE.

The question I asked God is this: Specifically, what kind of change do you want me to bring this world? What am I suppose to give my TRIBE that someone else isn’t already giving? What am I rallying my TRIBE around?

Yes, I know… that in a world filled with so many NEW RELIGIONS… I am called to LEAD PEOPLE TO JESUS CHRIST! Yes, I know that I’m called to AWAKEN a LARGE SECTION of the worldwide CHURCH… and provoke a non-religious, mainstream curiosity for a deeper experience with God’s Spirit. That I am called to EMPOWER the amazing people in my growing circle! But how? Specifically how??

When I traveled around the world ten years ago… I knew what my mission was. I was STIRRING people… I was bringing SPIRITUAL EXCITEMENT… I was awakening Pastors and worship leaders and business people… and Christians of all sorts! I was leading thousands to Christ and helping them to LIVE FOR CHRIST without reservation! There was no question… when I came into town; I brought FIRE… and CHANGE CAME TO EVERYONE!

For some strange reason… people believe that in order to Pastor a church, one must kill all such passions… that one is no longer allowed to think change or BRING CHANGE… that PASTORS are called to MANAGE instead of LEAD. There is a difference… and I have seen the light!

I believe that I am called to Pastor, and write books, and blog, and tweet, and build a global media outreach… at the head of a LEGENDARY TRIBE wrapped around a worthwhile mission… I am called to birth and LEAD a movement. And as my questions are answered, this calling will become far more specific… thus far more attractive… and far more beneficial to everyone else!

I hope today’s blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives. You matter to me… you really matter! Today, more than ever before… I want to EMPOWER and LEAD… so thanks for appreciating my contributions! Thanks for appreciating this tribe! I love you guys and pray so often for you! Please leave your comments… and have a super day!

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Rainy Day Adventures!

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 By 3 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

What a yesterday that was… a rainy day in Ocracoke turned into our best day at the beach so far. We just wouldn’t quit… we were out for memories, refusing to get back on that ferry without them!

We ate lunch at some nifty neato pavilion style café… delicious! Found a map of the island… and explored the roads we have never been on. We went to shops we had never heard of… EVEN ATE CRICKETS! Yes, real crickets… all five of us! (photo)

I was the last to go, whining like a little girl as the golden brown insect landed onto the surface of my petrified tongue. In half a second, the little fellow was expeditiously transported over to my right chompers section… and CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH… swallow!

The worse part of the experience for me were those few lingering legs that failed to go down on the first few swallows… and the EYE BALL I pulled up with the tip of my tongue… they were lodged in between my cheek and jaw. But hey, we’re the coolest parents EVER according to our kids! lol

We went to a very fun candy store called Candyland… it was a kids paradise… a chucky paradise too! (photo)

After all the shopping, we headed for the beach IN THE RAIN… got to the beach, and the rain had stopped! Coree, Heaven, and I surfed for a few hours while Elizabeth and Emily shell shopped along the shore.

All three of us caught MANY NICE WAVES… and didn’t stop till way past shark feeding time. A couple beside us claimed they saw a fin… said it was like 4 feet wide and 3 feet high! (yeah right!) So we kept surfing, even though shivers went down our spines ever time a piece of seaweed drifted into our legs!

After surfing, we joined the shell-shopping excursion… and together we found TEN SAND DOLLARS… Emily was the winner with SIX… I found TWO… Heaven and Elizabeth found ONE each… Coree found ZERO but he was HAPPY for the rest of us!

My inspiration message:

Your best vacation day EVER can come on a RAINY DAY! So when the storm clouds gather, and you’re not able to do stay on ROUTINE… look for map a MAP! Journey out beyond the well-beaten path, to the PLACES YOU’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE!

Maybe there’s a life lesson here. Maybe, so many of life’s real TREASURES are found on the DETOURS. Maybe the storms come to force us OFF routine… to prod us onto a NEW ADVENTURE!

So instead of complaining about detours, we should LOOK FOR THE ADVENTURE… refusing to experience anything less than the TIME OF OUR LIVES!

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them!

I hope today’s blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! Please leave your comments and have a super day! Ohh… and don’t forget to follow our vacation on twitter and facebook! God bless you all!

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Let’s Break the Comment Record… Today!

Monday, July 13th, 2009 By 7 Comments

Happy Monday!

Instead of the inspiration coming from ME today… I’m giving you guys the SPOTLIGHT!

Let’s break the comment record on this blog site (something like 25 comments in one day)… EVERY PERSON, take a few minutes and write something INSPIRATIONAL!

Please tell us WHERE YOU ARE FROM… and something you’re LEARNING right now! 

Ok… do it now! We’re all WAITING to be inspired by YOU! 

UPDATE: our family vacation is still BLESSED! We had a super yesterday. Ended up watching Destiny Family Center online… transformational! I helped Emily make the BEST Key Lime Pie we ever tasted! Since the waves were choppy and not suitable for surfing, Coree and I boogie boarded in the AGGRESSIVE ocean… very fun! We had leftover BBQ with Sticky Fingers BBQ sauce for dinner… very tasty! Went to the old lighthouse to visit the turtles after dinner… pretty scary! lol (photo)

Today, we’re taking the ferry back to Ocracoke… gonna hit the beaches, look for shells with emily, swim (and MAYBE surf), eat junk food all day, read, walk the shore and talk to God, and who knows what else… I love my family! 

Don’t forget to keep following us on twitter and facebook… I’m adding photos and status updates every few hours.

Have a super day everyone! Ohh… and please, EVERYONE leave a comment! Common, you can do it! I’m still waiting…

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