I'm gonna rejoice and be glad in it!
Ok, I'm about to head to foot surgery and this verse is my devo for the day...
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Maybe God has something BIGGER in my than just my surgery?!~
We'll see.....
#livethecause
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Mr Bill's Having Surgery - Ohhhh Noooooo!
Hey Gang -
I'd appreciate your prayers as I am having a "bunionectomy" Thursday morning at 6:30am.
(Memorial Herman Surgical Center on Kingsland in Katy)
Not too detailed, but here's the scoop:
They've got to cut off a chuck of bone growth next to my toe and put a screw in. (guess I'm screwed at airport security). It's outpatient surgery, takes about an hour and a half, then I'm horizontal for two days, then in a boot thingy for 10 days, and not suppose to be able to do anything rigorous for 6-8 weeks. (they've got to be kidding) This will be the first time since arriving in Katy in 1990 that I will have to sit still this long and it may kill me!~
Here's my TOP 5 PRAYER REQUESTS:
- For me to see beyond the surgery. Maybe God grew me a bunion so I could be a witness to those working on me.......just sayin'
- That God would move in Dr Jacobs hands (the surgeon) to do exactly what needs to be done.
- That the recovery would be swift and I'd be back to abnormal as soon as possible :)
- For Jean as she deals with an inactive husband and all the extra work around our home
- For finances to pay for this thing
Thanks tons - I appreciate it!
Hizkid...
I'd appreciate your prayers as I am having a "bunionectomy" Thursday morning at 6:30am.
(Memorial Herman Surgical Center on Kingsland in Katy)
Not too detailed, but here's the scoop:
They've got to cut off a chuck of bone growth next to my toe and put a screw in. (guess I'm screwed at airport security). It's outpatient surgery, takes about an hour and a half, then I'm horizontal for two days, then in a boot thingy for 10 days, and not suppose to be able to do anything rigorous for 6-8 weeks. (they've got to be kidding) This will be the first time since arriving in Katy in 1990 that I will have to sit still this long and it may kill me!~
Here's my TOP 5 PRAYER REQUESTS:
- For me to see beyond the surgery. Maybe God grew me a bunion so I could be a witness to those working on me.......just sayin'
- That God would move in Dr Jacobs hands (the surgeon) to do exactly what needs to be done.
- That the recovery would be swift and I'd be back to abnormal as soon as possible :)
- For Jean as she deals with an inactive husband and all the extra work around our home
- For finances to pay for this thing
Thanks tons - I appreciate it!
Hizkid...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
SYMC - Monday Threading...
This morning's final session was an emotional one. Rick Lawrence led a beautiful "threading" lesson where we took the pieces of yarn that we all cut the previous day and tied them back together - illustrating how God mends our brokenness. Then each of us tied our knotted yarns with the people next to us until everyone in the entire place was "connected." Then we passed them all forward and there was this HUGE ball of threaded together yarn. God has a way of turning our little things (just my yarn) into big things. What a great reminder that JESUS is the thread that binds us all together amidst even our brokenness - wow!
Then Tommy, one of the skit guys grabbed us with a heart wrenching skit as well on influence.
Finally, Doug Fields closed us out. He said, "When you go to camp, the campers never want it to end and the leaders can't wait for it to end." Yet, as leader for this "camp", he didn't want it to end. He spoke from 1 Kings 19 where there is all this loud stuff happening & how God wasn't in it, but then there was a whisper and God WAS in that! You see, the problem with leaving is the danger of going back to the busy "noise" that drowns out the still small voice of God! God's Spirit has threaded a message this weekend and the danger is to go back to being a Martha! Then, the artwork that had been formed all weekend long began to spin around. Doug then said, "Behind the tapestry of our threaded lives is this one thing......and there it was a Threaded JESUS! Very impactful!
So as I look back on this amazing weekend, here is what I come away with:
- I am SO glad to be connected with my AWESOME God and so many AMAZING friends!
- I Don't need a prayer strategy, prayer IS the strategy!
- Keep it all about JESUS - culture may have a bigger budget, but we have a bigger Producer!
- It's the little things that God has a way of making big things!
Lord, today I'm back in Katy, the place You've called me to be me in. Thanks for this incredible and undeserving privilege. Please help me to Know Jesus and Make Him Known - Faithfully, Passionately, Sacrificially. And, without allowing life's noise to drown out His still small voice, help me to daily be a part of small things!
SYMC is a Small Thing, that helps us reconnect with the Big Thing, thru Whom we can do All Things! Cool God Stuph!!!
Then Tommy, one of the skit guys grabbed us with a heart wrenching skit as well on influence.
Finally, Doug Fields closed us out. He said, "When you go to camp, the campers never want it to end and the leaders can't wait for it to end." Yet, as leader for this "camp", he didn't want it to end. He spoke from 1 Kings 19 where there is all this loud stuff happening & how God wasn't in it, but then there was a whisper and God WAS in that! You see, the problem with leaving is the danger of going back to the busy "noise" that drowns out the still small voice of God! God's Spirit has threaded a message this weekend and the danger is to go back to being a Martha! Then, the artwork that had been formed all weekend long began to spin around. Doug then said, "Behind the tapestry of our threaded lives is this one thing......and there it was a Threaded JESUS! Very impactful!
So as I look back on this amazing weekend, here is what I come away with:
- I am SO glad to be connected with my AWESOME God and so many AMAZING friends!
- I Don't need a prayer strategy, prayer IS the strategy!
- Keep it all about JESUS - culture may have a bigger budget, but we have a bigger Producer!
- It's the little things that God has a way of making big things!
Lord, today I'm back in Katy, the place You've called me to be me in. Thanks for this incredible and undeserving privilege. Please help me to Know Jesus and Make Him Known - Faithfully, Passionately, Sacrificially. And, without allowing life's noise to drown out His still small voice, help me to daily be a part of small things!
SYMC is a Small Thing, that helps us reconnect with the Big Thing, thru Whom we can do All Things! Cool God Stuph!!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
SYMC - Sunday
Sunday was totally another full day of relationships, re-energizing and relentlessness!
Rick Lawrence kicked off the morning with a "threading" exercise that reminded us of our longing for rescue from our Lord. I'll have to say, the whole strawberry thing was a bit out there for me but I caught the point (I think): Focus on God in the midst of whatever circumstances for HE is the treasure in the midst of life's journey.
We then sat in on "Kid Unique - Helping Students Discover Their True Value & Identity" taught by Dan Webster. Got some good pointers on how to direct students toward God's calling on their vocation.
After that we grabbed McD's and chatted with our "Couple in Ministry" connect group - which daily we LOVED!
Then in the afternoon, we sat in on Jason Lamb & Greg Stier from Dare 2 Share & got evangelatized again! ALWAYS GREAT STUFF and look forward to living it and infecting students as well!
Went to dinner with Katy peeps - Marcus & Delaine Evans and scarfed down some rockin' pizza at Giordano's! So grateful to Know Jesus & Make Him KNown together in Katy with guys like Marcus!
Evening session kicked off with a very heartfelt skit guys, worship from Shane & Shane and a message from Glenn Packiam on the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God has come TO us so that the Kingdom can come THRU us to the world. We are not blessed because of external circumstance but because of eternal implications! And if Jesus really IS our King, then let's live like it - good words!
So....this morning means packing up, saying temporary goodbyes and a send off that God will give Doug to give to us.....
I'll let you know later what that was!
Rick Lawrence kicked off the morning with a "threading" exercise that reminded us of our longing for rescue from our Lord. I'll have to say, the whole strawberry thing was a bit out there for me but I caught the point (I think): Focus on God in the midst of whatever circumstances for HE is the treasure in the midst of life's journey.
We then sat in on "Kid Unique - Helping Students Discover Their True Value & Identity" taught by Dan Webster. Got some good pointers on how to direct students toward God's calling on their vocation.
After that we grabbed McD's and chatted with our "Couple in Ministry" connect group - which daily we LOVED!
Then in the afternoon, we sat in on Jason Lamb & Greg Stier from Dare 2 Share & got evangelatized again! ALWAYS GREAT STUFF and look forward to living it and infecting students as well!
Went to dinner with Katy peeps - Marcus & Delaine Evans and scarfed down some rockin' pizza at Giordano's! So grateful to Know Jesus & Make Him KNown together in Katy with guys like Marcus!
Evening session kicked off with a very heartfelt skit guys, worship from Shane & Shane and a message from Glenn Packiam on the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God has come TO us so that the Kingdom can come THRU us to the world. We are not blessed because of external circumstance but because of eternal implications! And if Jesus really IS our King, then let's live like it - good words!
So....this morning means packing up, saying temporary goodbyes and a send off that God will give Doug to give to us.....
I'll let you know later what that was!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
SYMC - Saturday Stuph...
Yesterday was a full day of great learning, great challenge, great change and great friends! It's been sweeeeeet to hook up with Katy friends Marcus, Delaine & Joe, as well as IT (Inside Track) peeps! Thanks Jesus!
Kicked the day off with General Session #2. Rick Lawrence led a worshipful experience where one-by-one, 66 of us came out and held up a big sign of how Jesus is seen in each book of the Bible. We were joking back stage about what book we'd get and placing bets and who would get Song of Solomon......yep, I got to be Song of Solomon
Then we got to hear from the heart of Luis Giglio. He spoke of how what kind of culture we are cultivating with students and how we need to be careful not to cultivate cynicism and immaturity, but rather a JESUS culture. The reason Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" became the fastest downloaded song in history (1.2 million in 1st week) is because it preaches a message of love & acceptance that students are dying to receive! We can give 'em better - JESUS! We were challenged out of Revelation 1 to cultivate:
Humility: Whenever we cone into the presence of God we get right-sized real quick!
Honor: The more a student feels honored, the more they will honor others and they are dying to be honored! Circumstances are no excuse for cynicism.
Jesus: We can get so off on tangents, we must cultivate a Jesus-centered culture in our churches and student ministries.
CARPE DIEM - SEIZE THE DAY!
Then we sat in on Derwin Gray's (evangelism linebacker) track "Equipping a Great ComMISSION Student Ministry" - Great stuff to see how our Theology & Ecclesiology is meant to drive our calling. Identity, Mission & Power were the themes that challenged me.
Had a great "Couples in Ministry" lunch with Darren & Katie Sutton from Corpus - sharing ideas & struggles.
Then we sat in on Walt Mueller's "Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture" which gave ideas to get students talking about their world and evaluating their own choices.
A handful of us then met with Greg Stier, Jason Lamb, Debbie Bresna and the rest of the Dare 2 Share gang to brainstorm some future possibilities. I'd tell you more but they'd have to shoot me :)
Finished the day with General Session #3. Skit Guys Rock......just sayin'..... Also got to hear from Ruth Haley Barton who spoke to our SOUL! Using the life of Moses, she spoke on silence & solitude and that intersession is part of our job description. And that the promised land for us as believers is the nearness of God! Cool God Stuff - All of it!
Looking forward to craking it up again today...
Kicked the day off with General Session #2. Rick Lawrence led a worshipful experience where one-by-one, 66 of us came out and held up a big sign of how Jesus is seen in each book of the Bible. We were joking back stage about what book we'd get and placing bets and who would get Song of Solomon......yep, I got to be Song of Solomon
Then we got to hear from the heart of Luis Giglio. He spoke of how what kind of culture we are cultivating with students and how we need to be careful not to cultivate cynicism and immaturity, but rather a JESUS culture. The reason Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" became the fastest downloaded song in history (1.2 million in 1st week) is because it preaches a message of love & acceptance that students are dying to receive! We can give 'em better - JESUS! We were challenged out of Revelation 1 to cultivate:
Humility: Whenever we cone into the presence of God we get right-sized real quick!
Honor: The more a student feels honored, the more they will honor others and they are dying to be honored! Circumstances are no excuse for cynicism.
Jesus: We can get so off on tangents, we must cultivate a Jesus-centered culture in our churches and student ministries.
CARPE DIEM - SEIZE THE DAY!
Then we sat in on Derwin Gray's (evangelism linebacker) track "Equipping a Great ComMISSION Student Ministry" - Great stuff to see how our Theology & Ecclesiology is meant to drive our calling. Identity, Mission & Power were the themes that challenged me.
Had a great "Couples in Ministry" lunch with Darren & Katie Sutton from Corpus - sharing ideas & struggles.
Then we sat in on Walt Mueller's "Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture" which gave ideas to get students talking about their world and evaluating their own choices.
A handful of us then met with Greg Stier, Jason Lamb, Debbie Bresna and the rest of the Dare 2 Share gang to brainstorm some future possibilities. I'd tell you more but they'd have to shoot me :)
Finished the day with General Session #3. Skit Guys Rock......just sayin'..... Also got to hear from Ruth Haley Barton who spoke to our SOUL! Using the life of Moses, she spoke on silence & solitude and that intersession is part of our job description. And that the promised land for us as believers is the nearness of God! Cool God Stuff - All of it!
Looking forward to craking it up again today...
Saturday, March 5, 2011
SYMC - Friday Night - The R.A.R.E. Jesus
Last night we kicked off SYMC 2011 with our first General Session. Josh & Jake did a hilarious, the skit guys were the skit guys - great as always, and Shane & Shane lead us to the throne of Jesus!
Then Doug Fields got up to engage us in the Lord. He spoke of how soooo many youth workers are feeling defeated & discouraged and how we (& students) need to hear the voice of Jesus & see Him lived out. He spoke of knowing the voice of his mom, who recently passed away.
Students need relationships: We are not calling students to commit to a building or an institution but to a BODY, a family.
Students are looking to be amazed: We are not in it to compete with the "amazement" of culture. Culture may have a bigger budget, but we have a bigger Producer!
Students are looking to do something radical: They are attracted to the radical and good news - Jesus is radical!
Students are looking for healing for their hearts: So many students and their hurting worlds today.We need this RARE Jesus:
RELATIONSHIP
AMAZING
RADICAL
EMPATHY
People in our lives may have a unique voice that we can't miss, but Jesus has a Transformational one - Don't miss it!
Cool God Stuff!!!
Then Doug Fields got up to engage us in the Lord. He spoke of how soooo many youth workers are feeling defeated & discouraged and how we (& students) need to hear the voice of Jesus & see Him lived out. He spoke of knowing the voice of his mom, who recently passed away.
Students need relationships: We are not calling students to commit to a building or an institution but to a BODY, a family.
Students are looking to be amazed: We are not in it to compete with the "amazement" of culture. Culture may have a bigger budget, but we have a bigger Producer!
Students are looking to do something radical: They are attracted to the radical and good news - Jesus is radical!
Students are looking for healing for their hearts: So many students and their hurting worlds today.We need this RARE Jesus:
RELATIONSHIP
AMAZING
RADICAL
EMPATHY
People in our lives may have a unique voice that we can't miss, but Jesus has a Transformational one - Don't miss it!
Cool God Stuff!!!
Friday, March 4, 2011
SYMC 2011 - Why I Love This!
Jean & I arrived yesterday to Chicago to attend THE best student ministry conference there is. Why do I say this? Because its a family. Because it's not a show but it's life. Because it's based on 5 Core Values that I am all about:
1 - Authenticity: So much of life is defined by what we DO, but honestly, it's really more about who we ARE - and SYM & Group get this!
2 - Jesus-Centered: I've learned in my 26+ years of working with students that the more they (& I) are connected deeply with Jesus, the more transformation takes place. And this is evident in the hearts of all those involved in this conference.
3) Deep Learning: These guys get it that one guy up front preaching doesn't engage students, but interactive, deep conversations in the scriptures does! And when humility is displayed in the midst, God does amazing things.
4) Relationships: This one has been a WOW factor for me! SYMC & Group is truly a family, not a business, not a show, but a brotherhood & sisterhood of caring comrades who want the best for everyone else. Being a part of the IT Team has Rocked! Iron has truly sharpened iron.
5) Innovation: It's always good to allow God to use the creativity HE put in us to think outside the box - and then watch & experience God do cool stuff!
So....like I said last year:
SYMC is an insightful, passionate, fun conference that reeks of substance and humility!
Looking forward to this weekend....
1 - Authenticity: So much of life is defined by what we DO, but honestly, it's really more about who we ARE - and SYM & Group get this!
2 - Jesus-Centered: I've learned in my 26+ years of working with students that the more they (& I) are connected deeply with Jesus, the more transformation takes place. And this is evident in the hearts of all those involved in this conference.
3) Deep Learning: These guys get it that one guy up front preaching doesn't engage students, but interactive, deep conversations in the scriptures does! And when humility is displayed in the midst, God does amazing things.
4) Relationships: This one has been a WOW factor for me! SYMC & Group is truly a family, not a business, not a show, but a brotherhood & sisterhood of caring comrades who want the best for everyone else. Being a part of the IT Team has Rocked! Iron has truly sharpened iron.
5) Innovation: It's always good to allow God to use the creativity HE put in us to think outside the box - and then watch & experience God do cool stuff!
So....like I said last year:
SYMC is an insightful, passionate, fun conference that reeks of substance and humility!
Looking forward to this weekend....
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