For those that follow “Sermon Notes”, below is a preview of what is to come. For those in the Columbus/Hilliard/Dublin area that are looking for a place to celebrate the Christmas season over the next few Sunday’s, this is for you too! I’m looking forward to the upcoming series at Journey Church themed “It’s A Wonderful Life“. The note below is from our Pastor Denny -
What’s your favorite Christmas movie? I think mine is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In the movie, George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) finds out that his life, though seemingly insignificant and meaningless to him, is actually very meaningful to others. In addition, he finds out that he is not alone. Not only is he surrounded by friends who love him but by a lovable character whose name is Clarence. Clarence is an angel who has yet to earn his wings. He is given a chance to earn them by convincing George that his life is worth living.
For the next three weeks at Journey, we will consider the theme of the movie along with the Christmas story and attempt to answer from Scripture questions about angels, our lives and the birth of Jesus. Join us this Sunday at 10 a.m. for the first message of the series, “Do Angels have Wings?”
Bring a friend and your favorite coffee mug and we’ll see you Sunday for this timely and relevant series!
Click HERE for Directions to Journey Church.
On Friday afternoon, I sat watching football with family and reading the ESPN ticker reporting the details of Tiger Woods “minor accident”. With each passing hour, the details were more and more odd. That little alarm in my head was ringing that something just didn’t seem right. The truth is that no one except the Woods family knows what happened that night. Maybe we should leave it that way.
The tabloids are all over this story. Each time I launch Google Reader, there is another news feed with details. This morning, Tiger released a statement to respond to many of the allegations. After reading it, I am challenged to do the only thing we can do for Tiger….pray. I can quickly begin to make assumptions based on what I am reading about things I have no knowledge of. Yet the one thing I know is that I can pray for Tiger and his family. My prayer will be much like this song.
“Love is not a fight, but it’s something worth fighting for” -Warren Barfield
May God move and work in the marriage of Tiger Woods. May He bring restoration and healing to their home.
Those that have been around this blog for more than a year probably just rolled their eyes and said “on no, not again”. This time I can assure you that there is no “For Sale” sign in front of our home and we’re not packing any boxes. We are, however, headed south to Charlotte, North Carolina (God’s Country) in 2 short weeks. We’ve been planning this trip for several months now and it’s hard to believe that it is already here. On Saturday, December 12th my wife and I will hit the streets of Charlotte to run the Thunder Road Half Marathon. One of our good friends from Charlotte will also join us on the journey.
One thing I did not realize when signing up for this one was this course is very “hilly”. I guess I assumed it would be a nice flat course, but based on what I have read and those I have talked to, we are in for a real treat in terms of elevations. It could present some new challenges (as if 13.1 isn’t challenging enough). My wife and I are as ready as we can be and are spending the next two weeks “tapering off” in preparation. We won’t have much time to rest afterwards because it’s off to Phoenix to run the P.F. Changs 1/2 marathon on January 17th with our good friends Troy and Catherine Plant.
We have also recently confirmed the following:
Country Music Half Marathon – Nashville, TN – April 24th 2010 with a few of my friends from Thomas Nelson Publishing.
Indianapolis Mini-Marathon – Indianapolis, IN – May 8th 2010 with some new friends and possibly co-workers.
So there you have it. 4 half-marathons in 4 cities. After that I am thinking about taking the rest of the summer off!
On the journey……
I recently made an attempt to move the site over to a hosted blog for more features. The attempt worked (or so I thought) until I started getting emails and messages saying that people could not access the blog anymore. I did some checking around and it appears that the issue was an Internet Explorer issue. That being said, I came back to wordpress.com.
All of that to say that the site is now back to normal (that’s debatable) and I have an added feature for those that are interested. In the sidebar you will note the place to type in your email address. This will send you the latest posts within minutes of my clicking “publish”. The emails are kinda snazzy and come directly from wordpress.com. If you’re interested, just enter your email address in the box on the righthand sidebar and confirm the email that will be sent. I’ll take care of the rest!
Thanks for following the bouncing ball.
When I started posting “Sermon Notes” late in the summer, I was surprised by the emails and comments from those that follow this series weekly. Those notes are just from those that were willing to send some encouragement to keep posting. My hunch is that there are some out there that read them and have not written in or commented. I count it a blessing to have the technology to share church with each of you once a week. I actually thought of each of you tonight as I sat down in front of my laptop.
The service this morning at our church was dedicated to people sharing their stories of thankfulness. I cannot begin to express my deepest respect for each and every person that stood in front of the congregation to share their “story”. They battled fear of public speaking, fear of what others might think and the risk of transparency to be real. The stories were both inspirational and heart breaking. The stories ranged from addictions, battles with cancer, new marriages, loss of income and physical struggles. Yet each one shared their praise to God for the struggles. They gave praise to the Lord that moves in our lives and has full knowledge of our journey. To each of you I am humbled by your faith. Thank you.
My other thoughts during this time of sharing were:
1. I love the place that I call “church” every week.
2. I love that our community can be the place where we are who we are and it’s alright.
3. I pray I will have the courage of those that shared to give the honor and praise when the storms come.
4. Count your many blessings. Name them one by one.
One word that was spoken over and over and over again this morning was the word “grace”. I think all too often I take the gift of Gods grace for granted. To stand in the face of a storm and call it “grace” takes a faith I aspire to learn. For those that read this that do not attend, take the next 8 minutes to watch the video below. While this is not from our church service this morning, it might as well have been. This will give you an idea of the courage and the stories that were shared. Thanks for your encouragement on this journey. I am honored to share the road with each of you towards our ultimate destination.
Today we received a notification from the photographers that take photos at races that our pictures were in from the Turkey Trot. This allows me to show you a frame by frame finish of the end of the race. With all due respect to the photographers, I am not selling or printing these so hopefully they are cool with what is below. I just wish I had a copy of the theme from “Chariots of Fire” to start playing right….NOW (just play it in your head as you read along). This was PRICELESS!
As I said earlier, I felt GREAT in this race. I got out quickly and kept gaining momentum as I ran. I don’t say this to brag, it just helps set up the finish. This particular race starts off at an upscale fitness facility in Dublin with the finish line positioned on a corner at the top of a long sloped driveway. As I turned onto said driveway, I noticed “some dude” coming up beside me at a pretty strong sprint. I thought I would pick up the pace a bit as well. I ran faster. He ran faster. I ran faster. He ran faster. Before I knew it we were in a dead sprint to the finish line. Neck and neck.
Then it happened…..
You cannot see me in this frame but I am to his right. Note the all out sprint that he is on. If you can see me, I was doing the same thing. (Note, I have no idea who the other lady in this frame is)
Have you ever been in the fast lane cruising along and some car pulls over into the lane going MUCH slower and cuts you off. Well, it happens in races too. As we turned that final corner (ON A DEAD SPRINT), I looked up to see “Runner 744″ cruising to the finish line. Remember, I am in a dead sprint race with “some dude”. If I had break lights on my shirt, they would have been ALL LIT UP.
As we crossed the finish, I had to apply the breaks as to not collide with “Runner 744″ and avoid an incredibly awkward moment with a complete stranger. Did I mention I was on a dead sprint?
Now these next two frames are just hilarious (to me anyway). First off, I can tell you that at no point was any contact ever made with “Runner 744″. Although this picture (and the look on her face) appears that there was an “awkward moment”, there was none. I was able to apply the brakes before ever colliding. I assume the look on her face was from the feeling she was about to be trampled and the smell of diesel fuel behind her. I might have lost a hubcap or two as well….
I had to include this one as well. When running a race, it’s important (no matter how bad you’re feeling) to finish with a smile. You never know who might be snapping your picture at that moment. “some dude” certainly had a photo finish. Me….not so much.
The truth is that I looked for “some dude” after the race to thank him for the spirited finish and congratulate him on his run. By the time the dust cleared on the near collision at the finish line, he had disappeared in the sea of people. So, if you’re reading this, thanks! While I don’t run these things to break any records, it was fun to have a little competition to finish strong.
Now you know the “rest of the story”….
