big day for crossroads church

my dear friend and brother, Michael Tabor had a big day this weekend...on Saturday i was able to go over to his church and celebrate the dedication of their new worship facility...Michael has worked endlessly in this endeavor...i know firsthand because my company was there for a big portion of time doing all the audio visual and lighting work....
great looking building Michael! congrats!
love you bro!

desire not duty

i was reading earlier today for a few moments in 2 Corinthians 11...Paul is writing about some of his experiences in his adventurous journey...experiences from both life and ministry...everything from working hard to being in prison to being flogged severely to being shipwrecked...
in light of these experiences you might ask why keep going on? he answered this question earlier in 2 Cor 5..."Christ's love compels me"... Christ's love (my identity...it is what makes me who i am) fuels me with desire even in the face of challenge...in the wake of so many hard obstacles a sense of duty could have never sustained him...but desire could and did!
it is the same right now with my new AAU basketball team...we are working diligently on stamina right now...after consistent non-stop drills some young men are ready to quit...and then i remind them who they are...champions...and the desire takes over.
let's guard against a sense of duty in serving Christ...let desire take over!

AAU Basketball

We had our first practice last night with the 14U Garner Road Bulldogs! It was awesome! I am so excited about the potential these young men have. Practice was intense with great effort from every player. The players were pushing each other to the limit. I can see all 13 of these young men excelling to another level. It was incredible to coach and direct a practice in which every player cared about what they were doing. I'm pumped up about this opportunity....keep it in your prayers.
Thanks.

today is my birthday!

wow! today marks the last birthday for my thirty-somethings! but I'm feeling good! you know what they're saying...that 40 is the new 30!
well, lots of nice things have been said to me today due to it being my birthday! Thanks for all the kind thoughts and words.
leaving early from work now for a nice quiet birthday evening!
maybe the wolfpack can give me a nice gift tonight and beat the tarheels!
love you all!

winning feels good!

wow! it's been a great weekend on the basketball court. for Noah's recreation league team all the hard work finally paid off...we acutally won our first game of the season and several of the young boys on the team actually scored a basket....and most of the others at least had a good look at the basket and got a shot off...Noah had a terrific effort leading the team in scoring and rebounding...he's such a hard worker on the court...I'm very proud of him for sticking with it through several discouraging losses....we have lost three of our games by a combined total of 7 points....great win on Fri night.
Luke's team in the recreation league had a thrilling double overtime win today in which Luke had several key rebounds and 4 very important points in the overtime play.
always feels great when you win!

the effective plea...

Hope, my 10 year old daughter has a cat...his name is Smokey...and over the last several months he has gotten into several cat fights outdoors and has needed to go see the vet...and it has caused a significant dent in our checking account. well last week we could not find him because he had been in another incident and was hiding to lick his wounds. immediately I said no to another trip to the vet. Hope has continued to ask....and I continued to try and ignore the situation.
Then yesterday when I was checking my email there was one from Hope....
It read something like this....
Daddy...I really don't want my best friend Smokey to die...so please reconsider taking him to the vet...I'll give up my allowance...whatever I need to do....but please Daddy, please please please Daddy....will you do it?
if you are looking for an answer, for a miracle....I think in James it says pray again!

valentines day

well Valentines Day this year was pretty simple...everyone at my house other than Noah and myself has been sick this week. it makes for a tiring and gloomy environment...but wow!...what a few gifts will do to everyone's attitude. I brought home some small gifts for my special ones...Angela, Luke, Hope, Noah and Nate...their eyes just lit up...even Angela's. lots of joy for me to see that happen.
I think that feeling of joy is something like the Father feels when our eyes realize His great gifts!
On the day that the world considers the day of love...let's not forget how much God has loved us and pause to share our love for Him!

spiritual GPS

what a week so far! I have been on the road extensively everyday this week.
to Winston-Salem and back, to Charlotte and back, to Stokes County and back...today is finally an office day...and there's a lot of catch up to do.
for the first time yesterday I used a GPS navigational system as I travelled through the mountains in Stokes County...what a helpful tool, but annoying as well...i could not decide if I liked it or I hated it. Every curve around the mountain on Hwy 8 the GPS saw as a turn...turn left 50 yards! prepare to turn right 500 feet! and on and on! I worked best for me when I muted the voice and just used the road map feature.
I think we have been called to be spiritual GPS systems for those who are lost to help navigate them to their destination. I wonder if people have the same feelings I had toward the GPS I used...do they have to decide between our being really helpful and our being really annoying?
Think about it!

I love basketball!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the game of basketball. I coach three young boys teams in our community recreation leagues. I watch as much basketball as time will allow...with ESPN 1 and 2 and U and FOX sports, etc. you can just about watch any game you want. I even get up often in the early morning (5:30 am) to actually go a run a full court game for an hour.
I even more excited about basketball at the moment. I have the opportunity to something I have always wanted to do....coach an AAU basketball team. The AAU team is one of the 14 and under Garner Road Bulldogs teams. The level of competition and athleticism is intense. Many young boys trying to become men who want to excel in basketball play at this level. I am proud to say my son, Luke will get to play at this level. It is an honor and it is exciting.
One reason I love basketball so much is because I can use it to teach life lessons to these young boys. Pray for me as I try to shine light into the darkness!
Go Bulldogs!

identity...what does it mean to you?

you can change how you look...how you act...on and on...
but changes in appearance and in behavior do not change who you are!
"In Him we live and move and have our being!"
not our doing but rather our being!
you can be strong...you can be patient...you can be forgiving...you can be gentle...you can be joyful...on and on...because we live and move in Him! He is our identity!
WE ARE CHRISTIAN!

courage...what is it?

Courage...is it just being brave and strong in the face of challenge or adversity? is it just making a choice to stand alone? is it the absence of fear?

Courage...is it dependent and driven by my past success? the success and experience of others?

Courage...where does it come from?

In Joshua we are instructed to "be" strong and of good courage. "Be" is directly related to identity. Identity portrays who we are...

at adventure life church we are currently going through series entitled "WE ARE CHRISITIAN!" it is a series based on the movie "We Are Marshall"...we can learn a lot from the characters and their experiences in this movie...the movie is about the plane crash of the Marshall football team and its impact on a small West Virginia community...in the face of such great tragedy and challenge the students of Marshall Univ stand together and chant "We Are Marshall"...

you see identity can not be altered by challenge...this realization to me produces courage...true courage...a change in mentality...a realization of my identity in Christ empowers me to see challenge and adversity in a whole new light...

what empowers courage in you?

more to follow on identity and courage....

I'm Back!

well, sorry everyone for my long absence from the blog! I'm back! It is certainly not that I have had nothing to say...life and work and ministry have just thrown a lot of changes (curve balls if you know what I'm saying) all at once.
so, not trying to make excuses ... just been swamped ... but feel the need to starting putting down some of my thoughts again.
I'll try to blog some thoughts, experiences, concerns, ideas once a day now.
join me again!

thanks.