Braelyn and Me

This Guy Saved Me a TON of MONEY!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my new insurance agent, Alex Leiva. He is with Liberty Mutual and he was just able to save me a TON of money. Seriously, like close to $700/year on my home owners and auto insurance. Not only that, but he was able to provide me BETTER coverage! Do you believe this?

I had the pleasure of ministering to Alex when he was a teenager and he married one of our first students (Tonya was in the 8th grade group during my first summer internship). He is a great guy, UH Alumni (GO COOGS!), and a hard-working guy. Give him a call or send him an e-mail and see if he can help you out as well. You won't regret it!

Phone: (281) 364-1090 ext. 59239
E-mail: Alex.Leiva@libertymutual.com

The Never Ending Spin Class

I've never actually taken a spin class, but my life feels like one right now. You know, you're sitting on a bike pedaling like crazy, not really going anywhere, but being encouraged to go longer and faster. Life has been insanely busy lately, that's why the only blogs I've posted are Bible verses and goofy pictures instead of any personal reflections, etc. In the midst of this craziness, God has been very gracious to us. I don't say this out of obligation to post a cliche, but to humbly acknowledge His faithfulness in the midst of all this.

Here's what I've been up to lately in a concise list:
1. Seminary: 12 hours (Grad in May '09, Lord Willing!)
2. Christ Church: Elder, Community Pastor, Leading College Group (which is going great!)
3. Discipling a few guys...
4. Faith Mission: helping out with their computers, website, videos, etc.
5. Building Websites: Just finished one for Calvary Baptist of Brenham
6. Spending time with my family (we all had a stomach bug over the past week and a half... ugh)
7. Consulting work for Gutensite
8. Transform Ministries: This is my primary 'job' / calling and I have been blessed to travel quite a bit this fall and share the great news of Jesus Christ.
9. Writing curriculum for 'Rise Up' Conference launching in '09.
10. Did I mention I was taking 12 hours in seminary this semester...?

Well, I am looking forward to some time with my friends and family over the holiday. Don't worry, we are conscientiously submitting ourselves to this pace for a short season to enable me to finish my masters. We are praying that the church will continue to grow and Transform will continue to expand so that I can continue to narrow the focus of my time. In the midst of all this, I pray that God is glorified, and my family and I would continue to find our satisfaction in His glory. I'll blog more soon...

Last one... Maybe.

High School Sweethearts!

YearBookYourself.com

"Daddy! Color wit me!"

Interpret and Critique at will... How do you differentiate the banister at the bottom when coloring? I'm a novice... Yes. I did color this picture...

More Scripture to Think About

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.””
(Matthew 11:18-19 ESV)

Scriptures on my Heart

“Brothers,if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6:1-3 ESV)


“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
(Proverbs 20:5 ESV)

““Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”
(Matthew 7:1-6 ESV)

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:1-6 ESV)

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”
(Galatians 5:13-15 ESV)

My Girls!

New CDs are Here!

Hey everyone! I am excited to announce that the newest version of testimony CDs 'Tragedy to Truth' have arrived! I'd love to send you each one (or many)! If you are interested in receiving a copy of it please click here and request one!

Returning From the Land of Goatees and High-Fives

This past week I went with my good friends John Barnard and Justin Hyde to the Youth Ministry Conclave in Arlington, TX. I had a great time with the guys and we had the chance to reconnect with several friends as well as meet several great folks.

Here are some pictures from the event. They are a bit blurry because I had to use my Blackberry camera and I was shaky from too much coffee, or something (Thanks Dave Hassell Band for the great coffee!).



Above: Our new sign designed by Gutensite and printed by my good friend James Lane.

Above: Here is our booth (#422) with our professional arm wrestling table on one side, and our info table on the other. This was the most blurry of the pictures.

Above: Pastor Justin is getting his spin on.

Overall, it was a great time with these guys. We didn't get near as much traffic from conference attendees as we had hoped, but are praying that some new opportunities will arise for our ministry partners.

Shalom!

Note: For those of you who don't know, I am half Jewish (full Jewish according to Paul in Romans 2). This was the Yammukah I wore to my grandfather's funeral in 1994. Apparently we descend from the Tribe of Levi. Somewhat fitting, I suppose. I am 30, so I had better get to it!

New Version of Testimony CD - Coming Soon!

We will get 1,000 copies of this newly recorded testimony CD this week! Featuring music from my good friends Blake Quimby, Tim Barosh, and Stephen Miller!

By God's grace we have handed out over 17,000 free copies of my previous 2 versions of the testimony CD. Let me know if you'd like a copy!

I also want to give a special thanks to my good friend Hank Hamberg of Magellan Sound Studio for mixing and mastering Blake and Tim's tunes and mastering my testimony... You Rock W.C. (Hank) Hamberg!

Christ Church on iTunes

You can now subscribe to Christ Church's weekly podcast on iTunes.

1. Download iTunes for free.
2. Click on the iTunes Store from the application.
3. Search "Christ Church Brenham."
4. Click subscribe.

Behind the Times

I've always been a bit behind the curve in regards to what is hip or cool. With the exception of when my mom and dad took me to buy Z-Cavaricci's in the 6th grade, I haven't been that trendy. Occasionally, I realize that I like something, but I'm way behind the ball on getting the 'cool thing.'

Apparently it has happened again with the Castro-Style Dictator caps. I'd probably look pretty dumb in one, but I think once again I am going to be a late adopter. So, if you feel like getting me a random gift you can go here and ship it to my home address. :-)

Until that time, I will be content with my Black T's, Jeans and running shoes. I am blessed that on occasion my wife helps me get dressed, and that is cool.

Chronicles of Ike - Part 2

My heart breaks for the many who lost so much to Hurricane Ike. By God's grace, we did not receive much damage at all. Our power didn't even flicker... Here are some photos of our 'damage'.


A few downed branches and leaves were all that we had 'wrong' with our property. I have a section of fence that was held together literally with string, and it was fine.

One interesting site was at HEB on Sunday, September 14th here in Brenham in the Bread Isle:
Zero bread, one package of rolls, and some tortillas...

We are praying for all of you who have been affected by Ike, especially those who won't read this post for several weeks or months even. Please let us know how we can help.

Chronicles of Ike - Part 1

Where to begin... My wife has already covered her efforts to help us get ready, so she and I will each be providing coverage of Ike from Brenham, TX.

Let's begin:

Yesterday afternoon my good friend and fellow pastor/elder at Christ Church, Justin, and I were driving back from a HaMoreh board of directors meeting in Houston. Fortunately, while we were heading back around 2 pm we chose to get on the HOV on 290. However, when we got off the HOV we were in some pretty tight traffic (the picture below was 290 at 359). It was moving though, which we were grateful for.


Last night, my good friend Peter M. (25, SWCM seeking SCF) and I were taking down some trees in our back yard. We had to head over and pick up my wallet that I left in Justin's truck (see above). We were driving over 290 last night here in Brenham at about 6:45 pm and here is what we saw:
Earlier this afternoon Pete and I were heading over to Justin's place to get my bolt cutters back so that Pete could take a fence down at his house. On our way back from Justin's we saw this:

This was outside of Chappell Hill on a back road. I guess Chappell Hill doesn't have a 311 service? And yes, that is a ride-a-mower on a real live street...

More news to come from Brenham, TX

Preaching Quotes

I am currently reading through Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson for Intro to Expository Preaching and thought I'd share a few compelling quotes:

"Regrettably, many preachers fail as Christians before they fail as preachers because they do not think biblically.  A significant number of ministers, many of whom profess high regard for the Scriptures, prepare their sermons without consulting the Bible at all.  While the sacred text serves as an appetizer to get a sermon underway or as a garnish to decorate the message, the main course consists of the preacher's own thought or someone else's thought warmed up for the occasion (26)."

"In dependence upon the Holy Spirit, the preacher aims to confront, convict, convert, and comfort men and women through te  proclamation of biblical concepts.  People shape their lives and settle their eternal destinies in response to ideas (39)."

I've always known that God has called me to a weighty task, but the more I learn, the more humbled I am.  I covet your prayers.

A Genesis 3 Parallel

"Don't eat from that tree, you will surely die."

"Braelyn, don't touch the iron, it will burn you..."

They ate, and she touched...

They died, and she was burned...

She's okay, but she learned something today. So did I...