Happy Sunday!

Had a super day with Emily’s brother Dave in Washington DC yesterday! We went with my daughter Heaven to check out a culinary college- The Art Institute… she dreams of owning a Bakery!

I’m still feeling an overflow from Friday Night Fire in Harrisonburg this weekend. I woke up LONGING for church this morning! I’m mean really, this is how I’ve felt for a few months now… and EVERY single service at Destiny Family Center seems to be BUILDING UPON THE LAST ONE. It’s getting EASIER to preach… easier to worship… easier to lead… easier to pray… easier to save people… easier to connect with people in a meaningful way… EVERYTHING gets EASY when God is experienced by everyone in a revival kind of way.

At our church, we ACTUALLY BELIEVE that God is a VERY REAL and VERY TOUCHABLE living entity. He is WELCOME every time we open the doors to our building… and somehow I’m certain he knows this! EVERY time God’s people assemble together, GOD assembles with us! This blessing is gonna happen for us DFC’ers again @ 10am EST TODAY… just a few hours from RIGHT NOW!

Sometimes, we are far more AWARE of him than we are at other times… but he is ALWAYS there!

Awareness defined: Awareness is the state or ability to PERCEIVE, to FEEL, or to BE CONSCIOUS of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being AWARE of something.

I realize this may be too much scripture for anyone to swallow in a short blog on a SUNDAY morning… but it’s an EASY read… so, lets see what happens!

• First is the story of Jacob’s classic encounter with God at Bethel and how Jacob FINALLY RECOGNIZED that GOD WAS THERE…

Genesis 28:10-17 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway [a] resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it [b] stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “SURELY THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE, AND I WAS NOT AWARE OF IT.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

• Second is the story of Jesus just after his resurrection from the dead: two of his disciples were walking and talking about what had happened… and Jesus started walking along side of them… and even though they we’re too DISTRACTED to RECOGNIZE Jesus at first… they later said, “Were not our hearts BURNING within us while He (Jesus) talked with him on the road and opened the scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:13-33 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.

17He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

19″What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

25He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ[a] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, “WERE NOT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US WHILE HE TALKED WITH US ON THE ROAD AND OPENED THE SCRIPTURES TO US?”

It’s true that sometimes… God SURROUNDS US and OUR HEARTS DO BURN within us and we are NOT AWARE. Today: when we assemble at church with all our church buddies… as we read this blog… as we pray… and worship… and fellowship, let us PAY ATTENTION to the BURNING IN OUR HEARTS! I don’t want to MISS A THING… do you?

Happy Friday!

Yesterday was FUN! Loved interacting with a few new friends from Indonesia… and all the new pastors my blog seems to have TOUCHED these past few days. Thanks for saying thanks through facebook and here on the blogsite. I’m learning SO MUCH from all the conversation you guys and gals are creating this week!

Thanks for being so ENTHUSIASTIC over the topics I’m presenting! Thank you especially for retweeting my twitter updates, mentioning my blogs on your twitter networks, and posting the blog link on your facebook walls! You are driving the traffic UP very quickly, giving us all a far better shot at building tomorrows better world!

Still dreaming of a day when a few hundred of our unique DAILY visitors will comment their names, locations, and life dreams! The stats show you’re out there… and I pray for you every morning! I LOVE meeting new people and hearing all about your situations… I LOVE this more than almost anything else! I love to ENCOURAGE and INSPIRE people towards their divine purpose in life! And I can’t do this for YOU unless YOU say hello. How about TODAY? Hello, my name is Chuck… (smiling big… waiting for a smile back)

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Todays topic: the word Prodigy!

Prodigy defined: 1 a: a portentous event b: something extraordinary or inexplicable 2 a: an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment, deed, or event b: a highly talented child or youth.

Portentous defined: 1: of, relating to, or constituting a portent (which is something that foreshadows a coming event-a prophetic indication of significance.) 2: eliciting amazement or wonder!

Whenever I hear this word: Prodigy… I posture up in my seat, even jump to my feet… shivers race across my skin… my eyes water! The lethargic places of my own heart and life BOUNCE TO ATTENTION… knowing the world will be changed by what IS or IS ABOUT to happen! PRODIGY!

From the definition, we see that a prodigy is more than a person… it is a portentous EVENT: something so EXTRAordinary or inexplicable… so marvelous… so talented… that it FORESHADOWS a coming EVENT! A prodigy is SO EPIC it carries a certain PROPHETIC indication of significance!

Yesterday, I read an article posted by my dear friend and publisher, Michael Hyatt–CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers! Well, he’s not really my dear friend… and he’s not my publisher YET… in fact, Mike (lol) and I haven’t been properly introduced… YET. Maybe someday! Yes, definitely someday! (hands crossed in prayer, head tilted up)

Anyway… I read this blog Michael Hyatt posted from Mary DeMuth on the subject of Prodigy… and it INSPIRED me. Here’s a few quotes from that article:

• A study orchestrated by K. Anders Ericsson who looked at musical prodigies found the common denominator for mastery and success: 10,000 hours of practice. “The emerging picture from such studies,” says neurologist Daniel Levitin, “is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert-in anything.”
• When I (Mary DeMuth) share my publication story, that I spent ten years writing in obscurity, folks inevitably want me to share the “fun part” when I met my agent at a conference and my success seemed to blossom overnight. So many want to know the secret of instant publishing success.
• Those who write novels ask me how to deepen characterization, or create a character out of a setting, or evoke mood, or widen suspense. I usually can’t answer that. Why? Because most of what I write now is instinctive, born from years of experimentation and failure. It’s something I cannot teach. It’s something an author must do on their own behind a desk, in quiet places where rewards of publication seem far off.
• While it is true that some publishing sensations happen overnight, it is more true that most authors spend years and years toiling over craft, trying techniques and failing, submitting to smaller entities and suffering from perennial “rejectionitis.” That’s the reality.

After I read this article yesterday, I posted the following clip on twitter: study of musical prodigies discovered: common denominator 4 mastery & success-10,000 hours of practice!

From that twitter update, Wayne Anson replied with: If the same is true of walking moment by moment with Christ… that would be only 625 days. Less than 2 years @ 16 waking hours a day.

And to that I replied: wow wayne… EXCELLENT THOUGHT!!! A Christian Prodigy! Seriously… who wants to be one of those today? Maybe this is why I’m still on FIRE after almost 19 years of walking with Christ. I’ve been a fanatic since day one: because, to him that is forgiven MUCH also loves MUCH! I am that man who was forgiven much AND loves much… and I wish to remain that man EVERY YEAR for the rest of my life!!

John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul… all PRODIGIES and no wonder they were. Each man spent not 10,000 hours, but 100,000 hours or more to the greatest cause of all time! They were NOT men… they only started as men who grew into the most PORTENTOUS EVENT in all of world history!

So today… when considering the word PRODIGY, what- if anything are you dedicating your life TO? What changes can be made RIGHT NOW… so that 10,000 hours from this exact moment… your life will come off as an INDICATION OF PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE? That we may be known AND remembered NOT as mere people–but as PORTENTOUS EVENTS in world history!

I hope todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing life! I’m speaking in Harrisonburg tonight at 9pm… see yesterdays blog for more details… HAVE A SUPER FRIDAY!

Happy Thursday!

Announcement: I’m speaking @ Potters House Worship Center in Harrisonburg, VA tomorrow night… a youth event-Friday Night Fire, starts @ 9pm… its gonna be FIERY, so come if you can!

Tremendous discussion on yesterdays blog… thanks everyone! I normally don’t get that involved in a single discussion, but the topic was so HOT it sucked me in!

At the end of the day… Esslythe, (Brian & Esslythe’s wedding photo above) my dear friend from Indonesia added a comment that SET ME ON FIRE! Assuming that many of our readers may overlook her comment in that vast sea of paragraphs… I am reposting her story as the main text for todays blog! I’m going to keep the text just as she wrote it… so you all can FEEL her HEART.

I hope this moves you as it moved me last night!

Esslythe from Indonesia writes: Hi Ps (pastor) Chuck and everyone .. “seems the rooms are full here” i guess im the one that is not American; and i shocked about the Church Data that you represent above and my heart is so broken. Instead of answering and debating about anything, i would like to say that ITS TRUE that we need to pray for our (church) leader; bad or good. Some of them were started well and some of them today are “not well” .. i suddenly remembered SAUL; He was a King, God anointed him as a King but later God’s presence left SAUL. (he started good, then he left out because of the shift of God’s priority in his life)

Meanwhile, David was there .. God anointed him as KING even though he was not yet a KING, and he knew somehow that many times SAUL tried to chase him and plan to kill him. David knew .. and not just that, DAVID also HAD A CHANCE to kill Saul but HE DID NOT DO THAT.

We can have a BAD leader, the unhealthy pastor, or any condition (you name it), but WE CAN CHOOSE to be what kind of servant and what kind of pastor. Sadly, many churches today are GOOD on pointing and judging SINNER including minister- YET they’re BAD in serving. All we need today ere people who are not just watching, but TOGETHER running and rising up for the generation to come. Im afraid that we actually the SAUL. we were starting GOOD, and im afraid that THE PRESENCE OF GOD left me. Im afraid, maybe today GOD is preparing a new DAVID in this generation .. in a secret place in a secret time, people that we never expected or a lot younger than us .. but God anointed him with a KING anointing. Lets check on ourselves today .. as we reading ps Chuck’s blog

My senior pastor is a good man, he is MAN of GOD. in 2005, his wife left him with a guy in a church. 2005 our church was like HIT by a TSUNAMI .. lots of member were out, i saw leaders were quitting and i saw them become a CRAZY JUDGE … and i was crying a lot and i was about to QUIT either .. but GOD told me to stay … God told me to watch and learn … and im glad i did. in 2005 we only a small church. My senior pastor need time to heal. By that time, i can easily judge him because man is the head of the family, like other did. i can easily joining the DEMO to make him quit from his pastoral, but i didnt do it.

I remembered DAVID, and i listened to God. My senior pastor has covered me time to time since 1998, and i knew that time that its time for me to cover him in the day of battle. Of course i was not alone; i was the girl alone actually. Others are 4 guy. That year was a DARKNESS ages for our church; we received so many phone calls; youths were out from church because of the restriction form their parents, my pastor’s schedule was being cancelled here and there .. and we were standing together. We did not judge. by 2007 .. God led us to REFOCUS; God renew everything .. my pastor are totally heal (of course leaving him a living scratch) but today he is a very humble man, he still wearing his wedding ring ..

Lots of story about people that left a church on 2005; they wander from one church to another church and sadly they’re having lots of life problem. i tell you what happen to 4 guy and 1 girl who stand back there covering the pastor … one guy just 2 years older than me are in Boston pastoring Indonesian church there since 2007, another guy is in Sydney helping Sydney Harvest Church since 2008 and have a good record and a successful father,husband,and businessman. there’s only 2 guy left; they’re still here , one of them is pastoring the young adult professional of 300 people, the last guy is a YOUTH FREAK; he pastoring 800 youth today .. with me assisting him.

2004 we only 500 people, 2005-2006 we only have 200 something, 2009 we grow into 1500 and this december we’re going to HIT 2000, by 2010 we will have 4 services (including children service; Creative Kids) and a Saturday nite service.

I breath GRACE, i breath Love each time i remembered those darkness year. and i thank GOD i was doing rite; specially with the attitude of heart. Like DAVID; a man after his own heart.

As i read this blog; i pray for America that GOD will rise up many DAVID who will turn society to the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. i pray that the spirit of wisdom and revelation would fall upon America and i pray for you Ps Chuck, i love you and your church .. i breath “healthy and PURE” when i heard about your name and your church. i feel “FRIEND, FAMILY, FUTURE” for you and your church. i love to be there .. really. Hope to see you SOMEDAY. i believe we will ..

God bless you more

See what I mean… I’ve read this entry something like 5 times now and it MOVES me just the same EVERY time. It’s ALL HEART… thank you Esslythe! May God bless you and Brian as he already has… and EVEN SO MUCH MORE in the future for the way you stood with your pastor when it seemed like the whole world was sending him to hell. Every time I read one of your comments, my life is ENHANCED! God’s hand is ALL OVER your life… He is blessing you with the FAVOR of QUEEN ESTHER!

Throughout your entire life Esslythe, you are going to ASK YOUR KING FOR GIGANTIC FAVORS… and YOUR KING will grant you SPECIAL FAVOR over and over again! You will be known as the woman who DARED TO ASK and DARED TO BELIEVE… in a God without limits-in a God who can do ANYTHING! And God will be glorified in your life as the God who FAVORS his humble servant! This is a prophecy Esslythe… and may it happen, just as it is written this day!

Ok everyone… I hope this blog adds tremendous VALUE to your amazing lives! Please leave your comments and have a most outstanding Thursday! Love you all!!