Only a few days left...

I have to admit, I AM DONE!!  I'm done Christmas shopping, my gifts are bought and wrapped and under the tree.  Whhewwwwww am I glad its over.  My wife is one of the most difficult people to shop for.  But I did get some pretty awesome things...the one that I like the most I think will make her cry, but I also think the rest of our friends & family will get to enjoy on Christmas day with us.

Okay, so I've been thinking about "The Christmas Story."  Not the one with Ralphie, but the actual Christmas story from the Bible.  You know a lot of people have some misconceptions about what actually happened and who was involved.  

For instance how many wise men came to see Jesus?  The typical answer is 3 right?  Well, that is actually wrong, we don't know how many wise men actually visited Jesus, the Bible never tells us. Also, another thing that some people forget is why Mary and Joseph actually went to Bethlehem in the first place.  Well, obviously Jesus had to be born there to fulfill Scripture, but what sent them there?   Well a census was being taken by the Roman government and everyone had to return to the city of their families...it just so happens that Joseph's family is from the city of David, Bethlehem.   

Anyway, all that to say, we have got to dig into the Word of God and see for ourselves what really is going on.  Not just with the Christmas story but with all of Scripture.  It's not enough to just rely on what the Pastor says, or what traditions say, or even what you heard at a Christmas play.  We have to seek for ourselves what the Bible says, plus God wants time with us!

Merry Christmas

Introducing...

Aubree Faith Caston
December 11, 2007
6lbs 9oz
18 1/4" long






Aubree's parents are Jennifer & Tim Caston. This couple is a part of Cyndi and my small group! She is a gorgeous baby as you can see.

Anyway, Congratulations Jennifer & Tim & Big Sister Ashlee!

By the way, I don't want anyone getting any ideas and asking, "When are you and Cyndi going to have a baby?" NO BABIES, not any time soon at least. We are still seeking guardianship and adoption opportunites for Monicea (our little girl in Jamaica). Hopefully, we will be able to go and see her in May (and maybe start paper work).

It's NOT Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Here it is December 11th, and that means exactly two weeks until Christmas. I'm still a little freaked about about how warm it is.

This was taken in the car yesterday at 5pm. Being from Indiana, I am used to freezing your butt off, can't ever warm up, school closed, roads full of ice, and non stop rain/snow/sleet type of winters.

I really am loving this weather!!

The Challenge

This past Sunday, our Pastor, Chris Rollins, issued a challenge to our church.

He issued this challenge: For the month of December, all of us should take the 1-1-1 challenge.
What in the world is the 1-1-1 challenge? It's simple. At 1 o'clock pray for 1 person for 1 minute. And the prayer isn't just any prayer for anyone. The prayer is for 1 person that you know has no relationship with Jesus. 1 person that you need to invite to attend church. 1 person that needs a life change.

So far this week I have been hearing awesome stories from people in our church who have accepted the challenge. My friend, Andy Gill, and I have even been holding each other accountable by texting each other a bit after 1pm to see if the other had prayed yet.

I love this challenge and I have issued it to our students but with a different name. Same challenge different name. We're calling it InFILTration. Why? Simple. We want to infiltrate this world, and see the life changing power of God move in a way like never before! So we will be infiltrating hearts by praying for 1 person for 1 minute at 1 o'clock.

Will you accept our InFILTration challenge? Who will you pray for? Post names of your friends/family/co-workers/etc. on this blog and I will commit to pray with you!

The challenge has been issued, will you accept?

"I Hate When People Don't Blog..."

I tend to read a ton of blogs, mainly for encouragement, ideas, and just for sheer enjoyment. I do actually have list of blogs that I tend to read weekly, and sometimes almost daily. I do get really annoyed when I go to read one of those blogs (typically youth pastor's) and they haven't posted anything in awhile. Seriously, I get so annoyed that I sometimes even delete them from my blog roll.

Well, I guess I should probably delete myself from my blog roll. I know I haven't blogged since Thanksgiving Day, which seems so long ago. But here I am tonight saying I am back! My commitment is at least two blogs a week! Hopefully more, if life doesn't get to outrageously crazy!

Things have been great the last few weeks! Especially at church! We have updated our welcome center, and it has crazy cool new colors, new tables, and just a very cool relaxing and yet very welcoming atmosphere. Someone asked me are we trying to create a church or a Starbucks! My answer is this...STARBUCKS has the best evangelism and is on its way to being the largest church in the world! By the way its just paint, people is what really matters. If a cool welcome room gets people excited about being a church...WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

Anywho, I love the new welcome center (I may post pics later) and I'm back to blogging! Tomorrow I am going to be talking about a challenge that has been issued that I want to pass along...its called the 1-1-1 challenge, but I am going to be calling it INFILTRATION...be prepared its deep!