Where are you ?

If you have been wondering where I have been - I have been developing a new Blog. It is not complete yet, but I am really excited about it. I started this blog when I was a student Pastor and it still holds a specila place in my heart. I will continue to post here from time to time and I am going to encoureage Irene to post here more often. you can get to my new blog here - notes from a traveling man. E-mail me and tell me what you think at adavis1959@gmail.com.

Until next time - keep your eyes on Jesus and let's keep in touch.

“Quiet Strength” – By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

If you are a football fan and have not read this book, run – do not walk – to the nearest book store and buy this book. This is honestly one of the best books that I have read in the last few years. The lessons that can be learned form this book is almost limitless. I just found out that there is a bible study companion to this book and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. The following are a few quotes that hit me where it did some good:

• “It’s not all about football. It’s about the journey – mine and yours – and the lives we can touch, the legacy we can leave, and the world we can change for the better.”
• “Tony, I think you’re at a crossroads” said Donnie (Shell). “You know what life is all about. You profess to be a Christian, and you tell everybody that God has first place in your life. Now, when your career looks like it’s teetering, we’re getting a chance to see what really is in first place for you.”
• “It was the first time I was able to look at football as something that God was allowing me to do, not something that should define me.”
• “I learned three key truths from Nehemiah. First, Nehemiah’s opportunity came in God’s time, not his own. Second, Nehemiah diligently prepared his mind and his heart so he would be ready when God’s time arrived. Third, Nehemiah needed to be prepared to take on the problems, doubt, and adversity that would come his way both from the outside and from within.”
• “I’m a firm believer that the Lord sometimes has to short-circuit even our best plans for our benefit.”
• “Respond to adversity; don’t react.”
• “Be on time. Being late means either it’s not important to you or you can’t be relied upon.”
• “Execute. Do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do. Not almost. All the way. Not most of the time. All of the time.”
• “Take ownership.”
• “The competing views of success in our world often create an interesting tension. Society tends to define success in terms of accomplishments and awards, material possessions, and profit margins. In the football business, winning is the only thing that matters.
  God’s Word, however, presents a different definition of success – one centered on a relationship with Jesus Christ and a love for God that allows us to love and serve others. God gives each one of us unique gifts, abilities, and passions. How well we use those qualities to have an impact on the world around us determines how “successful” we really are.”

Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and let’s talk football.

Reflections from the weekend . . .

Am I the only one that felt like this past weekend went away in a blink? Here are a few reflections from this past weekend:

• Irene and I both seem to be finally on the mend from the upper respiratory infection.
• I carried mother to have a bronci-scope done Friday, so now maybe she can start to get better. She at least got some rest this weekend.
• I really enjoy being around the people that we are starting The Journey with. Next week we are doing a celebration time together and look at who is serious about becoming a partner in The Journey.
• I finished reading “Quiet Strength” this weekend. I’ll post my thoughts later in the week.
• I hate to say it, but I am hooked on Extreme Home Makeover.
• Did anyone else see the new “Knight Rider” last night? I think that it has real potential.
• NASCAR and racing season is finally back. I love to watch the races – I love the NASCAR naps even more.
• Mike had a great post on “Who would you like to be like?” I may try to tackle that one later in the week.
• Irene informed me that next weekend may be a yard work weekend. If it stays 60 degrees – I think that would be great. If I can get ahead, maybe I can keep up this year.
• Celebrated birthdays with my father in law and sister in law this past weekend. We had great steaks, but the true hit of the weekend was Drake – the nephew. He is def the coolest kid around. I’ll try to post pictures this week.
• Irene and I are trying to get everything ready to go to Disney for our 10th anniversary. I am looking forward to the trip, but not as much as the rest of my life with the woman of my dreams. I Love You – Irene.

Until, next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and I’m going to Disney World.

My Walk in The Journey – Continued . .

Well, it seems like it has taken me forever to get back here to continue the post about The Journey and the part that I play in it. In this post I want to spend a little time on the L.I.F.E. groups. L.I.F.E. groups are the way that we are going to reach our communities for Christ. This all ties back to our neighbors. Our job according to the Great Commission is to go into all the world and make disciples. That seems to be a pretty daunting task for any one person. Then God showed me in His word another daunting task. In the book of Nehemiah the people had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. That would seem to me a pretty overwhelming task. Unless, you look at it as Nehemiah did – each family is responsible for the wall in front of their home. I believe that we need to be responsible for that part of the world right there where we live. If each of us becomes responsible for that – then the world will be reached for Christ.

Through L.I.F.E. groups we will be concentrating on four basic things:
L – We are going to learn from one another. One of the greatest motivators to learning is the people that we are learning with.
I – we are going to intentionally grow. Where there is no growth – there is no life. We want our children to grow and develop – God wants the same things for His children.
F – We are going to learn to follow biblical principles. We are going to seek out life applications to all of the lessons that we will be studying. God gives us principles to live by to help us live to our full potential.
E – We are going to evangelize through relationships. Through praying for our neighbors, building relationships with them and inviting them to join our L.I.F.E. groups we will evangelize our neighborhoods through relationships. These relationships will be developed when we see our community as Christ does – full of people that He was willing to give up His life for.

Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and lets focus on what is in front of us.

How would you handle this . . .

For those of you that read this blog and have a heart for working with young people (students, teenagers, youth, etc.) I have a hypothetical situation for you. Let’s say that you have a student (non-church member – one far from God) that is coming to your Wednesday night program. One Wednesday night, this student steals a pair of expensive sunglasses – let’s say $100.00 plus. There is no doubt that this student is the one that did this. How would you handle it? Would it make a difference if the student was a member of your student ministry and a church member?
I am really curious about how others would handle this. If you have a student pastor that does not read my blog and you would like his or her take on this, send a link to this post to them. Comments are open and waiting. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and let’s work through a difficult situation.

Where have I been? ? ?

Sorry that it has taken me so long to post. Since getting back from Meltdown two weeks ago – I have missed (5) days of work because of an upper respiratory infection that went to pneumonia. I am still trying to get me feet back under me. Irene has been sick with the same stuff (we were both out of work at the same time) and she is still dealing with it. My mother has this stuff also and we would appreciate your prayers for her healing. Needless to say this is some nasty stuff.

I am so behind in my posts and I promise to get back to posting more about The Journey and our church plant, but for now I am going to stop and get some work done. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and wash your hands. You do not want this bug that is going around.