Maybe not at the top of the list.

If I listed the things I'm grateful for it would probably be a lot of the same things on your list. Like friends, family, country, water, food, and salvation (wow how can you every express enough thankfulness for that).
So I was thinking about a few other things I could add to the list. Maybe not at the top of the list but very important
The Influencers - the people that inspire me to do better or hang in there. The people that influence my kids.
The faithful - the people that live their life consistent. They walk the walk and talk the talk. They are examples for all of us.
Winning - nobody likes to loose, need I say more. (I'm loosing in my fantasy football league to which I am not grateful)
Football- I really like football. ND
A smokin hot woman- named Nikki
Eggnog - I just had an eggnog pie. Very grateful
You- I may not know you, but thanks for reading. And if I do know you, and like you ; ), I'm very grateful.

What are the things on your list?

Stationery card

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Rewind

This past Sunday we explored the mission of StockbridgeAssembly
Love - Connect - Serve

Complexity breeds confusion and disagreement

Simplicity breeds clarity and agreement

Jesus stepped into a very complex world of politics and religion. Confusion and disagreements were the order of the day. He brought a simple message that evryone could understand and connect to.

Matt. 22:37-40 (my paraphrase) Love G-d with everything, Connect with others and Serve your world.

One interesting point - Jesus makes this personal and forces us to take the responsibility by using the word "You."

You shall love the Lord Your G-d – this is something you have to do. You cant depend on the relationship your grandmother has with G-d, You have to have a personal experience and relationship.

You shall Love your neighbor – It is your responsibility to connect to your neighbor. We cant wait for someone to connect with you. Or get displaced when others don’t connect with you. It is our responsibility to connect.

As Yourself – The same level you care for yourself should be the level you care for others. Serving them as you would serve yourself.

Funny how Jesus’s teaching calls us to look inside and own up to responsibility.

Love – Connect – Serve

Sunday Rewind

If you missed it here are the highlights

A week of Fasting and prayer starts 10/3/11

Prayer Focus

Mon. – Missions ( Food Pantry, etc)  
Tues. – leadership and church families
Wed. – All Students
Thurs. - Haitian, Hispanic and Church Ministries
Fri. – Finances (Yours and the Churches
Sat. Community
Sun. – our gathering (we will meet at 10:15 to pray together)

Why I Love the Church

Romans 12
The people are Devoted
The People are Different than the world
The People are Diverse
The People are Deep in love
The People are Diligent
The People are NOT Diluted with selfishness

(if this is not a picture of the church we should be striving to be more)

The ILMC Challenge

Invite someone
Invest in the Church
Be Involved in the Church and with the people.

My Name is Steven and I love My Church

The things we can learn from everyday life

Ok for some reason today I thought it would be a good idea to do my normal exercise this morning (2.5 miles) + ride my bike to work. Maybe somewhere deep inside I have aspirations to participate in a triathlon. And to be truthful it wasn’t all that bad.

On another note, I have recently been teaching on the schemes of the devil. And one of the things the enemy of our soul will use is the lust of the eye. (Stay with me for a min) You know how it works. You see something someone else has and you want it. You see something in the store and you know you can’t afford it but, you want it. Its all about your eyes losing focus on the important things.

Back to the morning biathlon. I’m finishing up the ride after climbing Mount Charlotte (a road that has two massive hills) and headed to the finish line of the back parking lot of the church. All the sudden a neighbor that wasn’t paying any attention pulls very quickly out of her driveway. She almost hit me (lady drivers ; ). I, very nicly, got her attention with a few hey, Hey, HEY!!! All was well I thought.

I pulled around to park my bike and catch my breath. And there was beauty standing in the parking lot. She grabbed my attention. My eyes were focused on her. So I stopped to talk to her. And at that very moment, because she had my attention and I was no longer thinking about my ride and the fact that my right foot is still clipped into the pedal, I leaned to the right and busted my butt on the gravel filled concrete. Pain, a little embarrassed, and blood were added to my morning.

The things we can learn from everyday life

Contagious

I remember one summer I was so impressed by a group of friends and their knowledge of baseball. They knew it all, every stat, every player, and every position. Now I didn’t really care for major league baseball, but their commitment to know the game was very contagious. So I did what any young man wanting to fit in would do, I picked a team and committed to knowing everything about this team. My team was the Atlanta Braves.  I would come home after each day and force myself to watch the games, listen and learn. I have to admit that I didn’t really like watching baseball. Other than the occasional highlight play, (opinion alert) baseball is boring. But there was something about the commitment I saw in my friends that pushed me to want to learn baseball. (I will say that today I still enjoy a baseball game every now and then.)

Have you ever looked at someone committed to something and thought wow I want that? It may be someone’s relationship with their spouse. It may be a fulfilling career or maybe someone finically stable. You may look at a family that really loves each other and desire to have that for your family. Now don’t confuse the thought with comparing yourself with others, which is foolish. However to be inspired to commitment is good.

So here’s the thought – is your commitments contagious?

One thing I have learned is no one is inspired by casual commitment. If you love casually, so what. If you give casually, who cares. If you live casually, you blend in.

Exposed

I know a few people that like to be exposed to the sun. At any moment during the spring/summer they will be outside with little covering soaking in the rays. It seems that a depression will set in if it is a cloudy day. They love the sun! And you can see it. Their skin reflects their soaking rituals. You cannot be exposed to the power of the sun without being effected. (truth, I have a few friends that burn really easy and just a little exposer will leave them red and tender)

The real truth is there is very little that we expose ourselves to that don’t affect us. From media to relationships to A/C (yes air condition, if you live in the south you understand the great effect of cold air) to love to hate we are affected by it all. Take love for example, a person that has been exposed to love will reflect the results of that love. The reason kids hate is that they have been exposed to hate.

So I guess the right question would be what are you being exposed to?

In the Bible there is a story of a man named Nicodemus that was exposed to Jesus (John chapter 3). At first he wasn’t sure how to take this new rabbi. He had more questions than answers. He knew Jesus was a good teacher but not sure where to go from there. He was exposed to something that affected him.

We don’t know much about Nic, but this initial exposer sparked something in him. You can read in John chapter 7 where Nic came to the defense of Jesus. This was a risky move, but he couldn’t help it- he was exposed.   Then in John chapter 19 you can read about the death of Jesus and guess who is right there with myrrh and aloes (about a 100 lbs worth) good old Nic. His exposer to Jesus is now reflected in his love and admiration for Jesus. You can see that the more Nic was exposed the more he was affected.

So again what are you being exposed to?