Got up early, wish it was earlier… having a phenomenal time with God today… would love to extend it for a few more hours! Yesterday was the biggest Saturday for the blog site ever… thanks for the interest you guys… hope your Saturday was beautiful in every way!

All night long, every time I awoke… the word HOPE was calling out to me!

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I STILL HAVE A DREAM! (The Trumpet of Conscience 1967)

After all you’ve been through, dare to say, “I STILL HAVE A DREAM!” 

I hope to see a pile of you guys at Destiny Family Center this morning… 10am. Guess what I’m talking about?

Ohh… my birthday party celebration is tonight at 5pm… details and directions in the Destiny Times… HOPE you can make it! Have a super day everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djEPQ1acYLg

Got home from Vacation Bible School last night to find a surprise pool set up on my patio! Not a little inflatable one… it’s 15 x 4 you guys! Ok, so Emily asks me yesterday if she can get a small pool from WalMart and put it on the patio… and I just kind of looked at her like, “I think it’ll look a little tacky, but if that will make you happy, go get one.”

Thinking back on that conversation, I remember her saying, “Charlie, can I get one of those SMALL 12 foot WalMart pools and put it RIGHT HERE on the patio?” (hand motioning that the pool she had in her devious little mind was going to fit into the LITTLE area she was suggesting… and even though she said TWELVE FOOTER, my mind caught the key words SMALL and a mental picture of the THREE FOOT area she was claiming for this TINY project.

I didn’t even really think she was serious until I got home at 9:30pm last night… and there it was… a BIG BLUE… FIFTEEN FOOTER, WalMart pool. EMILY BALSAMO!

Of course, Cole Moore had helped her and Heaven put it together… and as I began to resist, they all gave me this look like, “PLEASE DAD CAN WE KEEP IT… we worked so hard in the BLAZING SUN… ALL DAY LONG… to give you this amazing FATHER’S DAY PRESENT!!!!

Actually, after I got past the initial SHOCK, I was quite happy she took INITIATIVE and made this happen for our family! So, I did some finishing touches to the liner while Cole and Heaven installed the filter system… and we turned on the water hose! Eight hours later, we have a functioning POOL!

Pool party anyone?

Matthew 7:12-14 The Message Bible: “Here is a simple, RULE-OF-THUMB GUIDE FOR BEHAVIOR: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then GRAB THE INITIATIVE and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.”

Same verse in different translation: “DO TO OTHERS whatever YOU WOULD LIKE THEM TO DO TO YOU. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”

Is this what Emily was doing with the pool… did she GRAB THE INITIATIVE and do for me, WHATEVER she WANTED me to do for her? Awww, thats so nice Emily… so Christian-like my dear dear wife! LOL

Initiative: The power or ability to BEGIN or to follow through ENERGETICALLY with a plan or task; enterprise and DETERMINATION; a beginning or introductory step; an opening move.

Seriously, I have to ADMIRE the INITIATIVE of this tiny gal… she has always been a TAKE ACTION kind of lady… NEVER lazy, never afraid to take on a challenge, never hesitant to GRAB THE INITIATIVE! Emily has way to much POWER and ability for making those INTRODUCTORY MOVES… with ENERGY and DETERMINATION… she doesn’t linger for perfect conditions!

It’s scary at times, but a VERY ADVENTUROUS 19 years!

Initiative is a vital part of turning HOPES into REALITIES. “Faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things NOT YET SEEN.” Faith takes HOPES (dream, visions, promises, and prophecies) and manifests the power and ability to BEGIN… or to FOLLOW THROUGH energetically with a PLAN (the thing hoped for)… with ENTERPRISE and DETERMINATION… faith takes the introductory step… faith makes the opening move!

By faith, Peter JUMPED OUT OF THE BOAT when Jesus invited him out on the waters! By faith Noah started building an ark! Faith is never lazy… faith does not linger for perfect conditions… faith always says LET’S GET THIS STARTED… LET’S DO THIS NOW… LET’S TURN EVERY ONE OF THESE EXTRAVAGANT HOPES INTO LIVING REALITIES!

I pray that todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives! I love you all… praying your day is filled with many BLESSINGS! Please leave your comments… tootaloooo!

I read in Micah this morning… and a few verses JUMPED off the page… check this out you guys.

Micah 2:12-13 

“Someday, O Israel, I will GATHER you;
      I will gather the REMNANT who are left.
   I will bring you TOGETHER AGAIN like sheep in a pen,
      like a flock in its pasture.
   Yes, your land will again
      be filled with NOISY CROWDS!
 Your LEADER WILL BREAK OUT
      and LEAD YOU OUT of exile,
   out through the gates of the enemy cities,
      back TO YOUR OWN LAND.
   Your king will lead you;
      THE LORD HIMSELF will guide you.”

Even though this prophecy contains it’s purest message to the Jewish people as a promise that God will bring them back into their stolen territories… there is a BIG message within this message to all of us TODAY!  

Someday… I will gather the remnant people who are left! God is saying… I will GATHER the ones who were able to weather the adversity and remain upright! The trees who’s roots RAN DEEPER during those times of raging winds and rainless clouds… those who have demonstrated their FAITHFULNESS in oppressive times… that they CANNOT and WILL NOT be shaken! Those who welcome challenges as opportunities to halt and prove their identity!

If you have been scattered in times of adversity… you have been ravished on the outside, but on the INSIDE you’re STILL STANDING SOLID IN YOUR FAITH! If you can just HOLD ON WHEN in times like these… and keep it together when so many others are falling apart and falling away… if you can DEMONSTRATE that YOU are a SURVIVOR…

God promises to GATHER you again… and BRING YOU TOGETHER with other SURVIVORS… not for the purpose of living in the miserable memories of yesteryear! He promises to BRING YOU TOGETHER like SHEEP IN A PEN… like a FLOCK IN ITS BEAUTIFUL PASTURE! 

He says that YOUR LAND… those places and things that God has given to you throughout the years… things that seem to have been STOLEN and not recoverable… YOUR LAND will AGAIN be FILLED with NOISY CROWDS… a sign of VICTORY, MULTIPLICATION… and GREAT CELEBRATION!

God promises to GIVE YOU A LEADER who will BREAK OUT… and LEAD YOU FROM EXILE… out through the gates of your enemies and into YOUR OWN LAND again! So pray for your leaders like never before… believe for leaders who will RISE UP AND BREAK OUT… to LEAD their FLOCKS from exile! 

At the end of this prophecy, Micah says… YOUR KING WILL LEAD YOU… THE LORD HIMSELF WILL BE YOUR GUIDE! This is a promise of Gods PRESENCE DWELLING in the hearts of all his people, LEADING us into the GREENEST PASTURES EVER! 

Psalm 23 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

I realize how PREACHY this blog may sound today… I’m pretty excited about it as you can tell… hoping these words add tremendous value to your amazing lives! Please tell your friends, leave your comments, and pray for us as we PRAY SO MUCH FOR YOU! Have a super duper day everyone…

FYI: I’m preaching at Trinity Harvest Church in Pikeville, Kentucky Friday night at 7pm… if your close to Pikeville, see you there?

Hows life for you guys today? Things going well? I really care and I’m really praying for God to help you into the victories you desire! Everyone has dreams… you have dreams of being and doing so many things! Hold on to those dreams… and never let them out of your sight! Anything is POSSIBLE… and your DREAMS, no matter how BIG they may look from where you are standing today… they are POSSIBLE! 

Most of the time, dreams take a very long time growing up into living realities. A dream is a PICTURE of what is POSSIBLE. 

Hebrews 11:1 Now FAITH is the substance of THINGS HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Dreams are the THINGS HOPED FOR in this faith formula! Without THINGS HOPED FOR, our FAITH has nothing to go after! 

So, in order to live a miraculous kind of existence… in order to live by FAITH and not by SIGHT… in order to fully experience the super amazing destinies God has for you and me… we MUST GET BETTER AT DREAMING! 

For most people, their tiny dreams are not much more than an impression in their heart. For others… a mental photograph. There are some people who carry around mental PHOTO ALBUM of their various dreams. And then there is that very small elite group of DREAMERS out there who DREAM SO WELL they have actually GONE INTO THE FUTURE AND LIVED THEIR DREAMS ALREADY!

AGAIN… Hebrews 11:1 Now FAITH is the substance of THINGS HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen. 

FAITH is the VEHICLE that transports a person from the LAND OF HOPES into the LAND OF DESTINY. Faith CREATES SUBSTANCE out of the things WE HOPE FOR… or DREAM ABOUT!

HOPE has its very necessary purpose… hope cannot do what ONLY faith can do. Hope says, maybe someday. Hope says, that sure would be nice. Hope says, here are my dreams… my possibilities… this is my potential. 

Then, once we have HOPE… once we have a CLEAR DREAM, faith steps up and says LET US GO UP NOW, AGAINST ALL ODDS IF NECESSARY, AND LET US TURN THIS DREAM INTO A LIVING REALITY… FOR THIS DREAM IS AS GOOD AS DONE! 

If I can SEE IT, I CAN HAVE IT! Therefore, I must become an expert at DREAMING the DREAMS of God for my life! I have to stop reducing the size of my dreams down to the size of my human capabilities. I must not filter my dreams through the vastness of my obstacles… instead, I have to BELIEVE that with GOD all things are possible… to them that BELIEVE!

Are you good at DREAMING the DREAMS OF GOD? Maybe you should consider starting a DREAM JOURNAL… a place where you can doodle pages and pages of DREAMS… a place where you can DREAM WITHOUT LIMITS… DREAM as if your FATHER IS THE ONE WHO CREATED EVERYTHING AND CAN DO ANYTHING! Sounds like a good plan to me!

Have fun you guys: DREAM ON… DREAM ON… DREAM UNTIL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUUUUUUUUUUUE! I pray this blog adds tremendous future value to your amazing lives! Please leave your comments… I love to read them all! Come to church tonight at Destiny Family Center… see you there!

I wonder if diversions should be welcomed as great adventures? We work so hard to establish nice little patterns for our lives. We try to make so many perfect moves. We try so hard to automate as much as possible. We flip out when circumstances arise to shock us with unwelcomed CHANGE. 

I wonder if we should count adversity as an act of evil or an act of grace? Has all this pressure and all this agony come into your life to bring you down OR has it come to LIFT YOU UP? Is the universe rallied against you OR is the universe NUDGING you into the NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE?

Instead of weeping in a spirit of hopelessness, should we fall down and worship at the feet of our FATHER with a renewed sense of FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE!

God is BIGGER than people… and God is BIGGER than our imperfections! Therefore, we should never feel like ANYTHING from our past has any real shot at canceling our future in Christ!

Think about this: If reaching your divine destiny depended upon YOUR PERFECTION, it would never happen! If you had to make the correct turn at all ten thousand intersections this decade, you would end up in the wrong place way out in the wastelands!

Is your life really as messed up as it may seem right now? Should you accept your current set of circumstances as a sure sign of defeat… and should you just throw in the towel… stop dreaming… stop aiming for all those beautiful dreams?

Be careful not to assess your progress through human reasonings. For GODS WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS and GODS THOUGHTS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR THOUGHTS! If he is GOD than he has a trillion ways of getting each of us safely to our destinations! 

So when life seems to throw us a great big curve ball… and life seems to punch us out cold… and life seems to smack us WAY OFF THE BEATEN PATH… we should NOT despair my friends! Instead, we should raise our faces and lift hands to the deep BLUE SKIES and BLESS THIS BRAND NEW GREAT ADVENTURE! 

Proverbs 3:1-6 

 ¹ ”My son, do not forget my teaching, 
       but keep my commands in your heart,

 ² for they will prolong your life many years 
       and bring you prosperity.

 ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; 
       bind them around your neck, 
       write them on the tablet of your heart.

 ⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name 
       in the sight of God and man.

 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
       and lean not on your own understanding;

 ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, 
       and he will make your paths straight.”

Ok… so there you have it… another paradigm for the same set of circumstances! Selah! Think about this… meditate on all the opportunities this inconvenience could be bringing about. TRUST my friends! TRUST that God is still CRAZY ABOUT YOU… he is STILL WORKING ALL THINGS OUT FOR YOUR GOOD! 

I pray that todays blog adds TREMENDOUS value to your amazing lives! God bless you all… have a most ADVENTUROUS DAY!