Bethany Christmas Presence

This year at Bethany we provided Christmas presents for 3 childrens homes. It was an amazing experience to see our church stand up and show love this year. I pray its a catalyst to more giving out at Bethany. Here's a video recap...

Word Wednesday .::125

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Nahum 1:1-4 The Message

^2-4God is serious business.
He won't be trifled with.
He avenges his foes.
He stands up against his enemies, fierce and raging.
But God doesn't lose his temper.
He's powerful, but it's a patient power.
Still, no one gets by with anything.
Sooner or later, everyone pays.
Tornadoes and hurricanes
are the wake of his passage,
Storm clouds are the dust
he shakes off his feet.
He yells at the sea: It dries up.
All the rivers run dry.

Big God, eh? (Canadian paraphrase)


What's your Word?

Music Monday 52

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

This is the very last "Music Monday" blog post. I hope you had a great year, a Merry Christmas, and I wish you a happy new year, so...

What's your top five favorite Christmas songs?

Here's mine in order:

1. O Holy Night
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
4. The Christmas Song
5. Happy Xmas (War is Over)


your turn...

Word Wednesday .::124

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Micah 4:5 The Message

"Meanwhile, all the other people live however they wish,
picking and choosing their gods.
But we live honoring God,
and we're loyal to our God forever and ever."

This can be a very relatable passage for us today. We live in a very materialistic society. People listen to only what they want to hear and the same was true for these people in the book of Micah. May we, as disciples of Christ, live to honor God forever and ever.


What's your Word?

Music Monday 51

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Its Christmas time, so I'm going to end out the blog series, by focusing on Christmas music, so...

What's your least-favorite Christmas song?

I'll say "Deck the Halls". I don't why, but I don't really care for it. Probably my least favorite. It's just weird to me for some reason.





your turn...

10 Most Powerful Tweets of 2010

Twitter recently released the 10 most powerful tweets of 2010. If you haven't seen this, it's a pretty interesting list of tweets. It's definitely been the year of social media.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH TWEETS MADE THE LIST

Word Wednesday .::123

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Hosea 6:6 The Message

"I'm after love that lasts, not more religion.
I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings."

Some Christians could take this verse to an unhealthy extreme to justify their own selfish desires. That's why it's important to read the whole Bible to get a balance, complete message from the Lord. Hebrews 10:25 solidifies that balance by commanding us to not give up church gatherings. There's two extremes: over-churched & under-churched. The balance is the individual being the church. This is the greatest commandment which Jesus gives that says "love God & love others". The Church is God's design and plan to reach the whole world with the gospel. The Church is first and foremost relationships among believers to the glory of God, but going to church isn't enough. Going to church should be about the overflow of hearts of believers who can't wait to get together to edify each other and encourage each other in keeping the true faith in every phase of their life. That's our goal and responsibility as Christians. Don't join the ranks of hypocritical church-goers. Be one of the few (Matthew 7:14). Don't just go to church. Be the church.


What's your Word?

LOVE/HATE Christmas

I think Christmas is a love/hate relationship with most people. There's things we look forward to and things we don't. Let's talk about the good and bad.

Share one thing you love and and one thing you hate about the Christmas season.

Music Monday 50

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Its Christmas time, so I'm going to end out the blog series, by focusing on Christmas music, so...

What's your favorite Christmas movie soundtrack?

Gotta go with the Home Alone Soundtrack. Some good stuff on there.




your turn...

Noah's Ark or No Ark

A company called the Ark Encounter has just announced that they will be building a full scale replica of Noah's Ark. Read the full article here. The article says, "The Ark Encounter is scheduled to open in spring 2014 in northern Kentucky." The project is estimated to cost $150 million. Obviously, this could be a great and inspiring tool to point people back to God.

Here's my question for you: You can do a lot of incredible things for $150 million, so do you think this is a worthy investment or do you think the money should be used for something else?

Voice your thoughts.

Inflatable Church

Do you need a church for an event? Maybe you're getting married, and you want a church wedding, but don't know which church to pick. Well, now you can bring the church to wherever you say your vows, thanks to Inflatable Church. Yeah.............it's pretty strange. It's also sad, because society (and some Christians) equate the church with a structure, instead of the community of believers.

Word Wednesday .::122

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Daniel 12:13 The Message

"And you? Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it's all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward."


The end times is probably one of the deepest discussions you can get into. It is literally an endless argument sometimes. We see a lot of interesting prophesies in Daniel that speak to it. It's ok and great to study and think about it. It's healthy to ask questions and try to comprehend as much as we can. We cross into unhealthiness when start worrying about it. To sum it all up, God wins, which means, we as Christians win. There's gonna be problems and a little chaos, but we are secure in the arms of the Father, so, "God about your business without fretting or worrying. RELAX."


What's your Word?

Heal Me

Here's a new song I introduced to our church recently. It's taken from Jeremiah 17:14.

Music Monday 49

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Its Christmas time, so I'm going to end out the blog series, by focusing on Christmas music, so...

What's your go to Christmas album this time of year?

This is easy...Mariah Carey Christmas. Best Christmas album I've heard, yet. I am hoping to get her second volume this year.




your turn...

Christmas Decorations: BEFORE

I know this looks dangerous, and YES..........the ladder has a warning on it telling me not to do this, but I'm a pro. I'm experienced, even though I accidentally kicked it over last year, and was left there hanging....I learned from that. This is what I do every year to get our Christmas decorations down. I'll put up a post with the "AFTER" photos and the house decorated sometime next week.

So...what's your story. Do you do the decorating thing at Christmas?

Book Review - When the Game was Ours

Wben the Game was Ours by Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson, & Jackie MacMullan

From a very early age I have been a die-hard Boston Celtic fan. The main reason for that was Larry Bird. As a young kid, I remember watching the rivalry of Larry Bird & Magic Johnson unfolding and changing the game of basketball right before our very eyes in 80's. It was simply epic. There hasn't been a rivalry like it since.
So, when I heard this book was coming out, I was pumped. This is the first tell all book about the rivalry and relationship of these two superstars. On one side you have the "hick from French Lick", Larry Bird, who hates doing interviews, and hates drawing attention to himself. On the other side, you have "Showtime", Magic Johnson, with the million dollar smile, living it up in Hollywood and a sucker for the spotlight. When you strip all these attributes away, you see two individuals with similar skills in the game of basketball. Simply put, they seemed immortal on the basketball court and were very evenly matched.
This book gives a ton of insight and behind-the-scene looks into the NBA world in the late 70's and throughout the 80's. The Celtics/Lakers rivalry was red hot and the Magic/Larry rivalry revitalized the NBA and set the stage for Michael Jordan to take the league to new heights. It's an amazing story of two complex individuals who made basketball history by pushing each other, competitively, to new heights and set the new high standard for teams to chase in the NBA.
Basically, this book was a dream for me, and I was actually kind of sad to read the last page. If you're an avid NBA fan, especially one for the past 20-30 years, this book will be right up your alley.

Word Wednesday .::121

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Daniel 2:26-28 The Message

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (renamed in Babylonian, Belteshazzar), "Are you sure you can do this—tell me the dream I had and interpret it for me?" ^27-28 Daniel answered the king, "No mere human can solve the king's mystery, I don't care who it is—no wise man, enchanter, magician, diviner. But there is a God in heaven who solves mysteries, and he has solved this one. He is letting King Nebuchadnezzar in on what is going to happen in the days ahead.


This is a true test of Daniel's motives and heart. He had the opportunity to take the credit and bring himself all the fame, but he stayed focused: Give God the glory! What would or will we do when faced with the same opportunities? Are we glory hogs or glory givers?


What's your Word?