And Life Goes On

Yesterday was a wonderful day to spend with family. It was Mother's Day and it's all about the mommy's and what a blessing they are to us.

After church and hearing a great message concerning hearing the voice of God, we all went to my sister (Cyndee) and brother-inlaw's house for some food, fellowship and lots of fun. My mom and her new husband Leroy were there, along with my sister Diane and her kids, Harry and Joyce Eckelman, Ron and Jean Naylor, Don and Velma Ramsey, and of course all the kiddos.

Cyndee and Ronnie live on 17 acres and have a really cool pond complete with a rope swing. The kids all loved swimming, while the adults mainly sat around and talked about things in life. At one point I decided to take on my 12 year old nephew (Tristan) in a game of "Horse" on the basketball court. He beat me handily. So I asked for a rematch, only to be easily be beaten again.

It seems different to be around my mom. She's a wonderful mom, always has been and always will be. But now that she's married and spends most of her time in Salinas, it seems odd that we are spending time catching up on what we're doing. She talks about new friends I've never met and the church she attends that I can only imagine what it's really like. I really miss her and I don't know if I'll ever get used to the idea that she's not just down the road for me to go by and see her whenever I want.

It's definitely a new chapter in my life.

Our New Church

Yesterday, Brenda and I had the privilege of playing with a new worship team for us. It felt really good to be part of a team that was truly focused on being led by the Holy Spirit.

The truth is, we miss our friends at Bridge Community Church. We really love Pastor Joel, Leslie and everyone involved with the worship team there. Yet, I think we simply had a difference in approach and philosophy when it comes to worship. There's nothing wrong with the difference. It's not like one way is right and another wrong, it's just different. I really believe they're doing an awesome job without us and God is going to take them to higher heights and will develop them into a premier worship team in Northern California. Something our time at Bridge really did for me was "stir-up" that gift of music in my life. I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity they gave me.

So Brenda and I made the decision to join New Day Church. When I first visited there it seemed like they truly had all the pieces in place and there wasn't really a need for us. However, I guess I was wrong. I went to my first practice with the worship team on Tuesday. I was impressed with the organization and the enthusiasm. Praying with them was a blessing too.

Brenda wasn't slated to play drums this week, but apparently the young man who was had flaked out at the last minute on Sunday. With a little convincing from me, Brenda joined us. I know she was happy she did. Brenda and I both loved the way the team was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We weren't just going through a song set, but we were worshipping God. During worship, people came down to the altar to be prayed for, one man gave his life to Jesus. And then we started playing a song called "Hungry (Falling On My Knees)" we literally played the song for at least 15 minutes. Why? Because the Lord kept us going on that song. At one point the keyboard player began singing new words as they came to her and through that she was bringing forth what I deemed to be a word of knowledge and wisdom. When I looked up at the people in the congregation they were nearly all worshipping, many with hands raised, most standing, some sitting. I saw tears flowing and people being touched by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Wow, it was really cool.

So that's where we're at. A number of people have asked us about it and I've sort of ignored the question. Right now, we feel like we're at home. I guess because it's very similar to our personal background and experience, so we feel like we fit in well.

I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for the future.

Interesting Dream

Last night I had a dream about Pastor Joel Smith. I was with him in Oregon in the office of a man who supposedly was Joel's superior. He started verbally attacking Joel and telling him why he's not doing the job he should be doing. I got really upset and couldn't hold my tongue any longer. I laid into this guy and started telling him all the wonderful things Pastor Joel does. The guy stood up to yell at me and I ran over, grabbed the guy and threw him back into his chair.

Joel I hope I didn't mess anything up for you with the denomination. :)

God is Good

I've been incredibly blessed over the past year. I have to admit there were a few times in my business that I became really worried about whether or not we were going to make it, but I had an inner peace that God was going to pull through for us. He always does.

When I hear and read about the struggles people are going through it really does break my heart. I know many of the hardships people are facing are not the result of any wrong doing on their part. I have a good friend who was involved in a very lucrative business only to now fall on hard times and is in danger of losing his home. I wish I had to ability to swoop in and save the day for him, but I can't. I don't have the resources, but God does, so I pray for him.

Many times I fail to thank God for His provision. I'm really sorry about that because without Him and His undeserved blessing on my life things could be really bad for me, but God is good and this morning I'm very thankful.

Quiet the Voice of Opposition

A few times I've posted blogs and facebook comments which literally caused people to show up at my office and my home asking that I delete my comments because somehow they're harmful to the kingdom of God, might cause people hurt or keep someone from getting saved. I've noticed that as long as we sugar coat our comments and glaze over our true thoughts with a facade of "everything's okay" then we all get to pretend that it is, and somehow we're happier because of it.

Well, the way I look at my blog and even my facebook is that it's a place to be completely honest with anyone who might want to read it. Of course I get to choose what I want to reveal and what I want to keep hidden. Afterall, it's my blog. So, I've decided that I'm going to continue writing my blog and sharing all that I want... good, bad or ugly.

So please take me off your friends list. You might not want to read what I have to say.

In Prayer

There have been more than just a few times in my life where I've been in an uncertain place. There are times when I'm not sure where to go or what to do. It becomes even more difficult when I know my decision affects my wife and my children. So I'm in prayer about the decisions I need to make. I'm in consultation with my wife about it also. It really isn't my decision, but ours.

Jippy Peanut Butter

A couple days ago I mentioned to Brenda that we were getting "dangerously low" on peanut butter. She laughed at me because she knew that even though I was saying it in gest, I was serious deep down inside. You see, I am passioante about peanut butter. I grew up on the stuff and if we're out of it at home I can become very unruly.

So last night, I looked through the cabinets and noticed that there was a brand new jar of peanut butter. My Precious made sure that we would have a new jar once we ran out of the old one. One thing you must understand is that not only am I peanut butter addict, I have my favorite brand which happens to be Skippy Peanut Butter. Don't give me Jiff, or some other kind of peanut butter. It has to be Skippy! Brenda knows this. She understands my addiction and my passion for Skippy Peanut Butter.

Once I saw that I had the right kind in the cabinet I thought I'd play a little joke on Brenda. She was lying in bed watching TV and I asked her...

"So what kind of Peanut Butter did you buy?"

She said "Skippy".

Uh huh, I replied. And where did you get it?

"Um...at Winco. Why?"

(Now understand at this point that Winco like other grocery stores have their "knock off" brands.)

So I said, "Do you realize that you bought Jippy Peanut Butter? What the heck is JIPPY Peanut Butter?"

I literally saw the blood drain from Brenda's face. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and her body slumped into a posture of defeat as if to say, "Oh my God, I can't believe I bought Jippy instead of Skippy!"

She threw back the blankets and started to get up to march into the kitchen to see the horrible mistake she thought she had made.

I quickly said, "Baby, I'm just kidding, you got the right peanut butter."

"Why do you do that to me?!!"

We then both started laughing really hard. As a matter of fact, so hard that we were in tears. I then jokingly stated, as a matter of fact you failed to get my favorite jam too. "What the heck is Tuckers Strawberry Jam?"

More tears and more laughter!