Sunday @ Southbrook:Monroe

I woke up yesterday absolutely pumped and looking forward to what God had in store for our Sunday morning service. Here are the highlights:

- I spoke on Haggai chapter 1. A solemn reminder to the people of God, that if we get comfortable, lazy and self-absorbed, then God will not bless our efforts. But if we step out in faith, obey His direction and follow His guidance, we can do great and amazing things for the glory of His name!

- We had a leader lunch meeting at Mexicali Rose. This is the first time I had pulled the key leadership team in Monroe together. We talked about our successes and our frustrations with Southbrook: Monroe. I have to say I was encouraged. There were very few frustrations. Everybody there is excited and ready to follow God on this adventure.

- After lunch I took the team over to our new location, which is being renovated. This was the first time some of them had even been inside! I could see the excitement as dream gets closer to reality.

- Then Garren and I met a few others for a pick-up game of flag football. I can feel the soreness setting in.

Praise God for an amazing day. I am blessed to be a part of something that God is clearly leading. By the way - we meet every Sunday at 10am, in the Benton Heights Elementary School auditorium. You should come check us out!

Triple Overtime

Last night I got to watch one of the most exciting football games I've ever seen. It was the Porter Ridge 6th grade team playing Holy Trinity. They had to make up their game from two weeks ago that had been canceled because of the rain.

Garren is the quarterback. Their record this year so far: 1-3. That is until last night. They started out really well. Holy Trinity scored, then we scored: 6 to 6. Then Holy Trinity scored again. We got the ball back, tried to drive down the field, tried to score one more time before the end of the half, but that wasn't going to be. We went into halftime down by 6.

They came out after halftime and scored on their first drive, tying the game at 12 - 12. The rest of the second half was a battle for the ball. Nobody was able to score, so we went into overtime. Each team gets the ball on the 10 yard line and each teams get a chance to try and score. We got the ball first. We scored, but failed to get the extra points. Holy Trinity scored, no extra points. The score: 18 - 18.

Second overtime, we got the ball first again: no score. Holy Trinity took their turn: no score. So we headed into the third overtime. We got the ball first again. Garren took the snap on 2nd down. Two defenders took him out in the backfield. One of them rolled their helmet over his left hand, leaving him squirming in pain on the ground. Garren is taken out for the next play. 3rd down, they run the ball to the 2nd yard line. 4th down...touchdown! The score is 24 - 18. Then they scored the crucial extra points, bringing the score to 26 - 18. Holy Trinity got the ball on the 10. They score a touchdown but fail to score the extra points. Porter Ridge wins! What an epic game! A win that was well deserved and well fought for. Way to go guys!

Moving Forward

It seems like so much is happening at once. And in reality, I guess it is. We had a great service in Monroe this past weekend. We were challenged to spread God's anointing and movement throughout the community, wherever we live and work. Am I willing to trust God with what He has entrusted to me, even if it doesn't work out according to my own plans?

We are getting closer to moving into our permanent location. Benton Heights has been so gracious to let us meet in their auditorium until our building is completed. We are looking forward to all that a permanent location has to offer as well.

As we move forward, I am going to kick off a short series on the book of Haggai. There are some great things we can learn - as a church and as a nation - from this Old Testament prophet.

I hope to see you this Sunday, 10am!