Trek Camp 2009 {rocked}.

I just got back from spending a week with Lakepointe church at Highland Lakes Camp in Austin, TX where I was the speaker for their Trek 2009 Camp – and I had a great time. I spoke around 15 times last week, so was wore out, but the staff (and students) at Lakepointe are GREAT! They really are super people to work with, and I consider them good friends! So thank you Lakepointe (and the students who listened to me all week), it was an honor.

As usual, God showed up and did his thing. Many students begin their life long journey with God, through Jesus Christ, this week. Many more said they learned “so much” about God this week. My prayer after any sort of “event” like this is that students would live their life after camp, the same way they lived it while they were at camp. That they would live a life just as excited about their relationship with God through Jesus Christ, as they did while they were at camp. But above all – I know God showed up and rocked some teenagers lives this week – and to that I say, Amen!

The Matt Wheeler Band played worship at this camp – and they ROCKED! If your looking for an incredible band to play at your camp or event, you have to contact these guys. They did a super job! The summer’s only half-way over, but so far, it’s been a great one! Here’s some pictures from the camp!
{p.s. – I will be uploading the messages from all of my talks very soon for anyone to download and listen.}

I’m on posterous. Are you?

I’ll be honest. God has blessed me with some crazy-awesome friends. Hands down – I am friends with some of the most creative, and innovate people walking the Earth right now. Not only are they super talented – but they are using their God-given talent to do Kingdom work. I like that!

One of the best parts about having such a great group of friends; I”m always learning about really cool, new ways to do things that I am already doing – but better! One of my good friends, John, made a post on Church Crunch the other day titled – “Why I’m moving to Posterous and Leaving TwitPic (and everything else like it)”

My first thought after reading that post was;

“OH NO! Not another social media network to keep up with. No way!”

But then I looked into it a bit more, talked with John a bit more – and now I”m sold! It’s not another social media network to keep up with – in fact – it keeps up with the ones you already have!
If you consider yourself “in” to social media – this is a really, REALLY, cool website. In fact; website really isn’t the right word – it’s much more then that – it’s a portal for all of your social MEDIA content. In fact, the more I play around with it – the more amazed I am at what you can do with it, and how it integrates so smoothly with all of your social media networks. It’s simply awesome! If you like to share life – you should use Posterous!

I really enjoying sharing life with others. I love connecting with people. I believe God created us to glorify Him, and one of the main ways we do that is by being in a right relationship with Him, and with others. Connecting with others. I believe God put in each of us a desire to want to do just that. To connect with other people; to share life with others, etc…which is one reason I enjoy being “extremely relational”. I enjoy sharing life with other people – I like to share videos, pictures, status updates, twitt’s – life. Posterous makes it really easy for me to share my pictures, videos, etc using Twitter. It’s also very simple to upload media to all of your “networks” at once. In a nutshell – it’s great!

John did a great job of explaining what Posterous is and does, so I”m not going to retype what he already wrote, but you should read his post – now.
I’ll end by simply saying

“Posterous makes it REALLY easy to share life. If you enjoy sharing life through Social media – go sign up!”

Let me know what you think about Posterous. Do you use it? Have you tried it? Have you subscribed to my updates?

Throwback Sunday – Small Wonder

Well, for this week’s Throwback Sunday – I’m taking you WAY back! I NEVER missed an episode of this show – in fact I think I used to have a crush on Vicki!

If you are to young to remember this show, or have never seen it – you need to go on YouTube NOW and check out some of the episodes! – enjoy

Even in a Philippine jail, they love Michael Jackson – Thriller

I ran across this awesome video of a group of prisoners in the Philippines reenacting the entire Michael Jackson, Thriller video – they are amazingly in sync!
What about you – can you do the Thriller Dance?

Catalyst Filter – Summer 2009 – Aqua Box

I just got my aqua box for summer 2009 from Catalyst filter. They always send lots of great stuff out. What the video below to see what I got in my aqua box. If your not a member of Catalyst Filter – you should sign up!

thank you Ambassador {and The Cross Movement} – take 2

A few weeks ago I posted this, thanking the Ambassador (aka – William Branch) for the impact his ministry has had on my life. You can imgine how sick I felt when a few days after posting that –  I received this.
I’ll save you the time from reading the entire letter – here is the part that caused me to do a double take -

“It is with much grief, severe disappointment and an overwhelming fear of the Lord that Cross Movement Records is sad to announce that we will be discontinuing the forwarding and promotion of the Artist and Minister, The Ambassador AKA William “Duce” Branch, due to recent findings of moral failure in his marriage.”

Huh? What? Not Ambassador! This guy is solid!  He went to the same seminary I attend.  He loves God.  There has to be some sort of mistake!  I had a rush of emotion. Then I prayed. Hard. For him. His wife. The “other” women. My marriage. Then the next day I wept. I still couldn’t believe it. I re-read the link just to be sure I wasn’t in some sick nightmere. Nope. It happened.

This should be a reminder of how active satan is, and how he wants to “kill, steal, and destroy..”  He wants to ruin us.  To shatter us.  The ministry God allows us to be a part of.  Our marriages.  Everything.  He wants to kill it.  But there is good news, actually GREAT news – our God is big, much, MUCH bigger then satan.

“The one who is in us, is GREATER then the one in the world.”

The fact is, apart from God’s grace, this could happen to any of us.  If it wasn’t for the restraint, and power of the Holy Spirit this could happen to any one of us.   We must press into God – hard.  We must stay CLOSE to Him.  To others.  Others who are allowed to ask us those tough questions about our life.  We must also pray for leaders when they mess up.  We must pray for them much more then we “gossip” about them.  We must NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER say

“That could NEVER happen to me.”  - It could.

That’s why we must be on guard – and stay connected to the Father, and to His people!  We must keep going back to God in prayer, asking that the Holy Spirit would give us strength, and convict us – QUICKLY – to anything that could cause us to stray.

I’m praying for the Ambassador, and his family – I ask you to please do the same.  I still love him, and his music is still super legit!  I also mean what I wrote in this blog post.  Above all, I’m thankful that we serve a ultra powerful God who forgives us of our sin, and makes us right with Him through His Son – Jesus Christ whom He sent.  He also has the power to heal, and restore, people, relationships, ministries, and marriages.

{How’s your relationship with God, your spouse, and God’s people?  Are you closely connected to them?  Are you working daily to grow in your relationship with each of these?  How are you doing that? How are you protecting your self?  How are you staying LOCKED on God?  Also will you please pray that God will restore William Branch (The Ambassador) to his wife, and family?)

a beach, a white house, and a very happy day

Last week Abbie, and I had the chance to spend a few days in Corolla, NC (outer banks) for a friends wedding. (We also had a long layover in DC, so we got to do some bonus sightseeing on the way to the wedding!) If you have never been to Corolla, you HAVE to go sometime. We got the hook up – the groom (thanks again Greg) paid for ocean font houses for the everyone involved in the wedding -the entire time we were there – it was amazing!

Congrats Laura, and Greg – your wedding was amazing, thanks for letting us be a part of it!

Throwback Sunday – Out of this World

This Sunday I have a very special Throwback Sunday for you. This is by far one of the weirdest/coolest shows I watched in the 80’s. The girl’s dad lived in a weird glass “cube,” and she could freeze time by touching her two fingers together. I never missed an episode though. Anyone else with me on this show?

Check the video for the awesome intro – and check by next Sunday for another Throwback Sunday!

Is the ride over for Six Flags? {please say it ain’t so}

I ran across this link tonight from CNN saying that Six Flags is filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Turns out they have 1.8 billion dollars in debt.  (not sure how, considering how they charge 46 dollars for a medium coke….)

The link says that their parks are in “good” shape, and will remain open.  I sure hope so.  I can’t tell you how many awesome memories I have of going to Six Flags Over Texas growing up.  Every year my parents would buy all of us season passes to the park – and we would go – allot. It was pretty much our summer babysitter. In fact, we went so much that we would BEG our parents NOT to go sometimes! ha,ha..pretty awesome, huh?

However, I’m looking forward to [hopefully] bringing my kids to Six Flags one day.

So go out and support Six Flags this summer.  Buy lots of those 46 dollar cokes, funnel cakes, and pink things!

What about you? Do you have good memories of a Six Flags Theme Park?

facebook isn’t for strangers

I’ve spend enough time on twitter, my personal website, online video games, facebook, and a million other social networks to know one thing – there are some WEIRD people out there.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m weird…but there are some people out there who are REALLY weird.

Tonight facebook allowed its users to select a personal domain for them to use – for life.  Yah, I got one.  But I’m not going to become “friends” with everyone who sends me a friend request.  For one, if I have never met you (or talked to you) we’re not friends.  Sorry – we could be friends one day, but we aren’t yet.

I have people all the time send me requests that I don’t even know.  If I don’t accept your “friend” request, please don’t take it personal, but I use facebook to connect with “real life” friends, family, students that I minister to , etc – and can’t risk someone going through all my “real life” friends and trying to “add” them as a “friend.”  (i.e. – “facebook stalking” them) Or prehaps getting mad at me for something I post on my blog, or say through twitter, and want to stalk me via my “real” friends on facebook.  I can’t risk it. I enjoy meeting people – so maybe one day we can be both “real” friends, and “facebook” friends.  But until then, let’s start with twitter, then take it to the next level!

How about you – do you keep your social networks separate?  Do you add everyone who sends you a “friend” request to facebook?  Is one more personal then the other?